Iron Buffy

by Janusi

Buffy went as one Tonya Stark and now struggles with her memories. After all, you can't really make a flying suit of armor, right?

2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything, alas.

CaBil is now beta-ing this story, so I'd like to thank him for catching my many mistakes. This chapter has more Xander and Willow action while also introducing the wider world into the story. I hope you'll like it.

Chapter 2

North Carolina, Fort Bragg

Colonel George Haviland perused the file of the person who would be running the Initiative facility they were poised to build, though there was still some debate about the location. The thinking of his superiors was that regardless of location, the facility's main mission would be research so a researcher should be in charge. Enter Professor Maggie Walsh, behavioral psychologist and someone he was a little apprehensive about at first. His worries had been settled after the first interview, as far as that was possible with a civilian anyway.

He looked up when his aide Mason excitedly entered his office holding up a videotape. "Sir, we just got this tape from our man in Sunnydale. I really think you should see this right away!"

Colonel Haviland stared at Mason for a second, then nodded to the VCR. "Put it in."

Mason did so and a few seconds later the video started up. It was in color and Haviland realized he was looking out of some store-window into some small mall's plaza. In the distance standing on some stairs above the ignorant crowd were three HSTs. Two were vampires, the third the colonel didn't recognize. He was tall, blue and had a fringe of horns on his head.

A moment later, Colonel Haviland added the ability to release streams of fire from his hands to the list. Well, it looked like fire but he was pretty sure it wasn't natural for a human being to be reduced to ashes that quickly no matter how much heat you used. That it wasn't really fire was confirmed when the HST used it again, this time the energy hopped from one person to the other freezing them in place.

Things got more interesting from there, though frustratingly half of it seemed to be happening outside the camera's view. The vampires were reacting to something unseen right before a white energy-beam impacted the blue HST interrupting whatever he was doing. The male vampire's mouth was moving, but there wasn't any sound on the tape. Now there was yet another party entering the fight, and the sight of it sent Haviland's jaw to the floor before he managed to close it with a click.

A frikking robot of all things came down from the ceiling among pieces of debris and proceeded to use a similar white energy-beam to decapitate the blue HST after which it chased after the vampires. The video came to an abrupt end and Mason pressed stop. "I'm afraid that's all we got, sir."

He shook his head. "HSTs battling robots right in front of the public! How long do we have before this hits the news?"

"That's the thing, sir. This happened four days ago. Our operative only learned of this event because he overheard some drunk rambling in a bar a few hours after it happened. He went there the next morning but the mall's security-cameras mysteriously didn't record the event. Local paper had a short piece on how some gang on PCP vandalized a food stand there and nobody is contesting the story." Mason shrugged helplessly. "If it weren't for Agent Finn's outside-the-box thinking with that video-store, we would only have had a rumor too."

But for Colonel Haviland, that wasn't even the weirdest thing about this incident. Being part of the Initiative for a few years now, he'd gotten used to the idea of HSTs and the fact that most people ignored their existence. But having a robot show up out of the blue took the colonel out of that comfort zone. 'Unlike a blue monster going around incinerating people with a gesture,' he snorted. It was technology, which meant people, yet the colonel couldn't even begin to guess who had built the thing. "And no clue as to where the robot went to?"

"No, sir."

Leaning back in his chair, Colonel Haviland ordered Mason to make copies of the tape for the members of the Oversight Committee. "Once they see it, Sunnydale will be a shoo-in as the location of our first research-base."

Summers Industries, Los Angeles Branch

Going through this month's financial overview of the R&D branch of the company it struck Lou Branch again just how weird the company he worked for was. Oh, he wasn't complaining as they paid well enough and hadn't even hinted at him to fudge some numbers for the inevitable investors. But there were all these little things that just nagged at him. Counter to the popular stereotype of an accountant, he was neither unimaginative nor incurious.

The first anomaly had started popped up right away at the job-interview. The impression he got from Mr. Giles, the man who supposedly ran the company, was that he was a technophobe. Which made it very odd for him to be the CEO of a company that was going to be on the cutting-edge of technology for the foreseeable future. And he said supposedly because the company was called "Summers Industries" and guess what the last name was of their head researcher?

That nicely tied into the next mystery that was their Research and Development department. It had a staff of three, who were all high school students, yet it was churning out new hardware and software at what seemed to Lou to be a dizzying pace. The company laptop he was working on right now was a great example; it was far more powerful than any desktop available right now and it ran on an OS developed by Summers Industries.

Staff might not even be the right word for the people doing the R&D, since their contracts specified they all got a stake in the company once they turned eighteen. Until then, Alexander Harris, Willow Rosenburg and Buffy Summers were earning minimum wage. That didn't stop most of the money going to that branch of the company. And what exactly they were hoping to gain by investing in this new company called Google was a mystery to Lou. Sometimes it seemed to him like making money was an afterthought to SI.

Branch wondered if they were actually a front for some shadowy organization that had reverse-engineered alien technology. Or maybe it was the aliens themselves. Lou smiled ruefully and shook his head. 'And when your imagination starts running away from you like that, it's time you go back to work,' he resolved.

Summers Industries, Sunnydale Branch

Taking a deep breath first, Buffy stepped into the armor's boots starting the armoring sequence. The pieces that were to cover her thighs came first as mechanical arms delicately set them in place. The blonde was already holding her arms up straight when the torso-piece was added so she could slip her hands in the gloves held up by another set of arms. Upper arms were next and then it was time for the last piece, the helmet. Buffy was very careful not to move an inch as the segments clicked together. She had to lower the faceplate by hand and then it was done, the Mark II armor was now safely encasing her.

Buffy studied one of the gauntlets as she flexed her fingers one by one. 'Very nice, more flexible than the Mark I as well as stronger.' A tap outside the holocage caused the blonde to look up from her perusal of the simulation.

Willow gave her a small wave. "Hey, uhm, wow, is that how the Mark II armor is going to look?"

"Yeah, I wanted to use a simulation of the armoring process to test the holocage. Looks like it works."

"It looks... I expected the armor to be, like, sleeker?"

Buffy smiled, then realized Willow wouldn't be able to see it with the hologram on. "Jarvis, end the simulation please." It took a while for the holocage to spin down so she was still armored as walked to the door. "And the reason the suit doesn't have "curves" is because the components are too bulky right now for a form-fitting suit. It was the same with Tonya," she explained as the holographic armor vanished. "Her first few armors looked male too. Now, you didn't really come here to talk about that."

"Ms. Calendar is getting ready to cast the curse on Angel, I thought you might to like to be there when he's, like, himself again." It was March now making it more than a month since the Judge had been destroyed. That's how long it had taken Ms. Calendar to find a copy of the curse and get it translated with the help of JARVIS. Willow had helped the teacher with that part because Buffy hadn't spoken a word to the gypsy since the woman had made her confession. Ms. Calendar had lied about who she was to them all this time, it felt like betrayal.

The blonde couldn't help but press her lips together in distaste at the mentioning of the teacher's name. The Slayer tried to hide it but Willow caught the expression. She did misinterpret it. "I know you haven't been to see Angel since you locked him up and nobody blames you. You shared a moment of, like, perfect happiness and that turned him evil. We all get..."

"It's not Angel," Buffy interjected testily. She had been vague about that night to her friends, even Willow. Like how Angel had obviously experienced such a moment, but Buffy was still waiting for hers.

"Oh, Ms. Calendar. But you told Giles you were okay with him seeing her. That he shouldn't blame her for what happened or for not telling us about who she was."

"Because he shouldn't. If Tonya's memories taught me anything, than it's that you need to take any chance for some happiness with both hands because there's precious few chances for it in a lifetime. And I'm not even mad at Jenny for hiding her identity; I might not be good at it, but I am supposed to have a secret identity too," she pointed out with a small smile.

It didn't distract her friend though. "Then what is your problem with her?"

