Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from Gargoyles, those belong to their owners.

Author's note: This story takes place the summer following "The Journey", and though it ignores the comic's continuity, I'm using Fang's real name, revealed in Bad Guys #2.

Chance Meetings

Chapter 42

by Remtar85

it was a bright late afternoon on a lovely November day as a taxi pulled up to the side of the road and let out its two passengers. After a mostly fun time at the mall, barring a moment of tension between father and son due to said father's opinions on certain things, the currently normal human Fred Sykes and his son Daniel left the mall and hopped into a taxi, eventually reaching an area with several tall office buildings. As they exited the taxi, Fred was all smiles as he carried their purchases while he had Daniel follow him to the back of one building, through a door Fang had keys to, and into a cargo elevator. The elevator went up, eventually stopping at what was Fred's home. Other than the light from the elevator, it was dark as they got out, but that changed when Fred flicked a light switch next to the elevator door, illuminating the place.

"Whoa! This looks cool!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Yup, that's right," Fred agreed, setting his bag of movies and Daniel's bag with books on the sofa, Daniel also putting his backpack there as well as he explored the place.

"There's no windows," Daniel pointed out.

"Don't need 'em. I see plenty of the city when I go out at night anyway. And this way, no gargoyles or helicopters from news crews, cops or Quarrymen can see me from outside. Plus hey, I'm not the one paying the electric bill, so no skin off my back."

"There's so much room," the boy said in awe.

Fred chuckled, pointing at the television in the living room area. "And a ton of channels on this big-ass TV, and I can get groceries delivered right here. It's the next best thing compared to Xanatos's castle."

"It sure is," Daniel agreed. "Gosh, I can't wait to come over and spend the night!"

"Yeah!" Fred agreed, moving to the kitchen, where he set the oven to preheat. "We'll gorge on junk food, stay up real late watching action and horror movies, and go flying around the city. Quality father and son time."

"The shower's huge!"

Fred just noticed that Daniel was not by his side anymore and had gone exploring the rest of the place. He chuckled and shook his head, understanding the boy's enthusiasm. With the oven preheating, Fred went to search for Daniel, but didn't find him in the bathroom; instead he found the boy in his bedroom, sitting on the bed. When he heard his father approaching, Daniel turned his head to look at him, and Fred noticed that the boy was holding two photographs, one in each hand.

"Ah, your first look at my friends," Fred said with a smile.

"They really do look like mutants," Daniel said as he looked down at a picture of his mutated father with his arms around a male and female gargoyles who looked like tigers. After all his father had told him of Cecily and Desmond, it was nice for the boy to finally put faces to the names. Daniel was about to say that Desmond looked a lot like Claw, but thought better of it, not wanting to risk another anti-Claw tirade from his father.

"Yeah, they do, which I guess is part of why so many people there thought that I was part of their clan at first," Fred said, sitting down next to his son. "Man, I really miss 'em, and I really miss London too."

"I can't even imagine a clan of almost two hundred gargoyles," Daniel commented, remembering what his father had told him about the London Clan after school on Friday and also during trick-or-treating on Halloween. "I know only a dozen, so having almost two hundred all around must be awesome, especially when the people of the city accept them just fine."

"It was pretty damn awesome, yeah," Fred confirmed. "And it was fun how they all looked like a whole variety of animals. Made me feel right at home, looking like I did."

Daniel nodded, his gaze now focused on the other picture he held, which was of himself with Fred in his mutated form, taken at the comic book shop. "Dad... is it weird that right now I miss you being a mutant?"

Fred's eyes went a little wide, and he grinned. "Hold on. You got me looking like this, a normal human, back in your life, hanging out like we used to, without any trouble going out in public. And you're saying you prefer me being a big, winged, zappy fuzzball?"

"Well, yeah," Daniel replied, nodding his head. "I mean, it's great that I can see you right now like I remember you being. Except, you know, a lot stronger looking."

"Damn right," Fred bragged with a grin, flexing a muscular arm.

Daniel couldn't help but chuckle at this before continuing. "But you being mutated, well... it's special. It's really cool, and you look awesome, and nobody else has a dad like you. It kinda makes me feel special too, having a mutant dad, especially because you love being that way."

