Chapter 2: A Slayer and a Spider.

"Hey B, you awake?" The familiar voice of another slayer asked as Buffy's head rested on her hotel pillow.

"Go away Faith!" Buffy tiredly wailed at the brunette as she desperately tried to bury her face in the pillow.

"Come on now, wakey wakey." Faith replied. She then grabbed Buffy's shoulder, ripping her away from the mattress. As Buffy landed from the sudden thrust she looked around her New York hotel room and saw her suitcases, her weapons chest, her fellow slayer, Faith, and her sister, Dawn, who was still sleeping in a bed against the far wall. "Quick we'll go down to the streets, get a feel of the big apple and get a few kills from a nest I found yesterday." Faith suggested while still staring at a stake she was twirling in her fingers.

"Okay," Buffy said as she pulled on one of her blue shirts, "just don't wake up Dawn."

Five minutes later Faith opened the door slowly, making as little noise as possible, she looked out in to the corridor and then back in to the room where Buffy stood still selecting a weapon.

"Come on." Faith whispered back in to the hotel room, "Just take a stake, you may bring attention to yourself going round New York with an axe or sword."

"Alright." Buffy agreed, seizing two sharp pieces of wood out of the ammunition chest. The blonde gently ran across to the door to join Faith. "Let's go."

"Wait." Faith ordered her predecessor. She jumped back in to the room and placed the room key on the table next to Dawn's bed, in case Dawn wanted to go get breakfast or something.

"Come on Faith." Buffy complained sarcastically, "You're always keeping me waiting." A huge smirk appeared on Buffy's face as Faith gently closed the door with an angry face.

"That's not funny B." Faith frowned.

"Well I thought it was quite humorous." A male voice proclaimed from down the corridor. The girls turned around to find a curly, black haired man standing in a Led Zeppelin T-shirt, an eye patch and a pair of Levi jeans, leaning against the door, two rooms down.

"Hey Xander, everything good?" Faith welcomed her old Sunnydale friend.

"Yeah," he nodded, "so what are you two doing, leaving Dawn on her own? Going to check out that vamp nest you found yesterday Faith?" Faith nodded to answer him. "Cool, can I come?" He continued excitedly.

"Why? What are you hiding from?" Buffy asked suspiciously. Xander sprang from the wall and rose his arms in an outraged manner.

"Moi?" He replied with a shocked voice. "Incidentally, if Giles asks for me, I'm not here, okay?"

"Sure." Faith assured him. "But you're still not coming." She continued as she placed her stake inside her jacket and moved past the former construction worker.

"Oh, but I want to see my two favourite slayers in action." Xander pleaded excitedly. The two slayers turned back and stared at him. A voice behind Xander suddenly grunted. He spun around on his feet and jumped when he saw Kennedy's eyes staring in to his.

"What's this about your two favourite slayers." She asked threateningly. Xander stared up at the ceiling, looking desperately for something to say.

"Um… Let's see… What I meant to say was…" Xander looked back down at her, obviously terrified, "…bye!" Before Kennedy had realised what had happened, Xander was running down the corridor and around the corner and straight in to Giles. "Oh fiddlesticks!"

"Xander!" Giles exclaimed, "I wondered where you'd gone. Come on, you can help me arrange what's left of my books."

"D'oh! Yeah alright" Xander subdued.

"I think the phrase rhymes with 'Baa Baa.'" Buffy mocked the boy after hearing the discussion from around the corner. "You wanna come?" She asked Kennedy. Kennedy noticed the stakes under their jackets.

"If it involves killing creatures from the depths of Hell!" She said dramatically, "Then I'm in." The three women turned and began to walk down the corridor, when a nearby door opened and Buffy's best friend, Willow's, head poked out.

"Buffy, I've just tried my location spell, and it's showing where the new slayer is." Willow told the slayer.

"Right." Buffy answered, "You two…" She looked at Kennedy and Faith and threw her stake gently at Kennedy, who caught it with ease, "… go to the nest and do your thing, Willow and I will find this new slayer and bring her in, okay?"

"As long as I get to kill something today." Faith approved. "We'll see you later. See ya red." She nodded to Willow.

"See you later sweetie." Kennedy said to her girlfriend, "And you Buffy." The two slayers once again headed off down the corridor. Buffy joined her friend in her hotel room.

The first thing Buffy realised was a circle of candles around a map of New York which was laid out on the floor.

"Standard location spell." Willow joked. Buffy answered with a soft laugh. A small fire began to emerge from the map. "Whoa, here we go!" Willow exclaimed, "Now let's see where she is." The redhead moved forward to get a better look at the map.

"So, where is she?" Buffy enquired.

Willow blew out the fire and studied the map.

"Queens General Hospital." The witch replied.

"You did what!" An extremely angry vampire bellowed at one of his employees at the office of CEO at Wolfram and Hart in Los Angeles.

"I… I thought you'd be… be pleased," the terrified worker quivered, "after all the… the deal gave our company twenty thousand dollars from se… selling what he gave us." The vampire's face shifted in to it's demonic image. He threw his small coffee table at the wall behind him. The counter smashed against the closest wall and the remains fell to the ground. The man stared up in horror at the tall vampire, who stood shaking with anger in his shady jacket and his gelled hair.

"This company is no longer evil! And we do not care how much money is involved when we make a deal with evil!" The vampire screeched.

"But… but Mr. Angel sir…" The employee whimpered. Angel grabbed his throat before the worker could continue.

"Who was this demon?" Angel demanded.

"He… he wasn't… wasn't a demon."

"What?"

"He was human."

Angel dropped the man on the floor, leaving him to rub his throat. Angel walked to the window and looked out at the other buildings.

"What deal did you make?" Angel asked, seeming less violent than before.

"I… I gave him powers for… for his soul."

"What powers?"

"He wanted supernatural powers so he could get… get revenge on someone."

"We don't deal with vengeance here! That's why there are vengeance demons!"

"He said the vengeance demons couldn't help him." The worker cowered on the floor, covering his face from the vampire's terrifying features. "The man he was trying to kill was too powerful."

"Who was he trying to get revenge on?"

"I don't know." The worker cowered.

Angel pulled the man to his feet, his face was human again, and stared in to his eyes, intimidating and frightening the man, who began to shake.

