canon au } { post-507: strange frequencies

[impetere]

Cora: [and she comes in, smells the blood, sees the dead body, and senses Stiles' anxiety that by the time she sees Theo, she's already amped up to 11 on the worry scale. She doesn't wait, just reacts, grabbing him by his shoulders and tossing him backwards, across the roof and away from Stiles]

Stiles: [grabs Cora to keep her from going after Theo] I'm okay. [no, he's not. he's so not okay on so many levels but he isn't in danger]

Theo: Yeah, I actually kinda saved his life.

Cora: [she stops when Stiles stops her, but her eyes don't leave Theo and she stays between the two of them. She doesn't snarl, but there's something in her stance that says she wants to] Good for you. [that's to Theo. She also doesn't believe Stiles, but they can figure that out later] What happened?

Stiles: I... I um... I was attacked by that guy there. Theo came in and well... [the ripped out throat is pretty obvious] He was going to kill us both.

Cora: [which is fine. for now. She glances back to Stiles before eyeing Theo carefully] We should tell Scott.

Stiles: [licks his lips, looking at Theo. He looks back, watching Stiles carefully. He bites his lips, hating this position] We need to get the body out of here before the cops show up, Cora. We can tell Scott after.

Cora: [her eyes glance back to Stiles again, this time studying his face to try and find what he wasn't saying, but she doesn't bring it up now] And take it where?

Stiles: [thinks] Deaton's. No one will look for a body there.

Cora: You do realize that Scott and Malia are here with Lydia, right? How do you plan to sneak him out?

Stiles: Ambulance bay.

Cora: Can you get him there without Scott seeing? Or smelling?

Theo: Someone can distract him.

Stiles: Not you. [looks at Cora] Please.

Cora: [and there's a look back at him at that because you know her thing about lying to Scott. It doesn't feel right, and it's making her not like this even more than she already does]

Stiles: You're not lying to him. Just distract him so we can get out, and then tell him to come to Deaton’s once Malia and Lydia go home.

Cora: [she grits her teeth before nodding] Fine. We'll meet you there. [don't ditch her, Stiles, because the more time she spends with Theo, the more he reminds her of Peter - and not in a good way.]

Stiles: [yeah, he knows he's asking a lot] We'll be there. [and motions to Theo to help him pick the body up]

Cora: [and she'll head back down into the hospital to find Scott, clearly not happy but trying to keep it to herself]

Stiles: [and we can skip all the way to Scott coming to the vet and Stiles and Theo weaving their web of lies and when Stiles goes to leave Cora can corner him?]

Cora: [and she'll head back down into the hospital to find Scott, clearly not happy but trying to keep it to herself]

Stiles: [and we can skip all the way to Scott coming to the vet and Stiles and Theo weaving their web of lies and when Stiles goes to leave Cora can corner him?]

Cora: [yep, that works, she's cornering Stiles and pulling him out of Theo's earshot] What's going on?

Stiles: [he licks his lips, looking down at his hands] He knows about Donovan.

Cora: [her eyes widen] How?

Stiles: He was there. He saw me leaving, smelt the blood, and saw. And then he went to check on me, thought I was gone, went back and the body was gone too. [he is freaking out]

Cora: So now he's blackmailing you into doing this?

Stiles: No. No we need to figure out who's taking the bodies. Now we have a body we can watch and figure that out. Maybe we can find the rest of them then.

Cora: [huffs before reaching for her phone to text Lindsay]

Stiles: What are you doing?

Cora: Texting Lindsay.

Stiles: What about? [tries to look over her shoulder]

Cora: The plan. That way she can be here to make sure Theo doesn't do anything shady.

Stiles: But if he knows he's being watched, he's not going to and we won't have proof.

Cora: He doesn't have to know he's being watched.

Stiles: Yeah, well he reminds me of your brother and his early stalker habits right about now, so I won't but it past him to have like, a third eye on his ass or something.

Cora: Really? Because he reminds me more of Peter.

Stiles: You may want to avoid that analogy. He's trying to get into Malia's pants.

