Chapter 2
"Hawkgirl to the Justice League...J’onn, are you there?" Shayera spoke into the microscopic transmitter hidden in her ear.
"We read you, Hawkgirl."
"J’onn, Spi...Green Lantern and I are headed towards the last known activity of this Marcus Immortalis, but his friends at Wolfram & Hart don't have the necessary resources to track him like we do. Tell me you've got something current."
"There were some minor disturbances near Calais and we sent Wonder Woman and Batman to check it out, but when they arrived...nothing."
"Well, keep me posted. Oh... and we need to see about getting William fitted for a headpiece."
"So, he's staying?"
"Was there any doubt?"
~*~
Angel shook his head; it was official. Spike was a member of the Justice League, and he was the President of Evil, Inc. He was digging himself in deeper. He understood something Spike didn't though; the ring hadn't chosen him because at heart he was still Angelus, his demon was too powerful and having a weapon like a power ring would be more than his soul could handle. The demon would overpower him and Angelus would reemerge.
He wouldn't ever admit it, but he was proud of his grandchilde.
~*~*~*~*~
Buffy was tired of being in Rome, even if the locale kept her distanced from her former watcher...her friends. Everyone but her sister, Dawnie, who having started the local school in the city had made lots of friends and was rarely home. Giles had pressed her to act as a mentor of sorts to all the young, new slayers as they were identified, but she was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of living. Especially without her vampire. The one that had gone out in a blaze of glory and saved the world.
Giles was trying to understand, or so she thought, which was better than Willow and Xander. They thought she was insane mourning Spike; they had no compassion. Dawn was the only one that truly tried to understand; she’d often caught her younger sister crying sometimes, talking to herself. Buffy knew the feeling, but so far they were both grieving alone, and now Giles wanted her to meet and get to know some guy called the Immortal who was visiting Rome on business.
'I mean really,' she silently fumed. 'Spike has barely been gone six months, and they're trying to shove some blind date down my throat. What part of 'I'm in love with Spike' did they not understand?'
Oh, sure, Giles had gushed about the Immortal, claiming the man was like a kindred spirit. More like, he had some untold fortune and they were using her as the sacrificial lamb to top off the coffers of the new council.
"It's just dinner," Giles had complained. "I really don't see the harm in getting together with the man. You do have to eat, naturally."
"Yeah, and I can do it just fine in my apartment. I'll have you know I can now cook a mean hardboiled egg." His longsuffering sigh had been easily heard through the long-distance connection and caused her to relent.
"Just dinner," she had finally grumbled. "And, you soooo owe me!"
Buffy was even pissed at the clothes the council had sent her; seven years of never helping her and now suddenly, BOOM, send Buffy clothes to help her wow the creep. She swore that she was going to eat everything in sight, belch at the table, and try to gross the guy out. Screw the council!
~*~
"Where are we going?" Shayera asked when Spike veered in a more northerly route as they flew across the Atlantic. "The last known vector of this Immortalis was France."
"Just gonna stop in and visit an old friend... see if they might have any information on the Immortal. Bloody wankers were always a nosey lot."
"Wankers? I'm afraid I'm not following...and we're wasting time."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist. And, a few minutes out of our way might prove invaluable. Council's always managed to stay up on the latest 'Big Bads' makin' their way around the world."
Shayera flew a bit closer to him, "Why is your friend staring at me?" she asked Spike as she pointedly avoided looking at the dark-haired vampire.
"I think he likes you, Angel. Might think you’re a bit on the cute side."
The look on the Thangarian warrior’s face was priceless. "But he is the president of Wolfram & Hart."
"Not just the President, love. He's also a client," he joked, but it was obvious she didn't get it.
~*~*~*~*~
The sun had set as the trio traveled halfway around the world, so when they finally touched down in front of the new and improved Council headquarters, it was dark.
"I don't see why we didn't just go inside," Hawkgirl grumbled, settling her feathers as Spike rang the elaborate doorknocker.
"'M a vampire, luv. Li'l matter of an invite. Plus, 'm sure the watcher's got all sorts of magical wards up to keep out the less desirables."
