"In every generation there is a chosen one." "She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons..." "and the forces of darkness." "She is the slayer." "I just love springtime," " me in bright, spring fashions." " Spring training." " Me at the end-of-school dance." " The end of school." "Definitely my favorite time of year." "I am, of course, having my dress specially made." "Off-the-rack gives me hives." "Let me guess." "Blue like your eyes." "My eyes are hazel, Helen Keller." "You two will look so fine together... in the May queen photo." "Well, I haven't been elected May queen yet." "Behold the weirdness." "You're probably wondering what I'm doing with this stuff, huh?" " Wow!" "I'm not." " For history class." "Mr. Giles has this, like, hobby of collecting stuff, which he lent me for show-and-tell." "Did I mention it's for history class?" "She is always hanging with that creepy librarian... in that creepy library." "Hey, did I ever tell you about the time she attacked me at the Bronze?" "I don't know why this school admits mentals like her." ""If you prick us, do we not bleed?" ""If you tickle us, do we not laugh?" ""If you poison us, do we not die?" "And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"" "Okay." "So talk to me, people." "How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew... relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?" "Well, how about "color me totally self-involved"?" " Care to elaborate?" " Yeah." "With Shylock, it's whine, whine, whine, like the whole world is about him." "He acts like it's justice, him getting a pound of Antonio's flesh." "It's not justice." "It's yicky." "But has Shylock suffered?" "What's his place in Venice society?" " Well, everyone looked down on him." " That is such a Twinkie defense." "Shylock should get over himself." "People who think their problems are so huge craze me, like this time I sort of ran over this girl on her bike." "It was the most traumatizing event of my life, and she was trying to make it about her leg, like my pain meant nothing." "Well, Cordelia's raised an interesting point here..." "Which we'll pursue at a later time." "Ms. Miller?" "Good observations today, Cordelia." "It's always exciting to know someone's actually done the reading." "Thanks." "I want to talk to you about my final paper." "I'm real unfocused." "I have all these thoughts, and I'm pretty sure they all contradict each other." "I have your outline here, but why don't you stop by tomorrow after school?" " We'll go over it then." " That'd be great." "Thanks a lot." " You're welcome." "I'll see you then." " Okay, bye." "Harmony, the dress is ready." "It's so great!" "Mitch is gonna die!" "Hey, Mitch, you going to the Bronze?" "Later." "I'm picking out my tux first." " Got to look sharp for the big dig." " That's right." "You got to look good to be on Cordelia's arm." "It's not her arm I'm looking to be on." "Who's there?" "Okay, fun time's over." "Come out." "Now, remember who to vote for for May queen," " as in me." " Thanks." "Hi!" "Isn't this the bomb?" "I'm such the campaign strategist." ""C" for Cordelia?" "No, "C" for Wilma, little brain." "Of course "C" for Cordelia." "This way, people will associate me with something sweet." "Here's a chocolate..." "I don't think I need the loony fringe vote." "Well..." "I don't even like chocolates." "Okay, that was the lamest comeback of our times." "So what's Cordelia up to?" " Bribery." "She's desperate to be May queen." " She does love titles." "God!" "Remember in sixth grade with the field trip?" "Right!" "Right!" "The guy with the antlers on his belt." ""Be my deputy." And remember, the hat?" "Gee, it's fun that we're speaking in tongues." "I'm sorry." "It was just, we had this..." "You had to be there." "It's not even funny." "Really." "Cordelia just has a history of trying too hard." "Yeah." "What kind of moron would want to be May queen anyway?" " I was." " You what?" "At my old school." "So the good kind of moron would do that, the non-moron, I mean." "Well, we didn't call it May queen, but we had the coronation and the dance and all that stuff." " It was nice." " You don't need that anymore." "You've got us." ""Be my deputy."" "Guys!" "Come on!" "Mitch got wailed on." "I think he's..." "Dead?" "Of course not." "Dead." "What are you, ghouls?" "There are no dead students here... this week." "Clear back." "Make room, all of you!" " Mitch, what happened?" " I don't know." "I heard something." "I tried to grab a bat..." "That hit me." " What hit you?" " The bat, by itself." "The thing was floating, and it knocked me out." "I better check out the scene." "Where do you think you're going?" "Mitch wanted me to get his comb." "He likes his comb." "I don't think Mitch needs his comb right now." "I think Mitch needs medical attention, and you need to stay away from the crime scene." " Always sticking your