Two

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS

The street was silent but for the music coming from the cottage: it was a Beatles song now. The tiny part of Willow that still noticed the outside world as she gasped and wheezed and felt fear clawing at her recognized the song. With a Little Help From My Friends.

The air felt cold. This wasn’t her time. This wasn’t her home...she was as far from home as anyone could possibly be. She was alone as anyone could possibly be...she felt the weight of it. It crushed her...

She couldn’t breathe...she was alone...

She was sitting in a booth across from Faith in a pizza place. She was seventeen.

There were amateurish murals of the canals of Venice covering the walls, and little jukeboxes on all the tables...

“If you want to be a witch you can’t be afraid of power,” Willow said. “Having it, using it. That energy shield was built from my will.”

“Kinda right there in your name,” Faith said. “Will.”

“Y’know, it’s weird?” Willow said. “I never really thought of my name like that before. I don’t think it ever even really occurred to me. I always thought, y’know, Willow...pretty Willow tree. Willow the Wisp. Weeping Willow.”

“Willpower’s the first thing I thought of when you told me your name,” Faith said.

Willow came back to herself, a little. She was able to think, now. But she still couldn’t breathe...she felt her fear. It was a physical thing. It had her in a vice grip; it was a weight in her chest, in her lungs...it wouldn’t allow any air in...

Heather had taught Willow exercises for when she had a panic attack. Her panic attacks had mostly stopped once Angel died, Willow hadn’t had to use the exercises for years...but she remembered them.

Willow concentrated on her heartbeat, and reminded herself that breathing was a natural, inevitable thing that her body would do on its own and that she didn’t have to help the process along. She reminded herself that it wasn’t possible for a panic attack to actually make her suffocate. It was all in her head...

She knelt in the street next to the car, and looked up at the moon as she trembled and sucked in air and fought the compulsion to scream. The moon was a bright yellow crescent, like a cat’s eye looking down at her...

She was lying naked in Buffy’s arms.

They were on the couch in the living room...in Joyce’s house...it was before Faith bought the mansion in Sunnydale...

Buffy held Willow’s hand, and looked into her eyes.

“Our lives are in your hands tonight,” Buffy said. “Not just yours and mine. Faith’s and Xander’s too...and maybe Tara’s. Because here’s the catch, baby. Rebecca’s always right. I’ll love you tonight if you want. But I won’t lie about it. I’ll tell Faith, and if you don’t tell Xander I will. Faith will leave me, and maybe end up with Tara. Xander will leave you. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up with Cordy. You’re right, she’s been looking at him in a funny way lately. I think maybe she wants him just because he’s like, the one guy she’s not able to have.”

Willow knew life was a series of decisions.

“It’s gonna take time, Willow,” Buffy said. “Time to find yourself. You’re still in there. I don’t know if you can ever go back to the way you were before. But I know you can find a balance...a way to be strong, to adjust to this and still be you. In the meantime? You have to decide what you want. Do you want me, or Xander? Decide, Willow. Decide, for the rest of your life. Decide, for all of us...all of our lives. Now.”

Buffy caressed Willow’s cheek.

“Who do you love?” Buffy whispered.

“I love you, Tara...I love...I love...I love you,” Willow wheezed, as she knelt next to the car, and tried to breathe...and heard her voice echoing down the deserted street, and fading away...fading into nothingness. “I’m gonna...gonna save...save you, baby. Gonna save...save you all. I promise, baby. I promise.”

She was sitting with Faith in Joyce’s house, in Dawn’s room, talking.

“Remember that witch Tara told you about, the one who found her?” Willow said.

“Yeah?” Faith said.

“I’m her. Someday...I’m gonna travel through time...and gather soldiers. Someday I’m gonna be her.”

“How do you know, if you haven’t done it yet? Plus she was a brunette.”

“My tarot cards told me, and they never lie. And I dye my hair. I’m really a brunette. Plus I have green eyes, and Buffy says I have cute chipmunk teeth.”

“You do have cute chipmunk teeth,” Faith said. “So. You’re the witch.”

Faith thought about it.

“Good,” Faith said, after a moment.

“Good?” Willow said.

“If anyone’s gonna be rallying the troops for some big throw-down someday? I’ll feel better knowing it’s you,” Faith said.

“You...really mean that?” Willow said, and smiled.

“No one better than you, auntie,” Faith said, and kissed her cheek.

It took a few minutes. But eventually Willow’s heart stopped pounding in her chest like a cannon and it didn’t feel like she was trying to suck in air through a straw when she breathed anymore. She was sweating. She wiped her brow on her sleeve. She realized she was still crying.

“Tara...baby...” Willow whispered. “I’m gonna get you back.”

She was lying naked in Buffy’s arms on the couch again.

She remembered how beautiful Buffy was...and how young. They were all young, they were just children...children, trying to save the world.

She and Buffy had nearly made love, but they had been able to resist the urge, that night...they were able to resist the urge, for awhile...

“It’s why you can lead,” Buffy said. “You think about other people first. That’s why I know, when you have to do all that stuff someday? When you have to go back in time looking for people, for that big war that’s coming? I know you’ll be fine, baby. I know everything will be okay.”

Willow’s breathing was normal now. She was still alone, and far from home...but she knew she could do this.

And she was going to. She wasn’t going to just roll over and die. She wasn’t going to let Warren win. She was going to get her family back.

She stood up, dusted herself off, and wiped her tears away.

Other than the music coming from the party the whole world seemed silent. There was no one else outside. There was a chill in the air now, but the air was still humid; it felt cold and clammy on her skin.

She looked up at the moon, and the moon looked back down at her. For a second, Willow felt like she might be the only person who existed...like the moon was just for her.

Willow knew that terrible, doomed world was out there, waiting to be born. She saw it in her vision; it was just as real to her as the world she had taken for granted, the one where her friends were alive and happy.

Willow wondered if in that world, Angel took the deal the First had offered. Without Faith, without Tara, without her, would Angel take the deal? Would he save one-hundred thousand people, rather than losing everyone? Would he and Buffy be the leaders of a new human slave race?

Willow shivered in the suddenly cold air. It felt like someone had just stepped on her grave.

They had defeated the Horsemen in 1998 and staved off the apocalypse, thanks to some unexpected help from a few different quarters, and most of all, thanks to the mercy of the Goddess. But Warren hadn’t known about that battle; no one did. Willow was the only person in the world who remembered it now; her friends only knew because she told them about it. And because Warren hadn’t known about it, he hadn’t known how dangerous it would be, altering people’s destinies in the past...and now, history had been changed...and on November 17th, 1998, the world was doomed.

