Note: I still own nothing and am making no money off this story.

Chapter Thirteen: Who's Protecting Who?

Bruce sighed, but released her, sitting back on the couch. Buffy sat up and grabbed her phone. She really hated being interrupted, but this could not be ignored. They both knew that.

"Bhul," Buffy said into the phone, hoping she had got him before he hung up. She pulled the robe closed, trying to tie it with one hand while holding her cell with the other. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah. Listen I was down in the slums, you know. I mean really down in the slums, if you catch my meaning, and these Ghaugrus were talking about how they had heard that there was a bounty on the Batman's head. They said it was all hush-hush though."

"Hush-hush?" Buffy stood and began to pace. This was bad. "Why?

"Seems this Fargre'an character wants to keep it 'in city'. He doesn't want any outside help. The bounty is just to get the ball rolling, you know, give him a leg up on the Bat's whereabouts. Once he is spotted, this guy sends his hunters after him."

"What kind of hunters?"

"I heard they were Molaxuil."

Buffy froze in mid-stride. "Molaxuil? This guy has Molaxuil clan members working for him?"

"Yeah. Big, nasty things. But the word is that the Bat is not to be killed. Fargre'an wants him alive. Molaxuil's aren't known for bringing trophies back alive. But Fargre'an has put the word out that if anyone kills the Batman that he will personally hunt them down and take care of them. No one has a clue what kind of demon he is. No one has seen him, he's got everyone scared."

"Okay. Thanks, Bhul. Keep your ear to the ground and let me know if you learn anything else, alright?"

"Sure, Slayer, but I got to be careful, too, you know. I got pups to feed."

"I understand. Thanks again." She clicked her phone off. "Bruce, this is beyond bad. This is stellar bad."

"So this demon has a bounty on my head." Bruce was casually sitting on the couch, his head back, and his eyes on the ceiling. He wasn't taking this as seriously as Buffy thought he should have been.

"Bruce! It isn't that simple," she snapped at him, stomping her foot for emphasis. "Whoever or whatever this Fargre'an is, he is bad. Badder than bad. He has all the other bads afraid of him." She took a deep breath. "Listen, demons don't pay much attention to humans."

"They pay attention to you," He pointed out.

"Yes, but I am the Slayer. They don't pay attention to other humans because they don't think we are worth it. Just fodder or food or whatever, but now you have their attention. He sees you as a threat, because it isn't just the human criminals that fear you. He sees you as an adversary. He wants you captured so he can make a point. He wants to kill you himself to make that point."

"I've killed vampires. I have never fought a demon. Why would they fear me?"

"Vampires are the bottom feeders in the demon world, so they don't matter much. And you don't know that you have never fought a demon before. Some of them can pass as human, shift themselves, blend in. You more than likely have, and the fact that you did and survived, makes you worthy of notice." She paced a little more and then grabbed her phone again. "I need to call Willow. She needs to come here."

"Why?" He sat up, putting his elbows on his knees.

"Willow is a witch. I very powerful witch. Your armor isn't going to protect you from demons very well. She can help with." She searched and found the number, but just before she could hit the button to dial it, Bruce's hand closed over hers, stopping her.

"Wait a minute. If you have her come here, then we are going to have to tell her that I am Batman," he pointed out.

"I know, but we can trust her. I trust her and have for as long as I have known her." Buffy assured him.

"And this is necessary, this added protection she can provide?" Buffy nodded. He paused for a moment, looking into her eyes, searching and thinking. Finally he removed his hand from hers. "Okay. If you trust her so much, then I will too."

She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed him, then pressed the button. In three rings, Willow answered.

"Hey, Buffy. Twice in one day."

"Listen, Will, I need another favor," Buffy stated, deciding to skip the small talk and get right to business. "I need you to come to Gotham as in pronto."

"Is something wrong? What's the matter?"

"I can't explain over the phone, Will, but trust me when I say that we need your area of expertise in a big way right now."

"We?" Willow quizzed.

"Yeah, and that will have to be explained once you arrive, too. Book a flight, hightail it up here, and when you arrive, I will pick you up at the airport. Once we get back to Wayne Manor, then I will spill the beans."

"Wayne Manor? Cool. I'll get Kennedy and Xander and we will be there as quick as we can."

Buffy began to tell her not to bring Kennedy and Xander, but another Slayer, even a Potential one, could come in handy, and Xander was good for…well, being Xander. She thanked her friend and hung up.

Bruce put his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs stroking her jaw. The remnant of passion, before they had been interrupted, was starting to flare to life in full force.

"I need to talk to Lucius," he said, releasing her. "So, I have to go to Wayne Tower."

Flare dwindling again. She was getting tired of this. "I'll be back before sundown and then we can go out together."

"Ok," she said, thinking that was a very good idea. Not only were there demons after him now, but he was still injured. He would need her to watch his back. He stopped at the door, turning back to her, and smiling, before leaving the room. "And tell Mr. Fox 'thank you' for me." She yelled after him. His promise that he would was distant, but at least he had heard her. Buffy sighed and threw herself back down on the couch.

