Deadly Force

November 18th, 1994

The gargoyles awoke right as the sun set over the horizon and yawned loudly as they did.

"See you later, guys." Broadway informed Brooklyn and Lexington before he glided off into the city.

"Where's he off to in such a rush?" Goliath asked as he, Hudson and Griff stood by Lexington.

"He's going to see Showdown again." Lexington informed them.

"Showdown?" Goliath said in confusion.

"Yeah, it's a new western LIam and Griff took us to see the other day. Great movie." Brooklyn replied.

"You know… cowboys, horses, guns." Lexington explained, pointing a talon like it was a gun.

"He likes it so much that he even skipped dinner for it." Griff chuckled.

"Movies, television, video games… these days, it's hard to tell what's real and what's not." Hudson said, shaking his head.

"Hey, where's Liam?" Brooklyn then asked, realising he wasn't there to greet them.

"He's probably at Elisa's. They've been talking about Tony Dracon, a criminal that causes all kinds of problems." Griff replied before they all left the tower.

Later that night, Liam was in Elisa's nice loft apartment in SoHo, sitting on the sofa, stroking Elisa's grey cat, Cagney.

He had watched a news broadcast about a theft made on Xanatos Enterprises earlier in the day, where some masked individuals stole a shipment. Elisa knew for sure that it was Tony Dracon that conducted this theft and had left to confront him about this.

He then heard the door open and in came Elisa, who Cagney ran up to as she took off her jacket and holster, gun still housed in it.

Cagney meowed and curled up around her leg.

"Hey, Cagney." She said as she picked him up. "Hey, Liam, did you feed him?"

"Yeah. Any luck?" He asked her as he stood and walked up to her.

"I couldn't get a warrant. Dracon really knows how to get himself out of trouble. What he stole happened to be non-projectile weapon prototypes." Elisa explained to him.

"Just the kind of thing Dracon would steal and sell." Liam said with a frown.

"Yep. The streets are getting a lot meaner." Elisa replied as she and Liam walked into the kitchen.

"Not hanging out with Griff tonight?" She then said as she started to cook some steaks.

"Nah, I decided to have some time to myself." Liam replied as he grabbed some salt and pepper to spice up the steaks.

"That's surprising, considering you and he are always side by side." She said before she made a teasing expression. "When will you tell him your feelings towards him?"

"Elisa, please. Me and Griff are just friends who have a tight bond. There's no way he'd ever want me as a boyfriend." Liam replied, feeling a bit hurt at his admission that Griff wouldn't want him as his romantic partner. Besides, he didn't even know how to tell him if Griff does indeed like Liam romantically.

"Seriously? The way he looks at you, I'm sure that he'd want you as his boyfriend." Elisa retorted as she started putting the steaks on the pan.

"Perhaps." He shrugged before the pair were in comfortable silence.

A minute later, the window was opened and Broadway peeked in.

"Elisa? You home?" He called out before he noticed her and Liam by the kitchen.

"Hi, Broadway." Liam greeted him as he entered.

"I was in the neighbourhood." He told them.

"Make yourself comfortable. We're cooking a couple of steaks." Elisa told him with a wink.

"Ha. Thanks." Broadway said before he looked around and saw a framed photograph on top of the television. In the photograph was Elisa with her whole family. She and her father were the only ones in police uniforms.

He then looked over and saw Elisa's gun, which piqued his interest, having just seen Showdown earlier.

He pulled it out of the holster and grinned eagerly as he held it in his hands.

"Cool." He muttered to he started messing around with it.

"What's up, pilgrim, and don't forget the horse." Broadway said, acting like a character from Showdown, waving and pointing the gun around.

But as he turned towards Liam and Elisa, the gun went off.

"Ohh!" He exclaimed, dropping the gun from shock.

"Sorry, my fault. I was playing with the gun. Stupid of me. Hope I didn't break anything." Broadway then said, kneeling down to grab the gun. But he heard nothing but the sizzling of the steaks. He looked up and he didn't see Liam or Elisa.

"Guys?" He asked, hoping they were alright, but when he walked up to the kitchen, he stopped and gasped in horror.

On the floor were both Liam and Elisa, eyes closed and with wounds on their sides, which were bleeding.

"Liam? Elisa?" He said, hoping they'd wake up before he threw the gun away in horror.

