"The Metropolis Story…"
Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, . You might want to take a gander at the Cicelyverse page to get a handle on the Cicely Addams material... .
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...
Summary: Poet/Champion turned reporter/Champion (the vampire thing was involuntary) for the second least respectable news organization in Metropolis, William Soames Walthrop is assigned the job of uncovering the mysterious silence of a famed, deceased silent film star of the great film inspired by the greatest city on Earth. Both the other reporter/Champion and other reporter/seedy investigator of things mysterious in town hate his guts.
Part III…
Offices of the Daily Planet Building, Metropolis…Office of Clark Kent…
And on the desk of said Mr. Kent…
"Me…Working under…You?" the silky purr of Lois Lane was now a rasping lathe…
"And me…" Jimmy Olsen, standing by the desk, happily chimed in, cluelessly chipper about the new assignment.
Uh…He caught the full force of the Lane stare. Kent, watching, grateful for the deflection of her attention, involuntarily nodding in admiration…
She must have some Kryptonian in her family somewhere…
We did send explorers, centuries ago, Dad's said.
"…Uh…Working under Clark, I mean. With…Er, under…You, Miss Lane. I mean…Under your…"
"Yeah…" she cut him off. Returning to the prime target…
"Perry put me under you. To work on this stupid alien story…?"
"Well, Lois…It was a real story…"
Given a few days ago you were calling yourself Klamtos and demanding I provide sex on a daily basis else the city would be destroyed. And I think you were male at that…
"It was a real story. Now it's nonsensical crap...No more believable than tales about Lex and caped supermen battling it out for supremacy…"
"But…" Jimmy began, puzzled. "It was…"
"If you mean… 'Aren't we in the business of uncovering and publishing the news for the public right to know?' Olsen…That's crap if we're number two on the story…" Lois frowned at him briefly. Returning to the increasingly hapless Kent…
Why didn't Jor-el or Mom ever teach me how to deal with women like this? And why the damn hell…Sorry, sorry Mom…Is Walthrop so good at it?
"This is old news, Clark. Put Jimmy on it, with some intern. I want breaking news. I'm entitled…"
"Lois…I know you're still upset about what happened…" Clark began, diplomatically.
"It goes with the territory. I'm upset, you idiot, by being cut out of real news by a less-experinenced reporter who happens to be cozy with Perry White…"
Hmmn…Jimmy blinked.
"Now just a minute there, Lois…" Kent began.
"I'm going to see him. I was doing news while you were still plowing fields in Hicksville…"
"Smallville…"
"Same difference…Wait…" Lois paused, eyeing him.
"What will you be doing while Jimmy and I are on the trail of additional dead jellyfish from another world? And more important, what is Walthrop up to?"
"I don't know…As to Walthrop. As to me…I'll be trying to find out what he's up to…"
"That's a job for me…" Lois said, coolly. Shifting her legs slightly…Kent eyeing.
"See…" she gave a coy smile. "Even you're a sucker for it…Walthrop's putty in my hands."
A little too soft putty…Unless he suddenly loses that soul. In which case I hope you enjoyed the time you were wearing a maid's outfit in Lex's lair. At least you'd never have a problem with your skin losing its pale hue in strong sun.
She'd jumped off Kent's desk… "Wait, Lois!" Kent called.
"Yeah?" she paused, turning.
"Perry seemed pretty set on this. I really think he intended it as a step-up for you. You're getting the real story, I'm just getting stuck with following the competition."
"Sure…" she eyed him. "Well, consider this my thank-you for getting Superman to get that alien jello out of my brain…Ok?"
"Lois…I don't want to pull rank but…"
Uh-oh…Jimmy backed away at the ominous words. And at Lois' cold return stare…
"I'll just be leaving…Let me know how you want me to handle things, Clark…Miss Lane…"
"Pull, what? Farmboy…?" Lois fumed. Jimmy carefully but quickly passing her…Pausing at the door…
"Uh…Open or…?"
The door slammed in his face at a kick from Lois…
Right…Closed…
Well, gotta go call Mom and tell her the good news…
….
"There…That's it, Miss Emily." William nodded to the elderly librarian of the INS film archive.
Librarian…And, as Kolchak had only learned one dark night in LA while facing the usual gristly fate at the hands of some particularly camera/video/photo/heck, even pencil pad notes-shy demons…Retired Watcher. A white-haired, short woman of still vigorous aspect…Perhaps a bit heavier than in her younger days…Anything but grandmotherly in her stern appearance.
More grand-nunnery, Will liked to note to himself…
Or at least, so she and her Council insisted. Though neither Kolchak nor his "protégé" of sorts quite bought that she'd by chance managed to wind up librarian of the only news service besides the now defunct Wacky World News to cover the occult with some accuracy, however faint, harboring one of the world's two currently fully-souled vampires and a former vampiress of considerable psychic power, now restored to Humanity through the generous on William's part and to be expected…Long expected..on Angel's…Refusal of the blessing of the Shanshu prophecy.
"Brigitte Helm…Yes…" Miss Emily nodded at the picture on microfilm. "A beautiful girl…Wonderful actress…Very good at doing the slut as that evil robot, too. And a tremendous Slayer…" she eyed William. "But you of all people know that, William."
"Indeed I do…" he nodded. "Not till Buffy did I run into or hear of another like her."
"But your people let her quit?" Karl asked, innocently as he could. "That's a bit unusual for your organization, isn't it…?"
"My former organization, Karl…" reproving tone. "It was, but there were special circumstances…"
"As in, she was too hard to kill?" Kolchak asked.
