"A Snowflake in the Wind" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email: ryleyunderscorebreenathotmaildotcom
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. They are the rightful property of their individual creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this whatsoever. I write for my own personal enjoyment and whatever enjoyment the readers experience reading my work.
Note: This drabble/short will occur after Season 3 of BtVS and continue partially into Season 4 of the series. As for where it would reside in the Marvel multi-verse I'd put it a little while before the second X-Men Movie. I know that the actor that was chosen to play Colossus in the movie doesn't really resemble Xander at all but I'm sure you all have good enough imaginations to remove that actor and input Xander.
Also I have decided to take Jack O'Toole's references to who hired him and make his employer someone else rather than let it be Mayor Wilkins. See if you can guess who.
A Snowflake in the Wind
Sunnydale, California
Three Days Following Graduation Day at Sunnydale High School
Outside the Harris Home
The time has finally come for me to dump this place and move on. Xander thought as he continued to pack the essentials into the back of the car that he'd gotten from his Uncle Rory, With me and Faith both pitching in what we can, we'll have out own apartment when he get back to Sunnydale.
For him, this road trip he was taking with Faith was the sweetest sundae ever and the fact that they'd be living together when they got back was the cherry on top. As for never having to listen to his parents again or do all the chores they can't do because they're too drunk to stand up? That was the hot fudge dripping off of the ice cream portion of the sundae. For the longest time he thought he'd never escape his parents, that somehow, even when he turned eighteen, they'd find a way to keep their claws in him, but as of today he was officially free. By turning eighteen he was no longer legally obligated to live with his parents or any other adults older than himself. From here on out it was up to him alone to come up with the means of supporting himself and while it wouldn't be easy the load would definitely be lighter with Faith rooming with him.
Of course it didn't hurt that they'd officially been dating since about a week after his powers kicked in. Oh, she didn't say it straight out but, to the Scoobies, she couldn't have been more obvious with how she felt towards him if she tried. It was one of the reasons they were going on this road trip together: to get to know one another and nurture their relationship into something approaching potentially marital. Oh, it wouldn't be so fast paced that they'd be setting a date for the wedding when they got back, but it'd definitely be the perfect set up for moving in together. Perhaps if things went as well as he'd hoped, they would he'd work up the courage to try and get an engagement ring of some kind or just something to show her how serious he was about the two of them. He wasn't going to let something this good get away from him if he could help it!
Slamming down the lid of the trunk, he prepared to head over to the motel that Faith had been staying at since she staked Kakistos. He'd been seriously miffed at the quality of the motel, it looked like a place where drug addicts lived, but the dark Slayer insisted she didn't want charity from anyone. No matter how many times or how many different ways the Scoobies tried to persuade Faith to move in with either Giles or Buffy, the woman just wouldn't give in. It was Slayer pride, he guessed. They were stubborn beyond all belief when they thought they were right and only gave it if they had no other choice but to do so. Fortunately, though, the combination of their growing relationship and the fact that she'd be chipping in for the cost of the apartment was enough to get her to agree to leave the motel room. Still, he'd do anything he could to keep her from going back on that course of action, even if it meant calling in every favor he was owed and making an under the table deal. Despite what Buffy and the others thought, there were a few people in Sunnydale that actually knew what really went on at night and appreciated what they did. While not all of them owned a business or anything, he was certain there were at least one or two he could persuade to hire Faith on. He'd, of course, stress to them not to let on that he'd had anything to do with her getting the job and if she did find out…well…that was another reason to be glad he could turn into Metal Man.
It's a corny name but I just can't think of another one that sounds better. He thought as he recalled the days of daydreaming when he'd tried to think up a cool codename for himself.
"So you're finally haulin' your good for nothin' ass outta here, huh?" came the slurred words belonging to one Anthony Harris, "GOOD! I'm sick of always havin' to waste my hard earned money supporting a go-nowhere-be-nobody kid like you!"
"Hard earned money, eh? Somehow I doubt sitting on your ass and being asleep half the time at work counts as hard work, Tony." He said, not wanting to give the asshole the satisfaction of seeing how pissed his was right then, "The only reason you probably still have a job is because Mr. Danza down at the liquor store is bribing your boss to keep you on or something. Pity and charity are about the only reasons why anyone would put up with a drunken asshole like you."
