Just want to clear up the whole 'Susan is a descendant of Willow' thing: being gay doesn't mean you don't want kids. I know several gay people with kids. As for Rosenberg/Ivanova: people more around, get married, and names change.

All fiction requires some faith on the reader's part.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, glad you liked the first chapter and hope you keep reviewing. This is going to be a shorter story than some of my recent work, no more than 5 chapters. Updates happen when they happen.

It's a Russian thing…
Part 2: Understanding is a three-edged sword

"So?" Marcus stood patiently, waiting for his promised explanation.

Susan contemplated knocking the Ranger out and hoping that he wouldn't go to the captain with what he knew, but she knew Spike was right. Rangers never bluff.

"Ok, you want to know the truth?" Susan took a deep breath. "Vampires, demons, werewolves and the supernatural all exist, have done since before recorded history began. Most people chose to ignore them or convince themselves that they are something else."

"Oh really? And how long have you known this?"

"My entire life. My family has been involved with an organisation called the Watchers Council since the early 21st Century. The Council monitors demon activity in Earth Space, in accordance with the LA convention of 2012. They used to confront them directly, but the convention dictates what rights humans and demons have so that we can co-exist together. Only when a demon breaches the rules does the Council send in a Slayer. On Babylon 5, I'm the Slayer."

"And what is a Slayer?"

"The rule used to be this: In each generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in the entire would with the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. That all changed when one of my ancestors, an extremely powerful Wicca… that's a witch to you… activated all the potential Slayers. That's when the tide was turned against the demons. They were no longer facing a single Slayer, but a whole army of them."

"So you're a Slayer?" Marcus raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Ok, prove it."

"You want me to prove to you that I'm the Slayer?" Susan placed her hands on her hips. "Marcus, I wiped the floor with you in the corridor outside my quarters. And you saw the way Spike's face changed…"

"That could have been a changeling net or some other advanced technology. Any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic. I mean, look at what the Technomages can do!"

"Oh please; I've seen things that would make a Technomage turn green with envy."

"Prove it." Marcus smiled.

"You really want me to prove to you that magic is real?" Susan blinked. "Ok then follow me."

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Marcus couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive as Susan led the way deep and deeper into Down Below. Although he knew that there was very little he couldn't handle himself, there was something about the way Susan was acting that sent a chill down his spine.

"Your friend Spike said he was involved in the Earth/Minbari war." He said, trying to break the tension. "Just what did he do?"

"He was the Watcher assigned to a young Slayer living on one of the outer colonies," Susan explained. "She was killed when the Minbari attacked at the very start of the war. Spike's always been very overprotective of those in his care and took it badly. Even though he's a vampire, he has a human soul. The Minbari didn't notice him because vampires don't show up on any sensors as a living being, so they passed him by. He managed to find a ship that was still operational and made it back to the nearest Watcher field-office."

"So what did he do? Sign up with Earth Force?"

"No, they would have found out he was a vampire the moment they gave him his medical. He has a special crystal implanted in his body somewhere that allows him to walk in sunlight and it makes him almost impossible to kill, but he still lacks a heartbeat. He managed to gather together some other vampires who wanted to fight and salvaged a ship that had been holed during a battle. The Minbari mistook it for a dead hulk when they didn't pick up any life-signs, and they were able to strike them from point-blank range. They kept doing this for months, until the Minbari figured out just what they were up against…"

"They called us the Grave Walkers." Spike dropped down from a walkway. "The Minbari really don't like vampires. They see us as a threat to the reincarnation of their souls when they die. They assigned a special Ranger unit to track us down and take us out. They caught us near Beta Orionis and crippled our engines before boarding us. They forgot one important thing. Vampires don't need air."

"What did you do?" Marcus asked, his mouth suddenly dry.

"We waited until they came alongside and linked their ship to our own, then blew the airlocks, expelling our atmosphere and theirs." Spike pulled another cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "You ever see what the vacuum of space does to a living being? It isn't pretty when it's real up close like that." He stopped outside a non-descript door. "We're here."

