"as though nothing could fall" - Part Three

[kellifer_fic]

| Part Two |

After leaving Milo and Danneel huddled on the couch together, Jared watches Jensen work furiously on his laptop, frowning. “We need to find somewhere for you guys to go,” Jensen’s saying, very pointedly not looking at Jared as he works.

“Just... just slow down a minute and tell me what’s happening,” Jared implores. He’s got his cell phone in hand and hits redial as he talks. Morgan’s number goes straight to voicemail and so does Sam’s but Jared doesn’t give up.

He can’t because he’s too terrified about what that could mean.

“We’re safe here for now because a shell company owns the lease to this place but it’ll only be a matter of time. I don’t know how he knows but he just knows.”

“Jensen, you’re starting to freak me out with the insane rambling,” Jared says and puts a hand on Jensen’s laptop lid, shutting it. Jensen only just manages to pull his fingers back in time not to lose them. He looks up at Jared, impatience plain across his features.

“Jared just... let me do this. We need somewhere with a low concentration of supers. He’ll never look there. I was crazy to stay as long as I did. This is my fault.”

“Jensen-"

“He’s looking for me,” Jensen says, standing and slamming a fist down on his desk. The whole desk cracks in two and falls away, leaving Jensen coated in bits of broken wood and shavings. Jared just stares at him and then glances in Danneel and Milo’s direction. They’re watching the proceedings over the back of this couch, only their eyes visible.

“Tell me that was just an adrenalin thing, like when a mother can bench press a bus their kid is under,” Jared says slowly as Jensen flushes a dull red.

“Look, I was going to tell you-“

“Tell me what? That you’re hanging out with a bunch of practically powerless no hopers and you’ve been what, a Class Six all this time?”

“I’m not a Six,” Jensen says and Jared throws up his hands.

“Don’t try that crap with me. You just punched a desk in half. You can’t...” Jared loses the end of his sentence because he finally gets it, he gets what Jensen is telling him.

“Anyone want to tell us just what the hell is going on?” Morgan demands, slamming through the warehouse doors. He’s covered in dust and Sam is on his heels, pulling her jacket off that’s practically shredded. “Looks like a war zone out there.”

“Guys, I hate to interrupt but Eighth Sign was just killed. That girl could phase out of existence,” Danneel says, clicking her fingers and pointing at the television. “What the hell can kill someone like that?”

“Yeah Jensen,” Jared says. “How about you enlighten us since you seem to know what’s going on here.” Everyone's eyes snap their way, Morgan and Sam looking confused.

“We miss something important?” Sam asks, shaking her hair out and making a disgusted noise when she dislodges mud and leaves.

“Apart from us secretly having a Class Seven in our ranks, nothing really,” Jared says.

Heroes are expected to adhere to a strict moral code that normal people are not bound by. At the same time they are expected to supplement human law enforcement by circumventing the legal restrictions on the human authorities to achieve a desired result. They are encouraged to bend the rules but be bound by them more closely than others. It’s a paradox that could confuse and warp a hero’s moral compass. They are left with nothing but gray area.

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”

“I was going to tell you,” Jensen says. They’re in the bathroom, Jensen washing off his hands and failing to meet Jared’s eyes in the rust-spotted mirror over the sink. Jared just glares at the back of Jensen’s head.

“Anyone ever tell you you can’t get out of a hole by digging down?” Jared asks and Jensen rolls his eyes.

“I don’t think we really have time for me to assuage your hurt feelings,” Jensen says and Jared advances on him. Jensen turns into his approach, getting a hand up in front of his face like he thinks Jared is about to punch him which Jared almost laughs at, it’s so ludicrous. He stops with Jensen leaning slightly back over the sink, their bodies so close that Jared can feel the heat from Jensen coming off him in waves but not actually touching.

“I’m really getting tired of you trying to push me away by being a prick,” Jared says and Jensen goes to roll his eyes again but before he can finish Jared has a hand on his jaw, tilting his head up so he has to meet Jared’s gaze. “You pick fights with me. You’re really subtle but you do. It was a master stroke to pick a fight with me about not having a fight but you managed it, trying to keep me at arm’s length. Why do you do that?”

“Jared,” Jensen says but he doesn’t seem to have anything to say other than Jared’s name. Just breathes, eyes darting to Jared’s lips, chin, back up to his forehead. Skirting everywhere but Jared’s accusatory glare. Jared drops the hand he had at Jensen’s chin and instead puts both hands to the sink rim, bracketing Jensen’s body with his arms. “It’s dangerous,” Jensen says finally.

“What’s dangerous?” Jared presses. “I know you think supers shouldn’t get married, I got to hear that speech already but-“

“I know from personal experience, alright?” Jensen snaps. He’s bristling but Jared doesn’t back off. He just knows it would be the wrong thing to do. Instead he holds his ground. “Bay City.”

“What does Bay City have anything to do with this?” Jared says. “You would’ve been just a kid then,”

“I’m older than I look,” Jensen says.

Jared does back off then, crossing arms over his chest. “How much older?” he asks slowly.

“I’ve gone through a few names, a few incarnations,” Jensen explains. “Enroll in school and go through the whole shebang to make the new identities stick, more believable, get them on the official record. But once upon a time, many years ago, I was known as Immovable Man.”

“Immovable Man died,” Jared says, shaking his head. “After he wiped out Bay City, he died.”

“No I didn’t."

Can we blame society for The Fisher and what happened in Bay City? Would it still be standing today if someone hadn’t made fun of a goofy-looking kid’s shoes or that his sweater had a hole in the elbow or he had a lisp when he talked? No one will really know his motivations, why he chose to destroy rather than protect but one thing is for sure. No one can claim that power is a gift without pain. You only have to look to Immovable Man and Dash Lass to know that.

