By Starway Man

Part 2

In the infirmary, Jean Grey was looking at the newest set of X-rays she had taken. She started shaking her head, as Logan came in.

"Hey," the man said coming up to her, "what's up?"

"Hello, Logan," Jean said, briefly giving the man a smile. They had always had a strong connection, even though her heart belonged to Cyclops. "Nothing much, I'm afraid."

Logan looked at Xander's prone form on the table, and examined the young man's dogtags. It gave him a chill, looking at the inscription.

"Nighthawk," he read aloud, turning to look at Jean again. "Not Wolverine, like me."

"I'm afraid so," the doctor agreed. "He's a mutant that's been experimented on, yes, but only superficially like yourself."

Logan frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jean showed him the X-rays. "His skeleton is normal, and he doesn't have your regenerative power," she said slowly. "The few tests I've done so far indicates his mutation is some form of...autokinesis. He can move himself around in almost any way, maybe even fly, but I don't think he can affect other objects in the same manner."

"What about his claws?" Logan asked, looking at the X-rays.

She pointed at Xander's hands on the image. "As you can see here, they run down from the back of his arms, down to his fingers. The surgery and design is like yours, allowing them to work by muscle control. But..."

"But?"

"Well, there are some differences. The black alloy is similar to the adamantium in your body, but it's not exactly the same - right now, until I can think of a better name, I'm calling it adamantium II."

She paused. "It's impenetrable, unbreakable and indestructible - just like yours. But there's some sort of unknown biological component there as well, which I suspect lets him use them free of pain."

Logan looked at Xander again, a slight grin on his face. "Wish I could do the same," the mutant muttered.

He felt rather weird. The kid was almost making him feeling an older model of sports car, that had been replaced by a newer and more efficient design. Then Logan stared at Jean again. "When is he gonna wake up?"

"Not for hours yet," the doctor said with certainty. "I gave him enough sedative to..."

And then of course, just to prove her wrong, Xander woke up at that very same moment.

His claws instantly popped out, and he freed himself of his tubes and monitors. Snarling mindlessly, the young mutant spotted the two people in front of him.

And without thinking, went straight for the kill. His claws heading for Jean's throat.

At the last moment Logan grabbed his wrists, and forced him to look into his eyes. Then Logan's own claws erupted out, and Xander's eyes went wide with shock.

Logan started to say, "Take it easy..." when Xander used his mutant power, and they both flew across the infirmary and crashed into the wall.

"Ahhhhhh! Son of a bitch!" cursed Logan.

Suddenly the others came in, having been telepathically summoned by Jean. Cyclops, Storm and Rogue practically flew in, followed by the more dignified entry of the Professor in his wheelchair.

"Everybody calm down," Professor Xavier said, as he made his way to Xander's and Logan's struggling bodies.

"That's easy for YOU to say, Cue Ball Head! Now do something!!" Logan shouted at the old man.

"Well, I can already tell he's gonna be an even bigger headache than you ever were," Scott said acidly.

Charles Xavier sighed, and then inserted his mind into Xander's.

And was nearly overwhelmed, by the images in the boy's subconscious.

// A lab of some sort, being held down in restraints. Struggling against the drugs, that were being pumped into his veins. //

// Men in military uniform watching him, as doctors in gowns and masks hovered around, ignoring his screams. //

// His arms constantly being cut by scalpels, agony impossible to describe as he was unable to move. //

The Professor pulled himself together, and dug deeper. Finally finding what he wanted to know.

< You're safe now, Alex, > the telepath said directly into Xander's mind, who immediately stopped fighting with Logan.

Much to the other man's relief, as it was obvious the kid knew his unarmed combat, just as well as Wolverine did.

Whoever had done this to both of them, Logan knew that it was one of the things they focused on the most.

< Nothing will harm you here, > the Professor continued, projecting peace and calm into Xander's brain. < You're safe. There's no pain anymore. No need to fight. >

Xander stopped moving completely, staring at Charles Xavier in absolute fascination as his claws retracted, and then Logan's followed suit.

The old man then withdrew from Xander's mind, but before he did he carried out a quick survey of the damage that had done in there. Someone had seriously messed around with his memory, just as they had done with Logan.

But at least this young man, someone that had been code-named Nighthawk, wouldn't have to go through what Wolverine had. Not if he could help it.

"Hello, Alex," Charles Xavier said softly, welcoming the new arrival into his home.

***

U.S. Federal Penitentiary. Three months later

Agent Craig Downer made his way through the prison, on his way to see a very special prisoner. One housed in a very special jail cell, known only as Magneto.

A mutant since childhood in the Nazi-occupied Poland of 1944, the old man's power was one of being able to create magnetic fields, to manipulate metal in any way he wished.

Born Eric Magnus Lehnsherr, the terrorist had been imprisoned for leading the attack against the conference of world leaders in New York, nearly a year before.

Magneto, Xavier's former ally, was someone who had seen too much prejudice and intolerance in his lifetime. And he believed that, despite all the good intentions of both sides, there would one day be a war between the mutants and the normal humans in the world.

And it was one which Eric was determined that his people would not lose, or else they would all be rounded up one day and wiped off the face of the planet.

Agent Downer arrived through the plastic corridor, and sized up the inmate. "I'm Agent Craig Downer, with the..."

Magneto held up his hand to stop him. "I already know who you are and what you want," he told the man.

Agent Downer shrugged. "Then let's not waste time. The MIA can make things difficult for you, or help you out a great deal here. So...you're going to help me track down those criminals who attacked the government's Nevada facility."

Magneto stared at the government agent, and then the old man did the most insulting thing he could possibly do to someone like Craig Downer.

Eric laughed right in his face.

"I will never get used to the arrogance of men like you," he managed to splutter through the laughter. "Men who think they have absolute control of their own little corner of reality..."

Agent Downer grew angry. "I'm not the one behind bars, mutant."

