IV  Destinations and Revelations

She was beautiful; he had to admit that much. Tall and statuesque, with full lips and blonde hair that had the perfect wave women would spend a small fortune achieving. Essex looked around the lavishly furnished apartment while he awaited his audience. He wondered what it was that would make a power such as hers be so concerned with such physical items. He stopped his thoughts in order to listen as the…lackey that brought him up explained his presence to her.

"But, Most Magnificent One, he says he has useful information on the Slayer, and I thought that, since you know the key is connected to her, you would want to hear what he knew," the withered demon was saying.

"And so you bring this stranger up, interrupting me as I'm getting ready to take a bath?" the woman asked, incredulous, "You know how crabby I get if I don't get my bath!"

"But, oh, Causer of Naughtiest of Thoughts, he was very insistent."

"HE was insistent?"

"Great Glorificus…"

"Glory," the blonde interrupted, exasperated, "How many times do I have to tell you? Are you a complete moron? Bad enough I have to tolerate existing with these…humans, let alone a groups of walking fashion disasters that can't even remember my instructions!"

She adjusted the skin tight red dress she was wearing, and smoothed an imaginary rough spot from her hair. "Oh, alright then, introduce him…"

The already hunched demon seemed to grovel even further as he approached Essex, who looked at him with utter distaste.

Glory turned and looked at Essex for the first time. He seemed pale for a human, but at least he dressed well. The black jacket and white turtleneck seemed to suit his face, with it's sharp angles and perfect goatee.  As she came forward the demon spoke again.

"Reason For My Very Existence," he said, "This is Doctor Nathaniel Essex, and he claims to have information that would be of use to you."

"And what makes you think I'd be interested in any information you have?" Glory asked.

"I'm not entirely sure you would," Essex replied. During the overheard conversation, he realized why a being such as her would be concerned with physical items. She was indeed quite mad. "However," he continued, "We both have something to gain by your knowing."

"Y'know," Glory said, walking up to him, "If you're jerking me around, I can make your life very uncomfortable. I am a God after all."

"I assure you, Glorificus," Essex started,

"'Scuse me, Doc., but didn't you hear what I told Scabby here?"

"Of course, Glory," Essex smoothed, "I have no hidden agenda here. I simply am very busy, and having the Slayer interrupt me right now would be unfortunate."

"Unfortunate," Glory echoed, "For you. What do I get? The Slayers whereabouts? I can find that anytime I want it, thank you." She stepped back and looked for a moment at Essex, thinking. "On the other hand," she continued, "You look very intelligent, and I happen to be really hungry right now…"

With unbelievable speed, Glory reached out and tried to grab Essex's head with both hands. At least that's how it appeared to him. He was very surprised when the hands instead went into his temples.

Glory started to feed, and her eyes widened as far as they could when she realized that this…mortal was resisting her. She increased the pull on Essex's mind. Again. And again. To no effect. Essex simply stared at her as though she was some interesting specimen in his lab. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing. No fear. No pain. If anything, the black eyes reflected only contempt.

"Are you quite finished, my dear?" he asked, "I really am very busy right now."

Glory pulled her hands from his head, shocked.

"What are you?" she whispered. "No one can resist my pull like that."

"Simply put," Essex said with a smile, "I am the result of Encouraged Evolution."

He brushed some non-existent dust from his sleeve as he continued, "The Slayer, and her allies, quite likely will be mounting an assault on the abandoned military base just north of town in the very near future. Keep an eye open there, and you'll have her."

"I'll consider that," Glory said, still shaken, "Thank you for the information, Doctor."

"Of course, dear lady," Essex smiled at her, and Glory knew for a moment what someone faced with her own smile must feel like, " My pleasure." And with that, he left.

Glory sat down on her overstuffed sofa, while her demon lackey hovered around her, waiting for it's next order. She was very distraught, never had anything like this happened to her. She was a God, right? Right. Time to start acting like it again. This was a fluke. A one-time happening. She couldn't be defeated. She was Glorificus.

"Okay, you heard the man," she told the demon, "Get someone watching that base."

"Yes, Truly Spectacular Source of Nocturnal Emissions," said the demon as he scurried off to do his mistresses bidding.

Outside, as the elevator doors closed, Nathaniel Essex leaned back against the wall, and exhaled. He hadn't expected that response, and his information on Glorificus had been somewhat lacking. Fortunately, the amount of genetic enhancement he'd managed to finish to date had saved his mind.

He straightened up as the elevator halted at the ground floor. Striding from the opening doors, he decided he must finish his work quickly, he had to ensure his continued existence despite any circumstance. Catching his reflection briefly in a polished brass plaque, he noticed a small red diamond shape, almost like a birthmark, was beginning to show in the center of his forehead.

