Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my work.

The Highway, Hours Later, Xander's POV

Seeing the sign for the off ramp into Oxnard go by, he once more complimented his uncle's work since it would've been a bad start to his summer road trip if he'd wound up getting stuck while a local mechanic tried to put things back together. No telling what it would've cost him to repair the car but he figured it was a safe bet that whoever did it would charge more than his Uncle Rory had. He'd managed to save up quite a bit for this trip but that was with the intention of rationing it out as much as possible and keeping his spending to the essentials. Eventually he'd run low and need to find a job that only lasted a week or a month before moving on to his next destination. In the weeks prior he'd done what he could to research what sort of jobs he'd be able to apply for and then, just before the mess with Angel being poisoned, he'd had Willow pick out job ads in the direction he was heading. Odds were most of them would be taken by the time he got there but if even one was still available that'd be good enough for him.

With Oxnard behind him he wondered how much longer he should drive before turning in for some rest. Heading for Los Angeles seemed to be a decent enough idea and he'd always been curious about checking out Buffy's old stomping grounds. She certainly talked about L.A. enough that he figured he could find some of her old hangouts and then he could see if they were really as good as she'd made them out to be. He wouldn't check out any of the places that were strictly for girls but anyplace frequented by both genders would be fair game. That meant shopping malls, some of the more popular shopping districts and wherever some of the better restaurants and cafes could be found.

He'd just gone past Camarillo and was continuing down the Ventura Freeway towards Newbury Park when he spotted a car off to the side of the road. It caught his attention because it was his favorite color red and looked like it cost more than he'd make working full time for five years. He didn't see any smoke coming from it and, the closer he got, the more he was sure it hadn't been in an accident since he couldn't see any dents or broken glass. What clinched it as being someone from the upper class was the fact that there was one guy, two ladies and all of them wearing clothes that belonged on the red carpet of a big budget movie premiere. From the looks of it the guy was trying to make a call with his cell phone but, judging from the way he was walking and holding it, he wasn't having much luck.

Two smokin' ladies, a car that won't run and no reception on the cell phone. He began to slow down. Guess it's time for me to play the Good Samaritan.

He just hoped this didn't turn out to be one of those 'pretend to be broken down then rob/kill the first idiot who decides to stop to help' cases because that'd really suck.

"You guys need any help?" he asked as he brought his car to a stop.

"Gee! Let me see!" the blonde woman of the pair said in a tone of exasperated anger. "This loser's car just DIED, his cell phone WON'T WORK and we're going to MISS the BIGGEST party of the year! So YEAH I think we could use some help!"

"Chill out, Ronnie!" the guy said with annoyance born of listening to the blonde for more than ten minutes of ranting. "I set up a meet with Tom once I can do it again. Trust me!"

"Please! You think I haven't heard the talk?" Ronnie asked rhetorically, with more than a little bite. "The high rollers are already talkin' about who to start grooming to replace you. When that happens it's only a matter of time before you stop getting phone calls. Understand now?!"

"You don't know what you're talkin' about," the guy said, not even considering what he'd been told. "'HWAAAAA!', 'Sudden Violence' and 'Power Rangers'? Those names right a bell? No way are they gonna turn their backs on star power like that!"

Those titles struck a chord with him but for the life of him he couldn't remember whether they were movies, TV shows or videogames. Still, the fact that he could remember them at all, considering how busy they'd been the last three years, meant they must've gotten a lot of advertising or been the topic of the month. If this guy was such a major player then the only way his career would get tanked would be if he'd gotten type casted or did something so scandal worthy that no A-list studio would touch him.

"I'm going as far as L.A. then sticking around for a week or so before moving on," he said, not particularly wanting to hear the duo gripe all night. "So you want the ride or should I just stop at the next garage with a tow truck and tell them where to find you?"

"Oh ENOUGH! The two of you can stand here and bitch all night but I'm going home!" the African American woman, the second of the duo the guy had been standing with, said before briskly walking up to the passenger side door and getting in.

He had to admit that she coulda been mistaken for Halle Berry's sister since he could pick out several facial traits that were identical to the famous actress and she definitely had a matching body. Her dress definitely screamed superstar but, just like Buffy and Willow had taught him, he didn't let his eyes linger where they shouldn't. Turning his gaze to the other two, he waited to see if they'd waste more time arguing or if they'd do the smart thing and get into his car.

It turned out the prospect of being out in the middle of nowhere for God knew how long didn't appeal to them as both got into the backseat of his car. Shifting into gear he pulled back onto the freeway, continuing on his way towards L.A at just a little above the posted speed limit. He probably wouldn't be able to get them there in time for their party but maybe it'd be in time for them to make a few last minute phone calls before heading to bed.

After a couple of minutes the lady whose name he didn't know but was sitting next to him decided that the silence had gone on long enough.

"So why you travelling?" the African American woman asked out of idle curiosity. "Going to see some friends?"

"Nah. Just graduated from high school so I thought I'd do the whole road trip thing," he replied while keeping his eyes on the road. "See all fifty-one states and maybe figure out what I want to do for a living."

"I remember doing the same thing after I got out of high school," the guy in the backseat said with happy nostalgia. "All I had was my dad's old motorcycle, three days worth of clothes and five hundred dollars. Didn't get to see every state in the country but what I did get to see definitely made it worth it."

"Sounds like I'm making the right call then," he said, feeling a little more confident about his decision to spend some time away from Sunnydale. "Got any suggestions about where I should go?"

"Well, no trip is worth taking without a stop in Las Vegas," the guy said, now firmly reminiscing about the past. "The place has a hundred things to do and see. After that you should spin by Chandler, Arizona before going over to Aspen, Colorado because even if it's not ski season it's got other things to make it worth the trip. You'll probably need to get a job by then to fund the next leg of your trip by the time your done there and then after that it's off to San Marcos, Texas."

"I'm callin' bullshit on that, Johnny." Ronnie said, not quite as snippy as before. "I know you got those places reading the 'Top Ten places with the sexiest women' in that magazine ya got from Leo last week."

"I really did go to all those places for my road trip," Johnny said in defense of his suggestions. "Just because that magazine had a near identical list in it doesn't mean anything."

"They're more than what I had planned before," he said, not wanting to hear another argument between the two.

Indeed he hadn't actually made a list of places he wanted to visit on his road trip even though he had a few names bouncing around his head. He'd thought that it'd be more fun to just let random chance decide what direction he'd go in on any given day. It wasn't that he believed in something like fate or destiny because, let's face it, he'd spit in the face of both concepts far too often for that to be the case. It's just that he saw it as a roll of the dice and, while there was a chance to get snake eyes, there was also a chance for you to hit the jackpot.

Considering the fact that he'd lived on a literal deathtrap since the day he was born and for the last three years had survived things that should've killed him, he liked his odds.

Hours passed as he continued to drive them to L.A and most of it was filled with idle chatter and a few suggestions from the ladies about where he should go on his trip. The African American woman's name was Bonnie of all things, making him wonder if Johnny had chosen the ladies as dates based solely on the fact that all their names rhymed. Still, it was nice to know the names of the people he was giving a lift to even if it wasn't likely that they'd be seeing each other again. His three passengers obviously belonged to a crowd that even Cordy'd have trouble mingling with before the Chase family got audited. There was no way a middle class boy like himself would ever get into one of their parties, even if it was just as a member of the catering staff.

When they hit L.A. the girls gave him directions to their apartments and soon it was just him and Johnny riding around in the car.

