Chapter Text
1986
It was quiet in the house. No one was supposed to be awake, but upstairs in a white house with red windows, Shawn and Emily Spencer, were up staring at each other, neither saying a word.
It started when 6-year-old Emily had a nightmare and didn’t want to go to her parents bedroom. Her dad would tell her that she was a big girl and that she didn’t need to sleep in their bed because of a dream that wasn’t real.
Her mom would have argued and the two would have gotten into a fight, possibly waking the whole neighborhood, so, to avoid that, she went to her big brothers room. 9-year-old Shawn, was sleeping in his bed when something flashed in his mind. He saw a glimpse of the stove downstairs, but there was something wrong with it. As the visions continued he saw sparks coming from the stove and soon a fire started. Shawn broke out in a cold sweat as he saw more.
He saw the house. Flames everywhere. The building collapsing. And then-
Shawn’s eyes fly open, dazed and unfocused as his eyes dart around the room. He feels himself floating off his bed by a few inches, his panting as he tries to calm himself like his father always told him too. The sound of his door opening and a gasp has him snapping his head in that direction. The levitation stops and his body lands back on on the bed with a ‘plop’ before he sits up, meeting the scared and wide eyes of his 6-year-old sister. The two stared at each other for what felt like hours, but was actually just a few minutes, when Shawn breaks the silence.
“Emmy, come here.” His voice was soft and gentle towards the little girl. She stood there for a second more and for a moment Shawn thought that she was going to bolt back to her room, or worse to their parents, but eventually Emily stepped into the room hugging her stuffed-animal closer to herself as she makes it to the side of his bed.
Shawn shifted till there was enough room for both of them and patted the spot next to him. Taking the hint, Emily climbed onto the bed and sat next to her brother and looked to him waiting for an answer to what she had just seen. “Emmy, you can’t tell mom and dad what you saw.” Green eyes met green. “Why?”
The question was quiet and soft spoken. Taking in a breath Shawn replied. “Because I’m… different.” Was his reply. She just tilted her head.
“Mommy says that being different is a good thing.” A smile pulled at the older child’s lips. “That she did. But this is a different type of different.” He closed his eyes before continuing. “You remember when we were watching TV and we saw a NEWS report on some special people that we call Meta-humans?”
Emily thought back to the day and slowly nodded her head and waited for her brother to continue. “Well, that’s what I am. I’m a Meta-human.” Emily blinked a few times before her eyes widened again and her mouth opened like a fish.
Shawn couldn’t look her in the eyes. He didn’t want to see the fear, shock, or disgust in his little sister’s eyes. He was about to tell her that she could leave when he was startled by Emily pulling him into a hug. He looked down to see her looking up at him with understanding green eyes, “No telling mommy and daddy. Don’t worry Shawnie! I’ll protect you!”
Shawn didn’t like to cry. He tried not too all the time. But right now he made the exception and let a few tears fell as wrapped his arms around his sister. Shawn knew what she meant. People didn’t like Meta-humans, they thought that they were freaks and needed to be taken off the streets.
By force if it was necessary. Shawn had seen videos and reports of people killing Meta’s for no good reason and he didn’t want to be next. And Emily didn’t want to lose her brother. With their father being a cop it made this even more terrifying. Henry, their dad, had killed Meta’s before. And not because they were criminals, but because the refused to stand down during protests when things got ugly.
And the thought of his father finding out and shooting him made Shawn shake with fear. The two hugged for awhile before flashes of Shawn’s vision crossed his mind, a small headache creeping in.
“Crap!” Startled Emily pulled back from the hug and watched as her brother all but fell out of bed and stumbled to the door. Emily jumped off the bed and followed after Shawn. They reached their parents bedroom door and Shawn didn’t hesitate to open it.
He ran in and went straight to their dad, shaking him awake. “Dad! Dad! Come on you need to get up!” Emily stood by the door confused by his behavior. Finally, Henry Spencer opened his eyes and sat up quickly in bed. He was about to grab his gun when he saw his kids standing before him. His oldest was standing next to him looking worried. And his youngest was standing near the door looking confused.
The older man turned to face his son with an annoyed expression. “Shawn, what the-” He was cut off by Shawn. “You need to look at the stove! It’s sparking! And the house could catch on fire!” Henry blinked and before he could ask what he was talking about the 9-year-old was dragging him out of bed and down the hall.
“Shawn.” He was ignored. “Shawn.” He tried again, a little louder. Still the 9-year-old was still trying to pull his dad to the kitchen. “Shawn!” This time Henry yelled. Shawn stopped and turned around the expression on his face startled Henry. The look was serious mixed with worry. “Please, dad. I just need you to trust me.” Looking behind him Henry saw his daughter standing next to his wife.
He turned back to Shawn. “Please.” The plea almost broke Henry. He sighed before nodding his head following his son down the stairs. When they reached the kitchen Shawn’s eyes roamed around till he noticed something spark, ever so slightly, behind the stove. Shawn pointed at it. “There!” Henry looked at where his son was pointing and saw the sparks.
He walked over to the stove and looked at what was causing the sparks. It was frayed wires most likely chewed on by rats. Henry quickly grabbed an oven-mitt and grabbed the wire. He turned back to his wife. “Call the electrician.” She nodded and left the room. Henry turned back to the wire leaving Shawn and Emily to look at each other without their dad knowing.
After a few minutes the electrician’s came and Shawn and Emily were told to wait outside while their mom and dad talked to them. The two stared up at the sky watching the stars twinkle and shine. “Shawn?” The older of the two looked at the younger when his name was called. “Yeah.”
Emily looked down at her hands as they rested in her lap. “Do you really think that daddy would hurt you if he found out what you are?” Shawn looked down at the concrete. “I honestly don’t know.” He pulled his knees closer his chest. “But I rather not take that chance.” Emily nodded her head and they continued to sit in silence.
The sound of footsteps coming up behind them had they turning their heads. Their dad stood in front of them. “Their going to have to turn the power off for a few days so they can fix the wire and make sure that this doesn’t happen again. Now I have a question.” He knelt down in front of his kids and looked them in the eyes. “What were you doing out of bed and how did you know that the wire was sparking?” Fear gripped Shawn’s heart and before he could answer Emily beat him to it.
“I had a nightmare.” Henry turned his gaze to his youngest. “What?”
“I had a nightmare and went to Shawn. He took me downstairs to get a glass of water to help calm me down when he noticed the sparking.” Emily explained. Henry looked between the two and nodded his head. “Okay, let’s get you two back to bed.” He stood up with his children following. Emily looked at Shawn. Smiling she grabbed his hand.
1989
“Shawn!” The 12-year-old turned around to face his 9-year-old sister with a smile on his face. He braced himself for the hug that he got to make sure they both didn’t fall over. “Hey, Emmy!” He pulled back from the hug and looked at her. “How was your day?” Emily’s smile got wider. “I almost got all the hats! I only missed one!” Shawn smiled at her, but inside he was angry at their dad. He was fine with him being forced to become a cop, but his little sister deserved to be just a kid and not turned into a salving machine!
“That’s amazing, Emmy! Your getting really good at that game.” The little girl nodded her head and ran back into the house. She came out a minute later with a paper and handed it to Shawn. He took it with a raised brow. “What’s this?” He looked it over and saw a lot of random words like ‘lifting objects’ and ‘mind reading’ just to name a few. He looked back at Emily for clarification.
She looked around to make sure that no one was around. “I noticed that you’ve been to busy to actually see what you can do, what with school, dad training you, and hanging out with Gus, so I made a list of all the stuff that we could try!”
Shawn looked at her then back at the paper before repeating. A small smile graced his lips. “Well, let’s get started.” Emily smiled and the two entered the house and went to Shawn’s room.
1995
Shawn had just graduated from high school. He should be out celebrating with friends and family, but instead he was standing in his room staring at a note that made him shake in fear.
I know what you are. I have for a while. I know all of who you care about, where they live, where they hang out, and what they are to you. Mark my words Meta . I will find you and I will end you. No matter where you go you won’t be safe.
-The Meta Killer
The door behind him opened. Turning around her saw his sister standing there with a small box in her hands. One look at the expression on his face and her smile disappeared. “Shawnie? What’s the matter?” He looked down at the note and handed it to her wordlessly. As she read it her eyes widened and a gasp left her mouth.
“What are we going to do?” Shawn shook his head. “We aren’t going to do anything. I’m going to leave and hopefully, whoever this is, will notice that I’m not in Santa Barbra anymore and move on.” He walked over to his closet, grabbed a bag, and started to pack somethings in it. Emily stood in the doorway staring at her big brother as he tossed some shirts and pants into the black bag.
“You can’t be serious about this can you?” Stopping what he was doing Shawn sighed. “I don’t what too. But, Emmy, if this person really does know that I’m a Meta and really does know who the closets people are to me I can’t take the risk of any of you getting hurt.” Turning around he walked up to his little sister and pulled her into a hug. Tear rolling down both their cheeks.
“I promise to be careful and to stay in contact as much as possible.” The two pulled back from the hug. Emily handed him the box that she was holding. “Here I got this for you. I was going to give it to you at dinner, but I don’t think you’ll be staying for that.” He took the box and undid the red ribbon that was around it. Opening it up he saw a bracelet with a pineapple on it. It was similar to the necklace that Shawn had gotten Emily on her 14th birthday. The only difference was that on the back of the necklace was the word ‘Psych’.
He looked up to she her looking at the ground rubbing her pineapple necklace between her fingers. “Thought we should match.” Shawn smiled and pulled her into a hug once more. “What do I tell dad? With mom gone this is going to crush him. And what about going to the police academy? Although you never showed it around dad, you were excited.”
Shawn sighed and turned back to grab his bag and helmet. “I’ll think of something.” Then he turned and gave her a grin. “When have I ever given up? You and I both know I’m to stubborn for that.” Emily let out a small laugh, because it was true.
Emily watched as Shawn, her big brother, started his motorcycle and left. She watched until he disappeared into the night before looking back down at the note in her hand. Her eyes darkened as she read the words. She may not be as good at being a detective as Shawn was, but she sure as hell is damn good at it! And she is going to find the bastard that threatened her brother and bring them to justice.
2000
It’s been about a month and a half since Shawn came back after being gone for 5 years. And since then his Meta abilities have become stronger. His visions have become clearer, though sometimes he still needs to gather more information before everything falls into place. He can read minds a lot better too, now that he learned how to block other peoples thoughts out, though if he loses focus all those thoughts come crashing in at once. Yeah, it’s not fun. There are more, but most of them can be dangerous and are a bit… trickier. Like levitating objects. Or reading a persons mind, he doesn’t do that one very often because it always leaves him exhausted. But there are two of his abilities that he doesn’t like, and that is the ability to feel when someone close to him, like a friend or family member, are dead, and the ability to manipulate someone’s memories. The manipulation one scares him, to be honest. He can change someone’s memories for either a short amount of time or permanently, but it can also be used to hurt someone in worse ways…
The first time he used the memory manipulation was when he was 15, and it broke the people he used it on. Him and Emily were home alone trying to see if Shawn had any other abilities they didn’t know about. Shawn still doesn’t quit know what happened. One minute they were laughing, as he used his telekinesis to make their pencils float, and the next there was glass breaking, shouting, gun fire, and blood. Shawn remembers being thrown to the ground and away from Emily, as their attackers raided the house looking for anything valuable. He remembers looking over at Emily and seeing her unconscious body laying a few feet from him, blood seeping into the floor as it ran down her face from the wound on her head. That’s when his memory gets a bit fuzzy. He remembers getting off the floor, feeling angry at his sister being hurt and felt something powerful course through his veins. He remembers the intruders shouts and screams of fear as Shawn out stretched his hand to them.
In moments they were on the floor, eyes wide and staring at nothing saliva running from their mouths. That was the last thing Shawn remembers before collapsing to the floor and waking up in the hospital with his father at his beside. Of course, no one knew what happened except for Shawn. The official police report stated that a Meta human put the robbers in that state, which was true, but they didn’t know that it was him. At the moment Shawn was sitting in his apartment looking over a case file for the SBPD that he was working on when there was a knock on his door.
Confused, Shawn glanced at the clock that was on the wall in his kitchen to see that it was around 10 minutes before 10:00pm. Who would be knocking on his door this late? When the knocking continued Shawn got up to answer the door. When he opened the door a man in a nice suit and sunglasses stood in front of him, a letter in his hand. “Shawn Spencer?” The younger man nodded. The man before him handed him a letter. “A letter from Chief Anderson.” Shawn took the letter and stared at it before looking back at the man. “Uh, thanks.” The man nodded and Shawn closed the door with a click.
He stood there for a moment before walking back to his couch. He sat back down as rubbed a thumb over the letter before opening it.
Dear Shawn Spencer,
I hope you are well and are safe back in Santa Barbra. I got your letter on the Psychic agency you are starting to help with your cover, as to not let anyone know you are a Meta. While I am not okay with this sort of action, I know that you can’t tell anyone for your own protection. We will have him caught soon that I can promise you. If you need anything. please do not hesitate to call me.
-Chief Anderson
Shawn sighed as he set the note down and rubbed a hand over his face. He leaned over to the side table next to the couch, opened one of the drawers, and took out a file. He opened the file, flipping through everything he’s collected about the Meta Killer over the 5 years, but it was never enough. The Meter Killer, was someone who hunts and kills those with superhuman abilities they were born with. closed the file and tossed it on his coffee table and rubbed his eyes. When Shawn had left Santa Barbra all those years ago it was to protect everyone else, he hoped that who ever gave him the letter would follow him and never come back, and he was right because a few months after he left the kills stopped, but about a year ago they started up again.
Shawn has done his best to catch this killer, but every time he gets close they disappear.
Leaning his head on the back of the couch Shawn stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. ‘5 years and he’s still looking for me.’ He thought. He kept in contact with his sister through letters and emails after he left. And he would send his best friend, Burton ‘Gus’ Guster, some post cards.
He ended up in LA for the past 5 years. He become a police officer for the LAPD and eventually moved up to Junior Detective within a year and was soon the Head Detective not long after do to his 100% success rate. After 5 years on the force The Meta Killer showed up and left a note that shook everyone at the LAPD to the core.
One of you is not normal. I’m sure there are more of you, but there is one that I’m after for right now, one that evaded me 5 years ago and I would like to be reacquainted with them. They can run, and please do, I love the thrill of the hunt. At least this time I’m in on the disappearing act…
-The Meta Killer
Shawn knew, at that moment, that he was talking about him. Sure, there were other officers on the force that were Meta-humans like him, and had been there for 5 years as well, but Shawn couldn’t shake this feeling that it was him that this psycho was after. So after talking with the chief and the Justice League, Shawn, and 3 others who were Meta and had been there for 5 years or so, left and went under cover with orders to call the Justice League if they came in contact or saw the killer or any suspicious activity.
Now Shawn was a psychic consultant for the Santa Barbra Police Department. A dry laugh left Shawn’s lips as he rubbed a hand down his face. It was funny. The world was still iffy on Meta’s, some places and even people were okay with having them around, but others like Santa Barbra hated them with a burning passion. Some people of Santa Barbra didn’t mind or really care that Meta-humans walked the streets, but still most of Santa Barbra wanted them gone.
It was one of the reasons that Shawn was terrified of returning in the first place. When Shawn and Gus were talking earlier that day Shawn was happy to hear that his best friend didn’t seem to mind having Meta’s around. Of course he still didn’t know that Shawn was a superhuman freak. Now the two of them helped solve cases for the police and Shawn had to admit it was nice to continue doing police work in all the chaos that’s been going on in his life.
He even gets to work with his crush, Detective Carlton Lassiter. A smile pulled at his lips as he remembered those amazing blue eyes that he could just get lost in, but then frowned when he remembered that Lassiter hates Meta-humans. The worst part of all of this was that unexplained murders were happening, about 3 weeks ago.
The only thing that they all had in common was that they were all Meta-humans. He had a pretty good idea as to who was doing them. Shawn remembers when he found out about this when he was annoying Lassie. It shut it him up real quick and he didn’t even try to get in on the case instead he called his chief so he could call the League, but they couldn’t do anything, at least, not yet. As his thoughts drifted in and out of didn’t things his phone went off causing a groan to leave his lips. He grabbed his phone and answered without looking at the ID.
“Hello, Shawn Spencer speaking.” He said as he leaned forward on his couch.
“Spencer.” A smile once more graced his face as he heard his favorite detective’s voice on the other end of the phone. “Hey, Lassie! What brings up this phone call? Not that you need a reason to call.” Shawn smirked when he heard the detective growl on the other end. “The Chief wants you to come in tomorrow. Honestly, I don’t know why.”
“Wait, really? This isn’t about the case I’m working is it? Because I’m still going over it, actually I’m looking at it right now. And why didn’t she just call me herself?” He heard Lassiter sigh on the other end, Shawn could just see him pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
“I don’t know what it’s for, Spencer. And she asked me to call you, said she had someone else to call.” Leaning forward on his couch Shawn stared at the ‘Meta Killer’ file that was open before closing it. “Yeah… yeah, okay I’ll be there.”
“Good, see you tomorrow, Spencer.”
“Sure.” The call ended and Shawn sat in silence for a moment before packing up both case files and heading to his room to get ready for bed.
The next morning Shawn woke up with a headache. He sat in bed for a moment as his ‘dream’ played through out his mind. He saw Lassiter, Gus, Juliet, in the chief’s office waiting for someone. Then the doors opened and although he couldn’t see who was standing there, he felt a familiar presence. Then everything around him faded and soon he found himself tied to a chair as the Meta Killer’s notes flashed before him, then he woke up to his alarm. Shawn knew that that was more than a dream. It was a vision. Rubbing his temple he pulled himself out of bed and got ready for the day. When he finally left the house it was 7:45am, by the time he got to the department it was 8:05am. He took his helmet off and noticed that Gus was already there. ‘He must have gotten the same call last night.’ He thought as he walked into the building.
When he walked into the bullpen he noticed that everyone was tense. Walking up to Carlton Lassiter’s desk he noticed that the man was frowning more then usual, which was saying something. “Morning, Lassie!” He said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster with his head still pounding. The detective looked up from the paperwork he was going over and glared at the Psychic. “Go away, Spencer. Find someone else to bother.” Was the cold reply. Shawn was about to say something back when the chief’s office door opened. “Detective’s, Ms. Spencer, Ms. Guster my office.” The four walked into her office and shut the door behind them.
Chief Vick sat at her desk looking more than a bit on edge. She pulled something out of one of the drawers of her desk and laid it out in front of them. The front of the document had a big ‘JL’ on it and underneath it that it said ‘Top secret’. Shawn raised a brow when he saw it. “Why do you have a Top secret JL folder?” Karen sighed. “Because someone that the League has been trying to catch for 5 years has showed up in Santa Barbra as of 3 weeks ago.” Shawn’s heart dropped and his face went white. “The Meta Killer…” He said his voice just barely above a whisper. Gus looked at his best friend with concern. “Shawn, you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”
He hesitantly nodded, but immediately regretted it when the pain in his head spiked. “Y-yeah, fine.” Karen looked over at Shawn for a moment before continuing. “Yes. We believe that the Meta Killer has set their sights of Santa Barbra as their next place for killing.”
“So, the Justice League wants us to catch them?” Juliet asked. The chief crossed her arms. “Well, they would like our help since this is our town, but they are sending someone to help with the case.” The detective’s looked at each other. Lassiter was the first one to speak. “With all do respect, chief. We don’t need any help on this case. O’Hara and I are more then capable on catching-”
“It’s not up for debt.” Chief Vick cut him off, her expression serious. Silence filled the room before Juliet broke it. “So, who is going to be helping us?” Karen nodded her head. “I don’t know much about them, other then they work for the JL and that they have family here in Santa Barbra.” Carlton crossed his arms. “What good is this person anyway?” Vick gave him a hard stare. “Detective, this person has spent 5 years of their life trying to catch this maniac.” The chief explained.
There was a knock on the door that interrupted Carlton from saying anything. The door opened to reveal Buzz McNab and someone in a black suit and sunglasses. Shawn recognized that it was the same man that gave him the letter from his chief the other night. “What is it?” The chief asked. The officer looked at the three before clearing his throat. “Chief this is JL Agent Sanders.” The two detective’s looked at each other while the chief sat straighter in her seat. “Agent Sander’s. Thank you McNab, you can go.” Buzz nodded his head and turned to leave. Agent Sander’s stepped in and stood before the chief between Shawn and Gus. “Chief Vick, I was asked by the Justice League to escort the expert here to the Santa Barbra police station and to stay as a means of protection for her.”
Vick nodded her head. “I understand Agent. These are my detectives who will be working on the case. Head detective Lassiter and Jr. detective O’Hara.” Sander’s turned to the detectives and shook their hands with a nod of his head before turning back to the chief. “And this is Shawn Spencer our resident Psychic and Ms. Guster.” Sander’s turned to look at them. “I actually called them here to see if they would consider helping with this case.” Shawn’s eyes widened as he stared at the chief. Lassiter took note of the fear in his eyes. “Chief I don’t think that it’s a good idea.” Karen raised an eyebrow. “Spencer if this is about not being protected I can assure you that you will be completely safe.”
The Psychic was about to say something when the door opened in and there stood a girl around 20 years old with brown hair, green eyes, and was wearing a jean jacket, light green top, light blue jeans, and brown hiking boots. Her hair was braided into a side braid. Lassiter noticed that she was wearing a pineapple necklace that looked like the one Spencer wears. Agent Sander’s looked at her before sighing. “I told you to wait and that I would come and get you.” The girl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Yeah, well I don’t need you to test the waters for me every where we go, Sander’s” She stepped past him and up to the chief’s desk. “Emily Spencer consultant for the GCPD, head of Wayne Industries Meta human safe program and occasional Agent for the JL when working cases like this.” Shawn stared as he saw his little sister standing before the chief.
“Emmy?” He said. Everyone turned to look at him. Emily’s face broke out into a surprised smile. “Shawn! Oh my God!” She walked over and wrapped him in a hug. Gus, Lassiter, and Agent Sander stepped back as the siblings hugged each other. Gus had a smile on his face, though you could tell that he was surprised to see the younger Spencer here, while everyone else, minus Agent Sander, had looks of surprise on their faces. Lassiter turned to Gus.
“What the hell is going on?” Gus looked at the detective with a raised brow. “You really haven’t connected the dots yet?” Juliet gave him a confused look. “What are you talking about?” Sighing Gus turned back to look at the siblings who have stopped hugging, but are now having a hushed conversation with tears in their eyes. “Emily is Shawn’s little sister.” The detectives and Chief’s eyes widened. “Shawn has a sister?” Juliet said in disbelief as she looked to the two Spencer’s, Gus nodded his head. “Yeah. The two are super close. After Shawn left 5 years ago the they didn’t see each other much or at all, though the kept in touch. Then Emily moved to Gotham to get away from Henry and start a life for herself.”
The siblings stepped back from each other and looked at everyone in the room. “Uh, sorry about that Chief.” Shawn said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s alright Shawn.” She said before readdressing the task at hand. “Well, now that we have everyone here, Mr. Spencer I really would like for you to be on this case.” Shawn looked down at the ground, feeling Emily squeeze his hand in comfort. “You don’t have too.” She whispered to him as he met her eyes. He sighed and shook his head. “We both know that I’ll get roped into it at some point.” He turned back to the Chief. “Count me and Gus in Chief.” He said. Lassiter could tell that Spencer was scared from the small tremors shacking his body he was trying to suppress.
Karen nodded her head and turned back to face everyone. “Now we don’t have much on the Meta Killer now, but with Ms. Spencer’s help hopefully we can catch without anymore bodies hanging over our heads.” Everyone nodded. “I want this person out of my town as soon as possible, this will be your top priority. Dismissed.” Everyone filed out of the office and into the Bullpen. Lassiter and Juliet went to their desks to start working while Shawn, Gus, Emily, and Agent Sander walked out of the police station.
They stopped in the parking lot to make a plan. “Okay, we can all meet up at the hotel I’m staying in and go over everything that I have on them and what’s happened so far here. How does that sound?” Shawn nodded his head. “I think that’s a great idea We can all meet there around 6?” They all agreed and headed to their respective vehicles. As Shawn made it to his bike he got this worried feeling that he was being watched, but looking around he didn’t see anyone. deciding it was better to be safe then sorry he took the long way back to his apartment.