"Where?"

"He said he was going to New York. Please don't hurt me sir!"

Angel stared down at his feet and then back up at the nervous employee.

"Go back to work, tell your co-workers that I'm watching and get the Hell out of my face!" He released the man who ran out of the room as fast as humanly possible. Angel returned to the window

"Well that went… terribly." A relaxed English accent said from behind the vampire. Angel turned around and found himself staring at a bleach blonde spirit of a dead vampire, in a slightly longer jacket sitting on Angel's main desk and staring at the broken table Angel had smashed.

"How much did you listen to Spike?" Angel enquired his former partner in destruction.

"Who gives a toss on how much I heard?" Spike said jokingly, the way Angel hated. "I haunt you, so if you're going to New York then that means I'm coming too."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Which you don't you bloody idiot." Spike corrected him.

"Just… shut up!" Angel barked at the spectre.

"Oh tetchy!"

Angel went to punch the figure but instead of hitting flesh, his hand went straight through the ex-vampire's face. He pulled it back in frustration.

"You know this being unable to touch things has its advantages." Spike smiled smugly.

Angel walked around the other side of his desk and called his companion and head of his mystical research unit, Wesley, on his intercom.

"Wesley?"

"Yes Angel" replied the former watcher of the vampire slayer, Faith.

"I'm heading to New York, find out where the soul we sold is and get it back." Angel instructed.

"We sold a soul?"

"Yeah, some dickhead sold it for only twenty grand!" Spike called outrageously in to the device.

"Just make it quick." Angel raised his voice over Spike's, turned off the intercom and stomped out the door, slamming the door behind him. Spike suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Oh mate!" The former bloodsucker called after the enduring vampire. "Wait!" He continued to call as he ran through the door.

"This is the place." The blonde slayer informed her friend, as they both stared up at the Queens General Hospital. "Why would she need to be in a hospital?" Buffy suddenly looked at the witch with a worried expression, as if she had predicted the girl's demise.

"Maybe she's a doctor or nurse who works here." Willow quickly assured her panicky friend. She pulled Buffy's arm, indicating that they should go inside.

On going through to the reception Buffy could see several people seated around the room, many of them were reading papers. There were four pillars supporting the floor above. One of the walls was filled with medical posters with such advisory posters as, 'SMOKING KILLS,' and, 'MUTANCY: NATURE OR DISEASE?'. As well as these posters were a couple of mini paper monsters on strings and a few, 'HAPPY HALLOWEEN!' banners. It was a few days before Halloween but it didn't stop people from saying, 'Happy Halloween,' to each other.

"I'll go ask where she is." Willow notified the slayer.

"But we don't know any thing about her." Buffy corrected her companion.

"Oh yes we do," Willow replied, "we know that her name is Tracey Stewart and she is native to Queens."

"When did you find that out?" Buffy enquired, astonished at the information put forward by her best friend.

"When I read that doctor's mind." Willow responded laughingly, pointing at a doctor over by the elevator door. The doctor was reading a report on a clip board, after realising this Buffy stared, horrified, at the witch. Willow closed her eyes and began to read the doctor's mind again.

"It's okay, she's fine." Once again reassuring her friend. "I'll go find what room she's in, and this time I'll find it out without invading someone's psyche." Willow then left the slayer on her own as she walked over to the information desk. Buffy stood there, not knowing how to feel. She looked over to a small store in the far wall of the room. She strolled over to the store and picked up an issue of a newspaper called, 'The Daily Bugle.' She glanced at the headline, which read, 'BUGLE PHOTOGRAPHER SAVES GIRL FROM EXPLOSION,' and continued to read the article below,

'Bugle photographer Peter Parker rescued a teenage girl from a car explosion at the Empire State University campus yesterday.

The heroic attempts of young Mr. Parker were made a few moments after a Spider-man sighting was reported. The vigilante is suspected for being the cause of the disaster.

Mr. Parker was taking his lunch break from attending his lectures at the university when he decided to use his time to take photographs of the local bank that had been demolished the night before by Spider-man and several armed robbers (turn to page 3). While taking his photos Peter became aware that a car behind him had exploded. Acting on instincts, Peter managed to gain access to the burning car and rescue the girl, Tracey Lydia Stewart, inside. The girl is now being given medical treatment at the Queens General Hospital.

And the modest hero, Mr. Parker, has not left her side after promising the authorities to look after the young damsel.

For interviews and more in-depth coverage turn to pages 3-5.'

'Whoa!' Buffy's mind sprang to attention. She stared up. Her mind was asking itself so many questions, 'Car explosion? Peter Parker? Tracey Stewart?' Buffy just stared, not knowing what to do or say.

On the other side of the room, the elevator door opened and out of it stood the mousy haired Peter Parker, who was also reading a copy of the Daily Bugle.

"Figures," He murmured to himself, "the one time J.J calls me a hero, and I'm not in costume."

He walked across the room and stopped by the store. Standing to his left was Buffy.

"Diet Coke." Peter ordered to the store owner. The owner then provided Peter with the beverage he had requested. Peter opened the can and began to drink the contents. Both he and Buffy had started to walk away until, due to his drinking and her thinking, bumped in to each other. Peter's newspaper fell to the floor, also Buffy's stake, a bottle of holy water and a cross fell from her jacket. "Oh, sorry." Peter apologised, kneeling to the ground.

"No it was totally my fault." Buffy retorted, joining him on the ground to start collecting the fallen items. Peter grabbed his newspaper and placed it under his arm and started to help Buffy pick up her things. He noticed the strange things she had been carrying in her jacket.

"A stake? Holy water? A crucifix?" He laughed, staring up at the fair-haired girl that stared back. "You're way too cute to be a Goth." He joked, handing her stuff back to her. She smiled at his quip, and then returned to her feet. "You're not from around here are you?" Peter asked, noticing her natural tan, which was different from the average New Yorker.

"No." She replied, "I'm… Ur… on vacation." She smiled innocently, as if trying to win his approval.

"Uh-huh." Peter remarked doubtfully, "You're on vacation, and you decided to spend it in a hospital?" Buffy nodded as Peter smirked at her attempts to come up with a good story. "Are you with anyone?" He asked, to which Buffy's eyes widened with shock and intrigue.

