CHAPTER 5: RELOAD

Plug me in
I'm alive tonight
Out on the streets again
Turn me on
I'm too hot to stop
Something you'll never forget
Take my fist
Break down walls
I'm on the top tonight

No, no
You better turn me loose
You better set me free
Cause I'm hot, young, running free
A little bit better than I use to be.

Cause I'm alive
Live wire

            ~Live Wire, Motley Crüe
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Beatrice woke Faith in the early afternoon. The crisp business jacket and skirt had changed color, but other than that she looked just the same as the night before. In her arms she carried a bundle of clothes, which she dropped unceremoniously on the end of the bed.

"Some of these may fit you. I had to guess at your size." She gave a little half-shrug and turned back toward the door. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. After that we'll discuss your schedule."

Faith blinked against the bright sunlight streaming into the room and pushed herself up off the bed. She looked wonderingly at the clothes, glanced curiously after Beatrice, and then shrugged. Making a quick inventory of the articles, she found a pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt that fit, changed quickly, then slipped on her boots and made her way downstairs.

Breakfast consisted of eggs and toast, and Beatrice left Faith to eat alone with a last command to join her in the living room after she ate.

"Now, then," Beatrice said, taking up her clipboard as Faith entered the room and took a seat. "I have a tentative schedule planned out for you, here. It will probably take a few days of getting used to, but I think it will fit you just fine." She passed a sheet of paper to Faith for review.

Faith glanced at it, nodded, and then looked back to Beatrice questioningly. "You're sure not wasting any time, are you?"

"We haven't any time to waste," Beatrice answered firmly.

She considered the older woman for a moment, then tucked a lock of hair behind one ear and glanced away moodily, her voice hardening just a bit as she went on. "Yeah, well I'm just wondering when we're gonna get to the touchy-feely stuff, 'cause, pretty much?" She paused for a second, looking back to Beatrice. "I'm in this for the 'touch'," she said, pushing a fist against the palm of her other hand to demonstrate the kind of touch she meant.

"Good," Beatrice said with a curt nod. "That's exactly what I like to hear."

Faith blinked, reluctant to ask, but too surprised not to. "Really?"

"Yes. None of that other drivel will help you be a better Slayer." Beatrice's attention had already returned to her papers.

"Good," Faith said abruptly, shortly, almost as if the word had tumbled out without her meaning it to. She sat, thinking for a moment, watching Beatrice thumb through the pages of her clipboard.

"So who's going to train with me in the afternoons?" she asked, her voice and eyes holding just a hint of mischief.

Beatrice gazed at her quizzically from behind her round-rimmed glasses, as if she didn't quite understand the question. "Why, I will, of course."

Her dark eyes fastened curiously on the tiny Watcher, and she looked the older woman up and down appraisingly.

"Think you can take me?" Faith asked with a challenging grin.

Beatrice raised her brows in that all-too-polite manner that was quickly becoming familiar, and one corner of her mouth curved in a slight smile.

*           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Faith spent the next few days nursing bruises.

Each day they trained and sparred for several hours in the basement beneath the house, and each day Faith learned something new about style, technique and finesse—mostly on the receiving side. After sparring, she would shower, change and then meet Beatrice in the parlor where they studied typical monsters and mapped out her patrol routes. The studying was often the hardest part for her; she'd spent most of her time in prison training and keeping her body in shape as best she could. The memory of combat returned quickly enough, and in no time she was fending off Beatrice's attacks with practiced ease.

Finally, on the fourth night after she arrived, Beatrice declared her ready for her first patrol.

"Be careful, Faith," Beatrice said reprovingly as Faith prepared to leave.

"I got it covered, Ms. Hall," Faith said easily, lifting her shoulders proudly, almost arrogantly.

"It's not your skill I doubt…" She hesitated a moment, as if deciding whether or not she should say more, then offered Faith a slight nod. "Remember, I'll be expecting a full report in the morning, before you sleep."

Faith nodded, gave her Watcher a casual mock-salute, then turned and strutted out the door.

Beatrice stood in the hall, staring after Faith long after the door closed, her expression slightly troubled.

*           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *           *

Faith had hardly passed the hedges at the edge of the yard when she heard someone—or something—approaching. She spun and faced the row of elms that separated Beatrice's house from the house next door, dropping back into a fighting stance.

"I was beginning to wonder if the Ice Queen was ever going to let you out of the house."

Angel stepped from behind the trunk of an elm, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his trench coat.

