Chapter 45: The Vampyr and The Spider
It was daytime in Manhattan and David Xanatos was currently in his office looking over the footage recovered from his destroyed Steel Clan. The gargoyles had destroyed them again, a truly annoying occurrence to the man to be sure, but nothing out of the ordinary. What really got his attention, however, was what his robotic soldiers had managed to scoop out of the Hudson River.
"Owen, can you enhance that image of the object?" The aunchapanuer asked his loyal assistant.
"Of course." Owen nodded as he enhanced the image. As the two men looked at it as the image enhanced, they saw that it was a rather odd looking black stained and polished mahogany coffin, with silver handles, stickers and decals of all sorts on it, and lastly a silver cross on the lid with two inscriptions on it.
"That's… A rather odd looking coffin." The blonde bespectacled man stated to his employer. "Do you recognize it at all, sir?"
Xanatos looked the coffin's details over before one thing came to mind. "Yes I do. That coffin is actually a specialized bed for a boy at Xavier's Institute. How in the world did it end up in the Hudson River?" He wondered.
"And more importantly, what do the Gargoyles want with it?" Owen wondered. Though as he looked at the picture he became confused. "But why would a boy want-?" He began.
"It's best not to dwell on it." Xanatos explained.
(Elsewhere)
At the police station clock tower, Gavin was in his coffin taking a nap in the shade of Goliath's shadow. And as he slept, his thoughts wandered back to a talk the two had the previous night.
(Flashback)
As both Goliath and Gavin stood at the edge of the clock tower, Gavin's thoughts wondered to when Mystique explained why she did what she did to him, and he still felt conflicted about it, especially with what happened during the night of the act.
"What troubles you, Gavin?" Goliath asked, taking notice of the boy's tense demeanor. The boy looked at him and sighed as he collected his thoughts.
"Sometime last year, a woman by the name of Mystique drugged me. After she did that…" Here he sighed. "She had sex with me against my will, and I'm still being bothered by that." He said, his voice conveying how he felt. "She told me what her reasons were recently, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still being affected by what happened." He added.
Goliath seemed to take this in stride. "And what were her reasons, if I may ask?" He inquired.
"Well, one reason is because she wanted to be a mother again. Now, she's a mutant with the ability to shapeshift so she'd be able to be with anyone she wanted but, thing is I more or less fit her 'type' that is, strong and confident Mutants." The pseudo vampire explained. "The second reason was because, well she knew of these feelings I had for a friend of mine, which were unrequited. So she thought she'd… Try to help me release some of that frustration by letting me use her." He explained.
"And you are angry at her for how she went about it, correct?" The purple gargoyle inquired.
"Yeah, and the fact she actually did it. But with the explanation she gave me I'm more or less willing to live with it." He shrugged. "I just can't seem to let it go."
Goliath hummed in thought as he looked over the traffic below the clock tower. "That is a feeling I am all too familiar with." He stated thoughtfully.
"Seriously? How come?" Gavin asked.
"A thousand years ago, my clan and I were tasked with protecting a castle in Scotland, but one day, we were betrayed by one of them. Half our clan was slaughtered, and after a misunderstanding with the castle's magician, we were frozen in stone until now." Goliath began. "Then I was betrayed by the one I loved the most, and again by Xanatos."
"How did Xanatos betray you?" The pseudo vampire asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Several ways, though in all honesty I've come to see that he has done things for his own self interests. Not out of malicious intent." The gargoyle explained. "That aside, even with all of these betrayals, I have been able to make peace with many of them."
Gavin looked at him and focused his attention on his words. He had made peace with many of the past betrayals against him, even from Xanatos? Perhaps he could learn a few things from the wizened gargoyle in front of him.
"Can you give me an example?" He asked.
Goliath nodded. "Let me tell you of the time I was able to make peace with the human that betrayed my clan, and the magician who cast the spell onto us…" He began as the story was told.
(Flashback End)
Gavin sighed as he smiled in his sleep, he really could learn a few things from the leader of the clan. As his nap continued, he suddenly felt a veracious hunger claw at his stomach, forcing him awake.
"Okay, time to get something to eat." He said as he got out of his coffin, noting that it was nearly sundown, he went to see if there was anything in the fridge, but found nothing. "Maybe I can ask Alisa if she knows a good place to grab something…" He then noticed Broadway. "... On second thought, I'll ask Broadway." He said as the sun slowly set seconds later.
