Nexus Nevermore

by RogueFanKC

Set in Red Witch's Misfitverse! The Slayers and the Charmed Ones sense trouble brewing, but can the XMen, Misfits, and Joes manage to protect them from the wrath of the Heartless and the Hellfire Club or will the Nexus be lost in the hands of evil forever

13. It Is Coming

CHAPTER 13: It Is Coming

"Kurt, it's not that bad," Vi tried to console the X-Man as she, Leo, and Caridad sat next to the dejected and desolate Nightcrawler on the couch, patting his shoulders and back in an attempt to cheer the teenager up. Kurt inwardly swore that the next person to tell him those exact words, no matter who it was, was going to get a punch to the face. After Jamie blabbed it all throughout the mansion (and Kurt made a mental note to kill Multiple when the adolescent slept), it never seemed to end as Misfit after X-Man after Joe to even Wood and Giles and the Charmed Ones offering their condolences about Kurt being quarter-demon and trying to vainly cheer him up.

However, like Willow's attempts when she first accidentally let it slip, all the attention actually made him feel worse.

"You know, it's not uncommon for demons to fight for the side of good. Remember what Giles and Wood told you, Kurt: it's not who you are that defines you, but it's the decisions that you make that determine you path in life. Of course, Phoebe said the same thing about Balthezor when he was Cole, and he still ended up betraying us regardless how hard he tried to make the right choice…" Leo said before realizing he was trailing off towards the last thing the mutant boy wanted to hear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kurt screamed again, this time burying his face into a pillow to muffle the volume and intensity of the yelling. Caridad made a groan of annoyed and irritated exasperation as she punched Leo on the arm, causing him to yelp and rub it hurriedly (getting a punch from a Slayer was not something to be trifled with).

"Nice going, Leo. Why not just call the local church in her Bayville and order an exorcism while letting Pat Robinson know that one of the X-Men was sired by a Demon Lord? I'm pretty sure it'll be less stupid," she snapped rather waspishly.

"Not to worry, we've got just the thing to get good ol' Nightcrawler!" Xander declared as he, Ray, Andrew, and Xi popped up and rushed to him with gleeful grins on their faces, "Just leave it to us super-geeks and nerd-extraordinaires!"

"C'mon, Kurt, ol' buddy!" Andrew grinned as Ray and Xander took the elf-like X-Man by the arms, "Nothing in the world can help you more to get over the fact that you're part demon that a good session of Dungeons and Dragons! And this one will be an extra-long one, just for you! And you can be Dungeon Master this time!"

Kurt grumbled sarcastically as he was led away, "Oh sure, Dungeons and Dragons solves everything! Are you bored? Play Dungeons and Dragons. Your girlfriend's parents hate you? Play Dungeons and Dragons. Got a failing grade on a major test? Play Dungeons and Dragons. Got rejected for the school dance? Play Dungeons and Dragons. Been told you have a terminal illness? Play Dungeons and Dragons. The end of the world is approaching? Play Dungeons and Dragons. Found out that you came from a family of ancient demons that have tried to take over the world and that your family tree now includes Pietro, Mystique, Magneto, and a Demon Lord? Play friggin' Dungeons and Dragons! Oh dear Father in Heaven, why doesn't someone just carve the word 'loser' on my forehead while we're at it? And don't even try it Xi!"

"Then why did you even ask then, Kurt?" Xi grumbled as he sheathed his knife back into the holder strapped around his waist, disappointed that he wouldn't get the chance to use it. Suddenly, Xi saw Rina approach him from the side, smiling. Xi actually stopped in his tracks before Ray called out to him.

"Hey, Xi, hurry up! Xander and Andrew already have the costumes ready!" Ray called out.

"I am not wearing that stupid hat! I want to keep some shred of my dignity left!" Kurt could be heard protesting from the kitchen.

"But it's an unwritten rule! Every Dungeon Master has to wear the hat, and we haven't even gotten to the beard, robe, and Staff of Venger you're supposed to raise up and down each time we roll the dice!" Xander was heard arguing back.

"I'll be there in a minute, Ray! So what's wrong, Rina? Why are you so happy?" Xi asked when he turned his attention back to his friend. Rina grabbed Xi's hands before pulling him towards the garage of the Institute.

"I want to show you Wolverine's new bike! Razor and Forge amplified it to have hidden laser cannons and secret compartments for weapons and gadgets for evasive tricks!" Rina said excitedly, "I thought you might want to see it because I know how much you love weapons! C'mon! There's no one in the garage at this time, so we'll have it all to ourselves!"

"Uh…why do you wish for that, Rina?" Xi asked in a rather befuddled way as he was dragged off. Rina just gave the green lizard a secretive and obvious smile as they ran for the garage.

Caridad and Vi watched this from the couch, silent for a while before Vi remarked, deadpanned, "Xi cannot possibly be this naïve."

"Give him some grace and credit," Caridad snickered, "After all, Althea told me Xi was raised in a lab as a genetic experiment, taught and conditioned to be an assassin, and is asexual, so unlike most of the guys here, his brain isn't dominated by any hormones."

Suddenly, their talk was cut off by two shrill screams of horror from Rona and Sam from the laundry room at the west wing of the first floor of the mansion before Caridad and Vi saw Rona and Sam half-sobbing and half-babbling in complete, terror-stricken gibberish, white in the face and acting as if they saw a ghost. Dana was walking behind them with a look of exasperation and disbelief, his arms crossed over her chest and looking at the X-Man and Slayer with commiseration.

"Honestly, will you two just get over it? It's not like we haven't seen worse!" Dana griped, already annoyed at the melodrama.

"Oh God, the image is burned in my brain! That is absolutely the sickest thing I could have ever seen! And I have to work with them! I'll never see them the same way ever again!" Rona hollered, clutching her temples, her eye twitching.

"Unclean! Unclean! Our washer and dryer are soiled! Oh my God, we're gonna need to disinfect the whole room after we scrub our eyes out with steel wool!" Sam wailed miserably, rubbing his eyes furiously as if trying to claw them out. Vi looked at Dana with a bothered glance.

"Dare I ask?" the redhead queried.

"Faith and Wood, doing the biological-tango, in the X-Men's laundry room, actually on top of the washing machine. And I have to say this about Wood: he really doesn't care about hard surfaces being bad for your back," Dana explained as Rona and Sam both let out a simultaneous squeal implying that the two of them would probably need a lot of therapy after witnessing this.

"You're taking it rather well, Dana," Leo remarked with a raised eyebrow at the casual tone in the Slayer's voice as if it was the most natural and commonplace thing to see every day.

The scarred, brown-haired Slayer just shrugged noncommittally, saying, "Meh, I've seen and dealt with worse. Besides, it kinda makes me happy to know that there are screwed up people more disturbing and psychotic and spontaneous than I'll ever be."

"Gee and to think that Giles was wondering if we would be having trouble adapting to the insanity the X-Men and Misfits bring with them," Vi giggled as Rona then began pounding her head against the wall, trying to see the hard way if she could induce self-inflicted, selective amnesia.

While this was happening, Jubilee was contemplating about the various things and how her life had dramatically changed within these past few weeks while sitting and staring aimlessly in her room she would currently be sharing with Rina. There was a knock on the door, and the Chinese mutant looked up to see a worried yet caring Bobby, for once acting completely serious which was a drastic change from his usual goofy and playful personality.

"Hey Jubilee," Bobby said with some worry, "You all right? Hanging in there?"

Jubilee smiled; it felt good to see her friend again.

"I guess so," Jubilee said, "I mean, I may have lost my parents, but in a strange way, it feels really good to be back here again, among you guys. I…I missed all of you, very much so. And it feels sort of weird, to now have Wolverine as my official guardian and Rina as my sister…but I know I'm safe and I can trust them. X23, I need to establish a relationship and build a new bond with her since we'll be sharing the same parent, and though it won't be easy, Logan gave both me and Rina a long talk, and we agreed to give it a chance and let things happen naturally. And if anything, Rina said that she doesn't resent Logan adopting me since she knows what it's like to not have a parent, and she wouldn't wish that pain and loneliness on anyone. So, I'm doing as well as can be expected, really."

"That's good," Bobby said as he sat on the bed next to Jubilee, "We were all worried for you, and we're just glad everything got settled more or less. And hey, we're here for you too, Jubilee, especially me."

Jubilee's eyes crinkled with touched emotion before she decided to tell Bobby her decision, letting him down gently after what a lot of the X-Men and Misfits had told her about bobby's concern for her during this entire ordeal.

"Bobby," Jubilee began as she gently took Iceman's hand in hers, "I…I think you're a really sweet guy, and despite all the pranks and annoying things you do to all of us, all for some laughs, you really are a good and reliable friend who's deeper and more kindhearted than a lot of us ever know about. I'm really touched at that you're so empathetic and anxious about my sake, but right now, I need a family and not a boyfriend. I don't blame you for wanting to be there to comfort me and be my rock during this, but I'm not ready to look for a boyfriend and continue the crush you had on me while I was at the Institute before I left after the Sentinel incident."

Bobby then had the greatest expression of confusion, shock, and puzzlement on his face as he had absolutely no idea what Jubilee was talking about. Amid the what-the-heck manifestation, Bobby could only dumbly utter, "HUH?"

Jubilee explained, "Lina and some of the girls explained to me how you went out of your mind with worry after I ran away from you guys after trying to kill Phoebe Halliwell, and how you kept trying to accuse the Charmed Ones of murdering my parents and how you even had the guts to argue against Batman to defend my honor. Kitty and Amara especially told me how you wanted to chase and scour the entire city after me because you were worried that I'd get hurt and killed. Bobby, you don't need to hide the truth from me. I know you still have feelings for me, and that you were so worried because you still had a crush on me."

"HUH?" Bobby uttered again, his face frozen and his jaw dropping. This was completely not what he was feeling! Granted, Jubilee was right that he had a crush on her during the early days of the New Mutants over at the Institute, and he still kept in touch with Jubilee for a while via e-mail and letters when she left the mansion. But ever since his parents disowned him and when Lina stepped into the picture, Bobby was only upset and bothered on Jubilee's half because she was a friend. Now that he had feelings for Dragonfly, he didn't even consider Jubilee in a relationship-sense.

Jubilee was completely misinterpreting Bobby's feelings the wrong way.

Jubilee laid a hand on Bobby's face tenderly as she finished, "Look, you deserve a girl who doesn't have the issues I'm going through right now, and I'm still grieving over my parents and adjusting to my new life back at the Institute, so please, just listen: I still love you like a brother and I think you're one of the best friends I could ever ask for during this, and I want our friendship to continue that way. But…I don't want to see you as a boyfriend, and I doubt I'd ever will. I just need to sort out my life, and that has priority right now, and Bobby, I'll always treasure our friendship and how we're teammates. But I don't want to continue what we had in the past because I'm over that now. I'm sorry if you're feeling hurt right now - "

"I'm not hurt! Jubes, you're making a mistake! I don't have a crush on you anymore!" Bobby protested. Jubilee just smiled, wiping her eyes; Bobby was trying to make her feel better by pretending it didn't bother him, just so that he can ease her guilt. He was so gallant and thoughtful.

"Thanks, Bobby, for trying to pretend, but it's OK. I don't blame you if you feel hurt about it, and if you need some time after this, I really understand. But if anything, I'm glad we're still friends, right?"

"Of course we're still friends, Jubilee, but you're totally missing the - !" Bobby began, but Jubilee shushed him by kissing him chastely on the cheek.

"Thanks, Bobby, and you don't have to pretend and hide your feelings. You really do deserve a girl out there, and I know you'll make her very happy," and with that, Jubilee left to the living room to say good-bye to the Slayers before they left the Institute. Bobby just stood there, flabbergasted, his jaw dropping up and down like a goldfish, wondering how the conversation went completely the wrong way, the furthest from the truth.

What the hell just happened?

"Jubilee, wait! You've got it all wrong!" Bobby yelled as she rushed outside her room, but he collided into the muscular and broad chest of Wolverine as he just stepped in his path, his face stern but Bobby was also shocked to see a small smile on the grizzled X-Man's face.

"Hold it Ice-Cube, I know you're worried about her, but she already made her point, and you already told her that you are still friends with her, so just leave it at that," Logan said.

"But – but – but she's got it all wrong!" Bobby tried to explain.

Logan pretended to be sympathetic, albeit in a mocking and dry manner, as he patted Bobby on the shoulder, commiserating, "Ah, look on the bright side, Ice-Cube. Better the Firecracker breaks up with you now than having to date her with me as her official guardian. Trust me, if you thought I'm gonna kill that lizard, Xi, for trying to get friendly with Rina, imagine how many vital body parts you'd lose had you and Jubilee continued to become more than friends. Best for your sake and for hers if you two break up now."

"We did not break up, Mr. Logan!" Bobby protested heatedly.

Logan just smirked, not buying the defensive protest as he walked away, chuckling, "That's just the denial talking, Ice-Cube."