"It's not with her, exactly," the blonde prevaricated. "The Kalderash have had over a century to warn Angel about the happiness-clause, yet they chose not to. They watched a time-bomb ticking away for a hundred years and never had the bright idea to defuse it. And..." Buffy couldn't help but be a little mad at Angel too for never finding out about that clause. It was stupid and unreasonable of her, but there it was. Telling Willow, though, was out of the question. "Jenny is one of them. The only one here, so she's the only one I can be angry at. It's not fair, I know."

"I see. Hey, cheer up. You caught Angel before he could do much damage and, like, pretty soon he'll be back to normal and you can be together again!"

"Yeah, together," the blonde agreed slowly. Abruptly, she started to walk out of the room. "We better not let them waiting any longer," Buffy explained.

"Uh, right." Willow sounded unconvinced and the Slayer knew why. But Angel deserved to be the first to hear, so she would have to keep this bottled up a little longer.

VVV

Blinking, Angel looked around trying to find out where he was. The last thing he remembered... Actually, it was pretty fuzzy what he was doing before. 'I was... with Buffy. We were wet, she was cold.' And then her lips were on his, their skin touching. Sound pulled him out of the memory and back to the now where the door in this featureless room opened to reveal Buffy. "What," he croaked surprised to find his throat was sore for some reason. His limbs felt weak and hunger gnawed at his belly. "What happened? Buffy, where am I?"

"Summers Industries," was her answer. "The memories should come back any minute, but to make a long story short; you lost your soul." Hearing that triggered a flood of memories and Angel gasped as he relived killing that woman, then another one, and another. Angel didn't know their names, and there were only a few, but that just meant each stood out their faces looming large in his mind.

Something white was being waved in front of him, distracting him. Angel grabbed onto her as the lifeline that Buffy was. "Here's your shirt back."

It said something about his state of mind that he hadn't noticed he was shirtless until now. "Why did you...?"

"Had to be sure the spell worked and for that, the camera has to be able to see the tattoo," she pointed up at the camera Angel now remembered as well. He'd yelled at it for hours, days. That's why his throat was sore. Taking the shirt he walked out of the cell he'd spent over a month in. It felt good seeing something other than that windowless, small room. "Angel, we need to talk."

That sounded ominous. "About the curse? I remember feeling something slipping away but I didn't really understand what was happening until it was over."

"That's not the only thing, but it's a part of it," Buffy explained. "The curse had an escape-clause, that if you ever experienced a moment of true happiness you lose your soul again." Buffy hugged herself now, but she wasn't done. "I've had a long time to think about it and..." She pulled the ring he'd given her at the docks out of her pocket and held it up. "This isn't going to work, us, you and me."

"What are you saying?" Angel asked though he knew full well what she was doing. He just couldn't believe that they were breaking up.

Grabbing his hand, Buffy pressed the ring in it before closing his fingers around it. Only then did she let go, hugging herself again like she was cold. "I'm sorry, I thought about waiting but you deserve the truth. And the truth is that I don't want to be in a relationship where the goal is to keep you from being happy."

"I don't care," Angel countered. "What's important to me is you. If your happy that's enough."

"Do you think I'm that selfish?" the Slayer snapped back as she took a step forward. Her arms were now at her sides and her hands were balled into fists. The anger was gone as quickly as it had surfaced and Buffy looked away. "We-We shouldn't talk about this all right now. You're still weak from hunger, since we didn't really have a lot of chances to feed... the other you." She pointed at a door to their left. "There's a small fridge with a couple of containers of pigs blood in there. Help yourself, I've got to go talk to Ms. Calendar."

She was already walking away when Angel grabbed her arm and forced her to stop. "Buffy, please-" The blonde tore her arm from his grip and looked back, her eyes brimming with tears. Not saying anything more he stepped back and let her go. They could talk about this later. Once Buffy got used to him being back, she'd see reason. They belonged together, he'd known that since the first time he saw her. And Buffy couldn't deny that. He put the blonde's ring around his finger, the same one that still had his own claddagh ring.

'Everything's going to work out in the end,' he promised himself as he retrieved a cup out of the fridge. 'We shared a moment of perfect happiness. That means something.'

VVV

Giles noticed Buffy's red, puffy eyes right away. The fact that she came alone also didn't go unnoticed by the Watcher. Taking a step away from an exhausted Jenny, he asked, "Ahem, how is, ehm, Angel holding up?"

"He's recovering, he's eating right now. Angel remembers what happened and I told him." She shrugged helplessly before biting her lip. "I told him about the curse and that... that... I broke up with him."

The Watcher couldn't help but take of his glasses and start polishing at that news. "I see." He wasn't going to ask something as silly as how his charge was holding up. It was blindingly obvious that she wasn't. "How did he take it?"

"Worse than me," she joked lamely. "Angel thinks we can work things out, but I'm sure we can't. I knew that the moment I put him in that holding cell. We're just... not meant to be," she finished wistfully. Her gaze went to Jenny. "I need to know, if Angel doesn't stay in Sunnydale, if he goes to live somewhere else. What happens with you, will your people make you leave too or are they going to use someone else to spy on him?"

"I think they'll send someone else to take over my task," Jenny answered slowly. "Someone Angel doesn't know would make it easier to 'spy' on him. They'll probably do that even if Angel stays here for that reason. Why do you care?"

"I don't, really, but I care about Giles and he's nuts about you in his stuffy, repressed, British-y way."

"Buffy, honestly," the librarian said as a light blush crept onto his cheeks. "I am not that bad in expressing my affections," he objected. "I don't really need you to do that for me."

Buffy just gave him a very serious expression. "Actually, you do." Then a small smile cracked the illusion but it stayed small and was gone as the blonde got down to business. "With Angel's soul restored, it should be safe for you to go home again," she told the computer teacher. "Drusilla won't gain anything by attacking you now and she lost most of her minions trying to storm this place. Of course, Giles' "couch" might be more comfortable than your own bed so I understand if you want to stay with him a while longer," she finished with a wink.

Now it was Ms. Calendar's turn to become embarrassed. Buffy chuckled. Giles could just sink through the floor right about now, but didn't say anything. After the way she'd thrown herself into work this last month, having her horse around like this was a welcome change. Even if it had come on the heels of a break-up. There were far worse ways to deal with that than this. "Well, we are certainly most grateful for receiving your permission," he fired back.

Adopting a regal manner, her nose up in the air, Buffy gave him a sniff. "As you should be. It was a great sacrifice on our behalf."

VVV

A few days later, Willow entered Buffy's workshop looking for something to distract her. She didn't feel like working by herself while werewolf-Oz was locked up in the holding cell. And hadn't that been a shock, finding out he was a werewolf now. Willow knew the Slayer was going to go on patrol soon, but they could keep each other company until then and share in their romantic misery.

Inside the lab, the redhead was greeted with loud 80's rock and the sight of a pondering Buffy gazing at a holographic representation of the new armor Willow had seen her try out in the holocage. Despite the music, the blonde still sensed her and looked over her shoulder at Willow shooting her a smile. The music faded away after Buffy lowered something on a holographic screen. "Hey, has Oz settled in?"

"Yeah, wolf-Oz was trying to get out when I left. I-I don't really like seeing him like that," she explained earning an understanding look from Buffy. Searching for a distraction, she motioned at the diagram floating in the air. "I thought you were, like, done with the design of the Mark II?"

"The basic design, sure. What I'm stumped on is the weapon's load-out. Tonya used AT mini-missiles and bullets for her early armors, but neither of them is really useful against vampires."

"What about the collapsible sword?" Willow had helped make it so she was pretty proud of it. The blade was made of some memory metal that folded out of the hilt when you ran a current through it.

"That's for close-quarters work, what I'm looking for is something to take out vampires and other demons reliably from a distance without too much collateral damage. That's why the flamethrowers are out."

Taking a seat, the redhead indicated what looked like a grenade launcher on one of the workbenches. "What about the stake launcher. It's pretty accurate and reloads way faster than a crossbow."

"And I can't fit it, the ammunition it needs, and the reservoir of pressurized gas into the suit. I thought about wrapping steel wire around the stakes and using electromagnets to fire them but again, too bulky. Just like with the plasma cannon and the laser, I know how to make them but with this tech it would barely fit on a tank."

