Chapter Text
Dean looked at the angel with a confused expression, “What do you mean you can't heal him? I know it's not an emergency, but Cas, come on.” He said roughly, looking desperately towards his brother moaning in pain over a suspected broken leg.
“I mean,” Castiel cleared his throat, “That my 'batteries' as you are accustomed to referring them as, are low.”
Dean stared at him. “This is serious Cas.”
“Dean, look, I can't heal Sam okay?” He said annoyed.
“No, Cas, I meant about your batteries, this hasn't happened since you were getting cut off from heaven.” He said and looked at him. Cas could see the gears in Dean’s brain turning. “No, Dean that is not what is happening here. This isn't heavens doing, but I do feel a strange shift in energy. As if it's pulling...” He rambled off to himself.
Dean stared. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“I can draw no conclusions.” The angel replied. He felt a strange pull on his grace and had the impulse to fly away. “I need to follow the source. I'll be back.” He said confidently and with a flap of his tiring wings he was gone.
Dean sighed and his arms bounced at his side with frustration. “Dammit Cas.” He growled and turned towards his brother, hauling him out the door of their dingy motel room, into the car and towards the nearest hospital.
Castiel landed in an abandoned field with a rarely used road, running parallel to the plot of land, heading towards a city.
“Cardiff.” He said aloud in note, wondering.
“Interesting isn't it brother?” A familiar voice sounded beside him.
He turned to greet his brother. “Balthazar.” He said friendly. “Why are you here?”
“Same reason you are. I followed the pull of energy.” He said looking out to the city. It was dusk and slightly cold, the city sending out beams of light in all directions.
Castiel nodded. “I can feel it. It's strong. Do you know what it is?” He asked, squinting his eyes.
Balthazar remained quiet. “I have an idea.” He said thoughtfully. "It's probably the rift.”
Cas realized his brother’s theory was correct, observing the curving energy patterns. “Yes. That makes sense.”
“You realize that this isn't our area of expertise, it's more alien than supernatural.” Balthazar said with gravity.
“Yes.” Cas replied “Odd.” He continued.
Balthazar hummed in agreement. "I guess we should stay out of this one then."
“It's not really your nature to stay out of things.” Cas commented.
“Yes,” He laughed. “But I have decided this is one situation I will make an exception for.”
“That would be wise; this area isn't affiliated with our kind.” He stated.
“Humans wouldn't know the difference between otherworldly and interplanetary if it hit them in the face. Don't stick around too long, or they might make that mistake.” He said raising his eyebrow and started to walk off.
“Balthazar wait- It's having an effect on my... battery.” He said realizing shortly after he said it that he had borrowed the Winchester's euphemism.
His brother looked at him with a curious look, humor in it. “Batteries?” He inquired.
Cas looked around annoyed. “My grace, my power.” He clarified.
His brother smirked. “You know someday you're going to show up with jeans and a plaid shirt.” He chuckled.
“This isn't funny. I'm having trouble flying.” He said louder.
Balthazar sighed. “Just lay low for awhile alright? Charge your 'batteries' and then you can go back to your precious howler monkeys.” He smiled. “Good luck.” He said and flew away.
Castiel sighed.
He looked up at the stars, enjoying the serenity of the cosmos his father helped to create.
Suddenly a black van approached him at top speed, roaring down the road. It plowed through the field, and stopped about two yards in front of him.
He glared into the headlights, seeing two people in the front seats. The people exited the vehicle with one more coming out the back. All three pulled out guns and surrounded him. The looks on their faces were dull but he could sense they were ready for action.
He sighed. Balthazar had warned him to leave quickly. Oh well. It wasn't as if they could hurt him, unless he lost his grace completely, but his situation wasn't that grave yet. He would play along, stalling until he was able to leave and then he would do so. Besides, if he wasn't hostile, they would probably listen to him.
He noticed they were all staring at him. They were all waiting for him to react but he just stood there, waiting quietly.
He noticed one of the men, the tall one in a large, dark blue overcoat was different than the rest. He stared at him. The man was clearly unaffected under his gaze. He turned to face him and tilted his head to the side, puzzled. His energy was different. His soul was too, he didn't fit in his surroundings. He seemed comfortable though.
“Why are you looking at me?” The man in the dark overcoat asked after a minute. “I expect you speak English.”
Strange, this man had an American accent, even though he was in Wales. The man's hostility reminded him of Dean's when he encountered a monster he hadn't fought before.“Yes, I understand English,” Cas replied. “I mean no harm, I assure you.”
