This chapter will explain more about the reality shift that occurred in the other chapter, so it starts back in Cleveland, and then the setting moves to New York.
I also wanted to make a mention of how the BTVS characters are altering the Marvel world on the big screen. For example, Winter Soldier events are changed subtly. In the movies, the Accords happen because of Ultron, which won't be happening exactly the same. Willow will be altering things with Tony quite a bit. Iron Man 3 will be coming up in this chapter, but it's character not plot driven. As I am already managing an incredible number of characters, I will not be bringing in Ant Man or the Wasp even though I really enjoy them. Nor will I be bringing in Spiderman—at least not any plans to. That is not a reflection of my feelings about the character.
This story begins pretty much after where the other chapter began from Willow and Tara's P.O.V.
Chapter 2: Willow and Tara
*****Cleveland*****
Willow was at a loss, a feeling she rarely ever felt. However, she didn't know how to help Xander. He was in pain and suffering, and she wanted so badly to help ease his pain. It was hard for her to resist using her magic to help.
Tara knew her well and could see the signs. "Willow, you can't," she cautioned. Anxious, she fingered the pendant that Loki had given her for her last birthday.
Willow threw herself down on the couch in Buffy's apartment. "I know," she said. "I just hate feeling helpless."
"You and me both," Buffy said as she sat on the couch next to her. "I'm so glad you and Tara are here. I was feeling helpless all by myself."
A ripple was felt, and then there was a knock on the door. "What the hell was that?" Buffy asked.
When Faith came in and asked the same thing, they wondered. Then it was like the magic wave drifted from their mind.
That night, she and Tara were in Buffy's spare room getting ready for bed. "Are you sure you don't need to be with Xander?" Tara asked.
Willow shook her head. "No, he seemed okay with Faith and Bucky. Faith is taking his spare room, and Bucky the sofa," she said. "You know Faith. She's good with the fun and crazy stories—just the distraction that he needs."
"That's good, though, right?" Tara asked.
"Yea. Of course, she might not be staying in her room after tonight the way she was eying Bruce at dinner," she said with a snicker. "Faith was telling us about John's last letter. He does some crazy stuff at that private school. He seems exactly how I'd picture a brother of Faith to be."
"What?" Tara looked up, confused.
"John. You know," Willow said. "He's Faith's half-brother. Same father, different mother."
Tara frowned. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
Willow gave her a surprised look. "John, Faith's mutant brother. He's got the fire gene," she said.
"What?" Tara asked, becoming more and more unsettled.
Willow sat on the bed and said, "Are you feeling okay, sweetie?"
"Yes, I am," Tara said. "But something's wrong. Faith never had a brother before, and you seem to think otherwise. Something is very, very wrong."
"You mean, like Dawn wrong?" Willow asked in alarm.
"I don't know. Maybe," Tara said.
"Why would you be the only one who doesn't know who John is?" Willow asked.
Tara fiddled with her necklace as she thought about it, and then it occurred to her. "It has to be this," she said, pulling up the green pendant on the chain.
"The necklace Loki gave you?" Willow asked. She peered at it. "I never really paid any attention to it before." She touched it and felt a jolt. "Oh, wow."
"What?" Tara asked.
"This isn't a regular pendant. He made you a protective charm of some kind," Willow said. She poured a bit of her own magic into it to see more. "It's not like anything I've seen on Earth. I wish I knew how he made this. I'd love to make one for Buffy and Xander and Dawn and Tony, and Pepper."
She started to say more names and then blushed. "You know what I mean," she said.
Tara gave her a loving smile. "I do," she said.
"So someone did a spell that altered reality, but you are the only one that remembers the old reality?" Willow clarified.
Tara nodded. "Yes," she said. "Faith never told any of you guys much about her life before being a slayer, but she definitely said she was an only child."
"Is there anything else about this reality that is wrong? Maybe Anya's not supposed to be dead?" Willow asked, hopeful.
Tara shook her head. "No. Just that," she said.
Willow was disappointed, but she thought a long moment. Then she snapped her fingers. "Oh, oh! Remember that ripple we felt right before Faith came into the apartment? Faith felt it, too!" she reminded her.
Tara nodded. "We talked about it but then got sidetracked," she said.
"You and I are the only witches with real power," Willow said. "But we had several of Anya's demon friends upstairs. Maybe they did something."
"Should we go ask them?" Tara asked.
Willow nodded, and they quietly made their way out of the apartment to the stairs.
"It's just now ten o' clock, so they should be awake," Willow said as she knocked.
