Spark of Genius
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy verse, Girl Genius verse, DC comics or any of the other smatterings of pop culture and literary ideas that I refer to in my story, I just tread through a few other sandboxes. Oh, and several names are made up, some are real, but the facts have been changed to protect the corrupt and innocent equally.
AN: Wow, I hit over 1000 reviews and messages, thanks for all the thoughts as several of them have gone directly into my planning for future chapters whereas others helped inspire what is going into this chapter. Special thanks goes out to Hasty for playing 'what if' and bouncing ideas back and forth with me in real time on Lucifael's chat website. To those who commented that they didn't like the way that Zatanna was portrayed, I say, "Eh, it's canon." You can blame DC comics if you don't like the fact that John Zatarra ruled his daughter's life with an iron fist and a lot of overly protective actions up until he died. For those of you who enjoyed it, great, thanks for letting me know as it got the mental juices flowing and now I'm pumping out the next chapter. Tally ho, into the breach we go!
'Thought'
"Speech"
/foreign language/
Chapter 29: Family Is What You Make It
"There's no such thing as fun for the whole family." ~Jerry Seinfeld
Xander flew north at a sedate pace, sitting Indian style as if he was on a magic carpet while traveling through the air invisibly towards Moscow. Though he could have been to Moscow in a matter of minutes, Xander had set a less than quick pace for two main reasons.
One was that based on the information gleaned from the Assassin's brief on Xander, Xander figured that if he was known for traveling quickly, then reason suggested that the longer he took the farther away from his point of origination Ra's would look for him. Basically, since his enemies expected Xander to try to flee as fast and far away as possible, Xander would use that expectation against them and would do neither of the two. A change of direction from due west to straight north, a change of speed from fast to moderate, and a change in mode of travel were called for in erasing his trail. Sure he could have just used his teleporter to appear somewhere else but that would negate the whole journey thingy.
The second reason also went back to the information gleaned from the Assassin. Sure, knowledge was power and the memories of the assassin sent by Ra's al Ghul gave Xander basic information on small parts of the League of Shadows as well as the skills possessed by the assassin. However without reviewing those memories and experiences just gained, Xander wouldn't know what he had available. Thus just as Xander had needed to spend some introspection time meeting the Heterodyne and Primal personas in his subconscious when he had first arrived in the DC comic book universe, so did Xander need to sort through the memories and knowledge that he had stolen from the dead assassin. Hence the three hour long trip by air from Bialya to Moscow, capital of the Russian Republic.
'Knowledge and synaptic impulses on how to breathe, eat, blow nose and go to the bathroom, delete.' Xander thought to himself as he didn't need a spare bit of knowledge on how to keep his heart beating or the basics of the human body. This type of knowledge stolen from the assassin was deleted from Xander's mind.
Xander continued to hover north, his eyes closed deep in thought as his nano-clank armor kept watch on his surroundings and basically steered him on autopilot. 'Hmmm, it was a lot easier in Kasnia when I was just grabbing a targeted memory rather than taking a quick full data dump.' Xander thought to himself.
'Still, these memories on how to build bombs, plant mines, booby-trap things, and use sniper weapons or pistols should be helpful.' Xander continued to think, his eyes seeming to move around under his eyelids as if he was in REM sleep as he continued to sort and review the memories at a blurringly fast pace.
Xander frowned, 'Still, it would have been nice if this guy had some sort of fighting skill other than brawler.' Xander pondered as he reviewed where the brawling skills and experience could be inserted into his own memories of fights that he had been in. 'Sure, fighting vampires back in Sunny-D had to help a little bit in the fighting department, but the first time I come across somebody who's actually trained in martial arts and has a master level in it as well, well basically my ass is grass and they're the lawnmower.' Xander thought wryly, 'After all, there was a reason why people questioned who would win in a battle between Superman and Batman.'
Xander continued to review and sort his new memories and skills before smiling and shrugging to himself. 'Still, new ways to blow things up is always fun.' Xander thought for a moment as he sorted his new knowledge with explosives before doing a little mental chuckle, 'Not that I needed the help given that I can build bombs in my sleep, literally, stupid subconscious.'
Several of the voices in the back of Xander's head jeered back at him for a second.
Finally the last bits of memory were sorted out, the non-necessary life memories of the assassin deleted as if from a computer via the use of the nano-clanks, and the new helpful memories sorted into place so that Xander's mind could tangentially reference them.
Opening his eyes Xander looked out at the landscape passing by as well as the digital overlay of information that was beamed before his eyes by his nano-clank armor. Looking at the computer readout that was beamed right before his eyes by his mask, Xander decided to make a long distance call as he saw he still had a good forty five minutes until he reached the city limits of Moscow.
Using his suit like a large antenna, Xander sent a tight beam signal up into space above him until he connected with one of the little clanks that was watching down from above.
"Toot Toot?" Came a reply over Xander's communication system.
"Hey there little guy." Xander said with a smile.
"TOOT!" Scolded the clank.
"Sorry, little lady. Um, would you please do a bounce relay to the castle? I need to speak with Bob and RedTree." Xander replied.
"Toodly doodle do!" Was the reply before a few clicks and then a brief pause was heard before Bob and RedTree came online.
"Hey Xander, how is the trip? The Chateau wanted me to ask if you are eating healthy Mr.?" The voice of RedTree came across the line just as an image of the digital faces of RedTree and of what appeared to be Jesse were beamed to the GUI in front of Xander's right eye; the digital image of Jesse was Bob's newly chosen digital image.
Xander smiled a bit morosely at the image of Jesse before he answered Red, "You can tell her that yes, I'm getting my balanced diet along with my Twinkies, and that I've even had some exercise."
Red's digital eyebrows rose, "Exercise? Is there something we should know about?"
Xander frowned and released a big sigh, "Seems Ra's al Ghul is going to be a problem. He tried to make an offer that I couldn't refuse." Xander finished, smiling a dark evil smile as he continued, "Of course I violently disagreed with his messenger and his methods. I'm sending the memory through now."
Xander finished speaking and mentally ordered his nano-clanks to pass along the memory of the sniper attack as well as the confrontation with the assassin and the small amount of information gleaned from the killer regarding the League of Shadows.
The image of Red blinked, which basically meant that she had spent the equivalent computing time of a month analyzing the information and going over what they knew about Ra's al Ghul and his organization before answering. "Well it's not much new information. The assassin only had the information regarding his specific cell and the few safe houses that he knew of. I've been having problems locating information on the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul as most of it seems to be kept either on computer systems that aren't connected to any network, or on hardcopy paper." RedTree visibly shivered at the idea that somebody would be so archaic as to use paper documents, "The barbarians." She finished with a frown and a bit of a pout.
"Yeah, I figured as much." Xander answered. "Still, I've changed directions and am heading towards Moscow. I figure old Ra's will get tired of trying to talk to me sooner or later and that we can just part directions." Xander completed with a shrug.
Xander smiled back at the computer generated image of his long time friend before turning his attention to Bob. "So how goes our science experiments, anything I should know about?" Xander queried.
Bob smiled back, "Yep, you've got to see the latest test of the gravitonic ionic combination engine for the new space fighters." Bob stated, "Though as you'll see, we are having problems with judging how much power to give them." The AI finished with a smirk.
