"Too Close For Comfort" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email: ryleyunderscorebreenathotmaildotcom
(This is a sequel drabble/short to 'An Outrageous Return!')
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material that appears in this drabble/short. It belongs to their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this and do not plan to in the future.
Note: While I am sure that many of you hoped, prayed and performed live sacrifices to make sure that you had seen the last of this particular crossover your efforts have been in vain. While not one of my more addictive ideas fanfic-wise it is one that tends to flare up whenever I stumble across a fanfic that I think I'll enjoy at first but wind up despising because of its blatantly Buffy Bashing stance. I know that everyone has a right to their own opinion and that nothing I say/write will change the minds of those anti-Buffy people it still pisses me off when I read one of their fanfics. So while I doubt that this will ever evolve into a full fledged fanfic I will likely use it as my proverbial pressure valve whenever I read a fanfic with a hatchet job representation of Buffy in it. Trust me when I say that it's probably better this way than bottling it up and waiting for it to blow sky high when I'm writing one of my more important fanfics.
In any case it's time to get this show started…
Too Close For Comfort
Starlight Mansion/Slayer & Watcher Council New York Branch, 1:00a.m
Two Months After Premiering at The Bottom Line
"MAN! I never thought I'd see the day that doing anything other than slaying demons and vamps would wear a Slayer out like this!" Rona groaned as the band passed through the front door of the mansion, looking like bed was the ONLY destination.
"I hear ya! I thought they'd never let us leave." Buffy groaned as she closed the door behind the last of the potentials once the last of the gear was inside.
It'd been a rough night for them at their latest gig as J.A.T.H 2 but she was beginning to believe that they were getting the hang of being musicians. Over the course of the past two months they'd had no less than a dozen gigs with some being repeat performances at the same club. All in all it had been a new experience for everyone but it had earned some money, the use of which they were already beginning to see around the mansion. According to Xander, most of the work that had needed to be done to bring the place back up to spec was finished and all that was left was the custom additions needed for the Slayer side of things. Those additions, though, would be a little more expensive and take a little longer to put together than restoring the mansion had been. Still, it was progress and that was the one thing that kept her optimistic about how things would all turn out in the end. Looking around, she confirmed with the others that there was no one outside trying to peek inside and Willow confirmed that there were no eavesdropping devices present. Therefore it was time to drop the disguises so that the R&R could begin.
"Show's over, Synergy." She said after a gentle bit of pressure was exerted on her earrings to bring her connection to the state of the art machine from stand by to active.
With those words the holographic projections from the earrings faded turning Jenna, lead singer vocalist of the band, back into on Buffy Anne Summers. The others mimicked this using their own earrings, extras according to Synergy, changing from their stage personaes back to who they were. This had become the standard routine for them whenever they returned home or went somewhere after a performance. It was one of the most important rules that no one outside of Starlight Mansion or the core Scoobies could know who the members of J.A.T.H 2 really were. Giles had been a bit reluctant to keep such information from other more distant members of the new Council but she'd persuaded him by saying that a secret was best kept when the number of people who knew it was kept to a handful. After all that was one of the reasons for the band's existence, to allow four key members of the Council to move around unnoticed, and so steps had to be taken to minimize the chances of the truth coming out.
"Well I'm headed for the shower and then bed!" Dawn said as she headed towards the stairs, "See you guys in eight hours."
"Ditto. See you later Xan?" Rona asked with a small smile on her face.
"You know it." Xander said with an almost identical small smile on his face.
While her smile wasn't visible, she had to admit it was good that the two of them had finally gotten over the 'I like you but cannot come out and say it' phase. It had been a steady build up since their first performance but last week the two of them finally made a move and were nearly inseparable now. Fortunately, whether it was slayage or helping the band, being together was not a problem for those two so everything worked out alright in the end.
"I'm gonna go hand Giles the money from tonight's gig." She said as she kicked her shoes off, "He's probably in the mansion library alphabetizing his books still."
"Alright. See you tomorrow, Buffy." Willow said as she followed Rona upstairs most likely heading for bed as well.
Walking through the house, she could only grin at the lived in feeling that the place was finally starting to have. Prior to the arrival of some of the newbie Slayers, the place had been entirely too big for just the seven of them, leaving many areas unused save when they needed to fix something. Now that some neo-Slayers had moved in, the place was beginning to feel more like a home rather than just a vacant apartment building. Turning the final time, she pushed open the doors to the library to find her surrogate father doing precisely what she had predicted. It had been about an hour before they'd left to set up for their gig that Giles had told them he'd be in the library getting all the books in order. Considering that that was over six hours ago and she'd expected him to be almost done, it looked like he had stopped to read a few before putting them on the shelf. While some of the books had come from their collection in Sunnydale, others had been salvaged or taken from Watcher compounds overseas, so there were a few that the Brit probably hadn't read before.
"So how's the book shelving coming, Giles?" she asked as she walked up to the table her former Watcher was sitting behind.
"Oh! Um…quite well, actually. You've come back from your 'gig', I take it?" he asked, being somewhat startled by her arrival.
"Yep. Here's the money from tonight's performance." She said handing over the envelope of money the club's owner had given her.
Keeping with his role as official money manager of the new Council, the learned Brit took the envelope and, after taking a brief moment to count the money inside, placed it inside his coat pocket.
"So what does that bring us to now, Giles?" she asked as she sat down on the table in front of him, "I know me and the girls aren't exactly earning money hand over fist but it's been two months since we started this. Have we even made a dent in our money problems?"
