August 20 1996. According to my research data on both gene manipulation and cloning I believe it may be possible to engineer a new creature from scratch. Findings thus far are inconclusive however if this proves to be true any impurities could be weeded out allowing me to spawn the perfect creature. I can't wait to pusue this further.
September 4 1996. According to the tests thus far it appears possible. The trick is to sequence the proteins properly so they won't degrade. According to the simulations this should be possible, however there are too many unknowns and complications are bound to arise. Initial testing is scheduled for tomorrow.
September 5 1996. The initial tests failed. The protein strands and DNA sequences degraded before they could be stabilized. However scans indicate that perhaps a pre existing body could be used as a test subject to determine the exact chemical mixes and energy patterns required for stabilization of the genetic material.
September 20 1996. The cloned tissue samples degraded almost as fast as the DNA from the original tests. Readings indicate that cloned tissue is simply not stable enough. However a pre existing life form may be able to stand the procedure where's cloned tissue may not.
September 30 1996. At last some results. The tests with large enough amounts of non-cloned DNA have proved that it is possible to completely re-sequence a strand of DNA without it degrading. Apart from being able to engineer an entire creature from scratch the research data indicates a much more complete method for Splicing new DNA into an existing body or quite possibly altering it all together on a cellular level. This would effectively eliminate the old body and cause a new one to grow in its place. If data could be gathered on such a transformation then I may have enough information to stabilize the entirely synthetic DNA.
October 20 1996. the tests thus far are promising. However without a fully formed test subject the data gathered is still not complete. Perhaps a fully grown human subject would yield the proper results. I have decided on using gargoyle DNA for the transformation experiment upon aquireing the desired test subject for several reasons, the first being I have a ready supply of gargoyle DNA on hand, the second due to recent events I have all but cracked the gargoyle genome and the data suggests a unique energy pattern in gargoyle bodies that may help me stabilize the synthetic stands. Finally as always I have been fascinated with the mechanism by with the gargoyles enter their state of hibernation each day. These tests may unlock the secret of that unique trait and, if so, then I will have that much more information to conduct my experiments with. Now all I require is a test subject, and I have just the right person.
November 5 1996. I have managed to 'acquire' my preferred test subject though not without some difficulty, no matter, she is being prepared even as I speak and the first tests will be ready in the morning.
November 6 1996. As expected a pre existing test subject is much more capable of resisting the cell degradation. It would seem the presence of existing cellular mitosis and immune system responses allows the body to recover from the shock, however this also presents a problem as well as a solution as the immune system attempts to destroy the altered cells, however if the immune responses and cellular mitosis process could be sufficiently altered…yes that may just work.
November 10 1996. Preliminary testing has proved my theory and the advanced gene therapy process has been completed, however I still lack the data to stabilize the synthetic DNA. I'm surprised the subject has lasted this long actually, judging by the sounds coming from the tank the experiments must be excruciatingly painful. Regardless this works to my advantage as it will be unnecessary to procure a new subject. Perhaps if the metamorphosis is successful I will test my synaptic programmers on her as well. Wouldn't that be fun.
November 30 1996. Success! The metamorphosis is complete and the subject shows signs of stabilization. Not only do I now have the necessary data to create synthetic creatures but I have isolated the unique chemical, neurological, and energy patterns that lead to a gargoyles stone hibernation. It appear to be affected by the natural magnetic fields of the earth and sun in much the way migratory birds navigate…well there is a great deal more to it but it is a decent analogy at the moment.
However I have also determined that, though she is completely stable, any more manipulation of the subject's genome would likely kill her. No matter, as with any of my test subjects prior I have neither the intention nor the method to create a cure as none of the subjects DNA is unaltered. Not that she will care after I purge her mind, after collecting the last of the required data of course.
December 15 1996. All possible data has been gathered. I will give the subject a few days to fully recuperate before proceeding with the mind reprogramming experiment.
December 25 1996. Santa must think I have been a naughty boy, he's right I suppose, but it's still frustrating. At this point the synaptic programmer is not advanced enough to erase existing patterns, only suppress them. In addition the presence of an already functioning mind prevents me from implanting new programming over top of the existing memory patterns. The subject will just have to be disposed of. A shame really, initializing shutdown of containment equipment now.
