Heroes in a Half Shell
Ryan never really cared much for the creeping unknown, and now she was knee deep in it. Quite literally. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" Ryan asked as she sidestepped to avoid a floating mass of…something.
"Uh, no. You wanna double check me?" Buffy admitted as she handed the map to Ryan. She was never really good at maps, and the fact that this one was written in crayon by a barely literate vampire that tended to squat in the sewers of New York didn't help.
"Let me see…" Davis piped up. "I speak Ira." Ira was the sewer dweller, and one of Davis' ex-Deadhead buddies. For vampires following Jerry, Deadhead took on a much more literal meaning. "We need to hang a left at the next intersection. It should be under a Taco Bell, so keep your nose out for the smell of refried beans."
"Jesus," Dawn coughed, stifling a gag.
"Isn't this slayer business glamorous?" Spike called out. "Just think, Ry. All this will soon be yours."
She rolled her eyes at him. He was like the annoying older brother she never had. Or particularly wanted.
Buffy had gone back to the hospital to interrogate Riley. She was infuriated to know that not only was he unaware that the poison they used hurt humans but he never even thought to ask. She would almost rather have preferred that he knew about it all along. In some way, that would make more sense. She also learned that they were planning on dumping a batch into the reservoir tonight, on Riley's green light. He had seen no adverse side effects from the blood samples he had been planting or on himself as he had taken it, and he knew that it worked. He saw no reason to hold back. Buffy was hoping they could beat them there, because the beer cooler of anecdote they made in the bathtub was not enough to negate an entire reservoir full.
They made a left and heard voices murmuring in the distance. They all slunk up against the wall. "Is it them?" Ryan asked.
Buffy listened. "I think so."
Roman made a sudden move towards them but Dawn grabbed him by his belt loop and yanked him back behind the wall. "You promised me you wouldn't kill them," she hissed.
"I lied."
"Roman, I'm serious. No killing. Maybe some bruising or maiming. Maybe. But no killing. Promise me."
"Maybe just a nibble?"
"Promise!"
"All right, all right," Roman said dejectedly.
"You know, Bit," Spike said as he lit up a cigarette. "Our menu has been seriously limited since you came here. We might as well go Kosher."
Buffy elbowed him hard in the gut and snatched his cigarette away. "Idiot."
Spike just grinned at her. "So that's what's been missing from my life."
She huffed disgustedly and then turned so he couldn't see her smile. It was amazing how easy it was to slip into old patterns. "All right. I say we tail them. This is going to take a certain amount of stealth. Do you guys think you can handle that?" She turned around and saw her entire party was already out of site. She had forgotten whom she was dealing with for a moment. This wasn't Xander and Anya stomping around. These were three skilled vampires, a Slayer and an 8th degree black belt. She grinned and stepped into her own shadow. They were right up ahead.
The group followed them silently until they came to an opening that led to a lake. The roar of the purifier drowned out most of the sound but other than that, there was very little cover. They were going to have to make a move. She watched as they opened up this immense silver box which contained many, many test tubes. She wasn't too late, but she had to act fast. How was she going to divert them without turning this into a suicide mission?
"Hey!" she heard a voice call out from behind her. Spike. "Could you not poison the water please?"
Well, he was always good for a diversion.
The men looked up from what they were doing and closed the box. "Oh yeah? Says who?"
Buffy, reluctantly taking this as her cue, stepped out from the bushes with the rest of the clan. They stood at a stalemate for a moment, neither side really knowing what the other was going to do. "The stuff that you have there…it's poisonous for humans."
The young man shook his head. "It's been tested numerous times…"
"Says who? Your superiors? Let me tell you something. Your superiors lie. I know this first hand."
"But we should drop everything and trust you. You, who hangs around with vampires and almost got Finn killed on numerous occasions."
Buffy was slightly flattered. So they had heard of her. She lives on. "I'm not saying to trust me. I'm saying to accept the possibility that I'm telling the truth. Test it yourselves."
"And I'm asking you to accept the possibility that if you fail to listen to her you will get your ass kicked," Spike said, leaping in front of Buffy. "I'm fucking through playing with you wankers. You just don't learn."
"Yeah, well if you want to stop us…" the young man started.
"Don't say it," Buffy begged him.
