Daily Grind, Early Afternoon
Note to self : Never ever be late again for work no matter what! Xander said to himself as he looked to the clock above the door.
He sighed as he ran his right hand through his hair and remembered waking up that very morning an hour earlier in an attempt to ensure that he arrived at work on time. This way he theorized he should have been able to avoid any traffic jams or bank robberies or any other time of problem that might have slowed him down. Sadly whatever god or goddess that was responsible for his random bouts of bad luck interfered again. This time though it wasn't human greed or bad traffic conditions that caused him to be late but something he hadn't anticipated in the slightest. This time apparently it was the collapse of two apartment buildings that had been damaged by the whole Onslaught mess. Before he had been able to do more than yell in surprise at the sight the bus was surrounded by brick and cement mixed with several other types of debris. What was worse was the fact that they had been traveling down a particularly narrow street which when mixed with the collapsed buildings meant that all the entrances and exits on the bus were blocked. He had waited for a full half hour for some kind of emergency help to come along to at least get one of the doors open before he took matters into his own hands. He asked the bus driver if he had a screw driver or something and the moment it was passed to him he went to work on the roof hatch of the bus that they but in to help with ventilation and getting rid of particularly bad aromas. Normally these hatches don't open very far and have catches to keep them from opening wide enough for a person to squeeze through. It was a kind of anti-theft measure he supposed but as he had learned in Sunnydale both to avoid his parents and to help out Buffy and the others there did exist certain ways to get around such obstacles. Within fifteen minutes of getting his hands on the screwdriver he had the hatch all the way open and was squeezing his way through to the roof of the bus. He remembered hearing several cheers from some of the other passengers as they were probably minutes away from following his lead but he wasn't really paying attention. No, he was focused solely on getting to the Daily Grind on time and so was trying to set a new land speed record by running, jumping and ducking under any obstacles that got in his way. It had taken him awhile but when his eyes had set down on the sign over the door to the place where he worked he had actually thought that he might actually make it.
Unfortunately when I saw Shirley standing just inside that door with that cross look on her face I just knew my day had gone FUBAR, Xander thought as he fought to keep his good cheer face on, Now I not only have to work all day today but also tomorrow or else I'm out of a job! Why does the universe hate me!
In any case though as he looked to the entrance as the bell above it tinkled to announce the arrival of a new customer whom he recognized immediately as someone as beautiful as Mary Jane Watson-Parker. While they didn't know each other like friends she and her husband came in often enough to talk to Ben that they knew each other's faces and names. Still she always seemed friendly whenever she came in and she was definitely easy on the eyes so seeing her made his extra-long shift a little bit easier to bear.
"Hey MJ! Lookin' good!" he yelled from his position behind the counter.
The redhead just laughed at his comment and proceeded to one of the booths by the windows with her Aunt Anna. The aged lady was less common at the Daily Grind but from what he could remember of previous visits plus conversations with Ben she was your basic sweet Aunt whom you could not help but like. In a way she reminded him of Joyce Summers back in good ol' Sunnyhell but the moment he remembered his home town his thoughts took a darker turn as he recalled all he had been forced to give up. These bouts of depression happened every now and again but he was always able to look for the silver lining to that dark cloud and use it to pull himself out of his funk. Being able to look at the stunning redhead that was MJ certainly helped a lot but that was soon obscured by the newest employee at the Daily Grind Allison Mongrain. The woman was filling in for Viviane and Kasi who for some reason or other hadn't shown up for work the last couple of days. The rest of the staff had managed but if they had been forced to go without the bare minimum staff on Halloween night then it would be bad for business. Shirley was quite happy when Allison had come along and asked for a job but he on the other hand was a little more wary of this new recruit. Whether it be due to his remaining soldier memories, Kung Lung's own inner warnings or the time he spent on the Hellmouth there was just something about this woman that seemed wrong to him. She just seemed so out of place among the rest of them and her Ice Queen personae was definitely not common with people who were 'people persons'. Still all he had to go on so far was his own inner instincts and that wasn't enough to support talking to Shirley privately about the new employee. So for now he would just keep an eye on her and hope that it was just residual Sunnydale paranoia that was the cause of his discomfort.
So he went about his job for the next hour but nothing changed with regards to his opinion of the Mongrain woman or the fact that she didn't belong here. That changed however when sounds of pain and discomfort were voice from MJ Watson-Parker which only gained in volume and power with every passing moment. Shirley immediately went to try to render what aide she could as she no doubt remembered giving birth to Devon and knew what to do in situations like these. However Sunnyhell paranoia urged him to review everything that he remembered seeing in the vicinity of MJ's table in case anything hellmouthy occurred that he did not immediately take notice of at the time. The only thing though that he could recall was that it had been Allison Mongrain who had both taken MJ's order and delivered it to the booth when it was ready. Eyes widening he looked around the immediate area for any sign of the woman but she was nowhere to be seen at all. Trying to look less than suspicious he moved over to the door leading into the kitchen and peeked in just in case she was in there but he found no one. Silently he cursed himself for not keeping a closer watch on her but pushed that thought to the side as he grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1 to get help for MJ. Her cries of pain were only getting worse and he vigorously prayed that she wasn't suffering from anything fatal but from the way she was clutching her stomach it just might be something far worse than her own death. MJ was due to give birth real soon but from the way she was holding her stomach he knew something was wrong with the baby. After all people did not just cry out like that from just eating bad food or getting a stomach ache besides which he knew the cooks in back were too good to let something potentially harmful reach a customer. Mostly because they knew what Shirley would do to them personally if that happened as well as the potential law suits that would arise because of accidental food poisoning.
