I am getting faster at updates! I know how many of you enjoy this story, so I'm trying to keep the updates more timely. I'd like to thank my betas who have stepped in to read over it and help me avoid my sloppy writing! Thanks so much, John, Keylena, and Laura!

Chapter 13: Transforming

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

Bruce wasn't sure what to think about the group he'd fallen in with. Tony was both different and the same as he appeared on television. He was gregarious and lightning fast, but his real affection for the teenagers was apparent at the dinner they had. Buffy's promise not to slay the Hulk was amusing at first, and then Tony told him that she was a vampire slayer. If it was for the fact that no one laughed after his pronouncement, Bruce would've assumed it was a joke.

"Tony, it's getting late," Willow said anxiously. She glanced at Oz, who was looking tense.

Bruce had trouble believing the little guy was going to transform into a werewolf, but he got up with Tony and the two teenagers.

"Aren't you guys coming?" Tony asked Xander, Buffy, and Cordelia.

"We've seen this a bunch already," Xander said.

"We've taken shifts, and if you're going to be the guy who has wolf duty, more power to you," Cordelia said. "I need my beauty sleep."

"What she said," Buffy said. She looked at Natasha. "Do you want to go spar?"

"I kind of wanted to watch the werewolf," she said. "How about in an hour?"

"Okay. I'll call my mom and my watcher," she said.

"Watcher?" Bruce asked Tony.

"He's her sensei, basically," Tony said. "He's this British guy, who trains her and looks up the demons and tells her how to kill them."

Bruce looked at the teenagers still in the room to see if Tony was being truthful, and they nodded.

"Yes, that's basically what Giles does," Willow said. "He's also the librarian at our school, but that's mostly just a cover."

Tony led them down a floor to the lab where he had installed a cage for Oz.

"I put up a privacy screen," Tony said. He pushed a button and a screen came up.

"That's good," Willow said. "If it wasn't removable, the wolf would just destroy it."

"Is it okay if I ask you some questions?" Bruce asked Oz.

Oz nodded.

"When you are the wolf, do you have any memories?" he asked.

Oz shook his head. "No. None," he said. "It's like I go to sleep, and the wolf takes over."

"That's what happens with me and the Hulk," Bruce said, feeling a connection to this young man. When he glanced at Tony, he was looking smug. He knew Bruce would feel this way.

"It's time," Oz said. He walked to the cage and shut himself in, testing the door to see if it was secure.

"When does the change usually happen?" Bruce asked Willow.

"When the moon is at its peak," she said.

Oz went behind the screen and stripped.

"Tomorrow, ladies, I'm going to need you to not be here," Tony said to Willow and Natasha. "I want to watch the transformation, and I don't need Oz's modesty getting in the way of that."

Willow blushed while Natasha smirked. "Who are you again?" Bruce asked her.

"I'm the bodyguard-slash-assistant-slas-trainer of the kids," she supplied.

"Happy hired her to assist me in whatever I need," Tony said. "But she's primarily a bodyguard. She's also working with the kids on self-defense."

"That's good," Bruce said. Noises from the cage drew their attention. It was clear that Oz's transformation was taking place.

Tony pushed a button, and a light shined on the screen Oz was behind. They all watched as his body morphed and changed into the wolf.

"Wow!" Natasha said.

"This is so fascinating," Bruce said. He hadn't been completely sure Tony was telling the truth.

"It hurts a lot," Willow said, looking sad. "Do you think you can help him?"

"We can try," Bruce said.

Tony removed the screen, so they could see the wolf. "It's so ugly," Tony said with a grimace.

"We really need to get a hair sample," Bruce said.

"By all means," Tony said, gesturing. "Go for it."

"I'm sure they'll be some in the room after it's over," Bruce said.

"There usually is," Willow said.

Bruce started discussing things with Tony. "Is lycanthropy a pathogen? Or is it hereditary?" he asked.

"Both," Willow answered. "He found out that his two-year-old cousin was a born wolf—no one in the family bothered to warn him. His baby cousin bit him on the finger."

"That was really irresponsible," Bruce said.

"Tell me about it," Willow said.

"I bet Oz doesn't hold a grudge, though," Tony said knowingly.

"No," Willow said. "Oz doesn't really get mad about stuff. Not that I've ever seen."

They all watched the wolf as it raged against the bars, trying to get out.

"I guess the wolf holds all his anger," Tony observed.

"I don't think the wolf is him at all," Willow said.

"It is," Bruce said. "It's changed him fundamentally. I know from experience. When you have a dangerous part of you that you can't control, it has to change you. At least for him it's only three days a month."

