Slayers and Mutants and Keys- Oh My!
by Wizard
Author's Note: the characters in this fanfic do not belong to me. They are the property of Mutant Enemy (Buffy and Co.), and Marvel Comics (X-Men/ New Mutants).
Buffy-wise: This story occurs during Buffy S5. The prologue is post "Triangle" but pre "Checkpoint", and the rest is post "The Body." May veer off into AU- in fact, it probably will. Marvel-wise: Everything up to Uncanny X-Men #137 is canon. In this work, the Phoenix Entity left Jean after the battle in Uncanny X-Men #138. Also, this verse has been updated to 2000- well, this part of the timeline... you know what I mean. Also, the only other X- team at this time is the New Mutants. X-Men and the New Mutants- that's it.
Prologue: Wedding Bells
Sunnydale CA., January 2001.
If there was one thing that Joyce Summers prided herself on, one thing above all others, then it was her family. There was no way that she could be prouder of her daughters. Buffy was the Slayer, a superhero for God's sake, and had saved literally the world on a number of occasions. And Dawn. Dawn was bright, perky, and loved school, which she did very well in. And everything else about her youngest. didn't matter at all. The love that Joyce Summers held for her daughters knew no bounds.
But Joyce had other family. She didn't see her ex-husband very much any more, which was sort of fine by her, not that she'd ever let her daughters know that. Hank Summers was a great friend, but not such a good husband or father. It wasn't a problem with love- no one could doubt that he loved his daughters, and his wife once, but with Hank, it was a little like out of sight, out of mind. He lacked something of the responsibility that Christopher had.
Joyce sighed. Chris. He was her ex-brother-in-law. He was a few years older than Hank and Joyce, and married Anne a little earlier in life than his younger brother did. Where Hank entered business, Chris entered the Air force, and became a pilot. A major, as a matter of fact. Joyce sighed again, lost in memory. She remembered Chris' quiet chuckle, Anne's vivacious giggle, not a little like Dawn's in fact, and remembered the horrible day that her family learned of the plane crash that took both of their lives. The one irresponsible thing that the couple did was not have a will, and Joyce privately wondered how two such responsible people could not write a will. For a while, Hank had the odd notion that someone sinister had somehow destroyed all traces of the will that his brother MUST have written. Joyce understood why- he blamed himself for the crash. After all, Chris was flying his family home from a visit to Los Angeles after Dawn was born. No, it wasn't after Dawn was born, it was for some other reason- Joyce shook that thought away. That sort of thinking could do her no good- it would make her as crazy as Hank seemed for a time, begging the courts for the custody of his two young nephews. Silently, with her whole being, and NOT for the first time, Joyce cursed the judge who prevented Hank and her from being allowed to have custody of Scott and Alex. Scott was twelve when his parents died, and Alex only ten. They should have gone to their family! But no- Alex was sent to faster care, but Scott was bounced from orphanage to orphanage until he wound up at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Joyce frowned. She remembered her nephews as youths- Scott a little on the serious side, Alex merry as Santa Claus. They were polite, not too well behaved, very protective of their younger cousin, and Joyce would never forget the expressions on their faces as they each held Dawn for the first time. except they never did. get a grip Joyce!
She had missed out on most of her nephews' lives, even on their Graduation Ceremonies- from both High School and College. This brought another wave of sadness- she was forced out of town for Buffy's graduation, too. She was resolved to NOT miss Dawn's too. Anyway, she was both thrilled and apprehensive to receive an invitation to Scott's wedding. Scott was 25- Joyce wasn't that much older than that when she got married, and she was now divorced. She also didn't like the fact that Scott didn't seem to play the field- in all of his too-infrequent letters and phone calls he would only mention a girl named Jean. Unless he had a thing for girls named Jean, he had been after this one Jean since he was 18. But she didn't have the right to call Scott on it- she was only his aunt- well, technically his ex- aunt.
She looked once more at the invitation that he sent her.
"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr. Scott Summers, of Salem Centre NY, to Ms. Jean Grey, of Salem Centre NY, to be held at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters on April 25, 2001. Please RSVP as soon as possible. Thank you very much, and we both hope to see you then."
Joyce went to the stairs and called up. "Buffy! Dawn! Could you come down here please?" Joyce thought about the wedding. With all that was going on in their lives, a bit of good news like this was exactly what was needed.
* * * * * * * * *
Buffy felt a little shocked as her mother told the news. Okay, maybe stunned was the better word. Scott, married? At 25?
"It won't last," Buffy thought to herself. "It'll go fine for a year, maybe two, and then it'll fall apart."
Buffy chided herself for her cynicism. "Not every relationship a Summers has goes kablooey. Wait a minute. my parents, Ted, Angel, Riley. Okay, maybe they usually do, but that doesn't mean that this one will too. I hope."
Through the moping, Buffy couldn't help but notice Dawn's enthusiasm.
"Scotty married? When? April? Just in time for Spring Break! We're going, right? Who's he marrying? Her? Oh, she's pretty! Will we be staying at that mansion that Scott works at?" and on and on went the Dawnmeister.
