REMNANT : Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider

REMNANT: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider - Chapter 18

Batman glowered at her. "You don't seriously plan to kidnap someone to trade for them, are you?"

Buffy pouted at him, then set her jaw. "I plan to do whatever I have to do," she said. She locked eyes with Xander and Willow, as they pressed their hands against the thick glass. "I'll be back," she promised. "Count on it."

Xander gave her a thumbs up. Then Buffy cast a final glare at Faust, Avurkana, and the Scarecrow before turning to run out the cave entrance with Batman.

Less than a minute after they had gone, one of the Lycanthru wolves strode forward. "Where's Simonet and the others?" he demanded. "Where did you send them?"

Avurkana clucked at him with an impatient frown. "Calm yourself, DaVorre," she said. "Simonet and the rest of your order are perfectly safe. This is all part of the plan he and I agreed to, in order to rid ourselves of the Red Rider, once and for all."

DaVorre looked from Faust to Avurkana, unconvinced. "You really think they'll turn over the Rider to us?"

"Of course not," Faust scoffed. "They plan to recruit her to assist in fighting us. But they'll bring her, nonetheless, and we'll have the three of them to contend with. So we need to make ourselves ready." He nodded toward Xander and Willow, trapped in the giant hourglass. "Starting with those two."

Outside in the cool night air, Buffy rushed from the cave toward the forest.

"Hold it!" Batman said, grabbing her by the shoulder to spin her around.

Buffy spun, but seized his arm and flung him over her back. She watched him sail high above the grass, like many vampires she had thrown. Except that Batman twisted in mid-air and curled his body to soften his landing.

Buffy blinked, thinking, Oh, wow, I just tossed Batman to the ground. Her lips twisted into a half-smile. She didn't know whether to pat herself on the back, or apologize profusely and ask if she could still get his autograph.

The answer came a second later, as Batman crouched and fastened some kind of ear covers on the side of his head, then held up a small pen-sized device. He clicked it, and Buffy felt a sonic whistle split the night. She covered her ears and moaned, dropping to her knees at the painful sound. She finally collapsed to the dirt, exhausted, and the high-pitched noise stopped.

"Now that I have your attention," Batman said, striding toward her as he removed the ear covers. "We can't sacrifice this girl to bargain for your friends' lives."

Buffy rose to her knees, hanging her head. "Are you going to switch that torture-whistle on again?"

He pocketed it in his utility belt. "It's put away."

She rose to her feet, letting him steady her. "You know, some people just carry keychains and gum in their pockets."

"Some people don't need anything else. I use tools that get results."

"Okay," she said, gasping. "Results ... gotten. I'm not planning to bargain. I'm just buying time to form some kind of rescue plan. Right now, all we know is they want this girl. So she's the place to start."

Batman paused, studying her. "That actually makes sense. But once we find her, we'll need to figure out how to keep Faust from turning her over to these monsters. Or whatever he and that witch plan to do with her. Whatever happens, we can't let them have the Red Rider."

Buffy blinked at him. "I know we're not going to let them hurt an innocent kid. But why does this sound more personal to you?"

"Let's just say she's important to history, if she truly exists."

"Well, they think she does," Buffy said. "Whoever she is, they went to a lot of trouble to capture her, and enlisting us to do it for them. They're obviously scared of her."

"Obviously. Which means the legends are true, and she knows how to hurt them."

"Obviously," she repeated, with a cocky grin. Which she dropped when he refused to smile, or even move. "I mean, that is – you knew that. And a few other things, apparently. There's a legend?"

Batman continued, unperturbed. "I'll tell you on the way. We'll find the Red Rider, see if she knows anything about that witch, Avurkana, or this new plan with the Lycanthru. Then we'll return for Xander and Willow."

"Deal," Buffy said with a firm nod. "So, this is good. We're like, partners. I'm the new pinch-hitter Robin. I just need a cape."

Again, no hint of amusement from Batman.

She smiled awkwardly. "I was, uh – just kidding about that. I really don't need a cape."

"Good. Let's move."

He doubled back toward the cave, running ahead of her at an incredible pace.

Buffy frowned. "... though a special occasion Vampire Slayer cape could look cool, with the right outfit." She pouted, giving up. "Probably not gonna happen."

"Come on!" he called.

She hurried after him, catching up in less than a minute. "Where are you going? If she was in the cave, they wouldn't be looking for her."

"That's not what we're looking for just now. You forget what time we're in. Or how long it takes to travel anywhere by foot."

He ran toward the mouth of the cave, then turned to the left toward a rocky outcrop. Buffy joined him as he came around the protrusion, to find six horses tied to stakes in the ground.

"Oh," she said. "I guess we'll need those."

Batman untied two of the Lycanthru's horses, handing the reins of one to Buffy. She stared at it in her hand, biting her lip. "I've actually never ridden a horse before."

"I'll guide you. The quicker you learn, the easier we can move."

He showed her how to put her foot in the stirrup to mount it and how to hold the reins, giving her riding instructions. Then he mounted his own horse and urged it forward. "Follow me. I can see light at the crest of that hill. Torches lighting up the nearest town. We'll find someone there to ask for information on finding the Red Rider."

Buffy started after him, instantly regretting it as she found her body bucking up and down on the saddle. "Ow! Ow! Are all horses this bouncy?"

"No," Batman called over his shoulder. "I gave you the bounciest one I could find. I figured you could handle it, since you're the Slayer."

Buffy paused, still feeling the bruise of the saddle on her backside. "Now that was a joke."

"More like dripping sarcasm," he said. "Stand up higher on the stirrups to help absorb the shock."

Buffy did as he instructed. "Oh. That's better," she said, relieved as the grassy terrain became less stable. "But now my ankles hurt."

"Decide what you want to hurt," Batman said. "Your ankles or your butt."

Buffy considered this a moment. "Joke?" she asked.

"No."

Of course, she thought. Batman doesn't joke.

Maybe she shouldn't, either. Xander and Willow were in a deathtrap, she was separated from Giles by a continent and a few hundred years, and their only hope for survival – let alone returning home – lay in capturing a young girl as a bargaining chip, or a potential ally. Any way you sliced it, things were not in their favor.