Rushing over to Shirley he said "I called the paramedics, they should be here in a couple of minutes."
"Thanks Kevin. I don't know what's wrong! I ain't never seen a pregnant woman act like this before!" Shirley said as she applied a cold wet cloth to MJ's forehead.
"No kidding! Look someone ought to try and get Pete or Ben on the phone" , Xander said as he began to think for some plausible reasons to allow him to slip out, "and while they try that I'll try and find 'em in person just in case the absent minded photographer forgot his beeper again!"
"He forgot his beeper before?" Buzz asked inquiringly with one eyebrow raised above his mirror lensed glasses.
"Yeah I found it at least three times but managed to slip it to Ben so he could drop it off to Pete after work." , Xander replied as he scrambled to add the finishing touches on his half-truths, "You know how expecting fathers get when the due date gets this close. They get so nervous and forgetful that they'd lose their head if it weren't so firmly attached."
Shirley looked skeptical for a moment but then gave him the nod stating that she was okay with him going off to find Pete and Ben in person. Of course he didn't wait around to see if she would come up with some reasonable doubts or suspect that he was just trying to get out of his extra long work shift. Ducking into the kitchen he practically tore off his apron and ran out the back entrance to the Daily Grind casting his eyes left and right looking for any sign of the Mongrain woman. Unfortunately she was apparently long gone as he saw nothing to indicate she had just passed through the alley going in either direction. Normally this would be the end of a normal teenager's pursuit but thankfully his curse would actually come in handy in this case. Closing his eyes he reached within himself and plucked a portion of the power of Kung Lung and channeled it to his senses enhancing them beyond the human norm. That meant that not only were the five most commonly known senses now enhanced for him but it also included some lesser known talents thought to be found only in mutants or magic users. This was one of the few powers of the ancient Dragon King's abilities that he could dare to use without too many dangerous side-effects. Things like the increasing ones senses or accelerating ones ability to recover from injury were relatively minor abilities that he could tap into and thus safe. It was only abilities such as increased physical strength or the ability to fly that were a threat to his existence as they required him to undergo significant changes in order to access them. For flight he would have to grow wings and for the gift of enhanced physical strength his muscles would have to increase in both mass and density. For something as little as the senses though it was as little physical change as piercing ones ears.
Okay Mongrain, where did you run off to? Xander thought to himself as he opened his eyes and attempted to sift through all the new sensory information.
It was disorienting to say the least as his mind was bombarded with sights, smells, sounds, sensations and thoughts with each one demanding his attention like a spoiled child. He wobbled on his feet for a moment but eventually managed to center himself and enforce some discipline on what he was taking in and how much from moment to moment. The first sense to be sifted through was that of smell, trying to find Allison's scent since that would be the most reliable way to track someone who is no longer in sight. While this would normally be difficult as she had been working at the Daily Grind for only a day he was lucky in that she had a rather pungent taste in perfume which even now stood out to his nose like rancid tuna. Following his nose like a certain cereal bird he soon exited the back alley onto the street about a block down from the Daily Grind and unfortunately that was where her scent ended. For some this might mean the end of the road but thanks to his current gift/curse of being host to a Dragon King it just meant he had to switch gears a bit. Blinking once he watched as everything shifted from their usual rich colors to a weird collection of glowing objects and people. He remembered reading about these glowing fields of light that encapsulated everything and everyone in existence whether they be natural or unnatural in origin. Giles called them auras and according to the technical jargon he had to sit through for ten minutes you could tell a lot about a person by their aura and no two auras were alike. It wouldn't matter if a woman gave birth to identical twins they would still have different auras although there would be a greater degree of similarity between the two than anyone else. Another unique feature about auras was that they kinda gave off a smokey residue in the air as they past through it. Nothing really tangible or anything beyond a drifting shadow with continual after images but still something he could follow as long as he didn't dawdle to long and let the after images expire completely. Fortunately though she was only a little ways ahead of him so it without further adieu he clambered up the fire escape on the side of the alley he had just exited and made his way to the roof.
