I hope you are all safe and healthy! If this chapter relieves your boredom, then I am HAPPY!

Chapter 11: Welcome to the Club

*****Same Night*****

Natasha followed Buffy, curious to see where a teenager would go after dark without any of her friends. Maybe she was meeting up with the blind lawyer. She was surprised, however, to see the teen walk toward the nearest cemetery.

"Does she have a weird gothic obsession?" Natasha wondered.

Buffy could sense that she was being followed and wondered if she should do a normal teenager thing like get a cappuccino at the nearby Starbuck. However, it was probably her new trainer. Buffy figured it would be better if the woman knew the truth. If she couldn't handle the truth, then it would be better to find out sooner rather than later.

She pulled out Mr. Pointy. It was not that she knew a vampire was going to rise as Willow had made a point of not tracking that sort of thing this summer. But Buffy was feeling antsy, and she figured in a city with so many people, the odds were probably good.

Walking through the cemetery, her mind wandered. Although she still had nightmares about Angel, she did feel better. Maybe it was getting out of Sunnydale that made her feel so much better. The darkness of the hellmouth wasn't weighing on her, and Tony seemed determined to distract her. He was actually quite good at the job.

Finally, she detected movement from a nearby grave and moved to greet the newly risen vampire.

"Man, I was wondering if I'd ever get a good slay in," Buffy said in a cheerful tone as the vampire stood on its feet.

The vampire growled. "Slayer," it hissed.

"So they say," Buffy said. "Let's drag this out a bit, so try to put up a fight, okay? I need to get rid of some energy."

Natasha was standing next to a nearby tree, stunned at what she was witnessing. First, seeing a body pull itself out of a grave creeped her the hell out. Sure, she'd heard some rumors of such things as a child in Russia, but she'd never came across anything remotely like what she was seeing.

What was even stranger was that Buffy didn't seem surprised at all. In fact, she seemed right down cheerful, which was almost as disturbing. Then she attacked the thing, fighting well beyond what Natasha had seen from her. Clearly, she relished the fight as she hit the thing over and over. Then she stabbed it with this stick she was carrying, and it turned to dust.

"What the hell?" Natasha exclaimed, moving closer. There was no point in hiding her presence any longer.

Buffy turned toward her. "That was a vampire—now it's a pile of dust," she said like it was no big deal.

"Vampires are real?"

"Yep," Buffy said. "I'm what's called a vampire slayer—chosen and empowered to fight them and demons. Vampires feed on the blood humans while demons are a different breed. Some don't seek to harm humans, and some do."

"How do you know?" Natasha asked.

"Normally, if they're evil, they try to kill me," Buffy said with a cheeky grin. "If you're done wiggin' out, you can come with me. I feel like there's still some more I can slay."

Natasha didn't think it was time for questions, so she remained silent. Instead, following Buffy, she watched her kill three more vampires before she was attacked by a really ugly creature that was twice her size.

When Buffy was thrown hard against a tree, Natasha felt like it was finally her job to try and help. She pulled out her gun and shot the thing in the heart. However, it kept charging toward her, and she started moving back. Then she hit a tombstone and stumbled over it. Before she could stand, Buffy was back on her feet, kicking it hard in its stomach.

Natasha scrambled to her feet, wanting to help Buffy. Buffy, though, seemed to have it well in hand as she punched the thing hard in the stomach. Then she pulled her hand back out, holding its heart.

"If I didn't see it with my own two eyes, I'm not sure I would believe it," Natasha said in shocked at the girl's strength and fighting skills as well as where the heart was located.

"Some demons don't have hearts in the traditional places," Buffy said. "Normally, my watcher, Giles, tells me these things, but I've seen this particular demon before."

"You are inhuman," Natasha observed.

"I am entirely human," Buffy said, narrowing her eyes. "My DNA would show nothing different from yours. I get my powers from magic—not science. Vampire slayers have been around for many centuries. I don't know how many—that's a question for Giles."

"That's your watcher. A watcher is what exactly?" Natasha asked.

"He's the librarian at my school, but he's my teacher and mentor," Buffy said. "He's British and big with the books. Willow and the gang help with research."

"But they can't do what you can do?" she prodded.

Buffy shook her head. "No. Although Xander did save my life the first time I was killed by a Master vampire, they don't have super strength or anything," she said. "Willow, though, has been learning magic—just a bit. She gave Angel back his soul before he destroyed the world, but I still had to kill him since he'd already used his blood to open the portal that would've sucked the world into a hell dimension."

"Seriously?" Natasha asked, trying to decide if the girl was being serious or not.

"You should probably just talk to Tony," Buffy said. "JARVIS recorded my fight with Angelus."

