Ordinary Men
By: BoxerMan
Description: Xander meets a kindred spirit.
Buffy/Batman/Seven Crossover
Disclaimers: I can carry everything that I own, and I don't see how I can carry a TV show, maybe a TV, although I could carry a comic book, but I still don't own anything really.
A/N: you'll see. I hope I didn't really mangle the whole scene from 'Seven'. It was hard to try to adapt it to fit the story without completely bastardizing it. Tell me if I did a good job or not. Also because of this, the chapter is about twice as long as per usual. And please point out any grammatical mistakes or anything I still feel like a damned idiot about earlier. "damn bloody English language."
A/N2: as for referring to Batman as 'Batman' only once in the story it is because in that scene all of the players know who he is. When he returns to Xander, Xander doesn't know so I cant refer to him as 'Batman.' My beta- reader had a couple of questions about that. So if anyone else does, well there's your answer and I hope that you enjoy it.
I dedicate this story to my fiancée who puts up with all of the crap I put her through.
////////////////////////
The Hellmouth
The two men staggered down the steps. They were bloody, sweaty, bruised and beaten, but they had gotten there. Xander saw the battle rage on. The demons were slowly overrunning the SITs. Buffy was on the floor bleeding and Faith and Spike were outnumbered. He told the man to follow him and help Buffy up. He felt a figure next to him say in a singsong voice, "Xannnn-derrrrr."
He turned to see Buffy stand next to him. She smiled. "I was wondering when you'd show."
He heard a British voice shout "BLOODY HELL!"
The First as Buffy crossed her arms. "I was starting to think you'd be late."
He turned to see Spike starting to glow. It became so bright that he had to close his eyes.
/////////////////////////
The Desert
Xander opened his eye. He was on the side of a small desert road. There were high voltage power lines running parallel to the road and a small trailer off in the distance. Other than that, all he could see was desert for miles around.
"Where are we?"
He turned to see the stranger standing around in confusion. "I don't know."
"The Desert." The men turned to see a bald Caleb kneeling on the ground in chains. "When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt." He looked at them with a smile. "They wandered The Desert for forty days and forty__"
Xander rushed towards Caleb and drew his sword to his neck. "Die you son of a bitch."
The man grabbed Xander and pulled him back. "He can't tell us anything if he is dead."
Caleb smiled as he looked between the two. "Woe unto thee who refuses thy salvation. For those whose sins go unpunished shall never be clean."
Xander looks at the man and says sarcastically, "He's not really saying anything now."
"Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Pride, Envy, Wrath. These are the sins forged by man. It is by holy light that I was born to cleanse thy sins."
The man moved Xander behind Caleb and told him to be patient. He walked over infront of Caleb and bent over to come face to face. "For a 'preacher,' you really don't know scripture that well. Now tell us, where are we? What are we doing here?"
Caleb smiled evilly as he looked into the man's eyes. "You are here to bear testament to my work. The Desert is where the unjust are sent to be judged and cleansed."
The man frowned and turned back to Xander. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Xander agreed. As they were talking, he saw a van driving along the road. "Watch him, I'm going to take a look at the van. Don't let him move."
Xander held his position behind Caleb. "Don't worry, ol' Cal and I are gonna have a nice little talk about being a good person." As the man walked away Xander turned back to Caleb and started to talk again. "First lesson: Don't help a force of evil try to take over the world. Second lesson: DON'T STICK YOUR DAMN FINGERS IN OTHER PEOPLES EYE SOCKETS!!!"
"Third lesson."
//////////////
As the man approached the delivery van, it slowed down. When it stopped, a young man dressed in a UPS uniform got out of the van with a cardboard box. He seemed a little cautious of the masked man "Excuse me. Are you__" the young man looked at the name on the box "__Alexander Harris?"
The masked man replied stoically. "Yes."
The young man handed the box over and frantically got back into the car and drove away.
"Liar."
He turned to see a young woman with blond hair cross her arms and stare at him. "Well it doesn't matter now, it's all in place."
"What are you talking about?"
The woman smiled evilly and nodded towards the box.
////////////////
"The creature known as Spike. His sin is Gluttony. The unclean drank the blood of the innocents but shall never quench his thirst."