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”

“Were you under some kind of mind-altering drug hallucination or something?” Milo asks. They’ve gathered everyone, all wanting to know just what is going on. Danneel has muted the television but the destruction continues, some of the minor supervillains having their own kind of party now that most of the Class Sixes have been wiped out.

No one is responding which means the other heroes are hiding, probably trying to work out just what the hell is going on.

“Nothing that exciting,” Jensen says with a sad smile. “By the time I was unleashed I was pretty sure the city had been evacuated but that was no real excuse. I could’ve... I should’ve done something different but at the time I couldn’t see any other way.”

“You and Dash Lash,” Sam says, putting a hand to Morgan’s shoulder and squeezing. “She was taken by The Fisher, right?”

“One of the last, yes,” Jensen confirms. “By the time she went in we’d figured out what The Fisher could do, how he was killing the supers. She thought maybe if she was fast enough...”

“I’m not really clear on how he’s doing it,” Danneel interrupts, holding her hand up, expression puzzled. “How can one guy be taking all these major players out? Is he indestructible, super fast, super strong, what?”

“He’s nothing really,” Jensen says. “He didn’t have any kind of conventional power.”

“Then what?” Danneel presses.

“The problem was... everyone else became nothing around him too. You lose your power, become human. He was named The Fisher because he would pull the power right out of you like fish out of a pond. For people that were used to relying wholly and solely on their superpowers, it was the most terrifying thing imaginable. He was made a Class Seven because the superhero community was terrified of him. He was the worst thing we could ever imagine.”

“How did he become a bad guy?” Milo asks.

“He learned to hate us,” Jensen says and then offers a humorless smile. “I don’t really blame the guy. He was an outcast in the community that should’ve been his protection. He would sit in a room by himself because we couldn’t risk exposing him to any of his peers.”

“That’s almost sad,” Danneel says, looking genuinely upset.

“It really is,” Jensen agrees. “Andrew Phelps, later to become The Fisher, was failed on so many levels, in so many ways. The Principal, a guy named Barker back then, he called me in, asked if maybe I wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Phelps, maybe toss him into the sun if he got out of hand.”

“How could you do that?” Morgan asks. “Everyone loses their power around him.”

“Funny thing about that,” Jensen says. “I don’t.”

“Wait, you don’t?” Jared asks. Milo reaches across and pushes Jared’s mouth closed with a hand covered by his shirt sleeve because it’s hanging open and Jared smacks his hand away. “What are we even sitting around for then? Why don’t you just head on over and, I don’t know, stop him!”

“I don’t lose my power but I lose something else,” Jensen says. “I get anywhere near him and I don’t… I lose me. I’m not sure why but I went in after Dash Lash and it was the worst mistake of my life. It had been what he’d been waiting for. The Fisher can’t cause any real damage on his own, he needed someone like me to do his dirty work for him. He knew I was out there and he was very patient.”

“He’s killing supers,” Morgan says. “I’d say that’s pretty capable.”

“He’s really not. He’s probably got a group of thugs to take down anyone that gets close enough. Once he starts taking out supers, the villains come out and play. That’s what we’re seeing now. Upper Montopolis is destroying itself just like Bay City did. I was the nail in the coffin but Bay City had been destroyed long before I started kicking buildings down.”

“Brunswater is nice this time of year. Didn’t you say something about us leaving?” Milo asks, standing and shouldering his backpack.

“We can’t just run,” Danneel protests, looking appalled.

“Milo’s right. It’s the best thing for you,” Jensen says with a nod. “It’s only a matter of time before he’ll start targeting the less offensively inclined supers once he’s wiped out the major ones, just in case anyone gets any bright ideas.”

“The Fisher isn’t the only problem though,” Morgan says, hooking a thumb back in the direction of the news. There’s currently a picture of people breaking windows and absconding with electrical goods. “It’s not only the registered villains that are starting to think it’s Christmas out there.”

“How about the rest?” Danneel asks and when everyone looks at her with confusion she makes a work with me here gesture with her hands. “The Fisher’s working his way down the ladder of powers, it’s true. He’s taking out all the Sixes first, but there’s a whole bunch of Fives and Fours before he’ll even get around to us. A lot of people that are better in a fight than us.”

“They’re probably getting out of dodge if they know what’s good for them,” Milo says and Danneel shakes her head.

“Or they’re hiding and trying to figure out if they should be doing something just like us. We didn’t know what The Fisher could do and I’m betting more of them don’t know either. More than one of them are going to start thinking that maybe they can get in a lucky shot, finally get out from under the shadow of the Sixes once and for all.”

“She’s right,” Morgan agrees. “A whole bunch of supers are going to get their damn fool selves killed trying to be the hero.”

“Unless we give them something else to do,” Jared says, standing. He crosses over to Jensen’s workspace and scoops up his laptop, bringing it back. “Jensen has a spreadsheet.”

“Jared-“ Jensen starts as Morgan says, “What are you talking about?”

“We need to find whoever’s left, who hasn’t fled the city. We need to take back control, make sure The Fisher knows he isn’t going to win this one. We need a plan of action.”

“This is crazy,” Milo says, scrubbing a hand over his head. “We should be getting out of the city while we can.”

“Anyone can go that wants to,” Jared snaps. “I for one aren’t giving this guy another Bay City.”

“What are you thinking?” Sam asks and Morgan looks at her, frowning.

“Hon, I think you-“

“I would stop before you say something that’ll get you punched in the groin,” Danneel warns when Sam flicks Morgan a murderous glance.