"Guys!" He then held their faces, Elisa opening her eyes weakly before closing them again. Liam didn't respond at all.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Broadway said with nothing but guilt as he lifted the pair onto his shoulders and he took them outside, gliding them to the nearest hospital.

He reached Manhattan General and placed them on a couple of stretchers, which made him see the blood on his hands, which made him gasp before he hid.

A couple of EMT workers were making their way out when they saw Liam and Elisa. They ran out to check on them.

"What in-"

"They've been shot!"

"I can't get a pulse from either of them!"

One of them grabbed a couple of towels and placed them on their gunshot wounds.

"Get them inside, stat!"

They were then rolled into the hospital.

Broadway left, though he knew that he couldn't go back to the castle, knowing that Griff in particular would be devastated upon learning what happened to Liam.

Back at the castle, as it was approaching dawn, the gargoyles all got onto their ledges, Lexington anxious that Broadway hadn't been back yet. Same for Brooklyn as he realised this as well.

"I guess Broadway liked that movie so much, he stayed to watch it a few more times." Lexington tried to rationalise it, though he didn't seem entirely convinced.

At the top of the tower, Griff and Goliath heard him.

"I hope he finds a comfortable place to roost." Goliath said.

"And I'm worried about Liam. He hasn't shown up all night." Griff added, knowing that Liam would've at least shown up for a few minutes before dawn.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you." Owen told them as he appeared, right as the sun was about to rise.

"What is it? Speak quickly." Goliath demanded.

"Your friends Elisa Maza and Liam Gardner have been shot. They're not sure if they'll live." Owen revealed to them.

This news left Goliath and Griff shocked and horrified. Especially Griff. Their expressions were frozen as they entered Stone Sleep.

Over at Manhattan General, both Liam and Elisa were being operated on by a couple of surgical teams.

"Sponge." The doctor operating on Liam requested, as his injuries were more severe than Elisa's. "Give me more retraction here. Guns…."

Later at night in the Eyrie Building, Owen was in his office, going through some paperwork and typing on his computer when the gargoyles barged in, demanding some answers.

"How did this happen?" Griff demanded as he slammed his hands on the table. He couldn't lose Liam like this. He just can't lose the person he loved.

"We're not quite sure yet. Elisa was trying to get a stolen shipment of particle beam weaponry off the street. It was very important to her. And Liam must've been at the wrong place at the wrong time." Owen replied, making Griff growl as his eyes flashed glowing white for a second.

"Where are they?" Hudson asked.

"Manhattan General. Pardon me." Owen said as he put papers in a briefcase and walked out of the office.

Both Goliath and Griff were about to follow Owen, but they were stopped by Lexington and Brooklyn.

"Wait. Broadway isn't back yet. I'm a little worried." Brooklyn told Goliath, who soaked in that something may have happened to Broadway as well.

"You two search for him. Me and Griff will check on Liam and Elisa. Hudson, remain here to guard the castle." He ordered the gargoyles before he and Griff walked out of the office.

Elsewhere, at Grand Central Station, Broadway was crying as the image of Liam and Elisa bleeding was stuck in his head, feeling responsible for what happened, also fearing that they could end up dead.

Over at Manhattan General, both Liam and Elisa have had their surgeries done and were now placed in a room that had a window, where Griff and Goliath looked through, seeing their limp bodies laying on hospital beds and hooked up to tubes for oxygen.

They then hid from sight as the door opened.

The people that entered were Dr. Sato, who performed surgery on Liam and he led in Elisa's parents and brother.

"Don't sugar coat it, Dr. Sato. Elisa's our daughter and Liam is our friend." Peter Maza said as they gathered by Elisa's bed. He had to inform Liam's parents about what happened, and they were devastated.

"Your daughter suffered some damage, but not life threatening." Dr. Sato replied. "Mr. Gardner, on the other hand… the internal damage is extensive. The bullet hit high in the chest, ricocheted off the collar bone, nicked the heart muscle and passed through the right lung before it passed through him and into your daughter. My fellow doctor was able to remove it from the base of her spine. The good news is they survived ten hours of surgery. But the next twelve hours will be crucial for Mr. Gardner."

"Should I contact his parents and have them come to New York?" Peter asked him, which made Derek place a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't talk like that, dad. He'll be okay. He's strong." He tried to reassure him.

