Taking the Initiative: Prelude
by bob_obo
Professor Walsh – if you thought that's all it would take to kill me, you really don't know what a slayer is.
The words echoed through Maggie's mind as she paced fretfully, each time returning to that fateful moment. The moment where her arrogance and presumption had lost her the love and respect of the closest person to a son she had ever known.
Riley. The name bought forth a deluge of conflicting images and emotions. The big, innocent helpful face. The inhuman devotion and unquestioning obedience. The pain and fury at his betrayal of her for that whore. The sense of obligation and always, that nagging fear that she would end up hurting him.
Only, not so much a fear now, as a reality.
She winced to herself, pushing back the pain and guilt to stop for a moment and consider. Maybe attempting to eliminate Buffy had been a mistake. She'd clearly underestimated the girl – the facade of the stereotypical dumb blond who just happened to have super-powers was fairly convincing, convincing enough that uncharacteristically, Maggie had gotten careless.
She frowned to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she could still turn this to her advantage. Finn would come round – he was too much the perfect soldier to do otherwise. And Buffy? Well, in the world she was creating, there would be no place for doubt or dissent. But maybe she could still serve the greater good in some capacity.
She glanced down at the misshapen monstrosity that lay still as death on the metal table. Cautiously, she reached down with a trembling hand to delicately stroke his human cheek. Somehow, he was still beautiful to her, even twisted like this. Adam. He would be first.
But Adam would need an Eve...

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