“Okay, but why are you looking at me?” The man, probably the leader, demanded. “I mean I know I’m good looking but…”
“You are different.” He replied cutting him off. The man's face changed slightly. "You hide many things, such as your age."
The man said nothing. Cas remained still, this was obviously a touchy subject.
"I will not tell if you wish me to keep it a secret." The angel insisted.
The mysterious man motioned for his two colleagues to relax. “How can you tell?” He asked.
“I just can.” Castiel replied. He could picture the Winchesters advising him to keep his mouth shut.
The man nodded, accepting that he wasn't getting more info and motioned ever so slightly towards him, his eyes moving to another member of the group.
He felt a sharp pang in his back and realized they had just shot him with a tranquilizer dart. He reached around and pulled it out.
“I assure you, there's no need for that.” Castiel said turning. And more came. They all went in and had no effect as he stood, waiting for them to run out of darts. When they did he sighed and walked towards their van. "They never ask." He mumbled, shaking his head.
He read the lettering on the side. “Torchwood?” He rolled his eyes, a habit he picked up from humans. “Of course it would be you,” and climbed into the black van.
The Torchwood team exchanged dumbfounded looks and hurried to the van excitedly.
The quiet atmosphere of the Torchwood van only lasted about 30 seconds after the team climbed into their car, behind the angel, who chose to sit in front.
“So,” The other thinner man spoke up, “Just curious, but why aren't you trying to kill us right now?” He asked, a bit nervous.
Castiel could tell he was bright. “I have no reason to harm you.” He said, because that was the truth.
“But we've captured you, eh? Usually, things that are captured resist.” The woman said, wanting to learn more. “What are you then?” She asked interrogatively.
“I'd rather not say.” Castiel replied. This wasn't their area of knowledge and this wasn't his. They were researchers, scientists. He belonged in the world with hunters, and monsters, and angels.
“Why don't you want to say?” She demanded with confidence.
“I don't belong with people like you.” He said.
She considered this. “Well what kind of people do you belong with?”
He sighed. How could he explain this without crashing the two delicate worlds? “Humans are advancing in discovery.” He started, picking each word carefully. “I know what Torchwood does, but it's just half of the advancement.”
They all looked lost. Except the odd one, also in the front, the one who was different, he just kept his eyes on the road. Castiel was unsure if he was even listening.
“Look,” he tried to explain, “You can't be know both sides of at once. Now, what you are involved in and what I am involved in, are on opposite sides of a coin. It's just the way things are.”
“Says who?” Asked the woman, her hair a dark color and had a gap in her teeth. Her eyes were green like Dean's.
“Says...” He trailed off, looking above. It was a plane, odd that it was so close to the ground, but he recognized it from somewhere.
The man who was driving looked up too. “Crap.” He muttered under his breath and pulled over into a parking lot where there is enough space for a plane to land.
“What's going on?” The woman asked.
“It’s SHIELD.” The driver said and pulled a gun from a compartment and stuck it in a holster.
Cas remembered the plane now. It had the logo from the extraterrestrial fight in New York that Dean had been so enamored with.
"Can we outrun them?" The quieter man asked from the back.
"No point," Said the man driving, "We might as well meet them now on our own turf."
“Jack, what about him?” The woman asked, pointing to Cas.
Jack, their leader, considered and said, “He’ll stay in the car Gwen, now run ahead with Ianto. And bring guns.” When he saw Castiel’s eyes squint in question he said, “Look, I’m sure you can handle yourself but SHIELD isn't about to let this go. It’s better if you just stay out of sight.” He said and closed the door and locked it.
Cas looked around unsure.
“Trust me!” Jack said back through the window. “I’m not about to give you up!” He winked and ran towards the plane.
“Never even heard of SHIELD,” Ianto muttered when Jack joined him and Gwen.
Castiel decided to sit and wait. Whoever takes him, he'll just deal with whatever they throw at him and after a week at the most, he'll leave. They can't restrain him unless they have hunter friends, which he doubts, and they can't kill him. He would prefer Torchwood though, they're less threatening and Jack seems interesting. He seemed interested in Castiel too.
A short man in a tight suit walked down from the plane with confidence in his stride. “Hello, we're SHIELD, and we're aware you have abducted an unknown species without authorization, who are you to take such action?”
Jack steps forwards. “I’m Captain Jack Harkness. We're Torchwood. That's our job.” He said smugly.