Before Xander's eyes a video of a large metal and concrete test stand was set up with a ring of electro magnets and stabilizers held a fifteen foot long engine motor that glowed a dull yellow. The rig was setup inside of a plain stone bored out mountain chamber that stretched into the distance with an artificial sun providing light from high above. Sensors were scattered around and different visible lasers were seen to bounce off of the sides of the engine to grade any vibration as well as to gauge the thrust of the system upon the test fire.
On the screen several scientists with clipboards and white lab coats walked around and checked things on their data pads while techs crawled over the bracing on the engine; the bracing that was holding the engine was a good twenty five feet thick in every dimension, giving a good sturdy base for the test engine.
A red light began to flash and everybody in the video moved off to the sides of the test stand and entered bunkers while the video recording turned into a spit screen to show the scientists in the bunker at the same time as the engine.
One of the scientists on the screen was seen to give a thumbs up, and a countdown went on the screen before a tech hit a button.
The results were immediate.
The engine glowed bright yellow as if it was the sun in the middle of the day in Death Valley, and there was a giant "CRACK!" sound as the engine broke free of the test-stand and shot across the hollowed out mountain to explode against the far wall in a flare of power and radiation in less than a blink of an eye.
The scientists on the screen were shown to shake their heads, and the lead scientist put a checkmark in the notes about 'Power' on his data pad before the video shut off.
Xander cringed before questioning Bob, "Damn, how much power were you trying to use, a whole Dyson's sphere or Lazarus power cell's worth?"
The image of Bob smirked back at Xander, "Nope. That was a nine volt battery." Bob stated back with a huge smile on his digital face.
Xander's jaw dropped for a second, before slowly growing into a large maniacal smile, "He he, well more power for the shields and weapons then." Xander quipped with a bit of an insane cackle. "Just add more dampeners and use them as brakes or for directional thrust and put the engines into production as is. You can never have too much power going to the weapons." Xander finished with a big evil smile.
Both Bob and RedTree's evil smirks mirrored Xander's before Xander continued talking, "So how goes the synthetic nano-clank composite that old Swampy was going to be working on with the scientists, did Alec and the other scientists get it up and running yet?"
Again a video of a lab experiment was flashed to Xander while Bob's voice commented in the background. "If you look at that tank of what seems to be black sludge." Bob's voice directed as a picture of a large metal pond filled with black fluid was shown to be inside of a laboratory.
"Then you will see how the techs are able to use the computer controls to change the shape of the synthetic nano-particulate." Bob finished.
On the screen was Alec Holland, the former Swamp Thing, speaking and gesturing towards the pond while a tech tapped on a holographic keyboard. Out of the sludge was first formed a black tree that jutted from the pond before it leafed out and turned the natural colors of green leaves and brown bark and wood. A few more buttons were pressed and the color changed back to black before the particles rearranged themselves to look like a bald faceless human shape that soon turned flesh color. The human shape waved its arms around, lifted its legs from where it appeared to be standing on top of the black ooze, and then turned back to the color black before settling back into the sludge pond.
On the screen Alec and the tech spoke a bit more before the tech shrugged and hit a few extra buttons. Suddenly a ball of the sludge oozed upwards and seemed to detangle itself from the tentacle it had originally formed from before free floating in the air above the tank. The tech hit a few additional buttons and the hovering black blob changed into some weird reverse black shadowy octopus or squid like object that looked sleek and deadly with multiple pronged arms pointed forward. A few more buttons were pressed and a golden shield was seen to pop into existence around the model sized construct as the craft slowly hovered to turn in a complete three hundred and sixty degree circle before the shield disengaged.
The tech and Alec smiled big grins at each other and gave each other a high five before cheering could be heard to echo through the laboratory from the other techs and scientists that were working there.
As the video faded out, Xander gave a big evil grin to Bob and Red, "Excellent." Xander stated in a perfect imitation of Mr. Smithers from the Simpson's, "This will be like stealing candy from a baby." Xander finished while he mentally was cackling gleefully.
"Set them into production for operations Bye Bye Birdie and The Prince Is Now A Pauper." Xander chuckled before breaking out in an evil laugh, "Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!"
On the screen, both Red and Bob joined Xander in cackling evilly, "BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA…" before all three of them seemed to stop laughing as if on cue.
"Ahem, alright then." Xander cleared his throat but continued to smile, "One last thing Red, I'm going to need some new identification for Russia." Xander continued.
RedTree interrupted, "Already done Xander. When you land I'll transport you your new Russian passport and identification papers. Congratulations, you are now Alexander Alexandrov Alexandroff; Xander for short." She finished with a small cheeky wink. "I figure you can lift the language from somebody when you get there, and I'm streaming details about the city to your nano-clanks now." She finished with a big smile.
Xander smiled back and tilted his head to the side as information was beamed into his mind regarding streets, neighborhoods, cultural differences and other things that would make sense for a Russian citizen to know when visiting Moscow.
"Thanks Red." Xander finished as he quickly sorted out the new information and smiled back at RedTree. Red winked at him before disappearing off the screen.
Xander turned his focus to Bob, "Anything else I should know about?" Xander queried.
Bob looked thoughtful for a moment before responding with a cringe, "Well, just an FYI that Elder Magda has decided that you are her honorary grandson and that she is going help look after you when you get back. There is talk of finding you a wife or two, and the girls are plotting with her." Bob finished looking away.
Xander's face went pail, "A wife?" Xander's voice squeaked before he cleared his throat and swallowed.
Thinking quickly, Xander responded, "We'll have to find something to fill her time with, or get her another project other than working on my love life." Xander stated, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled to think of some way to get out of the latest quirk in his life.
Looking down, Xander sighed and said out loud, "Why couldn't I have just a reasonable normal life?" He whined.
Bob laughed at Xander before responding, "Ha! Normal? Xander, you should just get used to the idea that normal doesn't do Xander Harris. Besides, normal would be boring." Bob finished, looking like the word normal tasted bad in the AI's digital mouth.
Xander smiled and nodded in agreement before answering, "Yeah, you're probably right." Xander said with a shrug and a wry smile before finishing, "Thanks for the news Bob, feel free to contact me if there is something that needs my attention."
"Sure thing Xander." Bob answered. "Everything seems to be going smoothly for the moment, the United Nations voted to drop the embargo, and salutations from the nations are already rolling in along with requests to commence trade with your empire. Only question in parting is, what do you want to do about the Sparkbucks?" Bob questioned.
Xander thought for a moment and then smiled, "Let the coffee flow again. I'm getting tired of this instant coffee crap while I'm traveling to restaurants where I can't just have a mug transported to me." Xander finished.
Bob smiled, "Excellent. We've been stockpiling the coffee in warehouses hollowed out in the hills and mountains around New Mechanicsburg, but we were running out of space. We should have the shops back open in an hour as the upgrades have been fully completed." Bob finished.
With that, Bob smiled and Xander killed the connection. In the distance Xander could see the suburbs of Moscow coming into view, and with that the beginning of no doubt a new adventure in a new city.
The problem with true artificial intelligences is that they are just that, true intelligences with their own personalities and thinking patterns. Now never doubt that Xander's AI's weren't totally and absolutely one hundred percent loyal and under Xander's control. Taking that in mind however, the manner by which the AI's served Xander sometimes led to results or were carried out in manners that made it a bit tougher on Xander even though the AI's meant well. Take for example the New Mechanicsburg Chateau chasing him through the skies with flaming gargoyles or the Castle and Chateau giving Xander what they termed 'exercise' by activating all of the death traps around him.
