Betaed by Cylon One
"Spike
"Spike." Buffy said coldly, crofg her arms over her chest as he walked towards the house, Dawn at his side. "Dawn…where were you?"
Dawn frowned. "Why do you care?"
"I care when bloodsucking fiends take my baby sister out for joy rides all night." Buffy snapped.
"Didn't realize you were keeping tabs on me, Slayer." Spike quipped.
"It was only 4 hours, Buffy. Geez…" Dawn grumbled, storming past her sister. Spike made a move to follow, but Buffy shoved him back.
"First off, I don't care. Second, where do you think you are going?"
"Inside." Spike answered. "Thought that was obvious, what with me trying to go through the door. Though, I guess looking at those golden curls, I can see where you got confused."
Buffy grit her teeth. "You know, I heard dust makes a wonderful fertilizer…oh look, a bare patch…move five inches to the right."
"Last time I checked, I was allowed to do as I wanted, Slayer. No longer chained to the Watcher's tub…"
"Not when it is my house."
"Actually, it is my house." Joyce said from the doorway, giving Buffy her best 'angry-mom' stare. "I get to decide who enters, and I say Spike is welcome." Before Buffy could protest, Joyce shot her a dark look. "I also asked Spike to pick Dawn up and take her to dinner, since I had a late night at the gallery." She motioned for Spike to enter. "Thank you, Spike, for your help."
Spike shot Buffy a sweet smile as he entered, Joyce resting a hand on the small of his back as she guided him towards the kitchen. All Buffy could do was stare at their retreating forms, wondering how her mother and sister could stand to be around the bleached pest.
Brazilian Jungle
Riley, Sam, Fig, Graham and the other members of their squad pushed through the vines and low-lying plants that sought to ensnare them, traveling deeper into the jungle. They had been on foot for almost a day, the sun rising and setting once already. Each one was alert, knowing full well the dangers the jungle presented just with its known inhabitants.
The unknown ones…
To make matters worse, they were ill prepared. Few supplies, a gun for each of them with only half their normal ammo, none of the usual body armor they would wear to protect themselves.
Still, they pressed on.
Each knew that they had to reach the trading village, the one they had been told never to visit 'lest they give away their presence.
'Considering high command is dead…' Riley thought morbidly.
"I've never seen a weapons system like this." Graham murmured, looking at the image his camera had taken.
"My mama, she had the gift, you know?" Fig whispered, fondling the cross that hung from his neck. "She saw things. I got the gene, too, and that thing that attacked us? I got a feeling it ain't over."
"How about you use those magic voodoo powers to get us the hell out of here?" Sam asked.
"Enough." Riley snapped.
Graham licked his chapped lips. "When I took that picture, I think it saw me. It looked right at me."
"All right." Riley said after a moment. "We got to get this thing back to the Pentagon right away. They got to know what we're dealing with here."
Scorponok listened in as the soldiers talked, caring about nothing more than how close he was to them and how easy it would be to kill them all
Spike watched as Buffy pummeled a vampire, letting the ash of his cigarette drift in the wind as the Slayer did her thing. He was leaning against the Desoto; leather duster draped over him more like Superman's cape than a coat. Buffy grit her teeth in frustration, the vamp proving to be a bit harder than she had expected. Both of them knew that if she was in real trouble, Spike would rush in to her aid, but otherwise, he would let things run their course.
"A 10 from the British judge, but I think the Russian will have to deduct some points, luv." Spike quipped after Buffy finally managed to stake the vamp.
"Can it." Buffy snapped, annoyed. She picked up one of the stakes she had dropped, tucking it in her pocket before turning to glare at the bleached vampire. "And why is your useless behind still here?"
"Gazing at your useless behind bounce up and down." Spike snarked, giving her a saucy grin. "Course, considering your last boyfriend, I can understand why it became useless…" Buffy rolled her eyes, moving towards him, fist cocked. "Oi, you mind workin' over the gut this time, pet? Been a while since you punched me there."
