Well you know the rest Mrs. S you came through for me like you did for all of us at once time or another. I like to think you forgave me for the trouble that came out of me being at UCS. I like to think that because I don't think I could live with the alternative. The mayor was getting ready to make his big move, but even as the big bad was making his play for the future so were we. I had the letters you and Aunt Rosalie did for me but I needed really good SAT's to clinch the deal, Remember the jokes everybody made about my shockingly effective tutor, well the real story was bit more hectic. See there was this girl…."
A tired looking yet attractive woman climbed off a bus. Looking around she drew a long topcoat tighter around her partially concealing the rubber body suit she wore underneath it. To think I've come to this. She thought disgustedly to herself. "Hiding in a hick town that barely…." But there was no time for bitching about her fate. She was on a schedule a tight schedule. After a few minutes inside the Bus terminal, she stepped out into the warm California night. She spotted a telephone booth private enough for conversation. As she made her way toward the phone, she passed a man who spotted her athletic form and sensing and easy target came off the wall to fall into step with her.
"Listen, you look like you need a friend. Let me guess new in town looking for …family" His warm tone of voice was practiced and casual
"No, just a friend." The Woman responded increasing her walking speed. He stayed with her though, just like any good predator. .
"Ah that's a shame. Family can be important. They can look after you when times get hard. Tell you what let me buy you a meal and we can see what we can do to help each other."
The lady paused, her last meal was hours ago and she was hungry and tired. "I could use a meal, but …I don't have too much money."
"Not to worry, I can hook you up and later on I'll find you a place to stay." The man smiled already planning the many "tasteful video projects" a looker like this one could feature in.
"Wow, that's kind of you. To help a total stranger you must be kind. " She slipped off one of the opera gloves that encased her hand and arms up to the elbow
"Hey we all need a little something from time to time what's your name sweetie." The man smiled wide and full
"Gwen, Gwen Raiden." She leaned in grabbing the man's head as she did so. She gave him a deep kiss. Anyone watching would see a couple locked in a moonlight embrace. An intimate moment marred only by sudden grunting and twitching coming from the man; convulsions that caused his body to sag helplessly against Gwen's body. No one wondered at his convulsions or the steam that rose from his mouth when Gwen stopped kissing him. Because no had seem him die. He lurked in that very spot precisely because no was ever watching
Gwen let his body drop to the shadowed ground checking to confirm she was alone and unnoticed; she took his wallet along with his pocket change. After all there was still a call to make but first to find the number. Information in Sunnydale was very helpful and soon she was dialing a residence. "Xander Harris, my name is Gwen Raiden we have a mutual acquaintance, an old friend that is coming back to town. I need your help because if he finds me before I find a friend of yours …it's going to very ugly." She hung up the telephone and Gwen Raiden did something she had not done in a long time…. She prayed.
Xander was studying intensely. His application to UC Sunnydale was not a lock and good SAT's would help. Giles had encouraged them all to study hard. Even giving Buffy a night or two away from slaying. Wesley and Faith were taking up the slack. It severely tested. Faith's resolve working with the stuffy arrogant Brit. Faith was trying but Wesley was difficult.
Xander was having a concentration deficit. He would have skipped out long ago but Angel was patrolling the loft. "Buffy made me promise to keep you on track." He said resolutely
"This is me studying. I have no interest in anything vaguely non-SAT related. ": He whined
"Then work" Angel hissed pointing at the worktable buried under the weight of various textbooks. All open to various pages.
Xander pointed at the telephone. It's ringer turned off by Angel long ago "The light from the phone is blinking how can the light be blinking."
"The light is blinking because there's a message. Now get back to work. "
"The world might be ending, there might be trouble."
Angel pointed at the books and Xander turned to them sneaking glances at Angel as the vampire answered the message Gwen had left fifteen minutes ago.
"Well?" Xander asked eagerly as soon as the telephone was back in its cradle.
"It's some girl, she's asking for you but she's looking for Spider-man."
"There you go, trouble is brewing and Spider-man must be there." Xander said raising from his textbooks to sprint for the closet containing his costume.
