Barry's Apartment, 0200 hours.
Buffy had just finished patrolling with the other Scoobies before walking down the hallway while reaching into her pockets and feeling for the key. Once she gripped it, Buffy opened the door to her apartment, and walked into the darkened living room. Closing the door behind her, Buffy took a few steps forward into the room while her eyes adjusted to the darkness that surrounded her. Heading to the small dining table where there was a packet of mini-muffins that made a smile appear on her face, Buffy placed the key on the hard surface before taking off her black jacket. She winced from a formerly dull ache, that flared up once again, when she took off her jacket and set it on the seat back a chair. She then placed a stake on the table while remembering that it was only minutes ago that a demon threw her through a headstone.
While the demon was killed, her shoulder throbbed in pain as she headed for the fridge. She opened the freezer and looked around for something frozen to place on the throbbing shoulder, and her upper back. Finding some frozen peas, he took that out and sighed in relief as she placed them on her back. It was just then that the hall lights to her room turned on. Buffy smiled at Barry who was shuffling out of the room they shared while yawning and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Buffy?" Barry asked before he shuffled over to the blonde Slayer who sat down on a chair while pressing the bag of frozen peas on her back. "Bad day at work?"
"Two nests of vampires, then there were four demons," said Buffy as Barry took over holding the bag on her shoulder, "so yeah, a night as usual, Barry. And yours?"
"A robbery here," said Barry before telling Buffy about his other exploits that night. "You know you could have called me, right?"
"I know," Whispered Buffy as she looked up at Barry, "but then again, it would take all the fun out of Slaying."
Barry chuckled before saying if she wanted to have something to eat.
"I just want to sleep," said an exhausted Buffy as she slowly stood up before telling Barry that her shoulder was feeling a bit better. Barry smiled before placing the packet of peas in the table, and then placing an arm around her shoulders before heading into their room. Buffy then freshened up and changed out of her clothes before joining Barry in bed.
"Our apartment, huh," said Buffy as she lay on her side and faced Barry.
"Our apartment," Barry said as Buffy shuffled closer to the young man who then lay an arm over her waist, "you and me."
"I like how that sounds," she whispered before saying that she was struggling to keep her eyes open. "The whole adrenaline thing is wearing off."
Buffy pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips. He then pulled back as Buffy closed her eyes and went off to sleep. Barry, for his part, looked down at her face and then dragged his fingertips on the back of her tank top, and then her bare back, to the back of her neck, and then ran his hand through her hair. He then brushed some hair off her forehead and smiled at her before kissing her forehead.
He then lay his head on the pillow and mumbled softly, "I love you." Barry spotted the small smile forming Buffy's face as she shimmied closer before he closed his eyes as well.
U.C. Sunnydale, Stevenson Hall, Willow and Buffy's Room; three weeks later.
It had taken three weeks, but it was finally time for Willow to move out after the Housing Office approved the change. And it was in their former room that Buffy and Willow, together with Barry, Xander, Anya, and Dawn helped the former roommates pack up their respective belongings. While Buffy, Xander and Anya helped move Willow's things to her new shared room with Tara. Dawn and Barry were packing the last of Buffy's things when the group came back and said that Willow was officially moved.
"Yes, I am," chuckled Willow as she held onto Tara before sitting on the bare bed across from Buffy's side of the room. "Done?"
"And we're done," said Barry as he closed the top of the final box. It was then that Barry, Xander, Buffy, and Anya who was carrying the smallest box available while the others chuckled, headed for Xander's car. Once they packed the boxes into the car, Barry, Anya, and Xander drove off to the former's apartment while Buffy and Willow finished cleaning up the room with the help of Dawn and Tara. Back in the room, Willow and Buffy looked around at the trash that still had to be thrown out. The redhead sighed before Tara said that they could probably borrow some vacuum cleaners and supplies from the maintenance closet down the hall. While Tara and Buffy left to get some supplies, Willow looked at the mess around them with Dawn sighing at having to pick up the remaining trash.
"Well," said Willow with a smile on her face, "if Barry where here, he'd use his speed to clean this up."