"That was quick." She declared laughingly. Peter realised what he had said and began to shuffle his feet with embarrassment.

"No I meant, with anyone on vacation?" Peter re-established his sentence.

"Just some friends and my watchhhh…" She stopped in mid sentence, and stared up at Peter, she expected him to look interested, but instead he looked confused.

"I'm really going to have to look up what, 'watchhhh…' means in the dictionary." He murmured sarcastically. Buffy heard him say this and made a gesture with her hand, signalling him not to worry about it.

"Don't worry, you wouldn't know what it meant if I told you." Buffy told him, exactly like Tracey Stewart had told him the day before.

"Okay," Peter said slowly, "see you around. Oh and Happy Halloween."

The two of them smiled at each other and walked away in opposite directions. Buffy marched over to a wall by the entrance where she leaned against it, and continued to think. The mood of the room reminded Buffy of many times when she had been surprised by an enemy, but looking around she could not see any threat in the immediate environment. Peter returned to the elevator where he pressed the call button. He looked up at the small display above the doors which showed what floor the elevator was on, it was on the top floor.

'Oh man it's gonna take ages to come down.' Peter's mind began to tell him, 'Although I probably know a quicker way.' A smug grin appeared on Peter's face.

He decided to leave and use his wall-crawling talents to scale the outside of the hospital walls. His plans were stopped when that strange sensation, he called his spider-sense, began to ring in his head. He shook his head, looking from one corner of the room to the other, searching for the unseen danger. Buffy noticed his sudden strange behaviour and began to calculate in her own mind just what it was this man was up to.

The automatic door to the left of the slayer opened and five suspicious-looking men walked through the open entrance. They got to the middle of the room and formed a circle. Peter watched them nervously. One of the men turned to look at the reception desk, where Willow was still standing.

"Now!" The man shouted and all the men pulled masks over their faces and produced shotguns from the jerseys and pointed their weapons at the innocent people. One of the men shot out all the cameras, one started to make people place their hands on their heads, another came over to the desk where he started to give orders to a woman behind the desk and pushed Willow aside.

"You've got the wrong place!" A female voice called from behind the masked thieves. They all turned around to see Buffy walking towards the reception desk. Peter saw the circumstances and pulled his camera out from his backpack and quickly webbed it to a wall, barely a foot under the ceiling. "The bank is just down the street, I mean how much money can a hospital have?"

"This isn't to do with money girlie!" The robber barked. "We need medicine."

"Then go to a pharmacy you idiot!" Peter yelled from the elevator. All the burglars' attention were on him, but he hid his face behind his Daily Bugle. Buffy saw this as her chance, she ran at the closest man to her. She punched him on his left cheek and he retaliated by using the side of his gun to push her away. She staggered backwards but didn't fall.

Time seemed to slow down as Peter saw the robber at the desk lift his gun and aim it at the blonde girl he had bumped in to. Seeing that she had not noticed the danger, he ran at her and as the bullets left the man's gun he jumped and pulled her down and out of the way.

Buffy looked up and stared in to her saviour's face.

"Thanks." She gasped.

"Don't mention it." He rushed as he rose to his feet and ran to a men's room.

"Louie! Get'im!" The obvious leader of the thieves called to one of his men. The one called Louie followed Peter in to the same men's room. The leader walked steadily towards the slayer as she remained on the floor. He placed his foot on her stomach and put the barrel of his shotgun up to her face. He then brought a walkie talkie out from his pocket. "Louie?" He called in to his walkie talkie, "Louie, did you get him?"

"Uhh… Louie can't come to the phone right now," a voice which the leader knew was not Louie's answered, "please leave a message after the thwip." THWIP. All the burglars heard the same noise and all of them looked out the window to witness an unconscious Louie being suspended by a web-line from above.

"Spider-man?" The leader breathed in to his walkie talkie.

"The one and only." The vigilante answered. The burglar realised what this meant, the guy who Louie had chased was Spider-man.

'Damn! I didn't see his face.' The thief thought. He looked around at the other people in the room. "That guy I sent Louie after, did anyone see his face or know who he is?" He asked the room. No one replied. He nodded to one of his comrades, who then shot twice at the ceiling above them. "I repeat." The burglar announced angrily, "Did anyone see his face or know who he is?" The hostages began to shake their heads nervously. The robber then stared down at Buffy. "You!" He shouted, "He saved you, you must know him, who is he?" He bellowed irrationally at the girl beneath him.

"I don't know." She groaned at him.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for!" He threatened venomously as he pressed the barrel of his shotgun right up against her cheek.

"She's right." Spider-man's voice from the walkie talkie returned, "I've never seen her before in my life, it's just… saving beautiful women is part of the perks of being a superhero." Buffy felt flattered by his words.

"Your jokes won't be so funny when I blast her brains out!" The robber threatened, putting more pressure with the gun on Buffy's cheek.

"Well that won't be happening anytime soon." Spider-man proclaimed confidently.

"Wanna…" A web-line shot from an open window and yanked the gun right out of the man's hands, "…bet?" Buffy quickly grabbed the man's jersey by the chest and kicked him so that he flew in to the wall behind her. Spider-man jumped forward through the window and landed several feet away from Buffy, who jumped up and on to her feet. The thieves held up their guns and the innocents, in the way, began to panic and scream. When one robber shot his gun suddenly, Spider-man ducked to avoid the bullets and kicked a trolley full of medical supplies at the shooter.

"You want medicine? Here!" The red and blue crusader shouted at the shooter. It hit and the blow knocked the challenging attacker back causing him to shoot up at the ceiling, the bullets burst the bulb from the lights, leading to the glass to fall over the occupants of the room. Buffy jumped behind a chair and pulled her stake out from her jacket. She jumped back to feet and stood toe-to-toe with another assailant. She held her stake firmly, the robber stared at her, his expression perplexed. He then burst in to laughter.

