A/N: This chapter is not related to the episode even remotely. Other than her adoptive brother being involved, then that's it, it's still called 'Her Brother's Keeper' because she went to save him. Anyways, I own this entire chapter.
Chapter 12
Her Brother's Keeper
"I still think it's really creepy how your shoulder blades stick out like that, Quinn." Cody was saying to the red headed girl as he drove her home while she changed out of the green sweatshirt she had on, in favor of the lighter jacket Cody got her for her birthday.
Quinn was happy to say that she had finally turned eighteen, and while Julie didn't give a damn, "Woop-de-do, your finally legal." she had said while she drank the rest of her coffee; Katie, Joaquin, and Cody were more than happy to celebrate her new age with her.
Quinn paused for a second, and attempted to look around at her back, where her shoulder blades stuck out a little farther than a normal person's. Then she shrugged it off and let the light weight material of the new jacket fall over them, "Whatever, I honestly don't care about it." she said with a smile, thanking him for the gift.
Cody smirked as a thought came to him, "You know, it almost looks like you were supposed to grow wings or something, Quinnie." he said, laughing when she smacked him.
"I told you not to call me that. Anyways, I guess I'm like a fallen angel or something like that." she said jokingly as he pulled up at the curb of her apartment building.
She got out of the passenger seat after grabbing her backpack from behind her, turning around, she looked at him, "Your comin' over for dinner tonight, right? Katie's gonna be there." she added the last part with a sing song voice when she saw him hesitating, then he swiftly nodded his head in assent.
"I'll be there, then." he handed her the sweatshirt she had dropped on the floorboard, "See ya, Quinnie, happy birthday!" he called to her as he sped down the street, made a sharp turn, and was gone before she could say anything.
"I told you; never call me 'Quinnie'!" she called to him feebly, shaking her head, she walked over to the front door of the apartment building, only to find the landlord, Bertrum sitting there with a little vanilla cupcake with green frosting and a single candle on a little paper plate in his lap.
Quinn smiled at the old man, "Hey, Bertrum." she said happily, about to go into the building when Bertrum stopped her with his hand.
He held the cupcake up to her with a friendly smile, "Happy Birthday, Miss Stryker." he said, placing the plate with the cupcake into her awaiting hands and opening the front door for her.
Quinn accepted the treat graciously, and she came forward to give him a hug, "Thanks, Bertrum." she said before she pulled back and walked into the building.
She looked up at the many stairs she had to climb to get to her apartment, then back to the cupcake, "I'll just have to be really careful with this." she said before she started climbing the stairs, watching each step she took.
When she made it to her destination, she used one hand to reach into her pocket for the key, when she found it, she placed it in the lock, only to see it was ajar.
She looked taken aback as she pushed open the door effortlessly and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her.
What she saw made her shriek in horror.
The entire room was in disarray, the couch was flipped over with the cushions on the other side of the room, the stuffing was ripped out of the insides of them. The wallpaper was split in multiple areas, like someone took a velociraptor claw and just went at it, the picture frames were shattered, bits of broken glass on the floor beneath them, unless the pictures were on the floor. The television screen was smashed to pieces, and multiple bullet holes in almost everything in that room, wall, cushions, even the carpet. But the thing that really got to her was Julie lying on the ground with blood pooling rather fast underneath her head, soaking into her honey blonde hair and making it look like she was attempting to match Quinn's hair color.
Quinn dropped everything she was holding on the ground, not even giving the fallen cupcake a second glance, and she rushed forward; dropping to her knees next to the unconscious woman. Quinn grabbed Julie on either side of her head, "Julie? Julie, can you hear me?! Julie?!" she yelled out hysterically, trying to get even a small moan out of the woman.
She was in luck when Julie groaned almost inaudibly and cracked her brown eyes open in the slightest, "Quinn.." she breathed out, using the girl's real name instead of 'girl' like she usually would.
