The rest of the summer break went smooth as ice. Mainly because they travelled to France and went skiing on the stuff.
They had spent time in the cornfields of America, the beaches of Japan… but they'd never been skiing.
Only Lois had been skiing before and she was laughing her ass off as she watched her friends and boyfriend fall on their asses.
That was after she had called Clark out on the fact that the only reason he stayed upright was because he used his powers of flight to do so.
They ended the whole thing in Japan with Yukari giving them another tour of the city and the university.
Slowly but surely more people in Japan were being let in on the secret of magic. The university lecturers and professors were among the first so that they knew that several of their students might suddenly vanish one day without explanation in the middle of class.
Lex and Jason returned from the X-Men's universe. Iron Man and War Machine were both geared up and ready to roll. Jason was actually eager to use the powered armour.
The new partners had brought back a gift from Vision. An Arc Reactor and the blueprints to make it. It was just what Clark and MBI needed to make the Portal Doors more affordable. Not to mention safer.
It was not an instant fix though and it would take at least a year before they could redesign the current power interface and set up the factories to begin mass-producing.
Clark was definitely Harry's brother… blood or no blood. The grins the pair had sported when they announced their plans for making the portals more available the following year had raised a few eyebrows… and voices.
"You are putting a HUGE target on your back." Lex practically shouted. "I can understand discounts and the like but offering part exchange for cars? It's ridiculous! The car manufacturers will be out for your blood!"
"That's not the best part!" Harry grinned. "Tell 'em the other part of your idea." Harry egged Clark on.
Clark was just as bad with that smile. Jonathan, Martha, Kyla, Chloe and Lana loved that look; it was rare to see their Clark looking so… ecstatic and unreserved.
"The older and cheaper the car the more you get off the end price of the door. The more expensive the car the more you have to pay."
There was utter silence.
"WHAT?!" Until Lex lost it. "There will be outright assassination attempts by the upper class! Forget the oil and car companies out for your blood, you are thumbing your nose at the elite!"
"If they can afford it then they can pay for it." Harry scowled. "What can they really do to us? You know hard it is to kill either of us."
"From what the others have told me you did kill Clark nearly a year ago when Lois first arrived. Got him with a killing curse." Lex scowled back. "But it isn't you I'm worried about. It's them!" He pointed at the new crop of College girls… and Lois. "They are the ones who are going to be targeted if you become too hard to reach."
"As the newest and possibly weakest of the group, can I just say: Bring it on bitch!" Lois smirked. "We're all going to be in Japan when we aren't here. This bunch are trained warriors and I doubt Kazehana and the others will let us go unguarded."
"I thought Lord Odin was supposed to knock some common sense into you." Lex sighed. "And why aren't all of you more upset?" He asked the rest of the castle residents.
"We've lived with Harry for thousands of years." Emma drawled. "This is tame for him."
"Yeah, within months of arriving in our universe Harry was healing people by the thousands in a football stadium every day." Dani laughed.
"I was always in awe of how he managed to stop people from worshipping him." Scott offered. "He was always accompanied by a friend, whether it was myself, another X-Man or hero or even a god. Sometimes it was just regular un-powered human. But when they were up on that stage he would do something to make us annoyed with him and we would tell him off, smack him round the head… he knew the human psyche and he played it like a fiddle."
"Is my head getting big?" Harry stage whispered to Clark.
"No… but its not your ego that praise affects. It's your sense of humour." Clark said dryly.
Lex was a little surprised when he returned to work and his secretary informed him that Captain Maggie Sawyer wanted to speak with him as soon as possible. He and Tess hopped in the car and Logan drove them over to the precinct.
"Mr. Luthor." Sawyer greeted them stiffly as they entered her office.
Lex knew the woman was still unsure about the whole magic deal… but maybe not as much as she was about Lex only playing the villain.
"Captain. How can I help you?" He asked as he took the offered chair and Tess took a position by the door.
Sawyer wrinkled her nose and forehead in a scowl as she looked at her desk. "Are we secure?" She asked cryptically.
"I put up some wards and charms as soon as we entered." Tess assured her.
"This… 'magic' stuff… how far does it extend?"
"Do you mean how far can we cast a spell?" Lex asked with a frown.
