VVVVV
Consequences Part Five: Lady and Tiger (2/3)
a Gargoyles story
by Merlin Missy
Copyright 2001, 2005
PG-13
VVVVV
"Damn Phoenix Gate," Griff said morosely, as they waited for
the doctor to come upstairs. "That thing messes up more
lives."
"You got that right," Brooklyn agreed. "But I'm not
complaining. I love 'Tana and the kids like crazy."
Arthur mused, "You are like us. Lost in time."
"Naw. Found."
The door opened, and Dr. Howard came into the examining
room. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of them, but
that was all.
"Who's the most seriously injured?" she asked. Griff and
Brooklyn pointed to Arthur, who shrugged. "Splendid.
Species?"
"Excuse me?"
"Species." She rolled her eyes and turned to Brooklyn. "Is
he human?"
"Far as I know."
"Fine. Let me see your arm." Arthur held up his wound.
"You didn't even clean this before you came here, did you?
Are you allergic to any antibiotics?"
"Ann tie ... ?"
"Probably not," Brooklyn said. "If he is, we'll find out
soon enough."
"Does he have any other allergies?" Dr. Howard asked
Brooklyn. "Iron or sunlight, for random example?"
"I'm not a damned fairy," Arthur snapped, and pulled his arm
away. "Or a gargoyle."
"Oh," Brooklyn said. "I wouldn't use the phrase 'damned
fairy' around the castle much if I were you, your Majesty."
Dr. Howard mouthed: "Majesty?"
"I can refrain. What on earth are you doing, woman?"
"Cleaning your wound. You're going to have an infection no
matter what. Who were you fighting?"
Griff said, "Some concerned citizens objecting to my
continued existence."
"Those idiots again?" She muttered something under her
breath and Arthur squirmed as she swabbed the last of the
tender flesh clean. "It's a long cut, but not deep. I'll
give you a few stitches and a covering."
She pulled a hypodermic from her bag, and Brooklyn winced in
sympathy as she slipped the needle into the king's arm.
As soon as the local took effect, Dr. Howard began stitching
the skin back together. Brooklyn massaged his back; the
good thing was, he didn't actually need much treatment. By
the next night, he'd be fine. He'd come more to keep their
new guests company. And to avoid dealing with his son just
now.
"So what brings you two to New York?"
"We had a lead in New Jersey and thought we'd drop by," said
Griff.
"Any sign of Merlin?" Dr. Howard tilted her head, but said
nothing as she continued her work.
"Not yet, I'm afraid," said Arthur. "We've followed
stories, but all led to trails centuries dead."
"Have you tried looking in a tree in a cave under
Stonehenge?" the doctor said. Griff and Arthur stared at
her.
"Madame, I do not know what you mean," Arthur said stiffly.
"You're looking for Merlin. The old bearded guy who got
stuck in a tree in a crystal cave under Stonehenge, who's
gonna rise up on the last day and make you all avatars of a
new age, right?" Ridicule was in her eyes, but her tone was
calm.
Griff admitted, "Something like that."
Dr. Howard make a snorting noise. "No one normal ever comes
here. Ever."
VVVVV
"Thank you for your generous donation, Mr. Dracon," said
Castaway over the phone. He picked up the newest pamphlets
they'd printed. "The money is going directly towards our
education fund. No, we're not tax-deductible yet, but we're
looking into the matter. Of course I'll send you some. A
whole crate. You can pass them out to your ... I see,
well, we can't all be in the limelight for the cause. I
will. Thank you. Have a nice evening." He hung up the
phone.
Thailog looked around the sparse office with little
approval. When he and Demona had incorporated Nightstone
Unlimited, he'd dreamed of a penthouse suite overlooking the
city, not this hole in the wall that smelled of mouse
droppings.
Baby steps.
"What do you think?" asked Castaway, showing him the
pamphlet.
"Not bad," he admitted. "Where did you get the photograph
of Goliath?"
"Nightly news," Castaway replied with a secretive smirk.
His "father" was caught in an impressive snarl, face gone
dark with malice. The pamphlet, "The Winged Threat," was
straight out of the Klan's heyday, with a few tweaks to fit
the "gargoyle menace." Thailog wondered if Castaway even
knew how close his propaganda was to the rest of the
hatemongering at which his species was so adept. He glanced
through it again.
