Eventually, when all the laundry was clean and carted back to the room, underwear perversions aside, they tried to come up with a plan as they sorted out his laundry from hers. He didn't have anywhere in particular to go, and all she had was the vague goal of killing vampire and demon menaces away from Sunnydale. That left a lot of territory…
"We need some way to travel. How did you get out here?" Mort was frowning a bit as he rolled up his laundry, stowing it back into his battered duffel.
"Go Greyhound. It's not just a commercial, it's… hard to get tracked if you take the bus. I haven't got a license… Mellie thought it was more important to learn how to shoot a crossbow and throw knives than drive a car." Faith shrugged. "It may be a bit unusual, but I wasn't exactly the most normal girl before."
"Maybe a motorcycle… takes less space, more maneuverable, and I can fix one if it breaks." Mort looked almost like he was thinking out loud.
"Works for me. Plus there's the cool factor. Almost any motorcycle is sort of cool, but not just any car, you know?" Faith grinned, glad that Mort was willing to look for solutions instead of just worrying over problems.
"To change the topic, are you going out looking for vampires again tonight?" He looked at her, and there was something in his eyes.
"Yeah. I think there are still more in the area, might as well try to clean out the town." Faith shrugged, wondering what Mort was thinking. "Want to come along?"
"Sounds interesting. And you mentioned wanting someone to watch your back, which I can do." He offered a hesitant smile.
Faith wanted the help. Desperately craved having someone to be there for her, to offer her the same support that Buffy had in Sunnydale. "It'll be dangerous…"
"Before Magneto's plan… failed, I lived in his base, and so did his other people. If I can survive living somewhere with Mystique and Sabertooth, a few vampires can't be that bad. Just… well, what kills them, before we go?" There was something half way between bad memories and humor in his expression.
"Evil roommates, hmm? I've met a few of those… normally human though. For vamps, wooden stake through the heart, beheading in some way, shape or form. If it severs the spine between the brain and the heart, it works. Holy water burns them… apparently quite well from the inside, if you can manage. Fire and sunlight, but it's dark, and I don't think you said anything about having the super mutant power to summon fire." Faith shook her head, collecting a knife and a few stakes, some of which she passed to Mort.
"Sorry, no. Can't call fire unless I have a lighter or matches." His smile was calm, almost teasing. "I guess we'll just have to be a bit more active."
Faith felt her lips curve into a teasing smile, and the words just slipped out, a lot more flirtatious than she'd intended. "I like active."
Mort blinked a few times, as if trying to make sense of her, or to see if she'd really said what he'd thought that she'd said. "Good. So, shall we go kill some of these vampires? With a great deal of activity?"
Faith led the way towards the cemetery, wondering why her cheeks felt so warm. She couldn't be blushing, could she? No, she couldn't, so it had to be something else… it must be a little too warm in the hotel. "Best stay alert, some of them are smart. They might try an ambush. Not particularly for us, but just… for anyone. Most vamps are equal opportunity diners."
They were moving along the path, through a section with rows of trees. One side held a fencerow, intended to prevent the wind from blowing away a field, the other held an orchard, the scent of fallen apples almost too sweet in the night air. Something flickered at the corner of her vision, an almost impossibly fast flicker of movement. Something small, and in the air… was it dangerous? Turning, she tried to figure out what that flicker could have been. "What the…"
"Hmm?" Mort's noise sounded a little off, almost as if he was talking around a mouthful of gum.
"I thought I saw something… Keep your eyes open for trouble. There could be more than just vamps out tonight." She tried to keep her unease down. She hated having no idea what she would find on patrol, and if there was something small, fast, and airborne, they could be so screwed… and not in a fun way.
There was a sound, as if Mort was spitting something out. "Right, alert for anything."
Almost, she turned around to ask him what he'd had in his mouth. But there were bigger concerns. She could feel something ahead, maybe vamps, maybe something else, but definitely dangerous. "Ahead, there's trouble. Not quite sure what, but… something bad. Maybe more than one."
"Trouble, just what we were looking for… oh, that's right. We were looking for trouble." He chuckled just a little, the sound not carrying far.
Faith shrugged, knowing that she was grinning already. She was something of an adrenaline junkie, loving that rush where everything was suddenly clearer, and time around you seemed to slow down. It made her feel more alive. And it just might get her killed some day, but hey, not like she was going to live forever anyhow. "Time to work."
