AN: Hiya! In this chapter, the X-Men meet the Scoobies. Let's see, I don't own CNN, Babylon Five, and that's it for today.
"So did you guys just come from a Babylon Five convention or something, cause, gotta say, I've heard vamps called a lot of things in my day, but the word mutant? Didn't come up," the blonde said, dusting herself off and straightening her hair. "Did you get bitten?" she said to Rogue.
"No… god that felt horrible." Kurt knelt by her side. "I'm so nauseous."
"Are you okay Rogue?" he asked, gently rubbing her back.
"Great, not only are they delusional sci-fi freaks, they've also got names like an 80's band," the blonde muttered.
"This from a girl who, like, believes in vampires!" Kitty snapped. The blonde glared harder.
"Hm, wooden stake, heart, dust, you're right, I'm way delusional, I need help."
"Guys," Rogue said, sitting back on her heels, taking a deep breath. "I don't think she's crazy. When that thing touched me, it was like… I couldn't absorb whatever was making it walk around, you know?"
"You mean it wasn't human?" Evan asked. Rogue shook her head.
"I mean it wasn't alive."
"Wait," the blonde said. "Absorbed? Are you like, a demon, or a witch, or what?"
"None of the above. I'm a mutant. All of us are. Don't they have CNN in this town?"
The blonde snorted.
"Well, in Sunnydale, we kinda got our own problems."
"Um, this may sound kinda weird but…" Kitty said quietly. "um… you don't know how to get to the Bronze, do you?"
The girl rolled her eyes and sighed a world-weary sigh.
"Yeah, I'm meeting some people there. You might as well follow me," she said, tucking the stake away in her jacket. "Can't have you running around trying to befriend any more vampires."
"Um, Buffy, I know we told you to try and get out more, and I don't wanna send mixed signals, but… did you have to go and join a gang?" a brown haired boy sitting on one of the overstuffed sofas asked as Buffy walked in with the X-Men. The blonde rolled her eyes.
"They followed me home. Well, they followed me here. Suicidal lunatics, Xander, Xander, suicidal lunatics."
"Her name is Buffy and she's making fun of my name?" Rogue muttered, arms crossed over her stomach and still looking quite green around the gills. Kitty and Jean moved her to an armchair.
"I'm gonna get you a ginger ale, be right back," Kitty said, heading over to the bar.
"Remind me never to do that again," Rogue said, her normally pale face so washed out that it was bordering on clear.
"Looks like someone had a little too much fun last night," the boy called Xander said knowingly. Rogue scowled at him. The blonde, Buffy, sat on the couch next to him and sighed.
"Nope, she's got some creepy absorby powers which she tried to use on a vamp, that didn't work out. Where's Dawn?" she asked.
"She and Wills were on the dance floor last I checked," Xander said, craning his neck to look among the crowds. "Anya should be closing up shop at the Magic Box any minute."
Kitty returned with a ginger ale for Rogue, who then waved her on to the dance floor, refusing all offers of fussing over her.
"So," Xander asked. "Absorb-y powers, you a demon or a witch or what?"
Rogue gritted her teeth.
"Jesus, am I in old Salem or something? No, I'm a mutant."
"In the Ninja Turtle kinda way?" Xander asked. Rogue blinked.
"You guys aren't kidding, are you. You really have no idea what mutants are."
"If memory serves, they're heroes on the half-shell," Xander replied gravely.
"You can take that as a 'no,'" Buffy added with a shrug. "The brains of the outfit is coming off the dance floor, you can ask her if you want."
Moments later, a breathless red-haired girl plunked down on the couch.
"Hey, who's your friend?" she asked the blonde.
"She says her name's Rogue. Willow, Rogue, Rogue, Willow."
"Will, we need the powers of your amazing brain," Xander said. "Have you ever heard of mutants?"
"Um… like in the biology sense?"
"You can take that as a 'no' too," Buffy shrugged. "Look, I'm not that right wing, I don't care that much what you and your friends do, just don't make trouble in my town. I give equal opportunity beat-downs."
"You threatenin' me, blondie?" Rogue replied, bristling.
"Whoa, tension city. Um, Buffy's not big into beat-downs unless you've done something wrong, like killed someone, opened the hell mouth, that kinda thing," Willow replied, trying to defuse the situation. Of course, the ultimate defuser, Jean, then showed up to check on Rogue.
"How you doing?"
"A little better. I feel less clammy inside. D'you know these guys have never heard of mutants?"
"That's really odd… gimme a sec, I'll ask the professor."
"Can you go that long distance?"
"We're about to find out." Jean to Professor Xavier, can you hear me?
Go ahead Jean, the Professor replied.
How is it that no one in Sunnydale seems to have heard of mutants with the exception of our hosts?
Sunnydale has been on a news black-out on all information regarding mutants, and mutants don't generally go there. There's a high level of rather bizarre activity which is not mutant related, and mutants are frequently mistaken for… other things.
Is that why they keep asking us if we're witches or demons?
It would be foolish to try to deny such things now. I'll download a full dossier on the town into your laptop, Jean. But please try to maintain a low profile from now on.
Jean opened her eyes.
"So what's the word?" Rogue asked. Jean sighed.
"The good news is nobody's crazy. He's sending me the file, we can check it out back at the school."
"I was with your right up until you said nobody's crazy," Buffy said. "Then you lost me."
"Your town has been on a news blackout regarding mutants. Apparently since you have… other activity going on."
"You mean the thing with the town being on the Hellmouth?" Xander said.
"Um… what exactly is this place?" Jean asked.
"It's Sunnydale, sits on the Hellmouth, hot spot for demons, vampires, and pretty much every other supernatural nasty the world has to offer. Buffy's the Slayer, so she kills 'em."
"No wonder mutants don't come here. Show off in public, get mistaken for a demon," Rogue said.
"Well, don't worry," Jean said, smiling at Willow, Xander and Buffy, "We'll stay out of trouble. Back home, we're the good guys."
"Out here, it's not always so easy to tell the good guys and the bad guys apart," Willow said quietly. "Be careful, okay?"