"For all you know it could be deathtrap." Angel smiled slightly
"I should be so lucky. Besides," he pointed at the topmost book "it's science, what good will science do a wall-crawling superhero."
Moments later Spider-man hurled himself over the roof of the bus station and looking down spied on the paramedics wheeling a body out. The attendants were talking about the corpse on the gurney, a medical mystery. He looked like he had absorbed a massive electrical discharge. Spidey groaned. "This does not bode well for the Spidey guy" he murmured. .
Launching himself into the night, he swung past Faith's hotel but she was not in. He started web-slinging around the block searching for anything out of the ordinary and he soon found it. Four dark men attacking a woman. She fought them off using a combination of kung fu kicks and punches. Those produced bright flashes as though she was trying to tazer her attackers. Whatever it was she was trying to do, wasn't working. Her attackers where herding her deeper into a dead end alleyway. Soon they would close in for the final rush.
Spidey dropped from thirty feet onto one of her attackers, it got the attention of the rest. "Sorry guys, would love to kick ass individual-like but will you settle for a group rate ass kicking." He webbed up the startled thugs before hurling them all into a wall. They landed with a bone jarring thud that caused even the woman had just saved to wince in sympathetic pain. A few more strands of webbing and the muggers were hopelessly entangled in more webbing. They would be going nowhere.
"You look new, were you looking for me?" Spider-man asked the girl, who nodded cautiously.
"You're Spider-man? The guy who nailed Electro is a spandex suited cosplayer." Gwen asked mystified at what she had just seen.
"One, this is not spandex; two, yes I'm the guy who took out Electro and as evidenced by the four dupes residing adjacent the wall… I pack more of a punch then meets the eye and three, who the hell are you anyway?"
"Gwen Raiden " she paused expectantly
"You say that like I'm supposed to know you. I don't get Bad Girls In Bondage Monthly." Spidey snorted referring to Gwen's form fitting clothing. "I'm assuming you're responsible for the flash fried corpse at the bus station "
"You mean the wannabe pimp, yeah that's mine. This Xander Kid works fast."
"I was in the neighborhood. So what do you need from me "
"Protection from Electro "
"Electro is locked up, and still crazy as a bed bug the last that I heard "
"Oh no, that's old news, someone with influence moved him…elsewhere. He is still crazy though and obsessed with me. I can handle myself against humans but he is …a little different."
"What about these boys. They don't look like Garden variety street thugs."
"Hey, you're the masked vigilante, I'm just the new girl in town Thing is I need help and you're my only hope."
"Whoa Princess Leia how's about I check your story before we go racing off on another exciting adventure. Let's start with Sparky, if Electro is in town he won't be hard to find."
"What's the problem don't you trust me." Gwen sounded annoyed
" By answering that question, I'd embarrass us both. .I have a safe place you can go for tonight. We can start trying to get Electro off your tail in the morning."
Xander came out of the bathroom to find Gwen standing in the middle of the loft, she had made good time to the apartment showing up shortly after he had dropped though his skylight and stashed his costume.
Angel introduced him to Gwen. Who smiled at him. "Thanks for sending the Calvary, Harris."
"So what's the situation." Angel asked
" Electro, from what I hear he came from here and Spider-man was the one who beat him the first time. Recently he got loose from the facility where they had him locked up." Gwen sat at the worktable occasionally paging though Xander's textbooks.
"Where do you come in." Xander asked
"He and I crossed paths." Gwen replied evasively "He's decided he really wants to get together in a big way "
"Why?"
"I have a gift ...or curse, depending on how you look at it. My body generates an electrical field. If it reacts to electricity I can effect it "
"Well there's the connection he generates the same kind of field." Xander said thoughtfully
"Yeah, except he's losing cohesion. Holding his body together is getting harder for him. He's figured out that draining my power might keep him alive."
"I'm guessing you have issues with that " Angel muttered
"The one time he got a hold of me it felt…. " Gwen's face went pale as she hugged herself. "It felt like I was dying."
Angel turned to Xander "Spider-man feels she might be safer here. I disagree but..."
