Dear old Dad…

"That's one deep hole…" Kennedy looked down the mile-deep lift shaft leading to the maximum-security containment area, "You sure Goldilocks is down there?"

"I still can't believe your Slayer Senses are not registering him." Willow shook her head as she pulled a small glass bottle from her backpack, "He's putting out enough mystical energy to illuminate the entire Eastern Seaboard." She smashed the bottle against the floor, muttering something in Latin under her breath.

"Is that it?" Kennedy asked, "I was expecting something more impressive."

"This is magic, not Hollywood." Willow stepped out into thin air; her weight held by the spell, "Come fly with me…"

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"These 'bottle-o-spell' things Willow came up with are really cool." Xander grinned as a pair of S.H.I.E.L.D. security officers walked past, not even batting an eye, "How's that lock coming?"

"Shouldn't be a problem." Buffy slipped a ID card into the lock, "Faith's dad gave as an up-to-date pass." The door clicked open, "I think he's a little upset over what happened to Thor."

"And the fact that Fury set Captain America on his daughter when they were trying to have dinner." Xander slipped into the lab, "All clear."

A huge supercomputer took up the bulk of the room, while almost everywhere else was full of lab equipment. Moving towards the back of the room, Buffy looked for some clue as to where their prize could be hiding.

"B-I-N-G-O!" Xander smiled, pointing at the hammer that was sitting on a table against one wall, "Mjolnir."

"Cool." Buffy smiled, reaching for the weapon, "Grab the rest of his gear and lets…"

The static charge sent the blond haired Slayer flying backwards across the room.

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Scarlet Witch looked down at the battle that still raged between Faith and the other Ultimates. While no one had been seriously hurt so far, no one seemed to be able to stop Faith as she steadily made her way towards the Triskelion.

Taking a deep breath, the Scarlet Witch aimed a Hex-bolt at the Slayer and fired.

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The security guards at the bottom of the lift shaft heard something land, and, as one, went for their weapons.

It was a futile gesture: Kennedy came through the doorway like a cannonball, knocking two of them flat in and instant. Grabbing their nightsticks, she disabled the remaining guards in less time than it took for them to turn their heads to follow her.

"That's my girl." Willow smiled, "Now step aside and let me show you how it's really done."

Light seemed to envelop the young Wicca, and the massively reinforced door, designed to withstand the Hulk, was ripped off its hinges and tossed across the room. The transparent holding cell beyond seemed to fade away, allowing Kennedy to walk up to Thor and release him from his restraints.

"Time to go big guy." The Slayer smiled, "Your ride is here."

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"Ouch!" Buffy picked herself up off the floor, "What the hell was that?"

"It looked like you were electrocuted." Xander reached out and carefully touched Mjolnir with the tips of his fingers. Nothing happened.

"Must have been a security system Fury set up." Buffy shook her head, grabbing the rest of Thor's gear, "Grab it and lets get out of here."

"No problem." Xander lifted Mjolnir, not even realising how light it felt in his hands.

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The Hex-bolt hit Faith in the middle of her chest, knocking her backwards. It also broke the spell, banishing Unity.

"Wow!" Faith smiled as she sank to her knees, "What a rush!" She pulled herself to her feet again, leaning on the Troll Hammer, "Ok, who's up for round two?"

"What the hell was that?" Hawkeye asked, peering out from behind an upturned APC, bow and arrow ready.

"That was Unity, the essence of the Slayer." Faith looked a little unsteady on her feet; "There's a spell that lets you channel it into a Slayer for a short period of time. Very dangerous: it can burn you out completely if you try and keep hold of it for too long."

"What do you want?" Captain America asked as Faith sank back down to her knees again, "Why have you attacked us like this."

"Not my idea." Faith looked almost ready to pass out, "Just doing what B told me."

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"And how are we feeling?" Buffy asked Thor as the two groups met back up again.

"Better." The thunder god nodded, "Who are you?"

"Let's just say we're friends and leave it at that." Xander handed over Mjolnir, "I believe this is yours."

"You have my thanks." Thor seemed to look intensely at Xander for a moment, "How did you get inside here without being spotted?"

"A friend agreed to distract everyone." Buffy looked at her watch, "Talking of which, we'd better go: Faith can't keep it up indefinitely."

TBC

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and review: this is turning out to be a fun story to write. For those of you who'd like a more structured, and quite possibly better, version of this story, checkout JoeHundredaire's version over at Twisting the Hellmouth: I challenged him to do better, and he has.