Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy The Vampire Slayer This brilliant show belongs to the incomparable Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. X-Men belongs to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Movie writers Tom DeSanto and Bryan Singer.

Some spoilers from Season one's episode Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight. X-Men Characters mostly based from the movie.

The Calm Before the Inevitable

The Master could smell victory in the air and became giddy with pleasure. The terror within her was palpable her turmoil audible. He was angry that he did not get to finish his glorious work of torture on his prize possession. However, the golden morsel of information from his intimate time with her had him reveling in his superiority. This meddlesome little girl put a taint on this reality and it would cost her dearly. She would have to pay for the disturbance she brought about in this time line one by one. His interest lied in making her pay for the death of his darling childe, after that he would make sure she didn't care one iota about the downfall that was about to take place in her life. He smiles as he sat upon his dark throne and began to hum the eerie little song within his dead unbeaten heart, it was only a matter of time and Jessica and that slayer will be in grasp and he will squeeze until every ounce of fight and spirit left their lifeless bodies.

~%~

When Joseph Cine came home, it was to a quiet house. His eyebrow rose to that, Jessica was usually there to greet him with a hug and a kiss when she did not have an after school cheerleading practice or something or other. If his memory was correct, he specifically remembered her telling him that she didn't have anything in particular to do and that she would be home when he got there.

His imagination getting the better of him as he quickly took to the stairs two at a time to check her bedroom. His daughter had become a magnet for trouble in this town and he hopes that her absence was not due to that fact. He stops at her bedroom door, takes in a breath, and holds it hoping that his daughter was behind it. The tap on the door was light and none intrusive, hoping to hear her voice and relieve his fears. When she didn't answer his heart began to prance around in his chest as a few bad thoughts form in his mind. Maybe there's a cheerleading practice after all or maybe she's visiting with friends and forgot to call.

He slowly opens the door and releases the breath he didn't know he was holding. Calming himself as he saw his daughter sleeping peacefully and the presence of her two best friends at her side. He smiles thinking that if it wasn't for those two girls he would take his daughter and hightail it out of this town. His thoughts would have gone somewhere else completely if he caught sight of the boy sleeping on the floor on the other side of the bed. He went back downstairs and into the kitchen to prepare something for dinner and stops in his tracks at the presence of the school librarian in the process of doing just that.

"What the hell are you doing in my home?" he starts as he looks menacingly at the British librarian.

Rupert Giles looks up as Joseph startles him out of his cooking. "Uhm, well, that is," Giles starts to take his glasses off to clean them. His annoyance getting the better of him at his lose of words to explain to this very intimidating man of why he was in his home invading his kitchen trying to prepare a meal.

"If you take those glasses off one more time in my presence to clean them I swear I'll hit you. Now I'll ask again, why are you in my home preparing my food in my kitchen? Joseph starts slow and calm but with each word, his inflections became louder and angrier.

Giles let out a breath, this man hadn't taken a liking to him from the first day they'd met. Not that he could blame him, the first time they'd met his daughter had severe injuries at the hands of a vampire and Mr. Cine had many questions as to what was going on, one of his questions being why the school librarian felt it necessary to show up at the hospital?

"There was a little incident with a chemical leak at the school, all the students were affected and sent home, but Jessica was the closest to it and got the full brunt of it. The school nurse checked her out and she gave her a clean bill of health. However they didn't want to send her home by herself so I volunteered to be the designated adult," Giles didn't quite lie, the students had been sent home after the adults with their Sunnydale syndrome had chalked all of the nightmares turned to reality as hallucinations from what had to be a chemical leak.

"Why didn't they contact me about something that serious?" Joseph Cine was seething from all the inappropriate activity in this town.

"Well you don't seem to have a number on file to contact you," Giles almost took a step back from the killing glare greeting him.

"That's absolute bullshit, I put at least three contact numbers down for the school to contact me. This town and its utter nonsense is really racking on my nerves. What is wrong with you people, you seem to be blind to all the crap that goes down here. I refuse to become like that, the school will be hearing from me, he states firmly.

"Calm down dad, boy you can be a real terror when you want to be can't you?" Jessica gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, a fact that Giles didn't miss.

"Well when it comes to the safety of my daughter that I will do anything to ensure, my terror knows no bounds," he said those last words glaring daggers into the shrinking librarian.

