ANs: The longest chapter yet, six pages in Word single-spaced, although I've cheated. It's mostly dialog:) I can't make any promises yet about the length of the next one, so I hope everyone likes!
Again, completely un-beta'd. If you know someone who might like to help, please let me know.
jamminkat9 - Danka bebe for your compliment and I hope you have fun with this one.
Ouatic7 - yeah sweets, there kind of is a big picture villian, but ulitmately the true villian is fate. However, there will be smaller battles along the way. As for AFF, I did start posting there, but there wasn't much in the way of smut in the story yet, so there wasn't much interest. I decided to take it off and focus on the readers here and at TtH. I usually update at TtH first, btw, because the writer's user panel is so much easier to work with. I can go in and edit in five seconds; whereas here, it's quite a bit more cumbersome. It just makes it easier for me to work out the kinks there, then post here. So if you or anyone else is interested in getting updates first, that would be the place to sign up for author alerts for this fic.
Lexi - thanks for the praise, and I'll try to fix the Strykers. I guess I was focused on other things and forgot how to spell it:)
Dilvish - thanks for the reminder about Sabretooth. That has potential for a mini-battle. Stryker did know that Buffy was a Potential sort of, and he has a loose understanding of the Slayer program and Watcher's Counsel. They are involved btw, as Quentin Travers orchestrated Buffy's, for lack of a better word, donorship, in the Soldier X program - see chapters 1 and 5, and also keep an eye out for chapter 16, as that will explain quite a bit. As to Scott's sense of humor, I'm sure he has a great one. But since I'm basing this as strictly as I can on the films, I'm a little limited. I'll try to flesh him out if I can, but I'm really focused on building something between Buffy and Logan, while invoking the muse of adventure, trying to stay true to central characters, and translating lines into Sunnydale speak. Whew! It's an uphill battle, let me tell you:) I'd like very much to read the comics (graphic novels) someday. Maybe after this story is over, I'll do just that, then write another one with more emphasis on the X-Men. I figured that since this catagory is Buffy x-overs, most people would be interested in and familiar with that world. I have ordered Peter Sanderson's X-Men Updated Edition, The Ulitmate Guide from Amazon to help this story along, and it should arrive in a few days.
Damn! Am I babbling today or what? Hugs! sita:)
New Friends, Old Ghosts
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
May 25, 1999 9PM
Buffy stood outside Logan's bedroom door. She had almost decided not to come to New York this year. While the defeat of the Mayor was a huge win, and most of the time she felt pretty good, all things considered, she was a little embarrassed about seeing Logan again. Her behavior last summer had been really awful, and she had thought about it and him quite a bit over the past several months.
So she had gone to his room to apologize as soon as she'd arrived, rather than put it off. It seemed like a good idea as recently as fifteen minutes ago. But now, standing outside his room, she faltered. Would he even want to see her? Maybe she shouldn't have come. Waking up in his arms that morning almost a year ago had been wonderful and she couldn't, wouldn't regret that, but things had been so awkward the following day, and the X- Men had to avert an emergency after, so she wasn't able to say goodbye.
Inside the room, Logan paced. Adrenaline had begun to speed through his body a few minutes earlier, and he couldn't determine the source. Suddenly, a familiar scent drifted in and he swayed a little. She's here, he thought, and she's anxious about something... Just relax, he chided himself. Don't blow this. Don't blow this. Don't blow this, he recited to himself as he approached the door.
She lifted her hand, but before she could knock, the door swung away from her and Logan stood in its place.
"Buffy!" he cried, as he picked her up and spun her around. Putting her down, he smiled, his eyes greedily basking in her presence.
"I can't believe you're here," he said smiling, as he guided her to sit down on the edge of the bed. "Xavier said that you weren't coming."
She's changed so much, he thought. She was slightly taller and her face was a little leaner, not that anything could have harmed her beauty.
She had the most luminous skin. It absolutely glowed. Her hair glistened in the soft light emanating from his lamps. His eyes fixed on her pouty lower lip, and he remembered the texture and taste of her tongue. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was peel off all of her clothes and taste every inch of her. To be able to see her eyes and her smile after being so long apart was amazing and terrible at the same time; and her smell, he could get drunk on that smell, to have her so close and not be able to touch her was like serving time in the lowest level of hell. Looking away for a moment, he schooled his features. He couldn't let her see how she affected him. It would be disastrous.