"Well, yeah," said Dawn as she winched at the sight of the trash around the room.
"What would happen if I shift all this trash to another dimension?" asked Willow thoughtfully.
"You'll be…"
"Yeah, I'll do it," said Willow interrupting Dawn as she waved her arms, and the air around the trash shimmered before they vanished into thin air. In reality though, the trash that vanished from Willow and Buffy's room reappeared into the same dimension that the redhead and Anya had sent Olaf the troll. Back in the Prime reality, Willow then looked at a grinning Dawn who arched her eyebrows up at Willow. Just then Buffy and Tara arrived with supplies; the Slayer carrying a vacuum cleaner, and Tara a box of cleaning supplies. They were surprised at the cleanliness of the room when the floor was just covered in trash a few seconds.
"Will?" asked Tara looking at the redhead while holding a case of cleaning supplies.
"It's just an easy thing, guys," said Willow waving her hands as she looked at her girlfriend's frown. She knew that the blonde witch didn't like to have magic used for doing simple tasks that could be done normally. Willow made a mental note to add the fact that Barry uses his super-speed for simple tasks most of the time if Tara had anything to say later that night. In fact, the way she felt Tara was judging her, Willow felt it better to just say what she wanted to say right now. "Come on, if Barry gets to use his powers for simple stuff… and I've seen him use it for simple stuff, then I can too. And besides, it's not like I'm using magic every day."
"Wi…."
"Buffy," said Willow as she looked at her friend expectantly, "Barry uses his powers for normal house work too, right?"
"Oh, no." said Buffy shaking her head, "don't bring me into this."
"But he does use his powers for simple things right?" asked Willow as she stared at Buffy.
"Tara, the room was trashed.. literally," said Dawn waving her arms and interrupting everyone, "and hey, we don't have to do any work. So yaay!"
"We'll place these things back in the closet then," said Buffy with a sigh before she and a frowning Tara headed back out into the hallway while Willow and Dawn high fived each other. It was a few minutes later that Barry returned with Xander and Anya. The group looked at the dorm room, with Barry exclaiming that it looked much cleaner than before he left with Xander and Anya. Willow said she followed his example and used magic to make life a little bit easier.
"Neat," said Barry while Dawn said that they didn't have to touch anything 'icky'. Buffy and Tara then returned to the room, and looked in for one last time before heading out. They were due to go pick up Giles, and then get some grocery shopping done before heading off to the Summers home where they would be meeting with Giles for dinner.
Willow loked at the frown in Tara's face as they held hands together before whispering that she just wanted to get things done fast so that they could move on. Tara then sighed, before nodding her head. The redhead then smiled before the group walked down the stairs.
As the group walked down to the lobby, and then headed out the door, there was a figure in a hooded sweatshirt which covered his face walking towards them. He walked past Buffy and Barry, who were arm in arm while walking behind Willow and Tara, and bumped accidentally into Buffy.
"Sorry," he said as Buffy and Barry turned to look at him just as he turned away after waving them off and rushed up the stairs. Buffy watched the figure go up the stairs before turning to a shrugging Barry; they both then walked off. Buffy, however, didn't feel it when the figure attached a device the size of a pin-head, on her shirt. In addition, the figure also pulled a piece of hair from the back of Buffy's head which he deftly put into his sweatshirt's pocket.
Once the figure was on the first floor, he rushed to the end of the hallway and left through the stairwell back down to the rear of the dorm building. He then opened the rear exit door while pulling back the hood to reveal himself as Warren. He then rushed towards a grey coloured sedan parked at the edge of the parking lot. There was what seemed to be a small radar dish that was attached to the roof of the car, with wires that were attached to a laptop wirelessly connected to the device on the Slayer's shirt.
"Ready?" asked Jonathan as he watched Warren enter the driver's seat while Andrew sat on the passenger's seat.
"Yeah," Warren said as he fished out the yellow hair from his pocket and handed it to Andrew, "you know what to do."
"Oh yea," said Andrew as he placed the hair into a metallic spherical container, "I just need one more ingredient, and then we can use the spell tonight."
