A Knight to Remember
Destiny's Flame - Story 1

by: Kitty Cat Demon

Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles, I don't make a profit from Gargoyles. Any original characters are property of me, and if you wish to use them, please ask first. Batman and friends are characters of Warner Brothers and DC, based on the Cartoon series, and used without permission.

Note: This story won't make much sense unless you read the Change of Face Saga, and Destiny's Flame – Prologue first. By the way, when I change perspective, it'll be marked by the person's name, and POV (point of view). You have been warned, now, on with the story.

Rating: PG-13 for violence


Chapter 2


Darkness fell, plunging Gotham City into another crime-filled night. In a lesser known district of the city, a gargoyle's awakening roar echoed, only to be replaced by a scream of anguish.

"Noooo!!" Brooklyn had awoken from stone sleep, only to find Cat still encased in stone. "No." It was barely a whisper. Brooklyn imagined that this must have been how Goliath felt, when the Magus had changed them all to stone, leaving only Goliath awake.

Shade stood off to the side, seemingly unconcerned with Brooklyn's outburst. She appeared to be staring intently at Cat.


Cat

I was flying over a field of green. It was quiet and peaceful.

Come on Cat

Something was wrong.

Wake up

Wasn't I awake? I must be awake. I'm flying over a lovely field, and look, there's a bunny!

You're upsetting Brooklyn

Brooklyn? That's what's wrong! Brooklyn wasn't gliding with me. No one was with me. I was all alone. Alone...

You're not alone, just asleep, Wake Up!


Brooklyn cradled Cat's stone form, afraid to let go, lest she get chipped or damaged. Slowly, quietly, small, minute cracks began appearing in Cat's stone form. For an instant, there was a dark green light, then stone shards were flying.

"What the..."


"...hell?!" I was awake. I think.

"What was that?" I felt surprisingly good, considering I had no idea what had happened. Well, almost no idea...

"You...you turned to stone." Brooklyn stammered.

Soon as the sun came up. Shade added helpfully. Just like Brooklyn. If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought she was smiling.

"If this is what happens when I pass out," I gave a small, shaky smile, "I'll have to avoid doing it too often." I was trying to lighten the mood, Brooklyn looked like he might pass out.

"Brooklyn," he looked at me, mouth agape. "Remember to breathe."

He broke into a big grin, probably trying to help me feel better about the whole thing. I was NOT going to let him see how much this had really scared me.

I sighed, and watched the moon and stars light up the night.


Twenty Minutes Earlier

Bruce Wayne walked down the long and winding steps which led from the clock in his library, to the large cavern below his house. The Bat Cave.

He had twenty minutes before sunset. Time enough to check his super computer to see what he could learn of these monsters which had attacked the Joker and his goons last night.

Bruce Wayne suited up for his nightly activities while the Bat Computer ran a search, looking for possible criminal matches, as well as checking the day's events for more reports of the monsters.

The computer beeped when its search finished, and Batman came out to check the results. Only one newspaper article had come up in his monster search. It was a report on his first night as the Batman, telling how the criminals thought they were being attacked by 'a flying monster'. Batman almost smiled at the memory. Almost.

He looked at the day's events. Two foiled muggings, and a robbery which was botched when the thief left without his collected cash. Slow day, and no mention of any flying monsters. Perhaps, like him, they used the night to help disguise them. No matter.

Batman left a message for Batgirl to join him in patrol, leapt into the Batmobile, and sped off into the night.


Elsewhere

There! She's in that reality!

In the distance of the planes of fate, he saw the unique light that he had been searching for. He headed towards it, going as fast as his powers would allow. He couldn't let her live, his future depended upon it.


Brooklyn and Cat were gliding over Gotham, Shade was leaping from rooftop to rooftop below. The night seemed quiet, peaceful, unlike last night.

Just a few blocks away, Batman was stopping a robbery at an electronics plant. A few punches, a couple of kicks, some rope, and the hoodlums were trussed up like Christmas turkey, just waiting for the cops to come take them away.

As Batman was preparing to leave, something caused a brief shadow, something overhead. Batman looked up just in time to catch a brief glimpse of something flying overhead. Something with a tail...


Cat's POV

Brooklyn and I landed on the roof of an electronics building, a brief rest before we resumed patrol over this new city. I heard a brief rustling noise, coming from the opposite side of the building.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Brooklyn.

"Hear what?" he looked around, eyes searching for hidden danger.

"Kind of a rustling noise, like when you settle your wings, except it came from over there." I pointed to the opposite side of the building. A shadow seemed to move.

What are we looking at? Shade had finally caught up with us and had landed silently behind me.

I swear, I jumped three feet straight up. "Don't do that!" I yelled at her.

She looked shamefaced at the ground. Sorry. She didn't sound the least bit sorry to me.

A deep chuckling filled the roof top, it seemed to come from everywhere at once. Brooklyn's eyes lit up, Shade crouched down, ready to pounce when the danger showed itself. The chuckling eventually died down.

I addressed the darkness at large, "Well, I'm glad my almost suffering a heart attack amuses you." I looked around the roof top, trying to find the source of the laugh. "Who are you?"

"I am Batman." Why did that sound so familiar?. The voice still seemed to come from no specific place. "Are you the ones who stopped the Joker and his clown squad last night?"

I saw no harm in answering his question, since he had answered mine. "You mean that twit in the purple suit and his mimes? He shot at my friend," I gestured to Brooklyn. "That didn't go over well with me. So, yeah, I stopped him."

A shadow detached itself from the night, not five feet to my left. If Shade hadn't already scared me, I probably would've leapt off the building in fright. As it was, my heart pumped a lot faster.

The figure spoke. "The police are looking for you. They have a few questions they want to ask."

"The police. Right...I'll just waltz down the street, scaring people to death as I go, present myself to the cops, and either get shot on sight, or end up someone's science experiment. Thanks, but no thanks." I turned my back on the figure, and prepared to leave.

A faint rustling noise was my only warning as a fist shot out, intent on hitting me. I spun around, catching the arm, and earned a very startled look from Batman.

"What did you think? That this was some sort of costume?" I yelled at him, still holding his arm. I was losing my patience, and my temper. "Did you think I could just take off some mask and wham! I'm human? This is me! I'm not human! I'm a genetic freak! I don't even have a species anymore!" Tears were running down my face, I paid them no notice, I was too worked up. An electric charge was beginning to build up again, my fur was starting to stand on end. "Why can't people just leave me alone?!"

"Cat..." Brooklyn was calling me, but he was interrupted.

"Let him go!" a loud, feminine voice commanded, as a small, dark shape dropped to the roof top.

So, I let him go, and I let him have it -- a nice, big ball of electricity. It sent him to the edge of the roof, twenty feet away. By some miracle, he managed to grab the small ledge to prevent himself from going over the side. I was amazed he was still conscious.

A rope came out of nowhere, wrapping around me, and pinning my arms down and wings to my back. It also caused me to lose my balance. I guess when I had zapped Batman, he wasn't the only one pushed back, because I now found myself falling off the edge of the building. The ledge hit me below the knees, they buckled, and I found myself facing the sky. Reflexively, I tried to open my wings, only to feel the ropes cut into them.

"Brooklyn..." my last word as I fell off the building, and plunged down fifteen stories. I heard police sirens, I felt the wind whistling past.

Then I felt the sudden stop as bones snapped, I heard screeching brakes and bending metal. I saw the darkness coming for me, and I thought I hit a cop car. Then there was peace...


©2000