Chapter 5 Epilogue: S.H.I.E.L.D.

AN: I hope you don't mind me skipping over the spell and all that to the aftermath. I came back to this fic years later and I forgot what I was going to do. So if anyone wants to write up that part, I'd be glad to beta and give some stuff.

Dean and Sam enter a wider world. Enter the world of Steven Grant Buchanan Barnes. If any of you want to know this fic takes place between part three and part four of the House of Arthadan series. You don't have to read those but it would be nice if you did. (Self rec)

Anyway, onto the fic

"Ya know," Dean mused when the dust had finally settled, "that was easier than trying to protect the seals." Brego grinned and let out a startled laugh before he grinned like a Cheshire cat at his brother; a big curling thing that looked a little vicious, but all victorious. Castiel cracked his own tired smile as he leaned on his charge and finally relaxed. The angels in the ring were slowly congregating together to embrace each other in quiet jubilation, but Castiel was content at Dean's side. He no longer desired to prove himself to them. If his actions today didn't prove that he served God and Man as commanded, then nothing would, but he believed that the angels had seen that, and were slowly accepting him back. It would be a long road, but if they could find Michael and bring him back to the Host, then maybe it could be reformed back to how it should be. Dean meanwhile simply wrapped his arm around the newly restored angel's shoulder and pulled him into his side. The dark haired angel sighed in contentment and pressed closer. Angel's being affectionate and social beings enjoyed a closeness that Humans lacked with their simple brains and lack of telepathic communication, but Dean seemed to pick up on his cues well enough. Sam let out a snort, and grinned at the pair with a knowing look, when Dean and Brego turned identical looks toward him, eyebrows raised in the same questioning quirk.

"I shudder to think that we could have failed to easily," Finrod said as he approached them. The elf lord had a cheeky smile pulling across his lips as he walked away from the other angels after giving them his heartfelt thanks and bidding them all good luck in restoring the Word of Law in Heaven.

"I thought Michael would be here," Dean mused, "after all this was supposed to be his party." Finrod looked at his sons and his shoulders suddenly drooped as a concerned look pulled across his features, and a sigh dropped from his lips.

"I just spoke with the representatives," he said, "Michael isn't in Heaven." Dean and Sam suddenly whipped their heads over with wide eyed shock, "nor can the Host sense him; he's missing." The startled and somewhat angered looks on the Hunter's faces as they looked at the elf were justifiable.

"What do you mean, he's missing?" Dean asked incredulously, "this whole dog and pony show was all about him being here, in me, fightin' his brother and this whole time he's not even been in Heaven?!" Dean ran a frustrated hand over his face and grumbled under his breath.

"Atar," Brego asked timidly, when he saw the look of worry on the elf prince's face, "if Dean isn't Michael's Vessel, then who is, and why on earth didn't they go after him?" Finrod hesitated for a moment, chewing on his lip nervously, and looked down at the trunk of the impala. The meadow they had found for the ritual was silent save for the chirping of the nightlife. The moon, full and bright, illuminated the burnt ring in the grass. The trees surrounding the clearing were ancient oaks and beach trees well over a hundred years old. These great sentinels had seen many things and many years, and thankfully would see man more now. There was a magic in the clearing, whether it was made by rituals long past or of this day, and it led a calm breeze whispering through the trees. Finally Finrod looked up, his brow furrowed in confusion and worry.

"They said," he started, "Michael took his Vessel over twenty years ago," Finrod said and the Winchester's exclaimed in shock and indignation, rightfully for this was news to even them.

"What?!" Dean shouted.

"How?!" Sam asked.

"you mean, all this trouble they caused," Bobby groused, "and their main player, their high and mighty General, wouldn't play their game?!" Finrod winced and looked at them apologetically.

"Apparently," he said with a forced smile that looked more like a grimace in the low light.

"Well, ain't that just dandy," the old Hunter groused with a false smile, and the elf cringed in sympathy. The soft footsteps of another turned their attention to the golden Archangel approaching with a sad look in his eyes.

"Michael's True Vessel came from an older Vessel line," Lauresel said as he approached. He had a soft and knowing smile on his face and his wings fluttered happily on his back in greeting to Castiel.

That was the most shocking thing about this angel: his wings. They were not the light and shadow images like Castiel's were in that barn all those months ago, but real physical things; massive with and almost iridescent shimmer like a pearl, as if they were made from solid nacre, and they sparkled like fresh fallen snow on a cold morning. They were massive, perhaps forty feet in length from wingtip to wingtip. Castiel's wings on the other hand were as dark as night; a blue so dark at the crest of the arch of his wing that they were nearly black, and faded to an iridescent dusk blue at the start of the flight feathers. From there they transitioned to pure white, but at the very tips could be seen a strip of thin gold, marking him as one of Michael's offspring.

