Buffy flips through the air before landing in a crouch on her knees on the fire escape, she flips her head back allowing her wet hair to fly out of her face. Ignoring the rain that was falling around her she grabs onto a metal chain opposite her and swings to the other side of the street.
The second her feet land on the ground she takes off in a sprint the way her target had run off.
She grins as she spots him running towards the docks, twisting the scythe in her grasp she launches it in his direction.
Gordon freezes as the axe type weapon lands right next to his head, he gasps before quickly turning to move in the other direction only to find himself knocked to the ground as Buffy grabs onto a metal pole and swings her body around it, her feet landing firmly on his chest.
Buffy smirks as she lowers herself from the pole before approaching Gordon ripping the scythe from the wall as she does.
"You slipped out of my hands once. You won't do it again." She warns as she places her heeled boot on his ankle and begins forcing the heel into his ankle making him scream.
"Shh." Buffy hisses before removing her heel and grabbing his chin forcing him off the ground, she holds him up making him hover above the ground "You see since you got away I had a chance to do a little more digging on you. You may be a big guy in your old form but you were still nothing more than a lower bottom feeder who made others do his work."
She tightens her grasp on his chin listening as his jaw begins crushing painfully, before, tossing him into a nearby wall so hard that she actually hears his skull as it shatters.
"But one other thing I learned is that you pick up dirt about others. So what's the project The Triad and Wolfram and Hart are working on?"
Gordon glares up at her, in that moment Buffy groans, the demons were getting more stubborn. It probably didn't help that she was killing them off but still is was infuriating and a pain in her ass.
Grabbing him she yanks him off his feet before forcing him up against the wall again "If you don't tell me than it's not going to end well for you."
"Rot in yell Slayer bitch."
Buffy tilts her head for a moment before grabbing his face and slamming his head against the concrete wall so hard that the back of his skull shatters and blood splatters on her face "Been there done that."
At the same time on the other side of town Oliver watches his next target hang by his sleeve ten feet in the air, held by nothing more than one of his arrows.
"Come on, man!" His victim screams "I'm just trying to make an honest living!"
"There's nothing honest about what you do! Who supplies you with Vertigo? Tell me know and you live."
A look of fear covers the other man's face "Please!" He begs "He'll kill me."
"Whoever you fear, fear me more!"
As Oliver grabs another arrow and aims it at his target the man in question panics, he didn't want to die even though it was inevitable "Ok!" He exclaims, gasping loudly as he speaks "They call him The Count. That's all I know! I swear to God!"
"You ripped your stitches." Xander says worriedly as Buffy pulls off her suit behind the curtain.
As she wraps a robe around herself she steps out from behind the curtain and shrugs at Xander "Yep." She says popping the 'p' before wiping the blood from her face with a towel.
Xander groans, he was worried about her, the bullet and stab wound was still healing and her immediate attempts to get back to the fight were only causing the healing process to take longer.
"Look, Buff, I know you are determined to find out about this big project but you've got to slow down."
Buffy sighs before running a hand through her hair, she knew he was right but she didn't have a choice, there were so many names on this list, so many people out there trying to kill them and because of that she didn't have time to be injured, she'd just have to keep going.
"I don't have a choice Xand, it's just us. If we stop we risk everything. You know that."
Xander sighs, he hated this, he hated that they were right back to where they were when they were 16. Buffy was the one and only and it was just the three of them against the world, there were no other Slayers around to help, it was just them against an army.
Throwing his arm other her shoulder he kisses the top of her head before pulling her towards the kitchen "Let's get you back up and going then old Buffster."
Buffy pouts at the phrase "I'm not old."
"You sure?" Xander asks with a quirk of an eyebrow before grabbing a piece of her hair "I could have sworn I saw a grey hair."
Immediately the blonde's eyes widen, she pushes him away and runs over to the mirror examining her hair for grays and her face for wrinkles, meanwhile Xander merely laughs only for her to glare at him "Says the guy with Mr. Fantastic hair."
Xander's grin falls "I'm making it work." He insists while inadvertently reaching up to play with his hair.
"Find what you're looking for?" Diggle asks as Oliver as he walks back into the Foundry still in his suit.
Oliver nods before making his way past Diggle over to the desk where all his arrows were lined up "I found three vertigo pushers tonight, Diggle. Last one finally knew a name. The Count." He says before placing down his bow and moving over to the computer, as he does Diggle arches a brow "The Count? That's worse than The Hood." He freezes for a second as he realizes that although Oliver had put down his bow he was still yet to change out of his gear "You're not going out there again?"
"I'm not done for the night." Oliver says confirming Diggle's theory before turning to face the bodyguard "Whoever this Count is, he has a lot of blood on his hands and it is long past time he started paying."
Xander yawns before grabbing his mug of coffee off his desk, to say he had had a bad nights sleep was an understatement. With Buffy wondering back into the apartment at 3 am after taking down Gordon and then sewing her back up that had already disrupted his sleep.
Not only that but, Giles seemed to have forgotten about a little thing called time differences plus he had also forgotten when to just shut up. He had literally yammered on and on about Wolfram and Hart until Xander had finally turned around and told him that he had to go to work.
He groans as he glances at the clock, it was almost 9 and he had meetings all day "Stupid Thea." He mumbles, because of her court date he was being left as acting CEO for the day, meaning that he had to take all of Moira's meetings. Which for one he had no idea who's dumb idea it was to put him in charge.
"Mr. Harris." His assistant Courtney says as she pokes her head into his office making him turn to face her instead of just falling asleep in his chair as he had planned "Yeah."
"A Mr. Merlyn is here to see you."
Xander frowns in confusion, he knew who Merlyn was but he had not had any contact with him, not even regarding either companies, Moira or Walter were always the ones to deal with him.
He nods at the young woman "Send him in."
Xander stands from his seat and quickly downs the rest of his coffee before tapping down the crinkles in his suit.