"Dad please relax, if I remember correctly about those transcripts we hadn't put a number yet because we had yet to receive the new ones and in the chaos of the move and in the commotion of everything it slipped both our minds to give the numbers when we did receive them." Jessica eyebrow went up several notches at her father notable cringe. He owed Mr. Giles an apology and he knew it.

He slowly turns with little desire to so and began to apologize. "Sorry, Mr. Giles I can get kind of insane when it comes to my daughter."

Giles smiles knowingly, he knew of the desire to protect ones daughter even if she was only that in spirit. "Yes, of course."

Jessica began to walk over to see what Giles was preparing before her father's interruption. She smiles up at him and he spots a few tears in her eyes.

Giles frowns, had he done something wrong to make her teary eyed like that. He began to scan the area for stray onions just in case that was the cause, and then his glance settled on her for a clue to what the problem was. Jessica just eyed her father as the tears began to flow.

Joseph took a step forward to investigate what had his daughter so emotional. He took note of the preparations on the island and smiles.

Joseph cleared his throat and laid his hand on Giles' shoulder. "Well, Mr. Giles it looks like you've stumbled upon me and my daughter's favorite dish. My wife used to make this for us all the time; I hope your cooking skills are as dead on as hers were. He said with a smirk.

Giles got a twinkle in his eye, he ran upon few American's that actually enjoyed authentic British cuisine and his satisfaction at the thought of the Cine family being one of the few that did gave him pleasure.

"Really, that's quite refreshing to know that some people really enjoy good cuisine," Giles said with a smirk.

"Well my wife was from Liverpool, she introduced me to the dish and I fell in love with it and her instantly. It's one of the many reason's I married her," he said with a wink.

Giles laughs aloud. "Well Bubble and Squeak will do that every time."

As the tension in the room began to defuse somewhat the three of them sat to talk. Giles was surprised to find out Mr. Cine's wife was from Liverpool, England and that they had met while attending Cambridge University.

As the two men talk Giles was happy to find out that the man had a love for rare and obscure literature. He thought to himself that Joseph would be an excellent watcher, if he knew of such things.

"Oh no, it's invasion of the British snatcher. Run away Mr. Cine before you start wearing tweed," Buffy said as she and Willow came in on the stuffy conversation about musty old books.

Giles gave Buffy his best British glare as the two girls sat down next to a smirking Jessica.

"I'm afraid it's much too late for that Buffy, I succumbed to that invasion the day I met my wife," he said with a sad smile on his face and Buffy was immediately sorry that she had said anything.

There was a strained silence for a few seconds before the ringing of the doorbell saves them.

"I'll get it," Jessica quickly got up to escape the looks of concern she knew her friends were giving her. As she walks out of the kitchen, she strolls right into yet another concerned look. She held up her hand to quiet the question that she knew was on Xander's lips as she answers the door.

Her face fell even more at the presence of the newcomer. For the first time since they met, she was not happy to see him. She was not in the mood for her boyfriend and that thought bothered her more than anything did.

"Hi Jonathan," she said while stepping aside, being sure not to utter an invitation even though the sun was still shining brightly. One could never be too careful. She didn't want to admit to herself that her action had a secret meaning also.

Jonathan sensing something was wrong frowns deeply and slowly came in believing that what went down at the school had something to do with her mood. He set out to make her feel better in his own way.

Jonathan closes in the gap between them, ignoring the visual warning from Xander that what he was about to do was ill advised and ill timed. He reaches up and tries to kiss his girlfriend.

Jessica flails back wildly knocking over her dad's prized vase and breaking it. Breathing hard from the panic attack she was having she fell to her knees to try to pick up the pieces. Never glancing back up to see the hurt look she knew was on his face as she cleans up her mess and began to apologize.

"I'm sorry Jon Jon, you just startled me a little," before he could respond her father came into the living room to tell her that the food was ready. He stops short at the scene before him and sighs.

"Don't worry about that Jess, I'll clean that up. I want you to go eat something, you've had a trying day and I want you to get your strength up," Joseph came forward and began to take over the task as he gently prods her towards the kitchen. All the while giving Xander a distrusting glance, wondering if he really arrived here with Jonathan or had he been here all along upstairs alone with the girls.

