AAI: Episode 102: Gift

Groo rubbed the angry red marks on his wrists, a reminder of where the bracelet used to be.

“Hey, C.K.!” Jimmy’s voice came from the radio. “Uh, it looks like Chloe’s gonna be fine, but, uh… I think I should mention that Lana probably escaped during the chaos.”

Lois’s eyebrow shot up. “Escaped? I thought…”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence as it was drowned out by the loud sound of flapping wings. Then a shadow engulfed the Champions, who all turned their head up to see a large dragon hovering above them, slowly descending upon them. Pete pulled out a large sword in anticipation. But the dragon merely landed, making no aggressive moves toward the Champions. It lowered its long neck to the ground, where a rose-clad Lana Lang slid off from the base of its head. She patted the dragon like a dog and whispered to it. The dragon unfurled its wings and flew off.

Kennedy pushed her long hair away from her face and watched in awe. “You mean I could that? Cool.”

All eyes turned toward Lana, whose sour look caused each of them to take a step back.

Lois gulped before asking, “Hey, Lana, decide to join the party?”

“‘Decide to’? Just what did Lex tell you about why I remained behind?”

Clark meekly spoke up, “He said that you didn’t think your powers were meant to be used in battle. And that you wanted someone with some fighting experience to take your place.”

“Really?” She stared down Lex. “I’m pretty sure that that’s exactly how he feels.”

Lex bravely walked over to face her, “Lana, you know I have faith in you. I was only trying to protect you.”

Lana spat back, “Why does everyone feel the need to protect little ol’ Lana?” With a mock terrified expression, she babbled, “Weak and helpless Lana. She needs the big, strong men to protect her. To replace her with a big, bad Slayer-girl.”

“Lana…” Lex tried again.

“Save it.” She walked straight over to Kennedy, her anger still apparent. Though Kennedy didn’t assume an attacking stance, she steeled herself.

Lana’s grimace disappeared instantly as she looked up at Kennedy. In a very friendly and sincere voice, she said, “Look, Kennedy, is it? I’m really sorry about ‘big, bad Slayer’ comment. I was angry. It had nothing to do with you. In fact, I heard your accomplishments, and, I must say, I’m very impressed. Had I wanted a proxy, you would have been my first choice.”

With a coy smile, Kennedy replied, “Really know how to charm a girl, don’t you?” Lana took an uncomfortable step back.

* * *

“Okay,” Chloe stated, as she clicked away at the mouse in front of one of the two computers now occupying the front desk, with the rest of the team behind her. “This is our custom-made appointment program. It’s very easy to use. Idiot-proof, in fact. Because Lana will be using it mostly.” The dark-haired woman batted Chloe on the shoulder. “It will also remain constantly in sync with your Blackberries.”

“You know,” Pete commented, examining his PDA, “it’s really hard to hate Lex when he gives us the neat toys. Whoo, Blackberries!”

Chloe giggled, but went on. “Most importantly, it gives us the ability to send messages back and forth when we’re in the field. Should I have a vision or we get a call while you’re on patrol, we’ll be able to send you there right away.”

Lois nodded appreciatively, “Quite a command center we’ve got hooked up.” She surveyed the two state-of-the-art computers now occupying the hotel’s front desk.

“Well, we better get the business we need to justify it. Luckily, if we do, we’ll be able to handle it.”

With this last comment, Chloe violently convulsed backwards. Groaning, she tried to make sense of the flurry of images flashing in her mind. When she recovered, she found herself sitting on the floor with a very large set of arms wrapped tightly and protectively around her. She tilted her head up to meet the very worried eyes of Clark. “Clark, vision’s over.” He released and extended his arm to help her up, catching her again when she wobbled on her feet. The two shared awkward smiles as Chloe smoothed her hair down, returning to her seat. Pete and Lois shared secret glances.

Spinning her chair around, she told them, “Um, I think I saw a power plant. Something, it looked like a person… it was sticking his hand into a generator. I think he punched through it with his fist. Meta-human, probably. I saw the logo on the side…” She spun around in her chair, and started typing furiously on the keyboard as Clark, Lois, and Pete ran around to the other side of the desk. Chloe smiled at the screen, “That’s it. Beller Electric, Inc. 991 Josephine St.” Clark zipped off with Pete and Lois racing toward the car.