nose in." " Sue?" "What did you say?" "Mitch was gonna sue the school?" "Sue?" "Who?" "Well, his dad is the most powerful lawyer in Sunnydale." "Hold on." "What have you two heard?" "His dad, the lawyer, you haven't heard of him?" "Other lawyers call him "the beast."" ""Look"?" "That's all it said?" " Look at what?" "Look at Mitch?" " Maybe." "All I know is it's a message." " And?" " Here you are." "And monsters don't usually send messages." "It's pretty much crush, kill, destroy." " This was different." " I'd have to say you're right." "I love it when he says that." "Any theories?" "It's a bit of a puzzle, really." "I've never actually heard of anyone... attacked by a lone baseball bat before." "Maybe it's a vampire bat." "I'm alone with that one, huh?" "Well, assuming the bat itself is not possessed, there are a few possibilities that bear investigating:" "Someone with telekinesis... the power to move objects at will... an invisible creature... and, possibly, a poltergeist." "A ghost?" " Yes, and a very angry one." " Yeah, I'd say." "The locker room was a real scene." "If it's a ghost, then we're talking about a dead kid." "I guess so." "You know, why don't you compile a list of dead or missing kids?" "It's probably a good place to start." "And I'll research all the possibilities, ghosts included." "Xander, if you're not doing anything, would you like to help me?" "What?" "So there's homework now?" "When did that happen?" "It's all part of the glamorous world of vampire slayage." " What part do you have?" " I'm gonna find out what I can about Mitch." " This attack wasn't random." " Well, I want that part." "Fine." "You can do it." "Ask around." "Talk to his friends." " Talk to Cordelia." " Talk to Cordelia?" "So, research?" " Hi." " Hi." " Cordelia, you weren't in fifth period." " I went to the hospital." "Mitch." "How is he?" "Will he be okay?" "Well, the doctor says he'll be fine." "They're gonna send him home tomorrow, but you should have seen him lying there, all black and blue." "How's he gonna look in our prom pictures?" "How am I ever going to be able to show them to anyone?" "Well, they can do wonderful things with airbrushes these days." "You think?" " Hi." " Hi." "Did you see Mitch?" "He just broke up with Wendy eight seconds ago," " and he's already nosing around." " It's shameless." "In the spring, if he makes varsity baseball, maybe I'll take him on a test drive." "Hi, guys!" "What do you want?" "I just hope they can prop him up long enough to take the picture." " Cordelia, can I talk to you?" " Great." "Why is she always trying..." "Harmony!" "For heaven's sakes." "Clear back, everyone." "Give her some air." "You, school nurse, now." "My ankle." "I think it's broken." " What happened?" " Hey, who's the principal here?" " What happened?" " She fell!" "We were standing at the top of the stairs, and she just fell all by herself." "No!" "I was pushed!" "Don't sue." "Is anybody here?" "Hey, who's here?" "Okay, I know someone's here." "Look, I'm not going to hurt you." "I just want to talk to you." "Hey, guys?" "Giles, have you ever touched a ghost?" "No, but from what I've heard, having a ghost pass through you is a singular experience." "It's a rather cold, amorphous feeling..." " that makes your hair stand on end." " You see, that's my problem." "I touched the thing, but it didn't go through me." "It bumped into me, and it wasn't cold." " So we're talking about what, an invisible person?" " A girl." "She laughed." "A girl on campus with the ability to become invisible." " That is so cool!" " Cool?" "Well, yeah, I would give anything to be able to turn invisible." "I wouldn't use my powers to beat people up." "I'd use my powers to protect the girls' locker room." "It must be a fairly heady experience, having that ability." "How'd she get it?" "Is she a witch?" "'Cause we can fight a witch." "Greek myth speaks of cloaks of invisibility, but they're usually for the gods." "Research boy comes through with the knowledge." "This girl's sort of petty for a god." "She's got a grudge, but why Harmony?" "Their common denominator is..." " Cordelia." " So what now?" "First thing tomorrow, why don't you pull up that missing kids list." "Got it." "I'll see you then." " See ya." " Bye." "Hey, do you want to come to our place tonight for dinner?" "Mom's making her famous phone call to the Chinese place." "Xander, do you guys even have a stove?" "So, I'll look into ways that you can de-cloak an invisible someone." " What about you?" " I think Cordelia's going to be working on her May queen dress." "Maybe there'll be some action." "I guess I'm gonna start the hunt." "How exactly do you propose to hunt someone you can't see?" "You may have to work on listening to people." " Very funny." " I thought so." "Should I wear my hair up?" "Do you think I should wear it up?" "How does the hem go?" "Is it..." "Is it long enough