Angel gets a Buffy-related scare. Buffy finds out more about Elektra. Devlin earns Alexa's everlasting gratitude on her first night as a vampire. And Dev pays Harmony a surprise visit before surprising his sister.

Angel is in his office, having a conference call with Lorne, Wes and Gunn. "The Industry is holding my feet to the coals on this one," Lorne reports. "And once the press gets the details, whoa Nellie. This is tabloid gold."

"The vampire angle's that sensational?," Angel asks.

"That's the least of it, boss. Hold on. You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Gunn gulps, then proceeds to explain. In the lobby, a frazzled, bleeding vampire rushes to Harmony's desk.

"You got something on your face," she reports.

"I have to talk to Spike."

"Why?"

"A woman wants him."

"What kind of woman?"

"A woman like you." A blonde? Buffy!

"Did she cut you up?"

"After killing all my friends." That definitely sounded like Buffy. "So. You're a working girl. How's that working out? I'm still living off the land."

"You're flirting with a massive head wound."

"Oh. This. It's not massive. I'll go wash it off. Is Spike here?"

"Let me check while you do that."

"This could definitely be embarrassing for his family," Angel notes.

"As embarrassingly as being abandoned by their husband and father?," Wesley asks. He doesn't understand why they're making such a fuss over an unsympathetic guy when decent people die unavenged all the time.

"It's about reputation. Our reputation," Lorne explains. "For what the studios pay us, they expect us to keep their moguls safe from the creepy-crawlies."

"She stole the guy's car, and a lot of other stuff," Angel replies. "It shouldn't be too hard to track her down. Wait. I have another call. Harmony, this better be important."

"A certain vampire-slaying girl sent a beat-up vampire over here with a message for Spike."

"You mean Debbie?"

"I hadn't thought of them. But I don't think so. She's not blonde."

"One second." He returns to the conference call. "Guys, I have to go. Something came up." He rushes out to see Harmony.

"Where is she?" Kyle emerges from the restroom, the blood gone but the symbol still scratched into his forehead.

"Where is he?," Kyle asks.

"Who are you?"

"Angel, this is the messenger," Harmony reports.

"My name's Kyle. Hey, you're Angel."

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"She doesn't want to talk to you. She told me Angel doesn't matter.' Only Spike matters to her." Angel's speechless.

"Maybe Buffy's still mad at you for taking this job," Harmony proposes.

"Buffy the Vampire Layer? I mean, Slayer." Kyle starts laughing. "What the hell gave you that idea? I said she was like you. And me. And him."

"Ohhh. You meant she was a vampire," Harmony realizes.

"How did you confuse Buffy with a vampire?," a peeved Angel wants to know. Harmony had led him to think Buffy had forsaken him and chosen Spike.

"What kind of vampire kills other vampires?," Harmony asks in her defense. "Except for you, Angel."

"Did she carve that on your forehead?," Angel asks.

"After dusting five of my friends. The girl's brutal." Kyle smiles. "And totally hot. She didn't need to kill us. We would've worked for her. We would have done anything for her. But I guess the only vampire she wants is Spike. Oh and, uh, I think she's going to massacre people until she finds him. So you should hurry and tell him, since you guys are, like, anti-massacre, right?"

"Why would a vampire be that obsessed with Spike?," Harmony asks. "Angel?"

"So," Kyle says with a smile to Harmony, now that they're alone again. "You seeing anyone?" Harmony rolls her eyes.

Spike's helping train the security guards. They beat on him, and he beats on them. Six men surround him, and one-by-one he puts them all on their backs. "That was bloody pathetic. If this were real, you'd all be dead by now." Angel runs in. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm teaching?" The men can't believe how insolent he acts to the boss. The expect Angel to deck Spike.

"Someone's here to see you."

"Who?"

"I'll explain on the way." He pulls Spike out of the room.

"Is it Buffy?"

