Title: Sirens' Song
Author: Sinayah
Email: Sinayah@hotmail.com
Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive.
Rating: PG-13 so far, with an option for R and NC-17 later; those will be marked.
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 The Doors.
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!
Note 2: There is a translation for the French phrases at the end of the chapter for those of you who don't speak the language.
Chapter 16: Riders on the Storm
"riders on the storm; into this house we're born, into this world we're thrown…"

Kurt POV

This week at the mansion has been tense, at least among the adults, Rogue, and I. We're the only ones who know that things are going downhill in California. We agreed to keep it quiet until the time was right. Our groups seem to be total opposites; as things get worse for Willow and her friends, things get better here. The brotherhood boys have started hanging out with us between classes and at lunch. They're very nice now that we aren't fighting with each other anymore.

I know Serena has a lot to do with the way things are going here. She is the reason for most of the good things that happen for us. I love her more than ever since she led me to Willow. It's been hard the past month, not seeing her pretty face all the time, I miss her smile and her eyes. I've been so worried this last week, since Logan and Serena made those calls. Willow didn't sound like herself on the phone that night, she was sad and tense and she didn't babble, which is rare.

Serena got a call back from Spikes' dad or whatever on Wednesday. She told me that he said the town seemed to be in a holding pattern, and that she thought this was the calm before the storm. She thinks something will happen soon, but Logan says we need to wait and choose our moment carefully. He won't let us go in too early, so we're in a holding pattern too I guess, waiting for a phone call or an email from Sunnydale.

Am I being stupid by hoping that it will come soon? I don't like waiting, especially now, when my girlfriend might pay the price. Willow is the first girlfriend I've ever had, and I miss her so much it hurts. I want something to happen so that she'll leave that town and come here to stay with me and my friends.

I told all this to Serena last night. I had a nightmare about what might happen to her in Sunnydale with those soldiers. My Willow is a witch, and if they hunt demons, they might want to take her too. Logan and Serena heard me thrashing around and came to see what was wrong. I was beyond scared; I pretty much crawled into Serenas' lap when she hugged me. She sent Logan back to bed and stayed with me all night, even after I fell asleep. She was sleeping in the chair by my bed when I woke up this morning. When I looked at her I made a promise to myself. If I ever have children, I will be as good a parent to them as Serena is to me.

* * * * * * * * * *

Willow was taking an extra long time in the shower Saturday morning. Buffy had come up to her yesterday and said she'd be dropping by to pick up some clean clothes. The redhead didn't want to be anywhere near her old friend so she stayed in the bathroom, hoping that the slayer would have come and gone by the time she went back to the dorm room.

Glancing at the clock, the hacker saw that it was just past noon. 'Buffy should've been here by now, I'll chance it and go back to the room.' She thought. She grabbed her shower bag and towel and walked slowly back to the dorm room. When she got close enough Willow could see that the door was open a crack. She hugged the wall and approached quietly, going on instinct.

The redheads' choice paid off as she heard Buffy speaking on the telephone. She kept out of sight and keened her ears to eavesdrop on the slayers' conversation. The blonde seemed to be talking to someone in the Initiative, probably Riley.

"…low isn't here. I thought she would be studying when I came in…No this doesn't change my plan, I'll leave her a note…She's pretty naive, if I ask her to meet me tonight for a patrol she'll jump at the chance…Are the teams ready to capture the others? …Good, that's the best way to take them. You won't get too much of a fight, they're only human remember…Yes I'm sure it's safe to talk about this on the phone, if I wasn't sure I wouldn't have called you…Okay, if it makes you feel better. I'll come back down as soon as I write that note…See you soon, Bye."

As soon as Willow had deciphered the meaning of the words she was hearing she bolted, not waiting to hear the last of the conversation. 'Goddess, oh Goddess. Buffy's crazy! We have to get out, it's set for tonight. Why Buffy? We were your friends!' The redheads' thoughts continued to whirl in an almost incoherent frenzy until the girl stopped running a long while later.

She looked around and realized that she had run to the college library, which was a good distance from her dormitory. She sat down at one of the tables in the main area and opened a book so that she could pretend to be reading if someone she knew came in. She placed the shower bag and towel on the floor between her feet and reached into the pocket of her jeans. Willow hadn't been kidding when she wrote to Spike that she kept the keys on her at all times, she'd taken them into the shower with her earlier and was now more grateful than ever for her paranoia.

Her delicate features drew tight with concentration as she organized her thoughts. 'Ok Willow, we don't have time to panic. I don't have much time to get us out of here before the soldiers come to take Xander and Giles, probably Anya too. I've gone over this a dozen times; I just have to remember the plan.'

Willow removed the keys from her pocket and focused her green eyes on the silver sun key chain and the two keys dangling from it. In her mind she spoke to the object, 'Ok, before we get the car, we have to talk to Giles or Xander. I know the phones are tapped, I found the bug in mine. I can use a glamour on my voice; that's it, good thinking. I'll call Xander and disguise my voice, get him to bring Giles and Anya someplace. I'll pick them up in the car and we'll just go. We can be in L.A. before sunset and Kurt will bring his friends to get us.'

With the plan firmly in her head Willow strode out of the library, taking her shower bag but leaving the towel behind. She walked purposefully away from the campus and didn't stop until she'd reached a pay phone that wasn't on the college grounds. Long before the keys to Spikes' car had taken up residence in her pockets Willow had carried change for a telephone. She dug in her pocket again and came up with a few coins, just enough to place a call.

Before dialling she murmured a short incantation, keeping the voice of the person she wanted firmly in mind. She said 'hello' a few times to test out the disguise and was satisfied that she sounded like her dead friend Jesse. With her thoughts focused on her goal she dialled Xanders' number and waited for her best friend to answer.

"'Ello? Xander here." The boy answered groggily. He'd been on night shift and was still sleeping when the phone rang.

Willow took a deep breath and prayed to the Goddess she didn't give her friend a coronary. "Hey Xanman, it's me. Look, I know we haven't talked in a while but I need a favour, can you help me?"

"Ok, hellmouth at work here, or I'm still asleep. Ouch, nope I'm awake. What do you need? Weeds pulled, new flowers, a bit of stone polish?" Xander replied, trying to joke his way around the fact that he was speaking to his very dead, very dusty friend.

"No dude, I just need you to come see me. I want you to bring Cordelia's replacement and your dad to my place so we can talk. Can you do that man? Bring them and come out to see me right now? Trust me if it wasn't really important I wouldn't be calling." Willow hoped her message got through. One of the few things she and Xander did without Buffy was visit Jesse's grave. They always went on his birthday and death day to put flowers on his grave and talk to him and to each other. Cordelia's replacement was Anya, of course; and both Willow and Xander sometimes referred to Giles as their dad.

Xander was growing more confused by the second, he understood the message, bring Anya and Giles to Jesses' grave; but he really wanted to know why he was doing it and why the dead boy didn't want Willow to come. "You got it man, I'll bring them. Do you want me to get Wills too? You realize I'm gonna want an explanation here buddy right?"

Willow bit back a groan; she didn't have time to explain now. "Already got Wills, she'll meet you there. I'll explain when everyone's together, I promise. Oh and Xan, if you see that cute little blonde chick, the new girl? Try not to let her see you, I'm serious man. Just get everyone here a.s.a.p."

"Okay man, I'll do it right now. We'll be there in about half an hour." Xander replied, trusting the voice of his friend for reasons he didn't know. The tone of Jesses' voice sounded desperate, and it struck a chord of urgency in the young man.

"Thanks Xan, you won't regret it. I'll meet you guys there in about an hour; I have one thing to do before I can meet you. Once you get there just wait, I will show up. See you soon buddy." Willow hung up the phone as soon as her dark haired friend said good bye. Removing the glamour with a few simple words, she started walking toward Angels' mansion at a fast clip.

