Port Charles Update Thursday 7/25/02

By Beth
Proofread by John

Alison runs into Jamal at Pizza Shack. Jamal heard about what happened with Rafe and knows it had to be very hard for her. Alison says she's accepted it. Jamal reminds her of all the friends who care about her
and says not to shut them out this time. She's surprised at Marissa's arrival. Seeing Kate, she says she came to see her. She accosts Kate and asks her to pretend they planned to meet. Kate sees Jamal and
Marissa and understands. Alison thinks there's something going on between them. This is the second time she's seen them together. It's just a little weird for her; it caught her by surprise. She admits she has a hangover--her first and last. She talks about how she and Jack spent her birthday, then Kate mentions the need to find an apartment. Alison invites her to stay with her at Lucy's house. Kate doesn't think that's a good idea; she's been told she's hard to live with. Alison thinks it will be fine, and besides, she needs someone there to take her mind off her troubles with Rafe. Kate is genuinely sorry to learn of Livvie's hold on him, but she advises Alison to let go of the past. Alison gets a cryptic phone call, telling Kate it's very strange but she has to go pick up something right now. Before she goes, she asks Kate for her answer about moving in, and Kate accepts. Taking her own advice about not hanging onto the past, Kate calls Ian and arranges to have a pizza with him at his place.

Marissa guesses that Alison is Jamal's ex, and he confesses to being both the dumper and the dumpee. He got the worst of both worlds. Changing the subject, Marissa says her mother went back home, and Jamal was right to keep the truth about Casey from her. She would have been devastated. Marissa adds that her mother really likes Jamal and even said he was a keeper. Marissa is grateful for his help dealing with the whole Casey thing. Jamal says he was just being a friend. When she points out that he's been staring at Alison, he tells her he's not looking for any kind of relationship. Marissa tells him to get over himself. Jamal thinks she's giving off a vibe and he just doesn't want any misunderstandings. She reminds him that she's just here for a story. She might stay longer to learn more about Casey, but she'll stay out of his way. She wouldn't want him to think she's stalking him. When a woman claims to have just seen the hooded figure in the park, Marissa runs to follow the lead. Flashlight in hand, she searches for the shadow man. Jamal shows up and scares the wits out of her. He's just trying to protect her from some crazed lunatic. Marissa insists the shadow man is a superhero. Turning around, she sees a very wounded man on the ground and screams.

When the police arrive, Andy questions them on what they saw. He's not surprised to learn that the hooded avenger was seen in the area. The latest victim is a pimp with a reputation for beating up his prostitutes. He would have died if he had gone much longer without medical treatment. Jamal asks Marissa what she thinks of her superhero now, and she replies that he's not what she thought he was.

Dwelling on her deal with the Avatar and the resulting sexual encounter, Livvie drops her glass of water and starts crying. A dark shadow swiftly passes by and is reflected in the mirror, but Livvie tries to convince herself it was her imagination. Then she feels the baby again and asks herself what's happening to her. Rafe hears the commotion and checks on her, hovering while she insists she's all right. It's time to get ready to go to the lighthouse for dinner, but she needs to talk to him first. She knows it's not possible, but she swears she felt the baby move again. Rafe reminds her of what Ian told her about her body adjusting to the pregnancy. He thinks she's just nervous that he'll leave her, but that won't happen. As for the Avatar story, that's just a myth. It's not real; what's real is the baby. As he holds his hand on her abdomen and talks about what's growing inside her, Livvie freaks out and jumps up, ordering him to stop talking about the baby. Rafe wants her to calm down. He thinks they should cancel the dinner with Kevin and Lucy and instead just stay home and talk or do whatever she wants. Livvie doesn't know what she wants, but she does know in her heart that the Avatar is no urban myth. It's in Port Charles, and she needs Rafe to tell her the truth about what it wants. Reluctantly, he admits that it wants to control and dominate. Livvie wants to know whether it can reproduce. She starts thinking about the implications if Rafe says it can. Her unvoiced questions are about what the baby would be like. Would it be a demon? A monster? She tells Rafe to go to the lighthouse now and she'll be there soon, after she runs an errand.

As soon as Rafe leaves, she takes off. That thing tricked her into thinking it was human. Now she has to find it. She goes to the pier and suddenly notices the Avatar standing in front of her. She demands to know what it's done to her and what kind of monster she's carrying.

Alison is about to knock on the lighthouse door when Rafe arrives on the scene.