Gargoyles
"The Path Unfolding" – Part Five
By Aaron
"P…Pregnant?" Peter uttered in disbelief.
"Yes…pregnant," Dr. Rayburn answered, feeling slightly less intimidated, now that more than half the individuals in the room had been turned into stone statues. "I…still need to run some subsequent tests. But…I would estimate she's about three weeks in."
"Hold on, this doesn't make sense. How could she be pregnant?" Peter objected. "Look, I know my daughter, okay? I happen to know she hasn't…been…seeing…"
It wasn't until that moment that things finally began adding up in Peter's head as he slowly turned his gaze back towards Goliath's stone form. And as the look of horror splashed across Goliath's frozen face finally hit home, Peter's eyes suddenly widened in shock as well.
In that instant, the room suddenly grew deathly quiet. Most couldn't speak because they were frozen in stone. And the ones that could didn't know what to say. Peter was still too stunned to give any reaction. Diane and Talon seemed slightly less surprised than Peter at his revelation, but even they didn't know what to make of this sudden news. Xanatos and Fox, meanwhile, felt it wise to stay out of the conversation altogether, since what was happening was clearly none of their business. Besides, any comments they had to make would more than likely have been met with hostility, as their relationship with the Mazas was still dicey at best. Alexander, meanwhile, could only look in the Maza's direction and shrug his shoulders.
Just then, the silence was broken by the sound of crumbling stone, getting the attention of everyone in the room, save Alexander. Looking over towards the Gargoyles, everyone quickly noticed that Adam's statue was beginning to crack. But before anyone could even think to wonder what was happening, a foot smashed out from within, followed by a hard fist. From there, the rest of Adam's body, now human again, burst from its stone shell. Stumbling briefly, he quickly caught his balance as his clothes began to glitter once again, gradually reshaping and redesigning to fit his smaller human form.
"Whooooo! Man, if I have said it once, I've said it a thousand, thousand, THOUSAND, thousand times! I am SO glad I'm not claustrophobic!" he announced boldly, only to look in the Mazas' direction and see on their faces that they had already had enough surprises for one morning.
"And…you guys couldn't care less about that," he quickly observed, turning to make his exit out of the room. "WELL…then I'm just gonna find myself a place to rest up. You guys don't mind if I crash here, do you? What am I saying? Of course you don't."
"Fascinating," Xanatos remarked as Adam strolled out of the room, sharing a look of wonder with Fox before the pair turned to a still-shaken Rayburn's direction. "Doctor, I think now's as good a time as any for you to be brought up to speed. I think it would be best if you came with us."
"Come on," Alexander added, nudging Owen's shoulder while Fox and Xanatos guided Rayburn out of the room. "This is a private party and we're not invited. Besides, we've got enough on our plates, anyway."
"Whoa. So…what do we do now?" Talon asked, once he, Peter and Diane were alone, the news about Elisa still having yet to fully sink in.
"Well, I know what I'm doing. I'm getting to the bottom of this," Peter answered, storming to the door, only to have Diane quickly block his path.
"No, you're not," Diane responded, calmly and methodically. "I'M getting to the bottom of this."
"Diane…," Peter began to object, only to have Diane cut off his words by placing her fingers against his lips and looking into his eyes with a serious gaze.
"Peter," she stated plainly, "Some things, a girl can only tell her mother."
With that, Diane turned and walked out of the room, leaving Peter and Talon alone. All that was left to keep them company was the still, silent forms of the frozen Gargoyles.
It only took a few minutes for Diane to make her way to the room where Elisa was staying. However, she wasn't at all ready to go inside to face her daughter. After all, she knew full-well the discussion they were about to have. But as she chanced to peer inside, it quickly became apparent that she wasn't the only one who was unprepared. Despite being anesthetized, Elisa was clearly nowhere near relaxed as she remained sitting up in bed, hugging her knees against her chest. And the look in her wide eyes was a million miles away. At that moment, it seemed as though a guided missile could have slammed through the room and not even gotten a rise out of her.
Still, putting the conversation off didn't mean that it wouldn't eventually have to happen. Taking a deep breath and trying to slow her heart, Diane readied herself and gently knocked on the door frame.
"Elisa?" she called softly, announcing her arrival. But her tender voice might as well have been a gunshot as Elisa's head whirled around at her with stunned, piercing eyes.
"Mom?" she exclaimed before finally trying to calm herself, even as she dropped her gaze, quickly losing the courage to look Diane in the eye. "I…guess you heard, huh?"
"You could say that," Diane answered, still maintaining her composure. "How are you feeling?"
"Huh…how do YOU think?" Elisa responded, still looking down.
"I think…you'd give just about anything to not be the one in this room right now," Diane replied simply, while Elisa shrank back into her huddled position, hugging her legs even tighter against herself.
"I…I don't know what to say," she uttered, burying her face into her knees.
Pulling up a nearby chair, Diane sat by the bed, taking a moment for Elisa to find herself again. Of course, Elisa wasn't the only one who was going to need a moment. After all, Diane knew exactly what her next question was going to be. And a part of her definitely didn't want to ask it. Under normal circumstances, she knew it was really none of her business. But then, it was quite clear that these were hardly ordinary circumstances. It took a few more seconds to find her center, but even before Diane opened her mouth to speak, she couldn't help but let out a long, shaky sigh.
"When did it start?" she asked, not even looking in Elisa's direction as she tried to keep her voice steady.
It was at that moment that Elisa's eyes peered up, looking every bit as surprised as when Diane had first walked into the room. Admittedly, there was a part of her that knew this question would ultimately be coming. She just wouldn't have minded if she could have waited a little longer before having to answer it as a heavy, shuddering breath passed her lips.
"A few months ago. Once…every week or two…when I had a night off," she replied, her voice wobbling. "We…never told anyone…but it wasn't long before everyone suspected…"
"…We didn't think anything was going to happen…we didn't think anything COULD happen."