"How long will it last?" asked Jonathan as he recalled the discussion they had earlier that day in regards to what they had in plan for Buffy. "Because, just so you know, we need to be there a few hours after the bank closes. There will be no cars or people on the streets, and we can use the time to set a trap for the Streak so that he won't interfere in our plans. And also, we need enough time to brief her on the bank's floor plan, before that she has to break into the back, take the money, and then come back. And of course, Andrew and I have our own things to do while Warren finds out the Streak's identity so that he'll be under our control. So do we have enough time for all of that?"
"The time limit with one piece of her hair would be four hours," said Andrew shrugging his shoulders.
"We'll have all the money we want," said Jonathan with a smirk as he wondered what he would do after breaking into, and robbing, one of the three banks in Sunnydale. And then there was one thing he was thinking about that worried him, "will Buffy remember any of this?"
"She'll be out of it," said Andrew. "It'll be like a dream for her. After she's done, she can go home where she'll sleep and think she was having a dream. In the meantime, the device will recharge. Then the next day we can use her again."
"She'll make us rich," said a chuckling Warren as he looked back at Jonathan, "and she'll be our… well, lets just say I bought a French maid uniform for her- all for just this one moment. She'll do anything we ask. And of course, we'll be lording over the Streak's identity."
"But no killing," said Jonathan. "We'll need the Streak as an insurance policy when we control Sunnydale."
"Of course," Warren said flippantly, but he knew that there was another plan for the Streak. One that he was keeping to himself.
"Cool," said Andrew as he looked at the spherical device in his hand while Jonathan looked down at his laptop. He was fine with simply having Buffy fawn over the three of them – after what he had seen Warren do in Buffy's old room three weeks ago, Jonathan made a mental note to be more vocal in preventing Warren from doing anything untoward to Buffy. Shaking his head, the young man looked back down at the laptop, and then back up at Warren before asking if he was ready for his part in the contest between the three of them.
"Do it," smirked Warren.
Buffy was walking arm in with Barry when the both of them heard a buzzing sound around them. And then suddenly the world sped up. Confused, Barry used his speed to avoid the blur of people that were about to hit him and the equally confused Buffy. With everything moving slower for him, but not as slow as it should be when using his speed, Barry managed to not hit any of the blurry figures around them as he headed for one of the tables in the quad. He and Buffy hid under the table so that they could figure out what was going on, just as everything around them returned to normal.
"Okay, what was that?" asked Buffy while a confused Barry looked at his girlfriend. In the meantime, Jonathan was watching everything through a micro-camera located in the device, and wondered if it had malfunctioned since the picture was fritzing uncontrollably for a few seconds. In addition to the video, the readings being sent back on her heart rate, breathing, and other vitals were odd. He expected that she would be extremely worried, that her timing in avoiding the sped-up figures would be off… however nothing like that happened. He then turned off the device to run diagnostics to ensure that it wasn't malfunctioning before starting it again.
"Anything?" asked Warren as he looked back from the front seat.
"I'm trying it again," said Jonathan while running a diagnostic. "Give me a minute."
"Quick," Andrew said.
Back in the quad, Barry and Buffy got out from under the table and stood up. They looked around for Dawn and the others, but they were already quite a distance away. The two of them then looked at each other before he spoke, "I heard the buzzing coming from you."
"I heard it too, but I didn't know if it was from me," said Buffy as she spread her arms up to her sides while Barry was patting her down while smirking at Barry. His hands went up both sides of her hips, and then under her arms. His hands then brushed her bare arms before feeling the sleeves of her shirt. It was then that Barry feel something small on her upper arm's sleeve. Buffy put her arms down and looked on as Barry took off a small device, and held it between his fingers.
Back in the car a panicked Jonathan exclaimed that Buffy and her friend had found the device.
"How?" asked Warren and Andrew.
"I don't know," yelled a panicked Jonathan, "I'm activating the self-destruct."
"Do it!" yelled Warren just before Jonathan pressed a button.