"While we're not out of the woods yet, I must say that I am somewhat surprised at the amount of money you and the others have managed to earn performing." Giles replied sounding both surprised and a little annoyed, "Either the music business has become more profitable since I tried my hand at it or the gang and I back home were being royally ripped off."
"Heheheheh. Probably the former, Giles." She said with a bit of amusement over her man's words.
"In any case, with the restoration of the mansion completed and an amount set aside for day to day needs here, I believe that with the next 'gig' we can begin funneling money to Slayers and Watchers elsewhere." Rupert said, taking a moment to clean his glasses, "Still, if we wish to bring things back up to where they need to be, we're going to need to find a backer and soon. I've already received reports from several overseas Watchers that the demonic community is beginning to show signs of noticing our weakened state."
It had been one of the problems everyone had considered after Kennedy Gabor had yanked funding from the Council. With money stretched thin and getting reinforcements to the necessary areas being difficult at best, they had known that the demons would catch wind of things sooner or later. They had come up with and passed along some inventive ways of making the demons uncertain of their information concerning the status of the new Council but it wouldn't last long.
"Fortunately, though, we might have found a solution to that problem. While you and the others were out, I received a phone call from a Mr. Howard Sands, whom I believe Willow approached a week or so ago." Giles said keeping his voice neutral and thus his opinion, "He's interested in what she had to say but insists on meeting with you, Xander and Willow tomorrow afternoon to discuss things further."
"What? I mean I can understand him wanting to meet with Willow but why do me and Xander have to tag along?" she asked, a little puzzled by why some rich guy wanted to speak with her and Xan.
"Well, it might have something to do that with the fact that I entered you names in the official records as the primary representatives for the Wellness Foundation that is the public face of the new Council." Giles replied before putting his glasses back on, "When I began to search for the remaining assets of the old Council, I knew that it would be pointless to simply slip into their place and run things as they usually were. Too many of the key members of the old Council that knew how it worked were killed by the bomb the Bringers planted. Therefore I had to invent a brand new public face using what I knew of the old one as a template."
"But why name us as the head representatives? I am SO not representative material!" she protested since her memories of trying to coax money out of the Sunnydale bank after her mom died hadn't gone all that well even before the demon showed up.
"While I'll admit that you are somewhat lacking in some of the social graces, I was and still am confident that between the three of you you'll do fine." Giles said with the utmost confidence and reassurance, "Now, the appointment is at two in the afternoon at his home so I suggest you get some rest since I doubt it will make a positive first impression if you show up dead on your feet."
Seeing that he had all the bases covered and too tired to think up anything to counterattack, she sighed before nodding in acceptance of where she'd be and what she'd be doing in thirteen hours. Thus, with a goodnight hug to Giles, she exited the library and headed for her room where Mr. Gordo was waiting for her along with some much needed Z's.
&
On the Front Steps of the Home of Howard Sands, 1:55p.m
"Quit fidgeting Buffy! You look fine!" Willow whispered with annoyance at how her blonde friend was constantly readjusting her formal meeting outfit.
"I'm not fidgeting! It's just that this outfit is so confining." She said before trying her best to ignore her discomfort, "And it itches."
"Well just put up with it. We're about to have one of the most important meetings we'll probably have all year and blowing it is not an option." Willow said with full resolve face on.
Hearing footsteps approaching from the other side of the door, everyone gave the person closest to them a final look over to make sure nothing was out of place before putting their best business faces on. When the door opened, they were greeted by an elderly looking butler but, if one took the time to look him in the eye, they could easily see a sharpness of mind more suited to someone half his age.
"Hello Daniels. How are you today?" Willow asked, taking the lead role of the three person group.
"Quite well Ms. Rosenberg. I assume this is Ms. Summers and Mr. Harris?" Daniels asked with a reserved smile before looking at the blonde Slayer and the one eyed ex-carpenter.
"Yes. Xander's in charge of maintenance and construction for the Foundation and Buffy…is usually the one to meet with the families of potential students." Willow said stumbling a bit when it came to a description of what Buffy did.
"Very good. Mr. Sands is waiting for you in main living room. Follow me." Daniels said before turning and walking away.
Entering the mansion, she could see certain similarities to Starlight mansion but it was clear that while the former home of the Holograms had been top of the line back in the early nineteen nineties, Howard Sands' place had clearly been upgraded to fit with the times. Cutting edge entertainment system, security system and furniture that would probably require that they sell Starlight Mansion in order to get just one piece. All in all, she was overwhelmed by how the place just screamed 'money' and 'success' that she just walked along in awe following the person ahead of her. Eventually they arrived at the main living room and she got her first look at their potential backer. It was clear from the gray sliding into the sides of his head of hair that he was no longer the young man he once was but he still looked like he could do his job and do it well.
"Ms. Rosenberg! I'm glad you and your friends were able to make it." Sands said before gesturing for them to sit down across from him, "Is there anything I can have Daniels bring you? Food? A drink?"
"Well a Twinkie wouldn't be—" Xander began to say but a subtle elbow stopped him, "Nah. We're good Mr. Sands."
"Pastries it is then. Daniels?" Sands said smiling slightly at the exchange between the two obviously close friends.
"At once, sir." Daniels said before leaving the room to do as he had been bid.
Willow took a moment to glare at Xander before she re-schooled her features and turned back towards Mr. Sands.
"I was told by Mr. Giles that you had some more questions for us Mr. Sands. What would you like to know?" Willow asked in a professional tone of voice.
