As he approached Sunnydale he paused above the town, something wasn't right. The judge was gone, Angelus was toast. So why could he hear screaming.
"Faith!" he shouted, recognizing the voice a split second before he sped off in the direction of the screams.
It wasn't long before he was passing the mall and well on his way to the forest on the south of town. "Faith!" he shouted again, trying to get a bearing on where she was.
"Xander!" the scream came back. "Over here!"
That was all he needed as he shot off into the trees, ignoring the branches as they snapped as he sped through them. Approaching a clearing he saw faith, on her knees, blood pouring from a cut on her stomach. A werewolf was bearing down on her, snarling and growling. Speeding up he flew in and swept her up in his arms before climbing back into the sky again.
"Faith, are you alright?" he asked, holding her tight.
"I will be as soon as we get on the damn ground, how do you do this? How far up are we?" she shouted, her hands moving quickly around his shoulders and back as she tried to find a good place to grip.
"Never mind that, I'm just glad you're safe. Why was that thing attacking you?" he smiled at her, lowering his altitude slowly until they were just hovering softly above the trees.
"Werewolf, Jeeves heard that there had been one attacking people at nights. He was going to ask you and Buffy to take care of it but with the judge and all… I got stuck with it." She grinned; obviously happy he was here but not wanting to show her appreciation.
"So he sent you out here with no protection? What about Buffy or Jenny? Couldn't they have come with you?" Slowly he sat them down in the forest, creating a bubble shield around them in case the werewolf came back.
"No one's seen B since she took off, and Ms C's still recovering from when Angelus bit her."
"Wait, what do you mean no one's seen her? She didn't come back?" Xander said, worried now. Just as he was about to ask more a loud growl came from the shadows of the trees. "Werewolf, right." Xander rolled his eyes; didn't he get a break, ever?
"Giles gave me a tranq gun, but I kinda lost it." Faith said, sheepishly.
"You lost it?" Xander said, spinning round to face her.
"Well, it bit it and… well it kind of snapped so I threw it at him. Seemed like a good idea at the time, besides I was never into guns. Give me a knife or a sword any day." The grin on Faith's face was pure slayer, predatory and sexy.
"Well we don't have either of…" Xander trailed off as he saw the werewolf coming out of the trees, running towards them before jumping high into the air.
It was at that moment that the first rays of sunlight streamed into the forest, chasing the darkness from the trees. Xander and Faith watched in amazement, or amusement, as the werewolf turned back into its naked human form in mid air. Before crashing into Xander's shield and slipping to the floor unconscious.
"That's new." Faith grinned as Xander let down the shield so they could look at the werewolf.
"Oz?" Xander said softly as he created a green blanket to throw over the naked boy.
"I'm telling you Giles, I should be out there trying to find Buffy." Jenny said, standing up from the hair for a second before she was pushed back down by Giles.
"You're not going anywhere, Angelus nearly killed you. You were damn lucky that he didn't; now, Xander said you have to relax and recharge. I must confess I don't know much about your… physiology to speak, but he did say that sunlight would speed along the process did he not?" Giles smiled as he stood over her and kissed her softly on the head.
"So you were listening G-man, never knew." Xander grinned as he walked into the library, Faith in tow carrying a naked Oz.
"Xander, thank lord. What happened with the judge?" Giles said, rushing over. "Oz? What happened? Did the judge hurt him?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… one question at a time. The judge is history, he won't be coming back. No need to worry about him. Nice to see you're ok Ms C." Xander smiled over at her as she walked over.
"Getting there. If you don't mind I'll be up on the roof, catching some sunlight, and working on my tan." She said offhandedly with a grin.
"Well, if you need someone to rub in that sun lotion, just give me a shout, and I believe nude sunbathing would be best, topless at least." He grinned before getting a slap across the head from Faith and a Glare leveled at him from Giles. "Or not…" he said softly as she smiled at him and headed out the door.
"Now, if you don't mind. An explanation as to why willow's boyfriend is naked on my desk please?" Giles said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them.
"Well, you remember that werewolf you sent me after?" Faith started.
