Willow followed her guides down the hallway into what amounted to a
rec room. A big screen TV lined one wall, with armchairs and a sofa facing
it. A table stood in one corner covered with a scattered deck of cards.
The room looked empty, although the TV was on and something was flipping the channels. Pyro smiled when he noticed the constant click- click of someone hitting the remote.
"Hey, Inviso Girl! Put the clicker down, we've got company. She's from Sunnydale, like you are."
Willow frowned. Inviso Girl? Empty room? Sunnydale? This sounded familiar. Wait a second. Sophomore year. Bizarre attacks on the "popular" crowd. Caused by an invisible girl named -
"Marcie?" Willow gasped in astonishment. She'd never really bothered to find out what happened to her; that particular adventure had been too closely followed by an apocalypse for her to worry about it. So Marcie was a mutant. Huh. Made as much sense as a case of Hellmouth induced invisibility.
Her exclamation was greeted by a giggle. "Surprised to see me? In theory, that is. Guess I'm not so forgettable anymore, little Willow," her voice was coming from just a few feet in front of Willow. "I'm a bit surprised, too. The last time I saw you, you weren't looking so well."
And it seems Marcie was still trying to beat Drusilla in the I'm-a- psycho pageant. Willow wondered if her cousin needed some psychiatric evaluation of his own for keeping Marcia around.
"Yes, well you were trying to kill me at the time," Willow pointed out. "With the locking me and my friends in the school basement and opening the gas valve."
"Aww, Willow, I'm touched that you remembered. You know it wasn't personal, right?" Her voice took on that annoying girlish giggle again, "You were bothering me and I needed you to leave me alone."
Willow really wanted to do something to Marcie. Yeah, as all the death threats to her person go, it was minor (nothing compared to Spike's shove the broken bottle in the face, and she had actually stopped him from killing himself this year) but Marcie's insano mocking attitude was annoying!
But being a polite guest means, well, being polite. Even if you really want to try, say, a rat spell to see if mutant powers stay after the transformation. Or maybe not the rat spell. Maybe just one which makes her think she's a rat. Just for a little while?
She could almost hear Tara saying, "I know you don't like Marcie since she threw back all attempts at helping her and set you up to get killed, but using a spell like that for petty vengeance would be an irresponsible use of magic." Phooey.
While Marcie and Willow were having their little exchange, Pyro and company were trying to adjust to whatever happened between the two girls. It was apparent there was some kind of history. Pyro knew that Marcie had been unhappy and ignored in her previous life as a human, but he hadn't heard that she had tried to kill people. Must be why she gets trusted for special missions.
Willow turned to Pyro. "Do you know that when Marcie turned invisible she decided to go after the most popular girl in school and all her friends?"
"Speaking of good old Cordelia, how is she? Does she still feel all alone?"
"Cordelia? She's getting visions and helping the helpless in L.A., the last time I checked."
Pyro frowned. "Is this Cordelia a mutant too?"
"Naw, it's a mystical demon Powers-That-Be thing. Kind of confusing, really."
"Huh."
Willow decided that Pyro and company were taking the revelation about witchcraft, et cetera, much better than Erik was. Must be because they weren't old stick in the muds.
At that thought, Magneto and (ick) Mystique entered the room. Pyro, Avalanche, and Toad snapped to attention. Marcie picked up a Halloween half mask, which Willow hadn't noticed earlier, and put it on.
Magneto turned towards her, "Willow, might I speak with you a moment?" He motioned her to follow him.
Willow complied. Hopefully, now that he's caught up in whatever he did, she could start to get ready to go home. She followed him down the hallway and into another room.
Once they reached the relative privacy, Magneto started to speak to her. "Mystique has been monitoring the military's activity since our escape, specifically the branch which specialized in my capture and containment. She believes that they are aware of your involvement, but are not according you a high priority. What information she has intercepted indicates that they think you did not plan my escape, and that the powers you revealed could be attributed to me. In other words, my escape was one of opportunity, entirely on my part."
Willow perked up at this. If the military didn't think she had much to do with this, then maybe she could just quietly sneak on home, nobody the wiser.
His next words burst that bubble.
"However, since you were involved, they would like to take you in for questioning. Not to mention the other purpose which set off this entire incident. So," he concluded, "I'm afraid you will have to stay with us indefinitely, while we try to clear this up."
