Disclaimer:  I don’t own any of the characters in this fic.  None.  Nadie.  Darn.  Oh well.  This is an X-Men/Buffy crossover.  Hope you enjoy!   All That Remains Prologue: Evening Visitors   The taxi traveled quietly through the night, the darkness creating almost a protective shadow around the car.  The only sound that could be heard as the sound of the light breeze that caused the trees to stir.  Every now and then, the driver would glance at his passenger through the rearview mirror, watching her with a mix of pity and suspicion.   After all, it is not everyday that a woman barely in her twenties, clothes ripped, scratches covered her, flags you down.  But no questions were asked – the amount of money she had given him just to drive her to her destination was enough to keep him quiet.  But he still could not help and glance back, wondering what had happened to her to bring her to the destination that lay ahead.   A shudder crept down the man’s spine as the giant fence of her destination came into view.  No matter what anyone said, there was something strange about this place.  Usually, he would not even dare to come around here, especially at night.  But tonight, with the amount of money she had given him and with the small pity that he felt for her, he had ventured up.  But, needless to say, he would be surprised if he came here again.   “Are you sure this is the place?” he asked as he slowed down in front of gates.  The woman in the back looked up suddenly, as if being jolted back to reality.  She looked at the gates and nodded, not even the hint of a smile on her face.    As he stopped the taxi, she quickly got out and grabbed her few things from the backseat.  She grabbed her wallet and grabbed a handful of bills from it.  Barely taking time to count them, she gave them to his outstretched palm.  He nodded to her, the ghost of a smile on his face.   “Good luck,” he said.  With that, he hurried into the taxi and drove off, sparing just one backwards glance to her before pulling out onto the main street, determined to get away from the place as soon as possible.   She watched, uninterested, as he screeched away from the gates.  As his taillights disappeared from view, she took her first real look at the gates.  They towered a good 11 feet into the air, black metal gleaming in the moonlight.  She looked past them, barely able to see the giant mansion that lay beyond.   Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she tugged at the gate.  The locks clanked loudly in the stillness of the night and she immediately withdrew her hand.  She sighed, once again glancing up at the height.  With a deep breath, she bent her knees slightly and jumped over the gate.   She landed hard on the other side, stumbling as her ankle gave out on her.  A small gasp of pain escaped her as she fell unceremoniously on her knees.  She stayed there a moment trying to push past the pain.  Finally, after what felt like hours, she pushed herself back up.   The woman trudged towards the mansion before her, her eyes set on reaching the door.  Every step was a little more difficult for her to take.  She felt her energy begin to drain as the door seemed to move no closer.   Suddenly, there seemed to be a gentle probing in her mind.  She froze in place, looking around in vain for the source of it.  As the probing of her mind continued she closed her eyes and her hands tensed into clenched fists.   Get OUT! She screamed inwardly, pushing at the probing with all of her might.  And with that, it was gone.  She reopened her eyes and continued forward.  All of her senses were taut, readying herself for another – what was it anyway – attack?   But nothing came.  She reached the door of the mansion with no more incidents.  She hesitated in front of the door, biting her lip nervously as she stood there.  She could still leave, run away before she had to face the inevitable questions that she knew would come.  She could disappear and pretend like she never came.   She shook her head, pushing past the hesitation.  She knocked gently on the door and waited for someone to answer.  No one came.  She knocked again, this time with a little more force.  Again, there was no answer.  She put her ear to the door, listening for any footsteps.   Suddenly, there was an array of footsteps.  But they seemed to run right past the door.  She sighed as she backed away from it, twisting the doorknob as she tested the lock.  Yep, it was definitely locked.   Silently apologizing to whoever owned the house, she slammed the knob forward, pushing it through the wood.  She winced as the wood splintered, echoing through the main foyer.   She pushed the door open carefully, trying not to make any noise though she knew it was pointless.  Luckily, no one had heard the noise of the breaking doorknob.  She walked through the main foyer, looking around the large area in shock.  If she had been there at any other time, she would have stopped to admire the beauty of the area.  But now was not the time.  She had someone to find.   Voices floated from a room on the left.  She jerked her head towards them and picked up her stuff carefully.  She walked quietly towards the room, her shoes not making the slightest sound.  Snippets of the conversation floated out of the open door of the room but she paid no heed to them.  She merely walked forward.   She reached the entrance of the room, looking in the room.  A group of people were crowded presumably another person.  They were huddled together, talking to the person on the ground.  The woman glanced around and noticed a wheelchair sitting on its side, one of the wheels spinning uselessly.   “Professor, what happened?” asked a female with shoulder length auburn hair.  The woman could sense worry rolling off of her in waves as she bent down so that she was no longer visible.   The next words were so strained that she had to really listen to hear them.  “I felt something on the ground.  When I tried to find out what was there, I was pushed out of her mind.”   “Her?” the female asked.  “Do you know who it was?”   “It was me.”   Everyone in the room jumped, save for the man on the ground.  They whirled around, eyes falling immediately on the young woman.  She did not move under their glare, merely glanced back at them.   “What did you do?” a boy, probably 5 years younger than her asked.    The woman shrugged, wincing as she felt the tightness in her shoulders.  “He tried to read my mind.  I didn’t want him to.  I pushed him out.  End of story.”   The red haired woman stood up and walked towards her, looking at her suspiciously.  But before she could say anything, two men burst into the room.  One was carrying what looked like a bag of ice, his sunglasses very dark for the time of night that it was.    “Is he al……”   The words of the man with glasses trailed off as he looked at the mysterious woman in front of him.  Her eyes widened as she saw him, her shoulders tensing up.   “Scott?”   The name was said so quietly, with so much despair, that everyone turned to look at her.  Scott stared at her a moment, his eyes widening as he finally placed her.  It had been years since he had last seen her – and the woman in front of him now, the tired, broken woman, was very different from the vibrant girl he remembered.   “Buffy?” he asked, his own voice hushed.   “Scottie!”  A strangled sob escaped from her throat as she dropped her stuff and rushed to him, being quickly enveloped into his arms.  Her small frame shook with sobs as he ran a hand over her back, trying in vain to comfort her.  The others could only look on, questions running through their heads as they tried to figure out who the girl was, what had happened to her, and how she had gotten there.