Prophecies, Curses and Champions Ch 1, pt 1, a tv x-overs fanfic

Author's Note: This story is part of a planned saga that began in the story "A Tale of Two Blades". I recommend you read it to familiarize yourself with what has happened with those characters so far, but it isn't strictly necessary. The first several chapters of this story will overlap that one at first, telling the story of Mara's entrance into the Sunnydale scene and her meeting Angel, which was hinted at in ATOTB. I'm still not quite sure how this story will work out as it has "parts" as opposed to just straight "chapters" at some points.

Rating is for violence and language. Italics signify thought, emphasis or vision. One row of Xs means change of POV, two mean change of scene, three signify beginning or end of a chapter.

For anyone who is wondering, the TV shows that will be included in the entire saga are (in alphabetical order) Angel, Beastmaster, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Angel, Highlander, Pretender, Stargate SG-1 and Witchblade. Movies include the Mummy movies (only a single character), Underworld and a cameo appearance of some characters from the Blade trilogy (actually just the first two movies). I think that's all of them, lol. See the end of this "chapter" for a "character and fandom summary". The first chapter has been split into two parts to accommodate the summary and will be continued immediately. Chapters will not ordinarily come two at a time.

Disclaimer: None of the characters you recognize (except OCs from ATOTB if you read that) belong to me; I am making no money off them and intend no disrespect. Any characters you don't recognize are mine. Please ask before you play with them.

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Cemetery
Sunnydale, CA
Monday, July 23, 2001
late at night

Heavy grunting and the sounds of flesh striking flesh filled the night air. The voice of a young bleach-blonde woman announced, "I don't think so!" as a man's figure raced away from her with surprising speed. The girl quickly loaded a crossbow and fired a single shot. The man looked down at his chest, surprised to see an arrow sticking out of it, before promptly bursting into a cloud of dust.

Another young woman with shoulder length red hair appeared next to the first and said, "Way to go Buffy! That was a great shot."

Buffy looked at her companion and replied, "Willow, if I had known there would be no little ball of sunshine to come and dust him, I wouldn't have waited so long to do it myself."

Willow looked sheepish and began picking up a few strange items off the ground, "Sorry Buffy, Tara borrowed my newt eyes and I forgot I needed them for this spell. Lucky I remembered, or we might have been purple for a few days."

"Purple?" Buffy echoed and then shook her head in an 'I don't want to know' gesture.

She shoved her crossbow in her gym bag and began walking out of the cemetery with Willow, always on the alert for more baddies. But the last few nights had been pretty uneventful, and Buffy was beginning to worry. Things were usually only quiet near the Hellmouth right before something big happened. Big and bad; usually apocalyptic.

She had the feeling, though, that she and her friends had awhile to figure out exactly what was going on. And when she got a feeling like this one, she was almost always right. Just part of being the Slayer she supposed. She shuddered to think that Glory was most likely behind whatever was coming up, and she hurried her steps, eager to get home and check on Dawn. The teenager had become even more difficult since discovering that she was the Key Glory was so intent on possessing. Thank goodness Glory had yet to figure it out.

Willow had to jog to keep up with Buffy, and she called out for Buffy to wait a second while she picked up a book she had dropped from her backpack. As she walked to where Buffy was waiting, a strange blue light formed at eye level a few feet away from them.

The tip of a sword appeared through the light and then swung down, creating what looked like a tear of blue light in the night air. Buffy quickly retrieved her ax out of her bag and took up a ready stance. The tear widened slightly and two hands appeared, pulling the tear open further. They could see a young woman on the other side, trying to hold the tear open and step through at the same time.

Considering that she was wearing a black business suit with a long, tight skirt, she was doing pretty well. Obviously getting frustrated, she grumbled something under her breath and stood back slightly, focusing on Willow and Buffy for the first time. She frowned at their jeans and T-shirts, but shrugged her shoulders. The fabric of her suit seemed to come alive then and it shrank and swirled until she too was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, both solid black. A booming roar sounded through the tear and the woman looked over her shoulder and shouted something in a language Willow couldn't place.

