Chapter 8 A/N: The OC featured in this story belongs soully to grapejuice101, I hope you like this chapter, hon! :) I, sadly, did not put in the scene with Owen Burnett down at the docks, you know, when Tony Dracon stole the guns? I decided to leave that one out for my own reasons. Hope you guys don't hate me because of that.
Deadly Force
"I don't know why you even try." Quinn stopped at the corner in a hallway when she distinctly heard Amber Hales' voice from around the corner.
"Why don't you just leave me the hell alone, Amber? I never did anything to you!" she heard the new girl in Senior Class, Katie Smith, yell at the blonde haired girl.
Quinn grit her teeth together as she stepped around the corner to see Amber, Claire, and their fellow blonde girl Tina, all crowded around the brunette girl with hazel eyes and freckles on her face, with a black t-shirt that read in red letters 'I Survived SCENE 118' on the front.
She saw Amber shake her head with a smirk, "Why did you even come here, Smith? Your the freak no one likes." she stated.
"If she's the freak no one likes; then your the bitch no one loves." Quinn said, walking forward to stand in front of the shocked girl.
Amber looked surprised to see her, "Oh, Stryker. Glad you could come, I was beginning to wonder where the dogs had gone." she said, causing her friends to snicker as Quinn's face went red with rage, "Why are you sticking up for this actress wannabe, anyways?" she asked, examining her nails in boredom.
Katie started to come up with something to say, when Quinn held her hand in front of her mouth, "Because anyone who stands against you, is definitely worth something more." she said, smirking at Amber's slightly red face.
Amber suddenly grinned wickedly, "Your saying that because you know your worth nothing. That's why you don't know your parents, they knew you'd never amount to anything that they could get out of life, so they gave you up. Even they knew you were nothing, and your just now figuring it out." she didn't even notice Quinn's slight temper flair up until the damage was done.
Quinn rushed forward, launching her fist out at the blonde's face, making contact with her eye, "At least I've got people who love me." she said when Amber fell to the ground holding her eye.
"Ms. Stryker! Did I just witness you laying your hands on Ms. Hales, here?" their Geometry teacher, Mrs. Solomon asked as she all but jogged down the hallway from her usual route to the Teacher's Lounge, looking like the large bun on top of her head might come undone at the sight of the scowl on her face.
Quinn glared daggers down at Amber, "I wouldn't say I 'layed my hands on her'.. I'd say I just about knocked her on her prissy little ass." she gritted her teeth as she muttered this before her bicep was grabbed by an old woman's hand, and she turned to look into the furious eyes of the teacher.
"What was that, young lady?" the old woman demanded in a threatening way.
Quinn sighed, "Nothing Mrs. Solomon." she droned before looking murderously at Amber's grinning face.
"Amber, honey, are you alright? Let me deal with this delinquent and then I will get you some ice for your eye." she finished sweetly as she dragged the furious red haired girl away from the smirking blonde squad (A/N Got that from Victorious, and I thought it fit ^.^) and the stunned looking brunette.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
"Fraking bitch." Quinn muttered under her breath as she walked on the sidewalk to get home.
After three hours of detention after school, with her sitting in a desk with a piece of paper in front of her, and a number two pencil, she was forced to write 'I will not disfigure my fellow student body.' over ten hundred times until Mrs. Solomon decided she was too tired to sit with Quinn in silence, so she sent the red head home for the night, with promises of "We will finish this later." lingering with her vanish.
She hugged her dark green hoodie tighter to herself as she looked up at the darkening sky and sighed, 'Broadway's supposed to come over tonight to watch Halloween with me, dammit! I'm gonna be late!' she yelled at herself as she tried to go faster, but the chill in the air made her slow down, numbing her bones from the inside out.
"Hey! Wait up!" she stopped dead in her tracks as she heard someone call out, and upon looking around to see no one else responding to the call, she turned and saw Katie Smith running towards her, huffing as her breathing went back to normal when she stopped in front of Quinn.
She bent over, supporting herself by grabbing her knees and taking in deep breaths, "You walk fast for a short person, you know that, right?" she managed between gasping as she stood up again to her full five foot eight height, her freckled cheeks flushed as she wrapped her bright red scarf around her neck while adjusting her black and yellow Letterman's jacket to stop under the belt of her jeans.
Quinn raised an eyebrow as she made her expression go unamused, "What do you want?" she asked as monotone as she could manage in the crisp fall weather, what with her teeth chattering thanks to the rather thin hoodie.
Katie smiled, the smile reaching up to her hazel colored eyes and blushing cheeks, "I wanted to thank you for what you did this afternoon. And I'm sorry you went to detention because of me." she said meekly, the edge of her scarf coming up above her mouth.
Quinn shrugged, "No problem. I didn't go to detention because of you, I went to detention because of my own actions. Amber pushed my buttons in all the wrong places and I let her do it." she said, looking up at the sky just as the sun sank bellow the horizon, cloaking New York City in a black blanket with stars in almost every stitch.
