Sirens Song

Title: Sirens’ Song
Author: Sinayah
Email: Sinayah@hotmail.com
Distribution: Ask and ye shall receive.
Rating: PG-13 so far, with an option for R and NC-17 later; those will be marked.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters from Buffy, Angel, or Xmen. They belong to very rich people who don’t appreciate them as we fanfic writers do.
Disclaimer 2: The Chapter Title and Lyrics are from The Lion King Soundtrack.
Authors Note: Many heartfelt thanks to my muse Zenura, without her I wouldn’t have had the guts to write. If you like this story please review or send me an email, I’d really appreciate hearing what you think. Enjoy!
Note 2: There is a translation for the French phrases at the end of the chapter for those of you who don’t speak the language.

Chapter 15: Be Prepared
“so prepare for the coup of a century; be prepared for the murkiest scam…”

Willow Rosenberg sat at the desk in the dorm room she was supposed to share with her best friend. Though only a couple weeks had passed since the mutants had come to collect Spike, things had gone downhill rapidly in Sunnydale. Buffy Summers, the chosen one, was now a full fledged member of the Initiative and the girlfriend of their best soldier, Riley Finn.

Buffy had been distancing herself from her old friends starting immediately after the mutants had left. She’d begun dating Riley, even though she knew he was one of the commandos; and she’d voluntarily told the young man about her secret identity. Once Riley had informed his boss, Maggie Walsh, of the slayers presence, Buffy had been welcomed with open arms. Now the slayer patrolled nightly with a team of soldiers, and behaved like a queen to her court when she checked in at Giles house, which was extremely rare.

The redhead logged herself onto the net and prepared to write an email to her new boyfriend Kurt Wagner. The fuzzy blue teen was the one highlight in Willows life these days. Though they’d only met a few weeks ago, and been together for less than a day before he’d had to leave, they cared for each other deeply. They exchanged email daily, and Kurt had phoned her once, just to hear her voice again.

Tonight she divulged all her fears and worries to the sweet elf in a long email.

To: Kurt
From: Willow
Subject: Hi Kurt!

Hi Kurt! I’m gonna unload on you tonight, so sorry in advance. Things here are getting bad, just like Spike and Logan predicted. Buffys’ joined the Initiative, which is what the commando group calls themselves. It turns out our psychology professor is the leader of the group and their base is under one of the fraternity houses on campus. Buffy’s pretty much moved out of the dorm, she’s staying with her new boyfriend Riley. He leads the soldiery part of the Initiative. Giles, Xander, and I have tried to warn Buffy about jumping on their bandwagon without asking any questions, but she won’t listen. I think she likes all the attention she gets from Prof. Walsh and the commandos because of her slayerness.

I’m so worried Kurt. Buffy almost killed Giles the other day. An old enemy, a sorcerer named Ethan Rayne, came to town and turned Giles into a demon. We tracked him down, and Buffy and demony Giles fought. Buffy stabbed him with a letter opener before I recognized him and figured out what was going on. We made Ethan turn Giles back, but it scared me, the way she acted.

Ethan gave Giles some information, before the whole demon thing. He said that the Initiative has some secret agenda called Project 3:14 that’s even got the demons scared. We’ve asked Buffy to try and find out about it, but she told us no. She says asking questions is the quickest way to get her kicked out and that whatever it is has to be good if it makes demons worry. I don’t hold much hope that Buffy will come back to our little group. Giles is trying to keep our spirits up, but I can tell how worried he is about Buffy and whatever the Initiative is doing.

Uh oh, I hear Buffy in the hall. I better sign off before she comes in. I want you to show this email to Logan, Serena, and Spike. They need to know how bad things are here; we may need all of your help soon. I’m leaving the last line of this letter for Spike specifically, he will probably tell you guys what it means.

I miss you,

Wills

For Spike: They’re in my pocket always and I might have to use them very soon. Thank You.

Willow quickly sent the email and was closing her laptop when the slayer walked in. She tried to give Buffy a smile, but failed when she saw the scowl on her friends’ face. “Hey Buffy, what’s wrong?” She asked, her voice tremulous. She didn’t like being around Buffy anymore, the girl made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

The slayer settled her gaze on the redhead, and the look was not friendly. “Hey Willow. Studying again? Nothing’s wrong, I just had a little talk with Giles. He refuses to talk to Professor Walsh; she wants access to his books so she can research more types of demons.”

Willow thought for a minute before replying, “I don’t really blame him Buffy. He doesn’t like the professor or what they’re doing in that lab and neither do I. If they want to help fight demons, they should just kill them like we’ve been doing for years, not experiment on them or put chips in their heads.”

The slayers fury was clearly apparent in her hazel eyes. “They’re the future Wills, and they’re doing good things. So what if they experiment on the demons we capture? Don’t forget, Spike would’ve killed you if it hadn’t been for one of those chips. I can’t believe I let him go with those freaks. Do you know what kind of reward Professor Walsh is offering to the person who brings in Hostile 17? Oh forget this, you wouldn’t understand. I’ll come back tomorrow and pack some stuff for next week.”

Buffy stalked out of the dorm room, and walked toward Rileys’ frat house. Her thoughts as usual revolved around herself. ‘I can’t bring Spike in, but I wonder what Professor Walsh would give me for a witch, an ex demon, and a boy who’s been possessed twice. Or information about those damned mutants who were here. I’m sure Willow and Giles have some kind of contact number or address for them. I’ll have to have a talk with her soon.’

Willow stared at the door for a long moment after Buffy left. The calculating look the slayer had given her sent chills down her spine. Her roommate was plng sng something, and the chances of it being good were slim to none in the redheads’ mind. One small hand crept into the pocket of her skirt and found the keys on their sun keychain. The familiar weight gave her comfort, the knowledge that she could be well away from Sunnydale with her friends at a moments notice relieved her worries somewhat.

‘I don’t know what you’re planning Buffy, or how the Initiative fits into your scheme, but I’m not going to be here to see it. The minute I know for certain that trouble is close, I’m getting Giles and Xander and we’re leaving. You’re not the be all and end all of this group; not anymore, and I’ll protect my friends better than you ever did.’ The redhead thought as she gripped her escape firmly in hand. She would wait, but she would be ready, and she would protect her friends come hell or high water.

* * * * * * * * * *

Serena and Logan were relaxing in the kitchen as had become their habit. Today Rogue had closed all the blinds in the room and joined them along with Spike. The raven haired couple had watched over the last few weeks as Spike and the young girl became closer. Rogue had become the blonds’ constant companion and the pair was often seen in intimate poses, cuddled together on a couch or with the redhead perched in the vampires’ lap.