Peering into the opening still hanging in the night air, Willow gasped at the sight of a full sized Dragon hovering in the daylight sky behind the woman. The woman smiled at the expression on Willow's face, and, tossing a wave over her shoulder to the dragon, she stepped through the tear unencumbered. Seeing Buffy's ax, now clasped only loosely, she drew the sword that had been the first thing the pair had seen come through the tear. It took a moment for Willow to realize that she had drawn it seemingly out of thin air. What kind of powers did this woman have?

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Second Author's Note: Yes, I know that was short, but I will be posting the second part momentarily. The following is each fandom and what characters will be in the story and in what part of the show's timeline the story takes place. Everyone is free to email me with questions, especially if a show you don't watch is listed and you need some background info on characters (spideegrrl77 AT yahoo DOT com).

TV Shows

Angel: Several months after coming back from Pylea, but no Cordy/Angel romance and Connor never existed as it has yet to have been revealed that Darla was what Wolfram and Hart brought back. Lyndsey is gone by choice (for now), and was never infatuated with the ex-vampire. Characters: Angel (a vampire with a soul, a Champion for good), Faith (a Slayer, out of prisoner, the story of which will be told in flashback form), Lorne (a good guy demon from Pylea who can read others' auras when they sing), Winifred "Fred" Burkle (human, was stuck in Pylea as a runaway slave for five years, still getting used to freedom and being back on earth), Wesley Wyndham Price (human, ex-Watcher, extensive book knowledge, not bad at physical combat after being in the field so long), Charles Gunn (human, very good fighter, used to lead a street gang that hunted vamps and demons, had to stake his own sister when she was turned), Cordelia Chase (human, but gifted with Sight when her half-demon almost boyfriend, Doyle, gave his life to save she, Angel and a group of good demons, was Princess of Pylea for a short time due to her gift), the Groosalug (or "Gru" as he's called, in love with Cordelia, half-demon, great fighter, currently in Pylea trying to help establish the new order), Lila Morgan (head of Special Projects for Wolfram Hart, an evil law firm, took Lyndsey McDonald's place when he left, in charge of trying to make sure Angel is on the side of evil in the final battle), the Oracles (blue and gold chick and dude, messengers of the PTB) and a few surprise guests. No original characters that are strictly from this fandom except random vamps, demons and human flunkies of Wolfram and Hart.

Beastmaster: Takes place after the end of the series, but Dar has been given immortality (by Koorapira for saving her) and has long since left the "kingdom" he and his family were sent to. Characters: Dar (the Beastmaster, can talk to animals), Koorapira (the "good" demon who gave Dar his powers, she presides over the forests and animals), Sharak (still-cursed immortal sorceror-turned-hawk), and the Sorceress (Sharak's love, wants to make him "human" again so they can be together, has no name, I may give her one). "Original" characters: Rune, a white tiger descended from Ru, one of Dar's original animal friends, and Kodo and Podo, ferrets descended from the original ferrets of the same names. Truly original characters: Lissa (Dar's wife and a shape-shifter) and Kai (their young son).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sunnydale will be the main location for the beginning of this story. As far as timeline goes, Glory is alive and kicking; she has not yet discovered who the Key is. Riley has left and Joyce is dead. Characters include Buffy Summers (Vampire Slayer, former love of Angel), Dawn Summers (the Key to another dimension in the form of a teenage girl), Spike (vampire with a chip in his head that does not allow him to hurt humans, at this point in time, Spike has not tried to get a soul, a bit obsessed with Buffy), Rupert Giles (called by his last name, ex-Watcher who still tries to guide Buffy and cares very deeply for her), Willow Rosenburg (red-headed witch, one of two original "Scoobies" who helped Buffy in high school and continue to do so), Oz (if anyone knows his last name, please let me know, cuz I cannot remember for the life of me, werewolf, boyfriend of Willow, never left or cheated on Willow in my story), Tara McKay (another witch, good friends with Willow, soft spoken), Alexander "Xander" Harris (the other original "Scoobie", currently dating Anya, though he's always had a thing for Buffy), Anyanka (also known as "Anya", blunt speaking ex-vengeance demon and girlfriend of Xander), Glory/Ben (Glorificus, a powerful demon god banished from her own dimension and forced to share time with the mortal man Ben, needs the Key to get home, doesn't know that using the Key will cause all dimensions to collide and the universe to end) and Pike (mortal from the movie, ex-boyfriend of Buffy, has been hunting vamps since his best friend was turned). No original characters that are strictly from this fandom except random vamps, demons and humans.