Buffy glanced down at the engagement picture that the invitation came with. There was Scott. With those prescription sunglasses that he had to wear it was usually hard to gauge his expression, but the smile he wore was unmistakeable. Next to him was Jean. She was a beautiful redhead, with green eyes and an ever so slightly mischievous smile. Her picture seemed nice, at least. Buffy couldn't wait to actually meet her.
"First things first, Dawn," Joyce laughed. "Of course we're going. And we'll probably be staying at a hotel. And." Joyce paused.
"Buffy?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think that you can get your friends to take over the slaying for the wedding?"
"I don't think that'll be a problem." Buffy smiled. She had a number of problems- she couldn't keep a boyfriend, there was a super powerful demon on the loose, but this, at least, she could probably handle.
* * * * * * * * *
"Married?" Giles asked her. The Scoobies were gathered in the Magic Box. Giles and Anya were working, Xander was off that day, and Willow and Tara were researching a spell. Buffy felt lucky to get them all at once.
"Yeah. In New York. Can I go?" Buffy was beginning to feel a little nervous. Granted, she was only asking for a few days off, but a very big bad was still in town even as she was asking. Buffy still didn't know what Glory was, but one thing was for sure- she was at least as strong as Buffy, and incredibly more durable. On the other hand, with Dawn in New York as well, there was no chance that Glory would find the Key. However, she could always go after one of the Scoobies. She couldn't live with herself if anything happened to her friends.
"No, never mind. It's a bad idea right now-"
"Go."
"Huh? What?"
"I want you to go, Buffy."
"We all do, Buff," Xander added.
Buffy felt a great bout of disbelief. Her friends, experienced Sunnydale citizens all, were going to let her leave town, even though it was very possible that Glory would still be a problem?
"But." she tried to argue.
"No buts!" Xander was firm. "You've been going through a lot lately, Buff. A big fancy wedding is what you need to go back to all-fun Buffy, even if it's just for a little while. We can handle the slaying! I bet all the demons are just cringing right now, and I say-" Xander pumped an imaginary stake, "shake, demons, shake!"
"Yeah!" Willow chimed in. "We got nine. well, six, out of every ten vampires that summer." All went quiet for a brief moment. 'That summer,' when Buffy skipped town, wasn't brought up much by the Scoobies. "Anyway, a big springtime wedding, at a nice mansion in New York and all, sounds kinda romantic." Willow was wearing a big grin
"And, New York is supposed to be pretty nice. In the spring. So I've heard," Tara added. Buffy smiled at the blond witch. Tara had come a long way from the painfully shy young woman that she first met.
"Yeah! We got you covered!" Anya exclaimed, a little too joyfully. Everyone looked at her.
"Ahn," Xander began, "are you saying that you want to go out patrolling while Buffy's in New York."
"No!" she replied, a little forcefully. "Well, Buffy's going to one of the big shopping capitals of the world, where she'll have fun and buy us expensive presents. And you're going to go out on patrol. You get all hot and sweaty when you patrol, and all the adrenaline you build up is great for multi-orgasmic sex!"
"Right," Buffy said when she found her voice again. "But what about Glory?"
"No biggie," Willow responded. "If we see her, we'll run. And if we can't, well-"she looked at Tara, who nodded, "Tara and I've been working on a spell that might get her away. I'd tell you more, but we haven't worked all the kinks out yet."
"It might not work," Tara said quietly. "It's a dangerous spell, even at the best of times. Only the most powerful spell casters use it at all."
"Well, there's nothing that the two of you can't do," Xander quickly put in, changing the mood.
"Buffy, don't worry about us. I'm sure that we can handle whatever happens if you're only gone for a few days," Giles said, with his 'discussion closed' tone in full use.
"Yes, so go, have fun, and return with presents!" Anya enthusiastically concluded.
* * * * * * * * *
Later, Buffy trained with Giles for a while, and went home to be with Joyce. On her way home, she found a note in her coat. It read: "Don't worry about them. I'll keep them safe- we should know more about her by then. I want you to have fun in New York. You more than deserve it." The note was unsigned, but Buffy knew who it was from- Giles. It was a little vague, just in case it was found by someone, but Buffy knew who the 'her' was.
"I hope so," Buffy said to herself. She had never faced an enemy like Glory before. The Master, Spike, Drusilla, Angel, Faith, the Mayor, even Adam- none of them were as powerful as Glory seemed to be. She had once seriously considered asking Willow, Xander and Giles to undergo the 'joining' ritual with her, but she finally decided that the 'Super-Slayer" would only be used as a last resort. For all Buffy knew, Glory had some weakness to Glory that they didn't know about yet. And, if Glory could kill the 'Super- Slayer' they would all be dead, and who would protect Dawn then?
Buffy shook her head. "All this for a wedding," she muttered to herself.
"Who's getting married?" a familiar Cockney voice came from behind her. Buffy sighed as she turned around to face it. But then a thought came to her- it was a little desperate, but then again, Spike had always liked a good fight.
"My cousin is, Spike."
"Oh?" the bleached British vamp asked her, as he approached.
"Yes," Buffy responded, as she steeled herself. "And I'd like to ask you a favour."
"Really?" he said. Buffy expected Spike to sound amused and scornful, as he usually did, but he sounded. speculative somehow.
"Yeah. Look. my cousin lives in New York, and he's getting married in April, and."
"You want me to be your date?"
"NO!" Buffy couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Oh. Good! I mean, I hate you, Slayer, and your little crew too." It had to just be Buffy's imagination, but he actually sounded. almost disappointed.
"The feeling is mutual. Look- I need you to help my friends cover for me."
"Oh, I get it. You're worried about that Glory wench."
"Hole in one. What'll it cost me?"
"Cost? Nothing." Noting that Buffy's eyes were starting to bug out in shock, he quickly added, "Remember what I told you when I helped you stop Angel? I still like this world the way it is, even if I'm not the big bad anymore. I don't want her getting her hands on this 'Key' or whatever it is, opening the Hellmouth, and ruining my fun. Besides- it's not like she can help me get this sodding chip out like old FrankenDemon could, now is it?"
"I guess not." Buffy felt suspicious. Everything that he said was absolutely true, but on the other hand, this was SPIKE. Come to think of it, he had been acting a little peculiarly lately. Even for him. Maybe the chip was driving him nuts.
"Don't mention it." And with that, he left. Buffy watched him for a while, shrugged, and continued on her way home.
"Yup," she said to herself. "That chip's definitely driving him nuts."
* * * * * * * * *
"They said I could go," Buffy greeted her mother as she closed the front door.
"Great," Joyce replied, and went to the phone, looking for the phone number of the Xavier Institute.
"Are you sure you should be using the phone, mom?" Buffy asked, worriedly, remembering what the doctor asked her about power lines.
"I'm fine, Buffy," Joyce replied, and went back to looking for the number.
"Isn't it like, three hours ahead in New York?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, but it'll only be-"she glanced at her watch, "almost ten-thirty. That's not late. I hope." Joyce found the number, and started to dial.
* * * * * * * * *
At the Xavier Institute, among both students and faculty, Movie Night was a particular favourite. They happened every Friday, barring evil mutant activity. The movie selection process was democratic- a number of movies were put forth for selection, and were voted on by all concerned. Tonight, the students received a special treat- a Double Feature, as a reward for the hard work that they had been doing. With the help of some closet Mike Myers fans among the faculty, the students had managed to pull an upset victory, and got to watch the Austin Powers movies back to back.
Sam Guthrie was taking advantage of the brief intermission in the movies to use the washroom. As he performed his duties, he reflected on the various ways that his teammates and friends reacted to the first movie. Roberto was laughing his head off, as was Doug. Warlock failed to get a lot of the pop- culture references. Amara got the movie, but found it a little 'lowbrow.' She just didn't appreciate a parody of James Bond movies. Dani laughed a lot, as well as Illyana, although they both tried to hide it. And Rahne laughed as much as 'Berto and Doug, even though she much preferred the portrayal of Scotsmen in "So I Married an Axe Murderer," with the 'Scottish Wall of Fame' and all, to Fat Bastard in "The Spy Who Shagged Me." As for Sam, he blushed during the first Austin Powers movie the first time he saw it, but it quickly grew on him.
On his way back to the Rec Room, he heard the phone in the den ring through the open door. He quickly got it, just in case no one in the Rec Room heard it.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hello?" came a voice on the other end. It was a lady's voice.
"Hello?" he asked again. It was all he could do, after all.
"Hello? Oh, I'm sorry. Is this the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters?"
"Yes, it is, ma'am." Sam began to get a little suspicious. Not many people called the Institute without being sure of the number.
"Oh, good," the lady said, sounding relieved. "For a moment there, I thought I had the wrong number. Is Scott Summers there?"
"Yes he is, ma'am. Would you like me to take the phone to him? It's one of these cordless types."
"Oh yes, please. If it's not too much trouble."
"It would mah pleasure, ma'am."
Sam quickly went back to the Rec Room. Judging by the sight of Austin dancing naked through the hotel, Sam guessed that his 'friends' had started the movie without him.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said to the lady, "but who may ah ask is calling?"
"Oh. I'm Scott's aunt Joyce from Sunnydale. It's about the wedding."
"Thank you, ma'am. One moment please."
"Of course."
Sam loudly knocked on the rooms open doorpost. All eyes turned to him.
"Scott," he said, "Ah've got a call for you. It's your Aunt Joyce from Sunnydale. It's about the wedding."
"Thanks, Sam," Scott said as he got up. Jean followed him. Sam hid a grin as he passed the phone to Scott. Those two were trying to keep all of the little romantic type things private, and were failing miserably. Then he blushed and looked away as Jean gave him an amused look. Sam decided to turn his thoughts to more important matters.
"Professor," he asked, turning on the ol' Guthrie charm, "Ah know you've got a rule about how we're supposed to be quick during movie breaks, but Ah was getting' the phone for Scott, and Ah was wonderin'."
"Yes, Sam," the Professor replied, half resigned, half amused, "We can rewind the tape."
Sam grinned. "Thanks, Professor!"
The rest of the students said "Awww!"
