Disclaimers
All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted by Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended and is not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Gargoyles Shattered Mirror – Chapter Two
By Celgress
A Government Recruitment Center in NYC, night
"I am Mr. Iotoshi (I-Oh-Tosh-E). I will be your primary instructor. You will refer to me as Mr. Iotoshi or sir. Be warned, I do not tolerate disrespect in my classroom: no offensive jokes, no foul language, no chatting with your friends outside of group assignments, no playing on your devices, understood?" The lanky dark-haired chalk-white gargoyle said from a podium at the front of the teaching theater.
"Understood," Several hundred students thundered in unison.
"Understood, what?" Mr. Iotoshi inquired clearly annoyed.
"Understood, Mr. Iotoshi, Sir!" The students responded.
"Much better," Mr. Iotoshi said. "Consider yourselves lucky. The current situation has necessitated a rather large intake of IT workers for the civil service. Each of you has passed the entrance examination to qualify for placement in this rapid deployment course. In six months we hope to have you fully trained and deployed. Our fair city is at a crossroads, dare I say a crisis point. We've lost a large number of IT specialists both in the civil and private sectors because of various factors stemming from the Incident six months ago. Once trained, your job will be maintaining everything that makes modern life modern from the power grid, to the internet, to the subway operation system, to the traffic control systems both terrestrial and aerospace, etc. It is a great responsibility but one I'm sure you be able to meet with my guidance."
Lexington was ecstatic. Finally, there was something he could do aside from suffering the limited internet all night. When Elisa suggested he enroll in the IT Technician program he jumped at the chance. Normally years of verified study in a formal school would be required for such a program, however, because of the Incident NYC was desperate so all such requirements were waived. Lexington aced his entrance examination without issue and away he went.
Later
It was lunchtime and Lexington tray in his hands wandered the meal hall searching for a seat. 'Wow, this place is huge.' He thought.
"Hey Lex, over here!" A purple female with blonde-haired with frosted pink tips shouted waving at him.
"We saved you a seat!" Shouted a blue-black male web wing with a frill on his head and lightly webbed fingers
"Hi guys," Lexington said with a smile. He sat down across from the female.
The female and the male were seated on the opposite side of the rectangular table from Lexington. The pair named Miranda "Randi" Donnelly and Kevin Spencer were members of Lexingon's online gaming group established shortly before the Incident. It was the first time the three had met in "real life".
"Nice look poindexter." Kevin ribbed Lex. Kevin wore a green tee shirt and brown track pants.
"What's wrong with my look?" Lexington said confused. He was outfitted in a white dress shirt complete with pens, a backup pocket calculator, a pocket protector, and gray slacks.
"Don't pay any attention, Lex. I think you look cute." Said Miranda who was dressed in a black and white band print tee shirt and blue cargo pants.
"Thanks, Randi," Lexington said trying hard not to blush. He then blurted out. "I think you look cute too."
"What about me?" Kevin asked cheekily.
"Um, you look nice too," Lexington said after a moment of hesitation. While he was not into guys Lexington valued Kevin as a friend (one of the few he had) besides he knew it was all in good fun. Kevin was the perennial joker.
"Thank you very much," Miranda said. "Kevin, you could learn something from Lex here. You never compliment me."
"Girl, you aren't my type. Now, Mr. Iotoshi, whew, I love the stern all-business older guys. They get my pulse racing if you know what I mean?" Kevin said mock-fanning himself with a piece of paper.
"You're bad." Miranda giggled. "So, Lex, why did you join? Kevin's mom made us take the exam. She didn't want us to 'waste our talents playing video games every night'."
Miranda and Kevin who were about his age lived with Kevin's parents. The fact Kevin was a gay male and Miranda a straight female thus eliminating any possible romance between them only deepened the mystery. They acted more like siblings than friends thus they were obviously very close. Lexington was curious about their domestic relationship but he did not want to overstep his bounds by asking any prying questions, at least not yet.
"My lea-uncle Gowain's partner thought I should. They are both detectives in the police force which I think I told you guys already?" Lexington said.
"Yup, you did," Miranda confirmed.
Kevin checked his phone carefully so as not to puncture the screen with his claws an all too common occurrence for gargoyles post-Incident. "Jeez, our hour is almost up. We better chow down or we'll miss out." He said.
"Never turn down a free meal, I always say." Miranda joked.
"Kevin, maybe after class, we can finish our debate from Discord about which Sci-Fi franchise is superior: Star Trek or Star Wars?" Lexington said excitedly.
"You're on, Lex, and the obvious answer is Star Wars," Kevin said.
"In your dreams, Star Trek is better. It is more cerebral." Lexington said.
"Maybe, but Star Wars has better action scenes and the Force," Kevin said.
"Boys," Miranda said shaking her head. "We don't have time. Also, StarGate is the correct answer." Lexington and Kevin groaned.
Police Headquarters
"I'm not crazy! You're all crazy! Don't you see?! We're dead! This is Hell! We've been transformed into demons because of our sins!" The green-skinned male gargoyle ranted. He struggled mightily against his reinforced handcuffs and shackles. It was difficult for the two uniformed officers holding him to maintain their grips while they pulled him to the nearest holding cell.
"He attacked a crowd with a pair of machetes. He hacked an old woman and her grandson to death before we stopped him. His other victims totaling six were rushed to the hospital. Their injuries are considered critical. The doctors hope if they can keep the victims alive until sunrise stone sleep might save their lives." Elisa reported dutifully.
