Into the Blue Sky
By Adrian Tepes
Rating: PG-13 to R.
Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.
Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.
Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.
Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.
Timeline: S8 comics, during the events of "The Chain".
Episode Three: Vertigo.
Xander spared a glance behind him and saw no more room to run. His assailant had chased him into a corner. He saw no opportunity to dodge the attack and braced himself. Despite his best efforts, both feet got through his guard and knocked him backwards, completely off the mat and onto the much less forgiving floor. Xander scrambled to his knees, and promptly begged for mercy of his attacker.
"Please, no more, spare me!" The attacker stopped in her tracks and gave him an odd look.
"It's just sparring, Xander," Buffy observed, "not a life or death struggle."
Thankful, Xander managed to stand-up rubbing his sore forearms. "No, those are every other night. I mean, OWW. What was with the diving roll at the end? That really hurt."
"Giles thought it was a good way to add a little more oomph to the kick at the end. Besides, you can always switch to 'I'm keeping a super-secret-from my friends mode' and be done with it." The slayer added with an angry pout.
Xander's expression fell and he let his arms hang at his sides, "I'm sorry, all right? I didn't know want to throw away the mystique of the 'grown-up, mature Xander' by revealing I'd done something extraordinarily stupid like put some strange and mystically powerful belt on. And this is the first time it actually fit."
He moved past her to stand in the middle of the mat. "I knew Leah and Rowena weren't having any effect on that thing. And the last thing I wanted to happen was for it to find what it was looking for."
The blonde mounted a balance beam and walked its length across the room. She took a deep breath while facing away from him and started back flipping along the beam towards him. When Buffy reached the middle of the beam, she paused.
Xander watched, still amazed at the agility and balance of a slayer. "Guess only the circus people need a pole."
Buffy hopped off the beam, walked past him to grab her towel off a nearby rack and started wiping her forehead. "It can help if you're having trouble balancing." She paused, "I'm gonna call Willow in a bit and see if she can find a way to remove that belt."
Surprised, Xander quickly moved to stand beside her. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"And why not? We don't know anything about that belt and what it might be doing to you."
"But we do know something about the belt, Buffy; it lets me stop those creatures."
Buffy peeked over the towel at him, "You think there are more of them?"
****
The man known as 'Baduu' regarded his surroundings. The streets held enough foot traffic to keep the area active, yet not enough to insure a heavy police presence. Those Rinto he viewed as delaying his Gegeru. The old factory's smoke irritated him, but that was a small factor. Baduu examined the iron bracelet on his wrist. In silence, he stroked the metal markers on it, listening to the sound of each rubbing against each other.
Below him, a young woman walked past with her cell phone plastered tightly against her ear. She took no notice of his presence as she chatted away.
Baduu smiled for the first time that afternoon.
****
Xander found himself on a bus into town yet again, intent on speaking with the professor. As before, a Slayer accompanied him, Buffy replacing the still injured Renee. She sat beside him on the seat, very quiet since an earlier outburst had prompted stares from the other passengers. He leaned closer to her and spoke in a whisper, "You did promise to rip-off my belt in front of them, Buffy."
"Not like the way they're thinking," she shot back, a faint flush on her cheeks, "and only if the professor said it was dangerous." The blonde slayer mock-glared at him, "And if you tell anyone about that again, I will make certain you have to share a room with Andrew again."
Xander flinched, "Noted", and sat back.
The rest of their ride was accomplished in silence as they reached their stop. The police were still investigating the earlier attacks and had limited foot traffic in the area, so they were forced to detour through another neighborhood. Neither paid a great deal of attention to their surroundings as they strolled toward their destination. As they drew closer to the museum, first Xander, then Buffy sensed their environment change. Outside of the crosswalk beeps, they heard nothing. The people they had seen were back on the bus. Buffy automatically balled her hands into fists in her pockets before willing them to relax as she let them hang by her side.
Coming around a corner, they saw their first body. They shared a glance and hurried towards the corpse. Judging by what remained of her, this girl looked to be Buffy's age and would grow no older. Her body had struck the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete and asphalt. The girl's face was destroyed, as were her arms, snapped at odd angles with the bones poking through. The pair felt the bile rise in their throats before being forced back down.