"Ah, Mr. Harris, finally we meet." The older dark haired man says as he strolls into the room comfortably, he shakes Xander's hand before walking straight past him and examining the room.
Xander stands there for a second stunned, before shaking himself and moving towards Malcolm "What can I do for you Mr Merlyn? Moira won't be back till after the court meeting."
"I'm aware." Malcolm says bluntly before moving towards Xander's desk and moving things around.
As Merlyn moves around the desk he pauses of the photo there. The photo showed Harris with a red headed woman and a blonde. A blonde with a very familiar face. Al-Qa-Til.
Merlyn wanted to laugh, he had found her weakness right there in that photo, or more accurately her two weaknesses. He smirks before turning to Xander, his grin expanding, he had her now, if The Slayer got in his way again he would take away her only weaknesses.
"I actually have been meaning to meet the face of The Watcher's Council." Merlyn says offhandedly as he moves away from the desk and approaches Xander again who was watching him suspiciously.
"So how about you and I discuss this new tech development our companies have been working on together?" Merlyn suggests before holding out his hand towards Xander once more.
Xander stares at Merlyn's hand sceptically, there was something off about this man, years on the Hellmouth surrounded by demons had made him more cautious and more acute to suspicious behaviour. He clenches his jaw before offering Merlyn a small smile "Of course." He says before shaking the man's hand.
As the two head towards the door, Merlyn makes one more comment that makes Xander almost punch him right there and then "So what's with the eyepatch?"
"Seriously?" Buffy says to Stewart before rolling her eyes at him and refocusing on the young girl currently shaking in front of her, crying.
"What? I'm just saying running into smoke-filled burning buildings..."
Buffy cuts him off "Can be a disorienting fortunately I have the cure...stop doing it."
Buffy turns back to the girl in question before turning her attention to the burn mark on her arm "You should really take my advice."
The girl stops crying and glares at both Buffy and Stewart "God will you just help me already. I'm in pain."
Buffy groans, she hated dealing with the trust fund brats "You really are a ball of sunshine on a cloudy day." She says sarcastically before tapping the girl's burn making her cry out "You'll live." Buffy tells her.
Buffy stands and turns to Stewart "You deal with her. I'll take the kid." She says gesturing to the 10-year-old little boy who was sat in the corner holding his burnt hand.
Stewart groans before nodding and moving to help the teenage girl who immediately starts complaining.
Buffy crouches down in front of the little boy and smiles "Hi." She says softly "Can I help you?" She asks gesturing to his burnt hand.
The little boy stops crying and takes several deep breaths before nodding, with a shaky hand he raises his hand towards Buffy.
As Buffy begins wrapping his hand in the antibacterial bandage she smiles at him "What's your name sweetie?"
The little boy gasps and looks at her nervously "Greg."
Buffy smiles "Hi Greg. I'm Buffy. I'm going to be your medic today."
The little boy smiles slightly "Buffy? That's a weird name." He says giggling slightly.
Buffy chuckles before giving him an insulted look "Hey...that hurts." She says before smiling.
When the little boy laughs only to wince in pain Buffy's eyes widen, she hated seeing people, especially kids in pain. She needed to distract him.
"So cutie, tell me about yourself where do you go to school?"
The little boy sobs slightly before looking up at her with teary eyes "Starling Middle School." He says "Where did you go to school?"
Buffy smiles at the young boy "Boston."
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
"Boston?" Giles asks completely stunned, he was in shock, Buffy had just finished telling them about the school she had gotten into and he was just stunned. He had had no idea that she was unhappy here, yes she had said that she would leave, but he thought that she had adjusted and wanted to stay. He was wrong. Glancing around the table he looks at Xander who's face carried a very similar expression to his own, whereas Willow's face was blank.
"You're moving to Boston?" Xander asks after a long moment of being unable to speak.
Buffy who was standing there awkwardly nods, she was about to speak when she sees that the office door was slightly open and several of the young Slayers were spying on them.
Buffy sighs before glancing at Willow who nods and waves her hand at the door, as she does a red glow leaves her hand and closes the door.
After another moment Buffy runs a hand through her hair before running it along her jaw, she was trying to think of what to say but nothing was coming to her. Luckily for her Giles cuts her off "When are you leaving?"
Buffy shifts in her chair before standing, she couldn't stop fidgeting, she needed to be moving. She paces across the room before glancing at three of the most important people in her life "Classes start in a week."
Starling City – Present Day
Oliver wonders around the police station for a few moments before making his way into a nearby hall and approaching the office "I'm looking for Detective Hall. I was told he works in Vice."
"Oliver?" A voice asks sceptically from the other end of the hall, Oliver frowns and turns his head only to freeze as he spots a familiar face.
"McKenna Hall." He breaths out before a small smile grazes his lips and he slowly begins to approach the woman who was still staring stunned.
"Hi." She breaths out smiling brightly and in slight disbelief, she hadn't seen him since his return, it was so odd for her, seeing him after all this time.
Oliver smiles as he finally comes to stop in front of her "Here I was expecting a middle aged guy in a bad suit, and I got McKenna Hall."
"I live to surprise."
"Make it stop!" The young man gasps out as his body continues to convulse violently, suddenly he screams out loudly before looking up at Buffy "Kill me, kill me!"
Buffy's eyes widen as she looks down at the victim she had never seen anything like this before, he was shaking violently his eyes glazed over in fear while he screamed out in pain.
Stewart glances over at Buffy in horror as they attempt to hold down the man so they could sedate him.
Buffy groans trying to figure out what to do when Stewart begins to struggle she grabs the man's shoulder and forces him back down easily.
When Stewart stares at her questioningly she shrugs "I was a soldier." She tells him before gesturing to the ambulance "I'll go in the back with him. You drive."
Stewart nods and quickly moves away to get the van ready, as he moves Buffy quickly grabs the screaming man and throws him over her shoulder before running over to the van and dumping him on the gurney.
She was beginning to strap him down when Stewart finally appears, he freezes shocked and confused as to how this five foot five blonde could have lifted a man twice her size.
