Title: Webs: Origins - Part 5
Author: Wesley (With input and insight from Stone Cold)
Rating: WARNING PG-13/R (For Violence and Adult Language)
Feedback: For the love of God YES!!!! I need Feedback, its my motivation!!! Plus kudos give me a happy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack-Diddly
Notes: I wanted to bring together my two favorite
worlds, Buffy and Spider-Man, so here we go. Italics indicate thought, where
as * text* indicates a flashback. This Story line is set in Season 4/5.

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As long as there have been demons, there has been the Slayer. One girl in the entire world, a
Chosen one, born with the strength and skill to hunt vampires and other
creatures of the dark. When one Slayer dies, the next is called.
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Part 5: - Enter the Spider

Whistler stood leaning against the alcove that formed the stairwell's roof exit. He was dressed in his usual attire; a pair of worn loafers peeked from under a pair of denim jeans that led up to an unusually bright Hawaiian shirt which that was covered partially by an old leather jacket. His trademark dusty brown fedora topped his greasy hair to finish the ensemble and an apple was clenched in his teeth. His hands clapped together in mock applause as he gave the Harris boy, who was still perched upon the edge of the building, a once over.

"Very nice, kid, nothing like a little run to get the ol' ticker pumpin'." The man said, plucking the Macintosh from his mouth and greedily chomping off a mouthful fruit.

"Yeah... um. Who are you?" the youngster questioned.

"Easy there, Xand-man, I just came up here to show ya something amigo," was his reply.

"What would that be... and how the hell do you know my name?"

The strangely perky man, who had broken Xander's inner thoughts, calmly strutted over letting his shoulders and arms slump over the ledge as he leaned back against it. With oddly white teeth, Whistler smiled up at our hero and stated "Simply this my man."

As he took another bite of the red delicacy in his right hand, Whistler struck out with his left, and swept Xander's feet from under him before his reflexes could react the the sudden screaming in his head. An event which caused him to tumble over the edge of the twenty story building.

The sudden loss of support caused Xander's heart to catch in his throat. As quickly as he could he lashed out, hoping that he could catch the ledge. The breath was knocked from his lungs when his hand caught and he was abruptly slammed into the side of the hospital. Xander pulled in a ragged sigh of relief at not being a puddle of gore in the parking lot. His breath left him again a moment later when he realized he had not caught the edge of the building, but instead his palm was illogically clinging to the vertical expanse of the Hospital. He was suspended twenty stories above the asphalt with nothing but force of will to keep him in place.

The event had an expected affect on Xander, simply put, he had decided to once again take a moment to freak out. He frantically grabbed the bricking with his other hand, not even noticing how it clung as well and drew his feet underneath of him. It would not have been surprising had someone heard chattering of his teeth and thundering of his heart from the parking lot. After a few deep breaths the young man began to pray that the incident in the alley was not a fluke. Subconsciously Xander knew that however he made it back to the top he wasn't going to like what this, person, had to say.

* If I don't kill him first. *

The frightened youngster chanced a glance down and a wave of nausea caught in his throat at the sight of the earth so far below him. With a slow and steady effort, he ascended along side the wall, praying that wherever the new ability came from, it didn't decide to tuck tail and run.

Whistler stood above the boy as he made his ascent, lazily leaning on his right arm while he munched the remains of his apple. He stood and eyed Xander's nervous climb closely as he severed another bite of his treat. The demon turned his eyes up at the dying sun and frowned at the horizon. "Come on kid, we're burning daylight here." He called.

A snarl crossed Xander's lips when the words touched his ears. * This little asshole pushes me off a building, then bitches when I don't crawl up the wall fast enough. That tears it!. *

With all the strength he could muster the boy launched himself upwards. While he had simply intended to lurch up and over the edge his body had a different idea. Xander rocketed high above the building, his body arched like a crescent moon against the evening sky as he turned to face the building once again. Gravity took hold of his shape, and pulled him back toward the earth, his form landed on one knee as his right fist smashed into the concrete, cracking it in a spiraling shape of lines as thin as spider webs. A deep inhalation of honeyed California air wisped through his nostrils filling his lungs with their precious nectar. The boy's infuriated gaze trained onto the creature before him. The devilish smile that played on its lips made him want to wretch.

"Let's try this again shall we." The young man started. "Who are you, how do you know my name, and why the HELL did you just try to kill me?" he seethed.

""Whoa, hang on just a minute there. I didn't try to kill you I just wanted to show you ...GLKK!!!" Whistler was cut off by the sound of his head being slammed into the ledge. A Xander shaped shadow fell over Whistler's dazed form. With the speed of a cheetah, the boy snatched the man by his leather jacket, and hauled him up and over the edge he had been tossed from.

"Now tell me who you are or we're going to see how well you bounce."

