North Starr

57

The teens had gathered at the sheriff's station as Lydia needed to tell her friend what she'd found out information about her grandmother.

Stiles turned to his dad. "It's not just that she could still be alive."

Lydia nodded. "It's that she would've had to fake her death."

The sheriff shot her a look. "Your grandmother, Lorraine Martin, faked her death?"

"Definitely," Stiles said with certainty.

"Maybe," Lydia replied.

"More than likely, yes."

"Oh, I'm guessing you got a story to back this up?" Sheriff Stilinski questioned, turning to the brunette. "Melanie, what do you think about this? Do you believe it?"

Melanie shrugged. "It's plausible, but I don't think it's likely. Lorraine could be helping the Benefactor. And we still don't know who that is."

Stiles frowned. "Or is the Benefactor."

The sheriff shot each of them a look. "That sounds like a story worth hearing."

As soon as Parrish returned, Lydia and Melanie took him to Derek's loft. Parrish explained what happened to him and Derek frowned. "He covered you in gasoline?"

"It's the hair and nails, isn't it," Lydia noted. "The parts of the body that are essentially dead."

"Well, they should be gone."

Parrish looked at the two of them. "I was set on fire. All of me should be gone."

Scott shook his head. "Not if you're like us."

"Like you?"

Derek shook his head. "I don't think he's like us."

"Then what is he?" Lydia questioned.

"Sorry, but I have no idea."

Melanie looked at her brother and said, "You knew about Jackson and Kira."

He met her eyes. "This is a little out of my experience. There might be something in the bestiary. Did you try Argent?"

Scott glanced down. "I don't know where he is."

Parrish said, "Okay, hold on. What's a bestiary? Actually, that's not even my first question. Just... Just tell me one thing. Are all of you like Lydia? Are you all psychic?"

"Psychic?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Not exactly," Scott replied.

Parrish frowned. "Okay. Then what are you?"

They started explaining what supernatural creatures they were and explained the deadpool. Parrish asked, "What's a kanima?"

"We'll get back to that," Scott said, brushing it off. "Just know that everyone like us, everyone with some kind of supernatural ability is on the deadpool."

"But I don't even know what I am," Parrish protested.

Derek shrugged slightly. "I'm pretty sure they don't care."

"How many professional assassins are we talking about?"

"We're starting to lose count," Lydia admitted after a brief moment.

"But is it still just professionals?" Scott wondered.

Parrish shook his head. "I don't think Haigh's ever tried anything like this. I think he was taking a chance."

Derek's lips pursed. "That means anyone with the deadpool could take a chance."

"But if Haigh had it, then who else does? How easy is it to get this thing now?"