~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 5: A Champion Realized Pt.2 More Questions
"I don't get it. Apparently Wolfram & Hart has branches all over the world. Why come to L.A.?"
Chloe watched as Becca paced in front of her desk, rubbing her taped hands together. Becca stopped and sighed.
"It's a long and complicated story. Best saved for wacky sleepovers over mounds of junk food." The only indication that Chloe stopped working was the abrupt hault in typing.
"Are you going to tell me eventually?" Becca plopped down in one of the two chairs in front of Chloe's desk. She leaned in and raked a hand threw her hair. "Later tonight I hope. As soon as I confirm what I've been told."
Chloe looked up at the young woman in front of her, concerned with the weariness she saw in her face. Becca looked Choe in the eyes but quickly glanced away, unable to fully look her in the eyes. She jumped up and started pacing again.
"Could you start typing again? I can't stand uncomfortable silences." Becca gave Chloe a half-hearted grin.
"No need." Chloe moved her mouse over her Rugrats mouse pad and clicked Print. "And Wa La. Wolfram & Hart floor plans." When the plans finally completely printed out, Becca grabbed them and yelled a hurried "Thanks" while she ran out the door.
"Rebecca, Wait!" Chloe ran to the door and looked out to try and find Becca but she was nowhere in sight. "Dmmait." Chloe swore under her breath. "Good luck, Becca."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Somebody really wants to stay hidden. I'll be right back Wes. Somewhere there's a bag of Doritos with my name on em. Can I get you anything?"
Wesley poked his head out of the book long enough to say a quick 'No Thanks' before Cordelia left in search of nourishment. After a minute and a half of wandering Cordelia decided that she had gotten herself sufficently lost.
"This place is like a rat maze." She scoffed as a lawyer passed her in the hall. "Complete with rats." Shrugging off the willies, she turns around to see none other than Spike coming toward her. "Spike." She smiled and laughed.
"Well, well. I heard you weren't evil anymore, which kind of makes the hair silly." Spike ignored her catty remark and went straight into gameface. Completely irked Cordelia rethought the gentle teasing.
"Or nice?" Spike continues to walk purposefully toward Cordelia and presses her against the wall while she screams.
Spike stepped back voluntarily from biting Cordelia's neck, but moments later, he was charged by Angel, who knocks him to the ground. Angel punches Spike in the face, and Spike responds with a kick to Angel's chest. Spike puts Angel in a headlock.
"You took me on and lost, remember, old man?" Angel's eyes narrowed remembering the last altercation between him and his grandchilde.
"Touch Cordelia again..." Angel breaks free of Spike's grip, lifts Spike into the air and throws Spike to the ground. "...Get ready for our very last rematch."
Spike growled in frustration while getting to his feet.
"She's evil, you gourmless tit." Cordelia held her neck, indignant. "Excuse me? Who bit whom?" Angel frowned.
"Did you call me a tit?" Cordelia looked at Spike. "I thought he had a soul." Spike points at Cordelia. "I thought she didn't."
"I do."
"So do I."
"Well, clearly, mine's better."
Spike glared at Cordelia and begins to stride toward her. "Look..."
Spike is intercepted by Angel. He grabs Spike by the lapels and throws his back into the wall. "I see fangs, I'm gonna play dentist."
Cordelia scoffed. "And you called this guy the big hero?" Spike looked at Angel, a lopsided grin making it's way on his face.
"You called me a hero?" Angel narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know you were eating people." Spike headbutts Angel, sending them apart, both reeling and holding their foreheads in pain.
"Ow! God. It was a taste test, you git. I needed to know if what my source said is true." Spike looks at Cordelia. "And, actually, well, you don't taste evil. Demons are more...astringent with a sort of oakie, really..."
"What source?" Angel interrupted
"I've got a guy. Has an in with the powers that whats it. Gets these visions." Spike explained and Angel and Cordelia look at each other.
"Visions?" Angel asks.
"Yeah. Said Cordelia was taken over by some big bad. Came to destroy you all."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "His vision's a rerun." "The thing that possessed Cordy's long dead, Spike." Angel elaborated. Spike sighed. "Well, looks like tattoo boy was wrong this time."
