( MAGNUS )

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ANTIQUITIES
[ ☾]

        Inside, two security guards are playing the card game Gin. "Gin. Again." Guard 1 says. They hear a noise but before they can check it out two columns of demon smoke come under the door and force their way down their throats. The guards eye's turn black. Guard 1 goes to unlock a vault while Guard 2 stands guard.

       Suddenly a girl walks in with a bag of takeout. "Brought you guys something for your shift." She says. Guard 2 grabs a knife from a table and cuts her throat. She falls to the ground dead.

       Hours later, the room is a crime scene. The two Guards and the girl are all dead on the floor. Police are taking pictures and cataloging evidence. The Detective on the case is talking to Sam, Elena and Dean who are there as FBI

       "I don't have much for you guys. The guards were good men. They'd been here for years—vetted, honest. But..." The Detective starts.

       "But?" Dean asks.

       "Security camera shows a research assistant caught them breaking into vault number one."

       Dean points to the girl on the ground. "That's her?" He asks.

       "Gets weirder." He shows them the security footage and it shows one security guard shooting the other one. Then the one that was just shot gets up and shoots the first guard. Then one guard shoots out the camera. "Like I said."

       "Anything special about the particular vault they opened?" Sam asks.

       "Vault number one is where they keep rare, new acquisitions while they're being examined." The Detective says.

       "So what was stolen?" Dean asks.

        "That's the kicker—nothing. The curator, Dr. McElroy, said the vault's been empty for weeks."The Detective gets called away.

       "Okay, so, just connecting the dots here—the Blade was likely put in there when it first got here." Dean says.

       "The guards were obviously demons, so... What?" Sam asks. "When the vault turned out to be empty, they killed their guard meat-suits and smoked out?"

      "And reported back to who? Abaddon?" Dean asks.

      "She's closing in."

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ANTIQUITIES
[ ☼ ]

       Sam, Elena and Dean are talking to the curator as the last body is rolled out. "So, the First Blade was never on display?" Elena asks.

       "No authenticated item by that name was ever on these premises." Dr McElroy says.

       "'Authenticated'." Dean says. "Dr. McElroy, this Blade was stolen and smuggled into the U.S. in violation of treaties with several governments. We can compel you to speak."

       "'Compel'?" She asks. "And what might that involve?" Dean is slightly taken aback by her implication. Sam looks on. "All right, look, I did acquire the so-called First Blade. And carbon dating did peg it to biblical times, but the authentication proved unreliable."

      "So it was in the vault." Dean says.

       "I removed it myself. The guards didn't know. Dr McElroy says.

       "And where is it now?" Sam asks.

       "Several weeks ago, a confidential offer was made to purchase it. I was afraid we would never authenticate the thing, so—" She starts.

      "Who was the buyer?" Elena asks.

       "Sorry. The buyer insisted on absolute secrecy."

       "Well...federal statutes trump your little deal. So...the buyer?" Dean asks.

       Dr. McElroy speaks more flirty this time. "And you'll get it out of me one way or another, won't you, Agent?" She asks. Dean is starting to respond to the flirting and smirks a little. "Hmm. I never did know his real identity. He called himself 'Magnus'. Don't ask me where he lives. I have no idea. But I do have a meeting. So, here is my number, should you need anything else." She hold out her card and Sam goes to take it. She pulls it back and hand it over again, this time only for Dean.

       Dean takes the card. Dr. McElroy leaves and Sam gives him a 'Really'? look. "What?" Dean asks.

       Sam chuckles and shakes his head. "Did you catch that? 'Magnus'? 'Albert Magnus'? The name the Men of Letters used when they want to be incognito?" He asks.

       "Yeah, but we know that all of the Men of Letters are dead." Dean says.

      "Do we?"

BUNKER DUNGEON
[ ☼ ]

        Sam, Elena and Dean enter the Bunker's dungeon. Crowley is still sitting there trussed up. "Turndown service? I'd like a mint on my pillow." He says.

       "What do you know about the Men of Letters massacre of 1958?" Sam asks.

       "We know Abaddon missed our grandfather and Larry Ganem. Was there anybody else?" Dean asks.

       "Let me get this straight. You keep me locked up in this closet, ignore my suffering, and then come barging in here and demand my help?" Crowley asks.

       "More or less, yeah." Elena says.

       "Did I or did I not keep my end of the bargain the other night? Quite brilliantly, I might add." Crowley says. "We are partners! And you owe me!"

       "'Owe' you?" Sam asks.

        "I wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you three. You shoot me up. You make me a junkie." Crowley says. "You keep me stashed away for months while my kingdom falls apart?!"

       "What do you want?" Dean asks.

       Later, Crowley is sitting in the Bunker library drinking a scotch while Sam, Elena and Dean rifle through boxes of Men of Letter's files. "It's not a very good scotch, is it?" Crowley asks.

       "Okay, Crowley, we have gone through the records for the entire membership in 1958. Every single name matches the men who were killed." Sam says.

        Crowley is only half paying attention as he finds a Busty Asian Beauties magazine and starts looking through it. "That would be the active membership, correct?" He asks. Sam looks up and rolls his eyes. "Were you two dropped on your heads a great deal? Like I told you, rumor has it that a rogue member was tossed out on his arse. Does that make him 'active'? Seriously, boys, how did you ever function without me? Well, hello, Miss Ichigatsu."

       Dean picks up a file box and reads the label. "'Infamati et obliterati'." He says.

