Title: Sirens' Song
Author: Sinayah
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Buffy, Angel, or Xmen. They belong to very rich people who don't appreciate them as we fanfic writers do.
Disclaimer 2: The Chapter Title and Lyrics belong to Simon and Garfunkel.
Authors Note: Many heartfelt thanks to my muse Zenura, without her I wouldn't have had the guts to write. If you like this story please review or send me an email, I'd really appreciate hearing what you think. Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Sounds of Silence
"But my words like silent raindrops fell, and echoed, in the wells of silence…"

It was late morning when Serena awakened, the past days adventures having left her exhausted. Her first thought upon waking was 'It's been too long since I've woken up this comfortable. Note to self, must sleep with Logan often.' The pair had turned during the night and were now sleeping on their sides with Logan spooned up behind Serena. The big man had one arm under her ribs and his wrist was nestled between her breasts; his other arm had curled around her waist and was holding her tightly, pressing her backside into his...'Whoops. Not-So-Little Wolvie's awake. Better move before he starts humping me.'

As Serena extricated herself from Logan's arms and got out of bed she noticed something. The buzz she'd felt in her throat since her mutation first manifested was missing. The power of her mutation was so strong that her vocal chords were always vibrating; creating a buzzing feeling that had been with her for ten years. She'd become so used to the sensation that it now felt strange for it to be missing. Placing a delicate hand at her throat, the dark haired woman attempted to speak.

Her golden eyes widened alarmingly as no sound emerged from between her lips, not even a whisper. Trying not to freak out, she sat down heavily on the bed, attempting to scream; hoping for some small sound. After only using her voice occasionally for years, she found it amazing how easily she'd become accustomed to speaking freely, and was both angry and frightened now that it had been taken from her again.

She started a moment later when Logan's warm hand settled on her shoulder. Her movements had wakened the man and he'd opened his azure eyes to see the tiny gypsy woman sitting next to him, a hand to her throat, screaming silently. 'This is not how I imagined waking up with Chatterbox.' He thought. When her whiskey coloured eyes met his blue ones he asked, "What's wrong Chatty?" Though his lips moved, no sound came from them. Mimicking Serenas' actions he placed a hand to his throat and tried again. As his second attempt failed, Logan growled in frustration and found that even his baser vocalizations were, well; non vocal.

Serena jumped up off the bed and ran to the television set across the room where she'd placed the computer armband. Buckling it on quickly she tapped out. "Wolvie? I don't know what's happening. We better get the kids and see if they're alright." When Logan got out of bed and headed for the door she grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute, I have another computer. Use it to talk to the girls while I go get the boys." A quick search of her suitcase came up with the second computer armband and she showed Logan how to operate the machine.

"I'll get the girls. Bring the boys back in here after they get dressed. I want to find out what's happening, now." Striding out the door at a fast pace, Logan was back a second later, tapping at the computer with one finger. "By the way, good morning." Was the message, and he followed it up with a quick, hard kiss before leaving the room again.

Serena stared after him for a moment, a small smile on her worried features. Shaking herself mentally, the mute woman trotted out the door to wake her charges. Knocking loudly on the door brought no response from her dead to the world boys, and since she couldn't yell at them to get up, she made do. Running back to her room for a small leather pouch, she returned quickly and used the lock picking tools to open the door.

As she walked into the room Serena noticed that the sleeping arrangements had changed. Evan was now sleeping in Pietro's bed, the boys curled in similar fashion to the way she'd woken up. Wishing she had a camera, the motherly woman smiled at the thought and sat down on the bed Kurt was slumbering in and shook the furry blue boy awake. As his opalescent eyes opened Serena moved to the second bed and repeated the gesture, until the other two boys awoke.

Evan and Pietro jumped apart as they realized how they must look. Shaking her head in silent amusement, Serena tapped a message for all three boys. "Good morning guys. Now, don't freak out on me. We seem to have lost our voices during the night. Neither Logan or I can make a sound, can any of you talk?"

The boys went through the same tests she and Logan had done on themselves earlier with the same results. Three sets of frightened eyes focused on the older woman and she smiled reassuringly. "We will figure this out and get our voices back, I promise you. Now hurry and get dressed and come to my room so we can figure out where to start. Kurt don't forget your holo-watch." She tapped out, turning to leave so they could dress without her watching.

Before she got to the door Kurt was beside her, taking hold of her arm. The boy held her computer up and typed a message in. "Do you know what's happening?" He asked. His frightened eyes met hers and Serena pulled him into a hug. Over his shoulder she saw the other two boys standing not far away. Holding an arm out for them she soon found herself crushed in a triple embrace.

