Chapter 2: Comatose Beauty
Los Angeles - CA
Two weeks later
10:45 PM
The sounds of the night. Faith never understood what the heck people were talking when they said that. To her, the sounds of the night generally involved screams of pain, howls of terror and pleas for forgiveness or for God's Holy Intervention. And occasionally there were the sounds of quick breath and muscular extortions, followed by muffled screams of pleasure.
But after Sunnydale, and Willow, things definitely had changed.
She was standing on the roof of a building, a few blocks from the Hyperion Hotel, eyes closed, really listening to the night. The Slayer was slowly turning around, ears focusing on the multitude of sounds around her.
Instincts of the tiger, Willow said in the spell. Nobility of the wolf. Sight of the eagle. Endurance of the polar bear. Smell of the hyena. Strength of the ant. Agility of the snake. Healing of the salamander. Sensitivity of the fly. And the purifying strength of Mother Earth.
That was she now. The Slayer. Champion of the Light, cleansed from the demon essence that made the Slayer, into a new mystical fighter, empowered by Nature itself.
Faith never thought it could be like that. She was still testing her new powers and limits and so far, she was still too dumbstruck to have a definite opinion, aside from 'wow'.
Damn, if she focused, she could listen to a person speak from /seventeen/ blocks away. She had made that test with Xander a few days ago. Now, she was hunting like that, senses expanded around her. In a city like LA . . .
"Help!" she heard the scream, and immediately focused the hearing in the direction of the sound. Not too far away, some seven blocks to the east.
"Don't worry, we just came for a snack . . ." she heard another snickering voice speaking.
Vamp attack.
"Showtime," Faith said, jumping from the ledge of the building.
[Play Faith's Theme – The Rasmus – First Day of My Life]
Another perk from the new empowerment. She was so strong and agile right now that she could do things that only were seen in comic books.
She landed in the neighboring building, five floors below, and ran over the edge of the roof at full sprint. Two steps away from the ledge and the Slayer crouched, jumping up and over the street separating her from the next building. She flipped in mid air to reduce speed when landing and touched the building's roof perfectly. She looked behind her for a moment, smile creasing her beautiful face.
"Eat your heart out, Spidey."
She kept running and jumping, closing in for the attack. The actions were so instinctive that the conscious mind disengaged for a time, going to a new direction.
Cordelia's Hospital
Yesterday
02:05 PM
"Excuse me."
The voice took nurse Rayser from the stupor she was in.
"Yes, sir?" the nurse finally looked at the man on the other side of the counter. What a hunk. Six foot something, raven hair and a sexy smirk. She perked up quickly, smiling, drowsiness vanishing as if by magic. Then she noticed the brunette standing a couple steps behind him, and the smile also vanished.
"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked, more professionally.
"Cordelia Chase's room, please," he said, still smirking. Xander Harris knew exactly what had happened in his back. But he couldn't resist. Faith loved to push his buttons, sometimes he had to push back.
"Room 813. Take the elevator at the end of the hall, the room is to your left."
"Thank you."
They walked to the elevator, Xander's good mood disappearing as he walked. Faith noticed the change in attitude and body language, and she circled his arm around him, bringing him closer.
"Hey," she spoke softly.
"Hey, yourself."
"Scared?"
Xander kept silent for a time, waiting for the doors to open. They walked in, going to the back of the car. The young man took a deep breath and shook his head.
"Yeah, a little. I'm afraid of what I'm gonna find out. She was the one who didn't want anything to do with Slaying and the supernatural. And look where she ended up," he said, hands moving as if to encompass the hospital.
Faith thought it over for a moment.
"Do you really think that? Then you knew less about her than you think. Do you think that if she wanted to stay away she would have hooked up with Fang?"
The door opened at the designated floor and they walked to the left, silently searching for the room. A few moments later they were standing in front of the closed door. Before Xander opened it, he turned to the Slayer.
"I know that. It's just . . ." he stopped speaking, hand moving slowly to his chest, above his heart, mind flying to the tip of a sword not so long ago.
"Not fair. I know. It never is. Let's go. And Xander?" she spoke, seriously.
"Yeah?"
"I'm right behind you."
Some of his good mood returned.
"In what sense should I take this?"
"The wrong one, Boy Toy," she said, smirking.
"I imagined. And Faith?"
"Yeah?"
'Thanks."
He opened the door, and his heart sunk. There she was, lying on the bed, cardiac monitor connected to her finger.
Cordelia Chase.
Cordy.
Cor.
The woman he loved to hate, but loved to love. And he had loved her, deeply. He still did, but he wasn't /in love/ with her anymore. Not for a long time, now. But it hurt, seeing her like that. She was a bit different, someone had cut her hair shorter, but she still was one of the most beautiful women Xander had ever seen.
Damn, he missed her bitchy attitude, and her smile.
Time to remedy that.
"Hello, Cor. Time for the wake up call. And I know how you hate to be woken up."
He touched her forehead.
The tact telepathy was a funny thing. He had no full control over it, seeming to act over its own accord. But it worked great when it wanted.
He dove in her mind. It was funny, the minds he had touched, even the "normal" ones seemed to be in a constant state of "movement", images coming and going at a blinding speed.
Cordy's mind seemed to be stopped, as if he was walking on a room filled with TV's with paused scenes. The scenes changed, but they didn't "move".
He saw a lot of things, like pictures in a photo album. Them, in the janitor closet. Them, in Giles' library. Cordy leaving after Graduation. Angel. Wesley. Doyle. Pain. Gunn. A teenager that Xander suspected was Connor. Sex. Her pregnant. Pain again. And the cycle restarted, with different images.
