Chimera
By: Joel Cochenet
Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own any of the characters in this fic, 'cept for Alex 'cause I made him up :p~
Dedication: To all those who have patiently awaited me to finish a serious fic well here it is!
The story takes place oh I don't know somewhere around the time when they first go to college.
On to the story
* * *
Giles sat among the pillars of books that were slowly being categorized. He had spent a long night in attempt to finish cataloguing his collection on demons. In an attempt to rub away his weariness, Giles removed his spectacles and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Someone stayed up late and didn't invite me over for the fun," Buffy said making her presence known.
"Oh, Buffy, I was just cataloguing my collection on demons," Giles replied.
"Shoot I can't believe I missed that," Buffy said in her usual happy sarcasm. "Find anything interesting?"
"Just that a certain volume is missing," Giles said.
"What? What if that volume contains info on the next demon I fight," Buffy asked in a slightly concerned tone.
"Oh, it's no need to worry, if I remember the volume was checked out near the end of the school year and it concerned the Order of Taraka."
Buffy had to think a minute before recognizing the name, "Oh right the ones that would never give up until they killed me. With that one creepy bug guy. I'm glad that's over."
"Indeed," Giles agreed, "still I would like the book back.
"So go back and see who checked it out," Buffy suggested.
"Actually we don't have to do that, I can check it here," Giles said as he began to search through the whirlwind of papers around him. "Ah, here it is," Giles said dusting off a slim hard bound book. He thumbed to through the pages until he found the last entry.
[Alex Connors]
Buffy thought for a moment, "Alex Connors, why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Did he graduate in your class," Giles offered.
"I think so, but I've seen it recently. I can't place it though."
"Well if you find out how you know him could you possibly ask him about returning my book," Giles asked.
"No problem, listen I have to go I'm meeting up with Willow to do a pre-lab. You know it's bad enough that I have to go around and stake vampires and kill demons, but then they require to cut up frogs, my life's really morbid," Buffy said with sarcasm. "Have fun with your books."
"Thanks, I'll try," Giles said as he slowly started going through the next stack of books.
* * *
Willow sat at the metal wicker like table waiting to meet Buffy. She smiled as she saw Buffy coming to the table.
"Hey, how did you do on the bio test," Willow asked.
"Not to well, a C, I'm assuming with your witchy self and extreme intelligence you got an A?"
"Yeah, I got a 100%, but that still wasn't the highest grade in the class," Willow said with a small sigh.
"How's that possible," Buffy asked a little confused.
"Well there was a 25 point extra credit question, it asked for the DNA code for a bio-enzyme. The string was 17 nucleotides long, I don't see how you would have time to memorize all that," Willow explained.
"And someone answered it correctly?"
"Yeah, Alex Connors, I guess he's really into biology," Willow said.
Buffy snapped her fingers "that's it! That's where I remember his name from, the printed out results of the test!"
"What about him," Willow asked.
"Oh, he checked out one of Giles' books and Giles would like it back."
"Well seeing how he's so good with biology I asked him if we could be in his lab group. I hope you don't mind," Willow asked tentatively.
"Hey two brains are better then one and a Slayer, right?"
"Yeah, and we can go ask him for the book when we meet up with him. In fact we should go up now, I have his room number," Willow said.
"Room number, eh," Buffy said smiling.
"This is purely academic interest. I have to know how he got that extra credit question right."
"Do I sense a little jealousy," Buffy asked.
"Sorry, but I'm used to being the head of the class," Willow said.
"Well let's go see if we can get this pre-lab done before lunch."
"I doubt it," Willow replied "it looks like a pretty hard lab."
"That's the one thing I don't understand about college, everything is harder," Buffy said with sarcasm.
Willow grabbed her notebook and bag and the two were off.
* * *
Buffy and Willow wandered down the hall of the dorm until they got to a rather plain and ordinary door.
"Well, this is it," Willow said "Room 201."
"We know he doesn't spend time with decorations," Buffy said.
Willow ignored the comment and knocked on the door.
A tall guy with short brown hair and brown eyes opened the door. "Oh, hey come on in," Alex said sliding the door open.
Willow and Buffy entered the room, as Alex closed the door behind them. "Sorry about the mess," Alex said.
The room was literally covered in books. There were also a large amount of papers, charts, and various jars with things floating in formaldehyde. A computer sat in the back corner humming; a seemingly endless sheet of paper was being printed out.
Alex removed the books that were piled on two chairs, and offered the seats to Buffy and Willow.
"What is all this stuff," Buffy asked.
"I'm a nut about biology. I love studying it especially DNA, that's my specialty. DNA is like a code just waiting to be deciphered," Alex said smiling.
"That's great because that's what our pre-lab is about," Willow said excitedly.
"Right, the pre-lab, I was meaning to talk to you about that," Alex said. "You see I kind of already did it," Alex said sheepishly.
"You already did the entire pre-lab," Willow asked a bit surprised.
"Actually I kind of did the entire lab," Alex corrected her.
"But we the lab requires a centrifuge machine and test samples?"
"Yeah, well I used my own stuff, like I said I'm a biology nut."
"But we didn't do anything, I mean this was supposed to be a group project," Willow said.
"I know, but I love doing this stuff. I'll just say you girls helped me, if that's all right?"
"No that's not," Willow started, but was interrupted when Buffy jabbed her softly in the side with her elbow, "No that's fine," is what she means Buffy said smiling.
"Great, you can help me out on the next one," Alex said.
"There's one more thing," Buffy said. "Would you happen to have a book about demons that you checked out of the Sunnydale High library? See I'm friends with the librarian and he's been looking for it."
"Yeah, I didn't know what to do with it since the school kind of got leveled. I would have returned it, but I didn't know where to go."
Alex went back in the corner and slid a book off the shelf and handed it to Buffy.
"Wow with all these books I thought it would take you longer to find," Buffy said.
"It seems pretty chaotic, but actually I'm quite organized."
"I see," Buffy said. "Well we better get going, thanks for all your work."
Alex just smiled and opened the door as Buffy left dragging a reluctant Willow, who still wanted to do the lab.
"That is so unfair, doing all the work himself. I mean we didn't get to decode DNA or analyze samples."
"In other words we didn't have to waste all our time doing really boring lab work," Buffy said.
"Well, yeah," Willow said.
"We got the book and the lab done. I think I'm beginning to like this Alex guy," Buffy said.
"I just hope we get to help out next time," Willow said dejectedly.
* * *
Giles lay his head on tope of the pile of books, using them as a makeshift pillow. The knock on the door snapped him out of his sleep. He put his glasses back on and answered the door.
"Up all night with the books again, you wild man you," Buffy said.
"Ah well yes, any luck," Giles responded.
"One volume on the Order of Taraka," Buffy said handing the book to Giles. "Not only that but Alex did our centrifuge lab for us," Buffy said smiling.
"He went to the lab and did it himself," Giles asked.
"Actually he said he used his own materials," Buffy answered.
