Following Elisa's advice, probably a little too literally, Violet went back to her apartment and woke Tony up.
"Vi?" he asked, coming awake with a start. Thanks to his military training, he could be awake, alert and fully dressed in a matter of moments if needed.
He just hadn't been expecting to have his sister come into the room and shake him awake.
"Sorry, Tony," Violet said, "but I need you to come with me. Now. Right now, before I talk myself out of this."
"Alright," Tony said. "Give me a minute to get dressed, and we can go wherever you want."
Violet nodded, then retreated from the room.
Tony sprang out of bed and tossed on the jeans and shirt he'd already set out for the next day.
Technically, it was tomorrow, he mused, noting the time.
Where would his sister be wanting to take him after midnight, he wondered.
{+}+{+}+{+}+{+}+{+}+{+}
Violet called ahead to give Katie a heads up that they were on their way.
Since she didn't have a car, Tony offered to drive instead of getting a cab. Despite not being familiar with the city, he managed to navigate the streets with the confidence of a native Manhattanite. With Violet giving him directions, they made it to the small brick building that would soon house the resource center for the city's homeless.
They parked in the lot, behind the tall construction fencing that still surrounded the parking area. As they moved to the door, a very obviously sleepy Katie met them at the door.
"I am so sorry that I woke you," Violet said again, as she already had multiple times over the telephone.
"Hey, no problem," Katie said with a smile. "Once this place opens, it's just going to be me running it for a while, so I'd better get used to getting calls at odd hours."
As they entered, Tony looked around. "Violet told me a little bit about what you are doing here," he said. "It's impressive."
"Thanks," Katie said, brightening a little. "I lived on the streets with my mother for a few years when I was younger, and I remember how hard it was trying to find food and shelter. With the help of donors, we're going to have a full food pantry, as well as health services, and employment assistance. For those with more immediate shelter needs, I can help them with access to the Labyrinth."
"The Labyrinth?" Tony asked, confused. He looked at Violet. "Okay, I didn't ask questions when you woke me up and told me that I needed to come with you. As cool as this place is…and it is truly awesome, Miss…," He looked at Katie blankly. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name."
Katie laughed. "Maza," she said with a smile. "My last name is Maza, but you can call me Katie."
"Maza? As in, related to Elisa and Beth?" he asked slowly.
"Ahhh," Katie drew out. "I guess you've met, or at least heard of, my aunts. I was adopted by Derek Maza, their brother."
"I have heard stories," Tony acknowledged cautiously.
Katie rolled her eyes. "Don't let the stories scare you."
"I have every intention of letting the stories scare me," Tony said laughing. "Your aunts sound scary as hell. Beth is dating a good friend of mine, so I got the scoop there."
Violet walked up beside her brother and sent her an apologetic look. "Sorry to cut this short, but…"
"But you're here for a reason," Katie said, an understanding look on her face, "And I'm keeping you from it." She walked with the pair to the elevator and used her key to call the car back to the ground level.
When the door opened, Katie entered first and while the other two entered, she punched in the numbered code on the keypad that would activate the controls and they were soon on their way.
"I had to let the clan know that you were on the way so they wouldn't worry about the elevator," Katie admitted.
Violet nodded, then turned to Katie and signed, 'Does Claw know we're coming?'
Katie responded in kind. 'No. He only knows about you coming. He's been hoping you'd come to visit."
Violet nodded. 'Thank you,' she signed.
"Hey now, none of that," Tony mock scowled. "That's like speaking in a foreign language so that no one else knows what you're saying."
"That's exactly what it is," Katie said with a smile.
"Just," Violet took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves that were starting to jump around like sugared up toddlers, "be patient, okay?"
"Alright," Tony said slowly, his smile starting to fade a little. "Can I ask what's going on?"
"I…" Violet started, but the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, cutting off her response.
"This way," Katie said, turning to lead the way through the silent maze of hallways to the dedicated living area for the Labyrinth Clan.
