DISCLAIMER: Guess what I don't own? Go ahead guess.
A/N: Hello, all you wonderful people you! Thanks for reviewing! You made my day! Really! I am just soooooo happy. Hmmm, must be Christmas. I get into the spirit so very much. Anyway, here's chapter sixteen. Sorry 'bout the leaving-hanging-with-Buffy-and-Colossus-in-Hell-thing.
To Caltimere: Hmmm ***puts fingers on chin*** could be. You'll just have to wait to see who I put together ;)
To Prophetess Of Hearts: Lookie! I continued! Happy?
To Holli: Goodie! I like to be different! ***picture me in a crowd of black-suit wearing lawyers with my hot pink blazer singing 'I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves'***
To A Watcher: Tabitha Smith is Boom-Boom (Meltdown). In X-Men: Evo they really don't give her a last name so we all just call her Tabitha Smith. She's crazy… but cool.
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Chapter Sixteen- TakeoverXander left to walk around Bayville a ten o'clock. He knew Buffy had started her battle and it irked him to no end that he couldn't be there to help her. He was her sidekick, after all.
But he did see the logic in Buffy's plan. They didn't know how strong this Jake was. If he was stronger then Buffy could handle then they would need a cavalry. That cavalry should be lead by a Slayer and have powerful people in it, thus Faith and the mutants.
And Xander was no fool. He knew that if he had gone with Buffy he'd probably be more of a nuisance then help. The Slayer wanted to get in, get Kitty and get out. She didn't need one-eye-man slowing her down.
But that didn't make him feel any better.
Xander absently touched his eye-patch and sighed deeply. He hated Caleb for taking his eye. He felt useless now, just someone who hung around the Slayer, trying to cling to his glory days. Buffy had made it clear in the battle with the First that she didn't rely on him to fight the good fight. He asked her to take Dawn away, but thankfully Dawn had forced Xander to go back to Sunnydale. But deep down, he knew Buffy saw him no as a civilian, not a fighter.
Oh, and of course Xander put a brave front up about it. Laughed off his wound, but deep down inside he was crushed. He wanted to be Xander, the old one, again. Throughout his years with the Slayer, he had always felt that he could help. He may not have the super-strength like Buffy and her boyfriends or the magick like Willow or even the knowledge like Giles, but he had always been willing to fight. He had always felt he had been able to fight for Buffy and her cause, but now…
Now he truly was useless. That was why Xander had to leave the apartment. All the people sitting around in the room, Willow, Gambit, Sidney, Pyro and Faith, they all had something to give to Buffy. Powers, information or a fighting spirit. Xander had nothing, not even that fighting spirit. He had lost it.
That he blamed on Anya.
Not that he blamed it on her in a mean way, but when Anya had died he realized just how dangerous life was. He had seen people die before, the worst when he best friend Jesse died the first day he had met Buffy, but he had loved Anya and that had made it different. Maybe his loved had dimmed for her towards the battle with the First, but she had been the first woman he had truly loved and that was something.
As Xander walked aimlessly down the streets of Bayville, which had suddenly darkened quickly, he thought about what would've become of his and Anya's dimming love. They would not have ended up together again, he knew that and Anya knew that. She had even said their breakup was for the best, but he wondered if she would have gone her separate way.
Xander shook his head and suddenly snapped back into reality. Why has the sky gotten so dark? He wondered. Something feeling like panic slithered up his spine and he reached into his waist band. Slowly, he withdrew his stake and made sure he was standing in the protective glow of the lamplight.
He hurried along the street and stopped when he reached the mall. Though some lights within mall were on there seemed to be no one in it. That was weird to Xander since the mall was supposed to be open until midnight today.
"Odd." Xander said moments before a scream broke the air and inside the mall shattered. Without thinking Xander lunged forward, stake gripped tightly in his hand.
He felt a small smile tug at his lips, "Xander's back." he said.
Tabitha Smith, former member of he Brotherhood current member of the New Mutants at the Xavier Institute, had to go to the mall. Thanks to a certain ice-powered boy, who she would not name, almost all her cloths had shattered into tiny ice-crystals and now she needed a new wardrobe.