They called this the thieves highway because in the hands of the right person one could get anywhere in the city undetected since almost no one bothered to look there or look up in the spaces in between buildings. True in a city that was once populated by super heroes of every shape and size people were a bit more inclined than others to look to the skies but he was confident he could keep them from getting a good look at him. With a surge of speed he took off across the rooftops doing his best to keep Mongrain's aura trail in sight while keeping him out of sight but eventually though he came across the ever predictable road block. Up until that moment the buildings had been placed rather conveniently for him to leap to and from along the way but now the only building that took him in the direction he wanted to go was taller than the one he now stood on and stood on the other side of a street. Needless to say unless he jumped very far and learned to wall crawl like a certain web-slinger he wasn't going to be able to make it. This pissed him off a bit as time was a wasting and he couldn't afford to remain indecisive for too long or he'd lose Allison's trail. Looking up and down the street below he tried to see if there were any nearby buildings that he could reach and perhaps allow him to pick up the trail afterwards. Unfortunately any suitable buildings were at least five blocks away and by the time he went around and got back to this spot the aura shadow would be gone. Looking straight down though he spotted a large transfer truck stationary in front of stop light and the proverbial light bulb lit up above his head. He had seen the web head do this once and if he timed it right he could land on the roof the truck and ride it until the rooftops became slightly more favorable. Charging to the roof's edge he jumped off the edge before his rational mind could stop him from doing something he thought he could do just by mimicking someone who had done it for years and watched as the pavement rushed up to meet him.
Ya know it's times like these that I have to wonder how the hell I managed to survive the hellmouth with a brain like these. he though to himself ruefully.
Just as he passed the halfway point the second part of the web-swinger's move came into play as he grabbed a hold of a flag pole sticking out from the side of the building and used it to both absorb some of his momentum and help him gain some height as he let go and flew through the air to land on the roof of the transfer truck. Not taking any time to revel in the fact that he had not only done the move but also survived he flattened himself on the roof of the truck doing his best to remain unseen by pedestrian and motorist. Thankfully the repair and reconstruction work that had cropped up in the wake of the Onslaught incident had brought some mighty impressive trucks into the city which meant that as long as he stayed away from the sides or the back of the truck he was safe from sight. Adjusting his head so he could look ahead of the truck he was thankful when the light finally turned green that the vehicle turned left and thus in the direction he wanted to go in. Unfortunately he could not stay on the truck too long or someone was bound to catch a glimpse of him along the way so the instant he spotted a rooftop within his reach he leapt from the roof of the truck and returned to the his original method of following Mongrain.
I hope that she didn't go too far or else I am going to be completely wasted by the time I catch up with her. he thought as he tried to pace himself physically while not allowing the trail to leave his sight.
New York Hospital, Twenty minutes later
Well, well, well, what do we have here? Xander thought to himself as he walked up to his destination.
He had followed the aura trail of one Allison Mongrain to this hospital which he soon realized would likely be the one where MJ would be taken to by ambulance as it was the closest to the Daily Grind. It was true that MJ probably went to another hospital whenever she was sick and that was where her personal family doctor worked he knew that all they would have to do is call the doctor and get him here ASAP. Unfortunately this led to a list of several unusual coincidences which made him all the more suspicious of the Mongrain woman. After all it was in the first chapter of the Scooby gang handbook 'we don't believe in coincidences only catastrophies' and when added to a healthy dose of Hellmouth induced paranoia and you had a naturally suspicious mind. Entering the building he did his best to look like he belonged there while at the same time following the trail left by Allison to its source. He had already come up with a quick possibility as to why she was here but he had to make sure she wasn't here to genuinely see some sick relative or friend. Eventually he encountered another road block in the form of the door to the female locker room and he cursed his luck for the umpteenth time as he accepted the fact that he would have to wait for her to come out. Looking around he spotted a bench nearby with a table and a few newspapers and proceeded to sit down and read a copy of the Daily Bugle while keeping a close watch on the door. He had about made it through the first six pages before the door opened and a woman garbed in a nurse's outfit such as the type worn in an operating room exited into the hallway. While the woman was wearing one of those medical masks worn by everyone in the operating room he identified Mongrain right off the bat. After all how many older women have blonde stripes dyed into the front edges of their hair and more so how many of those types work in a hospital as a bottom of the ladder nurse. After all you would think that anyone who was in this line of work as long as most would think Allison must have been would still be at such a position. Granted he was no expert at how long it took someone to become a full fledged surgery level doctor/nurse nor at what rate promotions came for people in that line of work but he doubted someone in their early to mid-forties would still be assisting other doctors.
Getting to his feet he waited until she started to turn the corner before pursuing and tried to do his best to blend into the background. If he was right then she was a seasoned pro at this and he was at best a green rookie which could lead to some unpleasant events if she spotted him. Through several twists and turns of the hallways he almost had a heart attack from the number of times he was almost caught in the act of shadowing his target. When they finally reached the area near the emergency entrance of the hospital he saw Mongrain talking to a fat and particularly chubby doctor and wondered if he was her accomplice or if she was just playing her role until MJ arrived. As if a higher being decided to take that as a cue the door at the emergency entrance slid open and two paramedics guided a gurney with MJ on it swiftly into the hospital. He got as close as he dared and used his newly enhanced sense of hearing to eavesdrop to gather some much needed intelligence on what Mongrain might be doing here and if the fat Doc was in on it. He was barely able to make out what was being said but the Doc said that his name was Folsome and that he was subbing for her normal doctor as he was 'mysteriously' unreachable at the time. It was when he told MJ to trust him that Xander penciled him into the bad guy category as in his experience it was a clichéd line that almost all undercover villains used when trying to gain the trust of innocents or naïve heroes.