Buffy glares at him making it clear that he better get to work and now. When he gulps and runs back to the front of the car she groans before jumping into the van and closing the back doors.
As Stewart speeds through the streets Buffy continues to try and help their patient "What did you take?" Buffy asks as she grabs the morphine. When he doesn't answer her and merely begins to shake this time a white foam beginning to form around his mouth her eyes widen in a panic, they didn't have long.
She grabs his arm and forces him to look at her "Whatever you took is clearly a deadly narcotic if you don't tell me what you took, you are going to die. I can't help you if you don't help me."
The man yells out again before grabbing her hand and leaning up at her "V—vertigo. He—"
Buffy frowns in confusion "He-who...who gave it to you?"
The man shakes again, this time not due to the pain but rather the fear "I can't—he'll kill me."
"If you don't help me here you're going to die either way." She says bluntly she didn't have time to play nurse and be sweet, this man was going to die unless she got all the information and quick.
"The Count." He gasps out before suddenly he begins clutching his chest, Buffy's eyes widen she quickly moves around him and checks his pulse.
"Shit!" She exclaims "Stewart faster, his hearts giving out!"
As the ambulance surges forward Buffy looks around the ambulance before sighing, they didn't have the proper equipment to deal with this and she couldn't exactly recharge his heart if it gave out while they were moving.
She grabs the patient and tilts him on his side before grabbing the gas and handing it to him "You need to breathe!" she orders before glancing out the window. They were approaching the hospital now.
Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief the patient slumps over, her eyes widen "No!" She gasps before turning back around.
As the van stops she immediately grabs the deliberator and rips open the man's shirt before applying it to his chest.
As his body leaps up at the surge Buffy glances at the machine only to groan at the lake of response from his heart.
Suddenly the back doors open and there, three doctors stand watching, she glances at them as she places the pads on the man's chest again "He was given a narcotic called Vertigo. Seems to attack the thalamus, there were no signs of physical injury. His heart gave out 25 seconds ago."
The doctors nod and move to take the patient just as the line goes flat again.
Buffy groans in annoyance and frustration as she watches the patient be rolled into the ER. It was too late, whatever this drug had done to him it had caused his heart to just give up.
As Stewart heads inside to fill out the paperwork Buffy closes up the ambulance only to freeze as she hears someone call out her name "Miss Summers?"
Buffy frowns before turning to face the voice, only to be faced with a beautiful young detective with long dark hair heading towards her.
The blonde nods towards the detective "That's me. And whatever it was it wasn't me." She pauses "Wanna tell me what I did?"
The detective smiles at her warmly before holding out a hand towards her "I'm Detective McKenna Hall. I need to speak to you regarding the man you just brought in."
Buffy frowns, she shakes the woman's hand before crossing her arms across her chest, she looks the woman up and down trying to get a read on her.
"What do you want to know?" Buffy asks hesitantly.
Detective Hall pulls out a notepad before refocusing on the blonde "That man was one of the dealers for a well-known drug, called Vertigo. Did he tell you anything about his boss?"
Buffy frowns for a second "Well when he wasn't screaming out in pain, he gave me a name, The Count."
Hall frowns, they already knew this, they needed new information "Did he tell you anything about The Count's location."
"No."
"Long time." The Russian says as he approaches Oliver and Diggle in the hidden Bravta warehouse "Particularly for Bravta captain."
Oliver lets his face stay emotionless as he turns to the other man, a serious look on his face "I was trying to figure out where to put my interests. I decided on pharmaceuticals." He says before dumping two large rucksacks at the Russian's feet "I don't meet aspirin."
The Russian smiles "A wise choice. Methadone would be a good investment for you. It's the newest thing."
Oliver tilts his head, that wasn't what he wanted and the other man knew it "I was thinking Vertigo. Newer thing."
"Tough market, Vertigo. Only one seller."
"I know I was hoping you could do me a favour and arrange a meeting."
Buffy glances around her apartment one last time making sure the coast was completely clear before sighing, she couldn't let Willow or Xander find out about her history with the League so she would just have to do her digging into The Dark Archer alone.
She moves into her room and pulls the table cover off the desk in the corner, to reveal the safe underneath. Entering the combination she sighs as she opens it and her eyes fall on the objects of her past.
Ignoring the uniform and the small box she reaches to the back of the safe, where several large books lay.
Blowing off the dust of the largest books she sighs "Al-zzi-lal." She whispers as she stares at the book.
Moving over to her bed she tucks her legs under her before placing the book on her lap and slowly opening it. She had to be careful with it due to the age of the book, when she had been given it she had been warned that it was several hundred years old so she had to be careful not to damage it.
As she turns the pages her hand runs over the list of names, several of which she recognised. She sighs before her attention is brought to the name The Magician.
The book may not reveal his true identity, no written evidence was ever kept as far as she was aware but this was the best she had so she had to deal with it.
Just as she is about to turn to the caption regarding the man in question the doorbell rings.
Buffy groans "Dammit!" She hisses as she glances at the clock, she was supposed to have a date with Dean. She quickly places the book back in the safe before heading to the door.
"Can't believe you just killed that guy." Diggle hisses as him and Oliver haul the body of the man the Russian had asked Oliver to kill to prove his loyalty to the Bravta.
Oliver scoffs "You really have a low opinion of me." He says slightly annoyed.
As Diggle opens the car boot Oliver drops the man's body inside, he glances around the parking garage before placing his index finger under the man's chin. Suddenly the man sits up gasping loudly "Whoa!" Diggle exclaims impressed "That's a neat trick! You gonna teach me that one day?"
Oliver smiles before punching the man in the boot in the face knocking him out. "No." He says as he turns back to Diggle before closing the boot.
Diggle frowns in confusion, Oliver was up to something "What are you doing?"
"You need to arrange a new identity for this guy, get him out of the city."
"You tried to take them both!" Buffy asks astonished as she and Dean sit on the ground in the park drinking beer.