She shook her head in frustration. "No… what I mean is… you call yourselves witches and wizards. You cast spells and make potions. What about other magical things… like… magical monsters?" It was clear she was having trouble even talking about this in a serious conversation.
"Harry is a dragon, Xander is a werewolf and Neville is a Phoenix." Lex shrugged.
The Captain's head shot up and her eyes locked with Lex's. "Werewolves? What about vampires?"
"Captain." Lex said slowly. "Why don't you tell us what you know and we will tell you what might fit. We aren't going to judge you insane because of what some might call an outlandish theory."
She sighed and tossed a file to Lex. He opened it and was immediately drawn to the photos of a dead body. He showed it to Tess.
"We should call Xander. He grew up dealing with vampires." She told them.
"Captain, I am more of a man of science. I deal with chemistry, physics, biology, math and so on. But Xander Harris and Harry Potter grew up in worlds saturated in magic. Find a way to get one of them down here and they can guide you. We will give them a heads up and let them see if they can't integrate themselves into the investigation in some way."
Sawyer nodded in relief. Relief that there was someone with answers and that those answers were similar to her… 'outlandish theories' as Lex had called them.
"Thank you Mr. Luthor." She said formally.
"No, thank you for trusting me with this." Lex said sincerely.
Kyla and Chloe were a very unhappy pair as they met up with the other University girls for lunch. They had had their first lecture and they were not impressed.
"The bastard kept going on about how Clark was an evil tycoon with untold hidden projects that were an affront to humanity." Chloe scowled.
"Wow… what did you say?" Lana asked.
"Nothing. Why would I want to get into an argument with him? Any proof he has is fake so he is just creating conspiracy theories." Kyla shrugged unhappily.
"I still say we should challenge him. Or at least press charges for slander." Chloe said angrily.
"And I would be forced to reveal my evidence, Miss Sullivan." Came an American accented voice speaking Japanese like they were. He was reasonably short at only 5'7''. He had short-cropped, styled hair and was wearing casual trousers and open collar shirt with a sports jacket.
"Add eavesdropping to the charges Chlo." Uzume smirked.
"I was actually coming over to see you all and just caught the tail end of your conversation. I am Professor Milton Fine, as I am sure your friends have told you."
"Actually, they didn't." Lois shrugged. "Probably because you aren't really worth the trouble."
"You really are all very loyal to each other, aren't you?" Fine smiled in amusement. "Especially to Mr. Kent. I am curious though as to how you would react if you truly knew what Mr. Kent had his company doing." He said with a hint of the sinister.
The girls just burst out laughing.
"I am quite serious. I was hoping I could convince you to start your own investigation into the evidence I have." He said quite unperturbed.
"Hell no!" Lois laughed.
"Wait!" Chiho said quickly. "I say we agree to investigate his evidence as long as the agreement is over seen by the Head of the University and the board."
They all looked at her curiously.
"Whatever information we find will be presented to both the board, Professor Fine, Clark and any required authority." She added.
"Alright." Kyla nodded slowly. "If that's what Chiho thinks is best then that's what we will do."
"Wait, you want us to actually betray Clark?" Lois asked incredulously.
"He'll know what we are doing. I recommend we have him present for the official agreement as well." Chloe smirked.
"And what is to stop him from using my evidence to begin covering up what I have discovered." Fine challenged.
"Because one of us will always stay with him." Lana countered.
Milton Fine frowned. He wasn't sure what they had planned, but he couldn't back down at this point.
"Very well, when do you want to do this?"
"Now." Kyla said as she stood and gathered her bags.
"I doubt the Head of the University will be able to gather the board-"
"He will." Kyla said dismissively as she pulled out her phone and began making phone calls.
Fine was quite surprised when he heard all these high-ranking people acquiescing to her polite yet firm requests. He couldn't help but run through the information he had mentally to see what he had missed.
Within half-an-hour they were all seated in the conference room used for board meetings. Clark was present with another man he introduced as his aide.
"Well, Professor Fine. Mr. Kent has agreed to allow his friends full access to use your evidence to investigate his company for evidence of corruption and illegal projects.
"Let's see this evidence then." Mr. Masahiro, the Head of the University, said sternly.
