DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: This story cannot be sold or used for profit
in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only or
posted in fanfic archives for general distribution, but must include
all disclaimers and copyright notices.
SPOILER WARNING: Occurs before the last season of SWAM and between
the first and second seasons of BtVS.
RATING: PG13
CONTENT WARNING: This story depicts scenes of violence and/or their
aftermath. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to
read something other than this story.
SUMMARY: The new girl at Sunnydale has a weird secret all her own -
one that Willow will soon share.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Giles, the Slayerettes and all other characters
who have appeared in the series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" together
with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property
of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Inc., Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar
Television, 20th Century Fox Television and the Warner Brothers
Television Network. Alex Mack, her family, Danielle Atron and all
other characters who have appeared in the series "The Secret World
of Alex Mack" together with the names, titles and backstory are the
sole copyright property of Viacom International, MTV Networks,
Nickelodeon Television Network, Nickelodeon Productions, Hallmark
Entertainment, and Lynch Entertainment. No copyright infringement
was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other
characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole
property of the author. I'm too broke to be sued, anyway. (But if
anybody thinks my literary skill presents that much a risk, feel
free to *HIRE* me!)
A/N: Remember, this was written long before I ever heard of Spike or
Mayor Wilkins or how deeply stupid Sunnydale cops could be.

* * * * *

The Secret World of Willow Rosenberg
(a BtVS/SWAM crossover)
by Dalton S. Spence <dalton.spence@...>

"I guess I'm not so ordinary anymore." - Alex Mack

*Part 3*

After the defeat of the Master, the surviving vampires of Sunnydale
made their new headquarters well away from his former lair. And who
could blame them; not only did none of them want to risk being
caught in the Hellmouth's grip as the Master had been for seventy
years, it was *much* too close to the Slayer's headquarters for
anybody's comfort. There had even been a brief movement to relocate
to the nearby town of Paradise Valley. This was quickly struck down
by the Anointed One and his allies, who pointed out (after they had
destroyed the vampires who started the movement, of course) that at
least in Sunnydale they could keep a watch on the Slayer.

"Keep your friends close," he said, waving at the piles of dust
covering the floor, "and your enemies even closer. The Master taught
me this, and I'm not about to dispute him. If any of you do, feel
free to come forward so we can ... discuss it. Any takers?" There
was a brief grumbling among the assembled vampires, but in the end
reason (and fear) prevailed, and they filed quietly to proceed with
the night's hunting. A few would be lost to the Slayer, but that was
far better than the certain death that opposing Colin would trigger.
Finally, there were only three left in the chamber; Colin and his
two chief minions. "That went nicely, I think," said Colin with a
satisfied sigh. "Nothing like a little terror to keep things orderly
in the ranks, like the Master always said."

At this comment the smaller one (a perky looking brunette in a neat
blue business suit) grimaced. Colleen had been a very successful
Hollywood talent agent specializing in juvenile performers before
her fateful detour through Sunnydale, so she was used to handling
young egomaniacs with tremendous power. She quickly established a
solid rapport with the Master's heir apparent, becoming his chief
advisor on policy and politics. "I think you should be careful about
that. Quoting the Master, I mean," she said, shifting nervously
under her leader's glare. "The Master may have been an outstanding
leader in his day, but that day is past. This is *your* day now."

"She's right, you know," the giant who stood on Colin's other side
commented quietly. "Back in my days with the outfit, it was known if
the don died the heir had to show that he had his own power as well
as the blessing of his predecessor, or he would lose respect. You
showed your power tonight, but it sounded like you were still
following the Master's instructions. For now, it works; the others
still don't really believe he was defeated. When they do, watch out!
Using his name will make them wonder if you're going to lead them
down the same path."

Guido Salvatore may have looked like a common thug, but he had first
class mind, and a lifetime of experience dealing with violent and
bloodthirsty individuals. For most of his life he had been a
classic "wise guy", a loyal soldier in the Torelli family, until he
made a fatal error. A greedy lieutenant had answered Guido's badly
timed accusation of `skimming' with three bullets in the chest,
leaving him to die in a Sunnydale back alley. That he had lasted
long enough to be found by Colin on a hunting expedition was a
testament to his iron will and robust constitution. After cleaning
up his `unfinished business', Guido became Colin's utterly loyal
minion, even to the point of risking his existence by offering
unpopular advice when he felt it warranted.

Fortunately, both of his advisors had offered their counsel with the
proper respect (mainly by waiting until they were alone), so Colin
felt no need to make examples of them. As the Master had taught him
(//Damn! They're right, I *DO* have to watch that.//), destroying
your tools because you don't like what they produce is wasteful and
foolish, unless you have spare ones of equal quality. (At least, he
told himself that was the reason; he couldn't admit even to himself
that sometimes he missed the familiar comfort of parental figures.)

He was still groping for a response that would acknowledge their
point while establishing his authority, when his keen senses noticed
a slight commotion in the corridor outside. There was a pause, then
a light tapping on chamber's doorway. "Enter," he called out, "and
this had better be important."