"Well", she looked back at the brunette in front of her as she spoke, her curly hair blowing ever so slightly, "Thank you, either way. Um, I was wondering... Would you maybe wanna talk sometime? I noticed not a lot of people talk to you, and I was wondering if you wanted at least one friend in that hellhole we call a school." she smiled slightly as she spoke, stuffing her hand into the purse on her shoulder, she brought out a piece of paper and a pen, "So, what's your number, Quinn?" she asked the red headed girl as she pressed the button on the pen and got it ready to write.
Quinn was a little surprised to be asked about her phone number, she's never really seen a reason to give it out to anyone. But after Katie's tapping foot, she handed over the number for her cell phone, and said goodbye to Katie as she turned back around, breaking into a sprint as she glanced at the time on her phone, remembering that Broadway was coming over at any time.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
"Has anyone seen Broadway?" Goliath asked the remaining Gargoyles as he walked into the Great Hall to see Hudson sitting at the table with Lexington and Brooklyn, who were playing cards, while Bronx relaxed on the floor at their feet.
Lexington looked at his leader out of the corner of his eye as he layed a card down on the table, "I think he went to see that Showdown movie again." he said.
Goliath raised an eyeridge, "Again? Hm." he hummed to himself as he turned and stalked off in the direction of the tower.
Brooklyn looked at Lexington when he saw the motionless elevator door, "Where's Quinn?" he asked.
Lexington looked up at his Rookery Brother with an amused expression, "She got stuck at home taking care of her dog." he repeated the phone conversation he had recently with said girl earlier that night, "Why? Are you sad she's not here, Brooke?" he mocked using the nickname that Quinn usually used.
Brooklyn scowled, covering his darker cheeks with his card deck, "No, I was just... Just wondering, that was all." he ended hastily when Lex looked like he wanted to say more.
Hudson chuckled when they weren't looking, "She's almost got his heart, eh, boy?" he whispered to Bronx as he bent down and pat the beast on the head.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Broadway smiled happily as he watched his favorite scene in the movie he has seen almost a thousand times; the gun twirling scene.
The camera turned down to the cowboy's hand, more specifically the gun that was hanging on his first finger. He spun it around so fast, Broadway had trouble focusing on whether or not the barrel of the gun would point back at the bad guy.
He jumped a little as the gun stopped suddenly, pointing at the offender, and the trigger was pulled at the same instant, hitting the other man square in the shoulder.
"Cool!" Broadway whispered excitedly, munching on the popcorn he found in the rafters he was sitting in.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
"Well, looks like New York is minus a stripper." Quinn remarked with a slight smirk as Julie stepped out of the hallway wearing a bright blue silk dress that stopped at the top of her thighs. It was very low cut, and it was sleeveless. She had matching high heeled shoes that made her much taller than she usually is.
She rolled her brown eyes, whipping her head to the side to get her honey blonde hair out of the way, "Be careful, kid, you might end up on the streets if you keep this attitude." she said, walking over to the coat rack and placing the belt with her gun in the sling on the top hanger, "Don't touch my gun, got it?" she pointed at Quinn, who was sitting on the couch setting up Halloween to watch that night, before she turned her head in the direction of the kitchen, "Where's the boy, uh.." Detective Graves had trouble remembering his name.
Quinn looked straight at the paused movie, "Joaquin." she didn't offer it, she said it plainly, "He's at work." she said, referring to his night job at the Video Store, "And why in the hell would I wanna touch your gun? I'm not good with weapons that involve a trigger." she said just as the doorbell rang, and she could hear her dog's barking from her room, Julie made her put Tripper in her bed room after he started scratching up the couch for some reason they had yet to figure out.
Julie turned and looked at the door for a second before looking back at Quinn and reaching the door handle, "I better not find anything broken when I get back, girl." she threatened, opening the door to reveal a fellow police officer, Matt Bluestone standing in the hallway dressed in his ever present beige trench coat.
Detective Bluestone just started working with the NYPD, and of course, Julie being Julie, she just about seduced him into taking her out on dates, this would mark their third date of the month.
Matt smiled at Quinn on the couch, "How's it goin', squirt?" he asked her, walking inside the apartment after kissing Julie on the cheek.
Quinn smiled at him, out of all the mindless men Julie brought home with her, she actually liked Matt, "It's goin' good. Just about to watch a scary movie." she said when Julie cleared her throat.
"So, how's the Dracon case coming? Did you find any evidence that pins him to selling weapons to gangs?" Julie cut in, not liking that Quinn had taken Matt's attention away from her.
Julie and Matt have been working on proving that Tony Dracon is selling illegal weapons to multiple gangs all over New York, Julie ended up have a little run in with Dracon, swearing to heaven all mighty that she would put him in prison before the year had past.
Matt sighed and shook his head, "Nothin', Jules. It's as if Tony Dracon doesn't even exist in the gun dealing world. There's no witness, no prints, not even a hair strand off of Tony's head." he said.
Julie scowled at the ground, "Dammit." she said, before turning and looking up at Quinn's amused expression, "What do you find funny, girl?" she asked as nicely as she could.
Quinn crossed her arms over her chest, "Nothing much, I just find it amusing that you seem to be set off on something that doesn't even mean anything to you." she laughed.