Buffy jabbed him in the nose. "Why break tradition?" She wiped her hand on his shirt to rid herself of the blood that coated her knuckles. Already, Spike's broken nose was patching up, within a minute just like new. "And stop doing that?"
"What, getting my nose in the way of your fist?"
"Calling me all those stupid British nicknames." Buffy said, blowing a strand of hair from her eyes. "I'm not your pet and I'm not your love!"
"Don't know about the pet thing, you do act like a righteous bitch." Buffy punched him again. "Bloody hell, stop that!"
Buffy huffed. "Go, Spike. The last thing I need tonight is you and your pathetic jokes."
"Now you're confusin' me with the whelp." Spike commented.
"Spike, I'm serious. Mom has a doctor's appointment in the morning and I'd like to actually be awake for it." Buffy turned on her heel, marching away from the pest. "So why don't you just go be impotent elsewhere."
"Hey, I was tryin' to do somethin' nice for ya, Slayer. But if you don't want my help, go ahead and scamper off."
Buffy didn't bother to look back. "Annoying me is helping…sure, Spike, sure."
"No, you bint, I was going to give ya a lift." Spike patted his car. "Awful long walk to the next cemetery."
Buffy paused at that, slowing her walk to a crawl. It was a few miles to the next cemetery…it would really cut down on her time to drive there. And all she had to really put up with was Spike…
'Ok, not going.' Buffy thought quickly, until the image of her mother, alone at the doctor, flashed in her mind. "Fine…but keep your comments to yourself, or I'm breaking something a lot further south than your nose!"
Spike merely waved for her to enter, sliding behind the wheel and revving the engine. Buffy coldly got in, slamming the door as hard as she could.
"Watch the hinges!" Spike snapped, pulling off onto the road.
"I'd really hate to hurt your precious piece of crap." Buffy said, putting on her seatbelt, only for the belt to tighten hard around her for a moment. The Slayer began to cough, pulling on the belt.
"I know you and cars don't mix, luv, but really…you don't know how to put on a belt?"
Buffy crossed her arms. "One word…" She flipped on the radio.
"Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?" The speakers sang.
Buffy squinted through the one section of chipped paint there was on the passenger window, nose wrinkled in disgust. "We are nowhere near the cemetery."
"I'm taking a short cut…" Spike held up a hand. "I'm not trying anything funny, pet, just trying to get you out of my baby as fast as possible before you stink it up with your Slayer musk."
"Are you saying I stink?" Buffy snapped.
"You'd prefer if I said you smelled delicious?" Spike questioned, secretly wondering. Buffy didn't answer that, turning her head away just as the car began to putter out. Spike cursed, trying everything he could do to get the auto working.
"When I get that feeing, I want…sexual healing. Sexual…healing." The radio sang.
"I swear to God, Spike, you will be spending eternity in your ash tray if this is a set up!" Buffy yelled.
Spike threw open his door, waving his arms about as he stepped out. "Because sitting in a parked car on a dark side street is my idea of fun?" He questioned.
"You do enjoy a spot of murder, Spike, so I wouldn't put it past you."
Spike rolled his neck, bones popping. "Feeling more like murdering that annoying carwash guy…knew he was up to some tricks." Spike lifted the hood, his jaw dropping. "Bloody hell."
"What?" Buffy asked, coming to stand next to him. There, where Spike had expected a dirty, smoking engine, sat a gleaming engine. Fine headers, a high-rise double-pump carburetor, pistons factory new. "So…what's the problem?"
"The problem is that I have an engine I've never seen before."
"How is that possible?" Buffy questioned.
"Damned if I know, Slayer."
Buffy looked at her watch, groaning. "By the time you get this fixed, I'll have been better off walking." She waved her hand dismissively at Spike. "Thanks for the ride, Spike, let'snot do it again."
Spike grumbled, sliding into the driver's seat once more. "Stupid, sodding bints…stupid, sodding mechanics…"
"Baby come back!" The radio blared as the engine roared to life, Buffy pausing as Spike quickly hit reverse and pulled up beside her.