Gwen sighed "Look if its money you guys want or need "
"No it isn't money, laughing boy here needs study time." Angel pointed at the books in front of Gwen "The SAT's are coming up and he needs serious prep." He grumbled
"Really, That I can help with. I had great scores on my SAT's; plus, I have a guaranteed method to keep him on track."
"Really?" Angel said doubtfully
"It's a two part program, I tutor you and help you prep for the test." She casually removed her gloves
"And the other part." Xander asked eagerly
"Every time you get distracted, every time I think you're getting distracted I'll zap you. " She reached out and poked Xander in the arm. A powerful shock lanced through him causing him to scream.
"Now, let's start with science." She walked slowly toward him. "There are objects that you can hold onto in this apartment that will protect you if I touch you.. They are called grounds." She rubbed her hands together. Xander could almost swear he saw sparks flaring as she did so. " Let's find them together shall we."
"Oh God c'mon…(zap, scream) Angel , (zap, scream) for the love of Buffy …(zap, scream) "
The Sunnydale power plant was so efficient these days it practically ran itself. Of course, from time to time, you had to check circuits and things. However, mostly the place ran fine. No body talked about the Electro incident…. Nobody who wanted to stay employed.
A technician was doing one of these rarely needed checks. He looked at a control panel. Power readings were acting flaky tonight. Surges were running through the system, the tech grunted, reached out for another control, it sparked giving off a small charge, and the tech was shocked. He looked at it but it seemed fine now. Leaning in he looked at the readings for the panel. An arc of electrical force lashed out and seized the man convulsing him in pain. As the discharges increased the man floated upwards. His cries screams and gurgles when unheeded as high voltage drew the life from him. As he flopped finally to the ground, the arcing fused into a ghostly form. Electro was home
Warren looked at the dead meat bag in front of him, he felt nothing for them now. He was so much more powerful and as soon as he found Gwen, beautiful Gwen with her even more beautiful electromagnetic aura. Well then, his power would be complete.
Deputy Mayor Finch opened the door to the inner sanctum of his boss Mayor Wilkens. Wilkins was a multi-term Mayor he campaigned on a platform of good government, fiscal responsibility and a very exacting policy of ruthlessly destroying anyone who dared oppose his goals. He had single-handedly made Sunnydale the envy of southern California towns. It was a place to do business, raise families and launch plane for the apocalypse. If you made life easy for Wilkens then he made life easy for you if you complicated his long-term goals then your body would turn up in the desert assuming he liked you. Otherwise, the buzzards would not even know where to look for the corpse.
Wilkens stood looking out the window cradling a drink in his hands. "Ah Finch-Y where is my beautiful box. " Finch did not know what was inside but considering the mayor's constant obsession was his Ascension, it was obviously connected to this singular event.
"Ms Raiden didn't have it with her, I dispatched a team to… deal with her but they were accosted by Spider-man. I'm looking into the details but apparently shortly after she …obtained the item, she started being stalked by Electro. I'm sensing that we won't see your Box until that situation is dealt with."
"Finch, you know why I'm good at my job. Because I sense potential where other don't. if someone is going to be an asset I ensure that person is allowed to blossom and bloom and if I sense they will be an obstruction well then I'll cut them down and burn them out and warm my hands at the bonfire I make from their ashes."
Finch paled, he knew, somehow Wilkens already knew "The woman didn't have the box on her when she arrived at the bus station the people we sent confirmed that."
"Did they ask Spider-man , oh yes they were too busy having their tails kicked by him to ask."
"We are still trying to determine if there's a leak of some kind, you know, figure out if he learned of the "
"He is a do-gooder Finch." Wilkens cut him off "and like do-gooders everywhere lives to screw up the perfectly laid plans of Mice, men and Mayor hoping to become demons. If it wasn't for the fact that his presence along with the Slayers keeps the petty thugs and demons from making too much trouble I'd have them killed."
"Speaking of that, we are still trying to find that weak linkmaybe this Faith person, she seems to be one of those borderline cases. Could go bad with the right persuasion."
