Chapter 28: Exhibition

As Buffy and Dawn walked toward Bauer, they passed a chair facing their cell, presumably where Tess had been taking notes. When they glanced at the chair, it started to shake.

"Earthquake zone?" Buffy asked.

"Shhh!" Matasumi said, holding up his hand. He crouched beside the chair and studied it. The chair rocked from one diagonal to the other, back and forth, faster, then slowing, then regaining speed, tilting almost to the point of tipping, then reversing. After a few moments it stopped.

Bauer flashed the sisters a wide, almost proud smile. "What did you two think of that?" she asked.

"I'm really hoping it doesn't mean this place is built on a fault line," Buffy quipped.

"Oh, no. We chose the environment very carefully. Neither of you felt a tremor, did you?" Bauer said as Buffy and Dawn shook their heads. "You'll see that sort of thing quite often down here. Don't be alarmed if you wake up in the morning to find your magazines in the shower stall or your dining table upside down."

"Hmm," Dawn said. "Let me guess, you have a witch who can move things with her mind? I had a friend years and years ago who could do that."

"That is a possibility," Bauer replied

"The likely is that it's all of you," Matasumi said. "Our subjects. These events began several weeks ago, as our collection of subjects grew. My hypothesis is that they result from the high concentration of diverse psychic energy. Random spurts of energy causing equally random events."

"So it just happens? No one's doing it?" Buffy asked.

"There's no discernible pattern or meaning to the events. They're also quite harmless. No one has been injured. We're monitoring it closely, as there is always the possibility the energy could build to dangerous levels, but at this point, we can safely say you two have no reason for concern."

"If objects start flying, duck," Bauer said. "Now, let's resume the tour before we have any further interruptions." She motioned to the ceiling. "We're underground. The outer walls are several feet of reinforced concrete. Perhaps not impossible to break through—if you had a wrecking ball, plus a bulldozer to dig your way out. And once I speak to Katzen, you won't be able to teleport outside of whatever room you are in, Dawn. Now the second floor is also subterranean, so this level is more than fifty feet down. The ceiling is solid steel, as is the floor. The one-way glass is a special experimental design. It will resist—how many tons of pressure, Lawrence?"

"I don't know the precise specifications."

"Let's just say 'a lot,' then," Bauer said. "The doors at either end are reinforced steel, at least as strong as the glass. The security system requires both hand and retinal scans. As you've already discovered, the walls between the cells are not quite so impenetrable. Still, there's not much to be gained by knocking peepholes into the next cell since, as you can see, it's currently unoccupied."

She gestured at the adjoining cell. It was empty, as was the one across from the sisters.

"Our next guest might be familiar," Bauer said, leading Buffy and Dawn farther and motioning left.

The man was watching television. Neither sister recognized him right off the bat. By Bauer's introduction, they guessed he was a mutt, but they couldn't be sure without smelling him.

"Werewolf?" Dawn asked.

"You two don't know him?"

"Should we?" Buffy answered.

"I thought you two might. He knows you both quite well. By reputation, I suppose. Do you two have any contact with the werewolves outside your Pack?"

"As little as possible," Buffy said.

"Even though you are also a Slayer?" Bauer asked.

"Officially I am retired, as far as the Slayer was concerned, I died long enough to call the next one. And once I became a werewolf …"

"You would have become the hunted," Bauer said with a nod. She moved on. Matasumi was right behind them now. Tess had resumed her note-taking, jotting down Buffy and Dawn's every word.

"Next on the right we have a Voodoo priest."

"'Voodoo' is the common name," Matasumi said. "The correct terminology is 'Vodoun.'"

Buffy and Dawn looked at each other, Dawn had been correct Vodoun priests practiced voodoo.

Bauer waved off the distinction.

The man in the cage glared at the one-way glass as if he could see through it, but his eyes were focused a few feet left of their group. His lips parted and he muttered something.

Dawn was fluent in several languages from both before Sunnydale's collapse and after they had drunk from the Fountain. In fact, one of the Ph.D.'s Dawn possessed was in Languages. But the man's language was not one she recognized.

"He's cursing us," Bauer said. "Voodoo priests have only the most negligible powers. They're a minor race. Are you familiar with that term?"

Buffy and Dawn shook their heads. They of course knew the superstition around Voodoo priests but not anything substantial. In fact, the only Voodoo priest either sister had ever met was the goddess Calypso in her Tia Dalma guise. And Dawn highly doubted that Calypso had been a real Voodoo priest.

