Chapter 2

Disclaimer in Prologue

The Rosenberg Residence
Wednesday Evening.

Willow was just about to exit her email program when a message popped in, curious she decided to check it out before logging off the net. It was from xharris@starkintl.com.

'Xander.' She smiled and read it before going to bed.

The next morning she headed to school, looking forward to sharing her information.

"Buffy, Faith," she called out when she saw them ahead of her.

"What's up, Red?" Faith asked with a slightly amused look on her face. Buffy just raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"I got an email from Xander last night, he'll be coming home on Saturday, and he'll be back in school on Monday," Willow beamed.

"That's great Willow," Buffy joined in, and the two girls walked off together.

"Yea, just great," Faith said quietly as she headed for her first class.

1145 Oak St.
Saturday Afternoon.

Buffy, Willow, and Faith were sitting on the lawn in front of the house when the long white limo pulled into the driveway. They stood up when the back doors popped open and Dr. Yin, Tony Stark and Xander climbed out. The girls rushed Xander and mobbed him.

Buffy and Willow were both hugging him as the Dark Slayer stood back a bit.

Xander saw this and pulled her into the group hug, not letting her be left out.

While Willow babbled with Xander, the two Slayers carried his bags into the house; taking them to Xander's room downstairs.

Xander stopped at the foot of the stairs and gaped. Buffy crowded past him and did pretty much the same.

"Whoa," escaped Xander's lips.

"Damn, Xan-man, nice digs," Faith commented as she dropped the bags and threw herself on the king sized bed.

Buffy stared at the large screen TV up against one wall. Willow looked with more than a little jealousy at the state of the art computer on his desk.

Xander just stared in shock at everything. This was the first time he had seen where he was going to be living.

"After seeing your former residence, this might seem a bit much, Alex, but I expect that you will be earning all of this," Tony Stark told him as he entered the room. "Here is your ID Badge for Stark International, and a cell phone. You are part of a team performing a vital experimental medical procedure for us, and you will be paid accordingly. I do, however, expect you to keep up your grades better than you have before, and this summer we will talk about college.

"Deidre is in charge here, and what she says goes. Su will be showing up every Sunday afternoon, and will be checking you over for problems. Just remember to wear the vest when you are out anywhere; it will protect the pacemakers you have implanted."

He paused long enough to meet Xander's gaze.

"For now, Xander, that means no patrolling. Later we will see how things work out. I'll be in touch by email, and will call once in a while to see how things are going. Just remember our deal."

"Yes, sir. I won't let you down." Xander replied, looking Tony right in the eye.

"I never thought you would, Alex." Tony answered as he left the room.

Xander started to remove the jacket he was wearing and caught Buffy staring at him.

"What? Do I have something in my teeth?" he asked.

"No," Buffy said, too quickly. "It's just, that you are dressed very nicely, and it looks good on you."

"Oh, well, Tony got me some better clothes for when we have to meet with other Doctors and members of the board of directors and stuff," he explained as he opened the closet doors.
Once more the gang was struck dumb as they looked in the closet.

"Xander, ye have some more guests," Deidre called out, as she escorted Buffy's mom, Giles, and Dawn down the stairs.

Dawn nearly tackled the young man she had a crush on, and then stopped when she saw the closet.

"Wow!" was Joyce's sole comment.

"Oh my, Deidre" Was Giles' response.

Deidre walked past the gaping crowd and addressed Xander, her Scottish brogue pronounced.

"I took the liberty of doing some shopping for ye, Xander. I tried to pick out a well rounded wardrobe for you, and got everything I thought you would need. Rhodey made a few suggestions, as did Mr. Stark. The tailor will be by this week to make the necessary adjustments to the Suits and the Tux," she said as she straightened a few items on their hangers and took the jacket from him and hung it up.

Stepping out of the closet, she faced him. "Laundry day is on Tuesday and Friday, dry clean items go in here," she said, pointing to a bag in a cabinet. She then pointed to another bag. "This is where the dirty clothes go. Mrs. Bennett the cleaning woman will be here on those days to do laundry and cleanup. Please don't leave too terrible a mess for her."

Stepping out into the middle of the room, she again pinned Xander with her eyes.

"Dinner time will be promptly at six, unless you have made previous arraignments. You are scheduled for physical therapy on Mondays and Thursdays, and I will need you available for at least fifteen minutes each evening for me to check the pacemaker settings and download the EKG reports." After saying that, she walked up to him and straightened his collar, then started up the steps.