"Well start persuading Finch by all means start persuading. The other side has two slayers and a super-powered masked vigilante that hardly seems fair."
"It will be handled"
"And Finch, " Wilkins smiled beatifically." Please get me my box back. I went to a lot of trouble to acquire it and nothing, not Ms. Raiden's personal problems, not the Slayers not this Spider-man will stop me from using it." Wilkins grabbed Finch by the shoulders and squeezed painfully untill the bones groaned in protest.
"Just so that I know …How far should I go to take care of this."
Wilkins turned back to the window "An acceptable body count would be the entire city population starting with our heroes."
"…and then she looks at me and says -- Xander Harris, I remember a Xander Harris, tall nice lines and fairly good teeth. I think I was dating him but since he ditched me all the time I can't be sure." Xander was lamenting the end of his on again, off again relationship with Cordelia Chase. Ending the relationship had proved difficult since Spider duties inevitably kept him away from the break up conversation she had been waiting to have.
Buffy, while not the biggest supporter of Cordy Chase, was amazed at Xander's apparently cavalier treatment of the social queen bee. "You have to give her space. Cordy is just very upset."
"I know from upset Buffy," He sighed " She was right through the roof pissed."
"If you ditched me I would be pissed, " Her annoyance finally showing "How am I supposed to take you side if you treat girls in such an Un-Xander like way. Xander Harris does not ditch his girlfriend. Xander Harris puts all those gothic poet type guys to shame with how well he treats women."
The duo rolled through the door to find Willow hard at work on the library computer and Giles re-filing his mammoth card catalogues. "Ah Ms. Summers late as usual." Wesley's impatient foot taps served to remind Buffy of her intense dislike of the man's oafish behavior. Wes was observing (read, Spying on) Giles. His haughty arrogance bolstered by family connections to The Watchers going back many generations.
"I was trying to find something school related I had to do." she said, her annoyance reaching new levels
"I was helping." Xander supplied
"Mr. Harris your connection to Sunnydale's resident wall-crawling miscreant already compromises you as far as I'm concerned. Why Rupert tolerates you interfering in the training of his young charge…"
Giles cut the man off, something he found he increasingly had to do thanks to Wesley's startling lack of decorum. "I tolerate Xander because he is resourceful if a tad impulsive, plus his connection to Spider-man gives us an additional weapon to use against the forces that assault this town. We need all the help we can get."
"All that running around in costumes, it all seems so distasteful." Wesley murmured disdainfully
Xander's sarcastic comment was derailed by Cordy rushing into the library clutching an amulet. She paused looking at everyone except Xander.
"Listen Cordy I want to…" Xander started
She cut him off "Later, Giles could you…. Could you hold onto this. Please." she shoved the necklace into his hands.
"What is it?"
"It's a weird thing and weird things belong with you. "
Xander tried again "Listen Cordy I really want us to "
She cut him off again. Her eyes darting around the room like it was her first time there. "Look we can be friends OK I realize you have things going on…and the things that you have going on cause you to be weird. So. I'm going to just, you know, be understanding about the things that you need me to be understanding about and then you know that will be that." after delivering her disjointed speech she panicked and fled the library.
"That was so much less eloquent then I'm used to from Cordelia " Xander said
"Ohh eloquent" Buffy smiled "I sense large word usage. Could this indicate we are ready for SAT's"
"Blame it on our latest crisis. Gwen Raiden, she of the electrical aura and tight body suits. "
"And this woman is tutoring you I'm sure." They wandered back into the library Willow had finished typing and was printing up information about Gwen Raiden.
Willow answered her "Hey he may have a winner here her school record's that her SATs were pretty wow. Of course the criminal stuff is pretty interesting too." Willow handed Xander a print out "She is some kind of super thief no job to difficult."
"Then either she is here to steal something and is using Electro as a cover or she already took it and Electro is chasing after her for it."
"Either way, she cannot tell us jack if Electro kills her first" Xander said meanwhile he was thinking, why not just ask him what he wants with her.
That afternoon Xander remembered a vital errand. So after excuses were made he vanished from campus. Minutes later Spider-man landed on the roof of the Sunnydale power facility. This was where Electro had been born and he sensed that it might hold some attraction to him still.