"Well first I'd like to know a little bit more about what your Foundation would do for these young girls." Sands replied getting down to business, "I know you said that your organization is aimed at aiding those girls with extraordinary potential in the areas of athletics or academics. What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Well, while there are numerous charities and organizations out here that deal in scholarships, they only see the ones that are brought to their attention. We believe that there are young women out there who have great potential but lack the means to make the most of it." Willow replied, sounding surprisingly professional, "Instead of waiting for these girls to come to our attention, we will be going out and looking for them."
"An interesting stance and reason enough why you would need significant funds. How would the parents of these girls be approached, Ms. Summers?" Sands asked, turning from Willow and looking right at the blonde Slayer.
"Well…I would begin by making it clear that it would be the young woman's choice first and foremost while, at the same time, taking the desires of the parents into account." She replied after a moment's hesitation, "We will attempt to persuade the parents with words at first as well as information packets about the Foundation and, as a last effort invite them to tour the nearest Foundation compound."
"And if that fails?" Sands asked, giving away nothing about what his current position on the matter was.
"We'll leave contact information in case they ever change their minds but, aside from that, we will respect their decision." She replied, oddly surprised at how easy this was coming to her.
"And if they change their minds after admitting their daughter?" Howard asked while stroking his chin.
"We will request that they explain their reasons but, if they refuse to answer, we will reluctantly concede to their decision. After all, if their reason for withdrawing their daughter is something the Foundation could help with, we would definitely want to learn more." She replied, carefully measuring her answers so there'd be no mistakes.
"Good. Now Mr. Harris, I assume that the facilities that the Foundation will employ will be nothing but the best?" Sands asked, now directing his attention to the one-eyed ex-carpenter.
"Yes they will. While I will not be handling everything live and in person, I will make sure that the Foundation's branches and homes will be durable and conducive to the reason the young ladies will be there." Xander replied, sounding a little more informal than his blonde and redheaded friends had been, "I plan on making a point of inspecting every facility I come within a days drive of and making sure that they're kept up to my standards."
"And those standards would be?" Mr. Sands asked with interest.
"That each building be built to last at least ten years with precautions in place to deal with any natural or unnatural phenomenon that might do some damage." Xander replied with conviction, "Each compound will also have its own fully stocked infirmary just in case something happens that can't wait for an ambulance to arrive. I'd want for each building to be as safe and productive as possible."
"A good conviction to have. How many facilities and compounds to you have at the moment?" Howard asked as he got to the crucial parts for any financial backer.
"At present we have roughly four main facilities in most of the major countries with one or two smaller branches in the smaller and less populated countries." Willow replied drawing on her computer like brain for the answers, "So in total we're probably looking at forty to forty-five main facilities with twenty smaller ones."
"Not very large but also modest, considering the task you've set out for yourselves." Sands said looking like he was right on the fence as far as which way he'd go with his decision, "Tell you what! I'm holding a dinner party for a few of my friends and business partners this weekend. Send me a fair sampling of the sort of talented young women that you seek to help with your Foundation and I'll let that be the deciding vote. Sound fair?"
"Yes it does, Mr. Sands." Willow replied with an encouraged smile, "How soon should we let you know who we're sending?"
"Oh, no need to make things that strict! Just call ahead before they leave and I'll make sure to inform Daniels to let them in." Sands said sounding like he preferred a more informal way of handling things.
"Consider it done, Mr. Sands." Willow said extending her hand for a shake.
"Very well, then. Please stay at least for a small snack before you go." Mr. Sands said as Daniels came in with pastries and drinks, "I'd be a poor host if I let you leave without something to eat and drink."
Both she and Willow looked at Xander, knowing full well that all the young man was waiting for was their permission before descending on the array of pastries with a vengeance. Deciding that if Mr. Sands was offering and it was only a snack, then they cold let themselves slip out of their representative roles for a little while.
"We'd be glad to, Mr. Sands" Willow said before as one the three core founding members of the Scooby gang walked over to the array of fatty pastries to see if anything struck their fancy.
&
Two Hours Later, Starlight Mansion aka New Watcher's Council NYC Branch
"So who're we going to send?" Xander asked as the core Scoobies plus some of the more experience neo-Slayers sat around the kitchen table.
"A difficult decision considering how much it will affect our future." Giles said sipping on his cup of tea, "First impressions are everything as you know. While my first choice would be to send some of the newly called Slayers who've arrived recently, most of them only have a loose grip on the English language. While this might be helpful as it will show how truly international the Wellness Foundation is, it could also make things somewhat unclear if the girls couldn't clearly state their answers."
It was a nasty side-effect of being forced to squeeze neo-Slayers into as few branches of the Council as possible in order to reduce costs as best they could. Many of the girls were forced to leave the areas where they'd grown up and while the majority could stay in areas that spoke the same language as them others weren't so lucky. Some of the Slayers they'd found had been homeless and looked like they needed a more extensive portion of help than the field offices could provide at the moment. Therefore it had been decided that they'd come here, to where the core of the Council resided, in order to ensure they got that help. Like Giles had stated, many of them only had a loose command of the English language, based mostly on movies and TV dialogue, and it could lead to misinterpretations and the like when questioned at the party.
There were a few girls outside of this core group who could speak clear English but those were usually the more experienced ones who'd need to stay close to HQ. They were the ones who knew enough foreign languages that they were able to communicate with the rest of the girls who spoke poor English. They were the heads of the patrol groups that were scheduled to make passes at the local cemeteries the night of the party at Mr. Sands' place, so they were unavailable. While some might say they could simply pull the girls in question off field command duty, Giles didn't think it'd be a good idea making last minute changes like that. Many of the girls who went on patrol with the field commanders were comfortable with their commanders and a substitute could lead to problems in the field.