Halfrek opened the door. "Yes?" she asked.
"Can we come in?" Willow asked.
"Sure," she said. They stepped into the apartment. "Is something wrong?"
Willow nodded. "Yes," she said. "Did you do any magic early? Grant any wishes?"
"It is my job," Halfrek said without apology.
"But Anya told me that you focused only on children, scorned parents and such, right?" Willow asked.
"Someone has to protect the children," Halfrek said haughtily.
"That's good," Tara said, giving her a smile. "Did Faith make a wish by any chance? I know that reality has changed, but Willow doesn't. I had to tell her."
Halfrek looked intrigued. "So you weren't affected by my spell? How strange!" she remarked.
"It was you? You gave Faith a brother? Why would you do that? That's just wrong!" Willow said, glaring at her.
"Why is it wrong?" Halfrek asked defensively. "Faith has been in pain a long time—the childhood she had would make you cry. No one was there to protect her. I would've, but she was too cynical for wishes. Finally, she makes a wish, and I could do some good—it's what Anya would've wanted."
"You gave Faith a brother for Anya?" Willow asked, confused.
"Exactly!" Halfrek said. "Anya became human and started caring about all of you. Now she's dead, and I can't help her. But I could do something to help this other woman, who was once a lost child, forgotten, neglected, and abused."
Willow looked at Tara, surprised by Halfrek's reasoning. What was their next step?
"You gave Faith a mutant brother," Tara said. "Is this going to be good for Faith? He's going to end up evil or hurt Faith?"
"He's her brother, of course, he won't hurt her," Halfrek said. "He's a lot like Faith. He could be good, or he could be bad. It depends on the crowd he falls in with."
"But he's not evil?" Willow asked.
"Of course not," Halfrek said. "He's a kid—or not much more. He's sixteen."
"So what do we do?" Willow wondered.
"Do? Whatever do you mean?" Halfrek asked. "There's nothing to do. The wish is granted. To tell Faith that her brother isn't her brother would simply devastate her—not to mention piss her off."
Tara agreed and shook her head. "We can't tell anyone, Will. It won't do anyone any good, and it will destroy Faith," she said.
Willow nodded. "She loves her brother and is really proud that he's at the private school for gifted mutants," she said. Then she turned to the so-called justice demon. "You pull any crap like that I will send you to the afterlife to be with Anya. Do I make myself clear?"
Halfrek nodded. "Yes," she said.
The women left the apartment and made their way back to Buffy's. Once they were alone inside the bedroom, Willow asked, "So are we really not going to tell anyone? Not even Buffy?"
"If we tell one person, there's a chance that Faith will find out," Tara said. "Remember how upset Dawn got when she overheard Buffy talking about her own secret reality forcing family ties on Buffy and Joyce? We don't want to take a chance."
Willow nodded. "Okay. We'll put it aside and not talk about it again," she said. "It's not like our paths ever cross much. He's in a special school for mutants, and we're doing our own thing."
"Exactly," Tara said. "When we do meet him, we'll be friendly, and no one will know the difference."
The women hoped they'd be able to keep the secret.
*****New York*****
Tony and Bruce flew back to New York with Tara and Willow. The girls were still having trouble getting used to the incredible generosity that Tony was forever bestowing on them. It was hard at first, especially for Willow, whose father had always warned her against taking charity. However, not only had her dad never met the force of nature that was Tony Stark, Willow wasn't good at saying no to anyone on her best day anyway.
"Fly in my jet. Take my car. Take my American Express card," Willow said. "Does the man know how to not to be so casually generous?"
Tara laughed. "No, I don't think so," she said. They had just made it back to their apartment. The funeral had actually been really wonderful, and Xander seemed to be comforted a great deal by it. They had even managed to convince him to test Tony's new vampire weapon. Of course, Tony left a model with Xander.
"He wants me to use his American Express card to get the material we need for the Ultron project we've been working on," Willow said.
"Now that's his plan to protect the world from future alien invasion, using JARVIS, right?" Tara asked.
"Sort of. He wants to do a kind of Skynet thing except without the robots taking over the world bit," Willow said. "Like if we have a threat, he can just flip a switch and utilize all the information in JARVIS to turn on the interplanetary defense thing he has me working on."
"You're using magic, too, right?" Tara asked.
Willow nodded. "Yes. I told Tony that it would be foolish to risk an AI that goes nuts like Skynet. The spell I'm working on will keep the AI from going AWOL," she shared. "I'm thinking we should use Warren's technology to create one head AI that JARVIS can control if needed. He will be half of the check and balances, and the magic the other half."