“We just need people out there, visible so the population doesn’t feel so abandoned. They’re going to riot if they think there’s no law.”

“There’s the human law. What about them?” Milo asks.

“They aren’t equipped to deal with something like this. Having resident heroes means they haven’t had to deal with anything heavier than a liquor store robbery in years. They show up, sure, but when we’re attacked by killer robots or giant blue guys from space they hang back and wait for people like us to take care of it because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”

“Well, maybe we need to make them remember that they aren’t just here as crossing guards,” Danneel says. “Maybe get a few supers out with a contingent of police, get seen so we at least get the rioting under control and we can concentrate on the villain types who are oozing out of the wood work.”

“I like it,” Sam says, putting her thumbs up.

Jared shoves the laptop at Jensen who just blinks at him for a moment. “Find us some less than spectacular supers,” Jared orders and Jensen pauses only for a second before he bends to the task.

to be commonplace. We, as a society, elevate those that strive for more, to be better, but we also long to see them fall from grace and are never more satisfied when they do. The Incredible Shark was abandoned in his time of greatest need when he failed to save the Reynolds twins under impossible circumstances. Suddenly the dozens he had saved before became meaningless in this, what was perceived to be his failure. The Reynolds twins became a rallying point behind which Upper Montopolis gathered to ask the question. When we live in a world where superheroes exist, why do bad things still happen to good people?

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”

Jared never thought he would be donning a mask. He had never thought he was going to be that kind of guy but as he looked into the mirror, he felt a certain kind of pride, even if it was a glittery blue number from Walmart. He’d slicked his hair back from his forehead with liberal amounts of gel supplied by Danneel and he was wearing a black fitted tee shirt and black jeans.

He turned when he heard someone clear their throat behind him and then bit his hand to stop a laugh. Danneel had her hands on her hips and she was scowling. The whole tough affect was ruined though because she was wearing a tiara and a rainbow mask. “This is all I could find,” she snarls, flipping her own hair off her shoulder that’s been dragged into a tight ponytail. She’s wearing what looks like an old cheerleaders costume.

“I never asked what your name was,” Jared says, realizing that apart from Milo, he hadn’t a clue what anyone had named themselves.

“Mind’s Eye,” Danneel says and when Jared just raises an eyebrow she rolls her eyes. “It was that or something to do with fantasy that probably would’ve given the wrong impression.”

“Especially in that costume,” Jared says with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows and then he smiles, genuine this time. “Mind’s Eye is a great name for you.”

“Thanks,” Danneel says, dimpling and untucking a glittery wand from somewhere. When Jared just looks at her she says, “What? The tiara just doesn’t make sense otherwise.”

“Everyone ready to get killed?” Milo asks. He’s appeared with a black stocking over his face and a shirt with an ‘L’ written in laundry marker.

“What are you supposed to be? You look like you’re about to knock over the liquor store,” Danneel snorts and Milo glares at her, or at least Jared thinks he tries to but his face is smooshed by the stocking.

“Costume shops were all out of anything even resembling a mask. I think a whole bunch of folks have been gearing up.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jared says, waving a dismissive hand. He leads them both out into the main area of the warehouse where there’s about thirty people gathered, all looking like they got diverted from some crazy costume party. Morgan is standing in front of them on the couch so he can be seen by everyone. They had all agreed that Morgan was the closest thing they had to an authority figure and someone people would listen to.

Jared figures it doesn't hurt that he has gray in his hair.

“We’re going to reclaim this city, but we don’t want anyone doing anything crazy,” Morgan is saying when Jared, Danneel and Milo return to the group. Jared only just in time doesn’t bump into a guy with tiny sharp spines all over his body and a red ‘R’ on his back. He offers a smile when he recognizes the kid from his Hero Ethics class.

“You’ve all been grouped so the stronger offensive players are paired with those with defensive or passive capabilities. Anyone that’s flashy but can’t really cause much damage will be with the police patrols.” Morgan looks at a small blond girl and throws her a wink. “Cherry Bomb here will give people looting something to think about.”

“Damn right,” Cherry Bomb says with a little fist pump and everyone laughs.

“We’re going to break the city into sections. We’ve explained what The Fisher can do and why he’s so dangerous but he has absolutely no way of hurting us if we don’t go near him. You see The Fisher or any of his goons and you run, that’s an order.”

“Who are you to give that order?” the spiky guy next to Jared calls and when Jensen leans up and whispers in Morgan’s ear, he nods.

“Resident Pain right?” Morgan says and when the guy nods, Morgan claps his hands together. “Our first priority is to stay alive, because we’re the last line of defense. I would love to be able to leave it to people like Cool Hand and Bronze Age but they aren’t around anymore. I know for most of you, for most of your lives you’ve wished these people would get out of the limelight and give you a chance to prove yourselves. Well, now you have a chance. Don’t ruin it by -“

“Being a hero?” Cherry Bomb interjects and just like that, the tension is broken that Jared felt building.

The group breaks down after that, everyone moving into their assigned teams and discussing tactics and rally points. Jared loses Jensen but finds him in the back storage room, a small space not much bigger than a closet that Jared didn’t even know existed. He follows because he knows he has to do something that’s going to be hard on both of them and he’s the only one that can do it.

Jensen turns and starts to smile when Jared closes the door behind him but then must see something on Jared’s face that makes the smile freeze in place. “What?”

“You’ve got to leave.”