The Agent motioned and an Asian woman, probably late 40's stepped down from the plane. “This is agent May. She's been working for us for, well it's classified.” He smiled and turned towards her, his smile evaporating. “Ever heard of Torchwood?” He asked.
“Never, Sir.” She replied, with a military-esque stance. “And I'm a level 8, as are you.”
“See,” he turned back, “We've never heard of you. That means we have the greater authority.”
Jack chuckled. “I don't think so. See we know who you are, or at least I do, and since you've never heard of us, that makes us more exclusive, i.e. in charge.” He replied stepping towards them.
“Maybe we've never heard of you because you're small and unimportant, being run by amateurs.” The agent snapped back, stepping closer to accept the challenge.
“Or maybe it's because we're subtle, unlike you; exploding around the world and then acting like you're still a big secret. Not even the government knows about us.” He said raising his eyebrows.
“Exactly my point.” The SHIELD agent retorted.
“I meant, only the United Nations knows.” Jack smiled and stepped closer.
The SHIELD agent just stares.”You are very stubborn.. uhh...”
“Jack Harkness,” He introduced himself again with a smile. “What’s yours?”
“Agent Coulson.” He replied.
Agent May made a note of distress from behind.
“May, it’s only my name. Besides, we obviously have more fire power than this little operation.” He commented.
“Don’t be so sure.” Jack cut in.
Do you think we'll ever come to an agreement?” Coulson asked, optimistic.
“Lets discuss it over dinner and find out.” Jack winked.
“Mr. Harkness-”
“Jack.” He cut in.
“Jack,” he corrected. “I don't have time for this.” Coulson said flatly.
“Oh good, then if you're busy, we'll just be on our way.” He spun around and Coulson grabbed his arm.
“You're not going anywhere.” He reflixivley pulled out a gun along with agent May.
So did Jack and the rest of his team. “Let’s see who breaks first.” Jack threatened.
“Jack!” Gwen shouted. “We should work together on this one! Come on man, they have a plane for god's sakes!” Her eyes pleaded with her leader and he gave in.
He looked to Coulson, still holding the gun. “Do you think your team would be willing to work together on this?”
Coulson considered it. “I suppose.” He finally said. “Great.” Jack said, flashing his brilliant smile. “I'm going to drive it up onto the plane; we got tons of technology in here.”
Coulson pressed his ear piece. “FitzSimmons, be prepared to get to work.”
They drove the car up onto the platform and the agents followed inside.
“Love the interior,” Jack commented. “Our place is still better.”
Agent Coulson smiled. "I'd ask where it is but you probably wouldn't tell."
Jack smirked. "Fast learner." He observed.
Coulson stepped forward with more people. “I'd like to introduce Agent Ward, Fitz, Simmons and Skye. They're my team.” He walked around the car once. “Where's the life form?” He asked.
“In the car.” Jack responded.
Coulson nodded. “What's he being restrained with?”
Jack smiled. “Nothing.”
Coulson crossed his arms. “What do you mean nothing, is he unconscious?” He inquired.
“No, he's well aware of his situation. He's just not resisting, but he does say we have no business with him. He's clearly intelligent, maybe even superior to us.”
“Exactly.” Coulson interrupted. “If he's intelligent, then he's probably dangerous and a liability.” His face was stern.
“He's not going to hurt anyone.” Jack said.
Coulson looked to him. “And why are you so sure?”
“Because,” Ianto cut in. “He has no reason too. And if you take him, and berrade him, then he'll have a reason.” He said, proud.
“So are you saying we should leave it all up to you?” Coulson asked.
“Yes.” Jack answered.
Coulson sighed. “Okay, anything regarding testing aside, let’s just get him out and contained.”
Everyone nodded and Jack opened the door. “I'm sorry.” He muttered and pulled him out. Everyone on both teams stared at the man in the trench coat, who met their stares with his piercing eyes as he looked around the room.
“But- but he's just a guy.” Skye said from the spiral staircase. She was confused.
Castiel was led into a room filled with gadgets, and devices. He sighed. Different sides of the coin. They had the science element; but he belonged to the world of myth. He honestly didn't know what they would discover, but they could not know what he was.
The people called Fitz and Simmons followed him in carefully. They closed the doors and Simmons pressed a code into the keypad on the wall and immediately, he was quarantined. He could easily escape, but being near the rift, was draining him and he felt he should preserve his energy.
“I assure you, there's no need for this.” They stared at him. “You couldn't catch anything off me.” He reassured.