Matasumi took over. "We have the good fortune to have someone on staff who was able to supply us with the details of classification. Major and minor refer to the degree of power a race possesses. Major races include witches, half-demons, shamans, sorcerers, necromancers, vampires, and werewolves. The majority of these groups are relatively small. Vampires and half-demons being the exception. Minor races are much larger. In fact, it would be a misnomer to even call them 'races' because they often have no blood ties. Typically, they are normal people who display a certain aptitude and may have been trained to hone these talents. These minor races include Vodoun priests, druids, psychics, the Slayer and many others. To a layperson these people may appear to have great power, but in comparison to a witch or a werewolf—"

"There is no comparison," Bauer cut in. "Not for our purposes. This 'priest' has no skills that the weakest witch or shaman couldn't top. Our first and you Buffy are in the way our last foray into the world of the minor races. Even though you are only half minor."

"So for now you're keeping him here …?" Dawn prompted.

"Until we need the cell," Bauer said. "Trial and error. More often than not, we've made excellent choices. For example, take a look at the guest in the room next door."

The next prisoner was another man. He lifted his gaze from a magazine, stretched his legs, and then resumed reading.

"Can either of you guess what he is?" Bauer asked.

"No idea," Buffy answered.

"Damn. I hoped you could tell us."

"You don't know what he is?" Buffy asked.

"No idea," Bauer said. "When we picked him up, we thought he was a half-demon, but his physiology is all wrong. Like most of the major races, half-demons have common physical traits, as we've learned in examining the three specimens we've acquired so far. Armen doesn't share any of them. His anatomical quirks are all his own. His powers aren't half-demon, either."

"What can he do?" Dawn asked.

"He's a human chameleon." Bauer said. "Doctor Matasumi will tell you that's not an accurate description, but I like it. Much more catchy than 'unknown species with minor facial contortion abilities.' Marketing is everything."

"Minor facial contortion abilities?" Dawn repeated.

"Mr. Haig can willfully alter his facial structure," Matasumi said. "Minor changes only. He cannot, for example, turn himself into you or me, but he could change his face enough so he would no longer resemble his passport photo. It doesn't sound very useful for everyday life, but it is incredibly significant in the larger scheme of things. This particular power is completely undocumented in the annals of parapsychology. I'm postulating a new evolutionary shift."

"Evolutionary shift?" Buffy echoed.

"My hypothesis is that all supernatural races—the true races, the major races—are the result of evolutionary anomalies. For example, with the werewolves, somewhere in the very distant past one man somehow developed the ability to Change into a wolf. A complete quirk of nature. Yet a quirk that improved his ability to survive and therefore was reflected in his DNA, which he passed to his sons. The minor powers of a werewolf—longevity, strength, sensory enhancement—may have been part of this initial change or may have evolved later, to make werewolves better suited for the lives they lead. Similar anomalies would explain the beginnings of all the major races."

"Except half-demons," Bauer said.

"That goes without saying. Half-demons are a reproductive hybrid. They rarely transmit their powers to their offspring. Now, back to Mr. Haig. If my theory is correct, these random evolutionary changes must happen with some frequency—not commonly, but more often than would explain the few existing major races. Perhaps some of these deviations are so recent that there aren't yet enough members to classify as a race. If that is true, then Mr. Haig may be the forefather of a new species. Over generations, his power could develop exponentially. Where Mr. Haig may only be able to fool a traffic officer, his great-great-grandson may be able to alter his physical structure enough to become the officer."

Matasumi turned around and gestured to the last pair of cells across the hall. "Here are two more interesting specimens. Look to your left first, please."

In the cell beside the mutt, a woman lay on the bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling.

"Half-demon?" Dawn asked.

"Correct," Bauer said.

"What's her power?" Buffy asked.

"Telekinesis," Bauer said. "She can move things with her mind. Leah is the daughter of an Agito demon. Are you familiar with demonology?"

"Somewhat," Dawn said. "But that race of demon is not familiar."

Bauer smiled. "There are two types of demons: eudemons and cacodemons. Eudemons good, cacodemons bad."

"So, you differentiate," said Buffy.

"Yes," Bauer said. "I take it you do as well?"

"More or less. I see it this way. Demon try to end the world, bad. Not try to end the world, good, there are even some morally gray demons." Buffy said.