This is looking more and more like one big set-up Xander thought to himself as he took a seat next to an Asian woman who was snapping picks of certain people in the area.
Fact number one: Watresses at the Daily Grind go missing from work which is out of character for them only to be replaced conveniently by Allison Mongrain. Fact number two: MJ Watson Parker begins to experience medical difficulties after eating food delivered by Mongrain and moments later Mongrain is absent. Fact number three: Ms. Mongrain goes to the nearest hospital and acquires a disguise before going to meet with her accomplice moments before MJ shows up. Finally fact number four: MJ's normal doctor is unavailable allowing the accomplice doctor to step in and handle the birthing procedure. Add them all up and the concept of a pre-planned operation wasn't just possible but outright certain with the objective so clear it horrified him. They induced labor in MJ just so they could kidnap the baby right out of the delivery room for who knows what reason. This angered him to no end and it was all he could do to keep from charging in and exposing them right then and there. Sadly he lacked proof of their agenda and would be treated like a raving lunatic as a result. He would have to wait until they tried to make off with the child before stepping in and hopefully learn enough to take action. Aside from the basics there was still a great deal he did not know about them and their mission which many any actions he took potentially dangerous. Was this just a simple steal and sell or was there something more to it? Did they plan on killing the child in the operating room or elsewhere? No, he refused to accept that as a possibility both because of the sickening nature of the act and the fact that Mongrain could just as easily have slipped something into MJ's meal to cause a miscarriage. If they wanted both the mother and the daughter dead there were any number of ways that they could get that done without raising suspicions. After all despite the fact that Sunnydale had been the capital of Denial the crooked members of the city government were still good at covering things up and knocking each other off in order to orchestrate an unforeseen promotion for themselves. These facts were uncovered by Willow when she had made several attempts to hack into the Mayor's personal files as well as the files that belonged to others suspected of demon sacrifices and satanic rituals. Still the question remained what did they want with the baby of two middle class citizens of New York City besides what they could … yuck … sell on the black market. One possible reason was Pete's connection with Spider-Man as far as the fact that he had the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time for some pretty snazzy shots. While some might simply dismiss this as excellent photo-journalism others like himself might suspect that Pete and the Web Head had some kind of arrangement going on. An arrangement where Spidey would tip off Parker about some big crime going down and then Peter would pay the web slinger back some way. He doubted that money was the payoff as he doubted even the best photographers got more than 500 for a set of decent pics. Still it likely meant that these two were just the hired help doing work for someone in the spandex set with a mad on for a certain irritating wall crawler. It was one of those confusing little facts about the super criminal community, they never did anything normally, they always had to make some kind of intricate plan of revenge to show how smarter they were than everyone else.
Still if not for that stupid clichéd villain routine the entire world would probably be in hell right now. Xander thought as he turned back to the doors of the delivery room.
In any case though it was now a waiting game as he couldn't make a move now that they were in the delivery room. The good side though was the fact that there was only one entrance and exit to the room and he was sitting across from it. All he would have to do is wait until they attempted to make their getaway and then step in to save the day like the white knight he always seemed to be impersonating. He cracked a slight smile at that given that this white knight was the host for the essence of a black dragon king inside of him. Talk about irony!
Nice to see that the universe has a sense of humor , Xander thought as he focused on reading the Bugle in his hands, because I intend to make Mongrain and Chubby Folsome look like complete idiots before I let them get away with little May Parker!
Outside the Delivery Room, New York Hospital, FOUR HOURS LATER
Well I most certainly have a whole new respect for what women go through having a kid! Xander thought to himself as he heard MJ give out another scream.
It had been like that for the past four hours straight and there were more than a few times when he had been worried that he had given Allison and her accomplice too much credit in the villain department as it sounded like they were torturing her in there. He had no idea what to expect as far as how long giving birth was supposed to take but he had thought it would be something like he had seen in countless medical dramas on TV. Needless to say he was currently feeling deeply betrayed by television and the people on it but thankfully though it seemed to be coming to an end. This also meant though that Mongrain would likely be about to make off with the kid so fastening his eyes on the door he waited for the rat in a nurse's clothing. It took a few moments but as he had predicted she eventually emerged from the delivery room wheeling a cart that one might expect to find laundry or some sort of biological waste or something. As he suspected though it was definitely large enough to hide a kid in especially if it was sound absorbing on the inside to keep the baby's crying from reaching outside the cart. Tapping into his 'Dragon Power' as he had dubbed it he attempted to see through the metal of the cart to confirm that there was indeed a baby inside. He had to keep the newspaper close to his face though as he found that to do something that was distinctly beyond simply enhancing natural senses. When he had been tracking her earlier he had just been empowering senses that either already existed or that could be found somewhere naturally in the world. Even perceiving a person's aura was more natural than people thought as there were numerous people mutant or otherwise that could do it. Seeing though objects though and seeing the life flow within a living being however was strictly magical in nature. As such unfortunately his golden eyes tended to glow brighter and as a result might be seen even with this pitch black shades he was wearing. Luckily he only needed to use this ability for a moment to confirm his suspicions so there was a good chance that he could pull this off without causing a panic in this hospital.