“Maybe not,” Fitz said. “But you could still hurt us.”
“I suppose.” He considered. “But when I'm ready, I'll just leave.” He thought aloud.
Simmons had a needle and vile in her hand and prepared his arm to take the sample.
“What do you mean?”
“Well I could escape right now, but you could say 'I'm not up for it.'” Cas said, bored.
The girl nodded and went to her microscope. She shook her head. “I don't know what to make of this.” She said, and Fitz joined her.
"It's unlike anything I've ever seen." Simmons commented, analyzing the blood sample of the angel. "It's mostly human, but, there aren't enough white blood cells. Your body should be in poor health, there are no nutrients either. But you are healthy, yes?" She asked.
Castiel nodded. He truly didn't know what his blood was like, or his DNA for that matter, he never thought of it. No one, angels or hunters, ever had a need for their blood except for spells. Whatever it had in it, it was probably a bad thing that they were in possession of it now.
"Coulson!" She called for assistance. The man walked up to the glass. "You can come in, it's safe."
He entered the room. Castiel respected the man from what he had seen so far. He was nice, and orderly. It reminded Cas of himself, back when he was a good little soldier.
Simmons turned to her boss. "Look, I've never seen anything like this, it's going to take a while even with both of us working on it." She motioned to Fitz.
"Understood." He said and turned to the Torchwood team. "Got any scientists Jack?"
“We all dabble.” Jack answered. “I’m the most knowledgeable though.”
Gwen laughed.
“Sorry honey,” he mocked, “But you know it’s true.”
Ianto walked towards him. "I did a check for security cameras," he whispered.
Jack pretended to look at his watch. "And?"
"Everywhere." Ianto reported.
Jack sighed. "Dammit."
Coulson walked over to him. "They've got all they need. Now, we're going to interrogate him." He turned.
Castiel waited for the doors to open and walked calmly out of the room, with a serious face.
A tall, man, who obviously lived in the gym and no doubt; the battle field, approached him. Agent Ward, he remembered. As he stepped forward, Cas put his hand up, as if to say 'no need,' and followed him.
They came to a door, solid metal.
"Excuse me," Gwen, the one with Dean colored eyes said, "I'll be a part of this as well."
Ward nodded, agitation in his eyes and opened the door for both of them.
It was a small, windowless room, with padding on the walls. No doubt a security camera, or two, hidden somewhere. Castiel sat in a chair on the far wall, scooting towards the table. He wasn't claustrophobic, but this room did make him miss the open sky.
He looked around, bored.
The man sat in the chair opposite him. His face was blank; this obviously wasn't the first time he did this. His demeanor was light at the moment, but Castiel suspected that could change quickly. There was an uneasy darkness in the man.
"Why are you here?" Ward asked. Gwen in the corner, observing.
"I live here." Cas responded.
"Okay." Ward said, he wasn't expecting that. "What do you know of us?"
Cas thought. "I know what SHIELD is and does, as do I Torchwood. I also know that I am not a part of this, as I already explained." He said, calmly.
Gwen came closer. "What did you mean, what you said before, about the two sides of a coin?" She asked.
Cas nodded. "Think of the areas of "nonhuman" beings as a spectrum, like the electromagnetic, if you must. Now there are people like you that know more than the majority of the human population. To others, aliens are just rumors. That's your side of the coin. I, however, among many others, belong on the other side. I have human friends that are the equivalent to you, but they just live on the other side of the spectrum." He said slowly, letting it sink in.
"What is this other side?" Gwen asked thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure how much I'm aloud to say." He replied calmly.
"So you aren't top dog." Ward inferred.
"Me? Well it depends." He said.
Ward looked determined. "On what?"
Cas paused. He had to say this right. "Do you mean me or my species?"
"I meant you, individually." He said slowly, drawing conclusions in his head. "But, since you brought it up, what about your species?" He asked.
"My species are on top, yes. There were different factions of us, but they're gone now. He said, remembering the death of the archangels, all the suffering he had caused, he remembered the Leviathans too.
"So you," Ward said breaking the silence. "You are powerful."
"More powerful than you could comprehend." He replied, sternfully. Gwen snorted in the corner. “Perhaps that was cliché of me to say.” He admitted and she smiled but then brought her face back to inexpressive. Cas thought she looked better with a smile.
"If you're so powerful, why are you still on our plane?" Ward demanded.
He thought. What would Dean do? He's usually better at handling these things because he’s smart and he lies. Dean lies.
