As Angel drove frantically around the freeways and back streets of LA, turning his attention from the road every five seconds to check his mobile, he began to grow more and more concerned for Wren's safety. He didn't know what had taken her or why, but the guilty feeling inside him kept growing, despite the fact he knew there was nothing he could have done.
'You can't let her be hurt,' he kept saying over and over to himself, pressing the gas pedal down even further as his mantra continued, 'you have to save her, you have to protect this girl.'
Angel didn't know exactly why his urge to watch over Wren was so strong. But he knew exactly what prowled the streets of Los Angeles, just waiting to prey on innocents like Wren, and he knew that on her own, she wouldn't stand a chance.
-+-
Meanwhile, back in the alley...
Spike stood slack jawed for a moment, completely stunned by the spectacle that was taking place in from of him.
'It's like poetry in motion,' the ever present sensitive side of his nature supplied, and the demon was not want to disagree.
In the middle of the alley was a mass of demons, surrounded by a ring of their clearly dead compatriots. In the centre of the mass was a not quite distinguishable shape, but whatever it was was dealing out all kinds of interesting retribution.
The...creature...or whatever it was, moved with the grace and speed a hundred times that of the fastest vampire, and with a grace that made it look as if they were taking part in some choreographed dance, rather than a street brawl. Although it - for Spike had no idea whether the creature was male, female, or some kind of heavenly warrior - was surrounded by as many as ten foes at one time, they always seemed to be inexplicably out of reach of each attacker, while at the same time in the optimum position for dishing out maximum carnage.
While Spike watched, temporarily immobilised and slightly entranced by the beautiful dance in front of him, the creature performed incredible aerial stunts. Including one move, which resulted in three dead Fyyarl demons and half a tall, yellow creature being flung through the air and landing on top of the dumpster to Spike's left. This broke him out of his reverie, and, as the number of assailants thinned, he moved in closer and leaned nonchalantly on a wall, lighting up a cigarette, ready to see this supreme warrior deliver its final death blow.
With only five attackers remaining, the creature, which Spike could now see was humanoid, medium height, and definitely female, performed a jumping round house which caught each of the demons successively on the jaw and sent them reeling backwards. The first demon, a vampire, was quickly dispatched with a stake thrown over arm with such force, that it ended up being pinned to the door behind it before eventually dusting. The next demon, a brown figure with a row of spines up its back, was caught with a mid-air triple kick, which sent it staggering backwards, only to have its neck snapped his opponent who had somehow managed to move behind him with eye watering speed.
The remaining three demons spread out so as to attack the creature simultaneously from different sides. The Valkyrie in the centre turned in a slow circle attempting to get all of them in view. Spike tried but couldn't see it's - or as he was now beginning to realise her - face as she was stood in a deep pool of shadow. Suddenly, on some unspoken command, all three demons attacked. Spiked almost jumped in to help the woman-like creature, before realising that either way his efforts would be futile, and leaned back against the wall to find out how this gargantuan battle ended.
As soon as the three demons's attacked the creature jumped up straight over their heads and out of sight. When they realised that they were only fighting each other the demon's, the two vampires and a third which had a skin like a cockroaches shell, only less appealing, moved back out into the light to search for their lost kill. The cockroachy demon had his back turned to the wall, so did not see the shape which fell down from the ledge above the door and swiftly broke its neck. Both vampires' turned, and Spike's view was blocked for an instant, only to clear rapidly when both vampires turned to dust before his eyes.
And there, standing in the space the demon's had so recently departed, was the creature Spike had been watching for what felt like, at one and the same time, an instant and an eternity. She stood with her head slightly bowed and her eyes staring directly at Spike with a look that would have made a lesser man - or demon - die where he stood, for it was the look of a perfect warrior; remorseless, calculating, yet full of a fire that threatened to burn who ever saw it. Then, slowly the woman raised her head and stepped forward, not a mark on her body, not a hair out of place, not a smudge on her pristine make up.
Spike looked puzzled for a moment, his brain not quite being able to catch up with what his eyes were seeing. It was not until the vision before him smiled a perfectly friendly smile, and spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone, that his mouth dropped agape and his eyes widened comically in shock.
"Hey Spike," said Wren, "how ya been?"