“What?” Jensen repeats, face flushing in anger. “Jared, what the fuck-“

“You’re angry because you’ve been thinking it too and you feel like you’ll be letting us down. I get that, I do,” Jared says gently, moving forward until he can rest his hands on Jensen’s shoulders. He feels Jensen tense for a moment like he’s going to shrug Jared off and then deflate.

“No… I, no,” Jensen says, denying what they both know is inevitable.

“You said it yourself. He’s looking for you. You’re his clean up on aisle nine, the way he can mop up whatever’s left over and he just knows that you’ll go, that you’ll try and do the stupid and heroic thing because you’re the only one that can.”

Jensen ducks his face and scuffs his shoe on the floor. Jared touches Jensen’s chin, tapping it so Jensen will raise his face again. “You know I’m right.”

“I know you’re annoying and a pain in my ass. That’s all I know,” Jensen argues but then sighs, a heavy sound that Jared feels right through to his bones. “Yes, and maybe you’re right. Maybe this time though, maybe it can be different.”

“Really?” Jared says, raising his eyebrows. “You found a way for him to not affect you?”

“I can stay here, just in case you need me,” Jensen protests. “I can get out there and do some good.”

“He’s going to come to wherever you are,” Jared points out. “It might sound like the perfect way to trap him but it would be too much of a risk. We don’t really want a Class Seven going crazy when we’re all powerless and don’t have so much as an Incredible Lad to throw at you.”

“Incredible Lad’s a stupid name,” Jensen grumbles and Jared snorts.

“I know, right? Do some of these guys go online and use a superhero name generator or what?”

Jensen’s still laughing at that when Jared leans forward and presses their mouths together. “You have to leave,” he repeats, pulling back only long enough to get the words out. “We’ll figure something out but you’ve got to put miles between you and this guy because I don’t think I could-“

Jensen silences Jared’s rambling with his mouth, hard and unrelenting, crowding into Jared and getting hands on the skin between his shirt and jeans. He pulls back for a moment, lips kiss-swollen and lush looking and chuckles. “Out of curiosity, why are you wearing a mask?” he asks.

“To keep my identity a secret,” Jared says.

“Jared, you can look like anyone you want. You could go out looking like a six year old girl.”

“I, um, huh,” Jared says, grinning sheepishly. "I just like it being me... you know?"

“You actually wearing clothes now or is that all you?” Jensen asks, rubbing the fabric of Jared’s shirt between thumb and forefinger.

“That’s clothing,” Jared says. “I don’t really like the idea of being distracted and my clothes disappearing.”

“I’m disappointed,” Jensen says with a dirty little grin. “It would have been really handy right now if you’d just been able to pop your clothes off with a thought.”

“I’m sure we’ve got someone out there who has that power,” Jared says and Jensen groans, fisting a handful of Jared’s hair and tilting his head back so he can get at his throat.

“How can you ask me to leave you unprotected?” Jensen says, working his way down to Jared’s collar bone, wrenching his shirt sideways so he can get at skin.

“No one’s going to hurt me, I promise,” Jared manages to get out a little breathlessly. Jensen pauses in his mauling to lean back and look at Jared levelly.

“Jared, you’re one of the few Sixes left in the entire city.”

“Yeah but so is Milo and I think you’ll agree that we hardly count,” Jared says.

He remembers Categorization day, how he’d been nervous as hell and how he hadn’t wanted his father to be proven right, that as a superhero he was sorely lacking. He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d been classed as a Six, he certainly hadn’t had the flair of his grandmother. He’d been floating when he’d got home, not literally unfortunately, clutching the piece of paper that he’d thought would finally crack a smile from his old man.

His dad had merely grunted and asked if their standards were really that low now.

“You count,” Jensen says. “They saw potential in you. Why do you always sell yourself short?”

“One thing I’ve never been is short,” Jared says, trying to make the mood lighter. He decides to change the subject the easy way and instead gets hands on Jensen’s waistcoat buttons, making short work of them and then the button-down underneath. “I’ve been wondering. Is superstrength all you’ve got?” he asks as he exposes Jensen’s belly and chest and runs greedy hands over them.

Jensen curls forward into the touch, greedy himself. He lets himself go limp and Jared manhandles him until he’s pressed up against shelving that’s bolted to the wall. “I heal,” he says. “I think it’s why I don’t seem to be aging. My cells don’t die or get damaged.”

“Just how old are you?” Jared asks.

“Old enough that me molesting you can probably be classed as creepy,” Jensen says.

“It’s good that I’m molesting you then, right?”

“Yep, absolutely,” Jensen agrees. “Hey, I’m glad the dating thing we had going has been working so well.”

“We’ll get back to it,” Jared says, undoing Jensen’s belt and jerking Jensen sideways when he yanks it free of Jensen’s pants. He gets his flies undone and dips a hand underneath, his hand pressing flat against the hot line of Jensen’s cock through his underwear. “I hope you don’t have superspeed because that would be really disappointing right now.”

“Oh shut up,” Jensen grumbles, his complaint lost on an exhale when Jared gets Jensen’s pants and underwear down out of the way and starts stroking him to full hardness, the way made easier by the precome that had been gathering at the tip of Jensen’s cock. “Correction. Keep doing that and shut up,” he amends.

“When we have some time and a bed I want you to fuck me,” Jared says and Jensen jolts forward, his cock jumping.

“Christ Jared, warn a guy,” he says.

“I just did,” Jared says with a throaty chuckle. He rests hands on Jensen’s hips and lowers to his knees, nuzzling Jensen’s belly and the sharp cut of his hip in a tease that has Jensen glaring down at the top of his head. When he feels Jensen’s hand bunch the hair at the crown of his head he moves forward and takes Jensen in, rubbing the underside of his dick with his tongue and taking him deep.

