I do want to point out that one reader told me they thought I got the timeline a bit off with making Pepper CEO as that happened in Ironman 2. I've not bothered checking, but I'm assuming the reader is correct. I needed her in charge for the purpose of this story, but I didn't want the timeline to come anywhere close to Avengers timeline. So assume that my goof is for creative purposes even though I DID make an honest mistake!

Chapter 2: Fighting Angelus

*****Where We Left Off*****

Willow couldn't believe her birth mother was there in the hospital, hugging her. She pulled back and looked at her. "You're so pretty!" she said.

Pepper smiled. "So are you," she said, stroking her hair.

Oz looked at Xander. "We need to give them some privacy," he said softly. They got up to leave, and the two redheads didn't even notice.

"How did you get here? How did you know to come?" Willow asked, still amazed that she was here.

"Well, your mother called me. She said that she and your father couldn't get a flight out to be here until tomorrow," Pepper said.

"So my mom's had your number all this time? Why didn't she tell me?" Willow asked, surprised.

"Probably because you never asked," Pepper said. "We have an open adoption, which means they give me yearly updates, but I'm not allowed to initiate contact—only you or they can."

"I didn't know she had it," Willow said. "I thought about contacting you a hundred times, but I didn't realize I just had to ask Mom for your number." The knowledge made her feel a bit stupid.

"I'm so glad she called me," Pepper said, squeezing her hand. "I've been hoping for this chance."

"Me, too," Willow said, wiping her eyes.

Pepper wanted to ask her about the comments about her parents from her friends, but she also didn't want to upset her. Tony came into the room, knocking as he pushed up the door.

"How are you two doing?" he asked, giving them a bright smile.

Willow looked star struck. "I can't believe that Tony Stark is here!" she exclaimed. Then she glanced at Pepper. "But I guess you aren't surprised since you work for him and have known him for a while now."

"After a while, the awe will wear off," Pepper said dryly. "Tony, this is Willow, my daughter." Saying those words aloud filled her with incredible joy.

"It's great to meet you, Willow," Tony said, giving her his most charming smile. "Don't listen to her. The awe will never rub off."

Willow giggled. "Probably not," she said.

"Willow," Xander said. "I called Giles to see if we needed to help Buffy. He said she was heading to her house to get her weapons now."

"Oh, I can do that spell!" Willow said. "Ms. Calendar translated it, and I have the ingredients in my room."

"What spell?" Tony asked.

Willow looked uncomfortable. "I'm sort of a witch—not a very strong one or anything, but I can do some things. Mostly just float a pencil, but I've been learning," she said.

"So witches and magics are real, too?" Tony said, trying to tone down his disbelief. The entire town was an unknown, and Pepper would never forgive him if he alienated her daughter. Magic could just be another form of energy that he'd not yet discovered. It could also be some type of tech that the kids didn't quite understand. It was best to keep an open mind, especially if he wanted them to be open with him and Pepper.

Willow nodded. "It's real," she said.

"Are you going to help Buffy?" Xander asked Tony.

"Tell me where she lives, and I will go to her," Tony said.

"I'll show you where she lives," Xander said. He looked at Willow. "Cordy and I will stop by your place and get the stuff."

"It's all inside my nightstand," Willow said.

"I want to see this magic," Tony said.

"I'll record it, okay?" Pepper said. "Go help that poor girl." She wasn't sure if the teens were involved in some type of gang war or what, but she knew her daughter had been truly injured. She also knew that she would support Willow no matter what. If she believed she was a witch, then Pepper would believe it, too. It was the least she could do for the daughter she gave away.

After they left, Pepper turned to Willow and said, "So magic, huh? I want to hear all about it."

Willow couldn't believe she had a parent that genuinely wanted to hear from she had to say, so she began to speak.

*****Buffy's*****

Buffy was crying as she left her house, her mother's words ringing in her ears.

If you leave, don't ever come back!

