Long-term Influences Chapter 1 Part 1

By MissUnashamed

Nikki, her family and sub-plot belong to me (MissUnashamed).

Hudson, Elisa, Broadway, Brooklyn, Lexington and Gargoyles Universe and canon plot belong to Disney/Greg Weisman.

Windy night in New York. The young lady thought, pulling her coat tight around her. She took a shortcut through the sketchy part of town. She had decided it was a risk worth taking, it was already eleven at night and she was relatively sleep deprived. Loneliness also haunted her as she walked alone. 'Nobody cares about you, only what you possess in either talent or wealth' an old man had once told her. Even though she was carrying scarcely any money in her duffel bag, the man tailing her thought it was worth a check. Trudging through the snow, she allowed herself to drop her guard. She didn't notice anyone behind her, but someone else did. From the sky, the old warrior saw a nasty situation about to occur. A typical mugging, something he could handle easily if he kept the element of surprise. Tessa is going to have a cow. Look at how late I am! Not my fault that these city slickers can't cut their own meat. Then I have to close up shop and- her thoughts were cut short by the growl and alarmed yelp that she heard from behind her. Her instincts kicked in and she quickly drew her 8 mm on the assailant. She realized that it was unnecessary, seemed as though it had been taken care of.

A mangy-looking man had been pinned to the ground and knocked unconscious, apparently by the massive creature that stood above him. The young lady's eyes widened at the sight of the monster but she held her firearm steady. She immediately recalled the skills that she had learned hunting in the mountains, estimating the creature to be around 600 pounds. Well darn it, an 8 mm isn't going to take him out.
The old warrior looked at the small human, weapon fixed in his direction. She was confused, fixated and she was armed. Possibly a dangerous situation for both parties. It took a step back into the darkness as snow began to flutter down again, and the wind picked up. The young woman took a step closer, her fear fading and fast being replaced with curiosity. "Hold on," she whispered. Before she could speak again, the wind picked up and tore stray hair from her messy up do. Ugh. Stinkin' hair… She shifted her stance to keep the hair from blowing into her eyes.

The creature appeared to be worried about something else. "Lass…" She stepped closer to the unconscious body and the monster; gun still fixed in her iron grasp. Her adrenaline spiked even more at hearing it speak. "Lass I don't want to hurt ye, just let me help ye to the hospital." Confusion washed across her face. She wasn't hurt. "I- I'm n-not hurt." She took a step closer.Nikki, you're an idiot. You should just turn and run while you can.
Ignoring the urge to flee, she stepped closer and lowered her weapon, pointing it at the snowy ground. "You don't need to pretend, the scum obviously hurt ye. Ye must be bleeding something awful." She holstered her weapon, but kept her hand ready to grab the switchblade in her pocket if need be. It would probably inflict more damage into the creature as well. "I c-can assure y-you, I'm fine." She removed her coat, revealing a turtleneck shirt, jeans and hiking boots. And no blood stains. "S-see? All in one piece." The creature stepped forward. He was now in the dim light, revealing the details of his appearance. A winged humanoid, greenish grey skin, a full white beard, a damaged left eye, strange spike features and pointed ears. He carried a sword, was wearing some kind of primal armor and a loincloth, he had a tail and peculiar long feet without shoes. The young woman stepped back and took in the sight of this- thing- that had saved her. "S-so… um m-mugging, right? Why'd you help me?" she inquired, pointing to the unconscious man. "Yer not hurt?" it responded. Is that a Scottish accent?"Y-yes, I'm fine. Fit as a-"

She couldn't finish her sentence; the creature had leapt to the nearest building and began to scale the concrete wall.Oh no. No I am NOT letting you go without answers.She quickly took off in the direction of her rescuer, observing from the ground. She waited as the creature reached the top of the building. Not a moment later, it took off flying. The young woman stuffed her coat into her duffel bag and ran after the flying beast.High school track team was a while ago, but I've still got it!She thought smugly, as she dashed down the sidewalk.
After following for a few blocks, she started to get a little flushed. But keeping her pace and managing to avoid cars and other pedestrians, she followed to the police building. Darn, I'm not sure I've been around here before. Backtracking later is going to suck.She stopped and panted for a moment as she watched the figure fly to the clock tower above the police building. She paused to contemplate the situation. Well, Dad always says that a good hunter never gives up the chase. Well hey, its Friday night, I don't work tomorrow, I'm free of commitment tomorrow.

She proceeded to the doors of the police station where an officer was just entering. "Excuse me!" she called after the cop. The officer turned around and saw a young lady with a duffel bag walk up to her.
"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I- I know that this is going to sound crazy but is there anyway that I can get up to the clock tower?" She asked, pointing skyward.
The female officer seemed taken aback.
"I'm sorry miss-"
"Harrison. My name is Nikki Harrison."
"I see. Miss Harrison, I'm really sorry, but we can't allow citizens into the clock tower. Not safe. Heck, I'm not even sure how to get up there!" She grinned, trying to convince the curious woman.
Nikki was only somewhat convinced. She studied the officer for a moment and asked,
"Could I see your badge? Sheer curiosity."
The officer hesitated but decided that it was for the best; if it would keep Miss Harrison from inquiring further. She took her badge from insider her jacket and showed it to Miss Harrison.Detective Elisa Maza, New York Police Derpartment.
Nikki looked up and smiled.
"Sorry to disturb you, Detective." She turned and walked back down the sidewalk. Elisa quickly put her badge away and hurried inside, worried about having to tell Goliath about the curious citizen.