"They were pretty sweet weren't they?" Johnny asked with a smile that all self-proclaimed ladies men used when bragging about their latest conquests.

"They were nice," he replied, admitting that in terms of beauty and personality they were better than the Cordettes back in high school.

"Nice? They were SMOKIN'!" Johnny exclaimed as though unable to believe that he'd gotten such a mediocre response. "Tonight's party would've earned me a grand slammer from both of them. Guess I'll have to take a rain check on that."

Great! One of THOSE. He rolled his eyes as he realized that Johnny was the kind of guy that saw women as nothing more than a good sweaty time in bed.

Too bad the man saw his eye roll.

"Oh, don't roll your eyes at me like that," Johnny said as though other people had done the same thing to him. "I ain't like those guys who don't respect women and just see them as screw toys. I'm just saying that spending some quality time with the ladies isn't a bad way to enjoy an evening."

"Well maybe if you treated them with a little respect and dialed back the cockiness you'd do even better with the ladies," he said as the traffic light turned green. "The whole 'I know you're more than a rack and a tight ass' routine really helps you get on their good side."

"Hey, I can be totally respectful when it comes to ladies," Johnny said, almost managing to be convincing. "But when you're in showbiz you gotta be prepared to walk the walk and talk the talk. Sometimes that means talkin' about their sex appeal first."

"Makes me glad I'm not in showbiz then," he said, realizing that the life of a celebrity was probably a lot like the rich crowd was back in Sunnydale.

It was all about making connections, figuring out who the right people to know were and the people you could use to your advantage to get one rung higher on the social ladder. Friendship rarely figured into things and there were probably a ton of people who'd pretend to be your friend for the benefits then cast you aside when you were of no further use to them. Seemed like an awful lonely life not being able to trust anyone around you because you didn't know if they were being honest or just using you.

The rest of the trip passed in mostly silence, with Johnny only speaking to tell him which way to turn at each intersection. As they progressed he noticed that the properties on the streets were getting bigger and more expensive looking with every one that went by. He'd known from the moment he'd seen Johnny that the guy had to be a pretty big name in Hollywood but he'd figured that'd just meant a step or two above how rich the Chase family'd been. Looking around he was seeing things that Cordy's parents only WISHED they could own until finally they arrived at a set of massive gates with the letters J and C at the center.

"Hey Gerry! Open up! It's me!" Johnny yelled at a security camera that was screwed into the brick wall to the left of the gate.

Less than a minute later the gate parted and he drove through, proceeding up the driveway towards the mansion. It hurt his brain to try and figure out just how much it would've cost to build it all from scratch or how much it would've cost someone to buy it from the local real estate agent.

The guy can afford all this but can't keep his car running or buy a decent cell phone, he thought as he brought the car to a stop at the front steps.

"Well, it's been nice meeting ya, Johnny," he said as the rich man got out of the car.

"Same here, Xander." Johnny said as he began to make his way towards the front door.

The door to the mansion opened to reveal a man in his late fifties or early sixties and based on his garb he definitely fit the bill for a butler.

"Good to see you home safely, Master Cage."

"Dammit, Gerald! How many times do I have to tell you to call me Johnny?!" Johnny asked with exasperation, implying that this was an old conversation.

"At least once more, Master Cage." Gerald replied with a hint of a smirk on his face.

Johnny…

…Cage.

Johnny Cage.

JOHNNY CAGE!

"YOU'RE JOHNNY FREAKIN' CAGE!" he exclaimed as he realized that he'd been driving one of the biggest action stars of the last seven years.

He hadn't seen one of the man's films in the last three years because of the slayage and because of the rising price in theatre tickets so it was no wonder that he hadn't recognized the actor at first glance. Now, though, there was no mistaking who he was looking at and no trouble recognizing the smirk on Johnny's face.

"Yep! The one and only!" Johnny said, looking like he was quite amused by his reaction. "Say, why don't you stay here tonight? We got the room and it'll save you a couple of dollars."

STAY…at the mansion of a big time action star!?

"Sounds like a plan to me, Johnny!" he replied with a smile as he got out of his car and grabbed his bag. "Thanks!"

If there was one thing he'd learned early on in life it was to NEVER pass up an opportunity like this when it came your way.

The Next Day

Johhny Cage's POV

Fifty-One…Fifty-Two…Fifty-Three! he thought as he continued doing the one armed push ups that were a part of his morning warm up routine.

He was going at it a bit harder than usual thanks to what Ronnie had said last night bouncing around inside his head, even if he didn't believe a word of it. Talking smack about your 'colleagues' was all part of the game in Hollywood. Sometimes you did it just for laughs and other times you did it because the person you were talking about was a threat to your career. There were even times when you did it for no other reason than it'd get you mentioned on TV or in all the necessary magazines. Like the saying went there was no such thing as bad publicity. As long as you were in the media you weren't forgotten and, as long as no one forgot you, there was always a chance that you'll get a job offer.

People liked a good villain almost as much as they liked a good hero.

He should've been able to shake it off with a good night's sleep but the second he woke up there it was clear as day and just as annoying as it'd been the night before. It didn't make sense since he'd just finished filming the season finale of 'Wu Shu' two weeks ago and his last movie 'Who's That?' was still going strong overseas. In fact later today he was due down at Maestro Studios to talk with the players there and his agent about his next big movie role. They hadn't told him what it'd be but his agent hadn't steered him wrong yet when it came to choosing the best roles for him on the best big budget pictures. Max knew that if he screwed up and chose the wrong jobs for him it'd hurt him too since the contract between the two of them made it clear that the agent's pay was a fixed percentage of whatever he got from each job. Sure, there were some sub-clauses that said if his agent didn't get him a new job within eight months he was required to pay Max a minimum of half his usual pay.

The usual pay being the average of the amount made from the last six jobs he'd managed to negotiate.

Fortunately for him it'd never come to that.

Finishing his pushups he got up to his feet and moved over to the weights to start doing some one arm curls, after which he'd move onto something more difficult. He wasn't like some of those other so-called action stars who only worked out as much as they absolutely had to in order to look ripped and chiseled. He was a real fighter! He'd trained under masters of Jeet Kune Do and Karate, giving it his all with each one until he'd mastered both of the styles. After that he'd done the pro martial arts tournaments until Max had found him and suggested he take the leap into showbiz, claiming he had both the looks as well as the skills to make it.

There he was ten years later, one of the top names in Hollywood with more money in his bank account than the national military budget.

It was an hour later that he finished his workout and arrived in the kitchen to find his spur of the moment guest enjoying one of Gerald's culinary masterpiece breakfasts. He couldn't help but smirk since he had to admit it felt good to do a good deed now and again, especially since he didn't have a lot of freedom to do what he wanted thanks to his celebrity status. Being a star meant that you couldn't go anywhere without someone recognizing you and, with the paparazzi dogging your step looking to attach their names to a major scoop, one wrong movie could run roughshod over your career. You could act like the perfect gentleman, do the right thing no problem, and yet one picture taken in the wrong context could make you out to be lower than pond scum. He'd seen actors and actresses with promising futures get blacklisted from the entire entertainment industry because one photographer, cameraman or reporter caught them doing something and twisted it until they got the headline they wanted. If only one or two tabloid rags ran the story, it was feasible to come out more or less unscathed but if even one reputable source of media put the story to print… people would take it seriously.

Seriously as in 'the local P.D paying you a visit' or getting handed a summons to appear in court for one reason or another.

