Xander paid for his ticket and entered the zoo, it was summer so there was a pretty good sized crowd, filled with tourists. The Oakland Zoo was over a hundred acres and had tons of animals in comparison to the Sunnydale Zoo so he was excited to see all the ones he'd missed while being trapped in Sunnydale.
He wandered from habitat to habitat and began to notice something a little strange, prey animals would move away from him when he approached the barrier to their habitat, even when they'd been gathered to accept the food the park sold for children to throw to them, while the predator species would look him directly in the eyes for a moment before looking away and avoiding all further eye contact.
He was still wondering about it when he reached the African Savanna section of the park and heard the laughter of the hyenas.
Xander sighed, unable to believe he hadn't made the connection before as he took in the zebra herd and couldn't help but have his attention drawn to an older zebra male who was walking with a bit of a limp.
He leaned on a rail and centered himself with the ease of long habit. 'The Hyena isn't controlling me,' he reminded himself, this was all him, the human animal who saw an easy meal. There was a lot of meat on a zebra and all of it fresh and tasty.
The secret of separating his urges from the urges of the primal had been simple… they were exactly the same urges, just gone about in a much stupider manner. He didn't need to leap over the rail and run down a zebra for some fresh meat, that would just cause complete chaos in the zoo and he wouldn't even get a chance to enjoy his meal before the zookeepers would show up with tranq guns. No, if he wanted fresh meat he could go to a steakhouse where he could order it.
He forced his instincts down and watched the nervous herd avoiding his gaze and the gaze of… another?
Xander turned his head and spotted a red haired woman wearing a gray trenchcoat and fedora to cover up what appeared to be a light dusting of blonde fur with darker spots scattered about her visible skin, nose flaring as she scented the air.
Sensing she was being watched, she turned and green eyes met brown, both recognizing the animalistic spirit they were deep inside. She tensed, unsure how to react.
"Really? A trenchcoat and fedora?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"It works," she offered with a stiff shrug.
"People are blind, deaf, and dumb," he said with a sigh, shaking his head as he noticed how tense she was and guessed the cheetah was pushing at her instincts.
"Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that half of them are even stupider than that," she quoted, getting a snicker from him.
"I love George Carlin," he said. "The zebra isn't worth it. Sure, the meat is fresh, but the park's security wouldn't give you time to enjoy any of it."
"I didn't even notice the zebra," she lied.
"Really? With the lame front leg?" he asked dryly.
"It was the back…" her voice trailed off, embarrassed.
"I noticed him," Xander said bluntly. "I also ran a quick scenario through my head and decided it wasn't worth it."
"I… What are you?" she asked, not having expected the scent she was following to have led her to someone who apparently had something in common with her even if it wasn't as visible.
"Just a guy," Xander told her. "One who's a little more in touch with his instincts and knows when they are being stupid, but just a guy."
"And you never… fail to hold them back?" she asked, a brief look of shame flitting across her face.
"We all fail at times and then we get back up, wash off the blood, and try again," he said. "There is no miracle cure or perfect technique to beat it, it's in us from the moment we're born, but it can be beaten."
"How?!" she asked almost desperately.
"I've got a friend who was bitten by a werewolf," Xander said, "so I started looking for ways to help him, but the book I found helped me more than him. Despite that fur I think your problem is a lot closer to mine than his is. I've got the book in my car. It was written by a werewolf who got bit late in life during his travels. I've memorized it, so I don't need it anymore, but it should help you."
He started heading for the exit and she walked with him.
"Have you ever… eaten someone?" she asked quietly.
"No, my friends managed to catch me and lock me up before I could, just like we've done for others in our circle," Xander replied.
"So, no blood on your hands?" she asked with a frown.
"The man who… inflicted this on me, I shoved into a pit of hungry hyenas and let them devour him," he replied with a shrug. "I don't think I have any innocent blood on my hands, but I have a lot of guilty blood."
"But you're trying to help me?" she asked, confused.
"Because I can tell you want help," Xander told her. "You want to be better, so I'll help you be better, just as others have done with me."
"Thank you," she said quietly.
The two walked in silence until they got to his car and he opened the trunk. She stared wide eyed at the collection of silver weapons, wooden stakes, and century old tomes as he quickly located a leather bound journal.
"Here," he said and handed it to her before closing the trunk.
"This is a handwritten journal of Charles Darwin," she said in shock as she examined it.