Cora: Or maybe I should be using that analogy.

Stiles: You really just made this a lot creepier.

Cora: [she gives him a dry smile, before glancing down at her phone again] Lindsay knows how to watch and not be seen.

Scott: [and Stiles is going to straighten a bit as Scott comes over] Stiles, I need you. Liam found another Chimera...

Cora: [glances up as she hits send and turns her phone away from Scott] You need me?

Scott: Um, do you want to stay here with Theo?

Theo: [small smile and wave of his fingers]

Cora: [her expression goes flat and Hale-like in his direction almost immediately, and she nods] Sure. No problem.

Stiles: Um, I'm not okay with that.

Cora: Stiles, I'll be fine.

Stiles: Nope, still not okay.

Scott: Text if you need us. [grabs Stiles arm and pulls him away]

Cora: [catches Stiles' hand and gives it a squeeze as he leaves, before moving over to push herself up on one of the empty counters, continuing to text Lindsay. Until the Dread Doctors show up and do the appropriate head-messing]

Stiles: [and he would be worried about her] Cora, what's wrong?

Cora: [shakes her head] Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine.

Stiles: You sure?

Cora: [she nods before glancing up at him with a small smile] Yeah, I'm good.

Stiles: [rubs her arms a bit, then looks over at Theo because nope, never trusting you] Well, I'm pretty sure whoever's taking the bodies isn't going to show up if they know we're watching. So, I've got an idea. [and he's going to go set up his phone]

Cora: [watches him for a moment, before glancing around over her shoulders] Waiting in the Jeep?

Stiles: Yup. [holds up the watch phone] To the surveillance jeep.

Cora: [nods and follows, sliding into the back seat because she's tiny]

Theo: [and after a while of silence, the boys will have their talk about trust, and Theo telling his story about his sister's death. Nice and steady heartbeat]

Stiles: [he just sits there, working his jaw before looking at Cora in the rearview to see if she believes this]

Cora: [nope. Not a word. You wanna know why? Because they got told a story like that before] You know the thing about only hearing one side of the story? You've only heard one side of the story. [hi unreliable narrator. Just like her uncle]

Stiles: [blinks, and turns to look back at her a moment, and there's a small smirk. It's a thank you for being on my side smirk]

Theo: Yeah, well it doesn't change the fact my sister isn't here to tell her side. I'm sure you both know how much it hurts to lose your family. Being too young and not able to help save them?

Cora: [and there's a serious Hale glare because no you did not just bring up her dead family]

Theo: [not even phased. IN fact, trying not to smirk as he settles back into his seat, and off to talk about Donovan's teeth and the myths about cannibals and the price for killing a chimera.]

Stiles: Yeah, well I know my price. I'm going to lose my best friend. [fingers playing on the steering wheel] I'm gonna lose Scott.

Cora: [at that her face softens and she reaches forward to squeeze his shoulder gently] No, you won't. Scott will understand.

Theo: If Scott really gave up on you over this, for someone like Donovan, that wouldn't be like a true alpha.

Stiles: [sighs, licking his lips again.] Yeah, well maybe there's the definition of one - someone who won't put up with murder. [watches Theo a moment, and then his stomach growls]

Cora: It wasn't murder. It was an accident. [and she hears that]

Theo: It sounds like you guys need to look up justifiable homicide.

Stiles: Did you just... [looks at Cora] Did he just say that to the son of a cop?

Cora: Apparently he needs to do better research on his audience. Also justifiable homicide also depends a lot on intent. See, with Stiles, he documented his actions with the sheriff's office and didn't intend to kill him - it just happened when he brought the scaffolding down while he was trying to get away. It's a little harder to argue when you've ripped someone's throat out.

Theo: It was that or both of us would be dead as well, right now. [looks at Stiles] How did you even end up on the roof anyway?

Stiles: [and his stomach growls again, louder. He goes to reach for the water bottle in the car and it's empty] I was trying to see if I could figure out the power issues. All the power goes to the roof. [don't ask him why he knows that]

Theo: And why do you know that?