Magneto agreed, wiping away the tears of laughter, "Indeed. You and yours are in fact little more than dinosaurs, stumbling down a blind alley towards extinction."

He paused for a moment, suddenly serious. "We are the future, Agent Downer. And we will never bow down to the tyranny of your kind."

Craig was now absolutely pissed, and had lost all sense of judgement. "Prison is a very nasty place, mister. I've heard that all sorts of accidents happen. Even suicides have been known to occur from time to time."

Magneto was definitely no longer smiling. He reached for and pulled up the sleeve of his right arm, exposing the faint blue numbers tattooed there, courtesy of the Nazis.

"I have survived far, far worse than anything you could ever hope to imagine," Eric told his visitor in a very calm voice. "And speaking of accidents..."

The metal buckle of the belt around Agent Downer's pants suddenly moved, tightening the leather around his waist and cutting off his breathing.

"...I think you're about to have one," Magneto finished up, staring into Downer's eyes.

Craig's face was red, and he couldn't breathe. But just as he was about to pass out, he was let go, his lungs heaving to get the breath back into his body.

Magneto started smiling again. "Soon enough, Agent Downer, evolution will stamp you out like a cockroach. So why should I bother to kill you personally?" He nodded towards the door. "Goodbye, Agent Downer. I don't think we'll be seeing each other again."

Shaken, the agent of the MIA stalked out, taking out his cell phone. "Get me Sunnydale..." he said into the phone, as he quickly left.

Magneto stared thoughtfully at his retreating figure. He had a chess game scheduled with Charles Xavier in a few days, and it looked like he had quite a few things to tell his old friend when the man arrived...

***

Westchester, New York. Three days later

In the basement of the X-Men mansion at the Academy, Alexander Harris was in the middle of his morning workout.

Dressed in his green tank top and sweat pants, he had come a long way from the animalistic creature the X-Men had rescued three months before. After a great deal of help from the Professor and his students, the twenty-year-old young man was now a human being again.

Xander could speak properly now, and had even made friends with some of the students. And although his personal memories were still lost to him, he had recovered enough things to give himself some sense of identity.

But this identity...was not the same one he'd had, previously. Before he had been kidnapped, and spent a season in hell.

The damage Xander had suffered at the hands of the military doctors had been so bad, both mental and physical, that to save himself he'd instinctively sought out his most powerful feelings, the strongest self-aspects of personality he'd ever possessed.

The Professor had unwittingly helped reinforce this, and the persona he'd recovered was that of a combat soldier. Someone he'd been as the result of a magic spell by Ethan Rayne, one Halloween when he'd been 17 years old.

Someone who hadn't even been real.

Until now.

It never once occurred to Xander or even the others that things might be otherwise, as apart from anything else the mutants NEEDED soldiers within their ranks, people who could plan and organize.

The military knowledge had also slowly come back, reinforcing his beliefs. But the only other thing he knew was his name, Alex. And even though he didn't feel comfortable with it for some reason, the description on his dogtags, Nighthawk.

Suddenly Logan came in, dressed similarly to Xander. He grinned and said, "Sorry I'm late."

Xander grinned back. "Who was she? Rogue or Dr. Grey?"

Logan went to slap him upside the head, muttering something about respect for his elders, but Xander ducked and he missed. Xander stopped smiling and said, "I need to tell you something."

Logan got serious instantly. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna be leaving soon."

"You what?!"

Xander started to pace around. "Don't get me wrong, it's great around here," he said quickly. "And I owe you guys a lot. My life, even. But I...I don't belong here."

Logan said nothing, and Xander looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you gonna tell me that I'm wrong?"

"No," Logan shook his head and held up a fist, his claws coming out with a 'snick' sound. "I'm not. I know exactly how you feel," he said, looking at them and unclenching his hand.

Xander brought out his own claws, and stared at his right hand. "Who did this to us?" he asked, almost to himself.

Logan shook his head again. "I've been trying to find out for 16 years, kid."

Xander got a determined look on his face. "Then it's time I started looking too." Sharing a quick look with the older mutant, Xander quickly turned around and left.

Later in the Professor's office, Charles Xavier and his students stood talking with Logan and Xander. "I wish you would reconsider, Alex," the old man said softly.

"I know you do," replied Xander. "But I can't stay here forever."

He stared briefly at Storm, who had helped him gain control of his powers - Xander and the white-haired mutant had often gone flying together, and had formed a close friendship. She understood, and told him so without words.

"Where will you go?" asked Jean worriedly. Xander rolled his eyes - the doctor had annoyed him more than once, acting like an overprotective mother towards him.

"Not sure yet," he said shortly.

"You should try southern California. That's where I think your accent says you come from," Cyclops suddenly said.

As everyone stared at him, he shrugged. "What? I should know, I used to live there myself." Scott lapsed into silence then, overcome by past memories.

// A prom dance, when he was 17 years old. Pain in his red eyes, as the power came out and demolished the building. Two months of darkness, always keeping his eyes shut until the Professor had found him. //

"So then I'll try LA," Xander said, interrupting his reverie.

"WE try the City of Angels, kid," Logan corrected him. As Xander stared, the older man shrugged. "You need someone to watch your back, buddy boy, unless you wanna end up in that compound again."

"I thought you guys went back there, and it was completely abandoned now?" Storm asked.

"Doesn't mean they didn't set up shop somewhere else," Xander replied, his voice hardening.

Storm was the first to see him off. "Take care," Ororo said, as she hugged him goodbye.

The others all hugged or shook hands with Logan and Xander, and then Rogue managed to get Logan alone for a moment.

She then handed him his dogtags. Logan looked at her questioningly, and she smiled. "Ah'm just makin' sure you and Alex come back to give these to me again," Marie said softly.

Logan hugged her, making sure not to touch her bare skin. "Thanks," he smiled, before going off to find his new partner.