Dean shrugs as he finishes telling her the story of his prom in high school "Well the first said maybe and by the time she said yes I had asked someone else."
Buffy laughs loudly "Oh, my god you were one of those."
Dean arches a brow before laughing "I wasn't that bad. Come on I'm sure you've got some stories."
The blonde leans back on her elbows before smirking "I went to Sunnydale High, and I was the bottom of the food chain. The most memorable thing from my high school days is when the place blew up."
Dean's eyes widen in shock before he bursts out in laughter "Now that is awesome."
Buffy shakes her head in amusement before taking another sip of her beer, as she does she doesn't notice Dean focus on the scar on her shoulder blade.
"Where'd you get that?"
Buffy pauses for a second "Got it when I was in Bulgaria, got into a...disagreement of sorts with a friend of mine ended with a knife buried in my shoulder."
When Dean gives her a worried glance she rolls her eyes "He got the worse of it." After a long pause, she grins at him "What about you? Any scars?"
Dean chuckles before lifting his arm to show her the small scar on the inside of his forearm "First time my dad and I went hunting, the blade went through my arm. Five stitches."
Buffy giggles before giving him big doe eyes "Five stitches? That's adorable."
"I wasn't asking your opinion." He says rolling his eyes "But that's okay."
Buffy smirks before lifting her vest slightly to show the scar on her lower stomach "Bullet wound, hurt like a bitch."
"Bitch, huh?" He asks teasingly before showing the mark on his neck, it looked like nail marks "Ex-girlfriend."
Buffy laughs "Well whoever she was, you probably deserved it." She giggles before standing to make her way to his car to get another drink.
"You're hurting me, blondie." Dean mocks as he stands to follow her before frowning "Careful with my baby."
Buffy rolls her eyes and leans against the hood of his car with her eyebrow raised "It's a car Dean." She says flatly.
Dean glares at her before glancing at the car "Ignore her baby."
Buffy can't help but laugh at that, he treated it like a woman. She shakes her head in amusement "How you ever get women in that thing is beyond me. Especially when you treat it better than your date."
Dean smirks before approaching her slowly making her look up at him "Really?" He asks grinning down at her.
Buffy smirks before nodding "Oh yeah."
Dean smiles before leaning down, he cups her cheek in his palm before kissing her.
Buffy kisses his back before wrapping her arms around his neck, as he hands travel down her back before settling on her hips tugging her closer as she tries to pull away from him "I should probably go—" She breaths before continuing to kiss him.
"Probably." Dean breaths against her lips before lifting her up onto the hood of the car and laying her on her back.
As he climbs on top of her the car alarm goes off making both of them laugh before Dean pulls her back into the kiss.
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
"Good." Buffy says as she blocks one of the Slayer's Bo Staffs with her own before shoving the girl away "But not good enough."
As the girl drops on the ground another one of the girls attempts to attack Buffy but the blonde hears her coming, she ducks under the girls leg before dropping to her knees and kicking the girl's leg out from under her.
Buffy stands and leans her chin on the edge of her Bo-staff as she looks down at the girls "Control. I have it...you don't." Buffy says firmly before helping both girls up and moving away from them.
"You can't lose control, emotions may fuel a Slayer but you need that control...or you'll die."
Buffy raises her knee and brings the Bo Staff down on it snapping it in two before turning to the next two Slayers "Come at me."
The girls hesitate before running at Buffy, as they both swing the Bo-staffs at her Buffy raises her now batons and blocks them both, she drops to her knees and spins across the ground, hitting one of the girls in the stomach with a baton before placing her foot on the other's staff. Buffy forces the Bo-staff to the ground out of the Slayer's grasp before doing a cartwheel back up to standing, kicking both Slayer's in the face in the process.
As both girls fall to the ground Buffy grabs their Bo-staffs off the ground before tossing them at them "Again."
Starling City – Present Day
Oliver closes his eyes refusing to let emotions surface as he watches his mother and sister leave the room after the argument. He clenches his jaw before rolling his neck and opening his eyes.
As he does his phone begins ringing, sighing he grabs the phone "Yeah?"
"Oliver." Diggle says firmly once the billionaire answers the phone "The meeting is set for tonight."
Oliver locks his jaw before glancing at his watch, however before he could say anything else Diggle cuts him off "One more thing. The computer got an update from the hospital in the Glades. Another patient was brought in after using Vertigo. I think he was one of the dealers."
Oliver frowns, this may be a chance to get any last information on the dealer before he met him "Who's his doctor?"
"He died on route." Diggle tells him, Oliver waits as he listens to Diggle's fingers fly across the keys of the computer for a minute "Okay, I'm sending over a file now. The paramedic who took him would have signed the paperwork."
Oliver pulls the phone away from his ear and waits until finally his phone beeps once more. He quickly opens the file only to spot a familiar name. He scoffs for a moment before bringing the phone back to his ear "Get ready for tonight."
"Locked and loaded." Buffy tells Stewart as she taps the back of the van after their shift. As he drives the van off to where the rest were kept she heads inside. Groaning and rolling her neck she sighs, it had been a long day and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep and considering she didn't exactly get any last night, she was very close to passing out.
She quickly heads into the staff room and grabs her stuff out of the locker, she planned to get home as soon as possible in hopes of at least getting an hours kip before she had to hunt down the next demon on the list.
She grabs her bag and slams her locker shut before heading towards the door. As she steps out of the staff room she pulls her hair out of the ponytail and runs her hands through her long golden locks for a minute before pulling on her leather jacket.
Just as she is about to reach the exit however a hard body crashes into her making her pause.
Buffy groans in annoyance, and is all but prepared to start laying into the guy about looking where he was going, however she freezes as she spots the familiar face looking down at her "Oliver." She breaths out stunned.
Oliver smiles down at the young woman "Buffy Summers. Just the person I was looking for."
Buffy sighs, she really wanted to sleep, she actually wondered for a second how much trouble she would get in if she knocked Oliver out just so that she could get home quicker.