The hotel lobby quickly grew quiet. Chloe groaned loudly and leaned her head into her hand. Lana knelt beside her. “Chloe?”

“These visions give me a mean headache. Grab me some ibuprofen and a glass of water, would you?”

“Of course,” Lana replied, racing to the storage area, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

When Chloe looked up again, she noticed an attractive woman in her mid-twenties with curly, dark brown hair. She took in a startled gasp of surprise. “I’m sorry,” she told the woman, “you appeared out of nowhere. I thought you were a ghost.”

“Good guess.”

* * *

Clark flew backwards into a generator, which crumpled around him, sending out a colossal shower of sparks. He simply pulled himself out and raced towards the meta-human.

“Just… so… hungry…” the electrokinetic stated. He was a man in his early twenties, with unruly dark blond hair, of medium height and build. He wore a white jumpsuit with a 9 stenciled on the breast.

Lois rammed through the metal gates in the car and spun the car to a halt, spraying dust and pebbles in her wake.

Pete leapt out of the car, grabbing a staff from the back. “Whoo, Lois, you sure know how to make an entrance.”

Lois just winked and approached the heaving meta-human. “What’s the deal, bucko?” She held a poised gun toward him.

The meta-human raised him arm and send streams of lightning at her gun, causing her to drop it. Pete’s wooden staff slammed evenly into his head and he sent bolts of electricity Pete’s way, who leapt out of the way just in time to escape the blast, which charred the gravel in two neat lines.

Clark zipped over to him, and wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s arms, trying to immobilize him. The meta-human coursed energy through his body, but despite some grimacing from Clark, was unable to throw off the superhero.

“Calm down. We can help you!” Clark screamed.

“Just hungry!” The metahuman sent out more bursts of electricity, which caught onto the chain-link fences and finally the power line towers. As the frames started to melt, the towers, connected to overhead wire started to tilt toward Clark and the others. As one was headed toward Lois and Pete, Clark released the meta-human and raced to catch the tower before it hit the ground. He pushed it back up and used his heat vision to repair the damage.

“Thanks, Clark,” Pete said, stroking the car, “you totally saved the T-bird.”

Clark just shook his head, and looked around, seeing the meta-human had already fled through the melted gates.

* * *

“Yeah, I was a cheerleader, too!” Lana exclaimed to the pretty ghost. “I mean, I dropped freshman year. Starting working at a coffee shop.”

The woman gave Lana a sympathetic look. “Yuck. I know the feeling. Senior year, I had to start working at a gown boutique.”

“Oh, no, I enjoyed it. Well, I sucked at it, but actually ran my own coffee shop for a few years.”

“Dang, look at Miss Entrepenuer!”

“Cordelia,” came Chloe’s voice. She walked in, holding an Advil bottle. “Not to break up this nostalgia trip, but is there a reason you came to see me?”

Cordelia stared at the medication in Chloe’s hand. “That is what I wanted to talk to you about.” She pointed at the bottle. “The visions are giving you bad headaches, right?”

Chloe brushed off the question. “They’re manageable.”

“Well, they might get worse. By the time I’d had mine for two years, a particularly nasty one sent me into a coma. On my birthday, no less!”

Chloe plopped down. “I lied. They’re getting really bad.”

“Well, for now, I’d recommend getting a prescription for Imitrex. It’s a migraine medication,” Cordelia paused, “but they’re gonna get unbearable soon. Look, I consented to being half-demon to get them under control.”

“And that worked?” Chloe asked meekly.

“Yeah, they didn’t hurt anymore. A couple of strange side-effects, but I managed. Granted, it did start a chain of events that directly led to several potential ends of the world…” Cordelia looked up, seeing the terrified looks on Chloe’s and Lana’s faces. “But, you know, that probably won’t happen,” she added unassuredly. “But, just curious, you’ve not read any strange prophecies lately that, I don’t know, referenced figures that held a strange similarity to you, have you?” Chloe just shook her head.