End part 4.
There were two vampires and something else, a large hulking thing with green skin and arms that went down to it's knees. It had a muzzle full of sharp teeth, and ridges of bone that started over it's eyes and flared into crests over it's head, shading from green to an amber yellow. Definitely trouble.
Faith headed towards the vampires, glad that there would be no tough questions about how to kill them. Just a simple stake through the heart, and they would be gone. Mort seemed to be doing alright, mainly keeping the green thing occupied as it tried to slash him open, snarling and growling the whole time. The vampires weren't difficult, clearly no more than minions, and soon they were nothing more than dust in the wind.
That only left the green thing. It kept trying to slash Mort with the wicked talons on it's three fingered hands, and snapping at him with it's big teeth. He kept dodging, occasionally leaping out of it's way with more of those impossible moves. "Now would be a good time to kill this… thing."
"I'm working on it. Keep your pants on, Mort." Faith half screamed her response, trying to find a weak point in the thing.
"Considering our charming company, I promise they're staying right where they are. He's not my type." There was definite sarcastic humor in his retort.
Grinning, she feinted, trying to catch it's attention, following that with her foot lashing out, connecting with one bony elbow. "What, too scaly for your tastes? What happened to that equal opportunity talk?"
Leaping over the creature's head, Mort offered what might have been the one finger salute. "I was going to say his teeth are too big. And really, I don't need someone more green than I am in a relationship."
Her chance came when it tried yet again to attack Mort, the forward lunge throwing off it's balance. She stabbed, a stake going into it's back where a human would have kidneys, and slashed at its throat with her knife. The blood spurted away from her, and the thing began shaking at clawing at its back, collapsing to the ground in a heap.
"Well, that was definitely active." Mort shook his head, watching the thing twitch from a distance of about ten feet. "Is that the night, or are we looking for more trouble?"
Faith chuckled, glancing over at Mort. She hoped that she hadn't pissed him off with that crack about the demon. "Probably should make a sweep through the cemetery. And umm… about that crack… I wasn't serious, not really."
He only chuckled. "Just remember that I try not to go out with anyone greener than me, or that looks like they'd take a chunk out if they tried to kiss me. The green's a bit of ego, but the teeth… that's just not safe."
Faith looked over, trying to figure out if he was actually serious or just joking with her. "And the whole male demon thing isn't a turn off?"
"Why Faith, what prompts the sudden interest in my sex life? Idle curiosity, or something more personal?" He was definitely teasing her now.
"Just trying to figure you out." Faith shrugged, trying to ignore the images filtering into her imagination. She could think of some very personal questions or contributions to his sex life. But maybe that was just the slaying talking? It always did make her hungry and horny…
"Flattering as it is that I rate that much attention, I think you should give a little of that attention to the group of people over there, sneaking along with a tied up person." There was a tangle of emotions in his voice, and Faith would have liked the opportunity to sort them out.
Glancing over, Faith realized that he was right. Maybe eight of them, the right height and shape to be a bunch of guys, carrying a struggling smaller form. They had on dark clothing, and some sort of hoods that obscured their heads… but she didn't pick up a supernatural feeling from them. "I think they're human… Still doesn't look like they're up to anything good. Once more into the fray and all that."
They started at an angle that would intersect the group. Hopefully, they could get some idea what was going on before they had to fight… Faith knew for certain that human didn't equal good, or even neutral. Human just meant no special abilities and weaker than she was… unless they were actually mutants. She couldn't tell that without looking at their faces, which were conveniently hidden. All she could tell was that they had yellow bands on their right arms, something maybe three inches wide. "What the hell are they up to?"
end part 5.
"Let me get a closer look at those bands…" Mort's voice was low, all the humor gone. "If they're what I think they are, this is an intended murder."
Before Faith could do more than suck in a breath of surprise, he was gone. She wondered what he thought the arm bands were, that it would tell him their plans. But even if he was wrong, it didn't look good. How many good, safe reasons were there for carrying a bound up struggling person through the night, away from town? The only one that she could think of was an exorcism, and she somehow doubted that was the case.