"But we didn't!" gasped Bobby, only to see that Logan wasn't listening any more as he walked towards the garage to try out his new motorcycle implementations that Forge and Razor had designed for him. Bobby groaned and cradled his head in his hands. How else could this possibly get worse?

"Bobby, are you all right?" Ororo asked as she stepped up from behind and laid a gentle hand on the student's shoulder, startling him from his weariness, "Child, I have just heard the news, and I wanted to let you know that if you need anything, you are free to talk to Charles or me for some consoling and a sympathetic ear. And Bobby, do cheer up: breaking up with Jubilee is not the end of the world."

Bobby's eyes widened as he garbled, "But – what – but – we didn't – how – who - ?"

Ororo smiled as she explained, "Jamie was eavesdropping and is now telling everyone he can about Jubilee breaking up with you and trying to let you down gently because she needs to sort out her life. By now, I daresay even some of the Slayers will know of this."

Bobby's eye twitched as his teeth clenched painfully on one side of his jaw.

"Oh really?" Bobby hissed murderously before he did an about-face and starting marching to his bedroom, "Excuse me a minute, Storm. I need to go get my glovatrix for some target practice…"

Meanwhile, Willow, Professor Xavier, and Kennedy were witnessing an interesting turn of events between Hank McCoy and Rupert Giles…

"Bloody yank!" Giles roared, swinging an umbrella he managed to steal from the hallway pegboard.

"Stubborn old goose!" Hank growled as he deftly caught the umbrella before neatly sidestepping and tripping Giles with his foot.

"Uncouth, hackneyed ruffian!" Giles snapped as he quickly got to his feet before delivering a back push-kick into Beast's stomach, surprisingly knocking the wind out of Hank. Despite his librarian appearance, the Watcher was actually quite strong for his age.

"Ungrateful, narrow-minded jerkwad!" Beast growled before he grabbed Giles into a fierce bear-hug, pinning the Watcher's arms to his side. Giles considered using his knee into Beast's sensitive area, but decided against it and chose the option to ram his head into Hank's forehead directly, causing the both of them to see stars.

"Say it! Take it back, you philistine!" Giles threatened as grabbed Hank in a headlock and suckered punched the blue-furred X-Man in the stomach.

"Never! Whitman is infinitely better than anything you stuffy Brits could come up with!" Beast snarled as he managed to judo-throw Giles off him before he tackled the Watcher out of the view of the doorway in a fabulous tackle that only professional football players could attempt. There were several more crashes and rounds of cursing that really shouldn't be put into writing.

"Dare I ask?" Professor X groaned as he turned to Kennedy and Willow, "Or do I need to use my telepathy to stop them from killing each other?"

"Beast and Giles kinda got into a debate over Shakespeare and Walt Whitman, arguing which had a better sense of prose and verse and artistic imagery in poetry. Needless to say, it kinda got a little ugly," Willow said with a wince.

There was a loud crash from the hallway before Chao-Ahn and Shannon's heads popped up from the doorway and addressed Charles Xavier, a bit sheepish.

"Uh…Professor Xavier?" Chao-Ahn asked delicately, using the translator Forge made for her, "By any chance, was that chandelier in the main foyer expensive?"

There was a falsetto scream of pain from Hank, and Shannon and Chao-Ahn looked back behind them at the scene. Shannon winced.

"Ouch, poor Mr. McCoy. Giles used his knee that time," Shannon remarked.

"BOW YOUR HEAD, YOU INSOLENT PUP!" roared Hank, managing to forget his crippling agony.

"NEVER, YOU SCANDALOUS KNAVE!" Giles bellowed as the crashes and sounds of things breaking only intensified.

Then Willow and Kennedy heard a scream of terror from the garage section of the X-Mansion before they saw the Misfit, Xi, darting past the window.

"Help!" screamed a very frantic and terrified Xi as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him while a seething Wolverine (who was actually frothing in one corner of his mouth) chased after him, with his claws drawn and ready for evisceration while Rina was chasing after Logan, screaming in annoyance.

"Come back here, ya' mangy lizard!" Logan roared, his eyes glowing red, "Kiss my daughter, will you? Well, in return, you can start kissing all your vital organs good-bye!"

"Dad, if you hurt Xi, I'll never speak to you, again!" X23 hollered with ire.

"It's a small price I'm willing to pay, Rina!" Logan decided instantly as he continued chasing the lizard Misfit who was still screaming bloody murder.

"It was not his fault! I'm the one who asked him to come with me! I was the one who wanted him to kiss me!" Rina yelled furiously.

"Any chance we can still join in on the pool between Rina, Xi, and Wolverine?" Kennedy asked Pietro. The speedster grinned as he took out a notepad and a pencil.

"So far, the options are: Wolverine will back out and let Xi and Rina get together, Wolverine will die of a brain aneurism or a heart attack when Rina and Xi do get together, or Wolverine will need to be tried for homicide when he kills Xi before he and Rina can get anything serious," Pietro cackled.

"Put me fifty for the homicide, Quicksilver," Kennedy grinned as she handed the albino Misfit a few bills, "This'll be the easiest bet I'll ever win."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic, Kennedy," Willow scolded gently, "Wolverine may be a bit temperamental, but deep down, he's got a heart of gold, and I'm sure he'll be gracious enough to see Xi and Rina's relationship for what it is and will accept it with loving arms."

Pietro and Kennedy shared a look of doubtful disbelief.

"Hopeless romantic?" Quicksilver asked, deadpanned.

"Oh yeah," Kennedy sighed, rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, Althea and Todd were actually, out of all places to have a private moment over at the Institute for the Gifted, on the roof of the mansion, enjoying the sunset casting rosy peach and orange tones of soft and warm colors throughout the sky. Considering the amount of yelling and fighting and things breaking (and a good portion of it not caused by Trinity, surprisingly), Todd wanted to just spend some time with Althea just to talk, especially after a harrowing battle with the Heartless and magical evil creatures. And additionally, he had an alternative reason why he wanted to speak to Althea alone and without prying eyes…

"Beautiful, ain't it, Al?" Toad murmured, for once realizing the spectacular view as he and Althea sat among the wooden tiles of the roof, with Toad positioned behind the Misfit leader and his arms wrapped around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Yeah," Althea sighed before she turned to Toad and added, "So what did you want to ask me that was so important?"

"How'd you know?" Toad asked, dumbfounded that his girlfriend could figure it out so quickly. The raven-haired hydrokinetic smiled as she playfully squeezed Todd's nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"Please, discrete and imperceptible planning isn't your strong point, Toddles," Althea chuckled, "If you're willing to pass up annoying the X-Men or scoring free food from the kitchen and want to find a secluded place where a lot of the others won't really bother us just to talk and enjoy the sunset, and this coming from a person who is the classic example of an attention deficit disorder, then it's obvious you want to tell me something."

"Well, I've been doing some thinking, Al, and how life's so short and all, especially after that last battle…" Toad started before he took something out of his pocket. Althea gasped as the object was held in full view. It was a black jewelry box, it's edged rimmed with gold, and Althea felt her heart stop as she saw the box open right before her eyes.

"Oh…Toddles," Althea gasped, her eyes starting to prick from the surprise as she looked inside. It was a simple one-carat round diamond ring, in a simple setting and the diamond was surrounded by six dark-blue sapphire chips, so small, they were like little slivers of the ocean caressing a pearl. The gold band was shiny and standard, but Althea could discern engraved words on the inside displaying, Althea and Todd.

Todd then got down on one knee and firmly held Althea's free hand before he asked nervously, his heart so painful and apprehensive that it was a wonder that he didn't die from organ failure right then and there on the roof. Toad asked, "Al…would…would you marry me?"

"Oh…yes! Yes, I will! Yes, I will marry – wait, did you steal this?" Althea asked, breaking off her dreamy reverie, and to her relief, Toad smiled as he shook his head.

"Nope, bought it with my savings!" he proudly boasted. Althea raised an eyebrow.

"Toddles, your life savings consist of twelve dollars, seventy-three cents, four used bandages, six batteries, some dead flies, and a shiny rock," Althea pointed out, deadpanned. Toad continued to smile, although he scratched his head.

"I actually spent it all and had Cover Girl use her connections to get the ring with my money," Toad confessed, "I dunno how she did it, but she said something on how Malerie Surprise wouldn't miss it considering she's more worried on how her beach-house suddenly caught on fire along with her private yacht…"

"I think I'm better off knowing because then I can plead ignorance when Hawk asks if I knew anything about Malerie's sudden misfortune," Althea groaned but then she turned her gaze to the frog-like teenager in front of her before she asked softly, "But…why now? I mean, we're already engaged to be engaged and going steady, so what's the rush? We're both eighteen already."

Toad then said, "Because after the last battle and how General Hawk says the battle to come might be bad, yo, I want to do this now so that…well, we can have some happiness before it's too late, Al. I don't want to die without doing this because I want to enjoy it with ya, pork-chop. I want to do this before it's too late, and…well, cause I want to! Is it…is it okay, Al?"

Althea had tears in her eyes before she felt her heart swell so much with joy and touched hope that she felt like flying on the proverbial cloud Nine as she carefully took the ring from the box and placed it on her ring finger on her left hand. It fit perfectly, as if it was made for her.

"Nah, this is perfect. You're perfect, Todd. And yes, I'll marry you," Althea said, her voice hoarse as she gave Toad a long and fulfilling kiss, his hands cupping her face and her arms wrapped gently around his neck, and together, under the light of the beautiful sunset, the two Misfits forgot their troubles. They didn't think about the Gathering to come. They didn't think how their lives could be cut short by terrorist attacks from Cobra, Magneto, or even the Friends of Humanity. They didn't even think about how much harder life could be for them in the near future, if there was a future at all.

For one blissful moment, all Toad and Wavedancer could do was think of how perfect and wonderful this one point in their lives was, and it couldn't have been more heavenly and romantic for the both of them…

KABOOM!

"Jamie, come back here and die!" yelled Bobby as he chased Multiple, shooting missiles with his glovatrix.

"I got you now, you little horny lizard! Your head's gonna be mine now, Xi, once I get my hands and claws on you!" Logan was heard screaming as he tried to climb after Xi up the trunk of one of the trees planted at the school, and Xi was trying to his best to evade the furious attempts by Wolverine to grab him by the ankle and drag him out before killing him.

"Dad, this has gone far enough! Stop trying to murder him!" Rina yelled as she tackled Logan from behind.

"HAVE A KNUCKLE-SANDWICH, FOUR-EYES!" Beast was heard yelling.

"BITE ME, LARPER!" Giles responded back, his bellows echoing throughout the Institute grounds as their brawl continued.

…even with the typical chaos and explosions besieging the X-Mansion.

---

"Oh wow, can you like believe it? Althea and Toad are going to get married! That is like so totally cool!" Kitty marveled to Tabitha, Rogue, Amara, and Jean while all the teenage X-Men, Logan, Jake, and Ororo (the rest of the adults were in a meeting with the Misfit handlers in the Professor's office and the Misfits were told to wait outside since this was a private matter for the X-Men) were gathered along with the Charmed Ones in the living room. Thanks to the announcement from both Wavedancer and Toad, everyone learned of the sudden engagement between the two mutant teenagers, and both Althea and Todd got nothing but well-wishes and congratulations from the Slayers, the X-Men, the Misfits, the Halliwells, and the Joes. Rogue and Jean then gave a unified, bitter and impatient glare at Remy and Scott (the both of whom were no fools and were doing their best to not meet their girlfriends' angry gazes).

"You'd think they'd get the hint one of these days," Jean grumbled.

"It's times like these when I even wonder why I have to put up with the swamp-rat," grumbled Rogue, collaborating with the redheaded telekinetic in a rare moment of agreement, "I mean, Toad of all yahoo's willin' ta' make a commitment to Althea, so you'd think that the Cajun would be just as willing!"

"Men are scum," grumbled Jean, "Always taking us for granted."

"They're complete pigs," grumbled Rogue in complete agreement.

"Something tells me that we're going to be hearing this for a long while, Remy," Scott groaned as he winced at the future ranting and raving to come.

"Remy think we'd better start making plans to see if the dog-house will take in the both of us for the next three months," Gambit whimpered, wondering if it was possible to survive the next year or so without having Rogue throwing one of her dangerous and infamous temper-tantrums. Meanwhile, Jamie and Tabitha were asking Paige, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell some questions to satisfy their curiosity.

"Why aren't you guys with the other Slayers and the Watchers?" Tabitha asked.

"Because we needed to do this for Jubilee and one other person first. Leo is already with Wyatt and Chris along with the other Slayers and Watchers over at the Pit where we'll up with them after this before General Hawk uses the Mass Device to teleport us to the Slayer Academy in London where we'll live with the others from now on for our safety," Paige answered.

"What exactly are you doing?" Jamie asked, crinkling his eyes at the Book of Shadows that was laid out in front of the three Wiccans, but Phoebe and Paige smiled mysteriously at the mutant adolescent while Piper just grumbled under her breath.