Disease, check. Violence against normal people, check.
Threats to women and children, check. Mention of the
"natural order of things," biblical quotes taken well out of
cultural context, double check. "I see you've covered all
the bases."
"I've got ten thousand printed, and as soon as Dracon's
check clears, we'll have triple that in the next run. Our
people will put these everywhere in the city."
"You don't think this is all rather ... " he floundered for
the word. "Pointless" would get him killed, and
"intellectual" graced the tripe in his hand with far more
dignity than it deserved. He hazarded, "Impersonal?"
"Oh, we're stepping up the foot campaign," Castaway said,
and chuckled at his weak joke. "Our people are engaging in
a proactive crusade. We're taking the fight to the
monsters, getting them before they can get us."
A sorrowful look came into his mad eyes. "Just last night,
a brave group of our members defended themselves against two
of this city's resident pests and a gargoyle we haven't seen
before. Five of them had to be treated for their injuries,
and two resigned their hoods and hammers."
"Tell me," Thailog mused. "What would your people say if
they knew I was helping you?"
"They'd be confused, but I'd explain to them that you are a
fifth columnist." He chuckled again. "Well, I'd simplify
it for them. They're not so bright sometimes, but they've
got their hearts in the right places."
Their brains are another story, Thailog thought but wisely
refrained from saying.
"What about," Thailog read, "'The only good gargoyle is a
dead gargoyle?'"
"Oh, that doesn't include you! You worry far too much."
Castaway smiled again, the wide smile of those who built
solid walls of their own insanity so tall and strong that
from a distance, they looked like fortresses of faith.
From where Thailog stood, he could see the fingerpaint on
the walls, and knew his partnership with Castaway would be
short-termed. He would get what he wanted, the rightful
return of the clan he'd bought and paid for, and then
Castaway would discover just what kind of menace a gargoyle
could be.
VVVVV
Elisa had once been easily surprised. This was no longer
the case. She was unsurprised to see the rise in anti-
gargoyle propaganda after Lex and Nash had their little
interview. She was even unsurprised to turn on the
television one night to see her love give a short interview
to the same reporter the boys had, no doubt an interview
orchestrated by Xanatos, forcing her to wonder again what
his angle was. She was not surprised that Goliath had not
come to her apartment since; he was very concerned that
someone might follow him and find her.
So when she finally broke down and went by the castle to see
him, she was not entirely surprised to find King Arthur at
the dinner table with the clan, telling more stories of his
adventures with Griff the gargoyle knight.
Isn't like it's the first time, she thought, and joined
them to hear the end of a story.
" ... And then we dropped the net. I had to call the police
myself," said Griff.
"I would have reawakened eventually."
"Not before the blokes got free."
"Too true," the king admitted. Elisa spied Nashville's
quick smile. The kid wasn't taking well to being grounded,
but at least this was a change in the normal routine.
"No sign of the bearded guy?" Elisa asked.
Arthur shook his head. "I have not surrendered all hope
yet. Our contact in New Jersey may have seen him years
ago."
"May?" asked Brooklyn.
Griff shrugged his broad shoulders. "A lead is a lead."
"We are actually considering returning to our initial plan,"
said Arthur.
"Avalon Express," explained Griff. Elisa and Goliath shared
a shudder.
"You kids have fun," she said.
"Actually, Detective," said Griff. "There's another reason
we came by."
"When last we came here," said Arthur, taking the cue from
his knight, "I extended an offer to your associate."
"Matt." She remembered how excited he had been, how he had
only refused with reluctance.
"Yes. As we were in the area, we thought, perhaps ... "
Griff said, "We need a guide, somebody who knows this time
better than we do. And you told us he was a dab hand in a
fight."
"We would ask one of your clan," said Arthur to Goliath.
"But you need all of your warriors."
"Especially now," said Brooklyn, and Nash blenched.
"I can ask him," Elisa ventured. "I won't guarantee
anything." Because you know, Matt hasn't said like a
million times that he kind of wishes he'd said yes. "I'll
go call him," she said, and slipped from Goliath's arm to
the living room.
As her hand touched the phone, she paused. Matt would
jump at the chance, even though Arthur and Griff had just
said they were going the World Tour route. He might not be
back for years, or ever. And she'd miss him.
