Disclaimer:

This story is Tenhawks, I own nothing. I managed to find a copy of this story on wayback machine of his personal website (fanfiction tenhawkpresents com), which is dead now, and decided to post it here, because I like it, and I don't want it to disappear. If Tenhawk doesn't like that I reposted his story, he should contact me and I will take it down. If anyone has a copy of this story that has more chapters, please contact me, I would like to read them.

Authors Notes:

SCAU stands for Shadow Council Alternate Universe. It is NOT a Canon future for SC but it does contain some spoilers for what is to come in that story. I keep these as low key as possible, mostly hinting at them, but if you are severely spoiler averse you may want to steer clear.

It's darker than the Prelude portion of Shadow Council, so don't expect children playing or a goofy atmosphere. Xander is older and has been a soldier in two wars, lost friends, and generally doesn't have much of his childhood left anyway.

That said, I don't write angst fics, so there will be humor and adventure. Just don't be surprised to see cursing, sexual conduct, and moral choices you may not agree with.

Story:


The portal opened up in the middle of nowhere, almost precisely the middle some might say, and just pulsed there for a moment before spitting out a single thing and vanishing whence it came. The item in question hit the sand below with a grunt and rolled to a painful stop several meters away. It lay motionless for a long moment, then groaned and rolled over to its back, revealing a young man entirely stripped of his clothing.

"Oh that sucked." Xander Harris groaned as he again rolled over and got to his knees. "Anyone get the plate numbers of the lorry that nailed me?"

There was no response, of course, since he was the only person as far as the eye could see. He straightened up and looked around, blinking a few times both in surprise and in response to the bright sunlight.

"Ookay." He muttered, "And I ain't in Kansas anymore."

He automatically reached for his hip, only for his fingers to close on nothing but air, then looked down and yelped.

"Bloody hell! Where are my freaking clothes?" He jumped, cupping his genitals for a moment as he danced around, looking to see if there was anyone watching. When he realized that he was, indeed, alone he was both relieved and worried. He checked himself carefully for a moment before realizing the full extent of the situation.

"No clothes, no wands…" He muttered, "Spell phone is gone, even my Carbon Tribals and my Tats are gone. What the fucking hell happened?"

The last thing he remembered was popping back to Sunnydale to give Buff a hand with an end of the world deal. An ex Goddess bitch named Glorificus, she was a crazy bint but her power level put her outside the Slayer's league, even if just barely.

"Oh shit!" Xander grumbled, "Those fucking portals."

He kicked the sand and sighed.

It just figured, really it did. All that insanity on the tower, he'd taken a dive to knock Dawn back onto the tower…

"Well crap, I must have missed my jump and got sucked into one of those damn portals." He sighed, looking around as his mind tried to completely work out the situation.

"Ok, it's a desert, but doesn't feel like the hellmouth. Let's hope that means it's not hell," He muttered, "Nothing in sight in any direction. Vegetation, though… Definitely not the Sahara. Looks like Nevada maybe."

He looked up at the sun, blinking as he recognized it as about noon hour.

"I'm going to fry like a slab of bacon out here if I don't do something," He muttered, "and without my wands I'm pretty much fucked."

He felt even more naked than naked, if that was possible. As a rule he didn't walk around with less than a half dozen wands on his person at all times, well wands and focus cores at least. Without a wand he was almost as helpless as an average human, to be honest. His wandless skills were limited to Legilimency and Apparition, along with some minor body magic, not counting the ritual magic he knew which didn't count just then since so very little of it could be done without a partner.

"Well this just sucks." He shook his head, noting the shadows as he looked around for some shade. "This is when I wish I were Harry. That power freak would just conjure some robes with cooling charms, then apparate blind right back home."

Unfortunately for Xander he couldn't apparate somewhere he couldn't see unless he knew where he was to begin with, at least to some general degree. He pushed his complaints aside, however, and started trekking for a stand of rocks in the distance. He needed shade, and in a hurry, before his skin looked like boiled lobster.

He tucked down into the shade of the rocks when he got to them, and closed his eyes. Two wars, years of running with Harry, Buffy, Lara, and every other chosen one on the planet it seemed, had taught him to sleep when he could while in the middle of the weird. He might not get another chance in the near future.

When the sun went down Xander woke up from his midday nap, only mildly toasted by the desert sun. He climbed up onto the rocky outcropping and watched as the night darkened, and a glow slowly appeared on the horizon.

"Cool. Now I have a direction to head."


Nighttime point to point apparition was tricky, but while his natural talents couldn't hope to match up with Harry's, Xander worked hard to ensure that his skills did. He hopped in twenty kilometer increments until he came to a stop perched on a sand hill that overlooked a neon sign that read 'Welcome to Las Vegas'.

"Vegas, huh?" Xander mused, "Haven't been to Vegas since that long weekend with Wednesday."