Both of Cordelia's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait. Tattoos? What kind of tattoos?" "I don't know. Symbols. Tribal-like."
"This guy with the visions, did he have a name?" Angel asked
"Called himself Doyle." Spike answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Becca puffed out her chest, trying to move as regally as possible, as she strode purposefully toward the entrance of Wolfram & Hart only to be shoved out of the way by exiting employees and clients. She stopped one of the suits in as she entered the lobby.
"What's all the hub-bub, bub?"
"There's a code 7 so anyone who doesn't currently have a death wish is getting the hell out of here!" The suit replied snottily. Becca smiled darkly.
"Relax, relax. I mean are you sure you don't have a death wish?" Becca asked nonchalantly as she gently straightened his tie and the lapels on his jacket. The suit looked at her as if she were crazy.
"What?" Becca moved her hand over his chest, where his heart was.
"I'm just saying. You're being a prick, knowing you're a vampire and I could easily dust you..." Suddenly a stake protruded out of her sleeve, leaving nothing but dust. "...Just like that." Smirking, Becca made her way to the elevator.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Spike, I don't wanna go in blind. Anything else you know about this guy?" Angel looked at Spike expectantly.
"Not much. Average size. Dressed like an urban cowboy. Got his hand chopped off once."
Both of Cordelia's eyeybrows shot up. "His hand?"
"He's back." Wesley added in realization.
"Lindsey." Angel announced darkly.
"Who?" Fred asked.
At the revelation that Lindsey was back to his old tricks, Angel leaped into action. "Lock the building down, make sure he can't get out. Don't trust security systems. He won't show up because of those tattoos of his."
"There could be a way to fix that. I'll need some help." Wesley intervened.
"My dance card's free." Lorne offered but Fred was still in the dark.
"Who is Lindsey?"
Cordelia stepped toward Fred and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"A lawyer. Wolfram & Hart's former golden boy, till he ran off to go find himself."
"Yeah, he should've stayed lost. Harmony, guard eve. She moves, eat her." Angel ordered. Harmony grinned widely as she looked at Eve like she was lunch. "Really? Thanks."
Fred moved away from Cordelia and in front of Angel. "Angel, you're not going down there alone." Angel looked at her with just as much determination as she looked at him with.
"The fail-safe's meant for me. I'm not gonna risk anybody I care about." Spike hopped off Angel couch. "I'll go."
"O.K." Angel replied, a little too quickly.
"Guys, Be ready to evacuate. If this thing gets past me, get the hell out of the building." Cordelia walked to Angel's desk.
"Past us." Angel stopped dead in his tracks. "No, no. Cordy..." Cordelia ignored Angel and grabbed a samurai sword off the wall behind Angel's desk.
"Yeah, save it, Angel. You can order me around all you want, but I know my rights." Cordelia unsheathed the sword. "And I wanna see a lawyer."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello! Anybody here?" Becca yelled as she stepped off the elevator and entered the large reception office. She walked down the stairs and made her way to a small desk.
"Hey! Step away from the desk!" Becca jumped back and looked at the blonde head that peaked through a separate office's doors.
"Sorry, who are you?" The blonde frowned and stepped halfway out the office.
"I'm Harmony. Angel's assistant. Look, there's kinda an emergency with some wacko ex-lawyer running around trying to unleash something big and bad, so if you had an appointment are were just arrogant enough to just pop In here off the street, you're gonna have to comeback another day. That is if whatever it is that was especially made to destroy Angel breaks lose."
Becca blinked. "Could you by any chance just show me where he went?" Harmony looked at the mysterious young woman suspiciously but then shrugged.
"Normally I probably would but I'm hoping for a late lunch. "Harmony smirked and looked back into the office. Curious, Becca walked toward the office and glanced inside only to see a face she hoped she'd never see again.
"Hello Eve." Becca sneered. Eve's eyes widened and she backed away, trying to escape but Becca rushed in and grabbed Eve by the hair.