"You know, if you thought that way with anyone else, I'd probably call you a fool," Diane remarked. "But in this case…how COULD you have known?"
"Mom…I'm scared…," Elisa uttered, her voice starting to crack. "…I don't know what to do…"
"Oh, my baby girl…," Diane sighed as she put her arm around Elisa's neck and pulled her close, realizing her daughter was in desperate need of comfort. "Elisa, answer me this…if someone came along and told you that something like this was going to happen…would it really have stopped you?"
"Well…I might have at least been a little more careful," Elisa replied, trying desperately to ease her tension with a weak chuckle as she rested her head on Diane's shoulder.
"Elisa," Diane's voice sounded again, this time with a deathly serious tone indicating that nothing short of a completely honest answer would do, "Do-you-LOVE-him?"
Elisa didn't answer Diane's question right away. Of course, a lengthy pause was hardly what Diane was hoping for. Needing time to think about a question like that was hardly a ringing endorsement. But as Elisa finally raised her head, Diane immediately noticed the welling in her eyes and the trembling of her jaw. And that made it clear that there was not a trace of doubt to be had as Elisa finally opened her mouth and forced the trembling words to come.
"More than I thought I could ever love anyone…"
That was more than enough for now. Realizing it was no longer time for talking, Diane simply put her arms around Elisa, holding her close and gently cradling her head. Elisa, meanwhile, feeling frightened and helpless, could only manage to lift her arms and weakly hug Diane back.
"I can't believe this…My little girl…and now she's…ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELF?" Peter fumed, shouting angrily into Goliath's stone face. "You see what you've done? I swear by all that's holy, if I had any sense at all, I'd…!"
Just then, Peter's words were cut off by pair of slow, firm claps. Looking over in the direction of the sound, he quickly caught a glimpse of Talon, who was leaning back against the side wall, regarding Peter's outburst with a rhythmic, methodical applause and a deadpan stare.
"Brilliant Dad…absolutely Oscar-worthy," he remarked plainly as his clapping wore to a halt. "You played your obligatory role as the outraged father to absolute perfection. But now it's time to take the blinders off and face reality, don't you think?"
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Peter shot back, his outrage still refusing to subside.
"Oh, come on Dad!" Talon protested. "You're going to stand there and tell me that after all this time, you didn't notice anything? That little glimmer in her eyes whenever she'd look at him…the way her voice would soften just that little, tiny bit, whenever she'd say his name? EVERYONE saw it coming, Dad! To be honest, I'M surprised it actually TOOK so long."
"Everyone saw THIS coming? Her laid up in bed, finding out that's she's having a child that's…?" Peter argued, only to cut himself off at the last second before he said something offensive. "…This is not what I wanted for her, Derek."
"No offense, Dad, but what YOU wanted took a back seat, the day she moved out on her own," Talon declared. "Come on, Dad, you and Mom raised every one of us to follow what we knew, in our hearts, was right. If you've never doubted her before, then respect her choice, now. You KNOW she had to believe he was worth it."
"Besides, you got to admit," Talon continued, pausing to toss Goliath's statue a dignified stare, "She could've done a WHOLE lot worse."
"But Derek, a BABY?" Peter continued to object. "And with HIM? How is she going to…?"
"Dad, give her a little credit," Talon cut him off. "You also raised her to be tough, remember? And I think you'll agree, she's proved that every step of the way. I mean, if you knew what she's been through since she met these guys…you, Mom and Beth…what YOU guys have seen is just the SNOW on the tip of the iceberg. Even I'VE only gotten a little TASTE of it and let's face it. I'm not exactly 'Joe Normal' in this family, myself, anymore. But she's not only SURVIVED in their world, she has THRIVED in it. She RULES in it. And you don't think she can handle a KID? Come on!"
"Trust me, Dad. She may be knocked for a loop right now," Talon added, looking at Peter's face with a confident stare. "But at this point…there is NOTHING she can't handle."
Peter had to admit, Talon was making some pretty persuasive arguments. But as a father, he still couldn't help tossing a worried stare in the direction of Goliath's statue, having absolutely no idea what was going to come next.
As the day wore on, Elisa eventually managed to fall asleep, even if it was for no other reason than out of sheer exhaustion. But day wasn't going to last forever as the sun eventually began to set. And as the sky began to darken, a familiar bellow echoed through the halls of Castle Wyvern…one that instantly stirred Elisa out of her slumber as she awoke with a start.
"Goliath…?" she uttered instinctively, sitting up in bed.
But Elisa wasn't the only one hoping to see Goliath's presence as the clan was quickly getting their bearings after waking. While the others were still in the middle of stretching out their muscles, Angela's attention was already being diverted.
"Father…?" she uttered, whirling around.
But only emptiness greeted her eyes as she noticed that Goliath had already vanished from the room. Hanging her head briefly in disappointment, she then turned her attention back to the rest of the clan, who had just begun reeling again, remembering Dr. Rayburn's announcement right before they turned to stone.
"Is it true? Could Elisa really be carrying Goliath's baby?" Broadway thought out loud, being the first one to say what everyone else was thinking.
"All my born nights, I've never heard of such a thing…," Hudson uttered, being every bit as flabbergasted as the others.
"Assuming it actually IS Goliath's baby…," Brooklyn remarked pensively.
"Don't even THINK it!" Angela scolded angrily, being quick to come to Goliath and Elisa's defense.
"But Angela, Gargoyles and Humans…? How would it even be possible?" Broadway asked, realizing that Brooklyn did have some grounds for his question.
"Well…what about when Goliath and Elisa were bouncing back and forth from Avalon with Angela and Bronx?" Lexington suggested. "I mean, they were exposed to the island for WEEKS. Could that have had something to do with it?"
"Avalon's magic IS supposed to be intuitive. It's…possible it may have had SOME kind of an effect on them," Angela replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But…regardless of how it happened…what do we do now?"