"Without backup of any sort I may add." Xander said, anger starting to seep into his words.
"Well, here he is." She grinned, waving her hand over Oz's unconscious form.
"Th… Th… This is he? The werewolf?" Giles stammered out. "Well I must say…" he drifted off, looking at the unconscious boy on the table.
"Yep, got there just in time to stop him from ripping Faith apart, and another thing. You know of any demons, say three foot high. Grey skin, big black eyes. Look a lot like the Roswell aliens?" Xander asked, waving his hand to create a construct of the alien he had seen on the ship.
"Well, they do look like the Kip'Ling tribe that is in England but they are peaceful, make the most delightful cakes as well. Other than that, no, it's quite a distinctive form and aside from the Kip'Ling tribe there aren't any demons that look like that. May I ask why?" Giles said, standing back from the construct as Xander sent it back into the ether.
"I met one, introduced itself as Thor, met my dad too." Xander said, knowing full well the chaos it would create.
"Your dad?" faith was the first off the mark.
"Thor?" Giles followed a second behind.
"Yeah, daddy dearest. He was up there along with this… Thor or whatever it is on a spaceship, a god's honest spaceship. It looked like something out of Star Trek or something, but without the hot babes in tight clothes."
"A spacecraft? Dear lord!" Giles muttered before falling into a chair.
"Cool." Faith just grinned, so aliens were real. No big deal in her book, just as long as they kept their probes to themselves that is.
"Yeah, so I'm guessing whatever Dad, Uncle Jack… whatever, is involved in. it's going on right now, and it's just as weird as our stuff." Xander said, slipping into a chair himself.
"Well, I must say this is extraordinary. You have just received proof that we are not alone in this galaxy, you have proven extraterrestrial life. Do you know how important this is?" Giles said, slapping his hands on the table.
"Uh, not to raid on your parade Giles, but dad was up there first, I don't know how he got up there but it didn't feel like magic. In fact from the way they were talking, I don't think they know about magic at all. So if he was up there, I'm guessing the government, or the military at least, knows about these demons as well, only it didn't feel like a demon. Nothing evil about it, just curiosity." Xander said as he lent forwards in his chair to look Giles in the eye. "If they know about magic and demons, maybe I can go public. Do you know how many lives I could save? How much good I could do?"
"Xander, we have talked about this before. I know you mean to do well, but the simple fact is that if you start using your powers to change this world, to change it to your liking, then you take away that that we have been fighting for all these years." Giles paused, holding up his hand to stave off the argument that he knew was coming. "I'm not saying stop saving people, or don't use your powers. I am saying, however, that you must find a place for you and your powers without displacing the people of the world. You cannot keep them, us, like pets. Human beings must be free to make their own mistakes, live their own lives, surely you can accept that."
"But I could do so much good, I mean, I know I'm doing good here but all you have to do is turn on the news to see what's going on, out there. War's, famine, terrorists, I could stop all that." Xander said, waving his hands for emphasis.
"And where does it stop? Does it stop when everyone lives by your rules? By your standards? You may have great power but even you don't have the right to tell people how they should live their lives. I'm not saying stop what you are doing here because you are doing good, but you can't live their lives for them, if you do that then they stop being free, they become kept. Is that what you want?" Giles stopped, seeing that his words had made Xander think.
"Kandor." Xander muttered softly before walking out of the library.
"Kandor?" Giles repeated, looking over at Faith for more information.
"No idea." She said, smiling across the table at him.
"Ow." Oz muttered, sitting up on the table.
"Ah, Mister Osborne, I trust you are well?" Giles asked, moving around the table so he could face the teen.
"Uh, yeah, what happened?" Oz asked, looking round the library with a bemused look on his face. "Library? Huh."
"Yes, you attacked Faith last night. May I ask, how long have you been a werewolf?" Giles smiled as he saw the look of puzzlement on his face.
"Sheesh, tact like that I'm glad you're a librarian, would have made a lousy psychiatrist." Faith grinned, slumping down in a chair.
"Are you ok?" Jenny asks, as she flies up next to him.
"Huh? Sorry, miles away." Xander smiled at her, creating a bench for them both to sit on.