"You're going to have to kill us." He said it.
Well, that was it, and rightfully so. Spike charged them and the rest joined in. Buffy just kept trying to avoid their blows and make her way to the poison. She looked across the scuffle and saw Ryan trying to do the same thing. She stumbled towards the box at the same time Ryan did. "Great Slayers think alike," Buffy said.
Ryan smiled and then dove out of the way of an errant gunshot. "Shit," she said.
Roman attacked the shooter with a renewed ferocity. "No killing!" Buffy heard Dawn shriek from somewhere in the crowd. "Only maiming!" The solider she was fighting used the opportunity to kick her square in the head. She stumbled back a couple feet. "And maybe," she said, practically growling. "Some pummeling." She charged the soldier and wailed on him mercilessly, her extensive training taking the man by surprise. You don't grow up with the Slayer without picking up a thing or two. Or 48.
Buffy and Ryan exchanged amused glances and then worked on trying to pry the box open. They both whipped out their stakes and tried to jimmy the locks. Eventually, Buffy stuck the thing underneath the lid and slammed the thing with her fist. The box popped open. Ryan whistled. "Jesus. Will I get that strong?"
"Oh yeah. Stronger. I'm a bit out of shape." They opened the box and saw the rows and rows of test tubes.
"What do we do with them?" Ryan asked. Spike came sailing from seemingly out of nowhere and landed in a cloud of dust and curse words beside them. He jumped back up, seething.
"Don't kill them," Buffy reminded him.
"Oh…I'll come close. I'll come real bloody close," he snarled as he ran back into the action.
"I don't know," Buffy admitted. There was no safe way of disposing of this stuff without the help of professionals. They would have to transport it elsewhere but that would mean either leaving Dawn and the Funky Bunch behind or starting another chase scenario, which she didn't particularly want to do. One stolen car in the Hudson was enough, thank you. Suddenly, a string of constant gunfire interrupted her thoughts. "Oh shit," she said aloud. Please let them have shot Spike. She looked up to see Riley pointing his weapon at the sky.
"Fall back," he said, with more anger in his voice that Buffy had ever really heard.
"But, sir," one protested.
"I said fall the fuck back!"
The soldier immediately obeyed. Dawn gave him one final shove as retribution for the low blow. "You too, Dawn," Riley snapped.
Dawn saluted him.
"They're right. The stuff in those tubes is dangerous. We're talking long term consequences. We have to abort."
"Is this coming from HQ?"
"It's coming from me. We can't allow them to poison New York." God, Riley thought. That sounded so ridiculously obvious when he said it out loud. What an idiot he had been.
"Sarge assured us that…"
"Sarge lied! They've been lying about everything from the beginning. I found this out a long time ago but I was too much of a fucking coward to admit it."
"Here, here!" Spike agreed.
Riley pointed his weapon at him and he shut up. Not even vampires really enjoy being shot. "I'm taking that stuff back with me, where we are going to get rid of it."
"You won't get away with this. The Initiative will have your neck," a soldier pointed out.
"I'm a commanding officer with a decade's worth of seniority. You're jack shit. Whose word do you think they'll take? I have to admit, sabotaging a mission, taking my fellow men hostage, siding with vampires…it does seem pretty hard to swallow. I have a flawless record."
The soldiers knew when they had been beat. "Hey, Buff. Do you mind giving me that box?"
Buffy snapped it shut and brought the box along with the anecdote over to him. "Thank you," she said smiling, and she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
"Buffy," Riley whispered. "Not in front of the guys."
"Oh. Right. Sorry, sir," she saluted him.
He pointed the weapon back on his men. "Come with me."
Begrudgingly, they followed Riley into his Jeep and they drove off.
"You're really gonna trust them?" Roman said, disbelieving.
"I trust him," Buffy said. "I always have."
Roman rolled his eyes. "I swear to God. Just cause you sleep with a guy doesn't mean…"
"He's cool," Spike cut Roman off. They all stared at him with a shocked expression. "All Sunnydale men know better than to double cross Buffy Summers. If he doesn't get rid of it, she'll find out and tear his nuts off. He's aware of this."
Buffy smiled at the quasi-compliment.
"Can we go home now?" Davis asked. "I smell like shit and I'm friggin starving."