Julie looked like she would have blown up on Quinn in that instant, but at the moment, she had Matt's waiting gaze to put to rest, so, after a promising glare sent at Quinn, they both bid goodbye to the red haired girl and were on their way.
Quinn smirked as she shook her head before turning it swiftly to the window when the door was slid open and Broadway stepped into the room.
He smiled at her, "Hey, Quinn. Am I too late?" he asked her, walking forward to stand behind the couch she was sitting on.
She shook her head, getting up from her seat, "Nope, I haven't even started it yet. Make yourself at home, I'll make us some of my spaghetti." she said, walking into the kitchen just as her phone started ringing.
She furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity when she saw an unknown number pop up on her screen. Flipping the phone open, she timidly put it to her ear, "Hello?" she asked.
"Hey, Quinn." she was answered with the cheery voice of Katie Smith on the other end.
Quinn blinked for a minute before smiling, "Hey, Katie." she said, getting out the ingredients for the food.
Broadway raised an eyeridge as he heard Quinn talking on her cell phone in the kitchen, before he turned and looked at some of the pictures she had on the walls.
There was one with a little black boy in the picture, standing behind him were two other African Americans, a male and a female. They were smiling at the camera, standing in front of a park with a lake.
He picked up the picture to look at it more closely, 'This must be Joaquin's family before he came here.' he concluded before something shiny caught his eye.
Turning around, he saw the handle of a gun sticking out of a brown holster on the coat rack.
He dropped the picture on the ground and walked forward, the gun scene fresh in his mind. He gently grasped the handle and lifted it out to examine it fully, "Cool!" he whispered excitedly after hearing Quinn talking on the phone about something called homework.
He turned around and smiled delightedly as he pretended to point the gun in every direction, imagining the bad guy from Showdown was standing there with his hand going towards his gun.
Quinn raised an eyebrow when she heard Broadway start saying 'Bang!' over and over again, then she chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Katie asked laughingly on the other end of the phone.
Quinn shook her head, "Nothin', just my friend in the other room." she said with a slight laugh before going back to their previous conversation on different plays they have either seen, or wanted to see.
Broadway smiled delightedly as he increased the speed he was moving the gun, his first talon slipping closer to the trigger before it was too late.
The gun went off with an echoing BANG! And something, or someone, fell to the floor with a thud and a groan; with a dog bark sounding as loud as ever.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Brooklyn paused with a slight grimace as something in his heart tugged almost painfully.
Lexington noticed his Rookery Brother's fast changing emotions, he had stopped in mid throw of the ball they had found earlier, "You okay?" he piped up after a few seconds.
Brooklyn blinked a minute, something felt... Off.
He looked at the khaki green Gargoyle, "Uh, I don't know... Something doesn't feel right. I have a bad feeling something really bad just happened." he shuddered a little as he pushed the feeling aside and tossed the blue ball at Lex, "Oh well, I'm probably just paranoid or something." he dismissed the thought entirely as he caught the ball once more.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Broadway gasped in a surprised manner as he dropped the gun as if it had caught fire, "Sorry. My fault. I was playing with the gun. Hope I didn't break anything." he apologized.
Nothing but silence and a small panicked voice calling out met his ears.
His face turned into a puzzled yet worried expression as he slowly walked into the kitchen area, "Quinn...?" he asked cautiously when he stopped walking altogether at the sight that layed before him.
There she was. Quinn. Lying on the tiled kitchen floor, her head was twisted towards him with her right arm raised near her face, her legs were bent a little bit, the knees pointing in his direction while the left arm was lying across her mid section, the phone was lying next to her right hand.
And a slowly growing pool of crimson blood forming underneath her.
He gasped in terror at the sight before crossing the distance to her in mere seconds, "Quinn! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to-" he said, placing her head in his lap as he crouched down next to her.
Her normally bright blue eyes were dim as she cracked them open ever so slightly to look up at him in pain, before they shut tight.
"Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no.." he kept muttering to himself as he gingerly picked her up and cradled her small body closer to his chest as he turned and ran towards the open window.
As he jumped out of the warm apartment and into the chilly night air, he kept trying to speak to her, "Don't worry, Quinn. Your gonna be okay, I know it! Your gonna be fine." only he was mainly trying to assure himself that everything would be fine as he made his way towards the New York hospital.
The ride there seemed to be the longest trip he ever had to make in his long life.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
"Quinn? Quinn? Are you there? Hello?" Katie called hopelessly into the small speaker of the phone in her hand.
She swore she heard a gun shot before Quinn decided not to answer her frantic pleads to pick up the fraking phone and speak to her, dammit!
Katie blinked when she heard a voice that she didn't recognize on the other end, calling Quinn's name rather worriedly, before she heard the sound of some scuffling on the floor, and then nothing.
It had been dead silent on Quinn's end for about five minutes; Katie shakingly pressed the end call button on the receiver before typing in the number she knew would waste no time in answering.
"911, what is your emergency?" a calming female voice answered her on the other end.
"Yes, hello. I heard a gun shot on the other end of a phone call with my friend. She's not answering." Katie tried to stay calm, but she was close to tears.
She heard the woman on the other end scribble something down on a notepad, "Can you tell me her address, Miss?" she asked calmly.