Looking around to the others, the only response to Angela's questions was dead silence. In fact, every single member of the clan looked as confused as she did.
But there was one other who was even more at a loss than the rest of the clan combined. Crouching on one of the corner towers of the castle, shuddering and on the verge of tears, Goliath could only wrap his wings around himself, unable to let anyone see his shame.
"What…what have I done…?" he uttered in pain, his talons shearing through the stone on the edge of the tower with a simple squeeze of his hands. "How could I have been so foolish…? Elisa…"
"Well…I guess that's a LITTLE encouraging," a familiar voice came from behind as Goliath peered over just enough to see Peter coming down the walkway towards him, with Talon not far behind. "At least it shows that you really do care about her."
But facing Elisa's father was something Goliath had no strength to do, turning away in disgrace with his eyes shut tight. Still, in a strange way, that made things easier for Peter as he walked over to the opposite side of the tower roof and peered over into the courtyard with a sigh. Talon, meanwhile, simply kept his distance, feeling that this was a hurdle they both had to face alone.
"I'd be lying if I said I was happy about this. She's a thousand years younger than you," Peter remarked, trying to cut through the tension with some weak humor. But it soon became apparent that Goliath wasn't appreciating his efforts, still looking away in silence.
"You know, my daughter has always been a very passionate person," Peter continued, giving back the solemn weight that the moment deserved. "Her passions can flow in about a dozen different directions, not all of them good. I suppose she has me to thank for that. But I also know, if she got nothing else from her mother, it's that she never makes any decision without believing in her heart that it's absolutely the right thing to do…"
"…So if I know that…I suppose I have to show as much faith in the choice she made here," Peter went on. "Besides…it's not like I could really take you, anyway."
"You're…showing me more forgiveness than I deserve," Goliath replied weakly, his voice still trembling. "But…something like this…it's never happened before. I can't imagine what would happen if…I…"
"…I don't know what to do."
"Accept it and move on. Take it," a new voice chimed in as Goliath, Peter and Talon turned around to see Fox walking with purpose towards them.
"I've got news for you. You think YOU'RE scared and confused right now? You try being HER. She's downstairs talking to the doctor as we speak," Fox continued, making her way towards Goliath without so much as a pause in her step. "Let me tell you something that only a woman who's about to become a mother can know. Her single greatest relief is knowing that the father of her child is going to be standing by her side. And her deepest, darkest fear is that he WON'T be…"
"…So if you truly love her…and I mean even a FRACTION as much as everyone here knows you do…take my advice," Fox added, staring Goliath in the face with hard eyes and planting her finger squarely into his chest. "Suck it up…and get…in there."
Goliath wasn't the type to take attitude from anyone, least of all someone like Fox. But as they all stood there, facing the cold reality of the situation, there was simply no way for him to refute her argument. And without so much as a word, he walked to the edge and spread his wings, gliding down into the courtyard as Fox turned her attention to Peter and Talon.
"Anyone ELSE want a piece of me?" she commented with a light smirk, indicating that she felt quite satisfied at her handling of the situation.
Making his way along the corridor to the room Elisa was staying in, Goliath found his pace slowing. He noticed it almost immediately, but found it impossible to stop himself. After all, he still had no idea what to say to Elisa when he finally saw her. But as he entered earshot of the room, the voices he heard coming from within stopped him dead in his tracks, just as he reached the door.
"What you're telling me isn't easy to accept," Dr. Rayburn remarked to Elisa, who was sitting on the bed across from him, with Diane holding her hand. "You're ABSOLUTELY certain that you and this…Gargoyle are…?"
"Oh, trust me, Doc," Elisa cut him off right away. "There's NO ONE else."
"Well then, we have a problem. Because you have to realize that we are completely flying blind here," Rayburn noted. "I've already run some follow-up tests over the course of the day. But honestly, I'm not sure what I've learned makes me feel better or worse. For one thing, it seems that your child is developing at a slightly accelerated rate than the average baby. According to my examination, it turns out that you've only been pregnant for two weeks. But your baby is already in its third week of development."
"Well, I…guess that makes some kind of sense," Elisa replied. "Human babies are born in nine months, but Goliath told me once that Gargoyle eggs are usually laid within six."
"Which brings me back to my primary concern," Rayburn continued. "However the two of you managed to pull this off, the fact remains that from what you've told me, Humans and Gargoyles have radically different reproductive systems. Simply put, I don't know if your body has what it takes to bring this child to term. And even if that weren't an issue, we still have absolutely no idea what exactly it is you'll be giving birth TO. To that point, there is a very real possibility that this pregnancy may become a danger to you as well. Those intense pains you felt last night may just be the beginning."
"You asked me what I thought your chances were," Rayburn added straightforwardly. "I'm giving you a fair assessment."
"Thank you, Doctor," Diane answered on Elisa's behalf as she hung her head, realizing right away that this was not the news Elisa wanted to hear.
"I'll…be in touch," Rayburn replied solemnly as he picked himself up and walked out of the room.
It was then that Rayburn noticed Goliath standing just outside the door, and his body seized up at the sight of his massive frame. But Goliath seemed too stunned by what he had just overheard to even notice Rayburn's presence. A fact that Rayburn was quick to press to his advantage as he silently and swiftly made his way down the hall.
Elisa and Diane, however, did notice Rayburn's reaction as he walked out of the room. And it wasn't hard for either of them to deduce what it was he was reacting to, causing Elisa to let out a heavy sigh.
"Mom…," she uttered, looking over in Diane's direction.
"Right," Diane replied, rising to her feet and walking out the door, where Goliath was still standing frozen.
"Goliath?" Diane's voice sounded, snapping Goliath out of his daze as he glanced down to see her looking up at him with serious eyes.
"Diane…I…," Goliath tried to say.
"Ssshhh," she responded quietly, placing her fingers to Goliath's lips to cut him off before taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I'm not the one you need to talk to right now."