"What can I do for you?" She asks "And please say it's quick, cause I'm tired. Tired as in 95% chance I will fall asleep right here and now."
Oliver chuckles in amusement before raising his hands in defense "Look I just wanna talk to you about something. Let me buy you a cup of coffee, I'll be quick."
Buffy looks up at his blue eyes, before rolling her eyes and groaning "Fine. But not only coffee I want a muffin."
Oliver nods in agreement before gesturing for her to lead the way to the diner.
"So how's your leg?" Oliver asks as he watches Buffy devour the blueberry muffin.
Buffy pauses for a moment before arching a brow.
Oliver panics "Diggle mentioned that you got hurt."
Buffy shakes her head in amusement. She was so going to win this bet. After a moment of silence she offers him a small smile "I've had worse. Plus I heal fast, all part of the benefit package of being me."
Oliver smiles slightly, but there was something off about her, he had seen that leg wound, a bullet hit her artery and then a large hunting knife ripped through her thigh, the fact that she was alive and hadn't bleed out was a miracle on it's own but what was weird was the fact that she was back at work and moving around without any struggle.
He shakes his head, trying to focus on the reason he came to see her; before he could get back to the topic at hand she beat him to the punch.
"So why are you here Queeny?"
Oliver smiles at the little nickname she seemed to have given him, in all honesty he much preferred it over Ollie.
"Vertigo." He says firmly.
Buffy lowers her coffee mug and looks at him seriously "Is this about your sister, because I didn't treat her—"
"I know." Oliver says quickly cutting her off "I've been looking into a man named The Count. He's the supplier. And I know you treated one of his dealers yesterday."
Buffy pauses for a second, as she contemplates her options here, she knew that he wanted her to give him Intel but she didn't have any.
"Look...Oliver, I'm not gonna tell you to not try and help your sister because trust me I have been in that position..." Oliver frowns Diggle never mentioned anything about Buffy having a sister.
"...but..." She continues watching him with a serious gaze "...whoever this Count is...that dealer even though he was on death's door he was more terrified of The Count than the drug that was killing him."
After finally managing to get home and catch a few hours of sleep Buffy climbs up the drainpipe of the warehouse on outskirts of The Glades.
"Okay Buffy." Willow says, it was a bit odd, normally Xander most of time did this from his office but after having to spend the day with Merlyn yesterday he had decided to go have several drinks which turned into one hell of a hangover.
"Her name is Charlene Porter. She's a Durthock demon..." When Willow takes a horrified gasps Buffy freezes "Will what's wrong?"
"She eats kids!" Willow exclaims "Like her full name is Durthock the Child Eater how messed up is that! Oh my god she's a schoolteacher as well. This is just wrong on so many levels."
Buffy groans in disgust and horror, a demon who eats children working at a school, yeah that had Wolfram and Hart written all over it.
As she reaches the roof she pulls herself up before making her way over to the skylight.
"Where is satin's mistress then?" Buffy asks as she glances down into the warehouse.
Buffy frowns when Willow doesn't answer "Wil?"
"Buffy!" Willow exclaims suddenly making Buffy's body go rigid "I can't see anything, I think she's—"
Suddenly the line goes dead making Buffy's eyes widen "Willow?!"
Just as she is about to move to go check on her friend something hard hits her in the back of the head causing her to stumble against the skylight.
"I really don't like unwanted pests."
"Ugh!" Buffy exclaims as she crashes painfully against the hard glass, when she hears cracks slowly start to build she quickly stands and moves off the skylight before approaching the red-headed woman opposite her before backing handing her across the face sending her flying across the roof.
"Who's the pest now?"
Oliver clenches his jaw as him and Diggle watch The Count, surrounded by his guards, pull open the briefcase.
Immediately Oliver's attention finds the green and black pills The Count was now holding in his palm. Vertigo.
Keeping his cool he keeps eye contact with the Count as the man approaches him, grinning like a mad man "56 people died to perfect this high. Believe me when I say that they did not die for nothing."
Oliver holds back the anger sizzling just bellow the surface, this psychopath was responsible for his sister almost dying, and if that drug had killed 56 people just in development god knows what it could have done to Thea or others if they had more of it.
As The Count hands Oliver the briefcase a siren goes off and while the police cars move in on them The Count keeps his gaze on Oliver, as his guards lead them all out of the way of the incoming shots from the police.
"I'm really gonna enjoy kicking your ass." Buffy says as she approaches the red-head, she grabs her shoulders lifting her off the ground before tossing her to the other side of the roof.
Slowly the red head stands "So here we are." Charlotte says with a grin "I've heard a lot about you. So come on this is a huge deal for me, I'm gonna get a real big prize for kicking every square inch of your ass."
Buffy arches a brow before tilting her head, the red head had a crazy look in her eye, honestly it actually reminded her of when Willow went dark and they faced off in the magic box.
However things were different now, she was different. She was darker, she didn't fear death on either side, she had killed and had been killed this was no different.
"Show me what you got." Buffy hisses before approaching Charlotte who immediately takes a tight lock on her elbows pinning her tightly before head butting her twice and then kneeing her in the stomach.
As the demon moves to swing her arm at her Buffy raises her arm and blocks the blow before sending an upper cut to her jaw, as the woman curls in on herself Buffy swings her leg up kicking her in the jaw before once against swinging her fist out at the demon's jaw making her head swing to the side.
Charlotte growls before shoving her arm against Buffy chest making the blonde fly to the ground, she recovers just quickly enough to stand and raise her arm blocking another blow.
However she leaves herself open so before she can even attempt to get the scythe from it's holder Charlotte kicks her in the gut making her stumble.
Buffy quickly ducks under Charlotte's arm as she swings another fist her way.
She quickly straightens back up and leaps up swinging her leg towards Charlotte's head however the red head deflects the blow with a grunt.