* * * * * * * * *
Scott closed the door, just in time to block out the "Awww!" He turned to Jean, who gave him a smile of encouragement, and spoke into the phone.
"Aunt Joyce?" he hoped that he didn't sound too nervous.
"Scott!" came the familiar voice of his aunt. She sounded the same as she did the last time he called her, which was. far too long ago. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know, busy, what with teaching, and starting wedding preparations."
"Starting early, hmmm?"
"Oh yes," Scott chuckled. "I'm only getting married once, and I want it to be perfect."
"Your Jean's already getting you trained?"
Yes she is." Scott suddenly felt a smack to his head. He looked at his fiancée, who had an innocent expression on her face. "So how are you, Aunt Joyce? Are you feeling better?"
"Much better. I'm not perfect yet, but I'm getting stronger. I'm even thinking of going back to work soon."
"Don't push yourself."
"I won't Scott. I've got Buffy and Dawn here to stop me."
"Good. I think I can trust them."
"You can count on it."
Scott was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, Aunt Joyce."
"That's alright, Scott. You've got teaching duties. I understand that. I know what it's like to have a. to have family that has heavy duties that keep them away from family."
"That's no excuse. I should have come out." Scott mentally cursed himself. While his Aunt Joyce was going through a dangerous operation, there he was, fighting the Sentinels. Again. Jean put a hand on his shoulder. He felt her voice in his mind: *It's not your fault.*
"It's alright, Scott," his aunt told him, in what Buffy described as her 'no more argument' voice. "I wanted to talk to you about the wedding. I'm sorry, Scott, but."
Scott's shoulders slumped. After not being able to be there for her after her operation, he wasn't really surprised at this, but he was disappointed. Jean embraced him from behind.
"But do you think you could recommend a good hotel for Buffy, Dawn, and I?"
Scott perked up. "What?" he asked.
"Do you know any good, cheap hotels near your school?"
"Oh, well." Scott suddenly felt Jean's voice again. *Let me talk to her, Scott.*
"Oh, Aunt Joyce, Jean would like to talk to you."
"And I'd love to talk to her. Put her on. But I want to talk to you again, afterwards."
He handed the phone to Jean.
"Mrs. Summers, this is Jean Grey," she said. Jean was a little nervous herself. She had met all of Scott's- admittedly small- family, except for the Sunnydale branch.
"Please Ms. Grey, call me Joyce, we're practically family," came a warm sounding voice on the other end of the phone. Jean felt a bit more at ease. Scott's Aunt Joyce sounded a little bit like her mother.
"Only if you call me Jean."
"Done. It's good to finally meet you, Jean."
"Likewise. Scott's told me all about his visits out to California, and about you and Buffy and Dawn."
"Oh. he's told us about you, too," Joyce replied in a tone that said that he hadn't really.
"Good to hear it. You know how difficult it is to get anything out of Scott."
"Oh yes," Joyce replied fervently. "You have to hang him upside down and set him on fire to get anything out him"
"Uh-huh. And that's just to get him to tell you his name."
Joyce laughed. "He's a lot like Buffy used to be," she said in a tone that told her that she wasn't the only person that was meant to hear that.
"I'll take your word for it. Look, about where you're going to be staying. It's going to be here. At the school."
"I couldn't-"Joyce began, just as Jean felt Scott get a little nervous.
"Ah! We insist. You're family, and we're not putting you out into some hotel, when we can put you up for free here. I've already spoken to the Professor about it. He said that any family of Scott's is family of his. My parents and my niece and nephew are staying here, and you, Buffy and Dawn, and Scott's uncle Hank are as well, along with a few of the other guests. It's all settled."
"Oh," was all Joyce could say. "Well, I know that Dawn would love to stay in a nice mansion, and Buffy would as well."
"Perfect! Then it's all been settled!"
"Great."
Jean was silent for a moment. "It was lovely meeting you, Joyce, and I can't wait to meet you face to face."
"The pleasure was mine, Jean. You make Scott very happy."
"Joyce, I couldn't possibly do better than Scott. He's." she paused, and looked directly at the man in question. "He's perfect in every way. He's all that I could possibly want. All that I've ever wanted." She felt a wave of love surge through her. It was from Scott, and she returned it.
"I'm very glad to hear that, Jean. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Joyce." Jean handed the phone to Scott.
"Scott, she's lovely," Joyce said, before he could even say anything.
"Don't I know it."
They talked for a while longer, and then said their goodbyes. Scott and Jean returned to the movie. Austin was just starting to admire his frozen self back in 1967. They basked in the glow of their mutual love, and in an obvious manner, given the number of grins, covert and not-so-covert, that were being sent their way.
Scott smiled as he sat back into his seat. He couldn't remember ever being happier. After all of the trouble, after all of the crap in his life, he was finally reunited with his family. All of them, from his brother, his father and his extended family to the X-Men. and Jean. Always Jean. He couldn't wait to introduce his aunt and his cousins to Jean. They'd love her for sure!