"WHY YOU NO GOOD DAMN RUSSKIE!!" Tony Harris exclaimed with his face turning an interesting shade of purple in the process, "I SHOULDA NEVER MADE THAT DAMN PROMISE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"
"What?" he asked wondering if his father had finally knocked back one too many beers.
"You heard me! Since you're no longer my problem, I don't have to keep my mouth shut anymore!" Tony said sounding like he was going to enjoy what came next, "Fifteen years ago I was an agent with the C.I.A doing field work over in Russia and wound up tripping over your real bastard of a father! The commie ruined the entire operation and had the nerve to make me promise to take care of his kids for him in America! The fool that I was, I did what he wanted! I was on the fast track and then, cause of that, I got dismissed from the Agency! But I told myself it'd be worth it! What a LOAD of CRAP that was!!"
"Kids?" Was the only thing he could get his lips to say given the shock screaming throughout his system.
"I shoulda put a slug right between that deadbeat farmer's eyes the second I laid eyes on him! Him and that Bitch of a wife of his!" Tony continued to rant before turning around to head back into the house, "Instead I had to be the 'nice guy'! I had to do 'the right thing'! SonuvaBITCH!"
With that last word Tony Harris entered the house and slammed the door behind him with enough force to rattle the hinges quite a bit. For one Xander Harris, though, he was pretty much staring off into space trying to cope with what he'd been told as well as whether or not to believe a word of it. It seemed so far fetched especially when he tried to picture THE Tony Harris as a C.I.A spook. However, he supposed if you took eighteen years off of him, got rid of the booze and actually whipped him into shape, he could fit the bill. Add to that the fact that the bastard tended to be bluntly honest whenever he was throwing a fit like this and the odds of his words being true went up. However, there were just so many things he wanted to know and ask about that he knew he wouldn't be able to as long as Tony was the source of information.
It was then that the gods took mercy on him as the door opened up to reveal his mother walking out in her bathrobe with a manila envelope in her hands. Her hair was a mess and he could tell she was coping with a hangover from the way she was squinting thanks to the sunlight. While not as bad as Tony was when it came to the abuse, she completely outdid herself in the 'stand-by-and-do-nothing' qualification for worst parent of the year award. All it would have taken was a single call to the authorities and charging her asshole of a husband with assault and battery, among other things, to make their lives better. Instead she just drowned herself in booze and acted as though it didn't concern her one bit. Still, the fact that she didn't hit him or rant at him was enough for him to actually wait around for her to say whatever it was she wanted to say rather than just drive off.
"Damn sun! Why does it have to be so bright!?" Jessica Harris grumbled before turning to him, "I knew Tony'd spill the beans today. The man might be an ass but he's an ass that'll never miss a chance to beat someone down."
"You mean he was actually telling the truth!?" he asked with some surprise at his mother's words, "He was a spook?"
"A long time ago. He didn't tell me a whole lot about it, of course, but I heard enough to be able to tell him apart from the guys that just put on an act." Jessica replied, feeling a little emboldened by all the airing of hidden secrets, "After they gave him the boot, he pretty much turned to crap inside of five years. I asked him once why he kept the promise he made to Nikolai Rasputin if it cost him so much and all he'd say was that he'd be dead meat if he didn't. When I asked him harder later his only reply was to hit me back even harder."
"You said kids and Tony said kids but who're you talking about?" he asked, deciding that that was the most important question he could.
"You have a little sister. Only a year younger but, when Tony brought her back, he was only able to get the paperwork for you being adopted before his 'friends' at the C.I.A put their foot down." Jessica said, clearly not liking how her husband's former employers had started messing with the Harris family, "While she made it to the United States, she wound up getting shipped off to some kind of orphanage instead of coming here with you. Here's the official paperwork involving both you and her. It isn't much but it's a place to start."
With a casual move, she passed him the large manila envelope before turning around and heading back towards the front door of the house. Looking down at the brown paper envelope in his hands, he wanted to tear it open and find out who he really was, where he was from and who this sister of his had been. However there was one question he wanted to ask his mother before then.
"Why are you doing this, Mom?"
"Truthfully, I'm not all that sure myself." Jessica Harris replied as she paused near the door, "Maybe just because, for once in my life, I actually want to do something a mother would do. Who knows?"
&
Thirty Miles Outside of Sunnydale, One Hour Later, Faith's P.O.V
"So Xan? Where do you wanna go first?" Faith asked as she watched the scenery fly by and the wind blow through her hair, "Me? I'm thinkin' we take a spin through L.A and San Fran first, then head straight for Vegas. What do you think?"
