CHAPTER 2
(Anaheim Pond, Secret Base #6 of The Guardians)
Secluded in his lab, the oddest and most brilliant of the Guardians, The Anaheim Duck, was just finishing up his latest invention when his internal security sensors suddenly all turned Green.
Groaning, Duck turned towards the undersea entryway as the sliding door opened up and a muscular figure sprang up from the watery trap door. He was a tall and highly athletic figure, dressed in a black bodysuit with a silvery blue-gray chest shield, pale blue gloves and boots, and a shark-head symbol on his chest. His most noticeable feature, however, was his humanoid shark head. His glowing yellow eyes focused on his quarry, his titanium-hard teeth gnashing as he spoke.
"Hey! Ducky!" The San Jose Shark shouted.
"You know, Shark, if it were anyone other than you, I'd be upset that you keep hacking my security," Duck said to his friend and teammate.
"Sorry, but this is urgent," Shark stated.
"Urgent? How urgent are we talking?"
"Check this out," Shark said as he went over to Duck's computer and used his technopathic abilities to bring up the video, on YouTube, in question.
Duck looked at the video, three times, to make sure he saw what he thought he was seeing.
"Is this for real?" the bio-suited hero asked.
"I'm afraid so. It was taken only twenty minutes ago, by someone with a cellphone camera." Shark said.
"Location?" Duck asked.
"Sunnydale, California."
"Isn't that where all those vampire and monster sightings were reported?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Just wondering."
"And... just what are you wondering?" Shark asked.
Duck looked at his aquatic friend and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Duck asked.
"I mean... you think King's back... or is this someone posing as him?"
"An impersonator. A doppelganger. A clone. An android. Just to look at this, it could be anything."
It was then that the shark man realized something.
"Uh, aren't 'doppelganger' and 'clone' the same thing?"
"Not if this guy is from an alternate reality," Duck explained.
"Oh. Okay. So..."
"Get the boys together," Duck said, moving away from the computer and heading to his cabinet where his weapons and mask were. "Use your technopathic skills to send them an email."
"Okay. Who?" Shark asked as Duck opened the large metal cabinet.
"Everyone west of the Rockies," he said as he pulled out his harpoon.
"Sure. Why?" he asked as he watched his friend suit up.
"We're going to seek an audience with the King!" Duck said as he grabbed his bio-mask.
(Sunnydale, California)
Xander Harris woke up, looked around, and noticed he was lying on a soft bed in a nice bedroom, and that his armor and 'Excalibur' and 'Avalon'(1) were not with him. However, he did notice that someone was there, holding his hand. Looking to the side, he saw it was a woman because the hand was smaller than his own. Slowly, he brought his hand to his face and rubbed it.
"Ugh!" He said, "No more dimension hopping on fumes. Circe: Status report."
[I told you to get some rest, Xander. You're fine, but you need more rest.]
"Circe..."
[No! I almost lost you once! It's not happening again!] Out from his bracer appeared a digital woman that had long hair, a nice figure, and was in a harem girl's outfit. (2) [I don't want to lose you.] She sounded like she was going to cry.
Throughout his journey, Circe was the one constant in his battles. She was some sort of a bio-technical A.I. program that was injected into him and acts like a sister-mother-wife to him. He mentally 'hugged' her.
"I promise that you won't lose me, not while I'm still sucking air," Xander said, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at who had his hand. He saw a cute red-headed young woman, dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans, and socks. She looked like she had been crying, but why? "Wills!" He said, his voice causing the girl to stir, her eyes opening to reveal they were bloodshot from her crying. The second she saw him her lips turned up into a beautiful smile before she jumped up and hugged him.
"I missed you!" she cried.
"I missed you too," he said. They pulled off of each other as Xander spoke again. "You've been watching over me?"
"Of course," she said with a laugh. "I'm not letting you out of my sight," she said, sitting up on the bed and snuggling into his arms.
Meanwhile, Rupert Giles was shifting through various historical books, trying to find any relevant information on the sword and shield that was with Xander when he showed up.
"Got anything?" the young blond-haired woman sitting at another table asked.
"Perhaps. The closest thing I've got has to do with a sword called 'Excalibur' and a shield called 'Avalon'." he said to the young woman.
