Hyperion hotel

Morning

Barry sat on the couch in the lobby, deep in thought. Twenty four hours ago, he was convinced he was going to put his family back together. Now he was worried he may never see his friends again. Barry was so lost in thought that he didn't hear someone else come in.

"Rough night?" Barry jumped at the sound of the voice and Faith tried not to laugh. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't. You just startled me," Barry said, waving her off.

"Is there a difference?" Faith asked as she got a look at Barry's face. "I take it Angel didn't give you the answers you were looking for?"

"Nope. Lorne read me and, according to him, I'm supposed to play a part in some prophecy before I can go home," Barry said glumly and it was silent for a moment.

"That's…I don't know what to say to that," Faith admitted and Barry chuckled humorlessly.

"Me either," Barry admitted. "According to Lorne, I'm supposed to stick with you guys for now."

"Well, I'm sure B'll be happy to have you. She can use all the help she can get," Faith noted.

"She, not we," Barry noted and she shrugged.

"Well, Buffy and I have a…messy past. Not sure it's such a good idea for me to stick around, tempt fate ya know?" Faith said with a shrug.

"So you're just gonna what, take off without a word to anyone?" Barry asked surprised.

"Not sure if you've noticed, but the others aren't exactly my biggest fans. Except maybe Willow. Which is ironic," Faith said with a laugh as she thought of her and Willow's early history.

"It's that easy? Just take off without a word?" Barry asked.

"Been doing it all my life," Faith said with a shrug.

Barry stared at her, deep in thought. In many ways, it was like looking into a funhouse mirror. Faith didn't have anyone. No ties to the world. And while she didn't say much, it was clear to Barry that she hadn't always been on the same side as Buffy and the others. Was this what he would have become had Joe not taken him in? Someone who drifted from place to place aimlessly, someone without ties or love? It was an unsettling thought.

"Hey? You five by five?" Faith asked as she noticed Barry hadn't said anything for a few moments.

"What?" Barry asked, Faith's question breaking him out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Faith clarified.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Barry said as he looked back up at Faith. "Look, I'm not gonna tell you what to do. But, in my experience you can't outrun your problems. I have actually tried and found that out the hard way. I don't know you, but it seems like you've spent your entire life running. Eventually, you have to stop running Faith."

"You don't know me," Faith said starting to get defensive and Barry nodded in agreement.

"You're right, I don't and I won't try to tell you how to live your life. But you remind me of someone I know back home," Barry said and Faith raised an eyebrow, interested. "He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders to. Keeps people at arm's length, acts like he's all alone in the world. But when I left, it seemed like he was finally starting to let people in. And maybe if you stopped running…you could to."

Faith frowned, biting her lip lightly as she thought on Barry's words. It was clear to Barry she wanted to believe him, wanted to be accepted by Buffy and the others. But after being alone for so long, she was afraid. Barry could relate.

"Hey."

The two looked up to see Willow enter the lobby. She paused, sensing the tension between the two.

"Am I interrupting?" Willow asked uncertainly.

"No," Faith said quickly. "Something you wanted Will?"

"Yeah, the Scoobies are holding a meeting. Buffy wants you both there. Meet in Buffy's room in ten minutes," Willow said, shooting them one last curious look before leaving the lobby.

"Well, now's your chance. You can bail if you want," Barry said, gesturing to the doors.

"Well, might as well see what B wants first. Plus, could be my chance at a goodbye," Faith shrugged.

Barry smiled slightly. For all Faith's attempts at being causal, Barry knew that, at least partially, she had gotten his point. But it was up to her to decide if she wanted to head his advice.

Ten minutes later, Barry and Faith stood outside the door. Barry knocked on the door and, after a few moments, the door opened, revealing Buffy on the other side.

"Barry, Faith," Buffy greeted neutrally before moving aside so they could come in. "Thanks for coming."

As they stepped inside, Barry saw that the rest of the Scoobies as they called themselves were already there. There were two beds in the room and Dawn was currently sitting on them. On a couch big enough to fit five people sat Willow and Xander. Willow waved at them as Xander just nodded. From the look in his eye, Barry could tell Xander hadn't gotten much sleep. Giles stood at a table, going over what looked like some maps. As Buffy closed the door, the Scoobies looked over at them.

"Well, I guess someone should call this meeting of the Scoobies to order," Dawn cracked, quieting when her sister and Giles both shot her a look.

"What's going on B?" Faith asked and Buffy looked back at her.

"You know. But first," Buffy said as she looked over at Barry. "Angel called me this morning. Said something about you needing to stick with us?"

"Right. Lorne read me-" Barry started.

"He read you?" Xander interrupted incredulously.

"Lorne can read someone's destiny by listening to them sing," Willow explained and Xander made an 'oh' face.

"Now if we could allow M. Allen to continue," Giles said pointedly and the two looked embarrassed as Giles looked back at Barry. "Go on."

"Right. Well, according to Lorne, before I can go home, I'm supposed to take part in some apocalypse," Barry said only for Dawn and Xander to groan.