He glanced up at the sky, "No alien Starfighters in sight this time at least."

Then he glanced down at himself, frowning, "Of course I wasn't starkers last time either."

That kinda decided things, He needed to get some clothing before anything else. He found a trailer park just outside the city limits and snagged a pair of pants and a guns 'n roses tee shirt from the line out back. Normally he wouldn't steal, you know not from normal folks anyway, but he really needed the clothes.

Xander's next stop was Gringotts Vegas, except he couldn't find it.

"Now I know that entrance was around here somewhere." He mumbled to himself, tapping the wall with his knuckles.

Without his gear, Xander's ability to sense magic was pretty limited but unless he was completely twisted around… there wasn't any.

"But that's impossible." He frowned. There had to be magic, it was a Gringotts entrance. The place HAD to be loaded with all kinds of security charms, repelling wards, identification runes… If none of that was here…

Xander turned around, completely befuddled.

If none of that was here, then neither was Gringotts.

He frowned, shaking his head, and went to a payphone and got the operator after a few flicks of the handle. "Yes, operator, I'd like to put in a collect call to Gomez Addams at Zero Zero One Cemetery…"

"What is this some kind of joke? Harass someone else, buddy, I'm not in the mood." The woman on the other side growled, cutting the connection.

Xander stared at the phone for a moment, confused. ' What the hell was that about? '

He had no luck making calls to any of the other people he thought might be able to help, leaving him wandering barefoot through Vegas in an ever deteriorating mood. He made it to the strip, still grumbling about telephone bitches, when a news stand caught his eye and he came to an abrupt stop.

Xander's eyes were locked on a copy of a newspaper, not local, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Unbidden he reached out and picked it up, staring at the picture on the cover of a man flying through the air.

"Superman saves Metropolis…" He muttered, disbelieving. "Byline… LOIS LANE AND CLARK KENT!?"

"Hey buddy, this look like a lending library to you?" The man behind the counter growled, grabbing the paper back.

"But…"

"You buying, or you planning on reading for free?"

Xander held up his hands in surrender and wandered off, head spinning.

He kept coming back to the portals, and where they were supposed to go. Only there were several of them, he recalled, orbiting the single main one. That had to be the key, though Xander wasn't sure he had any chance of figuring out how.

Impetuously he grabbed someone as he passed them on the street, scaring the crap out of them.

"Superman!" He growled in the man's face.

"W-what!? You got the wrong guy, pal!" The man blurted, shocked as Xander slammed him into the wall. "You're delusional man! I'm not superman!"

Xander ignored him, instead focusing on the surface thoughts the man ran through in those few seconds. He saw images of Superman on the TV, stories of his actions, but none of it came from a fictional source in the man's mind. This man believed Superman was real.

Xander let him go, stumbling away in shock. He pushed his way through the people around him, moving without direction. He kept moving until he was well away, then came to a halt, leaning against a wall.

It was impossible.

It HAD to be impossible.

He could accept dimensional travel, he was a Wizard after all, but this was too much.

A world with Superman? Did that mean Batman too? The rest? Was he in the DC universe? Could that actually be possible?

Xander knew from his own work that the universe had at least nine dimensions. The three physical ones, three temporal ones, and three celestial ones. Pure math indicated that there were at least two more, though Xander wasn't sure if that was because the dimensions existed or the mathematicians were working from faulty variables.

Still, even with only the first six dimensions there was plenty of room for all kinds of alternate realities. You could move side to side in time, see different worlds where the timeline was altered based on choices made. One world where you turned right, one where you turned left.

There was a limit, however. You couldn't shift right or left far enough to make the impossible possible. Even in infinity, if it wasn't possible, it just didn't happen.

Impossible. Like solar powered aliens flying around, or any of a million other examples from the DC comics. There were limits, laws of nature, that couldn't be broken.

They could be diverted, however, or entirely evaded in theory.

Move up or down in time, and you changed energy levels. And as any scientist, or serious magical researcher, could tell you… at high enough energy levels, the impossible just sort of faded away.

The thing is, Xander had never heard of anyone or anything that could do that. Changing energy states should have been fatal, his mind and body weren't designed to exist on any other level than the one he had been born into. Oh sure, a state change here or there was survivable, at least in theory. But all the way to the DC Universe?

The ambient energy alone in this place should have killed him a thousand times over by now.

Which was all a real fancy way of saying, he was lost and didn't have a damn clue of how to get home.

Xander Harris sighed. His life just kept getting weirder and weirder since Hogwarts.

He glanced up, eyes widening slightly as he read the marquis.

Zatanna Zatara Live in Person, Tonight Only.


' Well what the hell, when in Rome, right? ' He forced a wry grin and made his way into the Casino.

Zatanna Zatara loved her act, show business was in her blood and she didn't want it any other way. The rush she got while in front of a crowd was unmatched, even by the occasional side adventure with the Justice League.