With that, Diane took her leave and walked off down the hall. And at that moment, only an open door was left, preventing Goliath from seeing the one person he wanted to see more than anything and yet, couldn't bring himself to face.
"Goliath…?" Elisa's soft voice called uneasily from inside the room.
Summoning all the courage he had left, Goliath slowly trudged inside, where Elisa was waiting. Admittedly, both were holding out for some thin sliver of hope that once they saw each other, they would somehow help to make them feel better. But as Goliath entered, their eyes met for only a fraction of a second before they both lost their nerve and instantly looked away. Pressing forward, Goliath walked over to the foot of the bed, where Elisa remained seated, but the deathly silence in the room might as well have been a deafening scream, as neither one of them could bring themselves to speak for what seemed like an eternity.
"I…guess you heard, huh?" Elisa mumbled under her breath, finally mustering up the nerve.
At first, Goliath could only grumble solemnly and offer up the slightest of nods in reply as Elisa managed to shift her gaze towards him for only a moment before turning away again. But as his eyes shut tight and his hands curled into tight fists, the words finally escaped his lips.
"Can you ever forgive me?"
"What?" Elisa responded, turning to Goliath in confusion.
"It's my fault…if I hadn't been so selfish…," Goliath went on, his face crumpling in disgust at himself. "How could I have done this to you?"
"Now wait just a minute. Look at me…come here," Elisa coaxed, rushing to Goliath's side and taking his face in her hands, guiding him back to the bed where he knelt beside her as she sat back down. "Goliath, you have NOTHING to blame yourself for. I was in the room, too, you know. In fact, if memory serves, I was the one who STARTED it, remember?"
"Listen to me…we both jumped off this cliff together. No one twisted my arm, I knew EXACTLY what I was doing," Elisa continued, her soft, caressing hands on Goliath's cheeks eventually drawing his eyes to meet hers. "Hey, do you remember when we said we had no regrets about path we'd chosen. Well, I STILL have no regrets…not for that first night…and not for a single night since."
"But…but, this child…," Goliath began to say, only to have Elisa take his hand and gently place it over her belly.
"Goliath…I don't know what this means either," Elisa replied, pressing her forehead to Goliath's and looking deeply into his eyes, even as her voice began to falter. "But I know this…I can't face it without you. I'm not strong enough on my own. You have no idea how many times…you're the only one who gives me the courage to…to…"
At that moment, Elisa weakened, losing the nerve to speak. Shutting her eyes and shuddering, she seemed on the brink of cracking at any moment. But just as it seemed that she was going to succumb to her despair, the soft touch of the back of Goliath's fingers caressing her cheek pulled her back from the edge. Managing to raise her head, she looked up into Goliath's warm, tender eyes. But even she had absolutely no way of predicting how his next words, so simple and direct, could just reach in and grasp her soul.
"How could I EVER abandon…the woman I love?"
Again, Elisa appeared to be on the verge of breaking down, in spite of her smile, as her eyes welled up and her bottom lip trembled. Even as she took Goliath's face in her hands and met his lips in a long, gentle kiss, she felt like she was going to start sobbing at any moment. However, as the warmth of Goliath's wings softly wrapped around her, it was as if she could feel all the courage she lost flowing back into her. And as she followed up their kiss with a pair of lingering pecks on Goliath's lips, Elisa quickly managed to find her center and regain her confidence once again. But even as she and Goliath tenderly pressed their foreheads together and took in the moment for all it was worth, savoring their closeness, Elisa found that she still wasn't too proud to allow a single tear to roll down her cheek.
"Angela? Angela!" Broadway called as he searched the corridors to see where she'd made off to after she wandered off from the rest of the clan. He'd soon get his answer a moment later as his trek found him exiting out to one of the walkways between the towers and seeing Angela standing alone, looking up at the sky.
"Angela? Are you okay?" Broadway asked softly, trying his best not to be too forward, especially after he heard Angela's remorseful sigh.
"I'm worried about my father, Broadway," she answered sorrowfully. "These last two nights, I've never seen him so frightened…not just frightened, TERRIFIED. It's as if his entire world has been shattering all around him."
"I know…," was all Broadway could utter in response. After all, with everything that had happened to Elisa, and now news of her pregnancy, it wasn't hard to imagine Goliath's normally steady nerves being frayed raw.
"I feel so powerless," Angela went on, inwardly cursing her self. "I just wish there was SOMETHING I could do to help him."
"Sometimes…all you can do is just be there for someone…let them know you're around," Broadway replied, moving in closer. "I know it may not seem like much, but believe me, with you, that's A LOT."
"After all," Broadway added, throwing in a gentle smile. "I know it always does wonders for me."
Angela couldn't help but be touched by Broadway's words, responding with a bashful smile and only the slightest of giggles. Sensing her welcome, Broadway sidled up behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. Angela, meanwhile, was all-too happy to return the tenderness, placing one hand over Broadway's and reaching up with the other to caress his cheek. And as the two softly cuddled together, Broadway's wings came into play, draping around Angela like a warm blanket, as if making a promise to keep her safe.
However, even though it would have made little difference, Broadway and Angela weren't as alone as they thought at that moment. And their spectator was one who was becoming all-too regular in recent weeks. Watching the scene play out between them from a darkened corridor on the other side of the courtyard, Brooklyn could only stare longingly as he let out yet another heavy sigh of despair.
"You dwell too much on what isn't," a female voice sounded behind him, causing Brooklyn to whirl around and see the Gargoyle, Katana, who had disappeared almost immediately after the clan awoke, leaning against the wall just a few yards away. "A wise leader accepts things as they are."
"Yeah?" Brooklyn replied cynically. "And what if what things are is absolutely nothing at all?"
"Do you honestly believe that? That you only get once chance and if you don't succeed, it's all over?" Katana argued, walking over to him. "Let me tell you what I believe. I believe that there truly is someone out there for everyone. I believe that everyone is waiting for that someone…even if they don't know it yet. Waiting for a life…for a world that they don't even know exists…until that one comes along and shows it to them. And let me tell you one thing I KNOW as well. When that one DOES come…and shows you what you've been missing…it honestly makes you wonder, every day, how you ever lived without them."
