“…..And Justice For All”

“Halls of Justice Painted Green
Money Talking
Power Wolves Beset Your Door
Hear Them Stalking
Soon You'll Please Their Appetite
They Devour
Hammer of Justice Crushes You
Overpower

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price You Pay
Nothing Can Save You

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real

Apathy Their Stepping Stone
So Unfeeling
Hidden Deep Animosity
So Deceiving
Through Your Eyes Their Light Burns
Hoping to Find
Inquisition Sinking You
With Prying Minds

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price You Pay
Nothing Can Save You

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real

Lady Justice Has Been Raped
Truth Assassin
Rolls of Red Tape Seal Your Lips
Now You're Done in
Their Money Tips Her Scales Again
Make Your Deal
Just What Is Truth? I Cannot Tell
Cannot Feel

The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price We Pay
Nothing Can Save You

Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
So True
So Real” Metallica (…..And Justice For All, Album of the same name 1988)

Silence filled Angel’s office. He was completely bewildered. There was just no way that his Cordelia could be saying what he thought she had said. Flashing back to the past year when Jasmine had taken over Cordelia’s body, Angel took a cautious sniff of the air trying discretely to check Cordelia’s scent. Spreading out his other senses Angel tried to puzzle out if the woman before him was really Cordelia or not. He strongly suspected that she was a ploy being used by the Senior Partners in order to throw him off his game.

Standing straight, Angel used his height advantage to tower over her. A dark scowl settled over his stoic features as his eyes flashed between gold and brown.

“Who are you?” Angel growled, coming to stand almost nose to nose with ‘Cordelia’.

“Angel! I swear if you try to stand there and say I’m not really me just to get out of this conversation, then I am going to stake you myself!” Cordelia growled back, her own brown eyes sparking in anger.

“Your not her!” Angel said with conviction. He was positive that his Cordelia would never speak to him in such a manner. “I don’t know who you are but you better get out of my office before I get the clean up crew to take you out in pieces!”

A harsh slap was Angel’s only answer. Looking at the woman before him, a small part of his mind argued that she was in fact acting just like the Cordelia that he remembered. He quickly pushed that thought away. Angel had done no wrong and therefore this creature could not be his Cordelia.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that Angel!” Cordelia yelled. “Just because you some how manage to get away with this behavior around the others does not mean I’m going to let you treat me the same way.”

“Cordelia would never defend Spike like this!” Angel said, scowling at the brunette in front of him.

“And why wouldn’t I?” Came Cordelia’s sharp reply. “Even I can see the man has changed.”

“Spike is not a man! He’s a killer!” Angel growled, angered by the creatures accusations.

“And so are you!” Cordelia said. “In fact, Spike has been responsible for more good without his soul than you are with yours!”

“That is not true!” Angel bellowed. “All I have done since coming here is be the Power’s Champion! I save people!”

“Is that so?” Cordelia shot back.

“Yes!” Angel answered immediately and with certainty.

“Spike has helped stop two apocalypses and stayed to help keep the hellmouth settled and Dawn safe after Buffy died. Where were you? Oh that’s right, a monastery.” Cordelia’s biting tone made Angel cringe. So he had not helped keep Sunnydale’s hellmouth under wraps. Who cared? He had been grieving the loss of his one true love. Everyone understood that Angel could not have gone back to Sunnydale at that time. It would have been too painful. The fact that Spike could and did stay only proved that the bleach menace did not really love Buffy.

Pulling his beliefs close to his heart, Angel faced the imposture in his office with renewed vigor.


“I helped save the word more than he has!” Angel answered the thing’s challenge. He did not care what this creature was. It was not going to make his start second guessing his decisions now.

“The ones you started don’t count.” Cordelia scoffed.

“Spike only did it for selfish reasons!” Angel shot back smugly, clearly thinking he had won with that argument.

“Yeah,” Cordelia snorted, “Love is a horrible reason to do anything. Admit it. You just don’t want to acknowledge that you’re wrong.”

Grabbing Cordelia by the arms, Angel dragged her to the door of his office. Stunned, Cordelia barely had any time to protest before Angel sent her sailing out of his office and into the lobby.

“You are not Cordelia!” Angel growled. “And If I see you again I’ll kill you myself.” Slamming the door shut, Angel took a moment to savor the outrage that had been present on the imposter’s face. Locking the door, Angel resumed his whistling. Taking a seat, he quickly picked up the phone. The next stage of his plan needed to be set into motion before time could run out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cordelia could not believe it. Angel had not only tried to act like she wasn’t really herself, but he had had the gall to throw her out of his office. Fury rose up inside of her and fire seemed to light up her brown eyes making them shine. Pulling herself to her feet Cordelia stalked over to the locked door. Drawing her foot back, she gave the door a good swift kick. As her foot sunk into the cheap wood panel, Cordelia thanked the Power’s that she had taken to wearing sturdier shoes. That way the damage was to the door and not her feet.

“And to think I used to believe in you!” Cordelia snarled at the damaged door. “Champion of the people my ass! You overbearing, egotistical, self-righteous, inbred, son of a syphilis infected whore! I must have been blind not to see it all these years! How in the hell you can stand in there a defend your actions is beyond me!”

Stepping back, Cordelia dusted herself off. She was Queen C and a member of the Vicious Bitch club. There was no way Angel was going to get away with treating her like last year’s designer knock offs. Giving the door one last disgusted look, Cordelia turned on her heels and stalked off. Angel would soon be getting his. She’d make damn sure of it.

Quickly making her way to the small hospital room that held a sleeping Spike, Cordelia barged right in. Her sudden appearance shocked everyone in the room. With a rather bitter smile on her face, Cordelia addressed the startled L.A crew.

“Hey guys! You’ll never guess what Angel has been hiding from everyone!”