One thing about being a shapeshifter is that he doesn’t have a gag reflex if he doesn’t want one.

Jensen makes a choked off yelp when his cock nudges the back of Jared’s throat. Jared tightens his hands on Jensen’s hips but let’s the rest of his body go lax and gazes up at Jensen through his lashes. Jensen seems to get what Jared is offering and he blushes, Jared noticing with delight that the blush goes all the way down his chest. Right before Jensen starts to move, Jared pulls off though and says, “Just watch the super strength thing. I don’t want to die when you get carried away and stab through my spine.”

“Thanks for that,” Jensen says, running his thumbs along Jared’s cheekbones. “Like I don’t have enough stuff to worry about at the moment?”

Jared smiles, sobering and says, “I trust you,” and moves forward again, just enough that Jensen is resting once more on his tongue and then he taps Jensen’s hips with his fingers. Jensen starts to move then, little jagged rolls of his body that get sharper as Jared feels his cock grow harder and fuller in his mouth. Jared hums and Jensen bows over him, digging his own hands into Jared’s shoulders for balance and letting out a completely animalistic noise before Jared feels his throat and mouth flood. He swallows reflexively, licking and sucking until Jensen pushes him off with an almost hurt sound.

“Can I?” Jensen says, waving a hand in the direction of Jared’s groin and Jared shakes his head, pushing down on himself even though it feels like with even the slightest touch he could go off.

“Nah, want to save it for when you’re in me,” he says and Jensen kind of grunts while he’s yanking his pants back up and tucking himself away.

“There’s an idea that’ll sustain me for weeks,” Jensen says with a gentle smile that’s full of affection.

“I hope it’s not going to have to be weeks,” Jared says, accepting Jensen’s hand up. His knees pop and Jensen smirks at him when he shakes his legs out.

“You know when I asked you if this was really you?” Jensen says, putting a palm flat to Jared’s cheek. Jared ducks his head, feeling annoyance immediately surge through him.

“Are you still going to do the arguing straight after sex thing?” Jared demands.

“No,” Jensen says with a chuckle. “I just… I had to ask because I couldn’t believe you were real. I still kinda don’t.”

“Being sweet isn’t going to make me let you stay in the city,” Jared says with a stern look.

“I know. I just wanted to clear up any confusion,” Jensen says.

Right before he leaves the storeroom, before he possibly might leave Jared’s life forever, Jared says, “Hey, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?” Jensen turns back, looking expectant.

“What’s your real name?” Jared asks, because he was Immovable Man once. Many heroes had changed costumes, changed names, and Jared gets the uncomfortable feeling that maybe he doesn’t know Jensen at all. In the mixture of secret identities and alternate universes it’s hard to keep track sometimes.

Jensen smiles. “It’s really Jensen,” he says. “I thought I would try something different this go around.”

In a world where heroes are more often born rather than made from tragic circumstances or accidents, there is no effort involved. Power without consequence, without discipline, is dangerous.

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”

“Why aren’t you more excited about this?” Cherry Bomb, real name Alona, asks. She and Jared have been paired together for a sweep and they’re watching a group of six police round up a gang who had set fire to a car. The troublemakers weren’t to know that Alona was good on the special effects but couldn’t do any real damage. They were convinced when she sent fireworks racing over their heads from her fingertips.

He can tell that she’s completely jazzed to be doing something real, like they were promised back in school. It’s hard not to be affected by her excitement as she hops from foot to foot, watching bad guys being manhandled into the back of a police van.

Jared knows that most people when they discover they have power, imagine just this. Being in the thick of the fight against evil, being able to know that they’re keeping society safe. For most, the dream doesn’t pan out that way exactly, not for those with power like Jared’s or Alona’s. Normally, Jared thinks, he and Alona would be a hit at a party but that’s about all.

“My dad was The Detonator,” Alona says, her voice a wistful lilt in the evening. “He was so proud that I appeared to take after him and so disappointed when I pretty much was just a light show. I wanted him to be proud of me but I was never going to shake hands with the Mayor or get a key to the city like he had.”

“He still around?” Jared asks gently as the last of the guys are loaded and the police give them a thumbs up that makes Alona smile, although it’s a sad one.

“He is but…” Alona rubs her fingers together and sparks shoot off the tips making the wet streets beneath them sparkle. “He took on Darkness and lost his sight. No one would work with him because he was a liability after that and these days he sits in his living room surrounded by pictures of his glory days and yells at my mom.”

“Alona.”

“The horrible thing was that I was glad, you know? I wanted him to feel useless for once in his life, the way he’s always made me feel. Now I just wish he could see me, see what we’re doing.”

“He’ll know,” Jared reassures. “This’ll be a wake up call for anyone who’s ever felt inadequate, who ever thought that they didn’t count because they weren’t quite the ideal.”

“How’d you get so positive?” Alona asks, eying Jared with a wry grin.

“Not sure,” Jared says. “It’s only happened really recently.”

“Could it have something to do with a green-eyed stunner?” Alona asks and Jared can feel his cheeks flood with heat.

“He’s certainly improved my outlook,” Jared agrees, not even the least bit ashamed to acknowledge that Jensen’s had a lot to do with his turnaround. Jared knows now, after all’s been said and done, that Jensen was gently pushing him to be more, to realize his own potential. Jensen’s belief in Jared when he didn’t have any kept him going, gave him the chance. He looks at a city that’s calming around him and wishes fervently that Jensen could witness it, could know just what he’s done not only to save Jared but everyone.

