1.03 Possessed by Darkness

The Season 1 Titlecard.

## Episode

In the suburbs of Lincoln City, a family can be seen getting ready for bed, the parents have just put their children to sleep, little Lucy notices that her father is acting oddly, he's breathing heavily and looking around, he suddenly stands up and rushes outside and gets into his car, his wife calls after him but he ignores her and drives off frantically - as he drives off, in his pyjamas of all things, he seems laser focused on going somewhere as the radio host that can be heard gives him instructions on a "job that must be done" - as the car speeds away, the announcer warns the man of the potential consequences of carrying out such a job but the father is not interested, like in some kind of trance, and continues driving - he reaches a hooded figure on the side of the road and hands it a small piece of paper with a set of instructions, the hooded figure responds that it knows what needs to be done, the father is interrupted by his cell phone ringing - it's his wife: "Matt, what are you doing? come back NOW" however Matt, in a monotone way, says in an eerie way: "Everything is fine, I am fine, everything will be over soon" before hanging up abruptly - the hooded figure reveals strange writing on the back of the paper and thanks Matt for making a deal with him, the hooded figure then gets into the passenger seat of the car, the driver turns the car around and heads back home - as they drive down the street and pull into the driveway, Matt hides something behind his back as the hooded figure stands ominously outside the family home, after a few minutes screaming can be heard from inside and Matt emerges from the house in a daze revealing that the object he held behind his back was in fact a pair of scissors, the hooded figure watches as Matt walks towards the car and gets in, the hooded figure then looks to the house and sees Lucy crying over her mother's corpse, the hooded figure returns outside to Matt - "It had to be done" the hooded figure says manipulatively in a calm voice, Matt nods: "If only Matt could speak now, he wouldn't be too happy..." as he says this his eyes turn black, the hooded figure then reveals itself to be another black eyed person, this one a woman as police sirens begin to wail in the background suggesting that Lucy has called, or attempted to call, the police - it is because of this that the two black eyed figures (one still in control of Matt) disappear.

The next morning, Shane can be seen looking at a new case that has appeared on his laptop: "Here we go again" he says to himself as he presses the link, he opens the file and begins to read through the details - "Murder case on suburban Lincoln City estate" he reads aloud "Man walked out at night time, allegedly entranced before returning with...a pair of scissors?" he asks himself, he then starts to think about the nature of the situation however he decides to head down to the crime scene, he arrives at the address and sees a police car parked outside, he approaches the officer however the officer states that the public aren't allowed in the vicinity, Shane shows his Torchwood ID to the police officer in response to which the officer orders him to leave - Shane refuses to do so and demands access to the crime scene, the police officer threatens to call for backup so Shane eventually relents - "Well that was bust" he says "Normally that works" he says to himself as he leaves the scene.

Elsewhere, the hooded black eyed figure and "Matt" hide in the shadows, out of view from the oblivious public, as they wait for the right time to strike, the black eyed figure tells Matt: "We need to wait here, the boss wouldn't want us being seen" - Matt nods once again: "I agree, last thing we need is unwanted attention - plus I just got this vessel thanks to the deal we made...I can hear the real Matt inside here...SCREAMING" Matt laughs evilly at this as the hooded figure seems proud of its creation - "Don't worry, the boss will make sure your work goes noticed" she assures Matt before the black eyed figure vanishes, leaving Matt alone - he then appears to get distracted by the sound of the TV in the distance, he walks over to a nearby window and looks into to see that a murder investigation is underway for his actions, he quickly retreats into the depths of the urban sprawl of the city.

Meanwhile, Shane can be seen in a cafe, looking at more reports from the crime scene that he wasn't allowed in: "There were no witnesses, only two people who heard the victim screaming..." he says to himself whilst reading through the details, he then examines a photo of the corpse: "Looks like an old fashioned 'stabbed-through-the-heart' kinda murder" he comments however, quickly realizing he is in a public place and looking at this kind of thing isn't exactly normal, he soon puts the tablet he is using for research in his backpack and actually goes up to the counter to order something, declaring to himself that he should take advantage of being in a cafe, as he walks up to the counter and orders however the hooded figure can be seen in the background observing the people of Lincoln (her black eyes now look like normal eyes) - As he places the food order, the hooded figure watches as Shane sits down and waits, unaware of the figure across the street.
Back at the crime scene, Detective Sergeant Steve Fletcher can be seen looking at the body: "It just seems...off" he says to himself before explaining the situation to another officer who is standing next to him: "This woman has been stabbed but where's the motive? Where's the reason?" he says in frustration as he heads back to his police car to write an official statement about his findings, he gets in calmly but is shocked when he finds "Matt" in the back, his black eyes staring at the officer: "Yes, it was me...but it also WASN'T me" as he puts his hands around the neck of the Sergeant, the man tries to shout for help but Matt silences him and soon enough strangles him until he passes out, he then throws the Sergeant out of the police car and onto the ground, he then says to the unconscious Sergeant: "Matt has told me to tell you that we'll talk later...but we won't" he then scratches the Sergeant's face deeply causing blood to run from his mouth before seemingly teleporting away however he says: "No witnesses" to himself as he does so.