"Are you trying to tell me something?" Brooklyn asked, not being entirely certain where this time-traveler was going.
Reaching up, Katana gently cupped Brooklyn's face in her hands, her thumb gently caressing his cheek. And as she looked into his eyes with a warm, tender stare, it seemed as though she was about to speak. But just as Katana was about to let the words come, she suddenly stopped herself and simply regarded Brooklyn with a gentle smile.
"It can wait," she answered simply, stroking Brooklyn's hair for a brief moment before turning around and proceeding back down the corridor, pausing only once to toss a serious look over her shoulder. "But what's about to be said in Xanatos' office, can't. If I were you, I might want to think about assembling the troops."
With that, Katana walked off, leaving a perplexed Brooklyn alone with her warning. He wasn't sure what was going on. But he was fairly certain that any advice coming from someone from the future was something that should probably be taken seriously.
Taking Katana's advice, Brooklyn called the rest of the clan together to meet in Xanatos' office, where Katana was already waiting, along with Xanatos, Fox, Owen, Adam and Alexander. Talon and the Mazas were also in attendance. Even Matt managed to make his way over from the precinct. The last one to arrive was Elisa, with Goliath right behind her, one of his hands holding hers as the other gently rested on her shoulder.
"Hail, hail, the gang's all here. So…everyone back in their happy place?" Alexander announced lightly, only to look out into a sea of grim stares. "Close enough?"
"Elisa, are you alright?" Matt piped up, interrupting the proceedings. "Your family told me what happened."
"It's alright, Matt. I'm fine," Elisa answered dismissively.
"Elisa, are you sure you should be up?" Diane wondered. "After all, the doctor did say…"
"Mom…I'm fine," Elisa replied assertively. "Besides, I need to hear this."
"Actually, yeah, she kinda does," Alexander remarked, stepping forward to point out that he would be taking charge of the meeting. "Okay, first of all, before I go any further, let me just warn everybody that the circumstances of my being here, along with my two colleagues, are rather extensive. Not everyone here is going to know all the players involved and there are, in fact, some of you, who aren't going to know ANY. Ergo, some of you are going to get lost along the way and some of you will not. I'm just giving you that little heads up right now."
"Our story begins, as these stories often do, in the middle," Alexander went on. "However, for our purposes, we'll be going back a bit farther to when this whole thing really got started, which was about six months ago…Or at least, six months ago for the three of us."
"Riiiiiight," Matt replied cynically, before turning to the others with a whisper. "Who IS this guy?"
"It's Xanatos and Fox's son, Alexander…from the future," Angela answered back plainly.
"Okay, I'm lost already," Matt responded, shaking his head in confusion.
"Moving right along…," Alexander announced as a compartment in the left arm of his armor opened up and flashed a white light, revealing a series of holographic images to illustrate his tale. "Six months ago…or 25 years from now, for everyone else in this room…Oberon and Boreas met in a series of negotiations in order to forge a treaty of friendship between Avalon and New Olympus. Upon the signing of their agreement, Boreas commissioned New Olympus' top scientific minds to begin the construction of this…"
"This device was created specifically to form a window into time, allowing one sight into, and limited interaction with, history," Alexander continued as his hologram shifted to a three-dimensional spinning model of the mechanism. "It was designed for one purpose and one purpose only…the location and retrieval the Phoenix Gate, which our dear friend, Goliath here, tossed into the time stream, so that Boreas might present it to Oberon as a token of goodwill…"
"Wait a minute…you're saying that these guys built a TIME MACHINE?" Lexington exclaimed.
"An oversimplification, but essentially correct," Alexander answered. "Unfortunately, before the device could be put to its intended use…it was stolen."
At that moment, Alexander's hologram showed a brief glimpse of the darkened lab where a shadowy figured snaked through the room, smashing everything in its path before stealing the machine and disappearing. Even as Alexander paused the viewing of the footage, all that could be seen was a blurred, shadowy figure and a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes, bringing out more than one pair of curious squints out of everyone else in the room.
"The thief then fled New Olympus to the Human world, where the New Olympians were still reluctant to follow," Alexander went on. "However, Oberon, who was made aware of the situation, felt obligated to offer his aid, so as to honor their new-found treaty."
"Of course, in light of The Gathering, and because of Oberon's law, forbidding direct interference, they couldn't just come in force and lay siege to the world," Alexander continued, before pointing a finger in his own direction. "Luckily, they didn't HAVE to, since they already had someone here. So for convenience sake, Oberon decided to come to me."
"He had the gall to ask YOU for a favor?" Fox remarked with contempt. "After he basically tried to kidnap you the second you were born?"
"Oh, that's in the past. You're living in the past, Mom. Quit living in the past," Alexander replied dismissively before his face took on a grim air. "And anyway, he and I have already had a rather lengthy discussion on that subject…most of which he did NOT enjoy, I can assure you."
"Besides…Goliath here already knows full-well that there are certain…advantages to having Oberon in your debt. So we didn't mind too much doing his bidding on this one," Alexander added, getting back to the story. "Unfortunately, by the time we tracked down the device and had our little fugitive cornered, they had already made enough adjustments to it to allow the machine to actually travel back to the past…that is, to say, YOUR present…although we didn't know that at the time."
"They sent you after something and didn't tell you what it was?" Angela noted.
"Unfortunately, New Olympus still prides itself on keeping its secrets…something Boreas and I are going to have to have a little talk about, the next time I see him," Alexander answered. "In any event, we had no idea what was going on…especially after our curious cat, Adam here, picked up a piece of the device that he broke off in the chase and ended up vanishing as well."