"I…got it fixed?" He offered, not sure what had happened.
Buffy narrowed her eyes before she finally got in. "Last chance, Spike…"
"Don't I know it." He muttered, wondering what the hell was going on.
Above the Atlantic Ocean
Hank Summers laid on the bed in his cabin, tossing a rubber ball up and down, a grin plastered on his face. He wished he could be two people, that way he could kiss himself for this brilliance.
Through sheer willpower and cunning, Hank had managed to leave his old job and get hired in by a private firm that was really going places. The company, the brainchild of someone very, very high up in the President's cabinet and staff, was the company of choice when the American Government needed something. From toilet seats to missiles, it was the company's job to provide it, and all at any price they wanted to set. The top executives were rolling in dough, and the employees were reaping the perks.
For Hank, the good fortune came in the way of a job a monkey could do. He got to fly, in a private jet with no expense sparred, to Japan to pick up some computer hard drive that was being delivered to Los Angeles. A 20-minute job that was netting him a two-week vacation.
Life was sweet.
After the last stewardess left the storage room, Frenzy finally transformed. His disguise, that of a silver boom box, quickly began to unfurl to reveal his 4-and-a-half-foot tall sinewy, fibrous form. Clicking his mandibles, he slinked his way through the hall, pausing to listen to the being called Hank Summers begin to sing "Like a Virgin".
"Stupid mammal." Frenzy said to himself, considering for a moment vaporizing the man to stop his hideous singing before ruling against it, instead deciding to continue on his mission.
Nail-like fingers hacked into the security door, allowing the Decepticon entry. Before him stood the hard drive he had been searching for, fingers tapping a few buttons before he cracked his knuckles. Four blue glowing eyes locking on to the hard drive as he extended a spike from his arm, ramming it into the computer and sending it online, beginning his download.
The Magic Box
Willow was awakened by a strange, metal squeal. She shook her head, trying to clear her eyes. "What the…" Turning to her computer, she noticed that the scan she was running had switched over, a warning light appearing on her screen. "Whoa…guys…wake up!"
Xander groaned. "I didn't cum in you Pete, I swear."
"What?" Giles asked, putting on his glasses.
"Nothing." Xander said quickly.
Tara blinked her eyes rapidly. "What is it sweetie?"
Willow shook her head in shock. "It's the same sound as the thing that hacked the base…" Willow's fingers flew over the keyboard, her eyes growing wider each second. "Oh no…they're hacking into the Defense Grid?"
"The what?" Anya asked.
Xander, his pseudo-military training kicking in, paled. "Not the Pentagon's Defense Grid."
Giles ran his fingers through his hair. "This is bad…with even a percent of that info…"
"Has anyone moved to stop it?" Tara asked.
"No one…" Willow said. "I only detected it because I had my computer looking for similar sound files as the thing that attacked the base." She cracked her fingers. "But I'm going to try and shut it out."
"You can do that?" Xander questioned.
"I can try."
Frenzy let out happy moans as he downloaded the files, each document scanned and recorded before he moved onto the next one. Each download was measured in microseconds, the whole of the United States Government's secret files being eaten away in seconds.
"Few more seconds…" Willow pleaded, using every trick she knew. She'd realized within moments that it would be useless to do anything about the hacker, their program running too fast for her to mount an assault.
"He's almost there, Willow." Giles commented, understanding enough about computers to know this was bad.
"Almost…almost…" She paused.
"What are you waiting for?!" Anya asked, utterly confused.
Willow stared at her screen. "The only way to stop this…thing…is to take down the Defense Network..."
"Do it." Xander pleaded. "Before it…gets everything, Wil."
Willow nodded, typing in the final command. "Done." She immediately ripped the phone cord from her computer. "We need to destroy this."
"Why?" Tara asked.
"Because I just committed treason, and I doubt the Pentagon will be happy about that."
Hank Summers paused in the middle of his singing as a metal scream filled the plane. He considered getting up, then merely went back to playing with the rubber ball.