#agent howard

William and Mara are running to the edge of a cliff

"But why? Why am I being punished?"

"It isn’t about you, it’s about her…

"...Mara."

William: We can slow down – they’re not going anywhere.

Mara: Slow down? But we’re just getting started.

"And what she did all those centuries ago.”

Mara sees a ship.

Mara: Look there, explorers, traders, they have plenty to eat, warm beds. It looks perfect.

“When she first came to this place.”

William and Mara run down the mountain to the water.

William: So, after this – what’s next?

Mara: What do you mean “all this”?

William: Everything that’s happened, all that we’ve accomplished, what we’ve done to these people.

Mara: I wish you wouldn’t call them that.

William: What...people?

Mara: They hardly qualify. Apish, idiotic creatures, took them thousands of years just to rub two sticks together.

William: I know - but I think you’re missing the point.

Mara: Then pray tell, what is your point?

William grabs Mara and faces her.

William: What happens if we get caught?

Coming here, doing this – we’ve broken every rule that there is.

I’d do anything for you, you know that, but I’m trying to protect you. If we leave now, we can still get away.

Mara: You know I can’t do that…

They spy on a village.

Mara: Not when I’ve come this far. Not when I’m this close.

Everything that we’ve done here, it’s taught me so much.

How these simple little creatures work, the emotions that drive them.

When given purpose.

They see a boy running and the tripping over a rock and falling on his face.

Boy: Oof…

Mara: Let’s see see how far we can push these creatures…before they break.

Mara’s hand is covered in aether. She presses it to the boy’s astonished face.

“The others I have touched…

“Let’s call those practice.

“Warm up.

“I didn’t go far enough.

“If we’re to succeed…

“We must hold nothing back.”

Images of horrified villagers seemingly transformed into monsters.

HAVEN: IN THE BEGINNING

The boy runs away.

“But why? Why would she do such terrible things?”

Boy: Help me! 

“Hubris?”

Man1: Edward!

A man comes running toward the boy, reaches for him.

“Sadism?”

Man1: Edwaaa…

The man is burned in a flash of light and nothing is left of him but a skeleton.

The other villagers see it.

Man2: My lord…

Man3: Help! Help!

“Or maybe just because she could.”

The villagers confront William and Mara.

Man with axe: She cast a spell on Edward!

Man2: She’s a witch!

Man3: Kill her!

Mara: Don’t let them harm the boy, I need to see what happens next.

“Disposable.”

William puts up his sword and clashes with the villager carrying an axe. 

“Pawns in some grand plan.

“Perhaps even less than that.”

William punches the man.

Man with axe: Oooof…

Williams runs him through with his sword.

Man with axe: Gurrrrggghh…

“Playthings.

“For her amusement.”

Another villager attacks with a sword but William ducks and he only manages to bash the man with the axe in the face.

William kicks him away. The boy is sitting off in the distance in a circle of light. When the villager’s body touches the light, he also burns up, leaving nothing but a skeleton.

“Like a child pulling wings off dragonflies.”

Boy: I’m sorry…

I can’t help it, it’s not my fault!

The boy uproots a tree with his mind.

William: Mara look out!

William quickly pulls Mara to safety, throwing her to the ground.

Mara: Did you have to be so rough?

William: You might be immune to the boy, but you can still be crushed by a house.

They look at the boy in the light.

William: We have to get out of here.

Mara: Fine. I’m done with this place anyway.

“But the why of it was never my concern.”

William: And what about the boy?

Mara: Leave him, that was too uncontrollable, unpredictable. Not what I need.

William and Mara go back to the shore.

William: There’s a thinny here, we can use it to travel far away…

“It’s not my job to ask why.”

William: Before they discover what we’ve done here.

“My job…”

“Agent” Howard appears with a couple of assistants.

Mara: You…

“...was to bring her to justice.”

William tackles the assistants.

William: Run!!

Mara runs, passing by the boy who is on his knees.

Boy: Please, help me!

Mara stops for a second and Howard tackles her. 

KERSMACK

Mara: Gahh –

The boy stands up.

Howard: Come over here, son, let me help you. Don’t worry – you won’t hurt me.

The assistants bring William over.

William: Mara – I’m so sorry.