There was no answer coming from her sorta boyfriend as he continued to drive down the road on automatic pilot. He had pretty much been like this ever since he'd picked her up outside her motel room and hadn't said more than a handful of words since. At first she'd thought it had just been his farewell bash that his deadbeat parents had given him but it never used to take him this long to shrug off one of their rants. It was one of the things that she liked about him: he never let the shit at him get to him and was way better than his parents could ever hope to be. He gave her hope that somehow down the line she might be able to escape the chains of her parents too and become something other than the adrenaline junkie her Dad had been or the crack whore her mother had been. However he had been like this for awhile now and unless she wanted it to be like this for the rest of the day he had to get him out of this funk sooner rather than later.
"I mean it'll be great to visit all those strip clubs they got there and see guys prancing around in those tiny thong speedos of theirs." She said, hoping that her lack of tact would somehow snap him out of it, "All those muscles and their dongs tenting the spandex! Mmmmmm!"
Nothing.
That was definitely abnormal since usually anything that reminded Xan of his botched interrogation of Larry the Linebacker instantly put him on the defensive. He'd go on and on about how nothing had happened and then come up with some way to prove how manly he was. While he never did go into detail about what happened during the interrogation, she pretty much figured it out and knew that her man was just trying to make sure no one thought he was gay like Larry. As far as she was considered, though, Xander didn't have a thing to worry about in terms of proving how much of a man he was. The sex they had almost twice a day, every day, was enough to convince her about which team he batted for. Not that she was a slut or a nympho or anything. It was more a combination of her Slayer hormones after a solid night of patrolling along with a need to have some fun after a boring day. The fact that he had a serious woman pleaser under those pants of his didn't hurt nor that he was a natural in the sack.
It looks like I'll have to break out the heavy artillery to snap him out of it. She thought as her boytoy kept ignoring her.
"Hey Xander! Take a look at this!" she said before she yanked the front of her tank top up to reveal her braless bouncy beauties.
It happened like clockwork. The second that Xander looked in her direction to see what she was talking about, his eyes locked onto her chest and grew to the size of dinner plates. As it was, he was so shocked he almost veered into the other lane on the highway and right into the path of an oncoming Greyhound bus. Fortunately reflexes honed fighting vampires plus the sweet ride they were in allowed the brown-eyed boy to yank them back into the proper lane. Pulling her shirt back down, she had to smirk a bit at the look on his face as he tried to recover both from her flashing him as well as the close encounter with the bus. Even though her man had gotten a handle on being able to turn into a towering titan of steel, he still occasionally acted like he was just your average guy. Another thing she liked about him: he didn't let his powers go to his head like some people did.
"Faith!! What the hell did you do that for!?" he exclaimed while making sure to keep the car in the right lane, "You coulda gotten us killed!"
"Well I had to do something to snap you back to reality." She said, not taking his tone personally, "You were spaced out worse than my mom on an acid trip. What's up?"
It took him a second but the he said "I just found out this morning that I'm adopted, Faith. Turns out I'm Russian. Who'd-a-thunk it?"
"Really? A shocker to be sure but somethin' tells me there's somethin' more." She said, knowing that it'd take something more than finding out he was Russian to spook Xan like this.
"If my parents were telling the truth, then I have a sister out there somewhere." Xander replied before reaching over and opening up the glove compartment, "According to these papers, my birth name is Piotr Rasputin and my sister's name is Illyana.
"Whoa! You have a sister?" she asked rhetorically, thinking about the bombshell that had just been dropped, "You plan on looking her up?"
"Don't see how I can." Xander replied with disappointment clearly in his voice, "We were split up fifteen years ago and all I have to go on is the orphanage listed on these documents. Callypso Children's Center."
"Hey, we got the time, ya know." She said not liking the down sound of her boytoy's voice, "We aren't due to head back to Sunny-D until the end of September and we wanted to see the country anyways, right? So let's do it! Let's find the Xan-man's little Sis!"
"You sure? I mean it wouldn't exactly be a vacation with all the digging we'd have to do." Xander said sounding like he didn't want to ruin her summer vacation.
"So it'll be a workin' vacation. I'm five by five with that if finding little Illyana is what you want." She said honestly since anything was better than seeing her man down in the dumps.