The redhead was about two blocks from the mansion twenty minutes later, when her emerald eyes widened in shock and fright. Coming towards her on unsteady legs, wearing a plain white cotton gown and nothing else, was Faith. 'This is so not good. I hope she doesn't want to kill us because I'll have to bring her with me. Not even Faith deserves to be caught by the Initiative.' She mused, trying to figure out how to approach the brunette without getting her neck broken.

Faith was confused. She'd woken up in the basement of Sunnydale Memorial just an hour earlier, after experiencing one of her slayer dreams. She'd seen Buffy coming after her with her own blade, and a group of men in fatigues behind her. Familiar faces had flashed in front of her eyes, each saying things like 'trust', 'help', and 'friend'. She'd had a gut feeling that she needed to find the scooby gang and aid them if they'd let her.

The thin brunette had wandered out of the hospital unnoticed and headed for the high school where she figured the gang, at least Giles, would be. A newspaper had told her she'd been asleep for eight months, and she wondered how things had gone with graduation and the ascension. She figured that if she was supposed to help the slayerettes then they must have found a way to defeat the Mayor.

When she got a look at the rubble that was Sunnydale High she knew she'd been right. Not knowing where their new meeting place was she'd headed for Giles' and found no one there. She didn't want to go to Buffys' house so she'd made her way to Angels' mansion and found it abandoned. She was just wandering, trying to remember where Willow and Xander lived when she spotted the flame haired hacker coming towards her.

"Willow? Red? Please don't run, I need to talk to you." The brunette slayer called in a hoarse voice. She ran across the yards separating them and stopped directly in front of the girl who had every reason to flee from her.

Willow didn't run as she desperately wanted to. Instead she stood still, taking stock of Faiths' appearance. The slayer was too thin from months of inactivity, and her deep brown eyes were both haunted and frightened. The redhead could tell that the woman had changed radically. A rush of sympathy for the obviously scared brunette welled up inside her and she reached out a gentle hand to squeeze Faiths' arm.

When the brunette met Willows eyes the redhead spoke urgently, "Look Faith, we don't have a lot of time for explanations on either side. I can tell you're scared and that you don't want to hurt me so I'm going to trust you. But I need you to trust me too. I need you to come with me, no questions asked. Like I said before, we don't have much time."

The slayer nodded her dark head and followed the redhead back to Angel's mansion. Willow didn't go inside; instead she used one of her keys on the garage door. Sunlight filtered through the layers of dust to shine on the hood of Spikes' beloved DeSoto. "Thank you Spike." She murmured quietly when she took in their mode of escape.

The vampire had had some work done on the old car since the last time Willow had seen it. The previously spray painted windows were now covered in dark tint that would do the same job and looked better. Using the second key Willow opened the drivers' side door and climbed behind the wheel. The interior was cluttered with maps and empty cigarette packs and a few whiskey bottles but thankfully, no mouldering corpses.

The hacker climbed back out of the car and spoke to her unexpected companion, "Can you close the garage door after I bring the car out? We need to get going. One stop and then we are out of this town."

"Sure Red, I'll shut it. Umm, I know I don't have any right to be asking questions but you are gonna explain all this soon right?" Faith asked with a hint of her old zest. From her dream, the slayer knew she should trust the hacker, but she was missing a lot of pertinent information.

Willows' elfin features brightened a little when she replied, "For now I'll say this. Everything will be five by five if we get out of Sunnydale. If we don't, we'll all end up in a five by five. Make sense?" Willow hopped back into the car, thankful she was close enough to Spikes' height so that she didn't have to adjust the seat. Faith had given her an honest to goodness smile at Willows' use of the slayers catch phrase and it cheered her heart.

The redhead pulled the big car out of the garage and watched in the rearview mirror as Faith slammed the garage door shut. The brunette ran to the passenger side and climbed in, shutting the door with a bang before saying, "Well then Red, let's get the hell outta this place. Where do we need to stop? Please say it's somewhere I can get some clothes, this nightgown is kinda drafty."

"Sorry Faith, we're going to pick up Giles, Xander, and Anya at Restfield. After that no stops until we get to L.A. where we'll be safe for a while. I'll pop the trunk when we stop at the cemetery though; maybe Spike or Dru left some clothes in there." Willow replied as she pulled onto the road. The car handled extremely well considering it was older than its occupants combined age and it didn't take long before the girls reached the graveyard.

Willow parked the car in the lot, as far away from the road as she could get to avoid having it spotted. Buffy would recognize the vehicle if she saw it and feel the need to check it out. As promised she unlocked the trunk so that Faith could look for something to wear. While the brunette was rooting through the enormous junk heap she walked into the cemetery, to Jesses' grave.

Xander was standing at the foot of the grave, looking at the monument with expectation. Anya and Giles were sitting on a gravestone nearby in silence, curious expressions on their faces. The young man hadn't told them much when he picked them up, only that he'd received a strange phone call asking him to bring them to this spot. Willow approached the trio with her resolve face firmly in place and said, "Hi guys." She placed a hand on Xanders' arm and continued, "Xan, I'm sorry for tricking you, it was me on the phone and I didn't want my voice recognized."

Giles stood and walked over to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder he asked, "Why did you call us here Willow? I know there must be something amiss but I can't think of anything that would prompt you to such actions."

"Ok, here are the basics, no questions or interruptions please. I heard Buffy talking on the phone in our room a little over an hour ago. She was planning our capture Giles. The commandos were supposed to bring us in sometime tonight. Now, with many thanks to Spike, we're leaving. We aren't going to stop anywhere or take anything with us; we're just getting in the car and driving, got it? Also, I ran into a very frightened Faith on my way to pick up the car. She's waiting with it now. She doesn't want to hurt us, and she doesn't deserve to be caught by the Initiative so she's coming with us. I think she's supposed to, otherwise she wouldn't have come out of her coma." Willow outlined her plan.

Xander and Giles paled drastically when she told them what she'd overheard, but balked at the idea of just leaving, with an old enemy in tow no less. It took a good ten minutes of arguing and the threat of force through magic before the men conceded. The petite hacker led them back through the cemetery to the car, glancing around nervously. She was close to her goal now that she had her friends, and her paranoid mind kept telling her that hellmouth law wouldn't just let them leave without something happening.

Faith was sitting on the hood, smoking a cigarette when they came into sight. Willow looked her up and down, taking in the new attire. One of the blond vampires' tee shirts was knotted under the womans breasts, and a pair of faded black jeans was zipped but not buttoned low on her hips. This would have been a completely normal outfit for the brunette if it wasn't for the red, silk covered, four inch stiletto heels that adorned her small feet. Willow giggled at the shoes and Faith flipped her the bird before saying, "Can it Red and let's get going. Umm hi Giles, Xander, and chick I don't know."

Both men sputtered a reply while Anya merely nodded, not knowing or really caring who the strange brunette was; the ex demon just wanted to get out of town. Willow clapped her hands and got everyone into the car. Giles crammed himself in the back with Xander and Anya while Faith rode shotgun. The brunette didn't blame them for not wanting to sit beside her or have her in back of them. She clearly remembered all she'd done to these people and was amazed they weren't leaving her behind to face whatever they were running from.

Willow remained silent and serious as she drove, her thoughts consuming all of her attention that was not dedicated to controlling the car. 'Good job Willow, you've got your friends and you're on your way. I'll have to remember to give Spike a big hug when we see him. I know Giles and Xander both have cars but we couldn't have escaped unnoticed in them. When Buffy comes looking for us tonight she'll think we just disappeared since the cars are still here. I wonder how long we have before she realizes we left. Probably about an hour after we don't show up to be captured. I hope it's enough time for us to get to Angel and call Kurt.'

The redhead saw the sign announcing that they were leaving Sunnydale and went with her instincts, running over the sign in true Spike fashion. A moment later Xander made a comment from the back seat. "Okay, it's bad enough she's driving his car, did she have to do that too?"

