Shapeshifter Part One
By Alison (margali67@bust.com)
Setting:
Sometime at the end of the first season before the office blew up.
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction based on the wonderful characters owned by the Real Powers That Be; Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, etc.. No infringement was intended and no profit desired or sought. Just wanted to play around with the Angel crew.
Oh yeah:
If you'd like to send someone into an apoplectic fit of joy throw some constructive criticism my way by emailing me at margali67@bust.com. Do that email thingie, also, when asking permission to distribute this story.
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The demon shifted form again. As Angel pushed it against the wall it's face melted from Cordelia's to Wesley's. On the other side of the room Cordelia let out a scream.
"Eew! Now I know what me and Wes's love child would look like," she said, her nose wrinkling. Then added quickly, "Not that we'd have one."
"Cordy," Angel grunted as the creature morphed back and forth from one form into another, "Now would be the time to throw a weapon my way!"
Cordelia looked around her, she was near the desk, and grabbed the first thing she could.
"Here! Catch!" she said as she tossed, almost tripping on her spindly heels.
Angel reached out and grabbed . . . a stapler? He growled, glaring at the object, then swung back his arm, whacking the demon upside its head. Stunned, the creature settled once again into the form of Wesley. At that moment, the real Wesley came rushing through the door. Not seeing Cordelia he crashed into her, both toppling into a heap of flailing arms and legs. The small box he was carrying flew out of his hands and skidded across the room. Unnoticed by Angel it came to rest by his feet.
Smiling, the demon Wesley ducked down from a fast approaching fist and grabbed the box. Shifting into the form of a child it squirmed around Angel's legs and skittered past the still struggling forms of Wesley and Cordelia.
Rushing into the elevator, it madly pulled at the gate while searching for the down button. Wesley, still on the floor, reached out and tried to grab the gate before it would shut. He screamed as the demon child bent down and smashed Wesley's fingers with the box. Pulling his hand back he watched in frustration as the elevator started it's descent.
"Very macho yelp, Wes." Cordy said as she got up, pulling her skirt back into place. She then followed Angel as he rushed to the stairs.
"I, I was in duress and . . ." Wesley stammered.
"Doesn't matter what you're wearing, " she said. "Get your butt in gear, pronto!"
"I'm trying," he said as he scrambled after them. "Just do whatever it takes to get that box back. It's the only way to kill it."
They reached the apartment only to find the elevator empty. Looking about frantically, Angel turned his head towards the bedroom where a strange light seemed to be pulsing. Carefully approaching the door he saw the creature now in it's natural form, standing against the far wall. Red scales sparkled in the bright light that moved about the creature in a sinuous arc. Deep in concentration it pushed at various gems encrusted in the box, the pulsating lights increasing in intensity and starting to swirl faster against the wall.
Angel started to go forward but was stopped as a hand pulled him back. "What's the deal, Wes?" Angel asked. "We have to get the box back before it destroys it."
"Well, I'm afraid to say that destroying the box is the furthest thing from that creature's mind." Wes said, and then sensing Angel's frustration, "One step further and you'll be sucked along with it to who knows where!"
"Great, we just gave psycho demon a fast ticket outta here." Cordy said from the safety of the kitchen.
The lights coalesced upon the wall. The swirling stopped as the wall began to melt away into nothingness. Where once there were bricks there was now a mass of deepest black. Stepping backwards, the creature smiled a pointy toothed grin and with a bow it disappeared.
"You gotta admit, creepazoid knows how to make an exit," Cordy said as the others turned to glare at her.
As they watched, the black void that once was Angel's bedroom wall began to shrink. Angel stepped forward and then turned to face Wesley.
"Wherever it's going, we know it's going to start the killing all over again." he said.
"I realize that, Angel." Wesley answered. "But we have no idea where it went. Another time, another dimension, maybe even to hell. It would be dangerous to try following it."
"Could it come back using the box?" Angel asked, looking back at the wall.
"Yes, but Angel, if you are about to do what I think you want to do, you have to realize that there is the possibility it or even you will not be able to return."