As the sun set, the gargoyles suddenly came to life and destroyed their stone casings. Broadway yawned as he scratched his back, before his own stomach let out a loud growl.
"Looks like it's time for breakfast." The turquoise gargoyle chuckled as he went to the fridge.
"Hey Broadway, wait up!" Gavin said as he followed him to the fridge. Broadway sighed in disappointment as he noted that the mini fridge in the clock tower was out of food. "I was actually wondering if you knew a place where we could get some food."
Broadway looked at Gavin before nodding. "Yeah, I know a few places." He replied.
"Great, I'm starving." The boy said as Broadway put on a trench coat and hat before the two went down to the street. As they walked, the green gargoyle brought his pseudo vampire friend to a hot dog stand that he frequented.
"Hey there Broadway, let me guess, the usual?" The owner of the stand, an elderly man with glasses and a bushy mustache asked him. Due to his poor eyesight he had grown so used to the gargoyle's outfit, never really taking notice of his appearance.
"Yeah. Thanks Stan." Broadway smiles, taking his hotdog, which was on a poppy seed bun, mayo, mustard, onions, relish and a dill pickled jalapeño.
"And what about you, kid?" Stan asked Gavin with a kind smile.
"I'll take mine with mayo, chili, and cheese." He told the man. After he was handed the hotdog, Gavin took notice that the elderly man in front of him looked almost like... "Ya know you kinda remind me of someone, Stan." The boy stated.
"I get that a lot." The man smiled. "So, what brings you to Manhattan?" He asked.
"I doubt that you'd believe me if I told you." Gavin replied as he took a bite of his hotdog.
"Alright, enough said there." Stan shrugged. "You know how long you'll be staying?"
"No clue, really. It happened so suddenly that I haven't the foggiest idea of how long my stay here will be." The boy shrugged.
"Well as long as you're here, I'd be on the lookout for our friendly neighborhood hero, Spider Man." The man informed him.
"Spider Man? Never heard of him." Gavin said while eating his hotdog.
"Wha-?!" Stan stammered. "What rock have you been living under?!" He asked in disbelief.
"The kind that's off of the island." The horror aficionado replied with a shrug. Broadway, meanwhile, finished his hotdog.
"I've actually met him a few times. He's a nice kid." The gargoyle said before someone suddenly appeared next Stan, hanging upside down from a web that was attached to a lamppost.
"Hey Stan, hey there Broadway." A cheery male voice said from behind a red mask with black web patterns on it.
Gavin nearly dropped his hotdog as Broadway and Stan both turned to the figure. "Hey Spidey, how's life been for ya?" Stan asked.
"'Bout as good as it can get in my line of work." He replied before noticing Gavin. "Who's the new guy?" He asked.
"This is Gavin, he uh, got stranded here yesterday." Broadway explained, not exactly lying. Gavin, meanwhile, was still staring at Spider-Man with his currently wide red wine colored eyes. "He's uh, kinda new to seeing the whole public superhero thing." He added.
"I think I can tell." The web slinger nodded.
"Uh, hi. Yeah, I'm used to seeing things like people with superpowers, but not seeing them use them so openly." Gavin nodded. "How… How'd you get yours?"
"Eh, I got bitten by a radioactive spider." The web clad hero said with a shrug as Stan handed him a hotdog. "Hey, get this guys, looks like JJJ's finally started to stop calling me a menace." He said with a chuckle.
"That… Doesn't sound like him." Stan noted with a confused frown.
"I know, right? Normally I'd be over the moon, but this just feels a little off to me. But I'm not gonna complain." Spider Man shrugged as he ate his hotdog.
"Who's JJJ?" Gavin questioned as he finished his hotdog. "He sounds like a real dick." He added with a slight hiss, making Spider-Man subtly take notice of his fangs.
"Jay Jonah Jameson, a real jerk whose in charge of the Daily BugleBugle, he's been trying to turn the public against Spidey for over two years now." Broadway explained.
"Why? Is he jealous that he doesn't have powers, or something?" The pseudo vampire asked in a joking tone.
"Not exactly." Spider Man said. "So, Broadway, how's the rest of the crew holding up?"
"We're doing Okay." The turquoise gargoyle shrugged. That's when a siren suddenly went off.
"Well, duty calls. See you guys later!" The web slinger said before swinging away.
Broadway nodded. "Well, see ya later Stan. Come on Gavin, let's get going." He said as they turned to leave.
"Right behind you." The boy said as the two made their way back to the clock tower.
