FIC: "Not Afraid of the Dark," Ashley Magnus/Jo Harvelle (Sanctuary/SPN)
Title: Not Afraid of the Dark
Author: geonncannon
Fandom: Sanctuary/Supernatural
Pairing: Ashley Magnus/Jo Harvelle
Word Count: 1,036
Category: Action
Spoilers: None really
Disclaimer: Neither lady belongs to me!
Rating: PG13
Author's Notes: Prompt by ashen_key used as the summary.
Summary: "From ghoulies and ghosties/And long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night..."
Ashley hated the prim little princesses. And really, from her viewpoint, they were all prim little princesses. The kind of girl that had to call a man to help her smash a spider. The kind of girl who fainted at the first sign of danger. How hard was it to pick up a gun and fight back? It was fine as long as the girls weren't speaking, proving their ineptitude. So whenever Ashley was forced to be with one of them, just to get her mind settled and focus on other things, she made sure their mouths were always occupied with something other than talk.
She wasn't looking for a distraction when she found Jo. She was tracking a class four protean life form through a club, trying to keep her gun out of sight and keeping her eye on her prey so he couldn't change shape and give her the slip. She blocked out the dancing bodies, the pounding music and the blinding lights. The people around her were just another herd in her mind. She stepped onto a chair and pushed off, leaping over a table to try cutting the Abnormal off. It changed direction and ducked under the stairs to the emergency exit.
Alarms began sounding as the Abnormal ran into the alley. Ashley followed it and, once she was out in the open, withdrew her gun. Just before he reached the end of the alley, a figure stepped into his path. Ashley shouted, "Yo, blondie, out of the way."
"Look out for yourself, blondie," the other girl said. She swung her right arm out, and a concealed club slipped from the sleeve of her jacket. She caught it by the base and swung in a wide arc. The Abnormal ducked away just before it made contact. It danced on the balls of its feet for a moment, crouched, and leapt toward the fire escape. Before it grabbed the rung, its shoulders seemed to inflate. Wings sprouted from the back of the dirty sweatshirt, and the creature's arms grew by a foot as he lunged over the edge of the roof and out of sight.
Ashley stopped at the bottom of the fire escape and looked up at it, then looked at the other girl. "Ashley."
"Jo."
"Give me a boost, Jo."
Jo dropped to one knee and made a cup with her hands. Ashley used the lift to grab the fire escape ladder and twist up onto the landing. She lowered the ladder, but she didn't stop to see if Jo was following. The Abnormal was already on the roof. She took the stairs four at a time, lunging for the next one every time, panting by the time she pulled herself up onto the roof. The Abnormal was at the other end, stalking for a way off.
"Why doesn't he just fly away?" Jo asked from behind her.
Ashley was impressed; the girl was out of breath, but nine out of ten guys would have been left in Ashley Magnus' dust. She said, "Got a dampening field around this block. He can change into a bumblebee, but there's no way he's flying more than five feet. Jump to the next building it about fifteen." She brought her gun up and stalked across the roof. "Hey there, Donny. Long time no see."
The Abnormal ignored her and kept looking for a way down.
"Heard you've been scamming people. I guess it's easy to have a cast of thousands when you can change your face. Makes the whole thing real believable."
"You can tell your Ma that I ain't gonna live in one of her cages."
"They're actually really comfortable. Compared to the prison cell a cop would give you or the..." She looked at Jo. "I'm assuming you're leaning toward a coffin."
"Cremation's easier. Less of a mess."
Ashley shrugged. "So an urn. Not very comfy."
Donny turned and said, "So... what. You two little girls gonna take me down?"
Ashley smiled. "You thought I wanted a fight? I just had to flush you out and buy a little time." She touched her ear bud. "Mom, you ready?"
The dampening field suddenly flared above their heads and, a moment later, Donny convulsed. His face changed a dozen times in as many seconds, his arms turning into insectile limbs before settling into human arms once again. When the shuffle was finished, he dropped to the ground in a heap, twitching and jerking with the leftover energy of his forced transformations.
Ashley said, "Donny's down. Bring in the retrieval team." She turned to Jo and said, "Sorry. You've probably been hunting that guy for a while."
"Hey, I don't care who gets the credit. Quick and easy is fine in my book." She frowned at the Abnormal. "Donny?"
"Donorifiticalius Major."
"I like Donny better."
Ashley smiled. "Me too." She checked her weapon and slipped it into the holster at the back of her belt. "You handled yourself really well tonight."
"I'm too old to be scared of the dark," Jo said.
"Being scared of the dark is instinct. That's where all the monsters are."
Jo shrugged. "Then there should be someone there looking out for everyone else."
Ashley grinned. "I think I like you."
Jo chuckled and started toward the edge of the roof. Ashley followed. "You hunt with your Mom?"
"You got a problem with that?"
Jo grinned. "No. Feels... familiar. You said your name was Ashley?"
"Yeah. Nice to meet you."
Jo nodded. "You want to go check out that party?"
Ashley looked over her shoulder at Donny. She could hear the retrieval team coming up the fire escape. Donny wasn't going anywhere. She shrugged and said, "Sure. I've got a little time to kill before I have to be back to the Sanctuary." They let the retrieval team pass before they started down. She let her eyes run down Jo's body as they went down the fire escape; the torn jeans, the T-shirt under her worn leather jacket, the hair that hadn't been washed in a while but still looked good. Definitely possibilities there.