Cora: Because that hospital is like ground zero for half the supernatural battles in this town. It's good to know your territory. [she's got your back, boyfriend] When was the last time you ate?

Stiles: I um... I don't know. Yesterday maybe?

Cora: [sighs] One of us should go get something.

Theo: I'm not hungry, but thanks.

Stiles: You go. You'll be quicker. [looking back at Cora]

Cora: [and there's a look at that again because she doesn't like leaving Stiles alone with Theo anymore than Stiles likes leaving Cora.]

Stiles: We'll be fine. There's a Little Caesar’s like three blocks away. You'll be gone what, ten minutes tops?

Cora: [she takes a deep breath and sighs, before nodding as she goes to climb out of the Jeep] I'm not getting pineapple.

Stiles: Fine, whatever they have Hot and Ready.

Cora: [she nods as she shoves Theo out of the way so she can climb out of the Jeep.] I'll be right back.

Stiles: [nods]

Theo: [and knowing she's still in earshot] I think she's warming up to me.

Stiles: And you're upset that I'm never going to trust you? Yeah, good luck convincing a Hale.

Theo: Malia trusts me.

Stiles: [eyeroll]

Theo: [and then back they go on script with Theo prompting Stiles to admit he felt good about killing Donovan, curious on if Cora was listening in]

Lindsay: [Cora may not be, but Lindsay is, stashed in her car out of view of the two teenagers, listening in with those listening devices and she sighs softly. Oh, Stiles. Unfortunately for Lindsay, while the boys don't know she's there, the incoming deputy does, and before she can even realize what is happening her car is going tumbling across the street until it lands upside down]

Theo: [and he hears that, and then gets the scent.]

Parrish: [zombie shuffle Hale gone slam Theo in the face and remove him from the car before flipping the jeep and then stealing the body!]

Theo: [and he wakes up, and OW that hurt. Fuck. He's going to grab the fire extinguisher, and he's going to just... stop a moment. Watching the flames around the jeep getting closer to Stiles. It would solve so much just letting the fire take him. He could claim he was unconscious until it was too late. His ears are at attention, listening for Cora's return as he hopes the flames will get into the jeep. Or it would explode. He would survive it, the story would be a lot more believable...]

Cora: [she sees the wreck of Lindsay's car first and then smells the fire and the pizza is getting abandoned as she picks up the pace and starts running back in the direction of the clinic. As she rounds the corner there's too much fire, but she can't not try to get to him either] Stiles!

Theo: [and as he hears her approach, that's when he starts to fight the fire. He's resisting letting his face heal for now, focusing on trying to "save" Stiles now] It came out of nowhere!

Cora: [she rushes past him, shoving him off before pulling Stiles the rest of the way herself. She drops back to her knees once they're a safe distance away, pulling Stiles' head into her lap] Stiles? Stiles, wake up.

Theo: [keeps aiming to put out the fire. Explosion would not be good right now]

Stiles: [nope, not moving. He's been in there awhile, and his breathing is very shallow]

Cora: [no no no no the panic starts to rise in her chest as she leans down to listen to his breathing, noting how shallow it is, before glancing back to the the clinic - what isn't on fire, anyway] We need one of the oxygen tanks.

Lindsay: [meanwhile, across the street, there's a whole lot of swearing as Lindsay kicks her way out of the crumpled car, sending the door flying across the street with her slayer strength] I fucking hate this town. [in case you were unaware]

Theo: [just nods and runs inside, going for the tank and a mask. Yeah, probably going to need a mask and a tube thingie to connect it to. Give him a moment to find all that]

Cora: [moves to stretch him out gently, letting his head rest against the ground] Lindsay, he's not waking up. [the panic is clear in her voice]

Lindsay: [at that she stops complaining and rushes over, reaching for her phone] This is Deputy Miller, I need an ambo and a fire truck at the Beacon Hills Animal clinic now! [and as soon as she's finished making the call she goes to check Stiles over herself] Did you start CPR?

Cora: [looks up and blinks, almost as though that didn't occur to her] Theo's going to get oxygen.

