Xander looked at Joyce's grave. She was annoyed and Xander had to admit she was right.
"You are so right Mrs. S, that was the time I should have said something. But, Buffy she can be a bit well… I mean it was not too long after Spider-man started appearing everywhere that she got suspicious of him, Hell, downright hated him. I think she felt Spider-man was horning on her action…of course she wasn't the only one."
"What do you mean you're calling it off."
Snapped from quiet reflection by High Volume Screaming, Xander eavesdropped on the latest about a public appearance of his spidery alter ego. A roaming demon band terrorizing the town had run afoul of Buffy. While she had taken out the leader, some of his follow thugs had been equally busy and Spider-man had leaded a hand. Among those rescued was Cordelia, snatched from demonic attack by Spider-man and Xander suspected that Warren's cowardly retreat from danger leaving Cordy to her own devices had the Queen C royally cheesed off.
"Warren you do well in English so I'm guessing you understand the meaning of the phrase." Cordy furiously sneered.
"Of course, I understand you I…Look just lets try going to the spring fling and then we can talk about this some more."
"You abandoned me. Weirdos were chasing me through the streets. And where was my so-called boyfriend? …Racing for safety."
"I was just going for help." Warren pleaded, "Spider-man just got there first, According to the papers he could have been behind the whole thing anyway."
Xander winced at that, his costumed persona while hailed as a hero by some was considered a menace by the police, an influential local newspaper, and a certain young Slayer who felt that the masked vigilante had an agenda that was not of the good.
Cordelia was wrapping up her verbal assault. "Going for Help from where, The next county? You know the least you could do is pretend to be a man. Hell Harris is King of the Loser-People, and he can at least do a passing imitation of a man."
Xander turned to Willow." What a unique sensation, My self-esteem just swelled and contracted all at once."
"Shh I'm being amazed at your photographic skills." Willow was engrossed in a copy of Sunnydale Ledger, on its front page was the story about the attack and in the midst of the chaos a photo of Spider-man.
During the fight, some of the demons chased Cordy up to a rooftop where Spider-man had dropped from the sky. After deftly wrapping up the bikers in webbing and leaving them dangling several stories above the street, Spidey has scooped up Cordelia, delivering her to safety.
The latest appearance of the masked vigilante had gotten rave reviews…sort of. The editor of the Ledger was portraying his appearance as part of the disturbance, hinting that Spider-man had been involved with the attacks. Willow was sure that was not true. Xander pointed out she was bias since Spider-man had rescued her from a demon thug by slam-dunking it into a garbage can.
Buffy was less convinced. She ranted against Spider-man almost weekly. She saw his being masked as suspicious, she saw his powers as dangerous. Xander suspected that in truth his best friend was jealous of the highly public nature of his actions since, with a mask on, Spider-man could operate at will and not fear the wrath of school officials, or the ever worried and over-protective Joyce Summers. Plus Xander's pictures of the ever elusive Spider-man had made the vigilante front page news, an option denied Buffy. Toss in Willow's obvious Spidey-love and Buffy was feeling like her Slayer-efforts went unappreciated.
"Don't you dare blame Spider-man for your staggering like of balls." Cordelia cried as she poked Warren in the chest.
"Fine, you want to become a drooling fan-girl I won't stop you." Warren looked like he was either going to hit Cordy or cry. He apparently discovered a third option and slunk away.
"God at least I don't have to hang out with him and his geek parade friends this afternoon." She muttered
"What do you mean?" Xander asked
"Oh come on are you telling me little Miss Science here isn't already drooling about the demonstration.
Cordy's father was on the advisory board overseeing the conversion of an old power facility outside of town. With the changes in the outdated equipment brownouts and other annoyances of life on the States, power grid would be a mere memory. Warren was interning at the company that had done the refurbishment and would be on-hand for the trail run that afternoon.
Willow gushed at the thought of attending and began speaking in a new language that consisted of numbers and power transfer rates. As near as both Cordy and Xander could tell she had been observing the story for a long time. Cordy, in a moment of rare charity, offered her and Xander spots observing as long as Xander promised to take many pictures of her for the society page.
Buffy was an easy sell to come along since her choices where a boring evening training with Giles or a boring evening watching eggheads lecture about a power plant then turn it on.
Giles was mildly worried since the expansion of the plant had involved building on lands considered sacred by several local Indian tribes. There had been some protest but California's power needs won out over all objections.
They were all there later that night. The test team ran all the usual checks then began lecturing about their brilliance. During a demonstration an old man broke from the crowd and started chanting and gesturing wildly. Buffy identified him as a local shaman.
Everyone was trying to ignore his nonsense when the test went haywire. Smoke and the strange chattering voices filled the air. Building lights flickered.
Willow and Xander began herding the guests including a shrieking Cordelia to the exit.
