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Sam now thought he was pretty good at spotting a trickster at first glance.
So when a high school teacher found himself speaking with a twelve-year-old's voice, or when a career man found himself showered with pride flags from all sides, Sam knew a trickster had made his appearance.
"At least we know how to take care of him." Dean held up an oak stake, making Sam nod. "Come on, what is up with you?" Dean asked.
"Why didn't he target us?" Sam asked, thinking aloud, as they entered the home of the supposed Trickster. "I mean, the other one did, didn’t he?"
"I'm glad he didn't. Baby didn't deserve what that monster did to her." Dean almost growled at the thought of what had happened to his car, making Sam sigh sadly at the almost pathological bond that existed between Dean and his car.
Then, he raised a hand to his mouth, nodding at Dean toward the door in front of them, which was wide open, and where giggles were coming from. A child's giggles.
"He kidnapped a kid now?" Dean asked, his eyes blazing with protectiveness.
Sam shook his head, walking ahead of Dean with the loaded oakum pistol, an extra precaution for the fight against the Trickster, when the two entered the room.
A young boy with messy black hair was watching television, clearly magical, fluttering in front of him while he ate M&Ms.
"Oh, look at them!" The boy looked delighted.
"Wait, you're the Trickster?" Dean asked.
The boy turned, clicking his tongue. "Oh, the Winchester brothers, right? Yeah, of course, the best hunters around, man."
Dean and Sam looked at each other in confusion, before looking at the boy.
“Do you know us?” they asked, in perfect sync.
“Well, sure!” The boy nodded. “You know, you actually almost killed my adoptive dad once.”
Dean and Sam just looked at him in confusion.
“The college Trickster?” The boy suggested at their empty expressions. “By the way, call me Harry.”
“You hurt innocent people,” Dean said, raising the wooden stake and pointing it at Harry.
“Innocent people?” Harry raised an eyebrow. “A child bully, a racist homophobe, and then the molester. And, by the way, I filed a police report first. Now, theoretically, there are services to make sure these people are stopped. You should have seen in the old days, how disgusting it was.”
Sam blinked in confusion. “You reported them to the police and then punished them?”
“Dad sometimes chooses murder, I prefer humiliation.” Harry shrugged. “Besides, aside from the molester, who couldn't use double entendres in front of anyone and practically confessed to being a molester in front of bigger fish than him, no one even lost their job.”
“Did they fire the molester?” Sam asked again.
“Hard not to, I mean, he was confessing, even denying the big fish's several attempts to cover it up.” Harry seemed proud of that little magic trick, and, at least from his perspective, Sam found it incredible too.
“You're hurting them,” Dean said.
“What? I was just lecturing.” Harry shrugged. “If you're mean in private, I can become your public problem.”
Sam almost laughed, but Dean must have been tired of waiting for the trickster to have fun, because he took the gun from Sam and pointed it at Harry, firing six shots, one after the other.
Harry stopped the bullets with a snap of his fingers, saying, “Uh, brilliant idea, using wooden bullets, I mean. More maneuverability, less closeness. Sure, it doesn't make any difference with a trickster, but you score for style, buddy.” Then he pouted. “Sure, you just tried to kill me, which is rude, if I'm being honest.”
“You're a monster,” Dean said. “We hunt monsters.”
“You hurt me.” Harry continued, as if Dean hadn't even spoken. “And my being a monster or not doesn't justify an attempted murder. Luckily for you, I'm a good and merciful Trickster, so you're free to go.”
Harry smiled. “I hope you like Rumi, Mia, and Zoey. Then tell me who your favorite is!”
“What do you mean…?” Dean asked, but before he could finish, Harry snapped his fingers, sending them into a remote field, Baby by their side.
***
“Are you having fun?”
Harry smiled, turning to see Gabriel sitting next to him. “They hurt me emotionally. I’m trying to turn this negative experience into something constructive.”
“They tried to kill you, and now you’re making them sing.” Gabriel corrected Harry, turning to see Sam and Dean singing an AC/DC song to take down vampires. “K-POP Demon Hunters was just for demons.” He said, as if Harry didn't already know.
“I know,” Harry said anyway. “When they need to kill demons, they have to sing K-pop. For other monsters, anything goes.”
“It's revenge,” Gabriel said, raising an eyebrow.
“It's rehabilitation,” Harry announced. “And it works, so I don't know what they're complaining about. In fact, the more confident they are when they sing, the more I heal their wounds, so…”
“It'll attract attention,” Gabriel commented.
“They've attracted yours,” Harry pointed out. “Why? They're not the first hunters you've met. You don't make everyone think you're actually dead.”
“I just hope it's not necessary, but I know who they are and what they're destined to do.” Gabriel replied, cryptic as only he could be.
“Am I not old enough to know, Gabe?” Harry asked. “You told me other things.”
“Okay.” Gabriel sighed. “I'll tell you everything.”