"Do you need anything, Buffy," Alfred asked, picking up the tray he had left earlier. Buffy must of dozed off. She had not heard him come in.

"No, but I think we need to think about protecting the mansion." She said, sitting up.

"Protecting it? Why?" She told him everything that she had learned. He paled slightly, setting the tray down once again, and taking a seat next to her. "How?" Was all he asked.

"Until Willow gets here, the only thing we can do is salt the place. Vampires can only get in if you give them permission. Demons don't need to ask. Salt is pure. Demons are not, so if you put salt down in an unbroken line on a window seal or above door frame, they can't cross it."

"Not to sound as if I am not taking this seriously, but do you know how long that is going to take with a place this size?"

"Yep. So we better get started."

Bruce found Lucius exactly where he thought he would; at his computer terminal on the R&D floor. The older man looked up and removed his glasses at his approach.

"Feeling better?"

"Some," Bruce answered.

"And the young woman?" Lucius asked.

Bruce nodded. "She sends her appreciation for what you did."

"Oh, she would have healed fine on her own without my help." Lucius leaned back in his chair.

"Even so…" Bruce let the end of the sentence hang in the air, and then turned to other matters. "Have you gotten a chance to work on what I asked for?"

Lucius nodded. "I have. I found a material that is suitable for what you asked for. It should work nicely, but I still need to make a few adjustments to it."

"Will those adjustments be done by tonight?" Bruce asked, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. Lucius nodded. "Her friend, the witch, is coming. Buffy said her magic can help protect me."

"Protect you from what?"

"Demon has put a bounty on the Batman's head. I have to be more careful."

"Let's hope her friend can really do so," Lucius stated, putting his glasses back on and turning back to his computer. "I have been studying up on a few things, and I honestly don't believe I can improve the suit in any more ways to make it stand up to attacks from…supernatural forces."

"I also need something else. About an eighth of a ton of purified silver, two hundred pounds of rock salt, and about one hundred gallons of spring water from a pure source in the Himalayas."

"That all?" Lucius chuckled. "I will see what I can do?" He shook his head. "Never thought that would be part of my job description."

"Me neither," Bruce stated, turning to the elevator. "For either one of us."

Alfred had a bag of salt in dry storage. Buffy could not possibly imagine why someone would need a twenty pound bag of salt, in fact she had never even seen a bag of salt this big, but she was glad that he had it.

It was truly nothing short of a nightmare. There were so many damned windows in the house that by the time Bruce returned, they weren't even a third of the way done. Buffy explained to him what they were doing, and he offered to help since they still had a few hours before the sun went down.

Even with his help, they weren't even half way by the time the sun went down. Alfred said he would keep working on it, so Buffy followed Bruce down to the cave and waited (and watched) while he changed into his armor.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, and then smacked herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand.

"What?" Bruce asked. He had everything on but the cowl. "What's wrong?"

"Giles sent my weapons. They are on a crate at the docks." She folded her arms over her chest. "My good weapons, things that wouldn't make it through customs: crossbows, axes, swords – you know those sorts of things."

"We can go there and get them. We also need to retrieve the dagger, put it somewhere more safe, and there is something else that we need to go take care of also." He was being up in the cryptic about the last 'something', but she wasn't too worried about it: she would find out what it was all about in due time.

Retrieving her weapons from the docks proved much easier than she believed. It just so happened that the docks were part of Wayne Enterprises. Giles had emailed her all the info and Batman had no problem finding it and she had no problem opening. She only took what she needed, and then resealed it.

Next was the museum, which was also a fairly easy job. She went in the back door, the same back door where just the other night the vampires had almost taken her down. It was easy to get in, go down to the basement, find the dagger, and get out without being seen.

Their last stop off was a little more tricky and not what she had expected. It was at Wayne Tower.

He drove the Tumbler (that was what it was called!) down an alleyway that ended in a brick wall, only once they approached the wall lifted up allowing the vehicle into a short tunnel. When he stopped the Tumbler, the floor began to rise up and soon came to a stop a few floors up. Buffy looked out the window to find Mr. Fox there waiting for them.

She got out of the Tumbler and greeted him. "Thank you again," she stated, shaking his hand.

"Think nothing of it." He smiled. He turned his attention to the Batman who came up at Buffy's left side. "This shouldn't take but a moment." He then turned and disappeared around some equipment.

"What is going on?" Buffy asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Mr. Fox has something for you," Batman answered, nodding toward the man as he returned. He was pushing in front of him what looked like a mannequin covered with a sheet.

"I like surprises. What is it?" She asked as Lucius stopped in front of her.

"Well, it only made sense that if you have been seen with Mr. Wayne and will be seen with him regularly, that the chance of you being seen with Batman might cause problems. Raise suspicions, if you will." With that, he pulled the sheet of the mannequin.

And Buffy's jaw dropped to the floor. Yep, it was definitely a surprise.