Buffy faced off against the shaman and some of his bodyguards.
Unnoticed by anyone, Warren broke from the crowd of escapees and began fiddling with the controls. Xander saw him and raced back to grab at him but Warren waved him away. "I can shut this down I know the power down sequence."
"Warren the place is about to chain react if we don't get out now we will be charbroiled." The boy ignored him and Xander was about to grab him using Spider-strength when electricity began to arc over the panel and then over Warren himself.
The boy screamed as power flowed in and out of his body and the chattering in the air grow louder Xander tried to grab him but was thrown backward into a wall.
As he picked himself up Buffy appeared. "What's with him?
"He's dying"
"Not on our watch he isn't." She unbuckled Xander's belt and whipped if off in a smooth motion. She wrapped the belt around Warren and yanked him clear of the controls
Whatever he had been trying to do seemed to have worked since the huge machines powering the plant began to die with a slow pitiful whine.
Warren shivered on the ground with power still arcing over his body. Xander staggered to Buffy and helped her up. "Where is the shaman?
"Gone, but I'll get him tomorrow. How is Warren?"
Xander looked at the senseless youth. "Looks like he took a jolt of power, That kind of thing can't be doing a body good."
Buffy picked him up and settled him over her shoulder. ."Lets hope he snaps out of it," she listened as Warren mumbled something in his unconscious state. "Is that Indian he's speaking."
Xander shrugged He had no idea what the boy was saying, but now that he thought of it, it sounded a lot like the chattering that had been filling the air only a few moments ago.
The day dawned bright and clear. The Scooby Gang was trying to figure out what had happened the night before and when Xander arrived the rest of the team was still at it. So intent were they on the project that all save Willow ignored his friendly greeting.
She looked up from the computer she was typing into relentlessly. "Warren is comatose in intensive care downtown." She reported "The doctors say that he is suffering from electrical burns and shock damage but that he shouldn't be in the coma-like state he is in now."
"Any ideas what's up" Xander asked
Giles dropped the book he had been reading with a curse. "I think the Shaman is the key He may have unleashed local spirits, it is they who have possessed young Warren and are keeping him unconscious."
"Awesome work G-man, well then let's venture forth and deal much butt kicking to Big Chief Creeps-Me-Out."
"Uh-uh" Buffy shook her head, I'm going to be busy dealing with the Shaman and his bulldogs I want you and Willow someplace where you won't be in danger."
"Buffy I'm in danger walking down the street at least with you I'm with the Slayer, protector of guys who get pizza and doughnuts"
"Not this time, I want you where I know what you are up to. And, no telling Spider-man where I am and what I'm up to. He got lucky with those Demon Bikers it could have been so not his lucky day if they had been packing some major mojo."
She crossed her arms and stared at him, Xander recognized Willow's resolve face, obviously Willow had been teaching Buffy her best trick for ending Xander arguments.
"Fine, I check on Warren." Xander turned
"You could hang out and help with the research." Willow said in her I'm-Still-Here voice. She made Xander feel guilty when she did it cause it made him feel like he was ignoring her.
"No thanks Willis, I think I go see if I can be helpful with the comatose patient."
Across town, Warren was going into cardiac arrest. The doctor shouted for the defibrillator. A nearby orderly grabbed the machine and rolled it into the room where the doctor grabbed the paddles as a nurse prepared them.
"Clear." The doctor screamed and shoved the paddles to Warren's chest firing off a multi-volt charge. Spasms convulsed the body on the bed. "Again" the doctor shouted the nurse upped the power output as again the doctor shoved the paddles in place and shocked Warren's stubborn heart. The shock doubled the Boy's body completely in two. He screamed as electricity arced over his body and he thrust out his fist to grab at the nearby doctor.
Hundreds of volts of electricity flowed through the two bodies. Warren's took the energy and turned it into life, the doctor had his insides fried. The corpse dropped to the ground as Warren stood up from the bed. Looking at his hands, energy flicked and danced across his fingertips. "What have you done to me" he screamed "What have you done."
The explosion took out he entire floor of the hospital. Warren began moving down the hallway, if he knew he was floating two feet above the ground he gave no sign. He murmured to himself, listening to music that only he could hear. Music trapped within the walls of the hospital. He stretched out his hands and felt as that music flowed into his body Electricity from this floor and the ones around it. The more power he drew into himself the more in contact he felt with the power that flowed everywhere, outside, in the air. Even in the bodies of the meat puppets around him.
A guard pulled his service revolver and targeted the floating boy. "Alright sonny, that will be enough hi-jinks from you. Now stand down."
Warren looked at the old man in contempt "Get away from me." He lashed out his arm and power arced between the two figures throwing the old man to the wall where he sprawled like a rag doll.
Warren floated onward murmuring to himself. The music was calling him and it was telling him that the time had come to reclaim what was rightfully his. The time had come reclaim Cordelia.