"Why can't you core 'Scoobies' go?" Asked Britney, an experienced neo-Slayer from Texas, "You guys are pretty much the head honchoes of the new Council, right?"
"Yes, Britney, but the whole purpose of the sending of girls to the party is to show Mr. Sands and his guests the sort of young women that will be living in our facilities." Giles replied professionally as he put his cup down onto its saucer, "While Dawn and Rona would be new faces, it could be construed as an attempt at deception if Buffy or Willow were to show up. At most, we could only Willow along with the group of girls as a sort of chaperone or information source in case Mr. Sands had further technical questions about the Wellness Foundation."
It made just about everyone get a small headache as they tried to deal with the PR problem they had been handed. Most of them were used to the slayage side of things but were completely new to the whole office politics side of things and the things that were necessary to keep the Council functioning behind the scenes. There was the public face they had to provide to potential backers like Mr. Sands and then there were the negotiations they had to do with foreign governments in order to bypass the red tape. Then, of course, came the slayage equipment that they were determined to upgrade way past what had been standard issue during the reign of Quinten Travers. Unlike that bastard, they were determined that the Slayers under their version of the Council would be fully equipped to handle the threats they fought. Not only the old fifteenth century methods would be used but also some more modern ideas that Willow and Xander had been cooking up in their spare time. They were still a long way from incorporating firearms into their weapons lockers or James Bond like doo-dads, but Giles would often respond to their ideas as 'quite innovative' so they couldn't have been too bad.
"Hey! What if we send J.A.T.H 2 over?!" Dawn exclaimed as a light bulb came on in her head.
Rona and Xander looked like they'd back the idea but a pair of stern looks from both Willow as well as Giles put an immediate damper on things.
"While I can understand how that might look to be a promising idea, we must keep in mind that it is important that the band remain low profile." Giles stated as though he'd been preparing for a situation like this for a while now, "J.A.T.H 2 is, after all, primarily a means of core Council members to travel from place to place undetected as well as a source of income until we acquire a financial backer. Having them show up at a gathering such as this would only raise public interest in them and, should they perform there, any hope of maintaining a low profile would become extremely difficult."
"Not if they go in formal wear." Britney said, determined to get Dawn's idea accepted, "After all, there are certain things that rock bands just don't wear at a gig and if they tone down the make-up a bit, no one except Mr. Sands and them will know they're musicians. After all, what are the chances that anyone at this party will recognize them from The Bottom Line or the other clubs?"
"She's got a point, Giles. Aside from a few pieces of arm candy, the people at the part are probably going to be old people who probably think Jackie Brenston is still cool." Xander said, throwing his weight behind the brunette Texan and Dawn-patrol, "Plus what're the odds that they'll have instruments to play at this party? Sands couldn't expect Jenna and company to get up and perform if there was nothing for them to play."
"So you see? This is a perfect way of putting our best foot forward." Dawn said with a smile at how she had supporters for her idea, "This way Willow and Buffy can control things all the way through without anyone being the wiser."
It was quite easy to tell that Giles had gone from opposing the idea to actually considering it as an option. Quite an achievement all things considered but still far from permission granted and aide given. One more person would have to step forward in support of the idea before the Brit Watcher would cave in.
"I suppose it'd be okay Giles. After all without instruments or band outfits we should blend in pretty good with everyone else at the party." Buffy said figuring that a little sisterly solidarity was needed, "Even if there are reporters there what're the chances of them snapping a picture of us or showing up on our doorstep if they do?"
Seeing that he was being completely outmaneuvered Giles had no choice but to cave.
"Very well. However please do your best to remain on task during the party and not attract any unnecessary attention." Giles said knowing that this was one battle he had lost to his surrogate children.
"Of course, Giles!" the girls said as one.
A sign of impending doom if ever there was one.
&
The Estate of Howard Sands, Three Days Later
"Well this isn't exactly what I expected." Buffy aka Jenna said as they looked about the backyard of the estate, "Do you think we're a tad overdressed?"
It was a perfectly justifiable question considering that everyone else was either in bathing suits jumping into the large pool or clothes that rich people would consider laid back or casual wear. When they had come to the party they'd assumed it'd be mostly business people and big time players in the music industry that'd be attending. As such they had dressed in semi-formal wear like the type you'd see movie stars and musicians wear to press conferences or interviews. Needless to say they stood out a bit and despite the fact that they all subconsciously did their best to remain calm and casual they soon turned a few heads as they made their way across to where they could see Howard Sands. As they walked through the crowds they did their best to be polite to the other guests and interacted as needed but always with the goal of getting to Mr. Sands. While it might be fun to mingle with the other party-goers they knew they had to get their primary mission accomplished before any fun could be had.
As more of the crowd cleared they could see a teenage girl standing close to their potential backer and hoped that she wasn't his date otherwise they would have to seriously re-evaluate their opinion of the man. They certainly didn't act like a couple or even a man and his bimbo but that could just mean that they were smart enough to keep it behind close doors. In any case it didn't take them long to be noticed by the man and immediately he put on his best friendly businessman face.
"Ms. Lang, I presume?" Howard Sands asked as he held out his hand to her.
"Yes Mr. Sands but please call me Jenna." She said wanting to keep the discussion in keeping with the informal theme of the party.
