Chapter 1
"All right, may I have everyone's attention?" The voice was formal and firm – the accent wasBritish, and it was clear he was a little frustrated by his associates continuing to talk among themselves even after he had requested silence. A few seconds passed, and the conversation came to a halt. Everyone turned toward to the head of the table, and to Wesley, who stood there. "I believe that we are ready to begin the first official board meeting of Angel-Slayer Inc."
Wesley took his seat and began to look around the table, not only at the people in the room, but also at those on the video screens that showed the other contingents of their organization.
"Some of you are meeting us for the first time, and may not be entirely clear on whom each of us is, and our purpose in being here." He paused a moment, then went on. "Let me briefly review. Six months ago, after Angel, Fred, Gunn, Lorne and I were offered ownership of these offices by Wolfram & Hart, Buffy, a group of her friends and a regime of Slayers came here from Sunnydale with a suggestion. "
He took a breath, and then continued to speak. "Together we decided to rebuild and reform the previously-defunct Watcher's Council. Our intention was to use this office and its resourced to build an organization capable of battling the forces of darkness on an epic scale. After several long months of difficult recruitment and hard work by everyone here, we are ready to begin our effort." He looked to his immediate left. "Buffy?"
The blonde haired Slayer rose. "I've heard a lot of people say that to fight and completely defeat the evil in this world is impossible." She put her hands on the table. "Maybe it is. Still, my friends and I have been fighting that supposedly impossible-to-stop evil for nearly seven years. We have faced impossible odds against demons and vampires and hellgods over and over again…"
Another voice interrupted her speech. "…Some of which are sitting at this table right now."
Half the board shot dirty looks toward Spike, sitting alone at the end of the table. He did his best to maintain an innocent face as he spoke. "What? I didn't say they won."
Buffy shifted her attention away from Spike and back to what she had been in the process of saying. "We have dealt with prophecies that have foretold the Apocalypse. Time after time, we have shut them down. Six months ago, my friends and I stopped what was supposedly the source of all evil from destroying the world." She stopped speaking for a moment, looking around at everyone else who was at the table with her.
"None of it has been easy--- and it has always come with a cost--- but we have succeeded at beating the odds. This won't be easy—it never is--- but I think if we all try, we might just be able to pull this off. "
She let her words sink in for a few seconds. "Alright then. Now that I've made my little speech, I'm going to let the others tell you some of the details." She looked across the table. "Will?"
As Willow rose to begin discussing new Watcher-Slayer recruitment policy, almost everyone at the table shifted their attention to her. Andrew, sitting next to Fred, thought that some of the other people in the room – Angel and Faith, in particular, seemed more than a little distracted. They knew what Willow was saying, chapter and verse, but he was sure that wasn't it. They were thinking about the same thing that he and everyone else was thinking about. The elephant in the room – the cost of the last time they had had to save the world.
It had been two months s since Ethan Rayne and Harmony, backed by some larger force – a force they still hadn't been able to identify --- had tried to resurrect Jasmine. Two months since they had brought back the ancient goddess back in the last body she had inhabited. Cordelia's.
The Slayers and their associates had won, but the price had been far greater then they had ever expected. Giles, the man who had served as the sort-of father figure for the group, had been severely wounded in an explosion. The burns and the scars from his injuries had healed, but his hearing had been nearly ruined. The scientists and doctors of Angel-Slayer had managed to repair some of the damage, but it was clear to anyone that he would never fight in the field again.
Robin Wood, the high school principal who had played a major role in the last battle of Sunnydale, had died from exposure to poison. It was enough that they had lost a man who was an impressive fighter – Robin and Faith had been involved, and his death had hit her very hard. Most of the board had gone the extra mile to try and be there for the dark-haired Slayer. She seemed to be recovering, but it was very difficult to see past the strong front she put up in front of them. In front of everyone, even the doctors.
And Cordelia was gone. Her spirit had nearly been completely destroyed by Jasmine, and her body shattered in the final sacrifice she had made. Her death had hit the Angel Investigations team very hard – Angel and Wesley most of all. Both vampire and human had loved her, and her loss was nearly too much for either of them to bear. Neither had come back to work for more than a month. But they had had help--- Wesley had Fred, Angel had Buffy--- both of whom had been trying their hardest to help them come to terms with what had happened.