Faith relaxed, then smiled, half-jumping from her fighting stance to a normal one. "Miss me?"

He appeared to ignore the question, dark eyes boring into her intently as they always did. "You okay?" he asked instead.

She shrugged and tossed her head to one side, dark hair flying back over her shoulder. "So far, so good." She glanced thoughtfully back at the house. "She's really not so bad. I mean, yeah, in serious need of fun, but compared to prison life, she's a riot."

"She's brainwashed you, hasn't she?" he deadpanned.

Faith laughed aloud and shook her head. "Not for lack of trying."

Angel moved toward Faith and motioned for her step onto the sidewalk. After a moment, she did, and he fell into step beside her, their path taking them toward downtown Sunnydale, such as it was.

"So you been lurking in the trees, waiting for me every night?" she asked with a grin, pushing her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she walked. When he nodded, she chuckled, rolling her eyes heavenward and pushing her shoulders up around her neck, "Gosh, that's just so romantic. I mean—"

He stopped walking, seeming to stiffen, and he looked to her with those dark, impenetrable eyes. "It's just business, actually." He said it softly, matter-of-factly.

Her eyes flashed dark fire at him before they glanced away, and she raised her shoulders again, this time in a shrug. "Don't be such a killjoy. I was only kidding." She said it sardonically, but he could the undertones of hurt in her voice.

He picked up pace with her again, walking for a few minutes in silence.

They were passing the park when she spoke up again. "So what's the score on the underground? Anything happening?" she asked casually, giving him a curious sidelong glance.

He felt the tension between them fading as he replied, nodding. "Yeah. There are whispers that something big is coming. A new player in town with designs and plans."

"So pretty much the norm," she summed up with a cynical nod. "We know anything else?"

"Vampire activity has been off the scale around here lately. Seems like the new player brought his or her own groupies. Some say it's because of the rumors that the Slayer is… gone… others say it's because they're looking for something."

"Any idea what?"

"Not yet. I'm still working on reconnecting to my old connections."

Faith nodded again and they walked a while longer in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. They were coming up on the first of the graveyards past the park, the old one without a name, when Faith spotted three vampires crossing the street. They were bent low, their arms filled with what looked like books, glancing about furtively as they hurried toward the graveyard.

"Showtime," she whispered with a grin, pulling a wooden stake from the inner pocket of her jacket, and before Angel could say a word, she was off. He hesitated a moment, then stepped back into the trees, watching as she sprinted across the street. If she got into trouble he would help, but otherwise, it was best for him to keep a low profile. The less people that knew he was in town, the better.

She almost caught the first vampire by surprise. He dropped the books in his arms just as she threw her first punch, knuckles smashing painfully into his jaw. He turned his head to the side and spit out a tooth, then looked back at her with a bloody grin. "Fresh mea—"

She punched him in the mouth again, driving him backwards, and out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the other two vampires circling around behind her. Fast as thought, she ran forward toward the first vampire, closing the distance between them in two quick strides. Still reeling from her punches, the vampire tried to hit her, but she leaped at him feet first, one foot landing solidly on his chest, the other striking him beneath the chin with all her speed and weight behind it. Simultaneously, she pushed off his chest with her bracing foot, using her momentum to flip backward in a somersault up and over the vampire behind her, catching just a split-second upside-down glimpse of its face before she landed gracefully on her feet behind it, facing its back.

It didn't stand a chance. Before it could turn, she reached out, hooked an arm around its neck from behind, and threw it over her hip to the ground. Instantly she turned and leaped, landed straddling it, and staked it right through the heart.

Quick as a cat she was back on her feet, spinning to face the vampire to her right. A glance further to the right and she saw the first vampire just pushing itself up from the ground, still recovering from her kick. She tucked the stake in the front of her jeans and grinned at the only standing vampire, who was actually kind of good-looking.

"Hey cutie," she said with a surveying tilt of her head, and then lashed out with a right cross.

He dodged and she followed through with the left, keeping the distance between them closed as she drove him backward, giving him no room to maneuver. He ducked her second punch and caught her in the stomach with a punch of his own, driving all the air from her lungs in a single, stinging breath.

She jumped back, gasping for air, and glanced right to see the other vampire closing in on her. Its bleeding grin had transformed to twisted snarl of rage, and as she met its eyes, it rushed her. Ducking under the cute vampire's follow-up punch, she dropped sideways to the ground, braced herself with one arm and swept out with her leg, knocking the bleeding vamp's feet out from under it. She pushed up with her other foot as she spun, letting the sweep carry her to her feet like a savage dancer, and then whirled rapidly in a tight quarter turn, right hook connecting with the cute vampire's chin.