Lindsay: Okay, okay. He's still breathing, so that's a good thing. [she meets Cora's eyes to drive the point home before making sure Stiles is positioned properly] You breathe into his mouth when I tell you to, okay? [Cora nods and with that they'll start getting Stiles to breathe]

Theo: [he's got the stuff, and Stiles' phone, and he's back outside]

Stiles: [give him a few times and then he's going to cough, gasping for more air]

Lindsay: [and she will promptly take the oxygen from Theo and put the mask over Stiles’ face so that he can breathe a little easier] Welcome back.

Cora: [and will just move into his line of vision with worried eyes, wanting to make sure he's okay]

Stiles: [will look at her and reach a shaky hand for her, then look up at Theo]

Theo: [knows what he wants to know] Body's gone. I got your phone though [hands it to Cora] We can look at the footage later.

Cora: [gives his hand a firm squeeze before passing the phone right to Lindsay]

Lindsay: [nods and takes it, slipping it in her pocket] I'll hold on to that.

Theo: I don't think we've met.

Lindsay: Nope. We haven't. [looks up with a sarcastic smile] Lindsay Miller. Slayer. I'm also a deputy as my day job.

Theo: Right, Scott mentioned something about you guys... [and lifts his head as he hears the sirens]

Lindsay: And that will be the fire truck and the ambulance. [to Stiles] Stay. I'm giving your girlfriend permission to sit on you if she has to. [and with that she'll get up to flag down the emergency vehicles]

Cora: [and the look Cora is giving him says "don't think I won't."]

Stiles: [he's going to just hold the oxygen mask to his face and lay back. He's too tired to resist]

Theo: I'll go tell Scott what's happening. They have those electro things going so their phones won't be working.

Cora: [she glances up at him before nodding, moving to sit behind Stiles so that he can rest his head in her lap, letting her fingers play with his hair]

Stiles: [the lack of oxygen, food, dehydrated, and just everything in the last 48 hours is taking a toll on him and he's going to just close his eyes, still holding her hand when the ambulance and fire truck get there. He doesn't even really realize exactly what's happened to his jeep just yet]

Cora: [which is for the best, really. She brushes her fingers through his hair soothingly, watching the condensation on the mask to make sure he's still breathing, and only moves out of the way when the paramedics come to look him over]

Stiles: [and he knows better than to resist. They are going to do a quick exam as the firefighters go to put the jeep out. As they go to load him up, he'll reach for Lindsay] My dad...

Lindsay: I'll tell him where you are. [nudges Cora onto the bus and holds up her badge] She's next of kin. Let her stay.

Stiles: [and the ambulance workers won't complain, and off the go. They are checking him over for other injuries and he winces when they reach his shoulder. But he can't even complain before the medic half rolls him and looks at the bandage.]

Medic: You know what this is?

Cora: Yeah, it happened a few days ago. My dog got him, he had it checked out already. [lies lies lies]

Medic: [nods, but logs it anyway]

Cora: [stays out of the way otherwise, before reaching forward and taking Stiles’ hand, letting him know she's still there]

Stiles: [and then that's where they take him in and into the ER and Melissa is off duty but she was with the Sheriff so they will be meeting them there and wanting to know what the sam blazes happened?!]

Cora: [and Cora will explain that they were waiting at the animal clinic for something and she went to get pizza and when she came back everything was on fire, and the Sheriff will probably be very unhappy but he will leave to go check out the scene himself and Cora will just opt to curl up in bed with her boyfriend]

Stiles: [and he's going to probably doze as they give him an IV to rehydrate him and there's only a few minor bumps and bruises from being in a flipping jeep.]

Scott: [and he's going to skid into the room once he's finally there because this day? worst day ever. And his mom hasn't even found the dead body Kira left for them in the kitchen yet!] Cora?

Cora: [picks her head up as she hears Scott's voice] He's okay. Some smoke inhalation and a concussion, but he'll be fine.

Scott: [comes in, closing the door behind him] Theo said that it came out of nowhere and was fire?