"You'll find out right now, Jamie," Phoebe said softly before she called out loudly, bringing the side chatter to a standstill as she called out, "Jubilee, can you come here for a moment? We want to give you something?"

It was apparent that the Chinese girl was very scared as she slowly approached in front of the three white-witches, but Phoebe knew what Jubilee was thinking and she shook her head, saying gently, "It's nothing to be afraid of Jubilee. Like I said, we've forgiven you for what had happened in San Francisco, and this is something that will help you, especially since…well, you're still hurting and we want to help out in whatever way we can."

"You…you're not going to curse me?" Jubilee asked, and as much as Wolverine wanted to jump out and threaten the Charmed Ones right then and there, he knew that he should keep his mouth shut, especially since they deserved the benefit of the doubt and he didn't like the way Piper was glaring at him.

"No, sweetie, but just stand right here. We are going to use a spell, but I think you'll truly be grateful for this, but you better prepare yourself, Jubilee. We can only do this once, and you only have five minutes to talk with them, all right? Don't be afraid, Jubilee. I give you my word that this is a gift from all of us," Phoebe said soothingly.

"What are they talking about? Who do they want Jubilee to talk to?" Ray asked no one in particular but then the Wiccans began chanting.

"Hear these words, hear my cry. Spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide," they chanted softly and as one.

And with a sparkling of white, angelic stars and flashes, gentle and soothing, with a soft noise, Jubilee saw the cloud disappear to reveal the transparent forms of Mr. and Mrs. Lee, the spirits of her father and mother.

"Goddess," whispered Ororo, looking at the two apparitions.

"Oh my God," Rogue gasped, her face going pale and her hands flying to her mouth. And the other X-Men were following suit as well with great surprise and truly taken aback, at a loss for words. Most of the teenagers had the typical wide eyes and dropped jaws while Logan felt the cigar stub he was chewing drop completely from his frozen mouth.

Jubilee nearly fainted with grief and shock right then and there, and she could only gasp as he covered her mouth with both hands. It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly…!

"Is…is this an illusion?" uttered Sam dumbly.

Paige shook her head as she explained, "They're the real spirits of Jubilee's parents. We summoned their spirits for one last chance to talk with Jubilee, but it's only temporary, so make it count."

The Chinese X-Girl was now shaking visibly, whimpering and with tears welling in her eyes before she managed to croak with hesitation, "M-…Mom? Dad? Is…is it…?"

Mr. Lee, his eyes twinkling behind his thick glasses and his moustache curving upwards in a small smile, just held out his hands in a welcome embrace.

"We missed you, my little piglet," Mr. Lee said, saying the pet name of his daughter in Chinese, the one nickname only he, Mrs. Lee, and Jubilee knew of as a token of affection (thus, it was no illusion), and Jubilee started crying again with joy as she rushed towards her mother and father…only to pass right through them.

"What?" Jubilee gasped before she turned a questioning look at the Charmed Ones, and Piper ruefully and curtly explained to the mutant girl.

"We can't raise the dead, Jubilee. We are not allowed to tamper with the rules of life and death and we are not powerful enough to do so, but you can still talk to them even though you can't touch them. And you have four minutes left, so hurry up and say what you wanted to say."

"Oh Mom, Dad! I…I miss you so much!" Jubilee sobbed, wiping her nose and eyes as she turned to the two spirits. Mrs. Lee also had tears brimming in her eyes as she laid a ghostly hand on Jubilee's head.

"We missed you too. I'm just glad you are safe and all right, Jubilation," the Asian woman said in a loving voice, warm and affectionate, "We…can you forgive us for leaving you, even though we had no choice? I know it was hard for you, but if anything, Jubilee, we would have preferred to die in your place rather than lose you and have ourselves live with the survivor's guilt."

Jubilee nodded, her lip quivering, before she sniffed and choked, "I…I just miss you both so much. I just wish you didn't die. I just…I just wish you were still with me right now!"

"Unfortunately, it can't happen, so listen to what we have to say, Jubilation," her father said strongly, making eye contact with his daughter in order to establish his point, "Please, this is important. One, we don't want you to blame yourself for what happened. Our deaths were of no fault of yours, and if anything, you would make both me and your mother greatly distressed if you wallow in self-pity. We want to live as you would normally, without us. Do that for us, please."

Jubilee nodded.

"Second," Mrs. Lee spoke this time, "We want you to contact your uncle, and let him know that you're ready to take out the money we set up for you in a trust fund in which you are allowed to open and withdraw money from under the condition that we have died and your official guardian has signed the papers since you are underage. Jubilee, should you ever wish to leave the Institute, use the money for college, all right honey? Talk to uncle about the college trust fund; he'll know what we're talking about."

Jubilee sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"And third, we are proud of you, regardless of the mistakes you've made," her father said with warmth and supportive encouragement, "You have found friends and fought against a great evil to avenge the family honor. You now have a home again and have found a surrogate family who we know will love and support you and be there if you need help. You chose to stay beside your friends instead of running away and you continue to chose to be an X-Man, to help other people. Your mother and I cannot ask for anything more than that. If anything, as long as you can live and be safe, we are more than satisfied despite the fact that we are not physically here with you."

"But we are with you in spirit, Jubilee," her mother whispered, "Never forget that, all right, my daughter? Even though you cannot see or hear us, we can watch you and we will be watching you. You will not be alone, and now that we're in this place…we can see and watch you safely and be with you wherever you are. And if you do anything we don't like, we'll just ground you for the next fifty years once you cross over to this side."

"Mom!" Jubilee protested, smiling and shakily laughing.

"Ah, there's the smile I've always loved in my little piglet," Mr. Lee chuckled, "Remember: we want you to live. Live for us, Jubilee, and as long as you are happy, we could not ask for more than that."

"You have one minute left, Mr. and Mrs. Lee," Paige said softly, looking at her watch, her eyes streaming.

The two Chinese parents then turned to the other X-Men.

"You will watch after her, right? Are we correct that she will be safe here, even though Sentinels and your enemies may strike?" Mrs. Lee asked.

"We promise," Tabitha said strongly, standing up, "If any creep tries to get her, he's gonna have to get past us first and not without forfeiting a few teeth first."

"She is my sister now," Rina added as she stood up alongside Tabitha with fierce devotion and promise, "I have never had a sister before in my life…and I will not lose one after gaining one so soon."

Mr. Lee studied Wolverine for several minutes before he said at last, "You are a good man, Logan. I will not say anything for I know you already can tell what needs to be said. She trusts you…and as much as I am reluctant to admit it, my daughter has made the right choice. And I am glad because I agree with her. Thank you for adopting her, Logan."

Logan nodded, smiling.

"And Piper?" Mrs. Lee requested softly at the Wiccan, "Please, promise you that you won't bear any more ill feelings for our daughter for her past mistakes. I know you have a right to be angry, but she was misled and used. She is not at fault."

Piper frowned and hesitated as she said with resentment, "I cannot promise anything regarding my feelings, Mrs. Lee…but when it comes down to it, should Jubilee be in any danger, I will protect her with my fullest ability and magic. And I do mean that, I really do."

Mr. and Mrs. Lee nodded, accepting, before they tuned back to their daughter and kissed her on the forehead and cheek before whispering, "We love you…"

And with that, they disappeared, vanishing into a cloud of dust and angelic light.

Piotr had tears in his eyes (along with some of the other X-Men who were sniffing and blinking furiously at the touching scene) as he turned to the Charmed Ones and said, "That was…really noble of you Halliwells, to do that for Jubilee. I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you for doing that for her. I don't think you know how much it means to Jubilee to have this gift."

Phoebe nodded, feeling touched as she said, "I think we have an idea…"

"Are you all right, child?" Ororo asked gently, her eyes misty, but to her surprise, Jubilee was wiping her eyes and smiling.

"I'm actually feeling better, Storm," Jubilee sniffed, "After all, how many people get a chance to say good-bye to their parents like this after they've been killed? It…it still hurts, but…but I really do feel better. I…I feel I can move on now."

"That…was so cool," whispered Kurt, his voice hoarse.

"And we still have one more to go," Piper said as she and her sisters joined hands before turning to Razor, "Jake, prepare yourself for a shock."

"Huh?" the kat gasped, surprised, "Hey, wait a minute! I didn't deserve this gift - !"

But like clockwork, the sisters then chanted a modified version of the previous spell…

"Hear these words, hear my cry. Spirit from the other side. A SWAT Kat we seek, from dimensions unique. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide," they chanted softly and as one.

"No way!" Forge gasped as he and several of the other students guessed who the Charmed Ones were summoning.

With a sparkly and flurry of sparkling, celestial auras, the cloud of magic disintegrated away again to reveal…a translucent spirit of Chance Furlong, Jake's best friend and the deceased SWAT Kat named T-Bone from the harsh siege in Megakat City.

Jake's eyes went wide before his entire body trembled, his breath caught in his throat. No…it couldn't be? It had to be too good to be true.

In the meantime, the other teenagers recognized the stranger cat instantly from their repeated viewings of the SWAT Kats cartoons. Granted, he was a little different from the TV show, but that tawny stripped fur, this playful and devil-may-care expression on his face, the strapping physique, and those rough blue eyes…there was no mistake.

"Oh my God!" Tabitha gasped, babbling, "Oh my God! It's Chance, it's really Chance! Chance Furlong!"

"Mon dieu!" Remy exclaimed.

"Chance?" Jake shakily asked, his arms limp at his sides.

"Hey, Jake, ol' buddy," Chance said, his voice the same deep tone he always used, his eyes twinkling and exuberant with boundless energy, but his face fell when Jake stared at the floor, speechless and making no move to greet his dead best friend.

"Jake!" protested Kitty, "Like, what are you waiting for?"

"You shouldn't be here," whispered Jake, his body shaking and his voice strangled, "You hate me…you hate me after what happened…"

"Oh fur and paw and all the tails in Megakat City put together!" growled Chance, losing his patience as the spirit marched up to Jake and roared loudly into the brown-furred kat's face.

"OK Jake, listen here cause I'm not going to be around to kick your furry tail when ya' need it!" the tomcat bellowed, "Get this into your brain! I don't blame you for what happened! I don't hate you! I never have and I never will, especially not to my best buddy! And if you keep going on about this, I'll…heck, I'll ask Wolverine to kick your tail good!"

Logan smirked; having spirits requesting him to beat up the hairball was certainly a new one.

Chance's voice softened but it still had frustration and tough love lacing the words as he spoke, "Jake, I knew what the risks were when I took on Dark Crud, and I knew that the job and life of bein' a SWAT Kat had risks and dangers! But it's something we both agreed to do, even with the risks! We wanted to protect Megakat City, and we did, just the two of us, and we did what we've always dreamed about! If anything, I'm glad I died because then it meant that you could survive, and I wouldn't have to live with the guilt!"

Jake remained silent but he looked up sharply, taken aback, and Chance used this moment of clarity to get through to him.

"Damn it, Jake," Chance said, his voice hoarse, "Don't beat yourself up over my dying cause I'm not sure how I can move on if you keep having dark thoughts of suicide and think that you're alone and that you're the cause of my death! Jake, I don't want you to feel that. I want you to realize that it's not your fault. It's not you fault. And I'm okay with you moving on because I want you to live and grow old with these kids, heck, maybe find love. But it's OK to do that when I'm not here. Jake, damn it all, I want you to know that I don't blame you and that I want you to live. Even though you're now the only SWAT Kat…that doesn't mean I want you to stop being a hero. Hell, I can see why you love these kittens so much. Always said you'd be a great big brother figure had you never joined the Enforcers."

Jake's eyes were streaming, and Chance used a single clawed finger in an attempt to try to wipe his friend's eyes, only to find it useless since he was a ghost.

"Jake, I'll always be your best bud, your brother, and me dying ain't gonna change that, okay? Remember, if you want me to be glad that you're here in this dimension with the X-Men, then I want you to stop blaming yourself and continue doing what you were meant to do: to be a hero and be a mentor to these kids, OK? Do it for me."

"You have one minute left…" Paige said, her voice hoarse. God, she was going to never stop crying today at this rate.

"Enough time for me to say a few things then to Jake's new family, Miss Halliwell," Chance said sadly, but with some joy at knowing Jake was going to be in good hands and have a fulfilling life for the rest of his days.

"Hey kittens, so you tykes are the infamous and legendary X-Men I've been hearing so much about," Chance chuckled.

"It's…it's an honor to meet you, sir," Jamie piped up, and Chance chuckled as he laid a ghostly hand on Jamie's hair in a futile attempt to ruffle it.

"Ah, you're good kids. A bit insane and God knows how much Jake's gonna need alcohol and patience dealing with you terrors, but you're all good. Wish I could have met you all if I had the chance."

"In a way, you are. And we are glad to finally meet and see you at last, T-Bone," Scott said, smiling.