"Storm. Cyclops. Jean," Professor Xavier said softly, as the others left his office. "Stay here a moment, if you will, please."

When they were alone, he continued, "Yesterday, I had a long chat with Eric..."

"Magneto?" Ororo said in distaste. < With all the disgusting things he's done... >

"Storm, please. Apparently, he had a rather nasty visit from the MIA..."

"What happened?" asked Jean.

"Nothing much, at least not to him. But Eric mentioned that this agent that he encountered was heading for Sunnydale, a town which is about a two-hour drive from where Alex and Logan are heading..."

"I know where it is," Cyclops interrupted him. "I have family there, two cousins - Buffy and Dawn Summers. I visited a few months ago, for the funeral of my Aunt Joyce."

"I'm sorry, Scott," Xavier said, meaning it too. "But in any case, it seems the MIA might be up to something there. I want you three to take the jet, and investigate. Give Alex and Logan a lift to LA, while you're at it."

He paused. "And while you're there Scott, check up on your relatives, make sure they're okay. And whether they know anything that could help us."

"Yes, Professor," the three said, and left the room.

***

Sunnydale, California. The next day

That evening, as Scott made his way through dinner with Giles, Buffy and Dawn, he wondered if perhaps he had not come to the wrong house, and found the wrong relatives.

Dawn was all happy to see him, but Buffy and Giles less so. He couldn't understand it - it was as if they were nervous of something, greatly afraid for some reason.

"So tell me more about your job," Dawn asked excitedly.

Cyclops smiled at the young girl, who had been born in the same year he'd become a mutant. "I work at an academy in New York, helping special children," he replied.

Dawn screwed her face up. "Special? You mean, like, mentally challenged?"

"Dawn!" Buffy said sharply.

Scott laughed. "No," he said, "it's not like that. Practically all of them are runaways, or just someone looking for a place to belong. Professor Xavier has special facilities to help them, you know, so they can eventually turn out to be the best they can be."

"Sounds like Watcher school," Dawn then said unthinkingly.

"Dawn!" Giles said this time.

Scott looked at Buffy and Giles, and tried to include them in the conversation. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to stay for long after Aunt Joyce's funeral," he said.

"That's okay," Buffy said quickly.

Cyclops then tried to think of something else to say. "So, uh, how's Uncle Hank? I haven't seen him in ages."

Dawn looked cynical. "Probably getting horizontal in Spain again with his secretary," she remarked.

"Dawn!!" both Buffy and Giles said at the same time, identical looks of horror on their faces.

Scott just snickered softly. He had been somewhat worried about his younger cousins when he'd heard they were staying with the British ex-librarian, after his aunt had died from complications arising from her brain tumor operation.

But now his fears were put to rest - they all seemed pretty close, and as happy as they could be.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Giles went to answer it, and then Willow and Tara came streaming in immediately.

"Buffy!" Willow shouted, looking for her. "We got a major emergency! There's a vam-"

"Willow! Tara!" Buffy shouted, interrupting her. "I want you to meet my cousin, Scott Summers! He's visiting from New York. Scott, these are my friends!"

Willow stopped, a look of fear on her face. "Hi!" she squeaked to Cyclops.

"H-h-hello," stammered Tara as well.

"Nice to meet you," Cyclops replied. "You said something about an emergency?"

"Willow exaggerates," Buffy said. "Isn't that right?"

"Uh, yeah!" Dawn added. "She does that a lot."

"Right!" Willow said, her eyes moving from person to person in the room. "I do! Uh, Buffy just needs to come with us to see somebody."

"Who's that?" asked Cyclops.

"Uh..." Willow started. "Someone we went to high school with. Her name's Harmony."

Scott looked around, noting the expressions on the others' faces. "Well, I guess we better get going," Buffy said uncomfortably.

"Perhaps I should come along as well, given her...condition," Giles said suddenly. "Dawn, you can look after our guest, can't you?"

"Can't I come too?" Dawn whined.

"No!" Buffy, Giles, Willow and Tara all said at once.

"Fine," Dawn said sulkily.

As the others left, Scott helped Dawn clean up after dinner, and then the dark-haired teenage girl took the mutant upstairs to her room.

As they walked in, Cyclops was shocked to see Xander's picture on the shelf, sitting next to Buffy's and Willow's. "What the-?" he muttered in amazement.

Dawn noticed where he was looking at, and a sad expression came over her face. Picking up the picture, she said, "This is Xander. He died about six months ago."

"He...died?" Cyclops stammered.

Dawn nodded. "I had, like, this huge crush on him," she confided in her 'cousin'. "Did you know, someone tried to kidnap him right in the middle of Main Street? But then their van blew up, and we lost him."

She looked angry for a moment. "Serves them right, though, those people who tried to do that."

Scott wasn't sure what to think, but he knew he had to discuss this latest development with Storm and Jean as soon as possible.

***

After Buffy and Giles had returned and Dawn had gone to bed, Scott excused himself to the others, and said he had to meet some friends at his hotel. He brushed aside their apologies for having to leave him like that, insisting it hadn't been a problem.

"Maybe I should walk you there," said Buffy nervously. "We have a...a gang problem in town, and it's not safe after dark."

"I'll be fine, I have a motorbike," Scott insisted, and quickly left.

When he met Storm and Jean near the jet, he immediately told them what he had learned.

"So this is Alex's home town? What a coincidence," Storm said.

"Yeah," Cyclops replied. "And by the way, they used to call him Xander. Short for Alexander, I suppose."

"Did you tell them where he is?" Jean asked.

"No," Cyclops replied. "I figure we should get in touch with Logan and him first, tell them to come here before we spring the big news."

"Good idea," Jean agreed.

"So what have you two come up with?" Cyclops asked them, changing the subject. "Any sign of the MIA?"