Cora: [shakes her head] I don't know. I wasn't there. I went to go get food because Stiles hadn't eaten and when I came back Lindsay's car was flipped and the Jeep was trashed and everything was on fire.

Scott: [pinches the bridge of his nose] No one was supposed to get hurt.

Cora: Someone always gets hurt. [no matter what the plan is, that's how these things go]

Scott: [sighs] He's not the only one. [he guides Cora away from the bed] They got Hayden. And Liam.

Cora: [her eyes widen a bit at that, before she closes her eyes] Damnit.

Scott: I need your help. Derek, Laura... I screwed up. I shouldn't have used her as bait...

Cora: Hey, no. [she reaches for him, taking his shoulders gently] There wasn't enough time. But if they took Liam, that's a scent we know. Maybe we can track them somehow. I'll ask Derek and Laura to help, and Peter and Buffy are on their way back too. I'm not sure when but we've got Slayers and all kinds of back up.

Scott: Cora, they've got the power to get into our heads. Lydia, Malia... even me. We were useless. And Malia said that Parrish drove off so they had to get in his head too and he's not answering Lydia's calls.

Cora: Then we figure out how to keep them out.

Scott: The last time we had someone who could get in our heads... [looks at Stiles]

Cora: [glances back with them, considering for a moment, before her head tips to the side] You said they work on frequencies right? That radio emitter didn't work, but what if we brought someone more powerful than them? Like, say ... someone with angelic tendencies?

Scott: [looks at her, then nods] Which one you thinking about?

Cora: Castiel would be the best case scenario, but Ben might be able to do in a pinch.

Scott: Right now, we have two problems. And I think we could use a hunter to help us with finding whoever's taking the bodies if they can do this.

Cora: [she nods] Lindsay's already been working on it, but Ben, Michael and Olivia travel together - we could get all three of them.

Scott: [nods] As long as they can get here quickly.

Cora: [she nods] I'll call them and see where they are.

Scott: Thanks. [watches Stiles a moment] Do you... do you ever get the feeling that he's lying to you, even when he isn't showing any signs of lying?

Cora: [glances back at him as well and nods, but doesn't meet Scott's eyes again, because she knows exactly what it's about] It's why he can't do it for very long. I usually push it out of him.

Scott: Just... just tell him whatever it is? We can work it out. I mean, he's my best friend. I can't stay mad at him long.

Cora: [glances down] I don't think he's worried about you being mad. I think he's worried about you not being able to see him the same way. [she pauses for a moment, before glancing back to Scott] You know how when Peter was crazy, no matter how bad he got, he always gravitated back to Derek again? He did that because he figured that so long as Derek was still there for him, and still let him be family, then what he's done so far wasn't too far over the line. He needed Derek to draw the lines for him because he couldn't really see them himself. [Cora is just all over the place with Peter analogies tonight, it's really bad] Stiles ... he knows where the lines are and he knows he crossed them, and he's worried that he might have hit a point where you'll say that it's too much and he'll lose you.

Scott: What line did he cross?

Cora: [her eyes glances back to Scott, silently asking him not to make her say it because as much as she wants to, and she thinks that they should, she promised Stiles she wouldn't. And in a lot of ways, he needs to say it himself, but it's clear enough in her gaze that it's a big one.]

Scott: [he sighs] Yeah, no I get it. He'll tell me when he's ready.

Cora: For the record, I don't like that he's lying to you. I don't like keeping things from you but ... he needs to tell you, not me. [unless she thinks it's getting out of control, which it kind of is] Especially since Theo is using it against him.

Scott: [blinks, and then just leans his head back in frustration] I don't have time for the two of them butting heads again.

Cora: I wouldn't call it butting heads so much as blackmail. [Cora grits her teeth because while she cares about Stiles, she needs Scott to understand and do what's best of his pack which is keeping Theo far away] I tell you this, you didn't hear it from me?

Scott: [looks at Stiles a moment, listening to the monitor and his breathing to make sure he's asleep] What is it?

