I own none of the recognizable characters portrayed within. And probably none of the unrecognizable… The reviews were most helpful, thanks. As to my depiction of Buffy, I was assuming that with the success of her 'plan' in Chosen, she would revert to her 'General Buffy' persona. I was trying for a Buffy who takes Xander for granted and is overly certain of herself. It was thought I 'stretched' the Dr's Jones. At the end of 'The Last Crusade', both drank from the Holy Grail, which, in their continuity at least, extends lifetimes (eg. The Knight in the Last Crusade.) so I don't think I did. As for the Shadow, yeah I stretched to get him for this. For Bond, I'm thinking Pierce Brosnan era.

26/03/04 / Cardiff - Wales / Afternoon - (Immediately follows previous chapter.

"A point we'll cover. Gentlemen, Ladies, now that we are all here, let us begin. You five, plus the lovely Miss Newman, have been gathered to do what we, as covert agencies, cannot. We wish you to intervene in situations which threaten the world…" began the eldest of the three.

"All well and good. I've been doing that for years. Why us, and why now?" asked Xander, bluntly.

Brognola took up the thread. "Our respective governments are more aware of supernatural activities than the average citizen. Why do you think you were never investigated regarding that rocket launcher?"

"Rocket Launcher?" whispered Lara to Cassandra, who shrugged.

"But I'm getting off track. We three have an 'informal' meeting about once a year. One year ago we decided to assemble this group, researching various organisations, vigilantes and military units for those we could trust to do the job. We have also each been assembling equipment and funds for your operation."

"Ah." interrupted Jarod "You want us to operate without official sanction. These 'funds' we would have to invest to provide for our own operating expenses. Interesting."

"Indeed Mr McNally." said Trilby. Xander twitched.

"That's the why now. So, why us?"

Our files place each of you on pedestals. Alexander LaVelle Harris, has prevented the End of Days single-handedly three times…"

"Four."

"Sorry, four times, in conjunction with others, eight times with the help of others. Retains some knowledge from being possessed by the spirit of a soldier during one Halloween. Has despatched an unknown, though large, number of vampires and demons, including a member of an order of Assassins dating to the time of King Solomon. Basic knowledge of Latin, Ancient Sumerian, Etruscan and numerous demonic languages…"

"You missed out Klingon."

"…Supported the Slayer and group throughout numerous crises, both demonic and domestic. Has a White Knight complex making him incapable of leaving anyone who needs help. Lost his eye fighting a creature stronger than a slayer, or any demon he'd encountered to date. Having seen the strongest fighters in his group brushed aside, he still tackled the guy to save an innocent girl. Frankly, that alone would have got you considered for this if we'd found out about it." Trilby then grinned. "Finally, has an unerring ability to date demons without knowing it and is the focus of more crushes by my researchers than anyone they've ever profiled before."

"Uhh…"

Trilby chuckled "Heck, a couple swapped teams to have those crushes!"

"Uhh…" Xander's eyebrows rose, "Me!"

"Yep. Now, Cassandra Newman. Recently activated Slayer, proficient in both a 'hard' and 'soft' martial art, as well as being exposed to Harris', unique, style of fighting. Recently helped take out a Shaman using Magic to oppress an African village."

Brognola took up the recital. "Jack Lazarus, the physically sixteen-year-old clone of Colonel Jonathan O'Neill with all of his memories, currently attending Colorado High School, himself responsible for saving the world on a couple of occasions…"

"Doncha mean the 'real me'?" Jack snarked.

"No, until the incident, you were Colonel Jack O'Neill, with all his successes and failures until that time on your head. Anyway, expert Special Forces soldier and small-team leader. Holds the record for most cautions in a serving officer."

"Mostly right." put in Jack "But I was expelled from Colorado High the day ya contacted me." He grinned "Apparently, stopping bullies is now a punishable activity."

"Yes, well. Jarod McNally, kidnapped by a 'research centre' as a young baby, subjected to genetic experiments and conditioning, resulting in the ability to 'simulate' the thought processes of any person. He can read a book on brain surgery in the morning and perform the operation that afternoon. Escaping their captivity, and discovering their influence behind the scenes, he ran. Despite being hunted, Mr McNally looked for wrongs to right through newspapers and Internet Search engines. We have proof of maybe 20 of the interventions we suspect he was involved in, all of which resulted in the best result practical."

Sir Basil took up the briefing. "Lady Lara Croft, expert markswoman, gymnast and proficient in a wide-range of languages, both modern and ancient. Aditionally, Lady Croft has herself prevented potentially apocalyptic events from arising on several occasions. For example, she prevented Pandora's Box from being activated, or the Dagger of Xian being utilised. Relies on the support of her Butler, Hillary…"

"Shades of Batman." exclaimed Xander quietly. Cassandra nodded in agreement.

"…and an Australian national called Bryce. Finally, Lady Croft has contacts worldwide, information dealers to pawn shops, military units to monasteries."

"Alright, that's five of us. Who's he?" asks Cassandra, pointing at Lamont.