"You won't do it!" Whistler exclaimed in a panic.

"How do you know!? What makes your think I wont send your sorry ass for a concrete swan dive and simply skip away?" Xander questioned.

The demon's eyes locked into Xander's gaze, and said matter-of-factly, "Because you're not a killer."

"Near death can change a person's perspectives 'kid' ..." Xander said nonchalantly, a sereneness never before known to him, had possessed his mind ... "... and after living on a Hellmouth for 18 years, you know when things aren't what they appear to be."

With those words the dark haired boy slapped one hand on to the demon's chest, mentally willing it to stick. Xander deftly hefted Whistler completely over the side of the Hospital, holding him there in the sweet scented air. The same awesome grip that had saved Xander's life, now held that of one frightened demon's in the balance.

"If I were you, I would suggest talking... quickly. We wouldn't want me to lose my concentration, now would we?"

"Wh... Wh... Whistler... my name's Whistler!!!" he shouted.

"Okay, one down, two to go. How do you know my name?!" Xander demanded.

"B...B... Buffy ... I'm connected to the Powers that Be, they sent me here!" Whistler choked.

"Powers that what? What the hell are you talking about?" he questioned.

"GOD!" Whistler shouted, relaxing a tad when he saw the boy's features soften slightly. "God, the light, the oracles, whatever the hell you wanna call them! I'm a, an... Angel!"

"Bullshit! You stink like garbage and dress like a pimp." Xander shouted.

"OKAY, Okay! I'm a demon damn it. Are you happy?! But, But I'm not evil! I'm a Demon of Balance!" Whistler pleaded.

"So you do what? Spin plates on your head and toss balls in the air?" Xander questioned, as he returned Whistler to the safety of the roof.

Whistler couldn't help but spare the boy a smile. "Not that kind of Balance kid. I do what's necessary to keep the Goodies and Baddies from crossing the line. Ya see, when the light pushed the darkness back from this world, a war broke out. Demon's fought Angels in a long bloody battle. When it was apparent that neither of them would be able to win outright, both sides agreed on a type of truce, and beings like me were brought into the world. A little bit of light, a little bit of darkness, add a dash of biting sarcasm and a smidge of great looks and boom ya got a Demon of Balance!" he exclaimed. Whistler took a moment to adjust the lapel of his jacket and fix his hat. "Damn it, you made me drop my apple."

"You're forgetting one question... why the HELL did you try to kill me?!" Xander queried with a sarcastically sweet tone in his voice.

"I didn't..." Whistler stated with a shrug.

"Hm, pretty sure I was there when you tried to throw me off a THIRTY STORY BUILDING?!" Xander said with a sardonic smile.

"First, I didn't throw ya off, I tripped you. Secondly, it was only twenty, ya big baby, and I wasn't trying to kill ya kid..." the demon started.

"Okay now that's just getting annoying."

"Whatever you say, Xand-man." he said, plucking some peanuts from his pocket.

"Argh, now I know how Giles feels." Xander sighed.

Whistler ruefully smiled and went ahead with his story. "Look Xander, I did what I did to show you're new powers. In case you didn't notice there, you kinda CRAWLED UP THE WALL. Doesn't that strike you just a bit funny? Or how about the vacu-grip you just had on my chest? Don't you find that just a 'little' outa place?" Whistler asked.

"Well yeah," Xander said quietly, "it happened early today too. In the alley by the sports store. Some creep was trying to mug this girl. Through some miracle I took the guy out and managed not to get shot. God it was strange, like something was inside my head, telling me what to do. Some weird kinda tingling in my head, and when I jumped away from his knife I wound up Velcro-ed twenty feet up."

"That was no miracle Xander, that was why I am here." The demon stated seriously.

"Hey you better not tell me I got some kind of demon or something living in my head. And if bust out something like 'The Matrix has you.' I swear to GOD I'm gonna kick your ass!" Xander exclaimed at the perplexed look on Whistler's face. "Don't just sit there looking at me damn it, spill!" Xander encouraged.

"A man's destiny lies in his own hands," Whistler stated.

"What? I thought all the cryptic crap was over when Angel left!" Xander spoke with ferocity.

The demon rolled his eyes at young Mr. Harris. "Look at the back of your hand." He said with an exasperated sigh.

Xander turned his eyes to the backs of his hands. At first he didn't notice anything unusual about them. They looked like they had every day of his life. * I knows these as well as the back of my hand... did I just really think that? * The one thing that caught his attention was the slight swell of the red welt on the back of his hand. * Just the spider bite... spider... oh boy. * Realization spread like a fog across Xander's eyes as Whistler's meaning totally sunk in.

"That's right Xand my man, the little love bite from your eight legged friend passed along more than an irritating itch. Knew a girl in the 17th century with the same problem." Whistler mused.