"Listen to the thin man, Angel" Cordelia said as she came up beside Wesley. "It'd be selfish to run off and leave the Powers That Be with one less broody warrior."
"It would be selfish to let that thing kill again." Angel said as he went up to the void. "I'm sorry, I have to finish this." Before Wesley or Cordelia could argue further he leapt into the increasingly smaller void. Wesley rushed forward in a vain attempt to stop him but was met with solid wall.
"Great," Cordelia said as she flopped down on the bed. "You didn't by the way bring another one of those boxes, huh?"
Wesley slumped down beside her, "Um...no. There were only two known to be in existence. Not exactly a mass produced item."
Cordelia brightened up, "Well, let's go get the other one and bring back our dark avenger!"
"Impossible." Wes said with a sigh. "The other box is in England. With the Watcher's Council."
"Oh...peachy." she said, her smile completely gone. "We all know how much they love you."
After a few silent moments, "Can't keep sitting here, staring at a blank wall." he said as he jumped up, startling Cordelia. "Might as well attempt to anchor the point of departure." He headed toward the kitchen followed by a very confused Cordelia.
"Okay...anchor?"
"Yes, by drawing certain runes where Angel and that creature disappeared we just might be able to guarantee that the next time the device is used it will return to that very spot."
"Let's just hope its Angel and not the demon."
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It seemed that no time had passed for Angel. One moment he was in his apartment and then the next he was in what appeared to be a coatroom. The wall behind him was solid and the room he was in was silent He could hear the distant sounds of music and loud voices. No demon was in sight but there was a man, slumped over by a half open door. Angel felt for a pulse and was relieved to find one. Exiting the room, he followed a short hallway past restrooms and a dark sitting room that was empty. At the end of the hallway was a large room packed with people.
Angel wondered if he had somehow been transported forward into time since it appeared to be some type of Halloween party but without the costumes. There were tombstones, gnarled trees and other dark decorations all about the place. From the video screens he glimpsed a group of monsters chasing some woman. Scanning the crowd he tried to find his target. It seemed an impossible task till he noticed the young girl looking over her shoulder at him, surprise passing over her features as their eyes locked. In her hands was the box. She bolted in the opposite direction towards a large bank of monitors, Angel right behind her. He was just about to reach her when he noticed who the monsters were chasing up on the screen. It was Buffy.
Dazed for a moment Angel tried to process what he was seeing. That was when he noticed some of the signs and posters that were on the walls. Some showed Buffy with the Scooby gang and others were just plain with the words "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in large gothic letters. And next to one of those posters was a large cardboard cutout of himself with Cordelia. Standing near it was Buffy who was talking to a woman with a microphone and a cameraman. Angel stared intensely at Buffy, not believing what he was seeing. Had Buffy and her Watcher finally cracked, allowing the whole world to know she was the Slayer? And holding a party to boot? But then, maybe Wesley was right; perhaps he had been transported to another dimension.
He turned away and forced himself to focus on why he came here. Looking past the crowd he saw the demon girl heading back towards the coatroom. But going after her proved difficult, as the crowd seemed suddenly thicker. Every time he tried to move forward, someone would get in his way, either trying to talk to him, touch him or some other type of annoyance. His patience was wearing thin and, at one point, he growled at a young blond who seemed to recognize him. Perplexed yet smiling she backed off, murmuring something about typical actors'. Other people were not so kind curses following him as he pushed against them.
He finally reached the hallway where the door to the men's room was swinging shut. Without pausing to check if the creature was in any other room he barged in, going into vamp face. This stupid chase was going on far too long and the sooner he caught the creature the sooner he could get home. That is, if he figured out how to work the box. He opened the next door and immediately slammed into someone. With a grunt the man fell back against the wall, reaching for the paper towel dispenser for support. Angel grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up against the wall. Anger welled up inside him as he stared into his own face, remembering how the creature had killed so many while wearing Angel's face. Then it hit him, there was nothing demon about this man, he smelled human.
