Fiction- FaGC08- Gathering Storm02

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: Gathering Storm- Part 2

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. I also do not own the rights to Angel the Series. They belong to Whedon/ Greenwalt. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. For this chapter, this includes X-men and Charmed. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth “The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter Eight

Gathering Storm- Part Two

Charles Xavier took advantage of the early morning hours, before the majority of students of his privately funded prep school rose for the day. Of course, he mused, only the teachers, students and a small, very small percentage of the parents of the students knew that Xavier's Institute was in reality, partly just a safe house for mutants. Not just teens, but children and adults as well.

That was why it was amusing to him, to go through his mail, separating the piles as he did. Bills, those were of utmost importance. They could soldier on, but there were basic needs that all humans must have met. Running water among them. He set those aside to see about setting up an automatic payment system with them. He wasn't sure that he trusted the idea, as he had learned that once a little information gets out, a leak was created. He must be careful what was tapped and where.

Next was the junk mail. He had become adept at picking it out. There was generally a lot of requests for donations and while most considered it junk mail, Charles didn't always. There were some worthy causes out there. So he didn't automatically put everything into the trash bin. He would go through them last.

Next was correspondence. Meaning anyone's correspondence that wasn't picked through and sorted already. Sometimes in their haste, whomever retrieved the mail would miss a letter for someone else. They had an easy system of mail cubbies for staff and the student populace. But every once in a while, one of the teachers, usually Jean, Scott or Ororo would spot a letter that might be better in the long run to be handed off in private. Those went into another pile, along with a pile of his own correspondence. Letters exchanged with other scientists, parental concerns and lastly, his own bane. Letters of application to his school.

Sometimes they were written by students, sometimes by teachers that believed they had an exceptional child that needed a place in his school before they fell by the wayside of an overburdened public education system. Some few were from parents themselves that didn't and couldn't yet be in the know of the exact standard of admission to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youth.

The letters from students, parents and teachers that were simply applying were easy to answer. They had created over the years a form letter that explained that despite the good grades, extracurricular activities, whatever was stressed in the transcripts, that they were not taking applications at that time and when they did, the applicant would receive due consideration. If one of those letters did come in when Charles was routinely scanning for new mutants emerging, he gave it attention as he did everyone else. But using Cerebro, the machine that he had developed with his former partner, Erik Lensherr to enhance his telepathic abilities, it was easy enough to see which children were mutants and which were not.

The letters from irate parents that wanted the stamp of superiority for themselves and their children were different. While not writing a response to be snide, each case had to be handled carefully so as not to create a backlash against the school.

The ones from desperate teachers though... They were the ones that broke his heart. And the ones that he worked to find places in other programs. He always wished that he could take them, help those lost and broken children find a good place in the world. But as he had learned long ago, you couldn't save everyone. He was just glad that his family fortune was such, so well invested, that he could use money to aid where he could.

That was why, when he finally cleared his desk, but for his personal correspondence, he gave interested attention to an invitation from a group that invited him to a fund raiser to create a school for specifically, gifted young women. Not too much detail was given about the school they were building and Charles was better than most people at reading between the lines. He would be even better when he met with someone. But just the invitation at this point was enough to pique his interest.

It seemed, that a little research might be in order he decided as he read over the invitation for himself and a guest, again. And a mental to note to check with Ororo Munro, once she had risen, if she would be free to accompany him. He smiled at the thought. Jean and Scott regularly had date nights, but Ororo had fallen into the trap of remaining behind with the children to watch over them. He was very, very sure that Scott and Jean would not begrudge her the chance to dress up and enjoy an evening out. Even if it was just a charity fund raiser with her ostensible employer and mentor.

Resolved, he slid the invitation back into the envelope and rested it against his pen carousel above the blotter on his desk. The minds of the children were starting to filter through his own bubble of quiet and he knew that another day had begun. Smiling as he maneuvered his wheelchair back from the desk, it felt like it was going to be a good one. Like hope and happiness was lingering in the air.

FaGC~FaGC

“Mail,” Paige Matthews called as she entered the family owned manor house. She had been out and about already that morning, down to Chinatown in their hometown of San Francisco. While it was all well and good to talk about protecting her half sister Piper's new son Wyatt, from demons that wanted to turn him evil in the future, things also needed to be done. As she had since the baby was born, she had been researching spells for protection, to reveal the waiting threat, anything she could think of to help keep her nephew safe.

