Title: The Dopplegang Effect

Author: Becka

Chapter 10: Snow Angels and Gentle Reminders

o

Xander perched comfortably on the roof of Xavier's Institute. He'd only restored Warren's wings that morning, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. When the two of them had flown back, they'd caused quite a commotion. There were a few female students who practically drooled all over Warren, and the Professor himself had congratulated the blonde on his feathers.

Of course, the same Professor had pushed Xander aside and told him what he'd done was stupid, irresponsible, and unbelievably dangerous. Then he'd smiled and said, "But thank you, all the same."

Jean had flinched away from him the one time he'd looked at her, and Ororo had simply ignored him. On the other hand, Scott had also thanked him, and a whispered mind-brush had assured him that the other man was truly sincere. That had surprised him, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

On the bright side, he'd finally gotten to see Jason. The young teen had reacted much the same as Bobby had, and had reverently rubbed his hands on Xander's wings. He'd also confessed that while he was having a lot of fun, he missed Xander and wanted to try and spend more time with him. _That_ had lightened the dark-haired man's mood immediately.

Now that all of that was said and done, he was happy to have a little bit of time to himself.

He stared out across the haze of treetops, and his thoughts wandered to when he'd first met Logan. Something had been pushing him then, just as something had pushed him today. It was more than just a change. Something was _growing_ inside him, and he could feel it pulsing with every breath he took.

There was another Xander in there somewhere. It shared his body and his face, but it felt... darker. It was almost like the shadow of his soul. He knew he was capable of evil. He knew that on the fine line he walked, it would only take a little stumble to push him over that boundary. But, at the same time, he also had faith in himself.

At any given time, he could give into his darker desires. His father had instilled them in him; his brief possession by the hyena had brought them out to play. But he'd always managed to hold back. He'd always managed to keep himself in check.

But whatever was pushing him was making it harder and harder to do so. Whatever it was, he felt his self-control crumbling. And the power that his body was learning, the powers he was leeching off every person in the whole damned school, were only making it worse. Because the thing inside him _knew_ he was growing, too.

And he couldn't quite shake the feeling that it was waiting for something. And _that_ was all that was holding it back.

He heard the footsteps on the stairs a good minute before the door to the roof swung open. Thankful that someone had interrupted his thoughts, he said, "Hey, old man."

"Hey, yerself, kid."

Xander turned to face his friend with a smile. "What's up?"

"Nothin' much. The whole school's talkin' 'bout what you did fer Wings..." The older man pulled out a cigar and lit it. "Can't say I blame 'em."

"Bobby gave me the idea," Xander replied.

"It's more that ya _could_ do it," Logan snorted. "Ya know how long Charlie's been tryin' ta help that boy?" He paused and puffed on his cigar thoughtfully. "Last night... I was gonna' apologize to ya fer bringin' ya here."

"What's there to apologize for?" the dark-haired man asked curiously.

"Henry told me it might kill ya. Yer DNA tryin' ta remake itself with all these mutant powers around ya."

Xander caught a hint of concern in the air, tinged heavily with remorse. He shook his head and answered, "I don't blame you, Logan."

"I brought you here, kid."

"I'm not going to die."

"Ya can't know that fer sure!"

"But I do." Xander turned his head back to stare at the trees. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I do know I'm not going to die." There was a quiet certainty in his voice that stopped the protest that hadn't even left Logan's mouth. The dark-haired man continued, "There's something in me, Logan. I can feel it, and maybe it's just my mutation or my own imagination getting carried away, but I can tell you right now, I'm not going to die."

He turned back to face the older man and added quietly, "But you may wish that I had."

Before Logan could question that cryptic statement, uttered with undying certainty, a loud, deafening crash caught their attention. They both were on their feet and heading towards the sound when a second, even louder crash shook the very foundation of the school.

Sirens went off, and as Xander took to the sky, he saw several panicked students running into the school. Scouring the area for whatever had caused the noise, he spotted a man in red, hovering near the entrance. Even from that distance, he could clearly make out the curve of a smile on the man's face.

Without a second thought, he flew at the man. Energy sparkled around him like a shield, almost as though the air itself was protecting him, but he was able to pass through it without a problem. He speared the man with his shoulder and sent both of them crashing to the ground.

In the background he heard voices shouting, and somehow he knew that whoever this man had brought with him was engaging the X-men in combat. He wanted to help them, but that damned impulse inside of him forced him to deal with the man he'd just tackled. He couldn't fight it; before he hadn't wanted to, but now that he was trying, he realized he couldn't. It simply wouldn't let him.

"What the fuck's going on here?" he asked no one in particular as he hauled himself to his feet and stared at the man in red. He didn't really expect an answer.