"Just take care of Jake now that I'm not here, OK? Promise me that, especially since I know that if Jake ever needed a family, you kittens couldn't be a better choice," Chance said.

"We will, Chance," Amara nodded strongly, "We love Jake like a brother."

"Good, that's all I want to ask from you little tykes," Chance said, smiling at last, his blue eyes playful and at peace until his eyes rested on Wolverine. He glared at the elder X-Man while raising his hackles and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"You Logan?" Chance asked flatly.

"Yeah, what's it to you, bub?" the grizzled X-Man said just as blunt and intimidating as the tawny-striped kat before him. Chance's eyes flickered a bit.

"Just to let you know, Wolverine, I don't care how many bad guys you've faced and beaten. You hurt my best buddy in any way, and I'll kick your tail all over the afterlife when you get up here," the kat growled smugly.

"I thought you wanted me to give the hairball a hard time when he needs it so that he can stop wallowing in his self-pity. Hell, if anything, I agree with you when the hairball needs a good smack upside the head," Logan shot back.

"I thought there was a reason I liked you," Chance said at last, smiling, "You remind so much of me…well, except I'm probably stronger."

Wolverine smirked as he said good-naturedly, "Kiss my ass, Furlong."

"Ah, you really have trouble thinking up of original insults, don't ya…Badger?" Chance shot back, and amid the sniggering and stifled laughter from all around, Logan felt a vein throb as he glared at Tabitha who was next to him and giving Wolverine a sheepish smile.

"Did I ever thank you for creating that nickname for me, Tabby?" Logan growled with murderous bitterness, now wondering if he could dump the remains of Tabitha's body along with Xi's once there were no witnesses. The blond X-Girl just smiled, giving a weak heh-heh.

"On the upside, you must really be popular if people in the afterlife and in different dimensions are calling you by that one," Tabitha joked, trying not to wince under Logan's evil eye.

Jake then finally smiled at last as he shakily said, "I guess this is good-bye then."

"Yeah, it is. Good-bye, ol' buddy, and remember: down these mean skies…" Chance said as he started to fade away.

"…a SWAT Kat must fly. I'll see you again someday, buddy," Jake chuckled despite his sadness. Chance gave him a thumbs-up sign.

"Bingo," and with that, T-Bone disappeared. Paige, Piper, and Phoebe then smiled before they grabbed the Book of Shadows and all three of the sisters whispered one touching, farewell sentiment.

"Blessed be…" and with that, Paige orbed all three of them out of the X-Mansion. There was only a small silence as everyone just pondered on what had just happened before Wolverine growled and opened the door to the living room. As he expected, Wanda, Althea, Xi, Todd, Lance, and Pietro fell forward from leaning against the door attempting to eavesdrop on the event, landing into a heap on top of each other. Trinity, Fred, and Lina were standing sheepishly in the hallway.

"Uh…heh-heh?" Pietro chuckled at under the livid glare of the adult.

"Why is it I'm not surprised?" Scott groaned.

"Hey, we're just curious, yo!" Todd argued in his defense as Forge helped him up, "We just wanted to see how Jake and Jubilee enjoyed Justin's gift, that's all?"

"Justin's gift?" echoed Amara, confused, "But, Justin didn't have anything to do with it! The Charmed Ones cast the spell!"

"What are you talking about?" Pietro said, his mouth foolishly running on auto-pilot, "Piper told you that the only reason she did it was because Justin asked her to because chubby-cheeks was too stupid to accept the chance to see his mother as a reward for saving Chris, and he felt that Jubilee and Jake could…use…it…more…"

Quicksilver trailed off when he saw each and every one of the X-Men's faces were blank and had absolutely no idea what the Misfit speedster was saying, and Wanda felt the sudden urge to bash in Pietro's head with a blunt object repeatedly for speaking before he could think about it.

"Piper didn't tell you, did she?" Wanda sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, realizing the truth.

"No…" said Rogue slowly as she shook her head.

"Nice going, blabbermouth," grumbled Fred to Pietro.

"Where's Justin?" Jean asked, "Why isn't he with you?"

"He said he didn't want to join us in eavesdropping since he didn't really wanted to invade your privacy, though I really have no idea why that's a bad thing and - " but before Daria could continue her sentence, Jake tore out of the living room hurriedly and went outside, slamming the door in his rush.

It turned out, Jake was able to track down Justin easily, finding him in the side garden outside the Institute where one of the fountains was, standing in the middle of the clearing and surrounded by the flower gardens of Ororo's, and the Misfit looked up from a noise behind him before he turned to see Jake, panting and looking at Justin with a mixture of shock and gratefulness.

"Why did you do that, kitten?" Jake asked wearily.

Justin blinked, confused, and Jake irritably clarified it further.

"Why did you give me the gift Piper was going to give to you? Whitelighter, it was meant for you as a reward, not for me and Jubilee! Why did you do that for me? And for Jubilee for that matter? You didn't need to!" the kat protested.

Justin looked surprised and slightly apprehensive at the kat's outrage as he nervously explained while looking down, "I didn't need it, you and Jubilee did. So I did what was best, especially after I remembered how you wanted to have one time to talk with Chance, just to see if you could move on."

"You still didn't need to do that. Now I'll feel guilty about taking away your chance to use such a gift of magic," Jake said, his voice softening and concerned as he stepped until he was only inches from Justin. Justin shook his head.

"Do you feel better that you got to speak to Chance?" Justin asked softly, "Could you imagine going through life never being able to do what Piper and the other Charmed Ones did to you and Jubilee?"

Jake stopped before he realized that the Misfit had a point. He was better off now that he got to speak to Chance. The burden, the untold heaviness of guilt and sorrow wasn't as painful and deep as before, and it would have never happened had Jake never been blessed with the spell.

Justin was right; he did need it. Desperately. And more than Justin ever did.

And that made him all the more emotional.

"Thank you," whispered Jake, shaking, "I…that's one of the best things I've ever received since coming here, second to Xavier welcoming me in his home and allowing me to live her in a new life. I…thank you, kitten."

Justin raised his head a bit, still unable to look at Jake in the eyes, but shyly glad the gift did what he hoped it could achieve.

"You're welcome, Jake. I…I'm glad it helped. Really," Whitelighter said.

It was then that the kat reacted in the only way he could and wanted to, and despite his logic and common sense screaming inside his brain, it was pitched out the window by the surging feelings of gratefulness and touched empathy.

With that and to Justin's surprise, Jake leaned forward and kissed him. On the lips.

Justin's eyes went wide with shock and he made a muffled sound of surprise as he felt Jake's mouth on his own, the kat's whiskers tickling his cheeks and Jake cupping Justin's chin with one paw. For a second or two, neither of them moved or spoke…and it was about then that Jake realized what he just did without thinking, and with a jolt, he backed off fearfully, his chest heaving with trepidation. Justin just stood there as still as a statue with a look of frozen, surprised, what-the-hell-just-happened expression on his face, his eyes so wide you could see the whites all around and his mouth agape.

Jake felt the coldness in his gut painfully clench around his stomach, quivering.

Oh shit, what had he done?

"Justin, I…I…" and Jake faltered, his throat and mouth incredibly dry. Oh fur and tail, if he hurt Justin in any way, Jake would never forgive himself. And the X-Man then realized that the damage had been done.

Jake then started to panic as he hurriedly and nervously babbled, for once losing his care-free and calm demeanor as he said in a rush, "I…I didn't mean it, Justin. I lost my head. I was just…overwhelmed at seeing Chance again. I…Justin, I lost my head, you know I would never…oh paw and tail, Justin, I'm sorry. It was just a fluke, a - "

But in the middle of the rabble, Justin broke out of his shock and his eyes softened, pained that Jake was feeling guilty, but also surprisingly touched. And before Jake could finish his sentence, the teenager quietly and slowly walked up, stood on his toes and managed to kiss Jake back on the mouth, and the kat found it difficult to continue his apology with Justin kissing him back. For several blissful moments, all Jake and Justin could do was close their eyes and enjoy the warmth.

Jake then broke the kiss before he wrapped his arms around the Misfit and pulled him close into a hug, his heart pounding painfully against his chest, and likewise, Justin felt weak in the knees and was grateful for the support as he rested the side of his head against Jake's torso, feeling the kat's rapid thumping. Though Jake wasn't necessarily tall, he was high enough to rest his chin on Justin's head in an act of fondness and affection before he closed his eyes and started to purr, his voice now turning like a friendly, content housecat, burying his muzzle into the teenager's hair. The Misfit had to admit it was strange yet somewhat a bit therapeutic to hear a big kat purr while holding you close.

There was a nerve-wracking silence before Jake broke out of his reverie and realized what he was doing. He gulped, his face going hot, before he managed to ask hoarsely.

"Uh…so, you're…uh, you're…?" Razor asked hesitantly before he trailed off.

"Yeah," Justin admitted, scared and not sure if he could talk while looking directly in Jake's eyes.

"How…how long have you – uh…?"

Jake was incredibly tongue-tied, and Justin was just as nervous as he winced, grimacing, as he divulged, "Um…well, I kind of…had a crush on you when I met you at the fairgrounds when we ran into each other when Live Wire attacked."

"I…see," Jake said, blinking, not sure how to feel about that, but the primary emotion coursing through his body was relief. Justin then diffidently asked the same question.

"Um…so you're…uh, you too?"

"Yes, kitten," Jake said, continuing to embrace the Misfit and not breaking his hold.

"Uh…but I thought you were – uh…well…you know, Callie…"

The brown-furred kat smiled ruefully as he clarified, "I said I was flattered, but I said I never felt the same way about her as she did for me. I just never told you the reason why I couldn't love her the way she wanted me to."

"I…see. Did Chance know?"

"He didn't know, or at least…he never told me that he knew, though I wouldn't put it past him. And no, he was my friend and brother, but I didn't want to feel about him that way."

"Oh my God!" Kitty gasped as she, Piotr and Kurt's collective heads popped out of the bushes, "Jake and Justin?"

"Mein Gott!" Kurt gasped, his eyes going wide, and upon the startled outburst, Jake and Justin nearly jumped out of their skins.

"Oh God, how long have you guys been there?" Justin gasped, already starting to show signs of an early panic attack.

"Uh…they were the last ones to join in. All the rest of us started around when Jake found you," a sheepish Lina admitted as she, the Misfits, and the rest of the teenage X-Men emerged from their hiding places in the trees and bushes. Justin felt like he was going to die of embarrassment right then and there. Jake especially felt hot underneath his fur as many of the X-Men were staring at him.

"Uh…so Jake's…uh…so he's…uh…" but it was difficult for Ray to complete the sentence, and Rogue had to roll her eyes at the immaturity as she snapped back.

"You can say it: gay. Jake and Justin are both gay! God, can ya' be even more of an idiot?" the Southern belle snorted in exasperation.

"But…but this is…yeesh," Remy said, grimacing.

"Oh grow up!" snapped Amara before she looked at Jake supportively, "I think it's so romantic!"

"I beg to differ, Amara," Scott groaned, "I really beg to differ!"

"All right, way to go, chubby-cheeks!" hooted Pietro, "This just proves you're just as screwed up as the rest of us! You're a true Misfit now, all right!"

"Oh by Reptilion, this is humiliating! The only thing that could make this even worse is that - !"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY SON?" bellowed a familiar baritone voice in absolute and apoplectic rage, shouting his ire at the top of his lungs.

"…is that if Blind Master and the other adults found out about this," Justin finished weakly, deadpanned and cursing Murphy's Law, grimacing as he, Jake, and the other teenagers turned to see the adult X-Men and Misfit handlers looking at Jake and Justin with wide eyes and dropped jaws. But Blind Master was looking thoroughly homicidal as his eyes clenched in anger behind his glasses, his frown so intense that his entire face was disfigured by the wrinkled skin in his brow and mouth. And his teeth were bared and actually starting to grate against each other, and Jake wasn't sure he wanted to know how Blind Master was going to use his cane on him. Jake felt like he was going to shrivel up and die under Professor Xavier's reproving glance of disappointment.

"Uh…how much did you guys see?" he asked, grimacing and incredibly embarrassed.

Low Light glared at Jake before he spat with annoyance, "Well, we weren't here personally, but our little spy cams we had on us showed us you kissing Justin, which I may remind you is a minor, and Justin kissing you back! It just right after then that Blind Master flipped out!"

"Oh by Reptilion, I wish I was dead," Justin moaned, covering his face with his hands, praying for the Earth to swallow him up.

"I think you might just get your wish, kitten," Jake said uneasily out of the corner of his mouth as the furious and murderously seething Blind Master stomped towards the kat and the teenager.