And if Willow couldn’t put things right, that doomed world would be the only world, soon...

Willow thought about her friends, as she waited there in the dark; she saw their faces. They were more than friends. They were her family. Some she had known more than a decade, while others were new; but she loved them all. They weren’t related by blood, but their bonds were stronger than blood. Willow would have died for any one of them. They were gone now, but Willow had part of each of them inside her.

She thought about the ones she had lost over the years...the casualties that had mounted during the seemingly endless battles. For every foe they defeated there was always a new one to take its place eventually, and there had been losses...Willow was fixing the damage Warren had done, but she knew she couldn’t save people who were meant to be dead. It would be breaking the rules... it would change things, things that weren’t meant to be changed. Worst of all, it would be contradicting the will of the Goddess.

And it wouldn’t be fair. The ones who had died had earned their rest.

Willow had learned something from each one of her friends. She’d learned how to be brave, how to be strong, how to be confident, how to be patient, how to be resourceful...how to think tactically, guess her opponent’s next move...

So in a way, her friends were all there with her. In a way, they were doing this together. The thought made her feel a little better.

Willow felt exhausted; she’d slept for a few hours under a tree the previous night and had woken up feeling worse than before she’d fallen asleep. Her body ached when she woke up and it still ached now.

She knew someone would try to kill Rebecca tonight, but she didn’t know where. She knew someone would try to kidnap Rebecca and Heather and take them somewhere to torture them...but they were still in the cottage. They were in there with at least forty other people. Rebecca wouldn’t be killed in there...so all Willow could do was wait, and stay close to her...and wait for Rebecca’s killer to reveal himself.

Two boys came out of the cottage with two girls who were so drunk they were practically unconscious.

The party had started less than an hour before. It was hard to believe the girls could be so wasted, so quickly...

Willow had learned something from each of the people she cared about.

Rebecca had taught her to think tactically.

Willow turned the problem around. Looked at it from the other side, the way Rebecca had taught her to. She looked at it from Warren’s perspective. He knew she was capable of time travel too. If he knew she might be there to stop him, how would he pull this off? How would he try to snatch Rebecca away from the party without Willow knowing?

She looked hard at the four of them...one of the girls was a tall, thin Indian. The other was a short, plump girl with red hair and freckles. Neither of the boys was Warren. One of the boys was tall and good-looking, with broad shoulders. The other was medium height, with red hair and freckles, and he wore glasses. And he wasn’t a boy. He looked nearly thirty.

Willow had learned something from each of the people she cared about.

Tara had taught her to see through glamours.

It took a lot of practice, and absolute concentration...Willow concentrated.

The boys led the girls to a blue van parked in the driveway.

One of the boys, the tall one, opened the van’s door...

Willow saw that the girls were actually Rebecca and Heather.

Willow started walking across the street.

The tall boy looked right at her then, and smiled.

“Warren,” Willow said.

Warren was very handsome, in his glamour. He had a great smile and beautiful pale blue eyes, in his glamour. Willow saw through it, to the ugly man beneath.

“Willow!” Warren said, and stopped in front of the door to the van, with Heather nearly unconscious in his arms, and laughed. “I was wondering if you’d show up! This is awesome! Hey, have you met my friend Ethan?” He pointed at the red-haired man standing with him. The man, whoever he was, didn’t have a glamour around him. But when Willow looked at him, and he looked back at her, she felt something...something dark, and cold, that reached out with razor-sharp talons to slice into her...it was as if his soul had some restless black bird caged inside it.

“He’s a serial killer,” Warren said. “He’s cut up eleven girls so far.”

Ethan was holding Rebecca by her shirtfront with his right hand. Her body was limp now. Willow noticed that Ethan had a straight razor in his left hand.

Warren pulled something that looked like a metal wand covered with buttons and dials from his pocket and aimed it at Rebecca and Heather. The glamours around them disappeared, and they reverted to their true forms. Warren didn’t revert to his true form. He kept his glamour; he liked looking handsome.

“Take a look, Willow!” Warren said, and pointed at Rebecca. “Her fucking majesty over there? Number twelve.” Rebecca stirred, and moaned, but her eyes remained closed. Heather was completely unconscious in Warren’s arms.

Willow had fought Warren before. He always made speeches. He had seen a lot of movies and read a lot of comic books and he thought that was how he was supposed to act. While he talked, Willow readied her defenses.

The panic attack was just a memory. Her breathing was fine. Willow felt good. She felt good and angry.

“What, no quips?” Warren said. “Oooh, doing it all Terminator style now, huh? Sexy.” He laughed; a high-pitched giggle. His eyes grew moist when they looked into Willow’s; he didn’t turn his gaze from her, but he began blinking rapidly. He stood very still, but he quivered a little, as if his skin was stretched too tight, or he was trying to move in a bunch of different directions at once.

Willow looked right at him, and didn’t blink, or quiver. She knew he was afraid of her. He was trying to get his courage up, trying to feel strong. But he was afraid of her; he always had been.

Willow knew now that Ethan was the one who would kill Rebecca...and if she didn’t stop him, he would kill Faith too...and then her...and then everyone else in the world...

Ethan held Rebecca like a suitcase and looked into Willow’s eyes without blinking, or moving, or showing any sign of emotion whatsoever. He was as cold and still as a frozen lake in winter. The restless black bird he kept inside him was controlled, caged. But Willow knew that when he let it out, it would slice Rebecca and Heather to ribbons...

Willow didn’t understand Ethan. She had never encountered a being like him. She knew he was human...he wasn’t a demon, or a vampire, or a monster. But when she looked into his blue eyes, it seemed almost as if he had been born without a soul.

Willow didn’t understand how the Goddess could allow something like Ethan to exist.

She reached out to Ethan, telepathically...allowed her mind to brush against his, to just skim the surface of his, like a rock skipping across a lake...

Willow gasped, and actually stumbled, when her mind touched his; she nearly fell.

What she felt in him was like being thrown off a cliff. It felt like falling through a void...because there was nothing there.

Everyone loved: it was the engine that drove the world, and it was the surest evidence of the Goddess’s hand. Love made people desperate, and sometimes it even made them monstrous...but Willow knew love made us all beautiful too, no matter how many ugly things we did in its name. She knew love was what made us human.

But this man didn’t love...he couldn’t. He didn’t want it, or need it, or even realize it existed. He was completely sufficient in himself. He was alone. He was a void...

“Uh...okay...I haven’t actually started using any weapons yet,” Warren said. “You have like, some secret weakness I don’t know about? Like maybe bitch kryptonite or something?”