"Then it looks like we got our first destination locked in." Xander said with the smile that still made her insides do flip-flops, "Thanks Faith!"
&
The Next Day, Noon, Los Angeles, Xander's P.O.V
"Illyana? Oh yes! I remember her quite well." Ms. Moore said as she led him and Faith down the hallway of the Center, "Such a lovely child with a real talent for storytelling. She'd spend hours telling tales to the younger children to keep their spirits up when times were tough."
"Sounds like she was pretty helpful around here." Xander said, smiling a bit at this first portion of info about his sister.
"Oh, she helped us out for certain, but she had her mischievous side as well." Ms. Moore said with a rueful smile on her face, "Particularly when people came to adopt her and she didn't like them. Oh, she'd be a right terror towards them and wouldn't calm down until she was sure they were gone. I asked her about it once and she said that she refused to go with anyone unless she liked them."
He couldn't help but chuckle at the news that his sister was such a handful when she wanted to be. Even though he was hearing about her second hand, Illyana definitely sounded like someone he wouldn't mind having as a sister. His mind spun at the idea of having a sibling but he found that in the end he didn't mind it as much as he suspected others might. Still, he would reserve final judgment on it all until he actually met her face-to-face, since it's entirely possible that Ms. Moore's recollections were biased.
"Eventually it did happen, though. Around three years ago a couple from the east coast were passing through, visiting a specialized medical facility. It seemed due to a medical problem they were unable to have a child and were exploring ways of getting around the problem." Ms. Moore explained as her office came into sight, "Apparently adoption was to be their last option. The Almighty himself must have lent a hand because, the moment they laid eyes on Illyana, there was no doubt in their minds that she was the one. The proper paperwork was all signed within a week and they left ten days later after Illyana had said all of her goodbyes."
East coast?! Looks like Faith and I have a long trip ahead of us. He thought as he tried to do some quick calculations to ration out their money supply for a trip like that, It'll be tight and we might need to gamble a bit with some random jobs but we can make it.
"So, can you tell us where we can find her?" Faith asked as they entered the office that wasn't much bigger than a high school bathroom minus the toilets and stuff.
"Well, normally we keep all our adoptions confidential for legal reasons and such. However, after examining the paperwork you gave me and hearing your story, I think I can make an exception just this once. Just don't tell anyone, 'kay?" Ms. Moore replied before giving them a sly wink to let them know she was amused by it all.
"Don't worry. We're used to keeping secrets." He replied with a smirk at how much better people in officialdom were outside of Sunnydale.
It took a few minutes for Ms. Moore to pull up the correct information on her computer but he could tell by the smile that appeared on her face when she'd found it.
"Here we are! She was adopted by Winston and Hazel Frost three years ago. Her last known address was Boston, Massachusetts at the Frost Estate outside of town." Ms. Moore said as she scrolled through the information, "From what this file says, it looks like they're quite upper class based on the location of the mansion. Aside from the one year later call we usually do to check up on new adoptees, we haven't heard anything else from Illyana."
"Is that unusual?" he asked, wondering if something might be amiss.
"Not really. When I talked to her in that call, she seemed to be quite happy with the Frost family and was looking forward to her first year attending a private school for girls." Ms. Moore replied reassuringly before closing the file she had on Illyana.
Not necessarily something completely trustworthy, but I suppose Ms. Moore knows Illyana better than me. If she says my sister is happy then I have to believe her. He thought as he ignored the Sunnydale Paranoia in his mind.
"Good. Thanks for giving us Illyana's location." He said genuinely happy that he had a place to look for his sister so quickly.
"Ahhh, what can I say, I'm a sucker for family reunions." Ms. Moore said with a friendly smile on her face, "Now you'd better get going. Remember though: this never happened and I never told you anything."
"I don't know what you're talking about Ms. Moore. You just gave us the usual run around before politely asking us to leave when we wouldn't accept no as an answer." He said with his trademark lopsided smile.
&
Boston, Massachusets
The Upper Class Outskirts of the City
Frost Mansion, Early Morning, Two and a Half Weeks Later
Xander's P.O.V
Why does the universe hate me?! He thought as he and Faith drove up to the location of the Frost mansion only to find the place swarming with press and cops.