"Great, the preachers talking about the desert and a thirst quencher. Just do me a favor and shut the hell up." Xander saw the man in the distance holding a box. "HEY, WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"Woe unto the slothenly, for they shall never be admitted into the kingdom. Those who watch sent off innocents to die, but never fought the darkness themselves."
"Hey I was never a fan of the Watchers, but at least they were technically on the side of the goodness." Xander was starting to get annoyed by Caleb's insane prose. He looked at him quizzically. "When did you shave your head?"
The stranger was still off in the distance. He would go over to him, but he had to make sure that they wouldn't lose Caleb. "HEY, uh, GUY!! HEY, WHAT'S IN THE BOX?"
///////////////
The man ignored Xander's questions. "Who are you?"
The blond smiled, "Don't you recognize me? I bet Xander over there would. Maybe this__" the blond morphed into an teenager in a red jumpsuit with a black and yellow cape. "__might remind you."
The man took a step back in shock. "Robin."
/////////////////////
"Greed fuels those whose only quest is for power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The witch's sin is greed, for she would forsake all in her quest for power."
Xander felt anger rise in him. "Willow is not evil."
"She is a witch. She is one of the unclean. And she still craves power."
"I was able to bring her back. She's better now."
Caleb's eyes widened as he grinned. "I haven't gotten to you yet."
///////////////
"Not really, just a little piece of Robin that was left behind."
The First as Robin circled the man. "It's been a few years hasn't it? And youre still going out there, fighting on, as if it never happened. You know that denial isn't just a river in Egypt."
"You're dead. Joker killed__"
The First suddenly morphed into an older man with pasty white skin and greenish hair. "Yeah I'm dead too Bats, aint it a shame? All this," The First spun madly around with his arms open. "Its so fantastic. The end of the world and the corruption of a good soul, to think that I'm going to miss it, it well," the First did a fake sob. "It makes me sad." The first then broke into a wide grin. "But it should still be a good laugh." The Joker's insane smile turned into a childlike pout. "Youre friend over there." He motioned to Xander. "He's going to need a good laugh."
The dark knight lunged at the First but only went through think air. "What are you talking about?"
The Joker smiled again. "Open the box."
////////////////////
"The dark slayer is a whore the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah. She uses sex to define her existence, but you would know what wouldn't you? Lust is not the only sin of Slayers."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Sparky. Faith may be a little messed up, but she's on the side of the Angels...now."
"Pride goeth before the fall. For the Slayer was indeed prideful, and her fall was most enjoyable. In some cases she would not still be considered human."
"Hey I am living proof that Buffy is a little bullheaded. But she is still the slayer. I may not be able to follow her blindly, if you'll forgive the pun, but I still can respect her and love her."
"No, youre in love with the other one. Your vengeance demon. You belong to her as she belongs to you. I must admit, for being a bitch of hell, she was incredibly beautiful."
Xander thrust the tip of his broadsword to the back of Caleb's neck. "What the fuck are you saying?"
Caleb gulped. "I too am only human. I found that I have the same faults as the rest of mankind. I was tested and I failed. I was jealous of what you had Xander. Envy is my sin."
Xander took a step back, taking in what Caleb was saying. "Oh no."
"When my bringers brought her to me I was captivated. I wanted to play husband and wife with her, but she refused."
Xander ran infront of Caleb and held up the sword to Caleb's throat. "You LIE!!!"
Caleb responded. "When she declined, I decided that you deserved a present, a little reward, for having such a devoted woman."
Xander's eye widened and he turned and cried at the man. "WHAT THE FUCK IS IN THE FUCKING BOX?!?!?!?!?"
//////////////////////////////
Batman heard Xander's scream as he carefully opened the box. "Oh God."
"Recognize me now?" He turned to the First who appeared as the same woman from before.
"But."
The woman nodded, "Yes I know what's in the box."
Batman's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god, I know who you are." He started to run back towards Xander.
From inside the box, a whisp of golden blond hair cropped out.
The demon known as Anyanka smiled.
////////////////////////
Batman started running faster and faster. The thoughts on past conversations running through his head.
-'My friends are my life, I'd do ANYTHING for them.'-
-'I have never, EVER killed another human being.'-
-'It's about regular people fighting, picking up the slack, and taking charge.'-
-'I'm going to get those bastards and make them pay.'-
"WHAT'S IN THE FUCKING BOX?!?!?!?!?"