"Would you mind terribly if I borrowed her?" Becca asked Harmony as Eve screamed in pain. Harmony pouted.
"She was my lunch." Becca led Eve out of the office, smirking. "Don't worry. I'll owe you a meal."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lindsey kicked Angel off the balcony, across the room. Angel lands on top of the holding tank. Lindsey leaped down and stood over him.
"Who is this? Who is this?" Lindsey mocked as he took off his shirt and threw it at Angel.
"I came to fight the vampire with a soul. Guess you shouldn't have sold it, huh? Look at you, from champion to pathetic corporate puppet in just a few months. You used to have fire in your heart."
Lindsey squatted down to Angel's level.
"Now all you got in there is that big honkin' sword. How's that feel, champ?"
Angel looked up at Lindsey. "Could be worse..." He pulled the sword out of his chest. "...if it had been made out of wood, you dumbass."
Angel threw the sword away and stood. Lindsey and Angel engage in hand-to- hand combat once again while Cordelia works feverishly to shut down the fail-safe. Cordelia randomly pressed buttons on the control panel until a tube emerged. The covering iris widened to reveal the crystal.
Cordelia looked at the crystal admiringly. "Like that was so hard."
"No!" Lindsey yelled when he saw Cordelia with the crystal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Come on Eve! Lift those knees up and put those Manolo Blahniks to work!"
Becca and Eve ran into the guarded basement of W & H, where Spike was currently fighting the last three zombies.
"Come on boys. What is it you're looking for, a good helping o' brains?"
Spike lowers his head. "Come an' get 'em." Becca grinned at the blonde's antics.
"Ya know, with all the products on that head they may not be interested in dye-soaked brain." Spike whirled around and raised an eyebrow at the smart- alick teen.
"Who in the bloody hell are you? Didn't know peaches had minors on the pay roll." Becca smirked and threw Eve on the other side of the room where the door was.
"Whatever you say, Grandpa Billy. As long as you can hold your own in a fight I don't see any problem in us sharing the action."
Spike smirked. "Okay, kid. You take the one on the right and I'll take the two on the left."
Becca smiled in agreement and together they made short work of the remaining zombies. Eve watched on in awe as she realized just how much Becca moved like Spike. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"All those tattoos, all those new tricks you've learned..."
Angel punched Lindsey in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.
"...Just don't matter."
Unsteadily, Lindsey tried to stand.
"Doesn't matter what you try."
But Angel punched Lindsey back down.
"Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become."
Lindsey was able to get to his knees but Angel punched him in the face again.
"'Cause you know what?"
Angel grabbed Lindsey by the neck, holding him face-to-face.
"I'm Angel." Angel threw Lindsey across the room and he landed against the wall.
"I beat the bad guys."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh just friggin great!" Becca yelled in frustration as she searched the shut chamber door. Spike frowned as he stared at the girl.
"Why do you need to et in there so bad, pet?" Becca ignored him and started pounding on the door. "Let me in! Let me in!"
On the other side of the door, Cordelia smirked as she watched Lindsey's tattoos float off her body but she frowned when she heard the girl's screaming.
Looking around on the floor, Cordelia found the remote that Lindsey used to close the door and opened it just as a portal opened up above Lindsey. The door opened and Becca looked up at the portal.
"Shit." Using ever bit of speed she had, Becca picked Eve up by the hair and ran toward Lindsey.
Before Angel could stop her, Becca pushed Lindsey out of the way and dropped Eve directly under the portal, letting her get sucked up into the vacuum. Becca fell to the floor on top of Lindsey as the portal moved over them.
"Fabula mundi, sanguis incesti, vincula solve, invisa revela." Becca chanted as her hands began to glow.
The portal died down until disappearing altogether, shutting abruptly. Spike walked up to join Angel and Cordelia as all three looked down at the girl. Becca moved away from Lindsey slowly, a bit reluctant to look up at the three. Angel was the first to speak.
"Who are you?"
