Title: Long Term
Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' like BtVS.
Spoilers: AtS: Peace Out and Home
Summery: Xander's ready to show his hand…
Long Term: Fifteen Minutes
Xander sat back in a tilt and swivel with his heels kicked up on top of the desk, the shine on his black Pradas catching a glint. His pant legs drifted a few inches above his ankles, exposing his black and blue argyle socks. The sleeves of his white button-up was rolled up to his elbows, his tie was tossed over his left shoulder. In his hands he lazily shuffled a full deck of cards, stopping occasionally to flip one, two, then three over in quick succession, noting the characters before placing them back on top of the deck and shuffled again. So far he was a hundred for a hundred in predicting all three cards. Reality precognition, a minor talent Xander possessed, while using his blue backed Bicycle deck always soothed him. He remembered the first time Silas, his handler appointed by the Powers That Be, introduced him to the bevy of his new, wondrous abilities as a Last Liner. Out of all of them, precognition had to be his favorite.
The surety precognition provided at times was the only thing he could depend on: not manipulating realities, or dimension hopping, not even time travel. Future predicting to a thirteen-year-old (seeing the steps ahead of you before you even thought of taking them, picking and choosing what did and didn't happen to you) was beyond cool. Xander had more control over his life than any child had any right to. He could get anything he wanted by running scenarios past his prescience to find the right way to ask for, or take, what he needed. Of course he never abused his powers. No, Xander couldn't do that. Had to be responsible. Had to be an upstanding, straight-laced champion for the Powers.
Nine of Clubs… Three of Diamonds… Four of Hearts… Sha-zaam! Shuffle.
Xander sat way back in a not so abandoned warehouse in Vancouver. His desk was against a concrete wall and between tall metal stacks crammed from top to bottom with old machine parts. A labyrinth of similar stacks filled the space of the warehouse, most holding auto parts never to be exported after the company that assembled them went under in the early nineties. A naked 60-watt light bulb hung from a threadbare cable above Xander's nook, and it was the only light on inside the building. Xander was fairly certain the old gang would use it to find him.
All Xander had to do was extend his senses and he could identify each member of the so-called strike team working the outside perimeter. Buffy, of course; didn't take too much gray matter to figure she populated the group. Willow. Probably their ace in the hole in the way of power and her personal connection to Xander. Too bad he didn't have a pretty yellow crayon angle she could work. Faith was out there, too. Xander smiled. It would be interesting to find out how she'd handle the next fifteen minutes. Very, interesting indeed…
Angel was up on the roof, looking in through the skylight and waiting for Buff to give the word. Xander knew the Scoobi found him through Angel's new resources at Wolfram and Hart, Anya's info sharing being somewhat limited because of the rules she was subject to. Buffy wanted to handle this in-house, but Angel insisted on joining up as payment. Xander was truly looking forward to shooting the breeze with old deadness… as one champion to another.
Four Legionnaires hung back with Woody, the super principal, and Andrew, acting as back up. Xander was scared, for sure. Last, and certainly least, Giles was outside, right behind his slayer.
Xander deftly cut the cards with just the fingers of his right hand before setting the deck aside on top of the desk. He pulled the lap-top also resting on the desk closer. Xander had taken the liberty of scanning in a mess of holy texts a few years ago, none of the stuff written by men, though. The screen displayed several windows of the ancient writings, which Xander had felt the need to go over one more time before his spirit, or soul, if you will, finally overwhelmed his physical being. He knew he was golden, but Xander liked the anal retentive approach.
Xander closed down each window… there was nothing to do now but wait. In the meantime, Xander clicked on a game icon on the screen. A small window appeared, showing the beginnings of a game of Solitaire. The perfect way to wile away the time until the real entertainment arrived, then shortly after, god-hood. Should be an exciting night.
The nighttime sky and the stars spied down on the small contingent as they plodded through the narrow paths between Xander's warehouse and the surrounding warehouses. Willow trailed behind Buffy, and Giles brought up the rear. Dragon's breath trailing after them while they moved with careful steps. The new coats they wore protected them from the snapping cold of the unfamiliar geography. Alien, at least to the two young California women.
