Ray and his comrades were looking all over the city for the gargoyle and his clan members to just see any of them. Ray was getting desperate. He wanted Brooklyn back badly to see if his experiment had worked at all. But then, he knew of a place here in the city that genetically engineered creatures too. Maybe they could help. Of course, there were surely other genetic research labs here in the city too, alas New York was humongous. But Gen-U-Tech was a labeled laboratory. Ray would see about going there tomorrow.

….

Brooklyn was now officially banned from leaving the castle after what happened with Coldsteel until after his baby was born. He hated that idea but he didn't have much of a choice. He could still go gliding in the air around the castle grounds if he felt like getting air under his wings but Goliath didn't want him out and about anymore at all, at the risk of getting kidnapped or attacked while out trying to have fun.

The red gargoyle wasn't often a target the way that Goliath was. But being the Second in Command and would be leader someday did make him a target too, especially if an enemy wanted to get rid of the leadership in the clan. If both of them were captured, Hudson could even take over temporarily.

Brooklyn wasn't the biggest or the strongest in the clan. Some might have asked themselves or others, why wasn't Broadway the Second instead? He was bigger and stronger than the red male. It was all in the mind. Broadway just didn't have quite the leadership qualities that Brooklyn had.

Goliath had come up with a decision that until his Second could come back full time for the job, he was going to be temporarily relieved of his duties as Second in Command. He told Brooklyn that, which shocked him and made him unexpectedly cry in front of him, due to the hormones.

"Brooklyn, it's only temporary and you are still welcome to give advice if I need it. But you need to concentrate more on taking care of yourself here rather than out there. I'm naming Angela my new Second just until after the birth." Goliath explained.

Brooklyn looked up at him with sad eyes, tears still there, but he perked up a little from what he said. "Oh, ok. She's very deserving of the title since I can't do it." He agreed. It had just been a shock and scare was all. He was calming down again.

"I hope you understand. This is for your and the baby's own good." Goliath said.

"I understand."

Brooklyn's stomach was much rounder now, so it would make an easier target for enemies to want to strike at him there.

His leader left his room after that to let him read some more. He dried his tears. He hated feeling like a pregnant female at times, all the emotional turmoil. "Why do you make me cry like this, little guy?" he asked his son. The baby replied with a kick to the belly.

It made Brooklyn smile. He put his hand over the little foot. "It's amazing how much power you have in those little kicks of yours."

He went on reading after. He guessed he was at six months now.

He read that his back, ankles, and feet could start aching. His back definitely did. His son was getting heavier inside him, and his belly was only going to get bigger. The baby could sense light. He would like the sound of his 'mother's' voice! Reading to the baby was a good idea. He would do that.

The baby would be the size of a coconut nearly. It seemed big but not that big. Coconuts were still smaller than gargoyle eggs. His son might also be preparing to breathe and the eyes would be opening soon too! This was all human baby stuff, but perhaps his own son was going through the same stuff too.

It also said that if the baby was born at the 24th week, it would have a high chance of surviving. But it would still be very premature. Brooklyn definitely wanted the child to stay inside him for as long as possible, and yet, he wanted to get him out soon too. He hated some of the restrictions he was on. Being a male, he shouldn't have to go through any restrictions unless he was sick or injured really bad. But he had made the decision to keep his pregnancy going and thus, he had no choice but to follow the restrictions of staying at the castle and no fighting.

Brooklyn tried to keep to a healthy diet, of course. He wanted only the best nutritious foods to be fed to his son. But he still craved desserts too. And he could have them. He didn't want to overdo it.

He couldn't help but think if his belly was going to be about the size of Broadway's. If his aqua-blue brother had this happening to him, no one could tell he would be pregnant, given the size of his belly.

Brooklyn wanted to stay in shape as much as he could while he was carrying too, as long as the exercise didn't hurt the baby. He did glide around the castle grounds outside and he also flew around the paradise area beneath the castle too. He also found himself wanting to go swimming a lot more too. He was buoyant in the water and no weight on his feet hardly.

He lifted some weights in the gym, but not too heavy. He couldn't be lifting anything that put so much muscle into it that it affected his stomach muscles. Some of the muscles on the front were also being affected already just from the skin and muscles adjusting to carry the baby in the front. They were just lighter hand weights. He also did some leg exercises too, especially walking.