"Yeah…him…," Elisa responded, tossing a cynical look in the direction of Adam, who could only grin and shrug. "So, are you going to tell us what the deal is with our guy, here? Particularly, what was with that Gargoyle 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' act he pulled last night?"
"Don't get greedy, Elisa," Alexander replied. "There's only so much I can get away with telling you. And believe me I'm pushing it, as it is."
"Well, can you AT LEAST tell us if he's actually a cop?" Matt chimed in. "I REALLY don't want to hear that we had two guys in one year, infiltrate our precinct, pretending to be New York's finest."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Adam answered simply. "Only problem was, I don't have any credentials that would be valid for another 20 years. That's why I needed the whole LA angle."
"So that whole story with the LA tech ring, that was just a smokescreen," Elisa mused.
"Well, not entirely," Adam responded. "I figured if our guy had a busted time machine, it might need repairs. And 25 years in the past, you're not going to get those components from raiding toaster ovens. So I was hoping maybe I could trace any high tech thefts in the area to see if I could run down where our guy might have been holed up. But even if that didn't work, I still needed SOME reason to stay close to YOU."
"I don't get it. Why was it so important that you stay around Elisa?" Broadway asked.
"Because their thief is one who's been trying to kill me all week," Elisa answered first, much to the clan's surprise, before stepping forward and glancing over in Matt's direction. "That was the piece of the puzzle we were missing."
"How did you suddenly come to that conclusion, Lass?" Hudson inquired.
"Something Castaway said when he attacked me the other night…," Elisa replied, as she thought back to the night Castaway had her cornered on the rooftop in the Bronx…
… … … …
"Did you really think you could get away with such a thing? DID YOU THINK I WOULD LET YOU?"
"FOR THE PURITY OF OUR RACE!"
… … … …
"He was…out of his mind. I thought he was just babbling," Elisa noted before placing her hand on her belly. "But now it makes sense. Think about it. What could possibly make a guy like John Castaway crazier than knowing that a HUMAN was carrying a GARGOYLE'S child? That's why he set up the whole escape attempt, so he could go after me."
"But…how could Castaway have possibly known Elisa was pregnant with Goliath's baby? At the time, WE didn't even know," Lexington asked before the pieces finally started fitting together in his head. "Unless…"
"…Unless someone from the future went and TOLD him," Brooklyn chimed in, finishing Lexington's thought as Elisa made a gunshot motion with her hand, indicating that everyone else in the room had gotten it right.
"Okay, that's one riddle down," Matt thought out loud before turning his attention back to Adam. "Still, you weren't pulling this off, alone. Our Captain said she talked to YOUR Captain in LA. But if the whole LA thing was a cover-up, who did she ACTUALLY get into contact with? Someone's been helping you out."
"How about it, Owen?" Xanatos piped up, much to the bewilderment of everyone in the room. "I believe this is where you come in."
"Him? What does HE have to do with anything?" Talon asked, as perplexed as everyone else.
"It's the only logical explanation," Xanatos remarked. "He was the one doing most of the inquiries to help track Adam down…and yet, not once at any point, did he find anything. Owen NEVER finds nothing. But then, when we discovered the 'intruders' in Alex's nursery, instead of coming with and Fox and I to confront them, HE was the one who stayed behind to scan the security system and discover that Alexander's personal security code was used to gain access. Hardly Owen's style at all…unless he knew to look for something WE didn't."
Owen had to admit to being somewhat taken aback by Xanatos' statement as everyone else in the room regarded him with curious stares. But it was a momentary lapse as he soon straightened his glasses, regaining his usual stoic appearance.
"As always, Mr. Xanatos, your deductive mind never fails to impress," Owen responded simply. "I am the one who has been aiding young Adam in his efforts. It was I who discovered him when he was pulled into our time, four nights ago. The phone call your Captain received was a rerouted communication through my private line in Xanatos Enterprises Los Angeles offices. I was also responsible for helping him evade the security patrols last night after the Jackal/Hyena attack."
"He was your mystery appointment the other night. The one you said we didn't need to know about yet," Fox realized, as Owen responded with a simple nod.
"Wait a minute…how does HE know so much?" Broadway thundered in, drawing everyone else's wonder once again.
"I'm unaware of more than you might think. I only know what I was told," Owen answered, looking over in Alexander's direction. "The truth is, I received instructions two weeks ago…from Alexander."
"Oh, well, I guess that explains everything right there…come again!" Brooklyn responded sarcastically.
"I have no explanation for how Alexander managed to contact me through electronic mail," Owen explained. "All I know is that the message carried his personal security code. The message contained detailed instructions, outlining the exact time and location of Adam's arrival, but also stated that Alexander, himself, would not appear for another four days. It was my responsibility to insure that Adam had the resources to take care of himself in that time, and also see to Detective Maza's safety, until Alexander arrived to assist. To that end, I was given a separate set of instructions to be read only by Adam, no doubt warning him of the various attempts that would be made on Detective Maza's life over the next few nights, all of which have already passed."
"How DID you get here?" Fox wondered, looking over at her future son. "If what you're saying is true, then all the pieces of the time machine were here and you were stuck in the future. You had no way to get back."
"The same way HE did," Alexander answered, glancing over at Adam, before raising his hand revealing a small, metallic cube, grasped between his thumb and forefinger. "This is what's called a lens. The device the New Olympians constructed consists of dozens of these tiny cubes. They create minute refractions in space/time. Get enough of these things working together and you get a window to peer through. What you're seeing, in my hand, is the lens that brought Adam here. It came off the device during our initial pursuit. As near as I can tell, our thief modified the machine to create a portal, fled back here and the lens followed in its wake, dragging Adam along with it, once he picked it up."
"That very same lens is currently sitting in a safe deposit box in Midtown, waiting for Alexander to come and retrieve it…25 years from now," Owen added as Alexander snapped the cube back into his fist. "It was part of the instructions Adam and I received, to insure that Alexander would be able to follow him back here once he arrived."
"How do you suddenly know all this?" Angela wondered, looking in Adam's direction. "Didn't you just say you didn't know anything about what the device was?"
"Simple…I told myself," Alexander answered with a grin, whipping out a large envelope from behind his back.
"Of course he did," Brooklyn grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"After Adam disappeared and Alexander and I couldn't find him, we returned home. Once we'd arrived, we discovered that Owen was waiting for us, with this envelope and this note," Katana explained as Alexander walked over to Goliath, who had been silent the entire time, handing the attached letter into his hand for he and Elisa to look at.
"Alex, if everything goes as expected, you should be receiving this only a few hours after you saw Adam disappear in the old Manhattan tunnels," Goliath read aloud. "Follow these instructions and there's a chance you can save not only his life…but everyone's."
"I know you can do this. After all, I did it myself," Elisa read on as she and Goliath regarded Alexander with a stunned look. "Signed…Alexander Fox Xanatos."
"I'm afraid the rest of this is for my eyes only," Alexander noted, taking the note back before sliding it into the envelope. "This package contains detailed instructions of how to find Adam, the key to the safe deposit box where the lens is being stored…and how to make sure that our thief doesn't end up using that machine to destroy the world."
"Yeah, okay…so…just tell me how we're going to find this guy before my headache gets any bigger," Matt remarked, trying as desperately as Talon and the Mazas to follow everything that had been said so far.
"We're going to find our thief, the same way we did the first time…by tracking the machine," Alexander answered. "Like most things, this device functions on a specific electromagnetic signature. Xanatos Enterprises currently has about two dozen satellites in orbit that can detect that signature…and I've instructed them all to look for it. All that has to happen is for it to be turned on…"
"…Anybody want something to eat while we're waiting?"
Roughly two hours had passed since Adam, Alexander and Katana had explained the situation in Xanatos' office and everyone was still hovering around, waiting for Alexander's search to bear fruit. While some like Goliath, Elisa and Xanatos remained patiently vigilant, there were others who were beginning to grow increasingly uncomfortable with waiting. And some had even left the room to go milling about into other areas of the castle.
Lexington, however, had chosen to combat his impatience by looking after Little Alexander, who giggled and cooed around a small collection of toys around him. Seeing the little one so happy was enough to bring Lexington some contentment. But as he looked over to see Alexander's future self reclining by the computer on Xanatos' desk, he couldn't help but feel an eerie sensation creep up his spine.
"Are you seeing this? I don't think I can remember the last time I saw Lexington looking so…perplexed," Fox murmured in amusement to Alexander, who could only respond with a slight chuckle before regarding her with a more serious gaze.
"You know you still owe him an apology, right?" he noted simply.
"For what?" Fox immediately responded, only to have Alexander look back up into her eyes.
"You know for what," he answered soberly.
The look on Alexander's face could only draw a heavy sigh from Fox. After all, she really did know what he was talking about. Swallowing her previous objection, she took a deep breath and walked over to where Lexington was playing with Little Alexander.
"How's he doing?" she asked, just to start things off with some small talk.
"Living it up, as always," Lexington replied.
The sight of Little Alexander, giggling and shaking the teddy bear in his hands, drew an instant smile of tenderness from Fox. But it was a fleeting moment as she turned her attention over to Lexington, realizing she had to ultimately bite the bullet.
"Look Lex, I just wanted to say…I'm sorry," she uttered, drawing a curious look form Lexington. "It's just…that night when Pat Doyle had Alex kidnapped…those things I said…I shouldn't have blamed you for that."
"Hey…you're a mother," Lexington replied dismissively. "You were entitled."
"Mothers are also entitled to shout stupid things at Little League games. It doesn't mean I want to do THAT, either," Fox stated before she and Lexington both glanced over towards Alexander's future self, still sitting by the computer.
"We can't be the only ones who think it's weird to see him like this," Lexington noted, before noticing Katana out of the corner of his eye, leaning up against a wall, just a couple feet away. "Hey, I'm guessing you've gotten to know Alex pretty well, right? Does he…turn out okay?"
"I think you already know that I can't answer that," Katana replied straightforwardly.
"Oh, come on. It's not like he's asking if he becomes Valedictorian or if he's dating one of the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders," Fox shot back, looking over at Katana with a solemn gaze. "Just…tell us what he's like."
At first, Katana said nothing, turning her gaze over in Alexander's direction and staring at him intently. But when she finally turned back to Lexington and Fox, her words were as simple and direct as the expression on her face.
"He's his parents' child."
"That was meant as a compliment, I hope," Xanatos chimed in, having overheard the conversation as he walked by, only to draw another pause from Katana before answering.
"Sometimes," she finally replied, flashing a cryptic half-smile.
"OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!" Alexander shouted, startling everyone in the room as he rolled back in his desk chair. "Somebody arrest me now! Because it has got to be A CRIME to be this good!"
"No false modesty on your part," Brooklyn remarked uncomfortably after calming down from the initial shock.
"What would be the point of THAT?" Alexander answered with a smirk, drawing an amused grin from Fox as she began to see just what Katana was talking about.
"I assume that means you've located your quarry," Goliath stated, breaking up the idle chit-chat.
"Check it out," Alexander replied, turning the computer screen around to a map of the city, only to reveal a flashing red dot. "The machine's been activated. FIFTEEN seconds after it was turned on, we got a hit. That's all it took. She's right there."
"Well then, what are we standing around here for? Let's move!" Lexington piped up as everyone charged out the door.
It took only minutes for Goliath and Brooklyn to assemble the rest of the clan and gather in the courtyard of the castle. Talon, Matt and the Mazas were also in attendance. Even Xanatos, eager to defend the invasion of his home, had arrived on the scene, clad in his Steel Clan Exo-Frame.
"Hmmm, looks like everyone's ready to go," Alexander noted. "Guess I'd better do the same."