"Have you considered working to find a way to give JARVIS a soul?" Tara asked. "Tony has put so much of himself in JARVIS, it's like he's a real person."
Willow looked intrigued. "Do you think that would be possible?" she asked.
"It's worth trying. If a demon can get a soul, why could a computer not?" Tara asked. "Didn't a demon infect a computer in your high school? It'd be a similar concept."
"Or we could give JARIS a body and then the soul," Willow suggested.
Tara nodded. "But is this something that you'd trust Warren with?" she asked.
"Of course not," Willow said. "I don't need to work with him. I can use his technology as he's signed it over to Tony for a payday."
"Why don't you ask the All-Father?" Tara suggested. "Surely, he would know something. Loki might. Magic is his thing, too."
"I don't really have time to pop in Asgard," Willow said. "Why don't you go see Loki and talk to him about it? You can ask Odin. We have a few days before we have to get ready for class."
"You can teleport me all the way to Asgard?" Tara asked. Willow's power was so vast that she often was taken by surprise at the things she could do even after all this time.
Willow nodded. "Once I got the hang of moving from realm to realm, it's not difficult. Moving another person should be just as easy," she said.
"Are you sure? I don't want to get lost in space," Tara said.
Willow grinned and pulled her close for a kiss. "Like I'd ever let you be lost," she said. She fingered Tara's necklace. "I have this jewel's magical signature. I can find it anywhere—and you."
"Well, if you're sure," Tara said, nervous but excited.
"I am," Willow said. "I don't want to freak out anyone, so I'll take you to Heimdall. He guards Asgard, and he should know when someone pops in unannounced."
"Let's do it tomorrow morning," Tara said. "I'd like an evening to relax with my girlfriend."
"Oh yea?" Willow asked with a grin. "Your girlfriend is one lucky gal."
"Yes, she is," Tara said, leaning over to kiss her once more.
*****Tony's Office*****
Bruce was ready to let the Hulk out just to get that look off Tony's face. He'd been insufferable ever since he saw Bruce coming out of Faith's room that morning. His desire to know exactly what had went on between Bruce and Faith was pushing him to greater annoying lengths.
"Okay, Tony, I'm done. I'm going home," Bruce said, turning to walk out of his office.
"Come on, Bruce!" Tony begged. "Am I not your best pal? Why am I not your confidante?"
"I don't ask you about what goes on between you and Pepper, Tony," he pointed out.
"Well, you should," Tony said with a grin. "I mean, Pepper is quite the talented minx in the bedroom."
"Tony, did I hear you refer to me and our sex life in the same sentence?" Pepper asked as she walked into the office.
Tony winced. "I was just touting your praise," he said. "I was hoping if I bragged, he'd get jealous and brag about his own recent sexcapades."
Pepper gave him a disgusted look. "Tony, leave the poor man alone. If he doesn't want to share, he doesn't have to," she said. She glanced at Bruce. "Are you okay? There wasn't any report of hotel damage, so I assume the Hulk was contained."
"Of course," Bruce said quickly. "The Hulk doesn't channel rage when he is with Faith."
"Ah ha! So the Hulk did get it on with her!" Tony exclaimed triumphant. "Did you get some, too? You look a bit more relaxed. Don't you think, Pepper?"
"Bruce, forgive Tony. He can't help it as he has perpetual diarrhea of the mouth," Pepper said, giving Tony a fond look.
"I think he needs to put his science department looking at a cure," Bruce said, still annoyed. He could barely handle thinking about his night with Faith, and he definitely didn't want to have Tony tear it apart, looking for subtext.
Tony grinned, appreciating the jab. "I'll get right on that," he said. "But Willow's going to be getting the stuff ready for our special project. I wanted to go work in the Malibu house, but she refuses to move again. So I'm going to use one of our empty warehouses in the Bronx."
"You're going slumming?" Bruce asked.
"It's the Bronx. Not all of the area is slums, you know," Tony said.
"I have a meeting with Aldrich Killian, Tony," Pepper said. "Do you remember him?"
"Not really. Was he worth remembering?" Tony inquired.
Pepper shrugged. "He's a scientist, and he's been working on something he wants to pitch to me," she said. "I think he hopes to get you on board."