Dark Angel: no characters yet, except for the fact that Susanna Irons (see original character list for Witchblade) is part transgenic. More of this fandom will be explored in future sequels.

Highlander: Anywhere in the series after Duncan has defeated the demon Ahriman, Richie is dead, as is Fitz. Does not include the movie "Endgame" as it went totally against canon. Characters: Duncan McLeod (a Scottish Highlander Immortal, "cousin" of Connor, Champion for good, a little over 500 years old), Joe Dawson (Duncan's Watcher and friend, mortal, only one leg from Vietnam), Connor McLeod (another Scottish Highlander Immortal, actually somewhere near 50 or so year older than Duncan), Methos (the "oldest living Immortal"… Not, hehe!… stays out of the game unless Duncan needs him, 5,000 years old with a colorful past, also poses as mortal Watcher Adam Pierson), and Amanda (Immortal thief, originally from England, I believe, on-again off-again lover of Duncan's). Original characters: lol, gotta week? Dagan and Malia, deceased third and fourth Immortals who were given mortality twelve thousand years ago as a reward for service to good. Their (Immortal) children (who were instrumental in the creation of the Realms of Magic): Eve (powers of healing, creation and destruction (a touch from her left hand kills), twin of Asha), Asha (twin of Eve, healing abilities), Mikel (can pass as a Faerie, lives among them as the Queen's consort), Trin (deceased Immortal, lost her head in French Revolution, co-founder of the Watchers), Tane (triplet with Trin and a mortal sibling, male Immortal who can read minds), Lana (Immortal with no special powers, travels with Ares, Olympian guardian of war), Klea (talented herbologist) and Mara (the most powerful Sorceress of all time, created Avalon on her own, wielder of Excalibur, can heal through the magic of taking another's wounds onto herself). Other original characters: Arinne (adopted Immortal daughter of Asha and a non-original character, this woman has many secrets, has only ever had one student), Hunter (once known as Attila the Hun… so not totally an OC, so sue me… Immortal, former student of Arinne), Vidge (female Immortal, current student of Hunter), and Zara (female Immortal with several secrets of her own).

Pretender: After the show and the first movie, but ignoring the Island of the Haunted. Characters are grouped in "logical fashion". Jarod (a full Pretender with the ability to be anyone he wants to be, escaped from the Centre several years ago, still looking for his family). Miss Parker (childhood friend of Jarod, now forced to hunt him, though she has ignored it most of her life she has the Inner Voices, the ability to communicate with the dead), Dr. Sydney Green (Jarod's Keeper from the time he was a very young boy, one of Miss Parker's team, his twin Jacob died after being in a coma for a very long time), Broots (computer genius, afraid of Miss Parker, as helped and been helped by Jarod, has a daughter named Debbie who likes and is liked by Miss Parker) and Angelo (once known as Timmy, now an empath, is the leak that feeds Jarod info from inside the Centre). Ethan Jamison (son of Miss Parker's mother and Jarod's father by artificial insemination, is a Pretender and has the Inner Voices stronger than his sister, was driven a bit nuts by his Keeper, Raines). Kyle (Jarod's full brother, another Pretender Raines tried to turn into an assassin, now deceased) and Catherine Jamison Parker (deceased, now Witchblade guardian of her other son, Christian Nottingham and his wife Lily, had the Inner Voices). Major Charles (Jarod's father, was in Air Force, may also be a Pretender, last seen with "the boy" and Emily), Emily (Jarod's sister (and Sara Pezzini's fraternal twin, see Witchblade), has at least Pretender potential) and "the boy" (Jarod's "clone", I'm changing his story a bit in this one). Mr. Parker (may or may not be Miss Parker's father, a higher-up in the Centre, has shown a willingness to sacrifice even Miss P, who he claims to love, in order to get what he wants), Mr. Raines (once "Dr. Raines", needs oxygen tank to breath, evil incarnate, has tried to kill many people, did kill Catherine and was the original cause of Jacob going into a coma), Mr. Lyle (also exceedingly evil, killed his wife and is a cannibal, has killed numerous innocents, killed Kyle) and Willie (Raines' right hand goon). Original characters: Demona (a Pretender with pyrokinetic abilities… ever wondered who started the fire on SL-27?… she is now held on SL-12 in a special water tank) and various other random people inside the Centre.