' Although the Batman does bring a certain thrill to the one on one. ' She thought with a grin as she cheerfully played to the crowd.

She loved the feel of attention on her, her talents allowed her to bask in the emotional outpouring of her audience. The awe and pleasure broke over her like a wave, giving her a rush and a high unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

This time, however, there was a different emotion in the crowd.

It wasn't the first time that had happened, her connections with the Justice League was a loosely kept secret at best, and she had been tied to the Batman in the past, so she did attract her share of bad attention. So when the unusually focused blast of darker emotion hit her she didn't flinch, but instead went on with her act as she began to backtrack the source to determine if it was a threat.

The emotional energy was unusually powerful, it normally took an entire crowd for her to feel a surge remotely as powerful. That spoke of a metahuman to her, which made her a little nervous. She wasn't a hero, she just helped a few once in a while, and a flat our brawl in the middle of her act would totally ruin her reputation for months.

No Casino owner wanted an unscheduled fight in their casino. If there was going to be a fight, they wanted enough forewarning to properly market it.

With that wry and admittedly cynical thought in mind, Zatanna continued her act on autopilot as she focused more solidly on the source. The emotions were chaotic, but didn't seem dark. They felt more… confused.

She found the source about then and turned her act in that direction, smiling to the crowd as she made a dove appear from nowhere and bantered blandly. It was a young man, she noted, dressed in baggy sweat pants and a tee shirt, and bare foot of all things.

' How on earth did he get in dressed like that? ' She wondered as her eyes met his.

Instantly the emotional flash stopped, and she saw his eyes widen as he back away from her.

' He's not a meta. He's a mage. ' She blinked, throwing her act out as she chased after him. He was running, however, and she lost sight of him for a moment as he left the auditorium, then she heard a crack of a gunshot. When she emerged, there was no sign of him.

"Damn it Zatara! You're not being paid to run out on a show!"

Zatanna glared at the stage manager, eyes scouting around the casino again, but not finding any sign of her mystery guest she shoved the man aside and walked back into the auditorium and smiled brightly at the crowd.

"Sorry, everyone. I guess magic just spooks some people."


Xander thought to himself from his perch on the rooftop of the Casino he had just left in a hurry. ' Or that she would look really frighteningly like Drusilla? '

Getting into the show had been easy, the usher was bored out of his skull and couldn't care less who went in. It made nudging his mind easy, as it always was when you were trying to make a person do something they either wanted to do or didn't care either way about.

The show itself had been mildly entertaining, though Zatara hadn't been using magic for the most part. Just very impressive sleight of hand and plenty of stage acumen. For a moment there Xander had begun to relax, thinking that maybe he was in luck. The sheer geeky thrill of seeing ZATANNA ZATARA in person was pretty awesome, though. Part of him had this almost undeniable urge to jump up and down and clap wildly, thankfully that part of him was much smaller than it used to be… that and it lived in eternal fear of Wednesday Addams.

He'd been shocked, though, when his eyes met Zatannas and he could pick up on her surface thoughts, recognizing the feedback ping of another passive Legilimens instantly. Hers felt crude, though, untrained. She was a natural, but probably never had any teachers that could bring it out.

She probably considered it a mage sense, or perhaps empathy, he figured. Those were the most often used explanations for extremely strong instances of natural Legilimency. If it were weaker it would be the more nebulous 'second sight', but he was fairly certain her natural gifts where quite strong.

The fact that Zatanna was here, fishnets and all, however was a striking point about the dimension he found himself in.

' DC Megaverse, ' he thought. ' But which variation? '

That could be very important. If he was lucky it was similar to the Smallville iteration of the verse, just barely special enough to be considered 'super' and not all that different from his own world. Working out how to get back home without killing himself could be possible there.

If it was a full blown comic book dimension he was in trouble.

Xander sighed. ' Have to see if the Justice League exists. If they're actually in an orbital watchtower, I'm so screwed. '


Xander let his head thud into the wooden desk of the public library, where he had found articles on the orbiting watchtower, including a press tour and info packet.

It was plain to see that the verse he was in was NOT some washed out TV version like Smallville. He was dealing with a full blown superhuman Megaverse, and there was just no way in hell he was going to be able to shift back to his own anytime soon.

The energy state change would kill him.

Honestly, Xander wasn't certain why he wasn't dead from the first shift.

Over the years he'd spent a lot of time researching one oddball idea or another, and had learned a lot. He'd also spent a lot of time talking and just plain shooting the moon with some of the most creative and intelligent people he knew. Moving backwards and forwards in time was tough, but doable. He could probably rig up a time turner if he absolutely needed one, provided he could find the materials. Sideways in time? Easier, actually. With his gear, he could open a portal or two.

But not up and down through different energy states.

Not even with all his gear and resources from back home, and sure as hell not with a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt to his name. Stolen sweat pants and tee on top of it all.