"Well, all my focus is in clean energy, demon hunting weapons, and project Ultron right now. Kind of busy," Tony said. He found working with Willow helped keep his anxiety at bay. Knowing that the young woman nearly died all the time when she was still in high school put a lot of things in prospective for him. Her babble was soothing to Tony, and Tony enjoyed having someone working with him that could keep up with him. Although Bruce could, Bruce didn't enjoy pulp culture and grew impatient with Tony's rapid-fire topic change. Willow, on the other hand, never blinked at all when Tony went from tangent to tangent. "We could start working on a cloning project."
"You want to clone yourself now? Seriously?" Bruce asked in disbelief.
"No, I want to clone Willow," Tony said with a grin. "The girl is the most perfect assistant in the lab that I've ever had. It's like you and Pepper in one body except she's got the same attention span as I do and has no problem jumping from one project to another."
Pepper grinned. "I'd be jealous if she wasn't gay," she said.
Bruce did agree that Willow was a great match for Tony. She was able to suggest things to Tony without him growing defensive. "Her idea of combining magic with the Ultron project is a good one," he said.
"Her mind is always coming up with ways to combine magic and technology," Tony said. "She calls it technomagic—a teacher of hers was the one who got her started. She's tried to teach me, but she says I'm too science grounded to trust in magic."
The idea of Tony using magic was too much for Bruce as he suppressed a shudder. "I'm going to go home as I should've when we touched down," Bruce said. "Let me know when you want to get started tomorrow."
"I'll send Happy to come get you and bring you to the warehouse," Tony said.
Bruce nodded and smiled goodbye at Pepper. "How was Xander?" Pepper asked. "Did you see the flowers I sent?"
"I did. Xander got a real kick out of them and was surprised that you knew about Anya's favorite book," Tony said. She had sent an arrangement of purple lotus flowers. Not the exact flower from The Odyssey but a more unusual version of it.
"Anya was unique, so I figured a flower that was equally unique would be fitting," Pepper said. "Anya had a great business mind and called me once for stock tips. It came up."
Tony shook his head. Why should he be surprised at the things Pepper could discover about a person? She was gifted that way. "Xander seemed pretty good. He's heartbroken, but the funeral was a lot of fun," Tony said. "I hope my funeral is like that. People telling stories and sharing what they love about me."
"Well, you better not be planning to put me through that for a long time," Pepper warned. She kissed him and then said. "I need to get to my meeting. I'll see you soon."
"Tell Killian that I'm sorry I blew him off back then. I was an ass before you," Tony said, giving her a wink.
Pepper rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the smile. He was an ass still, but now he was her ass.
*****Asgard*****
Loki was talking to his mother when Heimdall announced a visitor, so he looked up. When he saw that it was Tara, he stood up, grinning. "You're in Asgard!" he proclaimed. He stepped down from the chair he was sitting in. The All-Father was down on Earth watching over his new disciple, so he was in his mother's chair while she sat in her husband's.
Tara smiled in thanks at Heimdall, who inclined his head and let her go ahead. She moved quickly to meet Loki and hugged him. "I missed you, and I thought I'd come for a visit," she said.
"I'm so happy you did," Loki said. "How did you get here? The biofrost?"
Tara greeted Frigga. "My lady," she said with a curtsy. "Willow teleported me here."
"Her powers are vast," Loki said with a touch of envy. Although he was not powerless, he did not possess the sheer power of Tara's lover. Idly, he wondered if there were any limits to her gifts. If she desired to rule Midgard, no one could oppose her. Too bad she was too human to hunger after such a thing. Tara would make a beautiful and wonderful queen. "She should make you queen of Midgard, so all could be blessed by knowing you."
Tara blushed. "That's ridiculous," she said. "We're Americans. We don't conquer; we bring peace."
"It's your one flaw," Loki said with a grin.
Frigga laughed. "It's what makes humans so delightful. Those who have power don't always feel the need to rule over others," she said, giving her son a pointed look. "It is great to have you with us, Tara. How long can you stay?"
"A few days," she said. "Our school term doesn't start for another two weeks."
"How does your friend Alexander fare? My husband had been quite upset on his behalf," Frigga said. It was so unusual for her husband to take such notice of a human. Willow and Tara had come to Asgard and got noticed. Their friend Alexander had simply impressed Odin when he visited. His impression was so great that Odin could not sleep until he made Alexander forgive him.
"I think he will be okay," Tara said. "He loved Anya a lot, but she was never his world. He has other things, so given enough time, I believe he will be all right."
"Would you say the same if Willow died?" Loki wondered.
Tara couldn't imagine Willow ever dying. "She's my world, but if I had to live without her, I could do so," she said. "I would want to live for her, but my life would be so much less without her."