Becca looked up at Angel and answered with a nervous grin. "Uh, hello. I'm Becca!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
R&R
Chapter 5: A Champion Realized Pt.2 More Questions
"I don't get it. Apparently Wolfram & Hart has branches all over the world. Why come to L.A.?"
Chloe watched as Becca paced in front of her desk, rubbing her taped hands together. Becca stopped and sighed.
"It's a long and complicated story. Best saved for wacky sleepovers over mounds of junk food." The only indication that Chloe stopped working was the abrupt hault in typing.
"Are you going to tell me eventually?" Becca plopped down in one of the two chairs in front of Chloe's desk. She leaned in and raked a hand threw her hair. "Later tonight I hope. As soon as I confirm what I've been told."
Chloe looked up at the young woman in front of her, concerned with the weariness she saw in her face. Becca looked Choe in the eyes but quickly glanced away, unable to fully look her in the eyes. She jumped up and started pacing again.
"Could you start typing again? I can't stand uncomfortable silences." Becca gave Chloe a half-hearted grin.
"No need." Chloe moved her mouse over her Rugrats mouse pad and clicked Print. "And Wa La. Wolfram & Hart floor plans." When the plans finally completely printed out, Becca grabbed them and yelled a hurried "Thanks" while she ran out the door.
"Rebecca, Wait!" Chloe ran to the door and looked out to try and find Becca but she was nowhere in sight. "Dmmait." Chloe swore under her breath. "Good luck, Becca."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Somebody really wants to stay hidden. I'll be right back Wes. Somewhere there's a bag of Doritos with my name on em. Can I get you anything?"
Wesley poked his head out of the book long enough to say a quick 'No Thanks' before Cordelia left in search of nourishment. After a minute and a half of wandering Cordelia decided that she had gotten herself sufficently lost.
"This place is like a rat maze." She scoffed as a lawyer passed her in the hall. "Complete with rats." Shrugging off the willies, she turns around to see none other than Spike coming toward her. "Spike." She smiled and laughed.
"Well, well. I heard you weren't evil anymore, which kind of makes the hair silly." Spike ignored her catty remark and went straight into gameface. Completely irked Cordelia rethought the gentle teasing.
"Or nice?" Spike continues to walk purposefully toward Cordelia and presses her against the wall while she screams.
Spike stepped back voluntarily from biting Cordelia's neck, but moments later, he was charged by Angel, who knocks him to the ground. Angel punches Spike in the face, and Spike responds with a kick to Angel's chest. Spike puts Angel in a headlock.
"You took me on and lost, remember, old man?" Angel's eyes narrowed remembering the last altercation between him and his grandchilde.
"Touch Cordelia again..." Angel breaks free of Spike's grip, lifts Spike into the air and throws Spike to the ground. "...Get ready for our very last rematch."
Spike growled in frustration while getting to his feet.
"She's evil, you gourmless tit." Cordelia held her neck, indignant. "Excuse me? Who bit whom?" Angel frowned.
"Did you call me a tit?" Cordelia looked at Spike. "I thought he had a soul." Spike points at Cordelia. "I thought she didn't."
"I do."
"So do I."
"Well, clearly, mine's better."
Spike glared at Cordelia and begins to stride toward her. "Look..."
Spike is intercepted by Angel. He grabs Spike by the lapels and throws his back into the wall. "I see fangs, I'm gonna play dentist."
Cordelia scoffed. "And you called this guy the big hero?" Spike looked at Angel, a lopsided grin making it's way on his face.
"You called me a hero?" Angel narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know you were eating people." Spike headbutts Angel, sending them apart, both reeling and holding their foreheads in pain.
"Ow! God. It was a taste test, you git. I needed to know if what my source said is true." Spike looks at Cordelia. "And, actually, well, you don't taste evil. Demons are more...astringent with a sort of oakie, really..."
"What source?" Angel interrupted
"I've got a guy. Has an in with the powers that whats it. Gets these visions." Spike explained and Angel and Cordelia look at each other.
"Visions?" Angel asks.
"Yeah. Said Cordelia was taken over by some big bad. Came to destroy you all."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "His vision's a rerun." "The thing that possessed Cordy's long dead, Spike." Angel elaborated. Spike sighed. "Well, looks like tattoo boy was wrong this time."