That was why he was expecting to get a lecture from his agent and his lawyer about taking a ride from a stranger, then offering that stranger a room for the night. It wasn't that he didn't understand Max's point of view, being a celebrity didn't always attract the best class of people, but sometimes he felt like he had to ask for permission to use the bathroom or wipe his own ass. So when the opportunity to assert his own free will and independence presented itself in the form of a Good Samaritan, he'd taken it without hesitation.

"You got any of that fine food for me, Gerald?" he asked, getting the attention of both people in front of him.

"Of course, sir," Gerald said from his place washing the dishes. "I put it in the oven to keep it warm."

"Nice!" he said walking over to the oven and opening it to find a delicious looking meal.

Taking it out he moved over to the table taking a seat to the right of Xander and began digging into his, meal savoring every bite. Gerald might give him lip from time to time and occasionally ignore some of his orders, but the man could not only cook but clean up the place no matter how wild a party he held. The most respectable part of it all was the fact that the man didn't ask for an outrageous salary for his services and he'd never once had reason to suspect the man of stealing from him or feeding private facts to the media. He'd asked Gerald about it once and he said that he was a professional who took pride in his work and considered those who betrayed their employers to be utter disgraces. In fact there were times when the man got particularly colorful with his opinion of those disgraceful people, even if he immediately apologized for his outburst after getting it off his chest.

He always had a good laugh when that happened.

"So how you like seeing how the other half live, Xander?" he asked as he finished his breakfast and washed it down with a glass of milk.

"To be honest I was afraid of touching anything in case I broke it and wound up having to work for you the rest of my life to pay it off," Xander said with a lopsided grin and an amused tone of voice. "Still, it's one helluva a way to start off my road trip!"

"I'll bet!" he said, wondering what his own road trip would've been like if he'd gotten to stay at some movie star's mansion.

"Will Mister Harris be staying with us for the foreseeable future, Master Cage?" Gerald asked in his usual proper and polite tone.

Honestly he hadn't thought a whole lot about it since it had been a spur of the moment thing last night. He didn't really know Xander since it was impossible to get to know someone from a single car trip but, from what he did know, the kid looked to be your average teenage high school graduate. One could say that he'd already done his good deed with the one night stay and use of the facilities here at his mansion but he honestly felt like doing more. Still, it was Xander's call so he'd leave it in the kid's hands.

"What do you say, kid?" he asked, not giving away what he was feeling one way or another.

"Well… I wouldn't want to be a problem," Xander replied, looking like he didn't want to overstay his welcome. "Plus I'm sure you've got scenes to shoot and autograph sessions to attend."

"Aside from a meeting this afternoon I'm pretty much clear for the rest of the week," he said, conveying that he didn't have any pressing engagements scheduled. "Besides, even if I can't be here, I'm sure Gerald would like the company. Ain't that right, Gerald?"

"Anyone would be an improvement over you, Master Cage," Gerald replied with a barely perceivable smirk on his wrinkled face.

"You really know how to make a boss feel appreciated, Gerry," he said with a shake of his head and a grin.

"I do try my best, Master Cage," Gerald said as he finished the dishes and began to roll down his sleeves.

Don't ever change, Gerry, he thought with a smile as he hoped that he'd have a great many years more to spend with the old man.

"So what's your answer?" he asked, deciding that they'd beat around the bush for long enough.

"My answer is that I'll stay for as long as you'll have me or until I decide it's time to get back on the road," Xander replied after a moment of thought. "Just be real blunt when you want me to leave, 'cause subtlety has a habit of going WAY over my head."

"Don't worry," he said with a smile on his face. "If there's one thing I can say about myself it's that I speak my mind and pull no punches."

"Of that I can attest to, Mister Harris," Gerald said once his uniform/suit was put fully back into place.

"Call me Xander," Xander said, wincing a bit at the words Mister Harris. "Whenever someone calls me Mister Harris I look around for my dad."

"Very well, Alexander." Gerald said with an acknowledging bow.

He was going to look forward to the coming days.

The Mansion of Johnny Cage, Late Afternoon

Xander's POV

Well this is definitely going to be something to write home about, he thought, making a note to grab a postcard right before leaving L.A so he could send it back to the Scoobies.

He'd stayed at Johnny's mansion for the day while the action star had gone to some studio to negotiate for some new role in some new movie. He'd asked the movie star what it was called but Johnny had said he didn't know and wouldn't until probably halfway through the meeting. Before going out the door his temporary landlord had told his butler to give him full run of the place and to check in to see if he needed anything every once in awhile. After Johnny had left he'd told Gerald that he wouldn't need much and that he'd try not to make a mess anywhere that'd need cleaning up. The butler had told him that it was unlikely that he could make a mess bigger than any he'd dealt with since being hired by 'Master Cage'.

What followed was a string of stories about some of the things that'd happened in the mansion or on the grounds since it was bought by one Johnny Cage eight years ago. Not all at once, mind you, but rather spread out over the course of a day usually focusing on wherever the butler found him at the time. When he chose to take a swim in the pool behind the mansion he'd been told of the pool party that Johnny had held a week after he'd bought the mansion. Apparently the action star had invited over the entire cast of his first movie to have some fun and had cleaned out the closest store of all its swimwear to make sure the guests could choose whatever they wanted to wear. It'd started out well enough but then something happened that made it clear Cage should've been more careful as well as specific with his purchases.

While it was true that the majority of the swimsuits were perfectly normal, a few of the ones the store had in stock were… erotic in nature.

Some of them looked perfectly normal when dry, no different from the millions being sold across the globe to middle class families, but when they got wet they started to… come apart. It took about thirty minutes of exposure to water for it to completely go to pieces so it'd depended on how much time each wearer spent in the pool itself as opposed to walking about poolside or inside the mansion. Nevertheless when the screams of embarrassment had started everyone had look towards the source to see a woman who'd been wearing a hot pink bikini struggling to cover her now naked body before running off, presumably to where she'd left her clothes. This had been funny for everyone else until others, regardless of gender, had started to experience the same problem. Now not everyone had experienced a sudden case of nudity since some had come with their own bathing suits and some had come preferring not to use the pool at all.

Nevertheless some of the victims had been both tightly wound and somewhat connected with the media as well certain areas of Hollywood. As a result Johnny had gotten a couple of angry phone calls, some subtle insults on live TV and even some inventive reconfiguration of one of the action star's action figures. Naturally it was anatomically impossible for a living human to do the same thing and live but it definitely got the message across that someone wasn't happy with being humiliated like that.

Later on he'd moved into the home entertainment room with every purchasable form of electronic entertainment along with their various accessories included. That meant arcade games, big screen TV, the latest videogame console, a rather extensive collection of movies as well as games and a music system that, according to Gerald, was so loud it could be heard from next door. Some of the movies and games hadn't even been released for public purchase but that Johnny had managed to get through some favors from the companies that produced them. He'd spent a good couple of hours enjoying all the home entertainment room had to offer but then had chosen to go get some supper.

That'd been thirty minutes ago and he was beginning to wonder where Johnny was because, even though he knew nothing about Hollywood meetings, he didn't think they should take this long.

SCREECH!

BANG!

WHAM!

"GERRY!" Johnny yelled from the direction of the front door. "GET TOM SET UP ON THE SHOOTING RANGE!"

Hoo boy! Someone is not in a good mood.