It had been a long trip and they had only stopped along the way to rest, refuel and occasionally stretch their legs when the car ride got to be too much for them. While not exactly the cannonball trip coast to coast, they'd made good time and had arrived the day before. He had wanted to pay a visit to the Frost mansion immediately but Faith had persuaded him to wait a day since it wouldn't be the best of first impressions if he showed up tired and dirty. It was only when she promised some fun in the hotel shower that he finally gave in. After all, it was damn near impossible for him to refuse her when she started dangling stuff like that in front of his face. Now, though, he almost wished that he'd turned her down because from the looks of things something big had happened at the Frost mansion. Pulling over and parking on the side of the road, he decided that they'd approach on foot and try to find out what was going on from the reporters and cops. Most of the police were out of reach, though, and that left only the reporters who were all trying to get as close to Frost property without actually stepping over it. However, there was one lady news anchor in the back of the pack with her crew looking like she was debating climbing onto the backs of her fellow news hounds, judging by how she was rocking on the balls of her feet.
As good a choice as any. He thought before he said, "Hey, do you know what's going on here?"
The woman turned around and he found the woman to be in her late twenties or early thirties with short black hair and a tan tinge to her skin. In short, she had the same sort of appeal that Ms. Calender had but for him it was nothing more than an appreciation for female beauty. He had Faith as a girlfriend and had no intention of proving her original opinion of men right by leering at other women while dating her.
"Of course. Where've you two been for the past forty-eight hours?" She asked as though he and Faith had been living in a cave up until now, "The adopted daughter of Winston Frost has been kidnapped and from what I've overheard they took her from her own room and left it pretty messed up."
Despite the fact that he could turn himself into a towering titan of steel with the strength to throw cars around like a medicine ball, you could have knocked him over with a feather right then.
"What do you mean messed up?" Faith asked obviously stepping in since he had been rendered speechless at the moment.
"Something about burn patterns they can't explain and an odd symbol drawn over her bed. If it wasn't so crazy I'd say some cult grabbed her." Lady Reporter replied before getting an inquisitive look on her face, "Why do you want to know?"
"Let's just say we're old friends from the orphanage she used to live at on the west coast." He replied, mixing a bit of the truth with a bit of a white lie, "We came to pay her a visit but it looks like we're a bit late."
"Friends you say? What's your name?" Lady Reporter asked getting a seriously inquisitive look for certain.
Time to mix the truth with a lie again! He thought before replying, "Peter Rasputin and this is my girlfriend…Hope."
He could easily see the slight flicker of surprise on Faith's face but thankfully it was so minimal that only someone who actually knew her would be able to notice it.
"Rasputin? Are you related to Illyana?" Lady Reporter asked with increased interest, "According to what I dug up on her, her last name was Rasputin before it got changed to Frost."
"You could say that." He replied and made sure to make it so that his tone stated 'that is all you are going to get'.
"C'mon, P! Looks like we aren't going to get any more info this way." Faith said tugging on his arm, "Let's check out the local newspapers for more info!"
"See ya round, Ma'm!" he said as he let himself be dragged off by his girlfriend.
It might not have been the most dignified of exist but at least it gave him a way to ditch the newshound.
&
A Short Distance Away, Inside a White Porche, Same Time
Well, well! This is certainly an interest turn of events. She thought as she watched the tall brunette guy and the black-haired beauty head back towards their rental car, Illyana's brother and his girlfriend. Interesting on it's own but the fact that neither of them is 'normal' makes it all the better for me.
She had been sent away by Winston and Hazel Frost so as to minimize the potential sources of information that the reporters could tap into. It was all damage control to them and they were putting far more effort at the moment into keeping the details of what happened out of the press. That would change, though, in a few weeks. Eventually, once they determined the proper way to spin the situation, they step forward and probably launch a massive effort to find Illyana with the purpose of increasing their power as well as their influence. After all, it wasn't like they actually cared about Illyana. The orphan was just another piece of good PR that they were using to their advantage and would keep her around until she'd outlived her usefulness to them. Oh, they'd probably toss her a boatload of money and promise to give her a monthly stipend, but only so long as she stayed away from them while keeping a low profile. It was a shitty way to treat the girl, given how happy she made those around her most times, but it was about the best you can expect from Winston Frost and his wife.
Still she had been a friend to Illyana since she'd first come. The blonde girl had been a welcome change from her own siblings as well as the girls at school. While she wasn't quite willing to go all soft with how she behaved, the Russian girl was someone she could relax a bit with and some days that was sorely needed. All in all, she was probably the only person to live in the mansion that was really worried about the young lady. The rest of them either just saw her as another person they had to clean up after or someone they could use to fulfill their own ambitions. They would put on a good show for the cameras if they had to, but she seriously doubted any of them would actually lose any sleep over this whole mess.