As far as the board was concerned Fine was finished. He would be packing up his office and seeking employment elsewhere… he would not be getting a letter of recommendation.
It wasn't that the board was in MBI's pocket.
It wasn't that the Japanese government had been on the phone with them questioning the reports they were getting from allies about him.
No. It was the fact that he tried to solicit the aid of several young students in committing espionage.
The only letter of recommendation Milton Fine would be getting was to the police saying that they should investigate him.
Fine stood up and handed a file over to Mr. Masahiro before turning on his laptop that was connected to the massive screen in the room.
"I have obtained documents and files that indicate that Mr. Kent has been running experiments on extra-terrestrials. That he has withheld this information from the Japanese government and that he seeks to use the technology to conquer other nations."
As he spoke a series of images appeared on the screen. Images of the Black Ship.
The aide's eyes widened and Clark just put a restraining hand on the man's arm.
"You're quite right. I do have the ship." Clark said calmly causing Fine's and the board's eyebrows to rise. "If you want I can take you to see it. We haven't been able to open it but just the composition of the metal is enough to keep us working for years."
Fine tilted his head slightly and looked at Clark piercingly. "You know who I am, Kal-El." He said with certainty.
This time the girls' eyebrows raised.
Clark turned to Mr. Masahiro. "We will need the room."
Masahiro stood and bowed before indicating for the thoroughly confused board members to follow him.
As the door closed behind them Clark turned back to Fine. "Are you going to come peacefully Brainiac?"
"What gave me away?" Fine smirked.
"Many things." Like the fact that he had no soul. "You are wanted for crimes against the universe. You are under arrest and will be handed over to the authorities-"
"We both know that the 'authorities' couldn't hold me." The revealed Brainiac said dismissively. "Let me make you an offer Kal. Take me to the Crystal Fortress and I won't kill everyone you love."
"Yes you will. Or at least, you will try." Clark said calmly. He stood from his chair and activated his new armour.
It had been modified by Brunhilde, Laura and Matsu and was linked to his own divinity thanks to Harry. He would always carry it just like he carried his hammer and it was no longer linked to his watch.
He moved calmly towards Brainiac at the opposite end of the table but Brainiac tossed a familiar green stone on the table before using super speed and flight to burst out of the window and away from the city.
Chloe immediately grabbed the stone and teleported out but the damage was done and Brainiac had stalled Superman long enough to make his escape.
It was time to call a council of war.
"How did that bug eye'd robot get a position at a Japanese University?" Xander asked as they sat around the conference table.
"Probably because he didn't look like a 'bug eye'd' monster." Chloe said sarcastically.
"Well… sure." Xander admitted. He hadn't meant that literally. "But how did he get past the screening process."
"Brainiac is a 12th level intellect." Ganthet explained. "Earth as a whole is only a 9th level. Bypassing Earth based encryption and security is child's play for him."
Brainiac was an inter-galactic threat. The Guardians had dispatched Hal, Sinestro and John to Earth on a semi-permanent basis until Brainiac was caught and dealt with.
"I want to know how he knew Clark was Superman." Kyla said seriously. "How did he see past the Fidelius?"
"Deduction." Xander shrugged. "The Fidelius isn't full proof. It was something we discovered back when magicals and non-magicals were separated. If you can determine that something is hidden, such a location, then you just have to search for evidence of a missing house. Houses 10, 11, 13 and 14 exists… but what happened to 12 and where is the space for it?"
"So our identities can still be compromised?" Barry asked worriedly.
"Only by someone like Brainiac with a pure analytical mind and a high enough intellect." Neville assured him. "Finding a missing house on a street is much easier than trying to determine the identity of a superhero in a city of millions."
"What's the plan going to be?" Tess asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.
"Be on the look out." Harry shrugged. "Brainiac has no soul and he can shapeshift. That means we can't teleport to him and we probably can't tag him with any type of tracker, magical or technological."
"And if we do find him then what?" Dani asked.
"Provided you can limit the casualties and damage, engage him in combat and discourse." Harry said with a serious expression.
"You want us to do exactly what you trained us not to do?" Lorna asked in disbelief.