He still couldn't believe his Carbon Tribals and Tats were gone! Those were practically part of his body! He hadn't even known they COULD be removed, not without the counterspell and medium container at least. Whatever force transported him through the energy states had literally stripped him of all foreign items and magic, which was some impressively precise magic, he thought as he looked at the back of his left hand.

' Not even any scarring from removing the tattoo. ' He thought sourly. It had taken him YEARS to figure out that damned Tat, and now he couldn't even remake it because he didn't have any of his STUFF.

His stomach growled.

Xander looked down, closing his eyes.

Great. Just freaking great.

Trust his gut to bring up the more immediate concern. As much as Xander hated to admit it, despite some schooling in non-magical areas, without his wands he was woefully unequipped to… you know, do anything. And without his bank accounts, putting food in his face was going to be a challenge.

' I could always blackmail Batman, ' He thought with a grin.

The librarian glared over at him, shushing loudly as Xander started to laugh.

"Sorry, sorry," He said, getting up. "Just had a suicidal impulse there. Thanks ma'am. I'll be heading out."

Joking aside, food was an issue, as was money in general. Without a wand his magic was really limited, and he didn't even know if there was any suitable core material on the planet, let alone how to find it if it was there. He wasn't a good match with his own hair, unfortunately, and since human cores tended to work best with a strong emotional link between donator and recipient he wasn't likely to find any that matched even if he could grab some hair from local magical types.

The idea of tiptoeing up behind Zatanna with a pair of clippers was funny as hell though.

' I wonder what Krytonian hair would do to a wand? ' Xander idly thought, curious as to which version of Supergirl, woman, or whatever was flying around this world. ' Probably be great for killing vampires now that I think of it. '

He put the thought aside for the moment, and focused on a more immediate concern.


Zatanna locked herself in her dressing room after the act, mind still on the mystery man who'd invaded her little sanctum away from home. She hated it when people messed with her act, it felt less personal the time some jerk had burglarized her house.

There hadn't been a peep from him since, though, so she was trying to figure out what he wanted. His emotions had been terribly jumbled up, confused and chaotic, like he had something really big on his mind that wouldn't let him think straight.

From experience she knew that a chaotic mind and a magical presence as naturally powerful as the one she had sensed was a recipe for trouble.

' He didn't seem so bad, though, ' She mused, thinking about his clothing and lack of footwear. ' Maybe a kid down on his luck? Doesn't even know what he is capable of? '

That happened a lot, she knew. Lots of young metas were in that boat, but it was a little less common with magical types. The community was small enough that most people knew blood when they saw it, and tended to watch out for their own.

That thought made up her mind, and she drew out her stage wand.

"Wohs em ot eht egam ni eht sesor n snug trihs."

The wand spun in her palm for a moment, then settled on a direction and pointed the way. She smiled slyly, surprised that had worked. Any basic protections would have shielded him from such a vague spell, which would seem to indicate that her thoughts on his origin just might be correct.

Certainly, if he had been any half trained mage intent on causing her harm he would be shielded a great deal more effectively than that.

She flipped on her top hat and left the room, heading for the street.


' It's a long way from home, ' Xander sighed, accepting the bowl of soup from the man behind the counter.

The soup kitchen wasn't much, but it seemed to keep people fed and Xander was hungry and not nearly desperate enough to resort to crime in a world of superheroes. He couldn't remember if there were any Vegas super types, but with his luck it would be a gritty nineties Batman rip-off who actually killed his targets.

No, he'd swallow his pride and the thin soup that he had been given, and would try and return the favor when he got his feet back under him again.

He was almost finished when a black man came over and smiled at him, "Hungry, son?"

"It's been a long twenty four hours." Xander said with a wry grin in return.

"You look it, if you don't mind my saying so. Are you ok?"

"I will be, I'm tough." Xander replied.

"I'm sure you are, but you don't have to be tough on your own." The man said, nodding to his feet. "What happened to your shoes?"

"I just lost everything I own," Xander said honestly, "had to borrow the shirt and pants, like I said it's been a long twenty four."

The man nodded, "I'm Sam."

"Xander."

"Well Xander, I think we probably have a pair of shoes in the back that'll fit, if you like?"

Xander eyed the man for a moment, but nodded as he felt no sign of dark thoughts. The guy just wanted to help.

"Thanks."

"It's no problem, I've been down a time or two. Just return the favor to someone else sometime."

"You've got it, Sam."


A soup kitchen.

Zatanna wasn't surprised, not given the neighborhood she found herself walking through. It seemed that her thoughts on the guy were fairly accurate, if he was in there. She was about to enter when a group of raggedy looking oafs broke from the shadows of the building and moved to form a semi-circle around her.

' Oh lord, just what I need. ' She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Gentlemen, I don't have time for this, and you don't have the stamina to keep up with me."

