Avenger Xander

DISCLAIMER: I don't own BTVS or the Avengers or anything Marvel.

Xander sighed and tried to explain to Buffy why he was upset, "I know I need saving from vamps and demons, any human would. But I do not need saving from other teenage boys!" He gestured emphatically, "in fact to assume I do makes me feel weak and helpless. Which is bad, in case you didn't know."

"So how am I supposed to know what I can and can't save you from?" Buffy asked. She was pretty annoyed herself.

"If it's supernatural, then I will appreciate the help. If it's not then I would rather take my lumps," Xander said.

"That's just weird," Buffy said. "Willow never cares about who I save her from."

"Well I'm not Willow," Xander said.

"Obviously," Buffy said. Then she said, "Well, no promises but I will try to let you get pounded by Neanderthals rather than save you in the future. Now we're at the costume shop and an urgent necessity is upon us."

Xander was about to ask what it was when he was he was cut by Willow. She was hitting new heights of speed in her babble but he got the gist of it as Buffy guided Willow inside the store, firmly but fairly gently.

"You want us to pick a new costume for Willow?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "She's been wearing her ghost costume since she was six by her own admission. It is time for a change."

"I can get behind that," Xander said. "Maybe doing a group costume will help?"

Willow squeaked out, "No spandex!"

Xander asked, "Are you sure? I thought you loved comic book heroines?"

"I do," Willow replied. "But I don't have the figure for it!"

Buffy said, "Okay, so no spandex but you need something sexy. We all do and we're not leaving until we have three sexy costumes!"

Willow tried but was unable to change Buffy's mind so she eventually went along with it. By the time she resigned herself to her fate, they were in among the superhero costumes. She saw Buffy staring at an Emma Frost costume and practically gibbered in fear, "Buffy! I couldn't wear that! Even just for you and Xander I would pass out from embarrassment!"

"Oh, this isn't for you," Buffy said. "I was thinking of wearing this myself. Maybe it is a bit over the top though."

"Not at all!" Xander hastened to say.

Buffy looked at his expression then shook her head, "No, I want lustful looks but not drooling stares. Let's move on."

Xander said, "Well then you can stop ogling that Conan costume. It's at least as bad."

Buffy smiled, "Fair enough, it did seem to make Willow's eyes glaze."

Willow blushed but said nothing as they continued looking.

Eventually, they bought three costumes, Shadowcat, Stature, and Wonder Man. They met Cordelia at the register buying the Emma Frost costume. Willow and Buffy shared a look then shrugged. Xander was looking forward to seeing her in it.

~

While they were getting changed Buffy asked Willow, "So I've heard of Wonder Woman but never Wonder Man, what gives?"

"Oh," said Willow. "Wonder Woman was a whole different company. Wonder Man is a guy whose body was turned into a nearly unstoppable being. They tried to brainwash him to take on a whole team, called the Avengers, and if the brainwashing had held up he might even have won his first battle against them."

"But the mind control broke and he went over to their side?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, he wasn't a full member at first," Willow said. "His body took a while to adjust to being mostly energy under the skin. Under the name of Simon Williams he became a stuntman and an actor for a while then a full time superhero." She shrugged, "I guess Xander wanted to be a guy who was super strong and tough and you know, also good with confidence and charisma."

"Okay," Buffy said. "And your costume is?"

"Mine is Cassie Lang who took the name Stature since she can shrink and grow," Willow said. "She was about our age and part of the Young Avengers. And for the record, your character can turn insubstantial, like a ghost. So she can walk through walls and escape locked rooms."

"Cool," Buffy said.

When Xander showed up in the sleeveless uniform and goggles Willow blushed and stared. Buffy giggled at her reaction and said, "Hey, Xander. You're looking pretty good in that. I guess you've been working out?"

"Yeah," Xander said. "Since finding out about vampires and demons I've felt that gym class is not enough."

"Well I'm sure Willow agrees with me," Buffy said with a grin. "When I say you're looking pretty tasty tonight."

Willow blushed harder and nodded but didn't speak.

Xander smiled happily, "Good to hear. Now let's get going before Snyder decides to expel anyone who arrives late." He thought to himself, 'This costume was worth every penny.'

~

Wonder Man looked around at the chaos and tried to remember how he got to this town. "Last I remember we were hosting a Halloween party at Avengers Mansion. That probably counted as taunting Murphy. Well it's not the first time I have been teleported without warning and I doubt it will be the last." He pulled his communicator from his belt, "This is Wonder Man. Any Avengers in the area?"

The first response was an X-Man not an Avenger, "This is Shadowcat Wonder Man. No clue how I got here, let alone how I got this communicator. Still it looks like we're going to need to team up to deal with this mess. Who else is out there and where do we meet up?"

"This is Cassie," came a voice. "Crap! I mean Stature. Uh, I'm in front of a three story mall that should be easy to find if you're somewhere close. If not I can also get 50 foot tall and everyone can rally to me."

"Good idea Stature!" Wonder Man said. "Grow and everyone will rally to you. We'll form a plan when we see who we've got."

Shadowcat replied, "Will do." She saw a 50 foot teenager off to the south and headed in that direction.