////////////////////////
Xander started to walk back and forth. "NO! NO! You son of a bitch. OH GOD!"
He bent over and started to throw up.
From behind, Caleb closed his eyes and raised his face towards the sky with a little smile on his face.
Xander brought his broadsword around and pointed it at Caleb.
"NO!"
He turned to see the man running towards him. "CALEB HOLDS THE CARDS NOW DON'T DO ANYTHING!"
"WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"JUST PUT THE SWORD DOWN XANDER."
"COME ON, WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"LISTEN, whatever he said."
"WHAT__IS__IN__THE__FUCK__ING__BOX!!!!?"
Anger consumed him. There was only one thing that could save him, and even then it wasn't really in the name of goodness. Spite. The man pleaded with him. "If you kill him, HE WINS. THE FIRST WINS. WE LOSE. DO YOU__WANT__IT ALL TO BE FOR NOTHING?"
When he looked into the stranger's eyes he knew. Anya was dead. He loved her. He truly did. Part of him still thought that they could be salvaged. Sure she was a vengeance demon that got left at the altar. But they loved each other. 'Love overcomes everything. Except death.'
Caleb smiled as he watched the two argue; he knew what Xander was capable of doing. He only needed a little 'push.' "She begged for her life."
Both Xander and the man looked at Caleb.
"Her life and the life of her unborn child."
The man looked into Xander's eye. He felt him shatter. Xander couldn't believe it. It wasn't true. Even when Anya was hurt when Glory's tower fell. When Willow was on the rampage. He always knew that she would be fine. No, Anya was alive. And if Anya was pregnant, she would have told him. "NO!! nonononononono. You lying son of a bitch." He looked at the man. "Tell me it isn't true. Tell me. TELL ME!!"
The man could not lie. He simply stared at Xander, trying to convey what emotion and compassion he could.
Beside them, Caleb bowed his head. He opened his eyes and looked at Xander with both hope and menace. He spoke softly. "Become anger Xander. Become Wrath."
Description: Xander meets a kindred spirit.
Buffy/Batman/Seven Crossover
Disclaimers: I can carry everything that I own, and I don't see how I can carry a TV show, maybe a TV, although I could carry a comic book, but I still don't own anything really.
A/N: you'll see. I hope I didn't really mangle the whole scene from 'Seven'. It was hard to try to adapt it to fit the story without completely bastardizing it. Tell me if I did a good job or not. Also because of this, the chapter is about twice as long as per usual. And please point out any grammatical mistakes or anything I still feel like a damned idiot about earlier. "damn bloody English language."
A/N2: as for referring to Batman as 'Batman' only once in the story it is because in that scene all of the players know who he is. When he returns to Xander, Xander doesn't know so I cant refer to him as 'Batman.' My beta- reader had a couple of questions about that. So if anyone else does, well there's your answer and I hope that you enjoy it.
I dedicate this story to my fiancée who puts up with all of the crap I put her through.
////////////////////////
The Hellmouth
The two men staggered down the steps. They were bloody, sweaty, bruised and beaten, but they had gotten there. Xander saw the battle rage on. The demons were slowly overrunning the SITs. Buffy was on the floor bleeding and Faith and Spike were outnumbered. He told the man to follow him and help Buffy up. He felt a figure next to him say in a singsong voice, "Xannnn-derrrrr."
He turned to see Buffy stand next to him. She smiled. "I was wondering when you'd show."
He heard a British voice shout "BLOODY HELL!"
The First as Buffy crossed her arms. "I was starting to think you'd be late."
He turned to see Spike starting to glow. It became so bright that he had to close his eyes.
/////////////////////////
The Desert
Xander opened his eye. He was on the side of a small desert road. There were high voltage power lines running parallel to the road and a small trailer off in the distance. Other than that, all he could see was desert for miles around.
"Where are we?"
He turned to see the stranger standing around in confusion. "I don't know."
"The Desert." The men turned to see a bald Caleb kneeling on the ground in chains. "When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt." He looked at them with a smile. "They wandered The Desert for forty days and forty__"
Xander rushed towards Caleb and drew his sword to his neck. "Die you son of a bitch."