"Last minute change of plans," she explained. "Graduation commencement was, well, an apocalypse averted. Yay us! And so... I decided to come and spend the rest of the summer here with you guys."
"Well, I'm very glad you did," he said, as he pulled her close and dashed a quick kiss on her forehead before releasing her.
Looking around, she realized that she had never seen the inside of his room before. It was as attractively decorated as the rest of the rooms, but this one was different somehow. She inhaled deeply. His smell was everywhere. It was absolutely dee-lish. She'd missed it more than she realized. It was the sweetest drug to her senses: woodsy and darkly green, like vetiver and pine, like a run through the woods on a hot summer night.
Logan felt uncomfortable for a moment as he followed her eyes around the room. She seemed to be taking stock of his space, and immediately he'd wished he'd known she was coming. What was she sniffing at, he wondered as he looked around. Had he left a pair of dirty socks on the other side of the bed? He wished that he had picked up a little more, closed the closet doors, made the bed, bought more pillows, and lit some candles – women liked pillows and candles, right?
He walked to the bathroom doorway and picked up a towel from the floor. Relax, man, he thought. She's not moving in with you.
Buffy laughed at him gently. "Logan, you don't have to do that for me."
Just as he was about to respond, a young male voice yelled from the stairway, "Buffy! Come on, we're starving!"
"Is there something you forgot to tell me?" Logan asked.
Buffy smiled shyly at Logan. "Did I mention I brought back up?"
Forty-five minutes later Buffy and Logan found themselves at Xavier's conference table with Scott, Kurt, and Ororo once again. But this time they were joined by a new Sunnydale delegation: Xander, Willow, and Oz. They were waiting for the arrival of Charles Xavier, who had received an urgent Fed Ex he needed to review. After the introductions were made, the room was uncomfortably silent as Buffy's two sets of friends faced each other for the first time.
"So what's the fun around here," Xander asked, "and where can I get my hands on it?"
"Xander!"
"Buffy!"
"Prioritize."
"O... K... Does anyone know what I did with my DP?" he asked.
"Did you know you do that a lot?" Willow frowned.
"What?"
"Leave your drinks around everywhere." Buffy answered.
"Focused on saving the world here, guys. So what if I'm a little irresponsible with the beverages."
"I think you left it in our room," Oz sighed, "Only not sure where that was, too many halls and stairs and doors ago."
"Oh, I'll go get it," Buffy huffed, standing up.
After she left the room, Xander leaned forward conspiratorially, "So, I guess you guys heard about Angel?"
"Hey foot-in-mouth," Oz growled, "Zip it."
"Yeah, Xan, Buffy's had a rough time," Willow reminded him. "I doubt she'd want you spilling her business all over these nice people."
"What about Angel?" Scott demanded, visibly concerned.
Logan tensed. Not that guy again. Angel must somehow be back, he surmised.
"Hmmm... I wonder where Buff is with that DP..." Xander evaded clumsily. "It didn't seem to take us this long to get..."
"Oh come on. Angel news? We thought he was dead..." Scott said.
Xander smirked. "Is. Was. Has been for years. That's why we call him Deadboy..."
"Yeah, and he likes it when you do that, Xander, a lot," Oz said smugly.
"Although... seeing them slay together again was kinda cool. Perfectly synched," Willow said, looking at Oz dreamily.
Oz lifted Willow's hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles, "Just like us."
Xander looked disgusted, "Ew. Thanks for the nasty visuals. No Angel synching Buffy talk, K?"
"Xander!" Buffy cried, standing in the doorway as Xavier approached.
"Sorry, Buff," said Xander, chagrined.
"Buffy," Xavier said distractedly, "Why don't you introduce me to your friends, then you can tell us why you're all here."
Buffy obliged, then began, "We're here because we were told by a Sunnydale snitch that a group of vampires is planning an attack on this school."
Oz nodded, "Every vamp loves a party."