Clark, Pete, and Lois noisily walked in. Pete was saying, “Hey, don’t sweat it. We’ll get him next time.”

“Whoa,” Lois stated, seeing Cordelia, “customer?”

Cordelia unseated herself and walked over toward the trio. “Unfortunately not. Cordelia Chase, former vision girl for Angel Investigations.” She extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Lois replied, reaching out to shake the hand. “I could’ve sworn Angel said you were—” Her hand passed through Cordelia’s.

The brunette grinned. “Dead? Yep.”

“Cool,” Pete remarked as he reached out his hand to her chest. Coredelia responded by backing up and swatting his hand (her hands past through his), and saying, “Hey, watch it, buddy.”

“So,” Clark asked, interested, “why’d you come to see us?”

“See what I could do to help. You know, in the advice department, ‘cause obviously I’m not good for manual labor.” She showed off her hands as proof.

“Okay, advice?”

“Well, for starters…”

Chloe jumped in, anxiously, “Um, are you going to mention getting a second phone line, ‘cause I’m on that.”

Lois looked from her cousin to the ghost. “Um, Cordy—may I call you Cordy?”

Perkily, Cordelia replied, “Sure. All my friends do. Or did. Or do.” She looked up pensively.

Lois continued, “Chloe can’t do anything to you. Finish what you were saying before Chloe tried to divert you.”

Lois gave Chloe a stern look as Cordelia gave her a sympathetic one. Cordelia related, “When I had my visions, they grew increasingly more painful. Eventually, they threatened my life. Chloe’s already mentioned her visions are giving her headaches. They could be getting worse.”

Clark looked worriedly at Chloe. She told him, “Don’t look at me like that, Clark. I didn’t want her to tell you ‘cause then you’d worry.”

Lois cut in, “Chlo, have you met Clark? Walking pit of guilt and worry. And the rest of us, we’re not exactly unconcerned for your well-being. Cordy, what do you recommend?”

“Some higher powers made me part demon. It took away almost all of the pain associated with my visions. I wish I knew what we could do for Chloe. Possibly a blood transfusion.” Cordelia shrugged her shoulders.

Pete shifted uncomfortably, “Cordy, there aren’t many demons around here. We deal with mostly the meta-human threat.” Cordelia looked confused.

“Meta-human,” Chloe stated, “a person who has powers by some sort of mutation. We’ve seen a lot of it caused by the radiation of a special type of meteor rock that originated from the core of Clark’s planet of origin. In addition, we’ve met our fair share of metas who were born with their powers. We’ll figure it out,” Chloe said without a lot of optimism.

* * *

Lois sat at one of the computers, desperately wishing it were Chloe doing what she was doing: going through the files, looking for a meta-human who might be able to help Chloe. Unfortunately, Pete and Clark were on patrol, and Lana was at a meeting with Lex, discussing the business of Archangel Investigations. So, Lois volunteered to stay behind and take care of Chloe, who she immediately sent to bed. Since LuthorCorp owned the small Euryphaessa Hotel, maintaining it as a historical monument, they’d each chosen rooms in the hotel and lived effectively rent-free.

At first, the other team member had tried to coax Clark to take the Royal Suite for himself. He was too modest for it, so the room had been converted to the dining hall, where ideally the team would eat together. Due to poor planning on account of the architect, the suite was located unusually close to the service elevator, which in the team’s case, worked out great, because meals could easily be transported from the kitchen to the room. Each member was assigned to prepare dinner every fifth day. Lana immediately volunteered for the first Sunday, and had prepared a four-course meal. Chloe was next on the rotation. She attempted to cook a more modest meal, but it invariably backfired. So, the team had pancakes and microwave quesadillas. Her confidence lost, Chloe’s night soon became Chinese takeout. No one complained, though Lana might have had silent reservations. Pete’s night was pizza. Lois, assured of her lack of culinary aptitude, declared her night Mexican, though wanting to add variety, sometimes brought in Italian. On Clark’s first night to “cook,” Martha Kent serendipitously visited, so the meal that night was a delightful home-style. After that, it was fried chicken. The women vetoed having that on a regular occasion, and it was converted to barbeque night. It was Chloe who realized the secret of his success was not a top-of-the-line barbeque grill, but heat vision.