She wiped her face, closing up all her emotions into a steel box. If she was going to defeat Angelus, she would have to focus.

Kendra and Ms. Calendar were dead because she hadn't been strong enough to kill Angelus because he was wearing Angel's face. This time would be different—she would do what she needed to do.

Tony made it to Buffy's place, but she wasn't there. Her mother answered the door.

"I'm looking for your daughter," Tony said to Joyce.

"My daughter? Why would Tony Stark be in town looking for my daughter?" she asked in bemusement.

"Because I hear she's got a bad guy to fight, and I wanted to help her," he said.

"Really?" Joyce asked, her voice filled with hope. "I told her to not leave. Let someone else do it, but she said it was her job—that she was a vampire slayer. Isn't that insane?"

"Well, the world is a wonderous place full of insane things like aliens," he said. "Do you know which direction she went?"

Joyce shook her head. "No, but she was on foot—probably that Angel guy's place," she said.

Tony nodded and turned to leave.

"Tell Buffy that I love her," Joyce said, regretting her angry words. It was too much to take in.

"I will," Tony said. Then he activated his suit and took to the air to find the teenager.

Ten minutes later, he finally located her. It looked like she was in the middle of a sword fight, so he dropped down several yards away. He didn't want to distract her, so he walked quietly toward her and the man she was fighting. The guy didn't look like a monster.

Then something happened—there was type of opening in the air. Not much longer, they stopped fighting as the man looked confused. Tony considered just blasting the guy for Buffy, but he seemed to be standing down. Tony stepped closer but did nothing to alert them of his presence.

"Buffy?" he asked.

Buffy looked at him in shock as she saw it was Angel looking back at her—Angelus was gone.

"Angel?" she whispered. He was back, but it was too late. The portal was open and getting large. She felt sick as she realized what she was going to have to do to him.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"Close your eyes," she said. Trusting her, he did so without protest. One last time, she leaned up to kiss him.

Tony was confused by the scene. Wasn't she supposed to kill the guy? The bright light behind them, though, was getting bigger.

"I love you, Angel," she said. Then she pulled back her arm and stabbed him with her sword.

Tony's eyes widened as the doorway began pulling the guy toward it. He moved quickly and grabbed Buffy, pulling her back.

Buffy watched as the man she loved was sucked into a hell dimension.

Tony wasn't sure what happened, but he knew that it had to take an incredible amount of strength for the girl to do what she just did.

"I killed him," Buffy said as Tony approached. "He wasn't Angelus anymore—he has his soul again, but it was too late. He'd already activated Acathla. The world would've been destroyed if I hadn't done it." She collapsed against Tony, sobbing.

Tony felt a deep anger as he realized what kind of things this poor girl had to go through. How was this happening? She was too damn young for this. Why was she fighting a battle like this? Where was SHIELD or whatever agency dealt with monsters?

"It's going to be okay," he said even though he had no idea if that was true. "I'm sure he would understand why you had to do what you did."

"How did he get his soul back?" she asked, looking up at Tony.

"It must've been Willow. She said she was going to try some spell. Her friends went to her house to get the stuff," Tony said. "She wanted to help you."

"She was too late," Buffy said, a devastated expression on her face. "His blood was opening Acathla, so only his blood could close it."

Tony realized just how strong the poor girl was. "Come on. I'll walk you home," he said.

"My mother told me not to come back because I told her what I was and what I had to do," Buffy said, despondent. "My principal told the cops I'm a murderer, and I'm expelled from school. My home has been destroyed. Angelus took everything from me."

"I spoke to your mother," Tony said. "She loves you—told me so herself."

Buffy didn't point out that sometimes love wasn't enough. Her love for Angel did nothing but get people killed. Her mother might love her, but she was never going to accept who and what Buffy was.

Silently, she walked toward her house, Tony a shadow behind her.

When she made it home, she surprised Tony by walking around to the side of her house. "Well, thanks," she said.

"I didn't really do anything," Tony said.