"Well, what can we do?" Peter then asked Dr. Sato.

"We can pray, Peter. We can pray." Diane answered for him as she moved to Liam's bed, gently holding his hand.

Dr. Sato was about to leave when the door opened, thanks to Captain Chavez, who Elisa works with in the police.

"Don't stay long. They need rest." He told her as he walked out.

"Maria. Thank you for coming." Diane greeted her.

"Mrs. Maza, Sergeant Maza. Derek. I'm sorry to see you all under these circumstances." Chavez said as she walked up to the family.

"Just tell me you know who shot my sister and our friend." Derek demanded answers.

"Witnesses say she braced Tony Dracon at the Park Manor. He stole an armed shipment and she was pretty determined to get those guns off the street. Our guess is one of Dracon's men broke into her apartment and then shot both her and Mr. Gardner with her own gun." Chavez explained, which Griff and Goliath overheard, making them frown. "Dracon may even have done it himself."

"Any prints on the gun?" Peter asked her.

"Some. But so badly smudged, they don't even look human." Chavez replied before shaking her head in determination. "Whoever the shooter is, we'll find him, No one hits a cop and an innocent civilian and gets away with it. No one."

"I think we should let them sleep." Diane then said before everyone left.

Once the door was closed, Griff and Goliath entered.

Goliath held Elisa's hand while Griff knelt down and held Liam's nuzzling it with tears in his eyes.

"Don't give up on us, Liam. I can't lose you." He said, his voice breaking.

Goliath walked over to Griff and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We will finish what Elisa started. We will find the man that did this and make him pay." He promised Griff, whose eyes glowed white at the idea of seeking justice for Liam and Elisa.

With this new determination, the two gargoyles left and glided to the Park Manor.

They landed on the outdoor balcony and walked up to the glass doors, keeping out of sight, as they saw Dracon speaking with his cronies, one of whom sat on a large sofa.

"This buyer's gonna pay top coin for all this Buck Rogers stuff." Dracon said.

"We're set for midnight, down near the docks. I'll meet you there." The crony on the sofa said before he stood up and left.

Both Griff and Goliath snarled as they knew where to take down Dracon and deal with the weapons he stole.

Elsewhere, in Central Park, a man was walking through when a man appeared from a bush in front of him, grinning with pure malice as he's about to mug him.

"Look, let me pass, please." The man told the mugger, the two unaware that they were being watched by Broadway, who was up in a tree.

"Not likely. I'm gonna need your wallet, pal." The mugger told him as he pointed a particle gun at him. "Come on, give it up. Otherwise…."

He was cut off from a deep growling up in the trees and saw a pair of feet walking on a branch before Broadway jumped on top of him, eyes white in fury and rage.

The man ran for it while the mugger was cowering in fear.

"St-stay away!" The mugger said upon laying eyes on Broadway, who lifted him off the ground by his jacket, growling louder than before.

"What's this? A new kind of gun? A new way to kill people?" He said with anger as he grabbed the gun and crushed it.

"Where did you get this? Who gave it to you?" He then yelled right into the mugger's face.

"A guy… they call Glasses. He's selling them."

"Where?" Broadway yelled once more.

"Down on Canal Street. Right near the docks."

After getting the answers he wanted, Broadway threw him to the ground before he ran and glided off to his destination.

Back at Manhattan General, Liam's heart monitor showed a flatline.

"Code blue! Code blue! ICU!" A nurse shouted as Dr. Sato and a male nurse showed up. "Flatline! No pulse!"

"Epinephrine." Dr. Sato requested and the male nurse handed him a huge syringe, which he injected the epinephrine with, but it had no effect.

"Still flat." The female nurse informed Dr. Sato.

"Get the paddles. 400 watt seconds." He said and the male nurse brought the paddles over, placing them on Liam's chest.

"Clear!" Dr. Sato then shouted and the pads sent an electrical charge through Liam's body, making him jump. The heart monitor then started showing a steady pulse.

"Got him. Normal sinus rhythm." The female nurse declared and Dr. Sato let out a sigh of relief.

Back with Griff and Goliath, they were following Dracon, who was in a black car, having just evaded the police that were following him.

At the docks, Glasses was in the middle of selling another particle gun to someone with interest and was about to be sold when Broadway landed on top of the red truck behind Glasses, scaring the potential buyer away while he grabbed Glasses by his head, lifting him off the ground.

"Who are you working for?" Broadway demanded as his eyes were still glowing white with rage.

With Griff and Goliath, they followed Dracon's car, which drove into a warehouse and the pair landed on the roof of the warehouse.

They were then surprised to see Broadway land beside them.

"How did you - Oh, never mind. You're just in time to help us deal with the one who shot Elisa and Liam." Goliath said.

"What?" Broadway questioned.

"They were shot by Dracon, who's inside this very warehouse." Griff growled, containing his rage, ready to let it out on Dracon. He and Goliath weren't noticing Broadway's concerned expression.

"Come. There's no more time for talk." Goliath then said before he and Griff jumped down.

"Right." Broadway muttered.

Inside, Dracon was on the phone with Glasses, who was telling what happened earlier.

"What? Glasses, you're not making sense. Calm down." He said before hanging up. "We better get this stuff moved out of here." He looked over at the particle guns of different sizes and shapes.

But before he and his cronies could do anything, the wall was bent in until it burst open and Griff, Goliath and Broadway charged in, eyes pure white.

"Shoot 'em!" Dracon ordered his men.

One of them fired one of the guns, which made Griff and Goliath jump to their left and Broadway to the right behind crates. Griff spotted a circuit breaker, which he destroyed, cutting off the lights, which made Dracon and his men on edge.

Broadway was running on the rafters above them and landed behind them.

"You're mine! All of you!" He yelled before taking them all down, except for a running Dracon, roaring at the tops of his lungs.

While Dracon ran, he was being watched by Griff and Goliath, who chased after him.

One of Dracon's men fired his gun all over the place as he was cornered. The light from the laser beam showed Broadway charging at him, but he disappeared when he fired again, shocked when Broadway grabbed his arm, roared at him and took him down.

Dracon ran away as another one of his men was cornered, firing two guns everywhere, still being chased by Griff and Goliath.

The man that fired two guns got both his arms wrapped by Broadway's tail, making him drop them before being thrown into a shipping container.

"Goliath! Griff!" Broadway then called out, but they didn't listen, solely focused on having their revenge on Dracon, who was running up some stairs, which the two gargoyles did to follow him.

Dracon reached the top and fired a gun, only for it to be grabbed by Griff's tail, which he threw away before he and Goliath punched through the walkway above them.

They approached a rather terrified Dracon, who slipped and would've fallen to the ground if Griff didn't catch him by the leg.

"You are the one who shot Elisa Maza and Liam Gardner." Griff snarled with the deepest loathing, his eyes now blindingly white.

"What?" Dracon questioned, barely containing his fear.

"Griff, no! You can't kill him." Broadway tried to stop him as he climbed up a chain.

"You think not?" Goliath questioned him, surprised that he didn't want justice. "Elisa and Liam will have their revenge through us."

"But he didn't shoot them. I did." Broadway finally admitted as he reached the walkway.

"What?" Both Griff and Goliath asked, their eyes now back to normal.

"It was an accident. I was looking at Elisa's gun… it went off. I-I'm sorry." Broadway said, hoping Griff especially would forgive him, having seen just how angry he was, even using his wings as a shield if either he or Goliath decided to strike him.

However, neither of them did and Goliath ripped a part of the metal railing as Griff put Dracon down, allowing Goliath to wrap it around Dracon.

"Come…." He said, lifting him up. "We have much to talk about."

The three gargoyles gathered the rest of Dracon's men and wrapped them in metal before placing them all together on the ground.

The shutter then suddenly opened and in stepped Owen with car headlights beaming in.

"So you were the buyer." Griff spat.

"Mr. Xanatos had to get the guns back somehow. Excellent job, by the way. He'll be pleased that you have recovered his property." Owen said, making Goliath and Griff growl at the fact that they pretty much did Xanatos' work for him. Owen then turned and pulled out some paper from his jacket.

"Are all the weapons that were stolen here?" Goliath asked.

"Hard to say for certain. But I would estimate that thirty seven guns, rifles and heavy weapons are missing. No doubt they've already been sold on the street." Owen replied right before Goliath grabbed one of the heavy weapons. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure that no more of these fall into the wrong hands." Goliath said as he stepped back and aimed the weapon at the rest.