Jessica slowly walks back towards the kitchen with the two boys in tow. Her eyes glassy and it seemed to take all of her strength not to burst into tears as she sat to eat.

Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander want to reach out to the girl to try to get her to talk about what happened, but now was not the time especially with present company. A few minutes later Mr. Cine enters the room and felt as if he was walking into a funeral with all the somber faces, all of which are directly on his daughter. His daughter trying her best not to look at anyone as her gaze was focusing on her folded hands lying in her lap.

He decides not to say anything about it, he would find the underlying cause of this if it were the last thing he did. His daughter was going to tell him what was going on or he would pack their bags and get the hell out of this town. For now, he would sit down to a quiet dinner with his daughter and her friends and try to bring them out of whatever stupor they were in.

~&~

The weekend seems to drag on for Jessica and Buffy and Willow decide to spend it with her. Usually that would have made her jump for joy but this weekend had literally put a drain on her physically and emotionally. Between her friends and her father trying to get her to talk it was killing her inside. She eventually came up with a story that sooths her father curiosity if not his worry. She told him that she and Jonathan had an argument and that their relationship was not faring well. It wasn't a lie; because of the way she reacted to him trying to kiss her, it had put a damper on their relationship.

He was trying to call and talk to her but between her dad and her friends, talking was the last thing she was planning to do. Jonathan didn't deserve the treatment she was giving him, but she didn't know what else to do. Her father suggests a little too eagerly that maybe they should put their relationship on hold for a little while but she wasn't ready to do that either.

Buffy and Willow were another story, she couldn't lie to them she knew they will see through it if she tries. Therefore, she just kept avoiding the big elephant in the room or changing the subject when they would blatantly bring it up. She knew she couldn't keep doing that for long and that she would eventually have to tell them what happened and God if that thought didn't just make her cringe and want to throw up.

~&~

Monday morning was a true test of Jessica's patience as the reality of what almost happened to her began to eat ate her very soul. She began to snap at every little thing that irks her, still she held herself together royally. That is until she had a class with one Cordelia Chase and the brutal debate began.

"Okay, so talk to me people. How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?" The teacher asks the class after she read.

Some of the class and to everyone's surprise Cordelia Chase raises their hand. She calls Cordelia's name.

"Well, how about color me totally self-involved"? Cordy says in an almost annoyed tone and Jessica began to see red, knowing where this was going and how Cordelia's mind works.

The teacher smirks also knowing Cordelia all too well. "Care to elaborate?"

"Yeah, with Shylock, its whine, whine, whine, like the whole world is about him. He acts like its justice, him getting a pound of Antonio's flesh. It's not justice. Its yicky," Cordelia says as she rolls her eyes with disgust.

Jessica had had just about enough and lit into Cordelia's point of view. "This coming from the Queen of the self involved, you wouldn't know justice if it came and slapped you in the face Cordelia," Xander smirks and Willow's eyes go wide as they see a new side to their friend.

Cordelia turns to give her biting rebuttal but the teacher quickly interrupts trying to reign in the chaos she knows is about to erupt between the two.

"But has Shylock suffered? What's his place in Venice society? The teacher asks.

"Well, everyone looked down on him," Willow contributed to the conversation.

Cordelia turns to Willow and shoots down her statement. "That is such a Twinkie defense. Shylock should get over himself."

"Speak for yourself Chase, I should have known that one such as yourself who has never been looked down upon, little rich girl, would never understand or care about the plight of someone other than yourself." Jessica says almost yelling.

Cordelia turns toward Jessica and gave her a hard look. "People who think their problems are so huge craze me," she says as she turns back to the teacher. "Like this time I sort of ran over this girl on her bike. It was the most traumatizing event of my life, and she was trying to make it about her leg, like my pain meant nothing."

Jessica looks at Cordelia dumbfounded, opening and closing her mouth several times before she burst into laughter. "I rest my case, only you Cordelia would turn hurting someone else into a travesty against your own existence, you are a true nutcase and I surely hope that you don't have any Shylocks on your tail." Someone giggles beside her and Jessica looks over to see a ghost of a girl.

"Well, Cordelia and Jessica have raised some interesting points here," The bell rings interrupting her mid sentence and the students begin to shuffle out. "Which we'll pursue at a later time."