Just because there were monsters in the dark didn't mean there wasn't fun to be had there.
Author: geonncannon
Fandom: Sanctuary/Supernatural
Pairing: Ashley Magnus/Jo Harvelle
Word Count: 1,036
Category: Action
Spoilers: None really
Disclaimer: Neither lady belongs to me!
Rating: PG13
Author's Notes: Prompt by ashen_key used as the summary.
Summary: "From ghoulies and ghosties/And long-leggedy beasties/And things that go bump in the night..."
Ashley hated the prim little princesses. And really, from her viewpoint, they were all prim little princesses. The kind of girl that had to call a man to help her smash a spider. The kind of girl who fainted at the first sign of danger. How hard was it to pick up a gun and fight back? It was fine as long as the girls weren't speaking, proving their ineptitude. So whenever Ashley was forced to be with one of them, just to get her mind settled and focus on other things, she made sure their mouths were always occupied with something other than talk.
She wasn't looking for a distraction when she found Jo. She was tracking a class four protean life form through a club, trying to keep her gun out of sight and keeping her eye on her prey so he couldn't change shape and give her the slip. She blocked out the dancing bodies, the pounding music and the blinding lights. The people around her were just another herd in her mind. She stepped onto a chair and pushed off, leaping over a table to try cutting the Abnormal off. It changed direction and ducked under the stairs to the emergency exit.
Alarms began sounding as the Abnormal ran into the alley. Ashley followed it and, once she was out in the open, withdrew her gun. Just before he reached the end of the alley, a figure stepped into his path. Ashley shouted, "Yo, blondie, out of the way."
"Look out for yourself, blondie," the other girl said. She swung her right arm out, and a concealed club slipped from the sleeve of her jacket. She caught it by the base and swung in a wide arc. The Abnormal ducked away just before it made contact. It danced on the balls of its feet for a moment, crouched, and leapt toward the fire escape. Before it grabbed the rung, its shoulders seemed to inflate. Wings sprouted from the back of the dirty sweatshirt, and the creature's arms grew by a foot as he lunged over the edge of the roof and out of sight.
Ashley stopped at the bottom of the fire escape and looked up at it, then looked at the other girl. "Ashley."
"Jo."
"Give me a boost, Jo."
Jo dropped to one knee and made a cup with her hands. Ashley used the lift to grab the fire escape ladder and twist up onto the landing. She lowered the ladder, but she didn't stop to see if Jo was following. The Abnormal was already on the roof. She took the stairs four at a time, lunging for the next one every time, panting by the time she pulled herself up onto the roof. The Abnormal was at the other end, stalking for a way off.
"Why doesn't he just fly away?" Jo asked from behind her.
Ashley was impressed; the girl was out of breath, but nine out of ten guys would have been left in Ashley Magnus' dust. She said, "Got a dampening field around this block. He can change into a bumblebee, but there's no way he's flying more than five feet. Jump to the next building it about fifteen." She brought her gun up and stalked across the roof. "Hey there, Donny. Long time no see."
The Abnormal ignored her and kept looking for a way down.
"Heard you've been scamming people. I guess it's easy to have a cast of thousands when you can change your face. Makes the whole thing real believable."
"You can tell your Ma that I ain't gonna live in one of her cages."
"They're actually really comfortable. Compared to the prison cell a cop would give you or the..." She looked at Jo. "I'm assuming you're leaning toward a coffin."
"Cremation's easier. Less of a mess."
Ashley shrugged. "So an urn. Not very comfy."
Donny turned and said, "So... what. You two little girls gonna take me down?"
Ashley smiled. "You thought I wanted a fight? I just had to flush you out and buy a little time." She touched her ear bud. "Mom, you ready?"
The dampening field suddenly flared above their heads and, a moment later, Donny convulsed. His face changed a dozen times in as many seconds, his arms turning into insectile limbs before settling into human arms once again. When the shuffle was finished, he dropped to the ground in a heap, twitching and jerking with the leftover energy of his forced transformations.
Ashley said, "Donny's down. Bring in the retrieval team." She turned to Jo and said, "Sorry. You've probably been hunting that guy for a while."
"Hey, I don't care who gets the credit. Quick and easy is fine in my book." She frowned at the Abnormal. "Donny?"
"Donorifiticalius Major."
"I like Donny better."
Ashley smiled. "Me too." She checked her weapon and slipped it into the holster at the back of her belt. "You handled yourself really well tonight."
"I'm too old to be scared of the dark," Jo said.
"Being scared of the dark is instinct. That's where all the monsters are."
Jo shrugged. "Then there should be someone there looking out for everyone else."
Ashley grinned. "I think I like you."
Jo chuckled and started toward the edge of the roof. Ashley followed. "You hunt with your Mom?"
"You got a problem with that?"
Jo grinned. "No. Feels... familiar. You said your name was Ashley?"
"Yeah. Nice to meet you."
Jo nodded. "You want to go check out that party?"
Ashley looked over her shoulder at Donny. She could hear the retrieval team coming up the fire escape. Donny wasn't going anywhere. She shrugged and said, "Sure. I've got a little time to kill before I have to be back to the Sanctuary." They let the retrieval team pass before they started down. She let her eyes run down Jo's body as they went down the fire escape; the torn jeans, the T-shirt under her worn leather jacket, the hair that hadn't been washed in a while but still looked good. Definitely possibilities there.
Just because there were monsters in the dark didn't mean there wasn't fun to be had there.