The hooded figure, meanwhile, continues to observe Shane (who is now eating what he ordered) from across the street, she seems amused as she sees how he interacts awkwardly with people, she can be heard saying to herself: "He doesn't seem to know I'm here..." as she watches him continue to eat, she then makes her move by wandering closer to the coffee shop window and making Shane jump as he sets his eyes on her - realizing she has been spotted by Shane, she smiles and walks through the door, she then sits across from him and questions Shane by quizzically saying: "Me and my apprentice have been looking for you, we understand you have an alliance with the demon Lamashtu?" however Shane replies with a question of his own: "Who are YOU?!" - The hooded figure simply responds: "We're your friends" however Shane isn't convinced: "Whose We?" he asks as he looks directly at the mysterious figure, the hooded figure smirks at Shane before replying: "My apprentice" as Matt appears suddenly next to her, revealing his black eyes to Shane who, unlike most encounters he's had during his short time as a hunter so far simply rolls his eyes, "You're Demons" he says clearly not having time for what he calls "Demon Crap" - "Oh, really? You think so?" the hooded figure asks sarcastically before once again asking Shane if he has an alliance with Lamashtu however Shane dodges the question: "What's it to you two? He turned on you lot ages ago" he says bluntly whilst taking a drink from a nearby can of coke - The hooded figure removes her head and proceeds to remain silent for a moment before finally answering: "He is currently sentenced to death, he temporarily escaped of course due to the Multiverse crisis a few months ago but let's just say he is quite tied up right now" Shane puts his hand up to his forehead: "Get to the point, what do you want with me?" he says dismissively, the hooded figure then speaks up: "I'm afraid we need your help" Shane laughs: "No chance!" he retorts, he then points to Matt: "No doubt this guy isn't even him, one of your colleagues is wearing him like a coat" Shane says sarcastically as the hooded figure nods her head and answers: "That might be true... but he is still a part of our team, I'm sure you can see why he would like to join forces with someone who understands the supernatural world" Shane shrugs: "Look, I'm flattered but I don't make deals with demons" - The hooded woman scoffs: "Yet you work with Lamashtu at times?" You're a hypocrite" she says as her eyes go black and hisses at Shane who simply shrugs, "Look you two are here for something and I assume you were the ones behind the murder case, which would explain why I wasn't allowed to enter, you probably have someone guarding it" he explains, the hooded woman looks confused for a moment before she nods her head: "Indeed" she says confirming Shane's theory, he then asks: "How many of you are even in this city right now?" the hooded woman thinks about this for a moment before responding: "Three, including myself and my apprentice" Shane folds his arms at this: "Are you lying?" the hooded woman shakes her head: "Nope" - Shane then takes a deep breath: "Alright, I'll listen to what you have to say but be quick about it."

The hooded woman and Matt's eyes go back to normal as she introduces herself as Lyleila, she tells Shane that she and her apprentice managed to escape the Underworld during Lamashtu's temporary escape during the Multiverse crisis, they laid low for many months until now when the real Matt made a deal with her to keep his friends safe as a sort of guardian in exchange for allowing Lyleila's apprentice to use Matt as a vessel - "You took that man away from his family and had him kill someone in the process, you spineless bitch" Shane says as he leans over the table to get in her face however Lyleila doesn't see a problem with this as she is a demon and eternal chaos is "their thing" - Shane just accepts what she is saying before once again saying how all of this doesn't add up to them coming to find him and asking if this really is all part of a plan.

Matt and Lyleila exchange a private conversation before telling Shane: "We were given the job of killing you...your ties with Lamashtu makes you an easy target for our boss and because he has a very big 'No Witnesses' clause in the contract, you have to go I'm afraid" Shane nods at this as he puts the can down by his side and he can be seen rummaging around, he passes this off as preparing for his fate at the hands of the demons however before either of them reach across the table to grab him, he splashes holy water from the can onto Lyleila and Matt's faces, they both scream unnaturally as they are clearly in pain from the mere impact of the holy water onto their skin as Shane legs it out of there, making a run for the door, he can be heard screaming at them to stop being such pussies (in what he describes as a very ballsy move) - he sprints towards the city Bus Station, taking a varied route instead of going straight there due to the fact that he didn't want to take the chance of running into any demons on his way, he makes it to the bus station without incident however once he enters he sees the bus he was meant to be on leaving the station, he curses at this and turns to leave but is stopped by the same police officer from the crime scene that told him too leave, revealing himself to also be a demon.