Fred couldn't help but smile. He took the pictures from Daniel, set them aside, and pulled his son into a firm hug. "Danny Boy, that's about the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. So don't'cha worry about it, you'll have your big, badass mutant dad back soon enough. I'll keep makin' ya proud, kiddo, so you keep doing the same for me, alright? Not that you have to try so hard. I'm already damn proud of you."

"You're the best, Dad."

"Heh. If I'm the best now, just wait till I give you your gift," Fred told his son after breaking the hug, standing up, and taking the two pictures to put them back on top of the dresser. He pondered on asking Owen Burnett about providing him with a couple of picture frames for them.

Daniel perked up at his father's statement, a confused look on his face. "But I thought the books were the gift."

"C'mon, kiddo," Fred said with a smile as he opened up one of the drawers. "You think I'd hang out at a magic shop and not bring my boy something?"

"Wait, really?" Daniel asked, now looking and sounding very excited. "You bought me stuff that does real magic?"

"You bet," Fred confirmed, bringing a bag out of the drawer and then sitting next to Daniel again. "Got four things. Two for you and two for Tyler, so you both can have the same things. I had no clue that Mal planned to tell the girls about him and the Labyrinth and all this, so you'll have to share this stuff with them."

"What did you get?" Daniel asked in anticipation.

Fred reached into the bag and pulled out two small boxes, one colored a deep blue, the other colored green. He handed the green one to Daniel, who opened it to see that it contained what looked to be a small, round, opaque crystal, but it caught the light in a way that made it seem brighter and more colorful than it was. Daniel also noticed that the small box had a paper on the inside, attached to the lid, words written on it, but none that he understood.

"What does this do?"

"You're gonna love this one," Fred said with a grin. "You gotta be holding the crystal for it to work. So, you say the spell, and while you hold the crystal, anything you touch that's not alive, you can move with your mind, at least so long as it's not too heavy."

"Like telekinesis?" Daniel gasped. "That is so cool!"

"Believe me, I can already imagine the sorts of stuff you and Tyler'd do with this baby and all of Tyler's toys and action figures," Fred said, then handed Daniel the other small box. "Now go ahead and open this one."

An excited Daniel took the box and opened it, examining the contents. Like the previous one, this one had a paper with a spell attached to the underside of the lid. Daniel also noticed that, unlike the other trinket, there were two sentences for this one rather than just one. Instead of a crystal, this box contained what looked to be a silver-colored coin, roughly the size of a quarter, but it had a hole in the center. A thin chain also came packaged with it, so the owner could use it as a necklace if they so desired. Daniel took the coin, deciding to forego the chain for now.

"And what does this one do?"

His father's reply came with a grin. "There's two spells. First one turns it on, second turns it off. So, go ahead. Get up, read the first spell and find out what it does."

Daniel nodded, standing up and reaching for the paper inside the box. He didn't understand the words, figuring it was some form of ancient Latin or the like, but he could still read what it said. He did so, and then he yelped as his feet left the floor. For a moment, he flailed in the air, but when he didn't fall, he suddenly started laughing.

"Omigosh, I'm flying!"

"More like floating," Fred said, smiling at his son. "It's made so you can float about two feet off of the floor, but that's about it. Safety first and all that, it's how my London buds do things in their shop."

Daniel made it abundantly clear that the two feet limitation was not a deal breaker for him, as he flailed a bit more while floating towards his father, hugging him firmly. "Thanks, Dad, this is so awesome!"

"You deserve it, Danny Boy," Fred said, then smirked. "So, how about you practice controlling this whole floaty thing while I go put a frozen pizza in the oven?"

With that said, Fred got up and left the room, chuckling as he looked back and watched Daniel attempting to control the direction in which he could float towards. Fred put the pizza in the oven and entertained himself by grabbing Daniel and dragging him along, gently pushing him in other directions, then watching a little TV while Daniel tried to get a better hang of his new gift by himself. Before long, the pizza was ready and Fred had Daniel stop using his new magical toy. Daniel opened the fridge, grabbed soda for himself and beer for his father, while Fred grabbed a pizza cutter, put the pizza on a large platter and cut it into slices. With food and drink ready, they both exited the apartment and went outside to the rooftop. Sitting near the edge of the building, but away enough from it to be safe, the two had dinner while enjoying the sight of the city during sunset. It was the most memorable dinner Daniel ever remembered having.