Today was a perching day for both women. Serena was in Logans lap in the window seat, while Spike was holding Rogue in one of the chairs. The first couple was relaxed and content; they’d grown ever closer after the revelation of Logans past. The big man hadn’t spent a night in his bedroom since they’d come back from California, and his new bed partner was just fine with that arrangement. They hadn’t made love yet, it was too soon, and they were happy just to spend the nights in each others arms.

The second couple was nervous, though they tried to hide it. Today they were going to test Rogues’ ability to touch the vampire, skin to skin. Serena had a theory that her young friend might be able to touch Spike freely because he was; technically, dead and as such the girl wouldn’t be able to absorb anything from him. They’d waited until today just to be on the safe side. If the opposite reaction occurred and Rogue absorbed a piece of Spikes’ demon, they would have both the Xmen and the Brotherhood boys on hand to control the girl until the energy she took from the demon receded.

Serena prayed that the experiment would work in favour of the couple. Rogue deserved to have someone she could touch; it was a basic human need. Spike appeared to be in full agreement and was quite willing to touch the redhead as often and in as many places as she’d let him. He’d taken to wearing a pair of black leather gloves whenever the girl was home, so that she could forego her own gloves and the long sleeved sheer tops she wore over her normal shirts.

With only a whiff of foul smelling smoke to announce his arrival, Kurt suddenly appeared in the room. In his three fingered hand he clutched a sheet of paper. “You guys need to read this. I got an email from Willow last night, but I only read it this morning, she wanted me to show it to you. She’s worried, and scared; things are going badly in Sunnydale. Please, read it and tell me how to help her.” The teen pleaded. He felt strongly that his girlfriend was in trouble and needed their help, or would soon; but he didn’t know what to do, he was counting on his older friends for an answer.

“Calm down Kurt. Give me the letter so I can read it.” Serena ordered as she rose from her seat. She took the slightly crumpled paper from the boys hand and hugged him with one arm while she read the missive aloud. Her amber eyes began to whirl and darken as she heard about the Slayers’ involvement with the commandos who’d hurt her vampire friend and the fact that she’d nearly killed her watcher.

When she to to the last line, the one meant for Spike, the vampire removed Rogue from his lap and began to pace, muttering obscenities under his breath. The others looked at him, silently asking what was wrong. The blond explained, “Before we left, I gave the Pixie the keys to my DeSoto, and told her where it was parked. Told her if things got too bad in Sunnyhell she should use the car to get herself, the watcher, and the whelp out. If she’s worried enough to mention it, th are are starting to get bloody serious.”

Logan pondered the letter, taking in the events the little redhead spoke of. Making a decision he said, “I think we should check up on them. We’ll call Mr. Giles later tonight and get his take on things. Not that I don’t trust the Pixie, I do; but we don’t wanna rush in too early and expose ourselves to these soldiers before we’re needed.” He looked to his companions and saw that they were in agreement.

“That’s a good plan Logan, but I think we should also have someone check the place out, get a feel for the energies of the area and the attitudes of the population, both human and demon.” Serena added, having the perfect person in mind for the job. Logan agreed and asked who she wanted to send.

Spike was giving her a knowing look. “You want to call my poufy Sire don’t you Nymph? Get him to drive that bloody phallic symbol of his up to Sunnyhell and ask a few questions.” He asked; his blue eyes bright with mirth. She nodded and watched as he began to chuckle. “Good choice Luv, he’ll find out what you need. Can I listen in when you talk to him, please? I want to hear his reaction when he figures out who he’s talking to.”

The other three were looking at Serena and Spike as if the two wspeaspeaking another language. Spike explained about his Sire, and the one time he’d met the little hypnotist. It had been hate at first sight between the two when Serena had come to visit during the months Angel was soulless. The weekend she’d spent with the three vampires was the best time he could remember from his incapacitated period.

“Angelus, the soulless version, is a real bastard. When he met the Nymph, all he saw was a tiny bit of a thing. He didn’t like the way she ignored him, or that Dru and I abandoned him to spend time with her. Stupid prick went into a rage and tried to beat her into submission. Before he could get one hit in she had him under her spell, made the bloody pillock wear one of Drusillas’ frocks and dance around singing ‘I feel pretty’ in front of the minions. Cor, I’ve never laughed so much in my life. Needless to say, he left her alone after that, wouldn’t come out of his bedroom until she’d left.”

Everyone got a good laugh from the image of a cross dressing, badly singing master vampire, and the mood in the kitchen lightened. With a plan of action in mind for the troubles in Sunnydale, they were able to resume their seats and unwind. Kurt joined the two couples, and made Logan growl over having to share ‘his Chatterbox’ with the furry elf.

At ten thirty, half an hour before the Brotherhood boys were due to arrive; Spike and Logan adjourned to the Danger Room to make a few last minute adjustments in the new program they’d been working on. The two men had become good friends during the last few weeks, working together day after day on plans for the Danger Room. The vampire was no mechanic, but he had a brilliant imagination and had come up with some devious ideas to help bring the two groups of young mutants together through their weekly sessions.

“Logan, adjust the trapdoor here to the next tile and reinforce it. We’ll stick one of the obstacle blocks next to it and holograph it. With any luck we’ll catch Speedy in here and the Ghost girl will have to get him out. Make sure it’s strong enough so that the Blob won’t be able to get it open.” Spike called, looking up to the control room where Logan was sitting.

The big man did as he was asked and called back, “Done Blondie, anything else need movin or should we start testin out the holograms?” The vampire called back for Logan to turn the simulation on and come down to take a look. When the raven haired man joined Spike on the ground, the Danger Room was no longer a sterile looking auditorium.

Working together and with Professor Xavier at certain points, the men had created a difficult maze and obstacle course, then holographed it into a labyrinth of warehouses and a cemetery under a night sky. The objective was to work together to get through from the starting point to the finish, which was usual. But today they would also have to fight together to defeat the opponents that would be stalking them and engaging them in battle at different points in the maze.

“I sure hope this works Spike. Those boys should be with us, not that bitch Mystique and damn well not with Magneto. Workin with those two will only get ‘em killed or sent to jail, and they don’t deserve either.” Logan said as he walked through the maze with the blond. He had to admit Spike and Wheels had done a good job on the imaging. The place gave him the creeps, just like Sunnydale had.

Spike stopped and crouched down to adjust an obstacle that was supposed to be a pile of debris. “It will mate, I’m bloody sure of it. You and the Nymph have done a good job bringing the kids closer together. They want to be friends now, but the boys have to learn to trust us. Nothing builds trust more than a life orth sth situation, even if it’s a false one. Having us in there with them will help too I think. One of the reasons I alwhad had so many minions is because they knew I wouldn’t make them do anything I wasn’t prepared to do myself.”

Logan nodded, knowing that was true. He wouldn’t ask any of the kids to do something he couldn’t or wouldn’t do himself. Satisfied with their efforts he looked at his watch and said, “I’m glad we figured out you could mock fight with humans, as long as you don’t intend to hurt em; it’s gonna be fun watchin you spar with the kids. Come on Blondie, let’s go get suited up; the boys should be here soon. They’re getting better at bein on time; they don’t like Chatty naggin at em every time they’re late.”