"Only if you call me Howard." Howard said with some humor in his voice.
"Sure thing, George." Jenna said smiling with equal humor, "Let me introduce you to the rest of my little group. First we have my sister, Sinder Lang, next is Shala Ellis, then Ana Livingston and I'm sure you remember Xander from earlier. Ms. Summers sent him along as chaperone but personally I think he's just here for the food."
"Hey! I'll have you know that I'll be watching you ladies like a hawk all night to make sure you don't get into any trouble." Xander replied with mock indignation before smiling, "Besides, it can't hurt to find out how the other half eat right?"
"Not at all, Xander. Please feel free to eat your fill." Howard said with a permissive tone, "There's plenty to go around. Now, how about you ladies tell me about yourselves."
As the others began to go through the prepared biographies that had been drawn up for their band identities she couldn't help but notice the odd scrutiny that the teenage redhead standing close to Mr. Sands was giving them. It wasn't a suspicious look like the girl thought that they were up to something but rather like someone who wanted to know where they had seen someone before and wanted to know badly. The blonde Slayer did her best to think back on the last few months to see if they had indeed met the girl before but so far nothing came to mind. However as Fate would have it the girl suddenly had a look of recognition pop onto her face implying that the elder Summers girl would soon have her answer.
"You guys are J.A.T.H 2!!" The teenage girl exclaimed with excitement and perhaps a little bit of fan admiration in her voice.
None of those present thought of this as a good turn of events.
"Well… yes we are." She said, not knowing what could be gained by claiming the girl was mistaken, "Have we met before?"
"No but I've been to almost every club you've played at since The Bottom Line!" the teenage girl replied almost bouncing with excitement, "You guys are GREAT!"
"Well it seems my niece knows more about you than I do, Jenna." Howard said with a bit of chuckling at the antics of his redheaded niece, "So you four are a band?"
"Yes. As Willow might have told you, up until a couple of months ago the Wellness Foundations main backer was the Gabor family." Shala explained while watching herself to make sure she didn't sound too much like her real self, "But their representative began to go past what she was supposed to be doing so we tried to remind her that she was just there to make sure things went smoothly between the Foundation and the Gabors. She didn't take it well and convinced her family to pull all funding.
"So while the Foundation is far from bankrupt, George, we needed some way to make ends meet, even if it was just with the NYC branch." She said, trying to keep them all from sounding like they were on welfare or something equally bad, "So me and the girls decided to put our musical talents to good use by performing at the local clubs."
"Well, I can't say I'm surprised that the Gabor family pulled their funding after you put your foot down to one of them. Harvey has always had a problem putting his foot down when it comes to the women in his family and it sounds like things haven't improved since his daughter, Phyllis, was in the music business." Howard said with genuine dislike of the Gabor family in his voice, "Still, it's admirable that you're willing to go so far to help the Foundation and that you're willing to stand by your morals. Not many people in the music business these days have that kind of integrity in them."
For a moment silence reigned between the millionaire music mogul and the representatives of the Wellness Foundation aka the New Watcher's Council. However a look of commitment came over Howard's face and a determination to see something through no matter what.
"Well I've made my decision. You can tell Ms. Summers and Ms. Rosenberg that they can count on my financial backing of the Wellness Foundation." Howard stated with his dedication to that decision clear in his voice, "I'll get my lawyers to begin drawing up the contract first thing in the morning and you can expect to have it delivered within the week."
Everyone, from her to Xander, was surprised at this sudden decision since they had all come here, expecting that they'd have to spend most of the night talking to the man before he'd make a decision about whether or not to back the Foundation. To hear him say he'd sign on with them after just a few minutes of talking was completely unexpected. Their surprise must have been quite evident on their faces since both himself and his niece laughed a bit at the looks on their faces. Eventually, though, Howard's face took on the look of a true businessman as well as a caring person.
"Don't look so surprised. I've already made some inquiries about the Foundation and I am convinced that you genuinely mean to help these gifted girls. Add to that the choice you made not to be blackmailed into becoming just another puppet of the Gabor family and you pretty much had my support right then and there." Howard said before his caring nature took control from his business savvy, "The fact that my niece Alice is a fan of yours was just the icing on the cake."
"Thank you, Howard! I promise you that the Wellness Foundation won't make you regret this!" she said with a great amount of gratitude as she took his hand with both of hers and shook it excitedly.
"I'm sure you won't, Jenna." Howard said extracting his hand and rubbing it a bit to recover from the strong grip the young woman had.
"Can you guys sing one of your songs? Pllleeeaasseeeee!!" Alice asked, looking like she'd beg them for however long it took to get them to say yes.
"I wish we could, Alice, but seeing as how we left all our gear back home. Sorry." She said hoping that the lack of equipment would put a stop to a potential problem right then and there.
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem. I already have speakers set up to play music and I have a private studio in my house with some instruments." Howard said sounding like he was interested in hearing the band play that had his niece so excited, "It'd take a few minutes to get everything set up, but it's doable."
With this bit of news the difficulty of avoiding a performance became that much harder but they still made an effort to squeeze out of it.
"Are you sure your other guests won't mind?" Shala, aka Willow, asked, using the only other card they had to play, "I know not everyone likes the kind of music we play."
"Don't worry. Some of us might look like boring old men but we still know good music when we hear it." Howard said with a smile at his bit of self-depreciating humor, "After all, none of us would still be in business if we didn't know how to keep an open mind when it comes to the musical tastes of the people."