"And my sunbeam idea doesn't work at all," Willow complained.

"It should have," the blonde insisted. "We tested it beforehand and the light spectrum was an exact match to what the sun put out right down to the ultraviolet and infrared parts. There must be something mystical about sunlight," Buffy speculated.

The mention of mystical made Willow think of something else. "What about holy water? The Antioch works pretty good. You could put some in, like, syringes or darts and pump it straight into their bodies."

Buffy opened her mouth, then her gaze turned thoughtful and she started to rub her nose. "Uhm... maybe..." The blonde's expression became disappointed and she started to shake her head. "No, no, same problem as the stake launcher. With the added problem that it might take a lot of holy water in the bloodstream to actually take out a vampire. And it would be pretty useless against anything else." She gave Willow a sad smile. "See what I mean with being stumped? I keep running into size and weight constraints. God, breaking up with Angel was easier than this," she finished gesturing helplessly at the hologram.

Willow hesitated for a moment, then took the plunge. "Yeah, uhm, I wanted to ask you about that. I mean, you breaking up with Angel all out-of-the-blue like that. You didn't say anything to me beforehand, I thought you guys were happy together?"

The Slayer looked ashamed, but didn't avert her eyes. "I'm sorry, Wills. But I thought Angel deserved to be the first to know and... we were growing apart before the Judge came along," the blonde confessed.

"But, but, what about that perfect moment of happiness?" Willow sputtered. "I'm-I've never shared one of those," she admitted with a blush. "That has to mean something, right?"

Now Buffy did look away. "We didn't really share that. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it," she hastily added before an odd expression came over her. "But having Tonya's memories I expected more... well, more of something."

"Oh," was all Willow could say. "Is that why Angel looks like a whipped puppy all the time?" And Willow got to seem him quite often thanks to the fact that he was staying at SI for now. His landlord had rented out his apartment to someone else before Angel's rent had even run out, figuring he was just another addition to Sunnydale's crime-statistics.

"I know better than to tell him that," her friend snorted but her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "He's just having a hard time accepting. In a way, it's only been a week since we made love for him. I've had almost two months to come to terms with it," the blonde finished absently as she wheeled herself in front of a keyboard and mouse. "Whipped, a whip, yeah, that could work. Just need to rework the armor a little, make it more modular," she mumbled before looking up and smiling gratefully at Willow. "Oh, thanks for the idea by the way. I think I've found a solution to my little problem."

"Uh, you're welcome." The redhead eyed her friend feeling pretty baffled. Was she really this much over Angel or was she just pretending. And was either possibility healthy or should she be worried? Questions, questions, but this time she couldn't go to Buffy for answers.

Sunnydale High, Library

"So Kendra's Watcher still hasn't changed his mind?" Buffy asked Giles.

"I'm afraid not, Buffy. He remains of the opinion that your "untested" inventions are wholly unnecessary at best, or a dangerous distraction at worst."

Buffy made a face at that. In her opinion, there was no room for nostalgia in slaying. And her inventions were not untested. Buffy had used both the stake-launcher and the collapsible sword herself for a couple of weeks before sending them on to Kendra. "Well, that's stupid. You think he'll forbid Kendra from using the synthetic spider silk tops and leggings I just sent her too?"

"I honestly can't say, and to be honest I'm more concerned right now with whatever possessed the janitor. It has already killed Miss Franck and since he seems to be unable to remember what he did, this entity may still be roaming the school."

"What about my lead? I mean, I don't get flashed back to the fifties every week, Giles." The joys of the Hellmouth, just when Buffy was ready to celebrate Spike and Drusilla skipping town, visions from so far back it was in black and white started to distract her in the middle of class.

"A, ah, ghost would be one explanation though I've never heard of one strong enough to manifest a weapon. If it is this James, though, there are a number of ways we can deal with him."

"Good. I'll do quick check to make sure nobody else is here to get possessed before I go on patrol."

"Yes, well, do be careful. You are not bulletproof."

"Not to worry, Watcher mine, I've got protection." Which sounded a lot more innocuous in her head. "Uhm, against bullets, I mean. Because I'm wearing a ballistic shirt. Oh, you know what I mean."

Sunnydale High, Music Room

The kiss lasted a moment longer after Grace's ghost left her, then Buffy stepped away from Angel feeling slightly violated by the possession.

"Buffy," Angel called out. "Wait, didn't I shoot you?" He moved towards her reaching out with his arms.

Buffy took another step back. "You did, and I got the bruised rib to show for it."

"How?"

"Synthetic spider silk," Buffy explained as she indicated the bullet hole in her blouse showing the black fabric that she was wearing underneath it. "Not as good as the real stuff, but you don't need giant spider farms to collect the stuff. Though I think the bulletproof vest is going to need a few more layers than what I got. And some non-Newtonian fluid in between to spread the kinetic energy 'cause hey, not everybody is a Slayer," she babbled.

"Uhuh. Are you sure you're fine?"

He made to approach her again and this time Buffy didn't step back, instead she held her hand up to stop him. "Don't. I'm fine and this won't make things easier."

"This? Buffy, we shared a kiss."

"We did no such thing. James and Grace shared one using our bodies to do it. It doesn't change anything."

"I don't believe that, you can't turn off your feelings just like that. Don't you see, they picked us for a reason. Because they didn't want us to make the same mistakes they did," Angel half-shouted.

Buffy, however, remained calm. "There's one problem with that theory and that is that you're assuming we're in the same situation as they were. We're not," she said with all the finality she could put into it.

"I don't believe that," he repeated.

"That's because you're forgetting everything that happened before that night." The Slayer didn't feel she had to explain what night she was talking about, he would know which one she was referring to. "We were growing apart, remember. I was changing and you couldn't handle that."

"That's a lie, I never stopped loving you!"

Buffy shook her head. "You... You just don't get it," she concluded in a tired voice. Did he think she'd stopped caring for him? Well, he was starting to get on her nerves with his behavior but the issue wasn't love. The problem was that they weren't going to work out for a variety of reasons. 'We didn't work out,' Buffy corrected. "I'm staying with my Dad this summer. I want you out of SI by the time I come back. Goodnight Angel." And with those words she turned around and walked off.

Summers Industries, Sunnydale Branch

"So where's Deadboy?" Xander asked looking around the lab. Angel kept saying he was looking for a new place to live, or unlive as the case may be, but all he did as far as Xander could tell was mope around the complex. And given that Buffy had broken up with him, it couldn't be easy for her either.

But the Slayer hadn't bat an eye at the situation in these past few months, even now she simply replied, "Oh, he's sparring in the holocage."

"Yes, speaking of the holocage," Giles said. "I was meaning to ask you if you would be so kind as to supervise the installation of the demonstration model at the LA office while you're staying there."

"Sure, no problem. But I called everybody here because of Xander's birthday," Buffy revealed.

"But my birthday isn't for another two weeks," Xander remarked surprised.

"And I will be in LA by then. I'll ask my Dad if I can come back early so I can be there to celebrate yours," she told Willow. "But we don't get to see each other a lot so I can't make any promises. It's also why I want to give Xander his gift now."

"Alright, early presents. Lay on, MacBuffy," Xander quipped rubbing his hands together.

The Slayer chuckled obligingly before leading them all to another part of the complex where a bodysuit was laid out on a table. It was dark blue, made out of a pretty thick, almost rubbery substance and even had a hood that only left the area around the mouth free. Beside it lay what looked like a bulky version of Batman's utility belt. "I present to you, the Rebirth suit," Buffy announced.

"Rebirth," Xander repeated looking sharply at his friend. Memories of searing pain and chaos dancing around in his mind at the mention of the word. It had been the name of the project that had turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. 'So why did Buffy decide to name this costume after that?'

She nodded. "I couldn't really think of a better name. Anybody that wears this suit will have his strength and speed increased by a factor of five. The suit also has inbuilt optics that are a step-up from the Vision-glasses and a com you can use without vocalization. You just need to move the right muscles and the suit takes care of the rest. It's nowhere near as impressive as what the real Captain America could do, but it's the best I can manage," she apologized.