"Let's be slightly more specific about that." Clark interrupted. "If you are soul bound to myself or Harry then you can engage. Because you won't crossover and we can easily find your soul and put you in a new body." He could see where Harry was going with this. "We know nothing about Brainiac, what he is made of, what his intentions are on Earth, we need information so we can develop a plan."
"We know he wanted to the Fortress." Chloe said as he tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"We also know he will kill us without pause to get what he wants." Lois shuddered.
"The bottled cities!"
Everyone turned to look at the now blushing Chiho. "I was thinking that, Brainiac stole the cities after he infiltrated them and stole their data. If the cities are truly preserved… maybe they have information on Brainiac."
"Good idea. We'll leave that in the hands of the Corp." Harry nodded to Ganthet who nodded in agreement.
"In the meantime, we need to remember that Brainiac is an artificial life form. He can be re-programmed." Harry turned to Jason. "Go through the portal, find Vision and tell him 'Code: Asimov'. Then give him a run down of the situation."
"Code Asimov means we are dealing with an artificial life form that is intent on killing." Scott explained. "Vision and various other AI Heroes have been trained to engage and subdue enemy AI's from within and without."
"All we can really do it pound the bastard into the concrete until they arrive." Dani sulked.
Today was a big day for several of the castle residents and the Kent family.
Today one of their own would take their first steps into a brand new world… and life would never be the same again.
Kusano Potter was now six years old and it was her first day of Elementary School. She was both nervous and excited.
Over the past few years she had had contact with other children like Earl's daughter, Jessica as well as Baby Thor, Ryan when he was younger and a few of the other children of those who worked around the castle.
But she had never been with other children under the care of a strange adult.
"Remember you have your coat and your bag." Martha told her as she knelt down in front of her future daughter-in-law. "And what is the rule about your watch?"
"Never take it off. Never ever." She recited faithfully. "Even if it itches. Even if the teacher says I have to. Even if the other children say I have to. Never ever take it off."
"Good girl." Martha had tears in her eyes.
Memories came flooding back for when they had first sent Clark to Elementary School. It had been much harder then, he was still getting used to the fact that he was much stronger than the other children. For Kusano, everybody knew she was a Sekirei and what she could do. Farmers were constantly sending gift baskets of their produce for the little girl because she made them grow so well just by living in the town.
Jonathan had been a little worried about this because it might lead to things like worship and tributes and sacrifices.
Harry had assured him that Kusano would always be kept on the right path as she had lots of family looking out for her. Harry actually encouraged the gift baskets as he and Clark would help Kusano use the fruit and vegetables to make pies and dishes that they would then share with everyone else including the giver of the gifts.
Kusano was becoming quite the little chef.
"Do you remember the security phrase?" Jonathan asked with a smile.
"Supercala-"
"That's ok. As long as you know it and remember the response." Jonathan interrupted her quickly before everyone outside the school heard it.
"Remember to ask questions if you don't understand something. Miss Seaton is there to teach you and that means answering her questions and asking them." Clark told her.
"But if she asks you to stop asking questions, make sure you aren't asking too many. You can always come and ask us questions." Harry added.
Ku was a curious little creature and was always investigating. She often dragged Ryan around the farm to find out why certain animals weren't eating her plants. Fortunately Chiho would join them so it wasn't too much of a problem and eating into their couple's time. Eventually Dani, Martha or Jonathan would rescue the couple from the incessant questions.
"You promise you'll be here to pick me up and take me home?" She asked a little worriedly.
"If not one of us then someone you know, like Uncle Lex or Grandpa." Harry told her as he joined Martha kneeling in front of her. "Just remember to ask the security question like we told you."
One by one they pulled her into a hug before sending her off to join her class and hopefully her first new friends.
"Alec? Where do you think you are going?" Harry asked as the tall, blonde haired man strode passed them.
Alec stopped and looked at them quizzically. "I am her knight. Her protector and first line of defence. My place is by her side."
"You do realise that she is going to be with other five and six year olds, right? You aren't going to try… slaying them?" Clark asked with a teasing smile.
"Not unless they ask me to play the knight in their games." He returned the smile with a grin. "I have procured a job as a classroom assistant. I will not be-"
"Classroom assistant? Alec, you're a qualified MD!" Harry exclaimed. "Just go and tell the Principal you are going to work as the school doctor. When Ku graduates you can take my job at the high school."
