Chapter 15: What am I even doing here...

"Well, Sheriff, it seems like you have in your custody a monster!"

In a police station in Missouri, Jessica held her hands out in front of a group of police officers.

On the side, a two meter tall beast was knocked out cold on the ground. There were strands of torn clothing on the beast, suggesting it was at one point a human. But now, its form reminded the officers of anything but human.

"What...what is going on?" One of the deputies couldn't help but ask.

A while ago, a man they have detained in the station suddenly started transforming. This station was of a smaller town, and there were only three officers in right now. The sheriff and two deputies. The two deputies were knocked out by the beast before they could even pull their guns out. The sheriff emptied all his shotgun rounds into the beast, only to receive an annoyed snarl in return.

Just before blood could be spilled, a blonde woman suddenly kicked the station's door open and charged into the station. All she did was wave her hand, and the giant, invincible beast just collapsed on the spot.

The woman woke the two deputies up. And then, this conversation occurred.

"So," Jessica started doing some introducing. "my name is Jessica Moore. I am a mercenary, kind of...except instead of fighting humans, I fight supernatural monsters like that." She pointed at the beast.

"What even is that thing?" The more experienced sheriff was finally able to ask a related question. He has seen a lot during his decades of career. Nothing like this, but still enough to help him recover faster. He turned to Jessica with a sense of gratitude in his eyes.

Whoever this woman was, she saved them all, and now, she might be a gateway to a whole new world.

"Well," Facing the expecting glances, Jessica paused.

What is that thing? How the hell am I supposed to know? Do I look like a monster-dictionary to you? Am I supposed to recognize every single monster on the planet? That sounds so stupid! The only reason I'm here is because Killian sensed something here and warned me! Do I look like the Winchesters to you?

"Yeah...about that...I actually don't know..."

"Uh…" The three officers were coughing. This is the part where you flex your superior knowledge and enlighten mere mortals like us! What do you mean you don't know…Jessica's image of a goddess among men suddenly collapsed.

The station was dead silent for a while as all four individuals stared at each other awkwardly…

If I knew this is what's gonna happen, I probably should've waited till the officers are dead before I come in...

Finally, Jessica broke the ice.

"So, as I said, I'm a mercenary." She rubbed her hands together. "And mercenaries get paid…"

The Sheriff was coughing hard, and it wasn't because he was sick. What's going on with this story? You're a hero that just saved the day for god's sake! What's with this street-side vendor impression?

"It's gonna be a bit hard to add this to the department budget," The Sheriff quickly added when he saw the frown on Jessica's face. "but I'm sure we three can put together a few thousand dollars as a gift…"

"Nope! Not a gift! It's a transaction!" Jessica insisted. She's a professional!

Fine! Transaction! But what's with this business tone? Is this really how the supernatural side of this world works?

The two deputies were so confused they could barely talk. The Sheriff quickly recollected whatever remained of his understanding of the world as he watched Jessica wave her hand again. A bright red dot flew across the air and landed on the knocked-out monster, and within moments, that dot turned into a wildfire. A flood of red energy devoured the monster. When the energy faded away, so did the beast.

"Well, nice doing business with ya." Jessica shook the Sheriff's hand. "I was going to say I hope we meet again, but that would really not be ideal for you. Anyways…" She glanced at the Sheriff.

Hey! Don't you think you are forgetting something?

"Oh, right!" The Sheriff snapped to the two deputies. "Go to my safe. The passcode is 3718. Bring the cash out. All of them."

The two deputies ran away like their figurative tails were on fire.

The Sheriff turned back to Jessica. "Look...I'm sorry if I am asking the wrong question, but shouldn't you be a little more discreet with doing things? I mean...what if the public knows about all this?"

I mean...look what you're doing here! Charging into a police station and killing a monster with some sort of superpower right in front of three officers! With people like you, how is the supernatural world not exposed to the public yet? It's a goddamn miracle!

Jessica shrugged. "Maybe? Not my problem."

What do you mean maybe? If the public knows there are monsters in the dark, there will be riots! Chaos! Society as we know it will tumble! You're a monster! Wait...this girl may actually be a monster! She has some sort of superpower too! God! I was talking to a monster! That's why she doesn't care about us human!

For all he knew, Jessica might have two hearts, three lungs, and be able to transform to 3 meters tall!