She could say she'd called, and not do it, tell them he'd
said no, and just hope the guys didn't mention it around
him.
But it wasn't her choice. It was Matt's life, and Matt's
decision.
She started to dial.
VVVVV
"You have to do it," said Elisa, simply.
"I don't have to do anything," Talon snapped. He turned
from her. Brent and Banky were in the opposite corner of
the room, learning to sew under Maggie's patient gaze. All
three were affecting to ignore Talon and his sister as they
fought.
"Anyway," he said, "I thought you didn't trust him, either."
"I don't. But I can't afford to let my distrust affect what
could be your best chance, Daniel's best chance. And what
about Claw? Have you even told him or Fang yet?"
"No." He'd intended to, but it had been weeks now. "I'll
decide what's best for us."
"That's not fair to them. I know Maggie will probably side
with you." Maggie's eyes flashed from the other end of the
room, but she said nothing. "Daniel is too young to say
what he wants, but at least give Claw the option."
"I don't get you. One day Xanatos is a monster, the next
he's an ally. You wanted me to trust Burnett with Daniel's
life," he said very quietly that the others wouldn't hear.
"And Daniel's fine now."
Talon kept his mouth closed. Elisa didn't know the cost,
didn't know how he'd kept watch over 'Lilah ever since,
always having to know where she was, what she was doing,
lest his disregard fulfill the terms of his bargain with
Death.
"Derek."
"If I say yes, and this is a trap, what then?"
"Then you can remind me of it every day for the rest of our
lives. And if it works, then you can take me out to dinner
at some swanky restaurant downtown to say thank you."
"If this works, I'll do that."
"Oh, hey," she said, wiping at her eyes before the others
saw and suspected she wasn't as tough as she wanted them to
think. "Matt says good-bye and good luck."
Talon blinked. "Where's he going?"
"If I told you he left just after sunset on a boat with King
Arthur and a gargoyle, hell bent on a quest for Merlin,
would you believe me?"
He considered it. "If it were anyone but you, no."
VVVVV
May
VVVVV
Elisa had volunteered to bring them in the Fairlane, but
Derek had insisted they fly so that Xanatos couldn't trap
them on the ground. Elisa counted herself lucky to have
convinced him to come at all, and hadn't pushed it. Maggie
was too preoccupied with thoughts of getting herself and
Daniel ready for the transformation that she didn't bother
arguing over how they were going to get to the castle. Fang
had been offered his chance at humanity, and had declined,
saying simply, "I gotta be me." It was true that he'd
objected least to the initial transformation, but Elisa was
still a bit startled to hear that he didn't even want to try
going back. As usual, Claw had nothing to say on the
matter.
As such, Elisa found herself watching the sky just after
dusk, hoping to all that was good that none of the Quarrymen
were stargazing. The clan had wakened fifteen minutes
before, and all but Goliath were puttering around in the
kitchen to scrounge up something to eat. Elisa hadn't been
able to eat all day, and what sleep she'd managed had been
filled with odd dreams that she couldn't quite recall upon
rising bleary-eyed that afternoon.
Goliath, of course, looked in his prime. As he perched on
the ledge, looking for any sign of the Mutates, she let her
eyes wander over him as if for the first time, trying to see
what these others saw and feared in him.
Was it his sharp talons, that could dig into solid stone, or
rend steel apart like paper, or turn a delicate page in a
centuries-old book without harm, or send shivers to the core
of her soul with their tips? Maybe his power-filled wings
frightened them, with the muscles beneath willing them to
catch the merest breath of wind, or hurl him towards an
enemy like some avenging angel, or wrap her in a close
embrace the likes of which she could never have before
imagined.
No?
Perhaps his eyes, then, which saw unjustness and dared to
oppose it, or his lips, which always spoke the simple truth
or pressed tenderly against her own until they filled with
fire. Was it the monstrous face, that craggy visage that
bespoke of the rock it became by day, that same face which
lit up with heavenly smiles when he read to her, or when she
showed him some new delight of her world? She easily
remembered her first view of him, her terror, but for the
life of her, she couldn't see how she might have ever looked
upon him as anything but the most beautiful being she'd ever
seen.
As if feeling her gaze, he turned, a question in his eyes.