"No," Storm said, "but there's definitely something about this town that I don't like."

"What do you mean?" the man asked impatiently.

"I can't explain it," the white-haired, dark-skinned young woman replied. "It's a feeling that I get, that there's something WRONG around here. Something evil, lurking in the shadows. I know it sounds paranoid, but-"

And then, of course, six vampires attacked them without any warning whatsoever.

The three mutants were astounded, but quickly fought back. Storm and Jean battled bravely but ineffectively, as the vamps became pissed at what their next meal was doing to them. They constantly came charging forward, no matter what the two women did.

Cyclops had better luck, burning the undead with his laser beam vision, and soon their attackers were nothing but ashes scattered in the wind.

"What the hell was THAT?" asked Scott, dusting himself off. < Creatures with ridged faces, fangs and yellow eyes? > he thought to himself. < New mutants? >

"They looked like vampires," Storm said matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?!" he replied.

"You heard me," Ororo said with a touch of impatience. "Come on, Cyclops, don't be so closed-minded. I saw a lot of strange things in Kenya, when I was a child. In fact, I CAUSED most of them, when I was twelve. We have mutants in this world - so why couldn't we also have vampires?"

"But I...VAMPIRES?!" Scott said, in denial. Then he looked at Dr. Grey. "Jean, what do you think?"

"I'm reserving judgement, 'til I can examine one of those creatures properly," she replied.

***

The next day, Storm, Cyclops and Jean visited Giles' home to tell Scott's cousins goodbye, as they were taking the jet to Los Angeles.

"Hello?" Cyclops called, knocking on the door.

Giles answered it, and welcomed them inside. Buffy, Willow and Tara were there, and they also said hello to the new arrivals.

Just then, Dawn came downstairs. "Hey, everybody!" she called, not seeing the three mutants. "Buffy, did you go out again last night? How many vampires did you kill?"

The Sunnydale residents froze for a moment, looking at the people from New York. "She's just kidding..." Buffy started to say with a weak grin.

"Vampires?" Scott asked her in disbelief.

"Actually, we killed six of them ourselves last night," Ororo said suddenly.

Everyone then stared at her. "What?" the female warrior asked. "I know what I saw, and what Scott burned up."

Buffy looked at her cousin in confusion. "You burned them? How?"

Scott looked at his fellow mutants, then came to a decision. "I suggest we tell each other everything," he said, looking at his cousins and their friends. "Deal?"

It was agreed, and then a long conversation took place. The mutants were shocked to learn about all the vampires and demons that infested this town. And that Buffy was the vampire Slayer, Dawn was some sort of Key, Giles was Buffy's Watcher, and Willow and Tara were witches.

For their part, the Sunnydale residents were shocked to learn that the New Yorkers were mutants, and the powers they had exceeded their own.

Dawn, of course, was thrilled to see their powers being exhibited. "Wow!! Way cool!" she exclaimed at the sight of the laser energy fire, lightning bolts and telekinesis displays.

"Dawn, please," Giles started to say, taking off his glasses. "I must admit, th-this is all very startling."

"So what do we do now?" asked Willow.

"Our plans haven't changed," Storm told her, "we were going to rendezvous with Alex and Logan in LA, and I guess we ought to get going."

"Who?" asked Tara.

"They're two other friends of ours," Scott said, looking at Jean and Ororo. Then he made another decision. "There's something else I need to tell you, as long as we're being completely honest with each other here..." and then he told them about Xander.

Everything. The rescue mission, the rehab, his mutant power...

"WHAT?!" screamed Buffy and Willow. Giles merely looked stunned, as did Tara.

"Xander's alive? And he's a mutant?" whispered Dawn in amazement.

"Yes, to both questions," said Scott.

"And you didn't tell us this until just NOW? Jeez, cuz, could you possibly BE any more feeble?!?" Buffy shouted.

"It's not like that," Scott tried to explain. "When we rescued Alex in Nevada..."

"His name is Xander!" Willow said vehemently.

"Uh, not anymore. I mean...not to him," Scott paused, and shook his head. "Like I was saying, when we pulled him out of there, he had total memory loss. He still doesn't know who he is - and neither did of any of us, until I saw his picture in Dawn's room last night."

"It's amazing," the bottle-blond Tara said, wide-eyed. "It's a shame Anya isn't around anymore, she'd have wanted to have learned this."

"Who?" asked Scott, Ororo and Jean.

"Xander's girlfriend," Willow continued. "She disappeared a while ago. Kind of like Spike."

"Be that as it may, we have to find Xander," Giles said forcefully, before the New Yorkers could ask about Spike - it would be too complicated to explain about the 'neutered' vampire, who had once been Xander's roommate for a few weeks.

"I suggest we make all possible haste, and get ourselves to Los Angeles," the Watcher finished up.

***

Los Angeles, California. Two hours later

Xander and Logan were at the demon Karaoke bar called 'Caritas', dressed in mostly civilian clothes. Talking and drinking freely, as they thought it was a mutant safehouse.

Actually Logan, who had found the place, wasn't concerned with that part of it right now - just as long as the drinks kept flowing.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Xander asked, downing his Hawaiian sea-breeze drink in one gulp.

"Good a place as any to start looking for info," Logan replied, finishing off his Carlsberg beer. Then he burped, and laughed. "Oh man, kid, I'm getting old. A few beers, and I almost feel like I've been on a three day bender."

Xander grinned and was about to make a sarcastic comment, when he saw a group of people walking past the main bar.

One was the green-skinned and horned owner of the establishment, that he had met on the way in. No surprises there. But the other three people...

The first was a brunette girl about his own age, and the mere sight of her made his head ache like it hadn't in months. Ever since his incarceration in that facility in Nevada.

Then the flashbacks started.