Katie's eye widened in realization, she never got Quinn's address.
"Miss?" the woman asked again after a few seconds of silence.
Katie blinked as she answered, "I don't have it." she shuffled through the papers on her desk until she came across the piece of paper with Quinn's phone number, "But can you find her with a number?" she asked.
"Yes, I can." the woman replied.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Broadway glided as fast as he could to get to the stretcher that some paramedics had left outside the ambulance's back doors before they went inside.
He landed next to it and looked to the entrance of the Hospital to check if they were coming back, when he saw they weren't, he gently layed Quinn's terrifyingly still form onto the padded bed like thing before stroking her hair a minute, pulling back his hands in shock when her own blood mixed with the firey red hair on her head.
He gasped audibly when he saw her warm blood on his pale blue hands. He turned his head sharply toward the doors of the hospital when his keen ears caught the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door.
With one last fleeting look at Quinn's still body, he turned and ran in the opposite direction, catching a swift draft of air to get up to the building on the other side of the street.
He perched on the ledge just in time to see two paramedics walk out and look surprised when they saw Quinn lying on the stretcher. They hurried over to her, after possibly seeing the blood quickly gathering on the pad.
Broadway heard one of them shout, "I can't find a pulse!" before they wheeled her inside the hospital, out of his sight.
The blue Gargoyle fought back tears as he turned and glided in a direction that lead away from the hospital; he didn't care which, as long as he was going anywhere but there.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Goliath looked up at the horizon, "It is nearly dawn, where is Broadway?" he asked his Clan members as they walked forward to stand on their pedestals.
Brooklyn shrugged his shoulders, "He probably wanted to watch Showdown a couple more times before the sun came up." he offered.
Goliath hummed to himself, "I hope he finds a safe place to sleep." he said, before his ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Owen Burnett walking towards them, "May we help you?" he asked the blonde haired man.
Owen stopped a few feet away from the Gargoyles, "I have some rather distressing news regarding your friend, Miss. Stryker." he started, immediately grabbing all of their attentions.
Goliath nodded, "Go on." he said.
Owen pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "She was shot late last night." he said.
Goliath and Brooklyn looked the most shocked to find this out, but they didn't have enough time to say anything because at that same moment, the sun came out, freezing them in stone.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
The next night, Owen Burnett sat in his office, his laptop was open and he was clicking away at the keys as if there was no tomorrow.
He had just gotten back from speaking with Mr. Xanatos, who had remained quiet after learning about Quinn being shot.
Suddenly, the door to his office burst open, and in came five rather concerned, but pissed off at the same time, Gargoyles.
"How did it happen?" Goliath demanded.
Owen picked up a stack of papers on his desk and tapped them against the top to straighten them out, standing up, he addressed them, "The young Stryker", he started, "was shot in her home the night before. No one knows who did it, or how she made it to the hospital on her own since there was no one else in the house, but she got to the hospital. I am unaware of the extent of her wounds, but I doubt they can be good." he said.
Brooklyn was visibly shaking, his eyes were on the verge of turning pure white if he wasn't careful, "Where. Is. She?" he forced out through his gritted teeth.
Burnett gathered up his suitcase and walked around to stand in front of Goliath, "She is at the Manhattan General. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." he said before he walked out of the room.
Goliath looked to Lexington, who was busy trying to get Brooklyn to calm down a little, "Lexington, I want you, Hudson, Bronx, and Brooklyn to wait here for Broadway to return to the castle." he said, turning to leave when Lex's voice called him back.
"Where are you going?" he asked, holding tightly to Brooklyn's forearm.
Goliath looked at his younger Clan members, "I am going to see Quinn." he said.
Brooklyn seemed to snap out of his rage, "I'm going, too!" he exclaimed.
The lavender Gargoyle regarded Brooklyn with a calm eye, "I don't think it would be wise of you to join me, Brooklyn. No, I think it's best if you stay here with everyone else and wait for Broadway to return." he said before turning and walking swiftly down the hallway.
Brooklyn growled a little, catching his Rookery Brother's attention with a nervous stare, "...Brooklyn..?" the khaki green Gargoyle asked timidly.
The red Gargoyle didn't respond for a moment, before he ripped his arm out of Lexington's grasp and stalked down the hallway Goliath had left down.
When he got outside, he saw Goliath had already taken off, so he made a split second decision and jumped, going in the opposite direction of the hospital Quinn was at, figuring he'd visit her when Goliath wasn't there.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Katie rushed down the hallway of the Manhattan General, where the Police who arrived at Quinn's house told her that her friend was already checked in.
"How is that possible..?" she had said, "I heard a gun shot go off, then Quinn wasn't answering me, I doubt she was even conscious, how did she get herself to the hospital?" to that, the policeman on the phone with her at the time told her he had no idea, but gave her the address to the hospital and told her to speak to the head nurse there about Quinn's condition.
Now here she was, running down the white walled hallway to get to the room that held her friend.
When she made it into the room she was directed at, she cautiously pushed the door open and saw four people already waiting inside, they were gathered around a small, still form in a hospital bed. The person had breathing tubes hooked up to an Oxygen machine, and an IV drip attached to her right hand; but the red hair and pale skin was unmistakable, it was definitely Quinn in the bed, her eyes closed, and a hospital gown on her.