"Yes, I did. I don't ever plan on going back to that place, not to live anyway. Once the Initiative is destroyed I'll leave without looking back. I couldn't live there again after today, after I had to grab my friends and run for my life, from my best friend; in a car given to me by a vampire who cares about us more than Buffy ever did."

The passengers gave that statement silent contemplation, and realized that their friend was right. After today, none of them would live on the hellmouth again. Giles was the first to break the silence, the older man needed to know what he was missing. "Willow, I know you've already told us a little; but I'm afraid I need to know more. Please, can you explain why we're running rather than simply keeping out of sight? I'm sure if we could just speak to Buffy we could make her realize what a terrible mistake she's making."

A tear slid down the redheads' cheek as she looked at her mentor through the mirror. "Giles, there's no hope for Buffy. She wants to let them experiment on us, like they do on demons. She sounded so cold, so calculating. She's not our friend anymore, she's our enemy. And before anyone mentions Faith, she's had eight months in a coma to change, and she did. She was just scared before, I know that, and I trust her. Even if I didn't I would have brought her with us; no one deserves what they would've done to her if I'd left her there."

Giles laid a hand on the girls' slender shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. Beside her, Faith gave a wavering smile. Xander was clenching his fists in an effort to control his emotions. Willow continued after a moment, "As for why we're running now; Spike told me that if things got too bad here I should get you guys and leave without any warning. I don't think it can get much worse than your best friend wanting you as a lab rat."

The miles passed quickly as the five people thought in silence. Willow noticed that there was only about a quarter tank of gas left and remembered something else Spike had given her. She glanced at the glove box and said, "Faith, open up the glove box would you? There should be some travelling money in there. I need to stop for gas at the next station."

The brunette flipped the switch and the compartment door fell open. Inside, among the papers were ten banded stacks of twenty dollar bills. Faith quickly thumbed through the stacks, tallying the amount in her mind. "Holy shit Red, there's five grand here!"

Willow lifted her eyes to the ceiling and said, "I love you Spike. Five thousand dollars for travelling money?" Glancing back at her stunned companions she continued, "Well I guess we can spring for snacks too." A few minutes later she pulled the car in to a truck stop. She took three twenties out of one of the stacks and went into the small store with Faith, leaving the others to pump the gas and stretch their legs.

With the redhead and the slayer out of sight Xander punched the side panel of their getaway car and said, "Damn it! Why is Buffy doing this Giles? How could she want to hand us over to those guys?" The dark haired teen started filling the gas tank so keep his hands busy.

Giles was cleaning his glasses, a habit that always served him well in tense situations. The same thoughts his charge had voiced were heavy on his mind as well. "I don't know Xander. Buffy hasn't been the same since Angel left her, she's been so withdrawn from us lately. I never thought she would want to harm us though, but I fear that Willow is right. She wouldn't have taken us away like this unless she was truly frightened of Buffy."

Anya, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet for the entire trip thus far, spoke quietly, "I had a feeling something like this would happen when she joined those commandos. I've had my own car packed and ready for weeks. It was those mutants who really set Buffy off though. She didn't like having them here, doing her 'chosen' duty. It didn't matter that they were only trying to help, she hated them on sight."

"I hope those guys are still willing to help, cause we're gonna need it if we want to stop the Initiative." Xander commented as he removed the nozzle from the gas tank. Giles explained to the boy that one of the mutants had called to check on them only a week ago and someone had sent Angel up to take stock of the situation. It reassured all three that they were not alone, they had friends who were simply waiting to be called before they came back to help.

Willow came out of the store with Faith behind her a minute later, loaded down with drinks and packets of snack food. She pulled the car away from the pumps and got out again with one of the maps Spike had strewn around the interior. She spread it out on the hood and started looking for the easiest route to Angels' office.

Faith sat in the passenger seat, her legs hanging out the open door. She lit a cigarette and looked at her old mentor, asking, "So Giles, can you fill me in on the back story here? All I know is we're running from B and some soldier types who want to experiment on us. Oh, and that a vampire gave Red this car and five grand."

Giles explained to the slayer the basic happenings since she'd lost the fight with Buffy all those months ago. He detailed the visit from the Xmen, and Buffys' attitude change just after they left. He crouched down beside the woman as he spoke, and when he finished he took one of her cigarettes and lit it for himself, the frustration and anger he was feeling overcoming his better nature and bringing forth hints of Ripper.

In return for his explanation Faith spoke about the dream that had brought her out of her coma. She told him all she could remember about it, and about her escape from the hospital with the knowledge that she needed to help her old friends. Her voice was quiet when she asked for the older mans forgiveness of her past sins, and the watchers' reply was a bare whisper as he gave it to her.

By the time watcher and slayer had finished talking, Willow had her route planned. She got everyone back into the car and drove back onto the freeway that would lead them to within blocks of their destination. Once they were back on the road Xander asked, "Wills, where exactly are we going?"

"Angels' place for the moment. I'm following Spikes' plan. Once we get to Angel, we're going to call him in New York and he'll bring Kurt and Logan and Serena to get us. I don't know what he has planned after that, but I'm sure they'll do something." Willow wasn't thinking of much besides getting to Angel so she could talk to Kurt. She desperately wanted to hear her boyfriends' voice, and to feel his arms holding her in a reassuring embrace.

Xander was shocked that all this had come from the vampire they'd held captive and he asked, "Why did he do all this, Spike I mean? I thought he hated us as much as we hated him, but here we are escaping in his car, with his money, using his plan. It's giving me a major wiggins." The boy shuddered to emphasize his words.

Willow remembered her conversation with the blond a month ago and smiled a little. "Spike cares about us Xan; he told me so before he left. He gave me all this so that I'd have a way to get all of us out when things got bad. He told me, warned me that it could all go to hell really fast and that I needed to watch everyone closely. The way he spoke, it made me trust him, I just knew he wanted to keep us safe."

"I don't know about you people, but I think we owe this vamp big time. Who is he anyway?" Faith asked, extremely curious as to what kind of vampire would help the slayers' friends. The name sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it.

The redhead nodded emphatically from behind the wheel and answered, "You'll meet him later I'm sure. Spike is the youngest of Angels' childer, William the Bloody. He got taken by the soldiers and they put something in his head before he managed to escape. He lived with Giles for a while, until his friend came to take him home to live with her."

Now the slayer remembered where she'd heard the name Spike. The group had fought with him for months before Angel turned bad. He was also known as the Slayer of slayers, which made her a little nervous, but she was also in awe of his generosity, especially after the royal ass kicking he'd taken from Buffy and Angel the last time he'd shown up.

The rest of the trip passed fairly quietly, with little in the way of chit chat. When the redhead pulled off the freeway she glanced at the radio clock. 'Three thirty. We still have a few hours before sunset. I wonder if Kurt and the rest will get here in time to plan something for tonight, it would be a good opportunity with all the soldiers out looking for us.'

Faith had gotten bored earlier and put one of Spikes' cassettes into the tape player. As Willow pulled into the underground garage that housed Angel's convertible a song began to come out of the speakers that struck a chord with all five of the DeSoto's occupants. Willow stopped the car, but kept the engine running as the eerie melody filled the car and Jim Morrisons' voice sang Riders on the Storm.

When it had finished Giles sighed and said, "How bloody fitting." After the redhead turned off the engine the group got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the Angel Investigations office. The older man fell back to walk beside Faith, both to reassure the troubled young woman and to let the petite redhead take the lead. It was Willow who got them safely out of Sunnydale, her secrecy about Spikes' gift and her keen intelligence that had saved them from disaster. Giles felt that he should continue to follow her lead, she hadn't led them astray yet, and he didn't think she would.

Cordelia was arguing with Wesley when the group entered the office. The former cheerleader might have been tactless but she knew what to do when something was seriously wrong. Her friends looked frightened, and that wasn't at all usual even during life or death battles. She crossed the room and shut the door behind Giles, flipping the closed sign over. "Let's go down to Angels' apartment guys. I have a feeling whatever has been happening in Sunnydale just got worse."