Gerald had shown him where the shooting range had been and even offered to set up some targets for him to practice on but he hadn't felt like it at the time so he'd passed. Now making his way towards the room in order to get the scoop on what had gone wrong with today's meeting, it didn't take him long to meet up with his host with the most. The casual suit the man had worn to the meeting was a bit of a mess with the tie undone and the top buttons of the dress shirt were undone. With the look on his face it was clear the actor needed to vent and that was the reason for the trip to the firing range to shoot off a few rounds.

"So… bad day?" he asked, not sure how else to put it.

"You could say that!" Johnny replied, sounding angry but not at him. "First even though I get there on time, they make me wait TWENTY MINUTES before calling me in. THEN they give me this song and dance about how my last picture had been good but they'd spotted a few worrisome problems that'd gotten overlooked. For over an hour they picked the movie apart, hell they must've spent hours finding them, all the while making it sound like they weren't a big problem.

"When we finally got to talking about the movie they wanted me to star in, it turns out it's some chick flick about glowing elves!" Johnny explained as they reached the firing range door. "Now I'm not against doing movies targeting the teenage girl demographic! Hell, I kinda like being what they think of when they try to imagine the perfect boyfriend. But the first ten pages of the script they showed me makes the lead character out to be some kind of emo goth guy! What kind of girl finds THAT attractive!?"

"You'd be surprised," he said as he followed Johnny to the cabinet that held the pistols even as Gerald put a picture of 'Tom' up on one of the movable targets. "I knew this one girl back home who was completely hooked on the whole 'vampire with a soul' genre of romance novels. You know, the ones where there are good vampires as well as bad ones, the ones where the teenage girl falls in love with them. That whole Romeo and Juliet stuff."

"Sounds like a complete ditz," Johnny said as he picked up a pistol and loaded it.

"Well, she had the right name for a ditz but she actually had a brain according to her SAT scores," he said, defending Buffy's intelligence. "Still she'll get better now since the writer that wrote her favorite series of that kind decided to try something else. Hopefully it won't be something so emo I'll want to puke."

"Hopefully," Johnny said as he chambered a round before taking aim at his target.

The movie star waited until Gerald had made it out of the shooting range before emptying the entire clip at the target, putting a rather large hole in the center of 'Tom's' picture. It proved to him that Johnny had experience using firearms beyond the props used in his movies but not enough to be considered a marksman.

"Nice shots," he said as the system rolled the target to within arms' reach.

"I've seen better but those people probably first held a gun when they were four and have been practicing ever since." Johnny pulled down the picture before setting up another one from the stack near the controls. "Want to try it out?"

"Sure," he said as he took the offered pistol before Cage sent the target to a respectable distance down range.

Feeling the soldier memories from Halloween stir, he chambered a round before taking careful aim at the picture of the man he didn't know. He always felt oddly comforted by the sense of familiarity those memories gave him, even if he couldn't always control which ones came to the surface. Deciding to try for a tight grouping of rounds he breathed in, cleared his mind, breathed out and fired.

When the slide locked he pressed the recall button on the target, waiting for it to arrive so he could see how well he did.

"Now you're just making me look bad, Xan," Johnny whistled with genuine admiration.

"Lucky shot," he said as he looked at the hole about the size of two small pill bottles in the center of the photo.

The truth was he was a little surprised himself at how well he'd managed to do but he certainly wasn't arguing with the results. Now if they could just come up with ammunition that'd be effective against supernatural and demonic life forms he'd have something real to offer Scoobies. Something he could use to build on what he'd pulled off during graduation. Unfortunately this wasn't like some demon hunter comic book where a secret government organization had been experimenting to create modern variations of proven demon slaying weapons for decades, if not centuries.

Maybe I should try experimenting with a few things when I get back to Sunnydale, he thought as he slid another mag into the pistol and hung up another picture. I'll have to be careful but who knows what I might be able to come up with.

Then an idea that came to him that made him smirk and so he took aim, practiced the order of his targets and then opened fire hoping for the best.

BANG! BANG!

BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The target picture was still a fair bit away but as it drew closer to him he couldn't help but smile at what he'd managed. It'd been a bit ambitious to try it but it looked like he'd succeeded in making a nice little happy face with the six rounds from the pistol Johnny had given him. The spacing between them wasn't as precise as he would've liked them to be so clearly he needed more practice but, even if it was just luck this time, it was still pretty cool.

"You sure you've never done this before?" Johnny asked, looking at the shot picture, then to him and back again.

"My Uncle Rory showed me how to shoot a bit," he lied, figuring it was better that telling the truth and getting labeled a nutcase. "Just a few times before my parents found out and made me swear not to visit him again under pain of grounding."

"He must've been a good teacher then," Cage commented with a smile before taking another pistol out of the gun cage. "Let's see just how good."

He smiled himself at the challenge issued and the excitement that came from it.

Going Down the Streets of Hollywood

Johnny Cage's POV

Hard to believe a week's gone by, he thought as Gerald drove him to the studio in charge of the movie he'd decided to give a shot. I only planned on letting him stay a day or three but it's been seven and I don't feel like making him leave at all.

It was certainly strange considering he hadn't let anyone linger within his mansion since he'd purchased it and those few people who had used one of the rooms only did so for two nights max before they were gone. Either because he tossed them out, never to come back, or they left on their own SUPPOSEDLY because he'd said or done something to offend them. Somehow, though, with Xander, there wasn't any of that. In fact he was beginning to think that if he'd had a little brother he would've been a lot like the young man who'd been living with him for the last week. It was strange and it didn't seem plausible but that was the closest thing that matched to how he was feeling at the moment, so there it was.

That was one of the reasons why he'd asked Xander to come along rather than spend another day lounging about the mansion with Gerald waiting on his every need. Not that he didn't enjoy that himself from time to time, particularly after a particularly difficult job, but for someone who'd left his home town to see the country he needed to get out more. To help his fellow Californian blend a bit he'd loaned out one of his casual suits that thankfully fit, more or less. If anyone asked who Xander was he'd just say that he was his new personal assistant and he was being shown the ropes before business picked up with the movie. The suits would be happy about it since it meant that it'd save them having to hire one for him and paying that person the usual wage for someone like that. Hell, if Xan asked him he'd hire him on for real since it'd be a step up from most jobs that high school graduates got and, if the teenager managed to do a good job, he might very well make it permanent.

"So what's the name of this movie again?" Xander asked as Gerald continued to drive them.

"My agent told me it's called 'Deadly Dawn'," he replied, turning to face the young man.

"Sounds like your typical action flick," Xander commented, sounding only mildly interested.

"Yeah, it kinda is," he conceded after thinking about the meeting where it'd been discussed. "It's your basic 'vampires about to declare war and a lone hero summoned by destiny appears' plot."

This caused an odd facial twitch in Xander but it disappeared almost as quickly as it happened, making him wonder what it was that'd caused it in the first place.

"A bit cliché but I guess that's Hollywood for you," Xander said, sounding a little disappointed with what he'd heard.

He had to admit that based on that summary alone it was a bit cliché but hopefully once he read the script he'd be given more reasons to be glad he agreed to act in it than reasons to be disappointed. It was a sad truth that, while there existed infinite variations, there were a finite number of stories that existed to be told. The variations could be born of culture, religion, mythology or the time period in which they'd been written but they all followed the same basic patterns.

Still, as long as they're stories to tell, someone's gonna pay money to hear'em. He wasn't not worried that people would get tired of the same old stories being rehashed.

"You gonna be the star?" Xander asked with curiosity.

"Of course! You think I'd settle for second billing on anything I sign on for?" he asked rhetorically as he answered the teenager's question.

