The Downside of Elemental Dieseling
Author: Nickeltaffy
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah…These characters are Joss's. I don't own them, never did and never will. Thanks for the loan, Joss.
Spike has just recovered from being a four year old the previous day. While trying to get back to life as usual, what if the stone wasn't done messing with the blonde vampire? Sequel to: Turning the Helical Gear.
…
Chapter 12
Spike was stunned by the jolting sound of the police car's whoop and the flashing light of the police car that appeared in his path, sporadically illuminating him and the surrounding sidewalk with a red glow. The soles of this new sneakers slid on the pavement as he locked his legs to stop suddenly on the sidewalk before running into the vehicle. The car door opened and a serious looking policeman exited the car while the voice of his partner speaking an indecipherable code into the police radio carried over to Spike. The police car shuddered as the police man on the passenger side got out of the car, casually slamming the door behind him. He placed his thumbs in his belt, as he looked down at the small child shouldering the large ceramic vase in his arms.
"Hold up, here young man. You can't be cutting across traffic like that. It's dangerous for someone your size to do that. You were very lucky not to get hit." The officer's head nodded to the intersection that Spike had just run ramshackle through, causing cars to hit their brakes and lay on their horns. The uniformed man's low voice reverberated over the sound of the black and white's engine. "Aren't you a little young for you to be out here by yourself?"
Spike frowned as he saw that the police car had cut off his chosen avenue of escape from Taras' building. Spike took a step back as he measured his chances of avoiding the policeman's kindly intentions and fleeing the opposite direction. He took an unneeded breath as he looked back toward the building he had just exited as he backed away from the cop.
…..
"I think it is about time we made our exit!" Wesley tersely informed Angel as he walked toward the far windows of Tara's office. "The bands I've placed on those doors are just about to collapse. If the powers on the other side of that door can do that, I am afraid we're in trouble if we don't make good our escape. Luckily, the sun has gone down and not a moment too late!"
"Just a minute!" Angel held up a hand as he took deep sniffs of the air in the air vent, tilting his head in consideration of what his nose was telling him. Pulling his head out of the air vent, he informed the ex-watcher. "I no longer smell Spike. That little rascal has somehow managed to have escaped the building. We better get out of here and resume the search when we get to the street."
"Indeed. Speed is of the essence." Wes hurriedly announced. "We need to locate him and the reliquary as soon as possible. Who know what could happen with those two unknown factors."
In that same moment, the sound of the battle between Wes' reinforcements against a high powered onslaught caused a high pitched wail to emanate from the doors which were glowing and dangerously bowing into the room. Angel quickly walked over the far side of Tara's office where large picture window was situated where Wes was standing. The men nodded at each other, Wes began to pull something from his waist while Angel wrapped his hand around the back of one of the office chairs.
…..
After throwing the man to the ground, Gunn stood over the man, with a threatening glare. Meanwhile, Fred, who was trying to see where Spike had disappeared to, spun quickly and ran back to the car. She picked up the locator from where it lay on the seat and flipped the screen cover to see the red dot on the screen as she stood next to the car.
"Gunn! Leave him! Spike is out on the street! Come on!" Fred shouted as she ducked her head to get back into the passenger seat.
Hearing Fred's voice broke Gunn's primitive drive to punish the man on the ground for laying hands on Fred. He looked back over his shoulder to see Fred anxiously waving for him to get back in the car. With a snort, he threw a threatening look at the man before him before he turned to run to get back behind the wheel of the car. He ran around the front of the car and flung his body behind the wheel without closing his car door. With Fred excitedly pointing the direction, he floored the car which caused his car door to slam shut with the momentum as he sped down the ramp toward the street. The car bounced on the exit ramp of the car garage as Gunn spun the wheel to turn onto the street.
….
Spike turned his head back to regard the approaching policeman as he adjusted the grip his arms had around the large reliquary he was holding. The policeman was bending over at the waist to speak to him as he slowly approached the little blonde boy in front of him. Spike begrudgingly thought as he watched the officer come closer 'What does a kid have to do get neglected around here?'