She looked up at the four other people in the room, there was another red head with blue eyes, a blonde woman with brown eyes, another brunette with brown eyes, and a black boy with hair that was dyed blonde.
The blonde woman looked at her skeptically, "Who exactly are you?" she demanded, wrapping the beige trench coat tighter around her shoulders, it was probably the man's that he allowed her to use. It was a little cold in this room, Katie realized as she pulled her own Letterman's jacket back over her black and white Phantom of the Opera t-shirt.
"I'm Katie. I was the one that called 911 when it happened. Quinn was on the phone with me at the time." she explained.
The other brunette woman came forward holding her chin with one hand, "Did you hear any sign of a struggle?" she asked Katie.
Katie shook her head, "No, all I heard was a shot, and then a loud thud, and then nothing. Quinn didn't even tell me if she was alright or not. May I ask who you people are, by the way?" she asked.
The brunette woman nodded, "Captain Chavez of the NYPD." she said before she turned and walked back to standing in front of the wall.
The red haired man waved a hand at her from his position next to the blonde woman, "Detective Matt Bluestone." he said, then looked to the blonde.
She glared at the wall, "I shouldn't need to tell someone my name." she said.
The black boy rolled his eyes, "She's the Wicked Witch of the West, otherwise known as Julie." he said, two which Julie glared at him with a, "Detective Julie to you!" the boy sighed, "I'm Joaquin. Quinn's adoptive brother." he said, looking sadly at his broken sister in the bed.
Katie pursed her lips, she wasn't too sure about that Julie woman, why was she acting so rude? But she could tell Quinn's brother, the Detective and the Captain were actually worried about her.
Chavez turned to the two detectives, "Who do you think did this to your daughter, Graves?" she asked the blonde, who wasn't feeling up to correcting her boss about Quinn not being related to her other than through law.
Julie sighed, "Probably Dracon. He was a little pissed earlier that I promised I would get him behind bars, but I didn't think he'd go so far as to shooting someone I know." she said, unaware that someone above them was listening in.
The door to the room suddenly opened, and a young looking doctor entered the room with a clipboard in his hand.
He addressed the people in the room with a nod, not noticing the large, lavender upper body of a Gargoyle that was looking inside the skylight with piercing black eyes.
The doctor cleared his throat as he looked at the clipboard, "Well, we know what the extent of her injuries are." he started.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Doc, what is wrong with her?" Julie demanded with a scowl, she was more angry about having to rush down here while she and Matt were on Stakeout duty. Heh, more like makeout duty.
The doctor nodded, "Uh, right, okay.. It seems that the bullet penetrated her left side and actually traveled to her spine, where it fractured a part of the spine that connected to her left leg. It damaged a small portion of her left lung, and her heart stopped for fifteen minutes after she got here, but when the paramedics found her, her pulse was gone." he finished explaining, and Joaquin turned to walk over and hold onto Quinn's left hand.
Without turning, he spoke, "Will she live?" he asked forlornly.
The doctor sighed as he brought his clipboard down to rest at his side, "We won't know until tomorrow. But", he opened the door to the room, "Visiting hours are over now, Miss Stryker needs to rest now if she wants to try an make it." he said.
Hesitatingly, everyone left the room, each one, minus Julie, was throwing concerned glances at Quinn's still form as they went; the doctor following them out the door, closing it behind him.
When everyone had vacated the room, Goliath pushed open the skylight and jumped down, landing as silently on his feet as he could.
Crossing the short distance to her bed, he crouched down next to her and grabbed her right hand, as gently as he could, "Keep fighting, Quinn. Don't give up. Come back to us. Know that I will finish what you started. I will find the man who did this to you, and I will make him pay!" he vowed.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Brooklyn was pissed beyond comprehension, he found out Quinn had been shot, his Rookery Brother was missing and had not bothered to so much as come and eat dinner, and his Clan leader had told him not to come and check on Quinn.
Growling in frustration, he landed on the nearest ledge he could find.
He wasn't alone however, and he soon found this out when he heard a slight sniffling sound coming from a little ways above him, on the roof.
Raising an eyeridge, he started scaling the building until he came face to face with his startled Rookery Brother, Broadway.
He looked like a nervous wreck, tearstains ran down his cheeks, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he does when he's starving; pale and shaking.
Brooklyn hoisted himself up the rest of the way to sitting next to Broadway, a worried look on his face, casting his anger aside for the moment, "Where have you been? You didn't come home last night and we were starting to get worried." he said.
Broadway sniffled once before he answered, "I couldn't go home.." he said as a few more tears ran down his cheeks.
Brooklyn nodded, "I'm guessing you heard about Quinn, huh? Shot in her own home." he told Broadway, turning his head toward the sky.
Broadway looked at Brooklyn in slight shock, "Y-you heard about Q-Quinn?" he stuttered, afraid that Brooklyn knew he was the one who shot Quinn.
Brooklyn nodded, "Burnett told us about her. He didn't know who shot her though.." he said.