It was nighttime, a little past eight o' clock, when the taxi carrying Fred and Daniel left them not far from Daniel's apartment building, Fred deciding to get off there so they could walk over and talk a bit more before leaving Daniel in front of the building. Paying the driver, Fred took Daniel's backpack and the bag of books he had bought him at the mall and started walking, the bag of magical gifts for the boys stashed safely inside the backpack. They were both quite animated and in a very good mood, discussing ideas on what to do the next time they could hang out together like this. They were in sight of Daniel's apartment building when a shout from behind stopped them both in their tracks.

"Daniel!"

The two turned around and were met with the sight of Daniel's mother, Carmen, running towards them and looking very frazzled and scared. Having exited a nearby small corner store, she reached them and flung her arms around her son.

"Oh my God, I was scared to death!" she exclaimed frantically.

"Mom, I-"

Carmen, still very frazzled, interrupted him after breaking the hug. "You weren't in the apartment when I got home from work, so I figured you were with one of your friends, but then the sun started to go down, and I called their homes, and you weren't with any of them! I was afraid something had happened to you! Where have you been?!"

"He was with me," Fred said before Daniel could reply.

"And who the hell are you, you goddamn creep?" Carmen quickly snapped, furiously turning to the man next to her son, just now noticing him for the first time.

Fred couldn't help but smirk. "What? Got too used to my fuzzy, winged self, Carrie? Or did the muscles throw ya off?"

"Fred?" a stunned and confused Carmen uttered as she now recognized him, but before Fred or Daniel could say anything, she grabbed her son's hand and started walking. "We're going to our apartment, now. You too, Fred!"

"What about Richard?" a now nervous Daniel asked.

"I've been busy looking for you and asking around," Carmen explained. "I was about to call him to get off work and come help me look for you when I saw you walking by."

"So what am I tagging along for?" an annoyed Fred asked. "Danny's here, he's fine, so..."

"Not now, Fred," Carmen interrupted. "In private."

Fred rolled his eyes and followed suit, all three of them going indoors. Once inside the building, nobody spoke a word until they were almost at the apartment. It was then that Fred remembered that the Manhattan Clan had set up tiny drones with cameras in there to watch his every move. He didn't know if they were still there, not after he had been absent for so long, but he didn't want to risk it. He was not ready for anyone besides Daniel and Malibu to learn about the potions that could turn him and the other mutates back to their human forms.

"I'm not going in there," Fred firmly stated.

"What? Why not?" Carmen asked.

Fred quickly came up with an excuse. "Because you already smacked the hell out of me with a cast iron pan. It hurt a lot, and I was a super strong mutant cat dude back then. I'm not risking you crackin' my head open. If we're going to talk, I'm going to the rooftop."

With that said, Fred walked away, still carrying Daniel's things. "Damn it," Carmen muttered, shaking her head.

"I'll wait inside, Mom," Daniel said meekly, but his mother grabbed him by the arm, gently but firmly.

"No, you're not. Not until you and your father explain to me about today."

Carmen and Daniel caught up to Fred going up the flight of stairs leading up to the rooftop. They opened the door, walked out, and saw a teenage couple hugging and having a flirty conversation. Fred gruffly told them to beat it and the teens quickly departed with surly looks Fred's way, leaving the three alone on the rooftop. Fred was about to talk, but Carmen beat him to the punch.

"Where the hell were you two?" she asked with a sharp edge to her voice.

"Really? That's your first question?" an annoyed Fred asked. "Not how I'm back to being a normal human again?"

"Probably the same mad scientist or something like that. You think I actually care?" she stated more than asked, almost deadpan. "Where did you take my son, Fred?"

"I picked him up after school, took him to the mall, bought him books, took him to my new apartment to show him around, we had dinner there, and then I brought him back," Fred explained in a clearly exasperated tone of voice. "There. You happy now?"

"No, I'm definitely not happy, damn it! You have no right to take him anywhere!"

"Excuse you? I damn well have the right, I'm his dad!" Fred matched her tone of voice, but Carmen was not intimidated by his tone nor by his now muscular physique.