Instead of answering, she stepped beside him and took his
powerful lavender-grey hand in her own, and lightly traced
the lines in his palm with her fingernail. He gasped and
jerked, but only minutely, not tugging his hand out of her
grasp.
"Elisa," he rumbled, "what are you doing?" There was just
enough of a catch to his voice to make her smile. She
mentally catalogued the reaction to be used later, when they
had time.
"Nothing," she said. She stopped her tracing to take his
hand in both of hers and place it gently against her heart.
His eyes widened, and then he graced her with one of those
rare, gorgeous smiles of his. She had no idea what to say
or do next, had no thoughts but perhaps to steal away for a
while tonight, had no memory whatsoever of the fact that her
brother and his family were due to arrive at any moment.
Which they did.
Derek cleared his throat audibly as he glided to them and
lightly set down, Daniel firmly in his arms. Maggie and
Claw, both wearing large smirks, joined him.
"We can come back," said Maggie, and Elisa saw the mirth
written on her face.
Goliath looked mortified, and Elisa only stopped the same
reaction from showing on her own face by a firm resolution.
They hadn't been doing anything. Yet. "It's about time you
showed up. We were getting worried. Kinda hard to start a
party without the guests of honor."
"Speaking of which," said Derek, looking around. "Where is
everyone?"
"Downstairs. Mom and Dad are on their way." She took the
opportunity to kiss Daniel on his head. He squirmed, then
looked up at her, his eyes wide slits in the darkness. By
morning, she thought. By morning, you're going to be a
real little boy, and we're going to take you shopping for
clothes and toys and we're going to walk down Fifth Avenue
together and I'm going to buy you a chocolate ice cream
cone. Instead of speaking the words and perhaps breaking
her own heart in the process of saying them, she said only,
"Hi kid."
He gurgled something that could have been taken as "Hi Aunt
Elisa," presuming one had a very active imagination and was
mostly deaf. Under those same conditions, however, one
might also have thought Daniel was making a valiant effort
to say "Parliament."
"Perhaps we should go to the laboratory," suggested Goliath.
Derek tensed. "Why can't we do it up here?"
Elisa had been afraid of this. "The doctors can monitor you
better down in the lab. If anything goes wrong, they'll be
able to deal with it before there's a problem."
"And if he tries to keep us there when it's done?" There
was no doubt as to which "he" Derek meant.
"He won't," said Goliath, which surprised her. She had
thought Goliath harbored suspicions of his own about
Xanatos. "He will act honorably towards you. I swear."
Derek met his eyes, indecision still upmost in them. Trust
Goliath with his family? Have a chance at being human? Or
fly back home and hide beneath the city streets?
The moment passed. Derek looked at Maggie. She reached out
for her son, and when she had him in her arms, said merely,
"Daniel and I are going downstairs." Claw nodded twice.
"Then I guess we'd better get downstairs," Derek said, and
led the way himself.
VVVVV
Owen brought her parents up to the lab as soon as they
arrived. They had taken her advice about being civil to
him, even if they didn't fully understand why they should.
As a result, he wasn't scowling as much as he normally did
when in the same room as any of her family members. She
decided to call it progress and leave it at that.
Drs. FitzMartin and Sarasvati were hunched over their
workspace, muttering techspeak to one another. Lex stood
near them, tapping at the computer's one keyboard and
frowning. Elisa caught a few phrases: "antigen binder,"
"rejection inhibitor." Most of the talk was way over her
head. She had to trust that they knew what they were doing.
Hearing Sarasvati's "Oops" did not help her peace of mind at
all.
Broadway was back in the Labyrinth, ostensibly to guard
Fang, but really to keep an eye on the clones, who had also
been left behind. There wouldn't have been space for them
in the lab anyway; the room was already getting a little
heady with four mutates, six humans, a gaggle of gargoyles,
and three ... whatever the politically correct term was for
fairies this week. The strange atmosphere in the room was
increased tenfold with anticipation. Elisa could feel it,
could taste it, and only the pressure of Goliath's hands on
her shoulders kept her from leaping out of her skin.
She could sense the nervous energy in the others, although
everyone showed it differently. Her father held Daniel,
while her mother fussed at taming the baby's frizzy gold
hair. Tachi held Alex's hand, and was telling him about
Daniel:
"This is Daniel, an' he's really small, an' sometimes I get
to hold him but you're too little so only I can."