Quinn breathed in a sigh of relief, "Julie, thank God your alive. Don't worry, I'm gonna call the ambulance and they'll come get you. You're gonna be okay, I promise." she said with a happy smile as she gently laid the woman's head back on the ground after Julie nodded ever so slightly.
Standing back up, she finally heard the sound of barking coming from down the hallway. She looked around quickly for something to fight with in case the person who did this was still in the house, and when she found an old walking stick that Joaquin had brought back from a trip with one of his friends, she started walking towards the hallway where the bedrooms were.
Quinn was honestly hoping beyond hope that the barking was coming from her room, that way she wouldn't make a mess in Julie or Joaquin's rooms; but when the barking lead her to her adoptive brother's room, she became discouraged, before she grew rather panicked. She steeled her nerves as she slowly pushed open the door with her foot. The door wasn't open not even two feet, when Tripp came tearing out of the darkened bed room and hauled ass down the hallway and to the living room. Quinn watched him go before she turned back to the dark room, kicking the door the rest of the way open, she walked inside.
She had to stifle the urge to scream at the sight of the room, it was in an even worse state than the living room. The bed was flipped up against a wall and the wooden parts of it were split in different sections, the computer on his desk was broken in half and was sparking as if threatening to blow if not treated properly. The pillows from his bed was ripped open and the feathers inside were all over the floor, making it look like a chicken had shed it's feathers. But one of the things that got to her was the fairly large amount of blood littering the carpet and splattered on the walls and on whatever glass was on the ground from a broken window in the room. Although that all was terrible, she found that what she saw on the wall was worse.
There was a black, digital scarab underneath the blood splatter that looked like it had been burned into the wall.
Quinn ran over to the destroyed bed and looked in the crevice where the bed didn't touch the wall, "Joaquin, are you in here?!" she yelled in panic. When she stood up, she looked back at the scarab, it looked rather familiar, like she should remember what it was, but couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen it.
Then it hit her, it was Xanatos Inc. insignia.
Her eyes turned a pure stormy grey in the blind fury that met her, and she lashed out with the walking stick, making a hole in the wall as she yelled out in rage, "XANATOS, YOU ARE DEAD!"
'But, first,' she thought, grabbing her phone from her pocket, 'I should tell Katie and Cody not to come over.' she started typing Katie's number on the screen.
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David Xanatos sat behind his desk with his hands folded in his lap, and a relaxed expression on his face. It had been easy enough to penetrate the young Stryker's apartment, of course, they hadn't been expecting Detective Graves to be at home at that time, but she was easy to get through. Just one blow to the head with his Gargoyle exoskeleton's forearm, and she was down for the count.
He smirked as he remembered Mr. Witt's horrified expression when he shot his shoulder after burning his company's corporate insignia onto the wall, then dragging the boy out of the broken window. One portion of the plan was over, now all he needed to do was wait for the move he knew Quinn would make.
The intercom in his office suddenly beeped at him, he pressed the button, "Yes, Owen?" he asked his assistant.
Xanatos could hear the distinct sound of the crashing of metal and grunts that indicated fighting going on, "Miss Stryker has arrived, sir." Owen Burnett said on the other end, Xanatos could tell he was currently standing behind a wall corner to get out of the action.
Xanatos raised an eyebrow, "Already?" he asked incredulously as he turned on the security cameras in the building.
Sure enough, Quinn was fighting off multiple of his latest android creations, swinging this way and that with an old walking stick and a furious expression marring her features. Perfect, she came for her brother.
"It seems she knows about Detective Graves and Joaquin Witts, sir. Is it time to restrain her?" Owen Burnett asked on the intercom, causing Xanatos to lean back in his seat with a delighted smile on his face.
He turned to the intercom and pressed the button to talk in, "Go ahead, Owen." he responded as he let the button go.
A dark figure behind him looked at him threateningly, "Do not harm her, Xanatos, or so help me, I will kill you where you sit." she spoke with a menacing tone.