"Giles, you don't think that they are the real thing? Do you?" she asked.
"I think so, Buffy." He said.
Meanwhile, Xander was eating lunch and was thinking about what to do now. "You know," he said. "I'm going to help with the kids this year. Have you picked out a costume yet?"
Willow looked at him in shock. After what had happened, Halloween wasn't her favorite holiday anymore. But now that he was back, she might want to go out trick or treating with the kids now. She shook her head a 'no'.
"I might come up with something then. Do you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course Xander," she said. He started to get up but stopped when he realized that he was nude under the covers. He was red as a bing cherry, "Would you like some clothes Xand?" She giggled, and he looked at her nonplussed.
Later the duo were out looking for an outfit for Willow. That was when Buffy saw that Xander was up, and practically tackled him to the ground. He was in a LA Kings T-shirt, jeans, and boots and sported an arm bracer on his right arm. She hugged him tightly.
"I missed you so much." Buffy cried as Willow looked on and giggled. He hugged her back and they got up.
"I missed you too," he said. They headed for a costume shop and started to look for costumes for them. He got Willow a sorceress type of outfit that would match his 'King' armor and got Buffy the female equal to his armor. "Wow, you two look amazing." He said, giving them the once over.
"Are you sure about this Xander?" Said Buffy.
"Of course I am." He said, "Come on let's go." So they left the costume shop and headed back to the library.
(The Pond)
Standing before the large computer in his inner sanctum beneath The Anaheim Pond hockey rink, the black-with-yellow trim-wearing hero was going over all the information he could about the appearance of this mysterious player calling himself The LA King. (Or at least the person he looked like)
Just then five other people entered the large room.
The first was The San Jose Shark, leading the four other men into the room.
The second was a tall man wearing a mostly-red and blue cryogenic titanium suit with a bluish dome over his head, underneath which is a human head looking like it was made of ice. On the left side of his chest was the symbol for the Colorado Avalanche.
The third man was an athletic person decked out in a dark blue and black costume that gave him the appearance of a Killer Whale. Black fins on his head, back, and arms, a green belt, and white-tined lenses with the symbol for the Vancouver Canuck's.
The fourth man was dressed as a rugged-looking individual dressed in a red shirt, yellow pants, a long black duster, black straps over his chest, and reddish boots. His mask made people think of 'Wolverine' if his wild silvery hair was any indication. On his chest was the symbol of the Phoenix Coyotes.
The last man was a tall and athletic individual decked out in a black bodysuit with a red chest shield, gloves, boots, and belt, a red hood with a black mask covering his face, and the symbol for the Calgary Flames on his chest.
Duck turned to the five men and beneath his bio-mask grinned.
"Gentlemen. Thank you for coming on such short notice." Duck said, trying to be serious.
"Of course, Duck. Shark you may have found King." Avalanche said.
"Yes. At the very least, someone who looks like him." Duck said, bringing up the video that was taken of him.
The newly arrived quartet stared at the video and gasped.
"It looks like him," Canuck said.
"We can't be sure from just this." Flame retorted.
"Which is why we're going to Sunnydale, California to locate and if necessary, interrogate, this roof-hopping knight," Shark explained.
"I'm in." Flame said.
"Me too!" Avalanche said.
"Let's go!" Coyote said.
"Right!" Canuck said.
Duck grabbed his newly modified jet board and followed his teammates out.
(Sunnydale, California)
It was the morning after Xander's return, and the young man was on his way to the library to find out what Giles thought of his armor and weapons. That was when he ran into the evil personified.
"HARRIS!" a sickeningly familiar voice shouted. It was Principal Snyder.
"Principal Snyder," Xander said with a heavy sigh. "Knew I smelled dog vomit and disappointment."
"What Did You Say?" the man shouted indignantly.
"You heard me, you are a sad little man who's balding, out of shape, and extremely pathetic." Xander snapped at him.
"How are you even here? You're dead!" Snyder stated.
Xander smirked at that. "I got better. Now if you'll excuse me," he said as he left for the library.
Giles had the armor ready for him when he showed up, Willow was with him and was looking at the helmet.
"This is an impressive helmet." She said, her fingering brushing over the inside of the helmet, and unknowingly activating a tracking device located on the left side of the helmet itself.
Just then, Xander walked into the room and they both saw him.