It took a good ten minutes for the men to come back upstairs. Spike had balked at wearing one of the skin tight leather uniforms, preferring his own clothes which consisted of black jeans and black shirt, with his trademark duster to top it all off. Logan had eventually talked him into the suihreahreatening to sic Serena on him if he didn’t change. “If Chatterbox has to come down here, she’ll have you wearin that goddamned pink tutu she keeps hidden.” The look on the big mans face had convinced Spike, and the vampire had laughed behind his friends’ back at the image of Logan in said tutu.

* * * * * * * * * *

Serena stalked through the maze of warehouses, silent as a jungle cat. Spike was beside her, game face firmly in place. The pair were hunting the ten young mutants through their obstacle course. It had been the vampires’ idea for them, plus Wolverine and Storm, to act as opponents for the kids. The professors’ holograms had given each of the humans the appearance of a vampire or demon, while the real vampire simply morphed his face. Right now they were chasing after their charges to engage them in battle.

When the battle with their friends ensued, it wasn’t pleasant. Two real vampires, fledglings at least, would have been no match for the teens; but Spike and Serena were experienced fighters. They took the group by surprise but gave the teens a split second before attacking. Spike went for Scott, dodging under an optic blast. He had knocked the teen to the ground and was about to mock bite the boys’ throat when Toads slimy tongue wrapped around his neck and jerked him back.

Serena had come at Jean from behind and grabbed her around the throat, a move that was the first stage of breaking someone’s neck. Kitty had come to the redheads aid and phased her out of the ‘demons’ hold, just as Lance sent a jolt through the ground to knock the hypnotist off her feet. She leaped before the mini earthquake could unbalance her and kicked the rock tumbler to the ground before landing on top of him. An optic blast caught her in the back before she could mimic raking her claws across Lances’ throat.

Todds’ grip on the vampires’ neck didn’t last long. Spike freed himself and whirled to face the amphibian teen. The Toad jumped over the blonds’ head and kicked him in the back, but as the vampire went down he turned again and grabbed the boys’ leg, pulling him down too. Nightcrawler came to the other teen’s aid and teleported him away before Spike could take advantage of his downed state.

Pietro was running in circles, creating a tornado that caught Serena and lifted her into the air. The hypnotist let herself fly, relaxing so that the air currents could lift her easier. She closed her golden eyes and allowed her legs to merge into a tail. Using the extremely strong appendage she smacked the speed demon in the stomach. As he flew out of the tornado the currents dissipated and Serena fell back to the ground, landing on her feet as her legs separated again. She sprinted to Pietros’ side while he was catching his breath, but Rogue stepped into her path and sent a spinning back kick into the older womans stomach.

While Serena and Rogue were exchanging blows, Spike was busy being double teamed by Evan and Freddy. He was dodging their attempts to catch him, using his enhanced speed to avoid flying stakes and fists. He knew he’d run of opf options when he suddenly found himself unable to move, due to Jean holding him paralysed. Freddy grabbed him around the chest, allowing the redhead to release him, and Evan approached with three stakes protruding from one fist. The dark skinned boy touched the spikes to the vampires’ chest and said “Poof, you’re dust man.”

Rogue had her hands full with the dark haired woman, and the attempts of her friends to aid her were almost useless. When Todd had tried to catch Serena with his tongue she’d actually played jump rope with the appendage for a moment. When Kitty had grabbed her and tried to phase her into the floor the older woman had twisted out of her grasp and knocked her to the ground. Jean had th Ser Serena across the room with her TK, but the older woman just used the distance to make a running attack at Evan, whose back was turned. Nightcrawler took her out of the game before she could reach the dark skinned boy by grabbing her and teleporting her into a trap the group had revealed earlier.

Wolverine and Storm had no better luck in removing one of their friends from the game, and the ten teens made it through the obstacle course bruised and battered, but victorious. In the control room Charles ended the simulation and the Danger Room was once again revealed. The four adults joined their team-mates to celebrate, and they bore their own bruises happily.

Upstairs Serena laid out sandwich makings and told the freshly showered teens to help themselves before leaving the room, supposedly for her own shower. A couple minutes later the professor met her in the medical room. She had stripped to the waist and was lying face down on one of the beds, and Charles saw what was wrong immediately. Cyclops had caught the woman with an optic blast and used too much power. There was a nasty, blistering burn on Serenas’ back that needed treatment.

“Just bandage it and give me some pain killers Charles, I don’t want Scott to know.” The woman said, keeping her tone even though the burn was becoming extremely painful. She hadn’t noticed it during the battle, her adrenaline had been going strong, but it was wearing off now and Serena knew it would hurt like hell if she didn’t get some treatment.

The professor wheeled over to one of the cabinets and loaded a tray with bandages, tape, and other supplies. Coming back to the dark haired beauty he replied, “It’ll need a bit more than bandages Serena, this is a bad burn. I’ll put some anesthetising ointment on it and bandage you up, but it will take a while to heal. You’ll have to watch for infection, and come down to have the bandage changed regularly. I do think Scott should see this; he should know that he used too much power so that he can avoid doing it again and injuring someone else.”

Serena remained silent while her mentor tended to the wound and gave her some strong pain killers. When he was through she grabbed a tank top that she’d brought down and said, “I’ll tell him, but you’ll have to hee ree reassure him that I’m ok, I don’t want him fussing over me. As it is Wolvie is going to hover like a mother hen when he sees it. Just let me change and we’ll go back upstairs. We still need to perform the test with Rogue and Spike.”

Joining their friends in the rec room, Serena sat beside Pietro and patted the boys’ knee. She listened quietly to the conversation for a while, letting the pain killers take effect. The teens complimented her on her fighting style, and her near misses at taking them out of the game. Pietro turned slightly and asked what sheit hit him with. “I smacked you with my tail Ptichka. Are you alright?” she answered in a concerned tone. The hypnotist hadn’t hit him hard, but like Scott she sometimes misjudged her own strength.

“Nah I’m fine, I just wondered because it was too big to be one of your legs.” The boy replied, reassuring his friend. He wanted to see her tail now, all he’d seen earlier was a flash of color before he was knocked off his feet. He was tempted to ask the woman to transform so that he could get a look, but figured he’d see it later. Instead he turned his thoughts to finding a way to get his boyfriend alone for some quality make out time.

* * * * * * * * * *

When the pain in her back had receded to a dull throb Serena rose and asked her friends, “Ok everyone, I need you to arrange yourselves around the room please. We’re going to do an experiment with Spike and Rogue and we’ll need your help if things don’t go well.” The group stood and moved into a circle with Spike and Rogue in the middle. Lance asked what kind of experiment they were doing and the raven haired woman realized she needed to explain further.