"Dinner for everyone will be ready on the patio in about an hour. In the mean time, there are sodas for the children and beer for the adults out on the patio," Deidre informed everyone as she walked out of sight.

Everyone looked at each other, then Giles spoke. "Well, we might as well adjourn to the patio while Xander changes."

The gang headed up the stairs, led by Giles. Buffy took a look back to see a glance exchanged between Xander and Faith, and for some reason she felt a little jealous.

Xander's Place
1145 Oak St.
Saturday Evening

Xander's welcome home party had been fun, but like all things, had to end. Joyce and Dawn were the first to leave, then Giles and Faith left to go get their weapons for patrol. Buffy and Willow were the last to leave. Buffy had arranged to meet Giles and Faith later, so she could walk Willow home, first.

As the two women walked home in the gathering dusk, Willow spoke.

"Xander sure looks good, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, really different…More grown up, too," said Buffy softly.

"Yeah, and that is such a nice place," Willow added.

"Sure is. Heck, his closet would rival Cordelia's now," Buffy said.

"He seemed pretty chummy with Faith too…" the redhead mentioned.

"Yeah, he did," Buffy agreed.

"So, have you and Angel made plans to go to the prom yet?" Willow asked.

And the two girls' conversation drifted off to more normal pursuits, even as something nagged in the back of Buffy's mind.

Sunnydale High School
Monday Morning.

Buffy hopped out of the dark green Jeep Cherokee behind Willow and waved as her mom drove off to deliver Dawn to her school. The two girls had just reached the sidewalk when a horn beeped behind them.

Buffy and Willow both turned and looked.

Xander wheeled the three year old black Mercedes SL 500 into the parking place and shut off the car, waving at his two best friends. Faith and he both hopped out and joined the other two.
"Where did that come from?" Buffy demanded, an incredulous look in her eyes.

"Stark International Company Car. Tony left it for Deidre's and my use, but she doesn't drive, and told me to take it," Xander grinned. "Who am I to argue with her?"

Near the Student Union.

Cordelia Chase stood stunned as she watched her former boyfriend park and get out of a very, very nice car. He was also dressed with extremely good taste, khaki slacks, a dark blue dress shirt and he was actually wearing penny loafers and black socks.

"Yummy," said her friend Aura, who had joined her. "He sure cleaned up nice, Chase. Guess contact with you did do something for him."

Then Cordy noticed that he put his arms around Buffy, Willow, and the new girl Faith; and frowned with disapproval. She spun around on her heel and walked away.

Sunnydale High School
Monday Afternoon.

Xander dropped Willow, Buffy and Faith off at home, then headed home himself. Before he left them, he slipped a small piece of paper into Faith's hand.

After entering the house and going into her room, she unfolded it.

My Place, tonight at 7:00
X
PS. Destroy this when you are done.

Faith giggled at the obvious joke and flushed the slip of paper. She grabbed her homework then headed down to the kitchen to have a snack and actually do the work.

Joyce had worked diligently on helping Faith establish a routine to help her get back on track, and it seems to have worked. Her grades were improving steadily and she was no longer getting into trouble, at school or elsewhere. In exchange, she now had a mother figure, and at least one surrogate sister who cared about her.

She pulled one of the baggies of cookies out of the cupboard and a container of chocolate milk from the fridge, and started to read her assignment.

In what seemed like no time, Dawn was home and grabbed her snack and joined Faith.

The two girls exchanged gossip for a while, then returned to their homework. It was times like this that made Faith think about the debt that she owed Xander for saving her soul.

Xander's Place
1145 Oak St.
Monday Evening.

Faith knocked on the door to the house where Xander was living and was greeted by Deidre's younger brother, Sean, who instructed her to go on back to the shop.

When Faith opened the door to the shop, she was greeted by a sight that she would think back on many times in the future.

A black armored man was sparring with Rhodey using pugil sticks, both moving fluidly and smoothly. Faith started to jump into the fray, but was held back by Deidre.

"Give the lads a minute, dear," she said quietly. "They just got started."

Faith moved over to the side and allowed the door to close behind her as she entered the work area.

The huge black man definitely had the advantage of skill and style, but the armored figure had great strength and stamina.

