Chapter 16 - Book 2

(S.H.I.E.L.D Hellicarrier)

Logan sat at the table along with Doctor Strange, Nicholas Fury and his second in command Maria Hill. They had been discussing the ramifications of what the men had reported about their time in Sunnydale only two days before. Fury was still trying to get his head around there being an actual portal to hell on Earth. Hill however looked like she thought Logan and Strange had both finally gone crazy. She respected both men's powers and accomplishments, but she still had doubts about magic and other out worldly things on Earth, sometimes she felt the world would be better off if things like mutants and magic didn't exist or at least not here on Earth.

"So the kids will recover?" Fury inquired.

"Yes they will recover, but it will take some time for them to get over what they went through," Strange responded with a nod of his head. "That warlock's powers seriously messed with their auras and their bodies, as suggested each session wore their bodies down to the point where it just gave up," he explained with clear distaste in his tone at what Rack had been doing. "It was not a quick process hence the agony they went through. The first girl I attended to was pretty close to dying and more than likely would have after one more of this Rack's sessions," he continued. "She will be lucky if she is ever completely right from this point on," he concluded.

"And the warlock?" Hill inquired.

"Dead," Logan grunted as he glanced at the woman who he did not like or trust. She came of as condescending and arrogant. "He won't harm anyone else, and the last thing we need is anymore insane witches or warlocks running around," he pointed at cutting off whatever Hill was going to say.

"Agreed, however I'm still concerned about this portal business," Fury said in response, not surprising anyone in the room as they all knew Fury was willing to kill if it meant protecting the world in the long run. It was one of the things that made Logan respect Fury while at the same time made him wary of the man. He knew Fury would go to any lengths to save the world no matter the cost.

"What about the other kids affected by the spell this other warlock cast?" Hill inquired.

"They've all returned back to normal with no abnormal affects," Logan answered simply knowing there was no way in hell was he admitting some of had kept the powers and skills due to the machinations of higher powers of who he was still unsure of.

"Should we be on the lookout for this warlock?" Fury asked with a slight frown in Logan's direction as he got the feeling Logan was holding back on something.

"No there are eyes already on the lookout for this smuck and when we find him he's turkey," Logan promised in response and a glint in his eye that showed he was serious to which Fury just nodded, knowing the warlock would not survive a second encounter with the feral mutant.

"What I want to know is how has this portal and the entire underworld life that surrounds it kept so under the radar that we didn't even know it existed?" Hill demanded to know. "I mean we know about vampires and demons, but not in this kind of numbers, and this species of vampires seem different than the ones we've dealt with before," she continued.

"Good question," Fury agreed and looked to Doctor Strange for the answer.

"There are some things that are not for you to know or to police," Strange answered calmly. "There are others out there tasked with that job and that is all you need to know right now," he told them.

"What kind of enemies are we likely to find in Sunnydale itself?" Hill inquired, quickly moving on as she knew they would get no more out of the Doctor. She wanted all the information she would get not only for their report, but also so anyone sent to Sunnydale would know what to expect.

"Low and high level vampires and demons as well as witches and warlocks," Logan answered. "But keep in mind not all the witches and warlocks are bad guys. To some witchcraft is just a religion to follow," he reminded them with a glare. He didn't want to cause any trouble for those kids who practiced witchcraft or used it to protect themselves. It was only those who used it for evil that he felt needed to put down. "The major problem right now is the Mayor, he has the whole emergency services and government under his control," he explained. "They all know what is really going on in that town and what is causing the high body count, but they don't care, they ignore all calls pertaining to the supernatural," he continued and quickly noted Fury did not like what he was hearing. "Worse yet this piece of slime intends to ascend to full demon next summer," he stated.

"WHAT?" Strange shouted, first in surprise and then anger. "What poor excuse for a man would want to become a demon?" he demanded his face looking like a thunder cloud. "Did you get told what class of demon he intends to ascend too?" he asked after regaining control of himself.

"A first level demon," Logan answered, already guessing this was worse than he and the others had imagined.

"I take it this would be bad news?" Fury asked, already getting that feeling considering how Steven a man who was usually calm and collected was acting.

"Bad news," Strange responded with a sour look on his face. "If he succeeded he could end the world, a first level demon would be almost impossible to kill and the damage it could cause is beyond belief," he explained. "I'm surprised you didn't deal with this person as you did with the warlock," he mused turning to Logan.

"Wanted to believe me Steven," Logan growled in answer. "One eye refused especially as the Mayor is an elected official and removing him meant dealing with all the crocked cops and the like he had working for him," he told them clearly frustrated. "Also the group we ended up helping refused the idea of killing him, and the last thing the X-Men need is the public getting wind of us killing elected officials, slime balls or not," he pointed out. "We have time to figure a way of dealing with him, and now you know about him then you can work on the problem as well with a lot less red tape to get in the way," he stated with a shrug.