"How exactly did you manage this?" Giles inquired.

"Artificial muscles," Buffy replied. "Tonya looked into them as a possible upgrade for her armor, but she had trouble armoring a suit that used them. This suit, however, doesn't have that problem because it is protected by synthetic spider silk which can stretch and contract right along with the muscles. The layer I put on the suit is just as thick as the ballistic garments you're familiar with, so it's strong enough to stop gunfire and the muscles underneath are programmed to bunch up automatically when they register an impact to spread the kinetic energy out. So Xander should be pretty safe in this. And before you ask, the power for it all comes from the belt."

"Wow, thanks Buffy. This is the best present ever!" Xander exclaimed.

"Oh, but this isn't your birthday present" the blonde answered innocently. "I already have Jarvis working hard on several more for Willow and Giles."

"Huh?"

"Nope, this is your present," she revealed as she hauled up a round shape wrapped up in canvas. "First piece of Adamantium steel ever cast on the planet." Buffy rapped the shield but didn't remove the wrapping. "I'll be using the stuff for the Mark II's frame too, though not the suit's armor. This alloy is tough enough to withstand a direct hit by a tank-shell."

"But my arm isn't," Xander noted. He knew the problem well enough from Steve's memories. His original shield had vibranium in it, something that didn't exist in real life, and could absorb a lot of the energy. Adamantium was very strong, but it didn't have that particular feature. "If I try that stunt, my arm will snap like a twig."

Buffy nodded. "Exactly, good, that means I can skip that safety briefing. Oh, there was just a little hitch when I wanted to give it to you. You see," the blonde continued as she finally started to unwrap it, "I had to justify the expense to the people at Finances somehow and I settled on advertisement," Buffy finished as the shield was finally revealed.

It was black with only the company's name and logo in silver on it. "Oh, and just to make sure it will stick you're going to have to call yourself Captain Summers Industries when you're wearing the suit," she told him in all seriousness. "Or Captain SI," Buffy added still sounding utterly sincere. Her expression faltered a second later at the sight of his pole-axed face. It was only after the blonde started laughing uproariously that Xander finally figured out she'd been kidding.

Relieved, he chuckled along. "Seriously, it can be removed, right?"

VVV

Angel worked his jaw as the holo-vampire drew back out of range of any counter-attack by him. The holographic opponent had a blank expression and wasn't sweating, unlike Angel who had been going at it since this morning. The souled vampire was tired, making mistakes, but he didn't even think of quitting.

'She's going to LA any day now,' he thought again as he kicked out at his enemy's legs. The hologram danced out of the way, like always, and Angel used the opening to launch a fast combo of punches at him. 'And she wants me gone from here. And I can't, I need to be there when Buffy comes to her senses.'

An idea struck him, followed up by the holo-vamp's elbow which sent him sprawling. "End simulation," he called out. Angel didn't want to get distracted right now. The hologram dissolved into thin air and he sat upright. 'What we need is a change of scenery. Some place that won't remind us of all the bad things that happened. I need to move out anyway, so why don't I follow her to LA?' He nodded to himself. 'Yes, yes, this will work. I'll bump into her in a bar or a club, we'll share a drink, talk, and she'll remember we belong together.'

Smiling, Angel got up. There was a lot to do, like finding a place to live while he was in Los Angeles. Something that Buffy would feel comfortable in.

Los Angeles

Dana was sitting at the edge of the dance floor finishing her drink when a blonde chick approached her. She was dressed in a short skirt and top and her heels didn't hide the fact that she was slightly shorter than Dana. "Uhm, hi," the blonde said with a sheepish smile. "I was wondering if you could help me out with something."

"Hi, uh, what's the problem?" Dana asked cautiously.

"See that guy over there," she indicated a pale, good-looking man looking right at them. He also looked uncomfortable, like he was unsure how to act with all these people around. Dana made a sound that she did and the blonde went on. "That's my ex, except he doesn't see it that way and now he's followed me here all the way from Sunnydale. I'm staying with my Dad for the summer. Oh, I'm Buffy by the way," Buffy revealed offering her hand.

"Dana," she replied taking the hand. "And say no more, I've had a few bad breakups myself." It earned her a small smile from Buffy who's hand lingered a moment longer in Dana's before the blonde slowly retracted it. Dana frowned as she belatedly began to wonder why Buffy was telling her this. "Actually, you're going to have to say a little more. Like, how I can help you out with this problem."

The blonde's smile grew brighter and her green eyes positively twinkled. "I want you to dance with me. That should convince him I'm no longer interested in him," Buffy explained.

"Uh... dance?"

"Yeah, I really want to make it clear to him we're over," the blonde clarified.

"I'm sorry if I've given you the impression, but I don't swing that way. Not that there's anything wrong with it," Dana hastily added.

"Ah, but we're trying to convince my ex that I do. Come on, just one little dance. Please?" And then she actually pouted which looked undeniably adorable. And that was the right adjective for it because Dana found herself nodding in agreement a moment later.

They were already on the dance floor, their bodies very close even though it wasn't that packed, when Dana realized Buffy had never said she was actually straight. Her body tensed on its own. "Hey, relax," Buffy said. "You ever danced with one of your friends?" Dana nodded, she had and at the reminder her muscles relaxed a bit. Buffy noticed too because her eyes got a little more mischievous. "Hmmm, it's exactly like that. Just closer," the blonde purred.

Dana felt her cheeks heat up at the suggestive tone, but strangely enough her body didn't tense back up. She also kept staring into Buffy's eyes, something she only realized some time later when Buffy asked her if she saw her ex. 'Maybe I've had one drink too many,' she considered. "Uhm, yeah. I see him. He doesn't look happy." For some reason Dana had to say that while looking into those green eyes again.

"We better make it more convincing," Buffy considered before closing what little distance remained. "So tell me Dana, how convincing do you want to get?" she breathed.

For some reason, Dana's lips felt really dry all of a sudden. Why that question was suddenly so hard to answer, though, was easy. She was drowning in the reason. The soft, wet, supple reason teasing her lips open right now in front of everybody. It didn't take Dana long to groan her answer.

VVV

'I promised Giles I was only going to use that ID to fight evil, not for evil,' Buffy groaned as Dana's very naked body pressed a little closer. When her Watcher had given her the fake identification to get her into bars and clubs, it had been for the express purpose of going there to find and slay vampires. Not to find and bed women that were at least a year older than Buffy. 'But at least it was the wow-kind of evil,' she couldn't help but add as a montage of last night's events played before her mind's eye.

Having Angel go all stalker and follow her to LA had been a very unpleasant surprise. Approaching Dana like she had was a spur of the moment thing, born of desperation at Angel's unwillingness to accept her decision. To make things convincing she'd relied on Tonya memories and from there it had snowballed straight into Dana's bed. Buffy didn't even know how much Angel had seen, she'd forgotten about him right after she started kissing Dana.

Her eyes strayed to the woman. 'Definitely wow,' she decided. Of course, this also meant she now had to do some long, hard thinking about her sexuality. 'Great, one more thing to angst over. I'll put it on the list, right after an early death and before my choice of college.' Such thoughts helped distract her from the impulse to just go now. Tonya had done that a lot as she had been used to getting up early, but it reminded Buffy too much of what Angel had done to her. So even though the sun had come up and the Slayer was wide awake, she stayed right where she was.

It was a little harder to keep her hands to herself, but Buffy didn't know if Dana would appreciate being groped in her sleep so the blonde persevered. She didn't have to endure the torture long before Dana groaned, signaling she was about to wake up. Dana stirred, then froze a moment later, probably because she sensed the body next to hers. One eye opened to peek at Buffy.

It widened almost comically as Dana froze even more than before, a feat Buffy hadn't thought possible. "Good morning," she greeted Dana cheerfully. The blonde didn't want to add to Dana's anxiety by hinting at her own confusion of what they'd done together.