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Cordelia opened her clenching eyes against the brightness of the office lights. Blinking, she could see Wesley walking towards her with a glass and a large bottle of aspirin.
"Boy, I've got you trained well." She said, managing a small smile.
Wesley smiled back and shook out two aspirin into her outstretched hand. Cordelia kept her hand out and when Wesley hadn't picked up the cue she made a little cough, happy when Wesley shook out two more.
"Thanks, this was definitely a four-aspirin vision." Cordelia said after she took a big gulp of the water. "What do we do? No Angel and this one looks bad."
"How bad?"
"How does rabid, flesh-eating children sound?"
"Hmm, maybe we could look into the matter." He paused as Cordelia was scowling doubtfully at him. "We'll see if it's really all that bad and then, if Angel comes back, have him finish up the case."
"Wes, please don't say 'if'." Cordelia said. "He's got to come back. We smothered that wall with herbs and did all the funky Latin chanting. He'll come back."
"Ok, I amend what I said, when he gets back. But perhaps we can handle this one? What are the details?"
"Looked like a playground that's near here. It was so gross, all these little kids just tearing into this guy who was screaming even more girlier than you and then they were, ugh, eating him. And they didn't look like demons."
"We know appearances can be deceiving but we won't really know what we're dealing with till we investigate. Are you up for a walk in the park?"
"Yeah, hand over that ax. Anyone willing to cross my migraine path better be prepared."
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Slowly, Angel lowered the man to his feet; Angel's features shifting back to human. The other man tried to say something, then shut up. He raised his finger at Angel then lowered it. Just when he looked like he was getting up his courage to speak his face went slack as he looked over Angel's shoulder. Angel turned around thinking the demon might be behind him yet all he saw was a huge mirror reflecting only his human doppelganger.
"
You're the real thing" the man said, "I...uh...thought you were one of the...uh...I don't know, FX guys playing a joke? But you're the real thing." He backed off a couple of paces, continuously glancing back at the mirror.Angel looked the man up and down, disconcerted to see himself in human form. There was that one day where he could see himself in the mirror, where he had become human due to poisoning from demon blood. But to stand in front of a living, breathing version of himself was downright strange. And then he saw the open window to the right of the man. He walked over and peered through, it was a sheer drop two stories to an empty alley. Leaning against the wall he turned to look at his clone again.
"Did you see a woman come in, maybe even go out this window?" Angel asked.
"Uh, no." the man answered, still nervous. "Are you...what I think you are?"
"Yeah" and then feeling the absurdity of the situation, "And you?"
"I'm a David." He answered, slightly wobbly as he tried to stand straight. "My name, it's a David. I mean, I'm David." Angel could smell the alcohol. David laughed nervously, "I play' you on TV...that is, if you're Angel, right? God, this is so fam dreaky...I mean, damn freaky. There's really a you you, a not me you. Wow." He looked into the mirror again at where Angel should be.
"Yeah, wow." Angel answered tersely, his impatience returning. "So, where is here?"
"Oh, the Metro." David said, and after noticing the confusion on Angel's face, "A club. It's a cast party, media thing." He then stumbled over to stand in front of Angel. "How'd you get here? Are you working'? I bet you're working, you're chasing a demon, right? That girl you asked me about. You're chasing her, right? But how'd you get here, unless you've always been here which means there really are vampires and..."
"Calm down." Angel said, backing away from the scotch fumes. "To answer your question, I am chasing that girl, she's a demon. Are you a detective as well as an actor?"
"Well, I play one on TV," David laughed. "And you must also be a comedian and a vampire."
Angel smiled briefly and turned around, heading to the door but stopped as David followed him asking more questions. Angel put his hand on the other man's chest pushing him to a standstill.
"Stay here, it was nice meeting you and all but don't follow." he said in as commanding a voice as he could. His irritation rose again as he heard David run up to him down the hallway.
"Wait," David said. "Where are you going? I could drive you, who knows where that girl's going and I bet you don't have a car here, do you? And I live near here, you could stay with me and you gotta meet Glenn, he'd freak if..."