"We'll get to work on it Logan," Fury promised, not liking this anymore than anything else he had heard about Sunnydale. "A lot of this will have to be run pass the President before we can act. This sort of thing is beyond even our scope right now," he admitted. "To think I once thought aliens and mutants were bad to deal with, now I have to worry about supernatural monsters as well," he said mostly to himself, but the others heard him. "Steven is there anything you can do to close the portal?" Fury asked.

"I'm afraid not, there are rules in this world that must be obeyed as well as the cosmic balance," Strange answered with a sigh. "That portal is part of that balance, as is the war waged against the vampires and demons by the many champions that exist to combat it," he informed them, giving them a little more information than before but not by much. "I myself am one of those champions, but we can't break the rules no matter how powerful we are," he went on. "To do so would bring nothing but hell to this world," he warned. "The Hellmouth can be shut, but only at the right time and by the right people," he stated.

"So in the meantime people get to die while we wait for these supposed right people?" Hill inquired almost sarcastically.

"That is the way the world works Miss Hill as not all problems can be solved by force of arms," Strange replied taking no offense at the woman's words.

"Ok enough about the nature of the world," Fury cut in before anymore could be said. "I will have a small detachment created to keep watch over this damn portal. The last thing we need is hell on Earth," he grunted. "We have enough things to worry about as it is without anything else being added to the list," he told them.

"The X-Men will also be keeping an eye on the town Fury," Logan finally spoke up again having just listened to what the others were saying. "We have personal interests there now," he added.

"What kind of interests?" Hill inquired with interest.

"None of your damn business, I only let you know about the portal so you can help to keep it closed," Logan shot back. "End of story," he added before he got up and left the room.

"Sir," Hill began to say, but Fury cut her off.

"Don't bother Hill as he's right it isn't our business," Fury told her. "At least not yet, if it becomes a problem that endangers the world then it becomes our business, but until then leave it alone," he went on with a slight glare at his colleague. "You don't want Logan pissed at you," he added as a warning before he ended the meeting and left the room alongside Doctor Strange.

Hill glared at the door where her superior officer had left, not liking his tone or his refusal to keep an eye on the X-Men and Wolverine in particular, but there was little she could do to countermand his orders. Getting up herself she headed for her room, sometimes she thought S.H.I.E.L.D would be better off under her command and not Fury's. She also thought shortly if she should deploy some of the agents loyal to her, but then decided it wasn't worth to risk blowing there cover over this, at least not now.

+HX+

(X-Men Mansion)

Logan returned to the mansion by way of the teleporter created by the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards, it was based on Shi'ar technology handed to him by Professor Xavier for helping the X-Men during a struggle with Apocalypse. Pretty nifty really and it made it getting to and from the hellicarrier easier. He nodded in greeting as he passed Hank before heading for his room. Unable to help himself he sniffed once or twice and caught both Jean and Betsy's sent, both were pretty recent so he knew they were in the mansion. The last two days had been like a dream, his new relationship with both women was slowly becoming the norm and he knew it was no dream. While what had happened in Sunnydale had been trouble for them all, it had also given him the chance to finally have a real chance at being in a relationship with Jean, but also with Betsy as well.

He still was getting used to the fact he had been interested in the purple haired ninja to such an extent without even realizing it, still he admitted it was Jean who he loved the most. He knew Betsy knew this fact, but thankfully she didn't resent it but accepted it instead. Finally reaching his room he entered and collapsed onto his bed, rubbing his eyes he just hoped Fury and the government didn't do anything monumentally stupid where the Hellmouth was concerned. It was dangerous as it was and they didn't need any arrogant scientist messing around thinking they could harness demons and vampires as weapons. One thing Fury and others would never find out if he could help it was the transformation of Xander, Jenny and Cordelia into Mutants. They did not need that kind of attention and in the case of Xander he was best kept hidden from Weapon X.

+HX+

(Sunnydale, Harris residence)

Xander groaned as he pushed himself back up from where his father Tony had just nailed him in the face. He was trying to keep the man from hitting his mother Jessica in one of his drunken rages. Why the man couldn't leave them alone was beyond him, now though the pain from his blows was lessened as his healing factor quickly healed him and he knew he would no longer sport any bruises from these type of nights. He could retaliate, but he didn't want to really harm his father no matter what he did to him in return. Tony lunged at him again, but this time Xander dodged it and Tony collapsed to the floor in his drunken haze. Xander raised his foot and quickly lashed out with hard kick and was not disappointed as it knocked Tony out. Leaning against the wall he knew he would pay for actually kicking his father, but it was best this was stopped now. He turned and moved to check on his mother.

"You okay mom?" he asked as he knelt next to her shaking form.

"I'm fine Alex," Jessica responded after a few seconds of staring at her unconscious husband. "You hit him," she finally stated a few seconds later, her surprise at this fact still showing in her tone.

