Cast & characters: (In this Chapter)
Emma stone as Diana Armstrong (Smiley)
Nina Dobrev as Rachel Connor (Ray)
Chyler Leigh as Albie Mannors
Emma Watson as Ines Barden
Troian Bellisario as Marta Stuart (Marty)
Phoebe Tonkin as Aria Felton
Leighton Meester as Atiha Rainart (Atie)
Karen Gillan as Aline James
Holland Roden as Vildan Elliot (Villy)
Kristen Stewart as Emily Shelton (Ems)
Blake Lively as Sara Donnell
Emilie de Ravin as Sophia Parsons (Sophie)
Bruce Wayne
Steve Rogers
Tony Stark
Thor
Natasha Kerensky
Bruce Banner
Clint Barton
Dean Winchester
Sam Winchester
Nick Fury
Meredith Grey
Harry Potter
Seth Cohen
Brooke Davis
Caroline Forbes
Haley James
Lorelai Gilmore
Effy Stonem
Lydia Martin
We think the world is complicated. We sit, watching TV, reading books, feeding our already stuffed bellies, and still think the world is complicated. We worry about school, politics, poverty, government, and money. Do we know what's really out there? No, we don't. And, perhaps, it's best. Perhaps, us finding out will be too much to handle, too destructive, too chaotic. Well, here's a story, a story about people who were your casual classmates, cheerleaders, hell, tour guides. People, friends, who changed and saved the world without even intending to do so. Read, and decide; is it worth knowing the truth?
One sunny day in London, England. The weather was quite warm considering the UK and no clouds were in sight. The perfect day for shopping. At least from a girl's point of view.
Well, one group of girls thought so. 12 girls were walking down Oxford street, trying to keep up with each other, which was proving to be a little difficult due the amount of people walking down the street.
The group, like I said, consisted of 12 beautiful girls. The first one a lively-looking young lady with flaming blonde hair and green eyes. She was ahead of everyone else, waiting impatiently.
"Come on, I'm starving," Smiley (well, Diana, but no one called her that) announced for about the 10th time in an hour.
"So am I," the next girl, Rachel (everyone called her Ray) with dark, wavy brown hair with dark pink highlights and dark brown eyes agreed. She stepped next to Smiley, leaning her head on her friend's shoulder. "I hate that it's so warm."
"It's summer, Ray", Smiley said in amusement before turning to the others.
"I'm here!" Albie (people called her Bee), the next girl, with brown hair and freckles on her face said as she reached them. She had her long hair up in a ponytail. "Where do you guys wanna eat?"
"Whatever, as long as there's pizza", Rachel grinned.
The next girl to join them was named Ines. She had light brown hair and brown eyes and she gave the others an energetic smile. "I made us an reservation at this one pizza place just across the street."
"Brilliant," Smiley said, looking at the rest of the group, far behind in the crowd.
"GUYS, COME ON!" she shouted. It wasn't their fault, stupid people front of them were slowing them down, but still.
"Smiley, stop yelling, people are looking", Marty, the girl with long, brown hair and bags in both hands said as she reached them.
Aria pushed past two people and reached the group, smirking. She had brown hair as well, and her skin was gorgeously bronze-tanned - which the others always complained about.
"Excuse me, sorry!" the next girl was Atie, and she was trying to balance two packages she had in her hands. She'd bought a lot of fancy clothes that the salesclerks had packed in packages instead of bags. She was another one of the girls with brown, long hair. She let out a shout as her packages almost fell to the ground.
"Shit, shit, shit! Can we just go eat?"
"Watch out with those. You already lost the receipt, you can't return them." Aline, a girl with red hair said as she joined them. She was a tad taller than everyone else, but it could be because she was wearing high heels.
"Yeah," Atie said, handing one of the packages to Albie.
The next girl to join had caramel hair and a big smile on her face. She was Villy, and she looked just about the only one who the heat hasn't defeated yet. "Everyone having fun?"
Everyone just groaned in response.
"It is strangely hot...", Emily (Just call her Ems) said as she joined them. "Never been this hot in England before, I reckon.."
"Yeah, it's the apocalypse", Smiley said in annoyment. "Or it will be if you don't get me something to eat ASAP! Don't come between me and my food!"
Sara was the second to last to join them, she had blonde hair - which was tied up in a bun- grey eyes and was tall like Aline. She was pulling the last girl by her hand. She was Sophie, and she also had blonde hair and blue eyes. Quite tiny, but beautiful, just like the rest.
Soon, the girls were in a restaurant which, yes, served pizza. They took up the biggest table and sat down in exhaustion.
You might be wondering how a group like this came together. No, it's not a school reunion or some lame sorority. They had met online, over a site named fanpop. Together, they'd formed a group to "obsess" over this one couple from a TV-show, and eventually, they'd became friends for real. Next thing they know is they're in London for summer vacation together.
Some of them had actually brought a few of their friends with them.
Rachel had brought her two best friends, Harry Potter and Meredith Grey. Harry was a local British guy who had black hair and glasses and this strange scar on his forehead. He was smart, funny and kind of adventurous. Meredith was a beautiful woman with blonde-ish hair. She was a surgeon at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital, but she'd decided to come with Rachel and Harry on vacation anyway.
Albie had brought her best friend, Seth Cohen, who was a black-haired sarcastic guy from California, and he had brought his own friend, Jackson Avery, who also worked with Meredith at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Secretly Albie thought Jackson was pretty hot.
Marty had also brought her best friend, Brooke Davis. She was a lively, beautiful girl with dark brown hair and a cute smile. She was a fashion designer.
Atie had brought her own best friend, Haley James, who actually knew Brooke as well. They were both from Tree Hill, North Carolina. Haley was studying to become a teacher and she had blonde-ish hair and she was really calm and smart.
Aline had actually brought her mother, Lorelai Gilmore. Well, Lorelai had insisted on coming along, actually. She loved London and she loved shopping. Besides, she was the coolest mom ever. She looked almost nothing like her daughter, though. She had black hair and a lovely smile. The only thing the mother & daughter really had in common look-wise was their eyes. Personality wise, they were quite alike.
Aline had also brought her friend, Jess Mariano. He was a cute guy with messy, black hair and a bad attitude. He was sarcastic and difficult, but everyone in the group loved him anyway. Except Lorelai. She had a hard time approving him.
Villy was the last one to bring a friend along. She brought Effy Stonem, her best friend. She had dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was a girl from the wild side, to put it bluntly, but she and Villy had been friends forever, and nothing was gonna change that.
"We're here," Meredith announced as the just mentioned friends joined the girls. "Why do you all look so tired?"
"Not everyone is used to standing for 10 hours in this heat, Mer," Rachel yawned.
"Oh", Meredith said and turned to the others, her eyes widening. "What the hell is that?"
There was a sword on the table, and Marty was examining it.
"I bought this at this cool antique store a few shops back", she said. "Isn't it cool?"
"It looks.. old", Effy said in amusement. "What are you gonna do with that?"
"I don't know, but it's cool", Marty smirked and put the small-sized sword in her bag.
"The things you buy, Marty", Aria chuckled and opened her bag. "Where did I put my wallet..."
Aline turned to look at Jess and smiled. "So, you liking London?"
"Well, it doesn't beat New York, but..", Jess gave her a smile. "I think I can live with it."
Albie heard them, and broke into a smile. Needless to say, she wanted Aline and Jess together. Mostly because she wanted Aline to be happy, but also because she could really sense something between them.
Atie was checking the clothes she'd bought, and smiled. "I'm gonna look super hot in these."
"And you'll look even hotter if you promise to lend me some of those every now and then", Rachel smirked.
"Maybe if you say please."
After the gang was done eating, it was time to get back to the hotel. Marty and Rachel were running to get a couple of cabs-since they're a huge lot- when Marty suddenly paused.
"What?" Rachel narrowed her eyes, looking around. "What?"
"Do you see that guy over there?" Marty whispered, gesturing across the street, and when Rachel looked, she nodded. There indeed was a man, about in his thirties, staring at them.
"What's the hold up?" Ems asked in confusion as she walked over to the two girls, gesturing at a cab that had just stopped in front of them.
"Look at that guy," Rachel hissed, and Ems turned to look at the guy across the street. Somehow, with such crowd walking the street, it was easy to spot that one man. He looked extremely creepy. And worst of all, he was still looking at them.
Ines had noticed the guy too, and was tugging at Atie's hand.
"What?" she asked in annoyment.
"Is it me or is that guy looking at us?"
Jackson was the one to answer as he locked eyes with the guy across the street. "Yeah, he is."
"I sure hope he's looking at you girls instead of us, very handsome guys, because that'd just be out of my area, despite what the writings on my locker say." Seth commented.
"Shut up", Albie chuckled.
"It's rude to stare." Lorelai muttered, and before anyone else had time to say anything, another guy had appeared next to the creepy one, and caught him by surprise, knocking him out with a single punch. The guy was wearing all black clothes, and it looked like some sort of a body armor.
"You're coming with us," suddenly a few others guys and one woman had appeared among the group, and the black-suited man joined them as well.
"What?" Aria shouted, but apparently the newcomers didn't have time to explain, for they released some anesthesia gas, waiting with masks on their mouths and noses as all the girls (and Jess, Jackson & Seth) collapsed to the ground.
"That was kind of harsh," one of the men, a guy with a blue-white-red suit said.
"It needed to be done. Let's get out of here before he wakes up." The man in the black suit said. And so together they moved all the girls & guys to an alley - and none of the passersby's even took a second glance.
**************************************
When the girls and guys awoke, it was already dark. And they appeared to be in somewhat of a forest, in a clearing in front of a small hut, no one else around, but them.
"Where the hell are we?" asked Sara, trying to sit up. It was dark, but everything was visible, as if the moonlight was brightened.
"What happened?" Aria asked, standing up. "These… dicks dosed us and now we're in the middle of God knows what."
"Were we Robbed?" Harry asked.
"I don't think they'd do that in the middle of a crowded street in London. Whatever this is, we better get out of here." Said Ray.
"How?" Smiley asked "We don’t even know where are we."
"I don’t know, we'll find a way, let's go before it gets any worse."
She started running, the rest behind her. A few moments, and Ray hit a wall no one could see. The rest stopped.
"Ray!" shouted Smiley, helping her up with Marty "are you okay?"
"Yeah," she massaged her forehead, the place she hit "I'm fi-"
"Don't even try." A calm, but stern and deep voice said behind them. Everyone turned around, and saw the man wearing all black that punched the consciousness out of that creepy one who appeared to be a total pedophilic rapist.
All of the girls stopped breathing. The man, other than being scary, was gorgeous. He had waxed back, pitch black hair, wide jaw line, and deep, brown eyes. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore, or a mask. Instead, he was in a black suit (no tie) which made his figure look just so very perfect.
"Who are you?" asked Jess, since apparently none of the girls can speak.
"My name is Bruce Wayne."
"The multi-billionaire?"
Bruce examines Jess for a second. "New Yorker?"
"Yeah."
"Where are we?" Ray seemed to be the first one to gain her breath.
"Safe." Bruce looked at her. "This is an invisible barrier. Unless we permit it, no one can go in… or out."
"What do you want from us?"
"What do we want? We just saved you."
"You just drugged us and took us to this… invisible land of What The Fuck." said Smiley.
Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, about that…" he notices Ray, still massaging her forehead, she hit the barrier pretty had. He approaches her.
"Are you hurt?" it didn't sound like a question at all when he asked that, but it was.
"Now you're trying to help?"
"I told you, we just saved your asses."
"Who's 'we'?"
Bruce looks at her for a few moments, then walks away, back in the direction of the hut.
"Hey!" shouted Jackson "Where are you going?"
Bruce stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Follow me and I'll show you." He continued walking.
"What the hell?" asked Villy
"I think we should follow him." said Ray.
"And why the hell would we do that?"
"I don't know, there's no way out. What else?"
And, in silence, they all followed.
Bruce was stepping inside the hut, and everyone behind him paused. And, when he noticed, he did too, and faced them.
"Changed your mind?"
"No." said Lorelai "Just…" she gestured to the hut. It looked so tiny, it could barely fit two people, talk about over twenty.
"Trust me, you'll be surprised by what you can find." And, just as he turned around, Smiley noticed a hint of a smile coming from him to Ray's direction. She didn't notice that, but Smiley did. And that made her smirk a little.
When they went inside, the world didn't make sense anymore. It was huge, gigantic. Maybe the size of five Oxford streets together. The walls were round, pearl white and silver, five floors, they were on the first. They were on a round platform against the wall, with a fence to lean on when you look at the floor below, at which people were actually sitting on desks and working on computers-advanced computers, like workers in a company. The place looked like a modernized, futuristic space base.
"Here," Bruce gestured them towards a huge elevator that opened a few feet away from them. Slowly, they all stepped in, Bruce behind them. He pressed the 'G' button, and they reached the ground floor in a second.
When the elevator doors opened, another man wearing all black, bald, brown skin, and one eye covered, was standing there.
"They're here, good. What's with the extras?" he eyed Harry and Jess.
"They were all together. Take all or take none."
"Shouldn't have drugged them."
"It needed to be done, and you know it, Nick."
The one who's apparently Nick looked at them, then back at Bruce.
"We'll talk later." He looked at them again. "Please, excuse my companions."
He stepped out of the way, so Bruce and everyone else walk out.
"Have a seat." He gestured towards a big, round table with nineteen seats. Five of which were occupied by the ones who they saw earlier, except the creepy guy wasn't there.
"Wait… three, six…. nineteen seats. They're five, you're two. That leaves twelve… minus the people we brought and we're twelve. You knew we were coming?" asked Marty.
"I think your friends should wait outside."
"I'm sure they can-" Albie was cut off by a loud crack. The girls looked around, and realized it's just the twelve of them.
"What the hell? Where are they?" shouted Aline.
"They were teleported to the last floor, they'll be fine."
"That's my mother over there!"
"I said, they'll be fine. You can trust us."
"How? We don't even know what's going on!"
"Sit, and we'll tell you."
A few moments of silence, and they joined the rest. at the big, round table.
"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. My name is Nick Fury, I'm the director." said Nick.
"What's S.H.I.E.L.D?" asked Sara.
"It's a secret law-enforcement agency. We have a new case, here."
"Yeah? And what's that?" asked Aria.
"You."
"Us? What?"
"Let's just say… you started something big. Really big. And people are after you, you and the whole world. We're here to protect you."
"You're welcome." Said one of the men who were sitting on the table. He was attractive, too. (All of them were) He had waxed up, brown hair, a fine, buffed figure, small, shaved beard, and a sexy smile.
"What did we start, exactly?"
"The Apocalypse." Said another man at the table. He had long, blond hair, blue eyes, a very deep voice, and a muscular figure.
"Thor."
"They deserve to know."
"Did he just say Thor? And that we started the Apocalypse? And aren't you Tony Stark? Iron Man?" Ems was curious, all of them were.
"I don't give out autographs." Said Tony, the guy that spoke before Thor.
"The Apocalypse? Seriously? And who's the guy you knocked out? Satan?" said Smiley.
"Actually, yes. That was Lucifer." said Tony.
"Thanks for bringing it up." The blonde man who was wearing white, blue and red (who's now wearing a grey suit) told Thor. He had dark, blue eyes, a nice figure like all of them, and a deep voice as well.
"This is insane." Said Villy. "This is some sort of a joke, isn't it?"
"No," a new voice said that. Everyone turned around, and looked at the Elevator door. Three men were standing in front of it as it closed behind them. One was very tall, the other one was a bit shorter, and the third was in a trench coat. "He's not joking." The shorter man finished.
"Dean, Sam, Castiel. You're back." Said Nick.
"Oh, we're back, alright." Said Dean, walking up to the table, and slamming the sword Marty bought.
"That's-" Aria begins.
"Lucifer's sword. The only weapon that can kill him, and one of the keys used to set him free, after we put him down." Said the taller guy.
"What?"
"A couple of years ago, all the disasters that have been going on all over the world, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes one after another. That was when the sixty six seals were broken, and when Lucifer broke free, the Apocalypse started. Dean, Castiel and I sent him back there, sacrificing mine and Dean's brother and my soul. And now, it's open again."
"Thanks to you. How do we know you're not some of his bitches? Why did you even save them?" the shorter guy says, taking out a knife with strange writings out of his jacket pocket, and quickly presses it against Villy's throat, looking in her eyes, threatening her with his glance. "Why not just kill them here and now?"
"Relax, Dean-o. They're not Demons." A female voice spoke, and as everyone turned around, they saw a girl walk in. She had blonde hair, with red dip dyes, a small figure, but a pretty one.
"I don't care."
"Dean." Says the taller guy.
"Sam, don't try stopping me."
"Dean-" The guy in the trench coat started.
"Cas, shut up!"
"Don't do this."
Thor came up to dean, and took the knife, not injuring Villy. He was much stronger than Dean, so it seemed like Dean didn't even try to fight. "They're innocent."
Dean looked at Thor for a few moments, then back at Villy, who was looking back at him. Not scared, but anxious.
"I'm sorry."
She shakes her head, and whispers "Don't worry."
"Okay, look, whatever we did, we didn't mean it, okay?" said Sophie. "Can we go now?"
"And let Lucifer get you? No way in hell." Says the guy who's apparently Sam.
"Why do you care?" Smiley and Aria asked at the same time.
"You're too important." He says.
"Isn't he with you?" asked Villy.
"He escaped." Said Dean. "Cas's plan failed… again."
"It was your idea, Dean."
"Shut up."
****************************
"Boys, boys, no fighting", the blonde woman said, circling Castiel and swiftly running her hand on his chest before taking a stand next to him. "So, these are the idiots?"
"We are not idiots", Albie said.
"That's what an idiot would say", the woman chuckled.
"Meg", Castiel said roughly. "They didn't know what they were doing."
"Exactly my point, Clarence", the woman apparently named Meg said.
"What are we supposed to do here?" Atie asked in confusion, crossing her arms. "Just sit here and wait for Lucifer to come and make another appearance?"
"Assuming what they're telling us is true", Smiley pointed out.
"It is, gorgeous", Tony Stark spoke up, and Smiley turned to look at him, eyes narrowed.
"And why should we trust you? What if this is just a prank? Some very sick, long, expensive prank?"
"We are not lying. We have no reason to", Bruce said, and even though he directed his words to Smiley, he was looking at Ray, who, this time, noticed his glare. She was sitting next to Smiley and slowly tore her eyes from Bruce to look at her.
"I believe him."
"Good, let's get you prepped, then", Tony said with satisfaction.
"I said I believe him, not the rest of you", Ray snapped.
Smiley sighed, leaning closer to whisper in Ray's ear. "I know the guy's hot, but that's no reason to let a bunch of perverts keep us captive."
Ray leaned further away. "Are you guys a bunch of perverts?"
"Yes", Tony said, and everyone broke into a laughter. Everyone except the girls.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Villy asked when the laughter died down.
"For now we simply wait", Thor said.
"No way", Marty announced, standing up, which resulted in the rest of the girls standing up as well. "You're all crazy. We are going to-"
She paused as the woman Meg walked closer to them, playing with a knife in her hand. "You want proof of supernatural, my dears? Fine."
They watched as she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were completely black.
Aline let out a gasp, and the rest just looked horrified.
"She's a demon, in case you were wondering", Dean said.
"All the more reason for us to get out of here", Aria said with a shaky voice, now leading the group out of the room, but this time as she walked past Sam, he grabbed her by her waist and pushed her back towards the others.
"You girls are not going anywhere. We are not perverts, we're not trying to hurt you. We just want to keep you safe until we can kill Lucifer. You got that?"
"Kill the devil?" Ines chuckled. "Shouldn't be hard.."
"Well, when we've got this", Dean lifted Lucifer's Sword in his hands.
"Of course", Villy put two and two together. "You're trying to lure him here so you can kill him."
"Sort of", Castiel said awkwardly. "The plan is quite unfinished, considering that using you girls as bait would be ideal, but-"
"We can't risk any of you getting hurt", the guy with short blond hair finished.
"Charming. But who made you our mother?" Ray muttered.
"You all shut your pieholes now", Dean said in agitation. "We don't have time to talk about this. Here is the deal: Inside this facility you are safe. For now. But that is a temporary fix."
"And we are sure you are tempted to go out into the woods", Nick Fury continued in a serious voice. "But there are beings beyond your imagination out there, so I advice against it."
"I think you just made them more tempted to go out there, Nicky", Meg said in amusement. "Girls. I feel you. You were just having a nice holiday doing whatever lame that it is you girls do. And then you got kidnapped by a bunch of clowns, an angel and a demon. And these two idiots, of course", she gestured at Sam and Dean. "But boo freaking hoo. You've got nowhere to go. There are guards on every entrance. What you can do is make yourselves useful and learn some combat training. Because considering your future and what you might come across, you'll need it."
"Why would Lucifer care about us so much?" Smiley asked.
"Well.. We're afraid it's not just Lucifer..", Castiel sighed.
"Oh, what could be worse than the devil?" Albie asked in an exhausted voice.
"Nothing. But since you are here in our facilities..", Thor paused. "Well.. There are people coming after us, too."
"Like his brother", Tony said, gesturing at Thor.
"He's adopted", Thor quickly added.
"And there's one other person, who apparently is now working with Loki, Thor's brother...", Bruce paused. "He calls himself the Joker and let's just say that he has an axe to grind with me."
"Great. Thank you for throwing your problems down on us", Smiley snapped. "Thank you."
"It's a small price to pay for the favor we did you. And you've got nothing to worry about, honey", Tony gave her a sexy smirk. "We'll keep you safe."
Smiley blinked twice before she remembered what she'd even been talking about, but then Dean was already talking again.
"So you got it? You stay inside. The force field will not keep everything at bay."
"What about our friends?" Albie asked. "What happens to them?"
"They can stay here, too. But they are not important where the plan is concerned", Castiel said simply.
"Not important?" Sophie snapped. "Wow."
"Now it is not the time to open the book of morality", Nick said. "You stay here for now. You got it?"
The girls had nothing to say anymore. They'd already lost that fight.
"I'll show you where you'll be staying the night", Bruce said and the rest of the girls stood up as well, following him.
"I'll join you", Sam said and quickly gave Aria a kind smile. "Sorry I shoved you."
Aria said nothing, just stared at him for a moment before following the others.
"Is there like a TV around here? Or food? I'd love some food", Rachel said as she tried to keep up with Bruce.
He gave her a smile before nodding. "There's both."
"Well, then this won't be so bad. Right, Smiley?", she turned around to look at her friend when she realized she'd disappeared from the group. "Smiley?"
Smiley was still in the room where they'd had the meeting, examining Lucifer's Sword that was still on the table.
"No matter how you stare at it, you can't make it move. Unless you're a Jedi", Tony said. She hadn't even noticed he was still in the room. Everyone else was gone.
Smiley chuckled a little. She wasn't the girl to get embarrassed. "That's the only thing we're missing right now. Jedi. And vampires, of course."
"You might actually find some of those here, somewhere. In the forest", Tony said as he got up from his seat and walked over to her. "Has anyone even told you you've got a lovely smile?"
Smiley smirked at him. "Has anyone told you, you need new pick-up lines?"
"No. Usually they work just fine", Tony smiled. "I guess you're different."
"Well, I am one of the girls who released Lucifer and is now holding his sword", Smiley said and lifted the sword in her hands.
"What's your name?" Tony asked.
Smiley turned to look at him and hesitated before answering. She decided not to go with Smiley. It seemed too childish for the occasion. "Diana."
"I'm Tony", he extended his hand with a smirk on his face.
"I know. Does this mean I get an autograph?" Smiley asked, walking towards the door.
"Maybe. You want one?" Tony kept on smirking.
"Maybe", Smiley smiled before walking out of the door, trying to find the rest of the group.
Bruce and Sam had led them to a room with exactly twelve beds. Bunk beds. So that was 6 beds.
"This is where we'll sleep?" Villy asked in disbelief. "Like little children at a kindergarten?"
"Take it or leave it", Bruce said simply and watched as the girls walked into the room.
"Hey, Rachel", he said and she turned to look at him. "Were you hungry?"
Rachel blinked. Twice. There was no way this mysterious, gorgeous, (apparently) billionaire guy was asking her of all these girls if she was hungry.
"Yeah, she's hungry", Smiley announced as she arrived at the doorway with a smirk on her face. "We'll see you later, Ray."
"Where were you?" Rachel asked, but Smiley just lifted her hand to silence her and then gestured for the two to leave.
Sam was eyeing Aria as she talked to Atie about something. He couldn't help but to think that she was really pretty with her dark hair and bronze skin. He, though, shook the thoughts away when he realized what he was thinking. He was a hunter, and they were a case. He remembered the one time when he'd actually fallen for a case. Long story short, he had had to kill her. She had become too dangerous.
Though, these girls were hardly dangerous.
***************************************
Sam snapped out of his thoughts when he heard one of the girls ask "What's that?"
He blinked and looked at Smiley, who'd asked that "What's what?"
Smiley nodded at his chest. Sam was wearing a dark blue V-neck , one of its sides was slightly ripped, and a tip of a tattoo on his chest was showing.
"It's an anti-possession tattoo."
"Like, against demons?"
"Yeah. Demons are souls roasted too hard in hell, so when they break out, they look like black smoke. They're able to posses different people and bodies and this prevents them. All of us have it, you guys should get it too."
Smiley looked at Sam for a few seconds, as if in deep thought, then smiled. "Cool, I always wanted a tattoo. So, wait, this chick... Meg, was it? She's possessing someone's body?"
"Someone's dead body, yes. When demons possess, the person is still there, but if the body dies, so does the person."
"And the demon doesn't."
"No. The demon doesn't."
Smiley sighed, "This is just so screwed up."
Sam chuckled sarcastically, "Yeah, tell me about it. Try growing up in this life."
"What's your name?"
"Sam."
"Sammy. Nice."
He snickered "Don't call me that."
"Why? I like Sammy. I'm Diana, but I'm not as grumpy as you, so I allow you to call me Smiley." She decided it was fine for him to call her by her nickname.
"I'm not grumpy."
"You've been through a lot, it shows. Of course you're gonna be a bit grumpy."
Sam never stopped smiling. He hasn't smiled in a while, but now it was somehow easy. "Why is it Smiley?"
"Because I smile a lot." She tilted her head to one side, and smiled. "And I tend to make others smile, too." Sam smiled back, then looked over his shoulder at Aria, who was now fighting with Sara over who will take the upper bed. Smiley followed his glance, then looked back at him.
"Got eyes on Aria, I see."
Sam shook his head, snapping out of it. "What? Who?"
"Aria. Tan, brunette, big, brown eyes, now climbing on the upper floor of a bed right behind me."
"Oh, her? No I'm not."
Smiley raises her eyebrows and folds her arms. "Really?"
"Yeah. What was her name again? Aria?"
"You wouldn't remember if you didn't like her."
"You really think I'm that big of a douche?"
"That's the impression you have on me, yeah."
Sam didn't say anything.
"Well, anyways, I've known her for a while now, maybe I can help you out."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because maybe you're not that big of a douche after all. And I want to know more about your life in the process."
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to know about it, Diana."
"Oh you don't know me, Sam. And it's Smiley."
Sam looked at her and considered it. Why would he need any help? He's not afraid of women. Dean is much better in this category, true. But Sam didn't need any help. Moreover, he didn't want to. This is a case. He's not going to fall into the same hole again, no matter how safe things may seem.
He shook his head. "I can't do this."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
"Why?"
"Something like that already happened once, it was a mistake. I can't do it again."
"Come on, it was just one mistake, it couldn't be that bad."
"It was one of the reasons the apocalypse started. Yeah, it's pretty bad."