---

Meanwhile, in the heavenly realms of the Whitelighter coven, safeguarded and hidden in the sacred dimension, things were probably just as tense and stressful as the happenings on Earth, if not more so…

"Damn him! Damn him! Damn that half-breed accident! Damn him all!" Gideon seethed as he used his magic to fling another table in his private quarters across the room before it splintered and broke upon its impact at being slammed into the marble and stone wall with great intensity. Gideon's sons, Krygaw and Damionax were watching alongside their father, and though they too were livid, they wisely held their tongues in case they would further anger the Elder of Elders, and considering how Gideon was red-faced and boiling with cheated rage, it was apparent that the Whitelighter Elder was angrier than he had ever had been before in eons. And judging by the way his entire chamber was messily rendered into ruins with broken objects, trashed manuscripts of ancient time, and overturned and tattered remains of furniture, it was safe to say that the goateed man was thoroughly ticked off.

"I will not take this lying down! I will not allow that lucky half-blooded mistake and his sorry family of Misfits to be able to gloat of how he circumvented my orders! I will make Justin pay for this, I swear it!" Gideon panted heavily with malice and poison, his energy spent.

"I still do not know why we cannot punish that bastard child, Father," Damionax said, his hands itching for the chance to use his axe, "We can punish Justin, can't we? He disobeyed a direct order from the Elders of Elders! He healed the babe, Christopher Halliwell, regardless of your will and law! He broke the rules of the Whitelighters! That alone can be punished by exile or death itself! We can use that for grounds on Justin's immediate execution!"

Krygaw was resentfully and impatiently bitter as he explained in a hard voice, "Unfortunately, it is not as you wish, Damionax. Elder Gideon and I have looked and confided in many of the laws and decrees created solely by the Elders and the Immortal Council since the beginning of time, and I am sorry to report that no rules have been broken. We cannot the scourge for he has not endangered the infrastructure and boundaries of the Whitelighters in any way, as much as I hate to admit it."

Damionax was stunned as he protested heatedly, "How can the Council say that? We have all witnessed it! Justin has broken the laws of life and death and has healed the witch-child, especially when you made it clear that no Whitelighter is to heal any of the Charmed Ones and their allies during the battle because of the witches' damned incompetence at exposing the magical world! It could not be any clearer! Justin has disobeyed the will of the Elders!"

"You are forgetting that Justin is not a true Whitelighter, and we have chosen to force the half-breed to live in exile and do not recognize him into the coven under the Elders' blessings, primarily because we didn't want the half-Whitelighter mutant to ever be an Elder and ruin the sanctity of the Whitelighter legacy. Thus, Justin is not a Whitelighter recognized by the Council, and because he has not received any blessings by the Whitelighters and because his powers stem from his mutation rather than the Elders' wills…" Krygaw explained before he trailed off, rubbing his forehead in irritation, and the other son of Gideon guessed it immediately.

"Thus, that damned half-breed didn't break any laws of the Whitelighters because the bastard child isn't even a Whitelighter in the first place," Damionax muttered, now realizing how fortunate Fate turned out to be for the disgraceful blight of the Whitelighter bloodline.

Gideon shook as he intoned, "In other words, his exile was both a curse and a blessing for Justin. He may not have any protection or gifts from the coven, but it also allows him to escape our punishment if he performs against our wills. In other words, he is a rogue Whitelighter, one in which we have no power or authority to persecute! And now I curse the day that accident was born even more so! Chris and Wyatt Halliwell both have the bloodlines of witch and Whitelighter mixed in their flesh and blood, and the Oracles prophesized that they could be mortals of great power! And you do realize what a threat they could be for all should they ever turn to the dark side, as most faulted mortals do under the temptation of power and riches, correct? But now instead of just the Halliwells' spawn, we additionally have to worry about Justin who can circumvent orders of the Elders and heal anyone he wishes, the damned bleeding-heart! Demons, mutants, creatures of the lesser folk…that mutant scum has the ability to heal all of them should he wish to, and we wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop him! Evil beings and warlocks could use him as a tool, a source for recovery and healing against any ailment or injury we bestow on them!"

"Can we turn back time or perhaps utilize the help of the Cleaners and the other beings of powerful magic to stop this travesty from ever occurring?"

Krygaw shot down Damionax's suggestion, wearily replying, "Unfortunately, we cannot. The damage of the exposure of the magical world is far too severe for the Cleaners or any sort of higher power to undo. Not even the threads of Fate can be manipulated backwards to correct this foolishness and idiocy for too much has been spread out, and to do so would risk endangering the world and all life. As powerful as we are, we cannot fully control the Sands of Time and the hands of Fate; none of us are that foolish to rewrite the past and doom the future. Thus, the magical world is fully exposed and we cannot use our powers to turn back time because too much has passed, and it would not be enough to stop Keyes and Hellfire Club from plotting against the Charmed Ones. We are stuck with this, for better and certainly for worse, all because those damned sisters and the vampire slayers have chosen to open the floodgates of Hell on the magical world, to alter its destiny forevermore."

"Perhaps we can have Justin thoroughly dealt with, Elder Gideon," suggested Damionax eagerly, "We could have him assassinated or perhaps cast another curse…"

"Unfortunately, we cannot do even that," Krygaw sighed, "You're forgetting the Oath of Abraham given by General Hawk, and he specifically declared that he wanted the half-breed to be spared and to be left alone to live a peaceful life with his friends and family. The general from G.I. Joe had worded the promise so that there is no way we can elude the request with a simple loophole. Thus, we cannot touch Justin…"

"Damn that Hawk," muttered Damionax, "Well, at least we can continue our surveillance on Wyatt and Chris and - "

"No, abandon all plans with the children of the Charmed Ones," Gideon said with malicious and icy steel, unbending as he made it very clear to his two sons, "Abandon all plans with Wyatt and Chris Halliwell and focus your resources on Justin. He is of the greater threat, and he needs to be dealt with…now and immediately. I will not allow a rogue Whitelighter to exist any longer than necessary. We cannot kill him, but we can make Justin suffer and possibly see to it that he does run into unfortunate accidents and life-threatening situations."

"And you have a plan, my Lord?" Krygaw asked.

"I say that thanks to a turn of very recent events, we have a possible way to ensure Justin may endure some very strenuous hardships…" Gideon said with vengeance.

---

"So what do we do now?" Paige asked as she and her sisters along with the Slayers, the Scoobies, and the Watchers prepared for their trip to London. General Hawk, who was with them, smiled.

"Actually, I may have another option that might help us all out on that, if all of you are willing to stop and listen to a proposition before you all leave for London. You have a few guests that wish to talk with you to see if you're interested in the offer," General Hawk remarked with a smile.

"Guests?" Giles repeated in a hard tone, his eyes narrowing.

"Offer? It's…it's not anything bad, is it?" Caridad asked suspiciously, but General Hawk held up his hands.

"Before you ask, no they're not from the Initiative or anything else like them. In fact, though they are playing by Wolfram and Hart's rules due to circumstances beyond their control, they are active forces in ensuring that the firm does not have any shady or malicious dealings with the paranormal. In fact, they're the proverbial thorns-in-the-side for Wolfram and Hart, and they're looking for new recruits to help them police demons and to provide a back-up force to help all of us when the Gathering of Twilight comes to pass," Hawk explained in a sincere and easy tone.

With that, General Hawk motioned for a large group of people to emerge into the room, the oddest bunch of people one had ever seen and alongside them was a transparent, green ghost, babbling in foreign words.

"Whoa, talk about a greeting committee," marveled Faith at the number of people who wanted to speak with them. Vi and Andrew then gasped.

"Wait a minute, I remember those guys! I've seen them before in multiple news stories when I was a kid!" Vi exclaimed.

"Why? Who are they?" Dana asked, guarded.

"They're the Ghostbusters! They nail ghosts and protect New York City! They're heroes, like the Justice League, except they're more on the supernatural stuff," Andrew explained, and upon that assertion, the others Slayers, Scoobies, and the Halliwell family looked at the strange throng of guests in shock. Even though they were looked down upon by the Watcher's Council for being incredibly foolish and ineffective and amateur, Giles and Wood both acknowledged their existence and how the Ghostbusters were a force for good that was many times better than any government agency or the Initiative.

An erudite and seemingly technological-savvy man wearing glasses with square lenses and his long, blond hair tied into a pony-tail stepped forward, deciding to make introductions, "You are correct…Mr. Wells, I believe your name is?"

"Call me Andrew!" squealed the Watcher-in-training in excitement, "And I know you! You're Dr. Egon Spengler, paranormal-researcher and renowned scientist of the supernatural! One of the original Ghostbusters! Oh wow, this is so cool! I'm in front of the Ghostbusters! Oh wow! I'm having my biggest nerd-gasm ever! Even more than when I was with Batman!"

All the other Slayers and Scoobies and Watchers flinched at this.

"Did anyone else's mind just go to a very scary mental picture?" Rona asked, deadpanned and wishing she could scrub her brain out with steel wool and Lysol after hearing those words.

"Yes," everyone replied back flatly with weariness.

Egon smoothly continued, showing no indication that he was bothered by Andrew's fawning and enthusiasm as he continued addressing his fellow teammates, "These are my fellow associates from the Ghostbusters: my wife, Janine Melnitz and the green ghost you see next to her is Slimer. Oh don't worry, he's actually quite harmless and his only power is to generate slime ectoplasm and eats food like a bottomless pit. Our accountant and paranormal lawyer, Louis Tulley, and with him are my co-presidents and fellow associates of Ghostbusters Incorporated: Winston Zeddemore, Ray Stanz, and Dr. Peter Venkman. The younger members you see next to them are trainees for the Ghostbuster program: Toby Baxter, Kylie Griffin Rivera and her husband, Eduardo Rivera, along with Garret Miller and Roland Jackson. And last but not least, we have graphic designer, Lamont Beavier, and Quentin Bludd, one of our field commanders and leaders for the team."

The people Egon just introduced made polite and respectful signs of greetings, with the younger, Extreme Ghostbuster team being more friendly and open while the old team were more restrained and professional. But it was the stranger named Quentin who was drawing the most attention, especially from the Slayer girls (except Kennedy).

"Hello!" Rona said, giving a low wolf-whistle at the young man.

"Wow, what a hunk!" Shannon whispered, slightly giddy.

"If my parents ever arrange a marriage to him, I shall certainly not complain!" Chao-Ahn murmured, her face showing a goofy, lovesick expression.

"You know, it's times like these when I'm glad to be a lesbian," Kennedy sighed with some aggravation as she looked at the other Slayers with annoyance.

"You know, if you listen closely, you can hear birds chirping and little tiny hearts twittering around their heads," Xander remarked with some humorous and deadpanned sarcasm.

Willow narrowed her eyes as she intoned, "Actually, there's something I sense about Qunetin, something that's not normal. I don't think he's completely human."

Quentin, upon hearing this, nodded as he explained to Willow, "You are correct. I am a dhamphir, a half-vampire, half-human hybrid that fights for the side of good."

"A dhamphir?" Giles exclaimed in anger before whirling on the Ghostbusters, "You work with a dhamphir?"

"But what a cute dhamphir," Dana said softly, her jaw going slack. Andrew and Xander rolled their eyes at each other.

"What exactly do you want?" Leo asked with suspicion.

"To join us and help protect the world from evil entities," the Ghostbuster called Ray answered back.

Piper snorted through her nose as she remarked, "You've got to be joking."

Quentin whipped his head fiercely to the eldest sister as he growled, "I assure you, Mrs. Wyatt, that unlike you past experience with the Hellfire Club and the Organization, we hardly kid around with something so serious, which would probably explain why you and your sisters screwed up so badly with protecting the Nexus."

"Honey, don't kill him," Leo warned his wife as he grabbed her wrist before she could do something drastic with her molecular combustion.

Piper turned to Quentin and Jenny Calendar before she invoked in a hard tone, "Then if you and the Ghostbusters speak the truth, can you let us cast a truth spell to see if what you have informed all of us is real or false? No offense, but we need to make sure you people are who you say you are, and after the crap we endured from the Hellfire Club and the Thirteenth Order, we're not going to just throw caution to the wind. If you want us to listen to your offer, then let us cast a simple spell. It won't hurt you but it will reveal if you're lying."

Quentin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he muttered, "Just like a damn, stubborn, pig-headed woman…"

Piper and Phoebe and Paige all gave him dry looks of annoyance at the sexist remark. Winston nodded at Piper.

"Do what you wish, Mrs. Wyatt. We wish to earn your trust, not demand it, and we all have nothing to hide. We need new recruits to stop the evil forces from destroying the world and to help provide to General Hawk and the other heroes additional help to help fight against the Organization, and if this is what it takes, then do so with our permission," the African American stated.

With that, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige shared a look before they joined hands together and chanted a spell.

"For those who want the truth revealed, open hearts and secrets unsealed, banish those who deceive and lie, reveal the evil one's disguise, leave us those of good and true, show us those that fight the evil through," the sisters chanted, the winds and air picking up all around the Slayers, the Ghostbusters, and General Hawk.

There was a faint rustle before nothing happened. Al the Ghostbusters remained unaffected by the spell, including Quentin. And Wyatt then giggled before, to his parents' and aunts' collective surprise, he orbed out of his father's arms and into Quentin's.