A fourth voice was heard then, "If you need more help then I can join in. I used to be a villain but Shadowcat can vouch for the fact that I have turned over a new leaf. Now I'm just trying to help the younger generation survive and thrive."

"Is that true Shadowcat?" Wonder Man asked. "And how do we recognize you miss?"

"I know the Professor trusts her," Shadowcat said. "Which is good enough for me. As for recognizing her I'm sure she'd stand out anywhere." She laughed, "Except maybe a Victoria's Secret fashion show."

Simon smiled, "Good enough. I don't have my rocket pack so it will take a bit to get there. While I'm getting my cardio in let's brainstorm a bit. Did anyone see who brought us here or who started the problem? It looks like magic to me."

Cassie replied, "No, I saw nobody. One moment I'm getting ready to patrol and the next I'm here. Guess I should be glad I'm in costume. If whoever had caught a half hour earlier … well I was in the shower then."

"I'm in my costume too," Simon said. "One minute I'm at a Halloween party and the next I'm here."

"I'm in costume too," said Shadowcat. "This does still look like Halloween though. Just with a side order of black magic."

"I've never really worn a mask, per se," said Emma Frost. "But I am wearing my usual garb. No mind I've checked has any idea what has happened but it seems many of the monsters are people being made to think they are monsters.. So I agree we are looking for a black mage with a nasty sense of humor and no compunctions about harming children."

"We will find him and shut him down," Simon said. "If we can protect you and give you the time can you find our mage for us?"

"Probably," Emma replied. "Won't know for sure until I try. I have arrived at the location of Stature."

"I'm phasing through a building at the moment but you should see me in a few seconds," Shadowcat said. "Whoa! That spandex is really tight."

"I have trouble making it expand with me if it isn't," Cassie replied. "I'm getting better but I'd rather a tight uniform than one that doesn't change with me."

"I think you look lovely my dear," Emma replied.

When Simon arrived Cassie shrunk back to normal size, "Okay, how do we do this?"

"Three of us keep the area around Emma free and clear so she can concentrate on finding the guy who did this," said Simon. "Try not to hurt them if you can avoid it. It sounds like they're victims too."

Cassie expanded to fifty feet tall again to guard Emma.

Emma sorted through minds until she found the information they needed, "It seems those who changed bought their costumes from a place called Ethan's. I have the address and directions from here."

"Good," said Wonder Man. "Let's go pay this mage a visit."

Stature shrunk back to normal height and they followed Emma Frost to the store. The front door was locked so Wonder Man kicked it in and he lead the way inside.

"I hear a mind in the back room," Emma said. "Simon, since you're the sturdiest of us will you lead the way?"

He nodded, "Certainly!" As he pushed through the curtain leading to the back he saw a man sitting before a crystal ball with a bowl of popcorn. The crystal was projecting an image of monsters chasing people.

The man turned to them smiling, "Well I suppose you want to end my fun. I guess it's my fault for selling so many heroic costumes." He gestured at a bust on the far side of the store room, "If you break that everyone goes back to normal. I was hoping an old friend would come by to try and stop me. I haven't seen him in nearly twenty years and he'd never accept a normal invitation from me. Still I know better than to lie to a telepath."

The others looked at Emma who nodded, "He was telling the truth about all of it."

Wonder Man nodded and went over to the glowing bust of Janus. He said, "Brace yourselves," and smashed it with his fist. There was a flash of light and everyone but Ethan was disoriented for a while.

Ethan snuck out, chuckling to himself, and said, "Well that was fun. I wonder if I should come back for Christmas? Could Sunnydale cope with real flying reindeer?"

Inside the back of the store Xander shakes his head to get rid of the last of the fog in his brain, "Wow, that was weird even for Sunnydale." He took off the goggles and turned to the others, "Are you guys okay?"

The other three gasped and Buffy said, "Xander! Your eyes are still glowing red!"

Cordelia said, "And I'm still able to read thoughts. I think you did it wrong."

Willow grew to seven feet tall and grinned, "Or right. Hey, we are back to being ourselves and we all have powers now! That will help us survive and hunt vampires even better now!"

"Except Emma couldn't read the thoughts of the undead," said Cordelia. "I suppose it might be useful to know when Snyder is coming or what my minions are plotting though."

Buffy concentrated briefly then swung an arm through Willow's body with no resistance, "This will come in handy for fighting vamps. You guys can get home, I want to go talk to Giles. See you all tomorrow maybe?"

Xander and Willow nodded but Cordelia just shrugged and said, "Maybe. I usually have better things to do on a Saturday."

Buffy nodded back to them and left by running through a wall.

"Can I escort you ladies home?" Xander asked. "The extras may be gone but Sunnydale has no shortage of monsters normally."

Willow grinned, "Sure! And you're welcome to stay the night too."

He smiled, "Thanks, I guess we'll walk you home first then Cordy?"

Cordelia nodded, 'Yeah, my folks are both home so I should try to get back before it gets too late." She sighed, "And I don't want a vamp to sneak up on me because I can't hear its thoughts. Thanks for offering Xander."

"Any time," he said as they left the store.