"Okay."
Dr. Sarasvati's head raised at the mention of the baby's
name. He broke off from his work and cautiously approached
her parents. "Hello," he said quietly to the child. "Your
name is Daniel?"
The baby stared at him, sucking on one furry fist.
Sarasvati smiled. "That's my name, too." Elisa wasn't sure
if her nephew actually understood him, but he pulled his
fist from his mouth and babbled something that sounded like
his own name.
FitzMartin said, "We could use your help here." Sarasvati
smiled at Daniel one more time, and rejoined his partner.
Fox went to Tachi and Alex, and coaxed them out of the room
with promises of peanut butter. Hudson talked quietly with
Maggie about maybe acquiring a few more books for the
clones, but it was obvious neither of them were thinking
about Thomas the Tank Engine.
The two doctors turned as one to Xanatos. "We're ready,"
said FitzMartin.
"Thank you, Henry." He indicated the hospital bed. "Who's
first?"
Derek touched Maggie on the shoulder, saying nothing with
words and everything with his eyes. If Elisa had ever any
reason to doubt the love between them, those doubts were
dispelled for good by the emotion in her brother's gaze.
Then he turned towards the bed.
Claw blocked his path.
"It'll be okay, pal," Derek said. "We'll all be human again
in a few hours."
Claw shook his head. He pointed to himself and then to the
awaiting doctors.
"No, Claw. I'm going first. I have to make certain nothing
will go wrong." His last remark was aimed directly at
Xanatos, who met it impassively.
Claw shook his head again, vigorously this time. He touched
Derek's chest, then pointed at Maggie and Daniel. Then he
pointed directly at Maggie, and indicated Daniel and Derek.
Lastly, he pointed to himself again, then shrugged.
Derek shook his own head, as if trying to block out the
truth before him. "Forget it, Claw."
The other mutate, realizing his pantomime wouldn't work,
switched to ASL. Elisa didn't understand completely, but
she knew enough.
I don't have anything to lose. You two have each other and
the baby. I die, there's one less Mutate in the world. You
die, and the rest of them mourn you for years. He shrugged
again.
Derek bowed his head. Elisa could feel him fighting for
some kind of control over his life, some means of taking
back a small bit of what had been lost. He had been
overruled at almost every step in the process, and now it
looked as if he was going to lose this chance at controlling
his destiny, too. She felt for him, yet she knew Claw was
right.
As did Derek. He returned to Maggie's side and took her
hand, clutching to it like a drowning man might clutch a
slender branch along a river bank.
Claw sat down on the bed. FitzMartin and Sarasvati
exchanged glances, then set to work. The younger man
started an i.v. drip into a vein on Claw's arm, while the
elder set up a monitor for his vital signs.
At a nod, Sarasvati injected something into the i.v. bag, a
bluish solution that spread like a mist through the clear
saline, leaving it the milky color of a robin's egg. Claw
closed his eyes. The blue solution slowly filtered down
from the bag to his arm, and into his bloodstream.
FitzMartin and Sarasvati kept a careful eye on the screen,
watching blood pressure, heart rate, and Heaven knew what
else.
Claw spasmed. Derek's arm shot out and grabbed Xanatos by
the neck. "What's happening to him!" Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw Owen and Fox tense, and knew that she had
to defuse this now.
"Derek, this is what happened before. It's all right."
The doctors, on the other hand, seemed somewhat nervous, but
not especially concerned. FitzMartin said over his
shoulder, "We expected this. He's fine," and went back to
work.
Derek relaxed his grip. "He'd better be."
"Maybe we should wait outside," suggested Mom. "We're all
probably in the way of these good doctors." She touched
Derek. "Besides, we could use some fresh air."
"I'm not leaving Claw alone," he replied.
"We'll stay," offered Brooklyn, indicating himself and his
mate. "We won't let them do anything. When you feel like
it, you can come in and wait, and we'll go out."
"I'll stay," he said simply. "The rest of you should
probably leave. But I'm staying here." There was no more
argument.
VVVVV
An hour passed. Elisa walked between rooms: the lab on
Floor 47 with Derek, the doctors, and Claw, the living room
where the rest of the family waited. "No word," she'd told
them, again and again. No word. No word.