"Uhm, good morning. Did we really...?" Dana seemed to have answered her own question because her head got red as a tomato. The blush actually went down her body, something Buffy had a pretty unobstructed view of. And pretty was the right word. "We did. I, I never, I've never done anything like this," she whispered.

"Well, if it helps anything I haven't either," the Slayer confided to her which earned her a look of disbelief. "It's true. Angel, my ex, he was my first." Buffy couldn't help but let her fingers trail over Dana's forearm. It was weird how easy she could say that now. Dana shivered and followed Buffy's hand with her eyes but didn't pull away.

"Uhhh, what time is it?"

The blonde looked over but didn't remove her fingers. "Just past seven, why?"

"I need to get to work at eight," Dana explained distracted as Buffy's fingers were now ghosting along her shoulder and over to her back.

"Hmm, guess that means we got some time to fill. Any suggestions how?" the blonde asked closing the distance between them. Worrying about the how, the why and the rest could wait a little longer. Living in the moment sounded just fine right now. Yet she stopped halfway when an errant thought captured all her attention. 'Dad's probably going to wake up soon too... Oh shit, Dad!' Suddenly, the future became entirely relevant again.

The Slayer jumped unceremoniously out of bed and started hunting for her clothes. "Uhm, did I miss something?" Dana wondered.

Beginning to panic, her brain wasn't really connected to her mouth as she said, "I'm sorry, I forgot my Dad is going to wake up real soon and if he finds out I was out all night he's going to ground me for the rest of the summer!"

"Wait, your dad will ground you? How old are you?"

Hearing that question, Buffy finally realized what she'd just let out. Smiling sheepishly at Dana, who was now sitting upright in bed, she managed to make things a little worse. "Uhm, seventeen?"

"Seventeen!" Dana exclaimed.

"I'll be eighteen in a few months, if that helps." It didn't.

Sunnydale, Renshaw Cemetery

He'd been going out in the suit for three weeks now, but Xander still had moments where he felt vaguely ridiculous running around in a superhero-costume. It helped that the outfit gave him actual superpowers and that he'd taken out seven vampires in it.

The shield was a different story, that had felt right from day one. It looked right too, once Buffy's practical joke had been removed, as she'd had very thoughtfully given it the same red and white rings with a star in the middle as Cap's shield. On the downside, he was still getting used to throwing the thing. Steve had no problems with it, but Xander didn't have his enhancements and sometimes his body seemed to forget that.

He came to a dead stop at the sight of two guys crossing the graveyard in the distance. The way they looked on the suit's thermal vision made Xander think they were vampires, yet there was something off about that conclusion. Their body temperature was slightly above that of the surrounding air but their thermal signature was weirdly shaped, like there was something inside of them wearing those bodies like suits. That was the best analogy Xander could come up with.

'Only one way to get to the bottom of this.' Xander jogged towards the two but they spotted him before he was even halfway. He knew that because they both twisted their necks impossibly far to look at him giving him unpleasant flashbacks to Ms. French. "Can't be, Buffy destroyed all the eggs," Xander argued with himself as he came to a stop.

Both sniffed the air before emitting some kind of chittering sound. Then they turned around completely and started to lope towards him. The two also dropped their disguises, their skin and clothing disappearing without a trace, but their true appearance took Xander by surprise. Because there were some noticeable differences between these two and Giant Praying Mantis-Lady. Ms. French had looked like a larger version of the insect, complete with standing on four legs and scythe-forearms.

The two green, bugmen coming at him were still running on two legs and their arms had three-clawed hands. Their heads, though, looked exactly like Ms. French's had. Which brought some squicky possibilities to mind. "Oh, I really hope they don't want to mate with me," Xander prayed readying himself to receive their charge. They'd almost reached him when the one closest one started to sweep his arm up. For a moment, Xander thought he'd misjudged the distance or something but instinct told him differently.

So he had his shield between him and the bugman when a serrated blade of chitin swiveled out of the thing's forearm and skimmed uselessly over the Adamantium steel. 'Oh thank God, they just want to eat me.' There wasn't a lot of time to celebrate that fact, because it wasn't the only blade coming at him. Bugman number one swung his other arm with the blade already extended. Without angling his shield, Xander swung it to meet that blade and stop it in its tracks. The thing's clone meanwhile, started to flank him. 'Probably thinking they can force me to backpedal or get double-teamed. Not gonna happen,' he resolved.

Because his shield wasn't just for protection, it was a weapon too. Leading with it Xander plowed into bug-man one, knocking him off his feet or claws or whatever you called those on an insect. The insect tried to bring an arm up in defense, but he simply swept it out of the way as he retrieved the axe hanging from his belt with his free hand.

Xander was already crouching down before he even knew why he'd done that. The reason hissed overhead as two chitin scythes intersected the space Xander had occupied only a moment before. He swung the axe up at his attacker but the bugman just jumped out of the way, its job done. And that was to give its partner the time and opportunity it needed to get up.

He couldn't help but grunt as he caught the overhead swing of both of the creature's arms with his shield, the impact traveling down his arm straining the suit's artificial muscles. This time, Xander let himself fall backwards turning it into a roll as the soft sound of the blades burying themselves in the ground reached him. Breathing fast now, Xander stood up still facing two Praying Mantis demons.

'Dammit, Steve would have taken care of these two by now. Steve has stood up to gods, these two should be a piece of cake.' Xander sighed as the answer came to him. 'For Captain America it might be, but I ain't him. Cap trained for years, I've only had a few months. Steve's enhanced on all fronts, this suit just makes me a little stronger and faster. Face it Xander, you're not Steve Rogers. I'm not going to win this on my own,' he admitted grudgingly. 'Let's just hope Willow has an idea.'

"Call Willow," he subvocalized. The suit's neuro-sensors caught the movement of his muscles and translated it into a command. A ping told him contact was being made and not a moment too soon because the two insect-men were advancing again. And they were being unhelpfully cautious about it as they chittered incomprehensibly to each other. "Should've packed a repulsor-pistol. Come on, Will. Pick up, pick up."

Summers Industries, Sunnydale Branch

Jarvis had written the framework for the OS, but Willow liked to write some of the features into it herself. She was busy with that while waiting for Oz to pick her up. They were going on a romantic dinner, just the two of them. Unfortunately, the Hellmouth intervened in the form of Jarvis alerting her to an incoming call from Xander. "Xander, what's up? You only left, like, half an hour ago."

"Willow, I'm kind of busy here," Xander responded sounding out of breath. "I'm getting my butt kicked by two bug-demons that look a lot like Praying Mantis Lady. I need help."

"What!" Willow exclaimed as she shot out of her chair. But she didn't make any other move because the redhead was at a loss how she could help. "But Buffy destroyed all the eggs," she protested. "And what do you mean, look like? What's different. Is anything different or are just saying that because all the eggs are des-"

"Willow," Xander cut her off. "Not the time! I know Buffy used a sound to drive bug-lady crazy, what was it?"

"It was a recording of bat sonar," Willow supplied happy she now had a way to help her friend. The cheerful mood collapsed just as fast as several problems cropped up. "Which isn't here and the school is closed for the summer so we can't make a new one. Oh, I got it. Jarvis, do you have an audio recording of bat sonar?"

"I do not, Ma'am," the AI informed her. JARVIS was quiet for a moment, then spoke up once more. "I have found the frequencies bat sonar operates on. Using that, I can replicate the sound a bat would make. Would that suffice?"

"Yes!" the redhead enthused. "But how do I get it to Xander? There are no loudspeakers on his suit so..." Willow trailed off as her eyes looked past the wall of her lab to where she thought was the location of the Mark I. 'It has loudspeakers and it will only take me a few minutes to reach Xander if I fly.'

Of course, she'd never been in the armor before... "Willow, please tell me you've got something!" Xander called out sounding a little desperate now. Decision made, she answered, "I'll be there in a few minutes. Hang on!"

VVV

'This was a bad idea,' Willow thought as she over-corrected once again sending the armor jinking back to the right. She probably would be doing a better job of flying if her skirt wasn't lying on the floor of SI, but the armor hadn't been made with those in mind. The armor might hide her from view, it didn't stop Willow from feeling like she was flying over Sunnydale half-naked.

