Title: Untitled X-men Cross
Author: Kate R.
abelard950@aol.com
Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.
Rating: PG-15?
Pairings: Giles/Ethan so far
Summary: Portals lead to....
Untitled X-men Cross
By Kate R.
Spinning, falling, hurting, bleeding, Giles had grabbed her, Spike had grabbed Giles. Falling, spinning, hurting...Buffy dead fall....fall...crash...
"GILES!" She cried as she saw him hit something. His head made a resounding crack and she made it over to him, bleeding a little but no more
portals thankfully.
"Giles?" She cried as tears slid down her cheeks. "Giles, please, wake up. We need you, please..."
"Who are you?" a gruff voice growled and Dawn looked up at the man attached to the arm that Giles had hit...no, the arm that had hit Giles. "I asked you a question little girl," he growled. "Who are you?"
"D-Dawn," he stammered as she crouched over Giles. "W-why'd you hit him?"
"You're intruders," he said. "You disrupted a class..."
"We didn't mean to!" Dawn cried. "He fell. We all fell because I got hurt! I'm sorry! My Blood makes holes in reality! It's my fault we landed in the middle of your stupid class! You didn't have to hit...Uh-oh..."
A roar and Dawn knew Spike was back on his feet. He snarled and ran at the man who'd hit Giles and he was furious, in full game face and snarling. He was angry. He was so very angry and he went after the man, fighting in his full demon fury and he hit and kicked and punched. His fury was unstoppable.
"STOP!" A man's bellowed. "Logan, desist, now!"
Dawn watched the man stop and she saw Spike look at her and she nodded. He backed down but only because she told him to. Until Giles was awake, Dawn had to control Spike's temper. Oh, that was going to be fun.
"Who are you?" Dawn asked. The man was bald and seated in a wheelchair.
He looked at her as curiously as she was looking at him. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier," he told her. "You have landed in my school. I apologize for your welcome but normally strangers lead to an attack. Here, perhaps your friend can bring your injured party to or...you are hurt as well?"
'I'll live. My sister was the Slayer after all. I have the healing and everything. It's just a few cuts. Giles needs help now. He needs rest and things and if you or your people hurt him again, I wont call Spike off. Now, where are we going?"
Spike scooped Giles into his arms and Dawn walked next to him as the man led them from the room and the other man followed. Dawn didn't like the other man. He'd hurt Giles. Spike walked as quickly as the man in the wheelchair rolled and they were soon at a hospital like place.
"Hank, we have a patient for you," the professor said.
A man who looked like a blue gorilla came over. He watched Spike laid Giles on the bed and Dawn watched them all. Giles wasn't going to be hurt. Not so long as she and Spike were around. And Ethan if the bond kicked in. They'd better hope Giles was awake before it did, too. Otherwise things were liable to get downright unhealthy around here.
Dawn grinned thinking about it.
****************
"Miss Dawn," the professor said. "I would like you to attend classes with my students while you are here. Until Mr. Giles is awake and can tell me where you are educationally, I would like to put you with Rogue, Jubilee, Tracy, Bobby, Jamie and Kitty."
"Whatever," Dawn said. She hadn't had time to grieve yet and until Giles was well enough to control Spike, she wouldn't have time.
"I want to put you in a room with Tracy Cassidy if that's all right with you?" he asked.
"Like I said," Dawn told him. "Whatever. Until Giles is better nothing matters."
"Why do you say that?" the professor asked.
"None of your business," Dawn told him and walked out of his study.
He winced feeling her pain. That child was screaming in pain but she would not let him in.
"I don't trust the bleached one," Logan said from the corner of the office.
"You should not have hit that man, Logan," the professor told him chastisingly. "Not until we knew what was really going on. He had other injuries that were compounded by it."
"I reacted, Chuck. I'm sorry about that. I'll apologize when he wakes up."
"See that you do," the professor said. "In the meantime, I think we should introduce Miss Dawn to the rest of the school. Until Mr. Giles wakes up, we are going to have to care for her."
"Only as far as she'll let us, Chuck," Logan said. But he nodded and left the study, watching as Dawn was led into a classroom by Storm. He saw the bleached blond watching him and the man's eyes were like chips of ice.
"Stay away from mine," the man growled and his eyes flared an angry gold. Then, he turned and, being sure to stay in the shadows, went to the place he had chosen from himself. Logan knew the professor had arranged for what he'd need but he was not comfortable.
Meanwhile, in the classroom, Dawn was sitting down at an empty place. She was nervous about this but she knew that until Giles was well, they were stuck here. Of course, she had a feeling Ethan would be here soon. Wherever Order went, Chaos was soon pulled. Dawn was anticipating his arrival almost gleefully. Ethan was a power these kids would never have.
"Hi," a southern accented voice said. "Ah'm Rogue. Who're you?"
"Dawn," she told the girl with white streaks in her dark hair. "I'm Dawn. I'm one of those strangers who interrupted your class yesterday."
"Yeah, Storm tore a strip off Logan's hide for hitting your friend. We don't all automatically think a stranger appearing means an attack. We are curious as to how you got here though."