Willow hung out a bit as she hated to leave Oz when he was a wolf, but she knew that Tony was going to stay up watching Oz. When Bruce and Tony started talking in science words that she couldn't follow, she knew it was time to call it a night.

Natasha followed her out, more than a bit shaken at what she witnessed. It wasn't that she thought they were lying to her, but she had hoped there was some other explanation or something. However, it was clear that Daniel Osborne transformed into a mindless beast. It was disconcerting, especially as she had spent some time with the very self-contained teenager. In fact, he was one of her favorites as he listened intently and never wasted words. He was unusual, and Natasha thought he and Willow were very adorable together.

Her world had become very strange.

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

Oz was a bit uncomfortable with the scrutiny as Tony was relentless and had absolutely no subtly. However, he knew the man was a genius and adored Willow. He'd been very good to Oz and the rest of Willow's friends. If anyone could find a cure for his condition, it would probably be Tony. The fact that he brought in Dr. Banner, a man who had an even more dangerous monster inside him, was surprising but not unwelcome. Oz felt a kinship with the man. Watching someone be able to so easily hold their own with Tony was fascinating.

It was breakfast, and Oz and Willow were trying to follow Tony and Dr. Banner's conversation. It was hard.

"I feel stupid," Willow said in a whisper to Oz.

"You're not stupid," Oz said.

"Of course, you're not," Tony said, proving that he was never as self-involved as people thought.

"Honey, Tony has two graduate degrees, and no matter how well-read a person is or intelligent, you aren't going to be able to know everything he knows," Pepper said, reaching over and squeezing her hand. She, too, was amused at Tony's new friendship with Dr. Banner. It seemed that Tony—as usual—was right. The two men had hit it off, and she was happy for him. He had no real peers his own age. Rhodey and Happy were great friends to him, but they couldn't talk science with him.

"I didn't realize that it was possible to find bigger nerds than you and Oz," Cordelia said with a grin.

"Nerds will rule the world," Willow said happily.

"So do you think you would like to spend the day with me?" Pepper asked Willow. "I know the guys will be busy."

Willow knew that this was the second time her mother had asked, so she agreed. The day was fun. Her mother was clearly respected by all her employees, and she had a way of talking to people that was gentle but firm. Willow was taking mental notes.

For lunch, Pepper took her to a café around the corner.

"I'm sorry it's not some place fancier," Pepper said.

"Oh, no, this is great," Willow said. "Fancy places make me nervous."

Pepper smiled. "I can't tell you how much this time with you has meant to me, Willow," she said. "I'm so grateful that your parents let you stay the summer with me."

"It's not like they ever wanna stay the summer with me," Willow said with a shrug. "I mean sometimes I go with them on their trips. Now that I'm older. But psychology is kind of boring."

Pepper smiled. "They do love you," she said.

"Oh, I know that they do," Willow said. "I just wish sometimes that my mom was more like Buffy's."

"It's good that you have such great friends—that's important," Pepper said.

"I can't believe you let them come spend the summer with us," Willow said.

"Well, that was Tony," Pepper said with a smile. "He just wanted to remove you all from the hellmouth for a bit, and I agreed that you all needed a break."

"Still, you didn't have to agree to share me with him or yourself with them, and I do appreciate it," Willow said. "It's been great for everyone. I feel like we're all even closer than we were. Cordelia and I are even getting along, and that's a miracle."

"Tony adores her sarcastic tongue," Pepper said. "I think they must share a family tree branch somewhere."

"Tony's much nicer than Cordelia," Willow said.

"You've never seen him tear into someone he didn't like or respect," Pepper said. "Put your intelligence with Cordelia's personality, and you can imagine what I've seen more than once."

Willow laughed. "Okay. That might be something to see," she said.

"The board was dubious when I took over for Tony, but after our second meeting, more than one person told me their blood pressure had went down because they no longer dreaded what Tony would say or do," she said. "Of course, that was if he bothered to show up."

"Do you think you and Tony will ever get married?" Willow asked.

"I don't know," Pepper said. "Maybe. I would've said when Tony grows up, but he's showed a lot of maturity with you kids—I've seen a side of him that I didn't know existed."

"You know the other day I asked him if we were friends," Willow said.

"What did he say?" Pepper asked.

"He said a lot," Willow said, smiling at the happy memory. "He was quite wonderful. He said of course we were friends, but he also until he could convince you to let him knock you up—those are his words—that I was like his kid, too. He said that he could be like my uncle since he didn't have any family but you and Happy."

Pepper felt her eyes fill with tears, and she fell even more in love with Tony. She used her napkin to wipe her eyes. "I knew Tony had a bigger heart than he showed people, but I didn't realize until this summer just how truly big it was. It makes me love him so much," she said.

"You're going to have to marry him and make him a daddy," Willow said excitedly.

