Rachel: no matter how many times I explain this, there's always someone who doesn't get it: I honestly can't tell the difference between two words that look and sound the same but mean different things. I never have, and probably never will.
Crash: The idea? I have a very twisted sense of humour…
Laharl140: thank you.
Rankokun: oh hell yeah!
Buffyrules: I'll check it out.

Zeppo 3: Slayer Evolved
Part 3: He who increases knowledge…

Xander woke, his mouth feeling like a camel had taken a dump in it. He opened his eyes, and was grateful that the light was dim.

"I'm glad to see your back with us." An electronically distorted voice came from somewhere, "We didn't know how much it would take to knock you out, so we used more than normal."

"Who are you?"

"I am the person who decides what happens to you next, Mr Harris. Yes, we know who you are: we ran your fingerprints. I must admit, I'm suspired we didn't flag your file earlier."

"What do you want?"

"Your armour: where did you get it from?"

"I found it."

"You expect me t believe that? We ran a few tests while you were asleep: we know that your body has been surgically modified to increase your strength, speed and stamina. We know that you need these enhancements to survive inside the armour."

"Pity: I was hoping I could convince you to try it on for size."

"I may not be willing to try it on, but I am going to take it apart and see how it works."

"And I can stop you?"

"No, but the failsafe on the power cell will: if it's not deactivated, it will level the town."

"You got to love fusion!"

"I'll ask you one last time: where did you get the armour?"

"I got it from a costume shop at Halloween a few years back. A chaos mage named Ethan Rayne cast a spell that turned everyone into his or her costume, so I ended up as the Master Chief. Spell ended, everyone went back to normal. Well, apart from me."

"You expect me to believe in magic?"

"What you believe is immaterial: it's the truth." Xander tried to move, but found thick metal chains held him down. He strained against them, using all the increased strength his argumentations gave him, but the chains held.

"That is quarter-inch thick tempered steal, more than enough to hold even you." The voice chuckled, "Now let's start again…"

"Still no contact with Xander." Cortana looked don from the TV screen, "And I'm not picking up a locator signal from his suite, either."

"Ok, so this is bad." Buffy was pacing backwards and forwards across her friends living room, "Any idea who's taken him?"

"They call themselves 'The Initiative', and they appear to be a ultra-secret government agency set up to investigate and study demons and other supernatural activity around Sunnydale. They have almost unlimited recourses and clearance two levels above Presidential."

"There's no such thing as 'above' Presidential!"

"You think you real elect who runs this country?"

"You saying I don't?"

"We're getting g a little off-track here: The Initiative wanted to study Xander's Mjolnir Armor, and I don't think they were going to ask nicely."

"You think they killed him?"

"Negative: he's the only person on the planet who's capable of surviving in his armour, and the only person other than myself who knows how to deactivate the failsafe system."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes." Cortana nodded, "But you can't just burst in there and brake him out."

"I know: that's why you're going to help me…"

"I don't understand why you are still uncooperative." The voice woke Xander from a deep sleep, making him jump up, his chain stopping his assent and slamming him back down onto the hard metal floor.

"What do you want now?" He asked, rubbing his bruises as best he could.

"Where is the A.I?"

"What A.I?"

"The one called Cortana: I have done a little research into the armor, and I know that it was developed to be compatible with an advanced Artificial Intelligence entirety. I also know that the AI is inserted into your suit by placing a computer chip in a slot in the back of your helmet…"

"You shouldn't believe everything you read." Xander laughed, "Sorry to tell you this, but all I got was the suit and the guns, nothing else."

"I see."

"Ok, I'm in position." Buffy crouched behind a low wall, looking at the house Cortana insisted was the entrance to the government base. She'd grabbed Xander's mobile phone from his apartment, and was using the hands-free kit to keep in touch with Cortana, "Go ahead and cut the power."

"Cutting power." Cortana roamed the endless sea of information known as the Internet, pulling up the county services system for Sunnydale and accessing the power grid. A simple command cut power for the appropriate block, sending the area into darkness, "I've accessed the military Global Positioning System so I can guide you Xander."

"Ok, just tell me where to go."

Dr Walsh looked round as the lights in her office died, only to be replaced moments later by the backups powered by the bases own generator. She instinctively reached for the phone, "What happened?"

"Power cut." The tech on the other end reported, "Seems to have taken out the entire block. Back up generators running normally."

"Very good. Have patrols doubled: I don't want to risk any escapes. And double the guard on subject 117: he's dangerous."

"Yes sir."

Buffy ran across the lawn to the house like a ghost, hidden in the shadows. She found an open window and climbed through, scanning the room for anyone or anything hostile.

Nothing.

"Ok, I'm in." She whispered into the microphone at her throat.

"Go out the door and turn left till you reach a closet." Cortana pulled up the architects plans for the building, "There's a false door in the back that leads to an elevator."

"Got it." Buffy slid along the hallway like a cat, stopping dead when she heard footsteps. She crouched low, and sprung out as a man dressed in black combats stepped out of the closet Cortana had identified. She tackled him around the waist, throwing him to the ground before knocking him out with a right hook to the side of the head.

Lifting him by the armpits, she dragged him back into the closet and closed the door.

Xander could sense the unease that had followed the main lights failing. He opened his eyes a fraction and looked up at the camera in the corner of his cell: the red light was out.

Slowly, so as not to give the came away to anyone who might be watching though the one-way mirror, he tested the links of the chain holding him down, looking for the weak links.

Finally finding the ones he needed, he pulled at them with all his strength, and was please to see them give, allowing him to carefully slip the next link out, freeing him from the floor.

He rolled over onto his stomach, pretending to move in his sleep, and carefully looked at the glass screen: with the lights in his cell dead, he could just about see the outline of two guards on the other side, standing close to each other.

Tensing the muscles in his arms and legs, he got ready to make his move.

To Be Continued…