With their final neutral card trumped she could tell that the others were thinking the same thing as her at that moment. There was no way that they could slink out of this without offending the very man who'd just agreed to save them financially and his niece. They couldn't play the sick card since all through the discussion none of them had been acting the least bit ill so that made the 'I do not feel so well' excuse lacking in credibility. It'd be a one in a million chance that someone would call them on the phone in the next five seconds telling them they were needed back at the mansion and she couldn't use Synergy to cause a distraction since she didn't know how that might affect things.
In the end they had no choice but to get ready to put on an unanticipated performance.
Giles was going to kill them!
&
Fifteen Minutes Later,
A Position in the Crowd Gathered Around a Hastily Constructed Stage
Looks like Lady Luck is smiling on me tonight! Lin-Z thought as she watched four very recognizable ladies take their positions behind instruments that had been moved up there five minutes earlier.
She had originally been invited along with several other influential people in the music industry as gathering meant to allow for collaborations to be born as well as friendly interaction. For her, though, she had come with the intention of investigating the rumor she'd heard that Howard Sands was considering resurrecting the old Battle of the Bands event that had launched the careers of several musicians. While the original one back in eighty-five had lasted for five years, occurring on an annual basis, it hadn't been done since and so it was big news if the rumors were true. Personally, she thought it was a great idea to give undiscovered talent a chance to perform at such a high profile event since the only thing many of those musicians lacked was a real chance to show what they could do. She had been putting together a way to corner Sands when his niece wasn't around when she'd first noticed activity over where the large speakers had been playing background music for the party. For a moment she thought that Sands might be preparing to make some sort of big announcement but that had been shot down when things more associated with a band's performance made their way on stage. It hadn't been until she'd noticed the group of four young women standing close to the stage that she'd caught on to what was really going on.
Ever since her friend Video had told her about the undiscovered band playing at The Bottom Line, she'd been trying to find out more about them. After all, if they played half as good as the music video director claimed, then they had to have performed somewhere before. However, no matter what club or what recording company she contacted, none of them had ever heard of J.A.T.H 2 or anyone matching their description.
This had been something of a mystery for her and, much like a news journalist, she didn't like mysteries or unanswered questions. For the past two months she tried to either catch one of their performances or find out where they lived but her boss at the TV station always made sure she had something else to do. To suddenly come across them was a stroke of good luck, especially since she'd had the foresight to bring one of the best digital cameras money could buy with her to the party. It had been her intention to use it to catch confirmation of the rumor on tape from Howard Sands himself but now she had a much bigger story to catch with it. As she saw Howard Sands walk to the center of the stage, presumably to introduce the band, she got the camera ready and made sure it had plenty of battery time as well as storage space.
"Well everyone, I know this is something you didn't see coming but then that's the mark of a good businessman, right? To show people something they didn't know they wanted?" Howard Sands asked, addressing everyone as though they were all good friends, "Well, in a stroke of good luck I have something that I think you'll enjoy more than just some songs that you've probably already heard to death on the radio. These young ladies have only recently stepped on the path of set down by musicians past but I think you'll find that they have it in them to redefine the music industry like few bands before them. I present to you…J.A.T.H 2!!"
With that music began to fill the air that held both a sense of familiarity and newness that was an oddly pleasing mix. However it was when she captured the first words from the band that she realized that Sands hadn't been exaggerating the potential on that stage.
"Ooh, ooh, mood I'm in! Ooh, ooh, mood I'm in!" Chanted the band behind the lead vocalist.
"I can be whoever I want to, anyone at all." The lead singer sang moving across the stage with unrivaled grace, "I can strut, when I want to strut, Or hide behind a parasol!"
It was with these opening lyrics that she immediately identified the song as one of the hits first produced by Jem and the Holograms years ago. She knew that there'd probably be some trouble in the future for this band, considering the songs were probably copyrighted or trademarked by someone, but she wasn't too worried. According to her memories, Kimber Benton had been the main songwriter for the Holograms and most of the rights to the music were probably owned by her. However, while there had been no official statement that the backup vocalist was dead, there was also not a single scrap of information indicating that she was still alive either. She had dropped almost completely out of sight a little over ten years ago and not even her friends in the news business had been able to find where she was at present.
"It all depends on the mood I'm wearin', It all depends on the mood I'm in." the Vocalist, known as Jenna, sang turning to walk towards the other end of the stage, "I can be beautiful, or truly outrageous, it all depends on the mood I'm in!"
"Ooh, ooh, mood I'm in! Ooh, ooh, mood I'm in!" chanted the backup vocalists, Sinder and Shala, from their positions behind the keyboard synthesizer and drums.
So, while there was the possibility that Kimber might put up a legal stink about the Holograms songs being sung by another band without permission, it was a slim possibility. As for the other Holograms, it would be interesting to see their reactions to the band on stage, especially since her keen eyes could see some similarities between the musicians of J.A.T.H 2 and the Holograms. It wasn't obvious but there were definitely a striking resemblance present, making her wonder if they might be related in some way. Estimating the ages of the young ladies on stage to be around twenty-three years old, so the possibility of them being the daughters of the Holograms were nil. Younger siblings perhaps? There was no record of any of the Holgrams having younger siblings aside from Kimber and Jerrica Benton, but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't still a possibility. The number of long lost sisters/brothers/etc showing up all the time elsewhere in the entertainment industry was proof enough of that.
"Off I go in search of adventure, anytime I chose! I wear heels, if that's how it feels!" Jenna sang before resuming a positing center stage, "Or else I wear my blue suede shoes!"