Alec just nodded before continuing into the school after the children.
Jonathan and Clark were looking quite… grumpy.
"Ok, what is wrong with you two?" Harry asked.
The father and son shared a look as they both seemed to try to come up with some sort of excuse.
"Boys. Lord Death asked you a question." Martha said sternly.
They knew she wasn't serious, but it had an effect. "I just can't believe I didn't think of trying to get a job as the doctor." Clark sighed.
"They wouldn't have hired you." Harry shrugged. "I told them not to."
"What! Why?"
"Because you both have jobs elsewhere and Ku doesn't need the distraction of having us around. This is her time. Let her enjoy it."
"You let Alec get a job there." Clark argued petulantly.
"I sort of forgot about him." Harry admitted with embarrassment. "But he won't crowd Kusano. Never has. He just stands in the background making sure she is safe… usually with a tablet computer in his hand… but still."
"We do not crowd her!" Jonathan said defensively.
"As long as we are around she will always come to us and lean on us. She needs her space so she can figure out how to stand on her own two feet in the world. That means we have to be noticeably absent so she can learn to adapt.
"Now, we all have work to do. That farm won't run itself and those Sekirei need their Ashikabi to chase."
Clark was so tempted to zap his older brother with a lightning bolt.
Xander was having a fair bit of fun at the moment. He had nabbed two of his daughters-in-law, Akitsu and Diana. Their first trip was to visit Captain Sawyer who reluctantly gave them access to the case file and the morgue.
From there he instructed Akitsu and Diana on how to track down a criminal… in this case: A vampire.
This was done by tracking the last movements of the deceased. He was a pizza delivery boy and he had made a delivery to Metropolis Universities Tri-Psi sorority house.
So there they were standing on the steps of the house waiting for someone to answer.
The door was opened by a young… woman wearing sleep shorts and a very low cut tank top. "Yes?"
"We're working with the police on a string of recent murders. We need to come in and ask you a few questions." Diana stated in a firm manner as instructed by Xander.
Don't ask. Don't give options. State what is about to happen and make it happen before the other party can gather their wits to form an objection.
Finishing her statement she stepped forward and held out a hand indicating that the girl should lead.
The girl was definitely off balance as she led them with a rather confused expression.
"Buffy! There are some cops here!" She shouted loudly.
Xander tried… but he just couldn't hide his wince at the loud noise. Enhanced hearing really sucked at times.
There was a sudden stampede as every resident of the Tri-Psi Sorority House came down stairs.
"Excellent. You are all here." Xander stepped forward. "If you would all take a seat in the sitting room there, we will use the kitchen to conduct our interviews."
"What interviews?" A fairly snobbish blonde asked.
"We will get to that during the interviews." Diana spoke up.
The snobbish blonde looked like she was about to argue.
"You first." Xander pointed at her quickly. "Rest of you: sit."
It was Kusano's first recess at school and Alec was out there on the playground watching all the children in his new additional role as the school doctor.
He had had to deal with three children already. One had had an accident with scissors and two were having anxiety issues with being back at school after all the time off.
Dealing with the anxiety issues was dealt with by assigning a 'Big Brother' or 'Big Sister' from the older years. Someone for them to latch onto. The Principal was intrigued by the idea and had provided a few suitable names.
The scissor accident made Alec realise that in a town full of magicals he was pretty redundant. Alec didn't have magic, Harry wasn't able to give it to him. Pamela on the other hand did have magic, so he resolved himself to asking for a magical assistant or switching out with someone else so he could continue as a classroom assistant.
Alec watched a little heartbroken as the children from Kusano's class sent her away from them rather harshly. Kusano was adorable and he had no idea why they would do that.
Kusano had seen him and ran up to him hugging his legs with tears in her eyes. "I don't like it here Uncle Alec. Everybody hates me!" She cried.
Alec knelt down on one knee and perched Ku on the other. "Did they say why they don't like you?" He asked softly.
"I can't do magic. They said I'm not a real American." She said as she buried her face in protector's shoulder. "Can't I go to school with Lois and Kyla?"
Even Lois Lane wasn't immune from Kusano. Ku had continued to insist that Lois was Number 109 and that Clark was her Ashikabi.