Xander chortled a bit at the demon's ill timed joke. His patented lopsided grin graced his face for probably the first time since Willow's accident. "So basically you're telling me I'm a spider?"

"Sorta..." Whistler started. " I know that ya got the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider but that's about all I know. Look Xander, I kind of stretched the truth about The Powers That Be. They didn't really send me."

"So what do you want? Wanna guide me in the ways to stick to the sides of walls and crave flies?" Xander quipped.

"Actually no." Whistler began, plopping down beside Xander on the ledge. His voice took on the tone of a lawyer as opposed to the happy go lucky visage Xander had been putting up with. "You're not under any type of obligation here Xander. You weren't "chosen" like Buffy or Giles. You're powers aren't of a supernatural nature either, its all genetic from what I understand. In fact, these powers were supposed to go to some kid named Peter, over in New York. But thanks to the drawing powers of the Hellmouth, and a slight swerve from the Underworld, its all you now kid. I had to wait until you took some sort of action before I could tell you though."

"I'm a freak." He whispered to himself as he let his face fall to his hands.

"What's that?" Whistler asked. He hoped he didn't hear what he thought he heard.

"What you are saying is. I... am... a... GOD DAMNED FREAK!! Some, Some, Some miss hap of science. Just another Hellmouth happening. Some sort of an... an... accident!"

Whistler's face dropped at his outburst. His whole plan just took a serious turn for the worse. "Hang on there, that's not what I'm saying at all."

"Not what you're saying? NOT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! You tell me that none of this has to do with any kind of destiny. That I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that now I'm slowly changing into some kind of monster! Cause that's what it sounds like you're saying!" Xander screamed.

"Calm down. You aren't turning into a monster. You're going to get some nifty powers out of this deal. And..." Whistler started.

"I didn't ask for you're damned powers! I never asked to be anything more than I was. What makes people ASSUME that I need some superpower to be special!" Xander yelled.

"Would you have been able to save that girl today without them?" Whistler challenged.

Xander's face softened a little and a slight frown appeared at his lips. "I... I... don't. No, I wouldn't have." He said silently.

"Sure, you would have still walked in there. You would have fought for that girl, even though you didn't know her. But to be honest, you would have taken three bullets center mast. If it wasn't for those little, enhancements, you would be rotting in that alley. Along with that little girl." Whistler lectured.

"Thanks for the visual." Xander grunted. "So what do you want from me huh? Buffy's the Slayer, and I think she's been doing a damn fine job. I have no intentions of trying to replace her." Xander stated firmly.

"Don't worry kid. This isn't about the demon world." The demon expressed as he stood and motioned to the horizon. "Out there, people are living life, totally oblivious to the Evils in the world. But there has always been one darkness that can't be sent back to hell, the darkness in man's heart." The man in the fedora cast a sideways look at Xander as he continued. "You are well aware of what some of your friends call the 'Hellmouth blindness'. Well its starting to spread. Its begun to seep over into human atrocities and anti-social outbreaks."

"Do you always sound like a bad episode of Law & Order?" Xander smirked.

"Yeah yeah, you mortals, never time for melodrama. Anyway the police in this town are as ineffective as the L.A.P.D. and twice as stupid. I said before this isn't a fate thing, like Buffy being the Slayer or Giles a Watcher or even Angel and his soul. I'm not here as a representative of the Powers, I'm here as a friend. I've helped keep the balance of power in the demon world for longer than you can even imagine." The demon's face suddenly grew serious and somber and the age behind his eyes betrayed their youthful form. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to watch the very people I try to help slowly destroy themselves? Can you imagine what its like, to make sure the world keeps on spinning only to have them try and throw it away again?"

"I think I get that, yeah." Xander answered seriously.

"Well, to put it bluntly, it makes my job a living hell. No pun intended. Crime is starting to tip the scales in Evil's favor and there is nothing I, or any balance demon, can do. We can't take direct action and the Powers don't want to do anything. God gave you guys freewill, and one of the primary rules in the Universe is that nothing will ever interfere with freewill. That's why I am here. I am asking you, Alexander Harris, to help us. We need you Xander."

"Sounds like a tag line for the army." Xander said doubtfully.

"Listen, the power is yours to do with as you please. Lucky you. But you have to remember that with that power also comes the responsibility to use it correctly, or you're no better than they are."

"Yeah I know... I learned that lesson a long time ago. I'm not Batman you know. I'm just me, you know, plain old Xander!" Xander sighed.

"No one's asking you to be Batman. You ain't got Wayne's bucks and you're way to... to... cheery!" Whistler stated with a waving of his hands. "Angel on the other hand always had the brooding thing down, but I could never convince him to try spandex over leather," Whistler joked.

Xander just glared at him.

Whistler smiled at Xander and with a wink said. "But you're right kid, you're not Batman ... you're a Spider Man."