"Yes, but you wanted to and would've if given a chance," Buffy said. "That's more than most." She moved to the tree, obviously about to climb it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'd rather not speak to my mother—it's been a crappy day," she said warily.

"So you're going to climb through the window?" he asked.

"Yep," she said. Then she proceeded to do exactly that.

Tony shrugged. If the girl wanted to climb through her bedroom window, he would let her.

When he made it back to the hospital, Pepper was sitting by a sleeping Willow. He motioned for Pepper to step out into the hallway.

"How is she doing?" he asked Pepper.

"She's good," Pepper said. "She did something really strange, though—a spell she called it. I don't know what happened, but she started speaking in some other language. Her eyes turned completely black, and then she was wiped. She's been asleep for the past hour."

"She did the spell to give Angel his soul back, didn't she?" Tony asked.

"How did you know? Did it actually work?" Pepper asked.

Tony nodded, looking grim. "I was there and watched Buffy fight the vampire with a sword. I think it had been going on for several minutes because the vampire had started some ceremony that Buffy said would cause the end of the world. There was this weird statue that she called Acathla," he said. "Then the vampire got his soul back, but it was too late. Buffy said that his blood had awakened the statue or portal, so only his blood could close it."

"Oh God! She had to kill the man she loved?" Pepper asked, horrified.

"Yes. She's an amazing girl," Tony said, still rattled by the entire scene. "To have that strength of character at such a young age is impressive—I sure didn't when I was her age. I'm not even sure I have it now!"

"These kids are very odd, Tony. My daughter thinks she is a witch, and her best friend is a vampire slayer. I'm not sure what to do," Pepper confessed.

"I'm not sure there's much we can do except support them. It's clear that the adults don't know because Buffy told me that she told her mother about herself tonight, and her mother told her not to come home," Tony said.

"Seriously?" Pepper asked in dismay.

"She didn't mean it, though. I spoke to her mother. She was just in shock and scared for her daughter," Tony said. "Did you record the magic show?"

"Yes," Pepper said in exasperation.

"Good," he said, happy.

"I'm not sure what to do. Do I tell the Rosenbergs what has happened here?" she asked.

"There's no point," a voice said. They looked at saw Oz leaning against the lounge doorway.

"Why is that?" Tony asked. He had very little experience with teenagers, but he knew that they weren't like these kids as a general rule. It was fascinating and disturbing.

"Because there's some type of spell or dark magic at work in this town that causes people to not question, and they just rationalize the odd things," he said. "Only if they have a direct connection or a strong reason do they push through it. We've seen it happen too many times."

"So you're saying Willow's parents wouldn't believe it?" Pepper asked.

Oz shook his head. "No, they're very rational and scientific people," he said.

"So am I," Tony said.

"But you're exceptional," Oz said. "You don't close your mind to other possibilities because your drive to know is greater than your fear of the unknown."

"That's some lofty wisdom for a young man," Tony said with a smile.

Oz shrugged. "I don't speak too much, but I see things," he said. "Are you guys staying in town?"

"We hadn't thought that far ahead," he said.

"You know hotels aren't secure because vampires don't need an invitation to get inside," Oz said.

"What about a bed and breakfast?" Tony asked.

"Those are usually in someone's home, so it should be okay. But I don't think there's one in town," Oz said.

"JARVIS secure us one, please," he said.

"There is one, sir, ten minutes away in a nearby town," JARVIS replied.

"Great," Tony said.

"Are you going to stay the night?" Pepper asked.

"If that's okay," Oz said.

Pepper nodded. "I'm sure your presence will be welcomed," she said. "Will you tell Willow that I will return in the morning? She's asleep right now."

"Sure," he said. He turned and walked back toward Willow's room.

"I like that kid," Tony said. "JARVIS accessed his records when he did his background check on all of them."

"Tony! You can't go spying on Willow's friends!" Pepper scolded.