Lois didn't stand a chance.
"Do you remember all the training that Diana gave you?" Alec asked.
Ku nodded wetly.
"Some of it hurt didn't it? But what did Diana teach you to do?"
"She taught me to get back up and try again." She said in her small sad voice.
"You were upset with Diana when she hurt you, weren't you?" Ku nodded as her cheeks turned slightly red. "But you knew she wasn't being mean and that she was trying to help you." Another nod, more firmer.
"What does Uncle Alfred tell you about falling down?" He asked.
"We do it so we can learn to pick ourselves up." She recited.
"Exactly. When those kids are mean to you, that is you falling down. Now you need to pick yourself up and figure out how to stop it from happening."
Ku screwed up her face in concentration as she pondered the problem. Alec knelt there patiently.
"I've got it!" She said excitedly as she tried to hop off Alec's knee.
He still had a hold of her though and held her in place. "Tell me your idea first, Ku. It is always good to get a second opinion in case there is a mistake in your plan, or in case it can be improved."
Ku nodded in understanding. This was something that Grandpa always encouraged.
"I am going to show them my Sekirei abilities." She said proudly.
"That's a good idea Ku. But how are you going to do that?"
"I am going to grow them special flowers."
Alec smiled in slight amusement. "But what about the boys? Boys aren't usually fans of flowers."
"Oh." She said as she began to think carefully. "What do boys like?" She eventually asked. She had absolutely no idea.
Alec turned Ku so she could face the playground from their position by one of school building's walls. "Look at all the boys on the playground. What are they doing?"
"Playing kickball."
"Yes."
"Playing tag."
"Yes."
"Climbing on the monkey bars."
"Yes."
"Climbing up the slide the wrong way." She scowled.
Alec smothered his snort. "Yes." He nearly croaked.
"Playing… poker?" She asked as she saw a group of boys sitting in a circle with various colourful cards.
"They are playing with cards, but not poker. They aren't gambling." Ku knew she wasn't allowed to gamble for money. But she often played poker with Harry, Neville, Dani, Xander and Logan. It was an effective way to teach her math. They usually played for things like teddy-bears and dolls. Whoever won the pot got to look after the pot until the next game when they were re-distributed like chips evenly.
"So what can you use your plants to make that boys and girls will enjoy?" Alec prompted.
Kusano's face was downcast. "I don't know." She admitted.
"Well, why don't we go and see what all those things are like? Maybe you can improve them, or come up with something new?" He offered as he set her on her feet, stood up straight and offered her his hand.
Diana and Xander sat in the kitchen of the sorority house as they discussed the thirty-two interviews they had just done. Akitsu was out in the sitting room keeping an eye on them.
"Those are the most vain and conceited females I have ever encountered." Diana said in disgust. "On Themiscyra they would be assigned the very worst of duties for their attitudes."
"They are young, rich and considered themselves princesses in American culture." Xander shrugged. "You've seen and heard of similar problems with people like Tsukiumi or Dawn Stiles."
"Yes, but this is a whole house full of them!"
"The really sad thing is that most of these girls will rely on their looks. Very few will achieve anything other than being a trophy for some man."
"That is barbaric!" Diana declared angrily.
"Ah! But it is their choice. This is what they want for themselves. If you ask me, that is the worst part." Xander picked up his note pad and they got down to business. "So what have you learnt from the interviews?"
"Buffy Sanders is their leader, she has a very tight rein on them. They have a poor ability to lie yet they do so far to much."
"True." Xander chuckled. "But that wouldn't help Captain Sawyer make a case. Unless we can prove that they are lying- without your lasso or Chloe-" He added before Diana could say it. "- then it is our word against theirs."
Diana sat back and thought about what she knew.
"They all have different stories about what happened to the pizza boy." She mused. "But several of them said that he came, left his delivery and headed off."
Xander let her continue to work it out.
"We know that this is the last place the delivery boy visited before he was found dead. The security cameras show that. But they don't show how he got from inside the house to the local park." Diana frowned.
"You probably won't find evidence of that." Xander shook his head. "Vampires are usually fairly strong and can leap off the top of buildings. They probably took him out a window in the back.