"No. Unlike her, this girl's obsessed with you. And she's a vampire." When they get back to the lobby, Spike takes one look at Kyle's forehead and knows who it is. He waits about five seconds before telling everybody else.

"Elektra."

"She said you'd know."

"Tall girl? Really pretty?"

"And psychotic."

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Spike replies, trying to conceal a smile.

"She wants to see you."

"I bet she does."

"She's in an abandoned theater on - " Spike snaps Kyle's neck.

"Well that was incredibly stupid," Angel points out.

"I did you a favor."

"You did HER a favor."

"If you knew her location, you'd send a commando team."

"Along with myself."

"They'd die, you'd get hurt, she'd escape."

"I don't need you looking out for me. Unless you're looking out for her. Is she another one of yours?"

"I drained her. She fed off Dru."

"And who does she take after?"

"She's her own girl. And Leks is very dangerous when cornered. Let me handle this. Alone."

"Like you handled Dana?"

"Fine," Spike says as he walks to the elevator. "Call out the bloody cavalry. Hunt the girl down. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Spike, wait a minute. Does this, Elektra vampire like to kill men while they're, you know - ?"

"Excited?" He chuckles. "She said it makes the blood come faster. Why?"

"A guy got killed last night. Police found him with a cocktail umbrella inside his, - "

"How old?"

"Forty five."

"Rich?"

"Well off."

"That's her all right. Stay clear."

"It would help if I knew what I was trying to stay away from." Spike shakes his head.

"You'll have to learn the hard way." He knows Angel will hunt her down. "About yeah high. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Very pretty. Very innocent-looking. Bloody vicious. The girl loves her work."

"How old?"

"Seventeen. A little long in the tooth for your tastes."

"What are we killing tonight?," Deb asks Dev when she gets home from school."

"Nothing. You can try to kill me if you want, just to stay fresh."

"Naw. You know what that'll lead to."

"Why do you think I suggested it? I'm sorry. I don't mean to belittle your whole, situation."

"It's been less than three days. Can you show a little patience?"

"Sure. By the way, I'm going into Los Angeles tonight to see my sister."

"Your what?"

"She used to run with Spike and Dru and me. I got a tip from W and H about a weird killing last night that fits her M.O. exactly. She's probably got some unresolved business with Spike. But I figure when she's done with him, she'll come for me. And you."

"So we kill her. If Angel hasn't already."

"He won't. She's tricky. Which is why I want to keep her away from you."

"You afraid she'll tell me stuff about your past?"

"No, I'm afraid she'll kill you." Debbie laughs. "She's like me, Deb. She doesn't play by the rules."

"She's packing heat?"

"Maybe. I'd rather not find out. See, I figure if I cut her off in LA, let her know she's not just going to be facing us, but also all our friends, that might scare her away."

"What sort of relationship did you two have?"

"You mean have I slept with her? Deb, she's my sister!"

"And Drusilla, who you lost your virginity to, is your grandmother."

"Lateral relations are very different than hierarchical. I didn't think of Dru as a grandmother. I do think of Alexa as a sister."

"A sister you're going to kill?"

Harmony opens her front door, and can hear someone inside. She slowly approaches the noise, and sees the back of man who's looking through her cd collection. She goes bumpy, picks up a flower pot, and raises it. The man turns around. She drops the pot. He catches it in mid-air. "Devlin!?" She slaps his face.

"That's the thanks I get for saving your worthless vase?"

"You broke into my home? Why!?"

"I should be asking the questions. Wilson Phillips? What do you have to say in defense of yourself? And these unicorns! I look at them, and all I see is a horse with a wooden stake on its nose. Terrifying!" Harmony laughs.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see your pretty face." Harmony smiles. "And find out how things are going in San Diego. I suppose I could have called to get that information, but then there's the problem of not seeing your pretty face."

"I made a few friends last night."

"Make some more tonight."

"Do I have to sleep with any of them? You know, to, umm, get into their group?"