However, it looks like those two might actually be able to rescue Illyana. She thought with a smile, With a little help from me, of course.
&
That Night, The Woods Along the Perimeter of the Frost Estate, Faith's P.O.V
"Security's pretty tight, X." Faith Whispered as the two of them looked out across the Frost family estate, "Guards every twenty feet and cops every thirty. Sneaking in to take a look at the crime scene isn't going to be easy."
"Maybe not but it's our only shot at finding Illyana." Xander said sounding like he was planning on going into the house guards or no guards, "The newspapers know practically nothing and the police are doing nothing but spouting senseless rhetoric. If we want any clues, we have to take a look at her room first hand and take some pictures to fax to Giles."
"Then how do you want to play this? Neither of us is exactly subtle and, considering the security system Mr. and Mrs. Frost probably have inside, we're going to get noticed sooner or later." She said hoping that her man had some kind of plan inside that head of his, "I don't know about you but I don't think these guys are as stupid as the Sunny-D PD."
"Well, I'd thought I'd pull on this ski-mask, armor up and charge in there to distract them all while you slip in the back to take the pictures." Xander replied showing the ski-mask he'd purchased earlier in the day much to her confusion, "I figure if I can take a bomb blowing up in my face then I should be able to take whatever they can throw at me without too many problems. I'll keep them busy for twenty-minutes and then high tail it outta there. You'll have that long to get in, snap the pics and then get clear. Good enough?"
"Not bad, but I have something a little better in mind," Came a female voice from behind them, causing both her and boytoy to spin around.
Approaching them from the forest was a brunette girl about the same age as her and X, dressed in stylish but affordable clothes. She looked like your typical college girl but walked like she could get every guy who laid eyes on her to dress up in loincloths and promise to service her in every way possible. In short, she didn't want her anywhere within ten miles of her man and would do everything she could to 'encourage' the girl to leave.
"Who are you and what do ya mean 'something a little better'?" she asked figuring if she was going to be keeping some bitch's claws out of her boyfriend, a name would be a good thing to have.
"Just call me Astrid. Me and Illyana go to the same school." Astrid replied with a smile that indicating she found something about the dark Slayer amusing, "As for something better, let's just say that you two aren't the only ones with a big surprise hidden under the hood."
With me, though, my powers are more mental than physical.
She didn't even need to look at Xan to know that he'd heard the girl's voice in his head, just like she had. Her first thought was that the teen was some kind of witch or maybe a demon but when she glanced at Xander, she considered another option. It had been something of a growing news item over the past couple of weeks and, while none of the gang had had time to pay much attention, she'd heard a few things in passing. All over the world, teens were popping up with powers right out of the comics and the term used in reference to them was 'mutants'. She'd picked up a few papers here and there during their trip and the basic gist of public response was to consider these teenagers either monsters or people with some kind of disease. Personally she didn't think it was half as bad as people were making it all out to be. Sure, a handful of these 'special people' would raise a stink and piss people off but carpet blaming every last one of them was overkill. People just tended to look for a hammer when they're scared instead of picking up a scalpel.
I can make it so that the guards won't even know you're there. Thought Astrid into their heads with a feeling of seriousness, Only condition is that I have to come with you. My powers only work short range.
"Sounds pretty weak, then." Faith stated, trying to sound neutral but even she could hear a bit of bite in her tone of voice.
"Not really. I just need to be able to see my targets to manipulate their minds into seeing what I want them to see." Astrid said, deciding to go verbal rather than telepathic, "So, are we going or do you plan on hiding in the trees all night?"
Looking to Xander, she could see he wasn't going to put up a fight and might even back Astrid coming along if it meant the odds of them getting inside unnoticed went up. With a sigh, she knew what was about to happen and, aside from her own concerns about Astrid trying to poach her boyfriend, she had no real ammo to object with. She'd just have to keep a close eye on her and make sure that she kept her claws to herself.
"Let's motor, then." She said trying to sound like everything was alright, "The sooner we get what we need, the sooner we can get gone."