Cutie staggered back, shook his head, and in the split-second it took him to regain his wits, she pulled the stake from her jeans and moved for the kill. He lunged as she struck—and impaled himself on the stake, snarling at her in impotent rage in the second before he exploded into dust.

"What a shame," she said in mock-sadness, shaking her head.

"Forget about something?" the bleeding vamp asked gleefully as he threw his arms around Faith from behind, squeezing the breath from her.

She threw her upper body forward and down, flipping the vampire over her head. He hit the ground hard, landing flat on his back, and before he could move, she fell to her knees and staked him.

"Nope," she said casually and sat back, jamming the stake in the ground and brushing off her hands.

Just then, she sighted a fourth vampire slinking across the street toward the graves. It was also male, and it glanced around suspiciously, clutching something—probably another book—protectively against its chest.

She didn't stop to think, taking off at a run to catch the creature before it could disappear within the maze of crypts and headstones. She hadn't gotten far when its head came up and it hissed, looking back over its shoulder at her with baleful eyes. With a display of intellect that set it apart from its counterparts, it began to run, making a sharp turn around the corner of a crypt.

Cursing, she gave up all pretense of cover, increasing her speed to a flat out run. She came around the corner, expecting to see the creature's back far up ahead, and stopped dead.

The vampire flew into her with enough force to crack one of her ribs, and she landed sprawling on the ground, the creature dead weight atop her, pinning her down. It didn't seem very interested in biting her now that it had her down, though, and even as she pushed at it, shoving it off her, it was already scrambling up from the ground as if trying to escape.

"Oh no, you don't!" she grunted, turning on her side and grabbing at its leg, both hands fastening around the ankle. She gave a hard yank and pulled the vampire's foot out from under it, watching its face hit the earth with a satisfying smack. Brushing off her hands, she leaped to her feet, one hand reaching for the small of her back and the second stake she had stashed there in the waistline of her jeans.

She had just closed her fingers around the splintery wood when someone kicked her from behind so hard that she pitched forward into the grass like a felled tree, hitting her head against a small stone marker. The world swam and threatened to fade out, and she bit down on her tongue, the sharp pain bringing the world back into focus with a rush of sensation. Not pausing to look around, her instincts screaming at her, she rolled over on her back, and heard something rush past her ear, thudding into the solid ground beside her head. Pressing the palms of her hands into the grass above her head, she drew her knees up, rocked her body backwards and then pushed off, throwing her legs forward, the momentum pulling her to her feet with a graceful springing motion. Again, on instinct, she spun away from her attacker and ducked, feeling the whisper of air above her head as her opponent's punch sailed over it. Without thought, she sprang from her crouched posture, fist forward, and it connected with something with a solid crunch.

She leaped back a step to reassess the situation, and for the first time she got a good look at her opponent.

The vampire was long gone, but Faith's brain hadn't even processed that fact yet. She stood, open-mouthed, staring at the young woman who stared back at her, hand drawn back in a forgotten fist.

"Hi Faith," the girl said, almost cheerfully, and then punched her in the nose.

Faith fell back on her butt, barely even catching herself, and sat there in the grass, still open-mouthed, blood beginning to trickle from her nose.

The girl wound up, preparing to deliver a spinning kick that might have broken Faith's neck, when Angel jumped over one of the headstones and crashed into her, bearing her to the ground. He grabbed a handful of the girl's blond hair and pulled it out of her face, jerking her head back—and then he let go as if he had been burned, rising quickly to his feet and backing away, his expression horrified and amazed.

"Buffy?" his voice was a bare, choked whisper.

The blond sat up and got to her feet, eyeing him curiously as she stood. "Angel," she said, as if the name made little sense to her.

"Don't—don't you recognize me?" he asked, voice cracking, his mouth suddenly gone dry.

"You're Angel," the girl said with more certainty, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Then, as if she had remembered him, she smiled.

"You're bloody stupid, and your hair goes straight up."

Angel gaped.

"You must be evil again," she said matter-of-factly, the perky tone never leaving her voice. "Or else you wouldn't be protecting Faith."

"B? B-Buffy?" Faith asked weakly.

"That's me," the girl said with a broad smile. "And you're Faith. My nemesis. You're the other Slayer." She paused as if trying to recall something, and then she smiled as if she had remembered. "And also a skanky ho," she added brightly.