Time ticked by. Schrodinger had changed in a matter of
minutes. Claw was never going to change. The
transformation had been a trick, or else something that
would only work on rats, and the cure was just another
illusion. Elisa saw the same thoughts on her brother's
face, as hope faded slowly with every minute.
And then, as she stood by Claw's bedside once more, she saw
what she could not before: a twitch in the wings that was
not the voluntary movement of muscles, but their
contraction. Her head shot up to meet Derek's face.
"Did you see that?"
He nodded. FitzMartin came over, pulled out a tape measure,
placed it against Claw's wings. Claw jerked at the touch,
then lay still. He had not gestured since the procedure's
start.
"Decrease in wing span at time 2127 hours EST, seven point
three centimeters. Decrease began at approximately 2115
hours EST." He looked up at Derek. "I think this may
work."
Elisa took her brother's hand, squeezed it without words,
and dashed out to the elevator to spread the good news.
VVVVV
By one am, Claw's wings had receded into his spine, which
had been painful enough to warrant his being put under
anesthesia for the remainder of his transformation. He'd
shed his pelt, and the sharp claws for which he'd been named
had fallen out, leaving raw places where his fingernails
would eventually grow back. He was still powerfully
muscular in a distinctly feline way, but even as he slept,
Elisa could see his muscle structure altering under his
skin.
She felt ill.
Sarasvati said, after reading the screen for the umpteenth
time, "He should be fully human within thirty-six hours, but
he's past the danger point. If he was going to react to the
drug, he would have already." He let out a deep breath,
revealing how much stress he'd been under since beginning
the project. "We won."
Joy swept through the room like a fire. For whatever
reason, they were going to beat Fate this time! She caught
Xanatos smiling, and to her shock, there was mist in his
eyes. He was honestly happy for them. She smiled back at
him, then hugged her brother.
"Time for Round Two," he said.
FitzMartin asked, "Who's going to go next?"
Derek and Maggie exchanged glances again. "Daniel. From
what Claw had to go through, it'll be easier on him if he
sees us as he knows us while he's changing, so he isn't as
scared."
Maggie set Daniel down on the bed, and the two of them held
his right hand as the needle was inserted into his left arm.
He screamed. His parents soothed his as best they could.
After Sarasvati injected the second solution, he added
morphine to the drip as he had for Claw. Soon, Daniel's
eyes began to droop, and he nodded off to sleep. The
monitor over his heart maintained its steady rhythm.
No one left the room this time. Even Tachi was silent.
Between yawns, Alex pointed to Daniel and asked his mother,
"Is baby seepin?"
"Hush, sweetie," said Fox.
FitzMartin occasionally drifted back to the bed where Claw
lay, checking his signs, making sure his metamorphosis was
progressing. Lexington and Nashville stayed near his bed,
so that he would have familiar faces nearby if he should
waken.
After nearly two hours, Maggie asked, "Shouldn't we be
seeing something by now? Claw was already losing fur by
this point."
"Since each of you are different, your changes will proceed
at a different rate," said FitzMartin, but he looked
concerned. He and Sarasvati continued looking at the
monitor, then at some notes they'd brought in. Now Elisa
couldn't follow a word of their conversation, until one of
them cursed.
"Can all of you please step outside again?"
Derek's head shot up. "Why?"
"We'd like to run a few more tests."
It was Xanatos who asked, "What kind of tests?"
The two looked at each other before Sarasvati answered. "We
want to get another look at Daniel's genome. To make
certain the mutation back to human form is proceeding."
"Then we'll stay to watch," said Xanatos, ending the
discussion. Almost. Something had caught Elisa's ear.
"What do you mean 'back to?' Daniel was never human."
FitzMartin looked at her from where he was collecting a
small blood sample out of Daniel's other arm. "What." It
wasn't a question.
Sarasvati grabbed the sample. "The antigen is based on the
remaining human DNA in the Mutate system." He opened the
sample, added two drops of something, then closed and
shook it. Then he placed a micropipette into the blood,
filled it, and popped the pipette into the computer. The
screen changed to display Daniel's vitals in the bottom
right corner. Most of the screen was taken up by a strand
of what Elisa could only guess was DNA, although she really
wasn't certain. Sarasvati and FitzMartin looked at the
screen, then at Daniel.