Cora: [deep breath] The Dread Doctors didn't kill the chimera that we moved to the clinic. Theo did. And he's using what Stiles did to blackmail him into keeping his mouth shut so you didn't find out. [she shakes her head] While we were staking out the clinic tonight, he was telling us this sob story about his sister, but there was something not right about it. He's like Peter. He tells the best version of a story to get what he wants and right now what he wants is in your pack.

Scott: [works his jaw, watching Stiles a moment] It doesn't make sense why he would be doing all of this to get into my pack like that if he knows I wouldn't let him in if I found out.

Cora: Look at who he's doing it to. [she turns and looks at him pointedly] Your first reaction when I brought up it being between Theo and Stiles was "I can't deal with this right now." He's doing this through Stiles because he knows that you'll take it with a grain of salt since Stiles was so adamantly against him in the first place.

Scott: Stiles is against everyone, Cora. It's what he does, and you can't tell me that he hasn't grown in that paranoia since the notgitsune.

Cora: No, I'm not saying that he doesn't. But I'm also saying that it is a weakness that people will continue to exploit to get between the two of you if you guys don't figure out how to balance it somehow. Because he's right about Theo. [she sighs] You trust people and you try to save everyone and you don't want anyone to get hurt, but Scott ... sometimes being a little guarded is a good thing. Especially when you gotta admit that the fact that he showed up right when the chimeras did is a pretty big coincidence. [there's a beat] Look, my mom was a lot like you. And Peter was the one who was telling her that the Kate and Derek were a problem and she thought that it would work itself out and we would be fine. That we would be able to protect ourselves, no matter what Kate did. And then Kate burned our house down on the full moon. You want to be the good guy, that's fine. Be the good guy. But you're going to need a better system than dismissing Stiles every time he thinks something's up because he's not always tilting at windmills. Sometimes he's right.

Scott: Yes, and you showed up right when the alpha pack did. And Liam showed up when the deadpool started. Derek shows up when Peter was killing people. Maybe I do believe that everyone deserves a little trust and faith. Maybe Theo needs that to be better than he is. After all - that's what Peter needed, isn't it? [he can draw those conclusions too] Listen, I know you need to side with Stiles on this, but he needs to be the one talking to me. And if he can't... maybe it's not Theo wedging himself in, but taking advantage of a space being left behind.

Cora: [she nods.] I know. [and she's done as much pushing as she can in Stiles’ favor at this point, and she knows that Stiles needs to go the rest of the way himself, but she'll part ways with this] But none of us have ever lied to you either, Scott, not about something like this. Peter never pretended to be something he wasn't.

Scott: Yeah, none of you. Only the person I trust most. [he shakes his head] I need to go find Liam. The longer I stand here debating this is the longer they have him.

Cora: [she nods] I'll call Ben and Derek. If anything, Derek can help you track.

Scott: Thanks. And see if your sister can track down Parrish?

Cora: [she nods] Yeah. I'll see if she can find him.

Scott: [he just looks at Stiles, and then shakes his head and goes off because Stiles is safe, Liam is not. Priorities]

Cora: [watches him go, before going to take the chair next to the bed as she reaches for her phone to call Derek first since he's the closest]

Derek: [and he's up and looking up chimera mythologies in the family archives. He was not going to read that stupid book Scott had dropped off. Nope. He didn't need any repressed memories, thanks] Cora?

Cora: The Dread Doctors took Liam. Scott needs your help with tracking them back to where they took him.

Derek: ... Why would they take Liam? He doesn't fit the pattern. [because Derek is inserted into that scene in the Sheriff's office, ok?]

Cora: Because he was trying to protect one of the chimeras and I guess they figured they could use him for something. [there's a beat] ... Liam is Scott's beta. He's the only one who can take Scott's power from him.

Derek: Theoretically. Deaton wasn't completely clear on that. But... good point. [rubs at his eyes] Alright, where was he taken from?

Cora: Well, it's a theory they seem to want to pursue. The first chimera that came after Scott tried to steal his power, remember? What if all of these attempts are just ways to try and take Scott out? [but that's not the important thing right now] From the high school. Scott's heading back there now, you can meet him there.