They traded blows for a few more minutes before Rhodey stepped back and held up his hand in surrender.

Faith was even more stunned when the armored figure stepped back and pressed something on the side of the mask. It swung opened and Xander pulled it off. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat, but the look on his face was pure Xander.

"So, Boytoy, are you going to explain to me what is going on here?" she asked.

Xander grinned at her and started to explain what was going on. Deidre brought bottles of water to her 'boys' and then explained her part in it all.

"So let me get this straight, Xan. Because of us fighting vamps and demons, Stark is going to set you up with this power suit to help out. Mostly because the main part of the suit is what keeps your ticker working. And he is doing all of this because he is a good guy?" Faith asked.

"Pretty much yeah," Xander agreed.

Faith looked to Rhodey and Deidre, who both nodded in agreement.

"And you want me here because Mr. Stark wants a Slayer to cover your back till he's sure how well the suit works right?" She asked, not sure of what she was hearing.

"That's pretty much correct, Lass," said Deidre. "Xander chose you, because he felt you would give him a chance to see what he could do, where as he felt Buffy would still try to keep him out of things."

Left with no choice but to believe what was happening, Faith nodded her understanding.

"So, what can this thing do?" Faith asked.

Xander looked like he was going to start to explain, when Deidre stood up and went into instructor mode.

"The suit itself is a micromesh metal of classified composition. It derives its strength from polarizing the metal so that it stiffens only on one side. When the wearer's muscles push against it from the inside' it gives, but when an object strikes the outside and applies force inward, it stiffens and repels the force." Deidre paused to sip some water.

"Specialized micro motors placed strategically throughout the suit provide motive assistance, increasing the wearer's strength considerably. While wearing the suit, Xander should be able to lift somewhere around eight to ten tons."

Faith gaped at the Scottish Engineer, her jaw hanging slackly as she considered what she had just heard.

"There are low level lasers in the palms of both hands that emit a 'hard' light beam that we call repulsors. They have the ability to push against whatever they are aimed at with the same force that the suit could. There is also a large repulsor/high intensity light in the chest that can either repel or provide illumination."

She paused again to sip from her water bottle.

"There are solid fuel jets in the boots that can provide limited flight capability for the wearer, or act as an intense flame source if needed. The suit can be sealed off hermitically to provide protection from smoke, chemical, or biological attack. It carries a limited supply of emergency oxygen, that would provide the wearer with thirty minutes of air. It provides protection against fire and electrical attack, having been tested against multiple tasers and other power sources. All in all, it is an effective combat suit," she finished.

"Why is it all black?" Faith asked.

"It's covered with the same compound finish as the stealth fighters and bombers. We thought that, since you're working at night, it would allow the wearer additional stealth capability, as well as taking a page from Batman," Rhodey answered.

"Yea, the whole 'dark creature of the night' thing," Xander added with a grin.

"Additionally, we are enhancing the helmet with infrared optics and a light amplification system. Our man here should be good to go in about a week," finished Rhodey.

Faith sat down on a nearby stool and looked around.

She was touched that Xander trusted her enough to be the one to cover his back, but wondered why he wanted her to be the one. She was also wondering why she was here tonight.
"So, why am I here tonight, Xander? I mean, you are going to try this thing out next week, right? So why did you need me here now?" She asked.

"Final test of the suit, under relatively controlled conditions. We want to try it against you, all out, no holding back," Xander said, a gleam in his eye.

Faith tossed him back a wicked look and smiled. "When and where, boytoy?"

"Outside of town at, the old gravel pit. We'll need room for both of us to move, and we need to be able to go all out. Well, you do, anyway. I'll have to hold back so I don't hurt you, but I need you to go all out," Xander grinned back.

Faith's face underwent a rapid change. Her eyes started to darken, and even those who didn't know her could see she was pissed.

Xander noticed it as well.

"Whoa, Faith! Don't get pissed at me. I'm not patronizing you, but while wearing this suit, I can bench press a Buick, and then tear it in half. We just want to see if you can hurt me while I am in the suit."

She flushed red as she realized that she had started to fly off the handle, then sat back and looked at Xander.

"Okay, Xan, whatever you need, but I might have to really whomp your ass," she added.

Xander pulled on a trench coat, then joined Rhodey, Faith, Deidre, and Sean in Rhodey's rented SUV. It was only a short drive out of town to the old Gravel pit, and the group piled out and looked around at the abandoned equipment.