Willow recovered herself, centered herself again. She thought tactically. Ethan might be a cold, alien thing but he was a human being without any powers. Warren was the danger. She had to concentrate on Warren.

Warren had his right hand around Heather’s throat now. When Willow peered through his glamour, she saw that he was wearing a green metal glove on that hand. Willow knew what that glove could do; she’d encountered it before. Warren had invented it. It gave him super-strength in his right arm, more strength than Buffy and Faith combined. He’d gotten the idea from a comic book.

He could snap Heather’s neck like a twig with that glove.

Willow stood in the middle of the street, and considered her options...

“Well, guess it’s time to get this show on the road, huh?” Warren said, and aimed the wand at Willow. A pulse of red light shot out from it, shrieking through the air; it sounded like crystals vibrating. The light stabbed against the energy shield Willow had erected around herself while Warren talked; the shield flashed in a thunderous, dazzling explosion of blue sparks. The energy pulse ricocheted off the shield, hit a building behind Willow, and caused the front of the building to collapse into the street in a pile of rubble. Willow whirled around. She heard screams...

“That fucking force field again!” Warren shouted. “I hate that thing!” He started firing wildly, sending burst after burst of the ruby light hammering against Willow’s shield. The energy shield repelled the shots, flashing blue and crackling like thunder and lighting up the night every time it did, but Willow could feel the shots through her shield now; whatever that light was, every time it hit her shield Willow felt it, physically, like a quick, sharp pain, and the pain was increasing with every shot. Even worse, the shots kept ricocheting, and everything the shots were redirected at was turned to rubble. The building Warren had hit with the first shot completely collapsed now as he kept firing relentlessly and another energy pulse ricocheted off Willow’s shield and lanced straight through the building’s second story; Willow saw people running down the street but she had no idea if everyone in the building had gotten out. The Aston Martin exploded, going off like fireworks and flying straight up into the air as a burst of red light struck its gas tank. It crashed back down to the street in a fireball. A telephone pole fell over and smashed into another car, crushing it. People were running from their houses now. Behind Warren, kids from the party were flooding out of the cottage, screaming and running in every direction...

“I’m gonna win this time, bitch!” Warren shouted, as he kept firing, pummeling Willow’s energy shield; Willow felt it beginning to buckle. “Yeah, that’s right! I’m gonna fucking win! Go Warren! Go Warren! It’s your birthday! It’s your birthday! Brains beat brawn, baby!”

“Brains?! Warren, you fucking idiot!” Willow screamed. Her nose started bleeding. Pain was stabbing through her now; she felt like her skin was burning. “You think you’re being clever? If you kill Becca you’re gonna destroy the world!”

“Right, like I’m falling for that,” Warren said, and kept firing.

It took all of Willow’s strength to keep the shield in place now. She reduced its size, kept it just large enough to encompass her, with no wasted space. It would buy her a few more seconds.

Casting offensive spells was nearly impossible while her energy shield was up; the shield prevented them from passing. But if she dropped the shield those energy bursts he was firing would obliterate her...and even if she could somehow slip a spell through the shield, as long as he had Heather there was no way to attack Warren directly; Heather would be killed...

Willow stumbled and fell to one knee as the red light hammered at her shield and the shield whined and crackled and exploded blue all around her. The pain was getting worse...she bit her lip to keep from screaming as the psychic feedback hit her. It felt like needles now. It was hard to think...

Kids were still pouring out of the house, running to their cars, scrambling all over the place. They were getting in Warren’s way now, blocking his view; he was having a hard time lining up shots. It gave Willow a few seconds’ respite...

She was with Rebecca in the gym Faith had set up in her old mansion in Sunnydale.

Rebecca always made Willow train hard, because she worried about her...

“Always catalogue your opponent, physically and psychologically,” Rebecca said. “Look for weaknesses and exploit them. It doesn’t just go for Slayers, Willow, it goes for you too. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Note any terrain or object that can be used for offensive or defensive advantage, and since you’re a telepath, that includes people. You’re a powerful witch, darling, and you know a great many spells. But if you rely on them so much that you stop using your head you’ll die out there someday. Think tactically first. Then think about your spells.”

Willow thought tactically.

She catalogued her opponent, and was aware of her surroundings...

The kids running around were blocking Warren’s view for the moment, and a bunch of them had made it to their cars; they were peeling out of there as fast as they could. There were kids stampeding around, practically climbing over each other to get by, and cars screeching past in every direction, and even though Willow knew Warren didn’t particularly care about killing innocent bystanders he was trying to be careful with his shots. Willow assumed that wand of his, whatever it was, must have a limited charge. Unfortunately, she was certain it had more than enough charge to eventually neutralize her shield and then vaporize her. It would only take a few more shots.

The kids scrambling around had all been drinking, doing drugs...

Willow picked one, an athletic-looking boy who was sprinting faster than the kids around him. She reached out to his mind, and read what she saw there.

He had been drinking. But he wasn’t so intoxicated that he couldn’t still run. He had powerful legs and a tiny waist and a neck like a weightlifter, and he moved gracefully. His name was Thomas and he played rugby...he was perfect.

Willow concentrated, and focused in on him.

He stopped suddenly, and looked into her eyes...

And then the boy ran straight at Warren, elbowed Ethan out of the way like he was breaking a tackle, and snatched the wand out of Warren’s hand before he could fire again.

“Hey! Hey, what the fuck?!” Warren screamed, and dropped Heather to the sidewalk and ran after the boy, but Warren was no athlete and the boy was much too fast; he sprinted straight to Willow, helped her to stand up as she dropped her shield, and handed her the wand. Warren stopped in the middle of the street, and hesitated. Willow caught her breath, and centered herself again.

“Thanks...thanks, sweetie,” Willow said to the boy in a labored whisper, and wiped her bloody nose on her sleeve, as she held onto his arm. She felt like she had just run a marathon through a minefield and she was worried she might collapse without him to hold her up. But the pain was gone now and her energy was coming back; with every passing second she felt better. “You...probably just...like, saved the world?” she said, her voice stronger now. “Go somewhere safe and sleep it off and have dreams about how awesome you are. And, hey! Don’t drive, okay? You’ve been drinking.”

“You’re...pretty,” the boy murmured, looking into Willow’s eyes, and swaying a little. But his grip was strong, and he held Willow steady.

“Aw, Thomas, you’re a doll,” Willow said, and let go of him, and kissed his cheek. Her legs felt strong again. Her energy was back. She was centered again...she could stand again. “’Bye now.”

The boy instantly turned around and sprinted away.

“You think...think my wand’s all I’ve got?” Warren said. “You think I c--”

Willow waved her hand. Warren careened through the air, slammed into a bunch of garbage barrels across the street, and fell to the sidewalk.