"Well, I thought you probably had to when you started out," Xander said thoughtfully, looking out the window. "I mean everyone's got to pay their dues before moving up in the world."

"Not me! I hit the big time in my first film and haven't come down since!" he bragged, proud of the fact that his greatness had been scouted from the get go.

"Everything comes down to Earth sooner or later, Johnny," Xander said, sounding like he was giving cautionary advice. "Even you."

"Only when I'm dead, Xander," he boasted, not planning on letting the good times end while there was a thing he could do about it.

"If you don't know when it's time to bow out gracefully it might come to that." Xander pointed out, sounding like he really believed that.

"Hey, I know when I've overstayed my welcome," he said, defending his ability to perceive the truth. "It's everyone else who won't let me go."

"Whatever," Xander said, conceding defeat.

It was a dozen minutes later that the car came to a stop at the gates to the studio so he rolled down his window.

"Name?" the big guard asked, clipboard in hand.

"What? Have you been living under a rock for the last decade?" he asked almost incredulous that the man didn't recognize him.

"Name?" the guard asked again, not changing his tone one little bit.

"Johnny Cage," he replied, seeing he couldn't count on the man's brain cells creating a spark big enough to come to the right conclusion on his own.

With annoyance he watched as the man checked his list before giving the signal to his buddy to open the gate. With a sigh of mild exasperation he laid back in his seat as Gerald drove them onto the studio property, already knowing which building to stop by. Still he let it slide off of him since he figured that by the law of averages there had to be at least ONE person in the entire country that didn't know who he was. Then again it was possible that the man was just very diligent about his job and refused to budge from protocol even if he knew the answer. If that was the case the man needed to relax more. You could do your job just fine without getting so tightly wound about it all.

"We'll be in there for at least an hour or so, Gerry," he said once they arrived. "Feel free to do whatever you want until we're done."

"I shall be waiting here for you, Master Cage," Gerald said as he removed a book from the glove compartment. "Reading a novel from my library should make the time pass quickly enough."

"Suit yourself," he said as he opened his door and got out. "See you in an hour!"

He didn't even need to ask Xander to follow him and together they walked up to the entrance, passing through it thankfully without running into another guard who'd ask for his name. He hadn't worked for this particular studio before but they'd produced some decent moves, he'd even watched a few, so he'd felt it was worth the risk of signing onto one of their productions. Strolling up to the elevator, he could see that the studio was as busy as one could expect considering that time was money for the people in charge. Some stopped to look at him, no doubt recognizing him, while others offered Xan a passing glance since officially he hadn't signed on any assistant or gofer, so everyone was curious. When they got into the elevator it wasn't too crowded but it had the same lousy music being piped through its speakers as every other elevator. He remembered being told someplace that the people in charge used all sorts of subtle things to try to increase productivity, ranging from painting the walls a certain color to piping certain types of music through a speaker system.

Personally he thought that if the people in charge wanted their workers to work harder they should introduce some more cash incentives.

When they reached the chosen floor he decided it'd probably be best to lay down some ground rules just to make sure things didn't get complicated.

"Okay, Xan, we're about to meet the big wigs, so listen up," he said as they strolled down the hallway. "Don't speak unless spoken to. As far as they're concerned you're a nobody or someone they can use to get me to do what they want. I'll probably say something to you and even if it doesn't make sense just go with it and we'll both ad lib a bit. Follow these rules and everything'll be cool."

"No problem. I've got zero desire to be noticed or used," Xander said, showing he knew the value of being overlooked. "As for doing an on the spot skit with you… don't blame me if I take us to new and weird places."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that since he'd become familiar with the young man's sense of humor so he had no doubt the 'new and weird places' would be amusing.

Movie Executive Meeting Room, Xander's POV

Man do I feel like I'm surrounded by piranha! he thought as he stood a couple of feet behind Johnny and his agent as the two of them discussed the details of the movie.

Copies of the script were in front of each attendee of meeting, even if they hadn't yet gotten to the part where they went over each scene to discuss if any changes needed to be made. He figured there probably wouldn't be many but a few here and there were inevitable if the people in charge wanted to keep a specific actor or actress. However from what he'd seen of Johnny so far, he expected things to end quite strained or for 'talks' to break off when someone stormed away from the meeting table.

Why? Because the Johnny Cage he was bearing witness to now was different from the one he'd been hanging out with for the last week. In its place was someone who personified the qualities one came to expect from filthy rich playboy actors who arrived at movie premieres with a supermodel on each arm. He was arrogant, obnoxious, materialistic and utterly conveying a sense of superstar entitlement that had his potential employers bemoaning the costs of making high priced movies. It was amusing to watch but he did his best to keep it from showing since it'd probably make things worse either by cluing in the suits to Johnny's act or pissing them off because he was laughing at them.

Overall it was rather informative to see what went on in Hollywood deals since most movies or TV shows just gave the broad strokes rather than the specific details. He'd had no idea what really went into putting together a movie aside from the credits at the end, so now he had a better idea what filled up the months that went into putting something onto the big screen. Time passed and it looked like things were about to wrap up for the day as they settled into finalizing the particulars of how much Johnny would be paid and what he'd get for the use of his image in merchandise. As he listened, though, he couldn't help but feel that there was something hidden in the words that wasn't readily perceivable to the casual listener.

Slowly advancing so he could do see the numbers better, he began to go through them in his head, using the skills he'd gained by managing to stay in the advanced math with Willow. With a drunken asshole for a sperm donor it'd been up to him make sure the bills got paid on time and for the groceries to be bought. So he'd gotten pretty good at taking what money he could get his hands on from Tony and Jessica then putting it to use, making sure he kept a roof over his head and food on the table. He also knew the best places to take Tony's empty booze bottles to get top dollar for them, ranking them from number one to the fifth best to get recycle money. Using what brainpower he had he began to figure the numbers in his head to see who got the most money, who got it the fastest and from where the money would come from.

He was almost too late in figuring out everything before the conversation ended and Johnny was expected to formally sign on the dotted line but he made it just as Cage picked up the pen to be used for the signing.

"I wouldn't sign that if I were you, Mister Cage," he said as professionally and politely as possible.

"Why's that, Xan?" Johnny asked, turning his head and looking inquiringly at him.

"Because I think they'd be yanking a full twenty-percent of the profits out from under you." He turned to the relevant section of the contract, "See? If you look here, here and here you can see that, while it's buried in legalese, it clearly shows these guys skimming quite a bit that I personally think you should have."

Johnny began reading the sections he'd pointed out and even his agent Max began to look over his client's shoulder to do the same. The latter then took a calculator out of his briefcase and began crunching numbers using a blank piece of paper to jot down what he could not remember on his own. It took about ten minutes for the two older men to come to the same conclusion that he had before opening his mouth to let them in on the secret. When they did he could see that they'd become decidedly frosty towards the men on the other side of the table.

"Actually, Xander, you're calculations were off by a bit," Max said, sounding decidedly unhappy with what he'd figured out. "It's closer to twenty-eight percent of the expected profits from the movie. Care to explain this, gentlemen?"

"I-I'm sure it's just… a clerical error," the man who'd been leading the opposition replied with some unease. "I'll take it back to our legal department and have it corrected."

"A clerical error? Really? That's the best you can come up with?" Johnny asked, making it clear he wasn't buying the excuse he'd been handed. "If you think you can slip one past Johnny Cage, you've got another thing coming. C'mon guys: we're leaving."

With that Johnny got out of his chair and made for the door with him and Max close behind.