Willow masked their presence just in case any nasty surprises waited for them. Not that she believed one word Anya said about Xander. Willow would know if Xander was dangerous, her more than anyone. She'd been connected to every living creature on Earth, for Pete's sake! Xander included.
Plus, Giles said if Xander possessed even a minute amount of supernatural power the annihilation spell she focused through Proserpexa's effigy would have destroyed him instantly. Xander no go boom, so no supernatural Xander. But Buffy and Giles decided to play it safe, much to Willow's consternation. Xander's taciturn disappearance after Sunnydale collapsed in on itself (Willow admits that was weird) and now Anya coming back from the dead to tell them he was planning an ascension to put the Mayor's to shame, made Slayer and Watcher very nervous.
"Angel?" Buffy whispered into the headset clipped behind the shell of her right ear as she, Willow, and Giles slipped through the darkness.
"I see light at the back of the warehouse," Willow heard Angel's reply in her headset. Angel passed out sets to each of them before they left the Teleport chamber in Wolfram and Hart's Vancouver branch. "Everything else is dark. I hear intermittent clicking. Maybe a computer mouse."
"Gotta be Xander," Willow said, frozen breath pouring from her nose and mouth. "'Cause we all know what a computer fiend he is."
"Come on, Will," Buffy said with an exasperated sigh.
"Why am I the only one who thinks Anya—if that was her real name—is exaggerating? Just because he disappeared doesn't mean he's gone insane! I mean, who can blame Xander for taking some time for himself after everything that's happened?"
"Willow, we understand your reluctance to believe Anya's claims, but you confirmed she was Anya and not the First in disguise," Giles said. "Do you have any reason to believe she was anything other than candid?
"No, but--"
"No buts, Willow, we don't have time," Buffy interrupted. "Angel, we're going in ninety seconds. Be ready."
"Got it."
"Faith?"
"Whatcha want?"
"Eighty seconds."
"I-firmative." Faith would bust in through the freight doors she located at the rear of the warehouse.
Buffy, Willow, and Giles stalked towards the front door quietly as possible. Sixty seconds later, the three crouched outside the metal sheet with a round metal knob, which acted as the front entrance. Buffy slowly reached for the knob, and shot a surprised glance at Giles and Willow when it turned freely—unlocked. Giles blinked and Willow shrugged, neither had a relevant response. But the easiness of broaching the warehouse only decreased Willow's belief Xander was inside, poised for evil, because it stands to reason he'd have better locks for his lair.
"Angel, Faith—Now!" Buffy intoned into her headset, and then in a wave they rushed inside the building. The light Angel mentioned remained unseen from their location. The warehouse, Willow sensed, though spacious, felt full.
Quietly concocting a Sight spell, Willow enhanced her eyes until her night vision rivaled Angel's. Noting the warmer temperature, Willow pulled back the fur-lined hood to her parka and surveyed the warehouse. She saw a twisting maze of metal shelves reaching as high as twenty feet, yet the ceiling rose another fifteen. Willow wondered, concerned, if Angel could handle that kind of height. They continued to trek through the warehouse, searching for signs of Xander.
Willow discerned the light first, then Buffy and Giles and they immediately headed towards its location. They were closing in when Angel met up with them. When the four reached the light they found Faith, her back was to them. In front of her stood Xander. He was talking animatedly to her.
"…Oh, you know, this and that…" Xander took his gleeful eye from Faith and watched them approach. "Buffy! Willow! Good to see you."
Willow, diverted by the appearance of her friend, failed to notice Giles being lumped into the same disregard category as Angel. Xander was wearing a crisp white dress shirt tucked tightly into the waistband of his black trousers. The black tie around his neck was loosened under the collar of the shirt. Xander's face was clean-shaven, and somewhat pale. He could have gone for the typical white-bread executive look if not for the out growth of his dark hair, which hung long and curly over his forehead down to his eyebrows, and completely hid his ears. The black eye patch over what used to be his left eye didn't foster a clean-cut image either.