Clark had been convinced to take one of the nicer suites as well as the manager’s office. Lana felt she wouldn’t need it because of her receptionist duties. Plus, she’d convinced Clark to be her silent co-manager. The team soon figured out why she didn’t mind the lack of an office when they found that she had swindled Lex out of a bit of money to redecorate her chosen room. Chloe had taken over the antechamber to the manager’s office. It had been the hotel manager’s admin office, and Chloe was quick to threaten anyone who made cracks about her being Clark’s secretary. She used the spacious room for all manners of research. There was a computer there that no one was allowed to touch under the threat of death.

The rest of the team had also each taken a suite on the top floors, and decorated them accordingly. To no one’s surprise, the ever-growing Wall of Weird took over Chloe’s living area, Pete’s suite became a prototypical bachelor pad, and Clark’s room had some striking similarities to his former loft. Lois, too Spartan to decorate, handed off the assignment to an all-too-willing Lana with a single rule: No pink. The younger woman did not disappoint as the room was simple but elegant, to the point of a complete lack of conspicuousness.

The jarring ring woke Lois out of her thoughts about her cousin. She picked up the phone and answered, per the cue card in Lana’s neat handwriting, “Archangel Investigations, we bring truth and justice to the hopeless.” She listened for a few moments, and cringed. “Yeah, that sounds nasty. Listen, we have two agents in the field. I’ll contact them and they should be over there very quickly. Let me just get your information.” Lois started to mess with the computer, and soon found herself lost, all the while giving affirmative remarks into the phone. She finally hung up.

“How the hell do you use this program? Idiot-proof, my ass.” Defeated, she started to scribble down notes from memory on a pink notepad from the desk. Midway through, she heard the telling sound of Chloe’s groans from one of the nearby room and ran off.

* * *

“Hello, welcome to Archangel Investigations,” Lana said sweetly to the man in a business suit who entered into the lobby. Herself in a conservative skirt suit, Lana stood up and extended her hand over the counter, which the graceful Hispanic man took and shook firmly. “I’m Liz McCallum. How may I help you?”

“My name is Richard Foley. I represent Virgil Electric Coop. I would like to discuss a business proposition.”

Lana smiled sweetly, bordering on flirtingly, and replied, “Well, I should introduce you to Mr. Elliot, my co-manager.” She let him towards the manager’s office.

“Jordan,” Lana stated to Clark, who was sitting as his desk. “We have a client.”

After introducing himself, Foley made his proposition, “Virgil Electric is Central Kansas’s third largest power provider. Given that Beller is the first and was attacked two nights ago, and Kansas Electric Power is the second and hit last night, well, Mr. Elliot, we have to connect the dots and assume he’ll be going for our plant tonight. Though we are insured, a major attack would hurt our business, not to mention cut off power to 85% percent of Metropolis. If you believe you are capable, we would be willing to offer a generous sum of money to your organization if you could prevent damage to our plant if we gave you access.” Foley handed a slip of paper to Clark, who immediately became speechless.

Lana jerked it from his hand and examined the amount, replying casually, “This is a very fair amount of money. However, I would like to propose something. We cannot fully guarantee total protection. However, given the lead time and access you’ve offered, we should be able to minimize your damages considerably. How about this? For capturing the meta-human, we receive the full amount minus any damages that occur as a result.”

“Sound reasonable. Any more stipulations?” he replied casually but guardedly, after examining Lana.

“Well, of course the damages must be assessed by a third party. But I assure you, we have a talented and capable staff on hand. I doubt you’ll even have to go off-line. Also, in the unlikely event major damages occur exceeding the quoted amount you quoted, Archangel Investigations will not be liable for the difference. You said already you’re insured.”

“You’ve a very shrewd businesswoman, Miss Potter. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. Mr. Elliot.” He nodded to Clark, who still stood silent and frozen.

As soon as Foley was out the door, Lana slapped Clark across the face. “C’mon, Clark, you need to work on your poker face.”

“You slapped me!”

“You’re an invulnerable alien!” Lana countered.

“Where’d you learn all that from?” Clark asked, in awe.