Thus it was that when RedTree received the memories about Ra's al Ghul's assassin testing Xander before making an offer, well she decided that the mean old man needed to be asked to mind his own business.
Thus Ra's Al Ghul lost all of the money in his bank accounts located in the Cayman Islands and was sent an email ghost written by RedTree with Xander's name on it:
Dear Mr. Demon Head,
Though I appreciate the offer to join your league of evil doers engaged in the goal of wiping out all human life on Earth, I'm kind of part and partial to the whole human interaction and the continuing to breathe and breed thingies. By now you will no doubt have heard that I killed your messenger, I'm sorry, but he left me no choice. I also wanted to let you know that I know a lot about you and could cause you problems in return for the ones you have sent my way, but I am willing to return us to keeping our mutual distance from each other. In order to prove my point regarding my knowledge about you and your organization you will note that I have emptied your bank accounts in the Cayman Islands, and I must say that the Sierra Club greatly appreciates your donation of the tens of billions of dollars. I've requested that the money goes directly to protecting the environment and cleaning up pollution; a cause I think we can both agree on. That said; please consider my theft of a small portion of your assets as my shot across your bow. Your assassin shot at me, now I shoot at you, and we should all be able to part happily now. Anyway, best wishes and here's hoping Batman stops you from killing us all.
Sincerely,
Xander Harris
The palace on the Syrian border was filled with the sound of laughter that bounced and echoed off of the columns and marble walls.
When the laughter finally stopped, the silence was again interrupted.
"I like this boy. Perhaps the Detective isn't the proper heir for my daughter after all." Ra's stated as he read the print out of the email that was delivered to him, right before commanding the search for information on Xander Harris to be doubled in effort.
In orbit around Earth, it was lunch time at the Watch Tower and the heroes of the Justice League were eating together.
"It's the proof of fact for the butterfly chaos theory, and the reason for most of the global warming that the world is experiencing." The Question finished explaining to the Huntress as he paused to take a bite of his sandwich; somehow managing to take a bite out of it without removing his mask that covered over his features.
Huntress stared at him with a quirked well manicured eyebrow before questioning, "So let me get this right, boy bands are the cause of global warming?"
The Question finished chewing before answering, as he knew it was rude to speak with food in your mouth even if nobody could see his mouth. "Yes, that's right."
The Huntress gave some thought to his argument, and had to agree that there may be something to the facts that The Question had laid out, even if they seemed to be totally unrelated if you didn't look at them together. "So let me get this straight, Menudo, New Kids on the Block, and Nsync…"
"Trying to heat up the world so that all of their female and male fans take their clothes off." The Question finished before taking another bite of his sandwich.
The Huntress just stared at The Question, not sure whether he was serious or not. It was just too weird to believe that it was true, but one thing could be said, she would never be bored if she dated the man.
Smiling a little quirk of her lip she asked, "And Justin Bieber?"
The Question stopped right before he took a bite and then looked steadily at The Huntress. Then with a very solemn voice he said, "You don't want to know, you really really don't want to know." The Question finished his statement with a little shiver before setting down his sandwich; he was suddenly no longer hungry.
Picking up his tray, The Question started to get up to leave.
"Wait." The Huntress quickly interjected and reached across the cafeteria's table to lay her hand on his sleeve.
"Yes?" The Question stated, tipping his head to the side as he looked down at the purple clad heroine.
The Huntress bit her lip for a second before looking up at the Question and smiling, "Are you free tonight?" She asked.
The Question straightened his head before looking back without any expression on his face; but of course he didn't have any expression on his face, he was wearing a mask.
"Sure, do you have a mission you need help with?" He asked.
"No um, uh, I was wondering if you were free to do dinner with me in Platinum Flats?" Huntress questioned after building up her nerve to ask him out. She finished it with a tentative smile.
The Question just stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Sure, I'll pick you up at your place at 6:00 and take you to your favorite restaurant. Afterwards we can go down the street to that new Sparkbucks coffee to chat a while. I have it from a good source that they are going to be opening up in the next hour."
The Huntress was both a mix of happy and stunned. Not only did he say yes, which made her happy, but he already knew her favorite restaurant. However before she could answer him a red blur shot through the cafeteria, and in the wake of the blur the wind caused the food and napkins of the heroes to splatter about the room.
The Watchtower's cafeteria was filled with cursing heroes as they tried to clean that day's mystery meat off of their laps and costumes.
A second later, Wonder Woman flew through the cafeteria cursing and carrying what looked like a purple funnel with purple metal handles. She stopped at the exit to the cafeteria and turned around to address the heroes.
"May great Hera protect whom ever mentioned that Sparkbucks is opening up again before I had a chance to use the purple ray to cure the Flash of his addiction… well for your sake you better not be here by the time I figure out where he disappeared to." She said shaking her fist before flying off down the hallway towards the Watchtower's teleporter room.
The Huntress blinked, and then looked up at the Question and smiled, "I think you had better get out of here, I'll see you at 6:00."
The Question nodded, and answered in a happy tone of voice, "I look forward to it."
With that, The Question quickly darted across the room to deposit his tray in the cleaning apparatus and quickly rushed off to procure a Javelin space craft.
The Huntress watched The Question hurry away before catching the eye of the Black Canary and giving the other girl a nod and a smile.
Black Canary silently gave The Huntress two thumbs up before smirking and putting her hands up in front of her as if she was measuring a foot in length.
At this point The Huntress blushed.
Xander had arrived in Moscow and had commenced silently floating over the down town alleyways and streets until he found a man unconscious behind a dumpster; wrapped up against the cold and fast asleep with a bottle of vodka clutched loosely in one hand.
Xander touched down a foot from the guy and a thin predator system camouflaged needle like protrusion jutted out from the tip of Xander's pointer finger. Looking around to make sure he wouldn't be distracted, Xander saw the coast was clear before kneeling down and pushing the needle into the drunk's head right behind the ear and up into the brain.
The transfer of the Russian language only took a second, but Xander decided to pay the guy back for the language lesson. In the remaining five seconds that Xander held the nano-clank needle piercing the man's brain nano-clanks quickly swarmed the portion of the drunk's brain that caused the addiction to alcohol while a fleet of the microscopic clanks made their way to the liver and kidneys. The needle receded so that it was out of the brain tissue and ten seconds later the clanks returned to Xander's needle and merged back into Xander's suit; healing the puncture wound as they exited along with the damage that the alcohol abuse had done to the man's body.
Xander stood up as the snow on his knee was absorbed by the nano-clank armor acting similar to how it did when Xander was garbed as The Leviathan.
Treading down deeper into the alley caused Xander's footprints to appear in the snow as the mirage like chameleon armor of Xander's suit shifted as he moved into the shadows. Xander's shimmery ghost like form disappeared into the shadows that existed in the deep crevasse between the concrete buildings even though it was the middle of the day.
One second Xander's ghostly image disappeared into a shadow and the next Xander dressed in a winter parka and jeans stepped into the light that was gathered on the other side of the alley with a new passport and identification papers in hand, courtesy of RedTree. Finally exiting the break in the buildings, Xander looked up and down the street while orienting himself in the map that RedTree had downloaded to his mind.
Smiling to himself Xander raised his hood to cover his ears, his frosty breath breezing out of his mouth as he moved down the street towards where he knew Red Square and the Kremlin were situated. Even though February was ending and March was beginning, and even though it was the first day of spring, it didn't mean that it wasn't still cold in Moscow.