"My blood opens doorways to other dimensions," dawn told the girl. Not sure why but she felt like she could trust her. 'I was still bleeding after my sister jumped and died to save the world. A drop of it hit the ground. I fell. Giles grabbed me, trying to stop me from falling, and Spike grabbed Giles. Giles had taken some hard hits during the fight with insane-O the Hell Goddess lorry. He was already unsteady when your fiend hit him. Now, I'm worried. Giles has taken a lot of hits over the last five years. I worry... actually, we all worried, about him taking one too many."
"Sounds like you had a shitty life," Rogue said.
"It wasn't all bad," she told Rogue. She'd noticed the others in the group she'd been assigned to listening and she shrugged. Giles always said trust her gut and her gut was telling her this group was safe. "I mean sure we had Apocalypses threatening every other week but we still had laughs and happiness. But, my sister died and now we're here and I have no idea how long I can keep Spike from going after anyone, especially if they threaten Giles, and now I have this feeling Ethan, Captain Chaos Lord himself, is gonna turn up 'cause he can't exist without Giles. But this could be fun I guess."
"It'll be okay, Chica," a girl in a yellow coat said. 'We can't replace what you lost but you have friends if you need them. Or want them."
"I think I'd like that," Dawn whispered quietly as tears seemed to be welling up in her eyes. "I mean, Sp-Spike can't be here all the time and... and..."
"Hey now," a boy with brown hair and blue yes said. "It's okay. "I promise, it'll be okay."
And the warm compassion in them seemed to break Dawn and she slumped over and sobbed. It hurt. Everything hurt. Giles was hurt, Spike was hurt, she was hurt, everything was gone and she just hurt and she cried and she felt them all comforting her with touches and the storm of tears passed after awhile.
"I'm sorry," she whispered softly.
"No prob," the boy with the compassionate eyes said. "We've all been there. Tracy, why don't you take Dawn to the room you're gonna share? I figure she could use some rest huh?"
'Sure Bobby," the girl said with an Irish accent lilting her voice.
She led Dawn out of the room and up to a dorm like room and Dawn lay down on an empty bed. She was sleep before she even realized it and Tracy Cassidy sighed. At least she'd have something to tell her father when he called next week. She hoped.
******************
Dawn woke up some time later and saw Spike sitting in the shadows of the room watching her. His eyes looked sad and tired, the same as Dawn felt. And she knew Giles had not woken.
"Nibs," he told her, "I'm gonna go out and prowl a bit. Lots of evil here for me to fight. I need to be doing something. I promise I'll be back before dawn, kay?"
"Okay Spike," Dawn whispered. "Be careful, okay?"
Spike nodded and stood. He kissed her on the forehead and then left the room. Dawn eventually got out of bed and left the room herself, walking around the school and wondering what was gong to happen now. Something about this place felt like home she'd need Giles' permission to stay here.
Giles' permission...
"Dawn?" the Irish girl said gently coming up behind her. Dawn didn't react like she was a threat though so Dawn knew she'd been right. She was safe here.
"Sorry," Dawn whispered. "I don't usually go to bed before three am. It's a Sunnydale thing. I don't think I'll be sleeping well for awhile."
"It's alright," Terry, Dawn remembered, said. "None of us are big day people. So, you want to come watch movies with us? It's summer vacation. We can take classes if we want but we don't have to and we don't have bed times. Besides, m' da' always says a good movie with good friends....or potential friends anyway, can help keep bad dreams away."
"Your dad sounds smart," Dawn, said.
"Yeah he is," Terry said. "I grew up in Belfast. When I was first sent to my dad, I had really bad dreams about car bombings. Some nights, he'd hold me and hug me and then we'd watch dumb old movies, sappy movies, black and white and all kinds of things. He made me forget, just for a while, the badness. It always helped me. I'm thinking it could maybe help you...if you like?"
"Sure," Dawn said. She followed Terry down to where the rest of the group she'd been assigned to was sitting, looking through a stack of movies.
"Dawn needs fun," Terry told the group. "So, can we get some comedies out?"
"No vampire movies," Dawn whispered. "I can't watch one without pointing out how wrong it is."
"Deal," Jamie said. He pulled out all the comedies they had and popped one in. Dawn sat with Terry on one side and Bobby, the boy with the compassionate eyes, on her other. Kitty and Jamie were sitting on the floor and Rogue was in an armchair. Dawn soon found herself immersed in the movies and soon realized her fears about her dreams, whatever they'd been, were going away. Terry was right. Terry grinned at her as they laughed at Mel brooks.
Some things were constant in any world: Mel Brooks was funny. They all fell asleep together on the floor of the living room. Making Dawn feel safe having been far more important than sleeping in bed.
When Professor Xavier found them there the next morning, he shook his head and smiled. He saw Dawn's face was less troubled now and so knew it had been a good idea to put that group together with her. They would help her, he knew. And hew as glad for that. Someone needed to help the girl through the grief he could feel pouring off of her. Someone or a group of someones, who would not laugh at her experiences. That's why he'd chosen Rogue's group. And Charles Xavier smiled and left them, going to begin his day.
END PART 3