"Wait!" Owen tried to stop him, but Goliath fired and destroyed all the weapons.

"Mr. Xanatos isn't going to like this." Owen told Goliath.

"Good. He deserves to not have things go the way he likes them to." Griff snapped at him as Goliath snapped the weapon in half and placed the parts on Dracon's lap.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Making sure the police link you with the stolen property." Goliath coolly replied.

"Come. We have a couple of sick friends to visit." He then said, which made Broadway look relieved.

"You mean Elisa and Liam aren't dead?" He asked to make sure he heard him correctly, the response he got being Griff and Goliath having steely and cold looks on their faces.

The three then left the warehouse.

They made it to Manhattan General, where they saw Elisa's family sitting around her and Liam, who were waking up.

"Mom?" Elisa said weakly, which made Diane look overjoyed to see her awake.

"Hey, guys." Liam greeted them as well.

"Elisa. Liam." Peter said as he and Derek stood,

"You're awake!" Derek said as he got up to Liam.

"Oh, thank goodness." Diane said.

"How do you guys feel?" Derek asked the pair.

"Mmm… lousy, I guess." Elisa replied.

"I feel like my whole body is heavier than it should be." Liam replied. "What happened, anyway?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Peter said as he walked between their beds.

"Captain Chavez just called. Dracon's been arrested for grand theft. They found him in a warehouse with Xanatos' guns. All of them destroyed. He was babbling about monsters attacking him and his men." Derek informed them, which made the pair knowingly smirk.

Outside, Griff looked incredibly anxious to be by Liam's side.

A nurse then entered and checked their IVs.

"You'll have to leave now. They're past the crisis points but they need their rest, especially Mr. Gardner." She informed everyone.

"I'll inform your parents that you're okay, Liam." Peter told Liam, who nodded his thanks before Peter, Diane and Derek left the room with the nurse.

Once the door was closed, the gargoyles entered.

"Hi, guys." Elisa greeted them while Liam simply smiled. Griff instantly was by Liam's side, holding his hand gently.

"Elisa, Liam, it was all my fault." Broadway apologised. "I was playing with your gun and… it went off."

Elisa held her hand out for him to hold.

"I'll never touch a gun again." He then made a promise, hoping to never repeat what happened.

"I should've been a lot more careful about where I left it. We both made mistakes." Elisa said, feeling just as responsible for what happened.

"Yeah, but you and Liam nearly paid for those mistakes with your lives." Broadway replied.

"Then this should be used for why they're not worth repeating." Liam told him

"Come. They need their rest." Goliath told Griff and Broadway, but Griff looked like he needed to say something.

"Hold on." He said, holding his hand up before looking directly into Liam's eyes.

"Liam. There's something I need to tell you. When I heard that you were shot and that you may not live, I thought my world was crumbling apart. For the first time in my whole life, I was terrified. And seeing you alive and well… it makes me realise that I need to tell you that… I love you." Griff finally confessed.

Liam, and everyone there, was speechless. He couldn't believe it, Griff admitted his love for him. His eyes welled up as he made a smile pure of joy and happiness.

"Oh, Griff… I love you, too." He confessed back and he leaned up, kissing his beak. Griff kissed back after his initial shock.

Once they parted, the two looked at the others, who all smiled, happy to see them finally admit their feelings.

"Come." Goliath said, making Griff give Liam one last kiss before he and the other gargoyles headed for the window.

"Goliath…." Elisa tried to say something.

"Shh… sleep now. You're safe." Goliath told her, stroking her hair, making Liam wonder if there's something going on between them.

The gargoyles all exited through the window just as dawn arrived, putting them in Stone Sleep, Griff's statue having a smile.

"What did I tell you?" Elisa remarked to Liam about their conversation.

"Oh, shut up." Liam retorted, making Elisa laugh before the pair closed their eyes and went to sleep, Liam with a smile at the fact that he and Griff were now boyfriends.

Finally! Liam and Griff are boyfriends! Now this isn't gonna be the final development between the two as there's some more stuff planned. And expect there to be an original chapter where they go on their first date after Enter Macbeth.

And there's 8 days left on the Gargoyles Kickstarter. Even if it's just a dollar, back the project to show to Disney that Gargoyles is something worth revisiting.