Xander walked down the street looking in windows of stores that were in some ways very similar but in other ways totally different than growing up in California. The air was crisp and cold and a sludge like mixture of frozen water and muddy snow kept the sidewalks wet or, in the shadows of the buildings, covered in ice.
Xander looked in the window of a small grocery store and saw that somebody had taped a piece of paper to the window with a Russian joke about Soviet times.
Xander read the joke in Russian and smiled, "/What is 150 yards long and eats potatoes?/" The joke stated. Xander read down the page till he found the punch line, "/A Moscow queue waiting to buy meat./"
Xander shrugged before continuing to walk on, contemplating the joke. As he looked around he thought back to what he had learned about the Soviet Union while he was in school as well as from his Uncle Rory's stories about why Xander should be happy to work in Rory's shop for less than minimum wage.
Xander remembered stories about grocery stores with nothing but potatoes, or how shelves would be stocked with only a few loaves of bread or how people would have to wait in line all day just to get a small portion of poor quality beef. The lists of what wasn't available in Soviet Russia were longer than lists of what was available during the soviet era. Still, Xander had also heard stories from his professors of how the streets of Moscow were so peaceful that you could go jogging during the middle of the night or how police officers could stop speeders merely by stepping out into the middle of the street and pointing at a vehicle that they wanted to pull over; a different type of lifestyle than Sunnydale and its 'gangs on PCP.' Over all, the Russian democratic revolution had opened the doors for commerce and a variety of economic options to fill the stores and streets of Russia.
Still, from looking around Xander could see that though the red hammer-and-sickle flags and Stalin heads were no longer prevalent, democracy didn't seem to have solved all of Russia's woes. The city was grey, a grey and smudged dull color of age and lack of upkeep that seemed to match the feeling of the grey cold spring day. Here and there Xander could spot where buildings were cracking or where the lusters of once grand buildings of communist power were now slowly falling apart.
Xander stopped at the corner of a broad busy street, and across from him were the brick walls of the buildings around the famous Red Square.
"Can't come to Moscow and not see Red Square." Xander said to himself with a shrug before crossing the street in between traffic.
Wandering the square and looking at the brightly colored domes of the most recognized buildings in Russia, Xander did the tourist thing. Stopping to pull a digital camera from his backpack, Xander looked like every other tourist taking pictures of the large square and the buildings; even if nobody else in the square had even heard of, let alone possibly possessed, a digital camera as small and powerful as the one Xander wielded.
Xander scanned through the view finder of his camera and took a picture of the red walls and colorful domes before panning his camera over the crowds walking the square in the thirty degree Fahrenheit weather.
Xander stopped panning his camera when he caught sight of a procession of older pensioners carrying banners and the old style soviet red flags as they slowly marched. Xander didn't know why, but it struck him as sad that these people would rather pine after a system where they were told what to think, what to do, and what to say and were only allowed small personal freedoms.
The procession slowly passed in front of Xander, and he put his camera down from his eyes as he watched the men and woman walk by slowly, old war medals pinned to old uniforms and hats and carrying even older pictures of Stalin and Lenin.
'If there was one image to truly show that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War, then that is it right there,' Xander thought to himself a bit solemnly. His thoughts and feelings on the matter were a bit conflicted, as he was sad for the people who seemed to be left out of the benefits of the new Democracy but also happy that the Cold War hadn't gone the other way and left the United States as the country to suffer as he was seeing Russia suffer.
Taking in a deep breath Xander cast off his morose thoughts as he exhaled a breath that quickly condensed into slowly dissipating frost.
"Well those are happy thoughts Xander." Xander chided himself right as his stomach growled at him. It was at that point that Xander remembered that he had skipped breakfast and that it was already past his normal lunch time.
Exiting the square and heading north east, Xander figured he could find a restaurant or café somewhere near where he knew a mall to be located.
As Xander walked down the street he passed a door just as it opened, and the wave of warmth was coupled by the smell of food that made his stomach rumble again.
Smiling, Xander shrugged to himself silently that this little locals' restaurant was just as good as the next place as far as he was concerned, so he walked in.
Looking around, Xander saw a counter area with stools and moved over to sit at it while unzipping his jacket and removing his hood yet keeping his backpack on.
"/Good afternoon, just one of you?/" The dumpy older lady who was behind the counter questioned in a monotone Russian as she slid a menu in front of Xander.
Xander nodded and replied in the same language, /"Yes, just me, I missed lunch, and a growing boy needs his food."/ He replied with a smile which was punctuated with his stomach grumbling.
The waitress didn't even respond, just looked back at him with a blank expression on her face before dourly turning her back on Xander.
Xander raised his eyebrow in a silent question before looking down the counter at the other people who were silently eating and hadn't even looked up to acknowledge that another living being had entered the restaurant.
Xander's attention was focused back in front of him when a fork and knife were slapped down in front of him, wrapped in a cheap thin paper napkin.
"/What do you want to eat?/" The waitress asked a bit impatiently, hand on a rather broad hip as she just stared blankly at Xander.
Xander looked down at the menu and realized that he really didn't recognize any of the food there; not having grown up eating what was apparently regular Russian fare.
Looking back up at the waitress Xander smiled and tried to get a reaction again, "/I'm feeling lucky today, surprise me./" He quipped in Russian.
The waitress merely stared at Xander unblinking for a moment before the corners of her lips crinkled down in a bit of a frown, "/Fine, one borshch and a side of pirozhki./" She replied before turning to start to leave.
Xander frowned and added quickly, "/A glass of ice water too please./"
The waitress turned back to look at Xander and gave him a good up and down look before spitting out, "/An American, I should have guessed. Hmph/" With that the waitress pushed her way back to the kitchen mumbling curse words about stupid American capitalists coming over to Russia to take advantage of their country.
The words would have been unheard, if not for the fact that Xander had above normal hearing.
Xander sat at the counter looking around as the sound of the clock ticking on the wall and the clink of silverware on bowls and plates were the only sound in the restaurant. None of the patrons looked up at Xander, not even when the waitress had been mumbling curse words about Xander, and not even when suddenly loud cursing could be heard to come from the back of the restaurant.
"/I don't care if you can't speak Russian you little Chinese slut, go serve the dumb American at the end of the counter. Yes, that's right, take these dishes out there, yes out there you fucking idiot girl./ Came a harpies profanity laden speech as the doors to the kitchen were pushed open by the slim backside of a black haired short teenaged girl with a white t-shirt and black apron on . The girl's head was down and her face was hidden by her chin length hair as she moved behind the counter towards Xander, but he could see that her arms and hands were pruned from water and she had splatters of food on her grayish black apron from no doubt having to wash dishes.
The girl turned to face Xander, head still down and not looking at Xander as she set the food down in front of him and went to let go of the food.
Xander reached out his hand to stop her to say thank you, only for the girl to dart her hands back in a graceful move that triggered something in Xander's mind to think of Buffy when she was doing her martial arts training with Giles.
Xander's hand stopped where it was when it had missed touching her hand and he looked up into light slate grey Asian eyes on a face with a bit of Caucasian blood in it.
"Thank you…" Xander's words died on his tongue as he realized that he recognized the face that was looking at him.
It was the face from a comic book that he had read back in his original dimension.
It was the teenaged face of a trained killer, raised by the world's best assassin Cain and trained to only read body language. A killer who ran away from killing and who in the comic books would later become Batgirl.