"Looks like she tried to break the fall with her hands…" Xander managed. Buffy briefly closed her eyes, swallowed and stepped closer to the body. She saw where the woman's cell phone had broken on impact, its pieces scattered around her corpse.
"Buffy," Xander's voice drew her attention. "Look over there." She looked in the direction he indicated and flinched. There was a body of an elderly man impaled on an iron fence. His face twisted in terror as the metal spikes had punctured through both front and back. Lifeless arms and legs dangled a shoe off one and his fallen cane beneath another. Buffy felt her nausea return and Xander had visibly paled.
A man's screaming drew their attention and each took off in that direction. Before they could reach the source, a crash of metal and glass cut it off. That only quickened their pace. Rounding the corner, they came upon the latest victim. The body of a man in business suit lay embedded in the hood of a car. His head was smashed into the windshield, splattering blood across it. Fluids leaked from under the car, whether the victim's or the vehicle's, Buffy didn't know.
Xander swallowed and forced himself to look around, searching for a place where the man could have come from. Most of the buildings in this area were relatively short, no more two or three stories tall. Buffy watched him as he moved closer to the body, while trying looking upwards at the skylines. Movement caught her eye and she called out to him, "Xander, WATCH OUT!"
He reacted on pure reflex, ducking and rolling out of the way. Scrambling to his feet, he and Buffy stared at the attacker. The man sized creature lacked overly large claws compared to the prior beasts. It did, however, have a pair of muscular legs and a compact yet powerful looking torso. Large black eyes compressed to mere slits stared back at them. A glance at its waist revealed a familiar looking design in the middle. Buffy didn't waste anymore time and charged. She attempted to trick it by first feigning a punch, then kicking it instead. The creature didn't fall for it and avoided her attack. Adjusting on the fly, she attacked its head, forcing the creature to dodge, and then attempted to kick its feet out from under it. This time the creature jumped, its powerful legs easily launching it over ten feet away from the slayer.
For his part, Xander held his hands around his waist as he summoned the belt again. Feeling it coalesce around him, he didn't take his eye off Jumper as he spoke, "Henshin." Buffy watched with fascination as, bit by bit, his body blinked and transformed itself into the red and black suited being she had seen before.
His change completed, Xander moved to engage the creature himself with Buffy coming up behind it. Xander's attacks proved easier to dodge then the Slayer's. This also allowed the creature to kick him in the midsection, knocking him down and backward. That was all the opening Buffy needed to finally land her own kick on the creature's back, instantly knocking it away.
She helped Xander to his feet and the two of them faced the monster which clutched at its back. It quickly fled and they gave chase. Despite Buffy's speed, she couldn't quite catch the creature even as Xander fell behind them. For his part, a minute into the chase, Xander was already starting to gasp, 'strong or not, this suit is heavy, and I need to be lighter to catch them'. He put the thought out of his mind and redoubled his efforts. Unnoticed, the belt started humming as Xander put all of his willpower into trying to move faster. Buffy had managed to close the gap somewhat, but the creature reacted by leaping up into a parking garage, instantly reaching the second level. Buffy grimaced and raced towards the stairs.
The belt flashed, and instantly Xander felt himself moving much easier and faster. 'Guess my second wind kicked in' he thought. Ahead of him, he saw Buffy starting to run up the stairs and he increased his own speed. Within seconds, he had closed the gap between them and caught up with her. She turned and froze as he moved past her, headed up.
"Xander?" She called to him.
He paused and looked down at her. "What?"
"You're BLUE."
"What?"
He turned, looking around frantically before catching sight of his reflection. The heavy red armor that had dominated his torso and arms had been replaced with a much smaller and much lighter blue armor. Xander looked closer at himself; either the armor was blue and lighter, or it was simply gone. Even his eyes had changed from the intense red to a peaceful blue.