"I asked if you were ok? I saw the green streak head up here, figured you might want someone to talk to." She smiled and sat down next to him, laying her hand on his shoulder.
"Giles… he pointed some things out, how do you do it? Keep on going with the small things when there is so much out there you… we, could be doing. We could really make a difference; instead we're here, in Sunnydale, fighting the small fight. Out there," Xander paused, waving his hand at the horizon. "There's so much more, so much more we could do to help."
Jenny smiled, looking out to the horizon as the sun steamed across the town. "And what did Giles say?"
Xander let loose a small laugh. "He said I had to find my own place. That I shouldn't try to do everything because then people go from being saved to being kept."
"You should listen to him, he may not have our powers, but in his own way he is the most powerful of us all. He knows when we should intervene, if there was something we should do, he would tell us. In all the time you've known him, has he ever steered you wrong?" she asked, her blue eyes staring into his green.
"No, I know your right. It's just… I saw something today, something big, bigger than me or you. I just want to know that I'm fighting the right fight."
"I can't tell you that Xander; all I can say is that we fight what we can. We were given these powers for a reason, whether it's to fight vampires like Buffy and Faith, or to fight bigger things out there. We all have to make our own choices. We can't tell people what to think, or what to do. We have to let them make their own mistakes; we can just be there to help them if they need it." Jenny smiled at Xander as he looked upwards.
"That's pretty much what Giles said." Xander grinned, looking back into her eyes.
"And what did you say to that?" she asked, smiling back at him.
"Kandor." He replied simply before jumping off the bench and flying up into the atmosphere.
"Kandor?" she whispered softly as the bench disappeared. "What's Kandor?" she shouted, flying up as fast as she could to catch up with him.
Xander smiled as he left earth's atmosphere. Looking round the ship was nowhere to be seen, not a trace of it anywhere. He opened his mind, trying to find the ship with his new senses. It was still a new trick to him but he had been using it quite successfully to locate vampires and demons, as long as he concentrated.
"What's Kandor?" a voice broke his concentration. Spinning round he saw Jenny there, floating beside him. "Wow, I've never been up this high before."
Xander just smiled at her, tapping his ears to signify he couldn't hear her. Holding out his hand he quickly created an earpiece and microphone for her and handed in over before creating one in his ear.
"No air, nothing for the sound to travel through up here." He grinned as he saw her blush.
"Ok, got me there. This is amazing, it's beautiful, I've never been up this high before, are we in space?" She gasped, looking down at the planet beneath them.
"Yep, just out of the atmosphere. Don't ask how you're breathing because I haven't the foggiest, I'm breathing through my shield, it creates oxygen from me and protects me from space. Superman and other Kryptonions don't seem to need any suit or shield. They can just do it naturally, as long as you stay near a yellow sun." Xander explained to the bewildered Jenny, she was still admiring the view, trying to memorize as much of it as she could.
"It's just so peaceful, up here. There's no countries, no borders, just a planet." Jenny gasped out as she looked at the planet.
"Yep, our little mud ball. I was hoping what I saw earlier might still be up here, that way I could get some answers, no such luck." Xander flew over to where the spaceship was earlier. "It was right here, big as a city." He emphasized with his hands.
"What was?" she asked, moving next to him.
"A spaceship, hold on…" as he concentrated he could feel the energy of the ship, along with something else, something that felt like magic. "There's something else here, a trail, I can follow it. Do you trust me Ms Calendar?"
"I think out of school you can call me Jenny, and yes. I trust you with my life, if I didn't I wouldn't be up here, would I?"
"Good point, hold on." He said, grasping her hand tight.
As he concentrated he could feel the energy, he could 'see' where it went. Somewhere in Colorado, he couldn't pin it down exactly. "I'm going to try and follow the energy, not fly after it, just transport us there."
"You can do that?" she asked, amazement clear in her voice.
"I've done it before, well not myself, other people and things. It's getting easier though, everything is. It's almost like my powers are growing, getting stronger every day." Xander said, trying to concentrate and pin down the exact location of the energy.