“Rogue is going to touch Spike with her bare hand. Our theory is that since he’s technically dead, she won’t absorb anything from him. Now if we’re wrong and he’s susceptible to her mutation she may end up with some of his demon in her; namely the demons strength, speed, and bloodlust. If that happens we’ll have to keep her restrained, and it will take some effort to control her. We wanted you all here just for precautions sake so that if she tries to run at least a few of you will be able to stop her.” The small woman explained. When each of the teens had given her an understanding nod she gestured to the le tle to begin.

Rogue lifted a hand to remove her glove, but Spike caught her and shook his head no. Reaching into his pocket the vampire took out a handkerchief and used it to wipe away the plum coloured lipstick on her mouth. The girl was blushing as red as her dark hair when she realized Spike intended to kiss her in front of everyone, but she figured it might be her only chance to really kiss anyone, let alone the vampire she was steadily falling for.

When the vampire had removed all trace of the lipstick, he pulled the slender girl into his arms. One hand pressed against her back, holding her tight against his muscular frame while the other gently threaded through her hair to cup the back of her skull. Rogue tilted her face up slightly and closed her jade eyes when Spikes’ full lips pressed firmly against hers. Not waiting for the pull of her mutation and not caring that there was a crowd watching them, the blonde parted his lips and lapped at Rogues’ with his tongue.

A soft sigh was muffled between them as Rogue opened her lips to deepen the kiss. Her slender arms came up to wrap around the vampires neck as his tongue invaded her mouth and began to explore. Tentatively she responded, rubbing her tongue against his. A pleased growl rumbled in Spikes’ chest and the couple soon forgot about everything but the pleasant sensations coursing through them as their tongues duelled.

After thirty seconds Serena silently declared the experiment a success. If the girls’ mutation was going to do anything to Spike, it would’ve happened by now. Quietly, so as not to disturb the couple she ordered everyone to leave the room. When the teens, Charles, and Ororo had passed through the door she took Logans hand and pulled on him to make him leave. The big man let a low growl rumble through his chest, a warning to his undead friend. Not breaking the kiss Spike had simply lifted his hand from Rogues back and given Logan a rude gesture. The raven haired man snorted in amusement before following his girlfriend from the room, shutting the door behind him.

A few moments later Rogue pushed on Spikes chest and broke the passionate kiss, needing to catch her breath. Looking around, she noticed everyone had left the room. ‘Huh? When did they leave? Wait, if they had time to leave then we must’ve been kissing awhile. That means; Gawd that means my mutation didn’t affect him! I can touch Spike!’

Spike watched through sapphire blue eyes as his Spitfire went through her realizations. Her beautiful green eyes reflected all the happiness she was feeling, and the vampire felt her joy echo in his heart. He quickly shed his duster and held his bare arms out to catch her when she launched herself toward him for an exuberant hug. “Well then Luv, I don’t know whether to congratulate you or give you my condolences. You’ve finally got someone you can touch, but what you’ve got is; as the Nymph would say, ‘a cuddle buddy with a bad attitude and worse habits’. But if you can put up with my attitude and look past those bad habits you’ve got yourself a vampire who’s more than happy to touch you whenever and wherever you like.”

Rogues’ southern drawl was heavier than normal when she replied, “I’ll take you up on that Spike, just so long as that nasty habit of killing people doesn’t come back once we get that chip out of your noggin.” Before she allowed herself to get any closer to the vampire, she had to be sure that he wouldn’t start killing again. She could look past the horrible things he’d done before she knew him, but the girl didn’t think she could stand it if he went back to his old ways once the chip was gone.

The vampire had already had this talk with the other adults. The deal he’d made was simple; as long as he was part of the team and lived at the mansion, he wouldn’t kill for food or sport, and wouldn’t kill an enemy unless there was no other choice. It was easy enough to agree to; Spike was quite content to get his blood from bags and his new friends generously donated their own blood so that he didn’t have to subsist on animal blood. He had his choice of sparring partners to work out his aggressive tendencies on, he had his Nymph, aow how he had a new girlfriend. Rogue wasn’t a replacement for Dru as Harmony had been; he genuinely liked the southern belle and was fast falling in love with her.

“You don’t have to worry about that Luv. I’ve already sworn to your professor and the others that I wouldn’t take up killing again while I’m living here, not even an enemy unless there’s no choice about it. I’ll give you the same promise now; as long as you and I are involved I won’t kill unless I have no choice in the matter.” The thick cockney accent had been replaced by soft cultured tones, and the serious expression on his handsome face belied his honesty.

The redhead looked deep into his sparkling blue eyes and recognized the truth of his words. “I believe you, and I trust you. I wouldn’t have even asked if I’d known you already talked to the prof. and Serena about it.” She said while gifting the blond with a bright smile. The last of her worries faded into nothingness and Rogue laid her head on Spikes’ shoulder.

Spike hugged her tightly around the waist before lifting her up and moving to the couch. When he had them settled comfortably, he helped the girl remove her gloves and the sheer over blouse that kept her arms and midriff covered. Rogue felt some lingering nervousness at having so much of her deadly skin bared, but the vampire quickly reassured her by wrapping one bare arm around her equally bare waist and placing one of her arms around his neck. “So what does a vamp have to do around here to get a kiss from his girl?” he asked teasingly.

“You just have to ask Sugar.” The girl replied, bringing her lips to his. As they enjoyed another passionate embrace Rogue took silent enjoyment in more than the press of lips and tongues. She touched the vampires’ arms, his neck, and his face; her fingers traced the perfect cheekbones, smoothed over the scar on his eyebrow and over the beautifully formed lips when they parted so she could breathe. The new couple spent the remainder of the afternoon tucked away in the rec room; lost to anything except each other.

* * * * * * * * * *

Outside the rec room Serena had watched as the teens made plans for the rest of the day, smiling happily when it appeared that the Brotherhood boys were content to spend the afternoon with the Xmen. Jean and Kitty had planned to do some shopping at the mall and Kurt, Freddy and Todd wanted to tag along. Scott offered to show Lance more of what the Danger Room could do, and give him a tour of the X Jet; the rock tumbler had accepted and the two boys went off, talking animatedly with new found friendship. Ororo had gone into her green house to tend her plants, and Charles retired to his office for some reading.

Evan and Pietro were making noises about going to play basketball at the park, but the dark skinned teen kept looking between his boyfriend and the stairway. Serena had walked over and casually placed an arm over the white haired teens’ shoulders. She turned her head and whispered, “If you and Evan want to go upstairs for some private time it should be safe, the others will be busy with their own things for a while. Just hang around with Lance until Jean and the rest leave. Tell Scott to come up to my room will you?”