With those words the three of them began to ghost across the mansion lawn towards the entrance closest to them. While she could see out of the corner of her eye that Astrid was mystified as to the use of stealth, seeing as how she was messing with the heads of the guards, the woman didn't make a fuss about it. Once inside things were a little easier guard-wise but the security system picked up the slack for the most part. Cameras at every turn, motion sensors every couple of feet and keypads in front of every other door. Paranoia was apparently an important thing to the Frosts and, given how rich they supposedly were, she guessed she couldn't blame them.
It took about ten minutes for them to make it to Illyana's room and, when she looked at the scene of the crime, she could understand why the cops had done their best to keep the press out. The place was a complete mess and, with cult and magic symbols painted on every clear surface, the news hounds would have a field day with it if they ever found out. Shaking her head clear, she took out the disposable camera they'd bought at started snapping pics of everything that seemed important and even a few things that didn't. She wasn't the wizard with the books and the facts like Giles or Red, but she could tell that the marks on the wall and floor were a combo of spellwork and cult gloating. Whatever reason the kidnappers wanted Illyana for, it required they do some magic here and then they left their calling card proclaiming their greatness and the power of the one they served. Fortunately for them, that meant that the perps had big egos and liked to hear themselves talk or proclaim their greatness to any who would listen. That's make it easier since cocky assholes never thought things through and looked so damn funny when their schemes got turned to shit by the good guys.
"Well I got the pics to send to the eggheads." She said as she turned around to find Xander looking at some photos on a table, "With a little luck we'll get somethin' we can use out of this and find your sis, X. X?"
He wasn't moving an inch and seemed to be transfixed by the pictures he was looking at. Walking forward to see what was so interesting she came to see pictures of a young blonde girl about X's age that had the 'innocent girl next door' look going for her. There were a few scattered photos here and there showing Illyana standing next to the Frost family, mostly a girl the newspapers identified as Emma, or some people in school uniforms. She could see the family resemblance to X and, given how much his life's been turned upside down by that drunken bastard Tony Harris, it's no wonder he spaced out from time to time. Still, they needed to get outta there since she didn't want to take the chance that Astrid might slip up somehow.
"Let's go, X. You'll get to see her live and in person once we find out where she is." She said placing a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to the here and now.
"Right. Let's go." Was all he said before they all headed for the hallway intending to leave the same way they came.
Twenty minutes later they were back in the trees and not a single alarm had been raised by the security goons employed by the Frost family or the police. As much as she hated to give the girl any credit, it looked like Astrid managed to help them out perfectly but she still didn't like her. Whenever the little bitch thought that she wasn't looking, she'd let her roving eyes go up and down Xander like he was some piece of meat. Sure, she looked at him like that every once and awhile but he was her boyfriend, so she was allowed whereas Astrid was a complete stranger. No way was she letting some nobody from nowhere get any ideas about putting the moves on her man.
"Thanks for the help, Astrid." Xander said doing his usual polite thing but thankfully didn't break out his lopsided smile.
"No problem." Astrid said before pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, "If you need any more help or if you find anything out about Illyana, give me a call alright?"
"Sure thing." Xander replied as he stuffed the piece of paper into his back pocket, "See ya!"
Waving goodbye to the one person she hoped never to see again, she followed her boyfriend and future roommate back towards where they'd parked their rental car. They'd have to wait until tomorrow to get the pictures developed and then send them via fax or email to the Scoobies back home in Sunny-D. Hopefully the research wouldn't take too long 'cause, if it did, Xan might just throw caution out the window and just start raiding vamp and demon nests for info.
Not a bad idea but it'll tip off the kidnappers that there's someone after 'em. She thought as they finally exited the forest, Much as I like a good throwdown, it'd suck if the baddies found out about us beforehand.
&
The Next Day, A Cyber-Café, Mid-Afternoon, Xander's P.O.V
"So what'd G have to say?" Faith asked as she sipped her espresso.
"According to Giles, the symbols and the language are consistent with worshippers of someone or something called Belasco." Xander replied as he logged off of the computer he was sitting in front of, "The books can't make up their minds about what or who this Belasco really is. The only thing they all agree on is that he or it is from someplace called Otherplace and is seriously big with the mojo usage. Giles figures these guys are going to try and use Illyana as some kind of sacrifice to bring him to Earth."
"Shit! He know where this is all supposed to go down?" Faith asked sounding a bit miffed that their trip had turned into another end of the world scenario.
"Apparently this ritual needs to be held on a convergence of ley lines to act like an anchor for the portal." He replied doing his best to keep his fear and his anger in check, "There are only three within a day's travel of Boston. That's one bit of good news at least."