or..." "Isn't it beautiful?" "Who's there?" "A vampire casts no reflection." "Don't worry." "I'm not here to eat." "Buffy told me you don't feed from humans anymore." " Not for a long while." " Is that why you're here, to see her?" "I can't." "It's..." "It's too hard for me to be around her." "A vampire in love with a slayer." "It's rather poetic... in a maudlin sort of way." "What can I..." "What can I do for you?" "I know you've been researching the master." "Yes." "The vampire king." "I'm trying to learn as much as I can about him... for the day that Buffy must face him." "Something's already in motion, something big, but I don't know what." "You've read all the slayer lore there is, right?" "I've studied all the extant volumes, of course." "But the most salient books of slayer prophecy have been lost:" "The Tiberius Manifesto, the Pergamum Codex." "The Codex?" "It's reputed to have contained the most complete prophecies... about the slayer's role in the end years." "Unfortunately, the book was lost in the 15th century." "Not lost." "Misplaced." "I can get it." "That would be most helpful." "My..." "my own volumes have... have been rather useless of late." "Legends of Vishnu?" "There's an invisible girl terrorizing the school." "That's not really my area of expertise." "Nor mine, I'm afraid." "It's fascinating, though." "By all accounts, it's a wonderful power to possess." "I don't know." "Looking in the mirror every day and seeing nothing there... it's an overrated pleasure." "God!" "I am never sitting through one of those alumni lectures again!" "Two hours of "My Trek Through Nepal."" "Hello." "There is nobody caring." "Did you guys see his toupee?" "It looked like a cabbage." "And those slides?" ""That's a mountain." ""That's a mountain, too." "Now look at some mountains."" "I swear he had three slides and just used them over and over." "I know, but did you see his toupee?" "It was, like, the worst." "We're talking, okay?" "And did you guys check out that extreme toupee?" "Yeah." "That's realistic." "It looked like a cabbage." "That's so funny." "The winner is Cordelia Chase." "Let's bring up our new May queen." "Thank you for making the right choice... and for showing me how much you all love me." "Being this popular is not just my right, but my responsibility." "And I want you to know I take it very seriously." "So Giles said you'd be here." " Why are you being here?" " Last night was a bust, but I still think Cordy's the key here." "This is the dead and missing girls list." " I pulled up their classes, activities, medical records." " Good work." "Has Cordelia hired a bodyguard or something?" "Hey, you guys, check out this one." "It's the most recent one." "Marcie Ross disappeared, like, six months ago." " I don't know her." " Me, neither." "Her only activity was band." "She played the flute." " So?" " Well, last night when I was hunting I heard this flute, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from." "And it was in the band room that I lost Miss Invisible yesterday." "You know, this all tracks." "I'm going to check it out." " See you guys later?" " Okay." "We'll see you after geometry." "Ask, "Hey, what am I wearing to that spring fling?"" ""Marcie Ross." So it is you." "Cordelia, could you possibly be on ti..." "Who's there?" "Ms. Miller?" "My God!" "Ms. Miller!" "My God!" "Are you okay?" "Ms. Miller..." "What happened?" "Attacked..." "Didn't see..." "My God." "A nest?" "Looked like she'd been there for months." "It's where I found this." "Check it out." "My God." ""Have a nice summer."" ""Have a nice summer."" "This girl had no friends at all." "Once again, I teeter at the precipice of the generation gap." ""Have a nice summer" is what you write when you have nothing to say." "It's the kiss of death." "You guys didn't know Marcie Ross?" "Never met her." "Why?" "'Cause you both wrote it, too." " "Have a nice..." Yeesh." " Where am I?" ""Have a great summer."" "See?" "I cared." "But you don't remember her?" "No." "I probably didn't see her, except to sign the book." "I mean, this is a big school." "Xander, we each had four classes with her last year." "So no one noticed her, and now she's invisible." "What?" "She turned invisible because no one noticed her?" "Of course." "I've been investigating the mystical causes of invisibility, when I should have looked at the quantum mechanical." "Physics." "I think I speak for everyone here... when I say, huh?" "It's a rudimentary concept that reality is shaped, even created..." "by our perception." "And with the Hellmouth below us sending out mystical energies... people perceived Marcie as invisible, and she became so." "So, who knows the answer to this one?" "Think about it." " Cordelia." " Well, just because the story's about him... doesn't necessarily mean he's the hero, right?" "Exactly." "So what do we call him?" " Willow." " Well, the protagonist." " Xander." " Why can't he be both?" "I mean, he did do some things that were pretty heroic." "Absolutely." "Who doesn't agree with that?" "Okay." "And how about you?" "It isn't this great power that she can control." "It was something that was done to her... that we did to her." "No wonder she's miffed." "What does she want?" "Just what we thought." " Cordelia." " What?" " Cordelia." " What?" "I knew you'd be here." "Buffy..." "I know we've had our differences, with you being so weird and all... and hanging out with these total losers." "Well, anyway, despite all of that," "I know that you share this feeling... that we have for each other, deep down." "Nausea?" "Somebody is after me!" "They just tried to kill Mrs. Miller... she was helping me with my homework... and Mitch and Harmony." "This is all about me..." "me, me, me!" "Wow." "For once she's right." "So you come to me for help." "Because... you're always around when all this weird stuff is happening." "And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons." "I was kind of hoping you were in a gang." "Please." "I don't have anyone else to turn to." "Please..." " Sit down." " Okay, thanks." "You know, I..." "I don't recall ever seeing you here before." "No." "I have a life." "Okay." "Cordelia, your attacker is an invisible girl..." "Who is really, really angry at you, which I can't imagine personally, but it takes all kinds, you know?" "Well, I don't care what it is." "Just get rid of it." "Well, it's not that simple." "It's a person." "It's this person." "Now, do you have any idea why she'd be so..." "God, is she really wearing Laura Ashley?" "So homicidal?" "I have no idea." "I've never seen this girl before in my life." "You didn't see me coming." "Cordelia, you don't remember me." "I remember you." "All your slut friends..." "I hate them!" "They take your life and they suck it out of you." "That bastard..." "They gotta learn." "They gotta learn." "According to what you told us about the attack on Ms. Miller, we now have two messages from Marcie." "Look and listen." "Messages we don't understand." "I don't think we're supposed to... yet." "Marcie's not quite ready, but from what she did to Cordelia's picture," "I would say that she's wigged on the whole May queen thing." "Maybe she's gonna do something about it." "Stop the coronation tonight, maybe." "Keep you guys away from the Bronze." "Nothing is keeping me from the Bronze tonight." "Can we just revel in your fabulous lack of priorities?" "If I'm not crowned tonight, then Marcie's won, and that would be bad!" "She's evil, okay?" "Way eviler than me." "Cordelia has a point." "Buffy's with me on this." "Anyway, continuing the normal May queen activities... may be the best way to draw Marcie out." "We can use Cordelia as bait." "Great!" "Bait?" "Willow, Xander, you'll help me begin our research anew." "Unless we find a way to cure Marcie's invisibility," " then Buffy will be..." " A sitting duck." " Come on." " Well, I have to try on my dress." "And am I really bait?" "So, how much the creepy is it... that this Marcie's been at this for months?" "Spying on us." "Learning our most guarded secrets." "So are you saying she's invisible... because she's so unpopular?" "That about sums it up." "Bummer for her." "It's awful to feel that lonely." "So you've read something about the feeling?" "Hey, you think I'm never lonely... because I'm so cute and popular?" "I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone." "It's not like any of them really know me." "I don't even know if they like me half the time." "People just want to be in the popular zone." "Sometimes when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say." "Well, if you feel so alone, then why do you work so hard at being popular?" "Well, it beats being alone all by yourself." "Listen." "Come on." "We could talk to her, perhaps reason with her." "Or possibly grab her." "There are three of us." "Let's go." "If you ever tell anyone that I changed in a mop closet..." "Your secret dies with me." "Looks okay but hurry." "Okay." "Over here." "Marcie." "We know what happened to you." "Please, can we talk to you?" "We're sorry we ignored you." "Can you say... gulp?" "What's that sound?" "You know what you were saying before?" "I understand." "Somehow it doesn't seem to matter how popular you are when..." "You were popular?" "In what alternate universe?" "In L.A." "The point is, I did sort of feel like something was missing." "Is that when you became weird and got kicked out?" "Okay, can we have the heartfelt talk... with a little less talk from you?" "Cordelia?" "Cordelia!" "Cordelia!" "Buffy!" "It's gas." "She's snuffed out the pilot light." "The gas is up full." "I can't find the shutoff valve." "Is this it?" "Okay, that's bad." "How about the door?" "No!" "One spark, and you'll take the whole building with us." "Cordelia!" "Cordelia!" "My