Xanatos rolled his eyes, "Well, Demona, I'm sorry to say this, but she will definitely be in pain throughout this experience. There's nothing I can do to help that." he said.
Demona stepped into the light, "Yes there is, you could knock her out for all of this." she ground out as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
Xanatos chuckled at her, "She needs to be awake for your spell, Demona. You told me that yourself if my memory is correct." he said as he turned back to the security monitor in time to see Owen peek around the corner to point a tranquilizer gun in Quinn's direction, and fire. In the next instant, Quinn had fallen to the ground, unconscious.
Xanatos smiled, "If you'll excuse me, Demona," he stood up and straightened up his suit jacket, "it seems I'm up." he said, going around to walk out the doors of his office, leaving the female Gargoyle alone in the office.
Demona watched him go with a grimace mixing with worry on her face, and she came around to look at the security camera that Xanatos had neglected to turn off, "Be gentle with the girl, Xanatos. Or so help me, I will make sure you don't live to see another day." she warned as she watched said human walk into the picture and pick her up bridal style to take her to the laboratory.
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Katie walked rather fast inside the police station after getting off the phone with Quinn, the brunette girl had been pretty alarmed when she heard Quinn's panicked voice on the other end.
"Katie, I need you to go to the police station and file a missing person's report on Joaquin Witts, he's not at home, and he's not with his friends, or even answering his phone. I called an ambulance, and they're on their way to get Julie, she's hurt pretty bad. Do not come over tonight, you hear me? Whatever you do, avoid this block all together, do you understand me?" Katie blinked in shock as Quinn finished this statement, but had agreed with what she had said.
That was how she found herself standing in front of the Captain's desk, attempting to get her to look for Joaquin, "But, Captain, why won't you go out and look for him now?" she asked angrily.
Captain Chavez regarded the girl coolly, "Has Joaquin been missing longer than a twenty four hour period?" she asked.
Katie looked taken aback, "Well... I don't know.. But, Quinn sounded panicked when she told me to come to file the report." she tried, only to have the Captain shake her head at her.
"Then, I cannot file the report without knowing how long the boy has been missing." she gathered up the papers on her desk and started walking out, before she turned to Katie, "Why don't you go home, Miss Smith? It's almost dark out and you look a little dark around the eyes." she finished before she turned and walked out of the room.
Katie grumbled profanities under her breath as she, too walked out of the room and started walking away from the office, then she stopped when she saw Cody.
"Hey, Cody." Cody Jax looked over at her at the sound of his name being called, "What are you doing here?" Katie asked him as she walked over to join him.
Cody looked like he was having trouble with something, "I came to ask Detective Bluestone if he's seen Quinn around. I haven't spoken to her since this afternoon, and she isn't answering her phone." he said and started walking again, "Sorry, Katie, I don't have time to talk right now." he said as he vanished from her sight.
Katie looked a little worried at what the older boy had said, "She hasn't answered..?" she muttered to herself, flipping her own phone out and dialing the red headed girl's number. Raising it to her ear, she tapped the back of the phone with her first finger as it rang once. Twice. Three times. Four times. "C'mon, Quinn, pick up." the brunette whispered urgently as the phone rang a fifth time, only to get the voice mail.
"BEEP. Hey, it's Quinn. I'm sorry, but I'm not able to answer the phone at the moment. But, if you leave your name, number, and a brief message; I will get back to you just as soon as possible. Thank you and have a great day. BEEP." Katie cursed silently when Quinn's recorded voice came through the speakers.
"Quinn? It's Katie. Listen, would you please pick up the phone? I'm at the Police Station, and they won't file the report without knowing how long your brother's been gone. Could you give me a call when you get this? Cody's worried about you, and quite frankly, I am too. Call me when you get this. Bye." she hung up the phone as she walked out of the station and started heading home, knowing there was nothing she could do until Quinn fraking called her back.
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Cody walked fairly fast on his way to Matt Bluestone's desk, almost knocking over the water cooler in his haste, until he finally made it.