// Alone with her in a basement. Fear and anticipation in the air. Childish name-calling, a series of "I hate you's!" - and then they were kissing like there was no tomorrow. //

// Looking at her lying on a hospital bed. Her eyes empty, and almost dead. "Get away from me," her voice sounded broken and listless. //

Fighting to understand the visions, he shook his head and glanced at the tall, dark-haired man dressed entirely in gothic black. Then the flashbacks assaulted him again.

// Alone with him in an underground tunnel. Fear and anticipation present, of a very different sort than before. "I told you to eat before we left!" his own voice echoed. //

// Facing him in a hospital corridor. A hateful and mocking expression in his eyes. "It must just kill you that I got there first," the man's voice was gloating. //

He groaned, tearing his eyes away towards the other dark-haired man, the last member of the group. The one that was wearing spectacles, and a conservative suit and tie.

Then the agony started up once more.

// A library somewhere. The man standing behind a petite blonde girl. "Hey, it's Mr. States-the-Obvious!" the sarcasm in his own voice overwhelming. //

// The man standing elsewhere, with others in the library. Himself dragging another girl by the elbow. "Easier said than done, Monarchy Boy," his nervous comment. //

Xander's head hit the table, as he groaned in terrible pain. Logan was beside him in a moment. "You okay, kid?" his voice was full of concern.

"Those people..." Xander started to say. He winced, trying to ignore the hurt. "The ones that just passed us, with the owner of this place..."

Logan looked around, seeing the Host but not the others. "Where?"

Xander pulled himself together. "I know them. Well...I think I know them. I just...I think I got part of my memory back! We have to find them!"

Logan just looked at him. Then he chomped down on his cigar, threw some money down on the table, helped Xander to his feet and they started for the door...

***

Angel, Cordelia and Wesley exited the club, and started walking along the street towards Angel's car. They were not in a good mood, as the Host had been unable to help in Angel's quest for information on a new demon that had come to town.

"Hurry it up back there," Angel snapped over his shoulder to his two assistants.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Cordelia said, in her most sweetly evil voice. "It's not like Wes and I have anything better to do."

"Cordelia..." Wesley tried to stop her, but it was like an amateur cook trying to bake a cake without all the proper ingredients. In a word, futile.

"No, really," she continued, ignoring the Englishman. "It's not like it matters that this guy I was seeing has finally dumped me, because I kept on cancelling our dates. And it's not like it matters that Wesley had to abandon his plans too, just for us to sit around and listen to two Korean guys singing 'Bad To The Bone' tonight."

"We need to find Gunn," Angel said vaguely, not paying attention to her tirade.

"Angel..." Wesley tried to say something; he knew what was coming, and he knew that he couldn't prevent the huge argument that would take place. But it was just his nature, and stuffy British upbringing, that compelled him to try.

Unfortunately though, just as they got to the car, they were attacked by a posse of demons and vampires.

Angel and his people were outnumbered, but they still grabbed whatever weapons they could out of the vehicle and fought for their lives. That was when Xander and Logan showed up.

They glanced at each other, and nodded once. Both men then unsheathed their claws, and got ready for battle. Choosing sides, they jumped into the fray, helping the good guys.

Cordelia literally couldn't believe it, when she saw who one of their helpers was. "XANDER!!!" she screamed, ducking a demon's punch.

The man in question, of course, paid no attention - as 'Alex' had no memory of that name.

Suddenly a van, this one colored dark brown, arrived on the scene. Several black ops types came out and stunned Xander, after killing the vampire he was fighting with. Then they grabbed him, and dragged him to the van.

"NO!" Cordelia yelled. "Stop!"

She had heard what had happened to Xander, her ex-boyfriend, after coming to Sunnydale for the funeral six months before from Willow and Buffy. Now that she knew it had all been a trick, she was determined not to lose sight of him.

But all the girl managed to accomplish by charging towards him was to get stunned by the tasers herself, and thrown into the van beside him, which then roared off.

Finally Angel, Logan and Wesley managed to defeat the demons and vampires. Logan was unconscious from the battle, and so the vampire and the ex-Watcher just piled him into the car and took him with them back to the Hyperion hotel.

***

When they got there, they found the gang from Sunnydale waiting for them. The X-Men took Logan off Angel's hands, and Jean started to check him out.

Even though, with Logan's amazing healing powers, that was hardly necessary.

As Wesley filled them in on what had happened, Angel withdrew away from the group. Leaving the others behind, Buffy sought him out.

After a long silence, the Slayer spoke. "Angel," she said, not meaning to sound so wistful.

"Buffy," the vampire replied, in exactly the same tone.

"You look well," she said slowly, feeling the tension.

"You too," he choked out.

"How things been?"

"Okay. You?"

"Can't complain too much," Buffy muttered. Then the young woman looked up at the souled vampire. "Actually, I can, but hey..."

"Know what you mean," Angel said, looking back at her.

Theirs was a story of love and tragedy, and nearly everybody knew it. He had been her first true love, and to him she had been the one thing worth 'living' for. They had had their chances for happiness, but Fate had decreed otherwise for them.

"I have some news. It's about Xander," she suddenly said, looking away. It hurt too much, to stare at him like that for too long.

"I know," he said, surprising her. She quickly looked back at Angel. "Wes, Cordy and I met him and his partner just a few minutes ago."

Her eyes went wide. "You did?! Well, where is he?"

Angel frowned at her. "Didn't you hear Wes tell it? Some people in camouflage gear grabbed him and Cordelia, and drove off before we could stop them."

Buffy grew furious, and started pounding on his chest. "Not again?! Damn it!! We gotta find 'em!"

"I know. We will," taking her in his arms without thinking about it. It felt so right, so natural, that she didn't hesitate about putting her own arms around him and hugging him back. "I've got people looking for both of them, but I..."

All of a sudden, they heard someone call their names, as Logan recovered consciousness. Letting go, feeling very strange about their sudden intimacy, they rejoined the others.