God." "Buffy." "You're awake?" "Yeah." "I can't feel my face." "What do you mean?" "My face." "My face is numb." "What is she doing?" "I don't know." "What does that mean?" "I don't know." "That should give us a few minutes, but we've..." "If we don't get out of this room soon..." "Why is Marcie doing this?" "The loneliness, the constant exile." "She's..." "She has gone mad." "You think?" "I'm disappointed." "I really hoped you guys had figured it out by now." "Well, why don't you explain it?" "Come on, Marcie, what are we supposed to learn?" "Yeah." "What do you want to teach us?" "You don't get it." "You're not the student." "You're the lesson." "What did you do to my face?" "Your face." "That's what this is all about, isn't it?" "Your beautiful face." "It's what makes you shine... just a little bit brighter than the rest of us." "We all want what you have, to be noticed, remembered, to be seen." "What are you doing?" "I'm fulfilling your fondest wish." "I'm gonna give you a face no one will ever forget." "One, two, three!" "Again." "Marcie, you can't do this." "What are you gonna do, slay me?" "Marcie, you know this is wrong." "You should have stayed out of my way." "You know, I thought you would understand my vision, but you're just like them." "Please don't do this." "No..." "No!" "You should be grateful." "People who pass you on the street... are gonna remember you for the rest of their lives." "Children are gonna dream about you." "And every one of your friends who comes to the coronation tonight... will take the sight of the May queen... to their graves." "Wait!" "No." "We really have to get started." "The local anesthetic will wear off soon." "I don't want you to faint." "It's less fun if you're not awake." "You guys are..." "You're blacking out on me." "Let me see." "I think we should start with your smile." "I think it should be wider." "Marcie, I know you think I don't understand, but I do." "Yeah, I'll bet you know how I feel." "I bet you can be with all your friends... and just feel so alone 'cause they don't really know you." "You're just a typical self-involved, spoiled little brat, and you think you can charm your way out of this, don't you?" "Isn't that what you think?" "I see right through you." "My God!" "Get me out of here, please." "Just hold still." "My God!" "Come on!" "What happened?" "You tell me." "I'm up, Mom." "Hi." "What do you want?" "I brought you the codex." "I came in through the basement." "I smelled the gas." "Yes, well, shut it off, otherwise the whole building will go up." "I'll get it." "It's not like I need the oxygen." "Come on, let's get out of here." "You know, I really felt sorry for you." "You've suffered." "There's one thing I really didn't factor into all this." "You're a thundering loony." "Buffy, are you okay?" "Oh, my God!" "Oh, my God!" "Buffy!" "Oh, my God!" "Buffy!" "Oh, my God." "Hey, moron, I'm invisible." "How you gonna fight someone you can't see?" "Oh, my God." "Cordelia, shut up." "Okay." "I see you." "Everybody, stay where you are!" "F.B.I. Nobody move." "Okay, we'll take it from here now, ma'am." "Take what from where?" "I'm Agent Doyle." "This is Agent Manetti." "We're here for the girl." "Well, where were you ten minutes ago... when she was playing surgeon?" "I'm sorry." "We came as fast as we could." "We'll take it from here on." "You can cure her?" "We can..." "rehabilitate her." "In time, she'll learn to be a useful member of society again." "Very useful." "This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?" "It's happened at other schools." "We're not at liberty to discuss that." "It would be best for you to forget this whole incident." "Do you know that you guys are very creepy?" "Thank you for your help." "And... have a nice day." "Can I get untied now?" "Thanks." "I just can't believe how twisted Marcie got." "By the way, how did you guys get out of the boiler room?" "Well, when the gas was coming down... janitor..." "found us, shut the valve off." "We were really lucky." "I'll say." "Hi." "Hey." "Look, I didn't get a chance to say anything yesterday, with the coronation and everything." "But, I guess I just want to say thank you." "All of you." "That's funny, 'cause she looks like Cordelia." "You really helped me out yesterday, and you didn't have to, so thank you." "It's okay." "Listen, we were gonna grab lunch in a minute, if you wanted to..." "Whoa." "You're not hanging with these losers, are you?" "Are you kidding?" "I was just being charitable, helping them with their fashion problems." "You think I really felt like joining that social leper colony?" "Puh-lease!" "Boy, where's an invisible girl... when you really need one?" "We think you'll be happy here." "You should fit right in." "Welcome, Marcie." "Class, this is Marcie." "Please sit down." "Okay, class, let's get started." "Everybody turn to page 54 of your texts."