"Things have changed mom, I've changed," Xander said, not sure what to tell her. "I won't let him keep beating us. I won't hurt him if possible, but something has to be done before he really does serious harm to us," he told her. "You especially," he added pointedly.

Jessica reluctantly nodded her head in agreement at this. Tony's drunken rages had steadily gotten worse as time passed. One day she feared he would go too far, but even given that she had feared leaving him. Now she saw a change in her son, perhaps he would help her find the courage to leave Tony Harris far behind.

"You should not have kicked him Alex. He will want to pay you back for it," Jessica said with deep concern. "You know what he is like," she added.

"He can try," Xander shot back heatedly. "But as I said things are different now mom. I'll find a way to get him out of our lives," he promised.

Jessica didn't understand the new confidence and presence she saw in her son, but she could tell he was serious and just nodded in response. She let Xander help her up and lead her to his bedroom. Clearly she couldn't stay in the bedroom she shared with Tony. Once she was settled Xander headed back to where his father lay. Heaving the unconscious drunk up he carried him to his parents' bedroom and just dropped him onto the bed before leaving. He checked on his mother once more before heading to the couch. 'Something had to be done about Tony, but what?' he thought. Maybe he could get some help from Cordelia and Jenny or better yet Giles. He just didn't know as his home life was not something he liked talking about. Thinking about Cordelia and Jenny brought a smile to his face as that was one part of his life that was going well. His relationship with them was slowly growing deeper and deeper.

Cordelia had thrown of her old persona of a cold hearted rich girl and now showed the warm loving woman he knew she hid beneath the surface. The last two days she had spent either with him or with Aura, the one friend from her former group that had proved to be a real friend. The only time they saw Jenny for things other than school stuff was after school for now. They were all very uneasy about being seen in any sort of compromising position. Jenny was currently looking for a new job, and Xander hoped she found one quickly so they could all spend some more time together. With Jenny and Cordelia's faces in his mind's eyes he fell asleep.

+HX+

(Chase Household)

Cordelia lay in her bed trying to sleep, but that was kind of hard as she could hear her parents arguing from their room down the hallway. Her new attitude and refusal to play things their way was not going down well with either of them, not that she cared anymore. Things were different since Halloween, she was different and she refused to act as she used too just to please her parents and her former friends. Harmony and the others were keeping their distance and their looks of disdain did nothing but irritate her. Aura however had turned out to be smart and independent who like she had said had used Harmony and the others to keep prospective suitors away from her. If she wasn't with Xander while at school then she usually hung out with Aura, both she and Xander had to watch how they acted around Jenny while in school. While Jenny was not really a teacher and only become one to keep an eye on Angel, she had decided to keep the job for a while longer until she could find a better paying job.

The one major headache she had at the moment was keeping her new powers under her control, being a telepath was not as great as it sounded. It took constant control to keep from invade other people's minds. She had two lessons with Betsy and Jean so far, but they were only rudimentary lessons. At the weekend she, Jenny and Xander were going to the X-Mansion for some serious training in their new powers.

From what Betsy had told her, Professor Xavier was returning from Ganesha where he had been holding negotiations with Magneto to oversee their training. It seemed the negotiations hadn't been going well with their old adversary. Xavier wanted a break and the whole episode in Sunnydale intrigued him enough to bring him home. Inwardly she thought maybe the Professor was concerned about having three new mutants with the same powers as Phoenix, Psylocke and Wolverine. All three were dangerous when they needed to be, but they had learned to control their powers and all believed in his dream of a united world. To suddenly have three copies in a sense, who had little control and didn't believe in his dream, well that had to be a concern to him. More than likely he was coming back to try and ensure they did not stray into the darkness like his old friend Magneto and so many other mutants had, she doubted he had anything to worry about. They were already involved in the war against evil, and she couldn't see any of them turning against the light. Closing her eyes as the noise from her parent's room finally fell silent, she rolled over and finally fell into a fitful sleep.

+HX+

(Summer's household)

Buffy lay awake after an uneventful patrol, her mind was as it had been for the last two days fixed on the loss of Angel. Oh she knew now that she was never meant to fall in love with him, that it had only happened because the powers had the insane idea of stripping their champions of their ability to love. The powers were now gone, executed by the order of God herself. That was still a hard concept to accept, for three years she had fought the good fight without any belief that there was a God, until now. Now she knew there was, and hopefully that meant the fight was not hopeless. That she wasn't just holding the darkness back that she was actually making a difference that what she did actually mattered beyond the people she saved who didn't even know the darkness existed.

She just wondered now that the X-Men were involved in her calling if it would help make the fight easier or in the long run would it make it harder somehow. At least she was now an expert in using a crossbow or regular bow, even better than she had been before Halloween. Abigail had also some skills in karate and Aikido; those would come in handy in the future. Closing her eyes she hoped the future would be less dark, the thought that she knew she had friends and allies made her sleep easier.