Chapter Thirteen:
Xavier called Scott, Storm and Henry back to the mansion, and directed Peter and Bobby to bring Faith down to the lower levels. They took her to one of the small meeting rooms, and as they awaited the arrival of the other three X-Men.
In the time until their return, Xavier took a few minutes to contact on old friend, who might be able to give him more information about this new Slayer.
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"Good Lord," Rupert Giles said over the telephone. Luckily, Giles was still in California, watching over the Slayer in Sunnydale, so the Professor had been able to contact his old colleage quickly.
"I had a feeling that was how you would reply," Xavier said with a nostalgic grin, "I take it you've met this Slayer before."
"Met?" Giles replied with a nervous chuckle, "Yes, you could say that. But, you could also say she trained with us, she befriended us...and then tried to aid an evil warlock in his attempts to open of the Hellmouth and take over the world."
Xavier frowned, "You mean when the high school was destroyed?"
"Yes," Giles said, "But few remember that as the cause. Though I'm not surprised you were not affected by the glamour, as most other humans are."
"No, thankfully, I'm not," Xavier said, "And many of the students here also are able to see through supernatural deceptions."
"Another benefit of the mutant gene that the Council refuses to accept," Giles said, and then sighed, "But I would keep a close watch on Faith if I were you, Charles. Especially considering how many students you have there now."
"You really believe that she is that much of a threat?" Xavier asked, "She was mistaken earlier, thinking one of the mutants here was the demon she sought. But she has not made any other threats to him or the others since then..."
"She may not be a direct threat," Giles said, "But...she is very unstable. She has suffered many traumas in her life, and she uses her gifts as she sees fit. If you try to prevent her from achieving her goal, she may try to escape using force."
"That's why I'm going to offer her our aid," Xavier said, "The demon she was following is still a threat to this school and the surrounding population, and I fear she will not be able to defeat it alone."
"You might find it difficult to win her trust, Charles," Giles replied sadly, "But...I do hope you can. She is troubled...and very lost..."
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Faith sat at one end of a long silver table, swiveling back and forth in her chair, looking with annoyance at her 'hosts.' The expression on her face was also mixed with mocked disinterest in her situation, but her mind was reeling as she tried to figure out a way to get out of this school and back to her mission.
She tilted her head against the back of the chair and regarded the others with a smirk. The big guy with the Russian accent was standing near the door, his arms folded over his broad chest. The blonde haired ice making guy was sitting at the other end of the table, glancing at his watch every minute or so. She knew they were waiting for some more of their crime fighting buddies to show up, but each second that passed was time lost in her hunt.
Faith sighed heavily and leaned forward, "So...you guys are mutants?"
Bobby and Peter looked over at her and she grinned.
"That's cool," she continued, "Never met a real live mutant before. I guess you think that's pretty weird, huh?"
"Not really," Bobby replied, keeping a civil tone, "Most of the students here haven't ever known a mutant...until they realize they are one."
"Students," she said, sounding doubtful and then laughing, "Yeah, I heard of this place before. G-man back in Sunnydale talked about it sometimes. Part of his lessons for us Slayers. How to tell a demon from some mutant who just looks like a demon..."
"Kurt's not a demon," Peter said, a touch of anger breaking through his even expression, and Faith laughed again.
"Never said I passed that part of the course, big man," she said with a broad grin, and then looked down, "Guess I'll have to apologize to the blue guy for that. It was nothing personal, just doing my job. Which is why I need to get out of here..."
She glanced up at them again, and there was a strange determination in her face, a warning to stay out of her way.
Bobby noticed Peter straighten his shoulders, almost in expectation of attack. Then, they heard the Professor's voice in their mind, letting them know the others had returned.
Faith turned her head to see the new arrivals enter and raised her eye brows in surprise as they filed into room. The first was another tall man, wearing a black and red visor over his eyes. The second was a white haired woman, and Faith immediately sensed the power around her in the air. The third walked in with the Professor, a beastly looking man with a long coat covering most of his blue furred body.
"I'm going to go check on Kurt," the big blue guy said, giving Faith one measuring glance before leaving the room.
"I'll go with you," the white haired woman replied, staring angrily at Faith, "If that's alright, Professor?"
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Xavier replied with a kind smile as Storm and the doctor left. As the door closed, Faith chuckled.
"Damn, it's Smurf central around here," she said, taking the glares of the others with a measure of amusement. Only the Professor kept his expression civil and pleasant.
"Mutants come in many forms, Faith," he explained calmly, "And with many gifts. Which is what I want to discuss with you right now."