Smiley looked at him, a little bit stunned, a little bit confused, and very curious.
"Tell me more. Maybe we'll be done by the time Ray and Bruce will be back."
Meanwhile, Bruce was leading Ray across the round hallway, to the big elevator.
"So, where are we going again?"
"You said you were hungry, right?"
"uhm… yeah."
They reached the elevator, Bruce scanned his fingerprints, it opened, and they stepped in.
"So, I'm taking you to the cafeteria." He said, as he pushed a button that said '4'.
"Oh…"
"What?"
"I just thought… well, in a place like that… cafeteria?"
"Like I said before," the doors opened and Bruce smirked "You'll be surprised by what you'll find."
He stepped back for Ray to walk out, then walked out behind her, and she froze.
The cafeteria was barely a cafeteria. It was more of a five-star hotel buffet, it looked exactly like it. With its beige walls; the elegant chairs on brown square tables for two to four people to the right; brown couches and bigger, round tables for more people in the middle; and a huge, long buffet to the left with huge variety of foods. Ray noticed Chinese, Greek and Russian appetizers closer to them; Italian, Indian, Arabic and Mexican Main dishes on a long table that stretched out from the Appetizers to the Swiss, English and Australian deserts, at the very end of the room, where there were a chocolate fountain and a bar that stretched to the right wall as well. And those were only the things Ray noticed from first sight.
"Is this heaven?"
Bruce looked down at her and smiled, "Better."
She tore her glance away from the buffet with huge force, but smiled automatically at him when their eyes met for few seconds.
"Shall we?" asked Bruce, stretching out his harm.
"Hell yes." Says Ray, and they turn to the buffet.
"Why is everything here so… fancy?" asked Ray, as Bruce handed her a tray.
"It's Nick's base, he was here way before any of us came in so I don't know. The cafeteria was mine and Tony's idea, though." Said Bruce as they were going through the food.
"Well you are multi-billionaires, aren’t you? By the way, what is Bruce Wayne doing here?"
"Let's just say… Bruce Wayne is not the only me."
"Yeah, right. Tony is Iron Man. That blond guy is apparently Thor, that other blond guy looks exactly like Steve Rogers, well, Captain America. And you're, let me guess, Batman?"
Bruce paused, Ray hasn't noticed until a few moments, and looked up at him when she did. His glance said it all.
"Wait, seriously?"
Bruce nodded.
"But, I'm sorry, you're dead."
"Apparently, I'm not."
"I don't follow." Said Ray, as she reached out for some apple pie.
"Not that one!" Bruce grabbed her softly by the wrist. "That's Dean's. Here," he pointed to the pie next to it, not letting Ray go. "Take that one."
Ray looked at his hand on her wrist for a second, then faced him. "They're both apple pies."
"Dean's very specific about his. You don't know him yet."
Ray rolled her eyes, as Bruce took her pie and led her to one of the tables with two chairs.
"He somehow reminds me of Villy and Smiley combined." She said.
Bruce pulled out her chair. "I'm going to nod and pretend like I know who you're talking about."
Ray doesn't sit, but puts her plates down. "We're not at a junior prom, you know."
Bruce grinned. "I always have manners." That made Ray both catch her breath for moments that seemed like forever; and her knees feel weaker, so she sat down, and Bruce did so too.
Ray caught her breath, and tried to get back to the subject. "Well… um… Villy is the one Dean almost killed, and Smiley, Diana, is the one Tony called gorgeous." She said, slicing a stake.
"And you are?" Bruce asked.
"Rachel." She didn't say Ray, it came out as Rachel on its own, but she decided not to let him call her by her nickname.
"Oh." said Bruce.
Ray chewed the rest of the stake down, and asked "What is it?"
Their eyes locked again, and for the first time, Ray sees loneliness in his eyes. "Let's just say you're not the only Rachel I know." And she reminded him of her so very much.
Ray was still looking in his eyes that looked so beautifully sad, making own tear a little.
"What happened?" She whispered, talking out loud seemed impossible.
"Are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked, same tone as Ray's.
Ray blinked a few times, pushing her tears and the strange sensation in her throat back, straightened up, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Bruce sighs, but starts telling her the story. "When I was little, I fell in a well where a herd of bats attacked me. My father rescued me, but I developed a fear of bats. Sometime later, my parents and I went to an opera, one of the scenes had this bat-like monster. So I got scared, don't laugh, and begged my mom and dad to take me home. So we did, or we were about to before they got killed in a robbery. I saw them die, right before me, and I could do nothing about it. The last thing my father said to me was not to be afraid, that it was okay. The police told me they caught Chill, the one who killed my parents.
"Anyway, I was raised by my butler, Alfred. When I came back to Gotham from Princeton, I intended to kill my parents' murderer, because his sentence was suspended in exchange for testifying against a mob boss, Carmine Falcone. But one of his henchwomen killed Chill instead. And when I told Rachel, she was my childhood friend, about what I was planning, she grew disgusted of me. She said my parents wouldn't have been proud of what I was about to do, that I was going for blind vengeance, without any regard for justice. Then I confronted Falcone, who told me he was ignorant in the nature of crime, so I decided to travel the world to sort of understand the criminal mind.
"About years later, a guy called Henri Ducard told me about a group, the League of Shadows, they were sort of a terrorist group. I completed my training there, but found out they were using me to destroy Gotham. So I burned them down, saved Duncard though, and returned to Gotham. I decided to run family business, and a scientist working in Wayne Enterprises showed me various prototype technologies, including my car and armor. I found the cave under the well that I fell in, and remembered how my father wasted his last breath telling me not to be afraid. So I confronted my fears, made a workshop there, and became Batman.
"Why? Because Falcone was controlling Gotham, flooding it with crime and drugs. Rachel agreed to help me with that, though she didn't know I was really Bruce. I was later confronted by the actual leader of the League of Shadows. I was told that the one I had killed had been a decoy. They planned to destroy Gotham by distributing the toxin undetected via Gotham's water supply and then vaporizing it with a microwave emitter stolen from my company. I fought them, but only to see my manor burn down.
"I learned Crane and more criminals were after Rachel, since she was assistant District Attorney. So Batman saved her, and revealed her true identity to her. Long things short, Gordon, one of the policemen, caught Chill, and I killed the leader of the League of Shadows and arrested Falcone. Batman became a public hero, but Rachel wouldn't accept me both ways, as long as Gotham needed Batman.
"A few years later, Harvey Dent became District Attorney, and he and Rachel started dating. Then, Joker started killing people unless I revealed my true identity. I arranged a conference with Dent, I didn't want anyone else to die because of me."
Bruce paused and looked down. "Rachel tried to convince me not to." He looked back up again.
"I didn't listen. People were dying. And maybe, and I was hoping like hell for it, that she and I would be together when I revealed my true identity. Harvey realized how important Batman is to the city, though. And said that it's him to keep Batman free. Rachel confronted Alfred, and realized Gordon and I were using Dent as bait to capture Joker, and it worked.
"When we confronted him, he told us he kidnapped both Dent and Rachel, and took them to two different buildings in the city, they were tied to bombs set at a same time. He told us the addresses, I set out to save Rachel, and Gordon to save Dent. I arrived to find Dent there instead of Rachel, Joker gave us the false addresses. I manage to save Dent, Gordon arrives late for Rachel."
There was a moment of silence as Ray though about what Bruce said.
"I'm so sorry." Said Ray.
"I managed to capture Joker and kill Dent, with half his face burned people called him Two-Face, and convince Gordon to take blame for the murders caused by Dent when he was seeking revenge or Rachel's death, and preserve his public image. That's when Bane read Gordon's letter that I wasn't the murder to Gotham.
"Alfred told me that Rachel left me a letter saying that she said while Gotham may come to no longer need Batman, she feels that the day will never come when I no longer do. I didn't know that, and always thought she'd wait for me if she was still alive. So, that was one of the reasons to fake my death. To prove fears of me not being able to let go and move on false. Another reason was to pass my legacy, and I did."
"Did you? Did you really move on?"
"I did. Not for long, though. Not after… this happened. I was in a relationship, it didn't work out, and now the world needs me… again."
Rachel sighed. There was so much about this guy, so much past and pain behind all of those good looks, smiles and courage. She put her palm on his. "I don't think-"
They heard the door burst open. "There you two are." It was the woman between all the men that saved them, she was wearing a black, tight suit and had dark, short, red hair.
"We have a meeting."
"We just had one." Said Bruce. Ray still didn't remove her hand from his, and he didn't struggle.
"It's urgent." Said the woman. "Be there in a minute." She finished, walking out of the room.
"Right, well," said Ray, standing up. "I think we should go."
"Yeah." Said Bruce, standing up, picking up the trays and taking them to a trash bin. "You were saying?"
"I don't think heroes ever stop being heroes. That’s just who you are. You don't just retire, someone will always need you. Moreover, you'll always need yourself. So, don't get mad at me for saying this, but I think she was wrong about not accepting both your sides. You're Batman and Bruce Wayne (who's pretty famous all over New York and the US). It's just who you are. If I loved someone, I'd accept them for who they are." They reached the elevator and Bruce snapped his fingers.
"You remind me so much of her, look wise."
The door opened, and Bruce and Ray entered. "But you're different. You think differently."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Ray smiled.
Bruce smiled back . "You do that." He pushed a button that said '1' and the elevator doors closed shut.