Giles frowned a bit in confusion.
"Something wrong," Buffy said.
"Well most students don't have the funds or the materials needed for a centrifuge lab," Giles said.
"Well I wouldn't be surprised if Alex had his own lab. He's kind of weird had all these books and charts and maps and little jars with animals. It creeped me out, but he seems like a nice guy. "
"Did you notice anything strange about him," Giles asked.
"You mean besides all that stuff I just said?"
"Anything about demons or the occult?"
"No . . . you think he's cloning demons in an attempt to rule Sunnydale," Buffy asked in a serious tone.
"No cloning Demons is much harder then humans. Scientists, even Demon ones, haven't even come close to cloning humans. I was just wondering why a person so interested in biology would check out a book about the Order of Taraka, it doesn't seem to fit," Giles said.
"Oh . . . I don't know," Buffy replied.
* * *
Alex had checked the book, it was a sort of guidelines book, it said nothing about killing the Slayer right away. It did say that as a member of the Order of Taraka he had to try to kill her, but it didn't say he had to do it right away. He needed time to put his Chimera plan into effect. He walked over and opened the top drawer of his freezer. He looked through a row of small glass tubes. He slipped one of the tubes out and stuck it into an awaiting syringe. The thin needle first pricked his arm and the needle entered the vein. The liquid slowly entered into his body. Alex released a sigh of relief. He could feel the energy running through him. He picked up a nearby paperweight and crumpled it into a twisted ball of scrap metal. He let a smile cross his face. Soon, very soon, he would be ready to face the slayer and finish the job as the last remaining member of the Order of Taraka.
* * *
Giles furiously wiped at his spectacles hoping it was something wrong with them. He read the passage over again, with the same disturbing results. He got up and made a phone call; a meeting was definitely in order.
* * *
Buffy and Willow sat in two chairs on the left, Xander and Anya seated on the right. Xander had brought the pink box of assorted doughnuts to munch on.
"The reason I called you all here," Giles began "was because I found a disturbing passage in the Order of Taraka book. You see I haven't read it in a while and I wanted to see if it mentioned anything pertinent about biology. I'm suspicious if this Alex character because he seems pretty strange. The passage tells of the last member of the Order of Taraka and I suspect Alex is that member."
"Last member? I thought we killed all of them," Buffy said.
"It seems we missed one. The passage actually doesn't reveal much. It states that all the members except for the leader are to pursue the slayer until she is dead. The last member is to keep hidden in the chance that the others are defeated. Kind of like a back up clause," Giles said.
"Wait first my room mate's a demon, and now my lab partner?"
"We aren't sure if Alex is in fact the last member though," Giles said.
"We're not talking about Alex Connors are we," Anya asked.
"Yes, you know of him," Giles inquired.
"I knew him back in my demon days. He was a real strange character, not to demon like. He was always interested more in collecting test subjects and samples for his experiment. He didn't even torture people or anything."
"Well that confirms my suspicion, Alex is definitely the last member of the order of Taraka," Giles said. "The passage states the last member is to stay alive to complete the experiment."
"What experiment," Buffy asked.
"The book doesn't say," Giles said. "Do you know of anything Anya?"
"I don't think anyone knew. Alex always kept his stuff from everybody."
"Do you know what kind of demon he is," Buffy asked Anya.
"He's an adapt demon. He can adjust to changes fast. He'll adapt to weather, to your fighting style, to your methods, pretty cool if you ask me . . . well in a demon sort of way," Anya said.
"So how do we kill him," Buffy asked.
"Pretty simple, like how you kill most demons, cut off his head, set him on fire, acid would probably work . . . "
"We get the picture," Xander interrupted smiling.
"Wait, if Alex is part of the order of Taraka then why hasn't he tried to kill me, or acknowledged the fact that I'm the slayer," Buffy asked.
"It must have something to so with his experiment," Anya said.
"He might be making sure he's prepared. The other members rushed in and got killed off pretty fast. He might want to make sure he's ready," Giles said.
"Plus we still don't know the link to biology, why is he so into it," Willow asked.
"It sounds like we have a lot of questions and need answers," Buffy said.
"So what's the plan," Xander asked
"First Giles finds out as much as he can, Anya you could help him since you at least know a little bit about him. Willow and me will go check out his room, have a look when he's not around and see what we can see. Xander . . . actually I don't know where you fit into the plan."
"Anyone notice the pattern of how I never seem to fit in the plans. I mean Giles is the watcher, Anya former demon, Willow the witch, Buffy the slayer, and what Xander the doughnut guy," Xander said.
Buffy shot a look of compassion at Xander. She wanted to involve him, but how?
"You could keep Alex distracted while me and Willow have a look around," Buffy said beaming.
"Somehow I liked Xander the doughnut boy better then Xander the demon entertainer," Xander said. "Anyway I don't even know the guy why would he hang out with me?"
"I don't know. Pretend you need help studying for an exam, I don't care, just distract him," Buffy said.
* * *
Alex looked over a section of the pare trail. He wanted to make sure his experiment was giving him the intended results. There were a few minor mistakes, but he was working with DNA. He would adapt to the changes. Errors were however amplified by the fact that he was working with DNA, the essence of life. He opened the drawer containing his tubes of sample materials. He picked up a vial containing the poison from a diamond back rattler. The knock on his door almost made him drop it. He breathed a sigh of frustration. Alex carefully put the tube back in the drawer, shut it, and went to deal with the interruption. He opened the door.
"Hi. How's it going," Xander asked smiling.
"Can I help you with something," Alex said.
"You see I have this test, this DNA test and I'm trying to figure it out. It's all a bunch of gibberish to me, anyway, I got the buzz that you were the man when it comes to DNA."
"Alex smiled a little bit out of pride. "Well it is my specialty. What do you need help with?"
"Well I kind of forgot my book back in my room, why don't you come over and we can have a look at it there," Xander said.
"Yeah sure hold on a sec." Alex went back and made sure he could leave his experiment alone for a while. He shut off his computer and made sure everything was put away. Seeing that everything was now in order he followed Xander out the door.
Xander's mind was reeling; he didn't live in a dorm room, or have a biology book for that matter. Just keep him distracted Xander thought, and hope he doesn't adapt to your time wasting efforts.
* * *
Buffy hid behind the corner, once she heard silence for a brief time, she cautiously poked her head out, seeing if the coast was clear. The hallway was empty. Buffy led the way as Willow followed her.
"What happens if they come back," Willow asked.
"Let's just hope they don't," Buffy said.
"But what if they do," Willow persisted.
"We improvise," Buffy answered.
"Oh, at least we have a plan," Willow said somewhat sarcastically.
Buffy came to the door and found that it was unlocked.
"He wasn't planning on being long," Buffy said. "Let's just hope Xander can keep him busy."
* * *
"So . . . you like football," Xander asked smiling.
"No, not really," Alex answered.
"That's to bad, see there was this great game on last Saturday and . . ."
"Where is your room," Alex interrupted.
"Right my room, it's upstairs, come on," Xander motioned.
Alex stepped close and shot a glance at Xander. "You're a friend of the slayer aren't you?"
"The what? Does that have anything to do with DNA," Xander asked changing the subject.
Alex grabbed Xander's throat tight enough to show his power, but allowing Xander to live.
"I can smell her scent on you, where is she," Alex asked with a wry smile.
"I think she went to the store," Xander said sarcastically "but I could be wrong."
Alex shot him an evil glare. "I should kill you right now, but there's no fun involved. In fact I can use you to draw the Slayer to me. You see the experiment was a success. I am ready to finish her off. The other members were pathetic, but I stand here as the strongest member of the order of Taraka!"
"I'm thinking that since me and Cordy even killed one of you, that Buffy isn't going to have to much trouble with you," Xander sneered.
Alex let a smile cross his face "Good night," he said. Alex took Xander by the throat, with one hand, turned, and slammed him against the side wall rendering him unconscious.
* * *
The glow of the computer screen illuminated the left side of Willow's face. She moved her fingers across the keyboard as the screen changed in response. Buffy returned to that corner after taking a quick look around.
"I didn't find much, just a bunch of biology related material, stuff we already know. Anything here," Buffy asked.
"I got into his files. Alex has a lot of files containing gene sequence codes," Willow replied.
"Codes from what, Demons?"
"From a lot of different things. Birds, dogs, bats, humans, from what I've seen nothing of the supernatural realm," Willow said.
"So we know he's not cloning demons, cloning people for an army?"
"No, he's definitely not cloning. He doesn't have large chunks of DNA. In fact most of them are comparatively small," Willow replied.
"If he's not cloning anything then why is he so interested in DNA," Buffy asked.
"That's the real question. He has all these random chunks of DNA sequences from all different animals. I don't get it. Almost like he has a lot of different puzzle pieces from different puzzles and he's trying to piece them together," Willow said.
"Well if he doesn't have any pieces then he can't play his game," Buffy said.
"Right, so we find his DNA samples and destroy them before he can put his action into plan," Willow said. "DNA is pretty fragile, you have to keep it cool."
Buffy went over to the freezer and pulled open the drawer. Before she even had time to take a look she heard faint footsteps that were slowly approaching.
"No time," Buffy said grabbing Willow, shutting the drawer, and jumping out a nearby window.
Alex opened the door and walked in. He turned and saw the computer on, funny he didn't remember leaving it on. He slightly cocked his head and breathed in air that smelled of the slayer. He quickly went to the freezer and pulled open the drawer and was relieved that his samples were intact. He smiled that was the last mistake the slayer would ever make. He could proceed now to become renowned for the demon that killed the slayer. He took out a syringe and slowly started injecting the samples into his blood stream.
* * *
"What do you mean Xander never came back," Buffy asked in a concerned voice. "I should have never put him in jeopardy. We should probably assume the worst so Alex has Xander. We don't know where he is or what Alex's plans are. To top it off we can't do much until Alex decides to contact us."
"Actually between me and Anya I think we may have come us with a good idea about Alex's experiment," Giles said.
Buffy awaited their news eagerly.
"You see I knew that Alex's experiment was titled the Chimera project," Anya said.
"A chimera is a mythical beast. It has the head of a lion and a tail of a scorpion and so on and so on," Giles explained.
"Alex is engineering his own Chimera," Buffy asked.
"Not quite," Giles said "You see you can't just mix the DNA of animals very well. There are small bits and pieces that don't fit together well."
"Yeah, that what I said" Willow interjected " like he's got all these different parts but they don't connect."
"Unless you're an adapt demon," Buffy said, making everyone look at her.
"He's going to make himself the perfect chimera. The pieces don't fit, but they don't have to. He can adapt them until they do fit."
"So we know his plan," Anya said. "Now what do we do?"
"Wait, and in the meantime try and figure out how you stop a creature composed of the best parts of all the animals," Buffy said.
* * *
Xander's head really hurt. The semi-bright glow of the fluorescent lights didn't help his disposition. "Where am I," Xander asked himself.
"In the lab," Alex said.
Xander tried to move, but he was strapped down to the table. He saw a large vat above him, "what's that," he asked.
"Excess DNA. You see I'm done with DNA, my experiment is a complete success. I figured that since I no longer needed the excess DNA, I'd put it to good use," Alex smiled.
"So what you're to drown me in DNA," Xander asked.
"Not quite, Alex said. "I'm going to bring it to a boil and have the DNA burn you to death."
"You know I think I liked my idea better," Xander said sarcastically.
"Don't worry, you wont die . . .yet. I'm using you as the bait," Alex said.
"Great, first I'm the demon distracter and now I'm slayer bait, from now on I'm happy just being the doughnut boy."
"Would you like a demonstration of my power," Alex asked.
" No, not really, but somehow I get the feeling your going to show me anyway," Xander replied.
Alex ignored him and walked over to a nearby wall which had a crude stick figure drawing with a stake in it's hand. "Pretend this is the slayer," Alex said.
"At least we know you're not going to kill Buffy with your artwork," Xander said.
Alex ignored him and took a good head start. He began to run towards the wall, much faster then a normal human. When he got a couple of feet from the wall he ducked his head. Small brown plates formed as Alex rolled into a ball. He crashed through the wall, demolishing it. He unrolled as the armor plates slowly faded back to his normal skin.
"The speed of a cheetah mixed with the armor of an Armadillo," Alex said. "There's more the sight of an eagle, smell of a dog, hearing of a bat, strength of a bear. I am the perfect chimera and as the last member of the Order of Taraka I will kill the slayer!
* * *
In the envelope was a single sheet of paper.
Today. Sundown. Bio lab
~Alex
"Where did you get this," Giles said.
"It was slipped under my bedroom door," Buffy replied.
"I don't get it, why didn't Alex just kill you when you were sleeping," Willow said.
"I don't know, for some reason he wants me alive. Maybe the Order of Taraka has an honor code or something," Buffy said.
"Actually quite the opposite, the Order has no honor, no real rules, no agenda except to keep on trying until the slayer is dead," Giles said.
"Well we will find out tonight," Buffy said.
"You're walking right into his plan, into his territory," Anya said.
"I don't see there is much choice, especially if we want to save Xander, that is if he's still alive," Buffy said. "But I'm coming with a few surprises of my own," with that Buffy started packing various weapons into her black duffel bag, preparing for the oncoming battle.
* * *
The last few rays of the sun were sinking into the horizon. Buffy determined, made a straight line path to the entrance of the lab,
Alex stood to greet her as she entered the lab.
"That's your entrance," Alex asked a bit disappointed.
"Actually this is my entrance," Buffy said as she swung the flame thrower on her back forward. She aimed, lit the tip and shot a plume of fire that engulfed Alex. "Should have killed me while you had the chance," Buffy said.
Alex thrashed about, trying to put the flames out. Slowly the fire died out leaving a severely charred body.
"Well that wad easy," Buffy said a little bit surprised. She turned to Xander. "I mean I expected a little bit more from the greatest member of the Order of Taraka." Buffy saw Xander's eyes grow wide, but didn't have the time to prepare for the hit that sent her to the floor, she turned and saw Alex unscathed.
"Regeneration of a starfish," Alex said smiling.
"But there's one sample I don't have. I need the DNA of the slayer," Alex said smiling.
"You could have got that while I was sleeping," Buffy said. "Why did you really keep me alive?"
"To give you the chance of a lifetime. To become my queen, and together we would reign supreme and our spawn, our child would be the greatest creation and it would rule the earth in terror."
"Okay . . . you know most demons I fight are a little bit less . . . oh what's the word . . . psychotic," Buffy said!
Alex snarled at her, "one way or another I will have your DNA!"
Buffy got up and launched a kick to Alex's midsection. Alex once again made the small brown plates cover his torso. Buffy's foot connected with a rock hard wall. Pain shot up through her leg, it wasn't broken thankfully.
"You will soon see your efforts are useless," Alex said. He picked Buffy up and threw her across the lab. She hit a wall of empty test tubes, which shattered. She came up bleeding.
"I realize all I needed was a single hair from your head and I'd have your DNA, but honestly I think I'm in love with you," Alex said.
"You've got a weird way of showing it," Buffy retorted.
* * *
Giles, Willow, and Anya sat in a constant state of tension. They were worried about the fate of Buffy and Xander. Giles was cleaning his glasses, Willow was pretending to be absorbed in a book, while Anya was pacing back and forth checking her watch every three seconds.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Anya said.
"There's not much we would do, except get in the way Giles said.
"Well, I'm going to go save my boyfriend," Anya said. Giles was about to protest, but Anya was already up and headed for the door.
* * *
Buffy threw a right cross, but Alex quickly dodged out of the way.
"You may be the Slayer, but your limited to your adaptation." Alex's hand slowly formed into a large crab's claw. He grabbed Buffy around the throat and lifted her, pinning her to the wall.
"It's over," Alex said with a crazed look. "You can't beat me!"
Buffy watched as a large scorpion's tail grew from the back of Alex. She raised her hands gripping the sides of the claw.
* * *
Anya quietly entered the room. The lab was large, Buffy was struggling with Alex near the opposite side of the room. She knew Alex would be focused on fighting Buffy, also Alex wouldn't recognize her smell. If she was still a demon he might recognize her, but as a human she would give off a different smell. She slid over to the table where Xander was.
"What are you doing here," Xander whispered.
"I'm rescuing you, what does it look like," Anya replied.
"It looks like a suicide mission," Xander said.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Anya retorted. She loosened the straps that buckled Xander down.
* * *
Just as Alex started to swipe, Buffy pulled with all her might, cracking the claw and ducking below the tail blow. The momentum carried the tail forward into the wall, embedding it into the wall. Buffy did a side roll, quickly going beyond Alex's reach.
Alex flashed a set of shark teeth, as he lunged at the slayer. He came within inches of her, until his tail, still embedded in the wall, held him like a dog tied to a tree.
Buffy rose and stood a good way out of Alex's reach. Alex turned his arm into the tail of an electric eel, striking out like an electrified whip.
Buffy dodged. She grabbed a nearby table on wheels that was of medium size. She ran it full force into Alex.
The table caught him and smashed his left side. The tail fell off, Alex knew it was to buried to use. He was injured, but he still had some fight left in him. He slowly started to shift until he had disappeared.
"Where'd he go," Buffy said.
A hard blow on her left side sent her reeling across the floor. "Camouflage of a chameleon," Alex explained.
Buffy took a defensive stance shifting left and right, trying to predict Alex's next move. A blow from behind sent her the opposite way.
* * *
Xander saw that Buffy was in trouble. How could she fight something she couldn't see? Maybe if Xander could make Alex visible, then Buffy could fight back. "Anya, first of all turn off the heat on that vat of DNA, then that can't pose a problem anymore. Then get a fire extinguisher and start spraying everywhere."
Anya nodded. She ran over to the panel that controlled the vat. The DNA was only up to 78 degrees, Alex must have thought that heating it up would take less time. Anya shrugges and turned the heating off.
Xander ran to the side of the room and grabbed a fire extinguisher and started spraying the area.
"You are finished Slayer. Join me or die," Alex said!
The whisper like fog made from the extinguishers made Alex's outline visible.
"Sorry I don't play well with others" Buffy said, landing an elbow to Alex's head.
Alex was completely unprepared, the blow knocked him backwards. He stood and tried to shake off the pain. How did she see him? Alex glanced down and saw the smoke from the extinguishers revealed his location. He turned to the pesky human that was ruining his plans.
Alex grabbed Xander "I should have killed you!"
"Xander," Buffy yelled running and leaping on to Alex's back in an attempt to distract the demon.
Alex's back secreted a highly effective sedative found in some frogs. Buffy tried to hold on, but her muscles failed to respond. She could see everything that was going on, but could do nothing about it.
"Now you will watch as I snap this pathetic human's neck like a twig! Then I will take you as my bride," Alex sneered.
Buffy wanted to scream, but she was immobilized.
A female's voice rang out clear, "Hey Alex adapt to this!" Anya yelled, as she pressed the button that emptied the vat. A semi-warm flow of DNA drenched Buffy, Alex, and Xander.
At first there was silence, Buffy wondered if this was just a last ditch distraction. Alex let go of Xander and stumbled a bit. His skin started to form bubbles. His body was trying to adapt to all the things in the left over DNA. Now his skin was smooth, a second later it had fur, then scales. Alex was changing to fast, there was to much random parts. He let out a primal scream and proceeded to explode into a million pieces.
Anya ran over and hugged Xander. She then took a step back and tried to clean the mess off her shirt.
* * *
Buffy sat with a towel twisteed around her hair in the living room with Giles, Willow, Xander, and Anya.
"So Alex just kept you alive because he wanted to mate with you," Willow said in a disgusted voice.
"You know what they say about men, always thinking about sex," Buffy said.
"Next time you save us," Xander chimed in addressing Anya "would you mind doing it in a less disgusting way?"
"Oh, sorry next time I'll let you become DNA soup," she retorted.
"Speaking of soup I'm hungry," Xander said pulling out a bag.
"What's in there," Buffy asked.
"I figured Alex's project was actually a good idea, you just have to be a good guy. So I created a new food which I call a chimera."
"What's in it," Buffy asked.
"I combined the best parts of all my favorite dishes into one. The chips from a chocolate chip cookie, the syrup from pancakes, the pepperoni from pizza, the butter from buttered popcorn, and last sauerkraut from a German sausage.
Xander took his fork and took a large sample from the dish and put it in his mouth.
For a second nothing happened, then Xander exploded . . .
off the couch and towards the bathroom, while Buffy and the others tried to control their laughter.
THE END
By: Joel Cochenet
Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own any of the characters in this fic, 'cept for Alex 'cause I made him up :p~
Dedication: To all those who have patiently awaited me to finish a serious fic well here it is!
The story takes place oh I don't know somewhere around the time when they first go to college.
On to the story
* * *
Giles sat among the pillars of books that were slowly being categorized. He had spent a long night in attempt to finish cataloguing his collection on demons. In an attempt to rub away his weariness, Giles removed his spectacles and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Someone stayed up late and didn't invite me over for the fun," Buffy said making her presence known.
"Oh, Buffy, I was just cataloguing my collection on demons," Giles replied.
"Shoot I can't believe I missed that," Buffy said in her usual happy sarcasm. "Find anything interesting?"
"Just that a certain volume is missing," Giles said.
"What? What if that volume contains info on the next demon I fight," Buffy asked in a slightly concerned tone.
"Oh, it's no need to worry, if I remember the volume was checked out near the end of the school year and it concerned the Order of Taraka."
Buffy had to think a minute before recognizing the name, "Oh right the ones that would never give up until they killed me. With that one creepy bug guy. I'm glad that's over."
"Indeed," Giles agreed, "still I would like the book back.
"So go back and see who checked it out," Buffy suggested.
"Actually we don't have to do that, I can check it here," Giles said as he began to search through the whirlwind of papers around him. "Ah, here it is," Giles said dusting off a slim hard bound book. He thumbed to through the pages until he found the last entry.
[Alex Connors]
Buffy thought for a moment, "Alex Connors, why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Did he graduate in your class," Giles offered.
"I think so, but I've seen it recently. I can't place it though."
"Well if you find out how you know him could you possibly ask him about returning my book," Giles asked.
"No problem, listen I have to go I'm meeting up with Willow to do a pre-lab. You know it's bad enough that I have to go around and stake vampires and kill demons, but then they require to cut up frogs, my life's really morbid," Buffy said with sarcasm. "Have fun with your books."
"Thanks, I'll try," Giles said as he slowly started going through the next stack of books.
* * *
Willow sat at the metal wicker like table waiting to meet Buffy. She smiled as she saw Buffy coming to the table.
"Hey, how did you do on the bio test," Willow asked.
"Not to well, a C, I'm assuming with your witchy self and extreme intelligence you got an A?"
"Yeah, I got a 100%, but that still wasn't the highest grade in the class," Willow said with a small sigh.
"How's that possible," Buffy asked a little confused.
"Well there was a 25 point extra credit question, it asked for the DNA code for a bio-enzyme. The string was 17 nucleotides long, I don't see how you would have time to memorize all that," Willow explained.
"And someone answered it correctly?"
"Yeah, Alex Connors, I guess he's really into biology," Willow said.
Buffy snapped her fingers "that's it! That's where I remember his name from, the printed out results of the test!"
"What about him," Willow asked.
"Oh, he checked out one of Giles' books and Giles would like it back."
"Well seeing how he's so good with biology I asked him if we could be in his lab group. I hope you don't mind," Willow asked tentatively.
"Hey two brains are better then one and a Slayer, right?"
"Yeah, and we can go ask him for the book when we meet up with him. In fact we should go up now, I have his room number," Willow said.
"Room number, eh," Buffy said smiling.
"This is purely academic interest. I have to know how he got that extra credit question right."
"Do I sense a little jealousy," Buffy asked.
"Sorry, but I'm used to being the head of the class," Willow said.
"Well let's go see if we can get this pre-lab done before lunch."
"I doubt it," Willow replied "it looks like a pretty hard lab."
"That's the one thing I don't understand about college, everything is harder," Buffy said with sarcasm.
Willow grabbed her notebook and bag and the two were off.
* * *
Buffy and Willow wandered down the hall of the dorm until they got to a rather plain and ordinary door.
"Well, this is it," Willow said "Room 201."
"We know he doesn't spend time with decorations," Buffy said.
Willow ignored the comment and knocked on the door.
A tall guy with short brown hair and brown eyes opened the door. "Oh, hey come on in," Alex said sliding the door open.
Willow and Buffy entered the room, as Alex closed the door behind them. "Sorry about the mess," Alex said.
The room was literally covered in books. There were also a large amount of papers, charts, and various jars with things floating in formaldehyde. A computer sat in the back corner humming; a seemingly endless sheet of paper was being printed out.
Alex removed the books that were piled on two chairs, and offered the seats to Buffy and Willow.
"What is all this stuff," Buffy asked.
"I'm a nut about biology. I love studying it especially DNA, that's my specialty. DNA is like a code just waiting to be deciphered," Alex said smiling.
"That's great because that's what our pre-lab is about," Willow said excitedly.
"Right, the pre-lab, I was meaning to talk to you about that," Alex said. "You see I kind of already did it," Alex said sheepishly.
"You already did the entire pre-lab," Willow asked a bit surprised.
"Actually I kind of did the entire lab," Alex corrected her.
"But we the lab requires a centrifuge machine and test samples?"
"Yeah, well I used my own stuff, like I said I'm a biology nut."
"But we didn't do anything, I mean this was supposed to be a group project," Willow said.
"I know, but I love doing this stuff. I'll just say you girls helped me, if that's all right?"
"No that's not," Willow started, but was interrupted when Buffy jabbed her softly in the side with her elbow, "No that's fine," is what she means Buffy said smiling.
"Great, you can help me out on the next one," Alex said.
"There's one more thing," Buffy said. "Would you happen to have a book about demons that you checked out of the Sunnydale High library? See I'm friends with the librarian and he's been looking for it."
"Yeah, I didn't know what to do with it since the school kind of got leveled. I would have returned it, but I didn't know where to go."
Alex went back in the corner and slid a book off the shelf and handed it to Buffy.
"Wow with all these books I thought it would take you longer to find," Buffy said.
"It seems pretty chaotic, but actually I'm quite organized."
"I see," Buffy said. "Well we better get going, thanks for all your work."
Alex just smiled and opened the door as Buffy left dragging a reluctant Willow, who still wanted to do the lab.
"That is so unfair, doing all the work himself. I mean we didn't get to decode DNA or analyze samples."
"In other words we didn't have to waste all our time doing really boring lab work," Buffy said.
"Well, yeah," Willow said.
"We got the book and the lab done. I think I'm beginning to like this Alex guy," Buffy said.
"I just hope we get to help out next time," Willow said dejectedly.
* * *
Giles lay his head on tope of the pile of books, using them as a makeshift pillow. The knock on the door snapped him out of his sleep. He put his glasses back on and answered the door.
"Up all night with the books again, you wild man you," Buffy said.
"Ah well yes, any luck," Giles responded.
"One volume on the Order of Taraka," Buffy said handing the book to Giles. "Not only that but Alex did our centrifuge lab for us," Buffy said smiling.
"He went to the lab and did it himself," Giles asked.
"Actually he said he used his own materials," Buffy answered.
Giles frowned a bit in confusion.
"Something wrong," Buffy said.
"Well most students don't have the funds or the materials needed for a centrifuge lab," Giles said.
"Well I wouldn't be surprised if Alex had his own lab. He's kind of weird had all these books and charts and maps and little jars with animals. It creeped me out, but he seems like a nice guy. "
"Did you notice anything strange about him," Giles asked.
"You mean besides all that stuff I just said?"
"Anything about demons or the occult?"
"No . . . you think he's cloning demons in an attempt to rule Sunnydale," Buffy asked in a serious tone.
"No cloning Demons is much harder then humans. Scientists, even Demon ones, haven't even come close to cloning humans. I was just wondering why a person so interested in biology would check out a book about the Order of Taraka, it doesn't seem to fit," Giles said.
"Oh . . . I don't know," Buffy replied.
* * *
Alex had checked the book, it was a sort of guidelines book, it said nothing about killing the Slayer right away. It did say that as a member of the Order of Taraka he had to try to kill her, but it didn't say he had to do it right away. He needed time to put his Chimera plan into effect. He walked over and opened the top drawer of his freezer. He looked through a row of small glass tubes. He slipped one of the tubes out and stuck it into an awaiting syringe. The thin needle first pricked his arm and the needle entered the vein. The liquid slowly entered into his body. Alex released a sigh of relief. He could feel the energy running through him. He picked up a nearby paperweight and crumpled it into a twisted ball of scrap metal. He let a smile cross his face. Soon, very soon, he would be ready to face the slayer and finish the job as the last remaining member of the Order of Taraka.
* * *
Giles furiously wiped at his spectacles hoping it was something wrong with them. He read the passage over again, with the same disturbing results. He got up and made a phone call; a meeting was definitely in order.
* * *
Buffy and Willow sat in two chairs on the left, Xander and Anya seated on the right. Xander had brought the pink box of assorted doughnuts to munch on.
"The reason I called you all here," Giles began "was because I found a disturbing passage in the Order of Taraka book. You see I haven't read it in a while and I wanted to see if it mentioned anything pertinent about biology. I'm suspicious if this Alex character because he seems pretty strange. The passage tells of the last member of the Order of Taraka and I suspect Alex is that member."
"Last member? I thought we killed all of them," Buffy said.
"It seems we missed one. The passage actually doesn't reveal much. It states that all the members except for the leader are to pursue the slayer until she is dead. The last member is to keep hidden in the chance that the others are defeated. Kind of like a back up clause," Giles said.
"Wait first my room mate's a demon, and now my lab partner?"
"We aren't sure if Alex is in fact the last member though," Giles said.
"We're not talking about Alex Connors are we," Anya asked.
"Yes, you know of him," Giles inquired.
"I knew him back in my demon days. He was a real strange character, not to demon like. He was always interested more in collecting test subjects and samples for his experiment. He didn't even torture people or anything."
"Well that confirms my suspicion, Alex is definitely the last member of the order of Taraka," Giles said. "The passage states the last member is to stay alive to complete the experiment."
"What experiment," Buffy asked.
"The book doesn't say," Giles said. "Do you know of anything Anya?"
"I don't think anyone knew. Alex always kept his stuff from everybody."
"Do you know what kind of demon he is," Buffy asked Anya.
"He's an adapt demon. He can adjust to changes fast. He'll adapt to weather, to your fighting style, to your methods, pretty cool if you ask me . . . well in a demon sort of way," Anya said.
"So how do we kill him," Buffy asked.
"Pretty simple, like how you kill most demons, cut off his head, set him on fire, acid would probably work . . . "
"We get the picture," Xander interrupted smiling.
"Wait, if Alex is part of the order of Taraka then why hasn't he tried to kill me, or acknowledged the fact that I'm the slayer," Buffy asked.
"It must have something to so with his experiment," Anya said.
"He might be making sure he's prepared. The other members rushed in and got killed off pretty fast. He might want to make sure he's ready," Giles said.
"Plus we still don't know the link to biology, why is he so into it," Willow asked.
"It sounds like we have a lot of questions and need answers," Buffy said.
"So what's the plan," Xander asked
"First Giles finds out as much as he can, Anya you could help him since you at least know a little bit about him. Willow and me will go check out his room, have a look when he's not around and see what we can see. Xander . . . actually I don't know where you fit into the plan."
"Anyone notice the pattern of how I never seem to fit in the plans. I mean Giles is the watcher, Anya former demon, Willow the witch, Buffy the slayer, and what Xander the doughnut guy," Xander said.
Buffy shot a look of compassion at Xander. She wanted to involve him, but how?
"You could keep Alex distracted while me and Willow have a look around," Buffy said beaming.
"Somehow I liked Xander the doughnut boy better then Xander the demon entertainer," Xander said. "Anyway I don't even know the guy why would he hang out with me?"
"I don't know. Pretend you need help studying for an exam, I don't care, just distract him," Buffy said.
* * *
Alex looked over a section of the pare trail. He wanted to make sure his experiment was giving him the intended results. There were a few minor mistakes, but he was working with DNA. He would adapt to the changes. Errors were however amplified by the fact that he was working with DNA, the essence of life. He opened the drawer containing his tubes of sample materials. He picked up a vial containing the poison from a diamond back rattler. The knock on his door almost made him drop it. He breathed a sigh of frustration. Alex carefully put the tube back in the drawer, shut it, and went to deal with the interruption. He opened the door.
"Hi. How's it going," Xander asked smiling.
"Can I help you with something," Alex said.
"You see I have this test, this DNA test and I'm trying to figure it out. It's all a bunch of gibberish to me, anyway, I got the buzz that you were the man when it comes to DNA."
"Alex smiled a little bit out of pride. "Well it is my specialty. What do you need help with?"
"Well I kind of forgot my book back in my room, why don't you come over and we can have a look at it there," Xander said.
"Yeah sure hold on a sec." Alex went back and made sure he could leave his experiment alone for a while. He shut off his computer and made sure everything was put away. Seeing that everything was now in order he followed Xander out the door.
Xander's mind was reeling; he didn't live in a dorm room, or have a biology book for that matter. Just keep him distracted Xander thought, and hope he doesn't adapt to your time wasting efforts.
* * *
Buffy hid behind the corner, once she heard silence for a brief time, she cautiously poked her head out, seeing if the coast was clear. The hallway was empty. Buffy led the way as Willow followed her.
"What happens if they come back," Willow asked.
"Let's just hope they don't," Buffy said.
"But what if they do," Willow persisted.
"We improvise," Buffy answered.
"Oh, at least we have a plan," Willow said somewhat sarcastically.
Buffy came to the door and found that it was unlocked.
"He wasn't planning on being long," Buffy said. "Let's just hope Xander can keep him busy."
* * *
"So . . . you like football," Xander asked smiling.
"No, not really," Alex answered.
"That's to bad, see there was this great game on last Saturday and . . ."
"Where is your room," Alex interrupted.