"Stronger than you are now? Xander, why didn't you say, we could have helped you. I mean, how powerful are you going to get?" there was a hint of worry in her voice, colored by amazement.
"I don't know. If the character is anything to go by, then there isn't a limit." He said softly. Almost afraid of the consequences of what he was saying. "Aha, got you. Hold on, it may be a bumpy ride." He grinned at her before concentrating on the place.
If anyone was watching, or listening for that fact, they would have seen jenny's eyes go as wide as they could and heard a scream that would have shattered glass.
In a bright green flash both of them disappeared.
"Who is the Sam Hill are you?" The shout bellowed through the conference room.
"Whoa, nice landing there." Jenny said, stepping down from the conference table where four men and a woman were sat around with papers. Other men were now storming into the office and pointing large guns at them. "Think you could have placed us somewhere a little more private?"
"Sure, but where would the fun in that be?" Xander said, a cheeky grin on his face while he looked around the room. "Ah, dad. Just the person I was looking for, want to call of the guns before I do?"
"Colonel O'Neill, what is the meaning of this? And why did he just call you 'dad'?" The voice bellowed again. Turning round Xander could see the veins pulsing on the man's neck and head.
"Ok, names Xander and this is Jenny. You might want to tell the guys with guns to stand down or I'll take the guns away, trust me, you don't want to make us angry." Xander flashed his eyes to emphasize the point, almost breaking out into a full grin when he saw Jenny flash her eyes red with head vision.
"Xander, what the hell are you doing here? How did you find us and how the hell did you get in here?" O'Neill shouted, pulling him down off the table.
"Well, I came looking for you. Well for answers really, you see I saw this really cool ship in orbit and a little demon. Just around the time I met my father, you remember, right?" Sarcasm dripped off his words as he pulled his arm away from O'Neill's hand.
"I remember, but this is a heavily guarded top secret installation. You and your girl friend can't just flash in here." O'Neill shouted, going as red as the other man was.
"Colonel! If I don't get an explanation soon I'm going to start with your court marshal and end with throwing you through the stargate!" the voice shouted again.
"Sorry general." O'Neill said, sitting back down in his chair. "Xander is my son. I don't know who the woman is, but I met him briefly on the Asgard ship in orbit. I did mention it in the report sir."
"General, I'm sorry to burst in like this. I needed to know what was going on, one minute I'm fighting a demon, the next I see this giant ship in orbit, I go over to see what's the what and find these four," he waved his arm round to emphasize SG1. "And a little grey demon, I went back to see if everything was ok. I only just found out that Jack was my father, but he's got to be better than the one I have at the moment. I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. Now can we get rid of the guns?" Xander explained, not taking his eyes off the guards at the edge of the room who were still pointing the guns at them.
"I'm sorry son, I can't let you appear in the middle of a military base, no matter who you're father is. Guards, take these two to the brig and keep them under constant surveillance." No sooner had the words left the general's lips than a bright green flash enveloped all the guns before they disappeared, only to reappear in Xander's arms.
"Jenny, can you do something with these?" he grinned, passing the weapons over to her in a neat pile.
"Sure." She smiled, holding one side of the pile in one hand, and the gun barrels in the other she bent the pile of guns in half, before pressing her hands together. The occupants of the room cringed as the screech of metal bending, coupled with rounds exploding in the chambers echoed through the room. When she was finished she dropped the ball of crushed metal on the table, what were six semi automatic rifles was now a lump of metal, no bigger than a pile of CD's.
"Now, are you going to take us seriously or do we have to start doing that to people?" Xander bluffed as he swung his legs over onto the table.
The general cleared his throat loudly, signaling the guards to disappear back to where ever they came from. "What do you want?"
"I just came here to talk to my dad and find out what was going on with that demon on the spaceship, you were the ones that started pointing guns at us." Xander explained, leaning back in his chair. Winding these guys up might be just as fun as winding Giles up, maybe even more.
"How did you do that?" Sam asked, motioning to the lump of metal on the table.
"Strength?" jenny replied with a smile.
"Actually, Jenny would you mind if I sent you home? I think I've got it from here." Xander said, looking her in the eye to show he was serious. If anything did go wrong there was no point them both being trapped here, this was she could tell Giles and everyone where he was.