"Cassandra Cain?" Xander questioned wide eyed.
Cassandra's eyes got large for a moment, then the only warning Xander had that he might have made a mistake was a slight twitch on her face as he suddenly found himself pulled across the counter to smash through his lunch and then straight into the wall behind the counter; face first.
The smashing sound of dishes was followed by the 'Thud!' of Xander's face impacting the wall with his nose, and then he was sliding to the floor covered in the beet soup of the borshch and covered in the crumbs from now smashed potato pirozhki.
Xander's eyes watered and the room was a blur as he heard feet quickly running away along with the waitress's voice screaming profanities in Russian and what Xander figured could be Ukrainian or another Baltic dialect.
'Owwww' Xander thought as he brought his hand to his nose and straightened in with a cracking sound as he set it back into place and felt as his healing factor stopped the stinging along with the blood that was flowing out of his noggin.
Standing as he shook his head, Xander realized that Cassandra had gotten away. Looking around as his vision cleared from the tears that the broken nose had caused, he saw that a back door at the rear of the restaurant was standing open with the waitress cursing in the doorway.
Taking off in a blur, Xander gave chase.
Cassandra had looked up into the face of the muscular Caucasian and had read his actions as he reached out to grab her hand, easily dodging the attempt as she had been trained since an infant to read body language and to inherently know how to counter every action.
Looking into the man's face, she read the emotions of recognition and realization that filtered through the man's face before he said her full name.
The only problem was that the only people that knew her full name were her father, the assassin who had raised her, and the people that circulated closely with her father; also not a good crowd that she would want anything to do with.
'I will not go back.' Cassandra thought, though not in such words but rather in the emotions of fear and determination as she had never been allowed to learn how to speak, read, or even write.
Cassandra's language was body movement, it was action.
So Cassandra acted.
A fast grip of the nerves in the man's wrist and a slight pivot of her weight had the man's already leaning reach propel him over the counter and her ducking, pulling shoulder to be released towards the wall behind the counter.
The motion was fluid, it was exact, and she knew that the man would be stunned long enough for her to make her escape out of the restaurant and away from the job that she had been working so she could get money to move on to the next city.
Darting across the restaurant to push the old screaming harpy out of the way felt good, and then she hit the emergency release bar on the back door and was scampering down the alley way.
The cold air cut at her short sleeved shirt and cut through the thin work shirt as she twisted off the apron and threw it behind her without slowing a step.
The cold was not her concern; the training she had been forced through from the age of three until six had made her used to working in all sorts of weathers.
No, her only concern was her pursuit and how the man could have possibly found her.
Thoughts flipped through her head as she skid around one alley corner and partially ran up the building's wall and up on top of a trashcan before vaulting off of the container's lip to hook onto the lower rung of a fire escape ladder.
Cassandra tucked her body under the ladder's metal bar and spun until she was on an upwards vector and then untucked and launched off the bottom rung of the ladder to fling herself upwards in a flip to grip the window ledge above and pull her up to the stairs of the rusty iron fire escape that was located just above the window.
The metal stairway creaked as she sprinted up the stairs, hoping that she had thrown off her pursuer by leaving the street level behind.
Sprinting up the stairs for another three floors, a ladder was slightly out of reach above her, but not so much that a quick step onto the rusty railing and then a leap for the bottom rung wasn't impossible.
Cassandra seemed to fly hand over hand up the ladder before hitting the next landing and then making a leap of faith off of the fire escape and across the alley to catch the window ledge of the building on the opposite side of the alleyway.
If she hadn't lost her potential pursuer before this, then Cassandra would have liked to see them track her now as she swung side to side for a moment before using her sideways momentum of hanging onto the window ledge to launch herself out into free fall where she dropped almost a floor before snagging a drainage pipe with her fingertips to barely catch it before she shimmied up it towards the roof.
Climbing as fast as she could, Cassandra shimmied up the pipe as if she was an Olympic sprinter running the 100 meter dash; phenomenal athletic skill and incredible martial arts training allowed her to scale the building like a parkour runner on speed.
Scrabbling to the lip of the roof, Cassandra launched herself up to crunch onto the white and grey gravel covered roof with its bits of snow and ice scattered in patches.
She took a moment to look down the length of the building and noted that she hadn't been pursued at all.
Sighing to herself, she turned around to find the rooftop door so that she could get out of the cold, only to see the customer from the restaurant leaning against said door with his arms crossed and smiling at her.
"You didn't have to run. All I wanted to do was talk to you." Xander said, only to fade off mid sentence as Cassandra turned away from him to leap to the other roof back across the alley.
Xander sighed and blurred through the air.
Cassandra flailed her legs and arms as if trying to run through the air as she leaped and caught the edge of the roof with her fingertips, fingertips that hit the icy lip and slipped off.
Cassandra's eyes got large but suddenly realized that she wasn't falling.
Looking up, she looked right into the deep dark eyes of the customer who she strangely noted should have been covered in the reddish purple beet soup, but was strangely clean.
Before she could react to attack the man, she was foisted up onto the roof to land easily on her feet.
Realizing she was no longer held in the man's arms, Cassandra dropped into a fighting form and immediately swung out with a series of kicks and blows towards the man looking at her from two feet away.
To Xander the world slowed down, which was fortunate as Cassandra's kicks and flying fists were a challenge even with his speed as the skilled martial artist seemed to be able to throw kicks, elbows, and knuckles at Xander from every angle at the same time.
Xander slapped away a kick towards his face only to dodge his stomach out of the way of a kick he almost didn't see followed by twisting his shoulder to block the palm strike that had been aimed towards breaking his sternum only to have his cheek grazed by a blow that would have fractured his nose into his brain pan.
'Shit, if I block too quickly then I'm likely to shatter her wrists or knuckles, too slow and she'll end up seriously hurting me.' Xander thought furiously as he ducked under a swing that attempted to take his head off. Xander realized that if he got his block or dodge into position quickly enough that he could bring his limbs to a complete stop so that she continually hit stationary targets. He figured that was a whole lot better of an option than accidentally using his mix of super speed and strength to mistakenly tear off her arm like he had done to the terrorist. Retreating also didn't seem to be an option either, as she would only run away again, and Xander felt that he had to take the risk to talk to her.
From Cassandra's perspective the man was a blur of sloppy blocking motions, but every one of her blows that connected with his muscle tissue felt like she was trying to punch plate steel. A sense of panic set about her as she realized that she wasn't able to read his body movements fast enough to make her blows connect with something that could incapacitate the man.
Blows that were originally meant to injure turned to crippling attacks, and when those still didn't connect, Cassandra panicked and went for killing blows.
Xander saw the brief flicker of panic cross the stoic faced Cassandra and barely missed having his eardrums ruptured by a cupped hand which was followed up with a hooking motion that would have torn out his trachea.
'Shit!' Xander mentally cursed as he had no choice but to call up his armor.
Cassandra's fist towards his nose switched at the last minute to an eye gouge that would have driven into his brain, and she saw the man's eyes get large; right before his clothing and skin blurred over in a solid black mask and armor.
Cassandra painfully jammed her fingers against the metal mask right where the man's eyes would have been, and he merely stopped blocking and stood there as the jarring blow against metal nearly broke both of her fingers.
A knee to the man's ribs rebounded in only pain for Cassandra, and she knew that her only choice was to flee.
Turning quickly she sprinted towards the roof's edge that would lead her back to the other building, only to be cut off as the man appeared between her and her escape route.
"Stop Cassandra," Xander said, holding up his hands in a sign of peace.
Cassandra panicked and ran towards the door from the roof, only to get cut off again.
In Cassandra's mind she was freaking out, she would not go back to Cain, she would not be forced to kill again; she would rather die.
"Just stop, I don't want to hurt you. Please, I just want to talk and to help you." Xander said, holding up his hands as he slowly walked towards the retreating Cassandra who stared at him with scared eyes.
Xander saw the edge of the roof behind her and stopped walking forwards and held up his hands flat in front of him in a wait motion. The drop behind Cassandra went straight down to the street; fifteen stories below and absolutely fatal.
"Just stop." Xander said pleadingly.
Cassandra shook her head once and then closed her eyes before leaning backwards and stepping off into nothing; if her only choices were between going back to Cain and having to kill again or killing herself, then she would choose death for herself.
Xander watched stunned as Cassandra closed her eyes and tilted backwards with her arms wide, giving herself to gravity.
A brief flashback of a wide eyed screaming Janna plummeting from the helicopter shot through Xander's head in an unbidden memory.
'No.' Xander thought and frowned before disappearing from sight with a sonic boom rocking downtown Moscow as Xander flew over the side of the building and literally left a vacuum for the air to fill as his body left the position he had been standing in.
They say your life flashes before your eyes when you know you are going to die, and as gravity pulled Cassandra backwards and then headfirst towards the ground, her short life flew through her mind.
Raised without love, only commands and demands, Cassandra witnessed her first murder at age four. Even before the age of four, however, Cassandra had known how to kill. Every memory of her life, wake up at dawn and the famous assassin Cain would make her run obstacle courses, fight against him, attack and 'kill' dummies, memorize pressure points and read body language. Cain would spar with her, hit her full force, and she would watch as the muscles tensed before exploding towards her face, that way she learned what to look for and how to dodge every variety of blow or kick or stab. She never had books or toys or TV or games or dolls, all she had was training and learning to kill, learning weapons, and more learning to kill. The only reason she learned she was missing out on the normal things that young girls learned and did was when Cain had taken her to kill a diplomat's family. Cassandra had watched dispassionately as Cain had slaughtered the father, mother, and six year old daughter. It was at that point that she had realized that she could have her own wants, her own needs other than the training. A simple, blood stained children's picture book had fallen to the ground, and Cassandra had handed it to Cain with a gesture that she wanted it and wanted to learn to read. She had been denied just as Cain had denied her everything but learning how to kill; no love, no family, not even the ability to communicate in writing or reading or even learning how to speak.
With her eyes closed, sixteen year old Cassandra felt the wind whistling by her, heard the cars on the street below, and gave herself to death at the same time as she realized sadly that she would never have all the things she wanted before dying.
Cassandra was surprised to feel arms wrap around her and her eyes opened to see the faceless black mask of the man who had tracked her down. She had one glimpse of the man before a black doorway seemed to open in the air between them and the street, and they disappeared into it.
Cassandra and Xander fell upwards through the black transporter portal into his bedroom in Romania. Xander and Cassandra exited the portal at floor level and traveled towards the high ceiling rather than continue in the original direction of plummeting towards the ground.
Xander slowed their assent as Cassandra hung limply in Xander's arms, surrendering to the inevitable as she realized that she was denied even death in her attempts to escape Cain.
Cassandra was unaware of their surroundings until Xander settled her softly down to place her sitting on the edge of the bed before he hovered away from her and stepped down onto the rich thick carpet.
Cassandra stared up at Xander with defeated eyes as his armor retracted and he was left wearing a Hawaiian shirt, jeans and boots.
"Bob, would you please contact Magda and Janna and send them to my room." Xander requested into the air before reaching behind him and pulling out the desk chair that he knew was there.
Sitting down reverse style with the back of the wooden desk chair facing the bed and Cassandra, Xander straddled the back of the chair and gestured towards Cassandra, "Jeese, don't scare me like that again Cassy." Xander said as he took his first big breath of air to still his heart from its racing after watching the younger girl plummet off the roof.
Cassandra just stared dully at Xander.
Xander sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair to gather his thoughts while looking down. He wasn't good with this whole heart to heart thing with girls, and he still didn't understand why he had gone chasing after her when he had realized who exactly was serving him lunch.
'It's because you are a white knight, and just like a little girl with a yellow crayon, you can't stand to not help out a damsel in distress.' The voice of reason said in the back of Xander's mind while polishing a pair of glasses.
'I hate that nick name.' Xander groused back.
'Still, it's true and deep down you know it. You know that if you didn't try to help Cassandra that she would continue to struggle and be hunted by Cain, eventually to become the thing she hates again after getting brain washed by the assassin and Deathstroke. You couldn't stand to see any girl tortured that way, even if it was only known to you in your subconscious.' The voice continued in its cultured imitation of a clone of Giles with Xander's face.
Xander sighed before turning his attention back to Cassandra, "What was the jumping off the roof thing for, were you actually trying to get yourself killed?" He questioned.
Cassandra glared at Xander and crossed her arms, a bit of the earlier defiance coming back to her as he noticed her eyes catching that the only visible exit was the door behind Xander or the very solid looking windows that she would have to pass Xander to get to.
"Let me guess, you'd rather be dead than go back to Cain?" Xander questioned with an eyebrow raised in query.
Cassandra vigorously nodded her head before looking Xander over; her hands dropped to her lap where she unconsciously crinkled up the dirty denim work pants she was wearing.
Xander sighed again before speaking, "I'm sorry to scare you Cassandra. Honestly, I was startled to see you, but let me promise you that I will never force you to go back to Cain and that no power on earth would let him get you here." Xander stated, looking across the distance and fixing her with his eyes as he willed her to trust him.
Cassandra's heart skipped a beat and she focused on the man before her, wondering if what he said was true and if he could be trusted.
Cassandra lifted one hand in a sort of questioning shrug like gesture; trying to ask what the hell the man wanted if he wasn't going to force her to go back to Cain.
Xander quirked a bit of a smirk before answering the silent question, "I just wanted to help you. This may seem hard to explain, but I know what you've gone through with Cain and just wanted to offer you something better than a life running away."
Cassandra stared back at Xander with hard eyes, not believing the man. All she had ever known was the indifference of Cain and the outright scorn of the strangers on her travels. A mute Chinese girl scrounging for food and money to survive as she traveled alone wasn't treated very well in a lot of the countries she had been in, and the treatment she had received at the café in Moscow was the least demeaning treatment she had received since she ran away from Cain.
Xander saw the look in her eyes and sighed again before gazing back up at her silently for a moment.
Xander's thoughts circulated through his mind, and then he realized how to explain it to her.
"Let me tell you a story Cassandra, a story about a boy who grew up in a bad place with a bad father and who had to learn to fight." Xander started, looking Cassandra in the eye as he spoke calmly.
"Once there was a young boy who grew up in sunny California, a boy who like every other child had hopes and dreams, wants and wishes. Now this boy grew up with a father and a mother, and you would probably think that would be a good thing." Xander stated looking at Cassandra before giving a bit of a sad smile, "Only, you would understand how not all fathers are caring and loving, and not all parents raise children as they should."
Cassandra hesitantly nodded in understanding as she continued to stare at Xander as she listened to his story.
Xander's words started to paint a picture in Cassandra's mind as the power of the spark helped him to relay his message about a boy growing up in a normal looking house, in a normal looking suburb, with not normal parents and a not normal life.