All right! Here goes nothing! He thought as he felt the power flowing through his eyes.
All at once the room changed and where once he only saw the surface he now was able to see beneath and for a moment his concentration fluctuated as his breath was taken away by what he saw. Before him was a sight unlock any other and no manner of preparation or book reading could have prepared him for what he saw. Where before he merely saw people and at times their own personal auras he could now see their life energy flowing through them. It was like taking the basic diagram of the human nervous system and then adding a multi-colored stream of energy zipping its way almost faster than he could comprehend throughout the body in a random and unpredictable pattern. He was dazed by what he saw but as he saw Mongrain pass directly in front of him he shook his head to regain his focus and looked at his target. In synch with his rising concentration time seemed to slow down until every second seemed like an hour to him as he peeled back the layers of matter between him and the cart's interior. First came the layer of metal that made up the cart which seemed to dissolve more than anything else as his arcane vision penetrated it. Next as he had predicted was the soundproofing material he had suspected had been installed inside the cart and much like the metal it fell away like sand swept away by a gust of wind. With this last barrier stripped away both his theory and his fears were confirmed as the form and life flow pattern of a child was discovered by his eyes. It sickened him to think that someone would be so evil that they would prey upon such innocence just to get at another or perhaps profit in the cases of Mongrain and Folsome as he doubted that they knew what the baby's ultimate fate was. Whatever the case he decided that rather than just pluck the infant out of Allison's hands in the parking lot he would trail her to her boss and find out what he or she wanted.
"Excuse me are you waiting for someone?" came a distinctly female voice to his right and out of reflex and habit he turned in the direction of the voice.
What he saw however was enough to shock him into complete immobilization and rendered him incapable of saying anything even remotely coherent. Standing to his right was the Asian photographer that he had noticed earlier snapping pics but he was seeing a side of her right then and there that he both consider a happy thought as well as embarrassing. For there in front of him wearing nothing but her proverbial birthday suit was the photographer with her arms crossed under her chest and looking for all the world like nothing was wrong. Of course from her point of view nothing was wrong because from her point of view she was still wearing all of her clothing but because he had turned to her without disengaging his arcane eyes he was seeing right past both her undergarments and regular clothes. He would later joke about how he could have used this particular talent back in high school but for the moment he was using every ounce of willpower at his disposal to keep his eyes focused on her face and not the area beneath it.
"Ah .. um .. I'm just waiting here for a co-worker of mine. His cousin's wife came in here earlier today for an appointment and asked me to keep an eye on her until he could get off work." He replied while trying to keep his embarrassment from becoming too obvious although he was quite certain his face was rather red at the moment.
Fortunately though she seemed to interpret his embarrassment as the clichéd geek-meets-beauty situation and actually seemed amused in a non-malicious way.
"That is awful kind of you to do for your friend." , the woman said sitting down next to him, "By the way my name is Angela Yin."
"Kevin Lensher." He said extending his hand politely which she promptly shook.
"So what is the cousin's wife in for?" Angela asked politely.
"Just a follow up check for breast cancer.", he replied as calmly as possible as the excuse had just popped into his head all of a sudden, " Nothing found so far but apparently she figured that having herself tested for it every once in a while was a good preventative measure. After all the sooner you find it the better your chances of treating it right?"
He was more or less babbling at this point but thankfully she seemed to take this all in stride without any indication that she was suspicious of him.
"A good idea, you can never be too careful these days." , Angela said in genuine approval of his statement before something seemed to rip her attention away from him, "Excuse me it looks like ol J. Jonah Jameson is getting impatient for his pics. It was nice meeting you Kevin."
"Same here Angela." He said as he watched her go before forcing his eyes closed and undoing whatever he did to give himself selective X-Ray vision.
Man I hope that Buffy or Willow never find out about this! he thought to himself as he got up himself and made his way quickly in the direction he had seen Mongrain go before his embarrassing moment.
Sadly the fates seemed to think that he needed to be punished for his indiscretion a moment ago and he just knew that since they were all women the vote had been three in favor and none against levying some punishment. When he had exited the hospital in search of Allison he found that the time he had wasted chatting with Angela had given the baby-napper an unhealthy lead on him. He now could only barely detect her aura trail and if he didn't move quickly he was going to lose it entirely along with any chance of rescuing little May. Unfortunately there was only one way he knew of that he could make up for lost time and it was one that he had hoped he would never have to employ again. Running into an alleyway across the street from the hospital he immediately took off his jacket and his shirt before tying them both around his waist. Then with a leap of surprising height he jumped up past the first level of the fire escape onto the second before executing another such jump which brought him up just short of the roof. It was there however, on top of the apartment building's roof, that he was forced to tap into the power of Kung Lung in a way he hoped he would never have to ever for as long as the curse was his to possess. Within moments of this he doubled over in pain and nearly dropped to his knees as excruciating pain arced through his back unlike anything he had felt short of his initial fusion with the essence of the Black Dragon King. With a ripping sound akin to leather being split into two pieces the hard way he could feel two long slits being opened parallel to one another on his back from his shoulders to just above his waist. He was barely aware of this beyond a basic awareness as pain had asserted a dominant position in his mind and wasn't about to let go anytime soon. The slits then seemed to pulled open as though some unseen hands had grabbed either side and were slowly inching them opening them. It was when his pain seemed to reach its peak that the most violent and visual part of the process occurred as two pitch black wings shot up from the slits as though they were living sentient creatures making a bid for freedom. They were almost like bat wings in their appearance but with one unique feature that set it apart from the dragons found on Chinese paintings or in medieval stories. While these wings did have finger like ribs extending from the 'elbow' of the wing down to the bottom but unlike bat wings the areas between the ribs were filled with crescent moon scales. It was a mystery to him since in all the pictures he had seen of Chinese dragons showed them to be wingless but airborne serpent like creatures and all the dragons with bat like wings on their backs didn't have scales between the ribs. Not that he had much time to ponder this given that he was losing his prey but he would definitely remember to have a talk with Stephen about it later.