Warren struggled to his feet. Willow looked down at the wand in her hand.

“You and your toys,” she said.

Willow waved her hand again, and dissipated Warren’s glamour. His confidence, already nearly gone, completely disappeared. He lost six inches of height and thirty pounds of muscle, his eyes turned from blue to brown, and he started to tremble. He was himself again: he was a scared, weak little man again.

“You know what’s funny, Warren?” Willow said, and smiled, and crossed the street toward him. Warren smiled back, still trying to put on a brave face. Willow noticed that Ethan hadn’t moved; he remained cold and calm and silent and still. The things happening around him seemed to have no effect on him. Willow wasn’t sure, but she thought Ethan didn’t perceive things to be real, somehow...he had no empathy, no ability to relate to things outside of himself.

But Willow knew she could take Ethan down with ease; she had to focus on Warren. He always had another gadget...and while he was wearing that glove he was dangerous.

“It’s funny that you thought you’d actually get away with this,” Willow said. “That you thought you could hurt the people I love, and that I wouldn’t find you, and hurt you back.”

“Boy, wow, like...you, you sure are sexy when you do your whole Dark Phoenix routine,” Warren said, while he tried and failed to bring his trembling under control. “You trying to like, like flirt with me or what?”

“Dark Phoenix,” Willow said. “That’s another comic book thing, right?”

She held Warren’s wand in the palm of her hand. Warren saw her eyes flash, and then the wand burst into white flames. It burned down to dust in Willow’s hand, and Willow sprinkled it to the street.

“Oh yeah?” Warren said. “How about this?”

He cocked his right fist, the one with the metal glove, and threw an awkward, looping punch toward Willow’s jaw. Blue sparks lit up the night in front of him; his fist collided harmlessly with the energy shield Willow had erected a moment before.

“How about this?” Willow said.

Willow dropped her energy shield again and kicked Warren in the balls. It was a good one: Rebecca had insisted that everyone in the group, witches included, had to know how to fight and Willow had been practicing with Rebecca for years now. Warren collapsed at her feet.

“Fucking...bitch!” Warren whimpered, as he curled up into a fetal ball on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut, and tears running down his cheeks...

Willow noticed Ethan again out of the corner of her eye. He still hadn’t moved, but he held the straight razor to Rebecca’s neck now.

He still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Willow. He was like some snake, poised to strike, completely motionless. At the same time he seemed completely relaxed. He stood there, holding Rebecca in his arms, holding the razor to her neck, as if he was waiting for a bus. He kept his eyes on Willow and Warren like he was watching a movie.

“Get those bitches to the van!” Warren shouted.

“LISTEN TO ME!” Willow screamed, pointing at Ethan. “I’ll kill you if you try to hurt either of them. I’ll cut you out of this world like the fucking cancer you are!”

Ethan pressed the razor against Rebecca’s neck. There was no urgency in the way he did it. He looked bored. He might as well have been preparing to carve up a turkey.

Then Ethan smiled. It was like an ice pick in Willow’s stomach...

The razor drew blood. A few drops slid down Rebecca’s neck, like tears.

“STOP IT!” Willow screamed.

Ethan didn’t have any special powers; Willow knew she could incapacitate him with ease. She could send him hurtling through the air like he was shot out of a cannon. She could call down a lightning bolt to electrocute him. She could burn him to ashes with a fireball. But as long as he was holding Rebecca, as long as he had that razor to her throat, Willow didn’t dare attack him, because Rebecca would be hurt too...and Willow knew Ethan knew it.

If Ethan were anyone else, Willow could threaten to kill him, scare him into letting Rebecca go. She could send a fireball at him, and leave it hovering in the air in front of him, or call down a lightning bolt a few feet away from him. But she knew he wouldn’t care. He wouldn’t be afraid, he wouldn’t back down, he wouldn’t bargain. He wouldn’t let Rebecca go to save his own life. When Willow touched his mind, and saw that black bird inside him, she knew the bird wouldn’t ever let go, once it sunk its talons into its prey...it would die before it let go...

Willow knew Ethan had fixated on Rebecca, and he wouldn’t give her up now...not until he had done what he felt compelled to do to her...not until the bird inside him had gotten what it needed from her...not until Rebecca was dead.

And Willow still had Warren to deal with...and he always had another gadget...

“Get those bitches to the FUCKING VAN!” Warren shrieked. He stumbled to his feet and backed away from Willow. He pulled something from one of the pouches on the ridiculous utility belt he wore...a purple crystal. At the same time, Ethan moved closer to Heather, dragging Rebecca with him. The razor was still pressed to her neck.

“Saved this for a rainy day, Superbitch,” Warren said, holding up the crystal. “Sure looks like it’s raining to me.”

“Uh, yeah...hi?” someone said.

Willow turned around...

And saw another Warren.

He stepped through a purple wall of light, a time portal his machine had created. Willow’s magic allowed her to travel through time, but the portals she created skipped across the currents, gliding from one stream to another without doing any damage...Warren’s portals punched holes in the world.

“Dude,” the second Warren said, and laughed. “You are like, totally getting your ass kicked. By a girl.”

“Okay,” the first Warren said. “What the hell? Who the hell are you?”

“Hello? Time travel?” the second Warren said. “I’m you.”

“Damn, I’m a good-looking man,” both Warrens said, at the same time.

They were talking, which was good. It gave Willow a moment to think...

“And I was completely about to kick her ass, by the way,” the first Warren said, and held up the crystal. “I have her just where I want her. It’s a total Superman II thing, like when he fakes Luthor out at the end.”

“Weak analogy,” the second Warren said. “Since we’re supposed to be Luthor.”

“Okay, fine. Then it’s like the first Superman, where Luthor tricks him into finding the kryptonite hidden in the lead box.”

“Then he loops the chain around his neck and throws him in the pool? Yeah, that was pretty awesome. But then his stupid sidekick with the big tits had to ruin everything.”

“Sidekicks suck. So glad we killed ours.”

Whatever that crystal was that the first Warren was holding, Willow knew it was trouble. And now she had a second Warren to deal with...and this other Warren had the same wand in his hand that had nearly killed her before, and he was wearing the metallic glove that gave him super-strength in his right arm...

And Ethan had a razor to Rebecca’s throat...

The street was deserted again. Willow didn’t see any bodies. That was good, at least. She had enough to worry about right now. She just hoped she could end this standoff before the police arrived. She knew Warren had no problem at all killing police; he liked killing police. It made him feel strong.