She found her siblings, Piper, the eldest now since Prudence had passed on before they had discovered Paige, and the now middle child Phoebe, in the kitchen. Wyatt was in his portable carrier on the table. Phoebe was already sipping at a steaming cup of what was most likely coffee, as Piper finished wiping her hands. It was evident from the strainer beside the sink that she had been doing the breakfast dishes.

“Where've you been?” Piper demanded gently, her eyes on Paige, making it obvious that she was asking her and not Phoebe, whose eyes followed her siblings, her eyebrows lifting to mimic the question.

“Down at Lee's market,” Paige answered easily as she set the bundle of envelopes on the counter and removed her light coat. The winds off the bay that morning had made it chilly and while she could always orb home to retrieve one if needed, it was also an unnecessary risk should someone see. So it was just better to leave the house prepared. She glanced up from laying the coat over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “I heard about a spell that makes a hex type of bag that wards off evil. You put them in the foundation of the house in the four directions. But some of the components were ones I hadn't heard about and they weren't in the book.” Both her sister's nodded, understanding immediately that she was referencing the Book of Shadows, the book in which their family line, the witches of them at least, kept their lore, spell work and information about demons they had fought, come across or heard about.

“Would that work with the nexus in the basement?” Phoebe wondered. The Halliwell manor had been built on a spiritual nexus, a central point of energy. While neither good or evil by itself, it lent power to those nearby it and since the Halliwell witches were for the most part and most of the time, good, their home had become their power base. They were stronger there than anywhere else. Just as they were stronger together, the prophesied Power of Three, rather than just your ordinary, run of the mill witch. Paige shrugged. She was of the opinion that you wouldn't know until you tried. But convincing her sisters could take some effort.

Piper, now with a mug of something in her hands, moved to take a seat at the table, checking on her sleeping son as she sat. “We can discuss that upstairs,” she murmured. “Anything interesting in the mail, other than bills?”

“Yeah,” Paige nodded as she turned to dig out the large square, white envelope. There was golden ink on the front and it had caught her attention immediately upon removing it from the mailbox. “This was addressed to the Halliwell's, not a single one of us.” As the eldest, she figured it was Piper's prerogative to open it. She handed it to her sister before moving to the cupboard that held the selection of herbal teas that she liked.

“Huh,” Piper grunted as she took the envelope. “We know anyone in Cleveland?” The other two were quiet for a moment.

“No one I can think of,” Phoebe shrugged. She glanced at her watch and then rested both her elbows on the table to rest her chin between both hands. “Who is it from?”

“The Summers School for Gifted Young Women,” Piper read. “Wonder what that is.”

“I did too,” Paige added, her back to them as she turned the kettle on at the stove. “So open it up already.”

Piper rolled her eyes, long used to her sister's impatience. She worked to open the envelope, finding what looked like an invitation in the golden interior of the envelope that matched the ink on the outside. She slid a single card out and then scoffed slightly. “Looks like all three of us are invited to a fund raiser for this school.”

“We are?” Phoebe asked. That was nothing unusual for her, really. As an advice columnist for the Bay Mirror newspaper, she was used to having to make public appearances at things like this.

“Yep,” Piper nodded. “Each of us by name, are invited to attend a charity benefit to open this school. But it's in Ohio. Why would they send this to us?”

“You think it might be something weird going on here?” Paige wondered, turning to stare at her sister's. “Does it say anything about accepting donations in lieu of attendance?”

“Yeah, right here,” Piper nodded, pointing towards the bottom of the invitation.

“Here,” Phoebe murmured, holding her hand out. “Let me see.”

Piper handed it over without any qualms. Once in her life, when she was younger and they were just siblings, she wouldn't have just given up a pretty invitation like that. But Phoebe, having develop the power of premonitions, among other things, could sometimes call a vision of the future to herself when holding an item that had to do with that event.

And it was such now, as the very second her fingers closed over the heavy paper, Phoebe gasped, vaulted mentally into the future. Her sister's, though anxious now, were used to this and waited until their sister's breathing eased and she opened her eyes once more.

“What'd ya see?” Piper wondered, her tone dull. This was not the panic inducing moment it had been in the early years of learning their craft. But her eyes, straying to her slumbering child, betrayed her worries these days.