The younger angel arched his wings in greeting, and the elder smiled; his own flaring out a little before settling.

"Who is his vessel then," Dean asked, and the Archangel smirked, his lips curving into a mischievous smile.

"James Buchanan Barnes," he said, and chaos erupted after a moment of stunned silence; voice overlapping in exclamations of shock.

"Isn't he dead," Dean asked.

"He couldn't be!" Sam exclaimed.

"Balls!"

James Barnes," the Archangel continued, "is very much alive, but I do believe he wishes he weren't right now." A deeply sad look stole over his features and dimmed his eyes, "if ever there were a living Hell on Earth, he is living it." there was a shocked silence, following this revelation, and the angel smiled before he tilted his head back to look into the black sky over his right shoulder. The blank look on his face pulled a small smile on his lips into an amused expression, before he looked back at the group with a giddy grin.

"Your task in the here and now might be over, " said sagely, and the smile left his face, "but your Quest is only just begun!" with a bright smile pulled across his face, the Archangel spread his massive wings wide and with a great heave, and whoosh of air, vanished; the sound of a clap of air rushing into the void and the flutter of beating wings the only thing to mark his passage, and his laughter ringing throughout the clearing like the chiming of bells.

The group looked at each other in confusion and worry, when the distinctive thumping sound of helicopter rotors met their ears. Dean took his arm off Castiel's shoulder and took a fighting stance protectively in front of his brother, and beside his friend. Finrod drew his sword quickly and smoothly from its scabbard, and came into an elvish high-guard stance beside his son; all the while glaring defiantly at the chopper slowly making its way towards them, when the spot light flashed on.

The light was so bright that Dean and Sam shielded their eyes against the glare, and then the wind churned up by the rotors as it moved to land in the clearing. Once it landed, and the rotors slowly spooled down as the engine shut off, the Winchesters looked up to see a tall figure duck under the still moving rotors backlit by the search light as it stepped off the running board and onto the grass. It approached the group, looking around for a moment, enough for them to see that it was male by the line of his straight nose. Dean could see that it was a white male, in his mid-twenties with golden hair that was lit up like a halo in the low light. He was wearing a military cover and coat, so Dean quickly surmised that he was military, and that alone had him on edge. It was only then that Dean realized that Gabriel, the real one, hadn't left yet.

"Dean and Sam Winchester," he asked in an authoritative voice that commanded respect. Dean's vision, quickly adjusting to the light, saw the crisp blue of an army uniform under the coat, and the shine of two silver bars ranking him a Captain on his lapels and shoulders. Dean's spine almost instantly straightened out of habit, before he forced himself to relax. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sam bristle before coming into a lazy version of military rest. He looked at the man cautiously and saw the Captain cock his head a little as Dean saw the glow of his eyes brighten in the light.

"Who wants to know," Dean asked plastering on a defiant grin. The soldier seemed to smile, before he stepped forward bringing his form out of its backlit shape and into the light, the brim of his cover still shading his eyes but not enough to obscure his features. Suddenly Dean felt his jaw drop, when the face came out of the shadows and they finally registered in his brain. Captain Steven Grant Buchanan of the 107th was a face every boy from second grade to high school would know by heart; every boy wanted to be him. And why wouldn't they. Steven Buchanan was an American War Hero right up there with Captain America himself; a Howling Commando and decorated soldier. He'd seen combat in Europe before D-Day, jumped with the 101st saw operation Market Garden, and the winter campaign right before Bastogne; he fought HYDRA for God's sake. Dean could almost feel the little 6 year old boy in him squeal for joy at getting to meet one of his heroes. "Holy Shit," Dean found himself whisper, "aren't you supposed to be dead." Every high school student learned that Captain Buchanan had gone missing on an ill-fated recovery mission to try and recover Sergeant Barnes' body after he felt into a ravine off from a fast moving train during a mission to capture Arnim Zola. He was presumed dead after all, but considering that Bucky Barnes was said to be alive by none other than not one but two Archangels, he was starting to think that the history texts might need a major revision after this. Steven, meanwhile, simply grinned wide and held out his hand, which Dean quickly shook. Dean quickly spotted that his ring, his officer's class ring, was solid Mithril, which eased his fears a little.