"A stake of wood! What? D'ya think I am, a vampire?" He laughed at her, "Thanks for the chuckle, but I think I still gotta waste ya!" He raised his firearm, Buffy threw her stake and the point of the stake entered the gun, through the opening at the front. As he fired his shot, the end of the gun exploded and the wood blasted in to splinters. He dropped his shotgun to shield his eyes from the flying tiny pieces of wood. When the wood had settled he removed his arms from his face and gaped at the girl that was defeating him. Her face was fuming and her action was quick. She grabbed his jersey and pulled him up to her face, she held him so close that he could feel her breath on his features.

"That was my favourite stake." She told him through gritted teeth. Her assailant started to quiver in her grip, when she suddenly threw him against a pillar. His head bounced off the concrete post, and his body then collapsed to the ground. Buffy turned around and gasped in horror at the sight before her. The final robber stood gripping Willow and holding his gun to her neck.

"Buffy!" Willow pleaded, "Please help!" Buffy walked forward gently to prevent the man from shooting her best friend.

"Stay back bitch!" The robber shouted, "Or I'll blow this girl's head clean off!" He continued to threaten the witch's life.

"Wait!" A sudden voice yelled to the scene. Everyone's head turned to see who had shouted. They all saw Spider-man standing with a raised hand, using the other hand to hold one of the unconscious thieves by his jacket. He dropped the body and began to edge closer as well.

"No!" The thief screeched, "I'm not waiting for no shit! If I don't get that medicine and get outta this building without trouble, I'll shoot her I swear to God!" The gun shook in his hand. Buffy didn't take her eyes off the weapon, she couldn't help but think what Spider-man was going to do, she glanced over to the vigilante. Buffy could only see the lifeless white eyes on Spider-man's mask, which were fixated on the armed, jeopardizing burglar and his stare was returned by the man's anxious eyes.

"Well, you won't really." Spider-man replied to the thief.

"What?" He shouted angrily.

"That's a pump shotgun isn't it?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, the pump shotgun can only hold eight bullets at a time," Spider-man began to explain, "and if I'm right, you…" he pointed at the crook, "…have fired eight shots since you've been in this room." The criminal took the gun away from Willow's neck and inspected it.

"No I haven…" A red fist, covered with webs flew at his left cheek sending the crook flying and Willow falling to the ground.

"Made ya look!" Spider-man mocked the fallen crook. He lifted Willow to her feet and used one of his wrists to wrap the robber in webs. "How could you fall for that? It's the oldest trick in the book!" For a few seconds the picture was peaceful again, Spider-man let go of Willow and returned to web up the lawbreakers. Buffy helped Willow to a seat and asked her if she was alright. The room remained silent for a few more seconds until…

"Freeze!"

Armed police barged in through the entrance, pointing their weapons all around the room. Everyone else stood motionless as some of the law enforcers twitched in anxiousness. Spider-man turned his head from left to right and back on the police captain, who was just walking in and smoking a cigarette.

"Man." Spider-man exclaimed, "You guys are slower than the postal service!"

"Shut it Web Head!" The captain roared at the superhero. "You're a wanted man, and I can never tell if you're wearing a Halloween costume or if that's some king of uniform, so I'm taking you in with these creeps." He pointed at the bodies of crooks that were wrapped in webs on the floor. "Boys! Cuff him!" Two officers approached Spider-man slowly, one of them pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Spider-man raised his finger and shook it.

"Uh-Uh." He told them, before leaping backwards and back flipping out of the window he had used to enter. He jumped back in and ran along the wall, ripping his camera of the wall. "How could I leave this behind?" He asked himself as he propelled himself through the window for the final time. He brought his masked head back in through the window to say, "Oh and Happy Halloween!' before waving and retreating through the window.

Spider-man scaled the walls of the hospital until he got to a window. He peered in before jumping, he saw two doctors and a nurse running down the corridor and in to the elevator, yelling about the incident downstairs. Spider-man pulled himself in and ran in to a closet, once the doctors and nurse had gone. He pulled off his mask and started to change. He put his superhero attire in his bag and left the storeroom. He returned to the room where Tracey Stewart sat upright on her hospital bed, reading an issue of 'Vogue.' Her hair was black, her smile was as red as fire and her eyes as dark as a night's sky. Her face was pretty and reminded Peter of a Hollywood actress.

"Hey!" She called excitedly to the informally clad Peter Parker. "What's all the racket downstairs?"

"Spider-man just mopped the floor with a bunch of crooks." Peter told her, holding his backpack firmly.

"What about…" Tracey began to question him, but was interrupted by an abrupt ringing, which came from Peter's bag. Peter pulled out his phone from the container and answered the call.

"Hello?" Peter replied to the machine. Tracey could hear a loud bellowing on the other end. "Hey Jonah, oh I'm sorry. Mr. Jameson." He looked at Tracey and silently laughed, mocking his employer and making the girl giggle. "What do want? Oh that, yeah I got some pictures. Yeah I'll drop them off later. Okay… I'll drop them off now." He restored his mobile and looked up at Tracey. "Sorry."

"Don't," She put up her hand, "I know all about the arduous task of following a boss' orders." He smiled.

"Thanks." He said quickly as he made his way to the door. But before he reached the handle the door creaked open and a redheaded woman stuck her head through.

"Tracey Stewart?" Willow asked, but noticed Peter, "Oh I'm sorry. I must have the wrong room." She went to close the door, but Peter grabbed it.

"No, that's Tracey." He told her pointing in Tracey's direction. Willow looked around the door to see Tracey.

"Oh right." She said, she stuck her head out of the room and down the corridor. "Buffy! She's in here!" Buffy walked around the corner and over to the witch.

"Okay Will," Buffy replied, then smirked, "just remember that we're in a hospital." The two of them giggled as the door opened, Buffy looked and the face she saw made her freeze.

'That guy I sent Louie after, did anyone see his face or know who he is?' The leader of the now arrested robbers' voice echoed in Buffy's head, 'He saved you, you must know him, who is he?'

Peter gazed at the blonde girl as he remembered how he had talked to her, then saved her life and how she had helped him beat the thieves. He smiled at her, then recalled how she had seen his face and how this girl probably knew that the man who ran out the restroom was Spider-man. His eyes widened with horror, he panicked and pushed through the girls.

"I'm sorry." He called back, "See you later Tracey." Peter ran around the corner.