       "Dishonored and forgotten." Crowley translates.

        Later, Sam, Elena and Dean are sitting across from each other at the table, still pouring over the files. "Wow. This guy was something." Dean hands a paper over to Sam.

       "Tough name." Sam says.

       "Yeah, Cuthbert Sinclair. I'd have just gone with 'Magnus'." Dean says.

       "Looks like he designed most of the warding that keeps the bunker safe." Sam says. 

       "Says here he was named 'Master of Spell', right after he initiated." Dean says.

       "I guess his work got a little crazy. The leadership called it 'eccentric' and 'irresponsible'." Sam says.

        "K, so these are the projects that he proposed the last two years he was here." Elena says. "Look at this—'rejected'. 'Rejected'. 'Rejected'."

       "So difficult—brilliant, ahead of your time, despised for it." Crowley says. "Trust me, I know."

        "'Formal separation from Men of Letters—April 1956'." Dean says.

        "He missed the massacre." Elena says.

       "I never knew his name, but I heard someone was out. Did my damnedest to find him. Thought he might be my way inside this joint."

        "So where'd you look?" Sam asks.

FOREST
[ ☾]

         The Winchesters, Elena and Crowley are walking through a forest of tree and into a clearing. "So this is where your demons tracked him to?" Dean asks.

        "Exact spot. My boys never could find him. I'm sensing nothing, so if he's here, he's warded up to the gills." Says Crowley.

        "Well, he was a genius at it, right?" Sam asks. "Sure as hell ain't gonna be found by a bunch of demons."

       "Oh, like he's gonna open his heart to you lot, because you're such prizes?" Crowley asks.

        "Better—we're legacies." Dean says. "All right, if he's so bent on hiding, maybe he's watching. Give it a shot."
       
         Sam speaks into the air. "Cuthbert Sinclair—uh, Magnus—whatever. We're Sam and Dean Winchester, Henry Winchester's grandsons." He says.

        "And Men of Letters, ourselves." Dean says.

       "We know what happened back in the day. We don't necessarily agree with it." Sam says. "We figured...Maybe you want to tell your side of the story."

         There is nothing and so the boys turn back and look at Crowley but he puts behind them and there is a smoky doorway that rises from the ground. Sam, Elena and Dean exchange looks and then walk through it. They are immediately in a hallway in a beautiful mansion.

       "Which way?" Elena asks. Dean motions to the right and they walk down the hall. We when round the corner they are attacked y two vampires. They fight them off and behind both of them. Then over the intercom they hear clapping and a voice.

       "Bravo! Well done."

       The scene changes to Sam, Elena and Dean sitting on a couch while a man, Magnus, pours himself a drink. "Sorry about all the theatricality. I just wanted to see what you two were made of." Magnus says.

       "So, what, are we underground?" Dean asks.

       "No. No, my fortress is right where you were standing. But it's invisible."

       "Then you must be Cuthbert Sinclair." Sam says.

       "Ugh. I haven't gone by that moniker in, oh...57 years now." Says Magnus.

       "Well, you're looking good for a guy pushing...90?" Dean asks.

       "Well, thanks, sport. There's a spell for damn near everything." Magnus says as he turns to Elena. "I understand the Winchesters, but who are you?"

       "I'm Elena Gilbert."

       Magnus looks up. "I knew a fella by the name of Gilbert some time ago. Are you a...a woman of letters?" He asks.

       "I guess I am." Elena says.

        "Mmm, never met one of those before. You're quite hypnotizing." Magnus says and Elena feels uncomfortable. "I am impressed, though. You did exactly what you should've done. Though I am gonna miss those two from my zoo."

       "Your zoo?" Sam asks.

       "Oh, gentlemen, you are in the midst of the greatest collection of supernatural rarities and antiquities on the planet." Magnus says. "I'm sorry. Did you say that you were Men of Letters? I thought that whole thing died out after '58."

       "Well, we are—we are legacies. But actually, uh... We're hunters." Sam says.

        "Hunters? Wow! Hunters. With the key to the kingdom! The boys must be spinning in their graves. Damn snobs. Bunch of librarians, if you ask me." He says. "Although I was always fond of Henry. I was his mentor, you know? Yeah, till the squares gave me the boot. Yeah. 'Course, he came here to visit me, in secret. Called out to me, same as you did. Oh, yes. Quite the wild hair, your grandfather was."

        "Listen, Magnus, uh... We got ourselves a little situation. Abaddon, the last Knight of Hell, is looking to up her pay grade and take over the place." Dean says.

    "Things never change, do they? I kept telling the boys over and over again—I would say, 'we could stop all this. We could rid the world of monsters once and for all if we just put our minds to it', but, 'oh, no', they said." Magnus says. "'No, no, no. It's not our place. We're here to study. We're here to catalog'.

       "Yeah, yeah, no, we get it. They're, uh...geeks." Dean says.

       "Mm."

       "But she can be stopped. But we need something that we hear you have—the First Blade." Dean says.

        "Hmm. I see. Interesting. But if you'd really done your homework, you would know that it's absolutely useless, unless, of course, you're possessing the Mark—" Magnus starts.

        Dean pulls up his right sleeve to reveal the Mark in his arm. "...the Mark of Cain." He says.

       "Oh, my. How did you come by that?"

        "Listen, if Abaddon takes over, the one thing she wants more than anything is to make hell on earth." Sam says. "Not even you can escape that."

       "And they say all hunters are morons. It's right there behind you, gentlemen."