"I did a bit of extra work and looked up the case files on similar murders. Out of fifty three cases, the first two had detectives making inquiries at this sorority."
"Only the first two?"
Xander nodded.
"What were they questioned for?"
"Someone was seen leaving the front of the house and putting a fairly large bundle in a car before driving off. The girls all denied it and provided alibis for each other.
"Since then they have been considered suspects for the first two murders and several of the others.
"Always a handyman like a plumber, electrician or delivery person who never makes it to their next destination after they leave here."
"So… they learnt from their mistakes on the first murders." Diana surmised. "I still cannot determine how we can arrest them based on the laws of America." She said in frustration.
Xander smiled sympathetically. "We can't. Even if we did manage to do so we would have to deal with the issues of trying to contain a vampire.
"Which is why the only solution is to call in people like you and me who know about vampires and how to deal with them."
"But none of these girls have shown the signs of a vampire. They stand in sunlight, the have reflections… I even saw some with crucifixes."
"Right." Xander agreed. "Now read this."
Diana read the file passed over.
"Vampire bats?"
"Kryptonite infected vampire bats." Xander corrected. "These aren't the soulless monsters of the night that I used to deal with." Xander scowled angrily. "These are humans who received a slight mutation and instead of seeing a doctor who could have helped them procure what they needed… they decided to propagate the myth.
"And Buffy Sanders is the worst type of person. Someone who would literally kill to get to the top."
"Does that mean we can kill them or not?" Diana asked, still confused by the whole thing.
"It means we need to discuss things first with Harry and Clark." Xander decided as he gathered his recording equipment and files.
"Uncle Neville, can you teach me how to make a tree house on my own?"
Neville looked down to see Kusano standing there with her hands clasped in front of her hanging loosely, head up with wide eyes and her foot scuffing the floor. "Bloody adorable." He sighed with a slight roll of his eyes.
"No swearing!" Gone was cute little girl trying to get her favourite Uncle (take that Scott and Logan!) to help her and instead he was being glared at by a… cute little girl trying to be stern.
"Sorry Ku. Now why do you want to learn this? It is always best to have someone help you." Neville warned.
"I want to make one so the other children will like me." She said with complete innocence.
"Why would a tree house make them like you? They should like you for being you." He said as he led her to the nearby couch.
They weren't alone in the common room. Martha and Jonathan were there as were quite a few of the older residents. It was mainly the university students who were away.
"They don't like me because I can't do magic." She said sadly.
The looks on the faces of the X-Men who were the main group present said it all: Aw.
"Sounds to me like the other children need to be warned that their magic can be taken away." Dani said with a slight scowl.
"Can you do that without Harry?" Martha asked.
"Sure. We use rune carved handcuffs for criminals. But we modified the runes used to work on bracelets with a key. A parent can suppress a child's magic if they are misbehaving." Lorna explained.
"Harry hates them though." Amara said with a frown.
"They were used on him… in the graveyard." Neville said quietly. "Hermione was horrified. She was the one who developed them for Harry's first daughter, Luna. Luna was always a little menace. But when she proudly revealed them Harry went pale and… Daphne… she really let lose. Took her a month to forgive Hermione and even then she only did it because Joyce and Xander had a go at her."
"Anyway, this doesn't help Kusano." Loki returned them to the initial topic of conversation.
"No, I'm sorry Ku, we got side tracked." Neville said sincerely.
"That's ok Uncle Neville. I forgive you." She said honestly.
Neville smiled before turning serious. "Now, I can't allow you to build one on your own. But we can practice with Uncle Alec so he can supervise you."
"Actually, I was hoping you would take on the role of school doctor. Perhaps teach Pamela." Alec spoke up. "I realised today that I am hopelessly inadequate as a doctor in this town. I have no access to magic and therefore the children suffer unnecessarily until they can see a magical doctor."
"We'll figure something out, Alec." Amara assured him. "We developed special tools that allowed people who can't use magic to perform necessary feats like healing."
"My brother carries enchanted items for such a purpose in his cloak." Loki agreed.
"Would somebody please explain why I have to be the bait?" Jason grumbled as he got out of the cheap old car in his pizza delivery outfit. "Isn't this Clark's gig?"