888
The world was hazy, sluggish, to the 'test subject' as she began to come too. She shifted about in an attempt to work the knots out of her muscles and winced when she felt several probes pull out of her skin in various places. And, current situation aside, something felt very wrong.
Forcing her eyes open she found herself in a tube full of some sort of foul tasting liquid. She heard muffled voices outside, focusing she made out a man in a lad coat working various controls at a console speaking with an armed guard of some sort. The guard was staring at her intently and fidgeting, though for what reason she could not understand. The only thing she knew was the more awake she got the more claustrophobic she felt, and the man in the lad coat only made it worse. It felt like she knew him and the sight of the man at that moment filled her with dread.
Mustering up the strength the figure in the tank looked around noting her tattered clothing, shredded from where the various instruments had been attached to her and from corroding in the foul liquid. There was a small pile of what looked to be rubble at the bottom of the tank confusing her even more but she dismissed it for the moment and looked up noting the piping that lead to a breath mask secured over her nose and mouth. Frowning she reached up to touch the mask but stopped when her hand came into view, if it could be called that. It looked more like a raptors talons then a normal hand. A renewed wave of fear hit her as she looked around. Similar talons adorned her feet and a pair of leathery wings protruded from her back along with a long whip like tail.
Part of her told her that it was normal but another part of her, something that made her head throb when she tried to focus on it, screamed that it was wrong. Her breathing increased as she began to panic, whatever had happened to her in this tank wasn't natural and she desperately wanted out.
The figure began to claw at the sides of the tank leaving deep gouges in the Plexiglas. She vaguely registered the guards shouting as the man in the coat threw a switch on the console. Catching a strange scent in the masks oxygen flow the figure instinctively held her breath and savagely tore the mask off of her face before continuing her assault of the tube. Finally she felt one of her claws pierce the outside and the foul fluid started seeping out.
Snarling in triumph the figure used her wings and arms to brace herself than, raising her legs, smashed her clawed heels into the side as hard as she could. With an ear splitting crunch the tank shattered and the figure came tumbling out landing in a low crouch her eyes blazing a fierce crimson color.
"Blast it" she heard one of the guards shout. Reacting instinctively the gargoyle rolled away even as sever gunshots struck the spot she had been. Quickly she took in the scene. Three guards and the scientist were in the room, the latter fumbling in a nearby locker for what could only be another firearm.
Snarling ferally the gargoyle lunged at the nearest guard. He tried to block her with his rifle but one swipe of her claws destroyed the weapon and sent the man sprawling with several vicious looking slashes in his upper chest. Catching the second guard out of the corner of her eye the gargoyle whipped her tail around. He was caught in the belly and was sent flying into a nearby console.
Hauling herself the gargoyle ducked under the last guards strike as he tried to hit her in the head with his rifle butt and uppercutted him in the jaw. There was a loud crunch as the mans jaw shattered and he was sent sprawling.
Spinning around the gargoyle came face to face with the man in the lab coat who had some sort of taser gun leveled at her. Before he had a chance to react she lunged grabbing the mans gun arm by the wrist and growled in satisfaction when she felt the bones turn to powder with a sickening squelching sound. The man screamed and dropped the gun. "What did you do to me" she snarled hauling the man up into the air and glaring at him, "I don't know how but I know you did something to me, TELL ME!" she roared shaking the man like a rag doll.
"Please stop that" ground out the man in a thick English accent, "your hurting me".
The gargoyle snarled again and looked the man right in the eye causing him to sweat. "Answer my question" she snapped.
The man glared back for a moment before breaking out in a huge grin himself. "I don't see how it matters, you were about to be disposed of anyway".
The gargoyle snarled and was about to strangle the arrogant bastard when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching, more guards no doubt, far more then she could handle in her condition. Tossing the man aside she ran to the door. "This isn't over" she hissed before heading out into the hall and running in the opposite direction of the noise. Skidding to a stop at an intersection she looked around and, spotting a window at the end of an adjoining hall, ran for it diving headfirst through the glass. She opened her eyes just in time to see the ground rushing toward her. Instinctively the gargoyle spread her wings and used her momentum to glide up and away Glancing back she spotted a squat building with several armed guards rushing out to level rifles at her.