Matt looked to be packing up his stuff for the night, a worried expression on his face. He looked up at the boy when Cody placed his hands on the desk, "Can I help you with something, kid?" he asked, cramming more papers in his suitcase.
Cody spoke in a voice that reminded him of when he was two and had gone to his mother's room to tell her that he was scared, "Have you seen Quinn Stryker?" he asked.
Matt stopped what he was doing to look at the black haired boy, "How do you know Quinn?" he asked suspiciously.
The boy looked a little irritated to be explaining this, "I've known her since we were little kids in the Foster Care program. Now, do you or don't you know where she is?" he demanded impatiently.
Matt didn't like being talked to like this, but he could tell the boy was just worried about her, "Sorry, kid. I haven't seen her for a while now," Cody looked like he was going to freak out with not knowing where Quinn was, "But, I do know that she likes to go up in the clock tower in the evenings to hang out. She doesn't know that I've seen her going up there, and I don't pry, so, if she's up there, don't tell her that I told you where to find her." Matt said as he finished putting his things away and walked around, "I hope you fine her, kid. Now, I need to get to the hospital to see her guardian." he finished this as he turned and practically sprinted out the room.
Cody turned around and started looking for the entrance to the clock tower, having to stop and ask multiple cops if they knew where it was, always getting the same answer, "Sorry, kid, can't tell you." he was starting to get frustrated when he bumped into a lady cop with a red blazer and tan skin. (A/N: Enter, possibly, the only time Elisa Maza comes into the story.)
The woman almost fell back, but managed to steady herself, "Whoa, kid, where are you headed in such a hurry?" she asked him, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving him a kind smile.
Cody looked around her as he answered, "I'm trying to find the entrance to the clock tower above this building, Miss-uh?" he noticed she didn't have her badge in an area he could see.
"Maza. But, just call me Elisa. The clock tower? I can show you to it." she said, taking him by the arm and pulling him in the direction of a door that looked suspiciously like a supply closet.
Elisa opened the door, and revealed a stair case, "Here you go." she said, letting go of his arm.
Cody smiled at the woman with a grateful smile, "Thanks, Elisa." he said, to which she nodded and walked away from him. Turning back to the stair case, he shut the door as he walked inside and started climbing, 'You better be up here.' he silently spoke to Quinn in his head as he made it up to the top stair and pushed open the trap door at the top.
He emerged in a rather homy space with a recliner and a TV in one corner, a stove with pots and pans and a table in another, and behind him was another staircase that lead out to the terrace where the clock face was.
He emerged fully into the lightened room and started climbing the other stair case, seeing as how Quinn obviously wasn't in the room. Cody pushed open the glass door and came out to stand in the chilly air of the autumn season. The only beings out there were the statues of the Gargoyles that were meant to ward off evil spirits.
He sighed dejectedly when he saw Quinn was no where to be seen, turning to walk out, he stopped when the sun went down and the distinct sound of cracking caught his attention.
He turned his head in the direction of the Gargoyles, just in time to see the concrete fall off and creatures that looked like the statues roared in a terrifying way.
Cody screamed, alerting the Gargoyles of his presence. Goliath looked shocked to see a stranger there, "Who are you?" the lavender Gargoyle demanded as they all hopped down from their pedestals.
Cody backed away as quickly as he could when they started walking towards him, sadly, this ended with him falling on his butt. He scrambled away quickly, "Why would Quinn come up here, there are monsters!" he exclaimed hysterically.
Brooklyn stopped, "You know Quinn?" he asked incredulously, raising an eyeridge at the boy.
Cody made a noise of indignation, "I wouldn't be up here looking for her if I didn't." he deadpanned.
Brooklyn growled, "I could do without the attitude, human." he took a threatening step, "Now, you said your looking for her. Why?" he asked, already jumping to conclusions about her whereabouts.
Cody stood up again, dusting off his clothes, "Why should I tell you? For all I know, you could be plotting to kill her or something." he said.