"Willow stay here." Buffy instructed and sprinted after the man. She ran around the corner and found an open window on the wall in front of her. "Oh crap." She stuck her head out of the window and searched for any traces of Spider-man. She saw nothing, "Double crap."

Willow sat on a chair next to Tracey's bed and was talking to her when Buffy returned.

"Hey Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, "She already knows that she's a slayer…"

"That guy who was in here," Buffy interrupted and instantly asked the new slayer, "do you know him?"

"Who? Peter? Yeah he's great." Tracey answered excitedly, "He saved my life yesterday. From a car explosion."

"I think I know how," Buffy said, "Peter? Peter Parker?" She remembered the name from the Daily Bugle.

"Yeah." Tracey said back.

"Does he know about slayers?"

"No. Why?"

'I think…' She thought very ominously, 'he's Spider-man.'

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Peter Parker banged his head against a brick wall on a rooftop in East village back on Manhattan Island. "How could I let that happen? But then again," He stopped hitting his head, "if I hadn't pulled her out of the way of those bullets she would have died." He stared in to space for a moment, his face was expressionless. "Oh crap!" He continued as he started smacking his head on the wall. "Oh well." He said as he pulled on his mask, completing his costume. He packed the rest of his things in to his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. He approached the edge of the roof and without warning, jumped off and began to web-swing.

His movements were graceful and awesome as he shot more webs and swung on each. He continued to swing through the buildings heading for Flat Iron, until the Daily Bugle came in to his sight.

'Time to change.' He thought to himself, jumping off his last web and landing on a nearby rooftop. He ran and jumped in to the dark alley down the side of the structure, where he began to change in to his civvies. Peter strolled out from the alley and in to streets. He crossed the road and entered the Daily Bugle building. He made his way through the crowds of busy people, that there usually were in the Daily Bugle, and found the elevator.

'Looks like I took the costume off too soon.' Peter chuckled to himself.

"Parker! Just where the Hell have you been?" A dangerously loud voice howled in his ear. Peter turned and jumped back against the wall as the furious face of J. Jonah Jameson closed in on him.

"Hi JJ!" Peter forced a laugh.

"Don't, 'Hi JJ,' me you hippy!" Jameson snapped, "If I want pleasantries I'll go Buddy Holly's house!"

"Didn't he die in a plane crash sir?" Peter backed up against the wall.

"What do I look like, his biographer?" J.J bellowed. "Where are my photos?"

"I haven't developed them yet sir," Peter explained with a tone of fear in his voice, "I've only just got here."

"And where were you before now then?"

"Taking these photos sir."

"Well get them developed now!" The elevator door opened.

"Whatever you say boss." Peter joked as he ran in to the lift.

"Wait I need a lift!" Jameson called after the freelancer. Peter pressed the door close button, leaving Jameson on the ground floor screaming at the closed doors. People started to stare at him. He swerved on his feet and his eyes flared up as he saw the watching faces.

"What the Hell are you looking at? Unless there's a Monty Python sketch going on behind me, get back to work!" Everyone suddenly began to run around again, taking care of business.

Ding! The bell on the elevator rang as the doors opened and an exhausted Peter Parker walked out and on to the floor. He meandered through the desks and cubicles on that storey and made his way to the darkroom. He entered and pulled out his camera from his backpack. He quickly got to work, developing the film and moments later watched as the picture came on every paper. He moved along the line with all the photos pegged on and studied each one. Some photos were of him saving the life of the mysterious blonde girl, some were of Spider-man and the girl beating up the criminals and one was a shot of the blonde girl on her own. Peter took the photograph off the line. He studied it. The girl's hair was held back in a ponytail and she was smirking. She wore a blue shirt under a red leather jacket. Peter was fascinated and found himself replaying the event over and over in his mind. He looked at her arm, in the picture, and found that she was clutching a wooden stake.

"Who are you?" He breathed at the photo.

"Uh… Peter?" A deep voice asked from behind him. Peter turned and saw the negro editor of the Daily Bugle, Joe Robertson.

"Hey Mr. Robertson." Peter replied quietly, and returned to the photo. Robbie walked up behind him.

"Jonah asked me to get those hospital photos off you." Robbie explained.

"Oh yeah sure." Peter said, handing Robbie the pictures. Robbie noticed the photo in Peter's hand.

"Is that for the Bugle?" He began to ask, but noticed what the picture was of. "Or is it for your personal collection?" He laughed, "I'll see you later Pete." He walked to the door and left the darkroom.

"Tell me if any of those are page 1 worthy!" Peter called after him. He packed up his camera back in to his sack and followed the editor in to the newsroom. "Hey Robbie?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Robbie replied.

"Have you ever seen her before?" He said, still clutching the photograph.

"Never, why?" Robbie inquired, "Should I know her?"

"Look at the other pictures." Peter suggested. Robbie flicked through the collection of pictures. He was beginning to see what Peter meant. The strange fair-haired woman was pounding armed men in the images in his hands.

"Sorry," Robbie began slowly, "but I don't have a clue who she is." He stared for a moment at the picture. "Have you got any more work to do here?" Robbie asked, raising his head.

"No," Peter answered, "I've got to go."

Robbie lowered his head again.

"Where?" He said, studying the photos. "Pete?" He asked lifting his head once again to find that Peter had gone.

"Bloody Hell mate!" An annoyed blonde spirit yelled at the vampire sitting next to him, in an aeroplane. "Will you get out of the way?" He said in frustrated voice.

"Shut up Spike!" Angel turned his head and replied, he then returned to the window he had been staring out the entire journey. "I've never seen sunlight above the clouds."

"Big whoop!" Spike drooled as he lay back in his seat. He then suddenly plunged forward and through Angel's stomach, "So, how do these windows work? They can't be ordinary glass, otherwise you would be ablaze mate."

"Spike!" Angel shouted, staring down at the head that was sticking through his stomach. Angel shook his arms viscously in frustration. Spike's head turned to look up at the outraged vampire. "The private company plane and I get stuck sitting next to you."

"You still haven't answered my question." Spike continued as if nothing was wrong.

"Magic." Angel answered hastily, "Now please move, I want to get as much of this as I can." Angel's attention was back on the window.

"Alright," Spike retorted, "you want me to move? Then I'll move." He pulled himself back from Angel's abdomen and walked through the wall in front of their seats.