Upon that realization, the Sheriff went dead silent. Jessica sighed. People these days are so dull! She started walking around the small station in boredom. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a police radio.

"Warning! Suspect Dean Winchester is still on the run! He is armed and extremely dangerous! He was last spotted at..."

Dean Winchester? What did he get into this time? Speaking of...if Dean's here, Sam probably is as well. It's been a while since they met! Jessica found herself a bit curious what the brothers are up to.

Jessica turned back to the Sheriff.

"You know anything about this?"

"Yeah, it's being going on for a while." The Sheriff glanced at her. "This guy, Dean Winchester, attacked a girl named Becky. Tied her up and beat her until SWAT moved in. He stabbed an officer on the way out."

Stabbed an officer? Jessica knew Dean was always a fiery one, but assaulting a law enforcement officer shouldn't be normal for him. Something must be really wrong.

"Is he alone?"

"I think so."

"Give me the address of that girl. Wait...Becky?" Jessica suddenly remembered a friend Sam had back in Stanford. "Hmmm…"

Things were about to get really interesting.

---

"What are you going to do with me?"

Inside Becky's house, Sam struggled against the ropes tying his hands together. Beside him, Dean, or at least a figure looking like Dean, slowly poured himself a drink.

"I, am not going to do anything. Dean will though."

The figure said smugly, and he had the reasons to be. As a Shapeshifter, he was able to easily kidnap women, torture them to death, at leave their grieving husbands to pay the consequences. Even now, he played with the Winchester brothers like they were toys. Impersonate Dean and attack Becky. Impersonate Becky to attack Sam. The power he was born with was utilized to its full extent.

Already, he has poured some mud onto Dean, framing him for kidnapping and attacking Sam's friend Becky. Now, he was going to seal the deal by killing Sam in his brother's form. This way, even if he couldn't get Dean himself, the police should be more than enough to keep him busy.

Now, why was he doing all this to the Winchesters. Simple? The Winchesters came after him and wanted to stop his killings. Did they have the right to? Probably. But the Shapeshifter has abandoned any sense of conscious he had before. He killed people based on his own desires, and taking out a few threats was astonishing straightforward.

Now, all he had to do was finish the kill, but the Shapeshifter was never about quick and deadly. Nope. He wanted to take his time with his pray. Get into their head and break their minds before he ended their lives. Otherwise, what would be the point?

"You know, your brother actually has a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do." The Shapeshifter took another sip of the drink before kneeling down on the unfazed Sam. "The memories I got from him...oof. It's quite a load. I know everything there is about you two. Hunters. Daddy John. Oh, and who's Jess?"

Sam glared at him. His face twitched slightly in anger.

"Jessica Moore." The Shapeshifter grinned. "A former Stanford student who decided to become a hunter. Dumped you and your brother a few weeks ago to go on her own. Hmm...she sounds fun. Maybe I'll visit her soon."

"Don't you dare…" Sam threatened with a low voice. He knew Jessica was talented, perhaps even more talented than the brothers were, but she had no experience with a Shapeshifter.

The Shapeshifter smirked and slowly raised a kitchen knife. He wasn't scared of the threats. Aside from the standard skill set for monsters, like superhuman strength, speed, agility, and invincibility against most conventional attacks, Sam was tied up. As long as he didn't mess up big, he should be fine.

Suddenly, just before he could bring the blade down, he heard a knocking on the door.

Immediately, Sam opened his mouth to scream, but the Shapeshifter was expecting that. He grabbed onto a piece of cloth from the kitchen counter and stuffed it into Sam's mouth before walking to the door and opening it. Before he left, he stabbed the knife into the table.

When he saw the visitor, he was completely taken back.

"Jess…" The Shapeshifter's mouth hung open for a moment. "I...I wasn't expecting you…"

In the room, Sam's eyes widened. Jess? Jessica? Why was Jessica here? Wait...she would have no idea Dean was impersonated! He struggled even harder before his gaze landed on the knife the Shapeshifter left in the kitchen counter.

At the door, the Shapeshifter quickly recovered. He didn't get anything from Dean's memories about calling Jessica here, not that it would matter. What was better than killing a girl in front of her boyfriend?

"Jess," He smiled. "please, come inside."

Looking at the Shapeshifter, Jessica's eyes suddenly lit up. A grin climbed onto her lips as if she just saw something funny. She nodded briefly and stepped inside. The Shapeshifter closed the door after her.