Both of Cordelia's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait. Tattoos? What kind of tattoos?" "I don't know. Symbols. Tribal-like."
"This guy with the visions, did he have a name?" Angel asked
"Called himself Doyle." Spike answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Becca puffed out her chest, trying to move as regally as possible, as she strode purposefully toward the entrance of Wolfram & Hart only to be shoved out of the way by exiting employees and clients. She stopped one of the suits in as she entered the lobby.
"What's all the hub-bub, bub?"
"There's a code 7 so anyone who doesn't currently have a death wish is getting the hell out of here!" The suit replied snottily. Becca smiled darkly.
"Relax, relax. I mean are you sure you don't have a death wish?" Becca asked nonchalantly as she gently straightened his tie and the lapels on his jacket. The suit looked at her as if she were crazy.
"What?" Becca moved her hand over his chest, where his heart was.
"I'm just saying. You're being a prick, knowing you're a vampire and I could easily dust you..." Suddenly a stake protruded out of her sleeve, leaving nothing but dust. "...Just like that." Smirking, Becca made her way to the elevator.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Spike, I don't wanna go in blind. Anything else you know about this guy?" Angel looked at Spike expectantly.
"Not much. Average size. Dressed like an urban cowboy. Got his hand chopped off once."
Both of Cordelia's eyeybrows shot up. "His hand?"
"He's back." Wesley added in realization.
"Lindsey." Angel announced darkly.
"Who?" Fred asked.
At the revelation that Lindsey was back to his old tricks, Angel leaped into action. "Lock the building down, make sure he can't get out. Don't trust security systems. He won't show up because of those tattoos of his."
"There could be a way to fix that. I'll need some help." Wesley intervened.
"My dance card's free." Lorne offered but Fred was still in the dark.
"Who is Lindsey?"
Cordelia stepped toward Fred and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"A lawyer. Wolfram & Hart's former golden boy, till he ran off to go find himself."
"Yeah, he should've stayed lost. Harmony, guard eve. She moves, eat her." Angel ordered. Harmony grinned widely as she looked at Eve like she was lunch. "Really? Thanks."
Fred moved away from Cordelia and in front of Angel. "Angel, you're not going down there alone." Angel looked at her with just as much determination as she looked at him with.
"The fail-safe's meant for me. I'm not gonna risk anybody I care about." Spike hopped off Angel couch. "I'll go."
"O.K." Angel replied, a little too quickly.
"Guys, Be ready to evacuate. If this thing gets past me, get the hell out of the building." Cordelia walked to Angel's desk.
"Past us." Angel stopped dead in his tracks. "No, no. Cordy..." Cordelia ignored Angel and grabbed a samurai sword off the wall behind Angel's desk.
"Yeah, save it, Angel. You can order me around all you want, but I know my rights." Cordelia unsheathed the sword. "And I wanna see a lawyer."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello! Anybody here?" Becca yelled as she stepped off the elevator and entered the large reception office. She walked down the stairs and made her way to a small desk.
"Hey! Step away from the desk!" Becca jumped back and looked at the blonde head that peaked through a separate office's doors.
"Sorry, who are you?" The blonde frowned and stepped halfway out the office.
"I'm Harmony. Angel's assistant. Look, there's kinda an emergency with some wacko ex-lawyer running around trying to unleash something big and bad, so if you had an appointment are were just arrogant enough to just pop In here off the street, you're gonna have to comeback another day. That is if whatever it is that was especially made to destroy Angel breaks lose."
Becca blinked. "Could you by any chance just show me where he went?" Harmony looked at the mysterious young woman suspiciously but then shrugged.
"Normally I probably would but I'm hoping for a late lunch. "Harmony smirked and looked back into the office. Curious, Becca walked toward the office and glanced inside only to see a face she hoped she'd never see again.
"Hello Eve." Becca sneered. Eve's eyes widened and she backed away, trying to escape but Becca rushed in and grabbed Eve by the hair.