Dismissing it, he pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket and dialed a pre-programmed number.

"Victor," he said into the mouthpiece, "You did get me the appointment with Glorificus, but your information was not up to par." He waited a moment, "No, no problems." Another pause. "I think it's time for us to start keeping tabs on the Slayer. She'll likely discover our whereabouts soon and I want to know when she's coming. Send Sung. No, I have other preparations I need you to make…"

********

Wesley Windham Price released the breath he'd unconsciously been holding in once the plane had landed. A modified SR-71 Blackbird, it had come screaming out of the eastern sky and then hovered into a landing. As the plane settled in, it's joints relaxing now that it had stopped moving, the door on the side opened up, and a ramp extended to the ground. Wesley held his breath again as the vision of Ororo Munroe exited the plane. Remy and Logan followed quickly.

"Welcome to Los Angeles," he said as the group approached him, "If you'll follow me, the Professor is waiting inside."

"What about Jean and Scott?" asked Ororo.

"Jean is with one of my associates," Wesley replied, "Tracking down a lead on our problem." He held the door open for the others. "Scott has gone to a town about two hours south of here. His Aunt died recently, and the Professor thought he should go and see on his cousins while there was a bit of downtime."

"More Summers?" mumbled Logan.

"Jus' what this world needs, non?" asked Remy quietly.

As they entered the hotel, they heard Angel answer the phone, and then call out:

"Professor? It's Scott. Sabretooth's in Sunnydale."

********

Willy's was not a normal bar, except perhaps in Sunnydale, California. The main clientele were demons. Tonight was no exception. And the one time scourge of Europe, William the Bloody, also known as "Spike," came into the bar looking for something very particular. Spike was a vampire, and he had been a damned good one. But that was before a covert government operation had installed a bio-feedback chip in his head, with the end result that he couldn't hurt any human without suffering severe pain himself. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had fallen in love with the Slayer. Oddly enough, none of that was on his mind tonight. Tonight, he had one thing he needed to do. He walked up to the bar and gestured to Willy.

"You got hot chocolate?" he asked.

Willy started snickering.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked with a grin.

Spike leaned into the bar, looking the keeper in the eyes.

"No, mate. I'm not kidding. Someone I care about died recently, and we used to share a cuppa hot cocoa. You got a problem with that?"

Willy gulped. He knew about Spike's chip, but figured it would just be his luck that it would somehow malfunction if Willy himself was concerned.

"Okay, no problem." He said quickly, "You want a shot in that?"

"Yeah, why not?" Spike muttered. He looked around the bar while Willy retrieved his drink, spotting an empty booth in the back where he could be alone. When his cocoa was delivered, he walked towards the booth. The other demons in the bar stayed out of his way, either out of disgust or fear. It was known that he only fought with demons now. But he did have a nasty habit of winning. Taking his seat, he stared into his cup for a moment.

"Here's to you, Joyce," he whispered, "I'm really gonna miss you."

He sat in silence, nursing his drink, and pondering how it had come about that he cared for any of these people at all, let alone the Slayer's family. Sure, Joyce had always treated him like a real person, and that hadn't happened for a long time. But it was more than that, as he'd told Dawn at one point, "I'm tired of seeing the Summers women take it on the chin."

And now something weird was going on. Weird for Sunnydale even. Couple of hours ago, Spike could of sworn he heard rumor of someone trying to track down Glory. And now the word was being spread that someone, maybe even that same someone, wanted extra security. Hiring every demon that would take the work.

Spike sat thinking for a while longer. Buffy had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Dawn still liked him though, and Joyce would want him to let her know what he'd heard. Then again, after what Buffy had told him when he hadn't broken under Glory's torture….

"Bugger it. No use lettin' em get blindsided." And he, too, got up and left.

********

 "So you're saying, if we had just waited an hour or so, we never would have had to sing?" Cordelia Chase asked from the back of the plane.

"It's not so bad, Cordelia," Alexis Vanadis turned from a couple seats ahead of the young seer, "I still needed a ride to Sunnydale."

"…I sang, and I wasn't even drunk…"

"Unfortunately, we weren't either," Alexis heard in her mind. Grinning, she thought back at Jean "It would've been easier?"

She let out a short burst of laughter when Jean replied, "It would have to be."

"Sorry," she said, noticing the Professor and Angel looking at her with questioning eyes, "I really don't like flying, so I try to remember every joke Nicholas ever told me."

Logan and Remy simply exchanged glances as Jean started giggling quietly directly behind them. 

Composing herself, Jean turned and asked Alexis vocally, "Nicholas is the employee you spoke of at the bar?"

