TITLE: In Your Eyes
AUTHOR: Gaeriel Mallory
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: BTVS/Batman: the Animated Series Crossover
DISTRIBUTION: The Haven, TTH, Anyone else, just ask.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are the property of Josh Whedon and Mutunt Enemy, Inc. Batman and related characters are the property of Warner Brothers and DC Comics.
NOTE: See below.
Chapter Six
Bruce Wayne hung up the phone and sat back in the leather chair behind his desk in the Manor. He had just finished a conversation with an old acquaintance of his, Jason Blood. According to Jason, things like this are fairly common in the supernatural world. Ghosts are nothing new and those that have died a tragic death or with unfinished business are more likely to try and influence the physical world, such as what the ghosts of Buffy Summers and Angelus are doing.
Jason had also told him that these events usually ended tragically. Bruce had no reason to not trust the other man. He considered Blood an expert on the occult and magic and trusted him.
Jason Blood was far older than he looked. He was well over 15 centuries old, having been one of the knights who had sworn allegiance to Arthur Pendragon, King of Britain. But he had betrayed his king by allowing Morgan le Fay entry into Camelot and Merlin had cursed him to share eternity with a demon known as Etrigan. And no matter what Bruce's feelings were about the demon, he considered Blood one of the few people he could trust, if not quite a friend.
Which made what he had just been told that more worrisome. Especially the information Blood had given aboutWillow Rosenberg.
The three were gathered around the computer. Barbara watched in awe as Willow's fingers flew across the keyboard of the Cray. The witch was almost as good with computers and hacking as she was! Currently, Willow was reading up on the old police reports concerning the murders at the warehouse. The hum of the elevator coming down caught their attention.
"Don't worry," Barbara told the witch. "His bark is worse than his bite."
"But he's got a pretty mean bite," Nightwing commented.
Barbara glared at him. "Not helping."
"Sorry."
He sure didn't sound sorry, Willow thought. From what she had gathered from Barbara, Nightwing ran away from emotions which sometimes led to things he said bypassing his brain. That she could forgive. It actually reminded Willow a lot of Xander before they had met Buffy, if a bit more curt and thoughtless than her bestest bud would have ever been.
The door to the elevator opened and the three turned expectantly towards it. Instead of Batman, however, a smaller and more brightly colored figure entered the cave. Barbara looked at the masked kid and frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be doing homework?"
He pouted. "Aw, Babs!"
"I'm not the one who has to pass history," she told him. Sighing, she turned towards the other redhead and gestured towards the newcomer. "Willow, meet Robin, the boy wonder."
Robin looked over and grinned. "Hi," he said with a wave. He looked at Willow curiously. "So you're a witch, huh? That's kinda cool. Can you turn people into frogs?"
Willow smiled. "I've never tried. But I can turn people into rats. That I have done. One of my friends from high school actually spent several years as a rat because of a spell she did."
"Whoa." Behind the mask, his eyes widened. "The most magic I've ever seen was when we were fighting demon boy."
Barbara frowned. "Demon boy? When was this?"
He hopped onto the edge of the Cray and swung his legs. "About a year ago. I think you were out of town with your dad at the time. Anyway, it was weird. There was this boy who worked some bad mojo and separated Etrigan from Jason Blood." He looked over at Willow. "They share a body," he told her. "Jason's like wicked old and the demon Etrigan is the only thing keeping him alive. Anyway, Batman and I spent the entire night chasing after witch boy and his pet demon so Jason wouldn't crumble to dust."
"That sounds like something that would happen on the Hellmouth," Willow observed. "So did everything turn out all right?"
"Yup. We got Jason and Etrigan reunited and the last time I saw him, he was at Br—uh, a wedding."
Barbara spoke up. "So why is this the first I've heard of this?"
Robin shrugged. "You know Batman."
"Is that so?"
The four jumped and turned guiltily towards the voice. "Uh, Batman!" Robin yelped.
The large imposing figure ignored his partner and stalked towards the witch seated at the Cray. As he got closer, Willow shrank back farther and farther into the chair. He stopped about a foot away from her and frowned. "Why didn't you tell us you practiced the dark arts?"