"Fine. I'll rephrase it then," Carmen said, glaring at Fred. "You have no right to take him anywhere without consulting me about it, because I have custody. So if you want any kind of custody rights, you can march your now human ass right into a courtroom and talk to a judge about that."

Fred frowned and was about to snap at her, but he hesitated. He had no intention of staying as a normal human again, so trying to fight for even shared custody of Daniel would require he spend a lot of time as a human in case he had to do court appearances or deal with any kind of legal issues and people, and he didn't have enough potions to do that. Not only that, but to do the jobs Xanatos set for him, Fred had to be a mutate, another reason why remaining a normal human permanently or even for a long period of time wasn't an option for him. And even though Fred could contact the London Clan and he could ask them to make more of the potion for him, that still could take a long time, and he feared they might not be able to replicate the potions to make him become a mutate again without him being there to provide the needed essence for it.

Carmen shook her head at Fred's hesitation and turned her attention to a meek and nervous-looking Daniel. "Why didn't you call me from a pay phone to let me know where you were?"

"I... I was really surprised to see him looking normal again," Daniel replied, knowing he was in trouble. "He invited me to hang out, and I... forgot to call you."

Carmen sighed and turned to Fred. "And why didn't you tell him to call me? Or why didn't you call me yourself to let me know you were taking him wherever?"

"I didn't think of it, okay?" Fred grumbled.

Carmen's response was to turn to Daniel. "You're grounded for two weeks. No going to your friends' homes, no comic book shop, no going to the movies, no Labyrinth, and no hanging out with Fred. You come straight home after school and stay in on the weekend."

"Hey, c'mon, that's not fair!" Fred protested. "Don't punish him for what I did!"

"Well, unlike you, Fred, I'm actually trying to raise a responsible son," Carmen said with an icy tone. "Now, whatever it is you did to become normal again-"

"It's temporary," Fred interrupted. "Can only do it a few more times,"

"Even better," Carmen continued. "Well, those few more times you got left, don't you ever take Daniel anywhere again without my permission, or I'll call the police on you."

"Seriously?!"

"You want me to call them now?" she threatened, and when he didn't reply, she turned to Daniel. "I'm going downstairs, Daniel. Say goodbye to your father, grab your things, come straight home, and do your homework."

After that, Carmen walked away and into the building. Fred took a deep breath and then grunted in frustration. Daniel was sure that had his father been in his mutated body, that would have not been a grunt, but a growl or even a snarl. Fred looked angry and frustrated, but after a deep breath, he turned and handed the backpack and bag of books to his son.

"Can you freakin' believe it?" Fred asked.

"I mean... I understand where she's coming from," Daniel said.

Fred rolled his eyes, then smirked and patted his son's shoulder. "Sometimes you're way too nice for your own good, kiddo."

"I guess. Thanks for asking Mom to not punish me."

"Eh, it was more telling her, but she never listened to me back then, figures she won't listen to me now," Fred said. He then bent down and gave Daniel a hug, speaking in a low voice to his ear, just in case Carmen decided to come back and make sure Daniel was obeying her orders. "Don't you worry, okay? No way is she keeping me from seeing you."

"Just don't get in trouble because of me," Daniel said.

They bid each other farewell and went down the stairs, Daniel heading to his apartment and Fred down to the street. He didn't go home right away, deciding to spend the evening wandering around some more, this being his first night as a human in years. He hung out and had a couple of drinks at a bar, and was proud of himself for cutting himself off and avoiding getting drunk. Eventually taking a taxi home, he took a shower and decided to go to bed early without changing back into a mutate; he figured it could wait till the next day, so he could go out as a human for a while longer and maybe eat out and not have to cook for himself, as well as visit other places and buy a few other things. Other than hurting Daniel's feelings in the bookstore and the argument with Carmen, he had had a great time with Daniel that day, and he was not willing to wait two weeks to see his son again. Not after having just gotten back to being around him again.

Though a nagging thought permeated in his head, of how first Cecily, then Malibu, and now Daniel were all punished and grounded due to their association with him in some way or another. Fred felt annoyed by this and grumbled about not being a jinx or a bad influence, but then those thoughts left his mind as he spoke the spell for the sleeping talisman under his pillow and quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.