“You forget that after learning the secrets of the meteor shower, I switched my major from Astronomy to Business. And you don’t date Lex Luthor for over a year without picking up a thing or two.” She left the room with a confident smile.

* * *

Clark stood against the concrete wall protecting the main generator at Virgil Electric, with the electrokinetic in his grasp. Or rather, he stood in the imprint of his body caused by slamming against the wall. “Pete, c’mon!”

Pete turned on a pump in the back of the Thunderbird and held up a hose, pointing it Clark and the meta-human. Out spewed thick white goo, which coated the two struggling men. Clark threw the meta-human to the ground and started to wipe himself off. On the ground, the meta-human screamed and the goo around him bubbled, but he was unable to send out any bolts of energy. The goo hardened around him, and after struggling for a bit, he stopped moving. Clark approached him, spun him onto his back and ripped a section of the rubbery substance away from his mouth. Pete stabbed a metal spike into the ground and tossed Clark a metal chain, which Clark pressed against the fallen man’s cheek. Clark then touched the man’s cheek and smiled.

“Way to go, Pete. Completely decharged.”

Pete casually leaned back against the car. “Hey, you don’t thank the fireman for creating the water to put out a fire. It was Chloe’s idea to use the liquid rubber and the ground stake. Where we taking him?”

“We have all the research on guys like him from Jeremy Creek. He’s going to Belle Reeve. Lana’s already called in advance, and they should have a rubber room prepared just for him.”

Pete nodded in appreciation, “Wow. They really cater to specific needs.”

“This guy won’t get within thirty feet of a power source.” Clark patted the meta-human, who groaned.

* * *

Chloe had been moved to her bedroom in her suite. And, now, the entire team was assembled around her bed. On her nightstand, glaringly obvious, was a bottle of sumatriptan pills. Lana explained except for some damage to an outside wall, Virgil had written them a check for a sizeable amount of money. “Now, I don’t want to diminish your enthusiasm, but I need you all to understand that while this is good for us, it’s no reason to slack off. Tomorrow, this check will be half as big, and the next day, a third. Keep working hard. Virgil is good publicity and we’ve got to keep our reputation up.”

Lana, Lois, and Pete finally filed out of the room, leaving Clark and Chloe alone. “Clark, you need something?” Chloe asked sleepily from her bed. “’Cause as lovely as this medicine is, it makes me sensitive to light and sound, so kinda looking forward to turning off the lamp.”

Clark didn’t respond, just pulled out a metal box and a small leather case.

“Whatcha doing?” Chloe asked, pulling herself up to get a better look and appease her curiosity.

Clark, without a word, unzipped the leather case, but didn’t unfold it. “Getting you help,” he replied cryptically. He opened the box, revealing a small chunk of kryptonite. It caused him to fall of the chair onto the side of the bed.

“Clark!” Chloe exclaimed, but immediately fell backwards in pain, holding her head.

Clark pushed himself up from the bed, flipped open the case, which contained a hypodermic syringe. With one confident movement, he plunged the needle into his arm, and with one shaky thumb, he pushed up on the pump, drawing blood into the chamber. With his stabbed arm, he haphazardly knocked the box lid closed, leaving him heaving but bringing him relief. Chloe, too stunned to speak, remained still. Clark removed the needle, the wound healing immediately. Clark carefully took Chloe’s arm, rolled up her sleeve, and injected his blood into her.

The act causes Chloe to take in a sharp breath of air. Turning to Clark, she asked, “What are you doing? Are you mad?”

Clark removed the syringe. The one drop of blood that emerged from her wound immediately scabbed over. Clark reached over and brushed Chloe’s bangs away from her face. “Well, there were no demons in a fifty-mile radius. Figured this’d give you the strength to handle the visions.”

Chloe smiled sweetly and pushed the covers off of her. Clark began to object, but Chloe related that she’d never felt better in her life. She grasped Clark’s wrist and held it to her shoulder, saying, “Clark, thanks. A lot. I know it’s no fun being around kryptonite.”

“It hurts a lot less than if you blew out the back of your skull.”

Chloe laughed. “Cordelia tell you about that?”