"Now whereas some parents are loving and give their children books and games and hugs and kisses, the boy's father taught him to mix drinks, how to clean up after his father and mother, and how to take a punch to the face and shrug it off, and how to pretty much be a slave in his own house." Xander said a bit grimly, his story echoing to parts of Cassandra that she recognized as he spoke.
"Every day the boy would get up, clean up the bottles and cans laying on the floor around his passed out parents, make a pot of coffee, and then try to get out of the house before his parents got up and beat him again for no reason at all." Xander continued, frowning as his eyes took on a faraway look as he remembered his childhood.
Cassandra remained staring at the man in front of her, realizing as he spoke that he was talking about himself.
"The boy tried and tried to make his parents happy, but nothing he did ever made them smile at him, ever made them sit down and read a book with him, ever made them spend time with him or show him love." Xander said, "The boy tried doing well in school, but his parents just said he was a brainy wimp and beat him. The boy tried to keep the house clean or to make his parents' meals, but all they did was beat him for not doing it perfectly or fast enough or they called him a girly-boy for knowing how to work around the house. The parents were not parents, they were not family, and the boy grew up knowing only abuse from what should have been his family." Xander related, and he struggled with his memories as they flashed before his eyes. But still he told Cassandra his tale.
"So do you know what this boy did?" Xander questioned.
Cassandra shook her head in the negative.
Xander sighed again before saying, "Well he got ready to run away, like what you did. He went to school that morning and figured at the end of the day he would run away and never come home. But that day, something different happened."
Cassandra stared at Xander, almost picturing the tale that he weaved.
"The young dark haired boy, in dirty clothes from the second hand store, with all of his few worldly possessions in his pocket met a little red headed girl who was crying." Xander said, starting to smile as he thought of his friend Willow.
"Now the boy knew what it was like to be sad, so he asked the girl what the problem was." Xander said, getting lost in his thoughts for a moment and stopping talking before realizing that he had stopped mid story.
"Well to make a long story short, the young boy helped the girl, and she stopped crying when he gave her the yellow crayon that he happened to have in his pocket; one of his only possessions." Xander stated with a smile. "But in giving her one of his only possessions, she gave him something in return that was worth more than anything in the world." Xander finished, pausing and looking straight in Cassandra's eyes.
Cassandra looked at Xander, hungry to know what it was the girl had given the boy in return.
"The girl gave the boy a family. For the first time in his life, the girl gave the boy a hug and the feeling of love that he had never known." Xander finished.
"The boy and the girl went on to grow up together, and when the girl was sad and picked on, the boy would stand up for her or fight off the bullies. And when the boy was bruised and beaten by his so called parents, she would bandage him and let him sneak into her room to sleep at night." Xander explained, smiling at memories of growing up with Willow as his only true family.
"As time went on, other boys and girls joined their family as they chose to get close and became sort of brothers and sisters. But the root of the story is that just because you are born with biological parents that are crap, it doesn't mean that you still can't have a family that loves you." Xander finished, trying to get his point across in a roundabout way.
Xander smiled a bit wryly at Cassandra, "Now if you haven't figured it out yet, the boy was me, and I found out that family isn't who you are born to, but who you allow to love you and who you love in return."
Cassandra looked with a bit of a quizzical head tilt at Xander, not knowing where he was going with this.
Xander sighed again; he realized he was doing that a lot in this conversation. Apparently the whole Xander story time wasn't getting his point across, so figured that it was time for the direct approach.
Xander stared at Cassandra and prefaced his words with his hands, "Frankly Cassandra, I know about your life with Cain." He started, putting his hand to stop her from panicking as he saw her tense up.
"Wait! Not because I know Cain or am a mind reader or even was stalking you. Really, I was surprised to see you in Moscow. Frankly I've been surprised to see so many different people that I had learned about in my dimension. But, well, I know you Cassandra Cain because in the world I come from we can see what happens in this world, see exactly how you were raised and live." Xander explained.
Cassandra paled for a second before blushing and looking away from Xander's eyes, for of course what else would a teenager think of when somebody tells them they had been watching them their whole life.
Xander's eyes got large and he quickly waved his hands in front of himself, "No! Not like that, no um, show stuff or anything like that." Xander said when he realized what she was thinking, and it was his turn to blush again.
"What I meant is that I've seen how Cain raised you." Xander said seriously. "I know you ran away because you saw that man die and as he died you read the panic and fear that was cut off by nothingness. I know you always longed for a family, wanted to learn how to read, to speak, to have love. And well, I just wanted to help you." Xander finished, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck as he thought about how much to tell her.
Cassandra stared at Xander in rapt attention, trying to figure out if this guy was serious or not.
Xander looked Cassandra right in the eyes and decided to go for broke and lay out all the cards on the table. "Cassandra, I'll tell it to you straight. If you don't want what I'm offering, then I can take you right back to Moscow or anywhere else in the world and let you go. Heck I'll even give you enough money so that you can make your way in the lap of luxury, but you have to know what possibly awaits you if you choose that path." He finished seriously.
"Not only are we able to see your past in my original world, but we are able to see your future, the future that may be if you decide to leave here and the offer I'm going to make you." Xander stated, and he realized that he had Cassandra's full attention.
"In your original story, you don't run into me. I didn't even know you went to Russia, and frankly I wasn't in your original story." Xander explained, gesturing with a hand to show how her history had been changed a bit. "However, in your original history you didn't escape Cain fully." Xander said sadly as he saw the fear come back into Cassandra's eyes.
Xander continued on resolutely, "In your original time line, you get intercepted by Cain and Deathstroke, another assassin, I figure you know about Deathstroke?"
Cassandra nodded in acknowledgement before Xander carried on with his story.
"Now you have to understand that this might not happen since you know about it, but in your original story they catch you and brain wash you to start killing again." Xander explained.
Cassandra looked at Xander wide eyed and started shaking her head vigorously in that she would never do that.
"I know you wouldn't want to do it, but they brain wash you so that you don't realize that killing is bad." Xander said as he crinkled his forehead and eyebrows as he was sad to tell her this.
"Now that's not the end of it. Eventually you get saved by Batman and Robin and eventually you go on to wear the uniform of Batgirl, but after a while Batman dies and then you go back to being an assassin again, but this time for the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul." Xander explained the tragic life of Cassandra Cain as told in the DC comic books. He went on to explain how she faded out of view when she became a potential hero in Hong Kong, but that she was fighting alone again at that point in her life; alone without a family.
When Xander stopped explaining Cassandra looked heartbroken and not only a bit confused. However her introspection was interrupted as she jerked to look at the door when an old woman and a brunette in her late twenties or early thirties walked in.
Xander kept focusing on Cassandra as his nano-clanks informed him that Magda and Janna had entered the room.
"So you took the long drawn out version I see." Magda stated as she walked into Xander's view and near the end of the bed, Janna beside her and both smiling at Cassandra.
Cassandra looked from Xander to Magda and Janna and then back quizzically at Xander.
Xander looked over to Magda with a quirked eyebrow.
Magda smiled back at Xander and quipped, "Don't look at me like that, you know I'm a seer, boy. And since you chose the long drawn out story of how I saw this happening, I see that you haven't even told her who you are or what you are going to offer Cassandra."
Janna smirked at Xander, and Xander blushed as he realized that he hadn't even introduced himself.