Pietro gave her a grateful smile and moved away to nudge Evan, gesturing for the boy to follow him as he trailed after the two team leaders. With the group scattered, the raven haired woman deflated and answered the call of her soft bed and a nap. Logan came upstairs behind her and entered ‘their’ bedroom. He found his Chatterbox laying face down in bed. “Tired already Chatty? I didn’t think the workout was that tough.” He said teasingly.

“Not tired Wolvie, I’m hurt. Don’t overreact; I’ll be fine, Scott just used a little too much power when he blasted me earlier. Charles patched me up and gave me some painkillers so don’t start fussing at me. It’ll be bad enough when Scooter sees it; he’ll be up here in a minute. Wheels said I needed to show him so he can be more careful next time.” She replied, shifting slightly in an effort to find a comfortable position to nap in.

Logan growled and came to sit beside his girlfriend, needing to make sure she was truly alright. “Let’s see it Sweetheart, I gotta know how bad it is.” He said, reaching for the bottom edge of her tank top. Serena allowed him to lift the top up and then off when she realized she was more comfortable without it. She gathered the blankets around her front, keeping herself decent as Logan peeked under the large bandage and growled again when he saw the burn.

Before the big man could comment on her injury a knock came at the door. Checking to make sure Serena was properly covered; he answered and found Cyclops standing outside with a curious expression on his face. “Pietro said Serena wanted to see me up here?” The boy said, his tone questioning. Logan waved him inside, all the while resisting the urge to pop a claw at the young man who’d hurt his woman.

Serena waved at the teen, and Scott blushed bright red when he saw that the raven haired woman was topless. His colour faded a second later when he took note of the large white bandage between her shoulder blades. “What happened? Are you ok?” he asked, concern making his voice tight. He approached the bed to get a closer look, fearing that his friend was seriously injured.

Giving the boy a reassuring smile Serena replied, “I’m fine Scott, so don’t worry about me. When you blasted me in the Danger Room earlier, you used a bit too much power and burned me. Now I don’t want an apology, it was a smart move and kept me from taking Lance out of the game. I didn’t even want to tell you I was hurt, but Charles reminded me that you needed to know so you wouldn’t use that much power next time.”

Scott looked into his dorm mothers golden eyes through ruby quartz glasses and saw that she wasn’t mad at him. He was angry with himself thoughd ald all the insecurities he had about his mutation and its harmful abilities came back. “I am sorry Serena; I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t think I used a lot of power in the blast, but obviously I did. Are you sure you’ll be ok?” He said, his worry for her clear in his voice.

The woman smiled for him and replied, “I’ll be fine, Charles said it’s not too bad and it should heal up in a week or two. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me Honey; it’s hard to tell sometimes how much force you’re using, I have the same problem with my voice sometimes, and especially when I morph and use my tail like I did on Ptichka earlier. Now you know how much is too much and I know you won’t slip again. You’re very good at controlling your blasts so don’t start feeling bad and worrying yourself sick because you made one mistake you hear me? I catch you brooding about it and I’ll smack you upside your head. Now go on back down and have fun with Lance. Show him all the gadgets we have to make life easier.”

Scott nodded and rose from the bed, taking the beautiful womans words to heart. He said goodbye to Logan and left the older couple alone, making his way back to the lower levels where he’d left Lance, Pietro, and Evan. The three boys noticed his deflated mood and Lance asked, “What’s up Cyke?”

“I hurt Serena in the workout earlier man. She’s got a bad burn on her back where I blasted her.” The teen replied, turning to punch the wall in his frustrated anger. Lance awkwardly patted his counterparts’ back in sympathy. The rock tumbler still felt bad when he remembered how he’d brought a school building down on Kitty, Jean, and Kittys’ parents.

Pietro exchanged a worried look with his boyfriend and Evan asked, “She alright man? I mean, she seemed okay afterwards. Don’t feel so bad Scott, we’ve all had accidents with our powers. I nearly skewered Auntie O last week when she surprised me.”

Lance and Pietro agreed, telling the laser eyed teen about times they’d accidentally hurt people with their powers. “It’s tough, having these powers, but we’ve got friends who understand and that makes it easier. ‘Rena wouldn’t hold it against you, just like she wouldn’t be mad at any of us if we were the ones that hurt her. Besides knowing what w goi going through, it’s just not her way; she loves all of us no matter what we do.” Pietro said, hoping to reassure the other boy.

“I know she’s not mad, she’s a great friend. But I still feel awful about it; I wish I didn’t have a mutation that could hurt people. But I guess if we don’t use them right all of our powers can hurt people. Come on Alvers, let’s go check out the jet before Logan figures we’ we’re messing with his baby.” Scott sighed and tried to shrug off his depression. If he let his worries show he knew Serena would follow through on her threat to smack him for it.

The rock tumbler trailed after Scott, but noticed Pietro and Evan weren’t with them. He turned and saw the pair walking the other way and called out, “Hey guys aren’t you coming with us?” Scott also turned and looked at the younger teens, wanting to get moving and find something to distract his mind.

Evan sent his boyfriend a sideways look and replied, “Umm nah man, think ‘Tro and I’ll go play some b-ball in the park. It’s too good a day to stay inside. You guys have fun though, see ya later.” The dark skinned boy started walking toward the elevator again and after giving the other two a wave Pietro followed.

When the younger boys were out of sight Scott and Lance looked at each other and gave a mutual shrug, neither knowing what had prompted the sudden friendship between their team mates. But then the same could be said about their own new found respect for each other, so they let it pass. Scott gestured to Lance and the two team leaders made their way down the corridors to the hangar where the X jet was kept.

* * * * * * * * * *

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor of the mansion Evan and Pietro were congratulating each other on their escape from group activities. They cleared the landing and stopped speaking, seeing one more obstacle in their path. Logan was just coming out of Serenas’ bedroom. The older man spotted the teens and asked, “What’re you two brats up to? Thought you were goin to play basketball.”

Evan thought fast and replied, “We’re just getting my ball man, and then we’re gone.” He breathed a sigh of relief when Logan accepted his excuse with a grunt. The big man started to walk past them but turned when Pietro touched his arm.

The teen looked up to meet Logans gaze and asked, “How is ‘Rena? Scott said she was hurt; is it ok if I check on her before we go?” Concern was evident in the snowy haired boyoiceoice and eyes. Before he could loosen up and spend some quality time with his boyfriend Pietro wanted to make sure the older woman was really alright.

Logan looked the boys over and answered, “She’s fine Speedy, the burn isn’t too bad. She’s sleepin now so don’t go in and wake her, you can check on her when she gets up later. I swear even hurt that woman was still jabberin about feedin you kids dinner tonight.” He turned to Evan and cautioned, “Don’t you be late Porcupine; I don’t want her havin to hold supper for you.”