"That's as it should be," Frigga said. "No one person should be the reason another lives. If I were to be struck down, Odin would be devastated, but must still be king and rule without me. That's what I would want. If he should die, he would want the same for me."
"If I loved someone the way you love Willow, I would never survive their abandonment," Loki said. "I would be enraged if someone took my lover from me. No one would be safe from my wrath. I think your Willow would be like me if something happened to you."
Tara looked startled at the idea. "No, she wouldn't," she defended.
"We are not lovers," Loki said. "And I would burn the world avenging your death if someone took you from me. Willow would do no less."
Tara was a bit freaked at the image and glanced at Frigga for help.
"Loki is trying to say that you inspire great love and devotion," Frigga said calmly. "A certain protectiveness where you are concerned comes over people who know you. You are a great gift."
"Exactly," Loki said. "It upset me to know you were on that hellmouth risking yourself all the time. For once, I was grateful to Father for decreeing Willow leave the place."
Tara smiled at her friend, who had become the brother she'd always wanted. As much as she knew that Xander loved her and she him, he would always love Buffy and Willow first and more. Loki, though, was hers. Even though she didn't see herself as either possessive or jealous, she loved knowing that she had a brother who wanted to both protect her and was willing to risk himself for her.
"I love you, too," she said, hugging him once more.
*****Earth*****
Willow wasn't sure how things fell apart so quickly, but Tara was only gone half a day before one of Tony's old rivals decided to try to kill him, injuring Happy in the process. Then a terrorist named the Mandarin threatened to blow people up, so Willow did a locator spell and discovered it was some scam. The guy was a cowardly actor, who had no plans on doing anything.
Tony went off the grid when Pepper was kidnapped, but there wasn't anyone Willow couldn't find if she really wanted to, especially if they were someone she knew personally.
Together, she and Tony fought the man named Killian, who had some disturbing technology that caused people to explode. Willow was relieved that Tara wasn't there to be in danger with the man's shenanigans.
When it was all over, Bruce finally made an appearance.
"Man, I can't leave you alone for a day!" he complained.
Tony, Pepper, and Willow looked at him in silence a long moment, and they started laughing.
*****Asgard*****
Tara had spent two great days on Asgard with the royal family, but it was time to go. Loki was already moping about her department.
"Don't pout. It's unbecoming a prince of Asgard," she teased.
"I don't want you to leave," he said.
"Well, I have to start school," she said. "It would be nice if you could come to university and see what it's like."
"Maybe, I'll talk to Father, and see if he'll let me," Loki said. He hated that he was under such stricture. He'd been working on a way to leave under guise, and he knew it was almost time.
"That'd be great," Tara said, flashing him a smile, not expecting it to happen. "So you really think the mind stone in your sceptre can be used to ensoul an artificial intelligence?"
"It's called an infinity stone for a reason as it contains vast power," Loki said. "It would do the job. However, the end result would be a being of vast power, not just a soul, so make sure it's a good person you create."
They were at the biofrost, and Heimdall smiled in greeting. "Good day, my lady," he said. He nodded to Loki, unwilling yet to forgive Loki's destruction of the biofrost even though it was now repaired.
"How's everyone down there?" Tara asked.
"They had some problems in your absence, but it is all well now," he said.
Tara shook her head. "I've only been gone three days!" she exclaimed.
"Your Willow is getting to be as bad as my brother," Loki said with a smirk.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked Heimdall, who nodded.
"They are well," he said. "Happy was injured, but he will be okay."
Tara was relieved. "Tell Thor that I'm sorry I missed him," she said. Odin had returned yesterday, and he had greeted her warmly.
"I will," Loki said. She hugged him goodbye, and he watched her leave. He turned his gaze to Heimdall. "So what happened while she was gone?"
"Tony Starks had an enemy that caused some problems, but there were not any casualties," Heimdall said.
Loki hated being so far away from Tara. What if she needed him? What if she was in danger, and Willow wasn't around, or the enemy was too great? He had to find a way to get back to Earth. Loki made a conscious effort not to think about the delectable Lady Cordelia, ignoring the voice inside that reminded him that she was now on a hellmouth. Getting to Midgard was a priority.
*****Chapter End*****
I just don't see Iron Man 3 going down the same way since Willow is closely connected with Tony in my version. Hopefully, you followed all the many things I alluded to or paved the way for in this chapter. The next one will be in Buffy's P.O.V. Reviews are the BEST! Thanks for reading.