Pepper nodded. "I know," she said. Meeting these kids had really pushed up the timetable in their relationship. He was proving to her that he wasn't simply someone she could trust, but he was someone she could count on.

*****A Week Later*****

Tony and Bruce were still working on their werewolf cure and getting along like a house on fire several days later. They weren't neglecting the teenagers, though, as both men found the teenagers fun to be around.

Buffy was training a lot with Natasha, having decided that she liked the redhead. Her friends were actually learning some moves, but it was Cordy that showing the most promise. This was shocking to everyone but Xander, who knew Cordelia was both athletic and capable.

Cordelia loved excelling at something that previously only Buffy was good at, and she especially liked showing off in front of Tony, who clearly adored her. Grant it, he seemed to love all of them, but Cordelia had decided that she was his favorite.

Buffy had invited Matt over to spar with them, and they were all blown away at the blind guy's skills.

"I should just stop trying," Xander complained after he got put on his tail for the third time by Matt. It was humiliating to get beat by a blind guy even after he was used to getting slapped around by girls (Buffy and Cordy).

"I've been training for a few years now," Matt said to him.

"Well, I've been getting beat up by bullies for years—I should be better by now," Xander grumbled.

"Why?" Natasha asked him.

Xander couldn't think of a reason, so he stopped complaining.

Buffy decided that she wanted to spar with Matt blindfolded. "Giles has thrown knives at me before while I was blindfolded," she said.

"Really?" Natasha asked surprise.

"I didn't get stabbed, so I think this will be okay," Buffy said. "Giles can't really spar with me."

"She just wants to show off," Cordelia said to Xander.

Although Buffy heard her comment, she ignored it. In truth, she wanted to understand how Matt could fight so well without being able to see. What if she lost her vision someday? It wouldn't cause her to lose her slayerness, and she would still have a job to do. People would still die if she couldn't fight. If Matt could fight blind, then she had to learn how to do so, too.

Natasha handed her a black blindfold, and she tied it around her eyes.

Matt had spoken to Buffy on the phone a few times since the expo, and he really liked her. Because she had recently lost her boyfriend, he knew that she wasn't really on the prowl. This allowed him to relax around her and not worry about accidentally lead her on. Although she was underage, they were only two years apart, and he felt a connection to her. Somehow, though, he sensed there were things she wasn't telling him. Why did she have a trainer that threw knives at her? Why would a Californian teenage girl need that level of training? It didn't add up. Why did she want to fight blindfolded? He could tell, however, she was driven to excel, and he wanted to learn more about the intriguing teen. He hadn't ever met a girl like her before—he didn't know girls like her existed.

He knew that he had no desire to hurt or embarrass her in front of her friends. The girl Cordelia, in particular, seemed like she would enjoy Buffy's defeat.

"Are you ready?" he asked, letting Buffy hear where he was.

"I am," Buffy said.

He stepped forward and threw a half-hearted punch, but Buffy surprised him by deflecting it. Then he threw a kick, and she caught it and shoved him back.

He smiled, impressed. He had heard she was very talented, but to be able to fight blindfolded was more impressive to Matt. Unlike him, Buffy wasn't used to not having her sight.

Deciding to test her, he pressed her harder. His fist connected to her face. "Are you okay?" he asked, pausing.

"Of course," she said. Then she kicked out, hitting him in the stomach.

Damn, she was strong!

Tony had been working in the lab with his new buddy when JARVIS had informed him that he might be interested in what was happening in the gym.

Instantly, he stopped working and turned to Bruce. "Come on," he said.

Bruce followed him to the gym and was surprised to see Buffy fighting some new guy with her eyes covered. "That's Matt. He's pre-law," Tony said, watching the two. "The little bugger didn't tell me he was so talented."

"Why is Buffy fighting blindfolded?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not sure," Tony said. "Matt's blind. Maybe she wanted to make the fight more fair."

Bruce looked at the fight with new eyes. He wasn't sure who he was more impressed with.

"Isn't it cool?" Willow said with a grin. "They're amazing!"

"Yea, so Buffy can fight blind-folded," Cordelia said sourly. "Big whoop. That Matt can keep up with her—that's what I find impressive."

"Me, too," Tony said with a grin.

It looked like he was going to have to keep a special eye on this future lawyer—he was just full of surprises.

Eventually, Buffy swept Matt's legs out from under him, ending the fight.

She took off the blindfold and helped him up. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Of course," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You did really well."

"You both did," Tony said. "Matt, why didn't you tell me you could do that?"

Matt looked at him and smiled. "Why would I? We've spoken three times previously," he pointed out.

Tony laughed. He loved clever people.

*****Chapter End****

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