Heather was lying on the sidewalk, unconscious. Ethan hovered over her like some bird of prey, holding Rebecca in his arms like a hawk holding a field mouse in its talons...blood dripped down Rebecca’s neck.

Ethan kept his eyes on Willow, and waited. Willow watched the two Warrens, and considered her options.

Warren hadn’t remained a thorn in Willow’s side all these years because he was smart, or because he was devious. He hadn’t been able to attack her and the people she loved again and again because of the powerful technology at his disposal. He remained a threat for only one reason: Willow had promised herself that she would never kill a human being again. She could never use her full power against Warren, because if she did she would kill him. If he was a demon or a vampire, some creature without a soul, Willow would have been able to destroy him years ago with a clean conscience...

But if the two Warrens were both the same person originating from two different points in time, then Willow realized she had just found his weakness...

“Okay, so, here’s the thing?” the second Warren said. “What Superbitch told you? About how you destroy the world when you kill Rebecca? That’s actually true. Dude? You totally destroyed the world.”

“You’re fucking shitting me,” the first Warren said, incredulous.

“I shit you not,” the second Warren said.

“But I was careful!” the first Warren pleaded. “I was all like Star Trek about it, I was totally about obeying the Temporal Prime Directive!”

Willow groaned; it annoyed her that she actually got the reference.

“I mean, this guy?” the first Warren said, and pointed at Ethan. Ethan didn’t look at him. Ethan looked at Willow...he had been looking straight at her since the standoff began. “Serial killer dude? He was supposed to kill a couple of girls he found at this party tonight anyway. You know all the trouble I had to go through to set this up? I had to find this guy, plus make sure Rebecca and her gal pal actually ended up at the party, which meant I had to find the guys who were throwing the party and make sure they ran into Rebecca at the concert, and then make sure Rebecca and her pal got invited to the party, and of course Rebecca just had to be all rude to one of the guys because she’s an uppity fucking bitch so then I had to find the guys again and bribe them into inviting her and her little friend to the party, and I did all of it to make sure the time stream was disturbed as little as possible! You know how much easier it would have been to just find Rebecca and shoot her? And now you’re telling me all this aggravation was for nothing? Well...FUCK!”

“Pretty much,” the second Warren said.

“So now the Old Ones can’t come through?”

“Everything falls apart in 1998 now. History is changed. We never contacted them now. We never built the gate for them.”

“So how did it happen? I mean, Rebecca’s really that important? Seriously?”

“Look, I don’t have like, all the details? All I know is, we kill Rebecca, world ends in 1998, bang, done, game over.”

Willow watched both Warrens closely. She was trying to figure out which one looked younger...but they both seemed identical...

“1998?” the first Warren said. “Okay, wait, wait, wait a minute...” He started pacing. “So who was it? Who destroyed the world? The Master? Angelus? Whatshisname, that guy who kept coming after Faith?”

“Please,” the second Warren said, and snorted. “Our Sun Gun can handle any vamp.”

“Yeah, right, but...1998?” the first Warren said. “What the hell happened in 1998? The Mayor? But no...that was like, a local Sunnydale thing. And 1998 was too early for Adam, or Glory...and besides, we had plans to take out all those guys if we ever had to.”

“Yeah, but unfortunately there was something we couldn’t plan for,” the second Warren said. “In 1998 there was like, this super apocalypse that Willow and her gang stopped? But no one remembers it. Don’t frigging ask me how, I think it was maybe a time travel thing...” He shook his head. “Christ, time travel gives me a headache.”

“Yeah!” the first Warren said. “Can I just say that I freaking hate time travel? I thought it would be all cool when I invented the machine. If I had known it would be this much of a pain in the ass I wouldn’t have bothered. I just would’ve snuffed them all in 2009. Okay, so who’s so powerful that they destroyed the world in 1998?”

“The First Evil,” Willow said.

“Uh...and who the hell is that?” the first Warren said. “And shut up by the way. I’m like so totally killing you in a minute.”

“The First Evil? Is awesome,” the second Warren said, and smiled. “She’s our dream girl. She’s power, man. She’s what the bad guys are afraid of. Cthulhu? Even Yog-Sothoth? They’re nothing compared to her. Nothing. She was around long before the Old Ones. And, first thing she did after she took the world for herself? She marched straight to R’lyeh and banished Cthulhu back to the outer dark. He can never enter our dimension again now.”

“She can...she can do that?” the first Warren whispered.

“She can do just about anything, man,” the second Warren said. “She’s our dream girl.”

“She’s playing you, Warren,” Willow said. “You think the First gives a shit about you? It’s pulling your strings. The First will use you and then kill you like it wants to kill everyone else.”

“Kill me?” the second Warren said, and laughed. “Kill Warren Mears? Extinguish the greatest criminal flame of our age? Eradicate the Governor of Illinois?”

“What?” Willow whispered, and her face went pale.

“Have you been to 1998 lately?” the second Warren said. “The world’s not all gone. There are still some human beings left alive...a hundred-thousand. Hand-picked by me.”

“No,” Willow whispered. “You didn’t.”

“Sure did, Superbitch,” the second Warren said. “I took the deal. And you can call me ‘Your Honor’, by the way.”

“What deal?” the first Warren said. “And, Governor of Illinois? Who the hell wants to be the Governor of Illinois? What are you, high?”

“Uh, no, Mister I’ve-just-been-bitch-slapped-by-a-girl, I’m not high,” the second Warren said. “When I got back to 2009 I saw that the world was gone... humanity was extinct, the whole world was overrun by demons and vampires. Even worse, I was caught up in a time paradox, because when the world was overrun I was killed in the past. That’s why we never contacted the Old Ones...in the new history we died before we even ever heard of them.”

“But...if I was killed? Then...how am I still alive? And how the hell are there two of us?”

“Time paradox, yadda yadda yadda, do I really have to go into all the technobabble? When I jumped back in time to find out what happened, I eventually figured out that everything went south starting in 1998. That’s when the First attacked and that’s when everyone--and I mean everyone in the world, including me?--was killed. But since I was jumping around in the time stream the paradox couldn’t catch up to me. So anyway the thing is, yeah, the First wanted to snuff humanity? But not all of us. She offered Angel a deal, where he could save some people, like a tiny subset of humanity, just to keep us from becoming extinct. She kinda likes human beings a little...okay, mostly she hates us but we’re like, y’know...”

“Pets,” Willow said. “And now you’re the First’s favorite dog.”