Little did he know at that time that the next time that he would hear from Sunnydale, it would two weeks before his wedding. He didn't know that it would be Buffy, calling to tell him that his aunt was dead.
by Wizard
Author's Note: the characters in this fanfic do not belong to me. They are the property of Mutant Enemy (Buffy and Co.), and Marvel Comics (X-Men/ New Mutants).
Buffy-wise: This story occurs during Buffy S5. The prologue is post "Triangle" but pre "Checkpoint", and the rest is post "The Body." May veer off into AU- in fact, it probably will. Marvel-wise: Everything up to Uncanny X-Men #137 is canon. In this work, the Phoenix Entity left Jean after the battle in Uncanny X-Men #138. Also, this verse has been updated to 2000- well, this part of the timeline... you know what I mean. Also, the only other X- team at this time is the New Mutants. X-Men and the New Mutants- that's it.
Prologue: Wedding Bells
Sunnydale CA., January 2001.
If there was one thing that Joyce Summers prided herself on, one thing above all others, then it was her family. There was no way that she could be prouder of her daughters. Buffy was the Slayer, a superhero for God's sake, and had saved literally the world on a number of occasions. And Dawn. Dawn was bright, perky, and loved school, which she did very well in. And everything else about her youngest. didn't matter at all. The love that Joyce Summers held for her daughters knew no bounds.
But Joyce had other family. She didn't see her ex-husband very much any more, which was sort of fine by her, not that she'd ever let her daughters know that. Hank Summers was a great friend, but not such a good husband or father. It wasn't a problem with love- no one could doubt that he loved his daughters, and his wife once, but with Hank, it was a little like out of sight, out of mind. He lacked something of the responsibility that Christopher had.
Joyce sighed. Chris. He was her ex-brother-in-law. He was a few years older than Hank and Joyce, and married Anne a little earlier in life than his younger brother did. Where Hank entered business, Chris entered the Air force, and became a pilot. A major, as a matter of fact. Joyce sighed again, lost in memory. She remembered Chris' quiet chuckle, Anne's vivacious giggle, not a little like Dawn's in fact, and remembered the horrible day that her family learned of the plane crash that took both of their lives. The one irresponsible thing that the couple did was not have a will, and Joyce privately wondered how two such responsible people could not write a will. For a while, Hank had the odd notion that someone sinister had somehow destroyed all traces of the will that his brother MUST have written. Joyce understood why- he blamed himself for the crash. After all, Chris was flying his family home from a visit to Los Angeles after Dawn was born. No, it wasn't after Dawn was born, it was for some other reason- Joyce shook that thought away. That sort of thinking could do her no good- it would make her as crazy as Hank seemed for a time, begging the courts for the custody of his two young nephews. Silently, with her whole being, and NOT for the first time, Joyce cursed the judge who prevented Hank and her from being allowed to have custody of Scott and Alex. Scott was twelve when his parents died, and Alex only ten. They should have gone to their family! But no- Alex was sent to faster care, but Scott was bounced from orphanage to orphanage until he wound up at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Joyce frowned. She remembered her nephews as youths- Scott a little on the serious side, Alex merry as Santa Claus. They were polite, not too well behaved, very protective of their younger cousin, and Joyce would never forget the expressions on their faces as they each held Dawn for the first time. except they never did. get a grip Joyce!
She had missed out on most of her nephews' lives, even on their Graduation Ceremonies- from both High School and College. This brought another wave of sadness- she was forced out of town for Buffy's graduation, too. She was resolved to NOT miss Dawn's too. Anyway, she was both thrilled and apprehensive to receive an invitation to Scott's wedding. Scott was 25- Joyce wasn't that much older than that when she got married, and she was now divorced. She also didn't like the fact that Scott didn't seem to play the field- in all of his too-infrequent letters and phone calls he would only mention a girl named Jean. Unless he had a thing for girls named Jean, he had been after this one Jean since he was 18. But she didn't have the right to call Scott on it- she was only his aunt- well, technically his ex- aunt.
She looked once more at the invitation that he sent her.
"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr. Scott Summers, of Salem Centre NY, to Ms. Jean Grey, of Salem Centre NY, to be held at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters on April 25, 2001. Please RSVP as soon as possible. Thank you very much, and we both hope to see you then."
Joyce went to the stairs and called up. "Buffy! Dawn! Could you come down here please?" Joyce thought about the wedding. With all that was going on in their lives, a bit of good news like this was exactly what was needed.
* * * * * * * * *
Buffy felt a little shocked as her mother told the news. Okay, maybe stunned was the better word. Scott, married? At 25?
"It won't last," Buffy thought to herself. "It'll go fine for a year, maybe two, and then it'll fall apart."
Buffy chided herself for her cynicism. "Not every relationship a Summers has goes kablooey. Wait a minute. my parents, Ted, Angel, Riley. Okay, maybe they usually do, but that doesn't mean that this one will too. I hope."
Through the moping, Buffy couldn't help but notice Dawn's enthusiasm.
"Scotty married? When? April? Just in time for Spring Break! We're going, right? Who's he marrying? Her? Oh, she's pretty! Will we be staying at that mansion that Scott works at?" and on and on went the Dawnmeister.
Buffy glanced down at the engagement picture that the invitation came with. There was Scott. With those prescription sunglasses that he had to wear it was usually hard to gauge his expression, but the smile he wore was unmistakeable. Next to him was Jean. She was a beautiful redhead, with green eyes and an ever so slightly mischievous smile. Her picture seemed nice, at least. Buffy couldn't wait to actually meet her.
"First things first, Dawn," Joyce laughed. "Of course we're going. And we'll probably be staying at a hotel. And." Joyce paused.
"Buffy?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you think that you can get your friends to take over the slaying for the wedding?"
"I don't think that'll be a problem." Buffy smiled. She had a number of problems- she couldn't keep a boyfriend, there was a super powerful demon on the loose, but this, at least, she could probably handle.
* * * * * * * * *
"Married?" Giles asked her. The Scoobies were gathered in the Magic Box. Giles and Anya were working, Xander was off that day, and Willow and Tara were researching a spell. Buffy felt lucky to get them all at once.
"Yeah. In New York. Can I go?" Buffy was beginning to feel a little nervous. Granted, she was only asking for a few days off, but a very big bad was still in town even as she was asking. Buffy still didn't know what Glory was, but one thing was for sure- she was at least as strong as Buffy, and incredibly more durable. On the other hand, with Dawn in New York as well, there was no chance that Glory would find the Key. However, she could always go after one of the Scoobies. She couldn't live with herself if anything happened to her friends.
"No, never mind. It's a bad idea right now-"
"Go."
"Huh? What?"
"I want you to go, Buffy."
"We all do, Buff," Xander added.
Buffy felt a great bout of disbelief. Her friends, experienced Sunnydale citizens all, were going to let her leave town, even though it was very possible that Glory would still be a problem?
"But." she tried to argue.
"No buts!" Xander was firm. "You've been going through a lot lately, Buff. A big fancy wedding is what you need to go back to all-fun Buffy, even if it's just for a little while. We can handle the slaying! I bet all the demons are just cringing right now, and I say-" Xander pumped an imaginary stake, "shake, demons, shake!"
"Yeah!" Willow chimed in. "We got nine. well, six, out of every ten vampires that summer." All went quiet for a brief moment. 'That summer,' when Buffy skipped town, wasn't brought up much by the Scoobies. "Anyway, a big springtime wedding, at a nice mansion in New York and all, sounds kinda romantic." Willow was wearing a big grin
"And, New York is supposed to be pretty nice. In the spring. So I've heard," Tara added. Buffy smiled at the blond witch. Tara had come a long way from the painfully shy young woman that she first met.
"Yeah! We got you covered!" Anya exclaimed, a little too joyfully. Everyone looked at her.
"Ahn," Xander began, "are you saying that you want to go out patrolling while Buffy's in New York."
"No!" she replied, a little forcefully. "Well, Buffy's going to one of the big shopping capitals of the world, where she'll have fun and buy us expensive presents. And you're going to go out on patrol. You get all hot and sweaty when you patrol, and all the adrenaline you build up is great for multi-orgasmic sex!"
"Right," Buffy said when she found her voice again. "But what about Glory?"
"No biggie," Willow responded. "If we see her, we'll run. And if we can't, well-"she looked at Tara, who nodded, "Tara and I've been working on a spell that might get her away. I'd tell you more, but we haven't worked all the kinks out yet."
"It might not work," Tara said quietly. "It's a dangerous spell, even at the best of times. Only the most powerful spell casters use it at all."
"Well, there's nothing that the two of you can't do," Xander quickly put in, changing the mood.
"Buffy, don't worry about us. I'm sure that we can handle whatever happens if you're only gone for a few days," Giles said, with his 'discussion closed' tone in full use.
"Yes, so go, have fun, and return with presents!" Anya enthusiastically concluded.
* * * * * * * * *
Later, Buffy trained with Giles for a while, and went home to be with Joyce. On her way home, she found a note in her coat. It read: "Don't worry about them. I'll keep them safe- we should know more about her by then. I want you to have fun in New York. You more than deserve it." The note was unsigned, but Buffy knew who it was from- Giles. It was a little vague, just in case it was found by someone, but Buffy knew who the 'her' was.
"I hope so," Buffy said to herself. She had never faced an enemy like Glory before. The Master, Spike, Drusilla, Angel, Faith, the Mayor, even Adam- none of them were as powerful as Glory seemed to be. She had once seriously considered asking Willow, Xander and Giles to undergo the 'joining' ritual with her, but she finally decided that the 'Super-Slayer" would only be used as a last resort. For all Buffy knew, Glory had some weakness to Glory that they didn't know about yet. And, if Glory could kill the 'Super- Slayer' they would all be dead, and who would protect Dawn then?
Buffy shook her head. "All this for a wedding," she muttered to herself.
"Who's getting married?" a familiar Cockney voice came from behind her. Buffy sighed as she turned around to face it. But then a thought came to her- it was a little desperate, but then again, Spike had always liked a good fight.
"My cousin is, Spike."
"Oh?" the bleached British vamp asked her, as he approached.
"Yes," Buffy responded, as she steeled herself. "And I'd like to ask you a favour."