"Not unless you want to. Of course, Alex might mind." Harmony looks upset. "Something happen between you two? Lemme guess: he couldn't handle the vampire thing. I've been there myself so many times."

"You date humans? Non-Slayer humans?"

"All the time. In general, I prefer them to vampires. Present company excluded. I'm sure you'll find someone else. Talk to Sidney. There must be tons of good-looking guys who wanna get with you. Hell, when I was in high school, I would've given my left nut to be with you."

"Thanks. That's sweet. And gross."

"It's not meant to be taken literally."

"Of course. But, it's still nice." Harmony's not used to praise. "You know what else is nice? Blowing away Slayers. Can you tell me about that?"

"Sure." He sits down on her couch. She sits to his right. "Now I think you know how arrogant Buffy can be. Imagine twelve Buffys."

"Oh yeah." A dozen Buffys getting kneecapped. That was some fantasy.

In one of the two large training rooms in Rome (the other one is bare to facilitate single combat) four Slayers punch and kick heavy bags while other Slayers hold the bags and provide encouragement. Buffy walks around, critiquing their form while Giles works with another girl, who punches and kicks his padded hands. Gretchen and Dawn walk in. Rupert turns to his right and nearly get clocked by the Slayer. "Gretchen! Is it lunch time already?"

"I, I mean we, found some information on that Lex' girl who's been causing trouble in the states."

"Dawn, shouldn't you be in school?," Buffy asks.

"It's my free period."

"Dawn should tell the first part," Gretchen suggests.

"Both times the Slayers said the victims had their pants down. So I checked this out, and found out there's some vampire called the Priapic Killer,' because, well, you know. She's struck in Europe and Japan, but mostly in the U.S. Her work' was first spotted in the New York area in the early eighties."

"More than one vampire could employ the same method," Giles points out.

"Can I get graphic?," Gretchen asks.

"If my sister can," Buffy replies with dismay. She finds the subject too pornographic for her kid sister to be investigating.

"In most of these sorts of cases, the vampire bites during or after sexual activity. That's the classic Succubus' behavior. Tease' vampires, on the other hand, lure men but don't waste time working them up."

"There are names for these things?," Buffy asks, mildly nauseous.

"Five types of female killers, three types of male killers," Gretchen explains. "But that's not relevant. What is relevant is that this vampire is willing to repeatedly risk Slayer ambush in order to pursue her method."

"So she's dedicated," Buffy quips.

"And she claims to have family," Giles adds.

"That's where I came in," Gretchen begins. "I used Dawn's dating to estimate her age and cross-referenced the name. It turns out an Alexa Adler,' a seventeen year-old girl from New Jersey, disappeared in September 1979. Her picture matches the description the Slayers have provided, and she was last seen in New York with two friends who ended up dying from severe neck trauma. Police said a tall, brown-haired woman in black was spotted leaving the scene of the crime."

"Alexa, Lex. It's possible," Buffy offers. "But how does this help us?"

"Maybe I'm going out on a limb, but the woman in black sounds a little like Drusilla, whom we know to have been in the area around that period."

"Along with dozens upon dozens of other vampires," Giles notes.

"True. But, if I'm right, her brother,' the vampire she vows to join forces with, could be Spike." Giles glares at Gretchen for trying to reveal the secret to Buffy. He doesn't know that she's doesn't know he's alive. "Alexa appears to be heading west, and she may be unaware of recent events over the past few years."

"If so, she's in for a surprise," Buffy jokes. Giles looks nervous.

"However, after discovering he's dead, our Alexa might ally herself with her sire. And if Alexa can hold her own with two Slayers, imagine how dangerous she'd be with a proven Slayer killer by her side."

"Assuming Drusilla is her sire," Giles adds. "It's an intriguing hypothesis, which we can discuss further over lunch." He walks off with Gretchen, leaving Buffy with Dawn.

"You buy this?," Buffy asks.