"Thanks for the offer," Angel said, cutting the other man off. "But, all of those are bad ideas."
David stopped; his face all worked up as he thought about what Angel said. "You're right, I guess. But if you change your mind...?"
"Doubt it," he responded. "But thanks again. You don't happen to know a discreet way to get out of here?"
"Just the way I came in, the front door. How did you get in here?"
"The coat room. Don't ask."
Out in the hallway Angel pulled David into the sitting room as a group of women started to head towards them. He made a sit-stay motion to David. As soon as the women passed he slipped back onto the noisy dance floor and went towards the door, hoping his drunken clone didn't follow him. Happily no one, least of all his inebriated shadow, bothered him as he grumpily left the club.
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Wesley opened the car door for Cordelia, glancing over his shoulder at the empty park. At one time it was a playground but now it was just a garbage-strewn piece of land only good for making a quick shortcut from one street to another.
"This doesn't look promising, it's completely deserted unless you count all the garbage." Wesley said as they started walking towards what might've once been a slide.
"It makes no sense, this is definitely the place from my vision." Cordelia said, frowning, as she went around to the back of the slide. "Where's the blood, the gore, the icky bits?" Then she saw a garbage can lying on its side at the edge of the park. "I bet our vicious little rug-rats are hiding in there, ready to nibble our ankles." She said, pointing the ax in the direction of it. "Go get 'em, Brit-boy."
"We're a team," Wesley said as he pulled Cordelia along by her elbow. "And we'll fight these buggers as a team."
"I thought we were just going to investigate?" She whined, pulling back.
"Then why did you bring the ax if not to fight with?" He asked, continuing to pull Cordelia forward.
"I, uh, get kinda macho when my head is exploding? You should ignore me when I'm all PVS'ing."
"What?" asked Wesley, looking at Cordelia in confusion.
"Post-vision-stress. I get cranky. But I don't want to fight, really. Let's go back and call Kate, I bet she likes scary stuff like this. And besides, it's getting dark." Cordelia said as she pointed up at the sky.
They had reached the trashcan. Wesley let go of Cordelia and grabbed the ax, cautiously creeping around to the opening. He motioned Cordelia to crouch down as he bent to peer into the dark.
"Oh, god, this is disgusting." He said as he put the ax down and reached into the trash.
"What? Is it the guy?" Cordelia asked as she bravely walked up to him, curiosity replacing her fear.
"No, someone threw out a perfectly good copy of Vanity Fair. This is the issue before my subscription started." He said, pulling out a magazine.
"Don't touch that, it's got garbage cooties." She said slapping it out of his hands. "I can't believe you touched it. That's so nasty."
"For goodness sake, Cordelia, don't get so hyper."
"Well, maybe I'm a little testy because the Powers That Be sent us to a skanky and completely empty park on a really sucky day." She said as the wind started to pick up. Pulling a stray strand of hair out of her mouth she glared up at the sky. "AND FOR NOTHING!" She screamed towards the heavens, waving a fist angrily. "You give me the über-king of all headaches and there's nothing here! My brain is not your punching bag, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Calm down, Cordelia, I think the whole neighborhood heard you." He said as he tried to turn her back towards the car.
"No, Wesley, they can't do this to me!" She said, squirming away from Wesley. Standing defiantly, Cordelia continued her rant. "Do you realize how horrible these vision things are? Because, obviously the PTB don't. You know why? Because the Powers That Be are a bunch of dorks, that's why!"
There was a flash of lightning as a solid sheet of rain began to descend. The drops splashed loudly on the dirt. For a few moments they stood there without saying a word. Dropping her arms dejectedly to her side Cordelia sulked past Wesley.
"Perhaps it wasn't wise to mock them." He said as he followed her, attempting to step over the ever-increasing puddles.
"Pfft, whatever." She said before slipping in the mud. Wesley quickly reached out to grab her but lost his footing and ended up facedown in her lap. "Great I'm glad I woke up today! " She said, shoving Wesley off of herself.