They piled into the elevator and rode the noisy piece of machinery down to the basement where their friend made his home. Angel had just gotten up and was coming out of the bedroom when the troubled group emerged. He took note of the faces, and the mingled scents of fear and sorrow coming from his friends. He noticed that Willow seemed to be in charge for the moment, standing at the front of the group. His chocolate eyes widened at the sight of Faith standing slightly behind Giles, but covered his surprise to address more important matters. "What happened?" he asked bluntly, concern etched in his handsome face.

Willow turned green eyes back toward her mentor and said, "Giles, would you please explain why we're here? I'm tired, this is all too much; I just want to get Kurt here." The older man gave his charge a reassuring smile and nodded. The redhead then turned her eyes on the dark haired vampire and asked, "Can I use your phone Angel?"

"Go ahead Willow, there's one in the bedroom if you want some privacy. Why don't the rest of you sit down and rest; you look worn." Angel replied, welcoming his old friends into his home. He sent Wesley to make coffee since the younger watcher was casting frightened looks toward Faith. When the redhead disappeared into his bedroom the vampire sat and gestured for Giles to begin his explanation.

* * * * * * * * * *

With the door shut firmly behind her Willow sat on Angels' bed and bowed her head until it rested in cupped hands on her knees. She was struggling to retain the calm, purposeful attitude that had gotten them this far, and failing. Tears began to slip down her cheeks as the emotions she'd stomped down all afternoon broke free. She didn't notice when the door opened and a slender figure entered and re shut the door behind her.

Faiths' keen hearing had picked up the sound of the redheads distress. She had only been half listening to Giles speech when the soft sobbing reached her. The slayer had pushed away from the wall where she was leaning and walked quietly into the bedroom to see if she could help the hacker.

The brunette placed a gentle hand on Willows' shoulder as she crouched in front of the crying girl. "Willow? Are you okay? Come on girl, you told me things would be five by five if we got here, and we did. I know I still don't understand all that's happened, but from what I do know, you saved all our lives back there. You got us out of Sunnydale before we even knew something was fucked up. You did good Red."

Bloodshot green eyes lifted to see the truth shining through the chocolate orbs of the other young woman. Willow caught the slayer in a tight hug of grateful friendship and replied, "Thanks Faith, I needed to hear that. I'm not used to being the strong one, it doesn't suit me. All I've been thinking about since I ran out of the dorm is that I wanted Kurt with me, and Spike, and Logan, and Serena."

"Well then Red, you better dry up and give them a call don'tcha think? And after that you can sit here and tell me who this Kurt guy is; you've mentioned him an awful lot today for a girl on a mission." Faith encouraged, keeping one arm around her friend as she got up and sat beside the girl on the bed.

Willow looked at the phone on the bedside table and nearly started crying again. She'd just realized she didn't have the number for the institute. She told Faith about her dilemma and the slayer groaned in sympathy. The slayer asked if Giles might know how to reach the people and Willow brightened, saying that yes, he had the number.

Faith left her friend and went back into the living room. Giles and Angel were discussing the events of the day, with Xander and Cordelia making an occasional comment. The dark vampire met her eyes and asked if Willow was alright, he had also heard the girl crying and was worried that she'd taken too much pressure on her tiny shoulders. The slayer nodded and replied, "Yeah, she's five by five. Just had to release some of the tension. Giles, do you have the number for these guys she wants to call? She almost broke down again when she realized she didn't have it."

The watcher looked in his wallet for the business card Serena had given him and couldn't find it. He told the slayer he must have left it near his telephone at home. Angel came forward and handed the brunette a slip of paper. "Here it is. Someone should answer; it's about dinner time in New York."

The slayer sent Angel a grateful smile and retreated back to the bedroom where she handed the paper to Willow with a triumphant grin. "Here ya go Red, courtesy of Broody. Giles didn't have it with him." She turned to leave the room, giving the redhead some privacy, but the girl caught her arm and asked her to stay. Faith sat down beside her happily and watched while her friend dialled the phone.

* * * * * * * * * *

Angel's calculations were correct; it was dinner time at the mansion and Serena had just finished serving her friends and sat down with them to eat when the telephone rang. The small woman started to get up to answer it but Spike waved her back and left to get it himself. The vampire often sat with the residents while they ate dinner, but only partook of the meal himself occasionally. He walked leisurely into the kitchen, where the nearest phone was mounted and picked it up. "Hello, Xavier Institute." He said in a cultured voice. He rarely answered the telephone at the mansion, but when he did he used the smooth accent of his birth, rather than the cockney one he normally used.

"Hello, umm I need to speak to Mr. Logan or Miss Masterton please. It's urgent." Willow said, not recognizing the voice of her friend. She'd been hoping someone she knew would answer and save her the trouble of waiting for them to be tracked down.

A sick feeling clawed at the vampires' stomach when he heard the voice of the witch. He knew instinctively that this was the call they'd been waiting for with dread. "Willow luv, it's Spike. Are you ok? Where are you?" He asked quickly, his fear for her safety making its way into his tone for the redhead to hear.

The redhead slumped slightly in relief when the vampire identified himself. "I'm ok, we all are. We're in L.A. at Angels, I did exactly what you told me to do and we got out safely. You better get Logan and Serena before I explain more; I've already gone over it too many times today." She answered, letting her gratitude show through her voice.

Spike told her to hang on a minute and bolted into the dining room. He pointed at Serena, Logan, and Kurt, and then waved at them to come into the kitchen. The trio looked at each other as they got up, recognizing the urgency in the vampires motions. Kurt teleported after taking Serenas' hand and Logan appeared in the kitchen a second behind them. "What is it Spike, what's wrong?" the woman asked.

"It's Red on the phone; they're at the poufs' place. I'm gonna put her on speaker phone so she can tell us all at once what happened." The vampire answered, putting words into action and pressing the button to allow the redhead to be heard by all of them. "Ok Luv, I've got them here, your elf too; so tell us what's going on." He said to the girl on the other end of the line.

Willow gripped Faiths' hand to steady her nerves and quickly explained the basics. "Buffy was going to have Giles, Xander, Anya, and I captured tonight. I got lucky and overheard her on the phone without being seen. I knew it was time to go so I did what you told me to Spike; I got the gang, plus Faith, and left in your car. We just got to Angels' a little while ago. Can you guys come and get us, please? Once Buffy realizes we ran this will be the first place she looks."

Kurt was matching Spike and Logan in the volume of his growls. Before any of the adults could answer the boy said, "We'll be there Wills. We'll get what we need and come as quickly as we can." Logan and Spike quickly agreed with the teen.

Serena had remained quiet, though her feelings were quite clear in the whirling blackness of her eyes and the gleam of needle sharp fangs. When she gave her answer it was simply, "You three get the details; I'll tell the others and get a team together. We won't waste this opportunity; we're going into that place and making our disgust felt." That said, she left the room.

The group at the dining room table were casting curious glances at the kitchen door when the small beauty came back. They could tell that things were bad when they saw her transformed state. Serena was emanating fury in waves that everyone could feel. The woman opened a window to her mind for Charles, who was probing gently to find out what was going on. A moment later he nodded and gestured to the group, "Anyone who wants to go is free to. I'll prep the jet for you." The older man said, wheeling himself away from the table and heading for the elevator.

Serena quickly explained what was happening and she got a unanimous show of hands when she asked who wanted to go. The brotherhood boys were again dining with the Xmen and all four were ready to join forces with the other teens against the horrible people in California. Logan and Spike came back into the room and stood on either side of the small woman. The three spoke quietly for a few minutes before turning back to the group.

"Okay kids, we can't take all of ya since we'll be bringing at least five people back with us. I'm not playin favourites here, and the ones who get left behind this time will get their turn eventually. The main goal for tonight aint to fight the soldiers, it's to get information to use later. We still don't know what they're plannin and I aint sending all of ya in until we do. Today we're takin Cyke, Jean, Lance, Rogue, and the Elf." Logan stated before choosing the team. He knew there would be a final showdown with the soldiers, but it wouldn't be tonight.