The man grabbed Xander and pulled him back. "He can't tell us anything if he is dead."
Caleb smiled as he looked between the two. "Woe unto thee who refuses thy salvation. For those whose sins go unpunished shall never be clean."
Xander looks at the man and says sarcastically, "He's not really saying anything now."
"Gluttony, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Pride, Envy, Wrath. These are the sins forged by man. It is by holy light that I was born to cleanse thy sins."
The man moved Xander behind Caleb and told him to be patient. He walked over infront of Caleb and bent over to come face to face. "For a 'preacher,' you really don't know scripture that well. Now tell us, where are we? What are we doing here?"
Caleb smiled evilly as he looked into the man's eyes. "You are here to bear testament to my work. The Desert is where the unjust are sent to be judged and cleansed."
The man frowned and turned back to Xander. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Xander agreed. As they were talking, he saw a van driving along the road. "Watch him, I'm going to take a look at the van. Don't let him move."
Xander held his position behind Caleb. "Don't worry, ol' Cal and I are gonna have a nice little talk about being a good person." As the man walked away Xander turned back to Caleb and started to talk again. "First lesson: Don't help a force of evil try to take over the world. Second lesson: DON'T STICK YOUR DAMN FINGERS IN OTHER PEOPLES EYE SOCKETS!!!"
"Third lesson."
//////////////
As the man approached the delivery van, it slowed down. When it stopped, a young man dressed in a UPS uniform got out of the van with a cardboard box. He seemed a little cautious of the masked man "Excuse me. Are you__" the young man looked at the name on the box "__Alexander Harris?"
The masked man replied stoically. "Yes."
The young man handed the box over and frantically got back into the car and drove away.
"Liar."
He turned to see a young woman with blond hair cross her arms and stare at him. "Well it doesn't matter now, it's all in place."
"What are you talking about?"
The woman smiled evilly and nodded towards the box.
////////////////
"The creature known as Spike. His sin is Gluttony. The unclean drank the blood of the innocents but shall never quench his thirst."
"Great, the preachers talking about the desert and a thirst quencher. Just do me a favor and shut the hell up." Xander saw the man in the distance holding a box. "HEY, WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"Woe unto the slothenly, for they shall never be admitted into the kingdom. Those who watch sent off innocents to die, but never fought the darkness themselves."
"Hey I was never a fan of the Watchers, but at least they were technically on the side of the goodness." Xander was starting to get annoyed by Caleb's insane prose. He looked at him quizzically. "When did you shave your head?"
The stranger was still off in the distance. He would go over to him, but he had to make sure that they wouldn't lose Caleb. "HEY, uh, GUY!! HEY, WHAT'S IN THE BOX?"
///////////////
The man ignored Xander's questions. "Who are you?"
The blond smiled, "Don't you recognize me? I bet Xander over there would. Maybe this__" the blond morphed into an teenager in a red jumpsuit with a black and yellow cape. "__might remind you."
The man took a step back in shock. "Robin."
/////////////////////
"Greed fuels those whose only quest is for power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The witch's sin is greed, for she would forsake all in her quest for power."
Xander felt anger rise in him. "Willow is not evil."
"She is a witch. She is one of the unclean. And she still craves power."
"I was able to bring her back. She's better now."
Caleb's eyes widened as he grinned. "I haven't gotten to you yet."
///////////////
"Not really, just a little piece of Robin that was left behind."
The First as Robin circled the man. "It's been a few years hasn't it? And youre still going out there, fighting on, as if it never happened. You know that denial isn't just a river in Egypt."
"You're dead. Joker killed__"
The First suddenly morphed into an older man with pasty white skin and greenish hair. "Yeah I'm dead too Bats, aint it a shame? All this," The First spun madly around with his arms open. "Its so fantastic. The end of the world and the corruption of a good soul, to think that I'm going to miss it, it well," the First did a fake sob. "It makes me sad." The first then broke into a wide grin. "But it should still be a good laugh." The Joker's insane smile turned into a childlike pout. "Youre friend over there." He motioned to Xander. "He's going to need a good laugh."
The dark knight lunged at the First but only went through think air. "What are you talking about?"
The Joker smiled again. "Open the box."