"Sure thing, I'll let you know if we find Buffy. Nice to meet all of you." She smiled before Xander flashed her back into orbit.
"Wh… Where did she go?" Sam asked, looking round the room. "Do you have transporter technology like the Asgard? A ship?"
"Whoa… no, no transporter technology, I just sent her home. No big deal." Xander grinned at the shocked faces in the room.
"You mean you can do that without any form of technology at all?" Daniel asked.
"Uh, yeah, didn't I just say that?" Xander asked, looking towards his dad who was having trouble hiding a grin.
"Colonel, what do you suggest we do with this situation?" The general asked slowly, taking deep breaths at the end.
"He's an ascended, has to be." Daniel pointed out.
"Still don't know what that is." Xander said back to him.
"He's not ascended, he's my son." Jack snapped angrily. "I have no idea how he did those things but he is not ascended. Xander," he looked at his son. "How did you do that? And how were you in orbit? And what the hell has this got to do with demons?"
"Ok, one thing at a time ok? One, I did them using my powers, don't ask for any more because that's the only explanation you are going to get until I know you better. Two, I flew. Three, isn't that was the little grey thing was?"
"No! Thor is not a demon, he an al…" Jack shouted, trying to explain before he was cut off.
"Colonel! This project is top secret, he does not have the proper authorization to know what goes on in this mountain." The general shouted at the top of his voice.
"Whoa, good volume, well, if he's not an alien what is he? Is it a he?" Xander asked, puzzled.
"Son, you've got to appreciate our situation here. You have just appeared in the middle of a top secret installation, disarmed six of our guards and then sent your accomplice back to where ever you came from. This isn't commonplace, even for this installation." The general tried to placate Xander. "now, if you would like to talk with us some more, maybe we can come to an understanding, maybe even help each other." Whatever the general was about to follow up with was cut off by a loud klaxon going off.
"UNAUTHORISED OFFWORLD ACTVATION"
"Not now!" Jack shouted, unholstering his sidearm as he rushed to the stairs and ran down them, followed closely by Sam, Daniel and Teal'c.
"Close the iris." The general barked as he stepped into the command room. "Do we have a signal?"
"Yes sir, it's the Tollan." The airman said, nonplussed as Xander walked down the stairs in his full uniform, including mask.
"Open the iris, gentlemen." The general said, marching out of the room and down the stairs to the gate room.
"Come on, now for the show and tell." O'Neill said, slapping Xander on the back before guiding him down to the gate room.
As they arrived the gate was spinning, Xander just looked at the monument with amazement. "Whoa."
"Just what I said first time I saw it, just wait, the best stuff comes in a second." O'Neill grinned, waiting to see his son's reaction to the gate in action.
As the last symbol lit up the gate burst into action, the whoosh of unstable energy flashed out into the room before being pulled back into the gate and stabilizing into the shimmering wall.
"Fuck!" Xander shouted, startled he stumbled back a few feet, bumping into Teal'c.
"Are you well XanderO'Neill?" Teal'c asked, helping his stabilize his feet.
"Uh yeah, thanks. Just… wow… what is that thing?" Xander asked, stepping forward again hesitantly.
"It's called the stargate, or Chappai'ai, it's a form of transport that allows you to move anywhere in the gate network instantaneously." Daniel explained.
"Gate network?" Xander asked, confused as three beings walked out of the stargate.
"Greetings General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill." The being said as it walked down the ramp from the stargate.
"High chancellor Travell, how can we help? I thought all the technology had been recovered." Daniel said, stepping forward from the group.
"It has, we were talking with the Asgard and they told us of the unusual being that came aboard their ship while they were in orbit. We came to see if there was anything we could do to assist you in this matter as you helped us with the problem of the technology thefts." Travell said as he approached Daniel.
"Uh, that was me. Sorry, didn't mean to spook them, or you. I was just… you know…" Xander trailed off as he noticed the stares coming from the group.
"Well, if the matter has been resolved then I will return to Tolanna. If you do need our help for anything, do contact us, General." With that said, the general nodded to the glass wall behind and above him, signaling for the gate to dial Tolanna.