"I thought I'd take the tour; learn what this side has on our side. Doesn't seem like much." Cas said smugly. Dean would be proud.
"Okay." Ward seemed to buy it. He turned away slowly and then rammed his hands on the desk. “What is your side? What are you?" He demanded.
Cas didn't flinch. "I can't tell you. I won't tell you." He was repeating himself a lot.
Ward glared at him, and Gwen was in the corner staring.
Cas leaned forward. "But it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." He leaned back and Gwen and Ward looked to each other.
In another room, with a big table, everyone remaining was watching the interrogation on a big screen. At the end they raised their eyes to each other.
"Did he just give us a hint?" Skye asked.
"My question is why." May commented.
"Where does his true loyalty lie?" Coulson asked. "Is it with his 'side’ of the spectrum, his species, or humans in general?”
“What makes you say he cares about humans at all?" May asked.
"Think. He isn't trying to kill us, or even insult us. He’s using us to get information, you heard him! He even allowed having his blood drawn!" Jack exclaimed. This man was no threat unless pushed.
"We still don't know what he is." Coulson argued. "And honestly, he looks determined not to spill. I don't know if we can make him."
May spoke. "He doesn't look that tough."
"Looks can be deceiving." Jack said, thinking.
Ianto got the feeling that Jack knew more, he decided to ask later.
"We should be brainstorming." Skye said. "Since the truth serum was a big lie." She smiled and looked to Coulson, who just shook his head.
"I have matters to attend to." He said. "You guys work together on this."
It had been a few hours since Gwen and Agent Ward had left the room. Castiel assumed they were sleeping by now. He felt something in his head, crap, someone was coming. He stood up and walked back a couple feet, an angel blade, now in his hand. There was a flap of wings and Cas relaxed.
"Cassie dear, what have you gotten yourself into?" Balthazar smiled. "Put that away now, I'm just here to talk and maybe get you out if you play nice.” He said smiling. “You brought me back, I do owe you a favor." He clarified.
"I think I'll stay." Cas said quietly.
Balthazar frowned. "Why?"
"Look, what if we told them, what if someone knew both worlds, we could learn so much." He said, imagining a world in harmony.
"Cas, it would be chaos. No one is supposed to know that much-"
"But we do." Cas replied, the tone resembled a child’s.
"We're the exception. We were here first, well second, but we have had more time to adjust. Besides, our home is in unorganized mayhem right now. You really think adding a whole new side to reality would be healthy? Besides, the hunters and every other wretched creature would have a meltdown." Balthazar concluded.
Castiel sighed. "You're right, brother. I guess I just feel compelled to fix it."
Balthazar sighed. "It'll fix itself eventually. In a couple centuries, maybe the fusion of two worlds will happen on its own."
Cas nodded. "Why did you come? I know to get me out, but why now? You know I can just leave in a week. The plane is flying away from the rift, it should be fine."
Balthazar sat down. "Your howler monkeys sent me."
Cas smiled and looked at his hands. "Of course they did."
"Well they did after the welcoming party, which consisted of Dean punching me and Sam laughing after Dean hurt his hand, which I didn't fix by the way. He knows what punching one of us will do." He smiled.
"I'll see them soon." Cas said. He liked having friends. Human friends especially, they were fascinating.
"I am not your carrier pigeon, Castiel." He sighed. "But just this once," he said. "And if the whiny Winchester gets his other hand broken, I'm not paying the hospital bills."
Cas stood up. "Thank you, brother. I'll be out soon."
"Of course." Balthazar said, and vanished with a dramatic snap. Cas sat down again and waited.
After the Torchwood team were assigned bunks, and everyone was asleep, Jack snuck out. He had memorized the plane's schematics already. He snuck down the halls in a white tee-shirt and sweatpants, his bare feet not making a sound. He reached the door and took out a device that picks locks. He laughed, he'd stolen that years ago and was glad he found it in the back of the van.
He opened the door slightly, and saw the man sitting quietly. Castiel's head perked up immediately. Jack stuck another device through the crack in the door, careful to hide his face and disabled the camera's. He loved this thing. So many settings…
"What was that?" The man in the tan trench coat asked.
"Disabled the cameras." He explained coolly.
"Oh." Cas said remembering his brother’s visit in the camera’s line of view. It's not like Balthazar had visible wings or had said anything revealing, it should be fine.
Jack sat down. "You said I was different. Do you know who I am?" He inquired.
"Yes." Cas said after a minute. "I have heard of you, I just didn't know if you were still on Earth."
"Wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He said. "But seriously, do you know specifically."
"Yes. I know you canno-"
"Shh! Do you know about my.. friend?" Jack asked eagerly, cutting him off.
"Which one..?"
"Who do you think? The one with the blue box, the most amazing man you’ll ever meet." He said with a sparkle in his eye.
Castiel doubted he was the most amazing man, but he would be a close second. As his thoughts went back to his current situation he sat up and looked back towards the man. "We know of him, yes. But he has enough to do without dealing with all of us." Castiel said. It was refreshing to talk to someone about confidential material and not be on guard.
Jack scooted closer. "Don't you think he'd love it? All this,” He waved his hands around. “You and your kind, your ‘side.’"
Castiel thought. "I think he would feel sad about everything that’s happened, and frustrated that he could not fix all the things that went wrong with us. If he stumbles upon one of ours, sure, we'll explain. But I don't think he has a clue. We've stayed away." Castiel finished. "Why do you ask?"
Jack stood up. "I just wanted to know how much you know."
Cas looked to him. "Do you know what I am?" He watched him.
"I have an idea." Jack said and turned to leave.
"Wait, Jack," Cas called. "Could you delete the camera footage from a few minutes ago? I had a visitor."
"Should I be jealous?" Jack joked, his smile wide.
"I do not understand why you would be jealous of my brother." Castiel replied, serious. "Was that a joke? Dean tells me I am not good with jokes."
Jack smiled anyways. "It was a joke, but the real one is how cute you are. And sure, consider it deleted." He winked.
Castiel thanked him as he watched the odd man leave.
All the SHEILD agents gathered together in the viewing room the following morning to watch the overnight footage of their new guest. Torchwood members were not allowed in.
“It’s so weird,” Simmons commented. “He just sits there, not moving, all night.”
“Wait a minute,” Coulson backed up the footage. “This recording is looped.” He looked to Skye who yawned. He replayed it and when the screen cut for a split second she nodded.
“That wasn't a glitch,” she observed. “Someone has tampered with this.” She ran to the controls and started editing, trying to find the missing footage.
“What does he not want us to see?” Ward asked.
“I don’t think it was him.” Skye said. “He seems like he’s got nothing to hide besides ‘his side.’ And there’s no way he could’ve gotten out.”
“It was a Torchwood member then.” May said.
Coulson looked to Ward. “I don’t need to ask you if you locked the door after you and Mrs. Cooper interrogated him, do I?”
Ward shook his head, insulted. “I always lock the door. I’d be stupid not to.”
Coulson nodded and looked to Skye. “How long until you can uncover the missing footage?” He asked.
Skye ran her hand through her hair. “Whoever it was, they know their way around the computer. The work is good, really good, but I’ll get it eventually.” She grabbed the laptop and headed over to the couch in the other room. “I finally have a challenge!” She cheered.
Ward rolled his eyes and FitzSimmons laughed.
“In the meantime, I think we should interview our suspects. Maybe Skye won’t have to retrieve footage in order to figure out what happened last night.” Coulson said.
“Sir,” May said. “I think we only have one suspect. Jack is the leader and if it was all of them, he knows the most of it. Besides, he’s the most charismatic of the both of them.” She concluded.
“Still.” Coulson argued. “I want all three of them interviewed. May, Ward, is that understood?” He asked.
“Yes Sir.” They replied simultaneously.
“Be discreet if you can.” He said before they left. “Ah, who am I kidding, Ward couldn’t be discreet if he tried.” Coulson chuckled at his own joke.
Ward talked to Ianto, seeing that May refused to believe it was him. Ward came to those same conclusions and looked for May and Gwen.
He found them doing target practice. He had to admit, Gwen was good.
“Mind if I join you ladies?” He asked.
“Come on in.” Gwen said and continued shooting.
“You have good aim.” Ward observed.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “I used to be a police officer.” She commented. “I guess my bullets count for a hell of a lot more now, eh?” She turned back to her targets.
Ward joined May. “She doesn't seem very close minded. She seems friendly.” Ward said.
“That’s what I got too, but a job like that doesn't go without secrets.” May said and turned to Gwen.
“What’s up with your leader, Jack?” She asked.
Gwen just laughed. “There are so many things up with that man.” She sounded frustrated. “He barely tells us anything. It’s sad.” She says.
“Was he behaving weird this morning?” May asks.
“Not anymore than usual.” She stared. “Why? What has Jack done now?” She demanded.