Back in the quad, Barry and Buffy heard a 'pop' just as the device vanished in a puff of smoke.
"That's new," said Buffy confused as she looked back up at Barry.
"Yea," said Barry as he looked around, and then at Buffy before asking if she had any idea what happened.
"None," said Buffy before telling the speedster that perhaps it would be better if they talked to Giles about what happened. Barry nodded his head before the both of them ran towards Dawn and the others who just noticed that Barry and Buffy were missing. While the couple was heading for their friends, Buffy turned to Barry and pouted before saying, "you know, you use your speed too much for normal everyday stuff. Makes me feel not very Slayery."
Barry chuckled as they walked on before saying that he'll try slowing down, before wondering aloud about the buzzing sound and the 'popping' device.
In the meantime, Jonathan and the others were livid at the failure of the initial test. They wanted to continue with the other two tests, but Andrew said it was better to postpone that until the next day; they still had to finish their plans for tonight.
And that included the final part of a spell to have Buffy under their control.
The Summers Residence, 2100 hours.
The gang had met at the Summers home later that night since Joyce was going to cook a special meal for both Willow and Tara, and for Buffy and Barry. It was a celebration of the fact that the two couples were moving in to their own places. Buffy and Barry had already talked to Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya about what happened but no one had a clue why the device was placed on Buffy. They had no idea why Barry was affected as well, and most importantly, they didn't know the reason for why time was accelerated from Buffy and Barry's perspective.
With more questions in their heads than answers, especially after discovering from their wristwatches that over five minutes had passed by in a space of what seemed like a few seconds, Buffy was sitting on Barry's lap while trying to get everything that happened earlier in the day.
While the Scoobies were chatting and joking; Joyce, Dawn, and Giles were getting the food ready.
Sunnydale Central Bank, at that same time.
With the street in front of the bank quiet since there were no pedestrians, and only a few cars on the road having passed by, Warren and the other members of the so-called Trio stepped out of their car. Andrew had a packet of red powder in his hand specifically created to handle the Streak if he interfered in their plans, while Warren fished the silver spherical object from his pocket. The group walked to the trunk of the car and asked each other if they were ready.
Warren nodded his head before holding out the silver object in the palm of his hand. The young man then mumbled a spell that invoked ancient spirits to possess Buffy and place her under his control. Back in the Summers house, Buffy was laughing at something that Xander said while Barry was gently rubbing her back. Suddenly Buffy stopped laughing as a cool chill went up her spine and she turned her head to gaze at her boyfriend. To the Slayer, it felt as if she was suddenly trapped in her own body which moved without her permission.
Buffy was 'telling' Barry that something was wrong, but she didn't feel her lips move. Instead, she felt herself leaning into Barry. Buffy felt her mind being invaded by a darkness as she screamed for Barry to listen to her. However, once again, her lips weren't moving as she moved her hand to Barry;s throat while placing her head on his shoulder. Buffy insctinctively knew what was about to happen as Barry was rubbing the back of her head whle laughing at Anya making an innocent joke. Buffy felt the darkness move her body as a chill went up her spine again. She felt something evil. She heard Tara stopped laughing, and then Buffy glanced at the witch who looked right at her with a stunned look on her face. Buffy knew that whatever invaded her mind was figuring out who among her friends posed the greatest risk. Smiling at Tara just as she opened her mouth, Buffy… or at least the entity controlling Buffy, wrapped her hand into a fist and the struck the unsuspecting Barry's throat while Tara yelled, "that's not Buffy!"
"Barry!" yelled Xander as he got up while Buffy jumped off the speedster as he grabbed his throat and looked at his girlfriend in shock. He then saw her turn and grab Xander. Before the young man could say anything, he was swung around and then thrown into Anya who then screamed as she struck her back on the wall behind her. Buffy then turned to the still stunned Barry who was trying to breathe.
"Barry!" yelled Buffy as she felt her body turn, jump, and then twist in the air before she slammed her foot into the side of Barry's face. Buffy knew that his reaction time would be slower when it came to her and watched as he was thrown onto the carpet where he lay unconscious.