Tucking her wings in the gargoyle dove into the trees just barely avoiding both the gunshots and the branches. Weaving back and forth between the trees the gargoyle eventually came to a clearing and, catching an updraft, soared up into the sky.
888
"Where did she go?" snapped the man in the lad coat as he headed to the infirmary with several guards trailing behind him.
"She fled into the forest mister Sevarius" stammered one of the guards, "We couldn't keep up with her on the ground"
"Well no matter" hissed Sevarius, "I have all the data I need and it will be a while before she remembers anything, assuming her memories ever come back". The docter paused and considered something for a moment before speaking again. "Still, we had best not stick around just in case. Have everything packed up and ready for departure by tomorrow evening".
"Yes doctor".
888
The gargoyle woman eventually came across a highway leading towards a large city a few miles away. Though she didn't know why she felt that was where she needed to go, maybe it was home. Yes that sounded right, the city was her home. Catching the updrafts from the pavement she fell into a sort of trance as she flew, letting herself drift first over the outskirts of the city then across the river and into the city proper.
Eventually she spotted a burnt out clock tower of some sort. Frowning she swooped down onto the burnt out ledge and headed inside. "This place feels, familiar" she whispered. She could see the burned out remains of a TV, a fridge, and just about anything else you would expect in a house, almost as if someone had been living up here. But that made no sense, who would live in a clock tower.
Her curiosity growing the gargoyle wandered further into the tower and down into the building itself. It was eerie, everything felt so familiar, like she should know this place, but she couldn't remember. She paused when she caught her reflection in a nearby office window. "Look at me" she said chuckling dryly, "I'm a mess". It was true, the gargoyle that stared back from the reflection was a total mess, matted black hair hung limply from her head and her clothes, a red jacket and a pair of jeans, were shredded and barely held together, and it didn't help that the goo from the tank that hadn't dripped off was frozen leaving behind slick patches of sickly green frost from the cold whether.
The woman forcefully tore her gaze away from the reflection not wanting to look at herself any more. The face looked familiar, even as the face of a gargoyle, almost as if this had happened before, and that thought frightened her for some reason. Instead she read the inscription on the door. "Marina Chavez" she read aloud, "why does that sound familiar?"
The woman was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a shuffling sound off to her right. Whiling around she hissed at the source of the noise, her eyes lighting up. She had been expecting something threatening, especially after recent events. However what she found was a man in a ragged overcoat who let out a surprised noise and turned to flee. Instead he tripped on a piece of rubble and landed in a heap groaning.
Forcing herself to relax the woman looked down at him and immediately felt sorry for him. She guessed that she looked more then a little frightening at the moment. Scratch that, she had probably looked like something that had just crawled out the pits of hell. "Sorry" she muttered as she reached down and hauled the man to his feet, "I'm a little jumpy right now".
The man turned around to face her and backed against the wall. "I'll say" he choked out, his voice sounding like gravel. "Hey" he said, "Your one of them gargoyles aren't you?"
The woman tilted her head and regarded the man carefully. By the look of him he was a drifter. "Yes" she said at length, "that sounds about right, I think. I can't remember too much right now".
"You aren't going to hurt me are you?" he stammered pressing himself against the wall.
The woman just stared at the man in bewilderment. "Why would I do that?" she said, "you haven't done anything wrong, thought you did startle me".
"That's good to hear" said the man letting his guard down slightly, "so what's a gargoyle doing in a place like this anyway?"
"I don't know" admitted the woman, "it just felt familiar, so I wandered in".
The man stared at her for a long while before his face lit up. "You know what" he said, "your face looks familiar. Yes I know, follow me!" the man promptly hurried off with the gargoyle woman trailing behind him. He was obviously unbalanced but she was curious about what he meant. He wnt trough a door at the end of a hall into a large room full of desks and she watched as the man dove into a nearby pile of stuff and dug around. "Aha" he said triumphantly digging out a picture frame, "here we are".