"WAIT!" the lead man cried out, trying no doubt to turn things around. "We'll add on another ten percent to your pay!"

"Add another fifteen percent and I'll think about it." Johnny said, half turning back towards the man.

"But that's more-" the lead man said before one of his fellow's loudly pushed back his chair with a screech.

"Save it, Dave," the younger suited man said, disdain in his voice. "We won't beg this asshole to be in our movie. There are actors out there who'd be glad to get half what we were offering Cage. I know of at least three top billers who can do the role just as good as him. Let him walk."

"Those so-called top billers? They're just copycats who at best are half as cool as I am," Johnny said dismissively, not threatened by his colleagues in the acting business. "And if they're willing to settle for less it's because they know they don't have the chops to charge top dollar for their skills."

"They have the chops. They're just not as greedy as you are, Cage," the younger suit said, not backing down at all. "The only real difference between them and you is that they'll still be around after you've been reduced to begging just to get a cameo in a late night sitcom."

"No, the difference between them and me is that I'll have my name on the Walk of Fame while they'll be lucky to get nominated for an Oscar," Johnny said before resuming his stride for the door. "Mark my words assholes: you'll regret the day you tried to screw over Johnny Cage!"

With that Johnny, Max and he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind them while giving anyone who looked in their direction a glare that immediately made them look someplace else. By the end of the day everyone in the studio would know that Johnny Cage stormed out of a meeting with the higher ups in a bad mood. By the end of the week they'd have enough of the details about why the action star stormed off from his meeting. Then it'd be up to each individual person to decide whether or not Johnny was justified in walking away from the negotiation table. Personally he thought the actor was justified at turning down the job because if Johnny had taken it then it would've made other studio big shots think they could shortchange the actor.

No, you had to take a stand in these situations.

"I'm sorry, Johnny. I should've caught that sooner," Max said as they entered the elevator.

"No worries, Max," Johnny said, still sounding like he was still angry at how the younger suit had talked to him. "Xan caught it and before I committed myself to anything legally. Just don't take any more offers from THIS studio for at least two years. That'll give'em time to realize with whom they are fucking."

"Consider it done, Johnny," Max said, sounding like he'd rather have a root canal done without anesthetic. "Just one thing: who is this kid and where'd you find him?"

"His name's Xander. Gave me a ride a week ago when my car broke down on my way back from Santa Barbara," Johnny replied before he could explain who he was and how he'd met the superstar. "He's doing the whole high school grad road trip thing and I offered to put him up while he looks about L.A. It's been fun! Thought he'd like to see how deals are done in Hollywood and you know how that went."

"So he's not your new assistant?" Max asked, referring to the cover story given at the beginning of the meeting.

"Nope. Don't really know what one of those does and I'm pretty sure I haven't taken the necessary classes for it," he replied before Cage could do it for him.

"Trust me, kid. What you did in there was definitely the thing an assistant woulda done." Max said before turning to Johnny. "Hire him on. He should at least be able to keep you outta trouble."

"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked defensively, surprised.

"Do you really want me to go through the entire list?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe start with how you reacted to a certain photographer? Or maybe that blonde down in Florida?"

"Hey that first one was asking for it. You want my opinion? I think he set me up. He wanted me to kick his ass so he'd have grounds for a lawsuit." Johnny explained, not sounding guilty at all. "As for the blonde she certainly wasn't acting her age. You woulda been fooled, too!"

"My point is with a second set of eyes close by maybe we can avoid any repeat," Max said before turning to him. "So whattaya say, kid? Interested?"

Honestly?

His whole trip had been about seeing as many things as possible so he could figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Most of it would definitely have to do with helping the gang keep the Hellmouth shut and dealing with every demon looking to bring about the end of the world. At the same time he needed a job so he could move out of the Harris house and support himself, 'cause otherwise he'd probably wind up sponging off of his friends and that could NOT be allowed. He refused to become a charity case like Tony.

"What's the pay?" he asked, figuring that if he was going to be blowing off his road trip he should at least know how much he'd be getting for it.

"Howsabout… fifty bucks an hour for twenty-four seven help as personal assistant, with the chance of it going up depending on how good a job you do. Sound good?" Johnny asked, sounding like he'd come up with the hourly wage out of thin air.

Fify dollars an hour!? T-that'd be…twelve hundred dollars in ONE day if he plans on paying me whether he's awake or asleep… eighty-four hundred a week… HOLY SHIT! His mind did up the math and made it clear that there was only one sane choice to make.

"Then you got yourself a personal assistant," he said as they reached the elevator. "Until I screw up or you find someone better."

With the money he'd be making off of this he could easily afford moving out AND going on a cross country trip next year.

All in all there were good times ahead, no two ways about it.

The Cage Porche, One Month Later

Johnny Cage's POV

"So what's on the schedule today?" he asked as the car pulled out into traffic.

He'd given Gerald the day off as driver so he was behind the wheel of one of his nicer set of wheels as they set out on their day.

"Well, first we've got the press conference for the TV series you're signed on for, then it's off to the South Coast Plaza for the release of your last movie on VHS. Basically a sign and smile deal," Xander replied while tapping away on the PalmPilot he'd gotten his personal assistant. "After that it's an afternoon meal with that cologne company about the one they're going to brew up and name after you. After that your schedule's pretty much clear for the evening so we can either hang out at the mansion or we can go clubbing for the night. Just make sure to keep the drinking down, 'cause you've got script reading late tomorrow morning."

"Clubbing sounds good," he said as he navigated traffic while sparing Xan a glance every so often. "We'll need some unwind time after today."

"Suits me," Xander said as he put away his PalmPilot into one of his suit's pockets.

It'd been a little over a month since Xander had officially been hired on as his personal assistant but the college age kid had proven to be a quick study and a good organizer. His days were never too full and there was always at least an hour or two to unwind in the evening before hitting the hay and getting some sleep. Sure, there were some busy days where it felt like he'd run a marathon but Xander never failed to keep everything straight and where the kid fell short Max stepped in to fill the gap. So far he had no reason to complain about his latest hiring and, unless something big happened, he felt this was the start of a solid friendship between the two of them.

In the last four weeks he'd learned more and more about his personal assistant, ranging from personal tastes to a few of the more amusing high school moments. Naturally he didn't badger the kid about every little thing every day but, if they passed someplace that caused a question to pop up in his mind, he never hesitated to ask it. A lot of what he'd found out was pretty cool but he could tell the kid hadn't had a lot of people tell him that in his life. He wasn't a stranger to that since his old man hadn't been free with the compliments but he'd always managed to get noticed in school either with sports or at parties. Sure, some people thought he was hot headed and dove into things without thinking them through but in his experience going with his gut worked out more often than not. Going with his gut had gotten him Kimmy Ryder as a girlfriend, had gotten him named Prom King and had gotten him through years of martial arts training when others had washed out.

At least I got a wingman now, he thought with a grin as he came to a stop at an intersection.

It was that point of view that had him mentally penciling in clubbing tonight since, in all the time since Xander had come into his life, they hadn't really gone out for any fun. They'd just hung out at the mansion, watched some movies and he'd even started showing the kid some moves he'd learned from his Karate and Jeet Kune Do sensei. Xander had some pretty impressive endurance and resiliency for someone his age and could take a solid hit. The only problem was that he probably hadn't had a day of actual training in how to fight and probably just mimicked whatever he saw on TV or one of his movies. That might work against other amateurs or barroom brawlers but, against someone with even a couple of months of training to their name, it'd get your ass handed to you. So he'd done his best to help the kid out by taking him through the same lessons his mentors had walked him through when he'd first walked into their dojos, then he upped the difficulty when it looked like Xander wasn't breathing hard enough to be really getting anything out of it, but all in all the lessons tended to end with him satisfied. If some guy tried to pick a fight with him tonight because his girl knew when to trade up then at least he'd have some back up if the guy had friends.