That question was unexpected. Willow forgot her fright and jumped to her own defense. "I don't anymore! I got over it. I recovered and went through magic rehab and everything."
"And that's supposed to make up for almost ending the world?" He cowered over her. "How do I know we can trust you?"
Willow leapt up from her seat. "Now you listen here mister, I did some things that I'm not very proud of. But I'm trying to atone for my actions. I may not put on a pair of tights and a mask to fight crime, but I have probably saved the world more times than you ever have. And I don't know if that makes up for everything in the Powers that Be's little gradebook, but I'm one of the good guys."
Batman did not answer, only stared at her. "You get one chance with me," he said in his gravelly voice. "After that, I'll take you down if I have to."
"I'd like to see you try, Pointy Ears." She returned glare for glare.
A muffled snort drew his attention away from her to Nightwing. He glowered at his former partner before stalking off deeper into the Cave. Nightwing than smirked at her. "You know," he said, "I think I'm starting to like you. Anyone that can stand up to Batman is okay in my book."
Willow smiled shakily back at him. After tall, dark, and gloomy had stalked off, the adrenaline had rushed out of her body and her knees felt decidedly wobbly. She looked towards Barbara for reassurance but was taken aback by the look of apprehension on the other woman's face.
"Barbara?" she asked hesitantly.
"You tried to end the world." It was not a question.
Willow looked down at her feet and nodded numbly. Inwardly, she cursed her younger self for her grief-stricken actions. Even years down the road, she was having to pay for them. "It was after my lover was killed. She was shot and died in my arms. I kinda lost it." She looked at the three remaining vigilantes. "It doesn't make what I died any better, but I wasn't thinking straight at the time. I hunted down and killed the guy who killed her but that wasn't enough for it. I was so drunk on the power and I could feel all the grief and pain in the world. I wanted it all to end."
"What happened?" Robin asked softly. "What made you change your mind?"
She smiled a little sadly. "Xander. My bestest bud since kindergarten. He stopped me. I was so close though—if he had only been a few minutes slower..." She sighed. "But he wasn't. He pulled me back from the edge and took care of me." She laughed a bit. "Funny, you know? He's the one in the group who wasn't 'special' or had powers. He was just a plain ordinary guy and he saved the world." She looked up again. "Kinda like you, you know? You guys don't have any super powers or anything but you still go out there and fight the good fight."
Nightwing walked over and clasped her shoulder with new respect in his eyes. "It's hard to get so close to the edge and then pull back," he said softly. "Something like that changes you and makes you stronger. I won't doubt you again."
Willow blushed and looked away. She glanced over at Barbara to see her reaction and her heart sank to see that her expression had not changed.
Robin noticed Willow's face crumple. He elbowed Barbara and glared at her. She shook her head and looked at him disapprovingly. "If you will excuse me, I'm going to change for patrol."
Nightwing watched her walk off and turned back to Willow. "Don't mind her," he told the witch. "Both Barbara and Batman have a habit of seeing things in either black and white. She's never really had to deal with someone who had done something really horrible but then rehabilitated. What we deal with is the less appealing end of things and it's sometimes hard to remember that not all the criminals we put in are bad."
"But how can you two deal with it then?" Willow asked.
"I grew up in the lap of Gotham's underworld," Robin said. "My dad worked for Two-Face and I learned how to pick locks and pockets with my ABC's. I know just how it is on the streets. You just try to survive and you do what you can."
Nightwing's gaze returned to the direction that Barbara had gone. "Before, I was a lot like her. But after I had my falling out with both her and Batman, I traveled the world. I saw a lot of things that I had not seen in Gotham. I learned a lot about people." He looked at Willow. "Give Barbara some time and she'll come around."
A/N: I'm now entering the part of the story where I am writing as I go instead of being a couple chapters ahead. Because of this, there may be some variation in posting. I just started a new job and I'm currently sick so my focus at the moment isn't on writing. So if I'm late with a chapter, please forgive me. And I so know that there are going to be people out there who don't like the way I portray Babs in this chapter. Bear with it. All shall be explained