Stargate SG-1: the Stargate itself (an ancient device that connects different planets together via wormhole) will be hinted at, but characters will not be seen until a different part of the overall saga.

Witchblade: best to read ATOTB to figure out where in the timeline it is, but mostly Season One. Sara and Jake are paired (for now, evil laugh); Sara is pregnant with Jake's son (it was also covered in ATOTB that Sara is the sister of Jarod (from Pretender). Kenneth Irons will be involved; he is also the head of the Centre's Triumverate (Pretender fandom) in my story and has a history with those characters that has not yet been fully explored. Danny Wu is alive but will only be mentioned as far as I have planned at this point. Maria Bouzani (Sara's dead call girl friend) is Sara's Witchblade Guardian. Lazar may make an occasional appearance. Gabriel Bowman, being endangered in ATOTB, will be seen in Los Angeles, staying with the Fang Gang from Angel. Christian "Ian" Nottingham is now a Witchblade Wielder, freed of Irons and married to Sara and Jake's daughter from another timeline: my original character Lilianna McCartey Nottingham. Their Witchblade Guardian is Catherine Parker, a character from Pretender, who happens to be Christian's mother. Other OCs in this fandom: Susanna Irons (daughter of Kenneth Irons and Sara Pezzini from yet another timeline, a false Witchblade Wielder, Irons does not yet know she exists), Bast (a cat who is more than she appears, "owned" by the Nottinghams), Akantha (Christian and Lily's Guide in the Witchblade Realm), Jonathan Nottingham (Christian's father, who we may or may not meet in this story) and the Lieutenant (Irons' bodyguard now that Nottingham is free).

Movies

Blade (one and two): cameo appearance of two characters will be in the sequel to this story entitled "A Year And A Day".

Mummy movies: only Ardeth Bay. Between the two movies the PTB granted him immortality (though he can be killed) in return for his service to good. So he looks about the age he was in the movies.

Underworld: None of the characters will appear in this story; that will be in a future part.

X-Men movies: couple of the characters will be in future parts, but not this story.

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To help ease confusion a bit, the following are summaries of different types of beings. After that is a summary of specific groups that may be mentioned in this story.

Type of Being Summaries

Demon: Various beings that aren't human, though some appear to be (not all non-humans are demons, of course). Not all demons are evil, though most are. They inhabit this dimension and others, occasionally crossing over where they don't belong to wreck havoc on other dimensions.

Vampire Slayer: Originally simply the Slayer, created to fight evil, though later interference from the Watchers turned their attention mostly to demons, vampires in particular. One girl at a time, the next is called when her predecessor dies. Enhanced strength and senses at birth that become fully enhanced when she is called. The Slayer is always young, and most die within a couple years of being called, some lasting as little as a day.

Child of Lillith: The first type of "vampire" to exist. The drinking of blood is part of a mating ritual, though some have been known to become evil and drink when it isn't necessary. The Children of Lillith have souls, can walk in daylight (though they are slightly weaker during the day) and are immortal, but they can be killed in any fashion that a human can (except disease). They can have Children of their own and can turn some humans. They are stronger, faster and have more enhanced senses than humans. Some can fly or are shape-shifters (these are usually limited to wolves or bats, feeding into the mythology of vampires).