A Harrison never quit; she was from a hunting family. Nikki surveyed the buildings surrounding the clock tower and selected what appeared to be an office building. She stalked into the alley and jumped to grab the ladder of the fire escape. Her hand connected with the cold metal and she pulled the ladder to her level, bracing the ladder preventing it from making a racket. Careful to keep quiet, she climbed all the way to the roof and dropped her bag a few feet from the ledge. She pulled her coat back out, put it on and sat on her bag. She would wait. He had to come out at some point. Nikki had gone hunting with her father and brothers plenty of times before. She had learned patience in seeking prey. This would be no problem. In the meantime, she pulled out a stray receipt and pen and quickly doodled what she had seen. Sure, it was nothing close to realistic but it captured the image decently. She smiled; her sister had always mocked Nikki's inferior art. Tessa was the family artist ever since-

TESSA! Aw no! She is going to go crazy!She whipped out the bulky cell phone that her mother had given her before going to New York. She had always been a worrywart. Even when she was out checking the cattle with her brothers, her mother was terrified that little Nikki would get caught in a forest fire or be mauled by a mountain lion or meet some other horrific end. Snap out of it! Mom isn't here and she isn't going to hear about it. I will just let Tessa know that- well… I'm out for a drink?She dialed her sister's number and waited. The phone rung once before her anxious sister answered.
"Nikki where ARE you? You're never home this late!"
"Tess, I'm sorry. Boss wanted me to close up and well it IS Friday night. Folks need some meat to warm their stomachs. They can't just walk to the freezer and grab tenderloin like we can." Dad had sent Tessa off to New York with a hefty supply of beef and elk. "Anyway, I locked up and decided to head out to… a bar."
"Nikki, we both know that you wouldn't touch alcohol if it meant winning a million dollars."
She winced; apparently her tale wouldn't work. Tessa knew all too well that Nikki hated alcohol and what it did to people. People in her family got angry when drunk, especially Grandpop. After hearing her father and grandfather get into heated arguments and occasional fistfights while under the influence, Nikki swore as a teenager that she would never drink.

"Well, maybe I'm not drinking, but I- I'm checking out the social scene."
"…Really? Well, I'm glad you're finally branching out. You've been living with Scott and I for three months now and still haven't left the apartment except to work."
"Yeah. Well, I didn't really have anywhere else to go after what happened to Brian. I just needed to get out of town."
Silence hung on the line. Nikki had decided to take a "break year" after graduating high school and then found herself unable to get into her choice university. She spent the next four years working as a waitress and for her dad when he needed help on the ranch. Brian, her older brother, was killed in August of 1994 when he and his friends were out mudding in his Jeep. Now Jackson, Montana was too full of sad memories and pitiful looks from old friends. So she bought a plane ticket to Manhattan, and left to live with her older sister Tessa and brother-in-law Scott for a while. Her hunting and ranching experience secured her a job as a butcher, and she spent her spare time watching soap operas and pondering her future.
"So Dad called me a couple hours ago." Tessa broke the silence.
"Oh. Cool. How are things back on the property?" Nikki got up and began to pace. She was getting cold, but she was determined to keep watching the clock tower until the creature emerged.
"So-so. Mountain lion problems again, he has decided to start investing in extra measures. Says he is gonna get either a guard-donkey or a guard-llama for the cattle."
Nikki smiled. "Tell him I said llama, donkeys are puny and male llamas have tusks and they spit. And llamas are way cool, I always wanted a pet lla-"
Nikki saw movement over the rooftops; two shadowy figures were flying in the direction of the clock tower.
"Ah! Ah, um, Tessa. Hot guy at twelve o'clock. Gotta run! See you in the morning!"
"Whoo hoo! Go girl! See you tomorrow, stay safe!"
Nikki quickly hung up her cell phone and ran to the center of the roof. She looked again and saw that there were three shadows soaring, two larger ones and a smaller one. Not bothering to think she jumped up and down, waving her arms.

"Hey! HEY!" She shouted. They didn't notice, and they were only a hundred yards from the clock tower. She thought quickly, the other creature had stopped to help her when she was about to be attacked. Hopefully, these guys like defending as well."HELP! FLYING THINGS, HELP!" She hollered. No doubt police would hear, but they wouldn't find her on the roof if she didn't keep yelling. Crud, no avail. I can't yell again. The poli- wait! Here they come! Sure enough the shadows turned and descended towards the roof. Okay, whew! They heard me. Now I just wait for them to come and- CRUD! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO? A small panic attack took over. NIKKI! Why didn't you think this through? Without anymore thought, she dove behind her duffel bag. Brilliant thinking, girl. Now what? She thought to herself, sarcastically.