Superman

Quotes

Gabe: "I don't think butternut squash is gonna do it this time."

Deaver: "it turns out that the berserker..." Chase: "is Zolor's little pet." Deaver: "...is Zolor's little pet. How did you know that?"

Nikki: "I don't think he would like it if you killed the Berserker. I think... we should go on a picnic."

Deaver: "We got a demon." Gabe: 'We got a demon..." Deaver: "We know he's bad." Gabe: "... we know he's bad ?" Deaver: "We know where he is." Gabe: "... we know where he is ..." Deaver: "So we're gonna go kill him." Gabe: "... right. Okay, then. Let's go." Deaver: (breaking the stick shift in the car) "I think we're gonna have to walk."

Chase (regarding the Berserker): "It looks nothing like Snuffleupagus."

Nathaniel (regarding Deaver): "... Couldn't even kill a Windego..."

Chase: "I think that's already a comic book franchise involving a big green guy."

Chase: "LSD's got nothing on life in McKennitt."

Chase: "Which girlfriend that tried to kill us? ... Oh. Never mind."

Deaver is standing in living room at Nikki's place when the lady of the house bounces in. She announces to Deaver that now that he knows ... well, everything ... she has a gift for him. She didn't want to give it to him before because she didn't want to have to explain how she had come by it. She holds out a book to him. It's title reads Sciencia Mystica. Needless to say, Deaver is instantly absorbed.

* * *

Gabe sits in the fifth floor library, surrounded by piles of dusty-looking books. He frowns down at the one in front of him as he reads: "Once a service contract is executed with a demon, only the controlling party (or the death of either party) can end said contract ..."

* * *

Chase is cross-legged on the bed in her room, pouring over the Familia Zolorum. She can't help a soft exclamation, which prompts Geoff [Well, where else would he be?] to ask her what she's found. She reads aloud, "The priestesses serve as his heralds, companions & aids in his quest for dominion over humanity, but they serve a more practical purpose as well. If Zolor is slain, he will immediately be reborn into his eldest priestess, so that as long as a priestess lives, Zolor cannot be killed." They look at each other with frustrated and concerned expressions.

* * *

Hunched over the worktable in his lab, Deaver puts the finishing touches on a strange machine. He constantly refers to the (now dog-eared) Sciencia Mystica on the table beside him. He starts the machine and watches it avidly. But something goes awry. The machine explodes with a shower of sparks, some of which hit Deaver square in the chest with enough force throw him back against the wall. Smoke fills the air, and the room is suddenly very quiet as the cinders slowly settle. After a moment, Deaver gets up off the floor, dazed. He mutters to himself, "that wasn't supposed to happen," and wanders out of the room.

* * *

Gabe arrives at Nikki's and heads upstairs to Chase's room, where he, Chase, and Geoff discuss their latest findings. The combined prognosis for Nikki is not very favorable, and the mood in the room is grim. They hear Deaver's arrival, so they decide to take their research results down to the not-so-happy couple. Deaver looks slightly singed and more than slightly dazed; he sits in a chair while the conversation flows around him, inserting unrelated commentary at random moments. Geoff and Chase take a good look at him and determine that it's only a mild case shock, and he should come out of it soon. If he doesn't, they'll ? uh ? figure it out then. To get answers, Nikki gently touches Deaver's face. The scene is roughly revealed to her and she fills in the others. While he recovers, the researchers tell Nikki their bad news. Nikki once again pleads with them to listen to reason and just leave town for a while; she'll just straighten everything out. But as before, they remain unconvinced. In frustration, Nikki bangs her open palm against the table, jostling a cut crystal vase perched dangerously close to the edge. With unbelievable speed, Deaver is suddenly there, and catches the vase without even diving for it. All conversation stops as the group looks at him, completely stupefied.

