Chapter Two

"You two know each other?" Elisa asked in confusion.

She didn't get a response. The two seemed to be lost in their own little world. Jarod just stared at her in shock. Jade did a little more. She ran up to him and hugged him. Jarod picked her up and hugged her back.

"I thought you were dead," Jade's eyes were full of tears. That man with the gun. They told me he shot you. I saw it on the DSL."

"I was," Jarod frowned. "But it wasn't life-threatening. I was told that you were transferred to your creator's home laboratory."

"Lies," Jade hugged the man even tighter. "All lies."

"Let's make a promise not to believe everything the Centre tells us," Jarod smiled.

"Cross my heart," Jade sniffed.

"Hold the phone," Elisa yelled. Jarod and Jade stared at her in surprise, as if they had forgotten she was in the room. "I hate to break up the reunion, but how do you two know each other. Jade's . . . had a very secluded life for ten years."

"Like me," Jarod stared into Elisa's eyes, as if willing her understand.

It didn't work.

"Who are you?" Elisa demanded. "How do you know Jade?"

"My name is Jarod," Jarod put the girl down and looked at her. "Does she know where you come from?"

Jade looked at Elisa. "Remember that quote I told you about? How no one knew of how much I liked it, except for my Protector? Jarod's my protector, Elisa. He named me. The Centre is the name of the lab I grew up in. Jarod grew up there, too. He's a Pretender. A genius that can become anyone he wants to be. He had the gift naturally, and the bad people encouraged the gift."

"So you aren't really a cop," Elisa surmised. "That explains the instinct thing. You do know that it's illegal to impersonate something you aren't."

"But he is," Jade insisted. "Sure he didn't go to a police academy, but he learns fast. He's done all the training necessary. It's not so different than Daddy, really. He's Xanatos' major domo, but I highly doubt he went to business school."

Jarod looked at Jade in surprise. "Daddy? You've met your father. How long have you been out?"

"Almost a month," Jade shrugged.

"A month?!" Jarod gaped. "You've been out for a month and you already know your father. It took me three years to even find mine. Maybe you are smarter than me, kiddo."

"You're mortal," Jade shrugged. "I'm half human. It gives me a slight advantage.



"Half-human?" Jarod repeated, perplexed.

"At least I assume I am," Jade frowned thoughtfully. "I still don't know anything about her."

"That doesn't mean she wasn't human," Jarod replied. "I mean, sure, Raines hasn't acted humanely for years, but that doesn't change his biological make-up. He's not the point though, Jade. I'm sure your biological mother was a decent person."

Jade frowned slightly at him as it occurred to her that she wasn't exactly being precise. Before she had a chance to explain herself, Jarod had an epiphany of his own.

"You don't mean your father is a Gargoyle, do you?"

Elisa eyed him warily, having dealt with one bigoted anti-Gargoyle purist too many. Jade grinned slightly. There was something oddly amusing about Puck as a Gargoyle. She decided not to mention it to anyone, though. Goliath always seemed to be suffering from a migraine the moment her trickster father appeared.

"No Gargoyles in my family tree that I'm aware of," she said instead. "There's another race, the Third Race. My father is one of them. It's a weird, long story."

"What's this Third Race, then?" Jarod asked, his curious mind, as always, insatiated.

"Oberon's Children," Elisa supplied.

"Oberon?" Jarod repeated, incredulously. "As in A Midsummer's Night Dream Oberon? That's just a story. Magic isn't real."

"How else can you explain all the weird things that have happened in Manhattan lately?" Jade thought it was a bit much to throw long-lost friends, Gargoyles and magic on one person at much, but still hadn't been able to hold herself back. "I know you, Jarod. It's probably one of the reasons you came in the first place."

Jarod conceded the point, but remained skeptical. "But magic?"

"You've seen me use telekinesis," Jade replied, torn between proving magic's existence and holding back. "You've seen how fast I heal."

This was too much to reveal at once, so why was she pushing forward? She had always told her Protector everything. He'd still love her. Wouldn't he? Jade couldn't bear it if Jarod thought she was a freak. His opinion meant the world to her.

Jade took a deep breath and tried to push her rambling thoughts to the back of her mind. She couldn't fall apart. Not now.

"I'll show you later," she promised. "Just, for now, go along with it. Okay?"

Jarod smiled gently and agreed.

Jade looked up at Elisa. "Are they up yet, Elisa? I want Jarod to meet my family."



He had come to Manhattan, as Jade had pointed out , to observe the phenomena in Manhattan, but once again the Powers That Be decided to add another piece to the puzzle. So far, he was pleased with the results. He couldn't help but marvel at the young girl who sat in the backseat with him, talking animatedly. She had changed so much from the insecure little girl he had befriended so many years ago.

FLASH!

Jarod sat in his desk, keeping himself busy with quantum physics equations. It was way too easy (almost dull), but it took enough thought to keep his bored mind from wandering. There was a sudden noise in the ventilation system, as if someone was crawling in it. He was about to reply when it suddenly occurred to him that the sounds were too soft to be his fully-grown friend. They were also getting louder, as if moving closer.

Stopping an equation in mid-thought, he curiously ambled over to the ventilation system and quietly opened it. He poked his head inside in time to see a small form suddenly stop in front of him and let out a whimper.