As she got closer, Faith caught a glimpse of purple hair from the tied up person. That told her either mutant, non-human, or a rebellious person with their own taste in fashion. The color just wasn't on the list of human options. Purple hair was also tied up, gagged, and blindfolded, and she could see the ropes biting into the skin. Definitely not a friendly outing… The plus side, they didn't look like they had guns or other large weapons. She really hoped that she was right about that one…
Faith was close enough to see the band on one of them now, and there was something like a bird, and orange letters underneath. All she could make out were the last two, a smaller O and a capitol H. If she were honest, if sort of gave her flashbacks to the Indiana Jones movies, with the red Nazi arm bands on the bad guys. Not a good sign, and she reminded herself that they were human, she could break bones if she wasn't careful. But did she really want to be careful?
She caught a glimpse of Mort, and he looked… God, he looked furious. Like he wanted to hurt them. That was all the signal that she waited for, and she lunged at the robed figures with a shriek of 'Bahnzhaiii!' Granted, she didn't have any idea what it meant, but it was fun to shout as she leapt into the group, kicking and punching. They dropped the purple haired person, either a woman or a younger teen from the size, and started focusing on trying to hurt her.
Faith found herself getting lost in her anger, not thinking about their human frailty, or the possibility that she might kill someone. She just lashed out, hitting at any dark moving shape.
"Hey! They're down already." Mort's voice shook her out of it. "Besides, we have someone to remove from the scene."
Faith winced, having almost forgotten the whole point of this. Rescue the purple haired captive. Save the person, not kill the guys in the FoH arm bands. She might have done both. "Right… let's get our pal here and bail."
She picked up the person, and they left quickly, in Faith's case pursued by the specters of a guilty conscience. They had been human, and she might have killed them. Not supposed to kill humans, no more blood on her hands… But what had they been planning anyhow?
They stopped at a park in the town, and Faith settled the person on a bench. Drawing her knife, she spoke in what she hoped would be a soothing, steady voice. "Hold still, I'm going to get some of these off of you."
A couple locks of purple hair fell away with the blindfold and gag, but she didn't draw blood. Closer inspection showed that purple hair looked to be about thirteen, and most likely a boy. The tee shirt and pants were too baggy to tell. The near victim was looking at them both with wide, frightened blue eyes.
"You… saved me? Last thing I remembered there was this cloth…" The voice was a bit hoarse, but also seemed to hint towards male.
"Before or after the guy in the dark robes were carrying you out into the woods?" Faith's question only carried a little sarcasm. "I can only answer the after. We found the little party, crashed it, there was some fighting, we kicked their asses, grabbed you, and came here."
"Why did they do it?" The voice was a bit shaky, and Faith was positive the kid was scared.
"They're part of the Friends of Humanity, and you look different. My guess is that you were to be an example of how much they don't like mutants." Mort's voice was dry, and bitter.
"But I'm not… ummm." It was as if the protest died under the idea that insulting the rescuers would generally be a bad thing. "I don't like the idea of death. And I color my hair anyhow."
"Good for you." Mort's voice held more of that dry sarcasm. "Let me put this simply. You don't look like they want. Therefore, they are willing to kill you, under the excuse – true or false- of mutation. If you stay in this area, they'll try again. Eventually, someone will kill you. The question of are you a mutant a not won't count for much if you're dead."
One hand reached for the neck, and the kid swallowed hard. With a very faint voice, stunned words emerged. "Good point. Dead's kind of… the end of the debate."
Faith shrugged. "It's not like there's any excuse to sugar coat it. You could get killed over this, and I'm not going to leave you in the dark about the danger. Life sucks, it's not fair, the whole deal. I know. Doesn't change anything though.
"Maybe I can go spend time with my uncle Hank up in New York…" The kid looked nervous now. "Umm… thanks and all, but… I think I'll be going now."
Faith watched as the kid left. They hadn't even found out his name, but still… it gave her a funny warm feeling in her stomach. "We actually…we saved someone's life."
"Yeah, we did." Mort sounded thoughtful. "Sort of a funny feeling. I think I like it."
Faith smiled, agreeing with that description perfectly. It was a funny feeling, not something that she was used to. She wouldn't mind feeling it more often, it was kind of nice. "Yeah… we saved that kid's life."