Emma stone as Diana Armstrong (Smiley)
Nina Dobrev as Rachel Connor (Ray)
Chyler Leigh as Albie Mannors
Emma Watson as Ines Barden
Troian Bellisario as Marta Stuart (Marty)
Phoebe Tonkin as Aria Felton
Leighton Meester as Atiha Rainart (Atie)
Karen Gillan as Aline James
Holland Roden as Vildan Elliot (Villy)
Kristen Stewart as Emily Shelton (Ems)
Blake Lively as Sara Donnell
Emilie de Ravin as Sophia Parsons (Sophie)
Bruce Wayne
Steve Rogers
Tony Stark
Thor
Natasha Kerensky
Bruce Banner
Clint Barton
Dean Winchester
Sam Winchester
Nick Fury
Meredith Grey
Harry Potter
Seth Cohen
Brooke Davis
Caroline Forbes
Haley James
Lorelai Gilmore
Effy Stonem
Lydia Martin
We think the world is complicated. We sit, watching TV, reading books, feeding our already stuffed bellies, and still think the world is complicated. We worry about school, politics, poverty, government, and money. Do we know what's really out there? No, we don't. And, perhaps, it's best. Perhaps, us finding out will be too much to handle, too destructive, too chaotic. Well, here's a story, a story about people who were your casual classmates, cheerleaders, hell, tour guides. People, friends, who changed and saved the world without even intending to do so. Read, and decide; is it worth knowing the truth?
One sunny day in London, England. The weather was quite warm considering the UK and no clouds were in sight. The perfect day for shopping. At least from a girl's point of view.
Well, one group of girls thought so. 12 girls were walking down Oxford street, trying to keep up with each other, which was proving to be a little difficult due the amount of people walking down the street.
The group, like I said, consisted of 12 beautiful girls. The first one a lively-looking young lady with flaming blonde hair and green eyes. She was ahead of everyone else, waiting impatiently.
"Come on, I'm starving," Smiley (well, Diana, but no one called her that) announced for about the 10th time in an hour.
"So am I," the next girl, Rachel (everyone called her Ray) with dark, wavy brown hair with dark pink highlights and dark brown eyes agreed. She stepped next to Smiley, leaning her head on her friend's shoulder. "I hate that it's so warm."
"It's summer, Ray", Smiley said in amusement before turning to the others.
"I'm here!" Albie (people called her Bee), the next girl, with brown hair and freckles on her face said as she reached them. She had her long hair up in a ponytail. "Where do you guys wanna eat?"
"Whatever, as long as there's pizza", Rachel grinned.
The next girl to join them was named Ines. She had light brown hair and brown eyes and she gave the others an energetic smile. "I made us an reservation at this one pizza place just across the street."
"Brilliant," Smiley said, looking at the rest of the group, far behind in the crowd.
"GUYS, COME ON!" she shouted. It wasn't their fault, stupid people front of them were slowing them down, but still.
"Smiley, stop yelling, people are looking", Marty, the girl with long, brown hair and bags in both hands said as she reached them.
Aria pushed past two people and reached the group, smirking. She had brown hair as well, and her skin was gorgeously bronze-tanned - which the others always complained about.
"Excuse me, sorry!" the next girl was Atie, and she was trying to balance two packages she had in her hands. She'd bought a lot of fancy clothes that the salesclerks had packed in packages instead of bags. She was another one of the girls with brown, long hair. She let out a shout as her packages almost fell to the ground.
"Shit, shit, shit! Can we just go eat?"
"Watch out with those. You already lost the receipt, you can't return them." Aline, a girl with red hair said as she joined them. She was a tad taller than everyone else, but it could be because she was wearing high heels.
"Yeah," Atie said, handing one of the packages to Albie.
The next girl to join had caramel hair and a big smile on her face. She was Villy, and she looked just about the only one who the heat hasn't defeated yet. "Everyone having fun?"
Everyone just groaned in response.
"It is strangely hot...", Emily (Just call her Ems) said as she joined them. "Never been this hot in England before, I reckon.."
"Yeah, it's the apocalypse", Smiley said in annoyment. "Or it will be if you don't get me something to eat ASAP! Don't come between me and my food!"
Sara was the second to last to join them, she had blonde hair - which was tied up in a bun- grey eyes and was tall like Aline. She was pulling the last girl by her hand. She was Sophie, and she also had blonde hair and blue eyes. Quite tiny, but beautiful, just like the rest.
Soon, the girls were in a restaurant which, yes, served pizza. They took up the biggest table and sat down in exhaustion.
You might be wondering how a group like this came together. No, it's not a school reunion or some lame sorority. They had met online, over a site named fanpop. Together, they'd formed a group to "obsess" over this one couple from a TV-show, and eventually, they'd became friends for real. Next thing they know is they're in London for summer vacation together.
Some of them had actually brought a few of their friends with them.
Rachel had brought her two best friends, Harry Potter and Meredith Grey. Harry was a local British guy who had black hair and glasses and this strange scar on his forehead. He was smart, funny and kind of adventurous. Meredith was a beautiful woman with blonde-ish hair. She was a surgeon at Seattle Grace Mercy West hospital, but she'd decided to come with Rachel and Harry on vacation anyway.
Albie had brought her best friend, Seth Cohen, who was a black-haired sarcastic guy from California, and he had brought his own friend, Jackson Avery, who also worked with Meredith at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Secretly Albie thought Jackson was pretty hot.
Marty had also brought her best friend, Brooke Davis. She was a lively, beautiful girl with dark brown hair and a cute smile. She was a fashion designer.
Atie had brought her own best friend, Haley James, who actually knew Brooke as well. They were both from Tree Hill, North Carolina. Haley was studying to become a teacher and she had blonde-ish hair and she was really calm and smart.
Aline had actually brought her mother, Lorelai Gilmore. Well, Lorelai had insisted on coming along, actually. She loved London and she loved shopping. Besides, she was the coolest mom ever. She looked almost nothing like her daughter, though. She had black hair and a lovely smile. The only thing the mother & daughter really had in common look-wise was their eyes. Personality wise, they were quite alike.
Aline had also brought her friend, Jess Mariano. He was a cute guy with messy, black hair and a bad attitude. He was sarcastic and difficult, but everyone in the group loved him anyway. Except Lorelai. She had a hard time approving him.
Villy was the last one to bring a friend along. She brought Effy Stonem, her best friend. She had dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was a girl from the wild side, to put it bluntly, but she and Villy had been friends forever, and nothing was gonna change that.
"We're here," Meredith announced as the just mentioned friends joined the girls. "Why do you all look so tired?"
"Not everyone is used to standing for 10 hours in this heat, Mer," Rachel yawned.
"Oh", Meredith said and turned to the others, her eyes widening. "What the hell is that?"
There was a sword on the table, and Marty was examining it.
"I bought this at this cool antique store a few shops back", she said. "Isn't it cool?"
"It looks.. old", Effy said in amusement. "What are you gonna do with that?"
"I don't know, but it's cool", Marty smirked and put the small-sized sword in her bag.
"The things you buy, Marty", Aria chuckled and opened her bag. "Where did I put my wallet..."
Aline turned to look at Jess and smiled. "So, you liking London?"
"Well, it doesn't beat New York, but..", Jess gave her a smile. "I think I can live with it."
Albie heard them, and broke into a smile. Needless to say, she wanted Aline and Jess together. Mostly because she wanted Aline to be happy, but also because she could really sense something between them.
Atie was checking the clothes she'd bought, and smiled. "I'm gonna look super hot in these."
"And you'll look even hotter if you promise to lend me some of those every now and then", Rachel smirked.
"Maybe if you say please."
After the gang was done eating, it was time to get back to the hotel. Marty and Rachel were running to get a couple of cabs-since they're a huge lot- when Marty suddenly paused.
"What?" Rachel narrowed her eyes, looking around. "What?"
"Do you see that guy over there?" Marty whispered, gesturing across the street, and when Rachel looked, she nodded. There indeed was a man, about in his thirties, staring at them.
"What's the hold up?" Ems asked in confusion as she walked over to the two girls, gesturing at a cab that had just stopped in front of them.
"Look at that guy," Rachel hissed, and Ems turned to look at the guy across the street. Somehow, with such crowd walking the street, it was easy to spot that one man. He looked extremely creepy. And worst of all, he was still looking at them.
Ines had noticed the guy too, and was tugging at Atie's hand.
"What?" she asked in annoyment.
"Is it me or is that guy looking at us?"
Jackson was the one to answer as he locked eyes with the guy across the street. "Yeah, he is."
"I sure hope he's looking at you girls instead of us, very handsome guys, because that'd just be out of my area, despite what the writings on my locker say." Seth commented.
"Shut up", Albie chuckled.
"It's rude to stare." Lorelai muttered, and before anyone else had time to say anything, another guy had appeared next to the creepy one, and caught him by surprise, knocking him out with a single punch. The guy was wearing all black clothes, and it looked like some sort of a body armor.
"You're coming with us," suddenly a few others guys and one woman had appeared among the group, and the black-suited man joined them as well.
"What?" Aria shouted, but apparently the newcomers didn't have time to explain, for they released some anesthesia gas, waiting with masks on their mouths and noses as all the girls (and Jess, Jackson & Seth) collapsed to the ground.
"That was kind of harsh," one of the men, a guy with a blue-white-red suit said.
