Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In English class, a discussion is led on "The Merchant of Venice." Ms. Miller opens the discussion about Shylock's speech. Cordelia speaks up about how he blames his life on other people. After the bell, Cordelia goes to Ms. Miller's desk, and asks for help tomorrow after school.

In the boys' locker room, Cordelia's boyfriend Mitch dries himself off after a shower. He is surrounded by friends and they engage in "locker room" talk about Cordelia. The other boys leave and Mitch is left alone in the locker room. Suddenly, the sound of ghostly footsteps can be heard and a girl's disembodied laughter echoes through the room. Mitch reaches for a bat, but it suddenly swings into the air and knocks him unconscious.

Campaigning for the coveted May Queen title, Cordelia hands out chocolates to the student body. She starts to give a chocolate to the next student, but snatches it back when she sees the student is Buffy. Buffy is hurt by Cordelia's behavior as Xander and Willow come by. They make snide comments about being a May Queen, but stop when Buffy tells them that she was one at her old high school.

In the gym, medics wheel Mitch out on a gurney. Buffy grabs the gurney to find out what happened. Mitch tells her that a bat hit him, floating by itself. Buffy heads to the locker room but is blocked by Principal Snyder. Willow makes a distraction so Buffy can enter. Buffy notices a message on the lockers. It reads "Look". Buffy fills Willow and Xander in on the details. Giles comes to find them, to give his theory: an invisible being is the culprit.

Buffy sees Cordelia and Harmony walking by the steps. Suddenly, Harmony jerks backward and falls down the stairs. Buffy hears soft laughter and footsteps going up the stairs; she follows the sound. As she reaches the top, she can still hear the laughter. She sees a door close and follows the invisible being inside. The ceiling hatch rises up but Buffy doesn't notice. Buffy tells Giles about the ghostly laughter. They figure out that everyone hurt so far is connected to Cordelia.

Giles is working alone in the library stacks, when he hears a noise. In the glass bookcase, his reflection is shown. When he turns around, he's surprised to see Angel, who was not reflected in the glass. Angel comes to him for info about the Master. Giles mentions a prophecy book regarding the Slayer, but it was lost. Angel knows its location and promises to get it.

Buffy looks through the missing student records and comes across Marcie, a flute player. In the band room, Buffy gains access to the hatch and climbs into it. Near a skylight, she finds Marcie's things, including her flute. Nearby, Marcie watches Buffy go through her stuff.

After school, Ms. Miller waits for Cordelia to arrive. Marcie walks in and closes the door. She sneaks up behind the teacher, and slips a plastic bag over Ms. Miller's head, suffocating the teacher. Cordelia arrives just in time to help Ms. Miller. On the chalkboard behind them, a levitating piece of chalk writes: "Listen".

Buffy informs Giles about finding Marcie's belongings. Willow looks at her schedule from last year and points out that she and Xander had four classes with Marcie. No one noticed her. They look through Marcie's yearbook and see "Have a nice summer" written over and over again: there is not a single personal comment written. Clearly, Marcie had no friends. Giles tells the gang that since the school is on a Hell-mouth, Marcie's strong perception of feeling invisible literally made her become it.

Meanwhile, Cordelia has figured out that all of the attacks are connected to her. She comes to ask Buffy for help. Buffy shows her the picture of Marcie but Cordelia has no idea who the girl is. The gang discusses their plan for drawing Marcie out, while she listens hidden in the stacks.

Together, Cordelia and Buffy leave the library, discussing Marcie's plight. Cordelia is hurt to hear that Buffy doesn't believe that she can understand loneliness. "I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone," she says. Buffy is surprised to see Cordelia displaying a less shallow side of her personality.

In the library, Willow hears the sound of a flute. Giles, Willow and Xander follow the sound to the boiler room. Inside, Xander finds that the music is coming from a tape recorder. They have walked right into Marcie's trap. Invisible, Marcie runs out of the room, locking the door behind her. The main gas valve is open and a hissing noise is heard. "Can you say, gulp?" Xander asks, wryly.

Buffy talks to Cordelia through the door of the mop closet, as Cordelia changes for the dance. Suddenly, Buffy hears muffled screaming inside the closet and tries to open the door, but it's locked. Buffy punches down the door and sees Cordelia being dragged into the ceiling. She launches herself into the closet after Cordelia.

In the boiler room, Giles checks the furnace, trying to find a way to shut off the deadly fumes. Xander finds the gas shut-off valve handle... on the floor. Willow and Xander try to slam themselves into the door, but it doesn't budge an inch. They're trapped.

In the ceiling crawl space, Buffy finds Cordelia unconscious. Marcie kicks Buffy, knocking her through the ceiling, to the floor below. Just as Buffy regains consciousness, she sees a needle
injected into her neck. Her vision blurs, and she falls back into oblivion.

Cordelia and Buffy have been taken to the Bronze and are tied to the May King and Queen thrones. Cordelia tells Buffy that her face is numb and wonders what Marcie has in store for them. They look at the drapes: the word "LEARN" is painted on them in gold letters.

In the boiler room, Giles forces the valve to shut, but is only partially successful. They have only minutes before unconsciousness and then death will overtake them. "Why is Marcie doing this?" Willow cries, despairingly.

A medical tray is wheeled over to Buffy and Cordelia. Marcie takes off the cloth to reveal an array of surgical instruments. While Marcie is ranting, Buffy struggles to reach for the tray. And in the basement, Xander, Willow, and Giles struggle to retain consciousness.

Cordelia attempts to reason with Marcie, but only succeeds in making her angrier. She swipes at Cordelia's face with a scalpel just as Buffy uses her legs to kick out at the tray. It knocks into Marcie, who stumbles into the curtain. Buffy quickly unties herself and then rushes to untie Cordelia. But before she can fully release her, Marcie regains her footing and kicks Buffy away from Cordelia, who sobs in frustration.

In the boiler room, Giles tries to slam against the door, but his efforts are slow and weak. Miraculously, it opens. Angel has come to rescue them. He helps Giles, Xander, and Willow out of the room and into the fresh, life giving air. Angel hands Giles "The Pergamum Codex"; the prophecy book he was looking for earlier. The group is disoriented and Angel offers to switch off the gas, to keep the building from exploding.

Meanwhile, Buffy has had enough. Sprawled on the floor, she tells Marcie how she really had felt sorry for her, but now realizes she's just a "thundering looney." Just as she stands up to help Cordelia, Marcie kicks her back down. Buffy swipes at the air, hoping to connect with a body. Marcie taunts her and hits her again.

Cordelia is hysterical. Drawing on the power of the Slayer, Buffy closes her eyes, trying to sense Marcie's location. The floor creaks and Buffy spins around, punching the invisible girl and knocking her into the curtains. Entangled in the curtains, Marcie stands back up. "I see you," Buffy says, before knocking her out with a right hook.

The door opens and two FBI men enter. They tell Buffy that they will take care of Marcie, get her rehabilitated, and integrate her back into society. They grab Marcie, with the curtain still over her, and leave. Buffy turns to Cordelia, smiles weakly, and unties her.

The next day at school, Cordelia approaches Buffy and sincerely thanks her for saving her life. Just as Willow is inviting her to join them for lunch, Mitch appears. "You're not hanging with these losers are you?" he asks in disbelief. Cordelia assures him she's not and quickly walks away. Unsurprised, Buffy and her friends turn and walk into the library.

Somewhere else in the world, the FBI agents are welcoming the still invisible Marcie to her new school, which is filled with others like her. Marcie will have no trouble fitting in at this school. Opening her textbook, she reads: Chapter 11: Assassination and Infiltration.

"Cool," breathes Marcie.