He hurried back and handed over the picture. Looking down at it the woman's jaw almost dropped. Staring back at her was, herself, as a human. It just felt so right somehow, seeing that picture, and it did a lot to calm her frayed nerves. She didn't know why, and it seemed impossible all things considered, but she knew that was her. Finally she looked at the other people in the picture, four others to be exact, it could only be her family. He shoulders sagged when she thought of that, they were probably worried sick about her and a half hour ago she didn't even know their faces.
"Something wrong?" asked the man.
Snapping out of her thoughts she looked up. "No" she muttered, "I'm fine, thank you mister…"
"Dave" chirped the man, "My friends call me drifter Dave, or they would if I had any I suppose".
The woman chuckled at his lame attempt at humor. "Thanks Dave, where did you find this?"
"Right over here" said the man picing his way to one of the desks.
The woman wandered over and looked at it, like everything else here it felt eerily familiar. She ran her hand along the desktop, her hand eventually coming to rest on a triangular nameplate, the kind found in most businesses to mark who worked there. Rubbing the grime off she picked it up and read the name. "Elisa Maza" she said out loud.
"What's that?" called Dave from halfway across the room where he was rummaging in his pile again.
The woman frowned. "I think it's my name" she said wandering over to where Dave stood, "see? It sounds about right, I think".
Dave looked from the nameplate to the woman's face and back again several times before he stared laughing. "Don't seem likely to me" he said, "you look like her but you aren't…"
"I know" said the woman, "But it's as good a guess as any since I can't remember anything, and you are talking to a…what was it you called me?"
"Gargoyle" said Dave, "and I suppose I see your point, Elisa it is".
Elisa cracked a genuine, if small, smile for the first time in a while. "I think I should get going" she said heading toward the tower, "thanks for your help Dave".
Dave just waved it off. "Tis the season" he said nonchalantly, "you know you aren't as bad as those noise boxes make you out to be, and I was glad for the company. Come visit again some time?"
"Sure" said Elisa as she set down the nameplate and tucked the picture into her pocket.
888
"Any luck Lex?" asked the red colored gargoyle as he came to rest next to his friend.
"None" replied Lexington, "how about you Brooklyn?"
"No sign of her" he said even as he registered the others landing around him on the tower.
"Some marry Christmas this is" sulked Broadway as he landed, "Elisa's been missing for almost two month's and we still don't know what happened".
A heavy sigh drew everyone's attention to Goliath, the clan's leader. He was taking Elisa's disappearance the hardest and everyone there could guess why.
"Don't worry lad" said Hudson laying a comforting hand on Goliath shoulder, "the lass can take care of herself".
Goliath just grunted and leaned on the battlement in front of him staring off into space. Eventually he brushed Hudson's had away and hopped up onto the ledge in preparation to take off.
"Where are ye going lad?" asked Hudson in a concerned voice, "Sunup is an hour away, if ye leave now you won't be able to make it back in time".
"I know" rumbled Goliath before he leapt off the ledge and glided away.
888
After a while of wandering the city Elisa once again noticed that her surroundings felt familiar. Fully trusting her instincts this time she glided down and landed on the ledge of a nearby apartment building. Pacing along she peered through the slanted windows and frowned. It felt strange, the apartment looked so, comfortable. Then she spotted a familiar looking picture on the wall. Digging in her pocket Elisa held up the picture from the abandoned police station and compared it. It was the same picture.
"Well what do you know" Elisa muttered under her breath as she pried the patio door open and slipped inside, "no wonder this place felt familiar". This was her home, Elisa was sure of it, even if she couldn't remember anything. She wandered further into the apartment and, spotting the fridge, her stomach growled. She headed over and opened it expecting to find something to eat but rapidly slammed the door again. "Yuck" she muttered, "rotten food".
Rummaging through the cabinets instead Elisa found some canned soup and, forgoing the can opener by simply prying the top off with her claws, quickly swallowed the soup. It was cold and salty but she didn't care, that stuff never went bad and it made her stomach stop growling.