"It is," Xander agreed. "Take good care of it."
"Charles Darwin… became a werewolf," she said in disbelief.
"At the end of his life," Xander agreed. "It's kind of a funny story, not for him, but for us. I won't give it away because he wrote all about it in his journal. The man was beyond brilliant, wrote down everything he went through and what he discovered about himself and… well, us. It took me dozens of read throughs and a fairly hefty dictionary to figure out what he meant, but he knows his stuff."
"This is priceless, it belongs in a museum," she said in wonder.
"Okay Indy," Xander said with a laugh.
"Barbara," she said with a smile, almost surprised she'd given him her name. "Call me Barbara."
"Okay Barbara," he said with a smile, "call me Xander."
She nodded while lightly stroking the journal.
"What museum is going to accept a journal of Charles Darwin, his final journal, on becoming a werewolf and the evolution of the human soul?" he asked curiously.
"I… I don't know," she admitted, " but I'm sure I can find one that can verify it and protect it."
"If you can, great, but read it first," Xander told her.
"I'll make myself a copy first," she promised.
"Make me one too, if you don't mind," Xander said. "I may have memorized it, but it's nice to reread and get a feel for things at times."
"Let me get your number, I'll call when I have them," she said.
Xander took out his phone and it rang. "Huh, good timing. Just got it yesterday so I haven't memorized the number yet. So let me answer this real fast… Diana?... Agent Skyler? How'd you get my number?... I don't think I'm notorious enough to have the FBI spying on me… Yeah, lunch tomorrow is fine. Where should I meet you?... That's pretty close, see you there… Bye."
"The FBI called you?" Barbara asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I've been giving lectures on how to deal with the undead and demons," Xander replied. "Apparently that put me on their radar or maybe the thing with the zombie, or the snake cult thing, maybe the vampire child abduction ring? Okay, it's been a busy week and taken altogether I can see why they'd call."
"Superhero?" she guessed.
"No, I just… run into things and kill them," he replied with a shrug. "Some things need killing."
"I'm surprised I'm not on the list."
"You don't want to kill people and are trying to change," Xander said. "That much is obvious. No, the things I kill enjoy killing, they revel in it."
"And how do you feel about killing them?" she asked, wondering if he was the self sacrificing hero type like Diana, since he was so close to her from what she'd smelled.
"I enjoy killing them, I revel in it," he said easily. "The difference between me and them is our choice of targets, they target the weak and innocent while I target the strong and guilty." His grin was animalistic and his eyes almost glowed in the light of the setting sun.
Barbara forced herself not to cringe back or attack, doing her best to stay calm. "Does it help with the urges?"
"It's always helpful to have a health release for your urges," he assured her.
She found herself giggling. "Let me get your number."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Xander pulled up to the Berkeley City Club a little after eight PM, deciding if the meeting was there he might as well get a room. Plus they had a pool and he felt like a room was nice, though he'd had to rent a double, and Xander was quickly squared away and ready for a dip.
There was a red haired man doing laps in the pool so Xander dove down and started doing his own on the bottom so he wouldn't get in his way. He was on his tenth lap when the red haired man swam down and waved to get his attention, both of them surfacing a moment later.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you look a bit like David Duchovny?" Xander asked. "Except not nearly as thin."
"He's a bit of a beanpole," the man agreed with a grin. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Alexander Harris?"
"Only my entire life," Xander replied. "FBI agent?" he guessed.
"Bingo," he replied. "Tod Baker, special agent, Meta Files division of the FBI."
"Alexander Harris, independent vampire hunter," Xander replied, shaking his hand.
"Are you part Atlantean?" Tod asked. "You were down there for quite a while and you're not even short of breath."
"No, got dosed with something that made me a really good swimmer," Xander replied.
"Got any more?" Tod asked hopefully.
"No, everyone else mutated and ate the guy who dosed us, so I'm a one off," Xander replied.
"Pity," Tod said. "Decided to show up early for the meeting?"
"I figured I might as well since I'm on vacation and don't have anywhere in particular I need to be."
"I'd have done the same," Tod agreed.
"So what did you guys want to talk to me about?" Xander asked curiously.
"Everything supernatural you know about," the agent replied. "Most people in your profession are either completely insane or incredibly secretive, usually both. The chance to talk to someone who has first hand knowledge and doesn't foam at the mouth or clam up is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"Not sure I'm the best source, but I know what you mean. I've seen way too many whackjobs and secretive cult members," Xander admitted.