The trio looked furious at this, "We would never hurt her!" Lexington cried.
Brooklyn was about to jump on him, when Goliath stopped him. The Clan leader made them all back down with a look, before he turned to the boy, "How dare you make these accusations? Quinn is a member of this Clan, she is, to me, my daughter on all intentions and purposes. And I am almost certain she is something more to a few of us," he looked at Brooklyn out of the corner of his eye, "and if you think we would do anything to harm her, then you can leave now." he said, brushing the boy aside and walking inside the clock tower, the other Gargoyles following him with Brooklyn casting an angered glance in Cody's direction.
Cody pursed his lips as he followed them there, "If your telling the truth, then maybe you could help me." he finally said as he stood at the top of the stairs to look down at the gathered creatures.
Broadway looked at him with a quizzical expression, "Why would we help you? We don't even know you." he said, walking over to the stove to get started on dinner.
Cody sighed, "My name is Cody Jax, and I've known Quinn since we were little kids. What about you? Who and what are you?" he asked them.
Goliath answered, "We are the remaining Gargoyles of the Wyvern Clan in Scotland. I am Goliath, and this is Hudson, Bronx, Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington." he indicated to each of the five other Gargoyles, "Now, why are you looking for Quinn?" he asked calmly.
Cody took in a deep breath as he explained to them about the last time he saw Quinn, heard from her, and how he couldn't find her anymore.
".. I came up here after Detective Bluestone told me that he's seen her coming up here almost every night. But, she's obviously not here, so it was a waste of time." he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at the ground, thinking he might cry in frustration.
Brooklyn looked like he was thinking, "Maybe it wasn't." he turned to his leader, "Goliath, what if we went out to look for her as well?" he asked urgently.
Goliath nodded without hesitation, turning to Hudson, "I want you to remain here with Bronx to guard the clock tower. The others and I will go to Quinn's apartment and see if she is all right." he said, turning to walk up the stairs again after the trio went, only to be stopped by Cody standing in front of him with his arms spread.
"Take me with you." he said forcibly, clearly not willing to take no for an answer.
Goliath blinked, but nodded all the same, and continued walking up the steps to go out onto the terrace, where he found the three other Gargoyles waiting for him.
Brooklyn didn't look so enthused when Cody came out with him, but said nothing as Goliath bent down and allowed the human to climb onto his back while his wings were outstretched.
Jumping off the ledge when the boy was secure, he glided out and away from the clock tower, the others following him, and Cody screaming at being in the open air.
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'...Where am I?' Quinn asked herself as she cracked her eyes open in the slightest to check her surroundings.
She was in a white laboratory, lying on a medical bed and wearing a hospital gown with an IV injected in her wrist.
She tried to move, but found that impossible with the straps that held her down to the table.
Everything ached, like she took a huge fall down a flight of stairs and miraculously came out with no broken bones.
'How did I get here?' she looked at one of the walls that was lined with medical instruments, then she remembered where she was, "Xanatos!" she yelled out to try and get him to come.
Who she got was someone she didn't expect to be there.
Demona tried smiling at the girl, "Hello, Quinn. How long has it been? A month or so?" she said, she was clutching a smaller version of the Grimourum to her chest as she walked forward and stood to Quinn's right.
Quinn grimaced, "What are you doing here, Demona?" she demanded as said Gargoyle opened the book and started flipping through pages.
She looked up apologetically at Quinn as she stopped on a page, "Don't worry, Quinn. I will make this as painless as possible, I swear it." she said and starting saying something in Latin that sounded suspiciously like a spell.
Demona's left hand lit on fire as she held it above Quinn's abdomen, while the girl was trying to get her to quit and leave her alone.
"Demona, please, stop!" Quinn exclaimed when a large amount of fire dropped from the female's hand and onto her body, sinking deep into her skin and flooding her with an overwhelming burning sensation that caused her to shout out.
Demona almost stopped at the sound of the girl's cry, but she couldn't stop until it was finished.