"I wish I didn't. But you know how these coincidences keep happening to us. Like with Principal Wood. Oh, and I found something on Devlin. You know, the vampire who's boinking that Rogue Slayer?" Buffy grinds her teeth. "You're right. Maybe I should discuss this with Giles. Anyway, just so you know, a Devlin killed three Watchers in Budapest in 1992 by luring them into a trap. I guess that's his thing. Which could be good news, since it means he's only good on defense. So, maybe we just leave him alone and let Angel go after him. You know how good he is with handling Rogue Slayers. Not literally, of course."

"You shouldn't make this personal," Giles tells Gretchen.

"How am I doing that?"

"We both know why you are so keenly interested in teenagers who disappeared in New York City during the late 1970s."

"This has nothing to do with my brother. The situation is in no way analogous. First off, none of his friends were even attacked. Second, Herman lived in Manhattan. These girls were from out-of-town."

"I can't imagine what you've been through."

"And I don't want you to. Rupert, I'm not looking for Herman's killer."

"What about Herman?" There's a very long pause. "I'm sorry I brought that up."

"Only one in four vampires makes it to their twenty fifth year. Chances are, if he did become a vampire, he died a long time ago. And Manhattan's especially tough for vampires. No alleys." She tries to laugh, and Giles hugs and comforts her.

"I hate these clothes," Alexa says to Devlin. She's wearing blue jeans, a flower-print blouse and a red cardigan. "Let's hit the Village."

"Then we'll need to take the subway."

"Why can't we walk?"

"It's three miles."

"So? I'm bursting with energy. I can probably jump over these cars. Hey, I can probably run faster than them!" Devlin grabs her left arm.

"You don't want to stand out."

"Yes I do!" He grabs both her wrists and squeezes. "Ow!" He stands there on the street, staring into her eyes.

"Actions have consequences. Every action creates a reaction."

"Oh God. It's like I'm in school again."

"Vampires kill, people start to take precautions and defend themselves. The more we kill, the more aware they become of us, the better they get at hunting us. Anonymity is our best defense. Imagine if every fifth person walking by us knew we were vampires. We couldn't protect themselves against them all. Look around. Everyone's a potential victim. Everyone's also a potential hunter."

"Even that old lady over there?," she jokes. He lets go of her wrists.

"You get my point."

"Be afraid, be very afraid?"

"No! Be anonymous, be safe. Only show your true face to those you plan to hurt."

"I guess you're right. I can't kill everyone I see. But it would be fun to try." Devlin grabs her right wrist and drags her down into the subway. He puts in their tokens and arrives at the platform just as a train is leaving. "You pay?"

"Petty crime is beneath us, Alexa. You don't want to be that kind of vampire."

"What kind?"

"The loser. The urchin. The skid row bloodsucker. You have a family reputation to uphold."

"Who else is there? Besides mummy and yummy daddy and you?"

"Spike is descended from Drusilla, who is descended from Angelus, who is descended from Darla, who is descended from an ancient Master vampire named Heinrich, whose also went by the Roman moniker Aurelius."

"You sure his last name isn't Bates?," Alexa asks with a snicker.

"Grow up. You're an immortal now. Anyway, the Master is the patriarch of an expansive clan of which we are the most prestigious branch. Others may tell you different, but they are full of shit. Spike is the most accomplished vampire in the world today. No other vampire can match his record of achievement. It all started when . . . " Alexa zones out and stares at a man who just entered the platform. He's young, fit, and wearing a tank top that reveals his arm veins. She licks her lips and walks towards him as Devlin follows and continues to drone on. "What people forget is that the Slayer wasn't the only deadly enemy Spike had to worry about during the Boxer Rebellion. While they performed poorly against Western armies, the Society of Righteous Fists slayed scores of foreign vampires . . . "

"Hey," she says.

"Hello," the man casually replies.

"You look delicious."

"Thank you," he nervously says while inching away from the girl.

"Angelus had never killed a Slayer. Spike's achievement so humiliated Darla that she left him. You may ask why Darla didn't stay with Spike. Apparently, she was never physically attracted to him. And they say Drusilla's out of her mind!"