"It needed to be done. Let's get out of here before he wakes up." The man in the black suit said. And so together they moved all the girls & guys to an alley - and none of the passersby's even took a second glance.
**************************************
When the girls and guys awoke, it was already dark. And they appeared to be in somewhat of a forest, in a clearing in front of a small hut, no one else around, but them.
"Where the hell are we?" asked Sara, trying to sit up. It was dark, but everything was visible, as if the moonlight was brightened.
"What happened?" Aria asked, standing up. "These… dicks dosed us and now we're in the middle of God knows what."
"Were we Robbed?" Harry asked.
"I don't think they'd do that in the middle of a crowded street in London. Whatever this is, we better get out of here." Said Ray.
"How?" Smiley asked "We don’t even know where are we."
"I don’t know, we'll find a way, let's go before it gets any worse."
She started running, the rest behind her. A few moments, and Ray hit a wall no one could see. The rest stopped.
"Ray!" shouted Smiley, helping her up with Marty "are you okay?"
"Yeah," she massaged her forehead, the place she hit "I'm fi-"
"Don't even try." A calm, but stern and deep voice said behind them. Everyone turned around, and saw the man wearing all black that punched the consciousness out of that creepy one who appeared to be a total pedophilic rapist.
All of the girls stopped breathing. The man, other than being scary, was gorgeous. He had waxed back, pitch black hair, wide jaw line, and deep, brown eyes. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore, or a mask. Instead, he was in a black suit (no tie) which made his figure look just so very perfect.
"Who are you?" asked Jess, since apparently none of the girls can speak.
"My name is Bruce Wayne."
"The multi-billionaire?"
Bruce examines Jess for a second. "New Yorker?"
"Yeah."
"Where are we?" Ray seemed to be the first one to gain her breath.
"Safe." Bruce looked at her. "This is an invisible barrier. Unless we permit it, no one can go in… or out."
"What do you want from us?"
"What do we want? We just saved you."
"You just drugged us and took us to this… invisible land of What The Fuck." said Smiley.
Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, about that…" he notices Ray, still massaging her forehead, she hit the barrier pretty had. He approaches her.
"Are you hurt?" it didn't sound like a question at all when he asked that, but it was.
"Now you're trying to help?"
"I told you, we just saved your asses."
"Who's 'we'?"
Bruce looks at her for a few moments, then walks away, back in the direction of the hut.
"Hey!" shouted Jackson "Where are you going?"
Bruce stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Follow me and I'll show you." He continued walking.
"What the hell?" asked Villy
"I think we should follow him." said Ray.
"And why the hell would we do that?"
"I don't know, there's no way out. What else?"
And, in silence, they all followed.
Bruce was stepping inside the hut, and everyone behind him paused. And, when he noticed, he did too, and faced them.
"Changed your mind?"
"No." said Lorelai "Just…" she gestured to the hut. It looked so tiny, it could barely fit two people, talk about over twenty.
"Trust me, you'll be surprised by what you can find." And, just as he turned around, Smiley noticed a hint of a smile coming from him to Ray's direction. She didn't notice that, but Smiley did. And that made her smirk a little.
When they went inside, the world didn't make sense anymore. It was huge, gigantic. Maybe the size of five Oxford streets together. The walls were round, pearl white and silver, five floors, they were on the first. They were on a round platform against the wall, with a fence to lean on when you look at the floor below, at which people were actually sitting on desks and working on computers-advanced computers, like workers in a company. The place looked like a modernized, futuristic space base.
"Here," Bruce gestured them towards a huge elevator that opened a few feet away from them. Slowly, they all stepped in, Bruce behind them. He pressed the 'G' button, and they reached the ground floor in a second.
When the elevator doors opened, another man wearing all black, bald, brown skin, and one eye covered, was standing there.
"They're here, good. What's with the extras?" he eyed Harry and Jess.
"They were all together. Take all or take none."
"Shouldn't have drugged them."
"It needed to be done, and you know it, Nick."
The one who's apparently Nick looked at them, then back at Bruce.
"We'll talk later." He looked at them again. "Please, excuse my companions."
He stepped out of the way, so Bruce and everyone else walk out.
"Have a seat." He gestured towards a big, round table with nineteen seats. Five of which were occupied by the ones who they saw earlier, except the creepy guy wasn't there.
"Wait… three, six…. nineteen seats. They're five, you're two. That leaves twelve… minus the people we brought and we're twelve. You knew we were coming?" asked Marty.
"I think your friends should wait outside."
"I'm sure they can-" Albie was cut off by a loud crack. The girls looked around, and realized it's just the twelve of them.
"What the hell? Where are they?" shouted Aline.
"They were teleported to the last floor, they'll be fine."
"That's my mother over there!"
"I said, they'll be fine. You can trust us."
"How? We don't even know what's going on!"
"Sit, and we'll tell you."
A few moments of silence, and they joined the rest. at the big, round table.
"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. My name is Nick Fury, I'm the director." said Nick.
"What's S.H.I.E.L.D?" asked Sara.
"It's a secret law-enforcement agency. We have a new case, here."
"Yeah? And what's that?" asked Aria.
"You."
"Us? What?"
"Let's just say… you started something big. Really big. And people are after you, you and the whole world. We're here to protect you."
"You're welcome." Said one of the men who were sitting on the table. He was attractive, too. (All of them were) He had waxed up, brown hair, a fine, buffed figure, small, shaved beard, and a sexy smile.
"What did we start, exactly?"
"The Apocalypse." Said another man at the table. He had long, blond hair, blue eyes, a very deep voice, and a muscular figure.
"Thor."
"They deserve to know."
"Did he just say Thor? And that we started the Apocalypse? And aren't you Tony Stark? Iron Man?" Ems was curious, all of them were.
"I don't give out autographs." Said Tony, the guy that spoke before Thor.
"The Apocalypse? Seriously? And who's the guy you knocked out? Satan?" said Smiley.
"Actually, yes. That was Lucifer." said Tony.
"Thanks for bringing it up." The blonde man who was wearing white, blue and red (who's now wearing a grey suit) told Thor. He had dark, blue eyes, a nice figure like all of them, and a deep voice as well.
"This is insane." Said Villy. "This is some sort of a joke, isn't it?"
"No," a new voice said that. Everyone turned around, and looked at the Elevator door. Three men were standing in front of it as it closed behind them. One was very tall, the other one was a bit shorter, and the third was in a trench coat. "He's not joking." The shorter man finished.
"Dean, Sam, Castiel. You're back." Said Nick.
"Oh, we're back, alright." Said Dean, walking up to the table, and slamming the sword Marty bought.
"That's-" Aria begins.
"Lucifer's sword. The only weapon that can kill him, and one of the keys used to set him free, after we put him down." Said the taller guy.
"What?"
"A couple of years ago, all the disasters that have been going on all over the world, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes one after another. That was when the sixty six seals were broken, and when Lucifer broke free, the Apocalypse started. Dean, Castiel and I sent him back there, sacrificing mine and Dean's brother and my soul. And now, it's open again."
"Thanks to you. How do we know you're not some of his bitches? Why did you even save them?" the shorter guy says, taking out a knife with strange writings out of his jacket pocket, and quickly presses it against Villy's throat, looking in her eyes, threatening her with his glance. "Why not just kill them here and now?"
"Relax, Dean-o. They're not Demons." A female voice spoke, and as everyone turned around, they saw a girl walk in. She had blonde hair, with red dip dyes, a small figure, but a pretty one.
"I don't care."
"Dean." Says the taller guy.
"Sam, don't try stopping me."
"Dean-" The guy in the trench coat started.
"Cas, shut up!"
"Don't do this."
Thor came up to dean, and took the knife, not injuring Villy. He was much stronger than Dean, so it seemed like Dean didn't even try to fight. "They're innocent."
Dean looked at Thor for a few moments, then back at Villy, who was looking back at him. Not scared, but anxious.
"I'm sorry."
She shakes her head, and whispers "Don't worry."
"Okay, look, whatever we did, we didn't mean it, okay?" said Sophie. "Can we go now?"
"And let Lucifer get you? No way in hell." Says the guy who's apparently Sam.
"Why do you care?" Smiley and Aria asked at the same time.
"You're too important." He says.
"Isn't he with you?" asked Villy.
"He escaped." Said Dean. "Cas's plan failed… again."
"It was your idea, Dean."
"Shut up."
****************************
"Boys, boys, no fighting", the blonde woman said, circling Castiel and swiftly running her hand on his chest before taking a stand next to him. "So, these are the idiots?"
"We are not idiots", Albie said.
"That's what an idiot would say", the woman chuckled.
"Meg", Castiel said roughly. "They didn't know what they were doing."
"Exactly my point, Clarence", the woman apparently named Meg said.
"What are we supposed to do here?" Atie asked in confusion, crossing her arms. "Just sit here and wait for Lucifer to come and make another appearance?"
"Assuming what they're telling us is true", Smiley pointed out.
"It is, gorgeous", Tony Stark spoke up, and Smiley turned to look at him, eyes narrowed.
"And why should we trust you? What if this is just a prank? Some very sick, long, expensive prank?"
"We are not lying. We have no reason to", Bruce said, and even though he directed his words to Smiley, he was looking at Ray, who, this time, noticed his glare. She was sitting next to Smiley and slowly tore her eyes from Bruce to look at her.
"I believe him."
"Good, let's get you prepped, then", Tony said with satisfaction.