Derek: Good point. I'll go meet him there. [a moment] Why do I hear a heart monitor in the background? Where are you?

Cora: Beacon Hills Memorial. The other half of our plan tonight went just as badly.

Derek: .... What happened? Is that Stiles on the monitor?

Cora: Whoever stole the bodies flipped his truck and set it on fire. He has some smoke inhalation and a concussion, but he'll be okay.

Derek: [....shit] Okay. Um, yeah just let me know if you need anything. [so avoiding saying something]

Cora: [she'd try and pick up on that, but she's got too many different things to worry about right now to push it] If you see Laura can you ask her to track down Parrish? He bailed on Scott and Lydia earlier and no one knows what happened to him. Scott said that the Dread Doctors were messing with their heads so I think he just wants to make sure that Parrish is okay.

Derek: Yeah, I can do that. She's probably the best for hunting him down at this point. I'll tell her to let you know when she finds him.

Cora: [she nods] Thanks. I have to call Ben.

Derek: ... Have fun with that. [and he will end the call, and as he's grabbing his jacket and heading out the door, he's calling Laura]

Laura: [picks up on the first ring because guess who wasn't sleeping again] Yeah?

Derek: You're not going to be happy with your boyfriend.

Laura: [and now she's worried] What happened?

Derek: From what I got, he left the school and no one can get a hold of him. And the mysterious body snatcher took the body Stiles and Cora were watching tonight and nearly killed Stiles.

Laura: Shit. [she's getting to her feet] I'll try and find him.

Derek: Let Cora know when you do. Scott thinks he left because of the Dread Doctors doing something to him. Cora didn't see him there so he must have been gone before she got there. But there's no clue if Stiles saw him or not.

Laura: You think he's the one stealing the bodies?

Derek: The ash from the nematon had to come from something. What if they are some kind of sacrifices?

Laura: It's better than him setting random people on fire.

Derek: Until it's your sister's boyfriend.

Laura: Is Stiles okay?

Derek: Concussion and smoke inhalation. Cora says he's fine, but he's at the hospital.

Laura: Damn.

Derek: She's also going to be calling in backup from the Winchesters.

Laura: I don't know the Winchesters so is that a good or bad thing?

Derek: You met Lindsay's boyfriend yet?

Laura: Nope.

Derek: Let's just say you're about to. And he's something.

Laura: Thanks for the warning.

Derek: I need to go help Scott find Liam. I'll be in touch.

Laura: I'll text you when I find him.

Derek: Good luck.

Laura: You too. [and with that she'll hang up and go out to find her boyfriend]

Parrish: [who is probably naked on a nematon, lighting up a fire, lbr]

Laura: [probably but we can save that for next week unless there's something you want to do and switch back to Ben and Cora for now?]

Ben: [nope, we can swap back since Parrish and Liam are off limits. Which leads us to this one who is hanging out in the observatory in his hammock, looking at the stars when his phone rings.] Yeah?

Cora: Hey, Ben, it's Cora Hale. [a beat] You anywhere near Beacon Hills right now?

Ben: I'm in Kansas. I can be there by the afternoon. [sits up] Is Lindsay okay?

Cora: Yeah, she's fine. I'm actually ... [a beat] I was wondering if we might be able to borrow your angel mojo for something.

Ben: Better than hanging around this place doing nothing. What's going on?

Cora: There are these people called the Dread Doctors that are using ... some kind of supernatural frequency to mess with people's heads. We tried using a frequency jammer to block it but that didn't work so I'm thinking we could use something that works on ... all frequencies. I don't know Castiel well, but I've seen him short out enough TVs and light posts to know that his grace and electromagnetic waves don't always get along.

Ben: Yeah, I've noticed that a bit now that I'm in a world with actual working technology. I can't really use it the same way he can. It's more just living inside of me than anything else.

Cora: I know. But just the presence might be enough to cancel out whatever we're dealing with. Like ... we know they're connecting with the telluric currents somehow, so maybe you can use them the same way. [she sighs] I don't know. We're just running out of ideas and you're easier to get a hold of than Castiel is.