The chosen teens left the remains of their dinner on the table and went downstairs to change into uniforms, thankful that they had spares because the ones they'd worn for their training session were filthy. Lance had to borrow a uniform since he didn't have a spare. Luckily Scott was able to supply his friend with a suitable outfit. When they assembled at the X jet half an hour after Willow called, the teens were eager to be on their way.

Logan, Serena, and Spike made a stunning group as they strode purposefully into the hangar. Logan was wearing an army uniform rather than his Xmen gear and the camouflage suited his rugged good looks. Spike had paired his black leather uniform pants with the normal black t-shirt and topped it with his trademark duster. Between the two men Serena was again dressed in the skimpy, seductive outfit that served as her fighting clothes.

It was an odd style for battle gear, considering the fact that it was comprised of a black leather halter top with lace accents at the edges, and a loose fitting mini skirt of the same material. A full length coat of midnight blue velvet billowed back from her bare legs as she strode along at a fast clip to keep up with her companions. When Logan, Spike, and the teens boarded the jet Serena waited for a moment, speaking quietly to the professor while she waved a hand behind her back, a gesture to the girl who was half hidden in the floor.

Kitty Pryde was not about to be left behind on this mission. She'd dressed upstairs in her room rather than in the locker room with Jean and Rogue. The tiny brunette knew she could be useful, especially if they were gathering information inside the complex. Besides being able to walk through walls she was also good with a computer and with Willow beside her they could surely find a way to hack whatever programs the soldiers had on their computers. When Serena had seen her, the girl thought she'd be told to go back to her room, but the woman had waved for her to get aboard and hadn't gotten into the place until the teen was inside.

The small woman climbed into the craft and told Logan to let Scott fly the jet for the moment. She had a packet of papers in her hand, information sent by Raphael Martine. The vampire had come through and given her detailed maps of the complex in Sunnydale, personnel profiles, and some sketchy information on the 3:14 project. Scott took control of the plane, with Lance sitting beside him, and they left the mansion at high speed.

Once they were in the air Kitty made her presence known. The girl had more gumption that many men; she stood her ground with Logan growling at the top of her dark head and when he'd finished threatening to spank her behind she'd poked a finger into his chest and given him all the good reasons she should've been picked in the first place.

Watching the scene from his seat beside Scott, Lance asked, "How can she stand up to him like that? I won't even go near him, he's one scary guy." The teens chocolate eyes widened as Kitty actually forced the growling, heavily muscled, adamantium clawed man back a step.

"The girls know he would rather die than harm any of them. Kitty, she's fully aware that Logan loves her like a daughter, and he's wrapped around that finger she's poking him with. Keep watching, you'll see what I mean." The laser eyed teen replied, turning to take a quick look at the scene

Lance took the other teens' advice and kept his eyes focused on the big man and the comparatively tiny girl. Logan had crossed his arms over his chest, either to protect it from further abuse or to prevent the girl from bruising her finger on his rock hard pectoral muscles. When Kitty finished berating him for under valuing her she stood with hands on hips, daring the older man to argue.

Logan glared down at the little girl who held a good piece of his heart. His lips began to twitch when he saw that her cornflower blue eyes were giving the look right back. He heard Serena and Rogue snickering in amusement and lost his stern resolve. The raven haired man threw his head back and roared with laughter. The burly arms unwound from his chest and he caught Kitty up in a bear hug that the little brunette returned once she'd phased her arms through his chest to wrap around his neck.

"They must be ice skatin in hell today. We got quiet little girls takin charge and out-smartin the fighters on both sides of the country. Go let Chuck know you're with us and take your seat Half Pint. But remember what I said about tannin your backside the next time you pull somethin like this." Logan said through his chuckles. He set the girl back on her feet and grinned when she placed a kiss on his stubbled cheek.

After looking over the maps of the Initiative complex and reading through the other material Logan and Spike replaced Scott and Lance in the cockpit. The men spoke quietly, forming a tentative plan for their infiltration and information gathering. Nothing would be concrete until they'd also talked it over with Giles and Angel, but they had some good ideas.

Serena passed the time in silence, sitting between Kurt and Kitty with the blue teen's tail wrapped around her forearm. She didn't think the boy even realized he'd moved; twining the prehensile tail around some part of her for comfort had become an unconscious gesture. The Xmen teens had seen it before and considering the situation, they didn't need to ask why their friend needed reassurance. Lance thought it odd, but a gesture from the raven haired woman stopped him from asking about it and making Kurt feel self conscious.

* * * * * * * * * *

Logan had accelerated their flying speed when he took control of the jet. It took only an hour to reach the landing pad the professor had arranged for them. A building just half a block from Angel's office had a private helipad and Charles had gained the owners permission for his team to leave the jet there while they did what they needed to.

The group made an odd looking procession as they walked from the landing pad to the office building where their friends were waiting. Six teenagers in black leather uniforms and two adults, one in army fatigues and one looking like a biker chick. Spike met them in the underground garage, having come through the sewers, and led the way past his beloved car to the door that would open into Angel's apartment. He backed away from it suddenly, sensing something he didn't like.

Serena came up beside him and reached out with all her senses, trying to pick up what her friend had. A mild burning sensation in her bones alerted her to what it was Spike didn't like. She turned to her friends and said, "Go in quietly and be prepared for an attack. There's a slayer somewhere nearby."

"It doesn't feel like Bitchy, Nymph. She has a foul odour about her, and this one doesn't. Red said something before I got you; she brought the scoobies plus Faith. Faith must be the slayer who replaced the one Dru killed. If Willow brought her here, she should be alright." The vampire recalled. He wished the redhead had told him she had a slayer with her; he'd damn near had a coronary when he'd felt her presence, fearing that Buffy had caught the escapees.

The raven haired woman nodded, it hadn't felt like Buffy to her either, but she'd been trained to detect slayers and other supernatural beings, it wasn't an instinctive knowledge like Spike had, and was sometimes faulty. "Ok, we'll go in openly then. I've never heard of there being two slayers before though, someone will have to explain it to me later."

The three adults approached the basement door that Spike said opened into his sire's apartment. The teens stayed back, warned by Serenas' gesture. Spike knocked loudly and stood between Logan and Serena, waiting for the door to be opened. A long moment passed and the vampire raised his hand to knock again. His fist almost ended up thumping against Angels' chest when the older vampire suddenly pulled the door open. The blond put his hand down and gave his Sire a trademark smirk. "'Ello there Daddy, how's tricks? Brought your favourite granddaughter to see you I did, and the rest of the family as well."

Angel stared at his youngest, most impudent childe for a moment, and then looked beyond him at the raven haired couple and the seven children. "Hello Spike, Serena. I'd say it's good to see you again but I'm not in the habit of lying."

"Sure you are Pops; you're just out of practice. Now why don't you heave your massive bulk aside so we can come in. We've got things to do and people to see." The blond replied cheekily, knowing that the more obnoxious he was the more he could annoy his Sire.

The dark haired vampire sighed hugely and stepped away from the door to let the group in. He led them into his living room and there was immediate chaos when his friends saw the newly arrived people. Willow had stood up from her place on the couch and as soon as she caught a glimpse of blue she ran around the obstacle, trying to get to her boyfriend. Kurt saw the redheads' dilemma and teleported behind her.

A three fingered hand grasped her slender shoulder and spun the girl around. "Miss me?" the boy asked teasingly. When the redhead threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly he wrapped his own around her waist and lifted her off the ground. After a long moment Willow lifted her head away from his shoulder and replied, "Goddess, yes." She brought her lips to meet his in a long awaited, passionate kiss.