It was a little after 8:00 PM on Friday and Daniel was in his bedroom, lying in bed and doing what was the last of a lot of homework he had been given at school. As he was stuck at home all weekend, he figured he may as well do all his homework on Friday and at least have the rest of the weekend off to watch TV or read books, which he was very grateful his mother allowed him to do during his punishment, to an extent at least. Right after being grounded and having returned to the apartment that Monday evening, Daniel had felt relieved, as his mother did not mention about his father having turned into a normal human when she talked to him further about why she grounded him, especially as he quicly appeased her by letting her know he fully understood why he was being grounded, apologizing once more and promising he wouldn't do it again, and the subject was dropped afterwards. To Carmen's husband, Richard, they said that Daniel had gone to the mall and stayed out till nighttime without calling his mother, causing her to worry and ground him. The boy felt like he had dodged a bullet not just by keeping his stepfather in the dark about Fred being a part of Daniel and Carmen's lives, but also by keeping the secret of his father now being able to, albeot it temporarily, return to being a normal human.

Daniel knew that the Manhattan Clan had snuck in small cameras into his apartment somehow, and he wasn't mad at them for it, understanding why they did it. He had never gone looking for those cameras and didn't even know if they were still there, but he preferred to be cautious, and did his best to keep his father's potions a secret, just as he had promised, not even telling his friends about it. Tyler, Yvonne, and Cynthia had all been bummed when they heard about Daniel being grounded and unable to join them to go to the comic book store, or to the movies, and especially to the Labyrinth, with Daniel explaining to them that Fred had told him where his home was and Daniel had gone there by himself to visit, staying out till late. It technically wasn't a lie, after all. His friends had all done a good job at keeping the mutates, gargoyles, and the location of the Labyrinth a secret, but Fred insisted that the potions be kept between just the two of them and Malibu. Wanting to spend as much time with his father as possible during the daytime hours and not wanting to get the other mutates' hopes up on that potion, Daniel agreed to keep the secret.

The boy sighed, feeling bummed. He put his book, notebook, and pencil aside and laid down flat on his back, taking a break from his homework. He didn't have long to finish, but it was quite a bit of work for that weekend and he had been writing for a while now, so he decided to rest his wrist. Daniel had genuinely forgotten when last he had been grounded. He had always been a well-behaved boy, his introverted demeanor helping with that. And ever since he had found his mutated father down in the Labyrinth, he had been getting into all sorts of situations one way or another. Some of them had been stressful, others had been fun, several had the potential to get him in trouble, yet he hadn't expected that out of all the things he had done since summer vacation started, the one thing that got him grounded was spending a few hours with his father after school. His mother was definitely taking her role as a parent seriously lately, to make up for the time she had been neglectful, and Daniel figured that such a thing came with a lot of positives but he also had to deal with the not-so-positive, and he knew he should have called his mother to let her know where he'd be. Lesson learned, he thought.

At least she had not taken away the gifts he had received from his father. Carmen let Daniel keep the books, but the boy kept the magical gifts he received a secret. They were a great help during his time being grounded, having gotten a handle on the levitation magic, now able to better direct himself as he floated. The one that allowed him to control inanimate objects was much easier to use, limited only by Daniel's imagination, and he could not wait to use it at Tyler's house with his friend's extensive collection of action figures. Daniel had told Tyler about having some surprise gifts for him, and the two boys agreed to wait to give them to Tyler when Daniel's punishment ended and they could have more freedom to show Tyler what they were and how they worked.

"Danny Boy!"

Daniel jumped with a gasp, taken by surprise and shaken out of his train of thought as a sharp whisper reached his ears. He looked towards the window to see his father there. But Fred Sykes was no longer human, now back to his mutated form, squeezing through the window and into the boy's room. Now inside, Fang stayed kneeled on the floor and grinned at his son, who noticed that the cougar-man was carrying a gym bag.

"Dad, you scared me."

Fang brought one index finger up to his mouth, indicating for Daniel to shush. "Is anyone else home?" he asked in a barely audible voice.

"No," Daniel said with a shake of his head and a normal tone of voice.

"Good," Fang said, now speaking normally as well, then grinned and stood up, setting his gym bag on the floor. "Told ya your mom wouldn't keep me from seeing you, kiddo. So where's she at now?"

"Work. The beauty salon she works at closes at nine on Fridays and Saturdays, and she has the closing shift today. Richard's at work too. He gets off at ten."