"How did you find us?" The Shapeshifter asked as he slowly gathered strength, waiting for when Jessica's attention would be turned away so he could strike.

"Well, it's a long story." Jessica looked at Dean from top to bottom before adding. "One that I would like to tell to the real Dean."

Before the Shapeshifter could even react, Jessica waved her hand, and a silver knife flew straight out of her bag and into her right hand. Without a moment of delay, she reached out and stabbed the Shapeshifter in the heart.

The Shapeshifter coughed. His eyes staring at the blonde girl in front of her with disbelief.

What the hell? Who does that? I mean...sure, you've probably got your suspicions, but shouldn't you make sure I'm an imposter before you deliver the killing blow? That's what Sam did! What type of self-respecting hunter just goes straight for the kill? Where's the drama? Where's the back and forth? How am I even supposed to fight back?

This is damn unfair!

Also, which one of us is the real monster? Even I, a self-respecting, murderous monsters, tried to talk to you first! You are more of a monster than I am!

Wait...Dean's memory included a Demon telling him and Sam that Jessica is not who she is! Does that mean...Jessica is also a monster? And by the looks of it, not a weak one…

"Jess?" A voice called out as Sam walked out of the kitchen. He was able to cut through the rope binding his hands together with the knife the Shapeshifter left, but the picture of him jumping in and saving the princess didn't happen. Instead, the princess was standing over the body of the dragon with a bloody knife in her hand, and the knight was just standing there with his mouth open.

Hearing Sam's voice, the dying Shapeshifter suddenly had an idea. You wanna keep your cover, Jessica? Well, I ain't letting ya! Who said monsters should be friends with other monsters? He struggled and turned to Sam. If he could tell him the truth about Jessica…

Jessica frowned and subtly moved her finger. A hidden surge of energy dove into the Shapeshifter's body and quickly traveled to his heart before being unleashed into a tiny explosion.

The Shapeshifter collapsed. His plan for revenge died with him.

With that done, Jessica let out an innocent smile. "You are very welcome, Sam. A shapeshifter? How did you two manage before I came along…"

And then Sam disappeared around the corner. When he appeared again, he was holding onto a plastic bottle. Without hesitation, he splashed the water in the bottle all over Jessica's face.

Nothing happened.

Jessica froze. Her smile still on her face, but it was only because she wasn't sure which expression she should change to. In fact, the only other expression she had in mind right now was the furious one.

"Killian, what the hell is that?"

"Pretty sure it's Holy Water."

"What?"

"Ok you definitely didn't pay attention in class. It counters Demons. Also helps to identify possessed human."

"Why would he...oh…" Jessica growled inside. "Why didn't you warn me? You definitely saw that coming!"

"Yeah, but I really want to see what your response will be." Killian smiled. "And now, I'm glad I didn't warn you."

"Grrrr…" Jessica groaned and turned to Sam, who upon realizing the Holy Water didn't do a thing, has gone to the app store and purchased the apologetic emoji pack. He had a feeling he would need a lot of that soon.

"Sorry, Jess." For a moment, Sam looked like a puppy about to be abandoned by his owner. "We had to be sure."

"Well, I'm not possessed." Jessica stuck out her tongue and licked off drops of Holy Water on her lips. "Also, did anyone ever tell you Holy Water is a bit sweet?"

Inside Jessica, Killian quietly evaporated the Holy Water that just entered her body. Holy Water contained energy of the light. When coming into contact with entities like Demons who were drenched in forces of darkness, they would have violent reactions. In some cases, the energy of the light could purge some of the darkness, burning the Demons and causing them immense pain.

But ultimately, Holy Water was a lower leagued, mass-produced weapon. For stronger beings like Killian, he could wipe out the energy of the light in the Holy Water as soon as it came in contact.

"Where have you been, Jess?" Now that the danger was resolved, Sam started asking questions. "I mean...we went to the apartment back at Stanford and you weren't there. We waited there for a long time."

"I went on a road trip. Well, a hunting trip, but since I don't like to tell the same story twice," She snapped around at the older Winchester, who was sneaking up on her from behind. "hello, Dean. And you can put the Holy Water down. I'm not..."

And then...splash!

Two seconds later, Jessica touched her face, felt the wetness on her finger, and turned to a very apologetic Dean Winchester.

"What am I even doing here..."