"I don't know, lady… I'm pretty fit," One man said with a leer, "And my buddies here work out lots too. I bet we could make you sweat real good."

"Ok, first… yuck, not in your wildest fantasies. And two," Zatanna lifted her hands, only to be grabbed from behind. "Hey! Let me go!"

She twisted loose, kicking the man in the shins.

"Aw, don't be like that. He just wanted a hug. How about you give us all hugs?" The leader leered at her.

' This is what I get for wearing fishnets to this part of town, ' She sighed in annoyance. With her luck this would end up on the news, and that would just be a circus.

"Hey, leave the lady alone fellows."

They all half turned to the new voice and one of the men growled, "Butt out Sam, this is none of your concern."

"Maybe not," Another voice replied, "but I'm making it mine."

Zatanna found herself staring at the man she'd been tracking, and was rather surprised to find that he was glaring furiously at the group of men that had accosted her. She was touched. Amused, of course, but touched.

' Guess he wasn't there to mess with my show. Oops, my bad. ' She thought wryly.


The leader of the gang of idiots glared at Xander, "You really think you can stop us?"

Xander rolled his eyes, "Stop you? Why would I bother? Have you really looked at who you're accosting?"

The man snorted, "Just some streetwalker."

A muffled shriek of fury caused Xander to pinch his nose. "Buddy, a word of advice… late though it may be… Meddle not in the affairs of Wizards, for we are sadists and quick to anger."

"Wha?"

"That's Zatanna Zatara behind you, dude, and she's getting ready to turn you into a toad for that last crack." Xander said, rolling his eyes, "Honestly are people around here really so stupid as to piss off an Ally of the Justice League?"

The men paled at the last two words, slowly turning back to the red faced woman who was glaring at their leader. As one they all backed slowly away from him. For his part, he was staring at the woman he'd insulted, his mind recognizing the position he was in and realizing that he wasn't getting out of it easily.

When she took an angry step toward him, he knew he had to act or he really WOULD be turned into a toad or worse, and he charged at her first.

There was a sudden crack, like a gunshot, and he felt nothing but pain erupt across his face. He hit the ground, thinking he'd been shot, and then everything went black.

Xander stood over the unconscious body, idly rubbing the back of his elbow where he'd slammed it into the man's nose. He half turned, glancing at the rest. "Boo."

They bolted, running in all directions as Xander rolled his eyes and turned back to Zatanna. "You still want to turn him into a toad?"

"I'll restrain my impulses." She replied dryly, glaring down at the man before glancing back at him. "Teleportation?"

"Apparition." Xander replied, shrugging. "I have some talents."

"I can see that."

"You… you're a meta?" Sam stuttered from behind them.

Xander turned around, smiling at the man who'd helped him. "No, not exactly. At least not technically. I'm a Wizard, magic use and all that."

"But… why did you come here?"

"I told you, I recently lost everything I owned. It's been a rough twenty four." Xander shrugged.

"But… you just teleported! You could get whatever you need… I mean…"

"I'm not that desperate, well not since I stole these clothes anyway." Xander replied with a wry grin.

The two people listening to him stared at him blankly.

"Hey, I told you. I lost EVERYTHING I owned. Everything. When I got to town, I swiped a tee-shirt and a pair of sweatpants." Xander replied, "Honestly I would rather be arrested for theft than indecent exposure. That would just be embarrassing."

Zatanna snickered and Sam snorted.

"I can see that." The black man said with a half-smile.

"I'm not exactly morally opposed to stealing, if it's from the right people," Xander shrugged, "but I'm not going rob honest blokes either. Still have a little bit too much pride for that, thank you."

"What happened to you anyway?" Zatanna asked, "When I sensed you in the Casino I thought perhaps you were there for me."

Xander shrugged, "Run in with a God from a dark pantheon. Got my arse kicked."

She snorted, "No kidding. What are you stupid?"

"Probably." Xander sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, sorry to spook you and all. I was just wandering around."

She nodded, glancing up at the soup kitchen. "Anyone who could even THINK of taking on a Dark God should be able to manage more than this, you realize."

"First, I didn't take her on." Xander corrected, "I just got caught in the crossfire. Second, remember that bit about losing *everything*? I don't have my spell focus, my augments, my armor, my blades… NOTHING. Right now I'm not much more dangerous than one of those Metas Sam over here is worried about."

"Seems plenty dangerous to me." Sam muttered, eyeing the two.

Xander snorted. "Right."

Zatanna raised an elegant eyebrow, but nodded in understanding. Without a focus many magic users were effectively crippled, it was one reason she had spent years training herself to use backwards incantations instead of a physical focus. It forced her to be completely intent on her spell, everything she had forced into a laser like beam.

She also understood his second comment. Most Metahumans were minor enhancements of normal human physiology, and barely qualified as 'enhanced' to a trained magic user. The versatility of magic was such that even moderately powerful magic users were very, very dangerous.