Angel was shaking his head slowly back and forth. "It can't be," he breathed.

Buffy dropped into fighting stance without warning, sending a hard kick at Faith's face.

Faith grabbed Buffy by the ankle before the blow connected and twisted, pushing forward and up from the ground with her legs, throwing Buffy backwards. Buffy staggered back but didn't fall, and Faith spun, following through with a snap-kick aimed at Buffy's chest. Buffy tried to duck the blow, but Faith's boot struck her across the forehead instead, and she flew back, her spine hitting a headstone with a loud crack before she tumbled backward over it and disappeared.

Faith jumped back next to Angel and stood, hands still clenched into fists, ready to fight if Buffy jumped up. "I don't want to hurt her," she said, glancing at him.

"Something's not right," he said, mind racing, trying to put together all the pieces.

Buffy stood up and began to walk towards them—

--And walked right into the headstone.

"Must return to Willow for repairs," she said, bumping into the headstone again.

Angel and Faith looked at each other, then back at Buffy. Sparks flashed, leaping up from a gash in her side, and the smell of burning copper filled the air.

"A robot?" Faith said incredulously.

"I knew something wasn't right!" Angel exclaimed triumphantly.

"Yeah, gold star for you, boy genius. Your beloved is a robot and you can't even tell until she goes all 'Short Circuit' on us?" She gave Angel a reproachful look. "I thought you were a vampire?"

Angel shrugged, looking sheepish. "It's the Hellmouth. The mystical energies are so strong here that they confuse my senses."

"God, you gotta love this town," she said with a bitter laugh. She put one hand on her hip and ran the other through her hair, thinking.

"Okay. We can't let her get back to Willow. That's all I need right now: the Scooby-gang trying to solve the mystery of the Evil Slayer."

Angel glanced away, speaking up hesitantly. "Don't you think you should talk to them? I mean maybe they—"

"Maybe they what?" Faith broke in. Hands on her hips, she walked up to Angel, face upturned toward his, dark eyes blazing hotly. "Maybe they'd throw me a welcome-back party? Tell me how much they missed me? Talk about old times? Oh! I know!" she said fiercely, twisting her neck to the side, shoving her face unexpectedly closer to his. "Maybe they'd throw me a nice crucifixion! I hear those are huge social events!"

He stared down at her, his face as impassive as ever… expressionless, emotionless. God, she hated that. How had Buffy ever dealt with it?

"Don't you think you're being a little melodramatic?" he asked, and if he was making fun of her, she couldn't hear it in his voice. "They might—"

"No!" The word sprang from her suddenly, vehemently, and she shoved her face so close to his that their noses almost touched. Her eyes grew uncertain then, and she backed up a few steps, lowering her gaze. Uncomfortably, self-consciously, she shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and shifted her shoulders, tossing her hair back out of her face. "No," she said again more quietly. She lifted her eyes to his again, her expression still disconcerted, but under control.

"You're going to have to face them sooner or later."

"Not if I'm careful," she muttered darkly, as if to herself.

"Faith…"

"Okay, okay! God you are such a downer!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Yes! Eventually I'll have to face them, and when I do, I'll deal with it, okay?" She met his eyes squarely, as if daring him to challenge her. When he said nothing, she went on. "But not now. Not yet." Her tone was harsh, and yet he couldn't help but notice how her voice and eyes faltered on those last words, almost as if she were pleading with him not to push her.

Angel nodded, then blinked, looking thoughtful. "So, what do we do?"

"About what?" she asked defensively.

He nodded in the direction of the robot.

"Oh."

Faith gave him a hesitant look and stepped forward, tucking her hair back behind one ear. She knew it was a robot, not Buffy, which made the thing infinitely easier for her to hit—she didn't have to hold back anymore—but still, it didn't quite feel right. She paused, taking a moment to line up her kick, and she favored the robot with a brief look of pity as it walked into the headstone repeatedly. This wasn't Buffy. This was a sad mockery of Buffy's memory, and she felt sudden anger well up inside her at the thought of the Scoobies coming up with such a disrespectful… thing. Focusing that anger, she pushed off with one foot, lifting it high in the air as she spun in a hard circle, boot connecting solidly with the side of the robot's head. There was a flash and a brief squawk of static, and when she came to a halt, the robot's head lay on the ground beside its body.

Faith stood over it, gazing down at Buffy's face solemnly. "We put her where the Scoobies will never find her."