Vampire (Pure Blood variety): Former Children of Lillith who have turned to evil (and their descendants who are not allowed to know from whence they really came). Not all Pure Bloods who are born of other Pure Bloods are evil, some choose to do good, same for the Equals. Their bite has become poisonous, allowing them to create vampires of the demon possession variety to serve them. It has occasionally been known for Pure Bloods to make an Equal, a vampire that retains the soul and mind it had as a human while gaining all the abilities and weaknesses of the one who turned it. Pure Bloods can still give birth, but in return they eventually grow old and die (couple thousand year life span). Other than that, they have the same weaknesses as other vampires, unable to walk in sunlight, etc. They don't turn to dust when they die however, unless sunlight or an equally powerful force is involved. Vlad Dracul is a Pure Blood Equal, turned by a former Child of Lillith. The older the Pure Bloods get, the stronger they become. Pure Blood Equals cannot give birth or create other Equals.

Vampire (demon possession variety): The type of vampire that is dusted when it dies, no matter how it dies. Decapitation or staking will do it, holy water burns, sunlight is fatal, fire as well. There are levels: Sire, Childe and flunkie (sorry, no technical term for them), all immortal. A Sire starts out as a Childe, but when he or she sires Childe-ren of their own, they become a Sire. A Childe is given a great amount of blood, enough to make them the equal (or very close to it) of their Sire. A flunkie, on the other hand, is only given enough to be turned. Turning involves a demon taking possession of a body as the soul that inhabits it dies. Once the demon essence takes complete control, it "wakes up" thus giving the impression of rising from the dead. This is not to be confused with Zombies, who take possession after the body has already been vacated. Demon possession vampires have enhanced strength, speed and senses, occasionally they have other powers.

Werewolf: Werewolves can be immortal or mortal, but they all result from a bite or are born from someone who has been bitten. The first werewolf came of a Child of Lillith biting a human while in wolf form during the full moon. Werewolves who do not fully accept their supernatural abilities are cursed to change uncontrollably during the full moon cycle into a half human half wolf form. Those who fully accept what they now are can fully transform from human to wolf at will though they must change during the full moon to maintain control. Differing levels of acceptance produce different levels of abilities and control, some retain wolf senses in human form. A werewolf is not necessarily evil, but they can be, as can any being.

Lycan: A clan of immortal werewolves who hunt humans and were once enslaved by Pure Blood vampires. Most can change form (half man half beast) even when the moon isn't full (or even out for that matter).

Hunter (natural or learned): A being who hunts another (or the same) type of being, some hunt good, some hunt evil. Hunters can be born with special abilities or earn or gain them. Some don't have special powers, rather they hunt as a calling. Some of these non-powered Hunters hunt anything supernatural, good or evil.

Immortal (always capitalized): A being (human looking) that will live forever, never aging, once it has suffered a violent first death. Immortals cannot have children, even if they never become Immortal but die of old age instead. Immortals can be killed, they simply wake up later. Once their head is severed from their body, however, there is no coming back, and their Quickening, the sum of all their power, age and knowledge, is passed to the one who killed them (or the nearest Immortal if killed by something else). Immortals can sense each other through an Awareness headache, which dims to just a hum after eye contact. They can also sense Immortals to be, which are sometimes called Immies. The first Immortal was created as a companion (daughter) for Cain during his travels. Others followed, meant to do great good with knowledge retained from former ages of the world. Around 2,000 BC, a curse was put on these beings (don't know by who yet) for them to kill each other off until there was only One left, and that One would receive the Prize. No one knows what the Prize is, but supposedly it's fantastic. Immortals cannot fight on holy ground (though it has happened a couple times before, Pompeii for one), and the fights are one on one (no interference). When someone first becomes Immortal, if they're lucky, an older Immortal finds them and teaches them everything they need to know. Some never learn before another Immortal takes their head. The Gathering is supposed to be the big final battle, but it already happened once thousands of years ago and because there were those who did not wish to fight each other, it wasn't the final battle after all. But another will come, and "In the end there can be only One."

immortal (only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence): A being that will live forever, barring complications. Some can be killed, some cannot. Some are blessed, some born, some cursed.