Jessica goes to the bathroom to calm herself a bit. She'd let her anger get the best of her and she didn't like being out of control like that, even if it was only verbally.

Sighing she splashes water on her face and looks into the mirror and almost screams at the sight behind her. "Damn it Marcie don't do that to me, you scared the crap out of me."

"You can see me?" Marcie asks

"Of course I can see you, why wouldn't I be able to see you?" Jessica raises her eyebrows at the goofy girl.

"I thought no one ever notices me, like I was invisible or something," Marcie's sadness seems to overwhelm her at that moment.

"Marcie why would you think I didn't notice you, you're in several of my classes. Even though you tend to look a little pale and ghostly at times, like you're not eating well or getting enough sun and being in a place called Sunnydale I say that's quite a feat," Jessica smirks at the girl.

At that moment, Cordelia and Harmony came into the bathroom talking about winning May Queen and homecoming dresses. Jessica's mouth drops to the floor as Marcie disappears before her very eyes.

Cordelia looks around the bathroom and then at Jessica smirking. "You would be the one in bathrooms talking to yourself. What, has your strangeness alienated you from even the dweeb team also?" Cordelia sneers with mirth in her eyes.

"You know what Cordelia I have nothing but pity for you. Because one day even your sheep that follow you like you're the end all that be all shall grow tired of your falseness and see you for who you really are and cast you aside like an outdated pair of shoes," Marcie laughs aloud and everyone looks up startled as the thin air bursts into laughter.

Cordelia's attention quickly comes back to the bane of her existence. "You don't know me little girl, I'm the Queen bitch in charge here and I will make your life a living hell if you don't back down like a good little nerd."

Jessica's anger began to get the better of her again and she got right into Cordelia's face. "I know your kind all too well Chase and backing down from the likes of you, dream on. You don't know what hell is Cordelia but I'll be much obliged to show you."

She starts to get a little closer to Cordelia invading her personal space until a hand lands on her shoulder. She turns to look into the smiling eyes of Marcie Ross.

"She's not worth it Jessica, let it go," Jessica deflates and glares at a now bewildered Cordelia.

"Where did you come from?"Cordelia began to scan the vicinity for secret passageways.

Marcie glares at Cordelia barely controlling her fury. "As if you really care!"

"You're right I don't, come Harmony let's go before the mental incursion rubs off on us. I really don't know why the school allows the mental to attend," Cordy walks out with Harmony as she laughs at the two they leave behind.

Marcie and Jessica both stare after the two girls retreating forms shaking their heads. "Their both doomed in life."

The two girls look at each other strangely and then burst into laughter. When they sober, Jessica takes a serious look at Marcie and frowns.

"How did you disappear like that Marcie? That was, well frightening," Then she gives her the biggest grin ever. "And oh so amazing!"

Marcie raises an eyebrow to that. "I wish, this particular outcome in my life has been more frightening and nerve wrecking than amazing."

Marcie leans up against the bathroom wall; she closes her eyes and takes in the deepest breath before returning full attention to a girl who seems to have wheels turning in her head. This frightens Marcie somewhat and she looks around nervously.

"What are you up to Jessica? Every since your arrival I notice you looking at me, when I didn't think anyone could see me. I thought it was a figment of my imagination or just my wishful thinking." Marcie exclaims.

"How long has this been going on Marcie? Jessica asks.

"About six months ago I was feeling particularly invisible as no one not even the teachers seem to notice or acknowledge my presence. Imagine my surprise when I did just that," Marcie sighs in frustration.

"I hadn't been able to get anyone to notice or even make myself reappear until you came along. If you knew the thoughts that were going on in my head, the lives I wanted to destroy mainly Cordelia and those that revolve around her." Marcie says intensely.

"Well you might want to get in line for that one; I think Cordelia rubs several people the wrong way. Besides you never acted on any of those feelings," Jessica came up to Marcie and laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"I really don't know what I'm capable of; the anger that I felt when this happened almost overwhelmed me. If you hadn't seen me I think I may have lost my mind and let my anger lead me to hurt someone," tears began to form in Marcie eyes and she wipes them away.

Jessica felt for the girl, she really didn't know what she would have done in this situation and she was amazed that her sanity lasted as long as it did. Jessica's admiration for the girl went up several notches and then an idea of sorts hit her.