Dropping through a window, he wandered through the dark corridors eventually arriving at an open area. The smell of burning ozone and oxidized wiring told him Electro was here
"Hey Warren, Long time no talk, we should discuss your new girlfriend."
A burst of power turned on lights in the room and electricity began arcing from one light to another. The voice of Warren hissed through the gloom. "So freak still have everyone fooled, thinking you're a hero."
"Well I'm thinking the lack of having killed people worked in my favour you might try it."
"I do what I have to, to survive. I'll do what I have to, to Gwen."
'Yeah about that she doesn't want to see you anymore. In light of your attempt to kill her I can't really blame her."
"She has power, power like mine. if I can absorb enough of her bio-aura I can reconstitute my body. Become whole again, human again."
"And the chance that you'll kill her in the process…"
"She is a criminal, a thief, a freak like you nobody will miss her just like nobody will miss you." Power lashed out from Electro's hands. Spider-man dodged the bolt
"Listen to me Warren you are losing it, Those things that turned you into Electro I can get you help. Get them out of you "
"I can fix myself. The girl will give me the power to be normal again then I'll pay you back for ruining my life." Electro fired more bolts at him, but Spider-man dodged quickly. As he raged and fought, Warren's body started to fading, growing more indistinct.
"I have her under protection you'll never get near her "Spidey said watching the now ghostly youth.
"You forget bug man anywhere there is power there is me I can sense her and when I find her I'll make her power mine." Warren vanished and the power surges skipping through the room faded with him.
"Well as interventions go that one blew huge chunks." Spider-man grumbled as he crawled out a window.
Gwen showed up at the school. Giles smuggled her in by claiming that she was helping aid the improvement of the physics section of the library. Snyder thought that was a lie until she pointed out at least two dozen errors in the textbooks currently in stock. After that, all Snyder could complain about was her clothes. Again, she was wearing a rubber cat-suit, burgundy in colour.
"I say, your grasp of physics is impressive." Giles whispered after Snyder had stalked away
"When your body generates a bio electric field powerful enough to jump start every car in the parking lot and still power the school, it pays to be aware. Besides I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. I had time to read…a lot of time. "
"Maybe if you weren't stealing from them." Buffy sneered as she arrived in the library Faith was just behind and yowled like a cat. She avoided Buffy's dark look
"The stealing was compensation for being both very smart and very bored I'm guessing you'd have no idea about at least one of those."
"I know I'm getting bored with your little girl lost routine. Maybe Xander swallows that one but I'm thinking there's more to the story then that
"I hear a cat fight" Xander joked "will there be a Jell-O component possibly mud." He had just gotten back from his disappointing trip to find Electro and found the tension between Buffy and Gwen to be an amusing diversion from his depression.
"What's with the teen queens I asked for Spider-man's help not his amazing friends" Gwen sneered.
Xander explained, whilst restraining Buffy, that Spidey had confronted Electro who seemed to feel that her criminal activities made her a prime candidate for life leeching. She snarled and whined but eventually told her tale. Hired to steal a box, whose contents were both valuable and unknown, she had stumbled across Electro. He had apparently fallen into the possession of the owner of the box. This person was keeping the boy like a caged animal. Gwen, sure that Electro was a mutant like unto herself, had freed him. Instead of thanking her, Electro attacked her. It had taken all she had to survive. Fleeing, her attempt to get her payment for the box she had stolen went up in smoke along with her client courtesy of Electro. She had discovered that persons unknown in Sunnydale desired the box so she had come to Sunnydale looking for help.
"You hoped that whoever wants the box here in town will pay you but you have to make sure Electro doesn't fry them like he fried your last meal ticket." Buffy was still feeling bitchy
Those goons were working for whoever wants the box. The person in town knows you are here and wants their stuff preferable without having to pay for it. " Faith mused
"Don't you like it when we get those danmed if we do danmed if we don't situations." Xander said brightly
OK we need to get to the box before the bad guys do." Buffy said dropping into chosen one mode.