“We’ve got a report of a few disturbances on Eighth we’re going to check out but it all seems to be calming down,” one of the Officers says as he jogs over. “Where the hell did you guys all come from anyway, we were sure we were going to see the city burn when they started announcing that all the heroes were being taken out.”

“We’ve been around,” Alona says.

“Hey!”

They and the Officer turn to see Milo running towards them. He was paired with Resident Pain who’s nowhere to be seen. Milo’s head stocking is gone and he’s covered in scratches, bleeding freely. “What happened?” Jared demands. Milo skids to a stop in front of them, casting a look at the Officer before his attention swings back to Jared and Alona.

“Can we talk for a sec? Something’s happened,” he asks and Jared turns to the Officer who nods at them.

“We’ll see you three blocks over,” the Officer says and runs back to the two waiting patrol cars and van that peel off with a squeal of tires.

“What’s-“ Jared starts to say but that’s when Milo yanks one of his gloves off and lunges forward, smacking a bare hand across Alona’s face. She goes down hard, unconscious, skin sparking. “What the hell!” Jared yells.

“I’m really sorry about this Jared,” Milo says as he rounds on Jared, tugging his second glove off with his teeth and casting it aside. “But like Jenny boy said, The Fisher has a group of thugs to take down anyone that’s standing in his way.”

“Milo… what are you doing?” Jared asks, backing up as Milo advances on him.

“It’s really funny,” Milo says as Jared darts his gaze sideways looking for an avenue of escape. Milo gets as much as a finger on him and he’s done for. “How history repeats itself. You don’t learn from the mistakes of your past and you’re doomed to repeat them.”

“What are you talking about?” Jared demands.

“The Fisher is patient. He followed Jensen, waited for him to get complacent. It took a while but finally, finally Jensen got attached to someone. It’s Dash Lash all over again, he just needed a bargaining chip.”

“He’s gone. Jensen left the city,” Jared says, shaking his head. Jared had put Jensen in a car himself, had watched until his taillights had disappeared. It had been probably the hardest thing he had ever done, but he’d done it because it was the safest for everyone, including Jensen.

Jared wasn’t sure Jensen would survive another Bay City.

“Are you really that dense?” Milo asks. "He’s still here somewhere, probably has eyes on you now because he’s worried about his precious, lame ass boyfriend.”

“No, he-“

“He’s right,” a voice says, coming out of the shadows and then a man appears. He’s fairly bland looking, has dirty blond hair and blue eyes and is wearing a long black coat. His boot heels click on the pavement and his eyes sweep Jared as he approaches. Milo’s hand lands on Jared’s neck, squeezing hard and Jared looks at him, startled, because nothing happens.

“Fuck me,” Jared breathes and the man, The Fisher laughs.

“Times have certainly changed,” he says. “Or at least, Immovable Man’s tastes appear to have.”

“You blew my big dramatic take down,” Milo complains behind Jared as Jared shrugs his hand off. “I can’t do my thing with you here.”

“Very true,” The Fisher says and tosses something at Milo that’s small and black. He looks at Jared and his smile is apologetic. “Sorry to have to do this such a mundane, human way,” he says and Jared feels Milo nudge his back with whatever he’d caught and everything in Jared is suddenly on fire, his spine snapping straight and his muscles all suddenly beyond the control of his brain. Jared hits the ground next to Alona, a high pitched, reedy wailing in his ears that he’s suddenly aware is him.

“Don’t hurt Alona,” Jared manages to get out through gritted teeth despite the rest of his body still not cooperating. The Fisher leans down so Jared can see his face, calm and serene.

“But my dear little boy,” The Fisher says. “I never actually hurt anyone. I have others for that, including your Jensen as soon as he hears you scream.”

Milo shoots Jared with the stun gun again and the second time’s the charm, everything in Jared shutting down and his vision going black.



Jared comes to with his hands chained above his head, his toes barely brushing the ground. The space he’s in is large, making him think of their own warehouse but it’s obviously somewhere that’s been abandoned a long time ago, missing all the homey little touches Jensen had added. There’s dirty orange light bleeding below the only door Jared can see and the windows are soaped over, the broken ones boarded.

There’s nothing else.

As Jared’s vision adjusts to the dim light, he can see blood on the floor, what looks like burn marks on the walls. He wonders of The Fisher lured all the Class Sixes to this place to be finished off, incapacitated and scared.

He wonders if they all died alone.

Jared can’t see the ceiling or where he’s attached to it. He tries to get some purchase on the floor to be able to have a little slack in his chains so he can try to break free but whoever strung him up knew enough to not give him the play he needs to be able to have any leverage. Jared swings back and forth a little in frustration. He wills himself to shift, to narrow his wrists enough to be able to slip his bonds but nothing happens.

The Fisher must be close enough that he can’t do anything.

“I’m left wondering,” a voice emerges from the darkness, that of The Fisher. “Why Jensen chose to go back to high school of all places in this incarnation, especially if he had to hide who he truly was.” Jared finally finds the source of the voice, The Fisher standing off to his left, holding what looks to be a sheaf of papers stapled together. “I’ve got to give it to him though, his final essay was right on the money.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jared asks, curious despite himself.

“Well, what this basically boils down to,” The Fisher says, tossing the papers aside. “Is that sometimes, despite your best and most noble efforts, the bad guy wins.”

“Not this time,” Jared growls.

“Really? Is this the part where you impotently threaten me that as soon as you are out of your bonds, you’re going to kick my ass?” The Fisher asks, chuckling. “I always love that part. People are so inventive when they’re doomed.”

“I’m not going to make any impotent threats,” Jared says. “I’m just going to make you a promise.”

“That’s big talk Jared,” Milo’s voice issues and he appears, prodding someone along on front of him. When Jared sees who it is, his heart freezes.