"There's no human DNA in him for the antigen to bind to.
Was he born after your original mutation?" Maggie nodded;
Derek simply stared. Sarasvati looked away.
"I'm sorry," said FitzMartin. "We're not going to be able
to change him into a human if he never was one in the first
place."
The world went dark. Elisa's knees suddenly couldn't hold
her; Goliath wrapped his arms around her from behind,
offering her strength, support, and comfort. But she wasn't
the one who needed it most.
Maggie's mouth was open. She closed it, and it opened
again, without a sound escaping. Derek brushed his son's
forehead. "Can't you try a different treatment? Maybe like
the one that changed us in the first place?" Hope shone
madly in his eyes: he had once seen the future bright before
him, he would not surrender the vision now.
"No," said FitzMartin, sorrow in his voice. "We wouldn't
even know where to begin. It was next to impossible simply
to create a serum that would undo what Sevarius already did.
There's no way we could create another mutagen to turn a
mutant into a human child. Even if we did, the only means
we have of testing it would be on the baby himself, and I
will not do that."
"But," Maggie said, still caught a few moments behind. "It
was working! It worked on Claw! We're going to be human
now! All of us!" Hysteria filled her voice. Elisa's
mother placed her arms around her shoulders, but was
shrugged off as Maggie turned on Xanatos. "You promised!"
"I'm sorry," he said, and Elisa believed him.
"That's not good enough! My baby is going to be a freak of
nature for the rest of his life, and you did it!" Her hands
were in front of her now, crackling with unspent
electricity. "Fix it!"
Derek stopped her. "Maggie, no." He pulled her around to
face him. "He can't fix it. Not this time." Bitterness
swelled in his voice.
"He has to! I want Daniel to live a normal life, to walk
down the street and play with other kids and ... " She
collapsed against his chest, her frame wracked with sobbing.
He held her close, rocking her back and forth, whispering.
When she'd quieted a little, the first storm past, she
whispered, "Derek, he's going to be a freak forever."
"Not necessarily," was all he said.
The doctors continued monitoring Daniel, but when there was
no change whatsoever in his system, they disconnected the
i.v., then the electrodes.
After a while, Daniel opened his eyes blearily, not really
seeing much of anything. His mother, who had finally
stopped crying, pulled him into her arms and hugged him. He
set his head against her shoulder, drifting in and out of
consciousness as the remains of the morphine moved through
his system.
Sarasvati checked on Claw again. He was progressing on
schedule; his front fangs had fallen out, probably to be
replaced by dentures in the coming days. The doctor came
back.
"If one of you is ready ... " He looked at Derek
expectantly.
Rather than answering, Derek went to the cart where the
other two syringes of the antigen were waiting. He picked
one up, stared into its sapphire depths as if entranced.
Then he picked up the other and handed it to Maggie, who had
to shift Daniel a little to take it.
"The world's inside this thing, love," he said. "One
injection, a few hours, and we get our lives back. No more
hiding in the steam tunnels. No more waiting until after
dark to show our faces. We can go outside again, walk among
people again. Maybe even get married."
"Yeah," she said in a quiet echo, and kissed Daniel on the
top of his head. He turned a little but did not awaken.
She held out the syringe and handed it to Derek. He took it
from her, held it beside his own. Blue reflected inside
blue, twin jewels in her brother's hand. He wasn't watching
them; his eyes were locked with those of the woman he loved.
There were two simultaneous tinkles when the syringes
shattered on the laboratory floor. In the stillness, they
were as gunshots.
Elisa watched the blue solution pool on the pristine floor,
then raised her head to see her brother's eyes transfixed on
the mess. Grim determination was etched on his face, and a
pain she could not even hope to imagine.
Eternity passed, and Derek raised his head to Maggie again.
Voice husky, he said, "I need to be alone for a little
while. I'll be back." When he saw the uncertainty in her
eyes, he repeated, "I will be back."
He walked out of the room, not looking at anyone, not
touching anyone. Elisa wanted to follow him, pull him into
her arms as she had when they were children, and let him cry
for all his worth. But she couldn't follow, any more than
she could have chased the wind.
VVVVV