Title: Sticky Solution
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Xander, Cordelia, Norman.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 300
Setting: What’s My Line Parts 1 and 2.
Summary: Dealing with some nasties requires a spot of improvisation rather than traditional weapons.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 387: Amnesty 64, using Challenge 205: Glue.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.



When dealing with the forces of evil, it’s important to use the correct weapons. As a founder member of the Scoobies, Xander’s fairly well versed in weapons theory, even if he can’t actually wield most of them. For vampires, it’s stakes, sunlight, or beheading, although garlic, holy water, and crosses are good defensive items. For demons, swords, knives, axes, crossbows, even maces, seem to be effective. But for this guy…

Xander’s not quite sure what category he fits into. He’s not a vampire, obviously, because the sun has no effect on him. He was masquerading as a door-to-door salesman the first time they met, so maybe he IS a demon, just a really weird one. Whatever. When he’s in one human-looking piece, he’s unkillable. He’s only vulnerable, to a degree, when he’s in his other form, which is unbelievably gross: thousands of wriggling, squirming maggoty things.

Difficult as it is to believe, the best weapon against something small but numerous is glue and a good pair of shoes.

In some ways, it reminds Xander of the pre-fumigation party at the Bronze; a lot of stamping goes on then as well, everyone trying to earn free drinks by killing cockroaches. In this case though, it’s more like a tap-dance, keeping the feet moving constantly to avoid getting stuck to the floor and to stop the little buggy bits from climbing up into their clothes.

There’s a vindictive satisfaction in stomping the assassin’s bits into a gooey sludge. For once Cordelia isn’t complaining about her clothes or hair getting messed up, grinding her no doubt expensive footwear into the goop with lethal intent. Against his better judgement, Xander is impressed, and kinda turned on. Maybe she’ll kiss him again after this is over. For now, Xander pours more glue and keeps stamping.


The End