"Appalling," Commissioner Maria Chavez said. The red-skinned black-horned and black-winged gargoyle was thoroughly disgusted. Chavez was promoted by several ranks in quick secession following a series of death and resignations. "Captain Bluestone, contact Bellevue Hospital and tell them we have a prisoner in need of a psychiatric evaluation ASAP."
"Yes ma'am, I'll get right on in," Said Bluestone who had been transformed into a dark blue-skinned gargoyle. His skin coloration stood in stark contrast to his hair which had become even redder. Matt and every other officer remaining in the NYPD had been prompted at least one rank since the Incident thinned the herd substantially, so to speak.
"Good job you two. You make an excellent team." Commissioner Chavez said.
"Elisa did most of the work." Gowain aka Goliath said. "She knows the city and its people far better than I do."
"Don't be modest, Gowain. I couldn't have brought him in without your help or saved the other victims. He was way too strong for me alone in his frenzied state." Elisa said.
Female Officers Dressing Room, later
"Elisa, I have a somewhat personal question, if you are willing to answer it?" A yellow gargoyle asked next to her stood two other gargoyles awaiting Elisa's response.
"Sure, ask away," Elisa said getting out of her work clothes. She was curious about what her fellow officers wanted to know about her personal life.
"Was Gowain this hot when he was a human too?" The yellow gargoyle asked.
"What do you mean?" Elisa said.
"C'mon, girl dish. He has the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing on lock." A green gargoyle said.
"And that voice. Oh, he really bakes my biscuits." A brown beaked gargoyle said.
"You guys think Gowain is hot?" Elisa asked.
"The hottest." The green gargoyle said and the others soon agreed.
"I don't know how you work with him every night without jumping his bones if I'm being honest." The yellow gargoyle said.
"He could put a bun in my oven any time." The brown gargoyle said.
"An egg, we lay eggs now." The green gargoyle corrected. "But, yeah, I agree. Gowain can be my baby daddy any time. He's smoking hot"
"And his sense of honor. He's decent to a fault. They don't make guys like him anymore." The yellow gargoyle said.
"I never noticed, but you're right. Gowain is one hell of a guy." Elisa said blinking rapidly several times like a deer caught in headlights.
"You never noticed?! No offense, but are you blind girl?" The yellow gargoyle said in disbelief the others could not help but giggle like school girls.
Elisa did not know what to say. What could she say? They were right. Furthermore, she felt more than a tad jealous these other females were talking about her Gowain, her Goliath in such a fashion. Wait, "her Gowain, her Goliath" where had that come from? Maybe she did have feelings for Goliath she was only now becoming aware of feelings far beyond friendship. Also, maybe Goliath felt the same way. It was possible, right? She certainly had a lot to think about.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Meeting War Room The Pentagon, Washington DC, several hours later, morning
"Thank you General Myers for your detailed situation report." Said the Secretary of State a middle-aged white man with thinning white hair.
"Mr. Secretary, may I speak off the record?" General Myers said from his video conference linkup. With the source of the suspected "New York Monster Syndrome" (as dubbed by Social Media) having yet to be discovered General Myers delivering his findings in person was too risky.
The Secretary of State motioned for all recording devices to be deactivated, "Please do, General Myers." He said once the devices were shut off.
"The situation will soon be out of our control. We cannot maintain the quarantine of New York City and its surrounding environs indefinitely. Without a clear cause of the Incident, we risk a PR nightmare as well as contamination of our entire nation unless we take drastic action."
"What are you suggesting, General Myers?" The Secretary of State said.
"A tactical nuclear strike on the area before the quarantine can be lifted. If done during the daytime when the creatures must hibernate I can guarantee 100% effectiveness. It would eliminate the risk of further infection. We could use the claim of a terrorist attack as cover." General Myers said matter-of-factly.
A chorus of shocked voices and several objections were raised about the morality of this proposed solution which persisted until the Secretary of Dense spoke up. "While the plan put forward by General Myers could work, I think there is a better option." She said. The Secretary of Defense was a prim and proper-looking yet attractive young woman of East Indian heritage.
"You cannot be serious. These are American citizens." A General said. She was a young woman of East Asian ancestry.
"I'm quite serious. We must protect our nation from this unknown threat. Besides, if they are no longer human can they be considered citizens? The phrase is human rights after all." The Secretary of Defense said before she continued. "I propose we use Project Wormwood. We will likely never get another chance to deploy Wormwood in a densely populated urban area. The data gathered no doubt will prove invaluable for further refinement of Wormwood."
"Your answer to this crisis is to deploy an experimental black ops biological weapon we aren't even supposed to have against one of our cities?" The General said shocked by what she was hearing.
"It is," The Secretary of Defense said.
"The creatures are still erratic. How can we be sure they won't escape New York City and endanger the wider nation?" Another General a middle-aged Hispanic man asked.
"Don't worry. They won't be allowed full autonomy our AI nanites will see to that." The Secretary of Defense said. "Once they've successfully infested the city we'll be forced to use a tactical nuclear strike to deal with them. The other creatures of New York City will be unfortunate yet unavoidable collateral damage."
"That would work." General Myers said nodding his head.
"This is wrong. We can't do this. It's mass murder and arguably genocide." The first General protested to which several others agreed.
"I'm sorry General, but all options are on the table. Secretary of Defense, General Myers, I'll take your proposals to the President." The Secretary of State said. He added with a heavy heart. "This meeting is hereby adjourned."
To Be Continued
Author's Note One – In the next chapters we will catch up with Broadway, Brooklyn, Katana, and a few other familiar faces.