It seemed like forever before the pain in his back finally began to fade into being just a dull throb in his back but in fact it had only been a few seconds. Rising from his crunched state it took him a few moments before he could get used to the additional weight of the new wings but once he likened them to a heavy backpack it became easier. Striding swiftly to the edge of the building he found that he did not have any time to waste as the aura trail of one Allison Mongrain had almost completely vanished. This of course left him in between the proverbial rock and a hard place as he needed to leave now but he didn't have the slightest clue as how to use these wings. He had only pondered this course of action in passing since that fated night and never actually tried it as he had been so afraid of how close this would bring Kung Lung to the surface. Even when he had exited the hospital in search of Mongrain and little May he had only given cursory thought as to how he was going to pull off his plan of pursuit. Now that he came to it he slapped himself mentally upside the metaphorical head at his lack of planning and foresight before settling back into the indecision and worrying.
"C'mon Harris! How hard can it be?" , he said to himself before he shook his head at asking such a stupid question, "A newborn baby girl is danger! You said you were going to save her now go and do it!"
Placing his feet so that the toes were peeking over the side of the roof he looked down at the pavement four floors down trying to keep how much it would hurt if he didn't get the hang of flying in a jiffy. He wasn't all that concerned about the potential dying part since he had discovered via a knife in the gut one time back in Sunnydale that dragons apparently healed quick with Dragon Kings being doubly fast at it. It would however still take time for wounds to heal and as broken bones would be the likely result of his plunge off the edge of the building he would have a little trouble getting home to lick his wounds. Not that he would literally lick his wounds of course no matter what kind of animal was inside of him because that would just be plain gross. Still laying in the middle of the street wounded and sporting a pair of wings on his back would be practically sending an engraved invitation to every F.O.Her in the city to come for their pound of flesh.
So it was with these thoughts that he leaned forward and fell off the edge of the building and plummeted to the hard terra firma below. Counting silently to three he opened his wings as wide as he could to catch the wind on the way down and it was with this act that he was introduced briefly to the sensation of wings nearly being pulled out of their sockets. Mentally making a note not to wait so long before opening his wings should he ever be forced to do this again he forced his eyes open despite the pain and was gratified at the fact that he was rising upwards rather than falling. It was a slow ascent but an ascent nonetheless and so with a slight lean forward he tried to head in the direction that Allison's rapidly fading aura trail indicated she had gone. Again his intuition proved accurate as he began to move in the direction he desired if a bit shakily and thus resumed the hunt for Mongrain.
I just hope that I can get there in time! he thought to himself as he began to weave onto and off different air currents.
New York City Docks, Half an Hour Later
Flying definitely is a lot harder than birds make it look! Xander thought to himself as he touched down atop the roof of a warehouse just short of where he suspected Allison's aura trail came to an end.
He had barely managed to keep up with the aura trail and there was more than a few times when he had nearly crashed into the side of a building. He was certain the close calls had taken nearly a decade off his life with the fear they had inspired in him but eventually he made it. Crouching down low he stealthily made his way down the roof to the opposite end where the action was likely taking place. While it was likely that there was no one else here on the rooftops casing the area he didn't want to stick out too badly since there was a chance he might catch Mongrain's eye if he wasn't careful. Unfortunately that was made all the harder by the fact that he couldn't do anything about his dragon wings without screaming bloody murder and letting everyone within earshot know he was here. He had done his best to try and curl them up or even turn them into a makeshift cloak like he had seen in a cartoon once but the best he was able to do was hold them tightly closed and against his back. It still meant that there were two closed umbrella shaped things sticking up from either shoulder and he had no idea how he might look to someone from a distance at this time of night. Just before he reached the point where he would just begin to appear to someone in the front of the warehouse if they happened to look in his direction at that moment he went down on all fours and crawled the rest of the way. He cringed a few times when he could have sworn that he had given himself away but eventually he reached a comfortable eavesdropping position and looked to see what he could see.
Well, well, well, what do we have here? Xander thought to himself as he took in the scene laid out for him below.
It was your typical shady meeting at midnight with Mongrain walking towards a dock and a man cloaked in darkness waiting for her patiently for his package. It really turned his stomach sometimes just how low some people could sink to get what they want whether it be monetary wealth or revenge against a person who wronged them. Don't get him wrong though, he was all for revenge if the cause was just, but there reached a point when enough was enough and it was time to just let it go. Closing his eyes he shifted his sensory sensitivity from his eyes which he had used to perceive Allison's aura trail to his ears to hopefully pick up on what was being said.