With the HUD indicating they were close Willow decided to set down and walk the remaining distance. 'Okay, now push yourself into a vertical position, gently, gently. That's right, easy does it. Easy. Hey, where did that tree come from?' Twisting aside in an effort to evade its grasping branches Willow accidentally directed most of her thrust away from the ground. Gravity pounced without a moment's hesitation dragging the armor and her down to the ground.

In a last-ditch attempt to slow her descent down Willow extended her right hand out, the only appendage still vaguely pointed at the ground. It was just in time to meet a headstone which came apart under the impact, the rest of the armor landing amidst its debris.

For a few seconds, Willow just lay there trying to orient herself. "Ooooh," she groaned as she tried to get up only to fall down as her right hand refused to move. It was only then that Willow noticed the damage-indicator on the helmet's display. Looking down, she saw the problem. A ragged crack bisected the right hand's palm-repulsor, a piece of the headstone stuck inside of it and as she watched a few sparks briefly illuminated the inner workings of the mechanical hand.

"Buffy's going to kill me when she hears I wrecked her armor," Willow moaned. She didn't dwell on her best friend's displeasure for long, though, because her other best friend was still in serious danger. Rolling over she managed to use the one still working hand to push herself up. She was about to set off for where Xander was when she noticed the information on the HUD had changed. More specifically, the distance between Willow and Xander had shrunk drastically since she last looked. 'Probably heard the crash.'

Xander himself came into view a moment later vaulting over a headstone not destroyed by her landing. Two bug-demons, seemingly undeterred by the cracks in their chitin-armor, were in hot pursuit. Very hot pursuit, because one managed to hook one of its arm blades behind Xander's foot as he jumped over the grave marker tripping him up. Somehow, her friend managed to turn the tumble into a roll ending with him facing the giant insects that were now jumping over the headstone too.

Not missing a beat, Xander threw his shield at one of the demons catching it in the thorax and stopping its forward momentum completely. It landed on top of the grave marker as the shield bounced away. The other insect-demon's progress was unobstructed and it was now storming towards Xander. "Willow, you better start singing!" he called out ending with a grunt as he caught the insect's forearms before the blades could reach him. The next instant those blades swiveled down hitting Xander across the shoulders.

Willow couldn't see if they'd penetrated, but Xander's aborted cry of pain made her fear the worst. "Jarvis, turn the volume up to full and start broadcasting the bat sonar," she ordered.

Most of the noise was too high for the human ear, but what they were left with still grated on Willow and Xander's ears. The effect it had on the man-sized Praying Mantises was more pronounced. The one wrestling with with Xander reared back, tossing its head around like it was hoping to shake off the sound. Her friend didn't hesitate to make use of the opening and took a hold of the insect-demon's head. He didn't twist, but pushed the mandibles up forcing the head in a direction it wasn't supposed to go.

A sharp crack cut through the continued screaming of the bat sonar, the bug-demon's flaying arms fell silent as it body fell to the soft grass leaving Xander to hold the thing's head. "Xander, wouldn't it be easier to use your axe?"

Dropping the head, her friend nodded. "If I still had one, yeah. But one of them sliced clean through the shaft so I won't be doing a lot of chopping with it any time soon."

"It's that sharp?" Willow asked alarmed. "But they sliced you too! Are you bleeding? Do you need stitches? Should I call an ambulance?"

"Nah, Buffy knew what she was doing when she made this. My bruises got bruises, but other than that I'm fine," her friend assured her with a lopsided smile. Xander looked in the direction of the remaining bug-demon. "Hey, he's escaping," he shouted.

Willow followed his gaze and saw that Xander was right, the last insect-demon was shambling away and its stride was getting steadier with each step. "I got it," Willow called out pointing her only functional palm-repulsor at its back. A target reticle appeared on the HUD, shaking as it showed where her shot would go. "Steady, steady," Willow whispered to herself. She couldn't wait too long, but firing and missing wasn't going to help either.

She barely noticed Xander rushing towards where his shield lay as she licked her lips trying to finesse the gauntlet onto the target. She'd already pulled the trigger before it had entered her conscious mind that she should do so; the beam spanning the space between Willow and the bug-demon in the time it took her to realize she'd fired the repulsor. It still nearly missed, clipping the creature's head and sending it falling forward straight into a headstone.

"I did it! I got him!" Willow exulted hopping the armor up and down.

"Nice shot, Wills," Xander called back as he jogged over to where the demon was sprawled out on the ground.

"Where are you going, Xander? I already..." The sight of the Praying Mantis foot twitching cut her off.

"I was afraid you only stunned it," her friend responded hefting his shield up with both hands before bringing it down across the thing's neck. A spray of bug juice spurted up, some of it hitting Xander's face. "Oh, yuck, blegh, that's foul," Xander retched.

Concerned, Willow trod over to him only stumbling twice. "I think this is enough patrolling for you for one night, Mister," she said seriously. The redhead wished she could use her resolve-face just to make sure Xander would understand she was serious.

It turned out to be unnecessary because her friend only gave a tired nod. "No argument from me." He made a face. "I really need to get this taste out of my mouth. Telling Giles I ruined his battle axe can wait till tomorrow."

"Great, I'll, uh, walk you back to SI. Can't be too careful after all." Willow started to follow him, but Xander didn't turn towards the SI-complex. Instead, he went back the way he'd come. "Uh, I thought you said you were going back to SI?"

Xander nodded, but didn't stop walking in the opposite direction as Summers Industries. "I need to pick up those battle axe pieces first. It's okay, you can fly ahead so you can keep your date with Oz. It's not like I need a babysitter," he joked.

"No, no, it's no trouble at all. I, uh, I want to take one of the insect-demons with me anyway. For study," Willow added hiding her right hand behind her back walking along with Xander. The excuse was pretty good in her mind too. Buffy had expressed some interest in trying to come up with a sensor that could pick up on mystical energy and something had to keep these Giant Praying Mantises from collapsing like they should.

But her action only called attention to the busted appendage and with a burst of speed, Xander stepped back to get a clear view of the ruined gauntlet before Willow could react. "I thought I heard a crash. Looks like we're in the same boat, we'll both have to tell someone we ruined one of their toys."

He was right and Willow was so not looking forward to that. "Uhm, trade you?" she proposed. But Xander just shook his head and chuckled. 'Okay, how to say this? Buffy, I broke your armor fighting off demons? Buffy, I sort-of, kinda, destroyed... No... Buffy, your armor got, like, a little dinged when I had to use it to save Xander? Hmmm, that might work.'

Willow's Home

REDTREE:

Something happened last night on patrol. And before you get worried, we're all fine. :)

Plucking at her nightgown, Willow waited for Buffy's reply. They chatted just about every day, but today was different because she was going to have to break the news to her friend that the Mark I had gotten damaged pretty badly. That was why she'd waited until nightfall to do this. Well, that and because Oz was in Ventura with the Dingoes so Willow had the evening to herself. Hanging out with Xander wasn't really an option when he was sure to ask awkward questions like if Willow had already talked to Buffy about wrecking the armor.

IRONB:

That's good to hear. And now that you've suitably prepared me, you can go ahead and tell me what happened.

REDTREE:

You remember Ms. French?

IRONB:

Yes

REDTREE:

Looks like we missed some eggs, because Xander got attacked by two demons that looked a lot like her. The difference was that they only had two legs and their arms ended in actual hands. They did have these blades that popped out of their forearms. I'm thinking the differences are because of their gender, I dissected one of them and it's definitely a male.

IRONB:

But everybody is fine?

REDTREE:

Yeah, thanks to you and Jarvis. That spider silk really protected Xander and Jarvis came up with a substitute for the bat sonar!

IRONB:

Hold on, what do you mean Jarvis came up with a substitute?

REDTREE:

He looked up the frequencies bat sonar worked on and proposed to synthesize the sounds himself!

Willow should've added the part about using the armor's loudspeakers now, but that led to what had happened to the armor. And that news had to be revealed in just the right way.