"He sounds charming," Shayera commented, her tone leaving no doubt that she was less than impressed. A moment later, the door opened and Spike forced himself not to cringe at the blond-headed kid that stood gaping in the doorway.
"I-it's...it’s…" His eyes pingponged back and forth between the vampire and the winged girl as he struggled to grasp what his eyes were seeing.
"Right, mate,” Spike supplied for him. "It’s the Justice League, plus one." He thumbed a finger back at Angel. "Now are you gonna invite us in or what, whelp."
"Please, Spike…uh, Green Lantern, come in." Andrew almost stumbled over his own feet moving out of the way. "And you too, Angel."
"We need to see Rupert," Spike said, trying to prevent any more useless babble from the boy.
"Of course! I am sure he will be happy to see you." Andrew seemed to sense Spike’s mood as he turned and led the threesome through the seemingly endless corridors. He finally reached a large oak door with a brass engraved plate that simply said "Giles, Rupert."
"Giles! You're not going to believe it! It's...it's the Justice League! Green Lantern... and Hawkgirl!" Andrew shouted, bursting into Giles' office unannounced.
The watcher looked up from the stockpile of papers that buried the surface of his desk to glare at the watcher-in-training's interruption. "I beg your pardon," Giles ground out in his best imitation of a stodgy British professor.
"Hawkgirl...and Green Lantern! They're here...only... you'll never guess who Green Lantern is!"
"I rather doubt I would..." His patience running out, Giles shouted, "What the bloody hell are you rambling on about, Andrew?"
"I think what the boy is trying to say, Rupert, is that I've come to pay a visit," Spike announced as he sauntered into the office, Hawkgirl right behind him.
Giles snorted. "You expect me to believe that YOU are a member of some justice league?" he said to Spike, antagonism deep in his voice. The answering growl came from the redheaded woman next to him.
"And YOU presume to doubt the word of the League? William has done much to prove himself worthy." Hawkgirl bounced her mace off her free hand. "What have YOU done?"
"I am the head of the Watcher's Council, young lady. I’ll have you know…" he blustered, finding himself slightly intimidated by the winged woman carrying the sparkling axe.
But it was obvious that the woman was listening to someone else.
What wasn't obvious to anyone but the two vamps was that she was listening to the gruff voice of a very pissed Batman. Both Spike and Angel were grinning tightly at the Bat’s thoughts on the Council.
"So?" Hawkgirl began with a grin. "You great warriors train adolescent women to go out and fight your battles. You are cowards by the very definition." A smile showed on her face, but her eyes were deadly.
"Is everyone you know an idiot?" she asked Spike.
"Pretty much, luv."
"Now see here—" Giles sputtered but was cut off by the blond-headed vampire.
Spike took great delight in pointing his ring at the watcher, a green ray bursting out encircling Rupert's mouth and effectively cutting off his tirade. Spike noticed his widening eyes, how they seemed to finally take notice of his attire and, no doubt, green eyes.
"Look...I don't have a lot of time. We're looking for Marcus Immortalis. You—" Spike broke off abruptly at the recognition that flitted behind the watcher's eyes. "You've heard of him."
It was not a question.
"Look, mate. If you know where the Immortal is, you better tell me now. He's..."
"Involved," Hawkgirl hedged, not trusting the Englishman one bit.
"What do you mean ‘involved’? I have it on good authority that Marcus is an upstanding citizen. Patron of the arts and such. Why... he funded the building of our new Council Headquarters and has help set up a school for the Slayers in Rome. In fact--"
Spike cut him off. "Rome?"
"Yes, Rome, you git," Giles answered him. "Let me guess… you heard that Buffy was now dating him and you three decided to once again ruin her life. The Immortal, or Mr. Savage as his closer acquaintances refer to him, is a man of breeding and good taste,” Giles finished in a huff.
"Dating him? Buffy's dating him?"
"Well, maybe dating is a bit of a stretch. But, she's moved on. And so should you. Both of you,” he added, pinning a look on the heretofore quiet Angel. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of something very important."