When he was in the gym, Brooklyn still kept up some of his hand to hand fight techniques. He didn't want to become lazy in his pregnancy in case he should be attacked again. At least for the time being, he could still practice these moves, as long as he was alone. He also practiced running and jumping into the air to jump over an opponent coming at him with a weapon or something.

One time, Owen came into the gym and saw him practicing his moves. "Shouldn't you Not be doing that while you're in this condition?" Owen asked.

Brooklyn jumped and turned. "Oh, it's you. I need to keep in shape in case the castle is ever invaded again. Coldsteel already knabbed me from here."

"True. But I heard Goliath tell you not to fight."

"He meant outside the castle grounds and not with any of the others." Brooklyn corrected the trickster man.

"Oh, I see." Owen replied.

"I'm not that big yet, and I intend to be able to be as active as I can be while I can." Brooklyn decreed. "Since I can't leave the castle right now."

"Just don't overwhelm yourself. You might get dizzy or something."

"If I get dizzy, nauseated, or anything else, I'll stop. So far, nothing's happened. I'll be careful." Brooklyn said.

The only other person who might be able to tell him not to do these activities would be Fox. She would know better than anyone.

Owen went to talk to Fox about what he had seen Brooklyn doing to know if what was doing was safe or not.

Fox was stunned that Brooklyn would even be doing these things when she was told. She went to go seek the red male out immediately. She just wanted to see for herself.

She found him in the gym too. What she saw him doing at least that he wasn't fighting anyone. A lot of it was standing still kind of stuff, like the punching or kicking. Even wing and tail defense moves. Gargoyles sure had more bodily weapons than humans ever did.

After a while, Brooklyn felt he was hot enough and sweating that he felt like stopping. He was panting a bit too.

"Brooklyn, are you sure you think you should be doing that in your condition?" Fox asked from the entrance. He looked up at her.

"Weren't you doing it while you were pregnant?" he asked.

"No. By the time I was six months along, it was time to stop until after the birth. But I still managed to stay in shape as much as I could. When I encountered Goliath, Elisa, and them in Australia at the time, I was seven months along. I could barely keep up with my mom while we were running away from the Matrix, being heavy with Alex at the time." Fox explained.

"I'm a gargoyle, Fox. Maybe in another month perhaps I'll stop, but I have to keep active and be able to defend the castle and myself during my time off of patrol duties." Brooklyn explained. "I'm being careful, I promise."

"You look winded." She stated.

"A little bit. Just from the workout. I have seen pregnant women do some of this stuff on tv before at this stage and even up until their 9th month. I aim to not be lazy while this is going on. If the clan's all gone and no one's here but me to guard the castle, and it gets attacked, I would be helpless to defend it. I won't let the castle be attacked just because of my condition. I know I can't help it during the day, but at night I mean what I said." Brooklyn explained.

"It's understandable. But perhaps at least one of your clan mates should stay here with you, for your own safety. But you should talk to Dr. Sato about you doing this." Fox insisted.

"He'd probably say not to do it. I'm still young and have energy to get rid of. I would not ask any of the clan to train with me. It's just to keep my moves from getting rusty." The red gargoyle explained.

"Brooklyn, perhaps it's time to learn some other types of moves that are good for pregnancy. I know you won't give birth like a female would, but these can be helpful with breathing better and such. Soon, the kid will be pressing more on your organs and under your ribs. It can make it hard to breathe. I should know. Especially since you are carrying a boy, it would probably be bigger than if you had a girl coming." Fox explained.

"But what kind of moves are you talking about?" he asked curiously.

"I'm talking about something that pregnant parents go to called birthing classes, also called Lamaze." Fox replied.

"Yeah, but I can't go to those, you understand."

"I know, but I still have videos from when I was pregnant that you can watch. It would help to have an assistant do these with you though." Fox said.

"Who? I don't have a mate to help me with any of this." Brook replied sadly.

"Couldn't Lex, Angela, or Elisa do it with you if you asked them?"

"I don't know if Lex would get it. He'd probably laugh at me." Brook stated.

"Why would he laugh at you? He wants to be a good uncle. He likes to understand things, Brooklyn." Fox declared. "Just try to ask him. If whoever you ask decides to help you, you are more than welcome to do the exercises from the videos I give you in private."

"Uh, thanks." Brooklyn said. "For now, I'm going to go relax now."

"Good."

