They landed in the thick of the woods, and their presence disturbed the armed shooters around them. Goliath and Brooklyn instantly began fighting, taking out one man after another…the Illuminati had spared no expense for this little raid, there were at least a dozen men out there. Brooklyn brought one man down and ran, avoiding a laser blast. Suddenly he was tackled and brought to the ground. Bianca raised her claw with an angry growl, her eyes blazing. Suddenly she halted and gasped, realizing exactly who she'd pinned.
"You!" She exclaimed eagerly.
With a bit of a groan Brooklyn smiled up at her, "You know, we really need to stop meeting like this." Suddenly Bianca shrieked in pain, a dart hitting her right in the side. "Take cover!" Brooklyn exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and took her hand. They both ran off in a panic, diving behind a nearby rock.
Panting Bianca hurriedly whispered, "All this for grand larceny? I shudder to think what these people do when it's murder."
"They're not police." Brooklyn explained, "They're called the Illuminati. And they're here for you." He paused, noticing the dart. "Oh no…" He pulled it out quickly putting his hands on her arms, "Are you alright? Do you feel dizzy?"
Bianca shook her head, confused, "Not really, a little maybe…what was that?"
"A tranquilizer…but you seem alright." He said, examining her pupils.
Bianca snorted, "Alright? I've been in this town for three days and I've got men shooting at me!"
"You ought to be flattered." Brooklyn answered with a playful smile. Before she had a chance to reply, they were pounced on by two more guards. Brooklyn tangled with his briefly, knocking him out just in time to help swat a man off of her. Bianca's reaction time was slowing now…in the course of that last struggle she'd received another dart in the leg. Thankfully, by now the rest of the gargoyles had arrived to even the odds. Before she knew it, the fight was over. Goliath appeared at Bianca's side, extending a hand down to help her up. He made quite an imposing figure, standing above her. She took his hand and stood slowly, now swaying a little on her feet. Looking around and seeing that the gunfire had ceased, Bianca instantly pulled the dart out of her leg and withdrew from the gargoyles, backing away from them silently.
"You don't need to be frightened," Goliath said soothingly, "We mean you no harm."
The tranquilizers coursed through her system, making speech a little difficult. "I…I'm sorry…I mean, thank you for your help, but…I can't…" She stammered nervously, looking over the faces of her rescuers. Her eyes met Brooklyn's, "I'm sorry." With that, Bianca bolted.
"No, wait!" Goliath exclaimed, "It isn't safe-" Brooklyn took off after her, followed closely by Lexington and Angela. It was then that they heard the helicopter above them. As Bianca ran she feverishly tried to clear her head, suddenly her whole sense of direction was gone. She had no idea which way she was going, everything was becoming blurry. Bianca barely noticed that her pace was slowing. All she had to do was get to a building, but all around her all she could see was grass and trees. Once she was off the ground she'd be able to see things more clearly. Macbeth must be getting worried by now. The sound of the chopper above her was muddy in her ears. Bianca felt herself being grabbed from behind and struggled momentarily, but it was no use. There was a gentle hand on her cheek. She was just barely able to recognize her gargoyle before she passed out, the word fading on her lips, "Noooo…"
Brooklyn cradled her in his arms, gently trying to wake her. Beside him Broadway groaned, "Oh, that's not good."
"NO!" They all looked up to see Macbeth standing in the open door of the helicopter, a gun in his hand. He looked absolutely furious.
"Macbeth, wait!" Goliath yelled up, but it was too late. He had already opened fire on them, very careful to avoid Brooklyn, who held Bianca. The gargoyles had no choice, they made a run for it. Once they made it back to the cover of the woods they slowed their run down slightly: the trees had only provided them with minimal protection. They could still hear Macbeth above them.
"He won't listen to reason now." Hudson said hurriedly, "And we need to get out of here before more Illuminati show up!"
"The sewers!" Lexington exclaimed.
Angela agreed, "He can't follow us there."
"Right then, to the sewers!" Goliath agreed, "Brooklyn, give her to me." Brooklyn handed the unconscious gargoyle to Goliath silently. The gargoyles ran back out into the open dodging Macbeth's fierce gunfire until they made it to the road. Broadway knocked the sewer cover away and helped Angela down first. Lexington followed, then Brooklyn, Hudson, Broadway and finally Goliath, the girl slung over his broad shoulder. He looked back up to hear one last angry howl from Macbeth before pulling the sewer cover shut after him.
Goliath landed safely, shifting the girl from his shoulder back into his arms. Lexington carefully lifted her arm and let it drop, totally limp.
"No point trying to wake her." He said grimly, "She'll be out for hours."
"She won't have time to be out that long, the sun will be up in less than an hour." Sighed Brooklyn.
Angela piped up, "Do you suppose he'll land and try to come down after us?"
"It's entirely possible…let's move, now!" Goliath insisted. They all ran off together. Above them they faintly heard another helicopter approach, accompanied by that familiar police warning.
"Elisa sent a helicopter!" Broadway exclaimed, "That should scare him off."
"Don't be too sure, lad." Hudson said, "Macbeth seems quite reluctant to part with the young lass…he may not be scared off so easily." Indeed, as they sped along they heard one of the helicopters land.
Lexington gasped, "He's coming after us!"
"We can't face him down here." Goliath said quickly, "I've seen Macbeth in a blind rage before, and in this enclosed space he'll make short work of us with his gun…and time is running out."
Angela leapt onto a nearby ladder, "We must be a few blocks away by this point…It would probably be safer to resurface and take to the sky."
"But the police helicopter-" Broadway objected.
"They will be far too busy dealing with Macbeth to notice us." Goliath determined, "We resurface. We'll head back to the castle. Xanatos has the necessary facilities there to hold her."
"Hold her?" Brooklyn asked, dismayed, "Goliath, can we really hold her against her will?"
"It's for her own safety." He insisted firmly. "Until the Illuminati is off her track this girl is officially under our protection." Brooklyn frowned, but didn't object. "Now let's go!"
Angela knocked off the manhole cover and they all quickly climbed through. Hudson resealed the sewer just as they began to hear Macbeth's voice reverberating behind them.