"Interesting," Bauer said. "You have a unique insight. Maybe something we can discuss later. Anyways as you know then, both kinds exist, though only the cacodemons procreate."

"I wouldn't say only," Buffy said. "It's just rarer."

"True," said Bauer. "Anyways within each of the two types there's a hierarchy based on the demon's relative degree of power. An Agito is quite high on the scale."

"Are there many female half-demons?" Dawn asked.

"Males are more common, but females aren't unknown," Matasumi said. "We actually selected Leah for her gender. We've had some difficulties with our male subjects, so I thought females might be easier to manage. More passive."

"Watch it," Bauer said. "You're surrounded by women here, Lawrence. Yes, women seem to make better subjects, but it has nothing to do with passivity. Women are better able to assess the situation and see the futility of resisting. Men seem to feel an obligation to fight back, no matter what the odds. Take our Voodoo priest. Rants and curses all day, every day. Does it help? No. But he keeps doing it. How does Leah react to the same situation? She stays calm and she cooperates." She turned to the sisters. "Have you ever seen telekinesis?"

"Yes," Buffy and Dawn said. "A long time ago."

Bauer smiled. "Then time for a refresher." She reached for the intercom button on the half-demon's cage. "Leah?"

"Hey, Sondra," Leah said, rising from the bed. "Did my appointment get bumped up again?"

"No, I'm just passing by. Showing two new guests around. They both have seen telekinesis but not in a long time. How about giving them a refresher?"

"Sure." Leah turned to the small table. After a second, a coffee mug rose from the surface and spun around. "How's that?"

"Perfect. Thank you, Leah," Bauer said as the woman smiled and nodded. "I'll see you later, Leah."

"I'm not going anywhere. Say hi to Xavier for me. Tell him to stop by sometime. Bring a deck of cards."

"I'll do that." Bauer clicked off the intercom. "Xavier is our other half-demon. You two have met him."

"Houdini," Buffy and Dawn said.

Bauer smiled. "Yes, I suppose so. No bonds will hold that one, as we soon discovered, just like yourself Dawn."

"My power is more advanced though," Dawn replied. "The only way you could stop me from teleporting me and Buffy out of here right now is with a strong magical ward. Which you likely used on him in the beginning."

"You're correct," Bauer said, "and lucky for us he was happy to cooperate with our questions and experiments for the right financial incentive. Quite the mercenary, our Xavier. A valuable asset to the team, though."

"Like the sorcerer," Dawn said as Bauer shot her a studiously blank look. "We heard you hired a sorcerer, too. That's who Katzen is."

"Yes, we have a sorcerer. He helps us find our supernaturals. You're not likely to encounter Mr. Katzen though, if that puts your mind at ease. Though you might feel his power, Dawn, when we ask him to put that ward up around you. Technically it will be around whatever room you are in of course, but it will need to be mobile, much like we did with Xavier."

"I'd have to think about it," Dawn replied. "Of course, any deal would have to include Buffy. I'm not accepting a deal when she would still be held prisoner."

"Of course," Bauer said.

Matasumi coughed discreetly, but Bauer ignored him and rapped her nails against the Vodoun priest's cell wall. He glanced up, maybe sensing someone there, and cast a baleful glare at the mirrored glass.

"Untrustworthy egomaniacs, most of them," Bauer went on. "Our Mr. Katzen, I'm afraid, is no exception. As I said, though, you don't need to worry about him. He doesn't associate with what he considers the 'lower' races. Now Xavier is much more sociable."

"He keeps Leah entertained, I see," Buffy said.

"Actually no. He's not likely to take her up on her offer. Sad, really. When Leah found out we had another half-demon here she was thrilled. I don't think she's ever met another of her kind. But Xavier won't have anything to do with her. He met her once and has since refused to go near her. We've even tried bribes. Keeping our guests happy is very important to us. Leah is a very gregarious young woman. She needs social stimulation. Fortunately, we've found other ways to accommodate her. She's taken quite an interest in two of our other guests."

"Curtis and Savannah," Tess said.

Bauer nodded. "Who are also our two guests most in need of companionship, someone to cheer them up. I think Leah has a knack for that. An innate sense of altruism. Curtis and Savannah both enjoy her company immensely. Which only makes Xavier's animosity all the more unfathomable. He won't even talk to her. It's causing some concern for us. We'd like to bring Leah on the team, but we can't afford the tension it would cause."