"Please! Stop!" Quinn yelled as more fire sunk into her body and burned her to her very core.
Demona continued, trying to ignore the cries of pain from Quinn.
Finally, it was almost over, Demona spoke the last few words to the incantation as she placed her firey hand on Quinn's abdomen, causing the girl to jump a few inches off the table as the burning increased itself ten-fold.
"STOP!" Quinn screamed at the very end of the spell after Demona had removed her hand, and the girl fell back onto the table with a loud thud.
Quinn huffed as she tried to recollect herself, but the toll of what just happened caught up to her, and she suddenly felt increasingly tired.
She looked up at Demona with hooded eyes, "What did you do to me?" she whispered as the Gargoyle snapped the book shut and started stroking her sweat caked hair.
Demona took a breath, "This is only the beginning, Quinn. But, you'll be unconscious for the rest of it, I promise." she said, attempting to soothe the girl who was about to go back to sleep.
When Quinn was knocked out again, Demona stayed behind for a moment more, before the door slid open and Xanatos walked in with another human who looked like a bug eyed urchin that should be locked up in an insane asylum.
She glared at them both, "My task is done, Xanatos." she said plainly as she brushed them aside and walked out of the room.
David Xanatos watched her go, before a noise behind him caught his attention, and he turned to look at Sevarius, "Only what we discussed, Doctor. Nothing more, nothing less." he said, coming over to stand on one side of the unconscious girl.
Sevarius was looking at Quinn's face, "You know, she looks like her Mama more than her Papa." he said with a glance in Xanatos' direction.
Xanatos nodded, "I know, can we move along now?" he asked fairly impatiently as Sevarius took out a large shot of a blue liquid and moved to her neck.
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"Now I see why she told me to stay away from this apartment." Cody said as he had a good look around the messed up living room in Quinn's apartment.
That Brooklyn Gargoyle was checking the bed rooms, Broadway and Lexington were looking at all the scratch marks on the walls, and Goliath was looking out the window as if expecting whoever did this to come back for another round.
Brooklyn came back into the room, moving past Cody and going straight to Goliath, "There's something in one of the rooms that you should see." he said to his leader as Goliath turned and followed him out of the living room.
Cody blinked when Brooklyn half glared at him as they disappeared, "Is it just me, or does Brooklyn not like me very much?" the human boy asked the other two Gargoyles in the room with him.
Broadway looked at the direction his Rookery brother and their leader went, "He just doesn't like how close you seem to Quinn. He'll get used to you, though." he said.
Cody raised an eyebrow, "Why? Does he like her or something?" he asked them.
Lex nodded slyly, "Though, he's not going to admit it for a little while yet." he said just as Goliath and Brooklyn came back into the room.
Goliath looked pissed, "We will go to the Eyrie Building, now." he said, going back over to the window and about to jump out when Lex's voice stopped him.
"Why?" the youngest Gargoyle asked as he walked over to stand behind his leader.
Goliath turned his head in Lexington's direction, "Xanatos is responsible for this." was all he said before waiting for Cody to climb back on his back, and he jumped out the window.
Brooklyn turned to his Rookery brothers, "You heard him, c'mon!" he yelled, following his leader out the window with the other two going after him.
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Penetrating the large building was easy enough, all they had to do was land on Castle Wyvern and go in through the elevator door to Xanatos' office.
They kicked the door open with such force that it crashed onto the floor with a loud thud.
Goliath walked in the room first, "Xanatos," said man was sitting behind his desk, staring at at the monitor on the wall, "what have you done with Quinn?" he demanded as his companions came into the room.
David Xanatos shut the image off before they could get a glimpse of it, and he looked at them with a smirk on his face, "Let's just say, my plan for her is complete." he said, getting up from behind his desk and straightening his jacket.
He walked up to Goliath, "You'll find her on the fifth floor in the last door of the hallway that leads to the staircase. Please, try not to make a mess when you get her." he said, then he carefully stepped around the beings in the room and left before another word was spoken.