Feeling like a little boy who just got scolded by his teacher, Xander turned back to face Cassandra who looked quizzically at him like she didn't understand the craziness that was going on around her.
"Eh, um, sorry about that. Uh, Hi, I'm Xander Harris, but most people in the world know me as The Leviathan or the Grey Knight." Xander said the last bit with a chagrined wave.
Cassandra just stared at Xander bug eyed when he said who he was before looking up at the old woman with a look that seemed to ask, "Is he crazy?"
Magda smiled down at Cassandra and answered the unasked question, "No, he's not crazy… well at least not totally." She finished the last part with a bit of a smirk at Xander who pretended to be hurt by the statement.
Cassandra just kept looking back and forth from Magda and Janna, to Xander, and then back again until Magda interrupted.
"Xander, you still haven't told her what you are offering." The Elder Kalderash stated with another smirk.
Xander blushed again before shaking it off and giving Cassandra a serious look, "Yeah, ok, well Cassandra, how would you like to be part of my family?" He finished with a smile.
Cassandra looked stunned at Xander and just stared at him.
"Yes, he is serious child." Magda said with compassion.
Cassandra wheeled to look at Magda with a bit of shock.
Magda just smiled down at Cassandra, "And no, I can't read your mind, I said I'm a seer, daughter. I see the future, or at least possible futures. You can think of me as Grandmother when you decide to accept the offer of joining our family." The old woman said with a nod.
Cassandra looked back at Xander and a myriad of different emotions flew across her face before she gestured with a shrug and two hands up in a silent question.
"Why?" Xander asked, interpreting her question to which Cassandra nodded.
Xander smiled and answered, "Because I like to help people and because you deserve to be helped."
"He's got a bit of a hero complex, always saving people. A regular white knight." Janna jokingly stated and winked at Cassandra when Xander pouted and crossed his arms but didn't deny it.
Cassandra smiled at the casual friendly teasing and raised an eyebrow at Janna.
"I'm Janna, and you can consider me a sister if you want to be part of the family. This is Bunică or Grandmother Magda, Elder of Clan Kalderash, and you've already met Xander even if he did take a long time to tell you his name." Janna said with another smile, and this time a wink at Xander.
Xander just smiled back at Janna, realizing that her infectious humor was helping to easy Cassandra into the idea.
Xander smiled back at Cassandra, who was looking at all of them.
"Now don't feel like you have to decide right here and now, but at least let us help you out and offer you a room for the night, and if nothing else the ability to speak and read." Xander offered with a simple shrug and smile before leaning on his elbows on the back of the chair.
Cassandra looked like she desperately wanted to agree but was just the slightest bit hesitant still. However Magda would have none of that and carefully leaned forward and laid a soft hand on Cassandra's shoulder.
"Come now child, let us get a warm meal into you and get you cleaned up. You look like it has been way too long since you have had good food to eat. I won't have any of my granddaughters looking like one of those stick figure supermodels." Magda said with a caring smile as she helped Cassandra up off the bed and rested her arm protectively around the young teenage girl's shoulders.
Cassandra gave a hesitant smile and nod to Magda before coyly looking at Xander and giving him a bit of a hopeful smile that saw a bit of sparkle come back to the girl's eyes.
Xander smiled and said, "Go with Magda, she'll take care of you." He finished with a wave as he leaned away from the chair back in front of him and gestured towards the door.
Cassandra gave Xander a smile and a nod before turning and being guided out the door by a chattering Magda who was already talking about getting Cassandra new clothes as well as introducing her to all of her new cousins, aunts, and uncles in Clan Kalderash.
Janna smiled and went to follow, only stopping at the doorway and turning around to smile back at Xander. "Bunică wanted me to tell you that she is proud of you, as she foresaw you bringing Cassandra home." Janna finished with a smile.
Xander gave Janna a petulant look, "Well if she knew about it, then why didn't she give me a heads up when I went to Moscow?" He questioned.
Janna just smirked back at Xander, "Because then it wouldn't happen silly." She stated with a musical laugh as she walked forward to plant a kiss on Xander, he gave her a frustrated look and shook his head at another example of the crazy life he lived.
Xander swiveled around in his chair to accept Janna's kiss, and the kiss heated up as Janna ended up sitting in his lap.
Then with perfect timing like all the chaos in Xander's life, a pop sound was heard and a portal in the air swirled to life.
"Dear Lord!" The sound of Giles's voice rang through the air, and Xander went pale and his eyes went wide open.
Still kissing Janna, Xander swiveled his eyes to the left and saw in a swirling magical portal Jenny Calendar, aka Janna Kalderash from Sunnydale, and Giles staring at Xander wide eyed.
Xander released his lip-lock and swiveled his head to face the stunned voyeurs. If Xander had brief bouts of blushing earlier, he was really red in the face now whereas the Janna on his lap had a smug smile on her face like the cat that ate the canary.
Jenny Calendar got over her shock quickly though, and was smirking back through the portal also, while Giles polished the hell out of his glasses.
"Uh yeah, Janna Kalderash, meet Janna Kalderash, and that's Giles." Xander said, still a bit red in the face, especially since the Janna in his lap refused to let go of Xander's arms that were wrapped around her.
Janna and Janna had mirror smirks on their faces and both said, "Hi!" at the exact time that the other did before both broke out in duplicate laughs.
"Good Lord." Giles mumbled again while Xander just continued to blush and look from one Janna to the next.
Giles was the first one to get back onto the point of the call when he interrupted the laughing and asked how Xander was doing.
The conversation then picked up again, with the DC Universe Janna refusing to leave her place on Xander's lap while Xander got reacquainted with his family.
The talk with Xander's Sunnydale family went well, even if Willow turned a shade of red to match her hair upon seeing Janna claiming her spot on Xander's lap. Stories about the latest big bad slayed were told by Buffy as she gave a blow by blow and quip by taunt replay of the latest action. Janna and Janna talked about how the Clans were interested in forming ties and trades between dimensions, and Xander just enjoyed reconnecting with his friends.
Finally the call finished with Xander telling Willow how much he loved her and missed her and how he was going to figure out a better way to communicate back with the other half of the Scoobies.
With that, the long-dimensional visual conference call ended, and Xander sat hugging Janna quietly as both were lost in their thoughts; the original romantic mood broken.
After a few minutes of silent thought, both resting comfortably just hugging each other with Janna on Xander's lap, they turned to each other and kissed briefly before getting up.
With a smile and hand in hand, Janna and Xander left his bedroom.
They were off to spend time with the soon-to-be newest member of Xander's family, Cassandra Cain.
AN: And there's another chapter, a bit more of an emotional development and more grounding in the DC comic book universe by Xander. I always felt sorry for Batgirl Cassandra Cain as I felt that she was truly one of the female characters that always got the short end of the stick no matter how hard she struggled just to be loved and to have a family. There are a few other characters in the DC universe that never really had a chance to be truly happy, are never really trusted or accepted by the other heroes; all of the ones that come to mind happen to be female. Hmm, we will have to see whom else Xander will meet on his trip around the world. Shrug* Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as it dips and weaves through action, romance, emotion, battle and development. The dance will continue, and there will be parts that individual people will like more than others. However, just like with all characters that come to life in a story, not every chapter will be romance, not every chapter will be battle, and not every chapter will be happy go lucky or even all sad. There will be a mix. Well, let me know your thoughts, and thanks for the continuing ideas and encouragement. Cheers!