When the boys backed away she quickly typed, "I don't know exactly, but I have a hunch. Get dressed and we'll discuss it with the others. Hurry now, I don't want to waste any more time." The boys scrambled for clothes and she left the room, heading back to her own. Seeing Logan standing on the balcony, a cigarette in his hand, she came close and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"How are the girls?" she tapped out, raising her head to meet his azure gaze. He typed a response into his own computer, "Scared. They're dressing now. I snitched these from Rogue. I think I'm gonna need em." He showed her the pack of cigarettes and lighter. Everyone at the mansion knew Rogue had a smoking habit, and they'd all tried to break her of it without much success. Every time her pack got confiscated, she'd just go buy a new one. "The boys ok?" he asked.

Deciding to indulge herself, Serena took the pack of cigarettes from Logan and lit one up. "Same as the girls, scared. We really need to make Rogue quit. It's too damn tempting to have these around all the time." Serena typed. She'd developed a taste for cigarettes while travelling with Spike and Dru, and had managed to quit for the most part, only smoking when she was stressed. Right now she felt like finishing off the pack and buying another.

The teens emerged from their rooms a moment later, finding their guardians standing outside, still smoking. Rogue charged up and held out her hand expectantly. Serena shook her head and put the cigarettes in her pocket while Logan sent the girl a rude gesture. Indignant, the seventeen year old grabbed Logans arm and tapped a message. "Give me my cigarettes! If I'm old enough to kill people with a touch I'm old enough to smoke damnit!"

Feeling sorry for the girl, Serena still shook her head in denial. A moment later however, the pack and lighter were missing from her pocket. Pietro had grabbed them and was now lighting one. He passed it off to the girl and lit one for himself before taking Serenas' arm and typing "Live with it 'Rena." He then handed the pack off to Evan, who also lit up.

Rolling his eyes and giving a shrug Logan decided to allow the three their small vice, knowing the professor and Ororo would give him hell if they ever found out. Kitty had walked up and was now standing close to the man who towered over her. Logan put his arm around the girl and hugged her to him, giving comfort. Kurt was being held in a similar fashion by Serena, and the other three teens were standing close together between the adults.

When the five people had finished their daily dose of lung cancer, the group went inside the room Logan and Serena shared. Serena made a pot of coffee, thankful that the run down accommodations still provided this luxury. While it was brewing she turned the television on to the late morning news. Handing each of her friends a Styrofoam cup of the steaming liquid she listened as the news anchor detailed the citywide epidemic of 'laryngitis'. They seemed to have no medical explanation and the police had declared the town under quarantine.

Turning off the set when the reports turned to other subjects Serena stood in front of it and began typing on her armband. "I didn't think this was a medical mystery, but now I know for sure. Something mystical, probably a witch or a demon, has stolen the voices of the entire town. We need to get to Mr. Giles house. If anyone in this town knows what's going on and how to fix it, he will. Our first priority now is reversing this 'laryngitis'. After that we're taking Spike and getting the hell out of this bloody place."

Her friends nodded their enthusiastic agreement to her plan and Serena continued. "First, Kurt I need you to teleport to the X jet. I should have at least one more voice computer in my lockbox. After you get back we'll walk over to the watchers place." Serena took a small key off of her key chain and handed it to the slender teen.

He vanished in a puff of smelly smoke and was back a few minutes later with two more of the computers. "You had two in the box." He tapped into the computer he'd attached under his image inducer. Pleased that they now had four of the devices she spared a grateful thought to the professor for designing the computers and having so many made.

Handing the fourth computer to Rogue she typed, "You kids can share those two computers. Logan and I will be doing most of the 'talking' so we'll each keep the ones we have on. Is everyone ready to go?" Receiving nods all around she finished, "Good, let's head over. I'll stop at the front desk and tell them we want the rooms until the quarantine is lifted."

* * * * * * * * * *

Spike was pissed off. He stalked around the watchers house like a caged animal, his thoughts channelling Willow as his mind babbled, "I knew I should've bloody well made the Nymph take me last night! We could've been well away from Sunnyhell before this happened. I should have bloody figured the hellmouth would try to ruin my escape. I swear once I get out this time I am never bloody well coming back! Where the sodding hell is my Nymph anyway?'

The vampires thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Slutty and Willow. They looked pathetic, wearing those message boards around their necks. The girls greeted Giles and Xander, ignoring Spike. Using a combination of gestures and the boards, the trio conversed about the epidemic and it's undoubtedly mystical origins.

