Supernatural in Real Life 2-Attack of the Killer Clowns

Chapter 7

"Gabriel!" Lucifer roars the second the two of us return to the bunker.
"Hey, I told ya I'd bring her back in one piece," Gabriel replies lazily, leaning against the wall behind him.
"That's not the point!"
"Lucifer, don't smite your brother," Rob interrupts before Lucifer can start his angry rant.
"Bitch, I'll smite you," Lucifer snaps, more of an automatic response than actually meaning something from it.
I look at Rob expectantly, worried about what he'll do now. I can see the fury on his face, but he takes a deep breath and it disappears. Calmly, he replies, "You can't smite me. I'm God. Just leave your brother alone, okay?"
Lucifer raises an eyebrow. "Um... Okay?" he says uncertainly. Clearly I'm not the only one that was expecting more than that.
"And Gabriel, you know you're not supposed to leave without telling anyone," Rob continues.
"I know, but no one else was up and we were both bored," Gabriel says. Glancing at me, he adds, "Hey, by the way, there's a rule against ditching like we did."
I roll my eyes. "Well, thanks for telling me that after we got back."
Gabriel gives me a falsely innocent smile before turning back to the rest of the group. "Anyway, the clowns are a case."
"How do you know?" Jensen asks.
"We went to one of the police stations and we met with one of the clowns and he looked at me, called me an angel, and then did literally nothing but stare at me," Gabriel explains.
"Because that's not freaky," Jensen says sarcastically.
"Anyway," Gabriel continues as though he never spoke. "We found a link between some of the clowns. The three that we were talking about had all just gotten a new outfit slash costume thing from the same place, some 'Come Alive Costume World' place, and they started acting weird when they put them on. Not the most concrete evidence, but it's better than what you two muttonheads got." He looks pointedly at Jensen and Misha.
Misha shrugs. "Fair enough."
"And what do you think we should do now?" Jared asks. "How is this helping us at all?"
"No clue," Gabriel admits carelessly. "We did our part. It's up to you guys to figure out where we go from here."
"You could check out where they make the costumes," Osric suggests. "Maybe you'll find something there."
Jensen nods, accepting the plan. "Alright, who wants to come?" he asks, not directing the question at anyone in particular. He looks around, but no one volunteers. "Well, don't all raise your hands at once."
I take a small step forward. "I'll go," I offer.
Jensen looks at me, seemingly having a mental debate with himself. Finally, he nods once. "Alright, let's go. Wait, where are we going anyway?" He looks at Jared. "Alright, get Googling."
Jared heads over to the table and opens his laptop, which is apparently the symbol that the group conversation is over. Everyone breaks off into groups; Gabriel stays next to me as Osric comes over to him, Rob sits on the couch with a book, Ruth and Crowley argue in the middle of the room, and Misha and Jensen chat with Jared as he researches the costume manufacturer. Lucifer comes up to me, though I notice a quick moment of hesitation. Maybe he really does have to get used to the idea of having a friend.
"Sorry we ran out on you," I say.
He shrugs dismissively. "It's fine. You were working a case. Why'd you go with Gabriel, though?"
I know I could easily think of a lie; something Lucifer would be completely fine with, but I don't want to lie to him. "Because if I had asked you, you would have said no because you wouldn't want me working a case."
"So you thought I wouldn't let you work a case, so you decided to have Gabriel bring you to a party?" Lucifer replies, not sounding accusative like I would have expected him to.
"What?" I say it more in surprise than denial.
"You're far from the first girl he's brought to a club. Usually it's someone he's hooking up with, though."
"No, Lucifer, we didn't-" I begin quickly, but he interrupts me.
"I know. Your hair's too neat."
"What...?" I say in confusion. It's not aimed at any comment in particular, but rather the whole situation in general.
Lucifer chuckles. "I've been hanging out with Gabe for the last seven years," he reminds me. "I've picked up on a lot of his habits."
"How 'bout this one?" Gabriel asks, and I realize he's probably been listening the whole time. He whips a small Kit Kat that he created just then at his elder brother, who catches it before he looks.
"Take a guess," Lucifer replies, unwrapping the candy and snapping it in half. He takes a bite of one stick and hands me the other. I take it hesitantly, though I'm not sure why, and eat it.
"Dammit," Gabriel mutters. "I'll get you next time, just you wait."
Lucifer grins. "I'll play along if it means I get more candy."
"No, it doe-"he stops suddenly, throwing a small Hershey bar at his brother, who catches it easily.
Lucifer looks down at the candy and frowns before tossing it back to Gabriel lightly. "Really, Gabe? Almonds?"
Gabriel shrugs. "Hey, if you want a plain chocolate bar, make one yourself. Otherwise, take what you get and stop complaining."
"You're going to regret tellin me to make my own candy," Lucifer says, a mischievous grin on his face.
Suddenly, a Starburst appears in his hand. It isn't the package of two, but just a single unwrapped orange square. Lucifer throws it at him, and Gabriel catches it in his mouth. He eats it quickly, but makes a face.
"Orange? Are you kidding me?" Gabriel scoffs. "You can do better than that."
"Just remember that you asked for it." A large, resealable bag of M & M's appears in his hand. He throws a single piece at Gabriel before putting one in his own mouth.
Gabriel puts his hand out to the candy, and it disappears in a quick burst of light before he touches it. A bag of Skittles, approximately the same size, appears in his own hand, and he throws a handful at Lucifer. Lucifer catches a few of them in his free hand and dumps them in his mouth. He nods in approval, and suddenly, his bag changes to match Gabriel's.
"I find that these ones are generally considered the best," Lucifer says, scooping out a handful of red Skittles. He tosses them at Gabriel playfully, and Gabriel tries to catch them in his mouth again but fails.
"I've always liked grape, to be honest," Gabriel admits, throwing a handful of grape Skittles at his brother.
The two of the laugh as Lucifer tries to grab them, but only manages to catch a few. He throws one at Gabriel's forehead, then eats the rest himself. He hums to himself as he tastes them.
"No, red's way better," Lucifer says. He pauses. "You know, if we're going to be tasting the rainbow, I think we need some music to go along with it." He snaps his fingers, and Gabriel, Osric, Lucifer and I all laugh as a familiar song comes on from seemingly nowhere.
"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everyday," the air sings.
Gabriel grins at his brother's selection. "Nice, but I've got a better idea. And by better, I mean you'll hate it." With the snap of his fingers, the song changes to another familiar one, his bag of Skittles becoming a pack of black licorice.
Skipping the introduction, the words "Back in black, I hit the sack, I've been too long I'm glad to be back" are screamed by a band I love but from an unrecognizable location.
Gabriel throws a small price of black licorice at Lucifer, who catches it before looking at it in distaste. "Really, Gabriel?" Lucifer says in disbelief. "This is low, man. I mean it."
Lucifer tosses the candy back at Gabriel before restarting his song and throwing a Skittle at him. Gabriel puts Back in Black on again before through another piece of licorice at his brother. They go on like this for another minute or so, the music change becoming so rapid, it sounds like the world's worst DJ.
Finally, Rob says loud enough to be heard over the noise, "Enough!"
Immediately, the music stops and all the candy disappears from both the floor and their hands. They not look at Rob silently, appearing more like soldiers waiting for orders from their general than kids looking at their father. I can sense the nervousness through the silence.
"Thank you," Rob mutters, returning to his book. The two angels watch him for a moment as if making sure that's all before looking back at each other.
"I think it's very clear that I won that," Gabriel announces in a whisper.
Lucifer scoffs. "Yeah, you wish."
"I don't have to wish," Gabriel replies confidently. "I won that, fair and square."
Lucifer rolls his eyes. "Dream on, sweetheart."
A box of Sweethearts appears in Gabriel's hand, and he shows them to his brother proudly. Lucifer takes them and crushes them, the box disappearing immediately.
"I won that," Lucifer declares.
Gabriel raises an eyebrow and sinks into his hip as he crossed his arms. I have never seen a sassier pose in my entire existence. "Pfft. Yeah, right."
"Boys!" Rob calls over to them, not looking up from his book.
The angels share a look before they each reply in  different ways.
"Sorry, Rob," Gabriel calls back.
"Buzzkill," Lucifer says under his breath. Rob glances up at him, but seems to decide it isn't worth the effort. Lucifer watches him curiously, but doesn't complain.
Gabriel mouths something silently, and it takes me a moment to realize he's using Angel Radio. There's been no need for them to do that at all in the last week, and I had nearly forgotten its existence. Lucifer mouths something back, and they soon start a silent conversation that neither Osric nor I are able to take place in. Instead, he comes over to my side of the Angels and we chat together.
"How'd you figure out the costume thing?" Osric asks me.
"I was just looking at pictures of the clowns and I noticed they were wearing a lot of the same things, so I took a chance," I explain vaguely.
"How did you even notice that?"
I shrug. "I'm weird when I'm tired."
Osric gives a short laugh. "Yeah, clearly."
"So get this," Jared says loudly, looking at his computer. "Apparently, there's no factory at all. It's all done in the home of a Barbara Mule in New York."
"That's it?" Gabriel says. "That's all you found?"
"Um, no," Jared replies, scrolling through the page he's on. "It says that she's the only one making costumes, but they sell hundreds every day."
"Awesome," Jensen mutters. "So unless she's got a whole bunch of them already in the back of her closet, there's something magic going on."
"Or she lied," Crowley suggests. "Maybe she just didn't want to share the credit so she pretended she was working alone."
Jensen shrugs. "Still the best lead we've got." He straightens up, no longer relying on the table to hold his upper body. "I'll check it out. Bailey, you still want to come?"
I nod. "Yep!" I probably sound too excited, but I don't care. I give Lucifer a quick goodbye kiss on the lips. "Don't have too much fun without me," I say playfully.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he replies in the same tone. In a more serious way, he adds, "If you run into any trouble, you know how to reach me."
I roll my eyes. "Overprotective much?"
"You say that like its a bad thing," he replies with a grin. "I just wanna keep you around."
I can't help but smile back. "Alright, see ya later."
"I'll be here," he confirms.
(Insert chapter break for the sake of stopping the lag)