"Oh my," Paige remarked.

"Nice man!" Wyatt chimed, giving Quentin a hug around his neck. Quentin, though annoyed, just grumbled as he let the half-Whitelighter, half-witch child continue to snuggle against him.

"The things I go through for getting new recruits…" the Ghostbuster muttered, but anyone close to the dhamphir would testify that he would rather cut his arms off than let any harm come to any child in his possession.

"Well, Wyatt trusts him, so that should be another indication that this dhamphir isn't evil," Leo said with some afterthought.

"I say there's no harm in listening to what they have to tell us," Wood said, placing a hand on Giles' tense shoulder, "So who sent you?"

"A woman by the name of Jenny Calendar," Kylie said delicately.

"Is this a bloody joke?" snapped Giles, and one could tell that he was starting to become angry.

"No, it is not, Mr. Giles," a woman remarked as she stepped from behind the crowd, and the Ghostbusters along with Quentin steeped aside, parting like the Red Sea, to let her pass. The woman was tall, lithe, and had rosy cheeks and shoulder-length, dark hair semi-curled stylishly while dressed professionally and smartly in a business suit. She seemed stern, having an aura of good yet dangerous steel will, and yet not a single one of the Slayers could sense anything malicious about her. And to Willow, Xander, and Giles' collective surprises…

"Oh hell!" cursed Xander, his good eye going wide and his voice strangled and falsetto, "It's…her! It really is her! It's Ms. Calendar!"

Jenny nodded at Xander politely before she gently shot down, "Actually, I am not the Jenny Calendar you remember, Mr. Harris. I am a liaison sent to assume her form, but no, I am not she you speak and remember of from the past."

She then walked up the British, aged Watcher who was incredibly defensive and shaken before she gently offered her hand in front of Giles, saying with sincere compassion, "Hello, Mr. Giles."

Giles looked at her suspiciously before he took the woman's hand and to his surprise, instead of passing through it like an illusion as he was half-expecting, the librarian and warrior was taken aback to feel his fingers touch and brush against warm skin, flesh, and blood. There was no question about it; this woman was physically real.

Giles looked stunned before he deflated.

"You…you're not her," he admitted, and he was extremely hurt and disappointed (and who could blame him). Jenny looked sympathetic before she shook her head. Quentin then raised a hand before Willow and Kennedy and Faith could ask, stopping them from asking the unanimous question that was on their minds.

"And before you ask, no, this Jenny Calendar is not the First in disguise or some other demon," the dhamphir said strongly, "Trust me, if she were the First or if she were evil, I would know. Just…trust me on this. The First cannot manifest itself into actual physical embodiments. And if she was a false embodiment of the First, then she would not be sent to help us figure a way to prevent Wolfram and Hart from employing demons and letting their clients run amok to blight the innocents and the world before the Gathering of Twilight."

The Charmed Ones were stunned, and Phoebe exclaimed with surprise, "How…how did you know about the Gathering of Twilight?"

"Because even though it's understandable to be concerned with your experiences and judgments, there are others people who also can sense what is to come…including our associates, and needless to say, everyone on the side of good is worried," Ray provided, his face grim.

"The Gathering this Organization keeps telling you about is bad news, trust us on this. Even the Powers are worried and running around to come up with a plan to help give the Earth a chance. That's where we come in," Garret said, his elbows resting on the handles of his wheelchair.

"And…what exactly would be do if we joined you? What's our primary purpose to become Ghostbusters?" Faith asked.

"How would you like to help fight in the Gathering of Twilight by joining as a liaison for the Powers that Be? Not only do we help others prepare for the end of the world and do whatever it takes to stop it, but we will also additionally police and persecute evil entities by the rules and laws and be a real thorn in the side of Wolfram and Hart," Quentin asked.

"The Powers That Be?" repeated Willow, Leo and Phoebe incredulously, realizing that the Ghostbusters were not working with small-time entities. Suffice to say, any magical creature or steward of the paranormal have heard about the Powers That Be. Even the Immortal Council and beings of higher planes acknowledged and respected them with much honor.

Wood narrowed his eyes in curiosity, but he also smirked a bit with interest as he then answered for the stunned group, "We're listening…"

---

Inspector Sheridan was busy doing the pile of paperwork she managed to salvage from the ruins of her office (plus some extra additional files she personally took over from the duties of the fallen men and women of the force). It was past midnight, but one couldn't tell that the blond-haired woman of grit was the least bit tired as she continued to energetically and meticulously go over every single detail of her reports and forms during the battle with the Turok-Han, warlocks, and the Heartless over at the Halliwell residence. Her superiors would want the full details, and she only felt that she could provide the best she could for the fellow chiefs.

"Inspector Sheridan?" spoke a voice in front of her, breaking her concentration, and the blond-haired woman looked up from her work to see that one of her fellow officers, Anna, who managed to survive the massacre from the vampires and the dark wizards was in front of her desk.

"Yes?"

"You have a visitor who requests to talk to you," Anna said.

"Who is it?"

"It's the founder of the Friends of Humanity, Mr. Graydon Creed himself. Shall I send him in?"

The female Inspector felt the sudden urge to vomit in disgust, but deciding that if she did not deal with this now, then she would most likely never hear the end of it, so she sighed and nodded, feeling the start of another migraine. Within minutes, Graydon Creed entered in, dressed impeccably in his burgundy business suit along with a dark-olive green tie and a black cloth band tied around one sleeve of his coat displaying the badge of the Friends of Humanity. Inspector Sheridan was suddenly reminded of Agent Keyes and she fought the urge to lose her patience as Creed boisterously and pretentiously seated himself without even making introductions or acts of common courtesy.

"Do make yourself comfortable, Mr. Creed," Sheridan said as she fought to keep her face stony and blank and her voice calm and professional. Graydon obviously didn't detect the sarcasm in the Inspector's voice (or if he did, he chose to ignore it) as he rested his hands on the officer's desk, showing concern and superficial worry.

"Inspector Sheridan," Graydon said in his baritone voice, "First of all, the Friends of Humanity wish to offer our deepest condolences for your fallen comrades and respected officers of the San Francisco police force. We can only imagine how much grief and anger you and the rest of the department must be feeling at your loss. I am truly sorry you had to suffer at the hands of those magical freaks and - "

"What do you want, Mr. Creed?" Sheridan broke in strongly, not bothering to listen to anymore of this. Graydon's face had a slight flash of irritation, but it was brief and replaced by the false pretense of sympathy as the leader of the Friends of Humanity began again.

"Just to offer my sympathies to you and you co-workers, and to say that we at the Friends of Humanity - "

"What do you want, Mr. Creed?" Sheridan asked again, this time slowly and punctuating each word in the query strongly like she was pounding a piece of red-hot metal with a sledgehammer like a blacksmith. Creed's face darkened before the bigoted anti-mutant zealot then got to the point.

"How would you and your fellow officers like to seek vengeance on the Slayers and all witches who committed this travesty against you and the honorable men and women who fought in that battle with the vampires and the wizards and demons? A woman of your expertise and natural leadership skills could be a great asset to our cause, especially since your superiors are so impressed by how well you handled the siege by the Slayers at the station along with the battle at the Halliwell Manor. The Friends of Humanity has sources and backers in high places, and like the Quarrymen, we can actively search out specific witches and any girl who can be a potential vampire slayer in the future. You obviously have done much research alongside Keyes' men on the subject, and with your help, you can help ensure that no human will ever fall victim to those alien, mutant, or magical freaks. Just provide us the information on anything you could about the Slayers and the Charmed Ones along with making sure that any evidence found at any crime scenes that link to me and my men mysteriously never see the light of court, and I will see to it that the Friends of Humanity takes care of all Wiccans, witches, and Slayers."

"I thought you and your thugs targeted only mutants, Mr. Creed," Sheridan said with dry and hidden abhorrence.

Creed felt his temper perk up at the "thug" reference as he clarified, "My men are willing to broaden their horizons, Inspector, especially since a Slayer and a witch couldn't possibly be any harder to exterminate than a mutant. In fact, since the X-Men and the Misfits and the mutie-sympathizers from G.I. Joe are more focused on their delusional dreams of mutant-human peace, it shall be far easier for my men to assassinate Slayer girls and practicing witches and Wiccans to help keep the public safe, with your help of course, Inspector Sheridan. Of course, we'll also be especially grateful if you could provide any information about mutants in hiding here in San Francisco and - "

"No."

Graydon Creed then stopped in mid-speech, not sure if he had just heard right.

"Excuse me?" the leader of the Friends of Humanity growled, feeling incredibly hostile and heated, his face starting to clench in impatience.

"I said, no, Mr. Creed," Inspector Sheridan repeated, her eyes cold and narrowed, sitting idly with her hands calmly folded in front of her on her desk.

"I suggest you not jump too irrationally to a decision and take some time to think about it, Inspector," Graydon said with barbed and sour, noxious antipathy and umbrage, but Inspector cocked her head to the side as if such a notion was foolish.

"I don't need time to think about this, as you so pompously assume, Mr. Creed, and I will not have any part in what you are proposing as long as it is against the law," the woman shot back, unyielding.

"The law is not always right, woman," Creed rumbled like a feral animal, ready to strike. Sheridan casually stood up from her seat before she nonchalantly and offhandedly brushed aside a flap of her jacket to show the hidden holster of her gun underneath her clothing before she shot back with steel.

"No, you are right: the law isn't always right….but it's good enough to rely on, and it's what separates me from terrorists and vigilantes like you and the X-Men. I stand by my answer, Mr. Creed. I will not help you or your organization."

Graydon's eyes bulged, bloodshot and glazed with anger, as he hissed with venomous disbelief, "I don't goddamn believe this! I thought you hated those Charmed and Slayer freaks! Why the hell are you on their side?"

Inspector Sheridan's voice was then icy, her nerve absolute and unyielding steel, and had any of the Misfits, Joes or X-Men been observing her, they would have marveled at her sudden resoluteness and lack of emotion as she clarified plainly for Creed to understand.

"I'm not, but I'm not on your side either, Creed. Let me make this clear that there's only one side I'm on, and it's the law, the law that ensures I protect people, regardless of their status quo, religion and race, and yes, even if they're mutant, Slayer, and witch alike. But I also will have no problem busting any one of those abnormalities that can threaten and endanger innocent people should they ever commit a crime with their powers or their magic. And that same umbrella applies to you and your self-righteous organization, Creed, exactly like how we respectable enforcers deal with the Ku Klux Klan or the Quarrymen or even religious zealots like Purity. Those mutants and witches may not be for the law, but neither are you. So let me say this, Creed: if I find any hard evidence linking you or any other fascist from the Friends of Humanity to anything incriminating in the future, no matter who you do it to, you'll find yourself in prison and being somebody's bitch faster than you and your lackeys can say, 'No more mutants'. Do I make myself clear?"

Graydon was incredibly and dangerously offended and displeased as he shot daggers at the officer before he violently rose from his seat in a jerky and swift motion. With his teeth bared, Creed growled, "You've made a big mistake, Inspector."

Sheridan just coldly shot back with detached impassiveness, "No, siding with terrorist thugs like the Friends of Humanity and Purity would have been a big mistake. This, on the other hand, would have been something I can gladly live with, especially after seeing the consequences of being Agent Keyes' lapdog. You can see yourself out, Mr. Creed. I assume the front door is still where you left it."

Fuming and too livid and embarrassed at being shot down to even utter an insult or a threat, Graydon Creed stomped out, taking extra care to slam the door hard while Sheridan just coolly and calmly picked up the next file and continued on her paperwork.

Inspector Sheridan may be a stubborn, narrow-minded shrew…but she also believed in the sanctity and honor of the law.

For the law, by the law, a distinct area of gray in a sea of conflicting black and white.

Graydon was absolutely apoplectic, his face purple and his mind running with numerous curses and insults too dark and offensive to be printed out as he stepped outside.

Damn, stubborn, pig-headed, freak-loving woman, Creed thought darkly to himself as he angrily left the station along with two of his armed goons and Duncan Matthews (still heavily bruised from his run-in with the Slayers), but then a voice spoke from the sidelines startled him and made him stop in his tracks.

"I take it things did not go as you expected with the good Inspector, Mr. Creed. A pity, really. She seemed like such a bright and noble woman of the law," a silky and polished, educated tone said in perfect but slightly accented English, and Creed turned around with henchmen to see a man and a woman come out from the shadows. The man was Japanese and around fifty or so years of age, distinguished and wearing an stiff and fine gray suit to match the strands of gray hairs on his temples and back of his neck. Yet despite the cultured and sophisticated look, the man's face was hardened with battle-expertise and cunning and clearly had seen his share of dark entities. Alongside the man was a young woman with reddish-brown hair up to her shoulders, and though a bit on the chubby side, she obviously could handle herself in battle and seemed capable of fighting. She was wearing black, loose fitting slacks and a black, leather trench-coat and was armed with three knives (one lashed to her belt, one attached to her left thigh, and one in her right boot) and spiked, silver knuckles.