Thinking about her dream, and it's mention of some group 'coming by', Buffy remembered the strange people she'd seen fighting vampires the night before. Grabbing her message board the slayer wrote. "I saw some really weird people last night on patrol Giles. There were seven of them; three teenage boys, two girls, a man, and a woman. Could they have done this?"

She allowed the entire group to see her message. After they'd had a chance to read it Giles took the redheads board and wrote back, "What were they doing when you saw them?" Again allowing the group at large to read the text, Buffy wrote a reply.

"They were fighting a nest of vamps. Giles they were too good. And some of them had strange powers." Was the slayers message. Giles sighed, irritated at having to prod his slayer for details. He loved Buffy like a daughter, but the girl could be quite bothersome. "What powers?" he wrote.

It took the slayer a few minutes to write the reply. "Boy 1: Shot stakes out of his body. Boy 2: Teleportation? Boy 3: Ran real fast. Could barely see him. Girl 1: Like a ghost, passed through a vamp. Girl 2: No special powers, but good fighter. Man: Had metal claws in his hands. Woman: No special powers, but familiar fighting style."

Giles, Willow, and Xander gaped at the outrageous things the slayer had seen. The group had seen some very unusual things over the years, but never humans with powers like the ones Buffy described. Spike waved at the group to get their attention. He figured he'd better explain about his Nymph and her friends so that when they showed up the slayer wouldn't stake them on sight.

The blond vampire made a series of gestures with his hands. "Do any of you understand sign language?" was his question. Both Giles and Willow nodded. Spike gestured again, "I know the people she saw. They are not here to hurt anyone. They came to get me. The woman is an old friend of mine."

Willow grabbed her message board from Giles and quickly translated the vampires signs for Buffy and Xander. When the slayer and whelp had read the board both scoffed, making it clear that they thought he didn't have any friends. Giles took the slayers board and wrote, "Who are they? Demons?"

Spike rolled his ice blue eyes and signed, "Not demons. Human mutants. It's been happening since about WWII. They go through childhood normal, but when they hit puberty their powers manifest. If you don't believe me that's bloody fine. My Nymph will explain when she gets here."

Giles was about to write a response when a knock sounded at his front door. Xander gave the group a befuddled look before opening it. He found himself face to face with seven angry looking people. A small, dark haired woman held her arm up and typed onto a funny looking keyboard and a second later a sweet alto voice came from the device. "We need to speak to Spike and your Mr. Giles."

Looking past the confused Xander, Serena spotted her blond friend and smiled brightly at him. Flashing his own grin Spike held up his hands and signed, "Come on in Nymph, they won't invite you, especially not that lackbrain."

Serena stepped over the threshold and turned to face her friends, gesturing for them to enter uninvited. Only when her friends were safely inside the house, Evan closing the door behind him, did she face Spike again. The vampire was standing across the room, his arms held out. The small woman took the invitation and ran into the blonds embrace. Spike held the woman tightly, her warm body the only gentle touch he'd known in months.

Ten people watched the reunion of the young woman and the ancient vampire with various reactions. The Xmen team were happy that, even under these circumstances, Serena had found some joy. The slayer and her friends just gaped, not understanding how the woman could be so happy to see the bleached blond.

A tinny voice sounded from the computer on Rogues arm when it appeared that the hug could go on for some time. "Hey Siren, let the corpse go so we can figure out what's going on and get our voices back. I want to get back to the mansion, this place sucks. Then again, so does your friend."

Serena pulled away from Spike, blushing faintly. Tapping on her keypad she replied, "Ha Ha Rogue, very funny. But I suppose you're right. Let's get the introductions over with. Spike have you told them anything about us?"

Taking the arm she held out to him, he studied the device for a moment before typing, "Just the basics Luv, don't think they believed me anyway. Evil demon, remember?" The vampire smirked at the scoobies as his message was relayed. Serena rolled her eyes at the 'evil demon' and made a quick sign, telling him to introduce his 'friends'.

Using her keypad Spike introduced the Sunnydale group in his own unique way. "The older bloke is the Watcher, call him Giles or Ripper. The cute little redhead is Willow, she and Rupes are the brains of this outfit. The chit with more bleach in her hair than me is Slutty the Vampire Layer, and the dopey looking kid is Xander. There's another chit upstairs, the watchers bird, think her name's Olivia."

Taking her arm back Serena tapped out, "Thank you Spike, for that lovely introduction, it's a good thing we already know who they are." She took the vampires hand and led him to the corner near the stairs where her friends were standing quietly. Typing again, she introduced Logan and her charges.

"This is Logan. The dark haired boy is Kurt, the blond is Evan, and the one with white hair is Pietro. The brunette hiding behind Logan is Kitty, and the redhead is Rogue." Each team member nodded or smiled a greeting as they were introduced. Logan and Spike eyed each other warily before exchanging a firm handshake.

Now that there were no more pleasantries to be exchanged, the two groups fidgeted in uncomfortable silence. In a city of mutes, every little sound of day to day life echoes like a thunderclap; and in this small townhouse, filled as it was with so many people, the small movements of nervous tension sounded like the wrath of Mother Nature herself.

Wanting to break the tension before the nervous people exploded, Giles took the message board from his lap and began to write. Serena, seeing the man, came forward and offered her armband in a gesture of friendship. The older man looked at the device attached to the small womans arm, then turned confused eyes on her. Serena offered a smile, and typed a message into her band.

"Hello Mr. Giles, I'm Serena. If you'd like to say something you can use my armband. I find it much more efficient than writing." The message came out through the small speaker on the computer. Giles nodded, then gently took hold of her arm and tapped his own message slowly, with one finger. "Thank you, I appreciate the offer. Forgive me if I sound demanding, but why are you here?" the computer relayed the librarians message.

"We came to get Spike. He sent me a letter, which I received yesterday, telling me that he was in trouble and needed my help. My friends offered to come with me in case of trouble. I had planned on picking him up here this afternoon, but seeing as my friends and I woke up mute, we'll do all we can to help you find whatever is causing this and kill it before we go." Serena typed back.

Giles nodded his ascent, glad to have more people to research the current problem. They would deal with the Spike issue once they had their voices back. "Very well. I assume you know the nature of our work here? Currently, all we have to go on is what Buffy remembers of a prophetic dream she had yesterday. It's not much, and so far our research has turned up nothing." He borrowed Serenas' computer again. When the message was relayed, the scooby gang let their guard down visibly.

The Xmen waited for Serenas' response, they wouldn't do anything without her consent. "Can you show us what you have so far? I'm afraid my group isn't used to the things you do. Until yesterday, they had no idea demons existed, let alone that there were people who fight them. But they're fast studies, and willing to help." The woman typed, letting her friends know that they should relax for the moment.

Giles retrieved the notebook from his desk and handed it to Serena. The page had the nursery song verse the Buffy remembered, as well as Giles notes. Taking charge of the situation Serena took Giles message board and quickly wrote the verse on it, then moved around the couch and set the board upright on the table so that everyone could see it's contents.

"This is all we have to go on guys. Most information on demonology and arcane lore is in books, which as you can see, Mr. Giles has plenty of. Everyone grab a book and start looking for references to what's written on the board, and the muteness we're experiencing. Be careful with the books, by the looks of them, they're ancient and valuable. Share the armbands we have too, so that no one has to write out questions or comments." Serena said, giving her friends the knowledge they needed to begin helping.

The Xmen came around the couch and each took a book from the table before sitting down on the floor to read. Giles gestured for Willow, Xander, and Buffy to join their new helpers before borrowing Serenas' computer again. "Thank you for your help Serena, the extra hands will be most useful. Could I speak to you a moment outside please? I have some questions I'd like to ask, but I don't want to interrupt the children."

Serena nodded and went over to where Logan was seated on the couch. The big man looked at her, his blue eyes wary. She smoothed a hand over the worry lines on his forehead and smiled down at him, her whiskey hued eyes reassuring. Tapping on the computer she said, "Keep an eye on the kids, they don't trust each other yet. I'm going to talk to Mr. Giles; I'll be back in a minute or two." Turning so that she could see Spike and the mutant teens she continued, "Kids, keep reading, I'm sure some of the things in those books will fascinate you. Spike, be good. All of you, no powers."

Spike flipped her the British bird and the kids laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. The young Xmen could tell that Spike would be a fun addition to their group. Serena kissed Logans cheek and walked out the front door, stopping at the coat rack to steal her vampire friends' cigarettes on the way.

* * * * * * * * * *

Outside, Giles was chuckling silently. He'd seen and heard the last comments and found the interaction between the young woman and Spike to be amusing. Serena pulled the door shut behind her and lit one of Spikes cigarettes. 'It's barely noon and it's already been a long day. At least we got them settled with no bloodshed.' The dark haired woman thought, walking over to the tall librarian.