"They have to be watching us as soon as we make a move they will be on us." Faith agreed
Wesley finally spoke up "Then we divide out resources. Buffy will draw our enemies here in town whilst Faith accompanies Ms Raiden to retrieve the box."
"I could go with …" Xande started
"No" Giles and Wesley chorused
Giles turned to Xander "You need to find Warren, I still have the notes I made from the last time we faced him."
"I might be able to use those to de-spook him." Willow smiled confidently "I think a Spirit relocation spell."
"Ok I'm looking for Electro." Xander sighed
Giles reminded him "Look for, Xander not confront. Remember you are neither Slayer, nor Spider-man. I doubt you'll fair well should you do something overzealous."
Faith and Gwen waited until traffic had died down some at the Bus station before making their move. They headed across the parking lot and were about to head inside when Spider-man landed on the awning over the door.
"Spider, " Faith smiled "glad to see a friendly."
"I see you got stuck with the electric Girl Scout can I tag along. The Electro hunt is going nowhere."
"Red has some mojo whipped up that's making finding him easier."
"Then they don't need the friendly neighborhood wall crawler."
Gwen grunted in impatience. "If the wannabe badass and the wannbe smart ass are done could we get this going."
She darted inside and missed Faith's dark look. Spider man flipped to the ground and patted Faith on the shoulder. "Temperamental little minx isn't she"
Faith laughed " remind me again why I'm risking my life for this woman. " she explained the plan.
"It looks good in the ole' Karmic Grab bag." He said as they chased after her
The trio headed across the floor toward the lockers. "so where's this do-dad at." Faith asked looking around to make sure they were being ignored
"In the lockers of course, I wanted to keep it safe " Gwen muttered as she surveyed a row of metal lockers.
"You locked an object of such power that at least two sets of people are willing to kill for it in a bus station locker. "
Gwen techno-babbled an explanation of what she had done. Spider-man was amazed when Faith nodded. "She used her powers to create a powerful magnetic field that keeps the door closed. They'd need something the size of a pickup to drag it open."
"Check you out Bad ass Slayer and Rhodes scholar all in one."
Faith smiled "I did go to school you know and I paid attention …of course it helped the science teacher was hot."
Gwen stepped up to the locker she removed her gloves and put her hand to the locker door.
The flare of his spider-sense was the only warning they had. A brief burst of power from Gwen and the door banged open. Electrical discharges arced through the bus station.
"I'm guessing this is bad. " Faith muttered
The discharge fused into the ghostly form of Warren. "I've put him down before; get Gwen and the box out of here."
"Nobody is going anywhere." Electro flung out an arm and power bolts fused the door shut sealing them inside. "Not until I've regained what's rightfully mine."
"Stolen, you mean. Killed someone else for what you lost by accident."
"Not accident, if you hadn't interfered I would have gained control made Cordelia love me again."
"You tried to kill everyone including Cordy."
"You're still alive, a fact I'm taking care of right now." Power bolts arced and twisted through the air. Gwen and Faith took cover as Spider-man dodged around the Station.
Gwen looked around and spotted a metal cover plate set in a wall. "Hey Slayer girl are you strong enough to yank that open."
Faith didn't answer she just sprinted over to the wall and pulled the plate off the wall. Inside multi-colored wires snaked though the guts of the wall.
"Look for the ground wire. " Gwen shouted
"No helping" Warren cried out and loosed a blast at Gwen. Instead of tossing her backwards, it picked her up. She began to cry out in pain as Electro's ghostly form began to brighten and solidify. He was drawing on her aura, and it was killing her.
"Yes , its working I can feel again. "
"Get away from her you freak " Faith shouted Electro laughed and launched a blast at her the force knocked her backwards but she seemed otherwise unharmed.
Spider-man looked closer her hand was shoved inside the wall holding the ground wire.
He landed on the ground, picked up a chair, and launched it at Warren. The youth used his powers to catch the chair and hurl it to the side but was distracted long enough for Spider-man to snatch Gwen from the air and swing her to safety. Faith was circling Warren looking for an opening. Spider-man decided to give her one. Spidey strength don't fail me now he thought.