"What do you mean? They coulda taken her halfway across the country by now." Faith asked not seeing how the perps could still be nearby.
"They're still here because another requirement of the ritual is a specific alignment of the stars." He explained recalling the rest of the chat with Giles, "They'll all fall into place tonight and only stay that way for a couple of hours. Rituals need set up time so they won't go far. Plus, you gotta know that demon gods or whatever just love making a grand entrance in front of everyone."
"Got a point there. So we check each of them out and when we hit paydirt, we start busting heads and cracking bones." Faith said before a feral smile blossomed on her face, "Sounds like fun."
"We'll just do recon first and once we find the right one, we wait until nightfall before moving in." he said, growling at every delay that kept him from meeting his sister, "This is going to be a quick in and out job. We get in, find Illyana, rescue her and then vamoose."
"Sounds good, though I usually like to drag things out a bit more." Faith said with a saucy look on her face, "Still, I suppose a quickie will hold me over until later."
He couldn't help but smirk at the play on words that his girlfriend had just employed. If one took them at face value, it could sound like she liked a good fight and didn't want to just go in kidnapper's hideout to rescue Illyana but take down the entire group. However, if one knew how that mind of Faith's worked, then you knew she was making a joke on how she liked her sex as well as her fights. The dark Slayer wasn't the gutterbrain some people thought she was but she wasn't sexually repressed in any way, shape or form either. It made dating her interesting in its own way bit it wasn't by far the only reason he loved her.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you leave Boston satisfied one way or another." He said making his own play on words, "Now let's get moving! Time's a wasting and we got a lot of ground to cover."
&
A Table in the Furthest Corner of the Cyber-Café, Same Time
Looks like things will be getting more interesting soon. 'Astrid' thought as she watched her prey leave to investigate possible locations of the kidnappers, I hope Xander won't mind me inviting myself and a few others to the party.
It had been most informative following the two after they'd left their hotel room this morning and, if half the thoughts she'd plucked from their minds were accurate, gaining the allegiance of Illyana's brother as well as his girlfriend was important indeed. Aside from their superhuman abilities, which were formidable indeed, they also apparently had access to a source of occult knowledge that could prove useful to her. Ever since she'd met the real Astrid, she'd learned the benefits of working with another mutant as well as the potential threat that other mutants posed to her. As a countermeasure to that, she'd searched the world for others who possessed the mutant x-gene that gave people her age incredible powers. Disguised as a world trip by a wealthy young woman, no one suspected that there was anything else to her travels. It had been only two months ago that she'd returned with her team of mutants and she had planned to arrange for a stunning debut appearance for them all but something had held her back. Her group had a good array of powers and, under her leadership, would do well against their enemies but there was one factor that she found lacking.
A brutal enforcer that could keep the team focused on the mission and deal with any defiance should it manifest.
While her own telepathic abilities were potent, she would prefer to remain above it all, untouchable like a goddess, while having her loyal warriors carry out her orders. She would be their queen and, as such, would only dirty her hands with actual combat if something emerged that they could not handle by themselves. It had been her intention to go looking for this enforcer but certain members of the team had begun to become difficult to control. If she didn't assign them a mission soon, they'd go off on their own to do whatever their middle class minds wanted them to do. That would ruin all her work, thus forcing her to rework her grand design from the ground up and that was one thing she would not allow. Fate, it would seem, though, had decided to deliver her what she needed sooner rather than later and all that was needed now was to win Xander over to her side. Faith would be an issue as the Slayer's mind made it clear that she didn't trust 'Astrid' one bit and was almost paranoid about losing her boyfriend. While she would admit that the young man had a certain appeal and did interest her, she would not risk losing such a powerful mutant just to pursue her own whims. Fortunately both of them could be won over in one motion if they received some timely help during their rescue of Illyana. Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed a number.
"Yes, Emma?" asked the voice of one Manuel de la Rocha, sounding like he was still trying to seduce her.
"That's Ms. Frost to you, Empath." She said in a tone of voice as cold as her last name, "Get the Hellions suited up and ready to go. We have a mission to complete and two new members to recruit."
"As you command, my Queen." Empath said respectfully before hanging up.
Soon my colossus of metal and muscle you will join my team and together the entire world will be our playground to do as we will. She thought as she imagined the grand future ahead of her.