It’s Jensen, face slack and eyes vacant.

“Here comes the uh oh,” The Fisher crows, sounding delighted. “You thought maybe somehow Jensen was going to save you, that this time good would triumph over evil and there would be some inventive last-minute save. You thought he was coming for you. What’s fantastic is that he already did.”

“Jensen. Hey, Jensen c’mon!” Jared yells, even though he knows it’s futile. The Fisher is right, he was hoping for a save. For some way for this to all still work out. He knows what happened in Bay City and he can’t believe he was so stupid to actually think that things would be different, that somehow they would be different. He remembers the photos of Bay City they’d had to view in Hero Ethics, how silent and devastated the place had looked in glossy black and white.

What Jensen had done.

“I really like him like this,” Milo says, prodding Jensen sideways and he just stumbles with the push, righting himself automatically but showing no other evidence of having even noticed.

“For years I thought I was nothing but a plague, a scourge. I was the anti-hero, or at least that’s what everyone kept telling me. Superheroes feared me but there was nothing I could do about it, nothing big enough anyway. I tried. With Bay City I started taking out supers just because I could. There was nothing more satisfying than seeing people so proud who would turn to weeping terrified children when their powers were stripped away. They had called me nothing and that’s exactly what I gifted them.

“Then came Immovable Man,” The Fishers says. “Beautiful, glorious Immovable Man who kept his powers around me but became as empty as the rest in a much more interesting way. He really didn’t know what he was doing in Bay City, poor thing. I found a sweet little girl named Vision Vixen who could project all kinds of lovely and dastardly scenarios into a brain that was so emptied. Immovable Man thought he was fighting the good fight, right up until the last.”

“I don’t really understand why you do this. You already had everyone’s fear and respect. Why take out heroes this way?” Jared asks, knowing that it’s probably useless to buy time for himself since as far as he knows there is no cavalry available to come but he’s starting to learn that he’s not really the type to just lay down and die.

“I had fear but no respect,” The Fisher snarls. “They dismissed me, wanted me to disappear and I did. I left. I moved to Bay City and started over. I had a job and a wife and a baby on the way but they knew I was there, they knew I existed and that was enough. That knowledge ate away at them all, the so called superheroes, the good guys. They came after me because they would sleep easier in a world where I didn’t exist.”

Jared blinks hard, horror running icy hands down his spine because of what he’s hearing.

“Norma was lovely and pregnant and they killed her. Spirit Hand and Napalm tried to tell me that it was an accident but at that moment I knew they would never stop, they would never leave me alone and even when I hunted down and destroyed every single one of them that was responsible for Norma, there would be more of you just waiting your turn.”

“I’m sorry,” Jared whispers. “I’m sorry that happened but it won’t happen again. You can stop, you don’t have to keep doing this.”

“I don’t have to, Jared,” The Fisher says smiling coldly. “I just want to.”

Bay City was when everyday humans learned to fear the hero.

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”

Jared watches as a small girl with a pixie haircut and burn scars is lead into the warehouse by someone he hasn’t seen before, an older-looking man in torn jeans and a Ramones tee-shirt. She seems to be as blank as Jensen and when Jared frowns The Fisher chuckles.

“Billy is a very useful teleporter who has, to put it gently, a bit of a grudge like myself. He’s going to whisk himself and Vixen away as soon as she’s done, filled Jensen’s mind with lots of lovely scenarios that motivate him to do his destructive thing. Luckily, I’ve found that when I take myself out of the area, Vixen comes online faster than anyone else.”

“There are people still in the city. They stopped evacuating,” Jared says, catching and clinging onto the one piece of information that might stay the Fisher’s hand. Bay City had been emptied when Jensen had been set loose.

“That’s your fault, not mine,” The Fisher says with a shrug as he leaves, tossing over his shoulder, “Maybe you should have thought of that before you all tried to be heroes.”

Jared’s left staring at an unseeing Jensen, Vixen a quiet presence in the corner and Billy not seeming to pay attention to any of them. A few silent minutes pass, Jared testing his bonds and finding them as unrelenting as before. He knows he might have a tiny window to shift before Jensen starts if what The Fisher is saying is true about Vixen but he’s not sure if that will be too late, whether Jensen will be lost to him before he can get free.

“You’re right,” Jared sighs. “I never asked you what your favorite color was or your favorite song. I would’ve loved to have seen your happy dance but I gotta tell you, it might not measure up to the one in my head,” Jared continues and he talks, pouring out everything he wishes he and Jensen could’ve done, what they didn’t get the chance to do. He tells Jensen about his family, asks about Jensen’s. He talks about his sister and how he wishes he knew if Jensen had a family, ever had a pet. How he always wanted a dog as a kid but had never been allowed because he couldn’t keep so much as a cactus alive. How maybe if they got an apartment together they could get a dog and Jensen could be the one to remember to take it to the vet and get shots.

He’s still talking when the girl raises her head and narrows her eyes at Jensen. He sees Jensen tense. Jensen’s eyes are still glazed but he moves his head like he’s looking around, seeing things that aren’t there.

Billy the teleporter clamps a hand on the girl's shoulder and they're gone with a clap like thunder and a rush of vacant air.

Jared tries to shift again and he feels it, his power there at the edges but still just maddeningly out of reach. Jensen’s face snaps in his direction and he moves forward, jaw set and eyes unblinking. Jared cringes even though he knows it won’t do anything and then Jensen’s hit in the face with something that looks like a shower of tiny golden stars and he stumbles backwards.