"Right my room, it's upstairs, come on," Xander motioned.
Alex stepped close and shot a glance at Xander. "You're a friend of the slayer aren't you?"
"The what? Does that have anything to do with DNA," Xander asked changing the subject.
Alex grabbed Xander's throat tight enough to show his power, but allowing Xander to live.
"I can smell her scent on you, where is she," Alex asked with a wry smile.
"I think she went to the store," Xander said sarcastically "but I could be wrong."
Alex shot him an evil glare. "I should kill you right now, but there's no fun involved. In fact I can use you to draw the Slayer to me. You see the experiment was a success. I am ready to finish her off. The other members were pathetic, but I stand here as the strongest member of the order of Taraka!"
"I'm thinking that since me and Cordy even killed one of you, that Buffy isn't going to have to much trouble with you," Xander sneered.
Alex let a smile cross his face "Good night," he said. Alex took Xander by the throat, with one hand, turned, and slammed him against the side wall rendering him unconscious.
* * *
The glow of the computer screen illuminated the left side of Willow's face. She moved her fingers across the keyboard as the screen changed in response. Buffy returned to that corner after taking a quick look around.
"I didn't find much, just a bunch of biology related material, stuff we already know. Anything here," Buffy asked.
"I got into his files. Alex has a lot of files containing gene sequence codes," Willow replied.
"Codes from what, Demons?"
"From a lot of different things. Birds, dogs, bats, humans, from what I've seen nothing of the supernatural realm," Willow said.
"So we know he's not cloning demons, cloning people for an army?"
"No, he's definitely not cloning. He doesn't have large chunks of DNA. In fact most of them are comparatively small," Willow replied.
"If he's not cloning anything then why is he so interested in DNA," Buffy asked.
"That's the real question. He has all these random chunks of DNA sequences from all different animals. I don't get it. Almost like he has a lot of different puzzle pieces from different puzzles and he's trying to piece them together," Willow said.
"Well if he doesn't have any pieces then he can't play his game," Buffy said.
"Right, so we find his DNA samples and destroy them before he can put his action into plan," Willow said. "DNA is pretty fragile, you have to keep it cool."
Buffy went over to the freezer and pulled open the drawer. Before she even had time to take a look she heard faint footsteps that were slowly approaching.
"No time," Buffy said grabbing Willow, shutting the drawer, and jumping out a nearby window.
Alex opened the door and walked in. He turned and saw the computer on, funny he didn't remember leaving it on. He slightly cocked his head and breathed in air that smelled of the slayer. He quickly went to the freezer and pulled open the drawer and was relieved that his samples were intact. He smiled that was the last mistake the slayer would ever make. He could proceed now to become renowned for the demon that killed the slayer. He took out a syringe and slowly started injecting the samples into his blood stream.
* * *
"What do you mean Xander never came back," Buffy asked in a concerned voice. "I should have never put him in jeopardy. We should probably assume the worst so Alex has Xander. We don't know where he is or what Alex's plans are. To top it off we can't do much until Alex decides to contact us."
"Actually between me and Anya I think we may have come us with a good idea about Alex's experiment," Giles said.
Buffy awaited their news eagerly.
"You see I knew that Alex's experiment was titled the Chimera project," Anya said.
"A chimera is a mythical beast. It has the head of a lion and a tail of a scorpion and so on and so on," Giles explained.
"Alex is engineering his own Chimera," Buffy asked.
"Not quite," Giles said "You see you can't just mix the DNA of animals very well. There are small bits and pieces that don't fit together well."
"Yeah, that what I said" Willow interjected " like he's got all these different parts but they don't connect."
"Unless you're an adapt demon," Buffy said, making everyone look at her.
"He's going to make himself the perfect chimera. The pieces don't fit, but they don't have to. He can adapt them until they do fit."
"So we know his plan," Anya said. "Now what do we do?"
"Wait, and in the meantime try and figure out how you stop a creature composed of the best parts of all the animals," Buffy said.
* * *
Xander's head really hurt. The semi-bright glow of the fluorescent lights didn't help his disposition. "Where am I," Xander asked himself.
"In the lab," Alex said.
Xander tried to move, but he was strapped down to the table. He saw a large vat above him, "what's that," he asked.
"Excess DNA. You see I'm done with DNA, my experiment is a complete success. I figured that since I no longer needed the excess DNA, I'd put it to good use," Alex smiled.
"So what you're to drown me in DNA," Xander asked.
"Not quite, Alex said. "I'm going to bring it to a boil and have the DNA burn you to death."
"You know I think I liked my idea better," Xander said sarcastically.
"Don't worry, you wont die . . .yet. I'm using you as the bait," Alex said.
"Great, first I'm the demon distracter and now I'm slayer bait, from now on I'm happy just being the doughnut boy."
"Would you like a demonstration of my power," Alex asked.
" No, not really, but somehow I get the feeling your going to show me anyway," Xander replied.
Alex ignored him and walked over to a nearby wall which had a crude stick figure drawing with a stake in it's hand. "Pretend this is the slayer," Alex said.
"At least we know you're not going to kill Buffy with your artwork," Xander said.
Alex ignored him and took a good head start. He began to run towards the wall, much faster then a normal human. When he got a couple of feet from the wall he ducked his head. Small brown plates formed as Alex rolled into a ball. He crashed through the wall, demolishing it. He unrolled as the armor plates slowly faded back to his normal skin.
"The speed of a cheetah mixed with the armor of an Armadillo," Alex said. "There's more the sight of an eagle, smell of a dog, hearing of a bat, strength of a bear. I am the perfect chimera and as the last member of the Order of Taraka I will kill the slayer!
* * *
In the envelope was a single sheet of paper.
Today. Sundown. Bio lab
~Alex
"Where did you get this," Giles said.
"It was slipped under my bedroom door," Buffy replied.
"I don't get it, why didn't Alex just kill you when you were sleeping," Willow said.
"I don't know, for some reason he wants me alive. Maybe the Order of Taraka has an honor code or something," Buffy said.
"Actually quite the opposite, the Order has no honor, no real rules, no agenda except to keep on trying until the slayer is dead," Giles said.
"Well we will find out tonight," Buffy said.
"You're walking right into his plan, into his territory," Anya said.
"I don't see there is much choice, especially if we want to save Xander, that is if he's still alive," Buffy said. "But I'm coming with a few surprises of my own," with that Buffy started packing various weapons into her black duffel bag, preparing for the oncoming battle.
* * *
The last few rays of the sun were sinking into the horizon. Buffy determined, made a straight line path to the entrance of the lab,
Alex stood to greet her as she entered the lab.
"That's your entrance," Alex asked a bit disappointed.
"Actually this is my entrance," Buffy said as she swung the flame thrower on her back forward. She aimed, lit the tip and shot a plume of fire that engulfed Alex. "Should have killed me while you had the chance," Buffy said.
Alex thrashed about, trying to put the flames out. Slowly the fire died out leaving a severely charred body.
