Plot-bunny: Buffy/Numb3rs

[marbleglove]

 
I'm not exactly sure what the plot here is, but the characters are Willow and possibly Kennedy from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the whole crew plus Ian Edgerton from "Numb3rs". 

There's some FBI case that's proving particularly difficult for the Numb3rs crew. At one point, Charlie mentions that there's a brilliant math student at CalSci who really seems to get the practical application of numbers. It's both wonderful and annoying, then, that she seems determined to focus on the pure theory. However, maybe they can tempt her to help out anyway. So a group of agents plus Charlie (and Aminta and Larry) all go to Charlie's office to work on the problem and lure the newest math wiz in. 

The newest math wiz, is Willow. (This is post-series, but I'm ignoring the comic books which I haven't read, anyway.) 

Take a moment to consider her character: she was always brilliant with computers, she fairly quickly became rather impressive with magic, and there's clearly a way that the two subjects heavily overlap. As Charlie would say: "Math is everywhere." Math is God's language. Math describes the world. Given what Willow has proven herself capable of, magic-wise and computer-wise, math is pretty much a language that she is quite fluent in.

However, she's still a black-magic addict. It was wonderful that she could perform magic without going evil, but that's a demonstration of control on par with having managed to quit black magic in the first place. She is still an addict, and needs to stay away from temptation. It's too bad, then, that the Scoobies still need her skills come apocalypse season. So, in general, she helps out the Scoobies during May, and then spends the rest of the year detoxing, so that she doesn't go overboard and try to destroy the world again. 

She's very good at pure math, she's even better at applied math, and it's too bad that she does as much practical application as she can stand during that one hellish month in Spring. 

Anyway, Charlie et al are working in his office when she comes in, and is about to politely decline when she sees Ian Edgerton. Agent Edgerton has gone white and is trying to disappear into the background. Possibly he succeeds in staying out of Willow's notice until Don attracts everyone's attention with a concerned, "Ian? Are you all right?" 

Edgerton is the best sniper in the FBI and the fourth best sniper in the country. A top tracker, an instructor at Quantico, and high-ranking enough to pick his own assignments. While none of the other Numb3rs crew would have been told, Edgerton would have been briefed on the supernatural. He not only knows about the supernatural, in general, he also knows about the first line of defense (ie, the Scoobies) in specific. This is because the government has realized that Willow is a real and serious danger. Ian has been briefed, as a sniper, that there might be a time when she needs to be taken out immediately. He's studied her before, as a target in case the need arose. It's one of the reasons why he's been in California so often. He just wasn't expecting to meet her face to face. 

Given what she's done to people she doesn't like and the fact that she's displayed evidence of telepathy before, he feels justified in being a bit nervous about being in the same room with her. 

Willow just shrugs and explains that actually having someone like him around actually makes her feel safer. If worst comes to worst, someone will stop her before she hurts everyone, and that's a good thing. 

No one else knows the specifics but that reassurance directed at Edgerton, the resident sniper, mostly makes everyone else in the room highly suspicious. (If Kennedy is there, then she's a lot less laid back about the situation than Willow is.) Then things really devolve into arguing and guilt trips and in the end it's actually Willow and Edgerton who are most okay with the whole situation. 

Then of course, they all go off and find the actual bad guy (without using any magic because Willow really is going through detox, although possibly with some help from Kennedy's slayer skills.) 

Comments

[lita-of-jupiter.livejournal.com]

well I guess the game theory would be a good one for a cross over but I am not in any way mathematician, law student here!

but I use to like matrices quite a bit and remember they being really fun... but in no way would i be able to convincinly use a math theory in a fic


though with Scoobies involved Chaos theory should always be factored in...

math-fics

[marbleglove.livejournal.com]

Urgh. Chaos theory is a mess. I'm not sure I could get a good explanation in an essay format much less a story format.

Anyway, I'm inclined to think that we'd need to come up with a good math problem first and then build the story around that. So pick a matrix problem that's fun, then figure out what it answers. And given that it's the Scoobies, I don't suppose we have to be too realistic regarding the problem.

Re: math-fics

[jelsemium.livejournal.com]

When all else fails, try a code! They're all math now, and there are several good books on codes out there. (I particularly love "The Code Book" by Simon Singh.)

Also, you could riff on a math problem that's been used in the series. They have to come up with new stuff, but you don't.

Re: math-fics

[marbleglove.livejournal.com]

My worry about copying from the show is that I think many of their math explanations are fairly weak.

But, ooh: I like the code idea. Because there really are some awesome codes with some pretty cool explanations to them. I'm fairly sure I even have some books on code in my bookshelf that I just haven't looked at recently. That may be something to do this evening.