Willow felt that "try to clear this up" had a great deal to do with "I avoid capture to continue my illegal pro-mutant work, while you tag along". But as much as she hated this, she couldn't think of a workable solution to return her home without being captured by the bad guys (Magneto might not be a GOOD guy, but the people who were after her were even worse guys, in Willow's book).
"Can I at least call Tara?"
Magneto considered her request. "We have the equipment for you to safely make a fairly short call," he decided.
Yeah! Step in the right direction. Willow practically skipped on her way to the phone he pointed her towards.
"Tara? Tara, it's me again!"
"Willow? Honey, where are you? Can you tell me what's going on? Do you need some help?"
"Listen, Tara, I can't talk to you very long. Remember that cousin I was going to visit? The one in prison?"
"Yes. Erik, right?"
"Yeah. Well, he's Magneto, and then there was this knockout gas, and I used the air purification spell, and - "
"Willow, tell me what happened."
"Ihelpedhimescapefromprison."
Pause, as Tara interpreted the sentence.
"Willow! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But I won't be coming home for a while. Not until this is straightened out."
"But Willow - "
Magneto was signaling her to get off the phone.
"Tara, I have to go."
"No! Willow, we have things HERE that we need you for!"
Wow. That sounded important. Willow stayed on the line. It might be important enough to risk a few moments more.
"What is it?"
"Giles found this prophecy text about a demon and if it is true, we'll have to cast a certain spell and I need you to use that kind of power. Tell your cousin you have to come home."
"Tara, this is important and I'll see what I can do, but I have to go now."
"Just one thing Willow - do you have a copy of that spell we talked about?"
Willow grinned. Her girl was so smart. That spell was for long distance communication. And a copy of it was still in her purse!
"Yes. In five hours?"
"Okay. Good bye."
Willow set the phone into the cradle. Behind her she heard Magneto mutter, "Finally." Whatever. In five hours, she could talk as much as she wanted to Tara. But first to tell him about the new concern which had just arisen.
Willow took a deep breath, preparing herself for what would another battle.
"Magneto, I have to go home. As soon as possible."
His eyes narrowed, "I believe I already told you that was unwise, did I not?"
And the battle was joined, once again.
The room looked empty, although the TV was on and something was flipping the channels. Pyro smiled when he noticed the constant click- click of someone hitting the remote.
"Hey, Inviso Girl! Put the clicker down, we've got company. She's from Sunnydale, like you are."
Willow frowned. Inviso Girl? Empty room? Sunnydale? This sounded familiar. Wait a second. Sophomore year. Bizarre attacks on the "popular" crowd. Caused by an invisible girl named -
"Marcie?" Willow gasped in astonishment. She'd never really bothered to find out what happened to her; that particular adventure had been too closely followed by an apocalypse for her to worry about it. So Marcie was a mutant. Huh. Made as much sense as a case of Hellmouth induced invisibility.
Her exclamation was greeted by a giggle. "Surprised to see me? In theory, that is. Guess I'm not so forgettable anymore, little Willow," her voice was coming from just a few feet in front of Willow. "I'm a bit surprised, too. The last time I saw you, you weren't looking so well."
And it seems Marcie was still trying to beat Drusilla in the I'm-a- psycho pageant. Willow wondered if her cousin needed some psychiatric evaluation of his own for keeping Marcia around.
"Yes, well you were trying to kill me at the time," Willow pointed out. "With the locking me and my friends in the school basement and opening the gas valve."
"Aww, Willow, I'm touched that you remembered. You know it wasn't personal, right?" Her voice took on that annoying girlish giggle again, "You were bothering me and I needed you to leave me alone."
Willow really wanted to do something to Marcie. Yeah, as all the death threats to her person go, it was minor (nothing compared to Spike's shove the broken bottle in the face, and she had actually stopped him from killing himself this year) but Marcie's insano mocking attitude was annoying!
But being a polite guest means, well, being polite. Even if you really want to try, say, a rat spell to see if mutant powers stay after the transformation. Or maybe not the rat spell. Maybe just one which makes her think she's a rat. Just for a little while?
She could almost hear Tara saying, "I know you don't like Marcie since she threw back all attempts at helping her and set you up to get killed, but using a spell like that for petty vengeance would be an irresponsible use of magic." Phooey.