Ward huffed a laugh. “You sound like his mother.”
“God forbid.” She said. “Now, what has he done?” She demanded.
“It’s more something that we think he’s done.” May confided.
“Yeah.” Gwen said quietly. “There never is a definite answer when it comes to Jack.” She turned back to her guns and kept shooting.
Ward headed upstairs. They passed Jack in the corridor and told him to come with them.
They brought him to Coulson who was sitting with Skye on the couch. Jack plopped down and sat comfortably.
“Jack it has come to our attention that you riddled with the security camera footage of the interrogation room last night.” Coulson accused. “Please explain why.”
Jack just stared. “Meddling with footage? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb with us Captain.” Ward said, putting fake emphasis on captain.
“Really.” He assured. “I went to my quarters last night, like you told us too, went to bed and woke up this morning.”
“Uh huh.” Ward said. “You know that each security camera starts and ends at the same time right?”
“I would imagine that’s the most efficient way.” Jack commented, innocently.
“Yeah.” Ward said rolling his eyes. “But we can see how long from start to the glitch to find what time it occurred. We can also use the glitch in the cameras to find which ones were disabled and in what order. From there, we can deduce the route of the culprit.” Ward said with a smile.
Jacks face did not change.
“The route started from and looped back to your quarters.” May jumped in. “And we interviewed your colleagues who seem to have no motive and no suspicious behavior.” She knelt next to him. “What do you have to hide Jack?” She questioned.
“Plenty. But I didn't hack anything.” Jack lied smoothly.
“You know Skye is an excellent hacker. I’m positive we’ll be able to see whatever you tried to cover up. With our cameras, nothing is really ever gone.” Coulson insisted.
Jack sighed. “It was worth a shot.” Jack responded, shrugging his shoulders. “The topic would have come up one way or another.” Coulson gave him a wary look and then turned back to the laptop. “Just don’t sign me up for the Avengers’ Initiative.” Jack said under his breath. “Actually scratch that, Captain America has a fine ass and Tony Stark would be fun in bed.”
Skye laughed and Jack winked. Simmons held back a smile and May stared. Coulson never took his eyes off the laptop screen.
“Ooh what about Bruce Banner in bed? Huh?” Jack went on, talking to himself. “I wonder if the other guy would be open to a-“
“Enough.” Coulson ordered. “You may share your adoring thoughts about Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers with Skye later.”
Skye laughed and raised her eyebrows at Jack playfully. He smiled and looked back at Coulson.
“We have work to do, Mr. Harkness. Please leave and make yourself useful.”
Skye uncovered the footage hours later and brought it up on screen. This time, the Torchwood members were invited. Jack was relieved to see that Skye had only been able to recover the footage with Castiel's brother, he could'nt risk his identity being exposed. Or his favorite doctor's for that matter.
When the angelic visitor appeared on screen everyone was astounded.
“Have we seen anyone do that?” May asked. "Just appear out of thin air?"
“No.” Coulson reported. “The Asgardians have a similar way of transport but it’s not the same.”
“I haven’t seen it either.” Jack said. “And that’s saying something.”
“Wait.” Gwen yelled. “Go back; he had something in his hand. Yes, that!”
“What is that?” Ward asked.
“Looks like a silver sword.” Fitz observed.
“He didn’t have any weapons on him, where did it come from?” Jack wondered aloud. He felt a bit like a traitor, joining the investigation of his new friend, someone who knew his secret, but he would join in as long as his own appearance wasn't known.
“It looks like it came from up his sleeve. Odd.” Coulson noted.
They continued watching and paused at the end.
“Notes? Comments?” Coulson asked.
“Well for starters,” Jack smiled. “I’m not the only one who visited him last night.” His laugh was silenced by Gwen’s glare.
"Which I will recover eventually." Skye promised. Jack wasn't so sure.
“Well we got his name, or nickname; Cassie.” Ward said.
“He called that man, Balthazar, his brother.” May reported. “They don’t look remotely alike.” She said.
“Oh,” Jack said. “He said the rift was draining his power! That’s why he said he was saving his energy!”
“That damn rift.” Gwen chortled and shook her head.
“He said something about hunters.” Ianto noticed.
“Wait, who were the people Balthazar mentioned? Sam and Dean?” Coulson interrupted.
“Winchester, I think was the last name.” Gwen said. “Cassie seems fond of them.”
Skye pulled up Google. “Worth a shot,” she shrugged.
“Whoa.” Fitz noted as they scanned through the results of her search.