"I thought you said his name was Angel," Natasha asked.

"Angel was the man I loved. He had a soul, and then he lost it and became Angelus," Buffy said. "Angelus murdered Giles' girlfriend and sent his goons to kill Kendra, the slayer that was called when I died for a minute. They hurt Xander and put Willow in the hospital."

"I heard that was all your boyfriend," she remarked.

"That's sort of true, but it wasn't Angelus as I was with him at the time. He was distracting me when they attacked the library and hurt my friends. That's how Pepper found out Willow was in Sunnydale and needed her—when she was hospitalized," Buffy explained.

"She got hurt by your boyfriend's friends?" Natasha said, trying to make sense of it.

"No, Angel was a vampire—one with a soul. He was cursed by gypsies, so he was good," Buffy said. "He helped me fight. I didn't know that the curse meant one moment of perfect happiness, and he'd revert to Angelus."

"One moment of happiness?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. When she saw Buffy's flush, she winced in sympathy. The poor girl. Now Tony's words of caution made so much sense. This girl really was extraordinary, and she had been through a lot. Too much. American girls weren't equipped to suffer—at least not any Natasha had known.

"Unfortunately," Buffy said with a grimace. She looked at her watch. "We better head back. If I don't get at least six hours of sleep, JARVIS will rat me out to Tony. I explained to him that I could get by just fine with three hours of sleep, but he quoted a bunch of articles and studies to me. He's so much worse than Giles."

"You know JARVIS is just a computer program," Natasha said, amused.

"You may think that, but there are entities that live on the internet. There was this demon Moloch that built itself a robot and tried to make whoopee with Willow, who thought a real boy liked her," Buffy said. "So now I treat all computers voices that talk to me as if they're real until proven otherwise! Besides, he sounds exactly like my British watcher."

Natasha smiled but offered up no argument. How much of this was exaggeration? Teenagers were known to embellish. She was silent as they went back to the tower.

When they stepped out of the elevator, Buffy turned to her. "Thanks for being so cool," Buffy said.

Natasha watched her walk back into her room before heading to her own quarters. She immediately went to her laptop to record the events of the night.

*****The Next Day*****

Tony was trying to stay awake at breakfast as Pepper gave him a rundown of business.

"Tony, are you listening?" she asked.

"I'm trying, but it's so boring," Tony said, flashing her a smile. "I thought putting you in charge would keep me from all this tedium."

"I still want you to know what's going on with your company," she said.

"Babe, I trust you completely," Tony said. "How about an annual meeting? I'll be rested up and hang onto your every word."

"Six months," Pepper countered.

"Fine," Tony said. "You've got to wait five more months then."

Natalie came into the room. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning, Miss Rushman. Help yourself to breakfast," Pepper said, smiling at the woman. They were fortunate to find someone with her skillset willing to reside with the kids for the next few weeks. She was considering offering the woman more money if she would agree to be Willow's full-time security when she went back to Sunnydale. As her adopted parents left her alone so often, Pepper would feel so much better if there was someone besides Buffy with her. Buffy had others that demanded her time and protection, and Pepper wanted someone that would be focused exclusively on her daughter's safety.

Tony gave her a sleepy smile but didn't bother with a verbal greeting as he sipped his coffee.

"So I followed Buffy last night as she went to graveyards to kill vampires," Natalie announced.

Tony sat up straight, instantly alert and wide awake. "You did?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh, dear," Pepper said in concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Natalie said. "So Buffy told me about her calling as a vampire slayer. I guess you left out something, huh?"

"It's not something you can just blurt out," Pepper said.

"Did she tell you that Sunnydale is on a hellmouth?" Tony asked. "A real doorway to a hell dimension, so the really evil demons and vampires are drawn to the place, trying to open it."

Natalie shook her head. "No, she just hit the highlight. I just can't believe it. How can children be responsible for keeping the world safe? It's not right."

"No, it's not," Tony said, looking grim. "Now you know why I've been so focused on them. Buffy's superpowered, but the rest of them aren't. Yet they still help her fight. Can you imagine? The first vampire Xander killed was his and Willow's best friend Jesse, who was turned Buffy's first week in Sunnydale."

"God," Natalie muttered. "I guess, I understand now why they are so vigilant and have such good defensive moves."

"One Halloween, they all got turned into their costumes," Tony shared. "Xander was dressed as a soldier, so he has a touch of that. Then the swimming coach tried to enhance the swim team and turned several players into fish monster. Xander was exposed to the toxin and can hold his breath under water ten minutes he says—I've not got around to testing his claim. Another time, he was possessed by a primal animal spirit with some other students. The other students—not him—ate the principal. He was busy attacking Buffy at the time."