Dragon: An immortal being with two forms. Their human form is the one used for everyday activities (and the reproductive state). Their warrior form is a large, flying creature. The main color of the warrior form is taken from the human form's hair color (meaning green dragons have green hair in human form) and the secondary (underbelly) color is taken from the human form's eye color. Dragons mate for life. Mating occurs when a Dragon kisses a member of the opposite sex, be they Dragon or not. In very rare instances, other beings have become Dragons. All Dragons breathe fire and can, to a degree, control it, but there are different types. Healing fire and destructive fire are the two main types. There is very little that can withstand the power of pure destructive fire. One other type is forging fire, which is used to make magical weapons and Dragoncloth (a magic cloth that takes whatever shape it's wearer wishes).

Faerie: An immortal being with magical abilities tied to nature. Faeries have wings and are slightly taller than the average human. They are usually fair-haired. They have been lead by a Queen and her consort for nearly twelve thousand years.

Shape-shifter: There are five types of shape-shifter. The first can only turn into other people. The second, only into animals. The third can become any human or animal. The fourth is limited to a single animal. The fifth, and most rare, can become anything at all.

Beastmaster: A slight misnomer. The Beastmaster communicates with all animals, but does not command them. Some are given this power (such as Dar), while others have it as a natural gift (these are not the Beastmaster however).

Witch (natural): Born spellcasters with a limited number of abilities (usually one or two special powers), Witches get their powers from their ancestors, though the knowledge and power can skip generations at a time. Natural Witches are limited in their abilities and cannot use their power for personal gain. These Witches occasionally form covens with other naturals and sometimes with learned Witches as well. Some have been known to turn evil.

Witch (learned): Most mortals have the capacity to learn small magics, those that do are learned Witches, some of whom learn from natural Witches and are in covens with same. Again, there are evil ones out there.

Sorcerer/Sorceress: A being whose essence is magic, these people are often immortal, though some are born to mortals and therefore live a normal human lifespan. Merlin is an immortal sorcerer.

Pretender: A genius with the ability to become anyone they want to be. In other words, people (mortal humans) with the advanced intellect to be able to not only photographically memorize things, but to understand them as well, enabling them to be chameleon like in abilities instead of looks.

Inner Voices: The ability to communicate with those who have passed on, to hear them as they try to guide the living.

Psychic Imager: Someone who can create realistic images with their minds, the most powerful can make others believe that what they see is real, even so far as tasting, smelling, and feeling the image in addition to seeing and hearing it.

Telepath: A being who can read and sometimes manipulate the minds of others.

Telekinetic: A being (human or otherwise) who can move things with their mind. There are many levels of strength of this ability, some can create a physical presence out of nothing, others can astral project, while still others may have difficulty moving a pencil a few inches.

Pyrokinetic: A telekinetic who can control and manipulate fire, some can even create fire with their minds.

Empath: A being who can read the emotions of another.

Mutant (genetic manipulation variety): A person born "normal" who has had their genetic structure scientifically altered, resulting in new abilities whether accidental or done on purpose.

Mutant (natural variety): A mutant born to normal human parents or some combination of human and mutant parents. Thought by most to be evolutionary steps forward that occurred suddenly instead of over generations, mutants are simply humans with special abilities that show up in their DNA as the so-called "X gene". Most have human lifespans, though others may be immortal.

Transgenic: Test tube babies altered on the genetic level using human and animal DNA before insertion into a human surrogate. The ones that are too heavily animal and look it are called Transhumans.

