Dean had never worked with such a big team of hunters. Then again, he'd never gone after this big an enemy.

Lex had been able to pull up information about the place using satellite—or something, Dean wasn't sure if he'd ever figure out how Lex did half the crap he did—so they had a good idea of where the entrances were and where the base of operations should be. Madison had had some intel on how the guards were stationed, based on her research and unfortunate experiences, but it was impossible to predict if and how they'd changed tactics since her attempted infiltration.

It was supposed to be an office building, but to Dean it looked more like a mansion. The building itself was more plain, but there was no branding or signage to indicate a place of business, and the surrounding lawns and plants were far too well-kept, though the trees meant there were good places to hide. The ornate metal gate surrounding the whole place reminded Dean of Lex's.

Their team of six had paired off. Dean was with Madison, since she had the least hunting experience and he had the most. Lex and Sam were together, covering the entrance on the opposite side of the building, where the defense was supposedly strongest. They all had weapons loaded up with silver and kryptonite bullets, but their real hope was for Lex's animal telepathy to carry them through. Clark had paired with Chloe, and the two of them had already taken off to look for protective sigils for Clark to burn off using his heat vision. Chloe's training in self defense left something to be desired—Lex disagreed, but Dean doubted she had much real world experience—but she'd be fine with Clark's super strength.

Dean blinked a couple of times. He wondered if he'd ever get used to thinking terms like animal telepathy, heat vision, and super strength.

As hunts went, this mission was pretty simple. There were no hostages to rescue, no victims to recover. Lex might have had his qualms, but Dean didn't. They were there to kill. Once Lionel and that yellow-eyed monster were dead, they'd find and destroy the serum for good measure. Dean had been around long enough to know, nothing good came from convening with the dead.

Dean's phone buzzed, and he glanced down at it. Chloe had texted him: Sigils are burned.

Dean glanced over at Madison. "That's our cue," he said. "Can you see anything?"

Madison lowered her binoculars. "Two guards at the door. They look human."

"I wouldn't count on it."

"I'm missing intel on werewolves. Aren't they supposed to turn on the full moon?"

"The meteor infection changes things. We took down a pack of mutant werewolves years ago, they'd learned to turn on demand."

Madison swallowed and took her gun from her pocket.

Dean knew what she was thinking. But now wasn't the time to talk about it. He took the lead through the trees, up to the huge metal gate. He was just able to make out the guards through the bars, and he aimed his gun.

The first shot took out the first guard. He missed on the second, and he never got another shot—the guard had disappeared.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered under his breath, and behind him, a twig snapped.

"Uh. Dean?" Madison said.

Dean turned slowly. They were surrounded on all sides.

Werewolves with green, glowing eyes. Dozens of them.

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As soon as the text from Madison came in, Sam and Lex moved in, weapons at the ready.

Sam had been on more hunts than he cared to count. He knew how things would go. They would be ambushed as soon as they reached the door. They'd take out a few of the attackers with their guns, but at some point they'd be overwhelmed, and they'd fight their way out of a tight spot.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

But Sam trusted Lex's creativity, and he trusted his own instincts. Whatever happened, they'd be ready for it.

Sure enough, as soon as they had jumped the fence, two guards flanked them.

Sam's father's words echoed in his head: Shoot first, ask questions later. Sam cocked his weapon, aimed at one of the guards.

But Lex had never had much in common with Sam's father. Lex aimed his gun at the other guard and said, "Where's my father?"

"He's been expecting you," the man said. "Follow us."

Lex swallowed, focusing on the guard, though he didn't lower his gun. "How do I know it's not a trap?"

The guard raised his eyebrows, and Sam faltered a bit. Knowing what he knew about Lionel Luthor, it had to be a trap. From the look of things, Lex and Sam had all of the leverage. They were the ones with the guns, and they'd shown up unannounced. The guards hadn't even tried to disarm them. Lionel would never have allowed himself to be at such a disadvantage—he was lulling them into a false sense of security. Was it possible the guards were only there as a ruse? That the whole thing had been designed to draw them in, all along?