Fang grinned. "That's great! Gives us some time to hang out properly. So, how about going out for a little flying, eh?"

"I'm sorry, Dad, I can't," Daniel said with a shake of his head, looking apologetic. "Whenever she's at work and I'm home, Mom calls at random times to make sure I haven't snuck out. If she calls and I don't pick up, I'll be in big trouble."

"Seriously?" an incredulous Fang asked. "Ugh. I only just got here and already she's ruining the evening."

"I guess there's not much else to do besides watch some TV after I finish my homework," Daniel suggested. "Then you can hide out in my room until you have to go."

"I guess," Fang said, sitting on the bed and patting his son's back. "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stick around with you till just before dawn. Camp out here, like I used to back in the day, just that this time I'll leave close to morning time."

Daniel looked surprised. "Really? You'd do that? Sleep on the floor again after you've gotten used to comfy beds and all?"

"I'm your father. Sometimes sacrifices must be made, my boy," Fang said in a ridiculously dramatic way that made the both of them snicker. "Heh. Well, I figure it might be a while till we can convince your mom to let you sleep over at my place, and you probably can't tell her you'd sleep over at Tyler's and sneak to my place instead, since she'd probably call Tyler's house to check..."

"Yeah, she definitely would."

"From neglectful mom to helicopter mom," Fang said, rolling his eyes. "Well, then, till we can have a chance of hanging out better and easier, I can still sneak in here and spend time with you, Danny Boy. And yeah, I'll catch some Z's on the floor if I have to."

"That's really nice, Dad, thanks," Daniel said with a grateful smile, then his gaze turned to the gym bag Fang had brought. "What do you have in there?"

"Change of clothes, just in case. Plus some snacks to tide me over, and also those books I told you about. Remember, you read one of these, I read one of yours, see if we can get into 'em."

"Sure, I remember," Daniel said, nodding his head. "You know, I can just finish my homework later. Can we start reading the first book together?"

Fang smiled. "You betcha."

The mutate reached into his bag and pulled out the first Modesty Blaise novel, having explained to his son what they were about, and they sat together in bed. Fang read the first two chapters, and Daniel found that his father had quite a knack for telling stories, making the book sound very fun and engaging just by his energetic narration, the mutate even speaking in a British accent for the dialogue of the characters. They were having quite the good time when Daniel heard the door open, signaling the return of his mother, which sent Fang scrambling to hide in the closet.

The rest of the night went well enough for child and mutate, as they quietly read some more together and enjoyed some snacks while hearing Carmen watch TV, followed by the arrival of Richard who joined his wife in watching television and making plans for where to go the next day for lunch together, as both of them had Saturday off. Fortunately, they only checked on Daniel once more, to make sure he was ready for bed, Fang remaining unseen by hiding in the closet. The mutate stayed alert, his sharp hearing catching both Carmen and Richard showering and going to bed, and after some more talking with his son, the boy fell asleep, with Fang following suit after setting some sheets and a pillow on the floor.

It was well past midnight when Brooklyn returned from patroling with Hudson and Lexington. He was grateful for how peaceful things had been for a while, not counting the usual thugs, thieves and muggers. The Pack had not been sighted in some time, both Tony Dracon and Tomas Brod were in jail, and while Thailog and Demona had both given them some trouble during the past several months, they too seemed to be laying low as of late. Of course, there was also Fang, but the Manhattan Clan's second-in-command had to admit that the cougar-man seemed to have actually meant it when he said he had been staying out of trouble. The Clan had not heard about any problems he might have caused anyone, and there were no reports in the city regarding cat-like gargoyles.

Not that Brooklyn trusted Fang to stay out of trouble. He had asked Lexington to leave a couple of the hidden camera drones in the apartment of Fang's son's family for a while, preferring to be safe than sorry, but even then, no trouble had arisen. Things had been calm at the boy's apartment, downright boring even. Brooklyn had to smile, as he now knew why the boy was always so eager to visit the Labyrinth as well as the castle, something exciting and unique when compared to the ordinary vibe of his home. Daniel and his friend Tyler had become particularly close friends with Bronx, Lexington and Broadway, and they liked everyone else in the clan, though Brooklyn still felt as though Daniel kept a bit of distance from him, likely due to the enmity between Brooklyn and Fang; but even so, unlike his father, Daniel was not hostile towards the red-skinned gargoyle, which Brooklyn appreciated.