"Not another one!" Xander complained.

"Can we get a break, just once!?" Dawn cried.

"The next person who interrupts Barry can spend the rest of the meeting in the hall," Buffy snapped and the two looked sheepish. "Go ahead."

"Well, anyway, Lorne said for now, I'm supposed to stick with you, if you'll have me. Not trying to step on anyone's toes," Barry said awkwardly.

"We could actually use all the help we can get," Buffy said, glancing behind her at the other Scoobies. "What do you guys think?"

"A superhero on the team? It's my dream come true," Xander said sounding giddy.

"We could certainly use a man with Barry's abilities," Giles mused as he cleaned his glasses.

"Considering we now have an influx of teenage girls, it'll be nice to have another adult around. He has my vote," Willow said with a shrug.

"I guess it's unanimous," Dawn said with a smile.

"Then it's official. Welcome to the Scoobies Barry," Buffy said as she glanced towards Barry. "Now that that's out of the way, time to get businessy. We all know why we're here."

"The new Slayers," Willow noted and Buffy nodded.

"I'm sorry, new Slayers?" Barry asked confused.

"Sit down Barry, it's a long story," Xander said as he patted the seat on the couch next to him.

"Alright, so let me get this straight," Barry said messaging his temple as he processed what he had just learned. "Demons, vampires, werewolves, witches, all real."

"Quite right," Giles confirmed.

"And a few thousand years ago, some shamans performed a ritual to create a girl with supernatural strength and healing to fight them. And each time a Slayer dies, a new one is 'called' so they receive all the powers and abilities of the Slayer. And Buffy is the current Slayer. Or was until she was killed but Xander saved her life, which is how Faith was called," Barry said as he looked back and forth between Buffy and Faith.

"Right so far," Faith said with a nod.

"…okay," Barry said, causing all of them to look at him in surprise.

"Okay, I admit I was expecting more processing," Dawn admitted.

"I'm a superhero from another world who needs to fight in an apocalypse before I can go home. What you're telling me isn't much of a stretch," Barry said with a shrug. "But what's this about new Slayers?"

"Well, for the past few months, we've been fighting The First Evil. It's literally what it sounds like, it's the first evil," Willow explained. "We were losing, badly. So I…did a spell."

"You're a witch," Barry realized and Willow nodded. "What was this spell?"

"To make every potential Slayer in the world a Slayer," Willow said.

For a moment, it was silent as Barry processed this. Then, he ran a hand over his face.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Barry asked lowly, causing them to look at him oddly. "Every potential…this is bad."

"What are you saying exactly?" Buffy asked beginning to get defensive.

"You gave every woman in the world with the potential to be something more superpowers. What if they're not all good?" Barry asked, mentally shuttered as he thought of someone like Lisa Snart or Shawna Baez getting these powers. "On my earth, something similar happened, ordinary civilians developed superpowers. And not all of them were like me. I've spent the last seven months protecting my city from them."

"And we just did the same thing," Willow realized what Barry was getting at and he nodded.

"I realize you were in a tight spot, but his plan…" Barry trailed off, not sure how to say it.

"We slayed the devil but unleashed a horde of demon onto the world," Giles said lowly and Barry nodded.

"Yeah, yeah you did," Barry said with a sigh.

Buffy, who had been silent for the last minute, spoke up.

"Which is why we need to locate all of them. Determine the good from the bad. Last thing we need is a bunch of Slayers that are like…" Buffy trailed off.

"Like I was," Faith finished for her. "You can say it B. I know what I was. And I'm with you. We need to find out which ones are like you and which are like me. So what's the plan?"

"First, we need to establish a headquarters. Giles, any suggestions?" Buffy asked as she looked towards her mentor, who frowned as he looked thoughtful.

"In England, there is a compound of sorts. It was meant to be a last resort in case the location of the Watcher's Council was ever compromised. I believe it could suit our needs," Giles mused.

"Well then, guess we're headed to jolly old England," Xander said as he clapped his hands together.

"And we'll need a way to locate the Slayers," Buffy said as she looked over at Willow, who nodded.

"I'll get working on it," Willow promised.

"And someone needs to break the news to the Slayers...Giles, tell us how it goes," Buffy said as Giles gave her a dark look.

As Xander and Dawn laughed at Giles' expense, Barry looked around. He was trapped on a world he didn't know with problems he didn't understand. But, he decided, he could be forced to spend it with worse people.

So, that's the end of the introductory chapters. We'll start getting into the plot next chapter.

Buffy's plan to make every potential a Slayer was, to be blunt, stupid. They were in a lose-lose situation and at war, so I cut her a bit of slack there. But Angel 5x11 proved why it was a bad idea, as does Faith herself. The spell doesn't look at the mental aspects, only the physical. I mean, imagine someone like Isabel Rochev from Arrow as a Slayer. A terrifying thought, isn't it? I get that it was end of the world and all that, but there had to be a better plan than giving a bunch of potential supervillains the powers of the Slayer.