"Marcie, I believe I know of a school of sorts that can help you with controlling your gift," Jessica beams.

"This is not a gift it's a curse. I don't want to control it I want it gone. Marcie's voice cracks making her sound like a little girl in torture.

Jessica grabs a hold of her shoulders and looks deep into Marcie's eyes. "It's okay Mar, were going to get you through this and I'll be by your side as long as you allow it."

Marci let out the breath she was holding and gave Jessica a weak smile and nodded her head in approval. Whatever happens now couldn't be worse than her last year of life. Now she had a friend that saw her and would stick by her and that was something that she didn't have before.

Jessica took out her cell phone to call her dad and set things in motion.

~&~

Seeing Marcie through the murky waters of her predicament had given Jessica a resolve she didn't know she had. The pure strength of the girl had given her hope to get through whatever plans that Master bastard had for her. It was time to tell someone her story. After her cheerleading practice, she goes to the library.

She found Giles in the library looking through his books as usual. She walks up to the stacks to greet him. "Hey Mr. Giles, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Giles looks up from the book he was about to put back in its place and smiles. "Hello Miss Cine, What may I do for you?" and then the music began to play in the distance, they both stop to listen. Giles wonders who is playing at this hour and Jessica smiles knowing that it is her friend Marcie.

Giles shrugs and begins to set the book in its rightful place when the library door creaks open startling the both of them.

"Who's there?" Giles ask as Jessica hides behind him.

No one answers but the crickets outside and Giles goes to his bookcase to look in the reflecting glass. Jessica leans over to see what he was looking at.

"What are you looking for Mr. Giles? Jessica stares into the glass case with him.

"Nothing," he says as he slowly turns to give her his full attention and screams out making Jessica jump into the stacks almost knocking them over. Angel slightly smirks at the both of them.

Jessica went from fearful to angry in a split second, goes over, and slaps Angel in the face. "Don't ever do that again, make yourself known to us weary mortal's Angel. Or do you take pleasure in scaring the hell out of us?"

Angel steps back shock playing over his face at the little mouse's fury. "I didn't mean to scare you; I just came to talk to Giles."

"Well, I think I'll give you a cow bell for Christmas so we can hear you coming next time," Jessica rolls her eyes and crosses her arm over her chest in indignation. "Stupid bloody vampire doesn't even know when his being stealthy."

Giles ignores her little rant and looks at the both of them. "Well I do seem to be the popular one as of late two callers in one night I do believe that's a record for me."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he pauses thinking the worst. "I do hope it's not for any extracurricular activities." He heard Jessica gasp as she got his meaning.

Angel aghast at what they thought he was here for shook his head vehemently. "Don't worry. I'm not here to eat."

"Well that's a relief," Jessica said a little more bitingly than she had intended.

Angel gave her his wounded puppy dog look wondering where this newfound dislike of him had come from. He thought for sure that this young girl had formed a crush on him, maybe it fell away when she found out he was a vampire.

Giles steps in his curiosity getting the better of him. "Buffy told me you don't feed from humans anymore."

Angel looks haunted as he answers. "Not for a long while."

"Is that why you're here, to see her?" Giles asks.

"I can't. It's uh... It's too hard for me to be around her." Angel walks over to look out into the darkness in all his angst-ridden drama and Jessica rolls her eyes again.

"Well isn't that just like a man, things get a little tough in the relationship and you want to run and hide instead of dealing. It's good to know that's universal even with vampires Angel," She said his name with all the venom that she felt for him at this moment not realizing where it was all coming from.

"Jessica I don't believe you get the gravity of the situation. A vampire in love with a slayer, it's rather poetic…in a maudlin sort of way.

"Yeah, it all seems doomed from the start to me, especially with his attitude and actions toward the whole thing. Own up and be a man vampire."Jessica got into his face as she said the last words.

"I'm not a man Jessica." A wounded but steadily getting angry vampire spit out.

Enough was enough Jessica thought to herself, this foolish brooding might get someone hurt that she cares deeply for. She begins to poke Angel in his chest vigorously. "That soul in you says different dead boy, unless you weren't much of a man before you became a monster."

Angel had nothing to say to that, he knew what type of man he was before he was turned. In fact, it was that fact that had gotten him into this predicament in the first place. The silence was deafening as Jessica stares into the eyes of a downtrodden Angel.