Turning into the conference center where the press conference would take place in about half an hour, he proceeded to the usual place where he parked whenever meeting the press here. There was already a nice collection of cars parked around the entrance but no press with cameras or microphones were waiting for them.

Thank God for small favors! he thought since he didn't want to have to deal with the vultures until he was safely behind a table with center security between the two of them.

Getting out with Xan, they walked inside and saw most of the cast of the yet to premiere show milling about along with the producers, writers and the others that'd be answering questions today. The others gave polite nods or smiles but otherwise just stuck to their groups of three or four, waiting for the press conference to begin. Looking about he found a spot near a window that looked promising enough so, looking at Xander, he jerked his head in the window's direction before heading that way himself. Sitting down in the closest free chair he lounged casually in it while thoughts of what was going to happen began bouncing around his head. The usual snippets about the show had been released to the media a week ago but they didn't give all the details so there'd probably be questions from people digging for more. This wasn't his first rodeo so he knew the drill: keep things short, work the crowd but don't give up anything new that hadn't been approved by the studio.

For him that meant he could toss a couple of red herrings out there that'd make people tune in to watch even if they were complete bullshit.

After all, if they wound up tuning in they'd get hooked on the truth quick enough so it didn't really matter if he lied.

When he started to see the first of the reporters show up on the other side of the glass doors he got up from his chair and headed for the chair behind the briefing table that had his name taped to it. Xander would stand behind the platform he'd be on and hopefully wouldn't get spotted by the press, or at least not be treated like anyone worth bothering with. He'd already told Xander that if the press wound up approaching him to not say anything and to just get away from them as quickly as he could. When the young man asked what he should do if they provoked him he'd said to keep the cooler head and wait for an opening to make a run for it. It was a rule of Hollywood that if they couldn't get what they wanted from you the paparazzi provoked you to make you do something stupid so they didn't go home empty handed.

He hadn't always remembered this rule and he'd paid for it in the papers the next day.

Sitting down in his chair the security guards waited five minutes before letting the press inside and, like ants scuttling along, they surrounded the two five by five rows of seats while those of them with video cameras set up around the perimeter. It took about three minutes for them to settle down and with that Robert, the top ranked member of their little group, moved to the collection of microphones some of which had been there from the beginning while others had been added by the press.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the official press conference for the show 'Knight Dawn', which will be premiering this coming fall," Robert said with his WONDERFUL speaking voice. "By now you've all received the information released by the studio and so I've got only a few more things to add before we'll start taking questions."

From there Robert revealed a few additional details about the show, like who'd be in charge of the special effects, some guy who'd won an award for the last show he was a part of, and a little more expansion of the plot. Some of it he knew and some of it was news to him but not necessarily grounds for him to have a few harsh words with Robert later about not keeping him properly informed. All in all the press looked quite happy with what they'd been told.

One reporter on the left though looked like he was about to do something quite… inflammatory.

Ah hell! Who let Davy into this press conference?! He could feel a migraine coming on.

Davy was a reporter for one of the papers that rested on the border between reputable newspaper and tabloid trash. As a result it was never a good idea to get their attention and, even worse, to get the attention of Davy, who had made a career of taking every person the mainstream media praised and making them out to be Jack the Ripper's direct descendant carrying on the family hobby. Davy'd started coming after him soon after he'd won his first golden statue and hadn't let up since. His career had managed to take the hits thanks to some skillful spin control on the part of Max but it was never pleasant coping for the three months it took for the spin control to undo the damage. People repeated whatever Davy wrote in his article, came up with comments of their own and generally tested his self-restraint repeatedly. Eventually he'd just decide to stay inside as much as possible and only leave his mansion to go to work and so far that policy worked for him.

Here's hoping that Davy hasn't learned how to up his game.

"Yes? Mister David Windsor from the L.A Confider?" Robert asked, sounding like his politeness was being tested.

"I have a question for Mister Cage," Davy said, looking him right in the eye. "Is there any truth to the rumor that you stormed out of a meeting a month ago for the movie 'Deadly Dawn' because the people in charge wouldn't fork over an additional five million dollars you insisted on? Five million in addition to the twenty-five million you would've gotten anyways?"

I'm gonna KILL that snot nosed suit! he thought as he immediately concluded that it had to have been the young executive that'd badmouthed him at the 'Deadly Dawn' meeting who'd leaked and exaggerated the info.

No doubt the little shit was having a good little chuckle right now from wherever he was watching the press conference.

Don't underestimate me, asshole! "I stormed out of the meeting because they tried to use legalese to get a better share of the profits behind my back, not because I wanted more money. If they'd just came right out and explained everything from the beginning things woulda been different."

"Please! Your behavior on set is common knowledge, Cage!" Davy said, not put off by his response. "Late to scene shooting, endlessly complaining about the 'substandard help' and hitting on anything with a decent enough rack. You really expect us to believe that you walked out of that meeting on principle?"

This naturally caused some muttering to go on amongst the other reporters as they started to talk to each other actually considering the man's words.

"This press conference is not about Johnny Cage even though he's agreed to star in 'Knight Dawn'. Please keep your questions to the topic." Robert said, trying to steer things back on course.

Too bad the man failed to realize that when the press had a juicy piece of meat in front of them and someone tried to take it away it just made them latch on all the more.

"Hey! It's a valid question!" a lady reporter yelled, clearly interested in hearing more.

"Yeah! Why does he need extra money anyway!?" another reporter asked, sounding a little angry. "I get by on fifty grand a year!"

One after another the reporters began to sling accusations of greed and arrogance at him, making him out to be a completely spoiled brat of an actor. Still, he managed to hold onto his anger and keep it from making him say or do something he'd regret later. A reaction is what they wanted so it'd be the one thing he wouldn't give them.

Too bad Max didn't have the same restraint.

"Shaddup! None of you can do what Johnny does for a living!" Max yelled, his face turning an interesting shade of red. "THAT'S why he gets paid the big bucks! Why he DESERVES THEM! Until you can do the same keep yer questions to yerself!"

"'Does for a living'!? So he walks around, says his lines and then you guys stop the cameras so that the stunt man can do the real heavy lifting!" Davy said with a twinkle of triumph in his eyes. "I bet the special effects guys don't get paid half as much as they should for making this jerk look good! Why don't you cut his pay and give to the people that really deserve it!?"

"Are you calling me a fake, Davy boy?" he asked, feeling cracks beginning to form in his restraint.

"No… I'm calling you a fake AND an embarrassment to the entertainment industry!" Davy replied with fire in his tone.

"Alright, this press conference is over!" Robert said, clearly not liking having the event shanghaied or not being the center of attention. "You have your facts! Stick to them!"

With that the man strode away from the microphones, with the rest of the people involved with the show doing likewise, though probably more out of self-preservation than disagreement with anything Davy had said about him.

Seeing no point in sticking around he got out of his chair and made for the quickest route to his car, not even bothering to look and see if Xander was following him. He had to get out of there before Davy tossed even more fuel on the fire and wound up burning through the chains holding down what his imagination wanted him to do to the bastard.

He was NOT going to give this guy the headline and the grounds for a lawsuit he wanted.