"Looks good," stated Rhodey.

Faith was standing next to Xander, her hand on his arm as he pulled off the overcoat. She touched the gloves and felt the metal fabric of the sleeves. And she still had her hand on it when Xander snapped the helmet shut.

She felt a tingle. Then the sleeve under her hand suddenly felt smooth and slick. Faith looked up into Xander's brown eyes and saw them twinkling with amusement.

"Let's do it," she heard the strange metallic voice say.

The two separated and walked into the center of the gravel pit.

Faith struck fast and mercilessly, grabbing up a four by four and swinging it like a baseball bat. The solid wood smacked Xander across the back and shattered, barely causing him to stumble.

Faith looked surprised, but didn't let up. Grabbing up a concrete block, she hurled it at him. Testing the hand repulsor, Xander triggered his right hand and knocked it back toward her.

Abandoned Hotel

Chico Mendoza stepped out onto the balcony to enjoy the late spring weather. The body of the young woman that he had just drained was lying forgotten on the floor behind him. He stood there for a few minutes looking at the stars until the sounds of a battle reached his ears. It sounded as though it was coming from the old gravel pit.

Curious, he rounded up all of his 'gang' and headed towards the sounds.

They approached slowly and peered over the edge of the pit. In the dim light, they could see a young girl standing down in the center of the pit, trying to beat up a dark shape. The 'thing' wasn't even trying to defend itself.

Finally, they saw it knocked into an old shed which collapsed on it, and the girl partially bent, hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"That's the other Slayer," noted a fairly new vamp.

Chico squatted, looking down on the Slayer and three other humans, thinking over the possibilities. If that was indeed the Slayer, and she was tired, (and she looked it), she would be easy to take out.

"Vamos ir.{Let's go}" Chico ordered quietly.

Center of the Gravel Pit

The girl known as the Dark Slayer continued to rain blows down on her armored friend, seldom doing much more than staggering him until she finally connected with a railroad tie to his back. The impact knocked Xander into an empty shed which collapsed on him.

"Crap," was all Deidre and Rhodey heard on the radio.

Faith was bent over trying to catch her breath when her vampire sense started to go crazy.

She immediately straightened up and looked around. There were about a dozen and a half vamps coming toward her, with another couple each going after Rhodey, Deidre and Sean.

"Shit," she said softly to herself, as she pulled a stake out and readied herself.

"Ásgala, ella es el míos. {Grab her, She's mine}" Chico commanded.

"Alex, a number of vampires just arrived, we could use your help here," Deidre calmly spoke into her transceiver as she pulled out a stake and a cross.

Inside the shed, Xander snapped the helmet closed again and stood as the suit powered up. He pointed both palms at the front of the shed and triggered off a dual blast.
As the vamps approached their apparent victims, the front of the shed erupted with a loud crash and flying debris. Out of the dust, the tall black creature strode into the open.

At this range, Chico could see that this was not a demon of any kind, but a man in an armored suit.

"Consígalo!{Get him}" He commanded as he reached for the exhausted Slayer that one of his minions had just knocked down.

The first vamp to get within range of Xander's arm found himself cartwheeling away, screaming loudly. The next up was met with a straight on punch that ruined his face and sent him flying back into three others.

Without a stake, Xander was trying to figure out a way to protect everyone when he looked around and saw the leader of the vamp gang bite down onto Faith's neck.

"Arrrghhhhh!" Xander screamed aloud in mingled rage and fear for his companion. He knew better, he should have been prepared for this.

He instantly rushed at the vamp leader swatting all others out of his way.

Chico looked up from draining the Slayer to see the black, armored figure charging at him. Whoever that guy was, he was swatting all of Chico's vamps out of his way as if they were bugs. The vampire leader's eyes widened in fear as he saw the edge of the metal man's hand hit a vamp on the side of the neck effortlessly tearing the head off.

Rhodey watched as Xander ran to help Faith and tore through the vampires, knocking them out of his way as though they were nothing but cardboard figures. He staked a vamp and pushed Deidre out of the way of another, while swinging Sean behind himself.

Faith's strength was fading quickly, but she felt the vamp that was draining her weaken and she pushed him away with one last effort.