Luckily there were very few of them, and most of the really powerful ones preferred lives of solitude. Once you reached a certain level, you didn't really need or want anything you couldn't get with magic. Zatanna herself had little need for most physical things, she did her act because she loved it and in memory of her father. Most of the comforts of life were easy enough to come by magically.

"I see. Can I help you get home, perhaps?" She offered.

Xander snorted, shaking his head. "I wish, lady. No, I'm afraid I'm stuck for the time being."

"Why?" She asked, confused.

He debated what to say, then shrugged, "I'm from a lower energy state dimension."

Zatanna blinked.

She blinked again.

That wasn't POSSIBLE.

When she opened her mouth to object, however, he beat her to it and held up a hand.

"I know, I know. I can't figure out why I'm alive either." He said, shrugging, "God thing maybe. But if you recognize the term, then you know my predicament."

She nodded dumbly.

Dimensional travel was tricky, but doable. The thing was, you generally had to stay within the same energy state as the dimension you originated from. Popping to a different energy state resulted in something comparable to the Bends, a diving condition that resulted from changing pressure depths too quickly. Nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream caused intense agony and death unless you underwent decompression.

There was no theoretical method of decompression for changing energy states, however. It was considered uniformly fatal, particularly for those moving UP to higher states. There were some cases of beings that could travel down, however. Superman lived in constant terror of one, a Mr. Mxlptnik or something to that effect as she recalled. The man of steel's moans about dealing with that higher dimensional being were legend in the superhero community.

That said, even he could only come down on very strict schedules and had all sort of limitations on his stay.

So, basically…

"You're screwed." She said aloud, then winced.

"Yeah, I know." He replied glumly.

She sighed, "You know, it's not much, but if you like I could introduce you to some of the community."

Xander nodded slowly, "Yeah. Thanks."

"Come on, then." She smiled, "Follow me."

"Sure," Xander paused, then glanced back. "Hey Sam, thanks for the help man."

"Uh… sure… no problem." The man who ran the soup kitchen said, looking completely confused as they walked away. "Any time…"

"So..." Xander said as he walked alongside the magician, "Just out of curiosity… What were you thinking when you walked into this neighborhood dressed like that?"

Zatanna spared him a glare, "Shut it."

"Fair enough, sounds like excellent reasoning to me."

"I said shut it."


The local mystical community was something of a disappointment, Xander quickly found. He'd been expecting Diagon Alley, and instead got an old Manor House.

"This is it?"

"What were you expecting?" Zatanna asked.

"Something more than an old man and his butler."

"Please, don't piss off Kazma." She hissed. "He's more than he appears."

"I'm sure, but what I meant was numbers. Isn't there a town, or a neighborhood, or something?"

Zatanna looked at her guest, confused. "The mystical population isn't remotely that numerous."

He sighed, "It figures."

"It is where you come from?" The aforementioned Kazma interjected.

"Yeah, my world has a fairly strong magical presence."

"Unusual, for a lower state universe, is it not?"

Xander shrugged, "Maybe. I never looked into it. That said, the magical population is less than a percent of the planet… and there are no other super types."

"Ah…"

"So I'm guessing that there aren't any magical shopping districts?" Xander asked, hoping against hope.

The look they gave him answered that question.

"Great." He sighed, "Wandmakers?"

Zatanna shook her head, "Magical Foci are extremely rare."

"Of course they are. How about magical creatures? Say unicorns maybe?"

They shook their heads.

"Well crap." He muttered, shaking his own. "This just keeps getting better and better."

He slumped into the seat he'd been offered and brooded for a time.

"What are you going to do?" Zatanna asked finally.

"I wish I knew. I'm not exactly qualified for much," he sighed, then smirked, "And without my gear I can't even put on tights and prance around saving the world."

She smirked back at him, "Oh, too bad. You'd look SOO good in tights, too."

He laughed, but shook his head. "I'm a pretty good fighter, actually, but to be honest I burned out my super hero dreams a long time ago."

"So, are you qualified to do anything?" She asked hesitantly.

Xander shrugged, "Non-magically? Not really. Magically? I'm a wand crafter… but without core components, that's pretty much out. A spell crafter, but without a wand I can't cast any… and something of an inventor, but again… no wand, so I can't exactly charge any runes. I've got a ton of magic theory crammed in my skull, and I literally can't use any of it."

She winced, she'd hate to be in that position herself.

"I wish I could help but…"

"Yeah, I know." Xander shrugged, getting up. "I'll get by. Look, it's been fun and all but I've got… well, nothing really, but I want to be alone."

Zatanna and Kazma nodded in understanding as he turned and left.

"An interesting young man." The old man said.

"Strange though." Zatanna replied, "Did you sense he was lying?"

"No."

"Me neither."

"But?"