"Right, just follow my lead." Susan banged on the door. "It's me. Open up."

A slit in the door opened and a rough looking demon looked through. "Password."

"Come on, you know who I am…" Susan protested.

"Password." The demon insisted, its voice sounding like the gravel pits of hell.

"I'll kill you if you tell anyone about this." Susan glared at Marcus before turning back to the door. "I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Here is my handle; here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, hear me shout: tip me over and pour me out."

The demon sniggered as it unlocked and opened the door. "You're a real charmer, Slayer."

"Yeah Frank, so are you." Susan patted him on the shoulder. "What's with the increased security?"

"Earth Force Intelligence is looking for her." Frank explained as he closed and re-locked the door. "That's why we came out here in the first place. Earth is just too hot since Clarke came to power. The PsiCops are one thing, but Nightwatch is a real pain in the ass."

"Preaching to the choir." Spike laughed. "I take it she's in?"

"I'm in back." A voice called out from through an open doorway. Susan led the way. Frank stayed back to keep watch at the door.

The other room was decorated like most living quarters on the station, complete with a small kitchen area off to one side

"It's nice to see you've tided up since I was last here." Susan looked around the room before sitting down in a comfortable looking armchair, "How's things?"

"Same old." A young woman in her twenties stepped through from the bedroom. She stopped dead when she saw Marcus. "Who's he?"

"This is Marcus Cole, our resident Ranger and pain in the neck." Susan shrugged. "He overheard Spike and I talking about the Rogue, so I had to tell him everything. He refused to believe me, so I brought him here rather than risk him going to the Captain."

"So you want to see some magic do you, Mr Cole?" The young woman smiled. "Well, they do say that seeing is believing…"

The room grew dark as the air started to rush thought it like there was a hurricane just outside the door. Pieces of paper and other miscellaneous light objects were lifted up and blown around the room. Marcus tried to shield his face as a portal started to open, and he found himself looking into Hyperspace.

Then, as quickly and suddenly as it had opened, the portal closed.

"And before you ask, that was no hologram." Spike smiled. "Meet Dawn Summers, head of the Watchers Council."

"Are you some kind of witch? The startled Ranger asked.

"No, I'm not even human in the normal sense of the word." Dawn smiled as she sat down. "I'm a construct, a human being created to contain and hide an energy souse known as 'The Key'. As a construct, I'm practically immortal, although I can be killed, hence the need for Frank out there by the door. I came here because the PsiCore has been trying to track me down for decades, and since Clark came to power, they've been getting anything they want."

"And they want little bit here." Spike looked deadly serous. "Her ability to open portals to any dimension, not just hyperspace, makes her a potentially valuable commodity. We've had a few close calls over the years, but we're still here."

"We won't be if I don't go deal with this rogue vampire. Garibaldi is on the verge of turning this place upside down to find what he thinks is a human killer." Susan stood. "Marcus, stay here until we're done."

"Like hell I will!" The Ranger protested. "It is against the Ranger code to let a friend and comrade walk into danger alone…"

"I'll be with her." Spike switched back to his game-face. "I've got a few centuries of experience with this sort of thing."

"I am still going," Marcus stood defiantly, "or I could go to the Captain and tell him everything you've told me."

There was the sound of something very large moving, and Frank appeared in the doorway.

"You do anything to endanger Miss Summers, and it'll be the last thing you ever do!" The demon growled, brandishing a huge battleaxe that looked like it could cut the station in half.

"Easy big-guy." Susan stepped between the two of them. "Ok, Marcus, you can come with us. But you do everything we tell you, without question."

"Deal." The Ranger nodded happily.

"Hop on one leg." Spike smiled as he fished a fresh cigarette from his pocket.

Marcus glared at him, and then started to hop on one leg as instructed.

"Knock it off before one of you dies from testosterone poisoning." Susan headed for the door. "Sorry this had to be a flying visit, Dawn, but duty calls."

"No problem." The head of the Watchers Council waved goodbye. "Give me a call in a few days and we'll do lunch."

To Be Continued…