"I think we should call it a day, don't you think?" He said as he sat up.
"Yep, there's a big cup of hot chocolate calling my name." Cordelia said as she pushed herself up using Wesley's shoulder. "I'm really sorry for all of this, Wes." Standing barefoot she helped him to his feet.
"It's not your fault, you didn't cause any of this." He said as he pushed his glasses back into place.
"Yeah, but I certainly over-emoted." She said while looking down at the ground. "Do you see my sandals, I think they got sucked up in the mud."
"Ah, yes, I believe I sat on one of them." Wesley said as he bent over and searched through the wet dirt. "Here it is!" He said triumphantly as he pulled out a human jawbone.
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"I'm telling the truth, man. He was the real deal! And, no, I'm not that drunk. I see only one of you."
"Are you sure it wasn't just some guy pissing about with you?"
The voices came closer and Angel realized this was a really bad idea. He had had no luck in finding the demon and dawn was quickly approaching. Taking a chance that the party would still be in full swing he had returned and waited in the alley off by the parking lot. He realized he could've just as easily found an empty building and waited out the day. Yet, here he was. Perhaps he had inter-dimensional jet lag and it was fogging up his thinking. It was a stupid idea to take up a drunken man's offer for help. Deciding to forego reason he stepped out from the shadows and followed the two men as they walked up to a black car.
"Hey" he said from behind, both men jumping in unison.
"Shit, man, you scared me!" David yelped.
His friend turned around about to say something, too, till he saw Angel, his eyes darting back and forth between the two lookalikes. "Woah, twins." He said softly.
"
Sorry, is your offer for a place to crash still open?" Angel asked David."Yeah, sure." David answered and then turned to his friend. "This is that guy I was talking about. Oh, wait, you don't know each other...Glenn this is, well, you know, Angel and"
Angel stared at Glenn but didn't hear the rest. Doyle was standing in front of him. First he saw a Buffy lookalike, met himself tonight and now the ghost of his old friend. It was all a bit disquieting, as if he were upsetting the natural balance of the universe by being in this dimension. The reality was that this was not Doyle and there was only one Angel here but it was hard to separate all those facts. Feeling strangely dizzy he fell forward against the car.
"Hey, you ok?" David said as he reached out to steady Angel.
"Just not used to this kind of travel," he said as he slowly straightened up, removing the other man's hand from his shoulder. "I'm okay now." Perhaps his jet lag theory was correct. After reassuring himself that he was feeling fine he held out an open hand, "Why don't you give me the keys and I'll drive."
"Not after you took a nosedive against my car. Besides, I'm fine to drive."
"You're drunk and I don't want to end up road toast far away from home. And do you really want to fight with me over this?" With a menacing glare he hoped he would intimidate the other man into relinquishing his keys. Out of perversity he vamped out for extra emphasis, quickly feeling guilty as Glenn-Doyle leaped back, falling on the pavement and attempting to scramble away.
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Wesley went over to the stove and removed the whistling teakettle. Cordelia came out of Angel's bedroom wrapped in a towel just as he was pouring the second mug of hot chocolate. They sat down at the small kitchen table, Wesley wrapping his hands around the warmness of his cup and Cordelia leaning back, breathing deeply of the chocolate fumes.
"Doyle would turn to whisky to dull his pain but for me chocolate is my path to blissful oblivion." Cordelia said. "Do you think Angel has any little marshmallows because they could really make me forget what a horrible day I had."
"Sadly, vampires never put marshmallows on their shopping lists."
"Yet, oddly, this vampire has three different brands of hot chocolate."
"I think it's for your benefit, Cordelia." Wesley said smiling as he took a sip.
"Oh, why'd you have to say that, now I miss him." She said, her smile fading to a pout. "Here I am sitting comfortably in one of his extremely fluffy towels and for all I know he could be dead. I mean, the final dead-dead, that is. " Pulling the other towel off her head she started rubbing her hair dry. "Do you think he's okay?"