Xander watched Faith push the vamp leader away, then fall to the ground and he was at her side in a second. He grabbed the leader with an armored micro-motor grip and held him in front of him. The other vamps all stopped their attacks, or struggled to their feet and watched as the scene seemed to play out in slow motion.

The vamped out gang leader could feel his shoulders being crushed and tried to head butt the metal man holding him. He barely managed to lift his ruined head back up after that stupid gesture, having done nothing but give himself an intense headache. Blood ran down his face as he looked into the dark, almost black eyes behind the mask and saw his own death.

"Who are you?" Chico asked.

The metallic head tilted a little bit to the side, and the electronic voice came out clear and strong.

"They call me Iron Man!"

Rhodey winced in sympathetic pain when the vamp leader screamed as Xander crushed his shoulder and then effortlessly pulled his head off.

Xander turned to Faith as he noticed the rest of the vampires running away.

He knelt at her side and looked into her eyes.

"You'll be okay, Faith. We'll get you to the hospital in no time," he said to her.

Rhodey ran up to join him and looked Faith over quickly. Finding that she had no obvious injuries, aside from the loss of the blood the vamp leader had drained from her, he suggested getting to the hospital.

Xander picked up the seemingly small brunette and carried her over to the SUV.

Sunnydale General Hospital
Late Monday Night.

Rupert Giles and Joyce Summers rushed into the ER waiting room to find Jim Rhodes and Deidre sitting there waiting for news.

"How is she?" Asked Joyce, a mother's concern plainly visible on her face.

"She should be fine, she got jumped by a vampire and he started to drain her, but Xander pulled him off and then called me. They were just walking to the store, and the vamp was able to surprise Faith somehow," Rhodey lied.

"Where's Xander?" Asked Giles.

"We sent him home to rest, he got over excited and we were worried about him," Deidre also lied.

The two new arrivals accepted the lies and sat down to wait.

Fortunately, it was only a short time later when the doctor came out to talk to them.

"How is she?" Joyce immediately asked.

"She'll be fine in a very short time. We just gave her a couple units of blood to replace what she lost from the 'animal attack', and are giving her other fluids. She has recovered remarkably quickly, and we are processing her release now. She can go home shortly, but keep her home from school tomorrow and away from any strenuous activities for a day or two."

The relieved group smiled in relief and waited for Faith to be released. The first thing the Dark Slayer wanted to do was see Xander, but she was firmly told she would have to wait till the next day. Joyce gathered up Faith, bundled her into the car and headed home.

Giles looked at Rhodey and asked him a question.

"There's more to it than you are telling me, isn't there?"

Rhodey sighed and looked at the Watcher.

"Yeah, but Xander will have to be the one to tell you," he admitted.

"Let him know that I will be waiting to hear from him, will you?" Giles asked.

"Will do Giles, will do," Rhodey said as they got into the SUV.

Xander's Place
1145 Oak St.
Tuesday Afternoon.

Deidre awoke later than usual the next morning, and after checking on Sean and her email headed to the shop to look over the armor. Unlocking the door, she entered to find no trace of the suit. Quickly, she returned to the house and headed down to Xander's apartment. There, she found the armor lying on the floor.

She started to gather it up while thinking of how she was going to give him a piece of her mind. It was then she saw the envelopes on the desk. There was several of them, all addressed to his friends.

She heard someone ring the doorbell upstairs and Sean answered it. She quickly put the armor in the briefcase and closed it when she heard some people coming down the stairs.

Faith led the way, followed by Buffy, Willow and Giles. Rhodey followed a minute later.

"Where is he?" Demanded Faith.

"I don't know. I was late getting up today, and I just came to check on him. He isn't here, but he left these for ye," she said handing out the envelopes. The one addressed to Tony she kept.

Faith tore hers open and read it quickly.

Dear Faith
I'm sorry for what happened last night. I really thought I could make a
difference, but I guess I am the Zeppo, after all. Thanks for all
you have done for me, and for being my friend.
Please forgive me.
Xander

Faith looked up, tears in her eyes and didn't know what to do. Seeing her standing there, a desolate look on her face, Giles went over to the Dark Slayer and pulled her into his arms,. She started to cry.

Deidre looked around the room, in the closet and turned to the stunned Scoobies.

"All of his old clothes are gone," she said flatly.

Jim Rhodes immediately pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial. When it was answered, he spoke into it.

"Tony, we have a problem," he said flatly.

TBC