Logan strode away without waiting for a reply from the boys. They watched him disappear into the elevator before going down the hall to Evans’ room. Pietro stared at the large bedroom that belonged to his boyfriend. He recognized a lot of the stuff in the room from when they’d lived in the city. The pictures above the king sized bed caught his eye and he moved over to take a look.

Thers ons one of Evan and his parents in their back yard, a couple of group pictures from the basketball team, one of his aunt; and a few of the Xmen. Pietro had to sit down when he saw the photo that graced his boyfriends’ bedside table. An older photo, it showed a ten year old Evan playing in the mud. A young Pietro was standing behind the boy with a bucket of mud and an angelic smile on his dirty features.

Evan was sitting beside the white haired teen; also remembering the day that picture was taken. “Man, it took my mom an hour to clean us up after that mud fight, remember? She kept looking at the sky and asking why she couldn’t have had a girl, and my dad was laughing so hard he fell out of the hammock.”

“I remember. My dad had just brought me back to New York when another of his friends got fed up with me. We used to have some good times when we were kids huh Ev?” Pietro asked, placing the picture back on the table and leaning his head against the other teens’ shoulder.

A strong, dark arm came around and pulled him into an embrace. “Yeah we did ‘Tro, when you weren’t being a brat. I’m glad I know now why you always tried to keep away from me. I don’t even know the dude, but your dad was a real asshole and I’m happy he finally decided to let you stay in New York and quit moving you around every year.” Evan pressed a kiss to he snowy hair of his boyfriend and hugged him tightly.

Pietros’ wiry muscled arms went around the dark boys’ waist and hugged back for a long moment. He raised his head and replied, “Yeah he is. Enowithwith the serious stuff for today Ev, gimmie a kiss.” Evan was happy to oblige and he caught the pale, full lips with his own. Soon the couple was locked in a heated embrace that seemed to last for hours.

After a long series of passionate kisses Pietro screwed up his courage and let one long fingered, slender hand wander over Evans back to the waist band of his jeans. He tugged at the dark boys’ shirt until it came loose, and then slid his hand underneath the material to touch the warm, bare skin of his boyfriends’ back. He held still, just touching, hoping that Evan would like it and return the gesture.

The dark skinned blond felt the warmth of Pietros’ hand on his bare back and smiled against the other boys’ lips. Answering his boyfriends’ silent wish, he tugged at the black tee shirt until it was free of the pale boys’ pants. Evans’ slightly callused hand moved under the shirt and glided gently up Pietros’ back, sending shiveown own the recipients’ spine. The snowy haired teen returned the favour, but instead of a shiver, Evan responded by making a pleased sound in his throat.

The couple continued to make out, hands exploring bare skin while lips moved gently over faces and throats. Evan was feeling playful as he trailed kissed over pale skin, and he nudged the collar of Pietros’ shirt out of the way before settling in to te tte the perfect hickey on his boyfriends’ collarbone. It took the speedster a good minute to realize what the result of all that sucking and nipping would be. “Ev quit that! If the guys see it I’m toast!” He chastised, removing his hands from his boyfriends’ back to push against his chest.

When Evan finally pulled away he gave his boyfriend a teasing grin. He reached up and pulled the tee shirt away so that he could see the mark he’d made. Where the sun hadn’t given him a tan Pietro had nearly translucent skin. The purple hickey stood out like a neon sign against the milky flesh. “Now that looks cute.” He said, giving a satisfied nod.

The speed demon stood and walked over to the mirror. He looked at the mark for a moment, and then touched it with his forefinger. He’d never actualeen een given a love bite before and he decided it really did look cute. He’d have to make sure it was covered though, or Lance and Todd would nag him until he told them who’d given him the hickey.

He came back to the bed and plopped down beside his boyfriend, kicking back so that he was laying in a relaxed pose. “I’d offer to return the favour, but I don’t think it would show up as well on you. You better hope the guys don’t see it; if they do and I have to think up an excuse I’ll do something really mean to you.” He threatened playfully.

“Oh really, I dunno man, I think I might enjoy it.” Evan teased back, making his boyfriend blush. The playful banter continued for a while, resulting in a tickle fight; which eventually came full circle until the pair was once again engaged in a sy may make out session that lasted the rest of the afternoon.

* * * * * * * * * *

About half an hour before sunset the group started to reassemble. Spike and Rogue reluctantly opened the rec room door and the teens trickled in two or three at a time. When the ten kids were chatting happily about their afternoon Logan decided to go upstairs and check on his Chatterbox. He could hear her humming softly as he ascended the staircase aelt elt a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth as the womans sweet voice washed over him.

He opened the door without knocking, as was his habit, and realized he should develop new habits. Serena was up from her nap and getting dressed. She’d gone to sleep topless to relieve the pain of her injury and was just now getting around to putting a shirt on. The jaded, world weary Logan could only stare with mouth agape at his half naked girlfriend. His higher brain functions had all but disappeared with the sudden loss of blood, and his thoughts ran mostly to ‘Gah! Jaysus H. Cripes in a sidecar! Tits!’

Serena heard the door opened and glanced behind her. She saw her boyfriends’ condition and could only roll her eyes. ‘Men, show them a pair of breasts and they turn into zombies.’ She mused. The small woman was feeling much better after her nap and decided to tease the big goof. “Todds’ equipped for catching flies Wolvie, shut your mouth.”

Turning heze bze back to the contents of her closet, Serena quickly pulled out a loose summer outfit. The black vest type blouse buttoned up the front and was airy enough not to irritate her burn, classy enough to suit her style, and flattered her full figure without need of a bra. A pair of palazzo pants would complete the ensemble, the loose fitting pants swirled around her legs as she walked, drawing attention to them. She held the garments over her chest and strode calmly to the bathroom just as her Wolf decided to close his mouth.

While Serena was busy changing Logan gathered his composure. The big man had seen nude women before, literally more than he could remember. But his little gypsy girl had caught him off guard, and he cursed himself for acting like he imagined one of their teen charges would in the same situation. He forced his raging hard on away and walked across the room to wait for his Siren in her rocking chair.

When the woman re emerged ten minutes later, he was able to give her a calm smile. She returned the gesture and came forward to sit in his lLogaLogan cuddled the tiny woman for a moment before say “Fe “Feelin better Sweetheart? How’s your back?” He’d been careful to keep his arm away from the injury when he wrapped it around her small frame, not wanting to cause her pain.

“I feel much better, thanks. The nap helped and the painkillers are still working. Are the kids back yet? I was about to go down and throw a couple pans of lasagne into the oven; I’m glad I had those put away, I really don’t feel like cooking for twenty people tonight.” Serena replied, leaning her head against Logans’ shoulder. She wanted to relax and enjoy some quality time with her friends before she had to make her phone calls to California, she knew Kurt wouldn’t feel better until something had been done about the situation in Sunnydale.