"Shut up. You're freaking people out," she cautions.

"Fine. I'll just give you the book I've been writing when we get home." Alexa saunters in front of the man she's attracted to, waits a few seconds, spins round and pushes him eight feet back into the wall. She kisses him on the lips. When the shocked man tries to push her away, she goes bumpy, overpowers him and bites the left side of her neck.

"What the fuck are you doing!?," Devlin screams. "Speaking of freaking people out." He rushes over and puts his hand on top of the screaming man's mouth to muffle him. The man behind the turnstile gets on the radio. "Oh no." Alexa finishes her meal, licks her lips, returns to her human face and smiles. "That was great." She leans over the tracks and looks for the next train. Devlin grabs her.

"Are you crazy? We have to get out of here."

"That's what the train's for."

"We have to get out of the subway system." Devlin reaches his right fist through the glass and shatters the kiosk window before knocking the man out with two left hooks while he's in the middle of giving a description of the perps. "Let's go!" He jumps over the turnstile, and Alexa follows. But when they get to the stairs, they sees four cops coming down. "Shit." He turns and leaps the other way, returning to the platform and dragging Alexa with them.

"What are you so afraid of? We can take them."

"No we can't," he answers while continuing to run and trying to guess which of the four tracks to run down.

"Why not?" Just then, an officer pulls out a gun. Dev shields Alexa, takes two bullets in the chest and gets right back up. "See," Alexa tells him. "There's nothing to be afraid of." She goes bumpy and rushes the four officers. One of them pulls out a tranq gun and hits her.

"Fuck!" Devlin rips out a wooden bench that was bolted to the floor and uses it as a shield while running over to Lex.

"What's happening?," she asks as she falls down and starts to feel very sleepy. The two of them lie behind the bench. Two officers move to get behind them, one on either side.

"Why didn't I take him hostage? Why didn't I take him fucking hostage!?," Devlin bemoans, referring to the guy in the kiosk. He swings the bench to his left, knocking one cop onto the tracks, but he avoids the third rail. He then spins the other way and nails another cop with the bench, knocking him into the back wall. He holds the bench in front of him, blocking two darts. As they reload, he drops the bench, picks up the guy he just whacked into the wall, takes his pistol and points it at the two officers while holding their colleague in front of him. "We're all reasonable men. Put your weapons down, let us leave, everybody lives." The man on the tracks climbs back onto the platform behind Dev and to his left. He points his gun at the back of Devlin's head. Dev points his gun backwards, shoots at the cop, and forces him to fall back onto the tracks to avoid getting shot. "How much longer until the next train comes and kills your buddy?," Devlin asks. He walks forward until he's standing over top of Alexa. His right hand's around the cop's throat, his left hand points the gun back at the man on the tracks, and he goes bumpy.

"Is killing us worth losing him?," Devlin asks the two officers in front of him. The man on the tracks rushes forward and climbs out next to the other men in blue. "That's good. Everyone where I can see them. Now let's all put our guns down." Devlin tosses his over. The two cops with the tranq guns place those down. Dev hears the tracks rumble. "It's been nice working with you." He throws the hostage at the three officers, picks up Alexa and leaps across the first set of tracks towards a train zooming by on the inner tracks. The cops pick up their weapons and fire two more darts in vain. Dev crashes head-first through the window of the moving train. Dozens of people scream. Devlin calmy takes his seat, pulls out a tiny vile from the inside sleeve of his black jeans jacket, sticks Alexa in the heart with a small needle and presses down. Her eyes burst open. She looks around, hyper and disoriented. The people assume it's some sort of overdose. Once Alexa sees Dev's face, she smiles.

"Are we safe from the bad men?"