Buffy could hear her heart beat racing as she tried to stop the thoughts she knew was going through her mind from being acted out.
"No!" screamed Buffy as she then turned and leapt at a stunned Tara after knocking Barry unconscious. She punched the witch in the face before swinging a back-fist to the side of Willow's head causing her to tumble down from the couch to the carpet. With the two witch's unconscious, the commotion was heard by Giles, Joyce, and Dawn who called out for her sister after rushing into the living room from the kitchen.
However, 'Buffy' knew that they were no threat. And so, Buffy's possessed body rushed out of the door while Joyce and Dawn rushed to help Tara, Xander, Anya, and Willow while Giles went to help Barry. While Joyce and the others were trying to wake them up, Buffy was running at full speed. Tears were going down her face as she continued on while mentally screaming for her body to stop running.
She was screaming out while she felt her body being called somewhere.
"Barry! Willow! Tara!" yelled Buffy, even though she knew her physical lips were not moving. "Barry!"
It would be twenty minutes later that Buffy reach the Trio's car, and she looked at the three people who called for her. She saw Warren walking close to her before wiping the stains on her face caused by the falling tears. Buffy felt sick as she felt Warren brush his fingers on her cheeks before his hands went down to her neck while staring into her eyes like a predator about to attack a prey. Buffy tried to move her arms, but she couldn't as his hand travelled down her collarbone, then to her shoulders and down her arms. A hand then around her to the small of her back, before lowering down a few inches while his other hand went back up to the side of her face to caress her cheek.
"After this, I have a French maids outfit at our lair," Warren whispered after leaning into her ear, "I'll send Johnathan and Andrew away, and we'll have fun before the spell deactivates itself. I can't wait to see you in the thong I took from your room."
"Oh my God," said Buffy while she pushed her body to move and fight. She wanted Warren to pay for this gross violation.
But all Buffy's body could do was stare at Warren as he pulled away form her with a smile on his lips. He then turned to Andrew and Johnathan, "show her what she needs to do, and then she'll go home with us." Warren then looked at Andrew and told him to 'set the trap for the Streak'. Buffy heard what Warren said, but she couldn't move her head as Warren looked back at her with a smile on his face. Unknown to Buffy, Andrew opened the bag contained the red coloured powder and drew a line several feet away from the car. The line ran across from one side of the street to the opposite side before Andrew rushed past the other members of the Trio to a few feet from the front of the car. And he repeated the same line from the two sidewalks. With the two lines drawn on the straight road, Jonathan handed Buffy a pair of gloves, and a balaclava before asking her to put them on.
"Don't do this Jonathan!" yelled Buffy as her body simply moved on its own. She put on the gloves, and the Balaclava that covered her whole head- just showed off her eyes. Andrew then showed her a floor plan of the bank, including how to get access to the vault and the door to the security room. While Warren pulled four duffel bags out of the trunk as Andrew and Jonathan was briefing Buffy; back in the Summers house, Barry was coming to after getting a slap from Dawn, who was also screaming his name.
"Buffy?" he groaned after opening his eyes to find a red eyed Dawn looking back at him. He heard worried voices from Joyce and the others while the side of his face, and throat, stung. Barry blinked his eyes to clear the flashes of light he was seeing thanks to the after-effects of the kick by Buffy, and then tried to get off the carpet and to his feet. Giles and Xander helped him up while he glanced over at a dazed Tara and Willow- both of whom had bruises developing on the face.
"Where's Buffy?" asked Barry as he looked at a worried Joyce and Giles, while Xander walked back to the groaning Anya who was sitting on the couch.
"She just left after going nuts," exclaimed Anya while she was pressing a frozen bag of peas on her shoulder, a bag which she then shared with Willow as she placed it on the side of her face.
"I.. I saw something strange with her aura," groaned Tara while she flinched at the icepack that Joyce placed on her cheek, "she… oh I think I'm going to be sick." Tara then leaned back on the couch while Joyce gently told the young woman that everything was going to be just fine.
"I need to go out there," groaned Barry who felt like throwing up.