Buffy groans before spinning around attempting to backhand the woman, only to miss her by a square inch. Buffy growls before swings her leg around again, the blow is blocked however Charlotte doesn't expect Buffy to repeat the move again straight afterwards causing Buffy's boot to make contact with her almost dislocated jaw.
Buffy grins before spinning again and then supplying Charlotte with a powerful kick to the gut before she grabs Charlotte's arm and steps onto her knee before forcing her leg around Charlotte's shoulder.
As she drags the red head to the ground she throws her closer to the cracked skylight.
Charlotte growls as she stands and attempts to get to Buffy before she can stand however the blonde back flips out of the way kicking her in the face in the process causing her to stumble closer to the skylight.
"Who's gonna have ever square inch of their ass kicked?" Buffy asks repeating the red-head's earlier taunt before pressing her foot on a nearby pipe and leaping up into the air before punching her in the face making her stumble once more and land right next to the skylight.
Buffy gives the red head a small wave before throwing herself into a spinning kick, kicking Charlotte square in the chest sending her crashing straight through the skylight and down 20 floors into the abandoned warehouse.
As Buffy glances down to spot the woman's bloody body on the concrete ground she sighs "Well that was just...boring."
She turns on her heels and starts to head for the exit swinging the scythe as she does "I mean come on...at least give me something to work with."
From across the street aboard another rooftop Malcolm Merlyn sat perched on the edge, he had been watching the slayer fight, her technique and strength seemed to have dramatically increased since he had last seen her. And so had her brutality, she used to be more hesitant when it came to killing, that seems to have changed.
He smirks slightly, this was going to get interesting.
Oliver hesitates for a brief moment as he watches the police shoot at The Count from behind the black van. Lance hadn't seen him yet, he could easily get away but nothing was ever easy for him. He takes off running after the Count ignoring Diggle calling out to him.
Running down the stairs he manages to quickly catch up to The Count only to grab his arm, however suddenly Oliver finds himself screaming in agony as a needle pierces his chest and his vision suddenly begins to cloud over.
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
"Well it's been a while since I've seen something like this." Buffy says as she leans against the brick wall in the nearby alleyway by the pub she had just left. Buffy pauses, pub? Yeah to her that still sounded beyond weird. If she was being honest the biggest appeal about moving back to the states was the fact that she would actually understand everyone and it wouldn't be just millions of Giles' wandering around.
After a long moment of her thinking she shakes her head and turns back to the event that had caught her interest in the first place. She watches as the vampire stands there having forgotten about it's prey, it was now completely focused on her.
"Slayer." It hisses.
Buffy smiles "That'd be me." She says as she strolls over before glancing at the teenage boy on the ground "Kid, you got school?"
The boy who was shaking violently in fear nods "Yes."
"Well then why you still here? Go like nowish." The boy frowns in confusion before quickly scampering off.
The vampire growls, clearly not happy about losing it's dinner "Can't a guy eat in peace?"
Buffy chuckles in amusement "Sure...when his food isn't pimply and emo."
The vampire groans in annoyance before rolling his neck, finally after a moment his eyes settle back on her, this time zeroing in on her neck "Guess I'll just have to skip to dessert."
Buffy rolls her eyes at the lame line "Seriously that's the best you could come up with?" She asks as she steps to the side as he charges her.
She turns and watches as he crashes into a nearby wall, breaking his nose in the process.
"That looks like it stings. Wanna put some ice on that?" She asks gesturing to his now broken nose before punching said nose causing him to cry out.
Buffy grins "Come on, you're my last hurray."
Starling City - Present Day
"Uh!" Oliver cries out as he strains against the metal desk in the foundry while Diggle desperately searches around the room.
Oliver cries out again as he feels the drug spread through his system causing more pain than he had experienced since the Island.
He looks over at Diggle watching as the bodyguard attempts to get the correct herbs.
However as Diggle runs over Oliver moans again in pain, it was getting worse, and his vision was fading in and out.
"It's six am." Xander moans as Buffy spins around swinging her leg out at the focus pads he was currently wearing on his arms.
Buffy ignores him and continues to throw a range of kicks and punches at his hands, finally she leaps up in a double spilt kicking both pads at the same time before landing back on her feet.
As Xander hisses in pain while removing the pads from his now burning hands Buffy stretches out her legs looking up at him "Sorry." She says wincing at the sight of his red hands.
Xander waves her off before pointing at his eye patch "The party in my eye socket says it's no big deal."
Buffy shakes her head in amusement, even if it did still kill her that he lost his eyes because of a choice she had made.
With a shake of her shoulders, she rolls them before stretching them across her body. She sighs for a moment before looking at him seriously "So any news on Marcus? The brunt and arrogant?"
"Not since you split his head in two." Xander says with a shrug as he attempts to lift her weights and like usually has to put them back down straight away due to the strain.
Buffy nods and moves over to treadmill only to freeze as Xander's next words make her pause "Actually I've been thinking of looking into that dark archer guy."
Buffy's body goes ridged for a quarter of a second before she plasters a sweet but confused look on her face and turns to him "Why? We haven't heard anything."
Xander frowns, she was being evasive, he shakes his head it was probably nothing "Well I just figured, you said his name was the magician, sounded like you thought he was a threat."
"Well I was wrong." She says quickly before moving past the treadmill and over to the punching bag, she suddenly had the very powerful urge to hit something.
Xander frowns, he was even more confused now than before "Buffy, come on tell me what's going on, you knew this guy...how..."
"I don't!" Buffy exclaims cutting him off "Look I only knew the name...because..." Buffy pauses for a moment she hated lying to him but she didn't have a choice, no one could ever know about the things that she had done. This was a secret best left buried. "I had one of my Slayer dreams. But the spidy feeling I got went when I stabbed the bastard."
"You need to see a doctor." Diggle tells Oliver as the billionaire wobbles slightly, clearly still affected by the drug.
"No." Oliver hisses straight away before pulling himself away from Diggle and stepping out of the elevator at the apartment building Diggle had brought him to.