No sooner did the words escape Alexander's lips, than his armor suddenly began to change. Razor sharp, metal claws sprang from his armored wrists, folding over the fingers of his hands. A small compartment then opened from his chest plate, releasing a golden mask, exactly in the shape of Fox's eye tattoo, which Alexander immediately placed over his eyes.
"Impressive," Xanatos had to remark.
"You ought to know. You helped design it," Alexander noted with a smirk before turning his gaze over to Adam. "But something tells me I'm not the only one who'd better put his game face on for this one."
"Right," Adam noted, taking a moment to compose himself.
"Now wait just a minute. You want him to turn into that…whatever again?" Brooklyn objected as the rest of the clan immediately showed signs of alarm. "Uh, I'm gonna have to object to that."
"I'm afraid I have to agree," Goliath responded. "That form of his is clearly too dangerous to trust him in the middle of a battle with it."
"Relax," Adam offered his word. "Trust me…you just saw the bad side the last time. This time around, it's going to be a little different."
Goliath and the rest of the clan weren't nearly as sure of Alexander's claims. Even as Katana nodded at them to offer her silent assurances as well, that did little to ease their concerns. In fact, each one of them ended up taking a step back, making sure to keep themselves in front of Matt and the Mazas as Adam shut his eyes and took a wide stance, clenching his fists tightly.
"Like a Gargoyle awakening from their stone sleep, Adam's transformation creates a rush of adrenaline in his body. This surge offsets any pain he may feel while changing, but it can also affect his thought process," Alexander explained. "If he changes on his own, then he can handle it. But if he, say, gets injured or angry…well, you've already seen what that's like one time too many."
Alexander's words, however, were far beneath Adam's notice at that moment. In fact, he could hear hardly anything except his own heartbeat thundering in his ears, racing faster and faster. Even Goliath and the others were quick to take note as a large vein on Adam's neck began to protrude out, his entire body shuddering as his fists rolled up tighter and tighter. But just as they were about to wonder just what could possibly happen next, Adam's glowing eyes snapped open, with a wicked smile crossing his face.
Before anyone else could react, Adam's body bulged in size, his muscle mass and height instantly growing, along with his hair. Talons sprang from his hands and feet as a row of fangs lined his mouth. A horned brow crossed over his eyes as giant wings and a long, heavy tail burst from his back. And while the clan and the Mazas could only stand in dumbfounded shock, Adam reared back his head with a piercing howl that echoed through the courtyard before letting loose with an explosion of maniacal laughter. But just as Goliath and the others were about to fear the worst, Adam suddenly froze, taking a deep breath and firmly centering himself once again.
"There…that's better," he stated calmly, cracking his neck before looking down at his clothes, which were now in tatters once again. "Eeeuw, but THIS isn't. Gonna have to do something there."
While everyone else was still reeling from Adam's transformation, Adam was activating the mystical fabric that made up his clothes and was changing once again. Within twinkling seconds, Adam's shredded garments had altered size and shape, putting him in a black suit and a Spencer-Mess style jacket, along with a white shirt, a black tie and fingerless black gloves.
"THAT'S what you're going to be wearing into battle?" Katana commented, voicing her disapproval while Adam straightened his hair into a ponytail.
"Hey, If I'm going to a party, I'm gonna DRESS for it," Adam replied, straightening his tie before pulling out his sunglasses and putting them on.
"That makes two of us," Fox's voice suddenly chimed in, getting everyone's attention as they looked over to see her walking toward them after putting Little Alexander down to sleep, dressed in her old uniform from her days with The Pack. "Oh yeah, two years and a kid later and this thing STILL fits like a glove. Maybe I'M the one who should be making exercise videos."
But Fox wasn't the only one with plans to join the expedition. Walking just a few paces behind, checking her gun to make sure it had a full magazine before reloading, was Elisa, an angry scowl across her face.
"Elisa?" Matt uttered, looking as surprised as Goliath and the others.
"Matt, not…one…word," Elisa replied grimly as she walked past him, before looking towards the others. "Derek, you either. Goliath, same for you."
"Fox, my dear, what are you doing?" Xanatos asked with concern.
"Don't argue with me, David," Fox answered sternly, brandishing a large laser rifle. "Whoever's behind this, they brought this blight upon OUR house, endangered OUR son! You are NOT the only one who wants a piece of this guy!"
"The more the merrier. You want to come for a run, too?" Alexander called over to Owen, who remained standing on the sidelines with his usual stern visage. "I know you've been wanting to stretch your legs since this whole thing started. Besides, you never know. I could use someone to watch my back."
Elisa, Matt and the Mazas were quite surprised at Alexander's invitation, even as Owen couldn't disguise an enthusiastic smile. But they were all the more stunned when a swirl of light appeared around Owen's body before exploding in a burst of color. And suddenly, where Owen once stood, the Trickster, Puck was now floating inches off the ground, an amused smirk across his face.
"Whoa…," Elisa uttered under her breath. "Goliath, I know you told me about this…but that is just FREAKY."
"Finally!" Puck declared, flitting around the group before stopping in front of Alexander. "I was beginning to think you'd NEVER ask."
"Oh, I am never going to get used to this…," Peter muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Elisa, come here," Diane pleaded. "You can't be serious about going along with this…"
"DEAD serious," Elisa cut Diane off, looking into her eyes with a stern glare. "Mom, whoever set all this up, they didn't just come after me. They came after your GRANDCHILD…!"
"THIS…IS…PERSONAL!"
"Can we go now?" Puck asked impatiently. "Is this finally everyone?"
"Now, wait just a minute…!" Peter started to object.
"I heard 'yes'! Let's roll," Puck announced, cutting Peter off.
Before Matt or the Mazas could react, Puck threw out his arms, enveloping the entire party in a burst of glittering smoke. Within seconds, the haze cleared, revealing no trace of anyone where they had just stood. And as Matt, Peter and Diane looked around at the empty courtyard, they could only respond with stunned silence, with none of them having any idea where Elisa or the others had gone…or what they were about to walk in to face.