"We can't let you go Shane, we are under strict orders" the demon says as Shane says mockingly: "You know, a demon in a police officer uniform is very ironic..." before he can finish his jest, he is thrown and pinned against a pillar by the demon, he is then hit with a stun gun causing him to fall to the floor as the demon lectures him on how he's going to kill him and that he should just hand himself in, Shane simply replies "I'm not the one who needs to be careful, am I?" - the demon looks down at Shane with disdain and soccer kicks him in the gut, making him double over in pain, the demon then goes to kick him again but he manages to dodge this, he then reaches for his backpack and pulls out two glass balls filled with holy water, he throws the first ball at the demon and it hits him square in the face, he screams in agony as the holy water burns him and he falls to the floor, he gets up and tries to grab Shane but is clearly weakened so, in a traditional act of cowardice by normal demons, the demon retreats as a cloud of black smoke from the officer's mouth leaving the police officer unconscious and Shane can be seen smirking like he expected that to happen.

Elsewhere, Lyleila and Matt have recovered and can be seen causing chaos around the city as they look for Shane, they can be heard shouting Shane's name and inspecting many places thoroughly in search of him however they are unsuccessful, Matt is seething though: "He will pay for that Holy water stunt he pulled" - he is interrupted by a call from his boss telling him to go to the bus station as Shane has caused the third demon to "smoke out" and return to The Underworld, he tells Matt to get ready to be punished if he fails to bring Shane down and also tells Lyleila mercilessly that if she fails that Matt's blood will be on her hands.

Meanwhile, Shane has not taken a bus home but to Lincoln Cathedral in a move to outsmart the pursuing demons, he gets to work drawing something on the ground - he also notes that if he sets one foot into the Cathedral then the demons will not be able to harm him due to him being on holy ground.

Lyleila and Matt have been informed by their boss of Shane's whereabouts and whilst Lyleila is somewhat impressed by Shane's intelligent thinking, Matt is less so: "He has the blood of our kind on his person, like that of Madeline Longacre, the original Lamashtu before he went soft and many other demons in his past, not to mention our necks our on the metaphorical chopping block" - Lyleila replies with a smile: "That's what you think, but we've got a few tricks up our sleeves that might just give him a hard time" - Matt gives her a look of concern and says: "What do you mean?" as Lyleila removes her hooded robe revealing a demonic tattoo on her back hiding beneath her jacket and shirt, "What's that supposed to mean? It's a tattoo" Matt says bluntly as Lyleila looks at him coldly and says: "It's my mark, a modified version of the one worn by the former members of The Lamashtu Rite" - Matt's expression becomes serious and he asks: "You're not going to kill him, are you?" Lyleila replies with a smile: "I'm not a killer, I'm worse...plus it's in the contract and if the boss says to take out a main ally of a traitor, then that's what we do...You are the student, I'm the teacher" - Matt is silent for a moment as Lyleila says: "I'm glad to see you've come around to the idea of me being a teacher, but it's not your decision to make, now is it? It was the person that allowed you in" - Matt says nothing as Lyleila turns her attention back to the Cathedral and says: "This way" - she walks off and Matt follows.

Once at the Cathedral, the pair of demons find Shane waiting for them: "I thought since you intend to kill me, I would give myself some leverage" - Shane says. Lyleila tells Matt: "I'll take care of this one" - Matt's eyes widen as Lyleila tries to grab Shane but is unable too, like she is frozen in place by an unseen force, this causes Matt (who tries a sneak attack) to ambush Shane from behind, during the ensuing fight Shane is able to maneuver Matt next to Lyleila and as he stands back up, he too is unable to move and is frozen by an unseen force - they soon look down and finally notice that Shane has drawn a Pentagram onto the floor and calls it a "Devil's Trap" saying: "I learn't how to draw one from a TV show..." in a very cocky way as Lyleila says: "The trap won't stop us for long, your death is imminent" her black eyes are piercing in the afternoon sun, her long black hair blowing in the wind as she closes her eyes to concentrate however the commotion catches the eye of a priest who walks out of the Cathedral and says: "What's going on here?" - Lyleila and Matt both turn their attention to the priest and Lyleila says: "I'll explain it to him" however Shane is adamant "No I will...Father, I have a hypothetical question for you...if someone was being hunted by a pair of demons and came onto holy ground, would someone like a priest be able to perform an Exorcism?" - The priest replies: "No, the church does not sanction Exorcisms" - Shane then says: "Right, ok...what if the demons were trapped and were say...standing right in front of you" Shane points over to Lyleila and Matt, who remain in the Devil's Trap, in an attempt to convince the priest to exorcize the pair, the priest however just shakes his head and walks away thinking that Shane is crazy.