"I said I believe him, not the rest of you", Ray snapped.
Smiley sighed, leaning closer to whisper in Ray's ear. "I know the guy's hot, but that's no reason to let a bunch of perverts keep us captive."
Ray leaned further away. "Are you guys a bunch of perverts?"
"Yes", Tony said, and everyone broke into a laughter. Everyone except the girls.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Villy asked when the laughter died down.
"For now we simply wait", Thor said.
"No way", Marty announced, standing up, which resulted in the rest of the girls standing up as well. "You're all crazy. We are going to-"
She paused as the woman Meg walked closer to them, playing with a knife in her hand. "You want proof of supernatural, my dears? Fine."
They watched as she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were completely black.
Aline let out a gasp, and the rest just looked horrified.
"She's a demon, in case you were wondering", Dean said.
"All the more reason for us to get out of here", Aria said with a shaky voice, now leading the group out of the room, but this time as she walked past Sam, he grabbed her by her waist and pushed her back towards the others.
"You girls are not going anywhere. We are not perverts, we're not trying to hurt you. We just want to keep you safe until we can kill Lucifer. You got that?"
"Kill the devil?" Ines chuckled. "Shouldn't be hard.."
"Well, when we've got this", Dean lifted Lucifer's Sword in his hands.
"Of course", Villy put two and two together. "You're trying to lure him here so you can kill him."
"Sort of", Castiel said awkwardly. "The plan is quite unfinished, considering that using you girls as bait would be ideal, but-"
"We can't risk any of you getting hurt", the guy with short blond hair finished.
"Charming. But who made you our mother?" Ray muttered.
"You all shut your pieholes now", Dean said in agitation. "We don't have time to talk about this. Here is the deal: Inside this facility you are safe. For now. But that is a temporary fix."
"And we are sure you are tempted to go out into the woods", Nick Fury continued in a serious voice. "But there are beings beyond your imagination out there, so I advice against it."
"I think you just made them more tempted to go out there, Nicky", Meg said in amusement. "Girls. I feel you. You were just having a nice holiday doing whatever lame that it is you girls do. And then you got kidnapped by a bunch of clowns, an angel and a demon. And these two idiots, of course", she gestured at Sam and Dean. "But boo freaking hoo. You've got nowhere to go. There are guards on every entrance. What you can do is make yourselves useful and learn some combat training. Because considering your future and what you might come across, you'll need it."
"Why would Lucifer care about us so much?" Smiley asked.
"Well.. We're afraid it's not just Lucifer..", Castiel sighed.
"Oh, what could be worse than the devil?" Albie asked in an exhausted voice.
"Nothing. But since you are here in our facilities..", Thor paused. "Well.. There are people coming after us, too."
"Like his brother", Tony said, gesturing at Thor.
"He's adopted", Thor quickly added.
"And there's one other person, who apparently is now working with Loki, Thor's brother...", Bruce paused. "He calls himself the Joker and let's just say that he has an axe to grind with me."
"Great. Thank you for throwing your problems down on us", Smiley snapped. "Thank you."
"It's a small price to pay for the favor we did you. And you've got nothing to worry about, honey", Tony gave her a sexy smirk. "We'll keep you safe."
Smiley blinked twice before she remembered what she'd even been talking about, but then Dean was already talking again.
"So you got it? You stay inside. The force field will not keep everything at bay."
"What about our friends?" Albie asked. "What happens to them?"
"They can stay here, too. But they are not important where the plan is concerned", Castiel said simply.
"Not important?" Sophie snapped. "Wow."
"Now it is not the time to open the book of morality", Nick said. "You stay here for now. You got it?"
The girls had nothing to say anymore. They'd already lost that fight.
"I'll show you where you'll be staying the night", Bruce said and the rest of the girls stood up as well, following him.
"I'll join you", Sam said and quickly gave Aria a kind smile. "Sorry I shoved you."
Aria said nothing, just stared at him for a moment before following the others.
"Is there like a TV around here? Or food? I'd love some food", Rachel said as she tried to keep up with Bruce.
He gave her a smile before nodding. "There's both."
"Well, then this won't be so bad. Right, Smiley?", she turned around to look at her friend when she realized she'd disappeared from the group. "Smiley?"
Smiley was still in the room where they'd had the meeting, examining Lucifer's Sword that was still on the table.
"No matter how you stare at it, you can't make it move. Unless you're a Jedi", Tony said. She hadn't even noticed he was still in the room. Everyone else was gone.
Smiley chuckled a little. She wasn't the girl to get embarrassed. "That's the only thing we're missing right now. Jedi. And vampires, of course."
"You might actually find some of those here, somewhere. In the forest", Tony said as he got up from his seat and walked over to her. "Has anyone even told you you've got a lovely smile?"
Smiley smirked at him. "Has anyone told you, you need new pick-up lines?"
"No. Usually they work just fine", Tony smiled. "I guess you're different."
"Well, I am one of the girls who released Lucifer and is now holding his sword", Smiley said and lifted the sword in her hands.
"What's your name?" Tony asked.
Smiley turned to look at him and hesitated before answering. She decided not to go with Smiley. It seemed too childish for the occasion. "Diana."
"I'm Tony", he extended his hand with a smirk on his face.
"I know. Does this mean I get an autograph?" Smiley asked, walking towards the door.
"Maybe. You want one?" Tony kept on smirking.
"Maybe", Smiley smiled before walking out of the door, trying to find the rest of the group.
Bruce and Sam had led them to a room with exactly twelve beds. Bunk beds. So that was 6 beds.
"This is where we'll sleep?" Villy asked in disbelief. "Like little children at a kindergarten?"
"Take it or leave it", Bruce said simply and watched as the girls walked into the room.
"Hey, Rachel", he said and she turned to look at him. "Were you hungry?"
Rachel blinked. Twice. There was no way this mysterious, gorgeous, (apparently) billionaire guy was asking her of all these girls if she was hungry.
"Yeah, she's hungry", Smiley announced as she arrived at the doorway with a smirk on her face. "We'll see you later, Ray."
"Where were you?" Rachel asked, but Smiley just lifted her hand to silence her and then gestured for the two to leave.
Sam was eyeing Aria as she talked to Atie about something. He couldn't help but to think that she was really pretty with her dark hair and bronze skin. He, though, shook the thoughts away when he realized what he was thinking. He was a hunter, and they were a case. He remembered the one time when he'd actually fallen for a case. Long story short, he had had to kill her. She had become too dangerous.
Though, these girls were hardly dangerous.
***************************************
Sam snapped out of his thoughts when he heard one of the girls ask "What's that?"
He blinked and looked at Smiley, who'd asked that "What's what?"
Smiley nodded at his chest. Sam was wearing a dark blue V-neck , one of its sides was slightly ripped, and a tip of a tattoo on his chest was showing.
"It's an anti-possession tattoo."
"Like, against demons?"
"Yeah. Demons are souls roasted too hard in hell, so when they break out, they look like black smoke. They're able to posses different people and bodies and this prevents them. All of us have it, you guys should get it too."
Smiley looked at Sam for a few seconds, as if in deep thought, then smiled. "Cool, I always wanted a tattoo. So, wait, this chick... Meg, was it? She's possessing someone's body?"
"Someone's dead body, yes. When demons possess, the person is still there, but if the body dies, so does the person."
"And the demon doesn't."
"No. The demon doesn't."
Smiley sighed, "This is just so screwed up."
Sam chuckled sarcastically, "Yeah, tell me about it. Try growing up in this life."
"What's your name?"
"Sam."
"Sammy. Nice."
He snickered "Don't call me that."
"Why? I like Sammy. I'm Diana, but I'm not as grumpy as you, so I allow you to call me Smiley." She decided it was fine for him to call her by her nickname.
"I'm not grumpy."
"You've been through a lot, it shows. Of course you're gonna be a bit grumpy."
Sam never stopped smiling. He hasn't smiled in a while, but now it was somehow easy. "Why is it Smiley?"
"Because I smile a lot." She tilted her head to one side, and smiled. "And I tend to make others smile, too." Sam smiled back, then looked over his shoulder at Aria, who was now fighting with Sara over who will take the upper bed. Smiley followed his glance, then looked back at him.
"Got eyes on Aria, I see."
Sam shook his head, snapping out of it. "What? Who?"
"Aria. Tan, brunette, big, brown eyes, now climbing on the upper floor of a bed right behind me."
"Oh, her? No I'm not."
Smiley raises her eyebrows and folds her arms. "Really?"
"Yeah. What was her name again? Aria?"
"You wouldn't remember if you didn't like her."
"You really think I'm that big of a douche?"
"That's the impression you have on me, yeah."
Sam didn't say anything.
"Well, anyways, I've known her for a while now, maybe I can help you out."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because maybe you're not that big of a douche after all. And I want to know more about your life in the process."
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to know about it, Diana."
"Oh you don't know me, Sam. And it's Smiley."
Sam looked at her and considered it. Why would he need any help? He's not afraid of women. Dean is much better in this category, true. But Sam didn't need any help. Moreover, he didn't want to. This is a case. He's not going to fall into the same hole again, no matter how safe things may seem.
He shook his head. "I can't do this."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
"Why?"
"Something like that already happened once, it was a mistake. I can't do it again."
"Come on, it was just one mistake, it couldn't be that bad."
"It was one of the reasons the apocalypse started. Yeah, it's pretty bad."