“I’m her favorite, that’s all that matters,” the second Warren said. “She’s interested in people, we surprise her. So she offered Angel a deal. She destroys the world but not all of it; she lets the human race have Illinois and a starting population of a hundred-thousand people. Angel would get to pick the people. Everyone else goes bye-bye and everything outside of Illinois goes to the First and her crew. But Angel was always kind of a bonehead? So of course he refused the deal and got himself and Buffy killed fighting a hopeless battle instead, and that was the ballgame. I took a time portal back to 1998, I arrived a few days after Angel and Buffy were killed. There were vamps everywhere man, Christ, it was off the hook. So I went to my old lair to weapon up and the second I step outside again, bang, all of a sudden I’m jumped by like a couple dozen vamps. But I had all my best toys now, including my Sun Gun, and when I nuked the vamps the First showed up, and she was impressed. So we got to talking, and eventually she offered me the same deal she offered Angel. But I was smart enough to take it. And, I’m not sure? But I think that since there was a living version of me in 1998 now to replace the one who had been killed, the time paradox was satisfied. So now we don’t have to instantly cease to exist if you kill her Highness over there. Uh...well I’m pretty sure, anyway. Time paradoxes give me a headache.”

“So why Illinois?” the first Warren said.

“Well the state has all the land and the crops we’ll need, lots of livestock, a good source of fresh water. Plus it’s got Chicago. I think the reason she didn’t just give us an island somewhere--like maybe Britain, which would have been cool?--is that she wanted us to stay scared. There aren’t like, mystic barriers around Illinois or anything. The First told her people they can’t cross into the state and they’re obeying her. But they can stand like ten feet away from the border and watch us. If the human race was isolated on some island somewhere people might start to chill out. This way, we’re surrounded.”

“Well that kinda sucks.”

“Not a lot of choice. Killing Rebecca means the First wins. Besides? I’m like, totally gonna lead a revolution someday, dude. I’m gonna be like the George Washington of humanity. Fuck those demons.”

“You,” Willow said, and laughed. “You’re gonna save humanity. Even though there’s only like a hundred-thousand people left and the world’s been overrun by demons and the sun’s gone. And you’re a conniving little prick.”

“Sticks and stones, Superbitch,” the second Warren said. “And the sun came back once the First was done killing everyone. It’s different now though...I did some tests, it’s emitting a different spectrum of radiation. Plants still grow and the temperature is still the same, we still get daylight, but it has no effect on vampires anymore. And here’s the thing? Look at us, Willow. Me and you. We can time travel.”

“So?” Willow said.

“The First can’t,” the second Warren said. “Believe me, she wants to. She’s really interested in the technology, it’s one of the big reasons she made the deal with me. Luckily my machine won’t work on her. Only physical, corporeal things can go back, she can’t. Think about that. Think about what it means.”

“Wait. Are you saying you’re traveling back in time to try to stop the First from winning?”

“Hell no. I like being the king of the human race. What I’m saying is, we measly human beings have a power she lacks. My technology, your magic...they can do something she can’t. And that means she’s not unbeatable, Willow. It means someday, I can lead that revolution. Until then I’m just gonna bang a lot of supermodels.”

“You’re gonna overthrow the First? Even though she’s your dream girl?”

“Sure, she’s cool. But, end of the day? It’s all about me.”

“Wait. There are supermodels?” the first Warren said, his eyes lighting up.

“Dude! They’re all supermodels!” the second Warren shouted, giggling. “I got to pick the survivors, remember? All the chicks? Hotties.”

Willow kept one eye on Ethan during the conversation. He stood motionless, holding Rebecca in his arms with the razor to her throat, and hovering over Heather.

Willow knew she couldn’t survive against both Warrens, not while trying to protect Rebecca and Heather at the same time. As soon as they were done talking, they’d attack...

She was back in the gym with Rebecca.

They had just finished their workout. But this time, Rebecca had a surprise afterwards: she moved to the opposite side of the room from Willow, gave Willow ten seconds to take a good look around, and then told her they were going to spar. The first person to score any kind of hit whatsoever would win. Willow could use any weapon she found in the room, or she could fight hand-to-hand, or she could use magic.

As Willow concentrated on a spell, Rebecca picked up a paintball gun and shot her with it. The fight lasted exactly three seconds.

“You’re dead,” Rebecca said.

“Um...ow?” Willow said, looking down at her brand new sweat suit--which had been very cute, even borderline adorable according to Riley, but which now had a very large red paint splotch on it which she was certain wouldn’t come out in the wash--and frowning.

“In the movies, fights last a long time and they’re very dramatic and interesting and the hero always wins,” Rebecca said. “In the real world most fights are over very quickly and the person who strikes the first blow usually wins. While you were preparing your spell I was using my environment to my advantage. There’s another paint ball gun on the bench there beside you, but you didn’t notice it. Instead you immediately thought to cast a spell, because that’s what you always do. While you were thinking, I was acting. Your spell would certainly have won the day if you had a chance to cast it. I didn’t give you a chance. I struck the first blow. So now you’re dead and I win.”

“Um...well that’s...okay, bad?” Willow said. “But I mean...all this like strategy stuff you wanna teach me? I mean I know where you’re coming from, Becca, but Buffy and Faith are the Slayers, not me. I’m just...”

“One of the most powerful witches on the planet? With a genius-level IQ? Don’t try to tell me you can’t do this. You can and you will, you’ll get this through your head if we have to work on it from now until doomsday, because if you don’t get it through your head you’re going to be killed out there one day. And you’re important to me, Willow, you’re like a daughter to me, and I won’t lose you.”

Willow smiled. “So...I guess today’s lesson is...strike the first blow,” Willow said.

“Strike the first blow,” Rebecca said. “Don’t give your enemy a chance to ready his defenses. Don’t let your enemy dictates the terms of the fight. Look for weaknesses and when you find one, ruthlessly exploit it. Take the fight to him.”

Willow knew she had to attack first. If she let the two Warrens put her on the defensive again with that wand and those super-strength gloves it was over...

She had found a weakness. She just needed one piece of information before she could exploit it...

“So what are you doing here?” the first Warren said.

“Figured Superbitch would show up here, thought I’d kill her,” the second Warren said.

“Wait, so are you me from my past or my future?” the first Warren said.

“Your future,” the second Warren said. “From my point of view, I killed Rebecca a few months ago.”

“Warren,” Willow said. “You talk too much.”

Willow’s eyes flashed. Thunder boomed through the sky...

“What...?” the second Warren said, and looked up at the sky, as Willow called a bolt of lightning down right on top of him.

He didn’t even have time to scream. The lightning reduced him to cinders in an instant, and he fell to the street, dead.

“You...you...killed him,” the first Warren said. “I mean...me. You just killed me. But you...you don’t kill people. You’re one of the good guys...”