"We don't know where she is," said Xander as he looked up at Barry from the couch.
"It's not Buffy," Dawn exclaimed as she rushed to stand in front of Barry, "it's not Buffy. She wouldn't do this."
"I think something possessed her," groaned Tara as she put a hand on her own forehead to try and stop the room from spinning, "but she can really hit hard."
"I'll run through the city," said Barry shaking his head, "I'll be back."
"I'll try a location spell for her," said Willow as nodded her head before she looked at Tara who was panting while nodding her head.
"I'm not going to argue with you on that," Tara groaned, "a possessed Slayer? Not good."
"No," said Giles as he helped Willow stand up. "I'll help you, Willow. And Barry?"
"I'm gone."
Barry then zoomed off out the door. He ran to the apartment he shared with Buffy before changing into his uniform and then began a systematic search of the city.
Back at the bank, Buffy had already gone through the plans of the bank before she started to walk towards the entrance. She was doing everything she could to stop, but her body simply did not want to listen. Once she nearly placed her hand on the door handle, Buffy heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance.
"Stop," commanded Warren at Buffy. She stopped, and then pulled her arm back before turning to look at Warren who was motioning for her to walk to his side. Buffy's body moved involuntarily and stood next to him and the others just as a red streak with yellow lightning rushed towards them from one end of the street.
"Come on, come on," whispered Warren with a smile on his face.
As Barry rushed towards the group after having gone through a third of the city after three minutes of running through every house, and seeing things that he never wanted to see, Barry came up upon the four of them by accident. Thinking that it looked suspicious to have a car in an empty street parked in front of a bank with four people standing around, Barry knew he had to intervene before continuing the search for his girlfriend. However, the closer he got to them, the more he recognized the shirt that the figure in gloves and balaclava was wearing.
It was Buffy.
He wanted to grab her and take her away so that Tara and Willow could help her. But, just as he passed the red power line on the surface of the street, Barry felt a jarring sensation as he stopped running. He stumbled to the ground at Buffy's feet before he felt himself stumbling backwards while getting pulled back to the red line which was now glowing. Once he was on that line, Barry tried to run at Buffy and the three young men again… but he noticed lines of red coloured energy that was holding him still when he tried to move.
"How does it feel, Streak?" asked Warren while he took a few steps forward with Buffy. Andrew and Jonathan walked up to Warren's side as they stared at the Streak who tried to run at them again, but was unable to move thanks to the strands of magical energy that was tied to his back, legs, and arms. "It's a spell we spent the past few weeks researching. Something to stop anything that moves fast… all for you."
"Let her go," said Barry as he looked at Buffy who was still wearing the face covering.
"She's my toy," said Warren as he drew back his arm and punched Barry in the abdomen. Barry tried to use his speed to block or avoid the punch, but he was unable to move at all. He was hit in the abdomen, and then multiple time across the face while Warren yelled at Buffy to break into the back, and then yelled at Andrew and Jonathan to take the duffel bags and follow her into the vault. "Andrew take the money, jewels.. whatever you can stuff into the bags. And Jonathan, wipe the security tapes. Go."
"Buffy!" yelled Barry watching Buffy walking away with Jonathan and Andrew as he fell to the ground. Once he hit the ground unable to move to protect himself Warren started to kick him. "Buffy!"
"Stop!" yelled Buffy as her body moved without her controlling it. Buffy felt helpless as she placed her hand on the door handle while hearing Barry yell for her. At that same time, Warren knelt down to the injured Barry and reached for his cowl. He whispered at Barry that he wanted to know the identity of the Streak before he was killed. It stunned Warren to see that it was Barry under the cowl, the very same person he had seen in the picture in Buffy's room, and the very same young man who was holding onto her when Warren placed the time shifting device on Buffy's shirt earlier that day. Warren chuckled before he looked up and called for Buffy to come to him.
Before she could pull the door open from its frame, Buffy's body turned around and she walked towards Warren with a curious Andrew and Jonathan. The two young men were surprised to find out that Barry was the Streak while Buffy, trapped in her own body, screamed at Barry to get up and run.