Giles smiled at the little woman as she sat beside him on the courtyard bench. She smiled back and held her arm out on the table so that the man could begin the conversation. He tapped in a message, the first question he wanted to ask. "Spike was telling us, before you got here, that you and your friends are mutants. I hate to sound rude, but is it true? And if so, are we in any danger from your powers?"

Knowing that the man would probably see a demonstration of their abilities before the day was over, Serena answered truthfully. "Yes, we're mutants. Each of us has a different ability. Some of our powers can be dangerous, I won't lie, but we don't intend to harm any of you."

Giles took another turn at the device when the woman finished 'speaking'. "May I ask what powers you all possess? I find it quite fascinating." He asked, getting better at using the contraption.

Serena nodded and detailed the individual powers her friends had at their disposal. "This muteness has taken my power from me. Being a watcher, I'm sure you've heard the term sea siren. My powers are similar, I hypnotize and control people with my voice, and can change form at will into a mermaid like creature. Logan has off the chart healing abilities and enhanced hearing, sight, and smell. Due to some kind of experimentation, he also has an alloy called adamantium grafted to his entire skeletal system, and three claws of the same material that come out of each of his hands."

Giles was staring, slack jawed. She gave him a moment to recover his stuffy british composure before continuing. "Kurt as the power of teleportation, he's wearing an image inducer at the moment because his normal appearance is, well I'm sure you'll see it sometime. Rogue is unable to touch people as her skin absorbs peoples energies, memories, and mutations. Evan shoots wooden stakes out of his body. Kitty can walk through any solid object, and Pietro can move faster than anything else on this earth."

Giles nodded, his mind still taking in all the information. 'Remarkable. Human evolution is upon us Rupert. I wonder if they'd be willing to demonstrate their abilities. I must ask later.' Pecking at the computer again, Giles said, "Thank you for your honesty, and for your help. I must say I'm anxious to get our voices back so that we can communicate more easily. For now, we had best go back inside and see what the children are up to."

"Yes, I think we'd better. Logan's probably about ready to pop the claws at them." Seeing the alarm in the librarians eyes along with the blatant curiosity over their powers Serena added, "I'm just kidding Mr. Giles; Logan doesn't use his claws as a scare tactic…at least not too often." She patted his arm to calm him and they went back inside the townhouse.

* * * * * * * * * *

Once Giles and Siren had stepped out, the teens had stopped researching and attempted conversation. Kurt, who was sitting near the desk with his back against the couch, noticed the petite redhead looking at the voice computer on his arm with bright green eyes. Offering the cute girl a smile he'd typed a greeting. "Hi, I'm Kurt. Would you like a closer look at the computer?"

The redhead nodded eagerly and smiled at the dark haired boy. He stood up and walked over to where she was seated at the desk in front of her laptop. He held out his arm and the elfin beauty quickly typed a message. "Hi! I'm Willow. It's nice to meet you. This voice computer is neat. Mind if I ask where you got it?"

Kurt looked at Logan for permission to talk about their powers and received a nod. "All of them are Serenas'. Until recently her power kept her from using her voice, so our professor designed these for her. We're lucky she brought them along." He typed, glad that the cute redhead was being friendly. The blonde girl had sat herself down in a corner and refused to look at any of the newcomers.

Kitty wandered over, the bubbly brunette always eager to make friends. She used Kurts armband to say, "Hi, I'm Kitty. Is this your laptop? It looks cool, I wish I'd brought mine from the hotel."

Willow nodded and both girls became engrossed in the computer. They sat down in front of the machine and had quickly opened up a blank document so that they could talk to each other. Kurt took the dismissal with a shrug and resumed his seat, picking up his book.

Xander was the next to try, using a message board to say hello to Rogue. The girl waved back, but was engrossed in the book she was reading, finding the demonology text fascinating. She did take a moment to unclasp her armband and hand it to Evan, who was more than willing to chat. The two boys started talking, at first tentatively, then more animated as they exchanged information.

Spike was sitting in Giles favourite chair, his blue eyes staring at Logan. 'I know this bloke, I'm bloody sure I've seen him somewhere before. I wish my Nymph had told me more about him. This is bloody irritating, and where is that thieving little chit anyway, how many questions could the sodding watcher have?' The blond thought, turning his eyes from Logan to watch the front door.

When the two team leaders returned, the groups 'chatted' for a few minutes before settling in for some serious research. As the afternoon wore on with no success Serena watched her charges become more and more restless. They were unused to long periods of inactivity, and the research was becoming boring.

