BtVS by Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Marvel U by the parent company and its many artists/writers.

"Look," Xander stated firmly, once Remy's laughter had died to a chuckle. "The small stuff we wipe out without a second thought. The big stuff we rally against. It's only the middle stuff that creeps by us sometimes. When we try, we save the world."

"Five apocalypses and counting," Willow added.

"Besides, this wasn't our only hope," Xander said. "This was just our last effort to mine the local resources before calling help from Giles' home team."

"Well," Willow said, counting on her fingers. "At least four..."

"No," Remy said with a smile. "It's not so much that Remy saw you fail and accept it, it's more that, even though you could see de anger written all over your Giles' face about th' boy wrecking your plans... You could tell from his hangdog expression that he's genuinely worried for the kid as well, hopin' he doesn't burn himself from playin' with stuff he do not understand."

##

Buffy was leaning on the sword, evaluating Remy, when Giles emerged from the narrow passageway behind her.

"Well," the Watcher asked. "What did I miss?"

"Meet Tara's big brother," Buffy said, gesturing at the mutant.

"Ah?"

"The good one, apparently."

"I see."

##

"I'm pleased to meet a relative of someone who's been such an asset to our, ah, group," Giles said as he approached Remy, offering his hand. "I'm Rupert Giles and I... haven't exactly heard anything about you from Tara."

"De name's Remy LeBeau," Remy said, shaking the Watcher's hand firmly. "And there's likely a good reason for that, seeing as how I haven't met her yet."

Remy went on to explain the bare minimum of facts, leaving out that he'd grown up in another reality where mutants were common.

"So, basically," Giles said. "This fellow who's been watching you all your life... Who looks remarkably like you, shows up and tells you that you have a sister?"

"More like he told me I had a family, but, yeah."

"Out of the blue. No reason given for why now, as it's apparent you've been old enough to understand for some time?"

"De network of family and friends I've built up for myself is... stable... but my girl, y'know, the one who was my girl, she's with them," Remy said, trailing off with a sigh. "No, no reason given why he came to me now, other than that I was free to start lookin'."

"And you are telling me." Giles adjusted his glasses. "That it never once occurred to you that he could be your father?"

"Heh." Remy gave his head a slight shake. "When he talked about my 'birth family' he said they'd abandoned me. He definitely not done that."

"Well... Worth a hope. No point in hanging out in a crypt for the rest of the night. So, there's this magic shop in town. Why don't we head up there and see about getting things sorted?"

"Dey open twenty-four hours?"

"Ah," Giles said, patting his pocket. "I have the keys."

The ride to the Magic Box was uneventful, with Remy mostly talking about his road trip from the Maclay house to Sunnydale. As Buffy had early morning plans with her boyfriend and wanted to make a last sweep of the area before heading home, they had left her behind.

"Well, first things first," Giles said as he opened the door and ushered the group inside. "What exactly are you, Remy? From your eyes I would expect you to be one of two demon species... At least in part. The Jaffa are a known friend to humanity and come by the... red coal look naturally; while the Branstons are a slightly more aggressive yet mercantile people, who acquire such changes voluntarily as sort of a magical tattoo."

From his position behind Remy's back, Xander smirked and opened a drawer.

When Willow looked in and saw a blue, open box of Jaffa Cakes next to a half-eaten jar of Branston Sweet Pickle, she barely managed to suppress a giggle.

Remy, for his part, sighed.

##

"Well," Remy said. "I was hoping to put this off longer, but... I'm human. There, I said it, it's out in the open. No magical bloodlines in me. I'm just a mutant."

"Ah," said Giles, nodding. "Reports sift through the Council occasionally of sudden, inexplicable changes occurring within otherwise human families. I believe the most recent case was of a young girl who had to wear an insulated jacket and oven mitts for fear of electrocuting those around her."

"Oh," Remy said. "Really? Then Gambit may not be as special as he thought."

"Buffy had mentioned your talent for, as she put it, making things go 'splodey. Would that be a natural consequence of your mutation, or do you supplement it with magical skill?"

"Yeah, dat would be something I come by naturally. In fact I've made... When I was younger I took some pretty severe steps to limit the kinetic power flow, fer fear of things getting out of hand. That's mainly in the past. And, as to the question of magical capability... Well, you wouldn't mind if a guy decided to hold some cards close to his chest?"

"I guess not," Giles answered. Frowning, he stared into the eyes of the brown-haired man, an easy task as they were about the same height.

As far as apparent emotions and character went, he wasn't sure he liked what he saw.

##

Xander took the opportunity to pull Willow to the side, deeper into the store's shelves.

"Think we should run this guy by Spike's crypt," Xander asked in a low whisper. "See if he'd scan as human or not?"