The raven haired man grunted in reply and stood, lifting his girlfriends’ light weight along with him. Being chivalrous wasn’t in his nature, but this particular damsel in distress had a good honest hold on his heart so he figured he could make an exception. With an unresisting beauty in his muscular arms he walked downstairs and rejoined the teens in the rec room.

Once there he looked for a convenient place to sit Serena down. Even Logan, who had no idea what to do in a kitchen, could throw something pre-made in the oven and the hollow-legged teens would be complaining for dinner soon. His sapphire eyes scanned the room and, seeing that all the seats were taken, he picked a nice, non threatening person to dump his Chatterbox on.

Kurt was talking animatedly with Scott when a bundle of black landed on him. Looking up, his eyes met Logans’ and the older man said, “Take care of her would ya, she’s stoned. Careful of her back, she’s hurt. I’m gonna throw dinner in the oven so she doesn’t have to cook.” His gaze turned from the still confused elf to the tiny brunette who was sitting to close to Lance for the raven haired mans comfort. “Half Pint you better come with me; make sure I don’t burn the e doe down.”

Using Kittys’ flaws in the domestic area to make sure no one thought to make a comment about him cooking was a brilliant plan in Logans’ mind. It was well known that the girl couldn’t cook to save her life, and if it got his little girl away from the rock tumbler; well that was just a bonus. After making sure Kitty was following him he strode from the room in the direction of the kitchen.

“Oh Gods above and Devils below, they’re gonna burn the house down, I know it. One of them in there is bad enough, but both?” Serena muttered; her whiskey hued eyed raised to the ceiling. She attempted to rise from the awkward position Logan had dropped her in but only half heartedly. She was reclining on one of the couches, her upper body in Kurts’ lap and her legs in Pietros’. Giving up the attempt she relaxed and said, “Hey kids, how was your day?”

After dinner the four Brotherhood boys went home and the six remaining teens settled down in the rec room to watch television or play games. The adults left the room once their charges were busy, Kurt and Rogue tagging along to listen in on the phone calls their older comrades were going to make. With Professor Xavier sitting in, Logan made the first of the planned phone calls.

* * * * * * * * * *

Rupert Giles was hard at work, studying all the materials he had concerning the Initiative when his phone rang. He picked it up absentmindedly, expecting to hear a sales pitch or some other nonsense. “Hello?” He asked, his tone the very essence of British boredom.

“Hello Mr. Giles, this is Logan. We heard you’ve been having some trouble down there and we wanted to check in and make sure everything’s okay.” Logan greeted, trying to keep his tone light.

Giles recognized the name and the low pitched, rumbling voice that accompanied it. He wondered how the mutants had heard about the slayerettes recent problems, but remembered Willow saying she had been keeping in touch with them via that blasted laptop of hers. “Hello Logan, it’s wonderful to hear from you. I trust things are well with your group? I won’t say that everything is fine here, but we’re holding steadfast through the troubles.”

To the man on the other end of the line, the librarian sounded both troubled and strained. “We’re fine, no trouble to speak of. It’s actually gettin borin ‘round here.” Logan replied casually. He wanted to probe the British man, find out how things really were; but he realized that since they were dealing with a government problem the Watchers phone was probably tapped.

The two men conversed about small things for a few more minutes before they ended their call. Logan felt he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do and was pleased. The point of the call had been to let the man know that they were aware of the problems he was having, and were ready to help if the need arose.

The raven haired man turned to his companions and said, “I didn’t get much out of him, but I didn’t expect to. Giles is a smart man; he knows his calls are probably being monitored by the commandos. I don’t think we’ll be getting any details unless we send someone there in person. Chatty, you still gonna call that Angel guy?”

Spike and Serena exchanged a knowing look. Getting Angel involved had repercussions; the souled vampire hated Spike, and wouldn’t want to trust Serena. The blond nodded his head, indicating that he thought the ends justified the means. He reached into one of the pockets in his duster and pulled his wallet. He thumbed through the contents before pulling out a white business card. “Here’s the number Nymph. Poufs’ lackeys should still be there, you’ll have to get through the beauty queen to talk to him.”

“Thanks Spikey. I hope he doesn’t hang up the phone as soon as he hears my voice. We never mentioned to Angelus that my hypnosis doesn’t carry over the phone.” Serena replied, taking the card. She gave the design on it a quizzical glance, wondering what in the hell the drawing was supposed to be. Shrugging, she perched on the edge of Charles’ desk and picked up the receiver.

After three rings a cheerful voice came over the other end, “Hello, Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless for a reasonable price. This is Cordelia, how may we help you?” The raven haired hypnotist shuddered slightly at the shiny, happy, money hungry tone of the secretary’s voice.

In a calm, even tone she said, “Hello, I’d like to speak to Angel please.” The chirpy voice on the other end tried to tell her that her boss was unavailable, but that Cordelia could take her information and have him get back to her. Serena rolled her eyes and replied, “I know Angel is there, I doubt the sun has set enough for him to be out and about. I’m an old friend of his and I have a job for him. Now please put the big broody hulk on the phone.”

Hearing that the woman was a friend of Angels gave Cordelia the wiggins. Did that mean she was a friend of Angelus’? The brunette decided to let her boss handle it and put the call through to his office. She hung up the phone and joined the vampire just as he was picking up the receiver. “She says she’s a friend of yours. If she’s evil she better be paying a lot of money for whatever she wants you to do.”

Angel rolled his eyes at his secretary and pushed the button to take the unknown ‘friend’ off hold. “Hello, this is Angel.” He greeted in his usual direct way.

A hauntingly beautiful, seductive, purring voice came over the line and Cordelia watched her normally pale friend become even more so. The vampires chocolate eyes flared golden as he listened. “Hello Angelus, it’s nice to hear your voice. I hear you’ve become rather ensouled, again. Now, don’t hang up on me; I promise I can’t hypnotize you over the phone.”

A low growl, reminiscent of Wolverine, echoed back over the line to the enhanced ears of both vampire and mutant. Logan growled back, though the sound didn’t carry. The big man didn’t like anyone making threatening noises at his Chatterbox. He heard the vampire responding, “What do you want from me Serena? I don’t know or care where Spike and Dru are so if you’re looking for them you called the wrong person.”

Serenas’ low laughter sounded for a moment before she answered, “I know exactly where your childer are; in fact Spike is here with me. As to what I want from you, well that’s a little harder. I want you to start caring, about your childer, and about your friends on the hellmouth. Don’t you start growling and threatening me Angelus, I haven’t harmed them and I don’t intend to. I’m not evil you prancing ponce, I never was.”

The British epithets, picked up from long association with Spike, sounded extremely strange in Serenas’ rapidly thickening Ukrainian accent. She listened as Angel said, “If you’re not evil, and I truly doubt that; then why did you just threaten my friends?” Cordelia was fingering the crucifix pendant that hung from her throat. She’d reached for it the minute Angel went game face and started growling.