"Oliver, god knows what was in that drug. It could be causing permanent damage." Oliver pauses, Diggle waits thinking he was about to say no again only Oliver shrugs at Diggle "I don't know where we are going."
Diggle frowns for a moment "Oh. Yeah. This way." He says leading him down the hall, as they walk towards apartment B, Diggle glances at Oliver "You've been here before so—"
"Did not exactly come in the most conventional way, Dig."
Diggle sighs before stopping outside the front door and knocking, he had a spare key however considering he wasn't alone, he thought it was probably best not to just wander inside.
Suddenly a loud crashing noise comes from inside before a loud yell, Diggle's eyes widen and he immediately reach for his holster, kicking down the door he raises his gun only to spot Xander on the ground while Buffy stood over him with a bo-staff.
Buffy turns her head before groaning "Dig, do you know how much that is gonna cost?" She asks gesturing to the door.
Xander nods in agreement from the ground "Yeah, man double steeling doors aren't cheap."
Buffy sighs before helping Xander off the ground, she turns back to Oliver and Diggle before groaning "Xand..."
Getting the point he grabs his jacket and moves towards the door "I was on my way out anyway. Bye Buff. Dig."
As the door closes behind him Buffy crosses her arms keeping the bo-staff in her grasp as she looks between the two men "Diggle, why did you bring your client here?"
Oliver moves to answer only to wince at the brightness of the light coming through the windows "Buffy, could you move away from the window, I have a bit of a hangover."
Buffy frowns and steps closer to Oliver, before he could say anything she grabs his chin and forces him down to her "Ah, what the hell?" He asks confused while Diggle merely chuckles.
"Shh." Buffy says as she stares at Oliver's eyes before rolling her eyes, she turns to Diggle "How much Vertigo was pumped into him?"
Oliver can't help but smile, damn she was good, however she merely hits his arm "Ow! Why?!" He exclaims shocked.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? What were you going to bring me a syringe and say it's an energy drink?"
Oliver's jaw clenches tightly, that had been exactly what he was planning to do.
Buffy rolls her eyes "Yesterday you came to me asking about a patient I treated who suffered from Vertigo. Asked about the Count because of your sister." Buffy turns to Diggle and folds her arms "Talk." She says before dragging Oliver over to the couch and forcing him to sit down.
Oliver frowns in confusion but allows the small blonde to pull him away from Diggle who looked like he was about to burst into laughter at any moment.
Buffy sits opposite Oliver who was just watching the blonde as she grabbed a bag from the floor "So why are you really here?" Before he could answer she cuts him off "Oh, no let me guess you decided to find the drug dealer yourself, that's why you were grilling me about him yesterday. My guess something went down and you ended up with a butt load of the drug pumping through your system."
Oliver sits there in astonishment, she was honestly the most intriguing women he had ever met, although he'd never admit it if anyone asked, so all he did was look over at her "How did you—"
"Diggle brought you here because I'm a paramedic." Buffy says simply getting a nod of confirmation from Dig as she does "He knew you wouldn't got to the hospital. So he brought you to the portable one." Buffy pauses and glances over at her best friend "A warning next time."
"He would have run off if I had."
Buffy sighs before carefully turning Oliver's face towards her, looking him in the eye she could see not only were they a rather gorgeous blue but they were dilated.
She sighs before placing a hand on his chest feeling his heartbeat, his very firm chest, she shakes herself, yes he was attractive that was obvious enough.
Oliver watches her intently ignoring the spark of her touching his chest and listened to her carefully as she speaks.
"Any dizziness?" He nods "Okay um...the pain in your head?"
"It faded."
Buffy sighs relieved "Most not have been a concentrated dose. A pure dose would have killed you in the first 5 minutes, your brain cells would have started attacking your nerves." She stands and reaches into a nearby draw, pulling out some herbs.
Oliver frowns before looking at the herbs intently, they looked so much like...
"I got these when I was in Bulgaria...I was seriously injured almost died but...let's just say my partner at the time he got these from his time in China, all I know is it's miracle worker."
Buffy places them in Oliver's hand ignoring the warm sensation of touching his hand and clears her thought "You'll live. Bed rest and herbs will be your best friend. So what do you really need from me?"
Oliver clears his throat and stands getting a few paces away from the blonde who was now leant against the wall in the corner of the living room, near the table where the sais were kept he realized remembering back to that night.
Oliver pulls two syringes out of his pocket "We managed to get a pure dosage of the drug. Could you please so a spectroanalysis of the sample, so that we can find out exactly where in the city it is made."
Buffy arches an eyebrow, seriously where the hell did he get the idea that she would be able to do that "Why would I be able to do that. Do I look like Willow?"
Oliver frowns in confusion, Diggle had promised that Buffy would be able to do the test, he turns to his friend only to spot Diggle focused on Buffy and her alone.
Diggle approaches her slowly "Buffy, I know Lincoln showed you how to analyze blood work and other drugs. You had to do it in the field I'm sure you can do it at a fully functional hospital."
Buffy blinks up at her slowly, he had rarely used Lincoln's name since he had died, a part of her always felt that Diggle blamed himself for his death, plus the fact that he had introduced them, he blamed himself for the pain that day. But in reality it was never his fault, it was hers and she knew it, everyone around her died especially those closest to her.
She takes a deep breath forcing back the memories of the blood and screaming, looking up at her best friend she sighs "Okay. I'll head to the hospital now, it should be quiet."
Oliver smiles at the young woman "Thank you."
As Oliver and Diggle head back into the elevator Oliver glances over at Diggle, he was slightly confused at what had happened in there.
"Whose Lincoln?" He asks after a brief moment of silence.
"He's dead and who he is to her is not my business to tell." Diggle tells him with a stern voice making it clear this conversation was not up for discussion.