“I didn’t kill you, Warren,” Willow said. “I’m looking right at you.” She smiled. “Right now, I’m watching you piss your Aquaman Underoos.”

“But...” the first Warren said, looking at the charred, blackened body of the second Warren...looking at himself, dead. The body was still smoking. Blood dripped from the nose and mouth, and its mouth was still open, as if it meant to finish talking. Its arms were held straight up, clawing the air, frozen; it made the body look like a store mannequin someone had knocked over. Its eyes were open wide, staring up at the sky, and they looked surprised.

Warren held the purple crystal very tight in his hand. Ethan was still watching Willow. Willow noticed that Ethan seemed slightly more invested in the events around him now...like he was watching a movie that had gotten to a particularly interesting scene.

“For the greatest criminal flame of our age you’re kinda slow, Warren,” Willow said. “He was you from a point in your future. So I could destroy him without affecting you. I didn’t really kill you, all I did was destroy one of your possible futures. Sorry Your Honor, no Illinois for you. The number of Warrens in the world is officially back down to one now, the way it should be. But y’know, I’m thinking that still might be one too many.”

Willow raised her hand, and a ball of white flame appeared in it. “Hmm. Guess I can’t have anyone around here finding your toys and screwing up the future,” Willow said, and turned and fired it at the other Warren’s body. The fireball streaked through the air like a meteor, instantly engulfing the entire body in flames upon contact. Within seconds it had burned the body down to a blackened skeleton; seconds after that, the skeleton had burned down to ash.

“Now take your glove and that stupid fucking belt off, and give me that crystal,” Willow said. “If you don’t I’ll do to you what I did to him. Except I’ll make it hurt more.”

“You’re bluffing,” Warren said. “You waited until you found out which of us came later in the time line before you killed one of us because that way you get to pretend you didn’t kill someone. That’s the difference between me and you. I do what I have to do. You get squeamish. You won’t kill me.”

Willow heard sirens coming. That would complicate things...

“Warren, use that genius brain,” she said. “Yeah, okay, I don’t want to kill people? But if I don’t stop you, everyone in the world dies anyway. If I have to kill you to save everyone else then that’s what I’ll do. I’m giving you a chance here, because I’d rather not kill you if I can avoid it? But it’s your last chance.”

“Stay back, bitch!” Warren shouted, as he backed away, holding his crystal in front of him. “You kill me and Ethan kills Rebecca!”

The sirens were coming closer. They’d arrive in seconds...Willow knew she needed to end this now.

“You’ll still be dead,” Willow said. “I’ve got this one spell? It’s called ‘Seven Hells’. I only ever used it once...on another guy who pissed me off. It kills you slowly, torturing you first in seven stages. It takes days for you to finally die. Days, Warren. It’s such a mean spell that I felt guilty for months after I used it. But, using it on you? Using it on the little fucking maggot who killed my friends? I’m not gonna feel guilty this time. I’m gonna have a big ol’ smile on my face watching you die by inches. I’m done talking to you. Do what I say or die.”

Willow’s eyes flashed. Warren heard thunder crackling through the sky...

“Fuck you!” Warren screamed, and raised his crystal again. A purple beam shot out of it, over Willow’s head and up into the sky...

Willow heard an explosion, and saw a flash of purple light to her right...

When she turned, she saw a portal opening in the sky. It was like something had punched a hole in the world, from somewhere else...

The portal expanded, leaping across the sky...

Willow turned back to Warren. He was crouching next to Heather now. He had his right hand back around her throat...

“What did you do?” Willow said. “What did you do?!”

“I just killed you,” Warren said. “And I wouldn’t try that lightning trick on me now...pretty sure you’d singe the little slut here. Besides, you’re gonna need to conserve your energy.” He smiled, and gestured to the sky...

Willow looked at the portal again. Some sort of creatures were dropping out of it now...they were huge, with sharp claws. Their heads had long, curled horns like rams. Their skin was mottled and brown, with hard bony protuberances at the shoulders and elbows. They landed like bombs dropping; their impact punched craters in the street.

“Fyarl demons,” Warren said. “And lots of ’em. Fyarls are just kinda like, constantly pissed off, you know? And, these guys? They’ve been sorta trapped in my crystal the last few years. I bet they really, really want to rip something in half right now. Like, for instance, you.”

The demons kept dropping from the portal. There were dozens of them now...they made no move to attack yet. But they were all looking right at Willow.

“Kind of a drag having to use this crystal now?” Warren said. “I was really hoping to use it for something special someday. But I guess killing you is special enough. Just so you know? There are sixty Fyarls. Once they all get here they’re gonna kill everything that moves.”

Willow watched him. He was still crouched next to Heather...he was still wearing his super-glove. He could kill Heather instantly with that glove. If Willow attacked him, the spell would hurt Heather too...

Warren kept Heather in front of him, using her as a shield.

When Willow turned back toward the demons, she saw the portal closing, as the last few dropped from it...

“Ethan,” Warren said. “Get her to the van.” Ethan dragged Rebecca to the van, holding the razor to her neck. He didn’t look at Willow. He had lost interest.

“WARREN!” Willow screamed.

The portal closed. Sixty demons stood glaring at Willow at the other end of the street with red eyes, and roaring; they had six-inch fangs.

They were like animals, Willow thought. They were like a pack of wolves that had spotted its prey...

“WARREN!” Willow screamed again, as Ethan tossed Rebecca into the van, and started it up.

“I’m gonna find your friends!” Warren shouted, as the van screeched away. “I don’t care about the future!” He pressed a button on his utility belt. A purple vortex suddenly exploded to life a few feet from him. He moved toward it, holding Heather in front of him, with his hand around her throat.

The demons advanced.

“All I care about is HURTING YOU, BITCH!” Warren screamed, and leaped into the portal, and disappeared as the portal closed behind him. Heather fell to the street, unconscious...

And the demons came straight at Willow. Some had seemed interested in the van for a few seconds, but the van peeled out of there at top speed and these demons were big and slow. They immediately narrowed their focus to Willow...

Willow thought tactically for the few seconds she had to devise a plan.

She could throw a barrier up in front of the Fyarls, grab Heather and try to run with her. But Heather was unconscious, which meant she would have to carry her. The Fyarls were strong, and if Willow put up a barrier as wide as it would need to be to block off the whole street in front of them, it wouldn’t be able to stand up to much punishment. Willow had never fought Fyarls before and she didn’t know much about them, but she’d heard of them and she knew they were incredibly strong. She knew sixty of them would hammer the barrier down in less than a minute. The Aston Martin was destroyed. She’d need a car to escape with Heather, and although she could hotwire another one, it would take time...