Just as Serena was about to stand and call for a break she felt something creeping around her leg. Glancing down, she saw it was Kurts tail. The boy was sitting on the floor in front of her looking at pictures of demons. A glance over his shoulder revealed his sudden need for reassurance.

The demon on the page he was looking at resembled him. It had the same glowing eyes, tridactyl hands and feet, and the tail. Leaning forward, she ran her fingers through his dark hair and gave him a smile when he turned his eyes up to her face. Her movements had attracted the attention of the rest of the group and Xander was the first to notice the blue tail curled around her leg.

Jumping to his feet in fright, the young man pointed at her leg, mouthing silent words of alarm. Buffy jumped up to see what had freaked her friend out, and when she saw the tail the slayer reached for one of the stakes hidden up her sleeve. Before she could take a step toward Serena and Kurt though, she heard a snick sound.

In the blink of an eye, five people were standing between her and the boy with the tail. Logan had his foot long claws out, Evan now sported spikes on his hands, arms, and chest, Pietro was poised to send several punches at her, Rogue had a glove off and a deadly serious look in her eye, and Spike had gone game face and was standing over a half transformed Serena, who was hugging Kurt close to her. Kitty was touching both the woman and the boy, ready to phase them through the floor out of harms way.

Giles ran over and took the stake from Buffy's hand, throwing it toward the door. Making placating gestures at the Xmen, he made the slayer back down. Logan retracted the claws on one hand and typed. "Don't ever make a move like that again little girl. No one hurts one of ours without a serious fight. You try it again and I won't hesitate to gut you. Understand?"

Buffy nodded, frightened by the sudden change in the group. Those gleaming claws, and the stakes coming from the black kid looked deadly. Logan retracted the claws on his other hand, and gestured for the young mutants and the vampire to back down. They did, albeit reluctantly, though they continued to glare threats at the blonde slayer.

Serena stayed where she was, her arms around Kurt, who was frightened and hurt by the violent reaction of the strangers at seeing just a small part of his mutation. He hid his face in Serena's shoulder and resisted the urge to teleport himself away from the people. Serena cuddled the boy close, her eyes and fangs remaining clearly in evidence.

Spike gestured to Logan for the use of his armband. Typing furiously, he berated the slayer and the whelp for their stupidity. "You all knew they were different. You bloody well saw them using their powers last night Slayer! Are you two just so bloody stupid that you forgot? I can't believe you 'wigged out' over a tail! These people have been sitting here trying to help you for hours now, and at the first sodding opportunity you try to stake one of them, are you mad?"

Buffys' eyes glittered with hatred at the blond vampires' rebuke. She knew she had over reacted, but the blonde was loathe to admit it. She didn't like these strange people who just barged in and took over. Sending Spike a rude gesture, the blonde stalked out the door, bending to grab her stake on the way out.

Giles walked over to the couch where the dark haired woman was still holding Kurt. He crouched down in front of the pair and tapped the boy on the shoulder. Kurt peeked out at the man, and Giles mouthed the words "I'm sorry." The boy nodded, and cautiously released his hold on Serena.

Kurt looked at the group, seeing their worried eyes on him. Making a decision, he stood up and looked at Serena, gesturing to his image inducer. When she nodded, he pressed a button and turned the holograph off. Standing tall on his tridactyl feet, the teen met Giles, Willow, and Xanders' eyes in turn, daring them to say something.

Giles merely smiled at the boy, nodding that the new appearance didn't bother him. Xander approached him and gestured to his armband. When the blue teen held it out, the older boy typed, "Sorry I freaked, I was just surprised. Never had a research party where tails just appeared. I don't know why the Buffster went ballistic though, I mean, I actually scream and run away whenever I see her and Wills first thing in the morning…now that's scary!"

Kurt nodded his forgiveness and couldn't resist a silent chuckle at the other boys joke. He half turned and pointed at Serena, Kitty, and Rogue; then made a screaming and running motion. Xander grinned as Evan, Logan, and Spike let out silent laughter and nodded their agreement. Beautiful they might be, but all women looked like hell in the mornings.

The four unamused women shared a commonly understood look and flipped off the males. Then Willow approached and gave the blue teen a hug before saying, "I think you look cute, like a furry blue elf." She gave him one of her trademark grins, and Kurt smiled back; his friends often described him that way. Willow started typing again, this time aiming a question at the rest of the new people. "So, since we're having share time, is there anything else we should see?"