"What's he up to?" Angel asked himself, "Oh well, back to the window." Angel began to watch out through the window again. He watched the light reflect off the wing of the plane and quickly pressed his face right up against the glass to believe what he was seeing. Spike was walking along the extension of the plane, raising his arms and obviously singing.

"Rock! it's what we're all about! It's what we live for! Come on shout it out!" He tuned, singing the Sum 41 song, 'It's what we're all about."

"I hope he drops." Angel smiled calmly to himself, lowering the screen. Angel surveyed the plane's space. The walls were painted with glamorous colours and decorated with portraits of the past owners of Wolfram and Hart, (Demon and human). Angel could smell the scents being used in the lavatories behind him. "Wow, Wolfram and Hart don't skip on the expenses." Angel commented on his fascinating surroundings.

"Um… Mr. Angel," the captain's voice called back to his only passenger, over a speaker, "We're coming up on New York just now. We'll be arriving at JFK airport and a limo is already waiting at… SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY!" Angel launched out of seat and sprinted in to the cockpit.

"What?" Angel asked.

"Look sir," the pilot instructed, pointing out the window, "there's someone out there."

"Yeah," Angel replied, realising who the pilot was talking about, "with any luck, he'll fall off." He smiled and returned through the door, back to his seat. He sat back in to his seat and pulled out an , 'I'm on an airway to Hell,' magazine from the side of his chair. He began to read an article about Elshew demons.

"Oh," Angel commented, seeming very interested, "I didn't know they didn't have spines." A familiar face popped through the wall in front of him. Angel stared at the head that was protruding from the barrier.

"Hey mate! This is cool!" Spike informed excitedly, "Want to try?" Angel raised one of his eyebrows sarcastically. "Oh yeah, forgot, physical presence." The head quickly retracted. Angel's face looked back down at the journal, he sighed.

"There's no hope for him." Angel remarked.

In, what is possibly the world's busiest city, the sky was dark, but the streets were light. New York was alive with radiance from buildings, to cars, to street lamps. The buildings were close together and large, they varied in size and shape, from large to small. The clouds overhead reflected the glow, many of the residents of the city still believed that it was day. Except one calm spandex clad prodigy, who sat on a low rooftop, which was still out of sight from civilians, with his right leg bent and held against his chest with his arm, and his left leg dangling over the edge of the rooftop he was sitting on. He could feel gentle winds blow against his body as he leaned back against a brick wall. He wasn't wearing the usual webbed mask, but sat with a naked head that stared up at the clouds. The atmosphere was warm and tranquil, Spider-man was taking long, peaceful breaths. The way he watched the skies would suggest that he was staring through the masses of clouds, through the stars and blackness of space and straight in to the heavens. He imagined that he could see people from his past drawn across the sky like constellations. He saw Harry, his best friend, Mary Jane, the woman he had loved his whole life, his aunt May, his uncle Ben and suddenly he saw someone he didn't recognise. After a few moments of remembering, he realised who he was looking at, he was gazing at the girl he had saved and who had helped him beat the crooks at the hospital that morning. For some reason, Peter was fascinated by this girl, he had no idea who she was, but it was obvious that she had great power.

'Great power?' Peter thought sarcastically, 'Now where have I heard that before?'

Peter was unexpectedly interrupted from his thought by the increasingly loud sound of police car sirens. Peter twisted his head around to see the vehicles race through the roads, with their distress signals blaring and their lights flashing. Peter sighed as he knew what his duty was, in his right hand he clutched the same old mask. After one more sigh, he flung the mask on and leapt from the rooftop in to the wide space between the buildings, shooting a web he swung after the cruisers. His swings were graceful, without his superhuman strength he probably would have fallen and splattered against a car windscreen.

He had been following them for five minutes before the cars halted abruptly outside a warehouse. Spider-man let go of his web-line and landed in a crouch position on the warehouse opposite. He watched, from the rooftop edge, the police run around the scene holding guns and shouting orders. His spider-sense went off as Peter watched, through his mask, a dark haired woman being thrown through a window on the fourth floor and two dishevelled looking individuals jumped through a window on the same floor and landed on the roof of the next building.

"What in God's name?" Spider-man gaped. The girl landed on a police car. "Shit!" Spider-man cursed. He then saw her getting up from the crash and running away in to a nearby alley before any of the police could help her. 'What is up today? Has every woman in this town turned Supergirl?' He asked himself, then looked up to see the culprits getting away over the rooftops of New York. "Oh no you don't" He proclaimed, shooting a web to a stone gargoyle on the building in front of him, and he began to swing after the two gravity defying criminals. He followed them for another several minutes, finding it hard to keep up with their inhuman speed. He managed to get close enough to shoot a web at one of them, and pull him back. They were several blocks away from the crime scene and Spider-man was getting ready for a fight.

They stood in a dim alley, with a fire escape ladder, a few doors and some dumpsters and trashcans by one wall. On an opposite wall, clung the remains of an old, worn down fire escape ladder, with a few metal spikes sticking out from it.

"Spider-man!" The captured criminal called, at first he looked frightened but then smiled manically, "Bring it on!" The crook ripped the webs from his feet and stood upright. He didn't take his eyes off the wall-crawler, "You put me away." He accused, "Well now I'm back, and I've got a little surprise." Spider-man gasped as the criminal's face started to change in to a demonic image. His accomplice jumped down behind him, with the same ugly face. "Get ready Spider-freak!" The creature leapt forward at Spider-man, who was still shocked at the criminal's morphing features. Spider-man's spider-sense quickly warned him and he ducked out of the way of the attack just in time. The other criminal started assaulting the superhero. He began to launch all kinds of attacks on the vigilante, Spider-man dodged every one of them. He shot a web at the fire escape ladder and jumped up on to the fourth floor of the building.

"Come down here and fight like a man!" The other criminal called up at him.

"Come up here and fight like a spider!" Spider-man retorted.

"With pleasure." The one creature murmured to the other, and they both soared up to the fourth floor and joined the vigilante. Spider-man couldn't believe his eyes. One of their fists flew at Spider-man's face, but he jumped away and back down in to the alley. "What a coward!" The creature shouted after him, and joined him back in the alleyway. The two creatures began to attack Spider-man again. He grabbed their fists and threw them away. He turned on one of the beings and punched him in to the shadows, he then turned back at and began to further rearrange the creature's already deformed face.