"Well you could give us some of that fancy technology." O'Neill said, smiling softly.
"You know full well our stance on that. We will not give technology to inferior races; it would unfair to you and the other countries on your planet. I am sorry but that is the last word on the matter." Travell said, almost coldly.
"Why unfair to us?" Xander said, stepping forward.
"Xander!" O'Neill hissed under his breath.
"You say it is unfair to us but why?" He asked again.
"If we were to give you technology beyond your own, you could use it to destroy yourselves or destroy other planets in this galaxy. If we were to give you the capability to do that, then we would be responsible for your actions after the fact. We cannot have that on our conscious again, it has happened once, we will not let it happen again." Travell explained to him.
"You say it like you know we would use it to destroy ourselves, why don't you let us choose our actions for ourselves, in the end that is all we can do. Just allow the younger races to evolve and choose their own path." Xander said, stepping forward from the group, ignoring the whispers behind him. "You say that you are responsible for their actions once you give them the technology, why can't they be responsible for their own actions?"
"I don't believe we have met. I am High Councilor Travell of the Tollan, and you are?" Travell asked, a little shaken by his words.
"Ion, of the OA'n." The lie slid easily off his lips.
"And did the Tau'ri rogue group steal technology from your race as well Mr. Ion?" Travell asked, a bit more arrogance flowing into his voice as he spoke.
"Just Ion, and no. they did not steal technology from us. I am here as a representative from my planet to help in the safeguarding of earth, this planet is now under the protection of the Guardians of OA." Xander said loudly, letting the power shine out of his eyes.
"You are just one man; you believe you can safeguard this planet from the Goa'uld and their other enemies?" Travel said, stepping back as the energy crackled along his skin.
"No, but I believe that they have the right to make their own choices. If we start making their choices for them then we take away their freedom, that is what people fight for, is it not?" Xander said, anger now starting to seep into his voice.
"Yes, we oppose the Goa'uld; we fight for freedom but…"
"But you leave the younger races to fend for themselves? Is that the act of a 'higher' civilization? If the people of earth are ever truly going to grow then they need the chance to do so on their own. Make their own mistakes, live by their own rules. That is the greatest gift we can give them." Xander said, confident he had said his piece.
"You make a compelling argument Ion, I must think upon it some more. General Hammond, may I request another meeting with you and Ion in a few days. What he has said has given me much to think about, maybe we can come to some agreement for non lethal technology, such as shields and weapons disablers, if that would be of assistance to you in your fight against the Goa'uld?" Travel said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"I believe that would be of some help, thank you. You are welcome to return at any time high chancellor." General Hammond said, smiling as he watched the high chancellor walk up the ramp towards the gate.
As he watched the man disappear through the gate, Xander wiped his brow with his hand. "Now, that was a bluff to end all bluffs." He grinned at the group.
"Where did you come up with all that stuff?" O'Neill smiled, patting his son on the shoulder.
"Babylon five and comics, you wouldn't believe me if I told you I was a geek would you?" he grinned at the shocked faces, "Didn't think so." He said as he flashed back into his normal clothes.
"Now, can we finally talk about what we are going to do about you and what you now know?" Hammond said, a bit happier now that O'Neill's son had solved one of their biggest problems with the oversight committee.
"Sure, but what are these Tau'ri or Goa'uld? Think I might have to know these things if I'm going to talk to that guy again." Xander smiled as they walked back up to the room where he had first appeared.
"All in good time son, all in good time." Hammond smiled. "But what is with the costume?"
Xander Laughed as he looked at the smile on Hammond's face, the same smile was on Jack's, Sam's and Daniels. Teal'c simply had an eyebrow raised.
"You girlfriend? Supergirl fetish?" Daniel asked, causing Xander to laugh even harder.
Maybe he would fit in here after all; at least he could do some good here for a while before heading back to Sunnydale. Maybe even make a difference,
AN: ok, sorry it's been so long. Updates should be more often now I've got everything settled down.
Real life just took a priority for a bit. Hope it was worth it.
M