"Really?" he said. Buffy expected Spike to sound amused and scornful, as he usually did, but he sounded. speculative somehow.
"Yeah. Look. my cousin lives in New York, and he's getting married in April, and."
"You want me to be your date?"
"NO!" Buffy couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Oh. Good! I mean, I hate you, Slayer, and your little crew too." It had to just be Buffy's imagination, but he actually sounded. almost disappointed.
"The feeling is mutual. Look- I need you to help my friends cover for me."
"Oh, I get it. You're worried about that Glory wench."
"Hole in one. What'll it cost me?"
"Cost? Nothing." Noting that Buffy's eyes were starting to bug out in shock, he quickly added, "Remember what I told you when I helped you stop Angel? I still like this world the way it is, even if I'm not the big bad anymore. I don't want her getting her hands on this 'Key' or whatever it is, opening the Hellmouth, and ruining my fun. Besides- it's not like she can help me get this sodding chip out like old FrankenDemon could, now is it?"
"I guess not." Buffy felt suspicious. Everything that he said was absolutely true, but on the other hand, this was SPIKE. Come to think of it, he had been acting a little peculiarly lately. Even for him. Maybe the chip was driving him nuts.
"Don't mention it." And with that, he left. Buffy watched him for a while, shrugged, and continued on her way home.
"Yup," she said to herself. "That chip's definitely driving him nuts."
* * * * * * * * *
"They said I could go," Buffy greeted her mother as she closed the front door.
"Great," Joyce replied, and went to the phone, looking for the phone number of the Xavier Institute.
"Are you sure you should be using the phone, mom?" Buffy asked, worriedly, remembering what the doctor asked her about power lines.
"I'm fine, Buffy," Joyce replied, and went back to looking for the number.
"Isn't it like, three hours ahead in New York?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, but it'll only be-"she glanced at her watch, "almost ten-thirty. That's not late. I hope." Joyce found the number, and started to dial.
* * * * * * * * *
At the Xavier Institute, among both students and faculty, Movie Night was a particular favourite. They happened every Friday, barring evil mutant activity. The movie selection process was democratic- a number of movies were put forth for selection, and were voted on by all concerned. Tonight, the students received a special treat- a Double Feature, as a reward for the hard work that they had been doing. With the help of some closet Mike Myers fans among the faculty, the students had managed to pull an upset victory, and got to watch the Austin Powers movies back to back.
Sam Guthrie was taking advantage of the brief intermission in the movies to use the washroom. As he performed his duties, he reflected on the various ways that his teammates and friends reacted to the first movie. Roberto was laughing his head off, as was Doug. Warlock failed to get a lot of the pop- culture references. Amara got the movie, but found it a little 'lowbrow.' She just didn't appreciate a parody of James Bond movies. Dani laughed a lot, as well as Illyana, although they both tried to hide it. And Rahne laughed as much as 'Berto and Doug, even though she much preferred the portrayal of Scotsmen in "So I Married an Axe Murderer," with the 'Scottish Wall of Fame' and all, to Fat Bastard in "The Spy Who Shagged Me." As for Sam, he blushed during the first Austin Powers movie the first time he saw it, but it quickly grew on him.
On his way back to the Rec Room, he heard the phone in the den ring through the open door. He quickly got it, just in case no one in the Rec Room heard it.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hello?" came a voice on the other end. It was a lady's voice.
"Hello?" he asked again. It was all he could do, after all.
"Hello? Oh, I'm sorry. Is this the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters?"
"Yes, it is, ma'am." Sam began to get a little suspicious. Not many people called the Institute without being sure of the number.
"Oh, good," the lady said, sounding relieved. "For a moment there, I thought I had the wrong number. Is Scott Summers there?"
"Yes he is, ma'am. Would you like me to take the phone to him? It's one of these cordless types."
"Oh yes, please. If it's not too much trouble."
"It would mah pleasure, ma'am."
Sam quickly went back to the Rec Room. Judging by the sight of Austin dancing naked through the hotel, Sam guessed that his 'friends' had started the movie without him.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said to the lady, "but who may ah ask is calling?"
"Oh. I'm Scott's aunt Joyce from Sunnydale. It's about the wedding."
"Thank you, ma'am. One moment please."
"Of course."
Sam loudly knocked on the rooms open doorpost. All eyes turned to him.
"Scott," he said, "Ah've got a call for you. It's your Aunt Joyce from Sunnydale. It's about the wedding."
"Thanks, Sam," Scott said as he got up. Jean followed him. Sam hid a grin as he passed the phone to Scott. Those two were trying to keep all of the little romantic type things private, and were failing miserably. Then he blushed and looked away as Jean gave him an amused look. Sam decided to turn his thoughts to more important matters.
"Professor," he asked, turning on the ol' Guthrie charm, "Ah know you've got a rule about how we're supposed to be quick during movie breaks, but Ah was getting' the phone for Scott, and Ah was wonderin'."
"Yes, Sam," the Professor replied, half resigned, half amused, "We can rewind the tape."
Sam grinned. "Thanks, Professor!"
The rest of the students said "Awww!"