"You're lying," she said, trying to see if he was joking.

"You think I'd make something up that sounds so preposterous?" Tony said with a snort.

"We spent some time in Sunnydale," Pepper said. "There's a lot of bad things there. It makes me sick that they have to go back and finish high school."

"I can't believe Xander's not insane or on drugs," Natalie said. "I can't believe they all aren't. Buffy said Xander saved her life once."

"A little more than a year ago, she drowned after a vampire bit her and threw her unconscious into a pool of water," Pepper said. "Those poor kids have been through a lot, but Buffy the most."

"Are you gonna quit?" Tony asked. "I can give you more money."

"Let her answer before you throw away money," Pepper admonished.

Natalie smiled and shook her head. "You pay me plenty already, but I couldn't quit now. I'm not sure I like knowing such threats exist, but if I can do anything to help prepare those kids, I'd like to stay."

"That's great!" Tony said with a smile. "If they know they can talk to you openly, they'll learn more from you."

"That's true," Natalie said.

They were interrupted as the teenagers began trickling in.

"Willow, do you want to come to my office today?" Pepper asked. "I'd love to show you around."

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Willow asked. "Oz and I are working with Tony on these new schematics."

"Sure," Pepper said.

"Could I go? I'd love to see you at work," Cordelia asked eagerly.

"Of course," Pepper said, smiling at the girl. It was disappointing that Willow wasn't that interested in her work, but she knew how appealing Tony was.

Cordelia was ecstatic. Her time in New York with Xander and his friends had been so incredible. Who would've thought that little mousy Willow would have this amazing mother and impressive social connections? None of Cordelia's friends back home could judge her now for dating Xander—not after he was on TMZ and photographed looking hot as hell in New York with Tony Stark. Their social status was set, and she would rule the school when classes start. However, she didn't want the summer to end as everyday was fun and exciting.

Xander smiled at her, knowing how much hanging with Pepper Potts meant to her. People thought his honey wanted to be a trophy wife, but that wasn't true. Cordelia just wanted to matter.

Buffy finally joined them, looking right down cheerful. All of her friends stared as she smiled and chatted with Willow and Xander.

"Okay, what's with the pod person?" Cordelia asked.

"Huh?" Xander asked, turning toward.

"Buffy is way too happy. Did you go visit one of those cute college boys?" Cordelia asked hopefully.

"No, of course not," Buffy said, glaring. "I'm just in a good mood. Is that a crime?"

"No, it's not," Willow said quickly, giving Cordelia a sour look. "It's just we've not seen you smiling too much—it's nice."

"She's in a good mood 'cause she killed some vamps last night!" Tony accused with too much glee.

Everyone glanced at the newcomer at the table, gauging her reaction.

"Oh, it's okay," Buffy said. "Natalie went slaying with me last night."

"She did?" Willow asked her eyes wide. Then she frowned. "Why didn't you ask us to come?"

"What, are you jealous?" Cordelia said with snort. "I, for one, appreciate her consideration."

"I just couldn't sleep," Buffy said. "No biggie."

"Hey, did you tell your mom?" Oz asked Willow.

She looked guilty. "I forgot," she said.

"Tell me what?" Pepper asked.

"Tomorrow's the first night of the full moon," Oz said.

Tony looked giddy. "Oh, my God! I can't believe it's finally here! You weren't with us the last full moon."

"It's going to be okay," Pepper said. "Tony's got it covered."

"I'm going to ask Bruce to come—is that okay?" Tony asked.

"I don't really need any spectators," Oz said.

"But he's the Hulk," Tony protested. "If anyone can understand your issue, it'll be him."

"Dr. Banner?" Willow asked excitedly. "He's coming here? I read his paper. I have so many questions."

"I guess, it's okay," Oz said, giving his girlfriend a fond look.

"What's happening?" Natalie asked. When they all grew silent, she looked puzzled. "You have to tell me. I already know Buffy's secret and about hellmouths and demons. What could it be?"

"I'm a werewolf," Oz said when everyone glanced at him.

"Seriously?" Natalie asked, trying to see if they were going to start laughing.

"We get to watch his transformation," Tony said. "I'm going to see if I can cure lycanthropy."

"Seriously? You think you can?" Willow asked, quivering with excitement and reaching for Oz's hand.

"I figure Bruce can help—he's good at this kind of thing," Tony said.

"Werewolves are real," Natalie said. "What else?"

"Mummies."

"Giant preying mantis."

"Ghost."

Natalie shook her head as they all shouted out various monsters.

Buffy grinned and said, "Welcome to the club."

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

Yes, I am aware that Tony hasn't actually met Bruce yet in this timeline. The next chapter will explain this.