"Have a lot of cap—guests joined 'the team'?" Dawn asked.

Bauer's eyes sparked as if asked the million-dollar question. "Not many, but it's certainly possible. Particularly for our more honored guests, like yourselves. Once we're assured of a guest's cooperation, we're quite happy to make an offer. It's something to strive for."

"Any idea why Xavier doesn't like Leah?" Buffy asked.

"Jealousy," Matasumi said. "Within the half-demon hierarchy Leah has higher standing."

"Are they aware of this hierarchy?" Buffy asked. "I would have thought if they are like true demons, they would not have much contact with one another. They don't have any central or ruling group, right? So how do they know who has what status?"

Silence.

After a moment Matasumi said, "At some level, I'm sure they're aware of their status."

"An Agito demon ranks over an Evanidus, Xavier's sire," Bauer said. "And an Exustio ranks over both. That's Adam Vasic's sire, right? An Exustio?"

"Never came up in conversation, surprisingly," Dawn said.

Disappointment flashed across her face, then vanished in another false-hearty smile. "We'll have Doctor Carmichael check your arms, Buffy. I see minimal scarring, but, and I'm assuming here that, Adam burned you."

"And my enhanced Slayer/werewolf healing is doing the job. Another day they should be just fine," Buffy replied.

"Anyways an Exustio half-demon is very powerful," Bauer continued. "Right at the top. He'd be a first-rate catch. Maybe you two could help with that."

Matasumi interrupted. "We don't even know if Adam Vasic's sire is an Exustio, Sondra. We only have one person's secondhand account on that."

"But it's a very good account." Bauer turned to the sisters. "One of our early captives was a shaman who served on Ruth Winterbourne's council back when Adam's stepfather started bringing him to the meetings. He's a Tempestras half-demon. The stepfather, that is. He's also supposedly an expert on demonology, and he was convinced Adam's sire was an Exustio."

"Though he's never given any indication of having such an advanced degree of power," Matasumi said. "Skin burns are more likely the sign of an Igneus. An Exustio would have incinerated Ms. Danvers."

"If I wasn't a Slayer let alone a werewolf it very likely would have," Buffy said. "Dawn even could have survived too. A human would not be likely to survive."

"If he is it would be quite a coup," Matasumi said. "And I'd love to get his stepfather. There's very little data on Tempestras demons."

"I'd like to meet the mother," Tess said. "What's the chance that a woman is going to be chosen to bear a demon's offspring and end up marrying a half-demon? There must be something in her that attracts them. It could be very useful research. And interesting."

"Why didn't you grab Adam instead of us?" Dawn asked.

"Don't underestimate your importance to us, Dawn, Buffy," Bauer said. "We're thrilled to have you both with us."

"And we couldn't find Adam," Tess added.

Bauer continued, "And, besides Leah, our last, but certainly not least guest."

In the cell behind them was a girl, no more than twelve or thirteen. Dawn glanced at Buffy to indicate she could feel magical energy rolling off the girl. "Witch?" she asked.

Buffy stared at the girl's blonde hair. Something about this girl reminded her of the daughter she had given up while in Toronto before Dawn had been bitten. Yes, Buffy and Dawn had believed they had been infertile, a result of the Fountain of Youth. So, Buffy had been surprised when she found out she was pregnant. She had gone to Toronto earlier than had been originally planned with the excuse of setting up their new identities, so that she could hide her pregnancy from Dawn. She had not wanted to get her sister's hopes up that Dawn might one day be able to have a child of her own. So, she had given the baby up.

"Correct, again." Bauer said.

"Is she casting a spell or is she naturally that young?" Dawn asked.

Bauer laughed. "No, it's not a spell. Savannah's twelve."

"Twelve?" Buffy repeated. The age would be just about right she realized for her daughter. Still what were the odds that her daughter would be caught by the same people that had caught her and Dawn. "You captured a twelve-year-old witch?"

"The absolute best age," Matasumi said. "Witches come into their full powers with the onset of their first menses. Being on the brink of puberty, Savannah presents us with the perfect opportunity to study mental and physiological changes that might explain a witch's ability to cast spells. We had a remarkable stroke of luck finding her. An accident really. Savannah is the daughter of a former Coven witch we targeted several weeks ago. When our men picked up the mother, the daughter was unexpectedly home from school, so they were forced to bring her as well."