This gives Lyleila time to cast a spell, which in turn breaks the Devil's Trap, and the two demons advance on Shane once again - "That's cheating" Shane says - Lyleila looks at him with a smile and says: "It's called a Hex" - Shane then says: "Fair enough" he then produces a hunting knife from his backpack and prepares himself, a 2 on 1 fight ensues and after a brief scuffle, Matt's vessel is severly weakened though after a knife strike however Matt states that the blood is on Shane's hands as the demon possessing him "smokes out" in attempt to guilt trip Shane and leaving an injured Matt alive but needing medical attention in the process of it's retreat, Shane calls over a group of people to help with Matt as he deals with Lyleila, the more powerful of the two demons, he goes to stab her with the Iron hunting knife but she quickly dodges his attack and strikes back rendering the knife useless - Shane asks her: "You do know I'm only doing this because I won't go willingly" she simply states: "I don't care, I'm under VERY strict orders" before attempting to impale him with a hidden blade however Shane stops it, cutting his hands in the process, and kicks her back to create some distance between them - he goes to use more holy water however he finds out he is out as flames begin to emit from Lyleila's hands as she says: "You never asked how I know Lamashtu..." she says menacingly "I worked with him, I was part of his cult...he was a great leader, taught me some of his secrets in fact - so when he turned on his own kind and was exiled...of course I was going to try and put him to the metaphorical sword" Shane questions if that's why Lyleila came to the land of the living looking for an apprentice, she says: "He didn't exactly come to me, but a deal is a deal" Shane looks at her with a look of confusion, and she says: "Either way, through me, the Lamashtu Rite cult will RISE AGAIN and just as it started all those years, I need to silence a few noisy people...hence why I find myself here" she soon launches a stream of fire at Shane - he rolls out the way and watches as Lyleila's Pyrokinesis strangely goes upwards as if it can't make contact with the ancient Cathedral which was in the line of fire, this annoys her however Shane launches the hunting knife at Lamashtu's former apprentice, striking Lyleila in the shoulder - she turns to him with a grin and says: "Oh no you don't" she then unleashes a growl and teleports behind Shane, she holds her hidden blade to his throat.

Lyleila whispers eerily to the hunter: "You are mine now, Shane, you are a worthy opponent and your knowledge of us is impressive but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave this place alive, no matter how holy it is" - Shane looks around and with no usable traps or anyway out of his situation, his bloody hands grab Lyleia's thus creating a slight seperation between his throat and the hidden blade, he then runs and throws himself over the knee height wall that protects the Cathedral, a thud can be heard as the two land on the grass, Lyleila's grip on her blade loosens because of this sudden movement and finds itself lying on the grass as the two get up, Lyleila growls again (her eyes flicking between black and a more human green) before she jumps at Shane however her legs don't leave the floor and she is stuck, she is visibly confused as she looks for a Devil's Trap but there isn't one - "What's happening?" the demon demands answers however Shane simply says: "Holy ground, you lot can't enter it so because you're standing within this wall here...well....your stuck here until you smoke out and return to The Underworld" he smirks as Lyleila growls and screams at him: "How dare you defy me!" she then turns her attention to the hidden blade and tries to grab it but can't as her vessel is defying her, Lyleila's face is one of confusion and frustration as she lectures Shane on Lamashtu's death sentence and how he used to be something before turning soft during his exile to Earth and how he told her stories of Shane's many encounter with Lamashtu in his younger years however she snaps: "I'm going to kill you!" as she snarls at Shane who simply laughs and tells her: "I know...but not today, or tomorrow, or even the next day...maybe not for another half century but know this if anything supernatural is gonna kill me...it won't be you" Lyleila's face begins to contort as she struggles to escape the holy ground she's stood on, she clearly doesn't want to leave her current vessel but the more she tries, the more she can feel the power being drained from her as she screams at Shane: "You will pay for this!" as she slowly loses control of her body as black smoke ejects itself from her body as she screams signalling that the demon has left her body however in a strange twist, Lyleila's vessel disappears too leaving Shane on his own at the foot of the Cathedral, he patches his many cuts up and puts his backpack back on - he notices that the real Matt is getting medical attention and breathes a sigh of relief stating: "Demons...not a fan, no doubt I will be seeing her again soon" he does wonder what will become of Lamashtu and is seemingly determined to do what he can to help out his former enemy turned ally in return for the demon helping him many times in the recent past: "Now...where do I start?" he thinks to himself as it dawns on Shane how virtually impossible this self initiated case might turn out to be.

## Characters

* Shane
* Lyleila
* Demons (Matt, Unnamed Police Officer)
* Lamashtu (mentioned)