"Do you have the delivery Miss Mongrain?" the man asked in a voice that tickled the back of his mind like a memory that had been nudged and was slowly waking up.
"Right here sir." She replied in a tone usually reserved for someone delivering a report or even a piece of merchandise.
"Any unforeseen difficulties?" the man asked and once again Xander got the feeling like he should recognize this guy's voice.
"None sir." Allison replied with no emotion.
"Excellent! I trust you'll make sure it's never seen again." , the man said seemingly pleased with her response, "I do hope you'll enjoy Europe Miss Mongrain."
"A sizable bonus is included with your traveling expenses." He stated as he withdrew a plump envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to her.
"That's very generous of you, sir." She stated without emotion although he could have sworn she heard some gratitude in her voice.
"I always reward efficiency. Goodbye Miss Mongrain." The man said without any real emotion beyond that which he wanted to convey.
"Goodbye sir." Allison said as she stepped onto a boat waiting for her at the end of the docks.
"You needn't be so formal in the future, Allison…" , the main said as he took a cigar from a pocket in one hand and a lighter in another, "You may feel free to use my real name. It's Norman … Norman Osborn."
NORMON OSBORN! Xander screamed mentally and only by an act of will power kept from yelling the name out loud.
That was where he had heard that voice before and with the memory of the last time he had heard it came an almost overwhelming rage that tempted him oh so sweetly to dive down there and tear the man limb from limb! It had been a little over ten years ago back in Sunnydale and he had been waiting for Tony Harris to come home from work at the latest Oscorp contruction project like always. It had been a better time then, before his parents had fallen into the bottle and never gotten out, and life was almost ideal from what he could remember. His mother had been cooking a cake to celebrate his father's expected promotion as Tony had managed to complete his quota of work three months ahead of schedule. It had been a better time then but it all came to a crashing halt when the door opened up to reveal a devastated Tony J. Harris who then trudged in like he was on auto-pilot. They had learned later when he had finally regained his senses that Oscorp had just laid off over half their human work force in the area of construction. Furthermore Tony had it on good authority from his immediate superior that it was the same deal throughout Oscorp. The C.E.O Norman Osborn was apparently taking the company in a completely new direction and had decided to get rid of the 'dead weight' as Tony's boss had claimed he had Norman refer to the laid off employees. That had been the start of the downward spiral at the Harris household and for the next two years Tony tried as hard as he could to find new work in the construction industry. It was all for naught though as no one was willing to hire on an ex-employee of Oscorp for one reason or another ranging from theories that the laid off workers were in fact industrial spies to that they were lazy bums that Osborn had been right to lay off. With every rejection letter Xander's dad slipped further and further into the bottle as it had been apparently the only means by which he could escape the reality of his situation.
His mother hadn't been much better as she had been forced to pull double shifts at the local theatre just to make enough so that when combined with Tony's unemployment insurance check they would have enough to barely pay for the necessities. The necessities of course being utilities, cheap food, cable and of course enough booze to keep your average tavern stocked for twice the amount of time it would take for his mom and dad to use it up. Then the beatings started and he began to use Willow and Jesse's places as a means of escape from the hellhole his life had become. Now, down below him watching as the boat began to move away from the docks, was the man responsible for it all and who was about to ruin another young married couple's life. For a moment he was torn by what to do, to either go down and tear that man apart for all the broken lives or rescue little may as he had originally came here to do. In the end he was forced to return to his opinion of revenge and decided that no matter how satisfying killing Osborn might be it couldn't justify sacrificing May. So it was with a bitter taste in his mouth that he watched Osborn go to the car that Mongrain had driven there in and then drive off to commit who knew how many acts of evil.
Fine! You get to leave this time Osborn but mark my words! , Xander thought as his barely contained anger caused his eyes to glow brighter than they ever had before, Your days are numbered! I will not rest until everything you value has been taken from you and you are left with nothing!
With than silent vow he took to the sky after Allison Mongrain's boat and the helpless child that needed his help. With strength of purpose in his heart and determination in his eyes all sense of anxiety and nervousness over his ability to fly vanished for his soul was unwilling to let anything get in his way. The water whipped by below him as he headed towards the small child sized boat just beginning to exit the harbor into open waters as images of Pete, Ben and MJ flew through his mind. In them he had almost thought that there was the beginnings of another Scooby gang with the exception of the guys outnumbering the girls this time and no G-Man. While only Ben could be considered technically his friend at the moment he held hope that in time Pete and Mary Jane would come to see him that way as well. However that would not happen if Mongrain succeeded in getting away with little May Parker, no the Parker household would be crippled with grief and scarred deeply. Who knew how the loss of the baby would affect them? He had to succeed if only to ensure that they didn't lose that spark of life that had once made his parents the greatest in the entire world.