* * *

Deaver strolls in to the Lone Star. It's Friday night: Rock 'n' Roll; the dance floor is packed. Shannon cheerfully greets Deaver from the bar and asks if he'd like his usual. He isn't too chatty. She asks if Nikki will be joining him, and he blows her off, making some vague comment about meeting up with her later. He then heads directly for the dance floor, pinching a cute co-ed on the way ?

* * *

On Saturday morning, the gang collects at Common Grounds (where all college students who are up in the morning on a Saturday would be.) Deaver is quite back to normal ? beyond normal, in fact. He is in a buoyant mood and carries a sheaf of pages of notes from the Familia Zolorum. In a truly quixotic moment, he announces that they should go kill the Berserker, as he's one of Zolor's favorite "pets". Nikki's eyes widen at the suggestion, and she tries desperately to convince the gang that it's not a good idea - killing the Berserker will anger Zolor and seriously reduce her bargaining power. Deaver holds firm however, and goes dashing off to his car, with a concerned Gabe close behind him. Geoff and Chase exchange glances and head for the Jeep.

Deaver hops into his car, as does Gabe. He goes to shift gears ? and manages to break the stick shift. He cheerfully tells Gabe they'll have to walk, as Geoff and Chase pull up behind them. The entire entourage piles into the Jeep, with Geoff politely refusing Deaver's offer to drive. On the way towards the Berserker's cave, Gabe convinces Geoff to stop long enough to get a spell off that will keep the gang calm under the Berserker's known angering influence. The spell goes quite well, leaving everyone groovy and mellow (and Geoff and Chase dreading the likely after-effects).

At the mouth of the cave, Deaver grabs two swords from Geoff's trunk and marches forward towards the darkened entrance. The beast is pacing on the other side of its magical barrier. Deaver strides through the barrier, and presses the beast. The rest of the scoobies, noting Deaver's new combat prowess, decide to let him go at it. The Berserker dies quite quickly, and Nathaniel appears, now freed from his not-so-eternal responsibility, and looking dumbfounded at Deaver's newfound heroic nature. Deaver shakes his hand and wishes the spirit peace on his journey.

* * *

At Nikki's house, Deaver strides into the foyer. Triumphantly, he sweeps Nikki up off her feet and kisses her. He then tenderly tells her that he loves her, and that he wants to be with her forever. No really. Forever. What do they have to do? Overjoyed, Nikki holds him tight.

* * *

Upon leaving the cave, Chase insists that they go to Deaver's lab to view the scene of the accident that has so obviously affected his strength. Deaver amiably takes them to his lab. He cheerfully starts running through the sequence of events, thoroughly losing them in the process. They go take a look at the security tapes from that afternoon. After they witness the explosion, a few moments pass before Deaver gets up off the floor and wanders out of the room. Another five minutes pass ? and Deaver gets up and wanders out of the room. Again. Convinced that there are now two Deavers, the gang heads for the car - the second Deaver is most likely at Nikki's place. The scoobies take the book with them in case the complex formulas can shed some light on what happened. Chase, Geoff, and Gabe can barely make heads or tails of the Sciencia Magica, but they do glean enough to determine that the effects of the experiment are much like that of a magickal spell gone awry.

Back at the manor, the gang rushes up the stairs towards Nikki's room. They hear voices within - Nikki is definitely not alone. Chase knocks on the door, and after a moment Nikki steps out in a robe. She is startled to see Deaver (needless to say), and hesitantly tells the gang she'll meet them downstairs in just a moment. The group shuffles back downstairs, where they are eventually met by Nikki ? and Deaver. Yep, Deaver. The gang quickly explains as much as they know of the experiment that resulted in two Deavers with supah-strength. That doesn't amount to much, and they decide more research on the subject is needed.