As they approached the door, Talon was just coming out.
"Hey Kate," Talon said, ruffling her hair. "I'm just heading out to relieve Claw on patrol. The room is yours."
Katie rolled her eyes, smoothing her hair back down. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "If I don't see you before you're done, have a good night."
"Get some sleep when you can," Talon called over his shoulder, offering a wave to Violet and Tony.
"You'll be able to meet him more formally later," Katie said.
Tony didn't respond. He was too busy staring after the winged feline form that had passed them.
Katie noticed and tapped Violet on the shoulder. "Has your brother actually met any of the gargoyles or mutates before?"
"I…" Violet ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. I didn't think about it, I guess."
Katie gave a thoughtful hum. "Well," she said with a shrug, "Nothing like being shoved into the deep end." She turned to enter the large living area.
"Tony," Violet said softly. "I'll explain in a few minutes, alright?"
"I looked up information on the Gargoyles before coming here," Tony said shaking his head, "but I don't remember seeing any that looked cat-like."
"The Labyrinth clan is a little different than the others," Violet said, leading the way into the large room.
"They are a little anti-social," Katie agreed, entering from the kitchen area, a tray of steaming mugs in her hands. She set the tray down on the long, low coffee table that was flanked on three sides by mis-matched recliners, a couch and a short loveseat. Katie took a mug for herself and sipped. "I thought that since this might take a while, coffee would be in order."
"You are amazing," Violet said, reaching for a mug.
"I'll pass," Tony said. "I've never been a big coffee drinker."
"I'll have his," Violet said, swiping the extra mug.
Katie lifted a brow, "Long day?"
"Getting longer by the minute," Violet murmured. She really should have waited until tomorrow, or some time in the future when she'd been able to get some sleep, but she'd been afraid to give herself that time to chicken out.
'Does he know?' Katie signed.
With a single gesture, Violet signed, 'No.'
That was when Claw entered the room, his gaze roaming over the three young adults and paused on his son's face. He crossed his arms and frowned, looking between Violet and Tony.
Finally, he uncrossed his arms and began signing rapidly.
"Woah," Tony said, confusion plain on his face. "What's going on?"
There was a brief, silent back and forth between Katie and Claw, then Violet broke in, signing as she spoke, "Tony, this is Claw. He can hear us, but is unable to speak, so sign language is his main form of communication."
Tony frowned at his sister. "If he can hear, why do you sign?"
Violet paused her actions as if she'd only just realized what she'd been doing and shrugged. "Habit, I guess," she said, dropping her hands into her lap. "The thing is, I met Claw just after I arrived here in Manhattan. What I'm about to tell you is going to be a little hard to understand, but I need to give you a little context."
She explained to Tony, briefly, about the clones and their recent passing. Then she shared what she knew of the creation of the mutates.
"Talon," Katie broke in and nodded to the door, "The black panther looking one, is Derek Maza. He was changed by Sevarius in an ongoing attempt to "create" gargoyles from humans." Katie shrugged, "Although, his real reasons are his own. What little I know about him, and have read about in my searching, makes me feel as if he didn't do anything that didn't benefit him in the future in some way."
Violet nodded. She'd come to a similar conclusion.
"So," Tony said slowly, looking more than a little confused, "What does that have to do with why we're here?"
Violet sighed. "Like I said, I met Claw only about a week before you and I ran into each other…"
Claw heaved a sigh and signed to Violet.
"I'm trying," Violet said, irritation in her voice and her movements were a little less fluid, less graceful, than before. "It's hard when I'm still dealing with it myself."
"Dealing with what?" Tony asked, his voice firming. "Violet?"
Violet threw her hands up in the air in surrender. "The first of the mutated humans that Sevarius worked on was a man from Missouri." Violet turned to Tony. "From St. Louis." She lifted a hand and weakly gestured to the tiger formed man in front of them.
Violet could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he began to put the pieces together.
"It was Dad," she said softly.