IRONB:

Aw, I missed the AI's first show of initiative? That's too bad. But how did you get the recording to the demons? Xander's suit doesn't have any external speakers.

The moment had arrived. Taking a deep breath, Willow started typing.

REDTREE:

I used your armor for that part. I flew it to him and I kind of botched the landing. The palm-repulsor in the right hand got this big crack running straight through it. I'm really, really, sorry, Buffy.

She didn't have to wait long for Buffy's answer.

IRONB:

Don't worry about it, the Mark II is half done now so at this rate I'll have a new armor by the time school starts. In fact, you've got my permission to try and repair it yourself. Ask Jarvis for help, he knows where the spare parts are. More importantly, how did you like your first flight? :)

REDTREE:

Terrifying

IRONB:

I'll coach you next time. Sounds like Sunnydale is a lot more active than last summer.

REDTREE:

Yeah. But how is LA treating you? Have you seen Angel again since the club?

This time, Buffy's reply took a while to appear on her screen.

IRONB:

No, haven't seen him since the club. I guess dancing with that other person finally made him realize that it's over. Still haven't heard from that other person either, you know I gave her my phone number but that person still hasn't called.

Willow of course already knew Angel had popped up in LA after leaving SI. 'I gave her my phone number?' She'd been wondering where he'd gone and it sounded like he was still struggling. 'I gave her my phone number?' Willow read the message again, not really believing what she'd read. 'I gave her?' And yet there it was. 'Her?' Buffy had only referred to this new person as, well, "person", but this was... Willow had to ask.

REDTREE:

Her?

IRONB:

He he, surprise? I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but Dana caught me off guard. And when I say off guard, I really mean that. One moment I'm dancing with her trying to make it clear to Angel we're through, the next I'm waking up in her bed. But I guess I surprised her even more, because she still hasn't called me.

IRONB:

I hope this doesn't make things weird between us?

REDTREE:

No

She pressed Enter, sending the lie on to Buffy because how could Willow explain to her friend that it was weird, in a weird way. Had she mentioned it was weird? The idea of Buffy with someone from the same sex, another girl, or woman, sent a storm of emotions whirling through the redhead. For example, she instantly disliked this Dana but weirdly enough the dislike grew after Willow recalled that this girl wasn't calling Buffy back. Shouldn't that be the point where her dislike started? That was her duty as Buffy's best friend, so why the heck did it feel more personal than that. Like Dana had wronged her somehow?

Shaking her head, Willow decided to change the subject for the sake of her own sanity.

REDTREE:

Do you know yet if you'll make it to my birthday party?

Leaning back in her bed, with the laptop perched on her legs, Willow waited for Buffy's reply not thinking of Buffy and this Dana together. Having fun in some bar. Probably drinking and laughing as they danced together. Nope, she wasn't thinking of that at all. 'I bet Dana goes around and seduces girls like Buffy all the time. Buffy said she got caught off guard.'

Summers Industries, Los Angeles Branch

Lou Branch followed his colleagues into the room that had seen a lot of activity in the last few weeks. He found that most of the space was occupied by what looked like a cage with a console outside of it. The cage's material looked to be plastic and the grating was quite thick. Whatever it was couldn't hold his attention long, though, compared to the person standing inside of it.

The blonde wasn't dressed in anything business-like, her top for one didn't cover one bit of her arms and those pants were quite tight. Heels added a little bit of height to her but she was still on the small side. Not to mention young. The entire outfit made the technological gloves that nearly reached her elbows look even more incongruous on her. 'This is the person that's going to give the presentation?'

The legal department had already arrived and was arrayed before the blonde so Lou and the rest of Finances stepped inside and joined them. From up close, the girl was even more striking. Her eyes shining with both intelligence and a mirth that seemed ill-suited to what was supposed to be yet another dull meeting.

"Could you close it up?" The blonde asked Brenda, who was the last one to enter the cage. Brenda did so and after the blonde had thanked her, she finally introduced herself. "I'm sure you're all wondering who I am and what new product exactly you're getting a demonstration of today. To answer your first question, I'm Buffy Summers and I'm the head of R&D for Summers Industries."

That announcement earned her looks of disbelief from most, but Lou's reaction was one of renewed interest. 'I knew Buffy Summers is still in high school, but I was expecting someone more... geeky. This girl looks like a cheerleader.'

The girl, Buffy, went on unfazed by the reaction of her audience. "I'm also the one who designed the holocage you're standing in right now. And yes," she looked over at the three lawyers making up the Legal department, "that's why we had you trademark that name a few months ago. Now, officially you're all here to learn how this works so you can give demonstrations and because it's kind of hard to convince prospective customers to buy our product when you don't know what it is you're selling," she finished with a wry smile.

"But why tell you when I can show you!" At the end of the sentence, Buffy pressed a button on the left glove and the world around them changed. Sunlight streamed down from a clear blue sky, reflecting of the water surrounding the island they were now all standing on. Behind the blonde was a stone bench, and looking behind him Lou found several more arrayed in a semi-circle.

It clearly wasn't real, though, because he could still feel the springy material of the cage's floor under his soles instead of the grass and soft earth his eyes were telling him were there. The scents hadn't changed either. That certainty that he was in some kind of hologram got shaken when Buffy sat down on the bench without falling right through the illusion. "Why don't you all take a seat for a minute while I explain what this is," she proposed.

Lou didn't need to be told twice and was the first to try it out. His colleagues hesitated, some even waiting to see someone else taking a seat before following suit. Branch wasn't paying attention to that as he was more interested in the feel of the bench. It looked like stone, and the texture matched what his eyes were telling him but there was something missing and it took a few moments for Lou to figure it out. There was no give, not a particle of dust came off the bench. Almost as if his finger didn't exist as far as the bench was concerned.

"You all are probably wondering how exactly we managed to make a hologram solid," the blonde spoke up pulling Lou away from his study of the bench. "And the answer is that we haven't. The bench you're sitting on has a resistance to solid matter passing through it, yes, but it has no mass. The only reason you can't push it over with your pinky is because the computer has no idea any of you are here. There's only two ways to manipulate the simulation and that's with the console outside, and with these gloves." She held her hands up to show them off better.

"The gloves are mostly for actually interacting with the simulation while the console is for controlling its settings. By the way, this is the only time there won't be anyone at that console. The holocage is safe as can be, but that's no excuse to take chances." She looked each one of us in the eyes to convey she meant that before moving on. "With the buttons on the glove you can do a few things too like starting and stopping the program. Or move on to the next demonstration," the blonde finished pressing the same button on the left glove as before. And like before, the world changed.

It shouldn't have caused the surprise that it did, but then, nobody had expected to suddenly sit on a bench in what looked like outer space. Between him and Buffy hung a flaming orb the size of a basketball with smaller orbs that were not on fire orbiting around it. It only too a moment for Branch to realize he was looking at a representation of the solar system.

"I chose this one to illustrate another mechanism of the holocage," Buffy explained. "In the previous scenario, the amount of force I could exert with the gloves on anything was no more than what it is in real life. In this one, that's not the case." The blonde stood up and weaved through the first few planets until she reached the biggest marble which Lou recognized as Jupiter. With a single finger Buffy pushed the planet inwards sending it on a path that took it pretty close to a small, red orb and dragged it out of its orbit as well.

The entire audience watched silent as Buffy's little push unleashed Armageddon in the inner solar system. Then it was all gone, and Lou found himself looking at a translucent combustion engine in operation hanging in the air. The various parts were all color-coded making it even easier to discern what was what. Through the engine, he could see Buffy approach it. "As you can see, there's a number of things the holocage can be used for. Presentations, simulations, design, architecture, and a dozen more I haven't thought of."

Lou did his best to pay attention to what he suspected was their real boss was saying, but it was a little difficult. After all, he'd just found out the company he worked for was going to sell the next best thing to holodecks.