“Don’t you ever listen Angelus; I also mentioned caring about Spike and Dru. Have you kept up on what’s happening in Sunnydale? There’s a group of commandos and scientists performing experiments on demons under the college campus. The reason Spike is here with me is because he got caught and was seriously hurt by them before he managed to escape.” Serena was getting impatient with the dense vampire. She’d always thought Angelus, while being a prick, was intelligent; but obviously his souled counterpart was thick as bricks.

She took a deep breath and continued, interrupting the vampires reply, “I realize you don’t want to care about what happened to him. Yes, yes I know the story; he had you tortured blah blah blah, I can’t honestly say I blame him for it. Not really the point Angelus; the point is that your little blonde ex has joined up with them. Think about it, the government is experimenting on demons; can anything good come of that? Giles is worried and Willow is scared to be around the Slayer.”

Angel absorbed all the information he was getting between insults. He hadn’t kept tabs on the group in Sunnydale, and with the new information Serena was providing, he realized he should have. “How in the hell do you know Willow and Giles and what do you want me to do about this?” He asked, his temper showing in his voice.

Serena gave an abrupt nod, glad that the vampire was finally getting around to the point of her call. “I met them when I went to Sunnydale to pick up Spike; he was staying with the slayers’ group. My friends and I helped them out before we left. What I want you to do is get in your car and drive your arse to Sunnydale. I’ve got friends here that are ready to help if the problem there gets dire, but with the phone lines tapped I can’t get any information.”

“I want you to go up there and get a feel for the attitude of the place. Talk to Willow and Giles, talk to Willie down at the bar. Do not contact Buffy, you might find yourself in a lab cage if you do. You’re good at lurking, so I know you can keep yourself from getting captured by the soldiers. Well, that’s about it. You ready to put aside your grudge and help your friends?” When the raven haired woman finished she rolled her head and tried to stretch the kinks out of her shoulders.

Angel pondered the situation for a quiet moment. If the hypnotist was lying then he could be falling into some kind of trap, but if she was telling the truth his friends were in danger. “You said Spike’s there with you? Let me talk to him.”

Serena held the receiver out to her blond friend and Spike groaned loudly before nudging Rogue off his lap to take it. He began talking with his sire, verifying Serenas’ story. While he was busy the small woman turno tho the two teens in the room and asked them to go get one of the pictures Kitty had taken of the group before they left Sunnydale. She had a feeling Angel would need some kind of proof that she did indeed know the scooby gang and was friendly towards them. Using Kurts’ teleportation the retrieval didn’t take long and she used the professors fax machine to send a copy of the image to the souled vampire.

Cordelia was listening to her boss talking with the Billy Idol wannabe when the fax machine started humming. She left her seat and went into the office to see what was coming over the line. Glancing at the cover sheet she saw an emblem for a school, and the details of where the fax had come from. There was only one page after the cover sheet and it contained a large photograph.

The brunette walked back into Angels’ office, her coffee brown eyes focused on the image. She recognized the background as a popular place for picnics in the woods outside Sunnydale. The people in the foreground interested her. She recognized Willow, Xander and Spike; but there were five teenagers and two adults that she didn’t know. Cordelia walked around the desk to stand next to her boss and placed the picture in front of him.

Angel was able to identify one more face than his friend, that of a small black haired woman. Serena had one arm wrapped around a big, rough looking man on one side and was grinning at Xander Harris who was standing on her other side. Spike and Willow stood close to each other, smiling as if they were friends. A blue furred demon had one arm around the redheads’ shoulders and a tail curled around her waist. Standing at the vampires’ side was a girl dressed in gothic clothing, two white streaks standing out against her auburn hair. Two other boys were standing next to Xander, laughing at something a delicate looking brunette girl was saying.

Looking at the picture Angel could find no sign that his friends were with the group by force. The vampire was looking closat Wat Willows face, and saw that his little friend seemed happy to have Spike near her and a young demon holding her. Xander looked fine too; the photo had captured him with his goofy smile in place. With Spikes’ word and the picture for verification Angel decided that he would do as Serena asked and take a quiet look around his old home.

When the blond vampire hung up the phone after speaking with his sire he turned and said to the group at large, “Paingel will drive up to Sunnyhell as soon as the sun sets and take a look around. Said he’ll call the number that was on the fax when he gets back to L.A.”

Serena smiled, pleased with the results of their work so far. She had one more call to make in private, but that would wait until later. Turning to Kurt she said, “Feel better now Sweetie? We’ll have some information tomorrow night at the latest, for now why don’t you go up to my room and call Willow, I’m sure she’d love to hear from you. Just be sure that neither of you mentions demons or mutants, anything that might raise alarms at the Initiative if they’re listening in.”

The blue teen hugged his surrogate mother and gratefully accepted her offer. The students weren’t allowed to have their own phones and had to use one of the common room phones unless they were talking to their parents. The chance to talk to his girlfriend in private, without any of his friends listening in or interrupting was not an opporty tty to be missed. Saying a quick thanks and goodbye he teleported up to Serenas’ room to make use of the womans private line.

The people left behind waved their hands in front of their noses to clear the smell of brimstone from their nostrils before laughing lightly at the boys’ antics. Spike took hold of his girlfriends’ hand and the pair made their own getaway, heading outside for a walk.

Logan, Serena, and Charles discussed the situation in Sunnydale and what repercussions they might face if they exposed themselves to help their friends. Logan pointed out that if the government knew about demons, they surely knew about mutants. The Xmen wouldn’t be revealing the secret of their existence, just some of their powers. The trio talked seriously for a long while, until Serena noticed that it was nearing curfew. She and Logan excused themselves to see that their charges were all inside and getting ready for bed.

* * * * * * * * * *

Logan took up his position in the foyer to catch any of the teens who were out on dates that came in late. Thirty seconds before the grandfather clock started chiming the hour Rogue came running in. The girl saw the ‘terrifying teddy bear’ as she’d dubbed L, an, and said breathlessly, “I’m not late! Don’t you dare go getting me up early for a Danger Room workout in the morning! It’s all Spikes’ fault!” She pointed a suspiciously gloveless finger at the smirking blond that was just coming in the door.

The two men had no choice but to laugh uproariously at the fiery tempered southern belle. Rogue gave her boyfriend and father figure a rude gesture before storming upstairs, no doubt to complain to Serena about men in general and ‘those two’ in particular. Logan turned his midnight blue eyes to his vampire friend and said, “You got your hands full with that one Spike, she’s a little hellcat.”

An urge to give a little fatherly warning overcame the gruff man and he continued, “She’s my little hellcat. I like you Spike, I really do; but if you hurt that girl in any way I will make you pray for an end to your life. Pray, beg, wish, and hope; you’ll do it all before…”

“Before I let him have a go ou. ou. You know I love you Will, but I love Rogue too.