Goliath turned and watched him go, "That was very peculiar." he said in the silence.
Lexington nodded, "It's almost as if he planned us coming for her.." he trailed off when Brooklyn growled.
"Who cares? All I wanna do is go, get Quinn, and get her home again. Where she's safe." he said, exiting the open doorway to go to the elevator again, not stopping to wait for anyone.
Brooklyn shut the elevator door before anyone else could climb in with him, he wanted to find her by himself. To get there before that Cody guy could.
'Hang on, Quinn,' he thought as he watched the buttons start lighting up and going out when it finally got to the number five and the door slid open again.
He stepped out into the hallway, looking down both directions, he saw the only direction that included a door to a stair case was in the left, so he slowly walked down that way.
Xanatos had said that the door she was behind was at the very end of the hallway, question is, which door?
When he got to the end, he opened the one on the right, only to find some weird cat like creature floating in a large, experimental tube, clothed in bandages, with black bat like wings closing in on it's body.
Brooklyn shuddered at the sight, shutting the door, he turned to the one on the left, "I hope your in this one, Quinn." he muttered to himself as he opened the door.
What greeted him stopped him in place.
There was a large, experimental test tube that greatly resembled the one in the other room, it had a strange, light blue liquid in it. But thing floating in the liquid was what really freaked him out.
There was Quinn. She was covered in bandages much like the other creature, only they were on her torso and lower half while the creature's were covering it's whole body. She had a breathing device strapped to cover her nose and mouth, and her short, lengthened hair was floating around her head in a firey red halo.
But, he noticed with disbelief, she had wings, a spaded tail, and pointy ears much like his own. Her wings had light blue arms that made up the base for them, but she had stormy grey coloring on the wing portion of it. Her spaded tail was light blue just like the arms of her wings, and it had wrapped itself around her ankle, possibly as a sign of comfort. Her wings were folded in on her like the cat like creature's had been, and her eyes were shut.
Brooklyn rushed forward, smashing his hands against the very strong glass of the tube, "Quinn!" he yelled at her, attempting to get some kind of sign that she was okay if he hit the glass hard enough to make a noise.
Getting nothing, he came around to stand in front of a control panel that was in front of a name tag with 'XXXXX1' etched into it. He saw all sorts of buttons that he had no idea did what, but he did see a tube that was hooked up to the thing that had Quinn. He used his foot and stepped on it, dislodging it from it's place. The hole that the tube left started shooting out the liquid from the tank, and as the level fell, so did Quinn's, hopefully, unconscious body.
When the liquid had drained out completely, and her body was safely place on the floor of the tube, he looked back at the panel, 'This looks promising.' he said when he saw a big red button in the middle of it. Taking his chances, he pressed it, and a panel of the glass opened up.
He moved away from the controls and came around to the entrance of the tube, "Quinn? Can you hear me?" he asked the girl urgently as he walked inside the tube and knelt down next to her, taking her small body into his arms and sitting back on his haunches.
He looked her over once, her hair was soaking wet, she looked a little paler than normal, and she was shaking in the cool breeze that came in with him when he opened the door; but she looked okay for the most part. Then, he saw the strange tribal fire sign that was on her abdomen. He hadn't seen it earlier since she was scrunched up in a little ball and hiding most of herself.
"What did they do to you?" he breathed out as he held her closer to keep her warm.
"Brooklyn, did you- What the hell?!" he turned his head sharply to the entrance, where he saw Lex, Broadway, and Cody standing there, shocked expressions on their faces as they saw who they were holding.
Cody attempted to come in and get her, but Brooklyn jumped up, careful not to jostle her too much, "Let's just get her back to the tower, okay?" he snapped, brushing aside the human boy and walking around his Rookery brothers to come into the hallway, only to find Goliath waiting for him.
Goliath looked just as shocked as the others were when he saw the state Quinn was in, but all he did was silently take Quinn away from Brooklyn and hold her close to his chest. Much like a father would do to his new born baby for the first time.