"Oh, really?" she shot back, and then shrugged, "Okay, Chuck, let's hear your sales pitch."
Faith took a fair about of pleasure out of the fact that the other X-Men looked increasingly furious at her disrespect, but she failed to even break Xavier's steady gaze.
"You're after the demon of Depletion," the Professor said, "Its proper name is not entirely pronounceable in common speech, as it is defined by the sensation of being robbed of one's life force instead of by an actual term. This corresponds to its form as well as its actions. It can only be invoked through ritual and is unstable if the ritual in not complete. Stop me if any of this is incorrect..."
Faith stared at him a moment in quiet surprise and then shrugged again, trying to seem unimpressed.
"Five by five so far," she replied, "I watched a bunch of suckheads do their dorky ceremony this morning. They didn't really get a chance to say all the magic words before I dusted them."
Xavier nodded thoughtfully, "Which is why your earlier attempts to destroy it were unsuccessful..."
Faith leaned forward and glared at him, "They were only unsuccessful cause I was waiting for it to become more solid. Don't try to lecture me on demons, Chuck. I know how to kill this thing."
"You have the right weapon," a new voice added, and Mary stepped into the room carrying the large volume of demon lore given to her by the Professor, "But there might be something to need to do first."
Faith frowned at her, "What do you mean?"
Mary walked over toward her and opened the book on the table. She pointed to an entry and Faith glanced down at it. There was a picture of the demon, drawn in blue and black shadows, its yellow eyes shining, its forked tail curled around the figure of a man.
"That's it," Faith said and then looked up at Mary and the Professor, "Now you get why I confused your blue buddy for it."
"You were only looking with your eyes then," Mary said firmly, causing Faith to glare at her, "I've read about Slayers, I know you have an inborn instinct about locating demons, but strong emotions can interfere..."
"What the hell do you know about it?" Faith asked in a low, almost threatening voice, and Mary tried not to let the other young woman's tone shake her.
"I know we have to finish the ritual," Mary replied, "I know we might be able to help you find it and stop it..."
Faith sat back and shook her head, "You know how you can help...let me out of here. That'll be a big help, cause I'm not getting anywhere sitting here in your pretty school waiting for you good guys to come up with some heroic plan."
"Planned heroics," Mary said simply, "...are better than blind aggression."
Faith suddenly stood from her chair and stepped toward her. Cyclops and the others were ready to move forward if the Slayer lashed out at Mary, but the Professor raised one head, a signal for them to wait.
"Sometimes," Faith said viciously, "Blind aggression is all you got to work with."
Mary's eyes were wide and anxious as she stood face to face with the Slayer, but she did not step back or sound intimidated as she spoke.
"Not this time," Mary replied, "This time...you've got help."
Faith narrowed her eyes at the other girl and regarded her curiously. There was a sensation of power around Mary as well, different from Storm, but still very present. She took a step back and glanced around at the Professor and the others, considering their offer, and knowing she did not have much time to make her decision.
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Review responses: Sorry it's been a while, and I continue to appreciate all the feedback! :-)
To DemonRogue13: Thanks again for following along and for all the reviews for each chapter! Even on days when there are multiple chapters posted! (Rare occurrences when the muses keep me stuck to the keyboard for long periods of time :-)
To ManniElf18: Yeah, in this twisted little AU, Xavier had been a part of the Council, and so had Magneto (dundunduuuun!), but the Council had made a distinction between mutants and other supernatural beings (hopefully will be explored further in my stalled firestarter fic). As for Faith, she's been a complex character to write for...which makes it all the more fun!
To LilSis: Dude. There...See...I put Giles in...Be happy. :-P
To capitalistmadhatter: Sorry, no Toad in this book. :-( Totally a Kurt centric adventure. :-) HOWEVER!!!! Book 6 will be more of a Brotherhood tale and Toad will have a major role. So will other crossover baddies...and 70's music...so it should prove interesting...MORE TOAD FICS NOW! lol
To goddess123452003: I am a crossover fanatic so each book has them. This is part five of what is turning into a monster of a project. I thought movie Kurt's interactions with Storm were very cute so continuing on with that, but I like Evo Kurt's personality so mixing in a bit of him too.
To Xany Kaos: Cliffhangers are evil! I know! I just can't help it! :-) Luckily I know just where this book is going so hopefully not too long between updates!
To Issy: Thanks! Typing as fast as I can on my nights off...and on the nights I'm working...Work is boring... Thank God for MSword. :-)
To sheera: Thanks for the review! This book started out a little slow, but now we're getting close to the end so everything should stay pretty exciting (I hope).