"This is your boyfriend?" asked Warren as he looked at 'Buffy' before chuckling. "I guess it was expected, a superhero with another superhero."
"Cool," said Andrew as he looked at Barry while Jonathan looked on in worry about what was about to happen next.
"Warren," said Jonathan noticing the deranged look on Warren's eyes, confirming his fear that things were going to go south, "let's just get the money, take Buffy with us, and then get out of here. We know who he is now. We won. He'll work for us, and…"
"No," said Warren as he stepped back before looking over his shoulder at Buffy who was looking at the injured Barry who was trying to get to his feet. "Buffy, kill your boyfriend."
"Warren," said Jonathan, "this was not in the plan. We said we were not going to kill anyone, and…"
"We're going to become supervillains," exclaimed Warren at Jonathan, "you really think there won't be any deaths?"
"But…."
"Andrew," barked Warren motioning at Jonathon, "take him back to the car. I'll be right there."
"Maybe we should go back to our lair with Buffy and the money," said Andrew, "come on, Warren. We know his identity, and…"
"No" Warren answered shaking his head while looking down at Barry, "this is much better." The smiling Warren then turned to the Slayer and ordered, "Buffy, kill him."
"Buffy, no!" yelled Jonathan as he tried to tackled Warren while trying to retrieve the sphere from his hand. Yelping as Buffy walked to Barry, Warren regained his balance after the tackle and punched the side of his head. Letting go of Warren while Andrew stood rooted to the spot in fear as he watched the anger on Warren's face, Jonathan grabbed the side of his face that was hit. His ears were ringing when suddenly Warren strode towards him and punched the young man across his face again while Buffy kicked Barry multiple times. She then got on one knee, held him down, and started to punch his face hard multiple times. At the same time, Buffy was screaming at whatever possessed her body to stop as she watched Barry starting to lose consciousness as his nose, cheeks, and lips were bleeding. She saw his eyes had turned red as she pressed her hand down on his chest while pulling back her arm for one last punch that would kill him.
In the meantime, she heard 'thwaks' from behind as Warren was beating Jonathan. But for Buffy, at least her physical body, Jonathan wasn't the concern. Barry was… and as she looked into his eyes, Buffy was about to swing her arm down.
"Buffy," he crocked as they looked at each other while the speedster was struggling to breathe. "So… so… sorry, I… couldn't save… you."
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" yelled Buffy as she watched her boyfriend, her love, about to die in front of her eyes. She pushed back against the cold that surrounded her as she remembered everyone who had ever left her, everyone she had lost, everyone she believed she hadn't fought hard enough to keep. From Angel to Riley, Buffy knew she never tried hard enough… and she lost them all.
There was no way she was losing Barry as she pushed hard against the darkness trapping her in her own body.
"Stop!" yelled Buffy as she looked into Barry's eyes while her arm, which was pulled back and posed to strike at his face, trembled.
"L… Love y… you," said Barry, whose eyes were already getting heavy and his ears were ringing from the last punch thrown his way, as he looked at Buffy's eyes. He was doing everything he could not to close his eyes while unable to move his arms on his own.
"St…." whispered Buffy while she was mentally pushing back with everything she could muster at the darkness that had taken over her body. Looking at her heavily injured boyfriend, mostly injured at her own possessed hands, Buffy pulled on every bit of will power she could find.
"Buf… Buffy?" said Barry.
"St…., sto….,"
"Kill him!" yelled Warren at Buffy after he smashed Jonathan's head into the road for the final time while Andrew looked on in fear after begging Warren to stop. Warren fished out the sphere in his pocket which started to glow in his hands as more of its magical power was being used to force Buffy to follow his orders. "Kill him, you bitch!"
"Jonathan?" whispered Andrew as he rushed to his unconscious friend while Warren rushed to Buffy, "Jonathan?"
"S.. St… stop… stop him," mumbled Jonathan before he closed his eyes. In the meantime, while Andrew was staring at Warren with fear, especially after he seemed to snap following Jonathan begging him to stop hitting him. Warren stood over Buffy and told him that she would have to follow his orders.