"Who the hell are you?" Duncan growled as he got out his nine millimeter gun from his back.

"Point that gun at my boss, and I'll see to it that you die before you hit the ground, Matthews," the woman growled.

"Enough, Justine," the man said before he turned to Graydon and said, "I am actually a sympathizer of your cause, Mr. Creed. I wanted to meet you after this travesty at the Charmed Ones and the slayers escaping justice and being left free to terrorize the innocent."

"Who are you?" Graydon asked as he motioned to Duncan to lower his weapon.

"I am Zaizen…Takuma Zaizen, and this is my second-in-command and chief witch-hunter, Justine Cooper," the erudite and aged businessman said in his formal and refined tone as he nodded to his female associate to his right. Creed's eyes slightly perked up. He had heard of Zaizen before from the underground; Takuma Zaizen was the chief administrator and highest authority figure in the STN-J branch of the SOLOMON Organization in Japan, a society that dealt specifically with hunting down witches.

He was a world-renowned witch-hunter, although truthfully, in the past, Graydon Creed could have cared less considering that he dismissed witches as myth and concentrated more on his vendettas against mutantkind.

"What do you want?" Graydon asked.

"To make an offer. How would you like to request the services of the Purifiers, Creed? An alliance between both of our groups and resources could ensure that we gain enough supporters and might to take down the X-Men, Misfits, the Slayers, and those witches down along with their allies effectively. Granted, we have to be careful, but those fools are not invincible, and we can give them plenty of trouble after the Gathering of Twilight. Should they die in the fight, then we'll be rid of them, but if they survive and beat this Thirteenth Order, then we'll easily deal with them after learning of their strengths and weaknesses. And just because we hunt down paranormal threats does not mean we will be insufficient at eliminating alien and mutant threats as well, Mr. Creed. And to further hone your interest, two of our financial backers are the prestigious billionaire tycoons, Wilson Fisk and Lex Luthor, themselves…and that of course is not including our backing from the Quarrymen of New York and the wealthy socialite, Vlad Masters," Zaizen replied.

That got Graydon's interest. Not even Stryker's Purity and H.A.T.E. had ties to Luthor and Fisk, at least, not anymore since the ugly incident with H.A.T.E. collaborating with the forces from Apokolips. And the Quarrymen association was the icing on the cake.

"I'm listening…" he drawled, a sadistic smile of eager anticipation forming on his lips.

---

"Ah, welcome to the proceedings, General Black. It is a pleasure to have you here. And we see that you have brought a guest with you," Blackheart intoned as the prestigious members of the Inner Circle and the Thirteenth Order turned to see the Omega Juggler general, General Black, walking towards them along with a tall male, both of them hidden in the murky and dim shadows in the chamber of white of the Thirteenth Order. All of them, from Lord Imperial and the mutant leaders of the Hellfire Club alongside with Luthor, Galatea, and Slade and Generals Silver, Eddington, and Eiling stood along with the hooded servants of the dark forces all around the cherished and holy fountain. The relic of black rock, fire, and obsidian displaying the gigantic badge of the Heartless seemed to grow even brighter thanks to the powers of the Nexus and the Phoenix Force flowing so freely amongst the powers of the small ball of flesh and blood carefully being levitated above the stone figures of the Heartless gathered around the symbol created by their master, Ansem. The miniscule specimen of cellular tissue and blood was bathed in a rosy red orb of light, and though nascent…the Organization was pleased to find it growing, nurtured and steadily showing utmost promise.

General Black stepped forward, his face hidden by the shadows of the room, but still stern and, if Luthor and Frost were not mistaken, a bit reluctant and bitter about being in the presence of the Organization. His companion respectfully remained hidden in the cover of the gloominess and shade by the Omega Juggler's requests.

"I daresay I wish it was a pleasure," General Black fumed before he gave his news, "You apparently have heard about the destruction of the Circle of the Black Thorn in the Wolfram and Hart branch in Los Angeles?"

"Yes, such a pity, Black," drawled Sebastian Shaw as he straightened out of cuff link of his elegant, silk buttoned shirt, obviously displaying the notion that he couldn't have cared less, "Of course, I am surprised that the firm could be easily duped and defeated by a mere soulful vampire and his pitiful band of followers. To be killed by mere humans, vampires, and an ancient demon? Such a disgrace."

"You obviously fail to comprehend the severity of the consequences of this setback, Shaw!" snapped General Black, "Now without the Circle of the Black Thorn, Wolfram and Hart is powerless on Earth! Without the chosen servants to accomplish the Senior Partner's bidding, the Earth is no longer bound by the demon inhabitants the Senior Partners! Wolfram and Hart has suffered a mighty blow, never to be as strong as before, and even our other branches all over the world cannot regain what we have lost! With all the members except Angel killed, the Senior Partners cannot rule the planet and the human race in darkness! We have lost our chance and all our plans have gone for naught! The L.A. branch has lost everything!"

"And, exactly, what do you wish for us to do, General?" Slade asked wearily, as if this talk bored him.

Black's voice then grew even as he said, "The Senior Partners have sent me to propose that if you are to indeed destroy all life on this planet and destroy the Slayers as well as their allies, they are willing to establish an alliance if you give them full reign of the Heartless in order to specifically target the Slayers and Angel."

"We can't allow that, Black," Axel said in a hard and dangerous tone, "Our Superior wishes to let you know right now that in this operation for the full control of Kingdom Hearts, the Thirteenth Order is to remain in top control of the Heartless and the powers of darkness. We do not bow before your bosses, and frankly, we are not afraid to establish this point."

"In short, we will always be in full control," Zexion stoutly replied.

"I'm afraid the Senior Partners will not be satisfied with that. They have always been the top-dog, so to speak," General Black growled, showing his disapproval. Xigbar and Xaldin of the Organization just frowned before they casually brushed General Black's warning aside.

"Then feel free to tell your Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart that we have no interest in their involvement if we are to harness the power of Kingdom Hearts at the Gathering of Twilight, and needless to say, we do not fear their interference. The Thirteenth Order harnesses the powers of darkness and the Heartless that has consumed multiple worlds in various dimensions. Your Senior Partners, I am not ashamed to point out, only have the power and omnipotence to control this one world, one sole planet, while we have conquered and destroyed countless universes with the powers of darkness. As you can see, your superiors' collective might is dwarfed easily by the might of the Heartless and the Doors to the Light and Darkness," Xaldin coldly intoned.

"Lest we remind you, the Organization controls the Door to the Darkness, and your Senior Partners and the First, regardless of how powerful they are, best remember that they came from Kingdom Hearts," Xigbar said with malicious disapproval. The members of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club were stunned when they heard this from the one-eyed member of the Organization.

"Well I'll be damned," muttered Luthor with surprise.

"Im-…impossible! The First and the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart? They came from Kingdom Hearts?" Selene exclaimed in shock and horrified amazement. Some, however, such as Slade and Harry Leland, knew better than to question it.

"It does make sense if you think about it, Selene," the Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club said slowly, deep in thought, "Kingdom Hearts is the birthplace and source of the light and the darkness as well as the hearts of all worlds, so since the Senior Partners are powerful demons of another realm and the First is the embodiment of all evil on Earth, then it does logically establish that if Earth, like any other planet, has a heart and was created by Kingdom Hearts, then the evil forces of Earth must have additionally been created from Kingdom Hearts."

"Like any of us, the Senior Partners and the First are embodiments that must have appeared from somewhere, so I highly doubt that even those powerful entities can resist having an existence from the same point of origin where all worlds and hearts are born from," Slade additionally provided.

Demyx ignored the hushed side-chatter as he then facetiously and disrespectfully said to the Omega Juggler, "So, either your Senior Partners accept that we run the show or they can just simply get out of our way and let us proceed with our plans at the Gathering."

General Black then used his hidden trump card given by the Senior Partners as he hissed, "Do not be so brashly dismissive with the founders of Wolfram and Hart, Demyx. They are aware of the Keyhole of Earth. We know of its location."

Lexaeus snorted as he snapped back, "And you think that would give you and your associates of Wolfram and Hart bargaining leeway to reap the benefits of the Heartless invasion to come? Don't mock us, General Black! The Organization and the Heartless would be able to locate the Keyhole eventually, with or without your help."

"And what makes you think that we will not tell the heroes of it's location and betray you, especially since one of the X-Men, Misfits, or Joes would most likely be the wielder of the Keyblade?" General Black rumbled. Vexen smiled, his long mane of pale, blond hair catching the light reflecting off his icy, spiked shield.

"Ah, but then the Senior Partners would then be unable to doom the Earth with the future apocalypse, and considering that Angel and his associates have murdered all the members of the Black Thorn Circle, the Senior Partners are truly stuck and without a backup plan to summon the next day of reckoning. Thanks to the vampire's interference, the Slayers have escaped the bondage of death that comes with the mantle of their powers, Wolfram and Hart has severely lost the stranglehold it had over the world, never to be regained back to normal again, and though you still have many branches of the firm all over the world, none of them shall be able to re-establish what the Senior Partners have lost. They need a catastrophe, we can provide them one, and they will not do anything to endanger the Gathering or else they will kiss whatever chance they have of ruling this planet with their minions good-bye forever."

"This is the firm's last chance to doom the world," Axel snidely pointed out, "If you hinder us, the Senior Partners will never have this chance again to regain power through the Judgment Day of Earth…and to seek vengeance against Angel and the Slayers for causing them much grief in the past."

General Black seemed to be wrestling with the decision for a minute or two before he then spat out poisonously, "The Senior Partners have just informed me telepathically that although they do not like it, what you have just said holds truth, and as such, they concede…for now. And they wish to see that if Wolfram and Hart is to gain further favor and significance in its vendettas against the Slayers and Angel Investigations, we wish to provide a servant for you on our behalf to act as an association between the Senior Partners and your Superior. Our servant shall be forced to comply with your orders, as he is nothing more than a meaningless and backstabbing runt who deserves worse punishment for his betrayals, but we would like him to participate in helping to make sure that the Slayers and their allies perish, starting with Angel and his band of friends."

"I see no problem with that," Larxene said, the blond-haired woman nodding her approval, "Blackheart could use a lackey to help carry out his orders for the Heartless during the harvest."

"Then the Senior Partners shall send him now," the Omega Juggler gravely announced, and with a flash of black lightning, a cloud of darkness appeared in the middle of the silver and white-marble floor to reveal a naked and weak Lindsey McDonald, the same lawyer of Wolfram and Hart who was killed by Lorne when he helped Angel and his team betray and assassinate the Circle of the Black Thorn. Tea and General Silver raised their eyebrows; they knew of Lindsey's role in the demise of the L.A. branch.

"I take it you chose to resurrect this pitiful pretty-boy back from the dead in order to punish him for his betrayals to the firm?" Galatea asked in a bored, deadpanned tone.

"Shut your mouth, you goddamned cunt!" spat Lindsey, coughing up blood and mucus on the floor, indicating that he knew perfectly well of how he was the firm's bargaining chip, "I don't work for any demon, and I'm no one's slave! The firm deserved everything it got after they fucked with me!"

"I beg to differ, McDonald," Blackheart interrupted none too gracefully as he raised a glowing claw at Lindsey, and to the lawyer's horror, he saw that he chest was now painfully branded with the badge of the Heartless on his chest, the symbol attaching to his flesh and blood like a manacle, unbreakable and restraining, "You are now a Heartless, fused with the powers of darkness on behalf of the Thirteenth Order, and are now but an extension of my will, a puppet for my amusement, so to speak."

"Go to hell, asshole!" Lindsey hissed before he spat at Blackheart's feet while the servant of the Organization ambled up to him. Unfortunately, that was an enormous mistake; Blackheart was not one to take insubordination.

"You would do well to remember that you take your orders from me, McDonald, especially since I know hold rank as the Black Knight of the Hellfire Club," Blackheart coldly said without mercy as he grabbed Lindsey by the neck and clear lifted the man off the ground, his stranglehold leaving the ex-lawyer for Wolfram and Hart gurgling for air, dangling and his feet kicking wildly. The servant of the Organization was pitiless, however, as he continued to slowly wring Lindsey's neck.

"And as long as the Senior Partners from Wolfram and Hart do not give the slightest damn about your welfare due to your betrayals to the Black Thorn Circle, I'd advise you to watch your mouth and remember that from this day onward, you serve me and the Organization as our slave. And should you choose not to…I can easily remind you that there are things worse than death. And no one would really care on how loudly you scream and beg for my mercy."

With that, Blackheart dropped the lawyer-turned-Heartless to the floor.

Lindsey coughed and sputtered, gasping heavily, but the look of murderous and bitterness lacing his pretty-boy features made it perfectly clear to all the members of the Organization and the Hellfire Club that even though he would comply with the binding contract, he would not take this lying down and with grace. He would either break out or die trying.