The large group of people watched the reunion and no one was left unemotional at the sight of the young couple. Before everyone started moving and talking again Serena hummed loudly for a few moments and gave her standard key word suggestion to the three people and one vampire who hadn't yet been made immune to her voice. When she was done she walked calmly to Giles and wrapped her arms around the stunned man, "I'm so happy you and the children are alright. We've been worried about you." She said softly as the older man tentatively hugged her back.

"Have to go with the Chatterbox on that note, playin the waitin game aint fun when there are friends on the line." Logan agreed, coming forward with his hand out to greet the Watcher. Serena released Giles and went over to give Xander and Anya each a hug, expressing her happiness to see them again.

Willow and Kurt came out of their lip lock and the redhead looked around at the group, finally spotting the face that had been in her mind almost as much as the blue teens' that day. She gave her boyfriends' hand a squeeze and then took a running leap at Spike. The blond vampire was grateful for his enhanced agility as he managed to catch the redhead without them both toppling over.

"'Ello Luv, it's bloody good to see you." He said as he wrapped her in a strong embrace. The age old master vampire cuddled the girl into his chest and grinned into her hair, relieved and happy to see her alive and well and out of Sunnydale. "I'm proud of you Pet, you did a good job."

The redhead heard Spikes' compliment and had to fight back tears. She pulled away enough to meet his beautiful blue eyes and replied, "Thank you Spike, I can't tell you how grateful I am for everything you did to make sure we'd get out safely. I couldn't have done it if you hadn't given me the car, and the plan."

Spike brushed her cheek with the knuckles of one hand and smiled gently, making his handsome face light up, "You would've done just fine Red; I just did what I could to make things easier on you. Now go on back to your boyfriend, he's going to start growling at me in a minute. I've taught him well if I do say so myself, kid's growling like a pro these days."

"Just one more thing and I'll go back to Kurt. It was more than the car and the plan Spike, you could've given that to any of us. You trusted me, and you were confident that I could do what had to be done. That gave me the courage to actually do it, and that's why I keep thanking you." Willow kissed the vampires' cool cheek and squeezed his hand once before walking back to Kurt and being enveloped in another hug.

Angel had been standing close to his childe and heard the exchange, "There's just something extremely wrong with that picture." He muttered under non existent breath. Spike sent a rude gesture in his direction before walking over and greeting Giles, Xander, and Anya.

* * * * * * * * * *

Once the two groups had finished greeting each other with hugs and hand shakes Serena and Willow took turns introducing everyone. Once they had settled down the raven haired hypnotist addressed the group. She wanted to get their plans made before nightfall so that they could take advantage of the break the Initiative had given them.

"Before we got Willows' call I received some information from a contact in New Orleans that should prove useful. We don't want to waste this opportunity, it won't come again. We know the soldiers will be out on a mission tonight, so Logan, Spike and I have made some tentative plans to infiltrate the complex and take whatever information we can get." Serena said, an evil glint lighting her golden eyes.

Logan laid out the maps on Angels' kitchen table and the team leaders gathered around, making plans. Most of the teen's stayed in the living room talking quietly while they waited to be given orders. Cordelia was listening to Willow describe their first encounter with the mutants when a vision hit full force.

The adults rushed back into the room when they heard twin shouts of pain. Angel knelt next to Cordelia, holding the brunette as she writhed, blind to anything but the images flashing through her mind. Scott had Jean in his arms on the floor where the girl had been sitting when she screamed. The other teens were looking at the girls in frightened confusion.

Serena came to stand beside Jean and turned to Angel, asking the vampire, "Your friend is a seer?" When he nodded the small woman was quickly able to deduce what had happened. 'Damn that girl, spying on peoples' minds again.' She thought angrily. She met the eyes of her worried charges and reassured them, "Jean will be fine in a minute."

Angel was confused, the redhead was supposed to be a mutant, not a seer for the PTB. In the vampires' arms Cordelia started to come out of the vision, groaning with the pain in her head. Wesley gave the brunette a glass of water and some pills, and then offered the same to Jean. Angel noticed that Serena was glaring at the redhead and asked, "Is she a seer too? I thought you were all mutants."

The raven haired woman sighed and answered, "We are all mutants. Jean isn't a seer; she's a telepath with a penchant for being nosy. She must have been reading your friends' thoughts when the vision hit and got caught in it along with her. I apologize to both of you for her behaviour, as will she when she regains control of herself."

Jean sat quietly, listening to Serena apologize for her. She was embarrassed to have been caught using her power on the brunette and after taking a quick glance at her team mates she knew there would be several lectures in the near future. When Logan knelt down beside her, the redhead actually flinched back from the big mans angry expression.

"Serena shouldn't be havin to apologize for you girl, she wasn't the one snoopin where she didn't belong. You go over and apologize to that woman, and to anyone else you used your powers on since we got here. These people are our friends Jean, you shouldn'ta been spyin on them." The man growled out, trying to keep control of his temper.

The tall redhead stood up shakily and apologized to the room in general, though her words sounded forced. Serena took her hand and led the girl to a corner so that she could speak to her with a modicum of privacy. "That's the poorest excuse for an apology I've ever heard Jean, but it will have to do. You've embarrassed yourself and your friends. When we get back home we're going to have a long discussion about this with Logan and the professor. Until then you keep out of peoples' minds unless I tell you otherwise. We still have a job to do tonight and you will act like part of the team and help, understand?"

Jean nodded and kept her head bowed. Her green eyes glared into the floor, fury evident in her expression which she kept covered by a curtain of red hair. When the older woman turned and walked back to the group the girl slid down the wall and sat on the floor. While the others talked, finalizing their plans for the mission, the redhead kept a silent vigil. Her thoughts turned inward and she brought forth her memory of the vision she had intruded on.

She had only been scanning Cordelias' surface thoughts when the first image flashed in front of her. The redhead had tried to pull her mind back from the pain that filled her head, but was instead drawn deeper. She'd seen a middle aged woman in a lab coat examining some kind of monster. There were alarms going off in the back ground, making the womans words to the creature impossible to hear. Suddenly the thing had awoken and gotten off the table. The scene seemed to flash forward and then Jean was looking at her team mates, watching them fight the monster with little success; the images stopped just as the creature put some kind of skewer through Logans' abdomen.

* * * * * * * * * *

It was six thirty, nearing sunset, when a much larger group left the office building. The humans walked the distance in a few minutes to be greeted by Kurt and the vampires, who had been teleported due to sun issues, when they climbed aboard. The trip that had taken Willow over two hours that afternoon was accomplished in thirty minutes with the X jet and Logan landed the craft in the same clearing they'd used a month earlier just as the sun sank past the horizon.

The large group split before the left the clearing. Giles and Anya would stay with the jet in case someone came back injured. Logan, Angel, Faith, Xander, Scott, and Jean were going to go in through an entrance the maps gave located in the hills behind the campus. Their job was to distract any soldiers still in the complex so that the second team would have time to download files when they reached the computers.

Serena led her group, comprised of herself, Spike, Rogue, Kitty, Willow, Lance, and Kurt to an entrance located closer to where they had determined they would find the main computers. Once there, the two hackers would attempt to burn whatever files they could access onto blank CD's while the others gathered any records that were in the room. Once they'd finished their job they would contact Jean telepathically and order the others to get out.

Everything went according to plan for the two teams. Scott and Kitty used their mutations to disable the alarms on the doors, and the groups entered unnoticed. Once they were a good ways inside Logans team allowed themselves to be caught on camera and a squadron was dispatched to remove the threat. The soldiers engaged the band of fighters but were taken down in minutes.

Meanwhile, Serenas' group had indeed found the main computer terminals. Willow and Kitty were hard at work using two stations each, busily transferring data from the computers onto CD's. Pair of soldiers had entered the room, apparently to begin their shift watching the terminals, and were quickly knocked out by Lance and Rogue.