"You're a real piece of work, Rupert,” Spike sneered. “You think you bloody well know everything. The Immortal, or Vandal Savage has been around for eons. And, let me tell you... he doesn't play for the good guys either. Ghengis Khan, Vlad the Impaler, Stalin... ringing any bells? And now the Slayer's mixed up in this?"
"Can I hit him now?" Shayera asked in a quiet deadly voice.
"By all means," Angel answered her. "Bash his brains in."
Spike cut the two off, trying to ram his point home to Giles. "Vandal Savage is one of the Justice League's top ten most wanted villains."
"Hmmm…yes," Giles replied dryly. "The imaginary league of heroes… forgive me if I don’t believe your cockamamie story…"
Spike wanted nothing more than to show the watcher the power he'd inherited, but they didn't have time.
"No. Leave him,” he told both Angel and Hawkgirl when they took a step forward. “We've got more important things to do. Come on."
He held his arm out and his and Angel's body were enveloped in a green shield, and as Giles watched with bug-eyed amazement, they sailed out his open window, followed quickly by the female with wings on her back.
"You should have let her hit him," Angel told his grandchilde as they flew through the air towards Rome. "Then Buffy couldn't have even blamed us for it."
Spike smirked at his grandsire. "You think she wouldn't have?"
Hawkgirl suddenly flew closer to the pair. "Oracle has found one Miss Buffy Summers living in Rome. Should we have someone try and contact her?"
"No, we don't want to tip our hand. We'll just observe for now. Something isn't right about Savage's involvement with this Slayer school."
"You may be right," Hawkgirl replied. "I'll tell Batman to meet us at the Fountain of the Rivers."
"Batman? I thought we were doing this alone."
"He'll have your communicator with him," she offered as an excuse.
"Yeah, alright then. The Fountain it is. Hang on, Peaches, this is gonna be fun." Spike poured on a burst of speed, laughing uproariously at Angel's pastier than usual complexion.
The trio landed in an alleyway, just out of sight of the Fountain. They weren’t there long when Spike sensed the presence of another. A man in a very sleazy suit approached them.
"Hi. M' name’s Matches. A Little Bat sent me."
As the man spoke, Spike inhaled; his body not betraying him in the slightest when he realized that it was Batman standing before him – albeit a weirdly dressed one. And what was with the accent?
"Was told to tell you to meet him at Galpelo at 11 tonight, says he can get the Lantern in… yous other two will be back up."
"That it? Any word on the Slayer, or Savage?"
"That's it, man. I'm outta here."
Spike snorted, but let the man disappear back into the shadow. When he saw Batman later would be time enough to let him in on his enhanced sense of smell - he didn't want to alert his grandsire as to the man's true identity, especially since his face was in clear view. And, a glance at Shayera revealed that she didn't know either. Spike gestured to his two companions and they melded into the crowd, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Though, it wasn't likely given the green glow surrounding both him and Angel, and the wings protruding from Shayera's back. But, the Italians seemed to roll with it, aside from a few whispers and furtive pointing in their direction.
Spike didn't breathe a sigh of relief until they'd booked themselves into a motel.
~*~*~*~*~
It was strange really, watching Shayera fall face first into bed and go directly to sleep. He envied her that. Right now he doubted he could sleep at all. Spike noticed Angel looking the woman over.
"Doubt she'll like that much, Peaches."
"Yeah, I know." Angel's voice was resigned almost defeated. He settled his bulky frame in one of the chairs, his gaze moving back and forth between both Spike and the angel sleeping on the bed.
The room they'd rented was small, almost too small for the three of them.
"So..." he began, eyes returning once more to his grandchilde.
"So?"
"About this..." Angel lifted his hand and pointed in the general direction of Spike.
"M' togs?" He fingered the high-neck spandex collar. "Surprising really... doesn't chafe in the least."
"Spike, I'm being serious here."
"What?"
"How did... you know..."
"Don't rightly know. One minute I'm bein' embarrassingly touchy-feely with Charlie, the next, I'm floatin' out the window. Was taken to the former Green Lantern. Said the ring chose me... end of story."