The man raised his arm and Xander felt something behind him. As he ducked, one of the Institute's benches soared over his head and crashed into the fence. He glared at the man and asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

"Eric Lenscher. You may call me Magneto." The man smiled as Xander dodged out of the way of another projectile, this time a piece of the gutter.

"Whatever, man. Could you stop throwing shit at me?"

"As you wish." Magneto smiled as the gutter writhed like a snake and wrapped itself around Xander's body, immobilizing his arms and pinning his wings to his back.

The older man made another gesture with his hands and he lifted away from the ground, towing Xander's inert body behind him. The sound behind them stopped and the dark-haired man supposed that now that they had him in custody, they could just make a hasty retreat.

He'd fought beside Buffy for years. He'd battled everything the Hellmouth had to offer, taken a bite out of it, and spit it back out. Occasionally screaming like a little girl, but nonetheless... Xander's eyes narrowed. The point was, if this Magneto character thought he was just going to come quietly, he was _sorely_ mistaken.

The air around him seemed to drop in temperature. He didn't know what he was doing, but _something_ was guiding him. His body began to tingle, and when Magneto paused and turned, as if sensing the change, he let it _OUT_.

The gutter around him cracked and warped, and with a powerful flap of his wings, it shattered. Where Xander had been, an angel of ice now poised, ready to strike. Crystalline wings glittered in the fading sunlight, prisms of pure color. Before he could attack, though, he heard Magneto murmur, very softly, "Well done, boy."

With a gesture to his henchmen on the ground, Magneto turned and fled, leaving a very confused Xander midair.

The cold slowly seeped away from his body as he stared after the tiny dot that was Magneto. He bit his lip, unsure whether to pursue or to head back to the Institute. After a moment, he heard a voice from the ground, calling his name.

Looking down, he spotted a familiar bleached-blonde head, one that he hadn't seen for almost a year. /Fuck Magneto,/ he thought to himself, fighting to keep the smile off his face.

"Oi, whelp, y'gonna come down an' say 'allo to your old mate, or what?"

"Shut up, fangless," he called back as he spiraled down to greet Spike.

o

Together, they headed back to Xavier's Institute. The sun was low enough in the sky that the trees provided plenty of shade for the vampire until it finally set. There were several questions on both of their minds, and Xander finally caved and broke the silence, asking, "What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" The real question, should the vampire choose to read between the lines, was whether or not Spike was alone, or if Buffy or Willow or Giles was lurking out there somewhere.

The blonde answered simply, "Felt like takin' a road trip, I did. Thought I'd get away from Slutty and co. and look ya up. See what you been doin' with yourself." He snickered softly and jerked his thumb towards Xander's wing. "You an angel, now, whelp? Not gonna turn into a nancy boy on me, are you?"

"You're just jealous 'cause I can fly," Xander replied snarkily.

"The air up there gone to your head, mate?" Spike responded with a reproachful look. "I'm jus' wonderin' if you're gonna start spoutin' bad poetry and shootin' unsuspectin' blokes like me with plastic arrows."

"Jealous," the dark-haired man grinned.

"Don't you, 'jealous' me, whelp. Lookin' out for me best interest. Not too keen on pullin' an arrow out o' my bum, ta very much."

Xander snickered. He hated to admit it, but he'd actually missed this - in a sad, twisted sort of way. The vampire's banter could take his mind off of just about anything, and lately, he had to agree with Spike's snarky observation. He _had_ been brooding, full out Angel-style. All he needed was some hair gel and he could change his name to Deadboy Jr.

"So," the vampire pulled out a cigarette, "'sides the wings, what's up?" He proceeded to pat his pockets for a lighter.

"Not too much," Xander said. He took Spike's cigarette, lit it with the tip of his finger, and took a drag before casually passing it back to the stunned blonde. He made a mental note to thank Jason when they got back; the look on Spike's face was fucking _priceless_.

Spike regarded Xander with interest and finally said, "That mean I owe you a blowjob, or what?"

The dark-haired man spluttered for a moment, then laughed. The sound rang through the quiet forest like music. Trying not to choke on his own words, he said, "Jesus Spike. I didn't know you missed me."

Shrugging, the blonde responded, "That, or seven years o' sex. Never could figure out how you humans come up with such crap..."

"Oh. I'm not one of those anymore," Xander said offhandedly. He covertly studied the blonde's response.

"Figured that one out already, mate. M'not a complete git like you, y'know." Spike actually sounded somewhat offended.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as the vampire smoked his cigarette. Just as the blonde opened his mouth to say something, Xander abruptly said, "No!"

The vampire started, giving his friend a funny look. He asked, "What?"