Again, Sir Basil took up the introduction. "This is Lamont Cranston…"

Jarod inhaled sharply. "The Shadow?" he asked, derailing Sir Basil's monologue.

Sir Basil almost gaped at him. (He didn't, of course. British Knights do not gape.) "How the devil did you guess that?" (Express surprise, yes.)

"I spent some time in New York. I was curious regarding the citywide pneumatic message tube system and investigated it. There were a few cut-outs, but I learnt that one Lamont Cranston had arranged for it. Nothing on the human side though. It was through the financial records that I discovered that much. Intrigued, I researched the era, and discovered rumours of a 'Shadow' who acted as a vigilante. There were stories of lives saved and an entire hotel appearing out of nowhere. I put the matter on hold, as there was nothing more than circumstantial evidence to link the two and the Centre was getting close. As you yourself said, we've been gathered to save the world. Lamont Cranston is hardly a common name, so I decided to ask."

"Yes, well, Mr Cranston has been operating as 'The Shadow' for some time. He possesses various talents which seem to depend on psychic ability. Mind-reading and apparent invisibility for instance. Mr Cranston also uses a pair of Colt .45's with which he is an expert, and has a talent for building networks to supply information and technical support. He prevented the destruction of New York, at the least, by an unknown individual who had acquired the inspiration for the 'Manhattan Project'."

"You mean…?"

"Yes Lady Croft, an atomic bomb. The mastermind behind the plot was never captured or even identified…"

"His name was Shiwan Khan. He was, in fact, the last remaining descendant of Temujin, or

Genghis Khan. He became this by slaughtering his family before the incident. He was taught by the Tulku, a master of various psychic abilities, who had previously taught me. He murdered the Tulku before coming to New York. Shiwan attempted to recruit me, I refused. He is currently contained and his abilities removed. Anything else?"

"Why would he attempt to recruit you?" asked Xander.

"Before I became the Shadow, I worked on the other side of the line. I was rather, infamous. Shiwan had heard of me, described me as his 'idol'. He believed I would aid him because of this."

"Oh hell, we invited a crook!" exclaimed Brognola.

"Mr Cranston, what guise did you assume during your time on 'the other side of the line'?" queried Sir Basil.

"I choose not to say."

"Well, damn. If it's that bad we've no choice but to detain you." growled Trilby.

"You'd find that harder than expected."

"And it won't happen." heads turned towards the voice's owner, Cassandra Newman.

"And why not?"

"He became the Shadow after this period…" She turned to Cranston "…to atone, right?"

"Yes." he answered slowly.

"Then there's no point to detaining him and every reason not to. He is now a good guy, plus you'd likely lose most of us here. Me and Xand won't work with you because we wouldn't trust you not to detain us if you felt like it."

"Plus, we were assured this meeting would not result in detainment." spoke up Xander "In my book, that means everyone, not just those who haven't crossed some line that exist in your heads. Demon hunting is hardly legal. Neither is Tomb Raiding. His background, while bad, doesn't bother me at all."

"You mean you know who he was…"

"Yep." Xander directed a one-eyed glare at the triumvirate over the table, "If you didn't know before, you should have researched us all better."

"Mr Harris…"

"Hal, be quiet." Trilby stared at the six people arrayed around the room. "We chose these people because they are the best, and they do what's right. If Mr Harris is aware of Mr Cranston's prior, activities, yet is still willing to work with him, then I say we drop it. I am curious as to how you know…?"

"The old Watchers Council looked into everything. They had old 'Monty' here under observation due to his supernatural abilities."

Sir Basil Covington and Hal Brognola looked at each other, then at Spencer Trilby.

"I feel…" began Sir Basil, "… that if you choose to work with us, then you must inform the other direct members of the organisation, for trust to be established. We three, are not direct members. Is that acceptable?"

"The other's here. If anyone joins later, it's up to our discretion."

"Very well. We've given the introductions, incomplete as they may be. As we've stated, we will provide the initial funds and certain equipment for your use. Are you in?"

Lady Croft grinned. "Well, if you have some non-disclosure agreements handy, we can discuss the arrangements would be. I'm agreeing to nothing without knowing the particulars of the job."

"Us neither." Said Xander, speaking for himself and Cassandra.

"I'm intrigued enough for that." said Jarod.

"It gets me out of having to go to school, I want to know more." grinned Jack.

"I can hardly say no to knowing more." commented Lamont dryly.

"This, at least, we anticipated." commented Trilby, as he reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a sheaf of papers. He passed them over, and smiled as he saw the varying levels of apparent scrutiny. Jarod seemed to be flicking through casually, glancing at each page. Lamont was paying close attention to the main clauses. Lady Croft was studying it all. Jack flicked through it and signed, while Xander was checking the clauses, the sub-clauses and the paper itself, while Cassandra was waiting for his decision. Finally, they had all signed the non-disclosure agreements and settled in. It was time for answers…

I know, I'm evil leaving it at that, but I'm trying to figure out just what to give them. Money, that's for definite. Weapons? Vehicles? A submarine? an aeroplane?'tricorders'? I figure one more chapter before there's much action, suggestions are welcome and PLEASE review. Please.