"Yes, he and his brother both work for me. Nicholas and Spencer Graydon," she scratched the ever-present Pangor absently behind the ears, resulting in a very satisfied purr. "Spencer was driving east, and will meet us there, in fact," she turned and faced Angel, "He's meeting us at the Airport, with a large van. Complete with a windowless back end." Angel nodded appreciatively, knowing that the last rays of afternoon sunshine could be easily avoided long enough to exit the building and get into a van.

"What about the other one, Nicholas?" he asked.

"Nicholas, oddly, had already found some trace of our suspect in Sunnydale. He's with Mr. Summers. I'm going to have to remind him to update the rest of us more frequently."

"Dis th' same Nick Graydon used to work for th' FBI?" asked Remy from the co-pilots seat.

"Unless there were two," Alexis confirmed.

"Merde', we got a problem," Remy muttered to himself.

"No you don't LeBeau," said Alexis, "He didn't bust you then, he's not going to bust you now."

Everyone in the plane looked up at the now blushing Remy.

"Hey, everyone here know I used to be a t'ief, why the surprise?" he asked.

"Actually, you should be glad to have someone of this caliber with you," Alexis said bluntly, "According to Nicholas, the names LeBeau, Templar and Kyle all belong in the same sentence."

"He said that?" Remy turned and asked.

"Absolutely," Alexis replied, "In fact, he's said more than once that the particular evening in question was one of the best times he's ever had."

 "Sunnydale airport, two minutes folks," said Logan. "Everyone strap in while I call the tower."

"Logan," called the Professor from the back, "Ask them to clear you for a private hanger, and use this code," Xavier closed his eyes and focused at Logan for a moment.

"Federal Codes, Chuck?" replied Logan, amused, "This groups got more secrets than Houdini."

"I borrowed them from a friend that used to work for Interpol," whispered Xavier to Alexis, who chuckled, "Do you think your employee knows him as well?"

"You never know," she whispered back conspiratorially, "Small world, isn't it?"

"Indeed," said Xavier through a smile, and then they all settled in for a landing.

********

 "Doctor McCoy? You really should see this."

Henry McCoy pulled himself once again from the unnatural sleep he'd been in. His vision was still a bit fuzzy, and his body felt…wrong somehow.

"Doctor, you're awake. I'd like you to see the results of my work in true genetic potential."

"What are you rambling on about, lunatic?" Hank mumbled.

"You see, Doctor, mutations such as yours are actually rather…incomplete. My work in this field has allowed me to tap into the potential of a mutation, and expand upon it."

"What have you done?" McCoy was starting to get panicked. He could now tell that he'd been moved to an upright position, but there was something still wrong. He felt, larger somehow, and…warmer. His vision was finally starting to clear, it looked as if someone were standing in front of him, also outstretched. Someone…blue?

"Why just look in the mirror, Doctor McCoy. See your mutation evolved to it's highest potential. If you will excuse me, my work on transferring mutation to my own DNA is progressing nicely, and in fact, is almost complete; thanks to the memories I borrowed from you. Consider this a form of payment." Hank heard the footsteps walking away, but couldn't take his eyes off the image in front of him.

It wasn't someone else standing there. It was a mirror. He was seeing his own reflection. Except that this was not the Hank McCoy that had looked back at him every morning for the last three decades. This Hank McCoy was larger, even broader on the shoulders. He had fangs, and claws, and pointed ears, and fully prehensile feet, and most notably, long blue fur covering his entire body.

Doctor Henry McCoy screamed until his voice went out, first out of horror, then out of rage.

********

Spike was exiting the sewers on his way to the Magic Box when he saw him. A small, oriental man in non-descript clothing watching the back of the shop. From where Spike stood, it looked like he was pointing some sort of eavesdropping device towards the back of the building.

"Well, what have we here?" he said to himself.

The man continued, apparently not hearing Spikes rhetorical question, and adjusted the earpiece connected to the small dish-like component in his hand. Spike approached his quarry silently.

"How can I get one of those, mate?" he asked, grabbing the smaller man by the shoulder.

"Well, all you really…" the man started, turning. He then broke off as he saw who had grabbed him, "..don't have a chance." He launched a well placed kick into Spikes side, throwing him off balance.

Spike recovered quickly, and blocked a second kick aimed at his head. This man was good, probably a black belt. Of course, he thought, I've been a black belt for about a hundred years more. Too bad…

"You can't hit me," the oriental said flatly, finishing his thought for him, "I know about the chip. Why don't we just walk our separate ways?"

"No chance, mate," Spike finished, "You're spyin' on some friends of mine, can't just let ya go, y'unnerstand."

"And just what do you plan to do about it?"