"Yes, it is. But we need someone they can actually bite and who they haven't seen before." Xander's voice came over the telepathic link provided by the Cuckoos.
"Wouldn't want them to chip a fang on Clark." Jason muttered sarcastically as he reached the door and rang the bell.
Jason's brain nearly shut down when three gorgeous girls in fairly revealing sleepwear opened the door with very salacious smiles.
"Jason! Say your damned lines!" Xander screeched.
"Erm… Pizza!" He nearly shouted.
"Forget the pizza. I want a taste of him." One of the girls grinned as she grabbed the six pizza boxes Jason was carrying, tossed them over her shoulder and then dragged him into the house by the front of his t-shirt.
"Please wait ten minutes before saving me!" Came Jason's desperate plea.
Jason was fairly pissed when he didn't get his full ten minutes. Especially as the girls had promised to do many, many, many naughty things to him if he didn't struggle whilst they fed.
He was ignored.
Captain Sawyer and her team stormed the building on cue from Xander and his team of Diana, Akitsu and the Cuckoos who were there for intel and surveillance.
They found Jason lying in a pile of girls in just his boxers as four of them were drinking from both sides of his neck and his wrists.
As Jason stumbled past the officers with support from Phoebe they heard one of the say "Lucky bastard."
Jason rounded on him angrily. "No! Not lucky! If you lot had given me five more minutes I might have been!"
Phoebe had then dragged him out of there before he could continue.
Mindee had requested Akitsu give Jason an ice shower.
Like Musubi, Akitsu didn't always get sarcasm and western humour.
As the girls tried to resist arrest they were fired upon by the officers in assault gear. When some tried to escape they were accosted by additional officers stationed outside on Xander's advice.
The girls who weren't killed in the escape attempt were given a choice. They could cop a plea and be sentenced to a special mental prison (run by people working for Clark and Harry) or they could go through a trial where they would be shown to the public as mass murdering freaks who would likely be kidnapped for testing and experimentation.
They had just enough brain cells to accept the plea.
"You've written a lot of impressive articles Miss Sullivan. You've even had some published here at The Planet." Pauline Khan noted of the young blonde sitting opposite her. "What makes you think this entitles you to a position as a reporter here?"
Chloe smiled softly, knowingly. "I never got paid for those articles. I did them for the recognition in my chosen career path. I also supplied lots of other stories to the Planet that were farmed out to be written by other reporters.
"I have already completed the equivalent of a probationary period and proven myself."
"That's a pretty damned bold assumption."
Pauline noticed Chloe flinched, she didn't realise that she was expecting Miya to jump out with a ladle.
Chloe quickly re-gathered her wits. "It's a fact. I worked here as an intern and know what new reporters get stuck with before they get real stories.
"Besides, if you thought my work wasn't good enough then you wouldn't have printed them. All I have to do is take my portfolio to say, The Times, and they will jump at the chance for the scoops you would have gotten."
"And all I have to do is claim you are lying. I'm sure they will believe me over you." Pauline smirked.
Chloe frowned. "I have numerous reputable witnesses who will vouch for me being the author of the articles." She paused thoughtfully.
Pauline watched patiently with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually, I've changed my mind. I withdraw my application to work here." She said as she began to gather her belongings.
"Oh?" Pauline asked with a slight amusement.
"I can't work for someone who will resort to plagiarism and lies. I can understand sensationalism in newspapers, but fabrication of facts is not something I will be party to."
"Congratulations Miss Sullivan, you've got the job." Pauline smiled proudly.
"What?" Chloe asked suspiciously.
Pauline leaned back in her chair with a laugh. "Do you honestly believe Harry would let me remain Editor if I did what I threatened? I have no intention of doing anything so disgusting."
"Then why bring it up? What does that have to do with the calibre of my reporting?" Chloe asked.
"It has to do with the calibre of your character." Pauline leaned forward earnestly. "Not once did you threaten to bring Harry into this, despite the fact that we both know he owns the paper. Other than threatening to take your stories to another paper, which is your right, you didn't delve into the murky depths of blackmail and bribery.
"And in the end you decided to sacrifice your chances here in order to maintain your morality.
"If you can do that with me then there is a good chance you can survive the toughest of assignments." She said with a smile of certainty.