Scott got off the phone, as he had contacted Professor Xavier in New York the moment he had heard about what had happened to Xander. "That was the Professor," he said unnecessarily. "He's gotten a fix on Alex's location with Cerebro..."

"Alex? Cerebro?" Angel looked confused.

"That, er, is what Xander is calling himself these days," Wesley said.

"And Cerebro is a fascinating device, th-that can be used to track mutants by their special brain waves," Giles added helpfully.

"Xander's a mutant?" Angel echoed in dumb amazement.

"Anyway," Cyclops added impatiently, "Alex - I mean Xander, and probably your friend too, is currently at this address. Which is our next stop." He handed a piece of paper to the vampire.

Angel felt instantly cold, even though that was impossible for the undead - souled or not. "I know this place. Wolfram and Hart recently leased it from one of the firms they do business with."

"Wolfram and Hart are, uh, an evil law firm here in Los Angeles," Wesley clarified.

"Yeah. And I think we're in for big trouble," Angel summed it up very nicely.

***

Unknown location, Los Angeles. A short time previously

Ethan Rayne was roughly thrown into the room, and Agent Craig Downer followed him in.

"You know, the MIA had a lot of trouble tracking you down," the agent said to the wizard.

"Well, I do hope you didn't go to too much trouble on my behalf," Ethan said mildly.

The government operative replied by hitting Ethan in the stomach. Rayne wheezed and doubled over, fighting to get his breath back, as Agent Downer started pacing around.

"There's something you should know," Craig said softly.

"What's that?"

Downer pulled out his gun, a Glock 9 mm, and aimed it at Ethan. "You're going to be a good citizen, and do a job for the government. Otherwise, you'll be shot right here and buried tonight in an unmarked grave."

Ethan smiled and shrugged, appreciating his honesty. "When you put it that way, how can I refuse?"

The agent holstered his sidearm. Then he lifted Ethan's shirt, ignoring the Englishman's surprise, and stuck a wafer-sized block of material onto his side.

The material then glowed a bright yellow color. "Don't try to remove it, it's high explosive," he warned Ethan. "Your mission is to find Subject Nighthawk-"

"The Harris boy?" Ethan interrupted in astonishment.

Craig hit him again, and Ethan took the hint, heaving in pain. "The orders are that he is not to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Now this bomb has been specially designed, to be activated by his brain waves."

Agent Downer then looked hard at him. "If you try to remove this before you're in the same room as he is, we'll instantly know, and I'll detonate it myself. And there won't be enough pieces of you left to bury."

"What's to prevent me being killed once I do deliver your...package?" Ethan asked.

"There'll be a slight delay before the bomb goes off. Time enough for you to get away."

Ethan said nothing, but he personally thought that the other man was a lousy liar. The British magician understood that he had learned too much, and the bomb was meant to take him out as well.

"I suggest you start looking for him. If you haven't found Subject Nighthawk or contacted me within a week, the bomb goes boom." With that, Agent Downer left the room.

Ethan just smiled. < Typical Yank governmental idiot, > he thought to himself, < He doesn't have any idea of what I'm capable of. >

***

Wolfram and Hart leased building, Los Angeles. A few hours later

Xander and Cordelia were unconscious on the floor, trapped in one of the basement offices. But suddenly Xander stirred, moaned and finally woke up.

Shaking his head, he noticed then that he wasn't alone - the girl that he'd seen in the bar was in here, with him. He crawled over to her, and examined Cordelia's features.

< Who are you? > Xander thought to himself. < Do I know you? I...think I do. Are you part of my past? And why did seeing you and your friends have such an effect on me? >

Excellent questions, for which he had no answers. But suddenly Cordelia groaned, and started to wake up as well.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes, was the young man's face staring at her in concern. Someone she had once loved, and until today thought had died horribly and meaninglessly months ago.

"XANDER!!" she screamed, and embraced him tightly. Caught up in the moment, Cordelia then kissed him very hard and full on the mouth.

Xander was shocked, and for a moment didn't know what to do. But her lips were certainly stirring up a lot of primal male hormones within him.

< Go for it, you idiot! > the soldier within him was screaming. < She's a hottie, and it's been months since you've been with a woman. And she's certainly acting as if you spent all of your last R and R in her arms! >

Xander didn't need any more urging from his subconscious, and so he kissed her back. Very enthusiastically. But when he slid his arms behind her back, underneath her clothes, and then tried to lower her onto the floor, she quickly shoved him away.

"Excuse you!" Cordelia exclaimed. "We're not gonna do that! Don't even think I've forgiven you or anything!"

Xander tried to recover his equilibrium; it was obvious he'd made a serious error. "Um, I'm sorry ma'am, my mistake..." he tried to apologize.

Cordelia just stared at him, as if he'd sprouted an extra limb on his forehead. "Ma'am? Wha- did you actually just call me that?"

"Uh..."

"God! Have you completely lost it or what?" Xander just stared at her, not knowing what to say. "WELL?" Cordelia demanded. "Say something!"

Xander shrugged. "Who are you?" he asked, as it was the first thing that popped into his head.

Cordelia stared at him again. "What are you talking about, you dorkhead?" she asked immediately.

Xander got up, and helped Cordelia to her feet. "I don't know you," he said carefully. "I, uh, I lost my memory...some time ago. I take it though, you know me?"

"Of course I do!" she replied, exasperated and not believing him. Then the young woman noticed the dogtags around his neck. "What are those?" she pointed.

He showed them to her. "Nighthawk?" she said after reading them, incredulous. "Oh my God, are you actually using that stupid old nickname again?"

"It's not a nickname," he said in confusion.

Cordelia grew angry. "Alexander Lavelle Harris, I don't know what kind of gag you're trying to pull here. But I promise you, Cordelia Chase is one girl that's not gonna fall for your line of..."

Suddenly she half-screamed, half-groaned and then stumbled forward, as a vision started to pass through her mind.