One person had taken the loss harder than any of the others, though. The day after the memorial service for those who had died, Xander vanished.
None of them had spoken to him since, and the only time they had heard his voice was in a long message he had left for Willow. His tone made it clear that the pain he had been in before Cordelia had died had gotten stronger – that her death very well might have pushed him past the point of no return.
The message had told them not to make any attempts to find him. He needed, he had said, to be by himself for a while – that he needed time alone before he returned to them. Buffy and Willow had taken this to mean he would come back; Angel and Wesley, who had been in similar situations, however, thought otherwise.
The only good thing to come out of the last apocalypse had been Spike getting free from Hell and the return of Lindsey McDonald. Even that, though, was a mixed blessing. With the exception of Buffy and Andrew, most of the others felt Spike had a long way to go to prove himself to them. In fact, the only reason he was in the boardroom at the moment was because Buffy had insisted on it. And despite his (genuinely) brave acts during that same event, not one of them believed Lindsey could be sincere about anything of any sort. Right now he was working under Gunn in the security section. Lindsey knew that he was on thin ice and didn't complain about it--- at least not to their faces.
It didn't take a super-nerd to see that the Angel-Slayer board was feeling very rocky. They knew they needed to get back to work doing good for the world, and that they needed to do it fast. They needed a trouble zone, as much as they did not like the idea. (Un) fortunately, it seemed Andrew believed he could give them one with no difficulty.
"And that takes care of the Midwest," finished Fred. "Now I'll hand this meeting over to Andrew, who will be dealing with problem-zones on the East Coast."
Andrew had gained a great deal of self-confidence over the past six months with them. Still, he needed several seconds fumbling with the papers he had in front of him before he was mentally ready to speak.
"One of the tasks that I was assigned--- given… whatever--- was to isolate known trouble spots in the East, such as Atlanta or Boston. However, I also spent some energy monitoring cities or towns that could pose an even greater threat if vampires and other undead were to rise..."
"That's beyond what we asked from you." said Wesley.
"Well, I think that it's a good thing that I did." Andrew responded."because one of them is already showing signs of vampire activity. It's small now, but if it gets big enough, we have the potential for a major disaster, and by extension in most of the surrounding cities."
That statement immediately got everyone's attention.
"Which city are we talking about?" asked Buffy.
"Willow?"
The young witch tapped a computer. Seconds later the image on the screen that was at the front of the room had changed to a picture of the Tri-State area. One city in particular was highlighted.
Andrew walked over to the screen. "Gotham City would be a dangerous place to live even if there was no demon or vampire activity."
The screen changed again, now showing several charts side-by-side. "According to the Census Bureau, it ranks ninth in the nation in assaults, seventh in robberies, and sixth in homicides. Several major crime families, including the Falcones and Maronis operate from the city. Also, there are more than a few major drug cartels in the city. Five of the FBI's ten most wanted call Gotham City home."
Andrew nodded and Willow tapped the computer again, changing the images on the screen. "With all the death and mayhem that takes place in the city, it's entirely possible that there has been undead activity for a while. It only started to become obvious about two months ago, though."
"Obvious? How?" asked Gunn.
Andrew, who'd been puttering right along, was a little thrown by the question. He fumbled over his papers for a few seconds before answering. "Two months ago, an article inthe Gotham City Gazette reported the mysterious death of a woman by what is described as 'an unexplained neck wound.'" He a moment paused to let the implication sink in.
"Gotham's a big city, the guy was a nobody, so the story gets one paragraph on page twenty. Four days later another dead body shows up with the same kind of injuries. This one's female, so there's more publicity." Andrew gave a small smile. "The Gazette's a conservative paper; they waited until two more people showed up dead the same way before they hit the city with this headline."
The screen changed again, this time to a Gazette newspaper headline reading 'FOURTH 'VAMPIRE VICTIM DISCOVERED; DID THE KILLER DRINK THEIR BLOOD?'
"You can always count on the media for a mature, calming response to a crisis situation." Giles stated coolly.
"Hey, at least we know they're paying attention." retorted Angel.He looked over at Andrew. "How many more have turned up?"