Maggie Walsh watched from a bank of monitors as the three men, one vampire, and two women fought off one of her squads. She quickly ordered another to stop their progress and pressed a series of buttons on the panel under the monitors. Alarms sounded throughout the building to alert the staff, and four squads patrolling the town checked their buzzing pagers to see a 911 message, signalling a need for their immediate assistance back at the complex.

When the alarms started going off Serena quickly sent a thought out to Jean, 'Are you guys ok?' The redhead sent an affirmative response and the older woman replied, 'We need a little more time here. If you run into anything you can't handle start pulling back and tell me to get my team out.'

The raven haired woman looked around the room at her friends and announced, "Start getting ready to leave, Logan and the others are giving us a good distraction but with the alarms we're sure to be spotted soon. I imagine that whoever set off the alarms also called back the teams that are out patrolling, and I want to be long gone before they get here." She received a series of nods and gestures and the team went back to work.

In the safety of the secret lab, behind the door labelled 3:14 Maggie Walsh watched as her creation, called Adam, awoke for the first time. Cloudy blue eyes gleamed with a mothers' adoration at the sight of her horrible child. "Hello Adam. Mother has some new toys for you to play with." She said, anxious to test her creation on the inhuman people that were destroying her facility.

Logan and his team were indeed doing vast amounts of damage to the complex and its inhabitants. Their seemingly random destruction of property had a purpose though, which would only be revealed after they left. The soldiers were well trained, but in small groups they were no match for the six people. Angel and Logan were at the head of the group when they saw the Frankenstein monster coming toward them. "I've seen some ugly demons in my time, but I have to go with Cordelias' description on this and say Eww." The vampire commented, glancing at his burly companion.

"Jean, tell Chatty to start pullin out. We're leavin this hell hole." Logan called over his shoulder. The group began to fall back, heading for the nearest exit. The telepath shook off her shocked paralysis and did as the man asked before fleeing with the others. She knew that if the vision she'd witnessed earlier came true the awful thing would come after her once he'd made shish kebobs of the others and she had no desire to die.

Serena received the girls' message loud and clear and immediately evacuated her team. "Spike, get the others out. I'm going down with the boys to make sure nothing happens to them. We don't know exactly what's on the next floor. We'll meet you and the others at the spot we chose. Take care of them for me." She said as the vampire paused, prepared to take the rear guard once Kitty had finished her part in this final task.

"Okay Kit-Kat, I'll go down first, Lance second, and Kurt last. Then you get the hell out of here." The lion eyed woman said urgently. She knelt on the floor and kept her eyes focused on the ground as Kitty placed small hands on her shoulders and began to push her through the floor.

She landed in a crouch after a ten foot drop from the room above. 'Merde!' was her first thought, the epithet sounding much better to her in french than english. She had managed to land right in front of two armed soldiers, in what looked to be a small armoury. The maps had indicated that there were many such rooms in strategic places around the facility. The soldiers she'd encountered must have been arming themselves to go after Logans' team.

A glance upward saw Lances' legs coming through the floor and the woman knew she needed to dispose of the soldiers quickly. In a move she'd been taught years earlier the woman feinted a roundhouse kick at one of the guards, actually aiming her foot to go over his head. She used the momentum to spin completely around, going back into a crouch as she did so that when her leg came at the man again it kicked his legs out from under him. A punch to the throat incapacitated the commando and she turned black eyes on his companion, who was aiming a taser gun in her direction, trying to get a clear shot.

What the second soldier didn't realize was that when he'd stepped forward, looking for a shot, he put himself directly in the path of a falling body. He went down under Lances' weight and knocked himself out on the cement floor. "Thank you dear, I was just trying to work out how not to get myself shot. Now, once Kurt gets down we'll just 'shake things up a little' and go home."

"Uh, you're welcome 'Rena." The teen replied as he rolled and stood up beside the unconscious soldier. He saw the other lying near by gasping for breath and wondered how the small woman had taken one soldier out in the short amount of time between her disappearance and his arrival. Serena noticed where the boy was looking and she sighed dramatically.

She walked over to the gasping man and said, "Here, it'll be easier to breathe like this. Nightie night." One dainty fist landed on the mans' temple and knocked him unconscious. He immediately started breathing easier and she continued, "See, I told you so." She grinned up at Lance and saw that the boy shared her amusement. Normally she didn't like to have the teens see her doing violent things, but if they were going to see it anyway she figured she might as well have some fun while she was doing it.

A moment later Kurt landed in a crouch on the back of the second soldier. When he took a look at the damage to the men he felt the need to complain, "Why do I always miss the fun? It's not fair." The other two laughed with him and then Serena gestured for the older boy to get down to business. While Lance was gathering strength for an earthquake that would damage the facility badly, Serena started grabbing the high tech equipment that was hanging on the walls and strapping it on her body.

Logan, Faith, and Angel were fighting toe to toe with the strange demon hybrid at their exit, giving the other three time to escape Between the three of them they were managing to hold the creature off, but even the deep gouges and slashes Logan inflicted with his claws didn't put the monster down. The trio felt a rumbling begin beneath their feet; the sign they were waiting for. Logan pushed the other two behind him and was diving in to take one last swipe at their attacker when he felt something punch through his abdominal muscles and come out his back, a mere half inch from his spinal chord.

Serena had finished supplying herself and was standing in the open doorway, keeping a lookout, while Lance used all his considerable power to shake the complex, doing as much damage to the structure as possible. Suddenly, an echo of pain sliced through her. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, but she was aware that this horrible pain was coming from Logan, her love. A shriek of absolute despair rose from the pit of her stomach and echoed through the entire complex.

Logan was running, clutching at the hole in his gut and trying with all his strength not to fall into oblivion. His healing factor was working, attempting to repair the damaged organs, but he couldn't stop moving with the monster behind him. As suddenly as his pain hit Serena, he felt her strength wash over him as his ears picked up the sound of her scream. Putting on a burst of speed he managed to reach the other members of his team outside and allowed Angel and Faith to assist him as they ran for their chosen rally point in the woods that bordered the campus.

Kurt and Lance held their hands over their ears in a desperate attempt to block out the high pitched wail of their friend. Serena hadn't taken a breath since she'd first started the inhuman shrieking and it was deafening to the boys. Kurt knew he needed to get his team mates out and uncovered one ear to grab Lance by the arm and drag him to the wailing woman. He wrapped his tail around her small waist and concentrated for a moment before teleporting all three of them to the rendez-vous point.

Spike and the others of their group were just coming into the small clearing when Serenas' keening reached the vampires ears. He sprinted towards the sound and a moment later he spotted the tiny woman being held tightly by two very confused, worried, and deaf teenagers. He pushed his way into the embrace and took hold of his Nymphs' shoulders and started shaking her, trying to bring her out of the state she was in. "Nymph! Serena! Snap out of it woman before you deafen us all! What in the bloody hell happened to her?"

Lance replied, yelling into the vampires' ear to make himself heard, "I don't know man. One minute she was grinning at me while I shook up the building, the next she was clutching her stomach and screaming like this. How can we stop her, she's barely stopped to take a breath."

The blond vampire gestured for the boys to back away. He knew he was about to give himself a hell of a migraine, but his Nymph was hysterical and her screaming would attract attention they didn't need at the moment. He pushed Serena into a sitting position, drew back his fist, and punched his beloved friend in the face. The scream cut off abruptly as the raven haired woman fell to the ground unconscious, with Spike right behind her.

"Well that stopped her screaming, but now he's out too." Lance commented. He bent down and rolled the vampire off the small womans body so that she could breathe easier. When she was free of the vampires' weight Kurt went down on his knees and half lifted his surrogate mother to cradle her upper body in his lap.

When Faith and Angel carried an unconscious Logan into the clearing a couple minutes later Spike was awake and groaning. The others had taken up guarding positions around Serena and their eyes flooded with both relief and fear as they caught sight of the rest of their friends and then realized someone was seriously injured. The vampire and the slayer laid Logan beside his girlfriend and Angel ripped the mans' fatigue shirt off to make a pressure bandage.