"Well that wad easy," Buffy said a little bit surprised. She turned to Xander. "I mean I expected a little bit more from the greatest member of the Order of Taraka." Buffy saw Xander's eyes grow wide, but didn't have the time to prepare for the hit that sent her to the floor, she turned and saw Alex unscathed.
"Regeneration of a starfish," Alex said smiling.
"But there's one sample I don't have. I need the DNA of the slayer," Alex said smiling.
"You could have got that while I was sleeping," Buffy said. "Why did you really keep me alive?"
"To give you the chance of a lifetime. To become my queen, and together we would reign supreme and our spawn, our child would be the greatest creation and it would rule the earth in terror."
"Okay . . . you know most demons I fight are a little bit less . . . oh what's the word . . . psychotic," Buffy said!
Alex snarled at her, "one way or another I will have your DNA!"
Buffy got up and launched a kick to Alex's midsection. Alex once again made the small brown plates cover his torso. Buffy's foot connected with a rock hard wall. Pain shot up through her leg, it wasn't broken thankfully.
"You will soon see your efforts are useless," Alex said. He picked Buffy up and threw her across the lab. She hit a wall of empty test tubes, which shattered. She came up bleeding.
"I realize all I needed was a single hair from your head and I'd have your DNA, but honestly I think I'm in love with you," Alex said.
"You've got a weird way of showing it," Buffy retorted.
* * *
Giles, Willow, and Anya sat in a constant state of tension. They were worried about the fate of Buffy and Xander. Giles was cleaning his glasses, Willow was pretending to be absorbed in a book, while Anya was pacing back and forth checking her watch every three seconds.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing," Anya said.
"There's not much we would do, except get in the way Giles said.
"Well, I'm going to go save my boyfriend," Anya said. Giles was about to protest, but Anya was already up and headed for the door.
* * *
Buffy threw a right cross, but Alex quickly dodged out of the way.
"You may be the Slayer, but your limited to your adaptation." Alex's hand slowly formed into a large crab's claw. He grabbed Buffy around the throat and lifted her, pinning her to the wall.
"It's over," Alex said with a crazed look. "You can't beat me!"
Buffy watched as a large scorpion's tail grew from the back of Alex. She raised her hands gripping the sides of the claw.
* * *
Anya quietly entered the room. The lab was large, Buffy was struggling with Alex near the opposite side of the room. She knew Alex would be focused on fighting Buffy, also Alex wouldn't recognize her smell. If she was still a demon he might recognize her, but as a human she would give off a different smell. She slid over to the table where Xander was.
"What are you doing here," Xander whispered.
"I'm rescuing you, what does it look like," Anya replied.
"It looks like a suicide mission," Xander said.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Anya retorted. She loosened the straps that buckled Xander down.
* * *
Just as Alex started to swipe, Buffy pulled with all her might, cracking the claw and ducking below the tail blow. The momentum carried the tail forward into the wall, embedding it into the wall. Buffy did a side roll, quickly going beyond Alex's reach.
Alex flashed a set of shark teeth, as he lunged at the slayer. He came within inches of her, until his tail, still embedded in the wall, held him like a dog tied to a tree.
Buffy rose and stood a good way out of Alex's reach. Alex turned his arm into the tail of an electric eel, striking out like an electrified whip.
Buffy dodged. She grabbed a nearby table on wheels that was of medium size. She ran it full force into Alex.
The table caught him and smashed his left side. The tail fell off, Alex knew it was to buried to use. He was injured, but he still had some fight left in him. He slowly started to shift until he had disappeared.
"Where'd he go," Buffy said.
A hard blow on her left side sent her reeling across the floor. "Camouflage of a chameleon," Alex explained.
Buffy took a defensive stance shifting left and right, trying to predict Alex's next move. A blow from behind sent her the opposite way.
* * *
Xander saw that Buffy was in trouble. How could she fight something she couldn't see? Maybe if Xander could make Alex visible, then Buffy could fight back. "Anya, first of all turn off the heat on that vat of DNA, then that can't pose a problem anymore. Then get a fire extinguisher and start spraying everywhere."
Anya nodded. She ran over to the panel that controlled the vat. The DNA was only up to 78 degrees, Alex must have thought that heating it up would take less time. Anya shrugges and turned the heating off.
Xander ran to the side of the room and grabbed a fire extinguisher and started spraying the area.
"You are finished Slayer. Join me or die," Alex said!
The whisper like fog made from the extinguishers made Alex's outline visible.
"Sorry I don't play well with others" Buffy said, landing an elbow to Alex's head.
Alex was completely unprepared, the blow knocked him backwards. He stood and tried to shake off the pain. How did she see him? Alex glanced down and saw the smoke from the extinguishers revealed his location. He turned to the pesky human that was ruining his plans.
Alex grabbed Xander "I should have killed you!"
"Xander," Buffy yelled running and leaping on to Alex's back in an attempt to distract the demon.
Alex's back secreted a highly effective sedative found in some frogs. Buffy tried to hold on, but her muscles failed to respond. She could see everything that was going on, but could do nothing about it.
"Now you will watch as I snap this pathetic human's neck like a twig! Then I will take you as my bride," Alex sneered.
Buffy wanted to scream, but she was immobilized.
A female's voice rang out clear, "Hey Alex adapt to this!" Anya yelled, as she pressed the button that emptied the vat. A semi-warm flow of DNA drenched Buffy, Alex, and Xander.
At first there was silence, Buffy wondered if this was just a last ditch distraction. Alex let go of Xander and stumbled a bit. His skin started to form bubbles. His body was trying to adapt to all the things in the left over DNA. Now his skin was smooth, a second later it had fur, then scales. Alex was changing to fast, there was to much random parts. He let out a primal scream and proceeded to explode into a million pieces.
Anya ran over and hugged Xander. She then took a step back and tried to clean the mess off her shirt.
* * *
Buffy sat with a towel twisteed around her hair in the living room with Giles, Willow, Xander, and Anya.
"So Alex just kept you alive because he wanted to mate with you," Willow said in a disgusted voice.
"You know what they say about men, always thinking about sex," Buffy said.
"Next time you save us," Xander chimed in addressing Anya "would you mind doing it in a less disgusting way?"
"Oh, sorry next time I'll let you become DNA soup," she retorted.
"Speaking of soup I'm hungry," Xander said pulling out a bag.
"What's in there," Buffy asked.
"I figured Alex's project was actually a good idea, you just have to be a good guy. So I created a new food which I call a chimera."
"What's in it," Buffy asked.
"I combined the best parts of all my favorite dishes into one. The chips from a chocolate chip cookie, the syrup from pancakes, the pepperoni from pizza, the butter from buttered popcorn, and last sauerkraut from a German sausage.
Xander took his fork and took a large sample from the dish and put it in his mouth.
For a second nothing happened, then Xander exploded . . .
off the couch and towards the bathroom, while Buffy and the others tried to control their laughter.
THE END