"What is going on?" he said aloud. Above them, they heard the creature moving again. Xander snapped out of his reverie and resumed running up the stairs with Buffy behind him. In his new appearance, Xander caught up with the creature on the garage's top level and launched himself at it, tackling the creature. Quickly, both were on their feet and Xander threw a haymaker that caught the monster right in the jaw.
And the punch did absolutely nothing to it.
"What the hell?" Xander wondered and, thanks to his momentary inattention, was promptly decked. He tried to roll with the punch and ended up on the ground. Somehow, he got back up in time to confront the beast again. This time he feinted with his right and lashed out with surprising speed using his left. His blows hit home, but the monster barely noticed as it advanced and attacked him.
The creature had wrapped its arms around his throat and was trying to throttle him when Buffy arrived with a timely right hook that snapped its head back. Xander gripped and ripped something from around its arm as he fell to the ground. Above him, the creature hissed and growled as it and Buffy circled each other. Numerous sirens blared through the air, interrupting the duel and the creature leaped away from them. In two jumps, it was out of sight. Buffy frowned as Xander stood up; there was a subdued flash of light, and he was once again just normal Xander.
"I think we better get out of here," he said, holding his head.
"Are you all right?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied and glanced down at what he was holding. "Let's go see the doc and see what he says."
****
"Authorities remain tight lipped on the suicide epidemic that is sweeping the area. With no details forthcoming, many residents are taking to blaming the old Hallows factory. Many believe the factory's smoke contains vapors that trigger halleuncigenic episodes in people."
Buffy hit the mute button on the remote as she looked at Xander and the professor. Doctor Williams was intently examining the object Xander had managed to take from the creature. "Any ideas on why it has such bad taste in jewelry?" she asked.
Xander moved away from the duo as he read the online accounts of the attacks, comparing the locations mentioned with a map. The morning's newspaper was also sprawled on the desk in front of him. Professor Williams turned the object over in his hands, as he replied, "Well I'm not exactly sure. I'll need more time to examine it."
Buffy sighed as she turned her attention back to the television report. "So we went from PCP to blaming an old factory."
"But all the victims have been found in this area," Xander noted as he tapped the map, "which is near the factory." He frowned, as he felt he was missing something. The news switched to a weather forecast for that night, which predicted more rain. Xander blinked as he watched it, then he grabbed the newspaper and flipped the page.
Buffy and Professor Williams spared a glance at each other then focused on him.
"Find something?" the doctor asked.
"This morning, the wind was blowing out of the Northwest, which is where all the attacks occurred and where we found Mr. Jumpy. According to that weather report, the wind is shifting and starting to blow more from the Southeast." He finished as he looked up at them. Buffy looked at him as she worked out what he was saying. "Which means the smoke from the factory will be in that area by tonight"
"And the area previously affected by the smoke will be uncovered," Williams finished.
Xander looked at both of them, "We need to get to that neighborhood and find ugly fast."
The professor reached in his pocket and tossed a set of keys to him, "take mine, it'll be faster."
The street vendor peered around the corner, fear in his eyes as he frantically looked around. He had heard the dying screams of those around him and had fled. He had trusted his knowledge of the alleys and back areas to help him lose the monster that was stalking him. His relief was short-lived, though, as he felt a powerful grip clamp down on his shoulders. He twisted around and came face-to-face with the creature that had killed the others before his very eyes. The thing hissed, as it drug him away from his hiding spot and prepared to add him to its victims.
That is, until a heat seeking blonde missile crushed its face and knocked him away. Looking up, the vendor looked up into the face of a man with one eye that knelt to check on him and advised, "Get out of here. Run and don't look back." The vendor nodded and started sprinting away from the scene as fast as he could move.
Xander watched the other man leave before turning his attention back to where Buffy was pounding on the monster. He summoned the belt into existence around his waist and spoke again, "Henshin". The belt hummed, bit by bit changing him again. Feeling the process complete, he rushed into the fight. Buffy saw him coming and commented, "Xander you're still blue."
"Crap." Xander couldn't break his charge off and was promptly tossed to the side by the monster. To his credit, he recovered quickly and the beast took the opportunity to flee the area with both of them in pursuit. Buffy and Xander followed it inside another abandoned building and headed for the roof. They reached the top, hot on the heels of the monster and burst out of the door. Xander looked around the roof and saw no one.
"Where did it go?"
He heard the groan of metal and concrete breaking as a ramshackle tower started falling towards him. Xander rolled to the side as it crashed beside him and he saw the creature growl at him. A glance to his side told him the wrecked mass of metal had formed a bridge between this building and the next. Xander feigned an injury to draw the monster in closer, before launching himself at it. It knocked him aside rather easily, turning its back on the slayer. That mistake proved costly, as Buffy drove both feet into its side and sent it tumbling towards the wrecked tower.
Xander got to his feet and watched as the beast and Buffy dueled atop the junk bridge. He moved closer, climbing on to the bridge himself to help. The metal groaned under their combined weight, which drew his attention and made him wish he hadn't looked down at the street.
"Oh shit", he exclaimed as he lost his balance and started falling off the bridge, his hand latching onto metal joint at the last minute.
"XANDER!" Buffy lost her focus and allowed the creature to strike her several times. It finished its flurry with a kick that knocked her backwards across the bridge onto the other roof, scattering debris as she hit.
Meanwhile, Xander somehow managed to grab the truss with his other hand and pulled himself up onto the bridge. He got to his feet, fully aware of how unsteady he was trying to keep his balance as the creature approached him. Buffy recovered first though, snatched one of the rusted metal pipes near her and tossed to him, screaming, "Xander, BALANCE!"
Somehow, he managed to catch the pipe without falling and that's when the weird thing happened. As he held the pipe in his hands, it changed. The rusted metal was replaced with shiny, black material that had golden knobs along either end. Xander felt a sense of familiarity as he gripped the shaft of the weapon, and saw the knobs extend, lengthening it further. He looked up in time to see the creature had moved closer. He reacted purely on reflex when it lunged at him, the resulting strike from the staff he now held eliciting a howl of pain from the beast.
"That wasn't a happy noise," Xander taunted as the creature attempted to shake off the pain. It paused and hopped forward, only to be met again with the hard end of the staff striking it in the midsection, halting its progress. He took a small step back as he reassessed the situation, while Buffy from her vantage point on the opposite roof was doing the same thing.
'When he was red, he was really strong, but the blue form lacks that strength,' she thought.
'But when I'm blue, my speed has increased enough for me to keep up with this guy,' Xander paused in his thinking, 'unarmed, I can keep up with him but not hurt him'.
'Where as now, the staff makes up for it,' Buffy concluded. The two friends shared a look before he began advancing on the beast. His reflexes and the staff's reach meant that the creature was struck several times as it tried to attack or evade him. Buffy, however, heard something else amongst the sounds of combat, the sound of metal groaning.
"Xander, the metal can't handle the stress!" she yelled to him. Xander backed up a few steps as he pondered the situation. Beneath him, he could feel and sense the rusty metal starting to separate and snap apart. He surrendered himself to the instincts screaming inside his head and charged.
Just before he got in the creature's range, he leapt, corkscrewing himself in the air. As he passed over the monster, he lashed out with the staff, driving the end of it into a spot between the creature's neck and shoulder and pushed himself further away from it and toward Buffy. It felt like an eternity between when he jumped and when he landed beside her. Xander twirled the staff in his hands as he turned around and faced the beast, prepared to fight again if needed.
Buffy and he watched the beast turn to face to them, but grabbing at its right shoulder where Xander's blow had struck. Underneath its clawed hands, they could see a familiar looking mark burning on its skin. Lines of energy erupted from it and tore across the creature's flesh, causing it to roar in pain. The lines quickly converged and ripped open the symbol in the middle of its waist. The thing had enough time to scream one more time as it exploded, sending pieces of its body everywhere to dissolve into a green mist.
Xander willed himself to de-transform and looked over at Buffy as the remains of the bridge fell apart and collapsed into the street below.
She shook her head, "Those things don't go quietly, do they?" Her gaze shifted back to him and she saw the rod was replaced with the metal rusted through pipe it had been before.
He dropped it to the ground, "Drama Queens".