Clark’s face dropped. “That could really happen?”

“One day at a time, Kent. For now, I’m pretty good.”

“You know, in Kryptonian culture, when one warrior gives blood to another, it makes them eternal allies.”

Chloe smiled sweetly for a moment, before stating, “Duh.”

There was a brief silence with lots of gazing before Chloe said, her eyes downcast. “I want to write stories for the Planet.”

After a moment of looking conflicted, Clark replied, “Chloe, I realize that it’s your dream, but… you left three months ago to come here. I mean, we can get a replacement—”

“No, Clark, this isn’t my two weeks notice. I was just thinking about what Lana said about money. If I could moonlight, part-time, at the Planet, do stories about Metropolis’s newest guardian angel, well, it might bring a little more income.”

Clark paused then smiled. “You know, all day, it seems like everyone else knows how to run this business better than I do. Sounds great, but you think the Planet’s really gonna publish stories about a superpowered man who protects Metropolis from mutant bad guys?” He gives her an incredulous smile.

“We’ve got Virgil to vouch for us. Plus, maybe if I give them pictures…”

Clark nodded, but slowed to a standstill. He looked at Chloe with an almost hurt expression on his face, which he wiped off. Distantly and uncomfortably, he replied, “Are you sure? I mean… I-I think, I think you should do this.”

Apologetically, Chloe replied, “Clark…”

“You get some rest.”

In desperation, she continued, “Clark! I feel…” Clark exited the room and closed the door with a brisk slam. Chloe threw herself on her bed, nearly in tears, the sour frown taking over her face.

* * *

Pouring two glasses of scotch in his penthouse, Lex Luthor commented, “You know, it took three days for Archangel Investigations to dispose of the last of the… meta-human menace, I believe you call it?”

Lana, her arms folded, replied, “Lex, there’s no one else that could do what we did. Listen, Clark, Lois, and Pete are all very capable. And they’re getting better. Plus, I seem to recall we brought in a sizeable fee.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Lex dismissed, handing Lana the glass, who frowned at him. “Look, that fee may seem like a lot of money now, but unless you start bringing in that kind of income on a regular basis, you might just be captaining a sinking ship.”

“Funny, I seem to recall saying that myself tonight.”

Lex grinned, “Maybe I’m rubbing off on you more than I thought.” He clinked glasses with her, and both sipped. “Lana, if it seems like I’m being hard on you, I am. Trust me, I believe that if there’s anyone who could make Archangel Investigations a success, it’s you.”

“And now you’re just sweet-talking a simple small town girl,” Lana chided in a mock-sultry voice.

Lex placed his hand on Lana’s arm. “You staying tonight?”

Lana turned her eyes up to Lex. “Of course I am. But I’ve got to leave bright and early.”

“Good enough for me.” He leaned in to Lana, who unabashedly met him halfway in what would become a very long and very deep kiss.

~

Director’s Commentary: Mark Lutz and Iyari Limon appeared in the flashback. We’d love for Iyari to come back. And, yes, that was Aaron Ashmore’s voice in the flashback. We’re working with Aaron right now, as we have several ideas for bringing him in for an extended recurring guest star role. We wanted him as a regular, but he was busy on a movie project with brother Shawn when we started filming.

Oh, and it was lovely to have Charisma Carpenter guest star on what is essentially a rip-off of one of the best Cordelia-centered episodes of Angel. The girls got along great. Too good, in fact, as it was nearly impossible to get them out of their trailers.

Also, the similarity between Aldar from “Static” and my meta-villain (played by Dax Griffen of Firefly fame) is completely coincidental.

In an ironic twist, “Richard Foley” was portrayed by Dave Foley. You’re going to think we named the character after him, but you’d be wrong.

On the next episode of Archangel Investigations: AAI fights a pesky infestation. Chloe gets help from an old friend.

^_^ - My poor Chloe!

Episode 103: Faithful

©2006, 2007 Godeerc VanDrey Enterprises, Inc. Created Friday, November 10, 2006. Finished Sunday, November 19, 2006. Updated Sunday, December 31, 2006. Updated Saturday, January 27, 2007. Updated Friday, February 9, 2007.