Buffy scanned the cell. "You don't keep her with her mother?"

"We had some trouble with her mother," Bauer said. "Her powers were stronger than our sorcerer led us to believe. Dark magic, you might call it, which would likely explain her split with the Coven. Eve was … well, we had to—"

Buffy and Dawn shuddered they knew all too well what dark magic could do. "Yes, we completely understand," Dawn said.

"You two knew someone who used dark magic?" Bauer asked.

"Yes," Buffy said. "A friend of ours and she barely managed to come back from it. Love was the answer in bringing her back from the edge. Love of her family."

"She was more than just a friend?"

"Yes," Dawn replied. "She was a distant relation. Her great great something or other great grandmother over 200 years removed was related to ours. It was a twist of fate that had the three of us moving into the same town."

"What happened to her?"

"She's gone," Buffy said simply. The truth of the matter was that Willow was not gone. She and Dawn just didn't want them to know where she was.

"Anyways we removed the mother from the program," Matasumi said. "The best thing, really. She proved much too difficult to be a useful subject, and her presence distracted the child."

Buffy and Dawn glared at the man. The daughter could have helped the mother to come back and give up the dark magic instead the fools had killed her. They noticed the girl stared intently at a crossword puzzle book; pencil poised above the page. After a moment she nodded and scribbled something. She held the book at arm's length, studied the completed puzzle, and then tossed it aside, got up from the table, paced a few times, and finally settled for surveying the contents of a bookshelf behind the television set.

"She must get bored," Dawn said.

"Oh, no," Bauer said. "This isn't easy for Savannah. We know that. But we do our best to accommodate her. Anything she wants. Chocolate bars, magazines … we even picked up some video games last week. She's quite …" Bauer paused, seeming to roll a word on her tongue, then discarded it and said quietly, "She's comfortable. Well, that's it. You two are probably wondering what all this is for."

"Perhaps later," Matasumi murmured. "Doctor Carmichael is waiting and this isn't really the place …"

"We've shown Buffy and Dawn around. Now I think it's only fair we offer some explanation."

Matasumi's lips tightened.

Before Bauer continued, she led Buffy and Dawn out of the cell block. They studied the security procedures. Once through, they passed two armed guards stationed in a cubbyhole beyond the secured door. Their eyes passed over the sisters as if they were the cleaning lady.

"Some sort of military connection?" Dawn asked.

"Military?" Bauer followed Dawn's gaze to the guards. "Using supernatural beings to build the perfect weapon? Intriguing idea."

Buffy glared at Dawn as she thought to herself. 'Give them the idea to start up the research on Adam early.'

"Don't worry," Bauer said. "This is a completely private enterprise. Our choice of guards was merely practical. No governmental overtones intended."

"So, you are not affiliated with the Demon Research Initiative," Buffy said as Bauer looked at her.

"We've heard of them," Bauer said. "But no, we are not affiliated with them."

They walked through another set of doors into a long corridor.

"In our post-industrial society, science is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology," Bauer said. "The human race has taken great strides in the field of technology. Massive strides. Our lives get easier with each passing day. Yet are we happy? We aren't. Everyone I know has a therapist and a shelf of self-help books. They go on spiritual retreats. They hire yogis and practice meditation. Does it do any good? No. They're miserable. And why?"

Bauer continued, "Because they feel powerless. Science does all the work. People are reduced to technological slaves, dutifully pumping data into computers and waiting for the great god of technology to honor them with results. When the computer age first arrived, people were thrilled. They dreamed of shorter work weeks, more time for self-improvement. It didn't happen. People today work as hard, if not harder, than they did thirty years ago. The only difference is the quality of the work they perform. They no longer accomplish anything of value. They only service the machines."

"What we propose to do here is return a sense of power to humanity. A new wave of improvement. Not technological improvement. Improvement from within. Improvement of the mind and the body. Through studying the supernatural, we can affect those changes. Shamans, necromancers, witches, sorcerers—they can help us increase our mental capabilities. Other races can teach us how to make immense improvements in our physical lives. Strength and sensory acuteness from werewolves. Regeneration and longevity from vampires. Countless other advances from half-demons. A brave new world for humanity."

"It sounds very…noble," Buffy quipped.

"It is," Matasumi said.

Bauer pressed a button and elevator doors opened. They stepped in.