// An underground tunnel. Men and women rushing forward, fear everywhere. Xander, Buffy and Tara being buried in an avalanche of rocks, after a rumbling explosion. //

"Uhhhhh!" Cordelia clutched her head in agony, then started scrabbling for a painkiller in her pockets, silently thanking God when she found one.

"What's wrong?" Xander asked in concern.

"Oh, nothing much," Cordelia said sarcastically, after taking the pill and swallowing it, waiting for the pain to subside. Then she said, "I just had a vision of you and two other people getting buried alive. Like, does that qualify as wrong to you?"

"You're a seer? That's your mutant power?" Xander asked, leaping to conclusions.

"Hey, I am not a mutant!" Cordelia retorted hotly.

Just then the door opened, and Ethan Rayne walked in.

***

"YOU!!" Xander and Cordelia both exclaimed at the same time.

Then Xander looked at her. "You know him too?" he asked in confusion.

"Like, yeah!" Cordelia replied in surprise. "I mean, after everything he's done over the years..."

"Miss Chase," Ethan said smoothly. "It HAS been a long time! You'll have to excuse Mr. Harris - after all, he's not quite the man he used to be. And I'm not just referring to his memory loss," Ethan smirked.

"Who are you?" Xander asked, tensing himself.

"Ah yes, do let me introduce myself properly. The name is Ethan Rayne, actually, and I am sorry we couldn't meet again under better circumstances, dear boy."

"Xander, what is he talking about?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"Please permit me to explain it," Ethan said, before Xander could say a word. "It'll be a lot faster, and time IS of the essence. Up until about 3 months ago, our mutual friend Mr. Harris and I were guests of the United States government, at a very special facility in Nevada. Fortunately, some people came along and rescued him..."

"You brought them to me," Xander remembered vaguely, his eyes narrowing. Finally, he was now getting some answers - his name, just for starters...

"For assistance in departing from that establishment in their jet, actually. However, things didn't quite happen that way, and I had to make it out of there on my own."

"So then what are you doing here?" asked Cordelia.

"Well...I'm here under orders to, ah, kill Subject Nighthawk over there," Ethan said apologetically, gesturing towards Xander.

The mutant immediately got in front of Cordelia, shielding her from Ethan, but the young woman would have none of it. "WHY, you slime?"

"Now, now," Ethan's smile never faltered. "It's not like any of this is MY idea. In any case, the MIA person who recruited me for the job didn't exactly give me any other options. That's why I had to contract for the special services of this charming law firm..."

"Wolfram and Hart?" Cordelia guessed instantly.

"Very good," Ethan smiled at her. Then he turned to Xander. "You see I had to get into the same room as you, my young friend, before I could safely remove this explosive device. But that's as far as my services go - because I dislike employers that make threats to kill me."

He then removed the bomb stuck to his side, and placed it on the table. Then he withdrew a handful of salt from his pocket, and made a circle around himself.

"What are you doing?" asked Xander, bewildered.

"Making preparations," was Ethan's cryptic reply.

Suddenly, the bomb changed color from yellow to red. "Probably just been set on a countdown," Ethan remarked, smirking, as if they were just chatting about the weather.

Cordelia asked in an angry tone, "Why are you grinning? I mean, you're so gonna die too!"

Ethan just chuckled. "I don't think so. Oh, and do give my regards to my ol' mate Ripper. Sorry I can't take you with me, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure a way out for yourselves."

He then started chanting in a strange language, and then a moment later simply vanished from the room in a burst of light.

For a moment Xander didn't know what to think, but then he glanced at the bomb again and all his soldier instincts kicked in.

He grabbed Cordelia, and they flew across the room to the door. All ten of his claws then instantly flashed out with the usual 'snick' sound, and he plunged them into the thick oak wood.

Xander quickly created an opening for them, tearing through the solid doorframe like a hot knife through butter, that was just big enough to fit through.

Ignoring the girl's startled exclamations and making his claws vanish, Xander then dragged her out and along with him, looking for an exit out of the basement.

Suddenly they heard grating noise, as a hole in the floor opened up before them. Looking down, Cordelia saw Angel and the others waiting in the sewers below, and jumped.

Xander turned around, and saw the security camera aimed at him. "BOMB!" he yelled, hoping they could hear him or read his lips. He then dropped into the hole after Cordelia, a moment before the sirens started and a bell started clanging.

"Run!" Xander said, gesturing frantically to the people crowding around him - Angel, Buffy, the X-Men and their friends from Sunnydale and LA. "There's a bomb, we gotta evac right now! Go - go - go!"

As everybody started running, as if in slow motion, the building exploded.

In the heat of the moment, there was no time for Cordelia to give warnings about her vision. Xander remembered only at the last moment, and tried to dive onto Tara and Buffy as part of the tunnel started to collapse on them.

"NO!" Cordelia yelled. "They're gonna die!"

Fortunately Jean Grey, who had decided to stick close to Xander, heard her and yanked at all three of them with her TK, just barely managing to pull them clear.

"We gotta get out of here NOW!" Angel hollered, as the group gathered up their three unconscious friends and left the area, before the entire sewer tunnel collapsed around them.

***

Hyperion hotel, Los Angeles. The next day

After the dust had settled, both literally and metaphorically, the group had split up, different people going their different ways.

Storm, Jean and Cyclops had gone back to New York in their black leather uniforms, once they were sure everyone was safe, to report to Professor Xavier.

Tara and Buffy had discharged themselves from St. Matthew's hospital, and were now at Angel's residence, along with Willow, Dawn and Giles.

Wesley, Gunn and Angel were also there, worried about Cordelia. The brunette girl was just sitting in a chair, and playing with a set of dogtags around her neck.

"I can't believe that Xander and his friend just took off like that!" Buffy suddenly shouted, breaking the silence. "I mean, he didn't even wait around for me to talk to him?"