"But, he can teleport without incantation, and his mind magic is the strongest I've seen." She said, confused, "So why can't he cast without a focus?"


Xander was staring up at the night sky when Zatanna caught up to him again, stepping into place beside him.

"Messed up day then."

"You could say that."

"I know I've asked, but do you have any plans?"

Xander shook his head, "no."

"Look, it's not much, but here's a couple hundred bucks. It's what I have on me," She said, extending some money his way.

He hesitated, but after a moment accepted it, swallowing his pride. "Thanks."

"No problem, here take my card too." She said, passing him the piece of cardboard.

He took it, nodding. "Thanks again."

"Wish I could do more," She said, "I could call some folks if you like, there's some people I know who might have an idea on how to get you home."

"You know that's not true." Xander said with a smile, shaking his head. "Unless you've got a God on your speed dial, and even then it's not likely."

She knew he was right, but she didn't like to admit it.

"Call me anyway," She said, "I'll check around."

Xander nodded, "thanks."

He knew she was trying to help, even had a good idea who she was thinking of calling. The Bat, for one, but Dr. Fate would be the most likely. Unfortunately, while he was no Doc Fate, he was almost certain of what she would be told.

There was centuries of research on dimensional travel in the Magical World back home, with a large chunk of it dedicated to precisely the situation he was in. There were TONS of reasons to want to move up and down energy states, unlike simply shifting side to side, yet no one had managed it. If the likes of Merlin, Flamel, La Fay, even Voldemort himself, and the other geniuses of his world were unable to discover a method Xander doubted anyone here had either.

Particularly since they had less reason to, as a general rule. This universe was almost certainly rife with most of the sources of power those types were all looking for, for the majority of even those geniuses there was no reason to go looking upstream, and a lot of reasons not to.

No, he wasn't holding out hope of a quick fix.

He'd have to look for a way home himself, probably, but before he could do that he was going to have to figure out a way to get back on his feet so he could afford materials.

That, unfortunately, was going to be easier said than done.


He left Zatanna that night and didn't look back, her card remained in his pocket but he didn't fish it out in the days that followed.

He needed time to think, to try and work out what the hell to do.

The easy thing would be to walk into the Daily Planet, Wayne Manor, or some other secret place and just ask for help. The problem with that scenario was that Xander really didn't want to even BE on the radar of these people. Even the Bat himself couldn't keep a fricken secret, and if Xander's knowledge of this world slipped out…

He shuddered.

That just couldn't happen, and not for the sake of the world either. Xander was thinking of his own hide. It was a serious no win situation for him. If he didn't talk, any number of bad guys would make it their business to 'convince' him. If he did talk, he'd shoot right up there with Luthor as Super enemy number one. And Xander had no illusions about what happened to no name characters who knew too much.

Oh, the heroes wouldn't get him, but something would.

No, even HINTING that he knew more than just generalities about the world was a disaster waiting to happen. It would be a red shirt bonanza, with him wearing the freaking red shirt.

So, instead, he took a job under the table working bouncer duty at a crummy nightclub. The pay sucked, but he got to bunk above the club and eat at the admittedly scuzzy buffet. Finding the job wasn't tough, not with a little eye contact to find out what employers wanted, and a little push to make them think of him as being the one to fill the void.

It kept him fed and sheltered while he tried to locate components to make a wand.

Unfortunately he wasn't really compatible with his own hair, and human hair was a weak transformer of magical energy anyway. He had only matched fairly well with people he was close to, and there just wasn't anyone around to fit that picture anymore. He got some blank materials from a local fabricator, but couldn't find anything to fill the damn things with.

By the end of the week, Xander was so desperate he was starting to consider jewel theft as a possible option. The only problem was, he didn't know the first thing about gemstone foci.

He also wasn't ready to go the supervillain route just then either, so that was out for the moment.

It was that weekend he got into a brawl at his job, wading into a mini riot to clear the floor of the club, and caught the eye of one of the club's 'patrons'. The guy was as sleazy as they got, but he offered Xander serious money, cash, for something he was good at.

Fighting.

It started simple, just some nights he got a call on a disposable cell phone and told when and where. He'd show up, fight, win, and get paid. None of the local low lives were a match for him, not after two wars and countless hours training. Xander didn't kid himself, he was no Batman, but he was probably as close as his home universe ever got. He was among a very select few Wizards to train to the physical extremes he pushed, with only Harry really in the same league physically out of his generation. He knew some Squibs in the same range or better, but not many, and no one else came close.

You needed an internal magic core to really max out your training the way Xander had, so non magical people didn't stand a chance. Squibs could do it, and a lot did, so they were where Xander got most of his advanced training. Harry was close, but he had focused mostly on evasion, preferring to do his fighting with a wand while Xander honestly didn't care how the other guy went down as long as he did go down.