"You know what I'll do to the Slayer, Streak?" said a mocking Warren looking at him over the shoulder of Buffy who had her arm still pulled back. Barry shifted his eyes from the look of pain in his girlfriend's eyes to the menacing young man, "I'll force her to parade in the underwear I stole from her room. And nothing else. I do everything I've ever wanted to do to her when she first came to my house.. and I mean everything. She'll be my little bitch in heat. And…."
"Stop," said Buffy as she used her rage at Warren's confession to finally take control of her body before she took off her balaclava just as she heard the sounds of car screeching in the distance. Warren shook his head and stepped back as Buffy got up glaring at him before he held out his hand, the metal sphere in his palm shone brightly as he recited the spell to control her once again. Buffy could feel her consciousness being pulled back by the darkness once again, and knew she had one shoot to prevent it from happening again. She knew the consequences of what would happen to Barry and to her if she failed. Buffy's hand darted out and grabbed the sphere before she crushed it with her bare hands.
"Umm…" said Warren just before an enraged Buffy punched the man in his solar plexus. Warren yelled in pain as he stumbled back while Buffy grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him into the air, as a car engine got closer and closer. Buffy looked over her shoulder at the pair of headlights coming towards her. Recognizing the car as Giles' Citroen, Buffy turned her attention to Warren once again. With tears in her eyes as she recalled what she had done to Barry, Buffy hissed as she put him on the ground.
"I swore never to take a human life… but for you? Oh you, I don't mind."
"You wouldn't dare," said Warren as Giles called out for Buffy while he kneeled next to the injured Barry who was mumbling something to him before closing his eyes, and his body going limp.
"Buffy! It's Barry, we need to get him away from here!" yelled Giles.
"I'll come back for you if you let me go, Slayer," mocked Warren glaring at Buffy, "I'll be back for your dear Streak, I'll.."
"Buffy!" yelled Giles.
"You'll do nothing," hissed Buffy a she put him down and then grabbed both his hands and squeezed hard. HE heard Warren scream as she broke every bone in his hands. "Scream for me." Buffy squeezed more as she remembered what he had wanted to do to her, she remembered the violation he cause by using whatever spell it was that trapped her in her own body.
"If you tell anyone about Barry," hissed Buffy after pushing the screaming Warren away before he stumbled back to the ground, "I will kill you."
She then looked at Jonathan and Andrew, "it's the same with you two. I'll kill you both."
Buffy then rushed to the unconscious Barry and kneeled down with tears in her eyes. She leaned over his face while placing a hand on his cheek, "sorry, Barry. I am so sorry."
"He said it's not your fault, Buffy," said Giles as Buffy caressed his cheek begging him to wake up
"Yes," he replied looking back at the Watcher, "I'm sorry, Giles. I.. I was… I was possessed and…"
"Tara told us," Giles said.
"This line glowed when Barry tried to move," said Buffy wiping the tears away from her eyes while Warren continued to scream in pain. Giles told Buffy, who was begging Barry to open his eyes, that the former asked him to take him home, that his powers would heal him over the next few days. "Buffy, did you hear what I said?"
"Yes," he replied looking back at the Watcher, "I'm sorry, Giles. I.. I was… I was possessed and…"
"Tara told us," Giles said.
"This line glowed when Barry tried to move," said Buffy wiping the tears away from her eyes while Warren continued to scream in pain. Giles looked at the Slayer and then at the red, solid line that was glowing. He didn't know what was going on with the line but Giles asked if she was able to carry him. Buffy reached under Barry's body, and then gently lifted him up while getting to her feet. She then rushed to Giles' car while the watcher opened the rear door and helped Buffy inside the rear seta. Once they were in the car, Giles rushed to the drivers seat, reversed the car and headed off while a tearful Buffy was holding onto the unconscious and bleeding Barry.
And they left behind a screaming Warren who was staring at his crushed hands; an unconscious, but breathing, Jonathan; and Andrew, who was left confused about what to do next.
TBC.