Regardless of who they were related to or whose songs they sung, it was clear to her ears that these girls had some definite talent that definitely needed to be heard. However it'd be tough to sell it to the movers and shakers at the TV station, especially with only a single performance caught on digital camera. Even with the piece of tech being state of the art and the newest model available to the public, it wasn't the same as having an official news camera or microphone present to capture everything. She supposed she could try to have one of the tech guys go over it and try and clean it up a bit more but they had limits on how much they could do. Still, if she called in some markers and perhaps agreed to concede one or two things when her contract renewal came up, she just might be able to get this on the air.
"It all depends on the mood I'm wearin', it all depends on the mood I'm in!" Jenna said as she prepared to wrap up the song with a flourish, "I can be beautiful, or truly outrageous, it all depends on the mood I'm in!"
"It all depends (On the mood I'm in!)" sang both Jenna and her fellow musicians.
With the conclusion of the song, there wasn't a still hand in the entire audience because everyone was showing their appreciation for the performance they had just seen. If her hands hadn't been busy catching everything on her digital camera, she would have been clapping as well because it truly was a magnificent performance. Shutting down and closing up the camera so it wasn't spotted by the ladies on stage, she decided to slip out of the party early and get back to the office. She had a show to do tomorrow and it'd probably take her every minute until then to grease the wheels with the higher ups and have the tech people spruce up the footage.
One way or another, her show would definitely make waves tomorrow.
&
Tomorrow Afternoon,
Starlight Mansion aka NYC Branch of the New Watcher's Council, Living Room
"Well, looks like our money troubles are over." Xander said from his position on the floor in front of the TV, a bowl of over sugared snacks with him, "With this Sands guy signing on, we can get back to worrying about the usual things like the demon of the week and the spring-summer apocalypse."
"You gotta wonder about us when we consider things like killer demons and the end of the world normal." Rona said from her position on the couch behind him, "Still, it'll be nice to not have to get on stage so often. I mean, with Mr. Sands footing the bill we don't have to perform unless we have to get somewhere all stealthy-like."
"It'll definitely mean fewer performances, but we won't be able to stop completely or even just limit things to sneaking into towns." Willow said from her laptop computer next to the coffee table, "The band is what got Mr. Sands to sign on even if he won't admit it, so it'd probably be trouble if we just let the whole thing fade away by the end of the month."
"True but, personally, I've been having a blast on stage." Buffy said in her sweats on the couch, "Even if we never make it to the big time, I'm still living a childhood dream of mine. Do you think if we could've, that we'd be good enough to hit the big time?"
Rona was about to answer but, when the sound of running elephant feet filled the air, she stopped right then and there. Looking towards the entrance to the living room, they were a little concerned when Dawn came in with a look of anxiety on her face.
"I don't think we'll have to wait long to find out!" Dawn exclaimed, confirming that she'd heard the last exchange of words, "Check this out!"
With a bit more aggression than needed, she pried the TV remote out of her sister's hands she immediately changed the channel to a local station.
The reason for this became blatantly obvious when they saw what was being shown on the TV.
It was them!
Or, rather, it was J.A.T.H 2 on the TV screen with the footage clearly having been recorded last night at George Sands' party.
"What the fuckin' hell!?" Buffy exclaimed in both surprise and a little anger.
"I know! I've been watching Lin-Z TV for the last couple of weeks being all nostalgic about how we were following in the Holograms' footsteps." Dawn explained as their TV selves continued to sing on the TV, "I was just watching the latest music video when Lin-Z started talking about an up and coming band then this came on!"
"She was at the party! She was at the party and taped us!" Willow said with growing worry about how this would affect their lives, "Either that or someone she knows did it but either way we're in trouble!"
"No kidding! This is one of the most popular shows on TV." Rona said showing significant concern but keeping herself from freaking out entirely, "We're going to be nationwide news thanks to this!"
"Now let's not jump to conclusions here." Xander said, trying to remain calm and objective as well as pass those traits onto the others, "The footage isn't great and aside from a few clubs, no one else has seen you girls play. There's reason to believe that this won't end right here with this one showing. I mean tons of bands try to make it to the big leagues and ninety percent of them don't make it at all. What're the chances we'll be the ones to beat the odds?"
&
Miami, Florida
Local High School, Girls Locker Room
It had been a good training session for the high schools female basketball team and, seeing how well they were coming together, she couldn't help but feel some pride. While she'd always have a team, it was tough to see girls she'd coached move on once they graduated. Fortunately she'd always have a new group to get to know and mould into a winning team so any sadness she felt seeing the old team leave didn't last long. With the current roster, she knew they'd stand a good chance of winning the state championships and then maybe move onto the nationals if they played their cards right. It'd been awhile since the school could say that it had a national championship team, much less one composed entirely of girls, but it'd be good for everyone if they could do it.
Walking out of her office, she was curious at the sight of some of her best players all grouped around a portable TV at the far end of the locker room. While Nancy occasionally brought one with her to practice, none of the others had been especially interested in looking over the girls shoulder to watch as well. Interested in finding out what was so entertaining, she walked towards them and soon began to hear something that struck a chord within her. At first it was nothing she could identify but, as she drew closer and the voices that accompanied the music became louder, the difficulty vanished. It wasn't until she was right behind them though allowing her to look over their shoulders that the real bomb hit. There on the screen was an amateur video of a band performance with the girls featured in it looking disturbingly familiar.
Familiar in that if it had been fourteen years ago that it would have been her playing the guitar and doing backup vocals.