"And the others? This Justice League? They just welcomed you with open arms?"
"I don't know," Spike answered in a subdued voice. "The girl says yeah, but I don't know."
There were almost tears in his eyes when he continued. "Why me, Angel? Why me? You or Buffy, or hell, even the whelp I could understand. But why did the ring choose me?"
"Because despite all else, Spike, you never quit trying." Angel answered in a low voice. "Despite the things you've done, William Pratt's heart was always in the right place."
Spike turned away, unwilling to let his grandsire see how his words affected him. "I'll be back... keep an eye on the bird."
"Where are you going?"
"Out... gonna take a look around." Find a Bat, he didn't say.
After Spike had left the woman on the bed turned onto her side and looked at Angel.
"Maybe you aren't so stupid."
~*~*~*~*~
Buffy looked up suddenly from her dressing table having the strangest thought, 'Green eggs and Spike?'
Ok, now she knew that this supposed date with the Immortal was getting to her. Quoting a bastardized version of Dr. Seuss? She sighed heavily and went back to applying her make-up. Though, she still didn't know why she bothered. But, Giles had drilled it into her head that the guy had done so much for the new Council, that the least she could do was go to dinner with the guy - convey the Council’s appreciation.
And since when had the Council turned into politicians?
She wondered if Giles had any idea how much doing this made her feel like a Council whore instead of a Slayer? If they realized how demeaning this felt to her? What? Had Giles gone from being her watcher to being her pimp?
Dinner, she reminded herself not for the first time. She glanced at her watch and saw she had a few minutes before the Immortal was due to arrive. He was taking her to a place called The Galpelo, supposedly some exclusive eatery where it took ages to obtain a reservation. 'Yeah, like the thought of some fancy smancy restaurant is going to impress me.' She slipped into her black dress, a simple sheath - elegant, but yet covering more of her than the guy would probably like. There was a knock at her door, and Buffy pasted on a smile and grabbed her purse. No sense letting him think that she was going to invite him in beforehand.
Nope... purse and out the door.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike smelled him before he saw him.
"Might want to use something to mask your scent, mate. Doubt you want the Poofter figuring out who you are."
Only one word came from the shadowed form of Batman. "Agreed."
"How’re we getting’ in?" Spike asked.
"Through the roof," was the low voiced answer.
It was easy enough gaining access through the roof, surprisingly so. Spike could have used his ring to get them inside, but the Bat seemed to have things well in hand. The utility belt he wore seemed to have every gadget known to man - and some they didn't know about. They were about to go in when Batman stopped.
"Before I forget."
He handed Spike a tiny device which the vamp just looked at in confusion.
"Put it in your ear. It's a comm link. State of the art. Keeps you in touch with the watch tower and the others."
Spike muttered something about "Big Brother" but slid the small piece of metal in his ear nonetheless.
"This way," Batman whispered, and darted down the stairwell.
"Turn down your ring," the Bat informed him. "Go back to civvies if you can."
Spike concentrated for a second and was back in black.
"Any reason for this, mate?"
"Never give an enemy any advantage," the voice drifted back to him.
Spike quickly caught up with the human.
"Savage knows you,” Batman told him. “This Buffy knows you. You don't have a secret identity. Use the ring as an unknown, if the Immortal doesn't know about it he can't counter it.”
Part of Spike wanted to be offended by the lecture-like voice, but he had to admit the Bat had been doing this a lot longer than he.
"Alright, mate. I'll play along. Only... "
"Only what?"
"Could be painted purple and it wouldn't much matter to the Slayer. She thinks I'm dead. Remember? The whole blaze of glory on the Hellmouth? Seeing me may not be the best idea."
"Damn."
"How 'bout we just have us a listen? See what Savage does."
"If we lose him--"
"We won't. He wants the Slayer for some reason…the dinner is just a smoke screen. I know him."
The two watched almost patiently as the dinner progressed. Spike could feel his heart in his chest, almost as if it were beating, at the sight of his Slayer. She was bored, but seemed to be trying. At her belch in old Van's face Spike couldn't suppress his smile, but he frowned as the meal went on and Buffy seemed more and more interested in the slimy Immortal git. He was just about to rush the slimy bastard when he felt Batman restrain him.