…

Ray had checked into Gen-U-Tech and he was talking to Anton Sevarius.

"You know of the gargoyles in this city, right?" Ray asked.

"Yes, I do. What about them?" Anton asked him.

"There is one gargoyle among them that I want." Ray replied.

"And that one would be?"

"I want the red one." Ray said.

"Why the red one?"

"He's got something that I need and want." Ray stated.

"To me, from what I remember, he is the beaked one, right?" Anton inquired.

"Yes. I don't know of the other ones. Just him. Do you know where to find them?" Ray asked.

"I have a fairly good idea." Sevarius replied. "But what is so important about the red one?"

"I don't know if he's here at the moment, but I had him months ago and he escaped me with some help from one of my associates that fell for his lies. The red gargoyle carries an experiment inside him that I must have back." Ray explained.

"What kind of experiment? What could be so valuable about that one gargoyle before I send my associates after him?" Anton kept pressing the matter.

"I managed to get the gargoyle pregnant, alright!" Ray finally blurted out.

That got Anton's attention. "You got a male gargoyle pregnant? With a live baby?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Ray asked.

"Because, after working with a female gargoyle called Demona, I learned from her that gargoyles are born from eggs after a six-month pregnancy. The eggs incubate for ten years." Anton explained what he had learned from Demona.

Ray was stunned. He had not known that. "I wanted Brooklyn to tell me what he knew, but he was often stubborn in telling me what I wanted to know. He wouldn't tell me much and told his secrets to the only woman on my team, who had helped him escape! I had confirmed him pregnant before he got away from me. There were signs of an embryo in his belly inside an artificial womb I had created from his own genetic code."

"So, it's a clone?"

"No. Not a clone. A reproduction of the father. I even genetically engineered one of his sperm into an ovum and used his sperm to fertilize it. He's the mother and father of the baby he carries. If I don't get him back soon, he could go into labor and he could die. That's why he's so valuable to me." Ray explained. "And so, I don't think he's carrying an egg. I have a hunch it's a live fetus by now."

"And why did you come to me even though it is intriguing." Anton asked.

"Because I am seeking more special scientists and geneticists to help me with this project. I plan to study the baby he carries, both in pregnancy and after as it grows up." Ray described what he wanted to do.

"And what do you plan to do with the father?"

"Let him go back to his clan."

"I don't think this Brooklyn will allow you to take his baby so easily." Anton stated.

"Well, he could also continue to be part of my gargoyle breeding plan then. Think about it. If I can get this one male pregnant, we could do it to the others too, thus getting more gargoyles into the world." Ray proclaimed.

Sevarius wasn't so sure about that, but he had his own plans for more gargoyles and not being clones. "More purebreds would be nice instead of waiting another ten years for their natural breeding season." He stated.

"What?"

"Gargoyles only breed every twenty years. This is 1998. All gargoyle eggs will hatch this year. In another nine years, in 2007, they breed and females are pregnant for six months. Then the egg is laid and begins another ten years of incubation." Anton explained what he remembered from Demona telling him.

"Fascinating but think about it. My way could bring the babies into the world even faster! We just impregnate the males with artificial wombs instead with the babies." Ray was talking in an excited manner.

The idea did have some promise to the geneticist man. He would be agreeable to it. Yes, he wanted to see this for himself before anything more proceeded. They had to find the red gargoyle. This wasn't looking good for Brooklyn.

"But wouldn't it be better to impregnate the females?" Anton asked.

"Like you said, eggs form in the real uterus. In an artificial one, eggs don't form. The baby could probably form in about a year, equivalent to like to say a horse's pregnancy or something. I'm guessing that the baby will be due in May or June." Ray proclaimed.

"How long ago did you get him pregnant?"

"At the end of last August." Ray replied. "He'd be about six months along right now."

"Knowing Goliath, if Brooklyn is back here, he won't let him leave their home in his condition." Anton declared.

"Goliath?"

"The leader of the clan. He's always been more of a study than the rest of the clan has. I've even cloned him and the gargoyles. Brooklyn included."

"Oh really? And where is this clone now?" Ray was curious.

"I don't know. The clones all disappeared after their first showdown with the gargoyles." Anton stated.

"Oh well. This will be better than a clone. I guarantee it." Ray smirked. That remained to be seen. The two of them were going to prepare a plan to get the red gargoyle back. Likely he had made it back to New York by now. They would find out.