When at last he reached the boat he got in as close as he could before tucking his wings as close as he could against his body and dive bombed the boat. He needed to act fast or else he would be giving Mongrain the time she would need to grab the baby and perhaps use it as a hostage. Bringing his legs forward he landed on the back deck of the boat with such force that the front end of the boat almost completely came up out of the water. Digging into the deck he charged forward to the inside of the boat catching Mongrain in the process of taking a semi-automatic pistol from her purse. This did nothing to discourage him as he blitzed her position and delivered a carefully measured right cross to her jaw which slammed her against the wall. He waited for a moment to see if his attack had done its job and once satisfied he strode carefully over to a cradle that was positioned near a small bed. He walked with uncertain steps as he was worried that there might be some kind of boobie traps laid about to catch tresspassers but then dismissed the notion as her doubted that Mongrain would have them active while she was around. What he saw curled up and asleep in the crib almost dispelled the anger in his heart completely as his eyes fell upon the quiet form of little May Parker. Ever so gently he wrapped her up in the baby blanket upon which she rested and cradled her in his arms looking down on her with eyes that just about anyone with a heart would have when looking at pure innocence. It was in that moment of pure contentment that he made his first mistake and almost his last as a gun shot rang out in the air and a hot poker like pain tore through his right shoulder barely missing one of his wings. He screamed in pain as well as shock before turning to see Allison Mongrain struggling to get to her feet with her smoking gun in her hands.
"I don't know who you are but put the child down now." Mongrain ordered despite the tremors evident in her hands.
"Are you NUTS? You could have hit the baby!" Xander exclaimed in shock at how close little baby May's life came to ending.
"The child's death would have been regrettable but Mr. Osborn made it clear that if there was any attempt to remove it from my custody I was authorized to terminate it." Mongrain said in such a stale and sterile manner that is was clear she didn't even consider the baby a person but rather as a commodity or object.
"This is a human child we're talking about here! Not some new fangled computer or one of a kind diamond mask!" Xander yelled at her while keeping his body between her and the child.
"Not my concern. All I care about is following Mr. Osborn's orders and getting paid.", Mongrain stated stoicly as she made a show of aiming the gun to emphasize her willingness to fire it, "Whether or not the child lives doesn't matter since either way I get paid. Although I would get paid quite a bit more with the child alive so I'll say it again : put the child down, NOW."
This indifferent statement of where she stood was the last straw as far as Xander was concerned because right then and there he was beyond any word usually used to describe anger or fury. Here she was, standing in front of him, talking about the newborn child like she was a holiday bonus or a lucrative commission! This was a human baby girl for crying out loud! His anger must have been evident as he could see uncertainty begin to creep onto her face and maybe some actual fear in her eyes. However he would not give her the chance to beg for her life as he opened his mouth and unleashed a power he had never wanted to use ever again. With all the subtlety of a freight train a blast of ebony fire flew across the room and engulfed the woman gun and all before going past her and hitting the controls of the boat before continuing to the front of the boat and then out to sea. As his anger dimmed somewhat he found that he did not regret the fact that he had just killed a person because as far as he was concerned she didn't deserve such a quick death. Unfortunately his little burst of anger had also damaged the ship and if that flowing liquid and sparking wires were any hint this boat was not much longer for this world than its recently deceased owner. Not even waiting for coherent thought his survival instincts took over as he ran for the outer deck and with all the strength he could muster in his legs leapt into the air as high as he could before spreading his wings. Not five seconds after he was airborne the boat exploded creating a fireball so big it would almost assuredly be seen from the docks or the shoreline. He would have to get to land and out of sight before the local P.D came to investigate or worse Osborn got wind of what happened.
By the time he finally did reach a rooftop of a building located along the shoreline his shoulder had stopped bleeding but was still sore from the gunshot wound. Tomorrow it would be gone though as one of the benefits of having Kung Lung inside of him but he had a more pressing decision to make right at that moment. Surprisingly still resting soundly in his arms was little May, daughter of Pete and MJ Parker, and he was in a state of indecision as to what to do about her at the moment. The instinctive response was to return the child to her rightful parents like any good person would do in this scenario but given what he had just discovered today he wasn't sure of that was a good idea. According to what he remembered Norman Osborn was supposed to be dead and buried, his funeral was a completely newsworthy event. The fact that he was apparently alive and well financed enough to arrange an almost flawless kidnapping of a child with almost no one being the wiser meant that he was not someone to take lightly. While no one would ever find the body of Allison Mongrain Norman would notice when the name of the boat he gave his employee was identified as the boat that went boom in the harbor. That meant that he would be keeping the entire city under surveillance for any sign of the baby when no remains popped up. He would also pay extra special attention to the Parker household which meant that was the one place that he couldn't send the kid. To do so would place the kid in harm's way and risk another kidnapping if not worse depending on how far Norman was willing to go with the newborn baby. He doubted he would be taken seriously if he went to the police and said that a dead man arranged to have the baby of his son's best friend kidnapped. When added to the fact that he doubted Peter and MJ would be able to keep the kid safe on their own without some kind of official help and there was only one choice really he could in good faith make.
"Well little one, it looks like we're stuck with each other for awhile." Xander whispered softly before taking back to the air and heading in the direction of the home of a certain Doctor he knew.