"Hello, Xander." Giles said. "Feeling better?"
"Much," he replied. "So, what did you think about the armor and weapons?"
"I have never seen anything like them before." Said Giles. "And I've looked through every book I can find on the subject."
"Well, remind me and I'll tell you how I got them. Anyway, Wills, we need to get ready. Trick or Treating officially starts when the sun goes down." he said to the redhead, who nodded and followed him out.
Heading to Willow's house, Xander took the armor and weapons with him as Giles went back to his books and notes.
It was right after sundown in Sunnydale, and all around them, chaos reigned.
Demons, monsters, soldiers, pirates, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, and every other being and creature imaginable were running around attacking either each other or any 'non-coms' that happened to be in their way.
"Alright, let's do this!" Xander shouted as he leaped into action blasting the ground with a bolt of energy and knocking several vampires and monsters out of his way. "You just got crowned, boys."
Xander and Buffy were clashing left and right with monsters as Willow was using magic spells to assist them. It was then that a handsome, dark-clad figure leaped through the air and kicked down several of the monsters about to attack them from behind.
"Who are you Knave?" Buffy shouted as Angel just stepped back with his hands up.
"Whoa! Buffy, It's Me!" the vampire with a soul said as he was scraped and burned by the sword that she held. "ARGH!"
"Back away from me scum!" Buffy shouted and swung her sword again.
"Buffy, what's wrong with you?" Angel asked as she started attacking him again. Angel dodged again and again before he retaliated with a fierce kick to her shield, knocking her back. "Sorry, Buffy, but you're not giving me any choice." Just then, a large werewolf growled and leaped at Buffy and Angel leaped into the air to tackle the beast to the ground.
The werewolf threw the souled vampire off and snarled at him.
Seeing what had happened, Xander gripped Excalibur and hurled it at the werewolf, slashing it across the chest and causing the beast to retreat into the night. Walking over to the sword, Xander picked it up and looked down at Angel.
"Y'know 'Dead boy', I always thought you wouldn't have any redeeming qualities. Guess there's a first time for everything." Xander said.
"Xander? I thought you were dead." Angel gasped, standing up and nursing his slashed arm.
"I'm going to tell you like I tell everyone else, I got better. Now back away before I give you a taste of Excalibur." Xander said.
"Guess things don't change that much." Angel groaned.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked as Buffy and Willow came up to him.
"You never liked me and always thought that I was pure evil," Angel said.
"Well, you are a vampire."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry," he said.
"Sorry?" Xander asked, confused.
"I was the one who killed you," he said solemnly. Xander looked at him and chuckled. "What's so funny?"
"You? Killed me?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"It was the other Xander you killed Angel," Buffy said.
"Even though you two were under a spell that made you both overprotective of Buffy." Willow said, her now normal-looking Halloween clothes on her body.
"What happened? Is everyone normal?" Angel asked, noticing that no one was attacking him.
"Yeah. Giles just called me, says he broke the spell that turned everyone's costumes into the real thing." Willow said.
"Cool."
"Now what's this about you killing me?" Xander asked the souled vampire.
Angel opened his mouth to speak, only to see a small group of five vampires walk up to them. Xander, Buffy, and Willow followed his gaze and turned to see the vamps growling and snarling at them with thirsty appetites in their eyes.
While Willow was not much in a fistfight, Xander, Buffy, and Angel were ready to play.
Suddenly, a bolt of fire blasted one of the vampires from behind, incinerating him.
The second vampire had his chest explode out from behind him by what looked like a harpoon spear.
The third vampire was suddenly frozen solid.
The fourth vampire found a large jaw of titanium teeth rip out his throat.
And finally, the fifth vampire was attacked by a pack of coyotes.
The group looked past the defeated vampires and saw a group of six costumed individuals approach behind them. They walked up to the group as Buffy gave them an appraising look.
"Who are you guys?" Buffy asked.
"We're The Guardians!" the man in the red and black costume who seemed to be hovering thanks to a pair of fiery wings on his back, said.
"No way!" Willow gasped when she saw them. "You're real?"
Buffy, Xander, and Willow turned toward the redhead.
"You know these guys?" Buffy asked.
"Well... kinda. They're The NHL Guardians! Each of them is a superhero patterned after a different American and Canadian hockey team!"