Andrew gave a small smile. "Well the Gotham Police are apparently much smarter than the ones in Sunnydale. After this headline, the Police Commissioner put a media freeze on information on these and all future vamp attacks. And, miraculously, it seems to have worked; all that the media has written about since has been purely speculative."
"That was all you could get from the press?" asked Fred
Andrew nodded. "However, from what I was able to learn from the Gotham P.D.'s computers, there have been seven similar murders over the past six weeks. And those are just the ones they've found." Andrew paused a moment. "You should also know that there have been various reports saying that bodies have been 'disappearing' from Gotham's morgues."
"Great" said Buffy." So now vampires have invaded a city that already had a population of extremely corrupt and degenerate forces? Could this possibly get any worse?"
"Definitely." said Andrew grimly. When he saw that he had everyone's attention again, he gestured, and Willow changed the screen yet again. "It's bad enough that there are vamps in Gotham, but that's not the nightmare scenario. The nightmare is a vamp gets cocky, motivated and turns one of these people."
A series of mug-shots began to appear on the screen, one after the other. "In addition to the five I mentioned earlier, at least a dozen of the most notorious criminals in the world operate out of Gotham City. Seven of them are considered extremely dangerous. The worst of the lot is…" Andrew grimaced "…him."
The computer stopped on a picture of a man with white face, green hair and a hideous, stretched smile. "Jack Napier, a.k.a. 'the Joker'. No one knows exactly how many people he's killed, but he passed triple digits a long time ago, and there are rumors he's broken the quads, too. I don't know how much worse he could be if he was turned, but I don't think any of us wants to find out. The possibility of his involvement alone makes Gotham a priority."
"Okay. You've made your point." Angel said, grimly. "I think that we can all agree that we should move Gotham City to the top of the list."
"Absolutely." said Buffy. "We have to handle this now."
It was a general agreement around the table, except for one person.
"Now wait a tick." said Spike.
"What now, Spike?" asked Kennedy huffily.
"Now I agree with everyone we gotta handle Gotham, but there's something that you've left out. " He looked at all of them. "A certain someone who could get very pissed if we interfere with his territory?"
"What is he talking about?" asked Dawn, curious.
"He means the Batman." Angel said flatly.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Kennedy piped up:
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
"Yes, that sounds rather ominous." said Wesley.
"Don't tell me you've never heard of him?" asked Angel.
"Come on, you can't have spent five minutes in this country and not know of the Batman." asked Spike.
"We've spent the last seven years concentrating on the other side of the country." retorted Buffy. "Forgive us for not being up to the minute on this Bat Man or whatever the hell he is."
"Maybe you'd like to tell us about him since you know him so well." responded Gunn.
"Hang on, hang on." Spike gestured with his hands as if he as signaling for a timeout. "I only know of him. I've never the met the man."
"So he's a man." said Gunn.
"I didn't say that." When everyone turned to stare at him, Spike continued. "Come on. He's a man who only comes out at night; wears dark clothes, has top-notch speed and agility, oozes fear and intimidation and is practically a folk hero. I've known vamps like that." He gave a small smile. "I've been vamps like that."
Buffy turned back towards Andrew. "You seem to know a lot about Gotham City. Is there any particular reason that you didn't mention him?"
Andrew sighed. "I am very familiar with the work of Batman and the reason that I didn't mention his name is because I'm not sure whether he'll be part of the problem or a part of the solution." He looked at the others.
"What is he, some kind of superhero?" asked Fred.
"No." said Andrew.
"What did you just---" Spike started.
"Buffy is a superhero. Willow is one. Angel's one." Andrew took a deep breath. "You have powers--- extraordinary strength, the ability to control magic, the ability to heal rapidly. Everything that I've read or seen about Batman says that he doesn't have any of these things. Any power he has, he got the old-fashioned way. He earned it. He's just a hero."
"How much do you think he knows about what's going on now?" asked Dawn.
"Probably a great deal about it." Andrew paused, then added: "There's a chance that he may have figured it out altogether already."
"He's that smart?' said Buffy incredulously.
"According to the rumors, he's the world's greatest detective." said Willow.
"Sherlock Holmes in a cape and cowl," said Angel. "There's an image for you."