"Oh, I dunno," Spike said, "Maybe this?" and he launched a vicious roundhouse left at the man's temple. He knew he was in for one hell of a headache, but whatever was going on, Buffy needed to know about it, and this was his only chance.

The punch connected full force, and the oriental went flying into the wall of the adjoining building head first. Spike reached up and grabbed his own head out of instinct before he realized there was no pain. No pain at all. He looked over at the unconscious form sprawled on the ground.

"Oh, now this is an interesting turn of events, innit Wong?" he said with a grin. He effortlessly hoisted the man up on his shoulder and resumed his course to the Magic Box.

********

The black van had pulled up directly in front of the Magic Box. As Giles held the door open, Angel ran from the van into the shop covered with a blanket. The remaining occupants of the van exited at a more leisurely pace. As Anya flipped the sign around to read "Closed" and locked the door, introductions were made around the table in the center of the shop. Giles was the first to speak on the business at hand.

"Somehow, this Milbury character has been kidnapping demons in LA?" he asked.

"That's what the evidence points to," confirmed Wesley.

"And that's what the Host said," added Cordelia.

"He also commented that Milbury was an assumed name," said Alexis.

"Great, mad geneticist with a false identity, the hits just keep coming," murmured Graydon.

"You ever think we're going to get a normal case, bro?" asked Spencer. One could tell that they were brothers. Spencer's hair was redder than Nicholas', and he kept a full beard trimmed around the edges of his jaw. But the facial structure and the shape of the blue eyes behind the glasses gave it away. Unlike his brother, Spencer dressed simply, in jeans and a tee shirt.

"Never happen," Nicholas said with a grin.

"Dis Milbury, you got a picture of 'im, Nick?" asked Remy.

Nicholas pulled the security photo from the file and handed it over.

Remy looked at the photo, and shook his head.

"Oh, mes amis, we are in a pile of shit now," he commented. "His real name is Nat'anial Essex. And he want's to control the genetic destiny of de whole damn race."

"Is this the same Essex that was arrested and tried in Chicago?" asked Xavier.

"Oui."

"I think perhaps you'd better explain some things, Remy," Xavier said quietly.

Remy looked around the table at the people who'd become his family over the last year. He never wanted this subject to arise, but they needed to know what they were up against.

"I worked for him, once," he started, "When my powers first manifested, I couldn't control 'em. He offered to 'elp me, if I did some favors for 'im." He stopped for a minute, and looked at nothing in particular as he thought of how to phrase his next statements. "Essex 'ad several mutants working for 'im, and studied each of them. Somehow, 'ed managed to extend his own life, and I t'ink done more dan dat. I saw 'is lab once, and saw what was left of at least a dozen mutants." He refocused his attention on the people around him. "Dis is an evil man, mes amis, an' a dangerous one."

No one spoke for a moment, absorbing what Remy had said, and what he had not.

"S…s..so, how do we find him?" ventured Tara after a moment.

"That's another problem," said Buffy, "Nick and I scoped out likely hideouts he'd be using, came up totally blank."

"So, he's got Hank and Rogue, and we have no idea where he is, or what he's planning," Scott summarized.

There was a crash from the back room, and Buffy, Angel, Nicholas, Giles, Remy, Logan and Scott all ran to the doorway. Opening it up, they saw Spike dropping a man onto the floor.

"I'm not sure what's going on, Slayer," he said, "But I'll bet this nancy-pants git has something to do with it."

"What happened to him, Spike?" growled Angel.

"I hit him, Peaches," Spike said smugly, "Didn't hurt either,"

"Your chip?" Buffy asked.

"Didn't kick in," Spike confirmed, "Must be a demon in disguise, I figure."

The others had all come into the room at this point, and Ororo saw the figure on the floor.

"Goddess!" she exclaimed, "Professor, that is one of the men who attacked the school. He's the one that turned my own powers against me!"

All of the Sunnydale regulars turned to look at her.

"You were attacked by demons?" asked Xander.

"Mutants," said Ororo, "Like us."

Buffy looked over to Spike, who shrugged.

"And the chip didn't activate at all?" Giles asked.

"Nope, not one bloody bit," Spike replied.

No one else spoke for a moment. Then Nicholas Graydon spoke up.

"Makes sense," he said.

"What makes sense?" Scott asked.

"This chip they're talking about," he turned to Spike, "Kick's in whenever you attempt to harm a human, right?"

"Damn straight," Spike spat, "Like getting a stick of dynamite going off in yer head, it is."

"Put in by the government, I suppose, some secret organization?" Nicholas pressed on.

"They called themselves The Initiative," Buffy answered, "They were the governments secret demon task force."