Pondering what he'd do for the rest of the evening to entertain himself, as the others were busy with their own things after patrol and others were now gone on their own patrol, Brooklyn first visited the kitchen, getting himself a few donuts and a mug of coffee. Not that gargoyles needed coffee; their stone sleep granted them a guaranteed good sleep, after all, with no drowsiness or insomnia whatsoever. He just simply enjoyed the taste of coffee. He devoured one of the donuts and sipped on his hot beverage and soon enough reached the room where Lexington kept the computer and equipment he used to control the camera drones hidden in Daniel's apartment. Both Brooklyn and Lexington checked it a couple times per night to see if anything was up. And for the first time in a long time, that night the cameras finally caught sight of Fang. The mutate was not causing any trouble, though. He was simply just laying on the floor of his son's bedroom, sleeping. Or at least trying to, as Brooklyn saw him occasionally squirm in discomfort.

"Heh. Yeah, I'll stick with our stone sleep," Brooklyn chuckled, sipping some coffee and eating another donut.

Brooklyn quickly ate his third and final donut and finished his coffee, thankful for the boost of energy that the sugar and the caffeine provided. Maybe he'd go for another glide, see if there were any impromptu bands playing in Times Square or at Central Park. But then something caught his attention. Raising a brow, Brooklyn peered at the screen, still fixated on Daniel's bedroom. And then the gargoyle's eyes went wide. He gasped and ran out of the room, then remembered that he was still wearing one of the communicators that the clan used to keep in touch with one another and with their human allies, so he frantically activated it.

"ELISA!"

Fang grumbled irritably, half asleep and very uncomfortable. Daniel had been right regarding the sleeping conditions. For a long time after the boy helped him escape from the Labyrinth, Fang slept on the floor of that small bedroom. It had been uncomfortable, even more so than the cot he had at the cell in the Labyrinth, but over time, he had grown used to it. But after setting off with Sevarius traveling the world, sleeping in big, comfortable beds in luxurious penthouses, then having his new home with a big, comfy bed of its own, having to sleep on the floor again was a massive downgrade that the cougar-man's body refused to comply with.

He had tried to get some sleep earlier than usual, at the same time as Daniel, between 10:30 to 11:00 PM, as he had to be up and ready to leave the apartment before dawn, so only a few hours of sleep would more than suffice. Now that Carmen was being a more attentive mother and Richard had become much nicer towards both his wife and stepson, as well as the fact that Daniel was grounded and his mother checked on him constantly, this meant that Fang could not risk spending that Saturday's daytime there, stuck in Daniel's room with only a cramped closet to hide in. But much to the mutate's chagrin, trying to catch a proper sleep on the floor had become nigh impossible, with the mutate getting only short moments of restless sleep.

Of course, it was that lack of being able to achieve a good sleep that alerted him to noises. Very nearby noises that further disturbed him from trying to get any kind of rest. With a deep, slow breath, an annoyed Fang opened his eyes, figuring he should get up, stretch, and maybe try fetching an extra blanket and pillow from Daniel's closet to try to make the floor even slightly more comfortable. And as he opened his eyes, what he saw left him fully awake in an instant, eyes wide in shock.

Above Fang stood a Quarryman, sledgehammer raised high. And in one swift, determined motion, the Quarryman swung his hammer down towards Fang's head.

To Be Continued...

Author's Extra Note: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I last posted anything, as too many things have been happening, and not just bouts of writer's block. My sister got a full-time job, so I'm stuck taking care of her one year old child a lot for five days a week (extra when she feels like going out on weekends), plus I just recently got myself a job too, part-time but very tough, leaving me constantly tired, which bites into my writing time and inspiration. And let's not even go into the hurricane that hit us and the damages it did and the time we spent with no power. I'm still doing my best to work on this fic, but yeah, new chapters will be popping up less often, at least till I can get a handle on things and be able to write more. So that said, my deepest apologies to you dear readers for leaving you with a cliffhanger of this magnitude till I can post a new chapter. Hang in there, look forward to what comes next, and thanks for reading and for your patience.