The trip back to the hotel was filled with thoughtful silence. Faith had many thoughts about Slaying, and the whole good and evil debate. But working for Dick had never given her that warm feeling inside.
End part 6.
"We need some way to travel. How did you get out here?" Mort was frowning a bit as he rolled up his laundry, stowing it back into his battered duffel.
"Go Greyhound. It's not just a commercial, it's… hard to get tracked if you take the bus. I haven't got a license… Mellie thought it was more important to learn how to shoot a crossbow and throw knives than drive a car." Faith shrugged. "It may be a bit unusual, but I wasn't exactly the most normal girl before."
"Maybe a motorcycle… takes less space, more maneuverable, and I can fix one if it breaks." Mort looked almost like he was thinking out loud.
"Works for me. Plus there's the cool factor. Almost any motorcycle is sort of cool, but not just any car, you know?" Faith grinned, glad that Mort was willing to look for solutions instead of just worrying over problems.
"To change the topic, are you going out looking for vampires again tonight?" He looked at her, and there was something in his eyes.
"Yeah. I think there are still more in the area, might as well try to clean out the town." Faith shrugged, wondering what Mort was thinking. "Want to come along?"
"Sounds interesting. And you mentioned wanting someone to watch your back, which I can do." He offered a hesitant smile.
Faith wanted the help. Desperately craved having someone to be there for her, to offer her the same support that Buffy had in Sunnydale. "It'll be dangerous…"
"Before Magneto's plan… failed, I lived in his base, and so did his other people. If I can survive living somewhere with Mystique and Sabertooth, a few vampires can't be that bad. Just… well, what kills them, before we go?" There was something half way between bad memories and humor in his expression.
"Evil roommates, hmm? I've met a few of those… normally human though. For vamps, wooden stake through the heart, beheading in some way, shape or form. If it severs the spine between the brain and the heart, it works. Holy water burns them… apparently quite well from the inside, if you can manage. Fire and sunlight, but it's dark, and I don't think you said anything about having the super mutant power to summon fire." Faith shook her head, collecting a knife and a few stakes, some of which she passed to Mort.
"Sorry, no. Can't call fire unless I have a lighter or matches." His smile was calm, almost teasing. "I guess we'll just have to be a bit more active."
Faith felt her lips curve into a teasing smile, and the words just slipped out, a lot more flirtatious than she'd intended. "I like active."
Mort blinked a few times, as if trying to make sense of her, or to see if she'd really said what he'd thought that she'd said. "Good. So, shall we go kill some of these vampires? With a great deal of activity?"
Faith led the way towards the cemetery, wondering why her cheeks felt so warm. She couldn't be blushing, could she? No, she couldn't, so it had to be something else… it must be a little too warm in the hotel. "Best stay alert, some of them are smart. They might try an ambush. Not particularly for us, but just… for anyone. Most vamps are equal opportunity diners."
They were moving along the path, through a section with rows of trees. One side held a fencerow, intended to prevent the wind from blowing away a field, the other held an orchard, the scent of fallen apples almost too sweet in the night air. Something flickered at the corner of her vision, an almost impossibly fast flicker of movement. Something small, and in the air… was it dangerous? Turning, she tried to figure out what that flicker could have been. "What the…"
"Hmm?" Mort's noise sounded a little off, almost as if he was talking around a mouthful of gum.
"I thought I saw something… Keep your eyes open for trouble. There could be more than just vamps out tonight." She tried to keep her unease down. She hated having no idea what she would find on patrol, and if there was something small, fast, and airborne, they could be so screwed… and not in a fun way.
There was a sound, as if Mort was spitting something out. "Right, alert for anything."
Almost, she turned around to ask him what he'd had in his mouth. But there were bigger concerns. She could feel something ahead, maybe vamps, maybe something else, but definitely dangerous. "Ahead, there's trouble. Not quite sure what, but… something bad. Maybe more than one."
"Trouble, just what we were looking for… oh, that's right. We were looking for trouble." He chuckled just a little, the sound not carrying far.
Faith shrugged, knowing that she was grinning already. She was something of an adrenaline junkie, loving that rush where everything was suddenly clearer, and time around you seemed to slow down. It made her feel more alive. And it just might get her killed some day, but hey, not like she was going to live forever anyhow. "Time to work."
End part 4.