"Hey!" An angry voice called at Spider-man from behind him. Spider-man swivelled on his feet and was hit in the face with a trashcan. He fell forward on his knees and elbows, he then blacked out under his mask. The creature dropped the trashcan and the other joined him and they grabbed Spider-man and pulled him back by his arms. "I bet his blood tastes great!" The creature said, opening his mouth and showing his fangs. His companion did the same and together they leaned forward. Under the webbed mask, Peter opened his eyes and saw the sharp canines heading to his neck. He acted quickly and elbowed the two assailants in their stomachs. They leaned forward in pain and he punched their faces in to the wall behind them. He turned back at them, ready for another fight but his fists dropped when he saw what he had done. The two criminals were being held up on the wall by some metal spikes, that pierced them through their chests.

"Oh God!" Spider-man felt sick at his own actions.

The creatures stared at each other. Steam was floating up through the gutter and rain started pouring down in to the passage.

"How does he know about our kind?" One of the individuals said to the other before turning to dust and falling to the ground. The other stared at his remains.

"Let's see… Um… Last words…" He fumbled with his words as he slowly died, "Life is beautiful, Existence is pure…" He continued poetically, but his voice turned suddenly sarcastically, "… And I'm talking a load of shit! Happy Halloween and good night!" The impaled crook gradually disintegrated off the spike. Spider-man pulled his mask off and stared at the piles of ash that turned to mud as it mixed with the rain water. He continued to glare at the remains of the crooks. He was confused and guilty at his actions.

"What have I done?" He panicked. Thoughts flew round his mind, 'I'm a murderer!', 'Our kind,' and, 'Why did they turn to dust?"

"Nothing you didn't need to do." A feminine voice called from the alley opening. Spider-man turned around and saw the same familiar faces that he had seen in the hospital and some new ones. Standing in the back was the brown-haired girl who had fallen out from the building and another brunette, holding a stake. Placed in front of them was the redheaded woman Peter had seen in the hospital and standing next to her was Tracey Stewart, the girl he had saved the day before. Tracey slowly edged towards him and tried to touch his arm gently.

"Tracey?" He asked, his eyes were blinded by the rainwater falling down his face. He then realised that he wasn't wearing his mask, he tore his arm away from Tracey's grip, ran in to the shadows and leapt up on to the roof. He began running across the street via the rooftops and finally jumped on to a chimney. He held his face in his hands and screeched in to his palms. "What the Hell have I done?" He cried, clutching his mask tighter in anguish, "And what the Hell was Tracey talking about?" His breathing was hard and fast, two tears creaked from his eyes and ran down his face. He prayed to his departed uncle, 'I'm sorry Uncle Ben, I don't know how that happened.'

"Vampires." A voice informed from behind him. He turned around and looked down the side of the chimney. There leaned the same blonde girl from the hospital.

"You!" He yelled, as he jumped down on to roof. "Who are you?" He enquired.

"Buffy," she answered, holding out her hand, "Buffy Summers." Peter stared at her hand, trying desperately to figure out how this girl was so calm.

"I've just murdered someone!" He shouted at her, "And you're talking to me as if nothing's happened! What the Hell's the matter with you?" Buffy smiled understandingly.

"It's okay," she said pulling back her hand, "you didn't kill them. They were already dead." Peter stared at her, his eyes were wide with disbelief. His breath began to gradually return to normal speed.

"What do mean?" He said, a lot calmer than before.

"Just watch." She told him, pulling him around in to a position where he could see.

"What are you…" He started. Buffy put her finger on her lips, signalling for him to be quiet.

"Watch." She said, as she walked to the centre of the rooftop. She held her arms out and began to shout, "Here I am bloodsuckers! Come and get me!" Peter looked around to see who she was talking to. A roar echoed from the alleyways below and out of the dark shadows, jumped a man with the same demonic features as the two crooks Peter had killed.

"Mmm… Fresh meat!" He called, watching Buffy's every movement.

"Hey!" Buffy shouted to him, "Catch!" She said, throwing her cross at him. He caught it and smoke instantly shot out from his palms. The man screamed in pain and threw the crucifix on the floor, blowing on his hands. Buffy ran at him, jumped up and landed behind the man's back. She pulled out her new stake and plunged it in through the man's heart. The man stood there and looked back over his shoulder, he noticed the stake and stared forward at Peter.

"Just my luck, a city full of humans and I run in to a slayer!" He sarcastically told Peter as his flesh turned to ash. All that was left was Buffy holding a stake. For a few moments Peter and Buffy seemed to be sharing in a staring contest, not allowing the rest of the world affect them. They slowly began to move slowly towards each other. Peter raised his hand questioningly.

"Vampires?" He posed, "Slayer?"

"It's a long and painful tale of death and beautiful teenage girls being given superpowers." Buffy summarised the adventure that is her life.

"You've just described my teenage fantasies." Peter jested as he turned away trying to hide his confusion and fear.

"Peter?" Buffy slowly raised her hand and clenched his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Buffy? Is it?" He asked, Buffy nodded. "I've just killed two men and seen a mysterious blonde girl kill another man the exact same way!" He clenched his teeth.

"Pete, they're not people. They're vampires." Buffy tried to explain to the vigilante. Peter removed his hands from his face. He walked to the edge of the rooftop and held his mask tightly. He looked back at the slayer, his cheeks still shone from the tears he had shed earlier.

"There's no such thing!" He declared before pulling on his mask, jumping and swinging away in to the night. Buffy stood there, bewildered.

"Now that's just rude and stubborn." She told herself and walked across the floor. "And it confirms my theory." She said, thinking about her idea that Peter Parker was Spider-man. 'But what about that Daily what's-it-called bugle, calling him a criminal? After the way he just reacted to the vamp I just dusted, he is definitely not a baddie.'

Buffy stood there looking out towards the rest of the city. The sounds of the streets reached her ears and reminded her of her times in Los Angeles. The wind blew in her face and made her hair shake violently. She didn't notice the thud that came from behind her.