////////////////////
"The dark slayer is a whore the likes of Sodom and Gomorrah. She uses sex to define her existence, but you would know what wouldn't you? Lust is not the only sin of Slayers."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever Sparky. Faith may be a little messed up, but she's on the side of the Angels...now."
"Pride goeth before the fall. For the Slayer was indeed prideful, and her fall was most enjoyable. In some cases she would not still be considered human."
"Hey I am living proof that Buffy is a little bullheaded. But she is still the slayer. I may not be able to follow her blindly, if you'll forgive the pun, but I still can respect her and love her."
"No, youre in love with the other one. Your vengeance demon. You belong to her as she belongs to you. I must admit, for being a bitch of hell, she was incredibly beautiful."
Xander thrust the tip of his broadsword to the back of Caleb's neck. "What the fuck are you saying?"
Caleb gulped. "I too am only human. I found that I have the same faults as the rest of mankind. I was tested and I failed. I was jealous of what you had Xander. Envy is my sin."
Xander took a step back, taking in what Caleb was saying. "Oh no."
"When my bringers brought her to me I was captivated. I wanted to play husband and wife with her, but she refused."
Xander ran infront of Caleb and held up the sword to Caleb's throat. "You LIE!!!"
Caleb responded. "When she declined, I decided that you deserved a present, a little reward, for having such a devoted woman."
Xander's eye widened and he turned and cried at the man. "WHAT THE FUCK IS IN THE FUCKING BOX?!?!?!?!?"
//////////////////////////////
Batman heard Xander's scream as he carefully opened the box. "Oh God."
"Recognize me now?" He turned to the First who appeared as the same woman from before.
"But."
The woman nodded, "Yes I know what's in the box."
Batman's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god, I know who you are." He started to run back towards Xander.
From inside the box, a whisp of golden blond hair cropped out.
The demon known as Anyanka smiled.
////////////////////////
Batman started running faster and faster. The thoughts on past conversations running through his head.
-'My friends are my life, I'd do ANYTHING for them.'-
-'I have never, EVER killed another human being.'-
-'It's about regular people fighting, picking up the slack, and taking charge.'-
-'I'm going to get those bastards and make them pay.'-
"WHAT'S IN THE FUCKING BOX?!?!?!?!?"
////////////////////////
Xander started to walk back and forth. "NO! NO! You son of a bitch. OH GOD!"
He bent over and started to throw up.
From behind, Caleb closed his eyes and raised his face towards the sky with a little smile on his face.
Xander brought his broadsword around and pointed it at Caleb.
"NO!"
He turned to see the man running towards him. "CALEB HOLDS THE CARDS NOW DON'T DO ANYTHING!"
"WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"JUST PUT THE SWORD DOWN XANDER."
"COME ON, WHATS IN THE BOX?"
"LISTEN, whatever he said."
"WHAT__IS__IN__THE__FUCK__ING__BOX!!!!?"
Anger consumed him. There was only one thing that could save him, and even then it wasn't really in the name of goodness. Spite. The man pleaded with him. "If you kill him, HE WINS. THE FIRST WINS. WE LOSE. DO YOU__WANT__IT ALL TO BE FOR NOTHING?"
When he looked into the stranger's eyes he knew. Anya was dead. He loved her. He truly did. Part of him still thought that they could be salvaged. Sure she was a vengeance demon that got left at the altar. But they loved each other. 'Love overcomes everything. Except death.'
Caleb smiled as he watched the two argue; he knew what Xander was capable of doing. He only needed a little 'push.' "She begged for her life."
Both Xander and the man looked at Caleb.
"Her life and the life of her unborn child."
The man looked into Xander's eye. He felt him shatter. Xander couldn't believe it. It wasn't true. Even when Anya was hurt when Glory's tower fell. When Willow was on the rampage. He always knew that she would be fine. No, Anya was alive. And if Anya was pregnant, she would have told him. "NO!! nonononononono. You lying son of a bitch." He looked at the man. "Tell me it isn't true. Tell me. TELL ME!!"
The man could not lie. He simply stared at Xander, trying to convey what emotion and compassion he could.
Beside them, Caleb bowed his head. He opened his eyes and looked at Xander with both hope and menace. He spoke softly. "Become anger Xander. Become Wrath."