"Sure, I can," Tony said. "I want to make sure that she has good people around her. You're the only reason I'm still doing so well, so that's important."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Fine. What did you find out?" she asked. Tony was going to be Tony no matter what she said, and she knew that a background check was fairly benign.

"Your daughter is a genius and has even been teaching the advanced computer class that her late teacher was teaching," he said. "She's never gotten lower than an A in any class. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, rarely attended his classes, and he won't be graduating this year like he was set to."

"Really? That surprises me," Pepper said.

"His IQ, though, is even higher than Willow's," Tony said. "I just think he only uses it when the mood strikes him. He's a musician and a member of a band."

"What about Buffy and Xander?" she asked.

"Xander has been in all of Willow's advanced classes their entire life. I suspect she hacks the school and makes it to where she is never without him," Tony said with a smirk. "He's just slightly above average, and his grades are average. It's doubtful he ever applies himself as Willow probably pushes him to do just enough to get by."

"And Buffy?"

"Now Buffy is different. She was an A student up until last year when she attended school in Los Angeles," Tony said. "She was expelled for burning down the school gym. Her parents had her briefly locked in a psych ward."

Pepper's eyes widened. "Do you think she was fighting vampires at the school?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "Yes," he said. "I read the police reports from the eyewitness accounts, and it was clear that the students were describing vampires. One or two used the word, but the cops dismissed it as the kids being drunk or high—a way to rationalize the violence they saw."

"So after she got expelled her parents took her to be evaluated as it was not normal behavior for her," Pepper said. "I'd probably do the same thing."

"I don't think you'd lock Willow up in a nut house if she told you she was a vampire slayer who had a calling to fight the creatures of the night," Tony said bluntly.

Pepper grimaced. "I guess not. Poor girl," she said with a sigh.

"At the very least, Buffy could have proven she was exceptionally strong," Tony said. "I didn't see clear evidence of that when she was fighting the vampire, but she can use a sword like a professional."

"What about the other girl—Xander's girlfriend?" Pepper asked.

"The Pepper Potts wannabe?" he asked with a grin. "She's the daughter of a very wealthy man—one who is not paying his taxes, though. She's spoiled and intelligent. Things have always come easy for her, and her becoming friends with your daughter's friends is very surprising."

"She is one of those who kept seeing what was happening in the town and couldn't deny it anymore," Pepper guessed.

"Yes, she's thrown her hat in with the group of misfits—very surprising," Tony said. "She has hidden depths."

"These kids, Tony, what are we going to do to help them?" Pepper asked. "We have to do something, but my hands are tied. I have no rights where Willow is concerned. I don't like that her friends weren't very complimentary about her parents. They seemed so nice, Tony. I had no reason to suspect they weren't the perfect parents. I want to know her, but I don't want to fight her parents over her."

"Well, school is out in another week," he said. "Do you think we could get them out of town for the summer at least? The Malibu house has five extra rooms in it. Of course, my New York place is very roomy too."

"I'll speak to Willow about it. If she asks her parents, they might say yes," Pepper said. "There are several colleges in New York area she can check out."

"Then New York it is," Tony said, glad to have a plan. "Princeton isn't far. Columbia is decent. NYU. But, of course, M. I. T."

They got up to walk out, and Tony put his arm around her shoulder. She was glad he was there as the situation was very difficult. If he wasn't here, she wasn't sure what she would've done. Hearing about hellmouths and vampires would have been too much to face on her own.

Pepper really hoped Willow's parents would allow her to visit Pepper. Now that she'd met Willow, she couldn't imagine her not having Willow in her life. Of course, knowing she was living in such a dangerous town made her more determined to get her away even if it was just for the summer.

"What if they say no?" she said, voicing her fear.

"Well, we won't take no for an answer," Tony said, determined. There was no way he was going to let Pepper be disappointed. Never had she truly asked him for help in a personal matter, and he wasn't going to fail this time.

*****Chapter End*****

The show never really confirmed why people were so oblivious, but fanfiction writers normally agree that there was something that kept people there. I went with the easiest explanation.