"Thank God the mall is open until midnight today." Tabitha said out loud as she parked her jeep… er, Lance's jeep really but he didn't know she had it. As she hopped out of the car, she wondered how many stares she would get this time.
Tabitha walked towards the entrance to the mall. She was thankful she was now nineteen and didn't have to deal with the hassle of high school life like the other mutants. The thought of being forced to spend most of the day surrounded by people who hated you for what you were made her shudder.
As she entered the mall, she did a quick check of her hair was thankful to see the strong wind hadn't destroyed the two tiny spiked pigtails low on her head. When she was sure her hair was secure she headed for the cloths store.
And was immediately surprised.
There was no one in the mall! That was very odd since every girl who shopped, and that was the entire female population excluding Jean Gray, had been talking about this sale. It was an overnight sale and no one was here!? Tabitha felt her back stiffen.
Something was not right.
Tabitha sneaked through the mall, making sure she made no noise lest there be a Brotherhood member in the there as she suspected. She moved to the cloths store and entered. She found it as empty as the mall.
"Hello?" Tabitha called into the store. She backed away in shock when a woman rose to face her from behind the casher's desk in the back of the room.
"Hello dear. What can I do you for?" She asked politely with smile.
Tabitha moved carefully closer to the woman and made sure to keep her in eyesight, "Where are all the people that are supposed to be here? It is a midnight sales bash, after all."
"People, darling?" The woman said and gave her a sympathetic look, "What are you talking about? There are no people here."
"I know, but there are supposed to be." Tabitha explained, edging closer, "I want to know why there are no people. There should be people here."
"Maybe they all left." The woman suggested watching Tabitha move closer and closer with her cat eyes. She smirked when Tabitha reached her desk and leaned forward. It pleased her to watch Tabitha's eyes widen at what she saw on the floor.
"Jesus Christ!" Tabitha shouted in horror. One the floor in front of the woman was the real casher and she was dead. Blood dribbled down from twin fang marks on her neck. Her eyes were blank and dead and her skin was deathly pale.
"Guess the people didn't leave." The woman laughed and her face twisted. Screaming, Tabitha pulled away. The woman's face was horrid! The skin was twisted and large, white fangs glowed against her red lips.
"You look like a tasty morsel." the woman said, "I could use some dessert." And with that she lunged at Tabitha.
Automatically, Tabitha used her mutant power. She placed her hands together and formed the bomb in her hand. She threw it at the woman, who caught it. It exploded in her face and Tabitha smirked, thinking she had won.
Then to her utter horror, out from the smoke came the woman. She was smiling, though with her twisted face on it looked like a grimace. Clucking at her, the woman wiggled one figure.
"Now, now, dearie. You can't kill someone who's already dead. Even with the very nice power of yours. Hmm, maybe I'll turn you. Stay young and live forever. Howa bout it, dear?" The woman offered.
Tabitha sent another boom to the woman in an answer. As the woman recovered from it, she turned and ran from the store.
"You can't get away!" The twisted-woman shouted.
Tabitha ignored her and rushed towards the door. She skidded to a halt when she saw in horror that where the door had once been a brick wall had replaced it. What the hell? Tabitha thought as she moved towards it. Just as she went to place hand on the wall, she heard the footsteps against the marble floor.
She wheeled around and saw that the woman was now joined by her twisted-faced buddies. She turned away from the wall and moved towards the stairs.
The twisted-woman, "You've been naughty. Time to teach you a listen. GET HER!" At her order, the other twisted people lunged.
Tabitha screamed as loud as she could, summoned ten power booms in her hands and whipped them at the creatures rushing towards her. As the exploding, the creatures were thrown about. Some into the fountain in the center of the mall and some into windows. As the shattering glass rang in her ears, Tabitha made a break for the stairs to the top level of the mall.
"After her!" The woman shouted and the creatures rose to obey her. As they rushed at Tabitha, they failed to notice the dark haired man enter the mall, walking through the stone wall as if he was Kitty.
Xander Harris looked up and saw a pretty blonde girl running away from vampires and lunged into action. Deciding to head them off, Xander turned and moved to the stairs that would bring him right in front of the vampires.