Giles clears his throat to get off this particular subject. "What can I, uh—what can I do for you Angel?"

Angel began stuttering as he went along and glancing at Jessica out of the corner of his eye. "I know you've been researching the master," Jessica went rigid in spite of her newfound resolve as Angel spoke her nemesis' name and he gave her an apologetic glance.

"Yes, the vampire king. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about him for the day that Buffy must face him. I believe you've both come to discuss the same subject, maybe we should take a sit and cease hostilities so we can talk," Giles directs the last of his statement toward Jessica as she seems to be imploding at the moment.

Jessica sat and listens as the two talk of slayer prophesies and lost books on the slayers role in the end times. Jessica's ire was up; as it seems to her that they wanted to let Buffy go it alone without them lifting a finger to help her against impossible odds.

She keeps her mouth shut for now and just listens. Giles thanks Angel for his offer of retrieving some ancient book that he thought was lost and then asks Angel a question that had her head reeling again.

"I wanted to ask you Angel, have you had any luck in finding out who this new power that changes things is? I would really like to find out before that particular prophecy comes up and bites us in the proverbial arse." Giles says.

No, I have no leads on who or what it might be, but there is a rumor going around in the demon community that it has already thwarted some of the masters plans and he is dead set on destroying it," Angel looks to Jessica and she had turned a putrid shade of green.

"Are you quite alright dear girl? You look as though you may be sick," Giles laid a hand on her shoulder in worry.

"I don't feel too good; I think I better head home. Can I talk to you tomorrow morning before class starts, it's important."

"Yes, of course. You're not going by yourself are you; I could get Angel to walk with you." He began.

"No!" she said forcefully. "One of my friends is waiting for me after school and she'll walk me home."

Jessica left the two men to themselves, Angel wondering when and why she had become so hostile towards him.

~&~

The next day at school Cordelia Chase had firmly set her place as May Queen and was giving her less than gracious speech to her peers. Buffy, Willow and Xander look on in disbelief to her utter self-involvement.

Willow notices two men in black watching the proceedings and frowns. "Since when does Cordelia need body guards?"

"I don't think they're here for her wils," Buffy watches as the two men scan the grounds looking for something. They seem to spot what they are looking for and go running after it as everyone but the Scooby trio ignores them.

"I think we better go talk to Giles about this," Buffy says in a no nonsense tone as she heads for the library.

As the trio reaches the Library Giles steps out cleaning his glasses ferociously, with a distraught look upon his face and Jessica follows closely behind. He starts to say something to the girl but thought better of it when he spots Buffy, Willow and Xander approaching rapidly.

"Giles there are two conspicuous gentlemen on the school grounds looking for something, they went running up into the schools upper levels and that can't be a good sign," Buffy watches her watcher closely and observes how distraught he seems and not by what she'd just told him.

At that moment, Jessica screams out holding her head as if it might fall off.

'Jessica, you need to go to Marcie, she's in trouble and needs your help," someone spoke inside her head. 'Were on our way but we may be a tad too late to rescue her, go to her now!'

Jessica glanced around to see if anyone else had heard the voice, when she realizes no one had she took off running, Buffy followed.

Buffy followed close on Jessica's heals the girl stops several times as if she didn't know where to go and then she would hold her head and run off again. They end up in the school attack and Buffy pauses as she heard a scuffle but Jessica hurried along.

"Leave her alone you bastards!" Buffy ran in as she heard Jessica's scream and the sound of a silencer going off.

She ran in to a chaotic scene, one man in black on the floor struggling to hold down thin air. While Jessica dodges a tranquilizer dart aimed her way and then she lit into the man with all her brown belt glory. End the end it wasn't nearly enough to contain her opponent, which was a man trained in hand to hand combat, a black belt and twice her size with a mission to complete and no little girl was going to stop him.

He side steps a kick to his head and went in to punch her lights out and his hand is caught in the iron grip of a blonde slayer. "Didn't your mother ever teach you never to hit a woman?"

Buffy proceeds to knock his lights out not realizing that his partner had let go of his prey and shot a tranquilizer dart at her. She turned just in time enough to see the dart but not enough to do anything about it. Then the dart slows to a stop hovering inches from her face as if some invisible force held it.

"Marcie?" Jessica calls out thinking she was behind it.