"Considering that Spike would have to hit him to tell, making that his second Maclay of the month," she replied, trailing off as a flurry of emotions crossed her face, "Ah, maybe we should schedule it for tomorrow night. Or the afternoon. Or..."

"I know," Xander said. He touched her hand, knowing her expression meant she was thinking of Tara. "I know. This isn't simple."

Buffy laid in bed, tossing and turning.

She woke well before sunrise.

Once in her upstairs hallway, she paused a second to lean against the doorframe of her mother's room and stare in at the empty bed.

##

On a grassy hill, under a tree a short jog from her house, she laid out a large blanket.

By the time she had finished spreading the wrinkles out from the corners, her boyfriend was there, leaning against the tree and watching her.

"Riley," she said, looking up with a smile. "Thanks for doing this so early on a Friday."

"Hey," he said, brushing up against her as they stretched out on the blanket. "I'm helpful. Are you holding up well?"

"Sorta," she said, rolling over so she could stare into his blue eyes. "We're kind of in a holding pattern. Things would be easier if we could have her at home while we're waiting for them to plan things... but we're not there yet. This is rough on Dawn too."

"That's your family," he said as the sun rose. "What about you?"

"I'm losing sleep. I barely got any last night. I can patrol okay, but... I feel guilty about taking time out for myself, with mom in the hospital. I wanted to plan this for when I knew she'd be asleep... As much as you can be when you're surrounded by nurses and patients, I mean."

"It's okay. She doesn't want you wearing yourself out with worry, any more than I do."

"I've been trying to take it easy, but last night's mission that was supposed to be more of a diplomatic thing went all pear-shaped and turned into an action scene... And Tara has a new brother."

"Oh? I'm happy for her," Riley said. "How old?"

At the Espresso Pump, Tara sipped her coffee as she stared at Willow across the table. For some reason, her girlfriend was practically bouncing in her seat.

"Alright," Tara said, raising an eyebrow. "You wake me up, tell me to get dressed in a hurry and have us waiting out here ten minutes before the doors opened. You haven't said much of anything since then, so I-"

"It's not that we're waiting for someone," Willow interrupted. "They're already here. It's more like he's waiting for me to talk to to you and I'm not sure if I want to go off what's in my head or wait until I think it out a bit more."

"Honey," Tara said, scanning the room as much as she could without visibly turning her head. "It's okay. Breathe."

"Okay," Willow said, visibly making an effort to relax. "It's just that... You know how in comic books how when a new hero comes to town there's initial mistrust between him and the hero who lives there, but then they fight together against a common enemy and decide they're both basically nice guys? Except in this case, it's more of a covering for unresolved issues, that may resolve themselves... I found a new family member. For us. You. He's older than you'd think, but..."

"So," Tara said, warily. "You found a teenage superhero and you want to adopt him?"

"Ahem," came a masculine voice from behind her. "This be taking longer than I thought."

Tara spun around to find herself face to face with a lined green shirt, stretched over a broad chest, above a pair of black slacks.

"De name is Remy LeBeau," he said. "But I've good reason t' believe I'm your long-lost brother."

She looked up, and up, into the face of a smiling brown-haired man.

"Wow," she said. "You look just like mom."

"The eyes," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," she said, shaking her head hurriedly. "Those are new."

"Ah."

##

"Sweetie." Tara reached across the table, resting her hand on top of Willow's. "I trust you enough that you wouldn't have brought him here unless you thought he was safe-"

"I'm sorry, ma chérie," Remy said, pulling another chair up to the table. "Gambit be a lot of things, but ne'er safe."

Tara gave him an odd look.

"It's okay, he says things like that," Willow said. "Or, at least I think he does. I've only known him since last night myself."

"I'm sorry if I come on strong," Remy said. "I'm not sure how to do this. I know how to talk someone back from the brink of amnesia by remarking on things I know are dear to their hearts and mine, but we genuinely don't know each other. What's killing me is the fact that we should. All we got t' tie us together is blood. I jus' hope that be enough t' build something larger on."

"So," Tara asked, after a pause. "You speak French? I've studied Latin - it helps with spells - so I understand a little by way of it. Very little."

"I come by it naturally," he said. "By way of New Orleans. I-"

"I'm sorry." Tara stood up, her palms pressed firmly against the table. "I don't think I can do this. Where were you when mom died? You should have been there!"

"You have no idea how much," she said, staring the taller man down until her voice broke. She bent her head and continued talking with her eyes fixed on the edge of the table. "My brother... Don... He fell apart and I had to be the strong one. Dad was no help, he just stared, didn't comfort him. I had to be the rock. And, after months of fixing my brother's life, he turns around and hates me."