"Almost." He props her up next to him and puts his left arm around her shoulders, carefully scanning the train for any possible danger. At the next stop, he gets out with the crowd and helps Alexa to her feet. "Cover you face. Cover your face," he whispers. But anonymity is not an option. Too many people are pointing at them. "Follow me." He climbs on top of the train, leaps over to the tracks going the other way and races south. When a train approaches them from behind, they hop on the tracks to their left and feel the wind buffet them. Alexa raises her arms and screams with joy.

"What an adventure! And I thought you were boring and lame!" He slaps her face with the back of his right hand.

"You nearly got me killed."

"You saved me!" She hugs her hero.

"I had a feeling I'd find you hear," Devlin says when he spots Elektra in a club during a Lacuna Foil show. She's genuinely surprised.

"Did Spike send you? I specifically asked for him and him only."

"You think we work together?"

"You're both on the same side," she responds with derision. "Protecting these worthless humans. Looks at all these losers, drooling over that singer like the dateless college boys who live with their parents that they really are. Is the world really gonna miss a few of them?"

"That's not the point. Not for me, at least."

"Then what is?"

"Hunting something that can fight back."

"You know what also fights back? Slayers."

"You learned this from personal experience?"

"They're everywhere, Dev. And always in pairs. I can't kill two on my own. I need you, brother."

"What about mom?," Devlin asks before turning his back on Elektra.

"She says you're the One!," Elektra replies, wrapping her arms around Dev from behind.

"What else does she say about me?"

"Mum's delighted by what you did to the Dirty Dozen. Though she wishes you had killed them all. That would have put her in Heaven." He turns around.

"So now, after all this time, she's finally impressed with me. It's a little late."

"A boy and his Slayer. Don't you find that a little trite?"

"I find it absolutely thrilling."

"Then why aren't you with her right now?"

"Bring her here? Within range of you?"

"Is she that fragile? They don't make Slayers like they used to. They just make 'em by the gross. You don't know what it's like out there. I don't know how much longer I can last. Mummy's practically in hiding. And when we're gone, you'll be alone. You and your precious Slayer. Against hundreds and hundreds of Slayer drones. You keep waiting, you keep standing on the sidelines, and it's you're funeral too."

Devlin puts his right hand around her throat and jabs the stake in his left hand against her sternum. Elektra giggles. "You think I won't?" She slowly shakes her head. He lets go and puts the stake away.

"At least that Slayer hasn't taken away your honor. Just your dignity."

"You so much as scratch her, and I will kill you. Slowly. He takes out his stake and makes a circle around his head. She smiles ear-to-ear.

"Scalping! There's the brother I remember. Speaking of fond memories, have you seen daddy?"

"No. I thought he'd be here for sure. After what you did last night."

"It's in the papers!"

"Not yet. But I'm plugged in."

"I think Spike wants me to find him. Remember those games we used to play?"

"He's changed, Leks. It's disheartening. He's a shell of what he once was."

"Disheartening. Why not just say It Sucks? Same old show-offy Devlin."

"And do keep an eye out for Angel."

"I would if I knew what he looked like."

"He'll be the one trying to kill you. The guy seems to think he's King Of All Demons in this city. Everyone has to pay him obeisance." Elektra laughs.

"There you go again. Why not just say homage?" She runs her right hand through his hair. "I missed you."

"Not until you needed me to get you out of Slayer-related jams." She slaps him lightly with her left hand.

"That's not a nice thing to say."

"You wanna bitch? Bitch to mom. I was there for her, she didn't want me, so it's her own damn fault that I found someone new. Someone who loves me. And she wonders why all her men end up with Slayers."

"Playtime is over, brother. You keep this up, and six months from now you'll be fighting Buffy all on your own."

"Good. Then maybe I'll join them and go good once and for all. Me and Deb and Spike and Buffy and Angel running round the world, killing monsters. Wouldn't that be fun." Elektra snarls, leaps off the balcony onto the stage, then leaps over security and into the pit, where the fans hold her up and pass her along. She looks up at the ceiling, one of the more morose crowd surfers.

"What is wrong with the men in my family?"