"I'm not doing that Jesse," Marcie calls out as she rematerializes behind Jessica.

The dart turns abruptly and imbeds itself deep into the shooters neck knocking him out instantly. 'Jessica please bring Miss Ross to the front of the school, were waiting to greet you.'

Jessica should feel afraid somewhat, there was a British man talking in her head for goodness sakes. However, all she felt was calm and safe despite her predicament. She turns and takes Marcie's hand and heads out of the attack with her leaving a bewildered slayer behind.

"H-e-l-l-o! Would someone mind telling me what's going on?" Buffy stood there with her hands on her hips for several seconds before she realizes that no one was listening. She then took off after the two girls.

Jessica and Marcie round the corner to reach the front of the school and saw a bald man in a wheelchair talking to Principle Flutie. A red headed woman who at first glance seems harmless and serene flanked the man's right side. However, if one would look closely you would see fire in her eyes and a women fighting for control of something inside her. On his left was a man that left nothing to the imagination. He was feral fighter and everything about him screamed that from his stance to the no nonsense glower on his face.

He was the first to notice the girls walking towards them and laid a hand on the bald man shoulder to veer his attention away from the too damn chipper Principal that was slowly gnawing on his last nerve. Unlike his bitter little assistant ferret that he dislikes for a whole set of different reasons.

"Ah, Jessica I take it this is Marcie Ross," Flutie said with a grin. I must say I was at a loss as to whom you were when the Professor came in with your transfer papers. I'm a little ashamed, I like to pride myself on knowing all my students and you somehow escaped my radar."

Flutie was smiling but you could tell that he was sad that this girl had fallen through the cracks. He resolves himself that that would never happen again, his students his responsibility.

"I'm glad you found Jessica to befriend, she's a very good role model for the young girls here," assistant principal Snyder harrumphes loudly at that and Flutie gave him a reproaching glance that shut him up quickly.

"I say I must agree to that I've heard a lot of good things about you Miss Cine and It's good to put a face to the legend," The professor smirks slightly which made Jessica think he was talking about more than her school activities.

Principle Flutie groans aloud in disgust. "Where are my manners? Jessica, Marcie this is Professor Charles Xavier, Dean of Xavier Institute for Higher learning. His assistant Jean Grey and colleague Logan... I'm sorry I didn't get your last name sir.

"I didn't give it bub," Logan growls out and Jessica and Marcie stifle a laugh.

"Grrr, arrgh says the bloody pirate," Jessica says under her breath and Logan gave her a death glare that made her laugh even more at the big overgrown growly teddy bear.

Professor Xavier clears his throat to regain their attention. "I am extremely pleased that you brought Miss Ross to our attention Jessica, I think she shall thrive in our school being as gifted as she is."

"Marcie raises an eyebrow at his chose of words and began to get somewhat squeamish of the whole situation. "What is it you do at this school exactly?"

"Well if its okay with you will give you the big tour and explain everything to you there, we've already acquired permission from your parents," Jessica notices Marcie take a step back suddenly and knew that this man was also talking to her inwardly to calm her fears.

Whatever he was saying made Marcie grin from ear to ear. The rest happens a little too quickly for Jessica and she was soon saying goodbye to her new friend. They both promise to write and keep in touch with one another and she watches as a man with banana clip eyeglasses led Marcie to the car that would take her to her new school.

He looks at her strangely when she calls him a fair-skinned Geordi Laforge.

Professor Xavier glances at Jessica and smiles. "Again thank you for what you did today Jessica, you may have just saved your friends life."

"What about those men that tried to take her, there still up in the attic and…" The professor interrupts what he knew would be a long rant.

"They have been taken care of; you don't have to worry about them any longer. You will never see them again Miss Cine," Jessica sighs in relief although she thought in the back of her mind what taken care of meant really.

"If you don't mind Miss Cine, I shall endeavor to keep in touch with you also. Maybe you would like to come see the school one day maybe even attend one day," he extends his hand to say goodbye.

I'd love to come see the school one day, but attending, their nothing special about me," Jessica says sadly.

Jessica, you are far more than special, as for your skills," he said the last word with hidden innuendo. You don't have any… yet."

Jessica gave him a look of bemusement as he turns his wheelchair and exits Sunnydale High School.