The pale blue Gargoyle looked out at the scenery, "Oh.." he said, fiddling with his hands nervously, "Well, is she gonna make it?!" he suddenly yelled at Brooklyn, who jumped in his seat at the loud noise.
Brooklyn at Broadway in jealousy, did he have a crush on Quinn or something? "We don't know yet." he said quickly.
To that, Broadway unleashed a fresh wave of tears, but minus the sobbing, "I heard she didn't have a pulse when she got to the hospital.." he started, "Ga! I hate guns!" he yelled, closing his eyes and throwing his arms up in the air to emphasize his hatred.
Brooklyn grabbed his chin in thought, "Why don't we do something about them, then?" he got a wicked grin on his face as he had an idea.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Tony Dracon stood before a table of all new guns he had just stolen from Xanatos Enterprises, an evil grin on his face as he examined the new property that would soon be held by every gang known to every civilian in New York.
The Detective Graves woman couldn't pin him to this crime, no matter how many times she tried to sleep with one of his henchmen.
"Yo, Tony." he looked up at the sound of his right hand man, Glasses, calling his name.
Glasses stuffed his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants as he walked over to stand before his boss, "Graves' kid got shot." he said with a grin.
Tony laughed, "Well, ain't that just a stroke of luck? Let Graves worry her pretty ass off over her kid, and let us sell these bad boys." he indicated the guns on the table.
Glasses smirked, "They'll be sold at midnight, right? Down at the docks?" he asked, to which Tony nodded enthusiastically.
Unbeknownst to them, a hulking lavender Gargoyle was listening in on their conversation, a growl making it's way out of his throat as his eyes went white.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
In Central Park, two rather shady looking men stood illuminated by the light of a street lamp.
"So, you got the gun?" one asked with the coldest brown eyes you could ever see.
His companion nodded, reaching inside the inside pocket of his trench coat, he pulled out a newly stolen particle beam weapon, "You got the money?" he asked the man, holding the weapon out of his reach.
The other man nodded with a roll of his eyes, "Yeah, but you won't get it until you hand me the gun." he answered.
The man with the weapon raised an eyebrow as he pointed the barrel at the other man, who's eyes went wide, "Nah, that ain't how it works." he said, starting to advance on the man when a rustling of leaves above him caught his attention.
Looking up just in time for a huge, pale blue monster with glowing white eyes to jump out of the confined recesses of the tree, his wings spread out threateningly behind him.
The man screamed as Broadway landed on his back with a heavy thud, turning to look at the other man when he, too, screamed; only to see a red monster with beak and equally glowing white eyes clutching him by the collar of his jacket and raising him above the ground level.
Broadway grabbed the weapon and pointed the barrel at the man threateningly, "What's this? A new gun? A new way to hurt people?! Where'd you get it?!" he yelled.
The man held his hands defensively in front of him, "D-Dracon. T-Tony Dracon! He's sellin' 'em all down at the docks! Please don't hurt me, I've got a wife and kid at home!" he exclaimed, closing his eyes and hiding his face with his hands.
Broadway growled as he dropped the man on the ground and proceeded to break the gun in half, throwing both pieces aside, he pointed a finger at the man, "Now get out of here!" he screamed at him.
The man scrambled to his feet and ran in the opposite direction as Brooklyn dropped the other man, who also ran away.
Brooklyn turned to Broadway, "So, we goin' to the docks or what?" he asked with a smirk, clearly ready to put an end to selling weapons on the street.
Broadway nodded, "Oh yeah." he said with a grin.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Dr. Moore looked down at the clipboard in his hand as he stood next to the bed of Quinn Stryker, going over the results from her blood, something just didn't add up, and he didn't know what to make of it.
He looked up at the sound of rapid beeping coming from the Heart Monitor, only to see a flatline, "Nurse! Bring a crashcart!" he called out to the nurse station as he got out an Epinephrin shot and injected it into her heart.(A/N My dad is a Nurse who likes to tell me about different methods to revive someone who is flatlining. It really comes in handy in a lot of cases :))
Three nurses hurried into the room, wheeling the cart with the shock pads with them.
Moore grabbed the pads after he took the needle out of her skin, getting the power up to 200 Gs, "Clear." he said, to which the nurses responded with multiple 'Clear's', then he brought the pads down.
Quinn's body jumped up from her bed, but her heart monitor was still in flatline mode.
"Dammit." Moore swore as he upped the power to 400Gs, and after another round of 'Clear', he brought the pads down again.
Once again, Quinn's body jumped up from the bed, but her heart rate returned to normal, much to the relief of the Doctor and Nurses in the room.
Moore turned to the nearest nurse, a Hispanic woman who worked nightshifts, "Rosa, would you please call the family and tell them what just happened?" he asked the woman.
Rosa nodded, "Yes, sir." she said, then turned and left the room to phone Graves.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Goliath sat perched on the roof of a warehouse building, looking down at the docks where he heard Dracon and his lackey talking about selling the guns.
He looked behind him when he heard the sound of leather hitting the air, and he saw Brooklyn and Broadway gliding towards his position.
He greeted them with a smirk as they landed next to him, "Broadway, it is good to see you are alright, you did not return to the castle, and we were getting worried." he addressed the blue Gargoyle.
Broadway looked at Brooklyn for a moment, before looking at his leader, "Yeah.. I heard about Quinn.." he started, still not willing to admit that he was the one who accidentally shot her.
Goliath looked down at the men on the ground, "Yes, the man who shot her is in this building. She is hanging onto her life by a thread because of him, and I intend to end him." he said.
Broadway looked ecstatic, "You mean Quinn's alive!" he said with a smile, Brooklyn mimicking his expression.
Goliath nodded, "Yes, but barely." he said, before he turned to the skylight of the warehouse after the men disappeared inside the building, "It is time to attack." he said, before he jumped up and crashed through the glass, startling whoever was standing bellow.
Broadway blinked as Brooklyn jumped through the broken window, "Should I tell them?" he asked himself as he, too, jumped.
When he landed, he saw multiple men running around the building, occasionally firing off the particle beam weapons into the air, and upon looking up, he saw the shadows of Goliath and Brooklyn gliding around the darkened ceiling.
He stood back and watched as Brooklyn and Goliath took turns diving down, picking up, and dropping the men back on the ground to be unconscious.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps running on metal, only to see a man with black and white hair running down the catwalk, and Goliath's hulking form gliding under him, occasionally punching the metal with his giant fists.
Brooklyn was following him, gliding above the man and diving down to make him fumble, to no avail.
Broadway made up his mind when Goliath suddenly shot out of the catwalk and grabbed the man, who must've been Dracon, by the collar of his shirt, raising him up and over the hand bar of the catwalk; gliding up, he landed next to Brooklyn, who was smirking triumphantly.
He ran over to stand behind Goliath, "Goliath, don't! He didn't shoot Quinn!" he yelled, and everything in that warehouse turned dead silent.
Brooklyn raised an eyeridge and Goliath turned his head to address Broadway, "If he did not shoot Quinn, then who did?" he demanded calmly.
Broadway took in a deep breath before he slowly let it out in one long exhale, and he answered, "I did."
Brooklyn growled as his eyes turned pure white, advancing on his Rookery Brother, who was walking backwards with a rather scared expression, "You mean to tell me, that Quinn could be dying in a hospital bed because of you?! You were the one who shot her?!" he exclaimed in anger, cornering Broadway against a wall, his talons stretched out to look like he was about to swipe at him.
Broadway held his hands in front of him, "Yes, I did. But it was an accident, I swear! I hadn't meant to shoot her, I was playing with a gun I found on a coat rack, and things kinda backfired." he said to the raging Gargoyle.
Brooklyn was about to say something, when Goliath's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Turning around, he glared up at his Leader, who was holding Dracon by one hand, "We will deal with this later, for now, let us deal with him." he indicated to Dracon, who was struggling in his grasp, "And his lackeys." he said.
And after an hour of rounding up all the men scattered around the warehouse, they tied them all up with bars that had been in multiple crates around the building.
Brooklyn had been glaring daggers at Broadway for the full hour, and had not let up yet, not even when Owen Burnett decided to walk in.
He adjusted his tie while clearing his throat, "I see you've recovered the stolen merchandise, thank you, Gentlemen." he said with a smirk.
Goliath looked at him with an unamused expression, "You know about these weapons?" he asked.
Owen nodded, "Mr. Xanatos needed to get the weapons back somehow." he answered as Goliath walked over to the table with a majority of the particle beam weapons.
Without turning, he spoke, "Are all weapons accounted for?" he asked the blonde haired man.
Owen looked to the weapons along the wall, "There are 37 missing." he reported as Goliath picked up one of them, "What are you doing?" he asked.
Goliath fired up the weapon and pointed at the others, pulling the trigger, he fired and destroyed all that he saw.
When the weapons went up in flames, he then tore the one in his hand in half, tossing the pieces aside.
Owen looked irritated, "Mr. Xanatos will not be happy." he said, examining the parts on the floor.
Goliath, Brooklyn, and Broadway started walking out of the building as the lavender Gargoyle replied, "Have him take it up with me." then they jumped up in the air and glided away from the warehouse.
As the building grew smaller, Broadway looked at Goliath, "Uh, where are we going?" he asked cautiously, shrinking under Brooklyn's furious gaze.
Goliath kept looking forward, "We are going to see Quinn." he answered.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
When they landed on the skylight above Quinn's room, they looked in to see three people standing in the room, two of them they recognized as Julie and Joaquin from the pictures Quinn had shown them on her phone. But the third, a brunette with freckles, they didn't know.
They were all gathered around her bed, well Joaquin and the girl were, Julie was leaning against the wall with a scowl on her face.
Joaquin and the girl were sitting on either side of her, looking drained, like they had been there for a while.
Quinn suddenly groaned a little, alerting everyone's attentions, "Quinn?" Joaquin asked, grabbing his sister by her left hand, "Q, can you hear me?" he asked frantically.
Quinn moved her legs a little bit from beneath the blanket that was covering her, before she slowly cracked her eyes open and looked around, they were still a little dim, but slowly gaining their normal look; she smiled slightly at them, "Hey, guys." he said softly, clearing her throat when it came out scratchy from not using it for a few nights.