Howard: This child, all the others like him – the humans you have…changed.

We must release them from their suffering.

And your punishment must fit your crimes. William be cast into the void where he belongs – with the other mindless monsters.

Mara: Please, no.

Howard: But you knew what you were doing, that your actions would have consequences.

Looking out at the coastline, the boat, the village.

“It’s beautiful here. Serene.

“We will create a haven here for all those you’ve wronged. A place where their affiliations will and can be managed.

“They will gather here, seeking sanctuary, but once a generation you’ll return here, and that safety will fade away.

“You will be forced to see the damage you’ve done, live amongst all those you’ve hurt.”

The barn. Dark.

“And between those times, this will be your prison.”

Sarah and Howard are inside the barn, a long white corridor with many doors and window.

Sarah: I’m here, aren’t I? I’m Mara. That’s why I’m immune to the troubles…That’s why I am here.

Howard: Yes, this is your punishment.

Sarah: So what happens next?

Howard: We try again. When we next meet, you won’t remember any of this. You will be a different person. And the cycle will start all over.

Howard touches Sarah’s forehead in a flash of light.

Howard: Goodbye, Sarah.

This week we have a poker game on the Rouge that turns into a kidnapping situation while Duke tries to work out why his opponents are always two steps ahead of him, Julia learns more about Duke than perhaps she wanted to, Audrey talks to her boss about how she can help the people of Haven, and everyone gets taken out to sea on a leaking boat.

Agent Howard

Pairing: Fritz Howard/Gavin Baker Rating: Mature Summary: Fritz and Gavin spend Christmas Eve together. Word count: 1257 Prompt: “my favorite things” Tags: fluff, like bonafide tooth rotting fluff, flirting, implied sexual content, holidays, Christmas, boys kissing, cute snuggly boys

Read on AO3 

(I may or may not have borrowed prompts from the 2017 Supernatural Advent Calendar Challenge without permission *cough*)

[But for real, if I want anything for this pairing, I have to write it myself. So. Uh. Sorry not sorry Merry Holidays :D ]

Tagging the awesome and amazing @brieflymaximumprincess 

-.-.-.-.-

Fat raindrops plop onto the patio, speckling the concrete and beating a soft but constant tattoo on the overhang. Fabulous, a distraction. Just what he needs right now. Abandoning the hellaciously thick case file he’s supposed to be reading, Gavin unfolds himself from where he’s curled up on the porch swing and leans over the railing to watch. The soft cascade blurs the red and green and white of their neighbors’ Christmas lights, blending them with the golden lights of the city. It’s beautiful and peaceful, and the closest thing to a white Christmas Los Angeles will get.

Gavin has no problem with that. Snow is nice when it’s somewhere else, preferably on a distant mountain top where he can admire it from afar.

Lightning flashes in the dark sky above, arcing from cloud to cloud in a display almost as dazzling as the glittering lights below. Smiling to himself, Gavin indulges a childhood habit and counts slowly under his breath. One one thousand, two one thousand…He gets to five before a deep, guttural rumble echoes through the chilly air. Close enough to be interesting, far enough away it can’t knock out the power and ruin his plans for the evening. Just the way Gavin likes his weather.

Tugging his navy and bronze plaid wool robe tighter around his body, he leans against one of the supports and watches the storm. The strip of exposed concrete is soon a rich deep gray. He breathes deeply through his nose and lets it back out slowly, a sigh of contentment. He’s always loved the smell of rain on concrete, on fresh dirt and grass. Petrichor is one of his favorite perfumes. Well, that and his Armani Code Ultimate, otherwise known as “instant sex, just add Fritz.”

The back door slides open with a soft swish just as another fork of lightning crackles through the sky. Gavin snorts softly and glances over his shoulder as Fritz joins him on the patio in stockinged feet and a thin cotton robe. Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. Really, though, Fritz is the farthest thing from a devil Gavin knows. More like the last angel on Earth. As the answering roll of thunder rumbles through the evening, a pair of strong arms wrap around Gavin’s waist, tucking him against an equally strong chest. Smiling, Gavin snuggles back into Fritz’s delightfully welcoming warmth.

“Been looking for you,” Fritz says, leaning down and brushing a kiss against Gavin’s cheek.