Willing to demonstrate, the teens showed off their powers. Evan grew his spikes again, and laughed when Spike backed away and hid himself behind Serena. Logan popped his claws and got a round of silent 'oooh's' and 'ahhh's' and one 'ack!'. Kitty snapped her fingers to get their attention, then phased through the floor; coming up again across the room. Kurt was next, teleporting himself up onto the stairs and back again.

Willow and Xander looked to Rogue for a demonstration, and the girl said, "My skin absorbs life energy. No demonstration unless someone wants a nap and a headache." Nodding, they turned to Pietro.

Serena went to the front door and opened it, then gave Pietro one of the hotel room keys. She typed a quick message, "Go get the cooler out of the fridge in my room." Flashing a smirk at the group, Pietro was off. Serena typed again, "We're staying at the Motor Inn across town."

The two scoobies gave her a befuddled look, but their question was answered before Serena could type it. Having been gone only a couple moments Pietro was back with the cooler. The white haired boy gave the box to Spike, and then used the nearest band to say, "Present from 'Rena." When the vampire gave him a confused look.

Willow looked at Serena, then gestured at the others and pointed back at her. The older woman sighed, then let herself transform partially. Eyes darkened, fangs dropped, and claws lengthened. Pushing the features back, she tapped a message, "That's about half my transformation; I also get fins and a mermaids tail. But my primary mutation is in my voice, which I'll demonstrate when I get it back."
The redhead and Xander nodded, and Serena decided to call a recess from the research. "I think we all need a break. It'll be dark in another couple hours so why don't we take a short break and meet back here in an hour." The dark haired woman typed, looking forward to a walk. The suggestion was met with applause from the group, all of whom needed the rest.

Logan relayed that he wanted to go check on the X jet, and get a message to Professor Xavier to let the man know what was going on. Rogue and Evan went with the big man, the girl wanting to retrieve her CD player and the boy wanting to let his aunt know he was alright. Before the trio left Logan pulled Serena aside, typed a message to be careful, and kissed her thoroughly before stalking out the door.

Serena went back into the librarians' living room and ranted to Kurt, "Remember what I said earlier about reminding me to do something nasty to Wolvie when we got home? That goes double now; I am tired of being kissed by that man and left standing in a daze while he walks off." Even the computer simulation of her voice sounded irritated. Turning to face Willow, Xander and Giles she tapped another message, "Have the three of you eaten today? My team haven't and if I can borrow your kitchen I'd be more than willing to make us all some supper, if the supermarket is open that is."

The three nodded enthusiastically, not used to home cooked meals. Xander and Willow volunteered to go shopping with the remaining Xmen and Giles went upstairs to see Olivia. The woman hadn't come downstairs all day, the sudden muteness having traumatized her.

Serena and the teens returned from shopping almost an hour later, loaded down with bags and one additional person. Xander had asked if they could swing by Anyas' apartment and bring her back with them and Serena hadn't been able to resist his puppy dog eyes. Spike met them at the door, his handsome face set in a scowl.

Speaking sign language, the vampire berated Serena. "Couldn't have left someone here with me could you. I've been bored out of my bloody skull sitting around here while the watcher tried to get his bird to come down." Was his petulant message. Serena signed back to him, "Don't pout Spike, it suits you too well. We're back now and the kids will keep you company while I cook dinner. Just try to be nice."

Patting his cheek as if he were one of her charges, Serena had the kids put the grocery bags in the kitchen before dismissing them with the message, "Why don't you kids talk to Spike while I make us some dinner, the poor vampire is bored senseless." The Xmen teens shrugged and went into the living room, using the computers to start a stunted conversation with the blond.

Willow and Xander had stayed behind in the kitchen, and Willow signed "I can't believe you're friends with Spike. You're so nice and he's a big jerk. How did you meet him?" The redhead helped put the groceries away while Serena typed a reply, using the computer so that Xander wouldn't be left out of the conversation.

"I suppose you have good reason to think he's a jerk, and much more. If he'd tried to kill me when we first met, I'd probably dislike him too; but he didn't try to kill me, he and Drusilla actually saved my life the night we met, and they took me in and protected me when I had no where else to go." She explained, looking over the counter at the vampires' profile, a fond smile gracing her features.

Xander borrowed the computer and replied, "I can't picture Junior saving someone's life, or Looney Toons either. No, wait…Nutsy did save my life once, but she was in love with me at the time." He received a 'go on' gesture from Serena as the woman chopped vegetables.