"Hello?" he asked as gently as he could. "Who's there?"

The form moved into the light, revealing a little girl who couldn't be much older than four. She had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and wore a simple black shirt and pants. Her green eyes showed resignation and despair that would have befitted a soldier who knew that there was no way out. Jarod moved his arms in to take the girl out. Her body tensed, but made no struggle as Jarod took her out. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this child had been severely abused. As Jarod placed her on the ground, the tot stood in an almost militaristic position, with her head downwards. Something she'd obviously been trained to do.

"You don't have to be afraid of me," Jarod said tenderly, kneeling. "I won't hurt you."

The girl refused to budge.

"I didn't mean to bother you, sir," the girl mumbled to the floor. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Jarod smiled down at her. "You didn't bother me at all. In fact, I'm happy to have met you."

"If you want me to do something for you, sir," the girl said politely. "You'll have to talk to Dr. Sevarius."

"I just want to talk to you," Jarod replied. "It's your choice if you want to or not."

"And if I don't?" the girl said carefully.

"Then you don't have to," Jarod reassured her. "I'll help you back in and forget I ever met you."

The girl looked at him curiously. "You won't tell on me?"

"I promise."

The girl clearly didn't believe him. "Alright, sir."

"Call me Jarod. What's your name?"



"It."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm referred to as 'it' or 'The Girl'," the child explained.

"You don't have a real name?" Jarod asked in disbelief.

"Of course," the girl replied. "I just told you them. Er, what does 'Jarod' mean anyway?"

"To descend," Jarod replied honestly. "The name's meaning doesn't matter. Names are a way of telling people apart and to give them an identity. For instance, if you yelled "Hey, you, girl!' in a crowd, every girl would turn, thinking you were calling them. If you yelled, 'Jarod' or 'Catherine', only a few people would turn."

"I know what a name is, Jarod," the girl replied. "I'm not important enough for one."

"Of course you are," Jarod insisted. "Would you mind if I did the honors? Of naming you, I mean."

The girl smiled, blushing. "The honor would be all mine."

Jarod stared into her eyes a few minutes, before coming up with the perfect name. "How about Jade?"

"Isn't jade a jewel?"

"Matches your eyes,"

"Jade," the girl repeated, smiling softly. "I like it."

Although the girl now called Jade seemed to be happy, Jarod got the impression that she was just humoring him.

FLASH!

He now watched the girl proudly as she talked endlessly of her new friends. Several of them had odd nicknames. Jarod made a mental note to ask Jade of that later. He was sure that there was another reason for what she was than magic, but Jade was still very much a child. She deserved the chance to believe in Santa Claus and other childhood ideals.

To Jarod's surprise, the car pulled into the parking lot of a building that had a giant castle on top. Jarod gaped. He didn't think it was possible for anyone to be so rich.

Elisa let them out and told Jade that she'd be back later. Jade wasted no time in pulling Jarod into an elevator set to stop at the top floor. After they got out, she dragged him into an office where a tall expressionless man was seated at a desk, filling out paperwork. Jarod recognized him instantly as Owen Burnett, David Xanatos's majordomo. He suddenly remembered the newscasts from a month ago. Jade had been in them. Why hadn't he noticed?

"Hey, Daddy," Jade grinned. "Whatcha working on?"

Jarod absently noted the stone arm and recollected Jade revealing that her father wasn't human. He could understand where she was coming from. He had sometimes wondered how anybody could be so stoic. Seeing the man in person, Jarod noted that there was something otherworldly about him.



"Paperwork for a client," the human in question replied.

"Is it important?" Jade asked.

"Not as important as my daughter," Mr. Burnett smiled. "Who's your friend?"

"Sorry," Jade apologized. "Jarod, this is my father, Owen Burnett. Daddy, this is my protector. The one I told you about that named me."

Owen Burnett got up to shake Jarod's hand. "Jade's mentioned you various times. She . . . also said that you were dead."

"That's what the Centre made me think." Jade grinned. "But he's alive. Alive!"

Both adults laughed slightly at the small girl's antics.

"The Centre?" Burnett asked in confusion.

"That's the name of the lab I was raised in," Jade explained.

"If what my daughter has said is true, then I owe you a great deal," Burnett told Jarod. "More than I could ever repay. I can't thank you enough for the love and support you gave her. For being the first to identify her as a person and teaching her the meaning of family."

"I helped," replied the Pretender modestly. "You're the one who gave her a real family."

The three of them chatted for over an hour. Finally, near sundown, Jade gave her father a rushed good-bye and dragged Jarod up four flights of stairs. The Pretender was huffing and puffing by the end.

"Don't you ever exercise?" Jade asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jade dragged her protector up to the balcony, where there were several gargoyles.

"You dragged be up here just to look at statues?" Now it was Jarod's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Jade and Elisa, who was already up there, exchanged glances.

"Give them room," Jade advised.

Before Jarod could protest, the Gargoyles broke out of their encasements.

"I never get tired of that," Elisa murmured.

"Neither do I," Jade grinned.

"Oh, my," was all Jarod could say.

Jade introduced the Gargoyles. Jade told them of his past.

"And what of you, lad?" the one called Hudson asked. "What's your story?"



Sighing, Jarod relayed his past and how he met Jade.