"Poor Warren always coming up short. You could not hit me on your best day. You were a wimp and a loser. If you had any real stones you'd bring that newly solid body over here so I can kick your ass like the man you aren't."
Warren screamed and launched himself at Spider-man. Electro's fists fastened on to Spidey throat and began choking him while channeling his power though his body. "Come on, wall crawling freak, who's laughing now. The last sound you'll hear is the charbroiling of your organs."
"Hey Sparky it's lights out." He reached back into the wall and wrapped one fist around the thick ground cable. He and Warren screamed. Moments later the boy was powerless.
Spider-man collapsed as Faith strode toward them both she picked the dazed Warren off the ground. "Yer looking a little flaccid to me flesh-boy. " she punched Warren hard and knocked him out.
A haze descended over Spider-man even as he heard the sirens announcing the arrival of the police.
The next thing Xander knew he was staring up at a dark ceiling. There was a cool cloth on his head and he groaned. "Did I win?"
Angel was there "Yeah you won, barely. The voltage you were pulling, you almost died."
"How did you get me out of the station."
"I didn't, Faith got you back to her place and I haven't moved you "
"Faith, how did she know to call you." Xander asked uneasily
Angel looked meaning fully at the side table where his mask rested "I have a car ready and waiting but I thought you might have something to say to her first."
He thought about pulling on his mask but vetoed the idea. He found her up on the roof gazing at the stars. "Thanks for saving my life."
She didn't look at him and spoke quietly "You took out sparkplug I'd say its me and Gwen that owe you big time."
"How is she?"
"Recovering. She doesn't know about …you know "
"But you do."
"Yeah I do, now "
"Listen if it's any consolation I haven't told the rest of the guys either."
"I know, Angel mentioned and thinking back to some of the things Buffy and I have said about Xander and Spider-man, I can see why."
"Look there was a reason "
"That seemed to make sense except… I sat there looking at you passed out thinking that you might die. All I could think of was what did I say or do to him that made him think I wouldn't have understood."
"It wasn't like that "
"Funny thing is Xander I know you well enough to know even if it was like that you would say it wasn't."
"This is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid. This is why I kept it to myself."
"And I am not banging on you for that choice." She turned to him " my advice to you though is find an excuse to tell B and Red before too long, Imagine if they find out like I did. You dying or dead, I'd hate to be them, thinking that they lost you because you didn't trust them enough to let them back your play."
"I do trust them , I trust you, its just that "
She cut him off "Honestly Xan, I respect your choice to fight at Buffy's side and share the danger. But don't you think she deserves the same chance to share your life, especially the super hero thing."
"Are we ever going to be Ok about this."
"In the long list of things guys have done to me, this is nothing.." she hopped off the roof. "Guess I was just have to figure out where I stand with you." Xander thought about following but he was too weak to fight. He climbed into Angel's car and they drove home.
The next day, Xander visited Gwen in the hospital. She smiled and held Xander's hand in hers. "Take advantage while you can I can already feel the power coming back. Where is that wacko."
"For now he's gone. they locked him up again, Willow tried the de-spooking spell and we think it worked but…"
"But the power he leeched off me might still be kicking around his system."
"We'll know soon enough. "
"What happened to the box."
"Police have custody they say its material evidence in an ongoing investigation."
"So am I under arrest,"
Strangely enough no, lawyers showed up shortly after you were brought in, Wolfram and Hart, they had the police dancing to their tune inside of five minutes.
"Well then I expect I had better talk to my attorney"
Gwen wished Xander luck on his SAT's. as he left, a young man stood outside the room waiting patiently. He slipped in as Xander left.
Xander hung back and heard the start of the conversation before a security guard's meaningful glance sent him out of earshot.
"Ms Raiden, my name is Lindsey McDonald I represent the firm of Wolfram and Hart."
"I think I've heard of you Mr. McDonald why would you want to pay for my treatment and recovery
"Because Wolfram and Hart is all about recognizing potential ms Raiden and our firm sees a bright future ahead for someone with your potential."