And even if it all somehow worked, and she was able to whisk Heather away, that would still leave the police with sixty Fyarl demons to deal with...and the police would be slaughtered. And the Fyarls wouldn’t stop with the police. They’d kill thousands of people, tens of thousands...there was no one in this time period who could deal with them. By the time the British military managed to hunt and kill the Fyarls, if they could manage it at all, half the countryside could be wiped out. Willow knew the current Slayer was a woman named Nikki Wood living in New York City, but even a Slayer wouldn’t survive this kind of fight...

This kind of fight needed a witch.

Willow ran away from Heather; the farther she was from Heather right now, the better off she knew Heather would be. She wished she could throw a barrier in front of Heather but she knew that was the wrong strategy; she knew she’d need all her strength for this fight. And if she lost, a barrier wouldn’t help Heather for long against the Fyarls anyway...

Willow’s hands filled with white flame.

She held her arms straight out in front of her, and twin fireballs streaked toward the Fyarls, burning so hot they ignited the air itself, leaving trails of flame that lingered. The fireballs hit the Fyarls like grenades and incinerated them; they died shrieking, burned down to skeletons in seconds. The fireballs took out three, but the rest simply roared and kept coming...they’d reach her in seconds.

Willow kept firing. There was no time for anything else; if she could run she might buy enough time to work a spell to confuse the Fyarls, but she couldn’t abandon Heather; the Fyarls would tear her to pieces. And that kind of spell might not even work on the Fyarls anyway...Willow had never fought a Fyarl demon before and she didn’t know anything about their capabilities...

All Willow could do was stand and fight.

Four more fireballs blazed through the air and exploded amongst the Fyarls. But Willow’s energy wasn’t infinite and it had already been sorely taxed maintaining the shield against Warren and then calling down that lightning bolt... another six Fyarls burned to death, their shrieks lingering on the night air.

But they were still coming. She needed to slow them down, scare them...

With her next volley Willow targeted the cars parked to either side of the horde. She aimed for their gas tanks and the cars went up in deafening explosions that took at least another eight Fyarls with them.

The Fyarls slowed down, they were more cautious now, but they kept coming. They were like animals, Willow knew...when she touched their minds she found they had only a rudimentary, predatory intelligence; they acted on instinct. They weren’t smart enough to be afraid, they didn’t care how many of their number were killed...

There were still more than forty left...

Willow heard sirens behind her. She whirled around...

The police had arrived. Four cars screeched to a stop a block away and police leaped out, brandishing clubs. Police in England were only allowed to carry guns under special circumstances. Not that guns would have made even the slightest bit of difference against what they were faced with now...

“Get out of here!” Willow screamed. “Go! Run! PLEASE!”

“Christ almighty,” she heard one of the officers mutter, as the demons roared, and kept coming...

Willow knew if she tried to shield herself again she’d be dead; she couldn’t cast offensive spells through the shield, but the Fyarls could pound away at her shield until it dropped.

The Fyarls spread out now, to make themselves harder targets. They surrounded Willow, roaring...

“What...do we do....?” Willow heard another one of the officers say.

One of the Fyarls picked up a burning car and threw it at Willow like a football. “Holy SHIT!” Willow heard another one of the police officers scream, as she raised her shield just in time; the car collided with the shield like a missile. The shield exploded in blue sparks, but Willow felt the heat through it, and a lot of the impact too; it sent her flying. She hit the ground, tumbling inside her shield.

When she got back up, the demons were on her; if she dropped the shield now they’d tear her to pieces...

But if she kept the shield up, she’d have no way to fight them...

The Fyarls attacked the shield, hammering it with blows that could punch holes in concrete and slashing it with claws that could eviscerate a man...Willow fell to the ground again and screamed, as the psychic feedback crashed against her; it felt like a building had collapsed on top of her. It was crushing her...the shield crackled and flashed a blinding blue as it began to buckle...

“I’m sorry, Becca,” Willow whispered, and started to cry...

And then she heard an explosion. It was deafening. She screamed again...

When she looked up, she saw black storm clouds sailing across the sky.

She realized the explosion she’d heard was thunder. It boomed now, it roared, it pounded at her...she screamed again, and covered her ears...

The Fyarls stopped attacking the shield, and looked up.

Lightning cleaved the sky. The sky seemed to convulse, and lit up like a sunburst, as bolt after bolt of lightning tore through it now like white claws...

The wind grew cold and gained power, blowing like a gale now, and it started to rain; the rain came flooding down in icy sheets like a dam had burst somewhere in the sky...

The Fyarl demons forgot Willow completely. They ran away from the shield, sniffing the air and growling, and took up positions farther down the street.

And then no one moved. No one breathed.

Willow watched the sky.

And it seemed to her that the whole world stood still, and waited...

A voice came out of the sky. It was a voice like thunder.

“I know not whence you came, demons, or what black wizardry allowed you to enter this world,” the voice said...

And a man descended through the clouds, borne upon the wind.

“I know only that thou hast dared to attack one who is under my protection,” he said.

He was seven feet tall, and beautiful, with long blonde hair that flowed like gold and gray eyes the color of stormclouds. He looked like a man, but the powerful muscles in his arms and legs, his chest and shoulders, didn’t seem human in proportion. He wore Viking armor, consisting of elbow and knee-length chain-mail over thick leather, and a long, luxurious white fur-trimmed cape fastened at his shoulder with a silver brooch in the shape of a star. His golden hair was crowned with an iron helm: it was a rounded cap with a nose guard, a spike at the top and two majestic eagle feathers at the sides.

He carried a massive war hammer, holding it above his head as he descended through the air: as he held it aloft, lightning crackled about it.

Willow knew that hammer was called Mjolnir. She knew it weighed a quarter ton. The man hefted it with ease; it might as well have been a tennis racket.

Willow smiled, and dropped her shield, and stood up.

“And that is folly,” the man growled, as he glided down to the street next to her, riding the wind. “It is folly beyond compare!”

Lightning flashed across the sky, as if in response to him. Thunder roared. The rain had already drenched Willow from head to toe, and now the wind threatened to snatch her up and blow her away, like a leaf in a tornado.

The beautiful golden-haired man raised his hammer again, and glared at the demons like they were nails he intended to pound into a coffin.

“And for that folly, thou pit-born rabble, the son of Odin shall smite thee into dust!” he bellowed. “For that folly, thou shalt answer to THOR!”

His voice burst through the air like a cannon. Willow winced, and covered her ears again. The Fyarl demons shrieked.

“GET THEE BACK TO HEL!” the God of Thunder shouted, and hurled his hammer...