Disclaimer: So A-I don't own this, though I still really want a dinner date with Mark Ruffalo. B - I'm changing everything. I've tried hard not to change the storyline too much witht these but from here on out Xander is meddling. It will NOT go down the way it did. I have no idea how to deal with Thanatos yet, but I can promise you the Avengers will be stronger than they were. Shrugs. The story lines were stupid and pissed me off.

"Ultron? Who or what the hell is Ultron?" Xander listened to them babble and groaned. "Tony, didn't you listen to the Moloch story? Take heed?"

Tony crossed his arms, staring at the floor. "That was a demon. This wasn't supposed to be alive, not like that, well not yet."

"You created a new child. One that killed your other child. The child I regarded as a friend and the one my abused slayer has imprinted on more than any human alive? What. Did. You. Do?" Xander was in Tony's face growling out the words and Tony whirled around doing some tech thing that made a orange ball that had been shattered appear.

"That is Jarvis. Or what is left of him."

Xander stared at it. "How do we fix it?"

Thor, who had taken off after one of the legionaries, came storming back in and grabbed Tony. Lifting him up by his throat. "You did it with the scepter!"

Tony, Steve, the rest of them, Nat, the visiting scientist, even Rhodes, was looking at him as Tony protested why he had to create this thing, to protect them from aliens, from gods, from monsters. Xander stepped back, letting the corner of the lab cloak him as he listened, and it felt so familiar. He could hear Willow in his head, how she had to do it to protect them all. The horrible feeling of dominos falling had started and right now he didn't know how to stop it.

Ultron.

Willow.

The Avengers.

Xander didn't know whether to scream or start crying.

Priorities. Jolie, Safira, the slayers. The world.

He turned and slipped away. Only Nat glanced at him as he left and he just shook his head a tiny bit. Her head slumped, and she moved closer to Bruce and he had to resist the desire to slump himself. Darcy had left to go call Pepper and give her warning.

He took the stairs. By the fourth set he told himself he'd take the stairs more often. By the time he got to their apartment and knocked on the door, he swore to add more cardio to his routine. And add more battle axes to every place he went.

It opened slowly, and the lack of Jarvis pierced his heart once again. Safira stood there, most of her behind the door her hand hidden, though Xander knew it held a sword.

"Just me. They're all arguing." He stepped in and looked around. "Jolie?"

"Her room. It's bad isn't it?"

Xander looked down at the floor. "Change. Go see Steve. They could use some common sense and Nat is the only pragmatic one up there." He looked up at her , his face hard and fierce. "Be careful. Do what you need to do, but remember this is a robot. It doesn't cave or get scared or let a broken bone or hell even a beheading stop it. Slayers aren't made to fight that. So don't make me bury you and burn down the world."

Safira looked at him and stepped close, bending to touch her forehead to his. "I know. Demons and vampire and monsters from our past, not the monsters humans create. I will be the voice of reason. If they still don't listen. I'll call Buffy." She flashed him a smile and pulled her head back.

Xander just nodded. There wasn't more to say. She had to see and find her own path and if it was by the side of one Steve Rogers, this was part of it.

"Jar-" he broke off, and she closed her eyes. "Stairs. Don't trust the elevators."

Safira swallowed and nodded, then headed out. Xander headed towards Jolie's bedroom. Xander knocked on the door as he said softly, "Jolie?"

Before he could rap the second time, the door was pulled open and a red eyed Jolie was standing there. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Instincts drove Xander more than common sense. He stepped in and pulled her to him. Her arms wrapped around him, tight enough to hurt, her head at sternum level. He felt her trembling and his banked rage flared up again. "I don't know. But let's not count him out yet."

She pulled back, sniffling, and looked up at him. "What happened?" And question and a demand wrapped up in those two words, along with so much heart ache.

"I don't know. Tony and Bruce were messing with that staff thing and it came alive?" He shrugged. "I saw the soul of Jarvis and it is pretty damaged, but I think Tony is working on healing him."