* * * * * * * * *
Scott closed the door, just in time to block out the "Awww!" He turned to Jean, who gave him a smile of encouragement, and spoke into the phone.
"Aunt Joyce?" he hoped that he didn't sound too nervous.
"Scott!" came the familiar voice of his aunt. She sounded the same as she did the last time he called her, which was. far too long ago. "How are you?"
"Oh, you know, busy, what with teaching, and starting wedding preparations."
"Starting early, hmmm?"
"Oh yes," Scott chuckled. "I'm only getting married once, and I want it to be perfect."
"Your Jean's already getting you trained?"
Yes she is." Scott suddenly felt a smack to his head. He looked at his fiancée, who had an innocent expression on her face. "So how are you, Aunt Joyce? Are you feeling better?"
"Much better. I'm not perfect yet, but I'm getting stronger. I'm even thinking of going back to work soon."
"Don't push yourself."
"I won't Scott. I've got Buffy and Dawn here to stop me."
"Good. I think I can trust them."
"You can count on it."
Scott was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, Aunt Joyce."
"That's alright, Scott. You've got teaching duties. I understand that. I know what it's like to have a. to have family that has heavy duties that keep them away from family."
"That's no excuse. I should have come out." Scott mentally cursed himself. While his Aunt Joyce was going through a dangerous operation, there he was, fighting the Sentinels. Again. Jean put a hand on his shoulder. He felt her voice in his mind: *It's not your fault.*
"It's alright, Scott," his aunt told him, in what Buffy described as her 'no more argument' voice. "I wanted to talk to you about the wedding. I'm sorry, Scott, but."
Scott's shoulders slumped. After not being able to be there for her after her operation, he wasn't really surprised at this, but he was disappointed. Jean embraced him from behind.
"But do you think you could recommend a good hotel for Buffy, Dawn, and I?"
Scott perked up. "What?" he asked.
"Do you know any good, cheap hotels near your school?"
"Oh, well." Scott suddenly felt Jean's voice again. *Let me talk to her, Scott.*
"Oh, Aunt Joyce, Jean would like to talk to you."
"And I'd love to talk to her. Put her on. But I want to talk to you again, afterwards."
He handed the phone to Jean.
"Mrs. Summers, this is Jean Grey," she said. Jean was a little nervous herself. She had met all of Scott's- admittedly small- family, except for the Sunnydale branch.
"Please Ms. Grey, call me Joyce, we're practically family," came a warm sounding voice on the other end of the phone. Jean felt a bit more at ease. Scott's Aunt Joyce sounded a little bit like her mother.
"Only if you call me Jean."
"Done. It's good to finally meet you, Jean."
"Likewise. Scott's told me all about his visits out to California, and about you and Buffy and Dawn."
"Oh. he's told us about you, too," Joyce replied in a tone that said that he hadn't really.
"Good to hear it. You know how difficult it is to get anything out of Scott."
"Oh yes," Joyce replied fervently. "You have to hang him upside down and set him on fire to get anything out him"
"Uh-huh. And that's just to get him to tell you his name."
Joyce laughed. "He's a lot like Buffy used to be," she said in a tone that told her that she wasn't the only person that was meant to hear that.
"I'll take your word for it. Look, about where you're going to be staying. It's going to be here. At the school."
"I couldn't-"Joyce began, just as Jean felt Scott get a little nervous.
"Ah! We insist. You're family, and we're not putting you out into some hotel, when we can put you up for free here. I've already spoken to the Professor about it. He said that any family of Scott's is family of his. My parents and my niece and nephew are staying here, and you, Buffy and Dawn, and Scott's uncle Hank are as well, along with a few of the other guests. It's all settled."
"Oh," was all Joyce could say. "Well, I know that Dawn would love to stay in a nice mansion, and Buffy would as well."
"Perfect! Then it's all been settled!"
"Great."
Jean was silent for a moment. "It was lovely meeting you, Joyce, and I can't wait to meet you face to face."
"The pleasure was mine, Jean. You make Scott very happy."
"Joyce, I couldn't possibly do better than Scott. He's." she paused, and looked directly at the man in question. "He's perfect in every way. He's all that I could possibly want. All that I've ever wanted." She felt a wave of love surge through her. It was from Scott, and she returned it.
"I'm very glad to hear that, Jean. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Joyce." Jean handed the phone to Scott.
"Scott, she's lovely," Joyce said, before he could even say anything.
"Don't I know it."
They talked for a while longer, and then said their goodbyes. Scott and Jean returned to the movie. Austin was just starting to admire his frozen self back in 1967. They basked in the glow of their mutual love, and in an obvious manner, given the number of grins, covert and not-so-covert, that were being sent their way.
Scott smiled as he sat back into his seat. He couldn't remember ever being happier. After all of the trouble, after all of the crap in his life, he was finally reunited with his family. All of them, from his brother, his father and his extended family to the X-Men. and Jean. Always Jean. He couldn't wait to introduce his aunt and his cousins to Jean. They'd love her for sure!
Little did he know at that time that the next time that he would hear from Sunnydale, it would two weeks before his wedding. He didn't know that it would be Buffy, calling to tell him that his aunt was dead.