At the grocery store she had decided to make a large pot of beef stew, Ukrainian style, for the group. She had taken her armband off earlier so that the teens could use it, and now listened attentively to Xanders story of the 'Valentines Day Magick Fiasco'. Her silent laughter was so hard at times that she had to stop chopping until it had subsided.

Logan and the other two Xmen arrived a while later to find everyone sitting around chatting, passing the computers back and forth. Giles had convinced Olivia to come down and sit with the rest of the group, and the slayer had returned and apologized to Kurt. Dinner was simmering on the stove half an hour later when the sun finally set.

Spike, who had been watching the windows closely, immediately left the group to go outside for a cigarette. He slammed the door behind him, and re appeared a moment later, signing to Serena, "Give me my bleeding smokes Nymph." Instead of turning them over, the dark haired woman had gestured to Kitty to keep an eye on dinner, and then gone outside with the vampire.

After checking to make sure they were finally being given a moment alone, Spike turned to his young friend and held his arms out to her as he'd done earlier. Serena went into the embrace, wrapping her arms around the vampires' neck and hugging him tightly, her amber eyes tearing with emotion. Spike also found his eyes watering slightly as he held his little nymph close to him, glad that she cared enough to come to his aid when he needed help.

Knowing he'd only bollocks it up or sound like a bloody ponce if he tried to tell the woman how grateful he was and how much he cared for her, Spike let his actions speak for him as he held her close and reverently kissed her throat, his lips fitting over the scar he'd put there ten years earlier. He pulled back to meet her honeyed gaze with his ocean blue eyes and let his emotions shine through them.

Serena leaned up and kissed his cheek, understanding what he couldn't say. She released him and signed, "I love you too Spikey. Now come sit with me and we'll catch up a little before dinner." She held out her hand and the vampire took it, leading her to the courtyard table.

"So those are your new friends, I like em. That blue bloke is bloody funny, and the chit with the white streaks in her hair is a real spitfire. That little Kitten is a lot like Red, blushes prettily every time I look at her. Haven't had a chance to take a measure of the others yet. Tell me about them, especially the bloke who keeps kissing you and glaring at me; I'm bloody sure I know him from somewhere." Spike signed before taking his pack of smokes from Serena's hand.

Serena watched the vampire light his cigarette, and then signed back. "I'm glad you like them, they mean a lot to me. Evan, the boy with the stakes, is Storms nephew; he and Pietro are old rivals. Do you remember the picture I keep in my wallet, of the little boy?" Spike nodded, remembering the picture and the many stories of the child she'd told him and Dru.

Serena continued signing, "Pietro is that little boy, my Ptichka. I only found out last week. He's one of the Brotherhood I told you about. I'm trying now to bring the two groups together." Spike smiled brightly, happy for his friend. The vampire knew how much she'd loved that boy, she always asked him to keep an eye out for a white haired boy in his travels.

"I don't know much about Logan, he doesn't remember much about himself. When those people experimented on him and put that metal in his body, he lost most of his past. I know he's a lot older than he looks though; he was a soldier in world war two. He's travelled all around the world, so you could have seen him anywhere." She finished. She took a cigarette from the pack and lit it, waiting for Spike to say something.

The vampire was lost in his thoughts, the subject of where he'd seen Logan before weighing heavy on his mind. Spike had a feeling that the previous meeting hadn't been a good one. By sight alone, Logan looked no more than thirty; yet his nymph had said the man was a soldier in the second world war. Broadening the search of his memories, Spike quickly found the right one.

The master vampire, whose very name brought terror to humans and demons the world over, actually gasped when the memory came to him. If he was correct, and he could easily check when they got their voices back, then this Logan bloke was as famous for killing demons as Spike was for killing humans. In fact, part of the vampires own terrifying legend was gained by killing the famous demon hunter in the nineteen fifties.

Spike quickly relayed the information to Serena, who sat in shock. Her Logan was a demon hunter? A demon hunter that the underworld thought Spike had killed? Shaking herself to clear her head she signed to Spike, "We better go in. Don't say anything about this until you're sure. Logan's been looking for his past a long time, I don't want to get his hopes up and then find out he just resembles this demon hunter. What was the guys name anyway?"

"I don't know Luv, he was just known as the Hunter. The bloke was Canadian, and he had military training; he was a bloody good hand to hand fighter, and damn near impossible to hurt. He has a deep voice, with a low rumble in it, almost a constant growl. I'll know for bloody sure when we get our voices back, I'd remember it anywhere." The blond signed, dropping the butt of his smoke and grinding it under his boot. Serena did the same with hers and both went back into the townhouse.