Cut to the 5th floor library (what a great way to spend a Saturday night). After hours of research, Gabe comes across a description of a magickal item that seems to have many of the same effects as the errant experiment. It seems that the two Deavers possess different characteristics of the original; one all of his qualities, and one all of his flaws. Both have the same superior strength and speed. GoodDeaver (who is in the library) can't help wondering if BadDeaver is likely to sabotage their plans regarding Zolor. After a little more research Gabe feels he can compose a counter-spell, but it will take more witchiness than he alone can provide. The gang promptly leaves the library and head's for Rowan's house; she is one of the leading members of Cernunos' Grove [funny how Gabe never goes to the DoH for help. Even though he's a member. But anyway.]. They explain the situation to Rowan, and she immediately agrees to help. Upon learning of Deaver's superior strength, she plans to gather a few more members and meet them at the Boyd-Townsend manor.

The gang all returns to Nikki's house, and convenes in the ballroom [like this is a frikkin' tea party or something], where Nikki and BadDeaver meet them. After a few awkward attempts to explain the situation to Nikki in veiled terms (without alerting BadDeaver), Chase stands up, walks behind the sofa where Nikki and BadDeaver are seated, and touches Nikki gently on the shoulder, thinking the entire situation. Gabe lurks in the ballroom doorway, waiting for the other witches, while the rest of the crew tries to make casual small talk [even without Raveena, they fail miserably]. Chase's eyes grow wider as she looks over the heads of the group to see someone enter the ballroom by way of the den (which has a back door). It's Kevin. He nonchalantly waltzes in and leans casually against the wall in the midst of the group. As Chase starts backing away, Nikki begins yelling at him to leave her house (Chase suddenly remembers that vampires cannot be warded from the house of a demon). Kevin remains unmoved, literally and figuratively. The CG ladies finally show up. Gabe meets them at the front doorway and has a hushed conversation with them; he alerts them that one of the two Deavers probably won't be very amenable to the reunion. Suddenly, BadDeaver grabs Nikki, calls to Kevin to follow him, and dashes out into the backyard. They run for Nikki's car, with the gang following close behind. BadDeaver assists Nikki into the vehicle; she doesn't appear to be fighting very much. As the engine revs, one of the two Cernunos' Grove gals (Rachel) grabs Rowan and Gabe by the hands and focuses her energies towards the car, telekinetically lifting it off the ground as the tires spin for purchase on thin air. GoodDeaver runs for the car full tilt and (after ripping the top off the convertible) begins trading blows with BadDeaver - a solid hit to one harms them both, but neither seems to be paying much attention. As soon as BadDeaver stops trying to drive, Geoff and Chase take the opportunity to slash the tires [hoodlums]. As Chase is working on one of the rear wheels, Kevin gives her a soft "hello" and strokes her hair gently. Chase tenses and tries hard to pretend he doesn't exist, but Geoff attempts to smack him. Kevin wonders aloud if that is against the rules of the agreement, and Chase snaps at Geoff to stop - they made a deal. With the tires out of commission, Gabe and the witches put the car back on the ground. GoodDeaver hurls himself through the driver side door as BadDeaver attempts to escape through the passenger side, grabbing his foe by the ankle. Chase takes the opportunity to grab a flashlight from the passenger door and whack BadDeaver over the head, knocking both Deavers out cold. Chase helps Nikki from the car and then begins to haul BadDeaver into the house, while Gabe does the same with GoodDeaver.

Gabe and the three witches make the circle and place both Deavers within it, preparing to cast the needed spell. Nikki is very agitated and upset as preparations are being made, and loudly explains that she doesn't want the ritual to go on, that they need to stop. She rushes up to Rowan, demanding that she stop the proceedings. Magic begins to seethe in the air around Nikki. Suddenly, she turns and flees the room, close to tears.

The spell works, and the Deavers shimmer and merge into one. Gabe thanks the CG ladies for their assistance and takes to the roof of Nikki's house for some Familia Zolorum reading. Geoff gently suggests to Chase that under the circumstances, she should probably come stay at his place tonight; Nikki's isn't a safe haven after all, it would seem. When Deaver awakens, he has the memories of both Deavers, and realizes why Nikki is so upset. He goes to her and tries to explain the promise that BadDeaver made, but words fail him. He just holds on to her instead.