"Not hardly," Steven drawled, and Dean couldn't help the child like grin on his face, and he saw that Sam couldn't keep his own hero worship away either. "My name's Captain Steven Buchanan. I'm here on behalf of the CIA and Army Intelligence," he said then gave the two of them a lopsided grin that was every bit a staple of the pictures of the Howling Commando's Sergeant Barnes. "I'm here to offer you a job." Dean and Sam shared a look silently asking if it was a trick before deciding it was worth the risk to ask.

"What… kind of a job," Dean asked after a minute, hesitancy in his voice making it slow and cautious. Steven grinned, and Dean saw that his whole form seemed to light up when he did so, almost like his own mother's did when he smiled.

"An intelligence agency is going to contact you and your brother to restart a department within its ranks to do what you already do," Steven explained, and then added casually, "only with better funding, more resources and an actual paycheck." The brothers shared a look before Steven continued, "you, your brothers, your father, and Mr. Singer here," he said as he nodded towards Bobby, "are going to accept the offer, only you won't be working for him. You'll be working for me. I need your help with a personal project concerning national and world security." The brothers shared a dubious look, shielding their nervousness behind their wide eyes.

"What are we gonna do," Dean asked after a minute of silence.

"You'll be spying on them for me and a few select agents within the agency concerning said project," Steven answered. Dean and Sam shared a look before Sam finally spoke up about his concerns.

"Why," he asked. Steven's face seemed to shutter and his eyes hardened in the low light into blue diamonds.

"They took my Ada," he finally answered, "and they have Michael." That got their attention, as Dean felt his brows shoot up to his hairline, and he glanced over to see that Sam had the same look, while Gab looked as pale as milk suddenly. Castiel on the other hand, had a look of unguarded horror on his face, as he leaned hard against Gabe. Dean shared a look with Finrod, and Brego before looking at Sam with a silent question. Sam gave an imperceptible nod before he turned back to Steven, his face hardened with a look of resolve.

"Okay," he said, "just to clarify: what's this thing we're gonna be spying on for you, and who's the agency?" Steven's smile could only be described as luminous with relief.

"You will be attempting to discover the location of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes," Steven said once he regained his composure, the clarified further, "The Winter Soldier." Dean felt himself pale, and saw Sam do the same. Every Hunter knew about the Winter Soldier. Ash had once had his own theories about what it might be, but Sam and Dean had their own. The fact that they were tracking this guy down was one thing but the next words out of Steven's mouth, given with such a bland smile, had his whole world view turned on its head. "My Ada." The silence as deafening, and it took a moment for the world to reorient itself before Sam finally snapped out of his shock.

"Who's the agency," he asked, once he regained his voice, and the look of Steven's smile could only be described as sly and devious.

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," Steven answered.

"Huh," Dean asked with a bewildered look on his face. Steven smiled again and took pity on him.

"SHIELD," he answered with a bland and clam smile, "director Fury might come himself or he might send Agent Coulson, or Romanoff, to recruit you. Put up a fuss, and make reservations, and stipulations, but say yes," Steven ordered. "They'll put you back in the good graces of the Law, and in turn, you will help me root out an old enemy within their ranks." Dean and Sam nodded absentmindedly, and with that Steven turned and nodded at the pilot, who quickly started up the chopper again. Brego seemed to realize that they were missing something because he called out to Steven just as he was about to head back into the chopper, making the Captain stop and turned.

"Wait," Brego asked, "who's this enemy?" Steven looked over his shoulder and fixed him with a look of such cold hatred that Finrod felt the echoes of Helcaraxë shiver down his spine, and his uncle's impassioned voice crying for justice and glory in the night.

"HYRDA," he said and stepped into the helicopter, and flew away into the night, leaving the group in stunned silence until the chopper was long out of sight. The group finally looked at each other for a long minute before they silently made their decision.

"Well," Dean said, as he leaned over the open trunk of the Impala dropping his gun back inside, "it looks like we've got work to do."

(Fade to black… Soundtrack AC/DC Back in Black)

The End..?

Dean and Sam will return in the House of Arthadan series part 4 Renewed shall be Blade that was Broken

End notes: tell me the truth: how was it? I spent forever with this on my desk just sitting there unfinished, waiting to be typed up, and I just used it for a chapter in Part four of the series so I thought, why not. I've been going through my old unfinished storied and realized that one in particular has been untouched for seven years! I'm so ashamed! But I have a legit excuse: my computer died and took all my work for that chapter and I've been working on other projects since then. I've only recently had a reviewer tell me that they wished it was updated, so to you who did so, thank you for the kick in the pants I needed to get my WIP's updated. Chapter three of the Fire of the Great War will be coming soon. As well as a full continuity update to the previous chapters.

Thank you all for your patience and please read and review, post comment and hit that Kudos, it really motivates me to keep going.