Wesley leaned forward and pointed to the books on the table. "While you were showering I looked up the particulars on the box that opened the inter-dimensional portal. It only goes to one dimension. The texts don't say where but there is no mention of it being some type of hell."
"These texts of yours are always either anally gross with the details or as vague as Michael Jackson's sexuality."
"I think it's quite obvious what Michael Jackson"
"Brrr," Cordelia interrupted. "That is a subject I don't want to think about. Mega heebie jeebies. Howzabout we ponder the mystery jaw?"
"Nothing yet. Was hoping you could do the computer search, check the police files for missing persons from that area." He picked up the jaw and turned it over. "Though we don't know the gender of the victim the fact that the person had two gold teeth might help narrow the search."
"Goody. Love doing the Willow-geek thing," She said sarcastically. "Now get out of those clothes."
"Cordelia!" Wesley said with shock, sitting bolt upright.
"For goodness sake, go showerby yourself. You look like a yuppie who got caught in the middle of a mudfight at Woodstock. And whatever you do," She said to his retreating form. "Don't use the fancy shampoo he's got in the shower. He still hasn't forgotten how I just used a teensie weensie little dollop of it. And don't even go near the hair-gel!" She shouted as he slammed the bathroom door.
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"Are you sure your friend will be okay?" Angel asked as he pulled the car out of the driveway.
"Glenn? Yeah, he'll be fine. It'll teach him to doubt me." David said from his slouched position against the door. "Probably won't remember a thing in the morning."
"Let's hope so. Listen, I gotta make a stop before we head to your place. Do you mind?"
"Nah, you've got the keys you wanted so much, you're the man in control."
Angel didn't answer, just turned the car towards the business district. After a few moments he heard the slower breathing of the man next to him. The silence was soothing after the earlier ruckus. Glenn wouldn't stop going on about the vampire thing. It took some convincing to get the man in the car without him trying to ward Angel off with his cross necklace. To Angel's relief the necklace had snapped sending the cross flying into the air. After that, it took a little force to send the man into the back seat where he loudly stated how untasty his blood was.
The place Angel sought was in a rundown area of the city. Just past a homeless shelter he pulled into an alley a block from his destination. Grabbing the keys he quietly left making sure not to wake David who was now snoring, head tilted back, jaw slowly lowering.
The building was quiet and thankfully closed. Feeling extremely guilty but unsure what else to do at such a late hour, he kicked open the back door. He only had a short time before police would respond to the alarm. So far, this place had the same layout and no guards as the blood bank from his dimension. Running from one room to another he found the cold storage area where they kept the blood. Taking only a few pints he closed the refrigerator door and paused, a sense of greed passing over him making him return one of the bags. Stuffing the rest into his jacket pockets he rushed back to the car. David was still snoring, drool smeared on his shoulder.
Once he had reached what he felt was a safe distance he shook the other awake and they headed back the direction they came, Angel following the mumbled directions. Once at the door he had to endure a few moments standing there while a small, black dog barked and tried its best to look fierce while David ran past it leaving Angel helplessly at the threshold. After a few uncomfortable minutes David returned, zipping up his fly.
"Nice dog." Angel said flatly while looking down at its yapping maw.
"
Shit, I gotta invite you in, sorry!""
Would be nice, sun's coming up and I'm not in the mood to burst into flames.""Right," David said as he bowed down, swinging his arm wide in a welcoming arc. "You are most cordially invited to my abode."
Not saying anything Angel carefully walked past the dog that was now whimpering from behind its owners legs. He went towards the back where he saw the kitchen. After placing three of the four bags inside the refrigerator he turned round to face David, sans dog.
"Hope you don't mind, I didn't think you would have any on hand for me." Angel said, indicating the bag in his hand.
"Uh, no. Listen, you don't mind crashing on the couch? I've got a spare room but it's still full of junk and it'd take a while to clear off the bed."
"No, no problem."
"And," David continued. "Can you not drink that in front of me? It's one thing to do it with fake blood on the show and a whole nother thing to see the real thing."
Angel nodded. "It still grosses me out, too." he answered.
End of Part One