"Yeah, right," said Nicholas, "Let me guess, 'We're going to take these demons…'," he stopped a second, "No, not demons, something far more ubiquitous, like 'Paranormal Hostile Entities...'"

The Sunnydale gang smiled, and a few actually let out a laugh.

"'Hostile Subterestrials, actually," said Buffy.

"Right, HST, perfect," continued Nicholas, "And they said 'We're gonna use the HSTs to protect the human race?', Right?"

Several nods answered his question.

"Anybody ever think to ask from what?" asked Nicholas.

No one spoke for a moment.

"Well, we assumed from demons," said Willow, "I mean, that is what we saw them fighting."

"That's what we saw them capturing," corrected Giles.

"You mean the whole project was set up," started Xander, "as some sort of secret anti-mutant task force?"

"That'd be my guess," said Nicholas, "Look at the evidence." He pointed to the still unconscious man on the floor. "Blondie over there…"

"Hey!" shouted Spike.

"…can't even say boo to your average human Joe, but give him a Mutant to tear into, and it's party time." He pulled out a cigarette, and this time no one complained. "Rat bastards were probably so far under that the President didn't even know the real reason they existed."

Buffy suddenly got a very angry look in her eyes.

"I get ahold of Riley Finn," she whispered,

"If you're talking about one of the grunts," Nicholas commented, "I'll guarantee you they were fed the same line of bullshit. The only ones who would really have known about it would be the assholes in DC that pulled the plug when they realized if you play with demons, you get eaten." He pulled a drag off his smoke, and exhaled forcefully, "Just the way the gumment works, kids," he finished.

"Screwed either way," muttered Logan. "Either experimentin' on us, or tryin' to wipe us out."

Everyone was quiet again for a moment, and the look on Buffy Summer's face softened a bit, just. It was Spike who finally broke the silence.

"Yeah, well, there's been a bit o' weirdness in the area. I was headed here to warn you blokes about it when I ran into sunshine here," he pointed at the oriental, "usin' some sort of James Bond gadget out back. Thought I'd try to spook 'im, see what I could find out, but he already knew about the chip. He threw a couple of punches, I threw one. Here he is." He stepped back towards the door. "Just thought you oughta know about it," he said to Buffy.

"Then he knows where Essex is," she said in turn, "Nice work, Spike." She noticed his working his way back to the door, "Stick around, we might need you," she finished, ignoring the look Angel shot her. Spencer and Nicholas lifted the unconscious man into a chair and located a roll of tape to secure him with.

"We need to get the information from him," commented Xavier, "I normally would be against using my gifts to pry unwanted, but I don't think we have a choice."

"Professor, wait," said Alexis, "Ororo said this guy turned her power against her, if his talent is activated as a defense mechanism…"

"You'd probably end up in a coma," Jean finished. "We need another method."

 "I could interrogate him the old fashioned way," murmured Logan.

"Ah, Logan?" Giles asked, "Didn't we determine that this fellow can turn mutant powers against their owners?"

"Mine's strictly passive," Logan growled, "What's he gonna do, heal me ta death?" He held up his left hand, balled into a fist, "Besides," he continued, "these work pretty well for interrogation."

The sound of metal sliding against metal was heard as three twelve inch blades shot out from between his knuckles, glinting in the light of the room.

Nicholas stopped what he was working on and whistled in appreciation. He nudged his brother, who nodded his head. "Look's like we got ourselves a whole room of bad cops here," Nick said as Logan withdrew the blades back into his arm.

"Yer not the only one that's been experimented on," Logan told Spike.

It was right about then that Cordelia Chase fell to the floor and began screaming.

White on auburn, hair? Human. Demon. Demon. Demon…wait, something familiar. No, blue, big, furry, raging. Red on white, diamond?

Willow, Wesley, and Alexis, being the closest, all tried to hold her still as she started thrashing about. They were assisted quickly as Angel crossed the room to his friend's side, concern obvious on his face. Buffy looked at him for a moment, then to Cordelia. She edged her way towards Gunn.

Meanwhile, through the pain, Cordelia was trying to make sense of what she was seeing. What is that? Monster, chained, fear. Laughter? The diamond again. Just flashes. Moments.

"She's not the same drama queen she was, is she?" Buffy whispered to Gunn.

Gunn didn't know Cordelia from that time, but she had told him all about being Queen Bitch of Sunnydale High.

"Not even close," he whispered back.

Nicholas meanwhile had pulled a small capsule sealed in plastic from his wallet. While Xander brought a glass of water over, he held the pill to Cordelia's lips.

"Here, this will help," he soothed. Angel started to question him about the medicine when he was cut off by Alexis.

"Nicholas has Cluster headaches, its Imitrex," she assured him quietly. "If the nerves being affected are the same as migraines, it should help," she looked softly at the tortured seer. "If only slightly," she added.

As Cordelia caught her breath she started to tell the others what she had seen.

"It's all jumbled up. A lot of different demons, all in cages. But there was a…" she thought for a second before proceeding, "blue gorilla, I think. But it looked familiar somehow. And a woman. A human woman. With a streak of white in her hair."

"Dat's Rogue," Remy said.

"Something else too. I mean, it was obviously some kind of laboratory, y'know, computers and tables and cages, something about a red diamond, I dunno, but on the wall, I mean tied to it, was this…thing."

"What kind of thing," Wesley prompted, holding her glass for her as she started to get to her feet.

"I dunno," Cordelia replied, "It looked like a horror movie monster, I mean, like Frankenstien or something."

Buffy's head shot up at this.

"Cordy," she started, "Did it have brown hair, and a split face, and like a metal cap," she held her hand to the left side of her head, "about here?"

"Yeah, that's it," Cordelia confirmed, "What is it?"

"Adam," whispered Willow. She, Buffy, Xander, and Giles shared a glance for a moment, visibly shaken. Alexis lifted her head at this. Noticing the look, Nicholas and Spencer discreetly made their way over to her.

"Adam?" asked Scott.

"The greatest mistake the Initiative made," said Giles, "Part human, part demon and part machine. Designed to be the ultimate killing soldier."

"But you guys beat him, right?" asked Cordelia.

"Barely," said Xander, "And it took all four of us to do it."

"He really means all four of us too," added Willow, "I mean, we had to merge into one person, magically."

"And even then, there were some unforeseen consequences," said Giles.

The four friends shared another look, and this time Alexis looked absolutely puzzled. Nicholas whispered: "What?"

"Cheese," she replied.

"Cheese?" asked Spencer.

"All four had a very strong emotional reaction just now, and it had something to do with cheese." Alexis said quietly.

"I don't want to know," decided Nicholas.

"But the government sealed off the Initiative," Buffy was saying, "They filled the whole thing in with cement."

"Buffy," Willow interjected, "When we were down there, we discovered Adam in a section that didn't exist on the plans, remember? Maybe they, I dunno, missed it somehow?"

"The caves are still there," Spike added, "That's how I used to get in."

"If dat's de only way in, y' can 'spect it to be guarded," said Remy, "Essex take 'is security pretty serious."

"There's got to be another way," commented Spencer, "At least one air ducting system, probably two."

"We don't have much time to find it," said Scott, "Cordelia only saw one human in her vision, we don't know about Hank."

Nicholas stood up, pulling a small phone from his belt.

"I need to make a call," he said, walking into the front of the shop.

********

"This better be good," the voice on the other end growled out.

"I need some information," Nicholas stated, "There was a military black-ops project run out of Sunnydale, California. Code name…"

"The Initiative, yeah. They've been shut down for almost a year. Whole place has been decommissioned," the voice replied.

"Nope, not all of it. Apparently Walsh had a secondary project going, something that wasn't on the original plan," Nicholas said. "Someone had to fund it, so there has to be a blueprint somewhere. I know that the main entrance is in the caverns just north of town."

Nicholas heard the click clack of a keyboard over the line, and the man he was speaking with whistled.

"Damn. You know how to pick 'em."

"What?" Nicholas asked.

"Seems that file's been sealed off completely, and without a trace of who did it. Hang on," there was more clicking heard, "Ah-Ha! They forgot something. Okay, here we are. There was a secondary project underway, sort of an offshoot of the original. Walsh had additional space created to house it. Looks like there's a northern air duct and a southern emergency exit. They're equidistant from the main entry point in the caverns, in a triangle pattern. I've sent an email with a map to your account."

"Thanks, I owe you one,"

"Graydon, there's more…apparently this was all below the military radar. Someone else was footing the bill."

"Any idea who?"

"Not yet," Nicholas heard the anticipation of discovery in the man's voice, "But I intend to find out. I'll keep you posted." Nicholas heard the click of the other man disconnecting.

"Willow!" he called out, "I need to get at my email, can I borrow your computer?"

********

"We're going to break up into groups of three," Scott was saying. On the wall behind him was a map of the area just north of Sunnydale, with three circles in red showing the targets. He had changed into his battle uniform, as had the other X-Men, variations of the same black form-fitting padded leather armor. His battle-visor sat covering his eyes, containing the massive power that lay within. Ororo wore a simpler designed uniform that was not as bulky as the others, but had the addition of a long cloak that attached at the wrists and elbows. Remy wore a worn, brown leather trench-coat over his suit, with lots of pockets to keep both the cards he used as a conduit for his mutant ability, and the tools he needed for his thievery. Logan wore a uniform similar to Scott's, but with yellow piping instead of red. Jean's uniform was somewhere between Logan's and Ororo's in regards to bulk, allowing her more freedom to move but also buffering any impact that might occur. She had tied her long red hair into a bun to keep it out of her way.