"So, you know?" Peter's voice echoed from behind her. She twirled around on her foot. She stared right in to Spider-man's white, mysterious eyes. He stood before her, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, I know." She replied calmly. They gazed at each other until Peter saw something on the floor, between his feet. He looked down and saw that that something was the crucifix that the vampire had thrown earlier. He bent down and picked it up, he looked at it and glanced up at the slayer. He returned to his upright position and handed the cross back to Buffy.

"This doesn't mean I believe." He told firmly. She responded with a smile and grabbed his arm.

"I think you will." She told him back. "You couldn't give me a lift, could you?"

"Where to?" He said, following her back to the rooftop edge.

"The Empire State University." She informed, Spider-man glared at her. "It's where I promised to meet my friends." She explained and they were off, soaring through the city and away to Morningside.

Over the Hell's kitchen area, stood a darkly dressed vampire, looking out over the violent neighbourhood. His gelled up hair stood firm against the blowing winds. His eyes stared out to the New York night skyline. Spike, his bleach blonde spirit follower, came out from the shadows.

"Oh mate," Spike asked, "Do you remember where that club is?"

"It's been a long time Spike." Angel replied. "But… yeah, it should be three blocks that way." Angel pointed to his left and jumped, gliding to the next building. He left Spike standing by himself on the rooftop.

"Alright!" He shouted out to his sire. "I'll meet ya there, shall I? You bloody arsehole!" Spike kept staring at Angel's seemingly soaring body as he slowly fell through the floor and all the way through the building until he reached the ground. He walked out of the construction, through the alley and through in to the next building. When he reached the next alley, a man sat next to a dumpster, drinking wine, saw the blonde ex-vampires actions.

"What the Hell?" He shouted. Holding up his bottle to read the label. Spike heard the man's yell and turned to see him. He walked over to the destitute individual.

"I think you're seeing spirits mate," Spike commented, seeing the bottle he raised his left eyebrow. "In more ways than one!" He laughed. The man threw his bottle away and started to run down the alley. "Oh! Mate! I wouldn't hang around these places if I were you!" Spike shouted after the fleeing beggar. "Unless you wanna become vamp chow!"

Angel leaned against a graffiti filled, brick wall. To his left his English spirit follower emerged through the wall. Spike looked up at the flickering sign, which read, 'BLEED NECK DRY PRIVATE CLUB,' above the door of the club, loud music blared from the door. Two large bouncers stood by the entrance watching Angel and Spike closely.

"See you in there mate." Spike said confidently to Angel, as he walked to the door. One of the bouncers' face turned in to the face of a vampire and lifted his hand to stop Spike.

"Are you on the list?" The vampire bouncer scowled.

"No…" Spike started, walking forward and through the vampire's hand, "… but can you stop me?" The vampire shook nervously as Spike continued to walk through the vampire's body and in to the club. Angel stopped leaning against the wall and walked over to entrance.

"Hey!" the first vampire called back to him, "Just cos your friend got in doesn't mean you can!"

"Hey!" the other vampire shouted at his partner. "Don't you know who this guy is?"

"No."

"This is Angelus!" The vampire announced, filling Angel with disgust.

"Angel." Angel corrected him.

"Huh?" The vampire's attention was directly on Angel. Angel thrust a stake out from his leather coat and plunged it in the chest of the vampire bouncer. The bouncer instantly exploded in to unholy dirt and fell to the ground. Before anything else could happen, Angel grabbed the other vampire's chest and threw him against the graffiti loaded wall.

"Who's in there?" Angel enquired.

"The local masters." The vampire answered nervously. "Culvae the cruel. Vlagre the viscous." He continued quickly.

"Vlagre?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm, I sired him." Angel remembered. "Thanks." He let go of the vampire and walked to the club entrance. The vampire rubbed his chest, from the pain of Angel's grip. Angel stopped at the door. "Wait, one more thing." The vampire looked up at Angel. Angel spun round on his foot, throwing a knife at the vampire's heart. As Angel walked in to the club, the vampire bouncer's body dissolved to the ground.

Angel marched down a flight of stairs and in to the club. Rap music was deafening, and the combination of the darkness and laser shows left Angel practically blind. Angel narrowed his eyes and searched past the crowds of dancing vampires. He eventually saw Spike sitting next to a gruesome vampire at a table by the far off wall. The vampire's skin was flaky and his hair was gelled back. He wore a black suit and a brown, leather jacket and seemed to be laughing with Spike. Angel strolled towards them and sat opposite the vampire.

"Hello Vlagre." He greeted. "Happy Halloween."

"Angelus!" The vampire welcomed excitedly. "Yes it is all Hallow's eve and I was just talking to our kin here." He indicated Spike. "Wolfram and Hart aye? I'm very impressed!"

"Yeah." Spike interrupted, "But did I forget to mention that pompous-man here and I both have souls now." He grinned. Vlagre's expression turned shocked and frightened. He stared in to Angel's eyes and saw that it was true.

"Angelus…"

"Angel." Angel corrected again, Vlagre stood quickly from the fear. "Listen, I'll do you a favour." Angel offered quickly, to avoid making a scene, "Tell me what I want to know and I won't kill you."

Vlagre considered his options and decided that cooperating would be his best chance of getting out of the club in one piece.

"Alright." He subdued, sitting down again. "What do you want to know?"

A grin appeared on Angel's face.

"Well…"

The clouds that blocked the moon's reflective glow shifted from the city's prospect. The University campus that Peter Parker spent his many hours of studies was lit once more with the ghostly radiance that could only be provided by lunar light.

THWIP! A web shot at one of the flagpoles on the Building of Modern Health. The web was then followed by a swinging superhero, carrying a blonde superheroine. Spider-man released his grip on his web-line and, with Buffy still in his arms, jumped down on to what remained of the campus bank.

"Down there." Buffy pointed down in to the campus zone. Spider-man looked down and saw two men sitting on a street bench. One was very young, maybe a teenager? Wearing an eye patch and long, curly black hair. The other had short, grey hair and was sitting very profoundly. Spider-man could then see the four girls that had seen him in the alley, where he had killed the two men, walking towards the other two men.

"Okay." He returned her point. He picked her up again and shot another web, and proceeded to swing down to the slayer's friends.