Ben: It's worth a shot. I'll bring Michael and Olivia with me. If nothing else, three heads are better than one, and they get this science stuff a lot better than I do.

Cora: Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you.

Ben: Alright. I'll head towards the loft. Be there in 24 hours max.

Cora: I'll give Derek and Dawn a heads up. See you then.

Ben: See ya then. [and he's hanging up and sliding out of his hammock, reaching for his pants before going to find the kids] Yo Olivia, Michael - Road trip.

Olivia: [looks up from her phone where she's ... probably texting Hal] Where are we going?

Ben: Beautiful, sunny California.

Olivia: Beacon Hills?

Ben: Got it in one.

Olivia: What's wrong now?

Ben: Cora called them Dread Doctors. Said they were messing with people's heads and using frequency waves.

Olivia: Fun. Guess they need back up?

Ben: That and they're thinking maybe my grace could block whatever it is they are doing. Worth a shot if nothing else. Gets us out of this place for a few days.

Olivia: Sounds good to me. [as she discreetly texts Hal to ask him if he's on the west coast yet]

Ben: [looks over, eyebrows up] Something interesting?

Olivia: Nope. Just messing around. [pockets her phone] I think Michael might have passed out in the stacks again.

Ben: Why am I not surprised? We're leaving in thirty. [and he's going to head down to find the nerd. When he does, he's going to just gently kick at the chair]

Michael: [Olivia goes to pack and Michael startles awake as his chair shakes, eyes wide like he totally wasn't face planted in a book about spirits and their origins] I'm awake.

Ben: Uh huh. Stop drooling in the books and get packed. We're leaving in 30.

Michael: Where are we going?

Ben: Beacon Hills.

Michael: ... Why?

Ben: It's Beacon Hills - does it need a reason why? [smirks] Cora called asking for help.

Michael: [sighs] Alright, I'll go pack.

Ben: ... And if you have any books here you know about electromagnetic waves and supernatural currents... grab them. We may need them.

Michael: [pauses, glancing around for a moment, before back to him] You mean like telluric currents?

Ben: Yeah, those.

Michael: [holds up a finger and gets ready to wander back into the stacks again] Got it.

Ben: See, you get to get your geek on. We're all going to have fun. [and he'll wander off to get his stuff]

Olivia: [and Olivia will return to the main room with her stuff and check to see if there's a response from Hal.]

Hal: [text] Yeah, I'm doing this weekend long orientation before actual orientation thing next month. Wassup?

Olivia: Going to be in Beacon Hills for a job. I could text you when I'm done to meet up?

Hal: I'd like that. I think it's what, an hour from LA?

Olivia: Yep. We could meet up there - probably won't be hard to convince my brother and my cousin to crash there for a little while.

Hal: Yeah, I don't want to know how that conversation starts.

Olivia: I've probably got time to figure it out. I'll do my best to give you an ETA.

Hal: Alright. And text me if you're bored. God knows I can only sit through enough "team building" exercises.

Olivia: What is that?

Hal: These things were you get paired up with like 5 other guys, a pile of straws and duct tape and have to work together to make a bridge or something. I dunno. Sounds lame to me.

Olivia: What's the point?

Hal: To learn to work as a team.

Olivia: By building a bridge.

Hal: It's the working together creatively aspect that they focus on.

Olivia: Right. [no, she doesn't get it at all]

Hal: So yeah, just let me know when you're free.

Olivia: Will do. Hopefully I'll see you soon.

Hal: Fingers crossed.

Olivia: Good luck with your bridge.

Hal: Thanks.

Ben: [yes, it's only been 20 minutes] You two better be moving.

Olivia: [holds up her hands as he comes in, gesturing to her already packed bags] I was ready ten minutes ago.

Michael: I'm coming! [you had him looking for books, Ben] Do Sam and Dean know we're leaving?

Ben: I left them a note. Who knows what they're up to.

Olivia: [sighs] I'll send them a text. [and will go to do that: Going to Beacon Hills to help the McCall Pack. See you when we get back.]