“A demon,” Phoebe answered shakily. “But not like one I've ever seen before.” She shook her head before staring at the invitation in her hands. “Have you guys ever heard of green skinned demons?”

“Uh, the Wizard of Oz?” Paige offered facetiously and Phoebe frowned at her.

“That was the wicked witch,” Phoebe argued. “And perhaps she was misunderstood. The novel wasn't about witches good or evil per se-!”

“Nuh!” Piper protested before her sisters could get into an argument about the perception of reviled witch figures in media today, because she knew that that was exactly where that conversation was heading. Her hand was up and she quickly checked to make sure that her son hadn't woken to the sharp tone she used, but Wyatt, seemingly oblivious, slumbered on. She lowered her hand to adjust his blanket and then turned to Phoebe. “A green skinned demon?”

“With like little, red horns,” Phoebe nodded, her fingers wiggling over her forehead beofre dropping again. “No fashion sense. But yeah.”

“What was it doing?” Paige wondered, taking a seat at the table. It would be a few minutes before the kettle had heated her water.

“It was in a huge room, lots of people,” Phoebe tried to recall as she leaned on the table once more, now rubbing her fingers over her forehead as she stared at the invitation. “Looked like an auction. A slave auction.”

“Well that's what the fund raiser might be,” Piper pointed out, still doubtful that things were on the level, especially given her sister's vision. “But why would a demon be involved?”

“Maybe the school they're opening is a magic school for the Midwest,” Paige shrugged. “Who better to ask for help getting it going than other witches?”

“Maybe,” Piper nodded slowly. “But what if it's a ruse. Bring all these witches together and then auction them off to the demons that want to kill them?”

“We'd raise a good sum,” Phoebe smirked and then smiled sympathetically at her elder sister. “Call Leo?” she asked. It was a good bet that that would be the next step in the process. “I'll check the book and see if I can find the demon. Pretty distinctive looking one, so it shouldn't be hard.”

“I'll come with you,” Paige decided. “I still need to look up those herbs and ingredients.”

“Well, at least we have some time on this one,” Piper sighed, reaching for the invitation once more. “Did'ja see the date?”

“Yep,” Phoebe popped the 'p' as she rose. “Early warning system just might have been early enough this time,” she commented as she tapped at her temple. She reached for her coffee cup and took it over to the sink while Paige rose as well. They heard a noise then from another room and all three tensed.

“Piper?” a familiar voice called out and the three relaxed only marginally.

“We're in the kitchen,” Piper called back as their new, though not appreciated yet Whitelighter strode through the house to find them. “What'd you need Chris?” she asked of the young looking man. Who knew how old he really was. As help went, he was very tight lipped about himself. And very goal oriented in protecting Wyatt. Or at least so he said. Much different than their first Whitelighter, now Piper's husband and Wyatt's father.

“Just checking in with you,” he offered and they could all hear the defensive tone in his voice. The three sister's exchanged loaded glances and the younger two could see on Piper's face that she didn't want to mention the invitation just yet. As much as they knew about Chris, they knew he'd want to deal with this immediately and not wait.

But even as they decided this silently, the swirling lights that indicated incoming Whitelighter began gathering in the kitchen and this one felt familiar enough that none tensed, though Wyatt did start to waken. When Leo coalesced, it was to immediately move to his son to check on him before turning to pin Chris with a hard glare.

“Leo,” Piper smiled widely as Phoebe and Paige exchanged amused glances. “Glad you're here. I was about to call you.”

“You were?” her husband asked, the frown not leaving his face. “What's happened?”

“Nothing yet,” Phoebe interjected, pushing off from the counter and lifting up the invitation and offering it to her brother in law. “But we got this in the mail today.” She didn't say anything else as Chris moved closer to get a look at the invitation and Leo just as automatically turned to shield what he was looking at. The mistrust between the two was so evident that one could almost smell the testosterone pervading the air like a living being.

“The Summers...” Leo began, obviously reading. He tilted his head slightly as he glanced back up at his wife. “That sounds familiar.”

“Oh, so it is real,” Piper exclaimed.

“Well we knew it was real,” Paige snorted. “Phoebe had a vision about it.”