"Nick, we need you, Remy, and Spike to go in from the northern ducts. Spencer, you, Ororo and Gunn take the southern access." Buffy added. "Me, Scott, Jean, Angel, and Logan go straight up the middle, where the most guards are likely to be."

"You're also sendin' the thieves to sneak in the back," Logan commented.

"Exactly," Scott said, "The rest of you, follow behind us a way at the cavern entrance, we need someone watching our backs."

"We don't know how many Essex has working for him," Alexis said, "From what Remy said, we can expect this to be a trap." She, too, had changed clothes, and now wore a pair of dark jeans with a denim jacket and combat boots. "We give enough space to make it look like only the heavy hitters are going in, and then close the gap. Maybe even get through the fighting and into the lab itself."

"And do what, exactly?" Spike asked. "I mean, bein' blind and…" he stopped suddenly, catching the knife that was headed at his forehead.

Alexis stood, a second knife in her hand, staring at Spike. Pangor was looking at him from between her legs.

"Bein' blind," she mocked, "Hasn't slowed me down in the least, Spike."

"Bloody hell," Spike whispered, "I am impressed." He tossed the blade back to its owner.

"Willow and Tara can deliver the goods magically," Alexis said, catching the knife, "And I know that Xander and Giles can both handle themselves pretty damn well in a fight." She looked over to Buffy for confirmation as she slid the blade into a concealed holster under the sleeve of her jacket. The slayer simply nodded her response, but Xander felt a slight swell of pride at the unspoken comment.

"Hey," piped up Anya, "What about me?"

"Relax, Ahn," said Buffy, "No one's planning to leave you behind. I'm sure the oversight was an accident."

"Absolutely," picked up Alexis, "My apologies, Anya." She smiled at the ex-demoness.

"Well, okay then," Anya said.

"If some of us can get through, we might be able to free some of the captives, or distract Essex," Alexis finished.

"When we get in," Nicholas picked up the briefing, "We have three objectives. One, find and free Rogue, Hank, and the LA demons; two, destroy any work that Essex has going on. These two have to happen, period. If it's possible, we add number three, and take out Essex, himself." As he finished, he pulled on the finishing touch to his wardrobe for the evening, a very well worn dark olive Australian oiler that comfortably covered his double shoulder holster. He and Spencer had both donned the same dark jean and boot combination as their employer, but Spencer opted for simply a dark, long sleeved shirt, and a backpack to carry his equipment in. Nicholas on the other hand, wore a black turtleneck, and added a pair of black leather fingerless gloves. On his belt were multiple clips for the two weapons he had holstered.

"I'll remain here with Dawn," said Professor Xavier, "And I'll act as a telepathic conduit for the rest of you."

"Good," said Buffy, "No radio traffic that way, but we'll all know what's going on." She had already made this arrangement with the Professor, but wanted it to seem like someone else's idea. Dawn didn't know that Xavier would also be telepathically masking their presence from Glory, making it appear that the shop was empty. For this little while at least, that was one thing the slayer didn't need to worry about. However, if Glory was keeping tabs on them, and somehow found out where everyone was…she came to a decision regarding something she had been considering since the beginning of this affair. While she knew that Alexis and the Graydon brothers knew a little, until now she had only informed the Professor about the details concerning Glory. And of those concerning her sister.

"There's something else you all should know," she started. "Right now, there's someone very powerful that's causing us a hard time."

"ah, Buffy," Giles started, "Are you sure…"

"Giles, they need to know. If Glory somehow shows up…"

"Glorificus?" asked Alexis, "She's in Sunnydale?"

"Um, Lex?" muttered Nicholas, "I think I kinda forgot to brief you on that…"

"We live, you're fired," replied Alexis, shooting him a look that indicated he'd best not survive the current crisis.

"Who is Glorificus?" asked Ororo.

"A god, from one of the many hell-realms," said Alexis simply. "And a pretty damned powerful one at that from what my sources say."

"Your sources are right," stated Buffy "She's taken about everything we can dish out, and it hasn't done more than slow her down."

Scott Summers was shaken again. He had accepted that Buffy had been called into a dangerous role, but this was something else.

"A god?" he asked, "What does she want?"

A very quiet voice drifted over to the assembled crew, from the sofa on the wall.

"Me," Dawn Summers said, looking up with tears forming in her eyes, "She wants me."