Olympians: Immortals (not capitalized unless at the beginning of a sentence as here) who in ancient times were charged with guarding certain facets of human life, like love, war, wisdom, the perception of nature, etc. They can be killed, and many of them have been, some by their own hand. Were once worshipped (and punished for it). Other beings can become Olympians by consuming ambrosia.

Organization summaries

Illuminati: The name given to various secret societies, most of which are groups of highly intelligent, wealthy people who want to control the fate of the world, not always for the better. Some factions are collectors, keeping safe ancient, and sometimes magical, artifacts. Others are purely in it for the wealth and power. The Illuminati are currently in possession of one of the five Stargates of earth, the one formerly located in Norway. Their symbol is an eye within a shining pyramid.

Order of Taraka: A cross between a union and a managing team for assassins. The Order of Taraka approaches assassins of a certain caliber and offers them membership. Members are sent business based on their personal style and preferences. The Order has many connections, good and bad, human and otherwise, that are available to all members. Some members wear rings. Members were once sent after Buffy Summers. Susanna Irons is a member.

The Brotherhood: (a.k.a. - the Snake Cult, the Breeding Cult) An ancient breeding cult (at least 5,000 years old) bent on taking over the planet when a disaster of some sort will wipe out most ordinary humans (seems to follow the crashing of a comet). Through selective breeding, their members have become super-human in strength and they feel no pain, though some of them get migraines, a defect that comes, perhaps, from being too selective. Their members are known as Familiars. Their symbol is snakes wrapped around a long cross in a double helix pattern, a symbol traditionally linked to the medical profession.

Manticore: The result of the initial combining of two groups, the government-funded Super Soldier Project and a team of Brotherhood defectors led by Dr. Sandeman. Sandeman's desire was to create a transgenic who could carry the cure to the plague the Brotherhood planned on releasing against the humans that survived the coming disaster. But he couldn't do it at all without massive funding, so he agreed to help create Super Soldiers, this time from scratch (the SS Project was also run in New York, enhancing grown men who were already military). Unfortunately, the military gained more and more control over Manticore, and when the Pulse hit, Sandeman fled. His pet project had escaped, and there was no more use for him now that others knew the procedures he used. He left before he could be eliminated. Most of the people at Manticore (with the exception of Madame X/Renfro) have no knowledge of the Brotherhood and Sandeman's true purpose.

The Initiative: Government run and funded (though they do have a few private investors), the Initiative has many branches in the US and elsewhere. The Initiative captures and studies supernatural beings in order to gain power, only destroying something they've captured when it is of no more use to them.

Wolfram Hart: This entity has many branches around the world and in other dimensions. A law firm (in the case of the Los Angeles branch) with some normal clients, Wolfram Hart represents evil and is run by mysterious and powerful evil beings known simply as the Senior Partners. Besides taking care of business for their clients, Wolfram Hart's main purpose is to make sure their side wins in the final Apocalypse.

Watchers (Vampire Slayer variety): Originally called "Guides," the Watchers changed their name in the thirteenth century when they took themselves out of the battle against evil, forcing the Slayer to work on her own. Guides would receive a calling at a young age, and what they needed to learn would come to them. When they changed what they called themselves and the Watchers' Council was formed, the Powers That Be, not liking the bureaucratic beings the Watchers had become, stopped calling new ones, letting it become a "family business." The Slayer was now left to fend mostly for herself, and the expected life span of the Slayer shortened by a good five years. The most recent Guide to have a Slayer was Buffy Summer's first "Watcher" Merrick. Before that it had been hundreds of years.

Watchers (Immortal variety): Most of the Watchers don't know their real history. Watchers observe and record the actions of the Immortal race, but aren't allowed to interfere, though this rule is known to have been broken many times. The Watchers were actually formed in the fifth century by two Immortals, Trin and Asha, so that the world would learn the history of the Immortal race when only one was left. Trin lost her head in the French Revolution, but Asha and other members of her family occasionally masquerade as mortal Watchers to clean up messes left by misguided and sometimes evil humans, including the faction known as Hunters.