"Yeah you keep walking, Cage!" Davy yelled sounding oh so smug. "Keep walking and don't stop until you find someplace no one knows who you are!"

Considering there was no place in America that hadn't had one of his movies play in their theatres or a TV show broadcast on their television sets, it was obvious the man wanted him out of the country.

Not going to happen.

Not NOW!

Not EVER!

Personal Gym, Cage Mansion

Xander's POV

"You really shouldn't let that guy piss you off so much!" he said as he fired off a kick-kick-punch combo on Johnny as they sparred in the mansion's gym. "Guys like that will go away if you ignore'em long enough!"

"Nah!" Johnny said, blocking the first two kicks before leaning to the side to evade the punch. "That just eggs'em on even more! Makes them do crazier stuff to get a reaction out of you! Better to give'em a little and keep their game little league!"

With that the movie star began an eight move barrage of kicks, punches and knee thrusts that he almost managed to handle but still got nailed in the stomach, almost causing him to drop his arms to instinctively grab the struck area. Fortunately Johnny had managed to train that reflex out of him and instead he lunged forward with right hook turned into a reverse elbow strike that forced the action star to back off a bit. This gave him the time to get his wind back, leaving him less restricted in what he could do since his body wasn't giving him problems anymore. Going on the offensive again he decided to switch things up with a kick-palm thrust-heel kick-thrust kick combo that actually managed to break Cage's defenses, leaving him vulnerable. Going for a spear like one of his favorite professional wrestlers, he intended to tackle his opponent to the ground before wailing on him with a series of punches then ask for his surrender.

It'd be the first real victory he'd had over the man since he'd begun official martial arts training with Johnny.

He should've known better.

With a move worthy of an 'OLE!' Cage sidestepped his spear move and, just as he was moving by, somehow managed to grab ahold of him and throw him back the way he'd come. He landed with a bounce and a skid before coming to a stop, feeling more than a little embarrassed at having taken what had obviously been bait for a trap.

"Piece of advice, Xander: when something looks too good to be true, it probably is." Johnny said, taking along a more relaxed demeanor before walking over to offer him a hand up. "Be certain you've knocked some screws loose before you try anything you won't be able to pull back from in time."

"Good advice," came a voice that seized Johnny's attention instantly. "I remember when I gave it to a certain cocky student of mine who thought he could take me after only a year of training."

Turning his head he saw a grey haired man who looked to be in his mid-to-late fifties with a groomed beard leaning against the doorframe of the gym. Dressed in your typical civilian clothes, he couldn't quite picture who the guy was or where he would've met Johnny but, considering what he'd said, he must've been Cage's teacher in either Karate or Jeet Kune Do.

"Master Boyd," Johnny said, walking up to his old mentor before holding out his hand for a shake. "What brings you knocking on my door? Things getting boring back at the dojo?"

"Nah, things are fine there," Boyd replied with a shake of his head. "I was in the neighborhood scoping out new talent when I caught your press conference. Taking some pretty nasty heat, Johnny."

"It's just Davy spewing crap like always," Johnny said, dismissing the problem but unable to keep some anger out of his words.

"Crap that's causing you to bubble up inside like when Jake used to trash talk you." Master Boyd said, clearly not buying what his former student was selling. "Most times that ended with one of you taking the first swing eventually. You planning on punching this Davy guy?"

"Me? Punch him!? Get real!" Johnny said, making it sound like the idea was ridiculous. "It'd be a waste of energy and I've got better things to do."

"Yeah… I thought as much. Definitely going to punch him next time he opens his big mouth," Boyd said, seeing through to his former student's true intentions. "Fortunately for you I've brought a solution that'll silence all the doubters and make that reporter eat humble pie for LIFE."

With that the old man took a seriously old looking scroll out from his pocket before holding it out for Johnny to take. This immediately had him wary because, in his experience, scrolls meant either prophecy or something old coming back to bite the present in the ass. Neither possibility filled him with the warm fuzzies.

"It's an invite to a tournament. THE tournament, according to what I've heard," Boyd said after Cage took the scroll and began to unroll it. "It happens once every fifty years. Only the best of the best get an invite, from just about every style of hand-to-hand combat, and then they're all brought together to fight. Most of the weak ones get weeded out in the elimination round early on until there's only a handful left. You make it all the way to the top and defeat the reigning champ and everyone who saw you claim the grand prize will go home saying Johnny Cage is the real deal. No one'll be able to call you a fake or a disgrace ever again."

He had to admit that if this tournament was all the hype was making it out to be that it'd give Johnny serious bragging rights to the world. The only thing that had him worried was the fact that he'd never heard of such a big time tournament and one would think that something that sent out invites to every single major player in the fighting world would've warranted some kind of media coverage.

"What's the tournament called? Does it even have a name?" he asked, wanting to get more info out of concern for his friend.

"It's called Mortal Kombat. Like the name implies you put your life on the line in this tournament," Master Boyd replied, looking at him for the first time.

"Death matches? Is it mandatory or can you choose not to kill your opponent?" he asked, wanting to know just how dark this tournament really was.

"Whether or not you off your opponent at the end is up to you," Boyd replied, not giving away his position on the matter with his facial expressions. "Just keep in mind, Johnny, that not everyone who's gonna be competing is going to have a code of honor. Some of them are going to be the scum of the Earth who'll use every trick in the book to win and will get off making you die in bloody ways."

"Sounds less like a martial arts tournament and more like one of those underground gladiatorial fights you hear about," he said, not liking the picture developing in his mind. "This thing really respected that much?"

"Unlike the tournaments you've probably seen on TV, Mortal Kombat brings fighting back to its roots," Boyd said, sounding like he approved of this stance. "Two men enter, one man leaves. There are rules for the tournament, though. The fights are two out of three falls. No fighting allowed until the tournament officially begins. If someone challenges you there's no backing out without being disqualified from the tournament. Rule breakers will be punished… severely."

"That's it?" he asked, thinking there were too few rules to keep things clean.

"That's it," Master Boyd replied with a nod of his head. "I know you need time to think things through, Johnny. The boat taking the competitors to the island where the tournament is going to be held leaves from Tokyo harbor in a week, at seven in the evening, pier thirty-three."

"I'll think it over," Johnny said, though anyone who'd spent time with him could tell where the action star's intentions were leaning. "You going to be staying in L.A long? Maybe we could hang out like old times."

"Much as I'd like to I'm on a tight schedule," Master Boyd replied with a shake of his head. "Got five more people to visit before heading back to the dojo. Just thought I'd drop off this invite and point you in the right direction."

"Sorry to hear that," Johnny said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Still, it was nice to see you, Master Boyd. Safe journey."

Both martial artists bowed in respect to one another before the sensei left the room, presumably heading for the front door.

Seeing Johnny looking with focus at the unrolled scroll in his hands, he knew that by tonight the man'd make his decision to participate in the tournament, seeing it as the best way to earn the respect he deserved. Still, he wouldn't be a very good personal assistant if he didn't do at least some kind of background check on the deadly competition beforehand.

"Let me do some background checking before you commit to anything, Johnny. It sounds good but I got a bad feeling about it."

For a minute it looked like the action star was going to brush off his words but something made him pause before nodding in acceptance.

"You got six days. After that we're catching a flight to Tokyo to catch a boat." Johnny said before walking over to the bench to grab his towel and water bottle.

Not a lot of time, he thought as he did the same before heading to where his things rested and took out the cell phone Johnny had given him. Hope Giles is up to the challenge.