(Elsewhere)
In Apocalypse's cave, Roxy's muffled screams could still be heard as the transformation ritual was still going. This process had been going on for three days straight, and the girl's mind was getting weaker and weaker with each passing hour. It was only when the day reached noon that the screaming finally stopped and the sarcophagus opened, revealing the girl's changed appearance.
She was now covered in a black exoskeleton armor that covered her head in a Kabuto styled scorpion helmet, covered the entire top half of her torso in the same armor which was very form fitting and showed a fair amount of underboob. It also covered her back, arms (which now had two extra stingers coming out of her knuckles), legs (ending in stiletto heeled exoskeleton boots), and her nether regions in a semi skirt similar to that of a samurai, while the rest of the front of her body was bare, showing her nearly naked front save the piece of armor barely covering her womanhood. Lastly she had a glowing yellow gem set in the middle of her forehead, the source of Apocalypse's control over her.
"At last, the ritual is complete." Mesmero said while looking at the newly enhanced girl. "Now, tell me who you are." He prompted the brainwashed mutant.
"I am Harlot, Queen of the Apocalypse." She replied, her voice sounding like that of a drone.
"And what is your purpose?" The hypnotist continued.
"To destroy any opposition to the cause of my master." She answered.
"Good. Now come, and I shall show you who you are to destroy." He told her, the girl following him obediently out of the cave.
(Elsewhere)
The next day, the X-men had just reached Manhattan, while Kai was trying to call Alisa to try and ask where they could find Gavin. They walked outside of the airport to find said policewoman there, leaning against her car.
"Hey Kai. Are these the people you've been staying with?" She asked.
"Hey Aunt Alisa. Yeah, they are, we came here to get Gavin, is he here?" The girl asked.
"No, but I do know where he is, come on I'll show you." The woman told them as they got in the X-Van (which was sent ahead of them), and followed her to the police station.
As they went up to the clock tower, everyone noticed that it was starting to become night time, which made sense, they had arrived around seven thirty due to a flight delay.
As night fell, everyone bore witness to the Gargoyles coming to life, and of course Gavin waking up from his daytime nap.
After the gargoyles woke up, everyone who didn't know about them could only look at them with gaping expressions of pure shock. They came to pick up Gavin, and got treated to watching gargoyles wake up for their troubles.
"... What?!" Chelsea got out as she looked at the clan of mythical creatures.
Gavin then turned to them as they took notice of the group of Mutants. "Oh hey guys, what took you so long?" Gavin said, hopping out of his coffin and walking over to them, the gargoyles close behind.
"A flight delay, but that's besides the point right now! I mean, seriously! Live gargoyles?! What is going on here?!" Scott exclaimed as he gestured to said creatures.
"Oh, right." The pseudo vampire said before turning to Goliath and his clan. "Guys, meet Goliath and his clan. Goliath, guys, meet my friends, the X-men." He introduced both sides.
"Greetings/What's up?/Hey!/Nice to meet ya!/How are ya lads?/Hi./Bark!" The gargoyles all greeted, or in Bronx's case, barked.
The X-men all waved hello before Damian, who was in Rogue's arms, somehow slipped out of them and then plopped on the ground before he started crawling towards the creatures and his father, and was met by Bronx, who began sniffing him curiously. After a moment, the gargoyle dog began giving the baby some gentle licks, causing Damian to giggle in response as he used his tiny hands to pat Bronx on the head.
"Doggie! Doggie!" The boy giggled happily.
Gavin smiled at the interaction between them along with everyone else before the boy picked up his son and held him close.
"Did you miss me, Damian? Did you miss daddy?" He asked the infant.
"Da da!" The blue skinned baby smiled as he patted his dad's face with his tiny hands. Rogue then ran up to them and hugged them both.
"Ah was scared half to death! I thought you were gone!" She stated in a concerned and relieved voice.
"Hey hey, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." He said reassuringly before glaring at everyone else. "Mind telling me why you didn't have the common sense to look inside my coffin before using it for that mock funeral?!" He asked sternly.
"It vas my fault." Kurt confessed. "It vas my job to check to see if you vere still in there, sorry."
"At least you're still alive." Chelsea stated before turning to Alisa. "So you're Kai's adopted aunt, huh? I'm Chelsea Marks, me and your niece are old friends."
"And I'm her sister." Pele added, she had come along because she wanted to meet her new adopted family.
"Hey there, kiddo." Alisa said with a smile as she rubbed Pele's head, causing her to smile.