Westbury, England - Five Years Ago
Buffy strokes the photo of her and her mom as she stands alone in her room for the finale time, glancing around the small room that had been her home for the past few months she sighs as much as she hated to admit it she was going to miss this place. It had become a familiar place, where she could go but it was never home, she didn't have a home anymore. Placing the photo in her suitcase she zips it up and lifts it off the bed, she knew she had to do this, she had to get her own life and find herself a home, something that she had lost so long ago. Who knows maybe that was in Boston but that was something she was going to have to wait and see.
Climbing down the stairs she spots Xander, Willow and Giles waiting for her, she smiles fondly it seemed fitting, it had started with the four of them, it was only right it ended with the four of them.
"You really want to do this?" Xander asks as Buffy places her suitcase on the ground.
Buffy looks up at her friend tears in her eyes "I have to. There is this emptiness in me...I need to be on my own for a while. Find out if I can fill it. With work, love...something."
Willow who looked as though she was close to breaking down wraps her arms tightly around Buffy refusing to detach herself "Promise me, we will talk everyday."
Buffy smiles and hugs her back "I promise."
"And when you become a big shot medic remember us." Xander teases.
Present Day – Starling City
"Hello?" Oliver answers the next day after handing the Count over to the cops, he turns away from Laurel as she heads back over to Thea and focuses on his phone.
"I got The Count." McKenna says happily as she tells Oliver "Busted up his lab, got him on everything from drug trafficking to homicide. He'll be gone for a long while."
"That's great!" Oliver tells her trying to sound enthusiastic as he does "Thanks."
Oliver frowns hearing the brief hesitation in her voice "It was great seeing you, Oliver."
"You too." He says honestly, he had actually been nice seeing her again ignoring the fact that he had used her "See you." He says quietly before hanging up the phone and exiting Laurel's office.
Buffy climbs onto her balcony gracefully but winces slightly as she puts her weight on her leg. Ripping off her mask she clutches her leg winces at the sight of the blood on it, she had been looking for another demon only to fall and end up with her leg having a metal pole from a fence sticking through it.
"Buff!" Willow whispers as she runs out onto the balcony and wraps a hand around her friend's waist as she helps her back into the apartment.
Buffy winces slightly but mostly ignores the pain, looking down at the wound she sighs most people with this would be screaming and bleeding to death but her it may sting, but she didn't feel it.
Leaning her head against the couch as Willow attempts to sew up the wound she sighs sadly, she hadn't felt proper pain or emotion in years, it was something she missed dearly. She hated this feeling, this emptiness, this hollow shell she had become.
"What happened?"
"I'm a clutz." Buffy says with a chuckle smiling at her best friend, trying to reassure her that she was fine.
Willow looks at her sceptically before helping Buffy stand so that she could get that suit off.
As Willow helps her get the suit off Buffy spots the conflicted look on her face, Buffy pauses and grabs Xander's shirt of the couch slipping it over her head before focusing on her best friend "Will, what is it?"
Willow's eyes widen "What's what? What? Is nothing it? It is nothing." She babbles as she backs away from Buffy.
Buffy chuckles in amusement Willow babble always meant something was wrong "Willow..." She draws out softly waiting for the red head to break.
After a long moment Willow sighs "Before Walter went missing, he gave me something." When Buffy frowns in confusion Willow grabs her bag pulling out a small book.
Handing it to Buffy the blonde frowns in confusion before opening it, staring at the list of names inside.
"What is this?" She asks noticing the familiar names on the list she had seen on the news recently.
"I don't know exactly." Willow tells her "But it all relates to that circle, and I think this is the list the Hood is using, but I can't be sure."
After a moment Willow runs a hand through her short red hair and looks at Buffy seriously "I think you should give it to Oliver. It involves Walter so he should have it."
Buffy frowns even more confused, one: Willow was not one who ever wanted to just hand over a mystery to someone else and two: why the hell did she want her to give it to Oliver "Why don't you give it to him yourself?"
Willow smiles slightly, what Buffy didn't know was that she had noticed the little similarities between her and Oliver, and something told her that he would trust her.
"I think it's best you go...I have a feeling."
Buffy walks into Big Belly Burger and immediately spotted Oliver sitting at the table by the window.
"Hi." She says as she walks over to him sitting opposite him "Thanks for meeting me."
Oliver smiles at her "It's fine I was actually gonna call and thank you for your help anyway...so thank you."
Buffy chuckles into amusement "No problem." She says before glancing over at Carly and smiling. Sighing she turns back to Oliver "Willow...she's spent the past few weeks keeping things from me...and I'm not hypocrite I'm not going to ask because she doesn't, because she doesn't ask what happened to me."
Oliver frowns in confusion he didn't understand what this was or why she had asked him to meet her "Buffy..."
"Look." She says cutting him off "She's been dealing with wanting to tell you something and for some reason she thought it would be better if I showed you."
Buffy pauses and looks at him seriously "Can I trust you?"
When Oliver scoffs and looks at her like she was crazy for even asking the question she rolls her eyes.
"Look I've been through a lot, just like you. I don't trust easily and I take it you don't either." When Oliver doesn't answer she smiles spotting that familiar look of curiosity yet distrust that she had in her own eyes.
"I'm not an idiot and Willow is practically a genius." She tells him obviously "You have some of the stupidest lies I have heard in my life and that's coming from someone who has heard Willow try and lie." Buffy pauses laughing nervously, she looks at him carefully, there was something about him, something dark and something light hidden beneath the surface, he felt like a kindred spirit of some sort.
Buffy takes a deep breath examining his facial expression for a moment before pulling at the book and handing it to him.
Oliver's eyes widen briefly but he tries to hide it "Do you know what this is?" She asks.
"No." He says quietly as he flips through the book "Where did Willow get this?"
"From your step-father." Buffy says simply as she watches him closely he knew something, maybe not a lot but he knew something more than he was letting on.
Oliver looks up at her, staring her straight in the eye "Um, where did he get it?"
"Your house." Buffy tells him "Aka your mother. Walter thought she was hiding something. And then he asked Wil to look into and poof now he's gone. If this cost him his life it's put her in danger as well."