Blackheart raised a hand, commanding to Lindsey, "Go, I have no need for you now, my slave. You shall be called when I have a mission that will require your assistance, but until then, go back to the darkness from whence you came. I grow weary of your meaningless presence…"

Lindsey seemed ready to insult Blackheart again, but Blackheart's eyes began to glow, and Lindsey winced and hissed in excruciating agony as he felt the Heartless symbol glow and burn against each and every fiber of his senses like infinite hellfire and unspeakable pain. Lindsey shot Blackheart a murderous look before he had no choice and vanished in a mass of smoke and ebony aura.

Meanwhile, the Organization, Luxord, turned his gray eyes to Blackheart.

"So you now hold a prominent position in the Inner Circle, I see," the gray-haired man remarked in a stern yet interested tone, "Well done on your advancements, Blackheart. I obviously can see that the Superior and Lord Imperial have made it so that you could provide excellent help during the hunt for the Talismans and the Keyblade wielder on Earth."

"And he has more or less earned the title," Lord Imperial remarked as he stared at the ball of flesh that was guarded by the pinnacle of the stone carvings gathered around the fountain of the Heartless, listening to the claming sounds of water cascading down the crystal clear pool below, "Blackheart has gained us the last ingredient we needed for Experiment 666. And now, we have a single experiment, harnessing the might of the Phoenix Force from one of the two fragments we took from Supergirl, the demon blood we gained from the Titan, Raven, and finally, the spirit of the planet itself thanks to the conquest of the Nexus. Ah, it shall be a thing of absolute beauty."

"Unfortunately, that may not exactly be the case," General Black broke in suddenly, "My sources from the other firms of Wolfram and Hart have also uncovered another troubling development: the Charmed Ones and the Slayers have been approached by the Ghostbusters. They are the first of the many new recruits the Ghostbusters are seeking to fight against Wolfram and Hart. And in its destabilized state, the firm may not be able to crush them like once before in the past…"

General Silver and Lord Imperial's eyes narrowed; this was bad news…

"Those washed-out humans? Please, don't insult us and our intelligence. Even the Hellions could easily take them out. The Ghostbusters are nothing more than a joke, and a pitiful one at that," Frost scoffed.

"Can't we attack them then? By siding with the Ghostbusters, we'll have an incredibly easy time tracking down their movements and riding those Slayers once and for all, and if anything, it'll be a side-benefit to wipe out those Ghostbuster flat-liners," Pierce asked, contemplating.

"No, it will not be easy, and I assure you that the Ghostbusters are no joke, Emma, especially since the Ghostbusters have protection from the Powers That Be," Lord Imperial said at last, his voice hard and filled with bile.

"By the First and Satan, the Powers That Be?" Selene gasped, and all the other members of the Inner Circle were a bit taken aback at the look of pure terror on the dark witch's face (a rare occurrence indeed), "The Powers That Be? The Ghostbusters have protection…from THEM?"

The other members of the Inner Circle were surprised and astounded at the look of pure dismayed awfulness on the Black Queen's face.

"How bad is it, Selene?" Shaw asked at last.

"It's bad enough," muttered Selene, her expression incredibly troubled and vexed, "Not even the Senior Partners are willing to brush off the Powers That Be easily, not unless they wish to make the mistake of underestimating them like we have before with the Slayers. In my youth, I was imprudent and arrogant enough to try to vanquish them myself…needless to say, it was incredibly foolish despite my expertise in magic and power as an External."

"Then this does not help with our situation with the Slayers and the Charmed Ones, especially since they and the Watcher's Council will now have the protection of the Ghostbusters and any recruits they additionally manage to convince to help out," Pierce warned, but General Eddington smiled as he motioned for General Black's guest to step out of the shadows.

"Oh, I assure you, my dear Pierce," Eddington sneered with pleasure and satisfaction, "Eiling, Silver, Black, and I have recruited another person of impressive magical skills and cunning expertise in demonology and the occult to help ensure that the Charmed Ones, the Slayers, and the Ghostbusters will have some difficulty for the time to come until the Gathering of Twilight."

General Black declared with pride as a thin, sallow-faced, brown-haired British man stepped forward, "Esteemed members of the Hellfire Club and the Organization, may I present to you Mr. Ethan Rayne, the new superior and chief administrator of the Initiative."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Ethan said with a casual cockney accent, and Shaw and Selene's eyes rose in surprise before both of them nodded their approval, realizing that it was indeed a good choice. After all, who else would be better to give Rupert Giles and his Slayers trouble than Giles' nemesis, himself.

"Ah, yes, I have heard of you, Mr. Rayne," Shaw commented as General Black and Ethan strode over to the fountain of the Thirteenth Order, "Quite an impressive line of work; your resume did not go unnoticed by Selene and General Black themselves. Still, I am curious to how exactly you escaped imprisonment after the Slayer Buffy and her friend, Riley, managed to catch you when you turned Giles into a Fyarl demon?"

"Eddington was able to pull a few strings on my behalf," Ethan bragged with venomous wickedness, "And of course, Wolfram and Hart were eager to find people who would be willing to destroy and abolish the Slayers in any matter they can get, especially since the Black Thorn's demise. And it is also thanks to them that the Initiative can dare to go much further in their attempts to wipe out all magical blights…especially now that they and their resources are under my command."

"A bit eager, aren't you? Are you sure you will be up for the challenge, Mr. Rayne, especially since Buffy is now not the only vampire slayer on this planet?" Emma purred, and Rayne gave her a brilliant smile, showing all his teeth.

"I have some unfinished business with dear Rupert…I daresay I should be able to give him and his precious brood much trouble."

General Black's smile on his face turned absolutely bone-chilling as he reminded the Hellfire Club, "As Eddington has mentioned before previously, we were successful in finding loyal Initiative soldiers who would have no qualms murdering Slayers, even if they are human girls."

"Quiet," commanded Marluxia suddenly at last, "the Oracle from the fountain is about to speak…"

Immediately, all fell silent as the eyes of each and every one of the stone Heartless decorating the fountain began to glow a peculiar and spine-chilling yellow luminescence, and the entire sterile chamber began to quiver from the power of the Organization's fortune-teller of the sacred fountainhead.

A voice, deep and sinister, then declared in a somber and final tone in the universal medium of dreaming and reality from the dark pools of water in the stone pond…

The Sovereign and

The Champion

of Twilight

shall fight for the hearts of all,

dusk and dawn unite.

Warriors born of fate,

blessed by pain and virtue,

will make way for the path

for the final decision

of the Hearts of Worlds.

The apex of Kingdom Hearts.

Allies shall rise and fight

In the Gathering of Twilight,

yet all shall be in vain

by the jealousy of some.

Sacrifice of twelve,

a Grail, a Mirror,

a Sword, and a Shield,

a unity of hearts,

where angels cheer and mourn

on the Earth of many.

A possible third door.

The princes and princesses of Twilight.

It shall not pass,

The Earth and all life consumed,

The Thirteenth Order will triumph,

for darkness is the heart's true essence

There was a ringing silence after the Oracle of the Fountain finished followed by smug looks and absolute and restrained glee at the successful execution and implementation of their plans. After so many months of planning and subtle and difficult manipulation, after so many eons of waiting…

"As you have said, it is coming…" Lord Imperial said with extreme satisfaction as he and the rest of the Hellfire Club eagerly took this piece of news joyously. After the Heartless ruled and conquered the Earth, they would be no less than gods themselves.

"Then let us begin…" Marluxia intoned with a smile, "and those fools from the X-Men and Misfits have no chance against us now, not when it has clearly stated that we shall win and triumph. We will all finally become complete beings. The mutants and their allies are as good as dead, each and every one of them. And their planet shall only be the first to fall…"

---

Meanwhile, in another realm far, far away, where time and space knew no boundaries and had never existed (and beyond the knowledge and senses of anyone from the Thirteenth Order and the Hellfire Club), where there was no light nor darkness, another figure was hearing this very same prophetic foretelling of doom from a different Oracle, and at the last few verses, the figure sank to his knees and began to sob, his tears dripping and floating in the emptiness of matter and air, floating limply.

"No!" the hidden and unknown figure wept, "No, it's too late! It's too late! Everyone on Earth and all light and darkness beyond is doomed! The Gathering of Twilight…it's too late…"

And alone, the figure continued to sob softly, helpless and completely distraught.

---

At that very moment, somewhere in the middle of Midwest regions of the United States, in the middle of a serene and sweet-smelling wheat-field, above the starry sky and cool night air, there was a star, glowing brightly across the grassy plains. It was somewhat not like the other stars for it began to blaze even more dazzlingly and vibrantly, its starlight the color of soft peach and beige. Its intensity of luminescence could have easily rivaled that of the full moon. Thankfully, not a single person nearby noticed this, so the unusual bright anomaly went undetected as it flashed in the sky before it literally fell from the heavens as a falling star and crashed smack-dab in the middle of the lush and dry wheat-fields within minutes.

Wham!

There was a furious discharge of rosy-colored light and several thick clouds of dust and upturned dirt particles, but surprisingly enough, there was no usual, fiery explosion and cloud of choking ash that normally came with the event of a falling meteorite. In fact, had anyone been watching, they would have seen that the object that fell from the unseen yet powerful dimensional rift in the night sky was no meteorite, but instead, a living, four legged creature that was hibernating faintly, cocooned in an protective aura of radiance. The glow subsided and left the animal breathing shallowly and comfortably in the tall plants before it slowly stirred and woken up.

Amazingly, despite hurtling in velocities at the thousands and the acceleration of free-fall from Earth's lower atmosphere, the strange animal actually managed to survive without a single scratch, bruise, or even a single hair scuffed up from its silky pelt. It was as if it was protected by magic, and considering that no one, not even the powerful magic users and telepaths of the Organization and the Hellfire Club had been able to sense the animal's arrival into the current dimension of Earth, it probably was.

The creature blinked before it yawned and scratched his black ears with his hind foot before he arched his back and stretched lazily, and now that to soot and dust had settled, the moonlight displayed that the creature that crashed from the heavens and remained unscathed was a dog, a hound to be more precise.

The hound had golden, short fur, gleaming and smooth, his pelt silky as if raised under a life of luxury and had been brushed and cared for meticulously, and though lean, one could see his frame consisted of an adequate amount of fat and muscle. The canine had long, thin black ears and a black tail, similar to that of a mouse, but his eyes were the windows of his soul, wide and innocent and playful, never capable of anything evil. And his pupils were dark, but if one looked closely, they could see they were cycling through a rainbow of colors, changing in moments from blue to red to green to purple to black.

This was no ordinary dog.

The hound sniffed the air with his black nose, as if to catch a scent in the wind, before it let loose a loud bark of joy and set off, galloping and jumping as if lost in a euphoric dance. His feet made no noise or even left the slightest footprint indentations in the fragile wheat and rye, but at a steady and energized pace, the dog headed east where he knew his heart told him to go, and it would be there he would find what he needed to seek. And as he ran, the light of the moon and stars above caught on the strange tag that was attached around a green collar around his neck. The tag was shiny and metal, in the shape of three circles conjoined together to form a mouse's head and on the tag was one word clearly inscribed in simply yet bold letters:

PLUTO

The End

Author's notes: The only characters I own are Justin Moore, Damionax, and Krygaw, the Whitelighters. All the others you see in this chapter are not mine and are the biggest hint of troubles to come. Zaizen is a character from the cartoon "Witch-Hunter Robin", and the characters Ethan Rayne, Justine Cooper, and Lindsey McDonald are characters from the Whedon-verse of the TV series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". The concept of the Ghostbusters recruiting anf fighting against Wolfram and Hart is borrowed from a dear friend and respected author named "Sparky Genocide" who has written the ultimate Ghostbusters team-up crossover called "Ultimate Ghostbusters" (Do a Google search for "Sparky Genocide" and "Ultimate Ghostbusters" for I will eventually bring in his version for the Gathering of Twilight – thanks again SG!). The character Pluto is property of Disney and Kingdom Hearts (yes, he's THAT Pluto, the dog pet of Mickey Mouse). Now take heart for the next crossover is what I've been leading to for the past year, and folks, you won't want to miss it for it will be ugly! It shall all boil down to the pinnacle crossover I've been planning for the past two years! Prepare for the greatest crossover and battle the Misfits, the X-Men, and the Joes will face in their entire lives! It shall be the crossover with "Kingdom Hearts"! and the Oracle should be the biggest hint of what's to come in the epic story of Kingdom Hearts!

Misfits, X-Men, and Joes: How bad is this one?

Me: I'll put it to you this way, it's worse than this crossover…every friend and ally you met will have a role in this, and it is not pretty. It'll make what you did when you lost the Nexus seem like patty-cake…

Misfits, X-Men, and Joes: Oh no…

Until that crossover, I'll do two one-shots before uploading the first chapter! And wow, I can't believe I just finished this fanfic! It seems so monumental now! A special thanks to each and every one of my reviewers, and until next time, read, enjoy, and review! Constructive criticism welcome!