Tabitha's lungs were on fire as she raced across the top of the mall. She'd never get away. They'd catch her and use her for their freaky rituals.
And just as the twisted-people almost had her, a young man moved in to pull her behind him. He had dark hair and dark eyes. He looked like he was five or six years older then Tabitha. Gripped in his hand was a pointed piece of wood. Tabitha blinked when she saw he wore an eye-patch. But the shock that she now had help dimmed when the man slammed a stake in one of the vampire's chest, turning it into dust.
But Tabitha saw they were outnumbered. Trying to offer a helping hand, she summoned her power bombs and sent the bombs flying. A few feet away from where Tabitha and the man stood, the floor burst into smoke and flames.
The man turned to Tabitha and grinned like a child in a candy store, making her realize that he was actually handsome despite the eye-patch, "That was so cool. Do it again." The man said and Tabitha felt herself smile as she complied.
"Let's blow this Popsicle stand. And that was a pun." With that said, the man took Tabitha's hand and they began to run. As soon as they reached the bottom of the mall, the lights blinked out. Tabitha gave a small screeched and pushed herself against the man. The emergency light flickered on and the mall was cast in an eerie green light.
"Don't worry." The man assured her, though Tabitha felt him tremble a little, "I know how to get to the exit, even in this light. I have a very good sense of direction in the mall, scout's honor."
"We can't get out that way." Tabitha explained, "There's a wall blocking it. I saw it just a few minutes go."
"But there wasn't one when I came…" The man trailed off the then he chuckled, "Duh! I live with a witch. Think that would be obvious."
"What?"
"That's not a real wall. It's an illusion. There's a spell that will make the human eye see something that's not really there. We can run right through it!" The man shouted and took Tabitha's hand once more and began to hurry to the door, "If you've ever seen the Harry Potter movie then you know what I'm talking about."
"If you say so." Tabitha said, allowing herself to be pulled away.
They made it to the door when the vampires caught sit of them. The man didn't give Tabitha time to think. He just moved behind her and shoved her through the brick wall blocking the mall exit. Tabitha closed her eyes and expected her face to be crushed against hard cold stone.
But what she felt was air.
Blinking in surprise, Tabitha turned and looked over at the young man. He was glancing back at the mall. Decided it was best to move, he place a hand on Tabitha's shoulder and they began to walk.
"I'm Xander." The man said after they were a safe distance away.
"Tabitha." She answered and looked back over her shoulder, "Do you… what were… what was… wrong… their faces?"
"I was exactly like that when I first saw them. They're called vampires. Yes, just like the movies. I work with a woman called a Slayer and she fights all these evil people. Like right now, she's fighting a very nasty man." Xander looked away, "And, judging by that thing you did back in the mall, I'd say you were a mutant. X-Men?"
"Yeah."
"Why aren't you in school?" Xander asked and Tabitha shrugged.
"I'm nineteen. I don't have to go to school anymore."
"No collage?"
"No. Collage wasn't for me. I felt like I didn't belong there. I wanted to free, do a trade." Tabitha said and expected Xander to rag on her about being immature.
All Xander did was nod, "I didn't go to collage either. I did carpentry. Sometimes, some people aren't meant for collage." Tabitha smiled.
"Where are we going?" She wondered.
"Back to my place. Since the vamp are in full-out attack mode that means something's happened. Buffy should know about." Xander explained.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer, huh?"
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Yayness! All done. My own writing depresses me. Why am I so mean to the Xander? It's okay Xander! I love you and your eye-patch! ***cuddles Xander*** Isn't he the cutest? How can you not love him? Even with the whole one-eyed thing! So the first member of the X-Men is being recruited and by Xander no less! Go Xander it's yo birthday. ***laughs sheepishly*** okay, I'll stop now. Stay tuned for the next chapter Keys to War where we (unfortunately) won't find out what happens to Buffy and Colossus, but we do find out what's being going on with the backup crew of Team Buffy. So until then REVIEW! Whoot!
"We used to play spin the bottle when I was a kid. A girl would spin the bottle and if it pointed to you when it stopped, the girl could either kiss you or give you a dime. By the time I was 14, I owned my own home."
-Lizzy Rebel