"Cult members?"
"They treat the entire subject like it's… holy and they want to keep the peasants ignorant," Xander said with a snort. "Because being ignorant will protect you from a thirsty vampire or hungry werewolf. Now, I'll admit that most of the people I've seen get mixed up in it tend to go off the rails and try to sacrifice people for power of one sort or another…" Xander's voice trailed off and he frowned. "Okay, maybe they have a half decent reason for some of it, but not for keeping people ignorant of the dangers that lurk in dark alleys and how to avoid them."
"With your profession you'd only run into the people who were abusing their knowledge, not the ones who avoids it," Tod pointed out.
"That's a good point," Xander agreed, smiling.
"The crimes you deal with are exactly the same as the ones we do and we're working mostly in the dark, so we'd really appreciate any help you could give us," Tod told him. "Just the copies of the lectures you've given to the police have already helped quite a bit."
"In that case I'm happy to help," Xander told him. "Let's order a pizza and get your partner."
Tod smiled. "Man after my own heart. Let's dry off, get changed, and meet up. We're in room 102."
"Heh, I'm in 104," Xander said. "I've got a book or two in the trunk of my car I'll want to grab," Xander said, "my memory isn't the best and they contain details on things I can never remember. Want me to bring my tools?"
"I would love to see what you use," Tod said. "See you shortly."
Ten Minutes Later
*Knock*Knock*Knock*
Tod answered the door and blinked in surprise. "You've got a real viking warrior motif going there. I'm surprised you haven't put on a mask and called yourself The Hammer or something similar," he said. "Come in."
Xander winced. "Never invite someone in, if they can't pass a threshold without an invitation you don't want them inside. Motels don't typically have thresholds but it's a good idea to get out of the habit anyway."
"What can you tell us about thresholds?" a female voice asked excitedly as he entered the room.
Xander stared. "Did anyone ever tell you-"
"That I look like Dana Scully?" she asked dryly. "They based the X-Files on us, choosing actors who resembled us. Well, they chose a model who hadn't acted before to play my role."
"And she always preens about it," Tod said dryly, eyes glinting with humor.
"She's paler and you have black hair and better curves," Xander noted as he set the warhammer and a stack of books on a bed, removing his shield and taking out a couple of stakes and a sheathed dagger to join them.
"Yes, I do," she agreed smugly. "Pearl Skyler," she introduced herself.
"Alexander Harris, but you already knew that," Xander said. "Ordered the pizza yet?"
"Three large, one meat lovers, one Hawaiian, and one double sauce with extra cheese," Tod replied. "They should be here within the hour."
"Excellent," Xander said. "I've got a lot of questions for you guys as well."
"Like what?" Tod asked as he examined Xander's shield.
"No idea," Xander said with a sigh. "The Mayor of my town used a spell to keep us ignorant about a lot of things, like superheroes being real, and cell phones that aren't large plastic bricks, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy not only existing but being active."
"And you can't ask about what you don't know, because you don't know that you don't know about it," Pearl said with an understanding nod.
"Pretty much," Xander agreed.
"This is going to be an interesting conversation," Tod said. "What was kept from you and when did you discover it?" He picked up a notepad and pen. "If we can find something they all have in common it'll make it a lot easier to fill in the gaps."
"I discovered superheroes were real when they showed up to deal with the Mayor," Xander said. "Later that day some soldier from a secret government project let me know Santa Claus was real while we were raiding a vamp nest."
"Secret government project?" Pearl asked.
"We went out of our way not to confirm anything so I could avoid any paperwork," Xander said, "but the subject came up while we were raiding a vamp nest for a book that identified common demons so they wouldn't be walking in blind anymore."
Pearl nodded.
"I discovered cell phones weren't large bricks when a woman I met, Diana Prince, got her Uncle Hef to reforge my shield while I was avoiding Wonder Woman," Xander said.
"Um…" the two agents exchanged glances.
"What?" Xander asked.
Typing By: Abyssal Angel
Beta By: Abyssal Angel, Mist of Shadows, and Kyrin Fireheart
TN: What a place to end it. XD Are you starting to gain an addiction for hanging your readers off cliffs, Dogbert?
AN: It was the funniest place to end it. Torturing my readers was just a bonus!