While Marcie and Willow were having their little exchange, Pyro and company were trying to adjust to whatever happened between the two girls. It was apparent there was some kind of history. Pyro knew that Marcie had been unhappy and ignored in her previous life as a human, but he hadn't heard that she had tried to kill people. Must be why she gets trusted for special missions.
Willow turned to Pyro. "Do you know that when Marcie turned invisible she decided to go after the most popular girl in school and all her friends?"
"Speaking of good old Cordelia, how is she? Does she still feel all alone?"
"Cordelia? She's getting visions and helping the helpless in L.A., the last time I checked."
Pyro frowned. "Is this Cordelia a mutant too?"
"Naw, it's a mystical demon Powers-That-Be thing. Kind of confusing, really."
"Huh."
Willow decided that Pyro and company were taking the revelation about witchcraft, et cetera, much better than Erik was. Must be because they weren't old stick in the muds.
At that thought, Magneto and (ick) Mystique entered the room. Pyro, Avalanche, and Toad snapped to attention. Marcie picked up a Halloween half mask, which Willow hadn't noticed earlier, and put it on.
Magneto turned towards her, "Willow, might I speak with you a moment?" He motioned her to follow him.
Willow complied. Hopefully, now that he's caught up in whatever he did, she could start to get ready to go home. She followed him down the hallway and into another room.
Once they reached the relative privacy, Magneto started to speak to her. "Mystique has been monitoring the military's activity since our escape, specifically the branch which specialized in my capture and containment. She believes that they are aware of your involvement, but are not according you a high priority. What information she has intercepted indicates that they think you did not plan my escape, and that the powers you revealed could be attributed to me. In other words, my escape was one of opportunity, entirely on my part."
Willow perked up at this. If the military didn't think she had much to do with this, then maybe she could just quietly sneak on home, nobody the wiser.
His next words burst that bubble.
"However, since you were involved, they would like to take you in for questioning. Not to mention the other purpose which set off this entire incident. So," he concluded, "I'm afraid you will have to stay with us indefinitely, while we try to clear this up."
Willow felt that "try to clear this up" had a great deal to do with "I avoid capture to continue my illegal pro-mutant work, while you tag along". But as much as she hated this, she couldn't think of a workable solution to return her home without being captured by the bad guys (Magneto might not be a GOOD guy, but the people who were after her were even worse guys, in Willow's book).
"Can I at least call Tara?"
Magneto considered her request. "We have the equipment for you to safely make a fairly short call," he decided.
Yeah! Step in the right direction. Willow practically skipped on her way to the phone he pointed her towards.
"Tara? Tara, it's me again!"
"Willow? Honey, where are you? Can you tell me what's going on? Do you need some help?"
"Listen, Tara, I can't talk to you very long. Remember that cousin I was going to visit? The one in prison?"
"Yes. Erik, right?"
"Yeah. Well, he's Magneto, and then there was this knockout gas, and I used the air purification spell, and - "
"Willow, tell me what happened."
"Ihelpedhimescapefromprison."
Pause, as Tara interpreted the sentence.
"Willow! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But I won't be coming home for a while. Not until this is straightened out."
"But Willow - "
Magneto was signaling her to get off the phone.
"Tara, I have to go."
"No! Willow, we have things HERE that we need you for!"
Wow. That sounded important. Willow stayed on the line. It might be important enough to risk a few moments more.
"What is it?"
"Giles found this prophecy text about a demon and if it is true, we'll have to cast a certain spell and I need you to use that kind of power. Tell your cousin you have to come home."
"Tara, this is important and I'll see what I can do, but I have to go now."
"Just one thing Willow - do you have a copy of that spell we talked about?"
Willow grinned. Her girl was so smart. That spell was for long distance communication. And a copy of it was still in her purse!
"Yes. In five hours?"
"Okay. Good bye."
Willow set the phone into the cradle. Behind her she heard Magneto mutter, "Finally." Whatever. In five hours, she could talk as much as she wanted to Tara. But first to tell him about the new concern which had just arisen.
Willow took a deep breath, preparing herself for what would another battle.
"Magneto, I have to go home. As soon as possible."
His eyes narrowed, "I believe I already told you that was unwise, did I not?"
And the battle was joined, once again.