Willow understood right away it wasn't Xander's attire that felt strange to her, she'd seen him dressed similarly once or twice before when he attended business meetings. The unusualness was Xander looked happy. He smiled with an easy manner she hadn't seen from him since before his and Anya's failed wedding. Maybe… maybe even well before then… Willow didn't return either Xander's grin, or his greeting. Neither did Buffy. Willow wasn't sure, though, if Buffy remained staid because Xander's demeanor unnerved her as it had Willow, or if Buffy didn't like how dismissive Xander was in face of her hard expression.
When did Xander looking cheerful become so alarming? Willow wondered.
"Wish we could say the same, Xand," Buffy replied.
"I wish I could say I'm shocked," Xander said, grinning still. "I guess you've heard I been up to no good?"
"Xander, if ever there was a time not to make jokes…"
Xander's right eyebrow arched high. "I'm not making with the funny, to tell you the truth. Nope, no jokes do I tell. I'm talking to the jokes, actually," he said.
Willow didn't know why or exactly when it started, but she was shaking.
"The hell!" Faith shouted. "Who the fuck ya callin' a joke?"
Xander let his eye flick back to Faith. "Well, pawns would probably be a better classification, but I thought, hey, why rub it in?"
Xander watched with mild amusement when Faith's face turned beet-red and her hands squeeze into fists just before she swung at his face. He may have found her reaction more humorous had it not been so predictable. Her fist struck the reflective barrier encircling his position and she was knocked backwards. Angel responded swiftly, he caught her in midair and prevented her flight down the pathway Buffy and the others took to reach Xander. Despite Angel's strength, Faith's velocity still caused them to crash to the floor in a tangled heap.
"Angel! Faith!" Buffy yelled before turning a vicious glare Xander's way. "So… it's true. What Anya told us."
"As she understands it, yep."
"I don't believe it," Giles whispered.
"Believe it, aged guy," Xander replied.
"So, you're gonna be God, huh?" Angel asked as he and Faith rose to their feet. Ahh, to be super human. "I wouldn't put too much stock in divinity if I were you. Gods can be killed."
Xander smiled an even bigger smile and waved away the vampire's remark. "I don't think it's fair to compare. Jasmine was merely… adequate for a goddess," Xander said. He had to bite his lower lip to keep from laughing when he saw Angel's eyes bug-out and his jaw drop.
"And I assure you I don't have a surly barely legal father out there ready to punch a hole through my head the second my back is turned."
"How did…?" Angel started to ask.
"Ah, now we're delving into those details Anya left out of her tattling," Xander interrupted, wagging his forefinger. "Sure you really wanna know?"
Except Willow, everyone watched Angel, sensing his growing distress. Willow remained focused on Xander, her impressive mind calculating at a furious pace. Xander ignored her stare, however, content to allow her to reach her own conclusions. He wouldn't have to spell out the influences he's had over her life these past six years—the last two in particular. Willow is a smart girl—the smartingest, as he used to call her when they were young.
"What do you know, you bastard?" Angel ground out between, oddly enough, square, non-pointy teeth, considering the growl Xander heard wallowing in Angel's chest.
"I thought it was a secret?" Xander asked. "The deal was he never existed or no-go, wasn't it? You want me to undo the enchantment? 'Cause I can." Xander narrowed his gaze at Angel, his voice going low. "With a word. With a name."
Angel and Xander held each other's stare. Xander's eyes did not waver. "No," Angel finally replied, averting his eyes.
Xander nodded. "Good. Now, mind yourself while I have a conversation with my buds."
"Okay!" Xander exclaimed, startling all attention back onto him. "You guys are here for an explanation, right?" he asked, grinning brightly. No one spoke; most of them too off-balance after witnessing Xander and Angel's ambiguous conversation. Xander clapped his hands together. "Awesome! Then away we go!"