In the next moment, a huge explosion shook the city block. The policeman jerked straight as his eyes went to the top level of the building across the street. Huge beams of orange and white flames shot out from the top floor, illuminating the nearby buildings. The city was thrown into chaos as people shouted, cars swerved and brakes squealed. Alarms went off in nearby buildings and cars. The cop stood in shock as he looked up at the building, his mouth open before he slowly reached over to the radio on his shoulder, batting at it inefficiently. His partner got out of the other side of the car, pointing and yelling to the other officer in front of Spike.
"Hey, secure the kid! Fire and emergency are on the way!" He yelled as he slammed his car door shut and started to run across the street.
Before he knew it, Spike found himself and the reliquary summarily swept up in the policeman's arms and ungainly deposited inside the police car. The door to the police car was slammed shut before Spike could right himself on the seat. When he did, he placed the urn on the floor of the car before getting up on his knees to peer out the window.
'What the bleedin hell?' he thought as he peered at the chaos happening around him.
…..
Gunn's car had just straightened into the lane of the street when the street was suddenly alight from an explosion overhead and in the same instant, something heavy impacted on top of his hood. He slammed on his brakes, throwing an arm over to keep Fred from being flung into the windshield. As the car pitched forward and then settled, Gunn and Fred looked to see to feet planted solidly into the metal of the car's hood. Peering up through the windshield, they see the back of a man who twisted to look back at them.
"Angel!" Fred called, her relief at seeing the vampire obvious.
Gunn opened his door and set a foot on the asphalt as he stared stunned at the sudden appearance of his boss. Angel gave an unsettled half grin at the pair as he embarrassedly looked at the damage that his flat footed landing has done to Gunn's car. He breathed a pained sigh as he climbed off the car to meet with Wes who had finished repelling down the side of the building.
Wes unhooked his body from the line and staggered back into Angel as they watched the violent light show emanating from the penthouse above them. They were soon joined by Gunn and Fred as they gathered in the middle of the street, looking upward.
An unearthly shriek pierced the air, overshadowing the sounds of incoming sirens and alarms going off. It was soon followed by another shriek and another. In the next instant, a dozen winged flying creatures came pouring out of the penthouse. They were large creatures, each the size of an economy size car. Their skin was hairless but had a splotchy coloration which made them look almost sickly. In front of their immense torsos, they held their comparatively long wiry arms in front of them with clicking talons on the end of their fingers. The air was filled with their wild shrieks as they began to swoop toward the street level.
"Wes, what are those things?" Angel asked in a whispered gasp, never taking his eyes off the swarming creatures.
"Well, they appear to…rather…Um….I think we should….should….GET IN THE CAR!" Wes declared as he and the team rushed back to Gunn's car.
…..
Spike's mouth fell open as he watched the creatures pour out of Taras' penthouse from the window of the police car. He could not pull his eyes away as he watched them swarm over the street, their shrieks filling the air. He knelt there on his knees, his palms pressed against the glass as he watched the flying creatures begin to break pattern and come swooping down toward the street. It was then that he noticed that the police car he was in was in the direct path of the creatures.
He desperately pulled at the door latch to get out of the car. It would not react to his frantic pulling, he was locked in. Turning slightly, he immediately began to pluck at the thin metal rod on the door frame but he could not tell if his fingers could not get a good enough grasp or if the car had been electronically locked. With time running out, he realized that it was no use, he was stuck in here.
He flipped his body back against the top part of the car seat as he looked around quickly to consider his options. Somehow, the officer had tossed him into the front seat, rather than the back. He saw that one of the officers had left their jacket. He could hear the flapping of the ominous creatures coming closer, so he did one of the only things that someone his size could do. He could hide. Grabbing the jacket, he quickly crawled off the seat, beside the reliquary. Pulling it with him, he managed to wedge himself under the dashboard, making himself as small as possible. Holding up the jacket like a curtain in front of him, he hoped that it would disguise his presence from the creature that appeared at the window in the next moment.