"No, I'm not going to wear a loincloth." The dark-haired man grimaced at the image he'd haphazardly picked up from Spike's mind. "Why you'd even want to see me in that outfit Cupid wears on Xena is _totally_ beyond me, and I don't think I wanna' go there!"

Spike blinked and opened his mouth again.

Xander cut him off a second time. "And before you ask, yeah, I _am_ psychic. Bite me."

The vampire looked as though he was going to say something, then apparently thought better of it. The rest of their trip was made in silence.

o

"He's _never_ done that before," Ororo said, her voice shrill. She was badly shaken by Magneto's attack on the institute, as they all were.

Logan growled, "Obviously there's never been anythin' he wanted bad enough 'afore, darling. An' my question is _why_ we aren't out tryin' ta find Xander?"

Quietly, Scott said, "The Professor said to wait, so we wait."

Jean was silent, but she nibbled her lip. The words, /I just wish he'd go away,/ looped in her mind.

"Well, I'm thinkin' Charlie's a bit more blinded by his ol' pal than anyone wants to admit."

"Surprisingly," Warren said, "I'm actually with Logan on this one. We should be looking for Xander."

"Aw, Angel! I didn't know you cared," Xander exclaimed from the doorway. There was an audible silence, then everyone began talking at once.

"Jesus, Xan!"

"What happened?"

"Are you all right?"

"Where's Magneto?"

Xander held up his hands. "One at a time, ladies and gentleman."

Logan paused and sniffed the air. His eyes narrowed when he spotted the blonde who stood at Xander's side.

"Relax, old man," Xander slumped into one of the unoccupied chairs and waved his hand absently. "I'm fine. The old dude took off when I tried to put up a fight. Anyway, Spike, meet everyone. Everyone, meet Spike."

He groaned and closed his eyes. "And, not that I really want to know, but who the fuck is Magneto?"

Scott answered quietly, "An old friend of the Professor's. Both of them used to share the same dream, a world where humans and mutants existed in peace. I don't know the specifics, but something happened and Magneto's new dream is a world where mutants dominate humans with an iron fist. He leads a group known as the Brotherhood."

Warren jerked his head towards Spike and asked, "What's up with blondie?"

"Afraid he's gonna usurp your position as token pretty boy?" Xander said with a small grin. All the levity disappeared from his voice as he said shortly. "Vampire. He's my old roommate."

"An 'ere I thought y'forgot about me, pet." Spike studied the group through narrow eyes. His gaze finally came to rest on Logan and the two of them growled at each other.

"Vampire?" Ororo asked.

"Like, mutant vampire or psychic vampire or what?" Warren said, sizing up the blonde.

"Like, blood-sucking, killed-by-a-stake-through-the-heart vampire," Xander said.

Spike turned away from Logan for a moment and stuck out his tongue. "Don't be givin' away all me secrets, whelp." He made another face and complained, quite loudly, "I'm hungry."

"So you mean to tell me that all those myths about vampires are _real_?" Scott's voice was disbelieving.

"Not all of them. The whole garlic thing is a total lie. They can't turn into bats or fog, but crosses and sunlight hurt them. And a wooden stake through the heart is just about the only thing that will kill one, unless you decapitate him or set him on fire."

"I though it had to be silver," Jean said quietly.

"Nah," Xander replied, sparing her a glance. "Silver's good for werewolves and a couple of other demons, though." He quickly gave the group a crash course in Surviving Sunnydale 101.

"I'm hungry," Spike whinned.

Scott stared at Xander with wide eyes. "You're trying to convince us that some teenybopper with superhuman strength stakes vampires, and that werewolves are actually nice people for most of the month, and that... that _man_ behind you is a _vampire_, and you expect us to just accept that...?"

"Yeah, I do, actually. I found out vampires were real when I had to slam a piece of wood through my best friend's heart and watch him turn to dust, so I think I know what I'm talking about."

"Hungry!" the vampire said again.

"Jesus, Spike!" Xander growled, "I'm trying to talk here!"

"But I'm hungry," the blonde said with a pout. "An' unless you want me snackin' on one o' your mutie buddies, y'better find me somethin' ta eat!"

"Fine, whatever. But if you even _think_ about draining me, I'm gonna' beat the shit out of you, alright?" Xander stood and pulled out his pocketknife, slit one wrist, and shoved his arm into Spike's mouth.

There was a muted, "Mmph," which Xander took to be "Ta, mate," and the blonde's demon face came forward, thick ridges pushing out from his brow as he suckled the dark-haired man's arm. After about a minute, Spike released his hold and the ridges subsided.

Xander turned back to Scott and the rest of the group with an irritated look on his face and said, "So, what can I do to prove demons are real?"

o