"Would you mind terribly if I borrowed her?" Becca asked Harmony as Eve screamed in pain. Harmony pouted.
"She was my lunch." Becca led Eve out of the office, smirking. "Don't worry. I'll owe you a meal."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lindsey kicked Angel off the balcony, across the room. Angel lands on top of the holding tank. Lindsey leaped down and stood over him.
"Who is this? Who is this?" Lindsey mocked as he took off his shirt and threw it at Angel.
"I came to fight the vampire with a soul. Guess you shouldn't have sold it, huh? Look at you, from champion to pathetic corporate puppet in just a few months. You used to have fire in your heart."
Lindsey squatted down to Angel's level.
"Now all you got in there is that big honkin' sword. How's that feel, champ?"
Angel looked up at Lindsey. "Could be worse..." He pulled the sword out of his chest. "...if it had been made out of wood, you dumbass."
Angel threw the sword away and stood. Lindsey and Angel engage in hand-to- hand combat once again while Cordelia works feverishly to shut down the fail-safe. Cordelia randomly pressed buttons on the control panel until a tube emerged. The covering iris widened to reveal the crystal.
Cordelia looked at the crystal admiringly. "Like that was so hard."
"No!" Lindsey yelled when he saw Cordelia with the crystal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Come on Eve! Lift those knees up and put those Manolo Blahniks to work!"
Becca and Eve ran into the guarded basement of W & H, where Spike was currently fighting the last three zombies.
"Come on boys. What is it you're looking for, a good helping o' brains?"
Spike lowers his head. "Come an' get 'em." Becca grinned at the blonde's antics.
"Ya know, with all the products on that head they may not be interested in dye-soaked brain." Spike whirled around and raised an eyebrow at the smart- alick teen.
"Who in the bloody hell are you? Didn't know peaches had minors on the pay roll." Becca smirked and threw Eve on the other side of the room where the door was.
"Whatever you say, Grandpa Billy. As long as you can hold your own in a fight I don't see any problem in us sharing the action."
Spike smirked. "Okay, kid. You take the one on the right and I'll take the two on the left."
Becca smiled in agreement and together they made short work of the remaining zombies. Eve watched on in awe as she realized just how much Becca moved like Spike. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"All those tattoos, all those new tricks you've learned..."
Angel punched Lindsey in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.
"...Just don't matter."
Unsteadily, Lindsey tried to stand.
"Doesn't matter what you try."
But Angel punched Lindsey back down.
"Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become."
Lindsey was able to get to his knees but Angel punched him in the face again.
"'Cause you know what?"
Angel grabbed Lindsey by the neck, holding him face-to-face.
"I'm Angel." Angel threw Lindsey across the room and he landed against the wall.
"I beat the bad guys."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh just friggin great!" Becca yelled in frustration as she searched the shut chamber door. Spike frowned as he stared at the girl.
"Why do you need to et in there so bad, pet?" Becca ignored him and started pounding on the door. "Let me in! Let me in!"
On the other side of the door, Cordelia smirked as she watched Lindsey's tattoos float off her body but she frowned when she heard the girl's screaming.
Looking around on the floor, Cordelia found the remote that Lindsey used to close the door and opened it just as a portal opened up above Lindsey. The door opened and Becca looked up at the portal.
"Shit." Using ever bit of speed she had, Becca picked Eve up by the hair and ran toward Lindsey.
Before Angel could stop her, Becca pushed Lindsey out of the way and dropped Eve directly under the portal, letting her get sucked up into the vacuum. Becca fell to the floor on top of Lindsey as the portal moved over them.
"Fabula mundi, sanguis incesti, vincula solve, invisa revela." Becca chanted as her hands began to glow.
The portal died down until disappearing altogether, shutting abruptly. Spike walked up to join Angel and Cordelia as all three looked down at the girl. Becca moved away from Lindsey slowly, a bit reluctant to look up at the three. Angel was the first to speak.
"Who are you?"
Becca looked up at Angel and answered with a nervous grin. "Uh, hello. I'm Becca!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
R&R