How is this possible? Aja Leith thought with confusion as she watched the amateur music video come to a close.
It wasn't the song itself that bothered her because she had heard more than her fair share of bands sing their songs. No, it was the resemblance that existed between the young women on stage and the Holograms of old. Certain facial features were unmistakable and if those weren't Jemstar earrings they were wearing, she'd eat the sweaty socks of her entire team. What that implied went against everything she could remember. Synergy had been destroyed completely and, despite everything she'd tried in the aftermath, she'd been unable to restore the hologram generating computer.
Whatever's going on, I gotta let the others know! She thought as she ran back into her office and took out her address book in search of two important phone numbers.
&
A Mansion outside of Washington D.C
"What is this?" Breathed a man who had been retired from the music business for years.
Walking towards the plasma screen TV in his luxurious lounge wearing only a bathrobe, he tried to tell if his eyes were indeed playing tricks on him. On the TV screen, singing one of the songs he listened to in private whenever he wanted to remember the old days, was what looked to be a ghost from his past. It had been years since he'd seen a face even close to the one before him and the resemblance to the perfect woman he'd pursued years earlier was uncanny. He knew not where this young woman came from and yet her face stirred within him an old pain that hurt him greatly on the sorrow filled day. Despite her constant rejection, he had never once ceased to desire her and when news came of her disappearance following the death of the Benton woman, he spent a small fortune looking for her. With every day that passed with no results, he tried to imagine the pain she must have been feeling and how it had caused her to vanish without a trace. While he had never had a similar relationship with Eric Raymond, he could see how his lost love could have felt truly grief ridden at the loss of her longtime friend.
Now, out of the blue, this young lady appeared and while her age denied her the title of daughter to his former infatuation it still stirred something within him. Now he was no longer content to just enjoy the wealth he had acquired during his music career but, rather, he wanted to find out just who J.A.T.H 2's members were, especially their lead vocalist.
"Something catch your interest, husband?" Came the voice of his wife as she slinked into the room with only a bed sheet to cover her still breathtaking body.
"Indeed it has, Rapture." Replied the man formerly known as Riot of The Stingers, "Indeed it has."
&
The Gabor Mansion, Outside of NYC
"What the hell is Xander doing there!?" Kennedy Gabor asked with both anger and shock as she watched the video play out on TV.
It had been months since she had left those nobodies behind and begun making preparations to form her own Council with herself as the overall queen. It had been a major pain trying to put the right spin on things to get Auntie Pizzazz to fund her idea but, thankfully, the thrall spell she'd dug out of that slut Willow's magic books had done the trick in the end. With the spell in place, the old hag only had to actually consider doing as she asked to get the spell to activate, thus pushing her the rest of the way to agreement. She was already in the process of getting all the guns and weapons they'd need but since they were getting them on the black market, it'd take a few more weeks before they'd arrive. Until then, she'd have to keep the sheep she'd lured away from that old fossil Giles and that bitch Buffy Summers happy in order to ensure their obedience. She had been completely confident when she'd walked out of the Cleveland HQ of the 'New Council' that it'd only be a matter of weeks before the rest of the girls there wised up. After all, why have to live at a level barely above poverty when you could enjoy the best that money could buy.
However, while there had been a few newcomers begging for a place in her new regime, it hadn't been the number she'd predicted. It has puzzled her many a time but she'd just written it off as a sign of some pathetic last minute effort by the Bitch to hold onto her position is Queen of Slayers. Now, though, it could be something much worse and much more threatening to her overall plan, especially if those losers managed to get the backing of Sands. She'd heard tales from her Aunt about how the man had played favorites back when the Misfits were still something to be proud of in the music business. If the asshole did pull the fossil and the bitch out of their financial woes, no more newbie Slayers would come to her begging to be allowed to bask in her glory.
This had to be stopped.
NOW!
And, thanks to her thoughts revolving around Auntie Pizzazz, she knew just how to go about it.
&
Chicago, Illinois
The Kitchen of Your Typical Middle Class American Family
"Chrissie! Turn off the TV and do your homework!" Jessica Ryan yelled to her eleven year old daughter from the kitchen.
"Just a couple more minutes mom! I want to see the rest of Lin-Z's show!!" Her daughter Chrissie yelled back from the living room.
It was a typical discussion that happened at least twice a week with her oldest daughter and, while she could eventually get the little lady to do her homework like she'd been told, it only happened after she walked into the room and physically turned off the TV. Despite her desire for her daughter to get a good education, she was still pleased to see her little darling taking an interest in music. All the recitals and school plays clearly showed that the little black haired girl had inherited her talent in that area, making her little star a joy to listen to. However, she was going to make sure that her daughter put her education first and her love for music second one way or the other. Despite it being over ten years later, the music industry still caused a painful throb in her heart and she'd be damned before she let music take something else from her.
It was as she was finishing washing the last of the dishes though that the painful throb turned into a jabbing pain as music from long ago filled the air. Gripping denial tightly with both hands, she briskly walked into the living room to look for proof that her ears were deceiving her. However that was not to be because there being played on the show of an old friend was a sight that caused her body to start to tremble. The instruments, the looks and the music were all so familiar with each one of them causing the ghost pain within her to get stronger and stronger.
It couldn't be!
She destroyed that accursed machine!
Synergy was DEAD!
DEAD!
Dead like her sister had been for over a decade.
Jessica Ryan, formerly known as Kimber Benton, could only watch in horror and anger as her past came back to haunt her.
What was she supposed to do now?