The timid vampire who entered was former minor bureaucrat known to
the clan as the postmaster. It was his responsibility to watch the
news for items of importance, and to relay communications from their
agents on the surface. Keeping his eyes on the ground, he wordlessly
gave Colin the envelope he had found a the dead drop point below a
storm drain. //I hope this is good news,// he thought as he tried to
make himself as small a target as possible. //We could all use some
for a change.// He had only had the job a week, and did not wish for
the fate of his predecessor; ever since the Slayer arrived, this job
had an extremely high attrition rate.

He was lucky this time. "Our agent above reports he is in place to
watch the activities of the Slayer and her friends," Colin exclaimed
with as smile. With a slight giggle he added, "He's even managed to
make this a part of his official mortal job. How ironic! I predict
that when the day of our domination over the mortal world comes,
*THEY* will have done most of the work for us themselves." The
Master had actually made this prediction to him in private, but
there was no need for anyone else to know that.

* * * * *

Willow was badly in need of a computer fix. After she had accidently
crashed the computer lab network for the third time, Ms. Calendar
had `excused' Willow from the rest of the class until `this curse'
(as she put it) was lifted. Usually Willow would have stayed later,
using the library computer to surf the net for info to help Buffy
with her Slaying, do her homework from Ms. Calendar's class, or try
to Giles-proof the library card-catalogue (instituting the fuzzy
logic and context search algorithms was a fascinating challenge),
but it too fell prey to the `curse' when she tried to use it. She
and Alex had stayed a bit late in the library where Alex had tried
to teach Willow how to control the EM effects of her new powers,
with little luck. When Alex had offered Willow the use of the
specially shielded desktop that her sister had left behind when
she'd gone for MIT, she had jumped at the chance.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Alex called out as she entered the house with
Willow in tow. This was mainly for form, since she didn't really
expect them to get home first. Her dad had been working overtime
setting up the new lab, and her mother was probably on the way back
from the community college where she was taking courses to get her
degree. Neither usually got home before seven any more, so they had
gotten into the habit of having dinner at eight. There should be
plenty of time for them to practice.

The Mack's had a six month lease on the house they were renting, but
because they were planning to buy a place before the lease was up,
most of the boxes littering the living room and the den remained
unopened. After searching a bit for the phone, Willow called her dad
to let him know where she was. (For once she could tell the truth;
she had gone to a friend's house to study.)

"Yes Dad, Alex *IS* a girl! ... I promise I'll call Xander before I
leave so he can walk me home ... Don't worry, everything will be
fine. How's mom doing?" There was a brief pause, then a relieved
smile lit up her face. "That's GREAT! Listen, I've got to go now,
Alex's computer isn't unpacked yet and I promised to help her set it
up. Give my love to Mom. Bye"

"I take it that was good news?" asked Alex.

"The BEST! My Mom woke up this afternoon, and everything is going to
be just fine. She's coming home from the hospital tomorrow. Since
they can't find a reason for her severe anemia, and there are no
other serious injuries, they have no reason to keep her."

"Does she remember the attack?"

"If she does, Dad didn't mention it. But how did you ...?"

"I was sort of there in the alley, and heard you talking to Xander.
I know it happened, but nothing else. And the anemia thing was a
dead give-a-way. How did it happen? I thought vampires couldn't
enter a house without invitation. Or is that a myth?"

"No, it's true enough but didn't apply in this case. She was coming
to school to pick me up after dark, when five vampires jumped her.
If Buffy hadn't been right there.... And Xander, he was magnificent!
He threw himself right at them, knocked Mom clear of them and stood
over her holding them back with a cross while Buffy took care of the
first two. The others ran off when the police showed up."

"What did you tell them? It must have looked kind of weird."

"Fortunately, they caught a glimpse of the attackers running away,
and accepted our story of muggers. At least the younger one did. I
think the older one knew what was going on; he took a look at her
neck, then ordered the ambulance and told them to have a transfusion
ready. And the E.M.T.s seemed a little too efficient about it, too."

"If there have been as many attacks as you say, they would have to
know, wouldn't they? Even if they couldn't make an official report
about it? I mean, the physical evidence has to be there; what other
conclusion could they draw?"

Willow considered a moment, then nodded. "Could be. I hope so. I
hate to the of all the unsuspecting cops out there relying on just
their guns for protection. If we get that computer of yours unpacked
I could check it out."

"Right! This way," said Alex, leading the way up the stairs to her
bedroom. One half of the room was filled with unopened boxes, all
marked Annie's this and Annie's that. The other half looked more
normal; Alex had unpacked most of her clothes and personal stuff,
and had made an attempt to make the place more homey. While she had
taken her parent's advice and not put up her posters or set up the
stereo, Alex had put up her `gallery'; a cork board with her latest
photographic efforts carefully mounted.

Willow looked around for the box containing the computer, finally
seeing it at the top of a tall stack of boxes. "Alex, where do you
keep the step lad... Oh ya, right. Could you get it down please? I
don't want drop it."

Alex moved to the window. "First rule: ALWAYS check for witnesses."
She'd done this so many times that she had closed the blinds and
turned away before her brain registered the sight of a dark figure
leaning against a lamppost watching her house.

--

Dalton "What? Cliffhangers? Me? You must be mistaken. ;)" Spence