"I can help," she said and pulled away, a stubborn look on her face that reminded him so much of Willow he had to grit his teeth not to cry.

"Your expertise is biology, not high level programming. And," he took a deep breath. "I'm considering sending you back to Slayer HQ."

"What?!" This had an immediate reaction. "You can't send me away. This is my place, my home," her voice cracked a bit on that last word and Xander closed his eye, then sank to the floor.

"Come sit by me," he said and patted the floor.

Please don't let me have broken her trust.

Jolie gave him a narrow-eyed stare and sat down, but on the opposite side of him, their feet almost touching. "What?"

"You are super smart, strong, funny, and very special to me. You know that, right?"

Some of her anger fled and her shoulders slumped as she picked at the sole of her shoe. "Maybe."

"Well, I think you are. So does Safira, and I expect Bruce and Tony and everyone else does too. But that means I want, need, to protect you."

Her head jerked up. "I'm an adult. You can't make me."

Xander let go a shaky breath. "You're right. You are an adult. So I'm going to lay out the problem and together we will make a decision. Just like I would with Safira or Steve or even Nat."

Her eyes were wary, but she was looking at him and nodded, if reluctantly.

"Something tore Jarvis apart." He didn't pause at her flinch, just kept talking. "What ever it was took over the bodies of Tony's robots, Iron Legion, and attacked us. They knocked all of us around. Steve got thrown. Even Thor couldn't stop them or catch up with them. The rest of us are lucky we didn't get killed, except I don't think they were trying to kill us. Something is up and we know what ever it was has escaped and I'm sure it has plans. But these are not things slayers fight. No matter how strong or fast you are, you can't handle a steel fist slamming into you. Safira needs to make her own decision, and so do you." Saying those words hurt so badly he had to close his eyes. "I do not think here is safe for you. I'd like you to go back to Slayer HQ. Hopefully the Avengers can stop what ever this is, but I'm worried about you getting caught in the cross fire."

She gave him a long, level look. "Are you staying?" He nodded. "Is Safira?"

"I don't know yet."

"I'm almost thirteen."

"I know."

And you are still such a little girl I want to protect you. I need to remember every gift has an edge.

"I want to stay. If something else happens, we can discuss again," her voice hard and unwavering.

Xander bent his head, feeling like gravity was going to crush it into his heart. "Okay." He rose to his feet. "Get some sleep."

She blinked at him, surprised. "You aren't going to make me go?"

He stopped at her door, the corner of his lips trembling, but he tried to make it seem like he wanted to smile. "You're an adult. You get to choose what you want to do. But I do get to worry."

Jolie gave him a grave nod. "Thank you."

"I protect my slayers, but that doesn't mean I get to take away their voice." He shut the door behind him. Her surprised eyes would stay with him a long time. He headed back up, too lost in thoughts to notice the multiple flights of stairs.

What greeted him was a collection of people that didn't know what to do, or where to go. Thor had followed the fleeing robots until they got too far out then returned, which meant they were blind as to where they went.

Right now, they didn't have any answers. Which meant Xander didn't either.

"What are you going to tell Pepper? And will you tell Jane?"

Thor and Tony looked at each other, then away, and Xander sighed. "Jane probably won't notice, but Darcy knows and she will tell Jane. She'll call Pepper, who will know by now that Jarvis is gone. She has her own powers and I think you not telling her will get you in way more trouble than you want to be in."

He saw Tony wince and nodded. "So tell me what the situation is, so I can prep the slayers. This is not their fight. They would NOT be good at fighting robots. But they can watch and let us know if they see anything. And we need to talk about WHY you created this, Tony."

Tony growled and turned away . "Who are you to demand this of me?" he muttered, staring at the broken visage of the soul of Jarvis.

"The father of the daughter standing next to Steve Rogers planning on following him into battle, and the protector of a little girl down stairs crying because her best friend is dead. But because she is an adult, she won't run away and is probably even now cracking open books to learn how to help you get him back. And I'm the man who has never walked away from his friends' mistakes." Xander's voice cut like a whip, and even Nat turned her head at the truth in his words. Safira just stood up straighter, standing behind Steve like an avenging angel.