Xavier, meanwhile, was currently speaking with Goliath as the X-men socialized with the Gargoyles. "I see, so you and Mr. Xanatos are not on the best of terms?" Xavier asked.
"That is correct, Xavier." Goliath nodded.
"Hey guys! Come take a look at this!" Broadway called from inside the clock tower with Evan. "Looks like Xanatos and Fox finally had their kid!"
"Oh this I gotta see." Gavin said as they all ran inside. As they watched the report, they all saw the baby, it was a little boy, younger than Damian by about six or so months.
"That kid is gonna be nothing but trouble for us when he gets older, I'm sure of it." Brooklyn stated.
"Hey, don't give the kid a hard time just because of who his parents are, Brooklyn. He could be the exact opposite of them, for all we know." Alisa said, getting nods of agreement from the others.
Chelsea watched the report before she suddenly felt a shiver go down her spine. "Guys… I just had a bad feeling." She said with a shudder.
"How bad is it, Chels?" Logan asked, feeling a little concerned.
"Like 'oh shit I summoned the devil' kind of bad." The Dragoness said.
(Elsewhere)
Roxy and Mesmero were landing in the middle of Central Park on a steed Apocalypse crafted for her, a multi headed red lion with several horns on each head.
"Here is where we must be. Now, come and-" Mesmero started, though he was interrupted when a green portal appeared and a blue skinned man with white hair and pointed ears walked out of it with a green gargoyle dog with him. This was Oberon, King of the fairies.
"Come Budika, we must find Puck to complete the gathering." Oberon said to the dog. Mesmero looked at the two and got an idea.
"Harlot, attack that man." He ordered Roxy. Roxy obeyed and deployed her stingers before she started charging at Oberon to catch his from behind.
The fairy king heard footsteps from behind him closing rapidly and, on instinct, whirled around and projected a shield to defend himself.
"You dare strike the mighty Oberon? Who are you?" Oberon growled as he faced her, also taking note of Mesmero.
"I am Harlot, Queen of the Apocalypse." The girl droned, standing again with her stingers ready.
"Hmph. You think yourself the monarch of armageddon?" Oberon scoffed. "Don't make me laugh." He added with a condescending tone.
"Harlot, your master demands that you make Oberon bend the knee to achieve his goals, do as you are told and attack." Mesmero prompted, sending a psychic wave to the device controlling her.
Oberon took notice of this and gave the man a disdainful look. "Using a young girl to do your dirty work against her own volition? You, human, are as depraved as they come." He said in anger.
"What I do, I do for my master!" Mesmero retorted in defense of his actions.
"And just who is your evidently depraved master, exactly?" The blue skinned fairy inquired.
"The mighty Un Sabah Nur, the first Mutant. The almighty Apocalypse!" Mesmero said grandly as Roxy again charged in an attempt to attack Oberon. The fairy king blocked her, though surprise was present in his eyes when he heard the identity of Mesmero's master.
'Un Sabah Nur still lives? I thought he would have died by now.' He thought as he defended himself from Roxy's onslaught. "It matters not, I have more pressing matters to attend to." He said before backhanding Roxy into a tree and then turning to Mesmero and sending him into a portal to somewhere else.
Roxy slowly got up and then started to clutch her head in pain, the psychic connection was now strained and Apocalypse was fighting to stay in control, which threatened to rip her mind apart. After a few moments, she collapsed to the ground in a heap and lost consciousness.
Oberon looked at the girl and took pity on her, so he removed the control crystal from her forehead and crushed it in his hand before he left her to rest.
But as he left, she slowly came to, and unfortunately she was still under the waning influence of Apocalypse, and it gave her one simple order: Kill all opposition. The girl got up and mounted her stead and flew towards Xanatos tower, she would finish the fight there.
Dragon Emperor0: A for effort Oberon, but I don't think Apocalypse's control is beaten that easily I'm afraid.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. Dude's had millenia of practice to perfect his mind control, so destroying the crystal isn't gonna be enough to end it. Also, the X-Men are finally meeting the gargoyles! What's gonna happen with them? Only we know!
Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, But I can tell you one thing: Mystique's cover is gonna be immediately blown when everyone gets back. And on top of that, if you guys think Gavin isn't able to be beaten based on his past track record? Well this arc is gonna prove that notion dead wrong. Also I bet you guys won't be able to guess who our friend Stan is based off of. And Spider-Man too, he was bound to show up. I mean, New York is his City.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. Spider Man showing up was a huge given. Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter!