author: Lucinda
rating: pg13
main character: Tom Cassidy
appearances by Cain Marco, mentions of Faith (the Slayer)
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to Faith (creation of Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Tom and Cain - creations of Marvel Comics.
Distribution: Paula, Twisting the Hellmouth, Wic - anyone else ask. If I've said yes for a previous short BtVS/X-Men crossover, you can have this if you want.
note: for those unfamiliar with the character of Black Tom Cassidy, he is an Irish criminal (and mutant). His partner in crime is the Juggernaut (Cain Marko) and they have had a fairly long and colorful criminal career spanning much of Europe. Tom has a cousin named Sean Cassidy (Banshee of the X-Men) who worked for Interpol for a while.
set during season 4(BtVS), after Faith turned herself into the police in Los Angeles. After OZT, Before the High Evolutionary tried to muck things up.
They started their way back to the small hotel, both quiet as they contemplated their talk with Wesley. Tom was trying to figure out if he believed all that talk of vampires, demons, evil sorcerers and a girl chosen by fate to fight them all - HIS daughter, chosen by fate to fight them. It definitely was some unhappy thinking.
"You forgot to ask if he knew who this Angel person was." Cain rumbled.
Nodding, Tom had to admit that this was true. "So I did. I was a bit thrown off by all of that about vampires and demons. Not to mention that list of questions... Do people really...?"
"Some people are just twisted inside." Cain's comment entirely ignored their own activities on the wrong sides of the law. "I don't think I've met too many vampires, and I wouldn't know the difference between a demon and a mutant, but... I've met sorcerers. Some of them are pretty laughable, others... Some of them can do some serious stuff. Scary stuff."
Tom had never expected Cain to consider anything particularly scary. To hear that word emerge from the nearly unstoppable Juggernaut... "How scary can they be?"
"Mind control. Portals to other worlds, or strange places with orange skies and floating jellyfish things. Changing the world around them. Hell, I think it was some sort of sorcerer that made the Gem, the one that makes me... well, the Juggernaut." Cain's voice had taken on an oddly reflective note.
"I thought that his book claimed it was a priest?" Tom glanced over, wondering what was going through his partner's mind.
"Yeah, the books and walls claimed that it was a priest of Cyttorak, who's supposed to be some ancient god of anger, wrath and battle or something. But I don't think I want to believe there's some god-thing out there that I'm tapping into. Magic's strange enough without throwing in the idea that all those weird pagan gods and demons and goddesses might be real."
Tom let himself consider that for a moment. If all the myths and legends weren't just stories to explain why there was thunder, but actually things that had really happened, or about real beings... He shuddered. "A sorcerer does sound better."
For a short while, they walked in silence. Then, there was a scuffing noise, the sound of someone's shoe scraping on the sidewalk. Glancing up, Tom discovered that a group of six rather disreputable looking men had surrounded them, two of them smiling evilly.
"Look at the size of that one… He's got to have lots of blood in him." The words came from a slightly smaller figure with very baggy pants and a very baggy shirt.
Glancing over at Cain, Tom shook his head. "I think we're being threatened."
"Hmmmm." Cain looked at them, his eyes resting for a moment on each of them. "They are trying to threaten us. Do you feel worried?"
"You should feel worried." The man right in front of Tom growled, his hair close-cropped and dark, showing off the scars on the side of his head. "The two of you are going to be dinner."
"Actually, he was talking to you." Tom commented, adjusting his grip so that the shillelagh was pointing at one of the men.
With a growl, the man's face changed. His eyes paled to an odd yellow hue, his brow becoming thicker and heavier. As he growled at them, sharp fangs were revealed. "Talking's done, boys. Dig in."
Tom pushed, and sent a burst of power through the shillelagh, feeling the wood change it from potential to active power. The ripple in the air was barely visible as it moved to the vampire. For an instant, his face contorted in pain, and then he flickered, as if being consumed by a hundred tiny flames, and fell to ashes.
That was unusual.
Two of them lunged towards Tom, and Cain just reached out, catching them by their shoulders. He slammed them together before hurling them across the street. They slammed into the wall at roughly the third floor, and tumbled down to the sidewalk, no longer moving.
Covering his surprise, Tom looked at the three remaining vampires. "So, who's next?"
The three remaining vampires just stared at them, shock clear on their faces. Words tumbled out, overlapping with each other. "That's not supposed to…." "Even a Slayer can't do that." "I'm not that dumb."
In a few more seconds, the vampires were just retreating figures, frantically running away down the street.
"Alright, I'm convinced." Tom shook his head, and glanced at the pile of ashes that had been a vampire just moments ago. "But what exactly…. That's not the normal reaction to the blast. What made things turn out so differently?"
Cain shrugged, brushing at his arm, as if removing dust. "Aren't vampires supposed to be flammable?"
"That is in the stories." Tom nodded, considering things. "Of course, there are enough different stories that you can't quite count on those to be entirely accurate. Sunlight, water, garlic, animals, graveyards… It's a complete mess."
"We need a bit of clarification." Cain commented. "We could talk to Wyndham-Price again, or we could try to sort it out ourselves."
"Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think I'd rather think about it more after some coffee and some sleep." Tom sighed, and leaned on his shillelagh. It had been a very long feeling day, and he felt rather tired. The idea of Slayers and vampires seemed a lot more credible now than it had yesterday, but it still wasn't an enjoyable concept. "My poor baby girl…"
"So, you think that's the sort of thing that a Slayer would have to deal with on a regular basis?" Cain stretched, rolling his shoulders. "No wonder they're supposed to have someone there to help them deal with everything."
Frowning, Tom considered that point, and then Wesley Wyndham-Price again. "I don't think he was quite up to it. He seems to have tried, but… She needs better."
"We could also try to remove some of the pressures on her." Cain smiled, rubbing his knuckles with a smile. "Like that Travers guy."
"Indeed." Tom began to smile as well, a rather unfriendly expression. "I think we'd best start a bit of research on him."
"Do we start planning a trip to England?" Cain cracked his knuckles.
"Not yet. We need more of a plan, and I promised that I'd visit Faith again." Tom shook his head. Research on Travers was beginning to sound necessary. "And we don't know what sort of defenses that there might be, something that I need to take into consideration."
"I hate that part." Cain muttered. "Might as well go back to the hotel."
"That does sound like a plan." Tom started back along the street, leaning more on his shillelagh. He could feel his body aching. For once, he was glad that he didn't have any sort of grand destiny.
End My Poor Daughter.
rating: pg13
main character: Tom Cassidy
appearances by Cain Marco, mentions of Faith (the Slayer)
Disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to Faith (creation of Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Tom and Cain - creations of Marvel Comics.
Distribution: Paula, Twisting the Hellmouth, Wic - anyone else ask. If I've said yes for a previous short BtVS/X-Men crossover, you can have this if you want.
note: for those unfamiliar with the character of Black Tom Cassidy, he is an Irish criminal (and mutant). His partner in crime is the Juggernaut (Cain Marko) and they have had a fairly long and colorful criminal career spanning much of Europe. Tom has a cousin named Sean Cassidy (Banshee of the X-Men) who worked for Interpol for a while.
set during season 4(BtVS), after Faith turned herself into the police in Los Angeles. After OZT, Before the High Evolutionary tried to muck things up.
They started their way back to the small hotel, both quiet as they contemplated their talk with Wesley. Tom was trying to figure out if he believed all that talk of vampires, demons, evil sorcerers and a girl chosen by fate to fight them all - HIS daughter, chosen by fate to fight them. It definitely was some unhappy thinking.
"You forgot to ask if he knew who this Angel person was." Cain rumbled.
Nodding, Tom had to admit that this was true. "So I did. I was a bit thrown off by all of that about vampires and demons. Not to mention that list of questions... Do people really...?"
"Some people are just twisted inside." Cain's comment entirely ignored their own activities on the wrong sides of the law. "I don't think I've met too many vampires, and I wouldn't know the difference between a demon and a mutant, but... I've met sorcerers. Some of them are pretty laughable, others... Some of them can do some serious stuff. Scary stuff."
Tom had never expected Cain to consider anything particularly scary. To hear that word emerge from the nearly unstoppable Juggernaut... "How scary can they be?"
"Mind control. Portals to other worlds, or strange places with orange skies and floating jellyfish things. Changing the world around them. Hell, I think it was some sort of sorcerer that made the Gem, the one that makes me... well, the Juggernaut." Cain's voice had taken on an oddly reflective note.
"I thought that his book claimed it was a priest?" Tom glanced over, wondering what was going through his partner's mind.
"Yeah, the books and walls claimed that it was a priest of Cyttorak, who's supposed to be some ancient god of anger, wrath and battle or something. But I don't think I want to believe there's some god-thing out there that I'm tapping into. Magic's strange enough without throwing in the idea that all those weird pagan gods and demons and goddesses might be real."
Tom let himself consider that for a moment. If all the myths and legends weren't just stories to explain why there was thunder, but actually things that had really happened, or about real beings... He shuddered. "A sorcerer does sound better."
For a short while, they walked in silence. Then, there was a scuffing noise, the sound of someone's shoe scraping on the sidewalk. Glancing up, Tom discovered that a group of six rather disreputable looking men had surrounded them, two of them smiling evilly.
"Look at the size of that one… He's got to have lots of blood in him." The words came from a slightly smaller figure with very baggy pants and a very baggy shirt.
Glancing over at Cain, Tom shook his head. "I think we're being threatened."
"Hmmmm." Cain looked at them, his eyes resting for a moment on each of them. "They are trying to threaten us. Do you feel worried?"
"You should feel worried." The man right in front of Tom growled, his hair close-cropped and dark, showing off the scars on the side of his head. "The two of you are going to be dinner."
"Actually, he was talking to you." Tom commented, adjusting his grip so that the shillelagh was pointing at one of the men.
With a growl, the man's face changed. His eyes paled to an odd yellow hue, his brow becoming thicker and heavier. As he growled at them, sharp fangs were revealed. "Talking's done, boys. Dig in."
Tom pushed, and sent a burst of power through the shillelagh, feeling the wood change it from potential to active power. The ripple in the air was barely visible as it moved to the vampire. For an instant, his face contorted in pain, and then he flickered, as if being consumed by a hundred tiny flames, and fell to ashes.
That was unusual.
Two of them lunged towards Tom, and Cain just reached out, catching them by their shoulders. He slammed them together before hurling them across the street. They slammed into the wall at roughly the third floor, and tumbled down to the sidewalk, no longer moving.
Covering his surprise, Tom looked at the three remaining vampires. "So, who's next?"
The three remaining vampires just stared at them, shock clear on their faces. Words tumbled out, overlapping with each other. "That's not supposed to…." "Even a Slayer can't do that." "I'm not that dumb."
In a few more seconds, the vampires were just retreating figures, frantically running away down the street.
"Alright, I'm convinced." Tom shook his head, and glanced at the pile of ashes that had been a vampire just moments ago. "But what exactly…. That's not the normal reaction to the blast. What made things turn out so differently?"
Cain shrugged, brushing at his arm, as if removing dust. "Aren't vampires supposed to be flammable?"
"That is in the stories." Tom nodded, considering things. "Of course, there are enough different stories that you can't quite count on those to be entirely accurate. Sunlight, water, garlic, animals, graveyards… It's a complete mess."
"We need a bit of clarification." Cain commented. "We could talk to Wyndham-Price again, or we could try to sort it out ourselves."
"Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think I'd rather think about it more after some coffee and some sleep." Tom sighed, and leaned on his shillelagh. It had been a very long feeling day, and he felt rather tired. The idea of Slayers and vampires seemed a lot more credible now than it had yesterday, but it still wasn't an enjoyable concept. "My poor baby girl…"
"So, you think that's the sort of thing that a Slayer would have to deal with on a regular basis?" Cain stretched, rolling his shoulders. "No wonder they're supposed to have someone there to help them deal with everything."
Frowning, Tom considered that point, and then Wesley Wyndham-Price again. "I don't think he was quite up to it. He seems to have tried, but… She needs better."
"We could also try to remove some of the pressures on her." Cain smiled, rubbing his knuckles with a smile. "Like that Travers guy."
"Indeed." Tom began to smile as well, a rather unfriendly expression. "I think we'd best start a bit of research on him."
"Do we start planning a trip to England?" Cain cracked his knuckles.
"Not yet. We need more of a plan, and I promised that I'd visit Faith again." Tom shook his head. Research on Travers was beginning to sound necessary. "And we don't know what sort of defenses that there might be, something that I need to take into consideration."
"I hate that part." Cain muttered. "Might as well go back to the hotel."
"That does sound like a plan." Tom started back along the street, leaning more on his shillelagh. He could feel his body aching. For once, he was glad that he didn't have any sort of grand destiny.
End My Poor Daughter.