They were real alright, there were warrants and police arrests, news paper articles, wanted pictures, and reward posters. Skye pulled up a video from 2006.
“Hello my name is Dean Winchester. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women.” The man smirked.
They stopped it there.
“He seems fun.” Jack noted.
“Apparently no jail has been able to hold them for over a week.” Skye reported. “They always manage to escape.” She pulled up a video of them robbing a store and murdering all the people inside which they apparently uploaded purposefully.
“Still seem fun?” Ward accused, condescendingly. Jack ignored him.
An article Skye found proclaimed them dead. Actually there were several articles throughout the years that pronounced the two brothers dead.
“These guys are mastermind criminals. Cassie is nice guy, yeah? So what’s he doing with them?” Gwen asked.
“Looks can be deceiving.” Ward replied. “Besides, it’s obvious that Cassie is deep in the criminal world. These types of people, you can’t know for sure what the truth really is.”
“We should talk to him.” Coulson noted.
May scoffed. “We tried that. I think we should threaten him, or at least use some more severe tactics of gaining information.”
Jack frowned. “He hasn't done anything wrong, we're not going to torture him!”
“No one said anything about torture.” Coulson yelled. “No one is torturing anyone.” He repeated, in a calmer demeanor after a moment.
“Let’s go ask him about his friends.” Ward suggested to Gwen and gestured towards the exit.
“Sounds good,” Gwen replied and stood up.
Jack blocked the door. “I’m coming too.”
“Then maybe I should come as well.” May said behind him.
“Look, there’s no need okay?” Jack assured.
Skye stood up. “Obviously there are tensions between you bossy-pants people. May?” she asked. “I’ll go with them.”
The agent considered it and nodded. Skye smiled and ushered the group out of the door, patting her phone in her pocket.
All four of the more or less humans entered the room, although it was more like a cell. The man looked as if he hadn't moved and he stared at them as they filed in. He said nothing.
“Hello, again.” Ward said coldly.
“Hello Ward.” Castiel replied. “Jack, Gwen…” He acknowledged. He turned towards the last girl. Something stood out about her, she wasn't human either. He should consult Balthazar about this later.
“Skye.” She said as she introduced herself.
He nodded a hello to her as Ward pulled up a chair to the cold desk in front of him, as the others leaned against the wall behind the agent.
“We found some interesting footage this morning.” Ward blurted out. “A friend- no, a brother of yours decided to stop by as I remember.” This seemed not to matter to the mysterious man sitting in front of him, so he decided to use a different approach. “He mentioned some friends of yours, and let me tell you, the Winchesters have quite the rap sheet.”
Castiel looked up. This seemed to grab his attention. Ward continued.
“I can’t fathom as to why you’re hanging around with these guys because from what I've seen, you’re a nice guy Cassie. These men have serious offences charged on them; murder, attempted murder, break-ins, theft, multiple homicides, credit card fraud, discharge unlicensed firearms, do you want me to continue?” Ward hissed.
The man slowly met Wards eyes and Ward went on. “I could understand you protecting the younger one, Sam. Apparently he was enrolled in Stanford, had a girlfriend and he just got swept up in all this.” Ward got up and began to circle him. “Really, anyone can see this is his older brother’s fault. His list of sins somehow succeeds Sam’s.” The trench coated man looked up and Ward knew he had found the pressure point.
His eyes followed him around the room as he continued to speak. “There’s no reason for you to protect him, he’s scum, just another low life that deserves worse than hell, Dean Winchester is one of the worst excuses for a human I've-”
Ward was cut off as Castiel grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. Ward was clawing at him in attempt to escape.
“He is the best excuse for a human you will ever know the likes of.” He proclaimed, his voice dark.
Gwen, Skye and Jack rushed over but Cas knew that he had the upper hand. They were all yelling but suddenly only Jack was near him.
“Let him go.” He said soothingly. “This isn't going to help anyone or anything.”
The angel relaxed and let go of Ward, causing the agent to drop to the ground gasping for air. Ward jumped back up and punched the man but it had no effect and caused damage to his hand. Skye pulled him to the opposite side of the room with Gwen’s help. Jack remained near him.
“Who are you?” Ward growled in short breath.
The trench coated man sat back down in his chair. “I am Castiel.” He said with power and an authoritative demeanor. “And I would advise you not to speak ill of Dean Winchester in my presence, for your sake.”
Ward gaped and Jack chuckled as he took the chair opposite of his new best friend.