"Or me," mumbled Willow, who had not left Tara's side during her hospitalization.

"Me either," added Dawn, who had similarly not left Buffy's side.

"It wouldn't have made any difference if you had talked to him," Angel came over, and tried to calm Buffy down. "Both Xander and that other guy, Logan, they seemed real determined to catch up with Ethan Rayne and his MIA contact."

"But..." Buffy started to say.

"Buffy...I'm afraid he's right," Giles said to her gently.

"I must agree, as well," Wesley replied, his voice full of certainty.

"You talked to him? What did he say?" Buffy turned around and stared at them.

The three men looked uncomfortable. "Buffy, our conversation was held under the strictest confidentiality..." Wesley started to say.

"Don't you try to go all LA Confidential on me!" Buffy said vehemently. "Spill!"

"Yeah!" agreed Willow and Dawn.

Angel looked at the two Watchers, and by silent consensus, started off the tale.

"It was weird, at first," he said slowly. "You know how Xander's never liked me? There was none of that anymore, no resentment at all. No Deadboy jokes, nothing but straight polite questions..."

"He was even quite civil to me. Amazing," Wesley added, shaking his head.

"He asked us about his past," Giles continued. "He ordered us to tell him everything about himself. And, er, we did. No holds barred, a-as it were. Even about his...dysfunctional family, just as he requested."

"What happened?" asked Tara, who had been silent up till now.

Everyone looked briefly at her, before Giles adjusted his glasses and said timidly, "Um, well..."

"Giles!" shouted Buffy, Dawn and Willow.

"He summarized it in exactly six words," Wesley said sadly. "And they were, uh, 'Guy sounds like a useless wimp.' Then..."

"What?" asked Gunn, getting into the conversation.

"He refused to talk, or even appear to think about any of it anymore," Angel said, starting to brood about it. "He just took off, and we couldn't find him again."

As the girls started to argue and remonstrate with the guys, Gunn eased himself away from the others and went over to join Cordelia, who had continued sitting all alone and playing with her dogtags.

"Hey," Gunn said, trying to cheer her up. "You okay?"

"Yes," Cordelia replied.

"You don't sound it," Gunn replied, trying to be as honest as her.

She flashed him a quick grin, before looking down again. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"Those his dogtags?" Gunn asked, seeing the 'Nighthawk' insignia.

"Oh yeah," Cordelia said vaguely. "He said that he wanted me to have them, just before he took off with that other loser. Something about if worst came to worst, and people thought I was a mutant, I should head for New York. The place he now considers home! And his friends there would help me out, when they saw these..."

Gunn could tell that she was really upset. "We could try to find him, if you want..."

"NO!" Cordelia got up, and started to move away. "No. It's fine. Don't do that. If I ever need to contact him again, I know who to go to."

With that, she walked away, and Gunn stared after her. Wondering if she really was going to be okay.

Because Gunn had heard her and the mutant having a huge argument before the guy had finally left, one filled with shouts and tears - and she definitely hadn't sounded all right to him.

***

Westchester, New York. One hour later

Professor Charles Xavier was watching the news on CNN in his private office, and the current item was the recent bombing in LA.

"...is being called a mutant terrorist act by the MIA here in Los Angeles," the TV reporter on the scene was saying. "Sources close to the investigation have hinted that a new mutant splinter group is trying to force Washington to reconsider its position, on the upcoming registration law."

She continued, "Officially there are no other clues so far, but there are rumors that a security camera caught one of the terrorists on tape, before he could escape. We'll have more on these developments, as soon as they come to hand - this is Julia Rosewood signing off, live in LA. Back to you, Harry."

The TV anchorman smiled into the camera. "Thank you, Julia. In other news today, two African nations are on the brink of war..."

The TV set switched itself off, and Professor Xavier turned around and saw his students there - Storm, Cyclops, Rogue and Jean. "Thank you," he said to the woman with TK ability.

"You're welcome," Jean replied, moving forward. "How are you?"

"Troubled, to be honest with you," Charles said, slowly. He was concerned what all this might mean, in terms of the registration and the possible reprisals against his people.

"Have you heard anything from Alex and Logan?" asked Storm.

"No," Xavier replied. "I must admit...I fear for them, and the other mutants out there alone and unprotected, given these new developments."

"Me too," added Rogue.

"But we can't give up hope," Storm then said softly.

The Professor's mind recalled part of the conversation with Magneto, during their last chess game. "We need to have some hope for the future, Eric," he'd said, moving a pawn.

"I'm not disputing that, Charles," his opponent had replied, moving a rook. "But hope alone doesn't stop the genocidal madmen. And if you think there's any difference between what's happening today and what Adolf Hitler was doing in 1938, then you are very much mistaken."

Charles Xavier was pulled back to reality, by the sight of Cyclops opening up one of his favorite books. One about the life of a 17th century contemporary of the famous writer John Milton, who'd written 'Paradise Lost'.

And then the team leader started quoting a passage, that the Professor knew by heart:

"And finally the old man said to his sons, 'I have travel'd round this changing world, and walk'd through it. Seen near aught but wars, pestilence 'n famine. But the worst I behel'd, the death of hope; the death o' dreams; the crucible, where'pon all be truly lost."

Scott paused. "The future be all'round thee, b'loved sons, awaiting t' be born. Therefore I say unto thee, let be it one worthy f' thine own offspring - with faith, with charity 'n 'bove all other, with hope in thy hearts.' And then he lay down upon his bed, and moved nevermore."

The Professor smiled at Scott, and then moved away, looking out his window towards the lawns of the academy, where many of the students were playing in the sun.

"Let us not give up hope then," Charles Francis Xavier said softly, banishing the vision of the mobs attacking his people one day, from his mind.

< Hopefully, > he thought, < today will be a good day in this world. >

THE END

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