There were two vampires and something else, a large hulking thing with green skin and arms that went down to it's knees. It had a muzzle full of sharp teeth, and ridges of bone that started over it's eyes and flared into crests over it's head, shading from green to an amber yellow. Definitely trouble.
Faith headed towards the vampires, glad that there would be no tough questions about how to kill them. Just a simple stake through the heart, and they would be gone. Mort seemed to be doing alright, mainly keeping the green thing occupied as it tried to slash him open, snarling and growling the whole time. The vampires weren't difficult, clearly no more than minions, and soon they were nothing more than dust in the wind.
That only left the green thing. It kept trying to slash Mort with the wicked talons on it's three fingered hands, and snapping at him with it's big teeth. He kept dodging, occasionally leaping out of it's way with more of those impossible moves. "Now would be a good time to kill this… thing."
"I'm working on it. Keep your pants on, Mort." Faith half screamed her response, trying to find a weak point in the thing.
"Considering our charming company, I promise they're staying right where they are. He's not my type." There was definite sarcastic humor in his retort.
Grinning, she feinted, trying to catch it's attention, following that with her foot lashing out, connecting with one bony elbow. "What, too scaly for your tastes? What happened to that equal opportunity talk?"
Leaping over the creature's head, Mort offered what might have been the one finger salute. "I was going to say his teeth are too big. And really, I don't need someone more green than I am in a relationship."
Her chance came when it tried yet again to attack Mort, the forward lunge throwing off it's balance. She stabbed, a stake going into it's back where a human would have kidneys, and slashed at its throat with her knife. The blood spurted away from her, and the thing began shaking at clawing at its back, collapsing to the ground in a heap.
"Well, that was definitely active." Mort shook his head, watching the thing twitch from a distance of about ten feet. "Is that the night, or are we looking for more trouble?"
Faith chuckled, glancing over at Mort. She hoped that she hadn't pissed him off with that crack about the demon. "Probably should make a sweep through the cemetery. And umm… about that crack… I wasn't serious, not really."
He only chuckled. "Just remember that I try not to go out with anyone greener than me, or that looks like they'd take a chunk out if they tried to kiss me. The green's a bit of ego, but the teeth… that's just not safe."
Faith looked over, trying to figure out if he was actually serious or just joking with her. "And the whole male demon thing isn't a turn off?"
"Why Faith, what prompts the sudden interest in my sex life? Idle curiosity, or something more personal?" He was definitely teasing her now.
"Just trying to figure you out." Faith shrugged, trying to ignore the images filtering into her imagination. She could think of some very personal questions or contributions to his sex life. But maybe that was just the slaying talking? It always did make her hungry and horny…
"Flattering as it is that I rate that much attention, I think you should give a little of that attention to the group of people over there, sneaking along with a tied up person." There was a tangle of emotions in his voice, and Faith would have liked the opportunity to sort them out.
Glancing over, Faith realized that he was right. Maybe eight of them, the right height and shape to be a bunch of guys, carrying a struggling smaller form. They had on dark clothing, and some sort of hoods that obscured their heads… but she didn't pick up a supernatural feeling from them. "I think they're human… Still doesn't look like they're up to anything good. Once more into the fray and all that."
They started at an angle that would intersect the group. Hopefully, they could get some idea what was going on before they had to fight… Faith knew for certain that human didn't equal good, or even neutral. Human just meant no special abilities and weaker than she was… unless they were actually mutants. She couldn't tell that without looking at their faces, which were conveniently hidden. All she could tell was that they had yellow bands on their right arms, something maybe three inches wide. "What the hell are they up to?"
end part 5.
"Let me get a closer look at those bands…" Mort's voice was low, all the humor gone. "If they're what I think they are, this is an intended murder."
Before Faith could do more than suck in a breath of surprise, he was gone. She wondered what he thought the arm bands were, that it would tell him their plans. But even if he was wrong, it didn't look good. How many good, safe reasons were there for carrying a bound up struggling person through the night, away from town? The only one that she could think of was an exorcism, and she somehow doubted that was the case.