He kept looking for quite some time. Funny thing, the scenes didn't go back beyond the point they began dating. The first scene he had seen was they making out in the basement.
Xander finally noticed something. There was a small pulse of energy every time an image changed. It flared, the image changed and it disappeared.
Curious. Time to do a little test. He forced his mind into one of the scenes, waiting for the energy pulse. The moment it occurred, he screamed.
Pain. Pain like he never felt before. Not even dying and returning had hurt so much. He was being attacked by all sides with knives, torches, acid, electricity, everything. The energy attached itself to him, trying to end his intrusion and kill him.
Then something happened. The sound of wings flapping could be heard over the screams of pain. From the deepest recesses of his mind, the crow appeared.
The bird cawed once, and the energy suddenly detached itself from Xander. It seemed to attack the bird, but the moment it approached the black bird, he opened his beak. The energy flew inside it, and he 'ate' it.
"Thank you ,"Xander spoke. "What was that?"
Something that shouldn't have stayed behind. She'll be okay now.
"Thanks."
The bird disappeared again, flying back into the blackness of his mind.
The images began moving again, like a normal mind would. There was something else there, something that Xander couldn't figure it out, but it didn't seem to harm her, so he let it go. He detached himself from her mind, coming back from the trance.
"Wow, I think we need another Jimmy," he said, looking at Cordelia and then to Faith. "How long did I stay in?"
"Just a moment, I saw you shiver and go all tensed up, then you are back. What happened?"
"Tell you later."
Cordelia groaned and moved a bit. Her eyelids started to flutter, and she began shaking her head from side to side. The cardiac monitor began beeping a bit faster, the movements became a little more frantic. Then, she finally opened her eyes.
The first look was, obviously, confusion. She looked around trying to recognize the feelings and the environment. The second one was of recognition.
"X-Xander?"
"Hello, sleeping beauty. Welcome back."
The brain reconnected again, she was almost on top of them. The Slayer looked down, the vampires had circled an old couple in an alley, and they were toying with them, game faces on.
Hummm. Three floors down. Too easy.
"HEY!" She screamed from where she stood. The vamp gang looked around, not finding her. "UP HERE, BUNCH OF MORONS!"
The group looked up, locating her.
"What's she doing up there? HEY, LADY, COME DOWN!" the apparent leader spoke up.
"YEAH, WE WANT TO PLAY!" another undead screamed.
Whistles and catcalls followed up. Faith was slightly amused, but as the saying goes, don't play with your food. Time to kick some ass.
She walked forward into nothingness, gravity taking hold immediately. The vampires were struck dumb with the action.
"The broad is suicidal!" one of them spoke. The couple was too scared to utter a sound.
Faith landed smoothly, legs bent. She stood up, and began walking calmly to them. Every jaw dropped, from vampires to humans.
"So you guys give a party and don't invite me? I'm disappointed. So disappointed I think I'm going to have to break it up," Faith spoke casually, right hand moving to one of the stakes stored in her back pockets.
"Lady, you are nuts. How did you do that?" the leader asked her, he and two others moving in to intercept her.
"What? Jump down?" she said. "Easy . . ."
They came closer.
". . . For the Slayer." And she moved before anyone else could blink.
The leader was first, stake entering and leaving his heart in half a second. Before he even began to dust, the stake was already piercing another undead heart. The third one had the time to lift an arm to try and punch her. Faith had two options, be subtle or be brutal. The couple was still at risk, so she chose brutal. She body-slammed the other vampire, who flew to the wall on the right, bones and spine breaking on impact. He was down for the time being.
The two remaining ones were stupid enough to try and attack her, instead of using the couple as shields. Stupid move. But then, vampires weren't known for brain power.
The distance between them was perfect for a little showmanship. She grabbed another stake with her left hand, closing in on them. Her right foot flew up, hitting the vampire with so much force on his chin that it broke his jaw and his neck. He crumbled to the floor, paralyzed.
The one to the left turned a bit to watch his companion be kicked, but she didn't have time to do anything. The stake flew true, and she died her final death.
[End Faith's theme]
Five vamps down. Twenty-five seconds. New World Record in her book.
Faith looked at the couple, which was shaking like leaves.
"Next time, stay on crowded and lighted streets, 'k?" she said, turning to the fallen vampire next to her feet and dusting him.
They quickly walked away, looking at the other fallen vampire near the alley's mouth. The woman made the man stop, and she turned back to Faith, who was approaching.
"Are those things . . ." she was even afraid to ask.
"Vampires? Yeah," Faith answered, approaching the last one. "Lousy night, huh?" she murmured to the downed one, before using the stake one last time.
"Isn't that dangerous?" the lady asked again.
"It's my job," Faith said, neutrally.
"Do you like it?" the man asked
Faith looked at them, alive and breathing, albeit a little shook up. "Yeah, I like it."
"Thank you," the woman said, and they left.
"You're welcome," she said more to herself, before jumping up and grabbing the fire ladder above her.
She arrived at the roof moments later, eyes trailing the couple, until they grabbed a passing cab two blocks away.
She continued her radar search for a few minutes, before hearing a different sound approaching. Faith opened her eyes, focusing on the direction of the sound. Light seemed to concentrate more fully in them, and suddenly all came to perfect focus for a great distance.
Faith had dubbed it "Slay-Vision". Light amplification and a huge focal range stuck together in a neat package. She had to remember to kiss Willow next time she saw the redheaded wicca. In the mouth. With lots of tongue.
It was Blackie. Xander's bird. He was approaching quickly, flying straight to her.
It was time for a few explanations to a certain Seer.