VVV

Buffy sat back on the bench wearing only the left glove while her audience took turns playing around with the solar system using the right glove. Their excited whoops and chatter was the only thing interrupting the hum of the cooling units. The prototype back home didn't use gloves, instead it used a bunch of sensors and a good chunk of their mainframe to keep track of what the user was doing. When it only had to keep track of what a pair of gloves were doing who were sending that information themselves, it cut the required processing power in half.

Yes, the briefing had gone well. Other things in Buffy's life, however, had not gone as well. Oh, she'd managed to get home before Dad woke up, but Dana had yet to call back. And after some soul-searching, Buffy had come to the conclusion that she would like that. At first, the blonde had worried her feelings had only been an echo of Tonya's memories. It didn't feel like that, even now her memories of that night evoked intense feelings within her.

Which of course begged the question of whether she was gay now. On the one hand, Bratt Pitt was still the eye-candy he'd been to Buffy before Dana. On the other hand, there was Dana. A Dana who still hadn't called back. 'You need to give it a rest,' the blonde told herself. 'You heard her, she's probably as confused as you are about all this. So you need to give her room and time. And if she decides never to call... Then you'll just have to accept that.'

Los Angeles, Angel's Apartment

He had a knack for not getting noticed and Whistler used it now to get into Angel's place. The place was as gloomy as the alleyway he'd first found Angel in, but at least it was a lot cleaner. Having sneaked up on the vampire, Whistler posed the question his bosses wanted an answer to. As a matter of fact, he himself would like to know too. "Angel, why aren't you in Sunnydale?"

And it was a good question, because last he checked the boy was all gung-ho on protecting that cute, blonde thing of his. He hadn't had any problem with that, since it meant Angel would be in place to stop Acathla from sucking the world into hell. Except, the hour had arrived and Angel wasn't in Sunnydale. For that matter, Acathla was a no-show too. And that had set the PTB's in a tizzy.

So here he was, looking Angel up who was slumped in a couch in an apartment that was not in Sunnydale. Angel's reaction was sluggish, lethargic and it was only now that Whistler got a good look at his agent. "What the hell happened to you?" Angel, champion for the Powers-that-Be and one of the nicer feathers in the balance demon's hat was obviously drunk.

It only earned him a bitter laugh from the man before he guzzled down what remained of a bottle of whiskey straight from the source. "What happened? You want to know what happened?" Angel laughed again. "Join the crowd!"

Well, this was no good. "Did something happen to the Slayer?" Whistler tried as he sat down besides him. It was a safe bet since she'd been the thing he'd used to get Angel out of the ditch in the first place.

And it looked like he was right, 'cause the vampire's face went through a couple of expressions in rapid succession before settling on disgust. "What didn't! That bitch changed her, twisted her up 'till she wasn't Buffy anymore. Buffy loved me, she would never have left me. Or hooked up with women! Buffy's gone, my Buffy's gone!"

Did he hear that right? 'Okay, now's not the time to listen to your libido. Focus on the mission,' Whistler reminded himself. "So she left you, huh? Yeah, that sucks. But you can't let that drag ya down again. Come on, two-and-a-half centuries should have taught you that you're not going to find any answers in there," he pointed at the now empty bottle. "You've been doing good, and you can do so much more. But here you are, eager to become a useless rodent-eater again." It was harsh, but Whistler figured the guy needed that.

"DO?" Angel roared before grabbing Whistler by the jacket and dragging him close. "I did this for her and she spat it back in my face!"

The balance demon did his best to convey how much he wasn't impressed. "How much of that is the alcohol talking? Because I got to tell you, I always thought better of you. Figured that the people you were saving meant something to you. And now you're telling me it was all to get into some girl's pants?"

Angel's grip had slackened while Whistler spoke, but it became firm again at the last sentence. "Don't you talk about Buffy like that," the vampire hissed as his face changed.

'Great, this guy's all over the place. This isn't working, not while he's like this.' Decision made, the balance demon broke Angel's grip and proceeded to punch him causing the vampire to fall off the couch. He was still shaking his head when Whistler hauled him up. "I guess we'll just have to have this conversation after I've got ya sobered up," he announced. "Oh, and sorry about the head." Before Angel could ask him what he meant by that, Whistler showed him. It only took one hit to knock the inebriated vampire out.

"I'm not getting paid enough for this," the balance demon complained before draping Angel over his shoulder. He left the apartment the same way he'd entered it, without a trace.

Summers Industries, Sunnydale Branch

"Buffy," Willow called out meeting her halfway. "I was so sure you weren't going to make it to my birthday when you didn't say anything about it."

"I wanted to surprise you," she told her friend with an impish smile. "And it seems I've succeeded. I'm going back to LA tomorrow, though, Dad wants more quality father-daughter time," Buffy noted happily.

"The important thing is that I get to celebrate my birthday with you present."

She was going to tell Willow that she was going to have to wait for her present until the party tonight but Giles' entrance preempted that. "Ah, Buffy. It's good to see you. Ah, there's someone here who wanted to see you." The librarian indicated the man following him. He was black, bald but with a full beard streaked with gray and leaning on a cane held in his left hand.

"Hello, Miss Summers," the unnamed man said.

Buffy was struck by the sadness and pain in his eyes, as well as puzzled as to why Giles had brought him here. "Uhm, hi."

Giles must have picked up on it too, because he took over. "This is Sam Zabuto, Kendra's Watcher."

Now she got it. Kendra's Watcher had finally come around enough to consider using the tools Buffy provided. He just wanted to meet her in person first. It also explained why he looked so sad, it could be tough to admit you were wrong. And the Slayer was pretty sure Zabuto would not have come to Sunnydale without Kendra. "It's good to meet you, sir." Buffy could be gracious in victory. "Kendra's told me a lot about you, all good things," she assured him. "Where is she, anyway?"

That question did not elicit the reactions Buffy had expected. Zabuto's sadness got more intense while Giles looked really uncomfortable now. "Ah, Buffy, it's, uhm, that's why he's here..."

"I'm afraid my Slayer is dead, Miss Summers," Kendra's Watcher revealed gravely.

Hearing that felt like a punch in the gut. "What?" She'd met the girl only six months ago. Kendra had been Called barely a year ago, how could she be dead already?

"It was a routine patrol, unfortunately the vampire Kendra stumbled upon had a gun and she wasn't wearing the armor you'd sent her. And that is why I'm here."

Somehow, Buffy managed to find a chair to flop down on. "Why you're here?" the blonde asked numbly.

Zabuto nodded. "Yes. Because her death is my fault. I forbade her from using your inventions because I thought she should rely on those tools that had proven effective for centuries. I was afraid that reliance on what you had devised would be a costly mistake. Kendra argued you knew what you were doing and that we should give them a chance. To my shame, I did not."

The Watcher sighed, then continued. "After I found her... I took what you had sent and used it to deal with the vampire that had killed Kendra. It worked, and it would have kept my Slayer alive if I had given it the chance. Afterwards, I offered the Council to send Kendra's weapons to the new Vampire Slayer hoping to rectify my mistake at least a little. They showed no interest, not even after I revealed what those devices could do."

"But why are you here?" It was a blunt question, but Zabuto had not answered Buffy's question.

"You were her friend, so I thought you deserved to learn of her death from me in person. And so I could apologize to you, since it is impossible to apologize to Kendra now." He pressed his lips together as his eyes misted over. "I am sorry... that I didn't realize you had her best interests at heart, just like I did. I should've remembered that."

Buffy didn't know what to say. That he was right? That he caused Kendra's death? That he shouldn't blame himself but the vampire who had actually killed her? That even if Kendra had worn the armor, it might not have saved her since she could've been shot in the head? "Thank you. I... I appreciate that. And I think, Kendra never doubted you cared. That you only wanted to do the right thing," she finally offered.

It earned her another nod from Sam, but he didn't say anything. Buffy shot Willow an apologetic look for ruining her birthday like this, but the redhead simply shook her head. "I liked her too," she mouthed. It earned her a grateful smile. 'I don't deserve friends like these. And if I'm not careful, what happened to Kendra could happen happen to one of them too. I'm not going to let that happen,' Buffy resolved.

TO BE CONTINUED