"What happened to Serena? We heard her screaming a few minutes ago, and it's still echoing around in that place." Scott asked when he saw his team mate asleep with a large bruise forming around her eye and temple.

Lance came to pat his comrade on the back and answered, "Spike punched her to shut her up. I don't know what happened; she just started screaming while I was shaking things up."

The blond vampire sat up and looked at Logan and Serena lying on the grass. His glacier blue eyes took in the stab wound that was now beginning to heal, and he remembered the rock tumbler saying the Nymph had clutched at her stomach when she started pitching a fit. "Bloody hell, its empathy. She felt it when Logan got hurt and reacted to the pain he was in."

Angel spoke up, "There's no time to figure it out now, we need to get back to the jet and out of town before those soldiers get organized enough to start looking for us. We did a good job starting the structural damage, I'm sure Lances' earthquake made a hell of a mess down there. Spike, Faith, you're going to have to help me carry Logan, the man's heavier than he looks. One of you boys strip those guns off of Serena and carry her. I don't even want to know how she ended up loaded down with the soldiers' equipment." The vampire put words into action and began to lift the extremely heavy mutant.

"Forget that. We can move faster if the blue guy teleports them straight to the jet. Giles and Anya can help him take care of them until we get there." Faith replied, coming up with a much better solution. Kurt agreed and knelt between the wounded couple, he took Logans' hand on one side and Serenas' on the other and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Spike and Angel encouraged the group to run, hoping to keep a few steps ahead of the commandos. They made it back to the jet without seeing any of the fatigue clad men, and everyone breathed a small sigh of relief. After Angel had checked on Logan he spoke briefly with his childe and the scooby trio. "I'm not going to go with you. You need to get that guy some medical attention; I don't care how fast he's healing. Invite me into your homes and I'll get some things packed to send to you in New York. I'll have Wesley pick me up tomorrow night."

When Angel had finished speaking to the group he went once more to the place where Logan and Serena lay side by side. He checked the big mans wound and was amazed at how much it had healed. He'd been injured not even an hour ago and already his bleeding had slowed to a mere trickle as his amazing healing powers worked to repair the internal damage.

Scott and Lance watched from the cockpit until the dark haired vampire disappeared into the trees, and then the laser eyed teen started the engines of the jet and took off, his course set for the mansion. He flew the plane as fast as he dared, knowing that Logan would need some kind of medical attention despite his natural abilities. Scott radioed ahead and let the professor know that they were coming home and that two of their guardians were injured.

Mid flight, half an hour after she'd been knocked unconscious by Spike, Serena awoke with a start. Her golden eyes were panicked and if she hadn't seen Logan lying next to here, very much alive, she would've started screaming again. The woman paid no attention to her throbbing headache, black eye, or the lingering pain in her abdomen. She forced herself to roll onto her side and make an examination of her love.

The wound was horrible to look at, gaping and raw; and Serena realized that his healing abilities must be repairing the internal damage first. After she'd assessed the gut wound, her eyes roamed over the rest of his torso, which showed dark bruises. A dainty hand came to rest on his heavily stubbled cheek, and the small woman leaned down to press a kiss to her boyfriends' brow.

Though she was loathe to leave the wounded man, Serena stood up and walked toward the front of the plane where the rest of the group were seated. Spike was just getting up to check on Logan when he saw the black tressed woman coming up the aisle. He went to her side and clasped her small form to his chest. "You scared me Nymph, going mad like that. I'm sorry about the black eye but we needed to get you quiet. Before you ask, everyone got out and they're all fine. As you can see they're having a bit of a nap. We've got about thirty minutes before we get home and the prof is ready to treat Logan."

"Thank you Spike, I couldn't have stopped if you hadn't knocked me out. I was…doing something, it was so strange. I felt it when Logan got hurt; it felt like I'd been wounded myself. When I yelled…it felt like I was giving him my energy, I got so weak, all I could do was keep screaming and hope I really was giving him my strength so that he could get away." She replied, leaning against the vampire as her knees wobbled slightly. Serena still felt weak; body and mind, heart and soul. She didn't know what she'd done, but it had left her as frail as a kitten.

Spike lifted the woman into his arms and carried her back to Logans' side. He knelt down and laid her on the pallet of blankets, skimming his fingers through her hair before replying, "You did something Nymph. Angelus, he said Logan came bolting out of that tunnel like an angel outta hell. Got a good distance away before he collapsed and the pouf saw he'd been skewered. He and the slayer half carried him to the rally point. Seeing as I'd knocked you out Kurt teleported you both from there to the jet."

Serena nodded wearily and the two spoke for a few minutes before the vampire left so that the woman could rest. She waited until her friend was out of sight and then pushed herself into a sitting position. 'If I can do it once, I can do it again.' She mused as she manoeuvred her body so that she was leaning against the wall with Logans' head in her lap. She didn't have the energy to give full voice to her song, but she began to hum a melody and tried to focus on sending whatever strength she had left to the man she loved.

Back in his seat Spike closed his eyes and tried to rest, it had been a long day. He wasn't actively listening so it took a good ten minutes before he heard the soft humming. 'Fuck! I should've known she'd try that.' He thought angrily, getting out of his seat and running to check on the pair. The sound stopped just before he reached them and he saw that the woman had merely fallen back to sleep, rather than put herself in a coma. "You're going to be the life of me Nymph, I swear." He chastised gently before returning to the front once again.

* * * * * * * * * *

Once Scott had landed the X jet in its hangar, the weary group went into action again. Professor Xavier had called a colleague of his who was a doctor and the woman was waiting to treat Logans' injuries. Kurt teleported the wounded man directly into the medical bay and then left to help the other teens get organized.

Serena had barely taken the time to change clothing from her fighting gear into a pair of jeans and flannel shirt before she took up a sentry position outside the examination room. When the professor tried to examine the dark bruise and swollen eye she shooed him off, telling him to save his attention for Logan.

Since the other adults were busy downstairs, Ororo took charge of the newly arrived people and greeted them warmly. She had prepared rooms on the third floor for their guests and now she escorted them to their simply decorated suites. The snowy haired woman had thoughtfully laid out an assortment of clothing in each room, things borrowed from the closets of the other residents. The weather witch left the tired group to freshen up and invited them to come downstairs when they wished for food and drink.

The returning teens greeted the ones left behind and gave a bare bones account of their mission after they'd showered and changed out of their uniforms. Within thirty minutes of the jet landing the entire household and their guests were waiting with Serena outside the medical lab doors, anxious to hear news of their fallen friend.

After an hour of tension filled pacing, cursing, and silent worry; Professor Xavier and his dear friend Dr. Patricia Harding came through the swinging doors. The doctor was astounded by the sheer number of people in the make shift waiting room. She counted fourteen teenagers and four adults all gazing at her with worry and fear. They all seemed to be surrounding a small woman with wild black hair and tear filled golden eyes who was curled into herself, rocking slightly back and forth.

The doctor figured that the disconsolate woman must be either a relative to her patient, or his lover. A quick, silent conversation with Charles proved the second guess correct and provided her with the womans' name. Patricia walked over and knelt in front of the petite woman, placing a hand on her denim covered knee. She spoke in a calm, precise voice that she found worked wonders on the loved ones of her patients.

"Physically, he's going to be fine. I've never seen a man with healing powers like his; it's hard for me to believe he was injured less than two hours ago. I've done what I can to help him along, and the wound should be fully healed by tomorrow." A sigh of relief echoed loudly when it came from eighteen people at one time. If she had been finished speaking, the doctor might have smiled at the group, but there was more to her patients' injury.

"However," she continued, bringing the peoples' attention back to her. "However, he has fallen into a coma. My guess would be that was induced shock, blood loss, and his body's rush to heal itself. There is no way to tell when he will wake up; it could be days or weeks. I'm truly sorry, but there is nothing I can do that would make any difference or bring him out of it."