“But why are they sending you girls an invitation?” Leo wondered, even as Chris rounded on Phoebe.

“What vision?” he demanded as Phoebe rolled her eyes. Leo turned as well, but his face was gentler, expectant, knowing that she would convey the vision without pressure.

“You said it sounded familiar,” Phoebe prompted of Leo and then turned to the younger Whitelighter. “And a demon was there, at the fund raiser, I think.”

“We were wondering if maybe they were trying to open a magic school there,” Paige offered. Chris though, was shaking his head.

“The Summers school I'm thinking of,” Chris explained, “is based out of Rome, Italy. Not a school for witches, per se. They work with a coven out of Devon.”

“Really?” Leo demanded, his voice hardening again. “Maybe they're branching out. I seem to remember there was something about the Summers here in the United States.” He sighed and laid the invitation on the counter. “Do you have an id on the demon yet?”

“We were just about to go check the book,” Phoebe explained. “But it was a green skinned demon, red horns. Sound familiar?”

“No,” Chris shook his head. “We should get to work on this. It might be the evil that turns Wyatt-!”

“Hold on!” Leo barked, interrupting the younger man. “Before you go racing off, maybe you should learn to listen and think,” he castigated, which of course, caused Chris to appear even more mulish. Leo shook his head slightly before turning back to his precognitive sister in law. “This demon, he had green skin, red little horns on his forehead. A hook kind of nose and dressed really flashy?” He lifted his hands to indicate where the horns would be located and Phoebe, her eyes wide, nodded rapidly.

“You know him?” Piper wondered even as Phoebe opened her mouth.

“I never said it was a him,” she chuckled. “What kind of demon is that?”

“Sounds like Lorne,” Leo nodded, looking a little smug as he glanced at Chris. “And he's not a demon really,” he winced and then moved to take a seat by Wyatt. He gave his finger to his son as the boy, now fully awake, cooed up at him.

“What do you mean, not a demon?” Paige wondered.

“Well, not a demon as you would know it,” Leo offered. “He didn't originate on this planet.”

“So he's an alien demon,” Chris scoffed, shaking his head.

“Yes,” Leo grinned. “In a manner of speaking. Lorne is Pylean I believe. Nasty world. They made any humans that ended up there into slaves.”

“And now he's trying to keep up the tradition here!” Chris exclaimed, his brows furrowing as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And he's trying to trap the sister's to harvest their powers or sell them to the highest bidder. Or what if he's after Wyatt? Did you think of-!”

“Chris!” several voices joined together to silence the young man. He might be a Whitelighter, but the sister's had known and trusted Leo for so much longer. The elder Whitelighter turned slightly in his seat.

“Lorne escaped his world,” he explained further. “The, I guess you could call it power, of his people enables him to sort of see the future here. He's empathic to a degree. He actually ran a very successful karaoke bar until recently. One of the rules was no violence ever. He had the bar spelled to prevent it. Lorne is a pacifist, for the most part.”

“So why would he be at this fund raiser?” Piper wondered. She glanced at Chris, his worries her worries as well, even if she wasn't about to blurt them all out. Her son's safety was foremost as always, in her mind. “Is it possible that someone might be using him?”

“How about I track him down and find out?” Leo offered, more than happy to do something positive.

“That would be great!” Piper agreed brightly and waved her hand. “Okay, go now! Alleviate a mother's worry. Go, go!”

Leo chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss to Wyatt's forehead. “Daddy will be right back little man.” Wyatt seemed to wave, causing another chuckle and then Leo disappeared in a swirl of blue white lights. Chris stared at the empty spot for a moment and then turned to the sisters.

“You should investigate it like you would any other vision,” he told them before he began to Orb out as well.

“Wait, Chris!” Phoebe protested, but the young man didn't listen and the exasperated sister's turned to one another.

“One track mind,” Paige sighed as her sister's nodded. “Well,” she nodded as well, “still need to check on those ingredients. And maybe we could add this Lorne to the book. Seems like it would be nice to have a good guy in there that we could depend on.”

“If it turns out that we can, we'll think about it,” Piper agreed before turning to pick up her suddenly fussy child. Their immediate course of action decided, the sister's turned away to continue their days, not entirely secure in the knowledge that everything was okay. But at least knowing they were doing something to make it that way.

Chapter Nine- Gathering Storm03