"So…You two didn't really want my help in collecting microfilm archives?" she eyed him then William. "Just wanted to pump the old biddy for whatever would come up?" she gave a sweet smile.
"Miss Emily…" Karl, wagging finger. "You know we consider you an invaluable resource. And we needed everything the archives have."
"Which isn't much…" she noted. "Everything here is what Mr. Vincenzo already gave you…"
"Love…" Will sighed. "You know you have us dead to rights. But come on, the lady is long dead. The participants are almost dead or Undead. Surely it can't violate too much to tell us what you know…"
"Actually, it's quite all right. And if you'd just asked instead of acting like the Hardy Boys trying to get it out of me, I'd've told you right out. Another Slayer was arranged and Ms. Helm agreed to come back to the fight if needed. Since there was some danger to her husband and family from the Nazis and she could have been turned against us, we were actually a bit relieved to retire her and have a new Slayer from Bengal…"
"'Arranged'?" Will asked, incredulous. "Just like that?"
"No, it involved a lot more than 'that'…" Miss Emily sighed. "For the sake of her husband and family, Ms. Helm agreed to die. Temporarily…It's not unheard of…" she eyed the startled faces. "We've had to do it once or twice before. Generally when a Slayer was certain to be overwhelmed by the forces confronting her and needed support we couldn't give. Or was unlikely to complete her assigned duty owing to…" she eyed William.
"…Problems…"
"I.e, me…And others like me? Whom the Slayer of the day was less than enthused about killin'?"
"It can be hard to kill one's mother…Or lover." Miss Emily noted quietly. "And sometimes the Watcher on hand isn't able to do the job."
Cut to shot of a temple in the high Himalayas…To a chamber, ornamented by beautiful if vicious-looking sculptures and reliefs of various brutal gods and goddesses, where a young and lovely Miss Emily in tailored suit lay pinned on temple stone floor by a raving beast. Barely held back by the cross in her hand… "Rekha!" cry to the horrified young woman in sari with stake in hand…
"Malini!" Rekha cried to the beast who took human form, that of a lovely young woman in rags. "Rekha…I love you. Don't let her kill me!" the lovely young 'woman' now holding down Miss Emily stared at the trembling Slayer.
"Rekha! It isn't her, girl. Malini is dead!" Miss Emily cried, struggling to free herself while keeping the cross in Malini's face…
Malini sneering… "It's you who dies tonight, British. Watcher scum, imperialist! Rekha, kill her! She wants you dead so another Westerner can be Slayer! You love me, help me! Aruggh…!" holy water from a vial pulled stealthily from pocket splashed at the 'girl''s lovely face, burning it. Miss Emily broke free and rolled over and up to a standing position…
"I can't…Miss Emily." Rekha shook head. Malini eyeing her with cold smile…
"Come, Rekha…Love…Be with me. As we always were, back on the streets." she hissed. Staring…
Miss Emily grabbing up the crossbow from the floor which she'd dropped earlier. Taking aim…
"You still think that will hurt me?" Malini chuckled. Standing with arms out… "I'm no mere vampire, British. The destroyer Kali lives in me. But, please…Take your best, again!"
"Miss Emily!" Rekha cried. "Do as we said!"
Emily fired, striking Rekha. Malini whirling…
What? She turned back. "Well…" cold smile. "My thanks…Silly British fool? Do you think I'll wait for the new…"
"Right here, Miss…" A voice in English, slight German accent. "Margot Weisz…At your service…" A small, slight, brown-haired girl in blouse and skirt stepped through the door of the temple chamber. Wielding stake…
"Poor Rekha knew she could never kill you, Malini." Emily sighed.
…
"Yes…" the old woman brushed off a clouded look, regarding the two men. "It's been done…But Ms. Helm was a bit more fortunate than some. Even your Ms. Summers had a much harder time, Mr. Walthrop."
"I see…" Will nodded. "So, she died, briefly. Like my Buffy...And a new Slayer came into the picture, and then…Off to Switzerland with the endangered hubs. But why avoid talking about the old career? She wasn't in hiding. Was it really just embarrassment of an overly proper wife and mother about her risqué past?"
"I wasn't her Watcher, William. Sorry…"
"Meaning…Her Watcher?"
"Might logically have a few more details to add. As would any of her friends still living if any…" Miss Emily gave a rather sardonic look.
"Is her Watcher…?"
"Unless he became a vampire or otherwise immortal or near so, I would say dead as a doornail…" Miss Emily smiled. "But if you're asking are there records? Of course, in London, at the archives…"
"The archives…Destroyed by dear ole Caleb…" Will sighed.
"Who?" Kolchak asked.
"Mass murdering serial killer preacher…Page 10, April 15th, 2001…" Miss Emily offered. Pointing to a microfilm cassette. "He became the First Evil's chief minister and agent…Mr. Walthrop's Slayer killed him after he destroyed the Council's old Antiquarian Hall with a bomb." Kolchak put the cassette in, turning pages…
"A real charmer…" he nodded, reading story…
"That he was…" Will agreed. "A fitting dance partner for Angelus himself…"
"But he failed to destroy the main archive." Miss Emily smiled. "We weren't foolish enough to have everything in such an unsecure location. It's intact…When you go to Europe, you can arrange permission through Chairman Giles. I'm sure he'll agree. After all, it's not a current issue…"
"Course he may arrange my death while I tour the vaults." Will noted. "To spare his spiritual daughter any grief on my part."
"I couldn't say, being retired…" Miss Emily smiled. "Though, William…If I may give you a bit of warning…?"
The two men eyed her…
"He's not the one I'd be afraid of…"