“We'll stop him before it gets too far. But, we need to know what he is doing."
"What he's doing?" Spike hissed. "He's..."
The vampire watched, amazed, as the Slayer leaned over and brushed a stray lock of Savage's hair off his brow. It seemed to be some signal for the man because he caught the eye of his waiter and called for his check.
"He's done something to her... drugged her somehow. No way would she be falling all over this git." Especially when she said she loved me, he mentally added.
Even as he stewed, his anger growing by proportions, the ring was giving him silent directions - showing him how to do what he wanted. And as he set the ring to work, Spike added his own twist and sent a construct of his new communicator through the shadows to Buffy.
The device slipped into her ear unnoticed by either the Slayer or Savage, and Spike took a moment to use the ring’s properties to cleanse her system.
Buffy's reaction was immediate, anger rushing through her and causing her blood to boil. Thankfully, Savage's head was turned.
Spike could see her rage, how her eyes narrowed, her hands balled into fists.
"Not yet, luv,” Spike whispered to her. “We need to know what he's planning."
~*~
‘Oh god,’ Buffy thought. Even from the other side of death Spike was trying to help her. She stumbled purposely into the Immortal's grasp and smiled up at him, all the while plotting on how his head would look on her wall.
"That wasn't part of the plan," Batman muttered.
"Hey, this is my girl you're tryin' to use as bait. Just levelin' the playin' field a bit."
Batman's eyes narrowed behind his mask as he glared at Spike but held his tongue.
~*~
Hawkgirl stood over the skylight beside her erstwhile admirer, watching and listening to the proceedings. Her smirk at Spike's plan was beautiful.
"He could be ruining this," Angel informed her.
"You think this Buffy might give everything away?" she asked.
"Buffy is just a child. She can't know how to react to this kind of thing."
But as Shayera watched, the blonde Slayer seemed to be the perfect actress. Though it helped that Savage was now paying her very little attention. Spike’s ingenuity now enabled them to hear their conversation, a bonus in Shayera’s book.
Spike listened as Savage spoke into his cell phone.
"It's done. Should be an easy matter of getting the other girls to fall into line."
"I'll bloody well kill him," Spike growled.
"Wait. I'm trying to hear," Batman told him.
"...estro. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Did he just say...?"
Spike looked up to see Shayera take to the sky. He was after her in a flash, employing a green force field to prevent her from going after the limousine.
"Let me go, dammit!" she fought against her bonds.
Spike slowly reeled her in until she hovered in front of him.
"I want him as bad as you, but, think Shayera... if you go after Savage right now, we'll never get him. Sinestro will disappear without a trace."
"And the Slayer you love?" Shayera ground out. "Are you going to let him have his way with her? She has no one but us to help her."
At that Spike smirked suddenly, and spoke into his small mike. "Can you guys patch this whole thing through to a Willow Rosenberg?"
"Do you think that's wise? Bringing in a civilian?" she asked. "The league has more than enough resources to deal with Savage and Sinestro."
"Alright."
"The League looks after its own--"
"I said alright," Spike growled. Hawkgirl smiled and opened her comm link. "J’onn?"
At the Manhunter’s answer, Shayera told him, "We need to get the Slayer a regular link. If she goes inside something yellow, it will kill our listening device. And it might be a good idea to get Wally to give her some kind of vaccine for Savage’s drugs, in case he decides to use more."
"I'll bring it myself. I should be there in an hour," J'onn replied. He signed off and went to tell Superman and Wonder Woman of the latest development - and how the new Green Lantern had confirmed his place with the group.
The only trouble with Spike's construct was that it worked too well – Buffy could hear every word the JLU spoke.
And it was beginning to scare her.
Who the hell were these voices? She touched her ear and found the small microphone speaker combination and began adding things together.
Two plus two equaled Spike being alive… and he was out there watching her back.
Oh yeah!
Now she was pissed.
tbc...