As she got closer, Faith caught a glimpse of purple hair from the tied up person. That told her either mutant, non-human, or a rebellious person with their own taste in fashion. The color just wasn't on the list of human options. Purple hair was also tied up, gagged, and blindfolded, and she could see the ropes biting into the skin. Definitely not a friendly outing… The plus side, they didn't look like they had guns or other large weapons. She really hoped that she was right about that one…
Faith was close enough to see the band on one of them now, and there was something like a bird, and orange letters underneath. All she could make out were the last two, a smaller O and a capitol H. If she were honest, if sort of gave her flashbacks to the Indiana Jones movies, with the red Nazi arm bands on the bad guys. Not a good sign, and she reminded herself that they were human, she could break bones if she wasn't careful. But did she really want to be careful?
She caught a glimpse of Mort, and he looked… God, he looked furious. Like he wanted to hurt them. That was all the signal that she waited for, and she lunged at the robed figures with a shriek of 'Bahnzhaiii!' Granted, she didn't have any idea what it meant, but it was fun to shout as she leapt into the group, kicking and punching. They dropped the purple haired person, either a woman or a younger teen from the size, and started focusing on trying to hurt her.
Faith found herself getting lost in her anger, not thinking about their human frailty, or the possibility that she might kill someone. She just lashed out, hitting at any dark moving shape.
"Hey! They're down already." Mort's voice shook her out of it. "Besides, we have someone to remove from the scene."
Faith winced, having almost forgotten the whole point of this. Rescue the purple haired captive. Save the person, not kill the guys in the FoH arm bands. She might have done both. "Right… let's get our pal here and bail."
She picked up the person, and they left quickly, in Faith's case pursued by the specters of a guilty conscience. They had been human, and she might have killed them. Not supposed to kill humans, no more blood on her hands… But what had they been planning anyhow?
They stopped at a park in the town, and Faith settled the person on a bench. Drawing her knife, she spoke in what she hoped would be a soothing, steady voice. "Hold still, I'm going to get some of these off of you."
A couple locks of purple hair fell away with the blindfold and gag, but she didn't draw blood. Closer inspection showed that purple hair looked to be about thirteen, and most likely a boy. The tee shirt and pants were too baggy to tell. The near victim was looking at them both with wide, frightened blue eyes.
"You… saved me? Last thing I remembered there was this cloth…" The voice was a bit hoarse, but also seemed to hint towards male.
"Before or after the guy in the dark robes were carrying you out into the woods?" Faith's question only carried a little sarcasm. "I can only answer the after. We found the little party, crashed it, there was some fighting, we kicked their asses, grabbed you, and came here."
"Why did they do it?" The voice was a bit shaky, and Faith was positive the kid was scared.
"They're part of the Friends of Humanity, and you look different. My guess is that you were to be an example of how much they don't like mutants." Mort's voice was dry, and bitter.
"But I'm not… ummm." It was as if the protest died under the idea that insulting the rescuers would generally be a bad thing. "I don't like the idea of death. And I color my hair anyhow."
"Good for you." Mort's voice held more of that dry sarcasm. "Let me put this simply. You don't look like they want. Therefore, they are willing to kill you, under the excuse – true or false- of mutation. If you stay in this area, they'll try again. Eventually, someone will kill you. The question of are you a mutant a not won't count for much if you're dead."
One hand reached for the neck, and the kid swallowed hard. With a very faint voice, stunned words emerged. "Good point. Dead's kind of… the end of the debate."
Faith shrugged. "It's not like there's any excuse to sugar coat it. You could get killed over this, and I'm not going to leave you in the dark about the danger. Life sucks, it's not fair, the whole deal. I know. Doesn't change anything though.
"Maybe I can go spend time with my uncle Hank up in New York…" The kid looked nervous now. "Umm… thanks and all, but… I think I'll be going now."
Faith watched as the kid left. They hadn't even found out his name, but still… it gave her a funny warm feeling in her stomach. "We actually…we saved someone's life."
"Yeah, we did." Mort sounded thoughtful. "Sort of a funny feeling. I think I like it."
Faith smiled, agreeing with that description perfectly. It was a funny feeling, not something that she was used to. She wouldn't mind feeling it more often, it was kind of nice. "Yeah… we saved that kid's life."
The trip back to the hotel was filled with thoughtful silence. Faith had many thoughts about Slaying, and the whole good and evil debate. But working for Dick had never given her that warm feeling inside.
End part 6.