Sam would never have asked so directly whether he was walking into a trap. But Lex was cut from a different cloth. Maybe they'd learn something from the guard's answer.

Finally, the guard said, "Why did you come here?"

Lex's jaw pulsed. The gun in his hand didn't even shake.

"You came to see Lionel, didn't you?"

"That's one way to put it."

The guards exchanged an amused glance. Sam could have kicked Lex.

"He doesn't like to be kept waiting," the guard said.

Lex looked over at Sam, and Sam could tell what he was thinking, because all of the same thoughts were running through his own mind. They'd expected to fight their way in, not to have to fight their way out. But either way, they'd come prepared to fight.

The other guard went to open the large double doors. Lex was the first to head inside, though he never stopped aiming the gun at the guard.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, the gun flew out of his hands and out of the building.

One of the guards lunged for it—Sam shot him down before he could get there, and then shot the other one. Both dropped to the ground, dead on impact.

Sam breathed hard, lowering the gun and looking up at Lex, who had hesitated in the entryway. It was hard to blame him—he was a researcher, not a hunter—but Sam could see the embarrassment in his face.

"Others will come," Sam said. "In or out?"

Lex's eyes darted from the outside, to the inside, and Sam knew why. Outside, they'd be attacked, but they'd have their guns. Inside, they were closer to their goal . . . and one way or another, they wouldn't be able to take their weapons with them when they confronted Lionel and maybe the yellow-eyed demon. That meant they'd have to improvise—but that was simply a part of every hunt.

Lex made no move to leave the building, so Sam nodded and stepped inside, allowing his weapon to fly from his hand to the outside.

The door slammed shut behind them, and for one moment, they were alone.

But only one.

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Chloe knew she shouldn't be enjoying this.

But the new mansion was research heaven.

"Can you believe this spell work? I didn't even recognize half the symbols we just burned away!" Maybe once they'd killed Lionel and the yellow eyed demon and neutralized the werewolf army, they could take some time to look around at what Lionel had been working on.

Clark didn't seem to be half as interested. "We?"

Her voice caught. "I helped! You wouldn't have known how to find half those sigils."

"Okay, okay." He grinned, the way that used to make her swoon. Maybe it still did, just a little. "So the ones you recognized. What did they mean?"

"Uh, well." Chloe frowned. She knew the literal translations of some of the symbols she'd seen, but that wasn't really what Clark was asking. "Lots of protective warding, stuff that would keep away anyone who was trying to hurt whoever lives here."

"So now that those sigils are gone, Lionel's not protected?"

"Oh, I'm sure he has some other tricks up his sleeve."

"Like a werewolf militia?"

She glanced around. "They're not coming after us."

"Maybe Lex was able to talk them down."

Chloe didn't want to say what was on her mind. Instead, she turned her attention back to the house.

Something caught her eye, buried under the dirt and pine needles. "Clark, do you see that?"

He squinted in the direction she pointed—she'd learned to recognize this as him using his X-ray vision—then looked to her. "Hex bags," he said.

That was never good news. "Can you burn them?"

He squinted again toward the ground, and the pine needles went up in flames. Green smoke rose from beneath the dirt, and a foul stench filled the air.

Chloe wrinkled her nose. "Oh, that's awful."

Clark winced, then his eyes fluttered closed.

"Clark?"

He fell backwards.

Chloe rushed to try to slow his fall, but he might as well have been made of bricks. He fell hard on the dirt ground, and he didn't move.

"Clark!" She knelt beside him, feeling his pulse. His heart was beating, and he was breathing, but he didn't wake. She shook his shoulders and slapped at his cheeks. "Clark!"

No response.

Chloe's heart began pounding. She had just texted everyone to let them know it was safe to go into the house. She pulled out her phone to text again.

No signal.

"No, no no no!" She dropped her phone and shook Clark harder. "Clark!"

Nothing.

And then there were gunshots.