Smiley looked at him, a little bit stunned, a little bit confused, and very curious.
"Tell me more. Maybe we'll be done by the time Ray and Bruce will be back."
Meanwhile, Bruce was leading Ray across the round hallway, to the big elevator.
"So, where are we going again?"
"You said you were hungry, right?"
"uhm… yeah."
They reached the elevator, Bruce scanned his fingerprints, it opened, and they stepped in.
"So, I'm taking you to the cafeteria." He said, as he pushed a button that said '4'.
"Oh…"
"What?"
"I just thought… well, in a place like that… cafeteria?"
"Like I said before," the doors opened and Bruce smirked "You'll be surprised by what you'll find."
He stepped back for Ray to walk out, then walked out behind her, and she froze.
The cafeteria was barely a cafeteria. It was more of a five-star hotel buffet, it looked exactly like it. With its beige walls; the elegant chairs on brown square tables for two to four people to the right; brown couches and bigger, round tables for more people in the middle; and a huge, long buffet to the left with huge variety of foods. Ray noticed Chinese, Greek and Russian appetizers closer to them; Italian, Indian, Arabic and Mexican Main dishes on a long table that stretched out from the Appetizers to the Swiss, English and Australian deserts, at the very end of the room, where there were a chocolate fountain and a bar that stretched to the right wall as well. And those were only the things Ray noticed from first sight.
"Is this heaven?"
Bruce looked down at her and smiled, "Better."
She tore her glance away from the buffet with huge force, but smiled automatically at him when their eyes met for few seconds.
"Shall we?" asked Bruce, stretching out his harm.
"Hell yes." Says Ray, and they turn to the buffet.
"Why is everything here so… fancy?" asked Ray, as Bruce handed her a tray.
"It's Nick's base, he was here way before any of us came in so I don't know. The cafeteria was mine and Tony's idea, though." Said Bruce as they were going through the food.
"Well you are multi-billionaires, aren’t you? By the way, what is Bruce Wayne doing here?"
"Let's just say… Bruce Wayne is not the only me."
"Yeah, right. Tony is Iron Man. That blond guy is apparently Thor, that other blond guy looks exactly like Steve Rogers, well, Captain America. And you're, let me guess, Batman?"
Bruce paused, Ray hasn't noticed until a few moments, and looked up at him when she did. His glance said it all.
"Wait, seriously?"
Bruce nodded.
"But, I'm sorry, you're dead."
"Apparently, I'm not."
"I don't follow." Said Ray, as she reached out for some apple pie.
"Not that one!" Bruce grabbed her softly by the wrist. "That's Dean's. Here," he pointed to the pie next to it, not letting Ray go. "Take that one."
Ray looked at his hand on her wrist for a second, then faced him. "They're both apple pies."
"Dean's very specific about his. You don't know him yet."
Ray rolled her eyes, as Bruce took her pie and led her to one of the tables with two chairs.
"He somehow reminds me of Villy and Smiley combined." She said.
Bruce pulled out her chair. "I'm going to nod and pretend like I know who you're talking about."
Ray doesn't sit, but puts her plates down. "We're not at a junior prom, you know."
Bruce grinned. "I always have manners." That made Ray both catch her breath for moments that seemed like forever; and her knees feel weaker, so she sat down, and Bruce did so too.
Ray caught her breath, and tried to get back to the subject. "Well… um… Villy is the one Dean almost killed, and Smiley, Diana, is the one Tony called gorgeous." She said, slicing a stake.
"And you are?" Bruce asked.
"Rachel." She didn't say Ray, it came out as Rachel on its own, but she decided not to let him call her by her nickname.
"Oh." said Bruce.
Ray chewed the rest of the stake down, and asked "What is it?"
Their eyes locked again, and for the first time, Ray sees loneliness in his eyes. "Let's just say you're not the only Rachel I know." And she reminded him of her so very much.
Ray was still looking in his eyes that looked so beautifully sad, making own tear a little.
"What happened?" She whispered, talking out loud seemed impossible.
"Are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked, same tone as Ray's.
Ray blinked a few times, pushing her tears and the strange sensation in her throat back, straightened up, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Bruce sighs, but starts telling her the story. "When I was little, I fell in a well where a herd of bats attacked me. My father rescued me, but I developed a fear of bats. Sometime later, my parents and I went to an opera, one of the scenes had this bat-like monster. So I got scared, don't laugh, and begged my mom and dad to take me home. So we did, or we were about to before they got killed in a robbery. I saw them die, right before me, and I could do nothing about it. The last thing my father said to me was not to be afraid, that it was okay. The police told me they caught Chill, the one who killed my parents.
"Anyway, I was raised by my butler, Alfred. When I came back to Gotham from Princeton, I intended to kill my parents' murderer, because his sentence was suspended in exchange for testifying against a mob boss, Carmine Falcone. But one of his henchwomen killed Chill instead. And when I told Rachel, she was my childhood friend, about what I was planning, she grew disgusted of me. She said my parents wouldn't have been proud of what I was about to do, that I was going for blind vengeance, without any regard for justice. Then I confronted Falcone, who told me he was ignorant in the nature of crime, so I decided to travel the world to sort of understand the criminal mind.
"About years later, a guy called Henri Ducard told me about a group, the League of Shadows, they were sort of a terrorist group. I completed my training there, but found out they were using me to destroy Gotham. So I burned them down, saved Duncard though, and returned to Gotham. I decided to run family business, and a scientist working in Wayne Enterprises showed me various prototype technologies, including my car and armor. I found the cave under the well that I fell in, and remembered how my father wasted his last breath telling me not to be afraid. So I confronted my fears, made a workshop there, and became Batman.
"Why? Because Falcone was controlling Gotham, flooding it with crime and drugs. Rachel agreed to help me with that, though she didn't know I was really Bruce. I was later confronted by the actual leader of the League of Shadows. I was told that the one I had killed had been a decoy. They planned to destroy Gotham by distributing the toxin undetected via Gotham's water supply and then vaporizing it with a microwave emitter stolen from my company. I fought them, but only to see my manor burn down.
"I learned Crane and more criminals were after Rachel, since she was assistant District Attorney. So Batman saved her, and revealed her true identity to her. Long things short, Gordon, one of the policemen, caught Chill, and I killed the leader of the League of Shadows and arrested Falcone. Batman became a public hero, but Rachel wouldn't accept me both ways, as long as Gotham needed Batman.
"A few years later, Harvey Dent became District Attorney, and he and Rachel started dating. Then, Joker started killing people unless I revealed my true identity. I arranged a conference with Dent, I didn't want anyone else to die because of me."
Bruce paused and looked down. "Rachel tried to convince me not to." He looked back up again.
"I didn't listen. People were dying. And maybe, and I was hoping like hell for it, that she and I would be together when I revealed my true identity. Harvey realized how important Batman is to the city, though. And said that it's him to keep Batman free. Rachel confronted Alfred, and realized Gordon and I were using Dent as bait to capture Joker, and it worked.
"When we confronted him, he told us he kidnapped both Dent and Rachel, and took them to two different buildings in the city, they were tied to bombs set at a same time. He told us the addresses, I set out to save Rachel, and Gordon to save Dent. I arrived to find Dent there instead of Rachel, Joker gave us the false addresses. I manage to save Dent, Gordon arrives late for Rachel."
There was a moment of silence as Ray though about what Bruce said.
"I'm so sorry." Said Ray.
"I managed to capture Joker and kill Dent, with half his face burned people called him Two-Face, and convince Gordon to take blame for the murders caused by Dent when he was seeking revenge or Rachel's death, and preserve his public image. That's when Bane read Gordon's letter that I wasn't the murder to Gotham.
"Alfred told me that Rachel left me a letter saying that she said while Gotham may come to no longer need Batman, she feels that the day will never come when I no longer do. I didn't know that, and always thought she'd wait for me if she was still alive. So, that was one of the reasons to fake my death. To prove fears of me not being able to let go and move on false. Another reason was to pass my legacy, and I did."
"Did you? Did you really move on?"
"I did. Not for long, though. Not after… this happened. I was in a relationship, it didn't work out, and now the world needs me… again."
Rachel sighed. There was so much about this guy, so much past and pain behind all of those good looks, smiles and courage. She put her palm on his. "I don't think-"
They heard the door burst open. "There you two are." It was the woman between all the men that saved them, she was wearing a black, tight suit and had dark, short, red hair.
"We have a meeting."
"We just had one." Said Bruce. Ray still didn't remove her hand from his, and he didn't struggle.
"It's urgent." Said the woman. "Be there in a minute." She finished, walking out of the room.
"Right, well," said Ray, standing up. "I think we should go."
"Yeah." Said Bruce, standing up, picking up the trays and taking them to a trash bin. "You were saying?"
"I don't think heroes ever stop being heroes. That’s just who you are. You don't just retire, someone will always need you. Moreover, you'll always need yourself. So, don't get mad at me for saying this, but I think she was wrong about not accepting both your sides. You're Batman and Bruce Wayne (who's pretty famous all over New York and the US). It's just who you are. If I loved someone, I'd accept them for who they are." They reached the elevator and Bruce snapped his fingers.
"You remind me so much of her, look wise."
The door opened, and Bruce and Ray entered. "But you're different. You think differently."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Ray smiled.
Bruce smiled back . "You do that." He pushed a button that said '1' and the elevator doors closed shut.