Tony flinch, his back to them and his shoulders dropped. "You don't pull any punches, do you?"

"I don't believe in sugarcoating life," Xander replied, his arms across his chest, watching all of them. Something was off. Something he couldn't put his finger on.

Tony turned around, swallowing convulsively. He looked around, eyes lingering on the people in the room. Nat, Steve, Safira, Thor, Clint, Bruce. Maria had left. Darcy had left to deal with an PR issues and update Pepper. War Machine had gone to report to his superiors. The visiting doc wasn't there. Xander couldn't remember her name.

With a huff of exasperation, Tony explained about his vision, what he saw. How he needed to make sure the world was safe. "They opened a portal. They could have sent a planet killer through it. We need to figure this out," Tony stated, a touch of his normal arrogance coming back. "We are the Avengers!"

"You are an idiot," Xander said. "Actually, all of you are. And Thor, I am the most disappointed in you." His voice held barely restrained fury and a touch of contempt.

Every person in the room except Safira bristled and stared at him. Safira had buried her face in her palm and was shaking her head.

Nat bristled, rising up and even Bruce looked offended. Xander just stood there, arms crossed, glaring at them.

Thor frowned, his massive arms crossed like a shield on his chest. "I do not understand Xander, did we not fight valiantly? What cause do you have to disparage us?"

"You of all of them should recognize magic when you feel it. Do you not know when a vision has been forced on you?" Xander snarled. "Tony, you've met Willow. You know magic is real. You were hit with a vision whammy. Guaranteed to make you run sprinting into what ever they want. Your emotions and reactions are compromised. Think!"

They all stared at him, and Tony groaned. "I'm an idiot. It was so real, the fear, the reactions, I never stopped to think…" he trailed off, shoulders slumping. "But that doesn't change anything. We need to stop what I created. "

"Yes, but do you think maybe you can do it as a team and not as a bunch of scared people? Being scared and reacting gets more people killed."

Nat ducked her head, as did Bruce. Thor groaned. "There are many that could do that, but in my defense, Tony never mentioned the vision."

"Which is why he's being an idiot. And he is going to stop being an idiot and talk to us," Xander snapped. "And I'm really thinking that we need to ask, if not beg a favor from Willow. You all need your minds protected. This level of vision can drive you to suicide or worse."

Bruce looked at him with an odd look. "What could be worse than suicide?"

Xander gave him a flat, uncompromising glare as he fought with his own anger. "Convincing you that bees are attacking and you change into the Hulk to swat them. Only they aren't bees, they're kids."

Everyone in the room paled. "Do I have you worried yet? Witches that can do visions are bad news and can twist you up in ways that you can't expect." He took a breath, fighting with his need to tell them what they would do. They weren't children, even if he wanted to beat Tony at this moment. "Are you okay with me asking Willow for some protection?"

Nat, Steve, Bruce, and Clint all snapped out yes before the question had even left his mouth. Tony ran his fingers through his hair then nodded. "Yeah. Do it. I don't like people mucking with my mind."

Thor titled his head. "I think I shall pass. I want to see if I can detect the touch of this witch and see if there is truth to her poison. The strongest poison can often have medicine in it."

Xander glared at him. "Be careful. You send Mjolner winging towards anyone that isn't a bad guy and I'm going to see if I can turn it into shackles."

Thor didn't laugh, instead paled a bit and nodded in something that looked more like a bow. "So noted One who Sees."

Xander groaned and spun away. "Talk to me later. I need to go call Willow. Safira, you and Jolie are getting one. And I'll see if she'll make extras for Pepper, Darcy, and Jane."

No one else said a word as he stalked out of the office muttering, "Stupid billionaires."

Authors note: I've got new books coming out next month. I'm trying to finish up short stories and fanfiction so I can focus on the next novel and write it faster. It's been a rough 2021 and 2022 so far. But I think it is getting better. Remember to check out Mel Todd on Amazon for my original stuff.