Ryan never really cared much for the creeping unknown, and now she was knee deep in it. Quite literally. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" Ryan asked as she sidestepped to avoid a floating mass of…something.
"Uh, no. You wanna double check me?" Buffy admitted as she handed the map to Ryan. She was never really good at maps, and the fact that this one was written in crayon by a barely literate vampire that tended to squat in the sewers of New York didn't help.
"Let me see…" Davis piped up. "I speak Ira." Ira was the sewer dweller, and one of Davis' ex-Deadhead buddies. For vampires following Jerry, Deadhead took on a much more literal meaning. "We need to hang a left at the next intersection. It should be under a Taco Bell, so keep your nose out for the smell of refried beans."
"Jesus," Dawn coughed, stifling a gag.
"Isn't this slayer business glamorous?" Spike called out. "Just think, Ry. All this will soon be yours."
She rolled her eyes at him. He was like the annoying older brother she never had. Or particularly wanted.
Buffy had gone back to the hospital to interrogate Riley. She was infuriated to know that not only was he unaware that the poison they used hurt humans but he never even thought to ask. She would almost rather have preferred that he knew about it all along. In some way, that would make more sense. She also learned that they were planning on dumping a batch into the reservoir tonight, on Riley's green light. He had seen no adverse side effects from the blood samples he had been planting or on himself as he had taken it, and he knew that it worked. He saw no reason to hold back. Buffy was hoping they could beat them there, because the beer cooler of anecdote they made in the bathtub was not enough to negate an entire reservoir full.
They made a left and heard voices murmuring in the distance. They all slunk up against the wall. "Is it them?" Ryan asked.
Buffy listened. "I think so."
Roman made a sudden move towards them but Dawn grabbed him by his belt loop and yanked him back behind the wall. "You promised me you wouldn't kill them," she hissed.
"I lied."
"Roman, I'm serious. No killing. Maybe some bruising or maiming. Maybe. But no killing. Promise me."
"Maybe just a nibble?"
"Promise!"
"All right, all right," Roman said dejectedly.
"You know, Bit," Spike said as he lit up a cigarette. "Our menu has been seriously limited since you came here. We might as well go Kosher."
Buffy elbowed him hard in the gut and snatched his cigarette away. "Idiot."
Spike just grinned at her. "So that's what's been missing from my life."
She huffed disgustedly and then turned so he couldn't see her smile. It was amazing how easy it was to slip into old patterns. "All right. I say we tail them. This is going to take a certain amount of stealth. Do you guys think you can handle that?" She turned around and saw her entire party was already out of site. She had forgotten whom she was dealing with for a moment. This wasn't Xander and Anya stomping around. These were three skilled vampires, a Slayer and an 8th degree black belt. She grinned and stepped into her own shadow. They were right up ahead.
The group followed them silently until they came to an opening that led to a lake. The roar of the purifier drowned out most of the sound but other than that, there was very little cover. They were going to have to make a move. She watched as they opened up this immense silver box which contained many, many test tubes. She wasn't too late, but she had to act fast. How was she going to divert them without turning this into a suicide mission?
"Hey!" she heard a voice call out from behind her. Spike. "Could you not poison the water please?"
Well, he was always good for a diversion.
The men looked up from what they were doing and closed the box. "Oh yeah? Says who?"
Buffy, reluctantly taking this as her cue, stepped out from the bushes with the rest of the clan. They stood at a stalemate for a moment, neither side really knowing what the other was going to do. "The stuff that you have there…it's poisonous for humans."
The young man shook his head. "It's been tested numerous times…"
"Says who? Your superiors? Let me tell you something. Your superiors lie. I know this first hand."
"But we should drop everything and trust you. You, who hangs around with vampires and almost got Finn killed on numerous occasions."
Buffy was slightly flattered. So they had heard of her. She lives on. "I'm not saying to trust me. I'm saying to accept the possibility that I'm telling the truth. Test it yourselves."
"And I'm asking you to accept the possibility that if you fail to listen to her you will get your ass kicked," Spike said, leaping in front of Buffy. "I'm fucking through playing with you wankers. You just don't learn."
"Yeah, well if you want to stop us…" the young man started.
"Don't say it," Buffy begged him.