The other girl sighed happily as she leaned forward and gently hugged Quinn, "Your alive!" she said gleefully before pulling away and thumping her on the forehead.
"Ow!" Quinn said, using her right hand to rub at the spot, before opening her eyes a little more to glare at her friend, "What was that for, Katie?" she demanded.
Katie smiled a little, "If you ever do that to me again, I will kidnap you." she said threateningly before turning to look at Julie, "Your daughter's awake, Detective." she said.
Julie simply looked at her with a 'No shit' expression before turning and stalking out of the room.
Katie raised an eyebrow, "What's her problem?" she asked Quinn and Joaquin.
They exchanged a look, "She's always been that way, Katie." Quinn said, just as the door opened and Dr. Moore entered.
He saw Quinn half-awake and smiled at her, "It's good to see you awake, Miss Stryker. You gave everyone quite a scare." he said before addressing the two other people in the room, "Visiting hours have ended, I'm sorry to say you must leave. Quinn needs her rest if she's gonna join you both at school again." he said, opening the door for them.
After they both promised they'd come back tomorrow, they both followed Moore out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
Quinn sighed and leaned her head back against the pillow, fully prepared to go back to sleep, but the sound the something opening made her open her eyes again, only to see Goliath, Brooklyn, and Broadway standing in her hospital room.
She smiled at them to the best of her ability, "Hey, guys." she said.
Broadway looked so upset, "I'm so sorry, Quinn." he started, "I shouldn't have been playing with the gun; you wouldn't be in that bed if I hadn't touched that stupid weapon." he said, taking her left hand in his when she offered it to him.
She looked up at him with a forgiving expression, "It's okay, Broadway. You didn't know any better; it was just an accident. I'm just gonna have to get Julie to lock her gun up in her room when she's at home." she said.
Broadway looked relieved to be forgiven, but by the look on Brooklyn's face, he knew it would take a little while longer for his Rookery Brother to forgive him.
Goliath pat Broadway on the shoulder, "It is time to go." he said, indicating the fast approaching dawn.
With one last look at Quinn, Broadway turned and jumped out of the skylight, stopping to perch on the ledge.
Goliath turned to follow, when the sound of Quinn's voice stopped him, "Goliath." she called.
He turned around shushed her gently, stroking her hair with a soft smile, "Go to sleep, Quinn. We will see you tonight." he said as he turned and got outside, perching on the ledge next to Broadway's.
Brooklyn hesitated, he turned and looked at Quinn, all his anger dissipating at the sight of her fully alive, "You really scared me, you know that, right?" he asked her, coming closer to stand next to her head.
Quinn smiled softly from her position in the bed, "Well, I promise I won't try to get shot anytime soon." she promised dryly.
He chuckled, "I'll hold you to that promise." he said before turning to go, "I'll see you tonight, Quinn. Glad your gonna be okay." he finished the last part softly as he stepped out the window and onto a ledge in between Goliath and Broadway, just as the sun came out.
Quinn smiled, "Yeah", she said, "me too, Brookie. Me too." she then leaned her head back against her pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Dr. Moore looked at Quinn Stryker's medical records with a puzzled expression, her blood test showed up differently than other people.
'Why?' he thought to himself, looking at the DNA that showed on the paper in his hands, it wasn't normal.
The door suddenly flew open, and in walked a blonde man with glasses and a stoic expression, he straightened up his tie as he cleared his throat, "Dr. Moore." he addressed the young doctor in front of him.
Moore stood up after placing the file back on his desk, "May I help you?" he asked a little defensively, something about this man set him a little uneasy.
The man smiled charmingly, "I am Owen Burnett, Mr. Xanatos' assistant. And I have a warrant here, that gives me custody to take the Miss Stryker's medical file." he said, showing a piece of paper to Moore and stepping around him to pick up the manilla file with barely any papers since Quinn had never been checked into this hospital.
Moore looked from the paper to Owen, "Why would you wanna take a patient's Medical Records?" he asked curiously as Owen turned to go.
Owen looked at Moore over his shoulder, "That", he opened the door and stepped out, "Is strictly confidential." he shut the door before another word was said.
SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER-SPACER
Owen walked down the hallway and out the front door of the hospital in five minutes, then his phone rang.
Opening the phone and placing it on his ear, he heard Xanatos' voice, "Did you get it?" he asked, calling from the Prison Phone.
The blonde man walked over to his car, "It is safe, sir. Though I did have to answer a question Moore asked me." he said, getting into the driver's seat and starting the car.
"Oh, and what's that?" Xanatos asked a little amused.
Owen smirked, "He simply asked why I would take a patient's Medical Records." he said.
Xanatos laughed once, "And what did you say?" he asked his assistant.
"It is confidential, sir, what else would I say?" Owen asked his boss as he started driving out of the parking lot.
Xanatos chuckled, "Your right, Owen. Well done, we can't have anyone knowing about her just yet." he said before hanging up on his assistant.
Oh.. My... Buddha... 14 fraking pages of this chapter O.O
I think this is the longest chapter I've ever done yet.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.
Flames, not so much.
-Zabby