"Hockey," Buffy said in disbelief. "You have gotta be kidding me." Willow looked at Xander like, 'Are you kidding me?'
Suddenly a scream cut off their conversation.
"We'll have to discuss this later." the guy in the red shirt and black duster said as he bolted toward the scream. The others followed.
In a nearby warehouse, a group of kids were surrounded by vampires. One of them had platinum blond hair and was dressed in all black leather, the other was a gorgeous, yet demented woman also dressed in all black. There were three other thuggish looking vampires, staring at the children with hungry eyes.
Suddenly, the female vampire gasped as she got a far-away look in her eyes.
"The Crown is coming!" She said, "The Lady's weapon is going to kill us!"
The male vampire with platinum blond hair looked at her. "What are you talking about luv?" he asked.
"The King has returned, he is the Lady's weapon. Fire and ice will join against us, dogs to pick our bones, a shark to gnaw off our faces, a duck to impale us, killer whale to strike us as dead. Side-by-side with Father! The Lady's weapon has come for us!"
The other vampires looked at her with complete and total confusion.
But before any of them could wonder what she was talking about, the windows shatter inwards as both fire and ice created a large hole in the wall, a pack of coyotes burst forth and attacked one of the vampires, a man in a black outfit with a duck-faced mask flying in on a hovering surfboard and ramming the second vampire, and a familiar dark-haired vampire tackling the third vampire.
"Bloody Hell!" the blond haired vampire gasped.
Three other people suddenly raced through the hole, two were in armor and the last one was dressed like a sorceress. The male also had on a helmet with a crown embedded into it and was carrying a sword and shield.
"THE KING!" the female vampire squealed in fright.
They couldn't see it but the male was smirking.
"Man! This is just my day for old reunions. Hello Spike!" The King said.
Spike gulped and looked at him. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Oh come on Spikey, you mean you don't know who we are? Surely you recognize Buffy don't you?" He motioned to his 'queen' who smirked, "And Willow." Then he nodded to the sorceress.
"And this is..." started Buffy. The king lifted the faceplate, "Xander."
He had an evil grin on his face.
"Shall we?" Xander grinned, shutting his faceplate.
So the fight was on. Xander was battling Spike, Buffy was fighting Drusilla, and Willow was acting as support. Xander threw 'Avalon' to where Willow was, and the force field activated as soon as a couple of vampires tried to attack her. The newly arrived Guardians quickly ushered the children to safety as Angel staked the evil vampires in their chests.
Spike dodged Xander and was about to attack Buffy from behind, only for Xander to put on a sudden burst of speed, Excalibur in his hands, gripped tightly as his sword slammed in between Spike and Buffy, the impact creating an earthquake that split the ground, and swallowed both Spike and his girlfriend, dropping them down into the sewers, the rushing sewage sweeping them away.
"Damn!" Buffy cursed. "Spike and Drusilla got away!"
"Don't worry," said Xander as he pulled his sword out of the floor. "They'll try again, that's when we'll get them!" he said. "Now, we'd better get these kids home, and then... I'm sure I've got some explaining to do."
Meanwhile, in a huge manor, a young man had gone down to a secret headquarters and walked into a huge room. "Manson, Michael. Passcode: I love the NHL!" The doors opened and he went into the huge room and stood on the NHL logo and was scanned and was confirmed to be who he was then the lights came on and he was in the middle of a huge room.
[Oh thank god you are here Mike!] Said the CPU, [we got a problem.]
"What's wrong?" Mike said.
[I'll show you.] Just then the map of the locations of all the Guardians was flashed red. [What's wrong with this picture?] Mike looked at the map and saw it, there were seven lights for Duck, Shark, Coyote, Canuck, Avalanche, and Flame all in the same location. But what shocked him, even more, was who the seventh light belonged to. Namely, The L.A. King.
"That's impossible! He's dead," Mike said. "I was at his funeral. It was almost as big as Kobe's. I remember the guilt I had."
[If that's the case, then who's this?] The computer flashed the King's light.
"I don't know STANLEY, I don't know."
TBC
Notes: 1. That's what Fate/ Stay Night called the shield. I'm sticking with it. 2. Picture Circe in DCUO crossed with Cortana from HALO.