He looked up at the others, "We must go. Now." he said fairly fast as he turned around and started stalking away to go to the nearest window.
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"... When is she gonna wake up?" 'Huh?' Quinn asked herself silently when she heard a very welcoming voice in the deep recesses of her mind.
"Be patient, Lexington. Who knows what Xanatos did to her? We must give her enough time to heal. As much as she needs, actually." Goliath's voice chimed in, too.
"I hope that happens soon." Broadway's worried voice came in to play, followed by a voice she didn't know would be mixing with them.
"At least we got her into some actual clothes instead of those stupid bandages." Cody.
'The hell?' she groaned almost audibly, earning multiple shushing noises from her Gargoyle family.
"Quinn?" she opened her eyes ever so slightly to look up into the concerned faces of the Wyvern Clan, plus her surrogate brother.
Quinn reached up a hand to rub at her head as she struggled with sitting up, but finding it a little difficult, thanks to the objects on her back that hadn't been there before.
She swiveled her head to look at her back, only to find a new set of wings protruding from two slots that were cut out of the grey sweatshirt she had on, and a fraking spaded tail coming out of a hole that was cut out from the bottom of her sweatpants.
Her eyes widened as she reached out one hand and grabbed the spade, "What the hell happened to me?" she managed to get out, but it was merely a whisper.
Brooklyn came forward to take the hand on the spade, "We will find out, I promise." he swore, looking straight into her frightened eyes.
Quinn looked like she was about to panic, when Goliath came forward and leaned down next to her, "You will stay here with us until further notice, no arguing with me, Quinn Stryker." he smiled at her to show he was relieved she was alive.
Quinn merely nodded, her eyelids were suddenly growing heavy again, "Okay." was all she said, before she felt someone lift her up gently and start to carry her away from where everyone was gathered.
"Hurry, Brooklyn. The sun is almost out." she heard Goliath call to Brooklyn, he must've been the one to pick her up.
She felt herself being placed gently into a cushioned place, as well as someone grabbing the clips of her wings and bringing them forward to wrap around her shoulders like a blanket, and her tail unconsciously wrapped itself around her ankle for some reason.
"I'm gonna stay right here, Quinn. I am never going to leave you." she heard Brooklyn's voice in her haze, and she smiled as she heard the familiar cracking of stone spreading over a body.
She suddenly felt the presence of another being, "Well, it looks like the 'fallen angel' got her wings." she heard Cody's voice, "Sleep well, Quinn. I'll be back tonight." he said before she felt his presence vanish as quickly as it appeared.
'I wonder what they did to me?' she thought to herself as she started slipping deeper into her sleep, 'What the hell did they make me?' was her last thought before she went on cloud nine.
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Xanatos hummed happily to himself as he replayed the security tapes from last night after he left his office. They had taken her back with them, the plan was complete, she had her powers, and she was with the best beings to teach her how to use them
"Is she safe, Xanatos?" David turned around to see Demona looking at him with a very concerned expression marring her hardened features.
Xanatos nodded, "Yes, Demona. The girl is safe now, the plan is complete, and all is well." he turned around and placed his hands behind him, "Your services are no longer required." he said.
Demona huffed, "Good." she turned and started stalking out of the room, before she threw her head over her shoulder, "If she gets hurt because of what you did to her, you will never live to see another day." she vowed before she walked out of the room.
Xanatos sighed, bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of the his nose, "I will never hurt her like that again." he vowed into the darkness as he remembered the pained screams she had made while the transformation was in progress.
And that's the end of this installment. I hope you liked this one :) Like I said earlier, I came up with the entire chapter idea, so I appreciate you all taking the time to read it.
I don't think I made Xanatos seem like he cared enough in the end, because at that point, he's going into a regretful state about making Quinn feel all that pain. All the same, I hope you enjoyed it!
Please review.
Don't flame me.
-Zabby