Xander ran into Cordy in the lobby on the hospital. She was obviously grumpy. "Daddy ordered me to come down, like having a visit from the boss's daughter will keep anyone from suing us into the next world."
"Think of it an a humanitarian gesture." He joked
She responded with a blank look.
"How silly of me a humanitarian gesture requires that you have a working grasp of humanity."
"I'll have you know I'm very active in the community and my work for charities is well known."
"I know, I know" Xander sighed "I read the Cordelia Chase for-Prom Queen literature."
"You'll understand that if I win I won't acknowledge you publicly." The Cheerleader said airily
"Of course I'll understand, you are Cordelia Chase."
An explosion interrupted their verbal riposting. Xander quickly realized the blast had come from several floors above, Warren's floor. The two teens began helping to lead people out of the hospital and on the street. On the sidewalk, they joined a group of onlookers who gazed at the spectacle of a floating Warren with electricity playing over his body.
"You were dating him did he have super powers when you were together." Xander deadpanned
"Not as such no, what do you think he is going to do now that he has powers." She asked.
Warren threw blasts of electricity to the street where they ignited cars turning them into plums of flame and smoke.
"Does that answer your question." Xander said. Turning, he pushed Cordelia away from the action. "Call Giles, tell him to get Buffy down here. Whatever that Shaman did is still going on."
Cordelia started to run then stopped "Wait a minute you're just the sidekick, what are you supposed to do until the Calvary arrives."
"Anything I can." Xander responded as he ran inside the hospital. He darted up the stairs shedding his clothes on the way. By the time he burst out on the roof, where Xander had been Spider-man now stood.
"Hey Warren, how's about easing off the rampant acts of terror cliché."
"You," Warren snarled. "You took Cordelia away from me". The mutant teen was demented.
"And I just remembered you might have an issue or two with that." Spider-man muttered
Warren screamed and launched bolts of power at the wall-crawler. Dodging them as best he could, Spider-man landed close to Warren and punched him hard. The blow sent the teen crashing to the street. However, An Electrical discharge threw Spidey to the rooftop. The electrified body of Warren carried a charge so deadly even touching him was risky. "Can't punch him, Can't reason with him." Spider-man picked himself up and prayed for an idea. An idea that would occur to him in the seconds it took him to reach the street.
"Power, I need more power." ranted Warren. He tore the hood off a car and grabbed the battery inside. "Yes, more power, must have more."
"Sorry, I think Tim Allen has that more power thing wrapped up." Spider-man swung down kicking out and sending Warren crashing into a building.
"Leave me alone." he cried out. He used his powers to haul a bus into the air and send it careening toward Spider-man.
Xander would never remember how he did it but Cordy later raved about the trick. He dived through an open window of the bus landing on the other side. Then he web-lined Warren, tying the line to the still moving Bus. The Bus jerked the mutant off his feet and dragged him along the ground before the bus finally came to a stop. Warren bounced to a stop and Spider-man landed next to him.
"You are on a time out young man." He punched Warren hard. The boy slumped to the ground unconscious.
"You did it" Cordy shouted coming out of the crowd,
"Yay me, listen could you keep an eye on bolt-boy over there. I have to scram." He asked motioning toward the phalanx of arriving cops.
She nodded "What happened to Xander he ran inside the building."
The lie came easy "I saw him up on the roof grabbing a few shots, hope he got my best side." Spider-man skittered up a lamppost then leapt away.
Cordelia turned and saw Giles and Buffy running up. The Slayer had some kind of spear in her hands "The Shaman told us how to stop the creature, where is Warren." She asked breathlessly
Cordy pointed to the senseless teen. A black Van had arrived on the scene and its dark suited drivers were loading him into the back. "Spider-man showed up and took Electro down in one shot."
"Electro? "
"Why not? These guys always have to have a name and Drusillia picked out Spider-mans name."
"Why can't they have normal names." grumbled Buffy
"You mean like Buffy?" Cordy supplied sarcastically
"Hey guys, you made it" Xander smiled as he strolled up to the group
"Where were you Xan" Buffy asked
"Up on the roof, best place I think. I got some great shots of that thing with the bus."
"Taking pictures of Spiderman up on the roof you could have been hurt
"Well I wasn't and I got some great shots." He could not hide his annoyance anymore. "Besides its not like you needed my help, you were pretty clear on how much you don't need me."
Xander turned and walked away, He told himself he did not see the shocked look on his friends' faces. That he did not feel the hallow place that opened in his heart at what he had said.
I admit it Mrs. S, The fact that Buffy didn't trust me to back her up and hated Spider-man getting involved in our cases had me testy. I thought I had earned that trust but I had some harsh lessons to learn. About how to be a hero and how to trust your friends and I was going to learn that lesson in the worst possible way.