"…the Key…" whispered Alexis, looking over at Dawn. "They couldn't have…"

"They did," said Buffy, "Dawn is the Key."

"Dawnie?" asked Scott, "Buffy, what are you talking about?"

"The Key is the one thing that can open up a portal to Glory's home dimension," said Buffy. "I don't know how to tell you this Scott, but…"

"She's telling you I'm not real!" Dawn shouted, "She's telling you that some monks took this ball of energy, and made me, and then they created everyone's memories about me so that the Slayer would protect the Key!" The tears broke through and she sobbed out, "She's telling you I don't really exist…"

Dawn collapsed back down on the couch, and for a few moments the only sound in the room was her quiet sobbing. Buffy made her way over to her and sat next to her, holding her sister tightly.

The quiet lasted until one voice broke it.

"Bullshit," Scott Summers said. He walked over to where his cousins sat and knelt down. He reached out and gently lifted Dawn's face until she was looking into his own.

"Dawnie," he said quietly, "Remember that promise I made you two at the beach?"

"But you didn't really make it," she whispered.

"Bullshit," he said again, "I remember making it, therefore I made it. I don't care if you were born fifteen years, or five minutes ago. I remember seeing you right after that, and as far as I'm concerned that seals it. You're my cousin, Dawnie, and I love you more than I can say."

"But, Scotty," she started.

"No buts, if the memories that you and I share," he looked over at Buffy, who's own eyes were none too dry, "and that the three of us have were created for us, great! Someone did me a helluva favor by brining you into my life. And any memories we make from this point forward, they're real. And they're ours. So what if you're the Key, a big ball of energy made human? Just think about it, your sister's the Slayer, the one girl in the world that can fight demons and vampires. And let's not forget your cousin the mutant, running around in leather shooting beams out of his eyes," He leaned forward and kissed Dawn gently on the forehead. "Welcome to the family."

By the time he had finished, Dawn's tears had started to dry and she actually smiled a bit. Then another thought occurred to her.

"But what about Glory?" she asked.

Scott stood and held out his hand to Buffy, who took it and rose to her own feet.

"Summers stand by their family," he said.

"And their families stand by them," said Xander, walking over and taking Buffy's other hand. "I've thought of you two as my family for so long, what else can I do." He grinned at Dawn.

"That goes for me too," said Willow firmly, walking over and putting her arm on Dawn's shoulder.

"And me," added Tara as she joined them, without a trace of her normal hesitation.

Anya walked over and put her arm through Xanders.

"I know I don't really show it," she said quietly, "But I would be lost without any of you."

"I trust you know how I feel, Dawn," said Giles, standing behind Buffy.

"Yeah, don't worry," smiled Dawn, "No need of emotional display from the stuffy Englishman."

"There's more," said Professor Xavier, as he, Jean, Ororo, Remy, and Logan came over and stood by Scott. "You see, Dawn, the Summers now have more than one side to this extended family." He looked her in the eyes. "It would seem that you've now inherited all of us, including another stuffy Englishman."

"But the Cajun makes up for it, non?" asked Remy.

"The X-Men stand by each other," said Ororo. "And so their family becomes ours."

"Though I don't really claim Slim," muttered Logan, although he was smiling.

Dawn was startled as Pangor jumped into her lap, all eighteen pounds of him, and maowed at her. He immediately made himself comfortable and started to purr, looking at her as though to say "Well, aren't you going to scratch behind my ears?" Dawn, of course, proceeded to do just that, thereby cementing the relationship as far as Pangor was concerned. He closed his eyes and rumbled.

"And just to top it all off," came Alexis' voice, "This huge mucking family has a few…close friends they can call on." She gestured around the room to the remaining two teams, hers and Angel's. "With a crew like this, I think we can give anyone, even Glory, a good run for the money." She reached out and gave Spike a quick punch on the arm, just to let him know that he was included in on her statement. The vampire simply nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.

"Dawn," said Angel, "You know I…"

"I know," said Dawn, smiling. She looked over at the rest of Angel's crew, and grinned. "Doesn't talk much about his feelings, does he?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes, and sighed, while Gunn just let out a short laugh.

"You know it," he said.

"I'm okay now guys," Dawn said. "And thanks," she looked over to Alexis, who returned her smile, and then she gave Pangor a hug, "All of you. But you better get going."

"Alright then," Scott wrapped up, "Let's roll…"

Pangor sat up at that, and reached out one paw, which he ran gently across Dawn's cheek. He then immediately jumped to the floor and ran to his mistresses' side.

The assembled crew of mutants, vampires, investigators, witches, slayers, watchers and trusted companions (both two legged and four) began making their final preparations.