Jared blinks, trying to clear the stars he can see whenever he shuts his eyes and turns as much as he can given his tether to see Alona dropping down through one of the higher windows, being lowered by Morgan. Danneel is passed through right after her. She lands awkwardly when she hits the floor and Alona tells her she should’ve worn flats, Danneel tells her where she can stick the flats with a few more swear words thrown in and Jared can honestly say he’s never been more pleased to see anyone in his life.

“Jared, I didn’t know you were into the kinky stuff,” Danneel says as she approaches, limping dramatically until Alona rolls her eyes and jams a shoulder under her arm to help her along.

Jared’s so distracted by the girls’ arrival that he doesn’t notice Jensen collect himself and come at him until Jensen hits him, full body, breaking the chain and they go careening across the floor. Jared hears either Danneel or Alona cry out, he’s not sure which, but he can’t really concentrate on that when he feels like he’s been hit by a freight train.

Jared doesn’t have time to collect himself before Jensen is lifting him clear off the ground above his head. Jensen’s intention is clear and Jared’s pretty sure he’s not going to survive being hurled across a warehouse and possibly through the wall no matter how many action movies he’s seen where someone just shakes off something like that.

Jared feels a breeze and someone has him around the waist and has yanked him from Jensen’s grasp. He hits the ground, the wind knocked out of him and wheezes trying to catch a breath only to see Sam above him, hair still swinging from her movement. Jensen spins and launches himself at them, a vacant fury on his features. “Jensen, no!” Jared hears and this time he knows it’s Danneel and he knows that she’s the only one that can help him now.

“Danneel, he’s not seeing me, he’s not seeing any of us!” Jared calls as Sam darts forward and Jensen, not taken by surprise this time, bats her sideways barely breaking stride. He makes out Morgan hitting the floor next to Danneel and sees them lock hands just before Jensen grabs him again, locking arms around his chest and squeezing.

Jared can’t drag air into his compressed lungs and he starts to see black spots right when Jensen’s grip on him eases and then drops altogether. Jared hits the floor and slumps sideways, dragging air in with desperate pulls. He feels hands on him and he flails for a second before a voice gets through, repeating, “It’s me, it’s alright, hey just calm down.”

“Jensen?” Jared manages to get out groggily before he passes out again.



“-on the edge of the city. We’re going to let the police do their thing.”

“Who in the what?” Jared says, sitting up slowly. He’s in a bedroom he doesn’t recognize and Jensen is on the end of the bed with a phone cradled between his cheek and shoulder. Jensen gives him a lopsided grin as Jared rubs at his head, feeling groggy.

“He’s awake. Yeah, I’ll call you when he’s up for that,” Jensen says and tosses his handset aside. He’s still wearing his grin when Jared makes it all the way upright and groans. “You have to be careful. You might not be feeling it right now but you have a couple of cracked ribs.”

“You've got a killer bear hug,” Jared says and Jensen’s face falls. He starts to pull back, making to stand and Jared darts a hand out, snagging his wrist. Even though Jared knows he’s on a hell of a lot of painkillers, he still feels his chest protest the sudden movement. “Hey, no. We’re all okay here,” Jared says, tugging Jensen back insistently.

“I nearly killed you.”

“Nearly being the key word. I’m fine.”

“I just… I don’t know what I would have done,” Jensen says. He curls his free hand around Jared’s that’s holding his wrist and they sit like that for a few moments, endlessly linked.

“Who were you talking to?” Jared asks when he feels Jensen relax, the flight tension leaking slowly out of his body.

“Morgan. Apparently the regular authorities caught up with The Fisher on his way out of the city. He had Milo and the teleporter with him so they couldn’t do anything and were handcuffed and thrown into the back of a regular police car,” Jensen says. “I wish I could have seen that,” he adds wistfully.

“We’ve got a city full of superheroes and the human police catch the worst supervillain we’ve ever had,” Jared says and lays back, hands behind his head. “I find myself not really minding that much.”

“The Fisher’s going to be really useful,” Jensen says. “Used to be, once we stopped any supervillains, if they weren’t killed there wasn’t anywhere that could hold them, until now. A facility is going to be built with The Fisher in the middle of it.”

“Scary,” Jared says and Jensen nods slowly. “Did they find Vision Vixen?” Jared asks.

“Nah, she must have been hidden somewhere before they were caught. She’ll be found eventually.”

“How did you… stop?” Jared asks and Jensen’s face tightens, pained.

“Morgan and Danneel saved the day,” he says. “Morgan blocked whatever Vixen was showing me and Danneel made me see what was really in front of me, that I was hurting you.”

“I guess this needs repeating,” Jared says when he sees Jensen’s tight features. “I’m fine.”

“You certainly are,” Jensen says with a flirty smile and Jared leans up enough to press their mouths together. Jensen deepens the kiss, threading fingers through Jared’s hair and holding him in place. When they break apart, Jensen’s smile actually reaches his eyes instead of being troubled.

“Is this your place?” Jared asks when Jensen’s kissed him thoroughly for a second time. When Jensen nods, Jared smiles. “Can I get a tour?”

“Think you’re up for it?” Jensen asks.

“I think from now on, I’m up for anything,” Jared says and pulls Jensen back down.

Removal from a family unit may be beneficial, allowing the hero to view the world from a unique, almost detached perspective. They are able to make decisions that benefit the many rather than the few. However, some would argue that the elimination of a personal link can cloud judgment as much as focus it, making the hero unable to properly weigh the consequences of their actions and encourage them to take unnecessary risks. Why would they want to save the world when they don’t have anyone to save it for?

- Excerpt from “Behind the Cape - Final Essay by J. Ackles”