That Halloween night had left an impression as well, so Xander knew he could say without delusions that he was in highest class of physical development his world had. One of his trainers had offered to sponsor him for a spot on the American Olympic Teams, but he'd been too focused on revenge at the time to care.

So he didn't even need his Legilimency most of the time, and when he was moved up to steel cage matches it got even easier. Not too many people were expecting to deal with a guy who would run up the side of the cage and catapult off right in their faces.

Parkour, combined with LINES combat techniques made for broken bones and unconscious opponents.

Most of the time.

In his second month of fighting Xander had been matched up with one of the 'regional' champs, some guy from a little ways North who'd never lost a bout. Things had started off predictably, mostly just testing each other out as they warmed up.

The guy was good, no doubt. About six foot two, two hundred and sixty pounds easy. Wasn't all muscle, but the guy wasn't a blob either, and he took a punch like a slab of beef. Xander, at twenty years old nearly matched his opponents size and weight, so the start of the fight was pretty evenly matched as they tested each other's defenses.

The guy jabbed, and Xander went under it, coming up with a rising punch that dug into his opponent's sternum. The guys doubled over, but recovered fast, throwing a haymaker that actually whistled through the air. Xander threw up his shoulder, catching the blow there, and was tossed to one side.

The man was on him in a flash, surprising Xander such that a punch got through his cover and rang his bell pretty well. At that point Xander stopped dancing with the guy, since he'd bet money on himself to win he didn't intend to lose.

He went under the next punch, coming up with a reverse combo that pushed the guy back a step, then locked eyes briefly. He went over the kick the shins he saw coming in the man's mind's eye, then under the jab, and sent a straight jab of his own into the man's nose. The bone crunched under his knuckles and the man's eyes widened in shock, causing Xander to link in again.

He saw memories flash of the last time someone broke the guy's nose. His own daughter, standing over the bloodied mess that was her mother, holding a cast iron frying pan. Xander felt the fury rise in the man as he ripped the pan from her hand and belted the girl to the ground. While she was on the ground the guy had decided that if she wanted to stand up to him like a grown up, she could entertain him as one as well.

Those images, and more from the next few hours of the man's life flashed across the man's mind and into Xander's, ending with an image of the daughter, locked in her room, waiting for the man to come home after the fight.

Xander exploded, gliding in through the man's defense like it was nothing but air, and he delivered three hammer blows that blew the wind from the man. As he bent over, Xander had a brief moment of consideration, then he simple grabbed the man's head in both hands and twisted his whole body.

The crack was audible above the roar of the crowd, but Xander ignored both. He simply let the man drop, his back turned on the body as it hit the ground. There was quiet for a moment, and then the roar rocked the old warehouse. Most of them just thought the fight was over by KO, but Xander could feel the emotions of those who recognized the end for what it was as well.

He didn't care.

In five years of fighting, Xander had developed intolerance for evil that had been known to give Wednesday chills. He walked away as the door of the cage opened, taking a towel to wipe himself down as he accepted his money and kept walking.

He was leaning on the wall outside, twenty minutes later when the fight organizer caught up with him.

"Kid, beautiful fight. Too bad about the poor schmuck, though."

"Yeah. Tragic." Xander replied, "What are you going to do with the body?"

"Leave it in a bad part of town, it'll look like a robbery."

Xander nodded.

"Anyway, look kid, you're too good for these bums." The organizer said, "If you want, you could make some real money back east."

"How much?"

"Twenty, thirty grand a fight if you win. More if you bet on yourself like you've been doing." He was told, "One thing, though… won't be easy, kid. These guys are all extra tough, lots of freaks in the bunch too. It's called Metabrawl."

Xander nodded, "Fine. Set it up."

"You got it kid, I'll call you with the details."

Xander just pushed off the wall and started walking.


The woman almost screamed when she turned around and the figure was standing there in the shadows.

"I… I don't have any money… and my husband will be back soon…" She said, backing away in terror.

"No. He won't." The shadow said, tossing something at her.

She caught it on reflex and stared in shock at the wad of cash she was holding.

"There's about twelve grand there. He's not coming back," The shadow said, "Get help for yourself and your daughter. She deserves better than what she got."

She stared as the shadow turned and walked away.

"W… wait! What do you mean, he's not coming back?"

The shadow turned back, "What do you think I mean?"

"Thank God."

The woman and the shadow turned to see a young girl on the stairs, looking down on them.

"Silvia! Get back in your room!"

"I won't! He's gone, right? I don't have to do anything he says anymore." The girl snapped, looking to the shadow. "He really is gone, right?"

"Yeah."

"Thank God." The teen said again with feeling as her mother started crying.

The shadowy figure just left then, not wanting to be around that house any longer than he had to. Outside, avoiding the streetlamps, Xander Harris shoved his hands in his pocket and walked away.


He got a call a couple days later, and bought a bus ticket the same hour.

Next port of call, Bludhaven.