"Is this a reliable source?" Kurt asked.
But Xander interrupted, "Willy, the snitch? He is... when Buffy threatens him with lots o' breaks and sprains."
Buffy glared, but continued, "I think so, but I didn't want to risk it. When I asked him where the usual Sunnydale crowd of vampires were, Willy said that they were going to try to turn some mutants at a school near Salem, New York. He also said that they were led by a vamp who could move himself instantaneously to another location miles away." Buffy paused and smiled at Kurt. "Knowing Kurt's gift, I figured this guy was a mutant."
Xavier, clearly upset said, "A mutant vampire? To tell you the truth, I hadn't considered the possibility. I suppose I just assumed that most mutants would be able to avoid or fight off an attack."
"Unless... they purposely sought a sire..." Buffy drawled, anticipating her friends' thoughts, "Some people have really weird ideas about vampires."
"And how!" Xander agreed.
Buffy looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, clearly thinking about the ramifications. "And the dark side would jump at the chance to get their hands on the mutant abilities running around this place..."
"So we have a serious problem," Logan finished.
Buffy shook her head, "Not too serious. Semi-serious. Serious-ish. All we really know for sure is that we may have some ordinary vampires and one who can move around a little bit easier, coming this way. But even if he can teleport, he still won't be able to get inside the school without an invite. Kurt, can you get with me later and tell me about any other limitations he might have? Also, Will, can you double up on security with some protection spells? Also, locator spell on this mutant-ish vamp?"
Kurt and Willow nodded simultaneously, and then she shook her head. "Yes to the protection and No to the locator. I can't do it. Not without something that belongs to him... but maybe another spell... let me check my advanced books."
"We don't want you to try anything too dangerous, Willow," Scott cautioned. "Buffy cares about you a lot."
Willow tried her best to smirk, "Ha! Too dangerous? I scoff at danger. Danger runs screaming from me."
"Danger's not the only thing."
"Xander!" Willow and Oz said at the same time. "See what did I tell you?" Oz said. "We're perfectly synched, too."
Buffy stood. "So we plan... we're at the planning stage? I volunteer for the recon."
"Yeah, me too," offered Logan.
When Xavier failed to acknowledge or comment on what had just been said, Buffy asked, "Professor? Are you alright?"
Xavier turned to Buffy. "What? Oh yes... sorry. I've just received a package with some distressing information and I suppose my mind wandered a bit. I won't be able to help you locate these vampires with Cerebro I'm afraid. Telepathy only works on the living."
"That's Ok," Willow said, "I think there's a spell to detect groups of demons within a fairly large radius. I'll see what I can do with that."
Ororo smiled, "I'd like to help you with that if I can, Willow. I've never seen magic done." Willow grinned and nodded.
"And I'll call Willy and threaten him with Buffy's eminent return, he may have heard something else" Xander announced.
"Good... good. Keep me advised as to your progress. If all goes well, we'll plan on Buffy and Logan dropping in on these vampires tomorrow."
After the meeting, Buffy went to look for Marie, John and Bobby. Logan pulled Xander aside.
"So, you want to tell me about Angel?" Logan rumbled menacingly.
Xander rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "What? Oh man, not you too. Isn't there a single guy on the planet who doesn't have a hankering for the Buffster?"
"Nevermind about that, kid, just answer the question."
"Whatever," Xander said, obviously disgusted with the topic. "Here's the deal. Angel got kicked out of hell and sent back to Sunnydale. But he was in a bad way. Buffy secretly helped him get back on his feet again, and he blew her off. Then, they're all with the smoochies. Led her to believe that he was going to take her to Prom, but instead, he broke up with her a few days later. Finally, a few weeks ago, Buffy goes to Prom stag and he shows up and messes with her head some more. Big finish with the Mayor at graduation and Angel bails. Heard he went to LA. I told her that he was only going to hurt her again, but did she listen? Oh no! What the hell does Xander know about getting jerked around?"
Logan nodded numbly and Xander walked away. So Buffy was still in love with Angel. Logan sighed. She needed his friendship and support, but could he listen to her talk about Angel without putting his fist through the nearest wall?
(end chapter)
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