"You're going to have to kill us." He said it.
Well, that was it, and rightfully so. Spike charged them and the rest joined in. Buffy just kept trying to avoid their blows and make her way to the poison. She looked across the scuffle and saw Ryan trying to do the same thing. She stumbled towards the box at the same time Ryan did. "Great Slayers think alike," Buffy said.
Ryan smiled and then dove out of the way of an errant gunshot. "Shit," she said.
Roman attacked the shooter with a renewed ferocity. "No killing!" Buffy heard Dawn shriek from somewhere in the crowd. "Only maiming!" The solider she was fighting used the opportunity to kick her square in the head. She stumbled back a couple feet. "And maybe," she said, practically growling. "Some pummeling." She charged the soldier and wailed on him mercilessly, her extensive training taking the man by surprise. You don't grow up with the Slayer without picking up a thing or two. Or 48.
Buffy and Ryan exchanged amused glances and then worked on trying to pry the box open. They both whipped out their stakes and tried to jimmy the locks. Eventually, Buffy stuck the thing underneath the lid and slammed the thing with her fist. The box popped open. Ryan whistled. "Jesus. Will I get that strong?"
"Oh yeah. Stronger. I'm a bit out of shape." They opened the box and saw the rows and rows of test tubes.
"What do we do with them?" Ryan asked. Spike came sailing from seemingly out of nowhere and landed in a cloud of dust and curse words beside them. He jumped back up, seething.
"Don't kill them," Buffy reminded him.
"Oh…I'll come close. I'll come real bloody close," he snarled as he ran back into the action.
"I don't know," Buffy admitted. There was no safe way of disposing of this stuff without the help of professionals. They would have to transport it elsewhere but that would mean either leaving Dawn and the Funky Bunch behind or starting another chase scenario, which she didn't particularly want to do. One stolen car in the Hudson was enough, thank you. Suddenly, a string of constant gunfire interrupted her thoughts. "Oh shit," she said aloud. Please let them have shot Spike. She looked up to see Riley pointing his weapon at the sky.
"Fall back," he said, with more anger in his voice that Buffy had ever really heard.
"But, sir," one protested.
"I said fall the fuck back!"
The soldier immediately obeyed. Dawn gave him one final shove as retribution for the low blow. "You too, Dawn," Riley snapped.
Dawn saluted him.
"They're right. The stuff in those tubes is dangerous. We're talking long term consequences. We have to abort."
"Is this coming from HQ?"
"It's coming from me. We can't allow them to poison New York." God, Riley thought. That sounded so ridiculously obvious when he said it out loud. What an idiot he had been.
"Sarge assured us that…"
"Sarge lied! They've been lying about everything from the beginning. I found this out a long time ago but I was too much of a fucking coward to admit it."
"Here, here!" Spike agreed.
Riley pointed his weapon at him and he shut up. Not even vampires really enjoy being shot. "I'm taking that stuff back with me, where we are going to get rid of it."
"You won't get away with this. The Initiative will have your neck," a soldier pointed out.
"I'm a commanding officer with a decade's worth of seniority. You're jack shit. Whose word do you think they'll take? I have to admit, sabotaging a mission, taking my fellow men hostage, siding with vampires…it does seem pretty hard to swallow. I have a flawless record."
The soldiers knew when they had been beat. "Hey, Buff. Do you mind giving me that box?"
Buffy snapped it shut and brought the box along with the anecdote over to him. "Thank you," she said smiling, and she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
"Buffy," Riley whispered. "Not in front of the guys."
"Oh. Right. Sorry, sir," she saluted him.
He pointed the weapon back on his men. "Come with me."
Begrudgingly, they followed Riley into his Jeep and they drove off.
"You're really gonna trust them?" Roman said, disbelieving.
"I trust him," Buffy said. "I always have."
Roman rolled his eyes. "I swear to God. Just cause you sleep with a guy doesn't mean…"
"He's cool," Spike cut Roman off. They all stared at him with a shocked expression. "All Sunnydale men know better than to double cross Buffy Summers. If he doesn't get rid of it, she'll find out and tear his nuts off. He's aware of this."
Buffy smiled at the quasi-compliment.
"Can we go home now?" Davis asked. "I smell like shit and I'm friggin starving."