(The Blade one will not have a second chapter until I finish this and 00Zeppo's Chaotic days. This is nearing its end. Unlike the bond series where I'm taking certain key episodes and adding elements, I was very satisfied with how the author ended the Dark Angel series. That isn't to say that the idea won't come back to me at some point… it's always possible.)

Various ingredients floated toward a fuming Dawn as she continued gathering everything together for donuts.

"They leave me and you here all alone, then expect miracles." Then she sighed as she started to work. "Well, Dennis. At least I'm not doing this alone."

-

Willow looked at Xander then Logan. "What we need are the names of the one's involved with the project and access to any files that we can find. I've got some hacking skills too. Also a list of the ingredients in the virus. We might be able to either cure it or at least block its effects. Either way will be permanent."

Logan nodded. "I have most of it here already… we tried to research it, but with everything that's been going on…"

"Understood."

A portal opened up and a five level cart filled with donuts was pushed out. Dawn's voice was heard.

"Thanks Dennis."

Then the portal closed.

Sketchy spoke up. "Dennis?"

Xander grinned. "Our live-in ghost."

"I thought you were kidding."

"Nope."

"How?…"

Xander sighed. "A friend of ours moved into the apartment he was haunting. It wasn't till a few years after she died that we caught up with some of her friends from that city. They told us about him. We went to see if he was still around, and he was. Nobody likes to be lonely, and at least this way there's always someone in the house with him at any given time. He's also very handy if someone breaks in. Best security system we've ever had."

Logan finished looking for the files. "Here they are."

Willow took them. "Well, first things first, grab your favorite kind of donut."

Willow, Buffy, Logan, Max, and Mole started reading. Xander tried to read some of it, but shook his head.

Sketchy and Cindy looked at him. "As lost as we are?"

Xander shrugged. "I can do most forms of research… but this is out of my league."

Faith grinned. "Mine too." She looked pointedly at Xander. "We could do something else."

He raised his eyebrow. "Well…"

"HEY!" Buffy yelled. "If we have to research, the least you could do is be bored! And don't pout!"

"I wasn't pouting!" Xander yelled while grinning.

"I was talking to Faith!"

Faith looked around. "What, is it my fault I'm…"

"FAITH!"

Logan rubbed his head. Yep, there was a headache coming on.

Willow shoved a book at Xander. "If you can't help with the genetic part, find a spell that I can use."

"Beats the old days where I couldn't research worth anything, doesn't it Willow?"

"There is that."

-

Xander rubbed his eyes. "Well, there's one we can use to scan the virus at any rate."

Willow blinked. "That could help. Why didn't we think of that before?"

Xander grinned. "Because we tend to do things the hard way?"

Buffy groaned. "Just because I tend to attack first and research later…"

Logan sighed. "What do you need?"

"Blood from you and from Max, according to the description of the spell at any rate." Said Xander as he continued to read.

Willow held out her hand. "Gimme!"

He grinned as he handed it over.

Willow walked off while mumbling to herself. Xander sighed, and opened his pack. He pressed the button on the refrigerator. "Dawn?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to need two sterilized needles. We're running a spell here."

"I'll have it there shortly."

"Understood."

-

Logan, Max, and the rest stood around blinking as Willow started her spell. Xander just smiled slightly. They had the same look that he and Willow had the first time they helped Buffy and Giles research. It was hard to miss the look of shock and a slight amount of awe.

Sketchy blinked. "So this determines what?"

Xander scratched his chin. "Well, from what I read… it will tell us better what the virus is composed of. Since we already have a general idea, finding it in the blood samples will be fairly easy. Once we determine exactly how it's put together and works, we'll know better how to combat it."

Willow shook her head. Then she poured the two samples together and watched.

Logan blinked.

Willow spoke after thirty seconds. "You said the virus is in every single part of your body, right Max?"

"Yes."

"Well, in addition to scanning the samples, I scanned you too. It's not there anymore. You're clean."

"What?"

Xander frowned. "Are you sure?"

"The blood would act the same way that a reaction between you two would. It's not."

Max and Logan stared at each other. They spoke in unison. "Kelpy?"

Xander blinked. "Seaweed?"

Willow rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm.

"Ouch!"

"They said someone's name, goofy."

"Oh. So who's Kelpy?"

Max leaned back in her seat. "A transgenic… one of our enemies had been giving him a drug to add to his paranoia. He had the ability to blend into his surroundings whenever he got scared. The drug that he originally used kept it in check so he could function normally. When he ran out, that changed."

Xander blinked. "And?"

"He was one of the… failures, according to the staff. Also, because of his ability, they couldn't trust him outside his cage… they kept him there. Sometimes they went days without remembering him. When I started getting everyone out, he apparently fixated on me."

Logan spoke up. "He also had the ability to take dna from whoever he touched and change a little over time… at the end, he had both Max's and My genes in his body. When she touched him, he had already had mine… and it triggered the virus. Then her dna in him and mine accelerated his death because of constant contact."

Xander spoke. "The virus was tailor made to kill you… was it a one time thing?"

Logan blinked. "What…"

"If it's tailor made, could it have killed itself upon completion of its task. Kelpy would have qualified as that."

Willow stared at Xander.

"What?"

"I'm just surprised you came up with a well thought out statement."

"Oh come on! I've been researching for years now!."

"And you still couldn't understand me when I talked about the pack I gave you."

Cindy chuckled. "As amusing as this is…"

They both shook their heads. "Right. The best way to test is to see if you two can touch each other. But not till we research a way to block the process should it start. Once we've got that, we can prepare to reverse it if it turns out we're wrong."

Max shook her head. "The doctor Logan has me seeing…"

"Doesn't use magic. We have an edge."