"You seem to know a lot about this." Giles suddenly spoke up.
"What do you mean?" said Andrew nervously.
"I mean a lot of this is information that you couldn't have gotten by normal means." said Giles. "Or wholly legitimate ones."
Andrew considered making up a story, then junked the idea and sighed. "I got some of this information from a hacker source within Gotham City itself. We've been corresponding for a few weeks."
"Does this source have a name?" asked Buffy.
"I only know her by her handle." said Andrew. "Screen name is Oracle."
"And she decided to help you because…" Giles trailed off.
"I asked for help. She gave it to me." Andrew said shortly. "Can we leave it at that?"
There was a brief pause. "Are there any other major players in Gotham?" asked Wesley. Apparently he had decided to move on.
"A couple." admitted Andrew. "Batman has a partner, I guess you'd call him, named Robin." He risked a look at Faith but the Slayer remained as taciturn as ever. "There's some guy who supposedly looks out for the city's homeless with the name Nightwing."
" Nightwing? Batman? Can't these people have real names?" asked Buffy incredulously.
"That's why they're called secret identities." said Kennedy.
"I know but--- Nightwing?"
"What's wrong with it, Elizabeth?" said Spike sweetly.
"If we could return to the business at hand." said Wesley firmly. "Anyone else important in Gotham?"
Andrew looked at his notes. "There was a woman named Batgirl who worked with the others---"
"BatGIRL?" said Kennedy, incredulous." the woman's lobby must be thrilled with that name."
"--- but she's been out of the picture for a few months. No one is quite sure what happened to her."
"All these heroes wandering around… does Gotham City even need a Slayer?" asked Willow.
"Yes. Definitely."
Everybody focused their attention on Faith. She had been silent for the majority of the meeting.
"What makes you so sure?" asked Angel.
"Because it doesn't matter how many criminals or mobsters or madmen that you've faced down. Nothing — nothing can prepare you for having to face a vampire. These people may be strong, but they're not ready for this. They go in unprepared, and they'll end up dead or worse." Faith looked at Andrew. "You think the nightmare is them turning the Joker. It isn't. It's them turning Batman. For that reason alone we need to go to Gotham now."
"We still haven't decided how to handle the Batman." said Buffy.
"I'll figure out a way when I get there."
Wesley looked at Faith. "Was that your subtle way of volunteering for this assignment?"
Faith gave the ghost of a smile. "Guess it was."
"Whoa—whoa—whoa. " Kennedy seemed a little disturbed. "Why does it have to be you?"
"Because I know the area, I have the experience and because Buffy, Angel and Willow have to hold down the fort in L.A." Faith looked at the surprised faces of the other board members. "Or did I misunderstand the first part of the meeting?"
"You can't just make--- " started Buffy.
Angel stopped her with a look. "She's right. We're going to have our hands full dealing with the work here. This is a big project and we can't send one of the less experienced Slayers into this chaos. Faith has the experience, and she has the recognition factor."
There was a silence as everyone considered this. Giles spoke up. "If Faith were to go, we would need to send adequate back up. She can't go in alone."
"I'll go." Everyone turned to look at Andrew, who reddened a bit but gamely went on. "I mean, I'm dispensable and I've gotten to know Gotham pretty well. " He gave a small smile. "Besides, I've worked with Faith in the past. It makes sense."
There was a much shorter pause. "I think Andrew can do it." That came from Dawn.
There was general agreement around the table this time. Andrew wasn't sure to be happy that they trusted him, or upset that they considered him expendable. He decided to be happy.
"All right, but she still needs more than Andrew." said Gunn.
There was a long silence. Then Spike sighed. "What the heck. I'll go with Supergeek and Slayer 2.0."
Buffy and Angel both looked shocked, though Buffy seemed more upset and Angel more elated. "You really want to go there?" said Buffy.
"Well, as they say in the flicks, this town isn't big enough for two vampires with a soul. I need a place where I can whale on evil's ass without interference from Nancy Boy here."
"I couldn't agree more," said Angel sourly.
Buffy seemed to have gained her composure once again. "You're absolutely sure about this?"
"Pretty sure." Spike gave a small smile. "Besides I've always wanted to have a look at a bloke who's got the rocks to call himself the Batman…