She downed another can and then continued to explore eventually wandering into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time still not believing what looked back at her. Shaking it off she discarded her torn clothing and, spotting the shower, stepped in and cranked the cold tap as far as it would go. The shock of the icy water cleared her head.
The events of the past few hours played over and over in Elisa's mind as she stood there. The whole ordeal made her feel sick to her stomach. That bastard had done something to her and she wanted to tear him limb from limb for it.
Elisa sighed and shook the thought from her mind. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on such things, she needed to sort out everything else first, not the least of which being where to go from here.
After giving herself a quick once over to make sure all the grime was gone Elisa stepped out of the shower and dried herself off before wandering back out of the bathroom and into what could only be the bedroom. Taking note of the closet she went over to it and rummaged around inside. She considered outing on the nightgown hanging there but something nagging at the back of her mind told her she wouldn't need it. So instead she dug out a fresh pair of jeans but hesitated at the shirts. Most of them wouldn't really fit now that she had a pair of wings sticking out of her back. She rummaged around until she found one of those tank tops that didn't have a back and, with some difficulty, managed to dress without shredding the clothes.
888
Goliath was surprised to find the patio door to Elisa's apartment open when he arrived. His hope rising slightly he landed on the ledge and hurried inside. "Elisa?" he called looking around and spotting the cans on the counter. He walked over and picked one up confused at what he saw. It looked like the can had been pried open by knife or a set of claws rather then a can opener.
Goliath whirled around when he heard the bedroom door creak. There was a flash of tan clored skin as whoever it was retreated back into the room. "Who's there?" he demanded tossing the can aside and heading for the door, show yourself".
888
Elisa couldn't help the rising sense of panic rising in her as she backed into the far wall as whoever was in the other room wandered closer. She had only caught a glimpse of whoever it was but his appearance combined with his reaction had set Elisa on edge again. He was similar in appearance to how she was now and something about him seemed familiar, but that didn't mean he hadn't scared her.
"I said show yourself" he demanded throwing the door open.
Elisa shrieked and instinctively threw up her wings to shield herself. "What do you want with me?" she stammered.
Goliath just stood there, a look of pure shock plastered on his face. "Who are…" he began before he realized something. Whoever this strange gargoyle was she looked exactly how Elisa had that time Demona had manipulated Puck into transforming all of Manhattan. "Elisa?" said Goliath taking a careful step forward.
"Stay away" stammered Elisa pressing herself into a corner.
"Elisa is that you?" said Goliath again taking another step forward, his expression a mixture of hope and worry.
"How do you know my name?" Elisa whispered dropping lowering guard slightly so she could peek out from behind her wings. Upon seeing Goliath's worried expression she dropped her guard completely and stared back at him, a look of confusion plastered on her face.
"Elisa it's me, Goliath, don't you remember?"
"Goliath?" echoed Elisa frowning, "it sounds familiar but…" Elisa snarled and clutched her head. "I can't remember" she snarled, "it feels like I should but I can't".
Stepping closer Goliath took a hold of Elisa's head and looked her in the eyes. She flinched but when she didn't pull away goliath spoke. "I don't know what has happened" he said, determination coloring his voice, "but I want to help in any way I can".
Elisa stared up at Goliath. A minute ago he had nearly given her a heart attack but now something told her that she could trust him with her life. She didn't know where the feeling came from but she was so sure of it she didn't care. She threw her arms around Goliath's neck. "Thank you" she whispered.
Goliath was caught of guard by Elisa's abrupt mood change but he soon shook it off and returned the hug. "Your welcome" he murmured just before the sun rose.
888
Notes: Yah yah I know I should finish my other fanfics but I've had a touch of writers block. Then I re-watched the entire gargoyles series and the plot bunnies would not stop hopping around in my skull, and when the plot bunnies call one must answer. Anyway R&R and all that other stuff, and don't worry Elisa's cat didn't die from neglect or anything, he'll be in chapter 3. why not chapter 2 you ask? Well you will have to wait and find out. Anywho chappie 2 will likely be much shorter. Now I require sleep.