Chapter 1: New York Zydeco
One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was an age of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of Gargoyles!
Stone by day, Warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans who we swore to protect. Frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now we are in Manhattan. The spell is broken. And we live again!
We are defenders of the night! We are Gargoyles!
-Manhattan, New York-
As night fell over the Island of Manhattan and the giant building known as Xanatos tower, Detective Alisa Maza stood on the balcony of a medieval castle that was atop the tower, and the gargoyles on the edge shattered the stone that covered them like a reptile shedding its skin.
Those very same Gargoyles had just come to life! The beasts yawned before they turned to face Alisa who held a newspaper in her hand.
"Hey guys." The woman greeted her nocturnal friends.
"Ah, Alisa." The largest of the creatures said as he crawled down. He was a hulking giant with long black hair and horns lining its brow as well as an impressive wingspan. "What a pleasant sight to greet us as we awaken." He sighed happily.
"Actually, Goliath, I was hoping to show this to you." Alisa said as she showed him the newspaper. "There's been sightings of an eight foot tall Alligator man prowling the sewers lately." She told him, pointing at a blurry picture of said creature walking through the sewers with a sack slung over its broad shoulders.
"That sounds a little odd, lass." Hudson, an elderly gargoyle that was blind in one eye as well as being rotund with a dagger on the belt of his brown tunic, commented. His voice has a Scottish accent.
"I know, that's why I wanted to tell you to warn you in case you ran into it." Alisa nodded as a teal colored gargoyle with a rotund build walked up and looked at the article.
"Ya know I've been hearing a lot of music coming from the sewers lately too." He noted. "Trumpets, saxophones, stuff like that." He added.
"Sounds like you were hearing Jazz, Broadway." A red gargoyles with grey hair told him.
"It could be our supposed Alligator man playing music, too." Lexington, a small brown skinned gargoyle with fused wings similar to that of a wingsuit, piped up.
"Hmmm." Goliath hummed. "I've read books of a kind of creature from the southern United States that was originally a man who was cursed by witches of an old black magic known as Voodoo to have features of an animal." He added. "Perhaps…" He said before looking at Broadway. "Broadway, do you think you'd be willing to investigate the sewers for this alligator man?"
"Sure." Broadway nodded as he climbed onto the ledge of the castle and launched off, gliding down to the city below.
"Sure hope that gator guy isn't hostile." Lexington said in worry. Brooklyn puts his hand on the smaller gargoyle's shoulder.
"Don't worry Lex, if there's anyone who can befriend a giant animal man like that, it's Broadway." He told his friend.
"Let's hope that's the case." Alisa sighed.
(Elsewhere)
Gliding down to an empty street, Broadway landed in front of a manhole cover and sure enough, his ears picked up the sound of music coming from down below.
"I knew I was hearing something down there." The broad gargoyle said as he lifted the cover up and dropped into the sewers. Following the sound of music he soon came to what looked like an old shore bank that was made into a home.
An abandoned New Orleans trolley car seemed to have been made into a house, the dirt and the gravel looked to be replicating a yard, and there were even reed bars and chains in the shape of a fence.
He also smelled some food cooking… and it smelled good. As he went to investigate, he heard the music become louder as a shadow rounded the corner.
"Whoa, thought it was a nightmare, Lord it was so true. They told me don't go walking slow
The devil's on the loose!" The voice he heard sang as a figure rounded the corner, carrying a travel sack over his shoulder as he walked towards the lair. "Better run through the jungle. Better run through the jungle. Better run through the jungle." He continued to sing as he walked up to the door of the trolley and set the sack down and opened it.
Broadway hid behind a corner and peeked around it. He was surprised by the appearance of the gator man. As mentioned, he was nine feet tall, but it didn't end there. He was covered head to toe in green scales, had an Alligator tail, and even had an Alligator snout. Even from where he was, the turquoise gargoyle could see the maw full of sharp teeth. He also wore a pair of worn out blue jeans and some gauze wrappings around his hands.
The reptilian man shuffled through the bag and started pulling out various antique china pieces, silverware, and other such antiques as well as spare parts to furniture.
"Ah finally! Ah have the full set and all the pieces! Just like mah gran Mere mere used to have!" He said in a thick Cajun accent before he tapped the button on the trolley's door, causing it to open before he stepped inside.
'Huh. Seems harmless enough.' Broadway thought as he watched. The gator man then opened the door again and set up a folding chair and two TV trays, one that he put an old 1979 Zeneith Mercari TV on, and the second he set a steaming pot of what looked to be red beans and sausage with rice on top of it and a pan full of some sort of yellow bread.
He then turned the TV on and started having his dinner as he watched it. It was at this point that Broadway decided to make himself known.
"Hey! Is anyone out here? I can't seem to find my way around!" He called from behind his corner, getting the gator man's attention without revealing that he was around the corner.
"Who the hell is down here?" He muttered to himself as he got up to investigate the disturbance. As he rounded the same corner, he then bumped right into Broadway.
"Whoa!" The gargoyle said as he backed up, before realizing just how short he was in comparison to the man now that he was up close. "Jalapeña." He said in surprise. The man looked down and blinked, his blue slitted reptilian eyes slightly wide in surprise.
"Okay, what are you? You're obviously not human." He questioned.
"Oh, my name's Broadway. I'm a gargoyle." The teal colored creature said, holding up his hand. "It's nice to meet you…?" He started to say.
"Jean. Jean Lebeau." The gator man told him, shaking his hand. "So, you said you're lost down here?" He asked.
"Yeah…" Broadway nodded, right as his stomach started to quiver as it let out a loud grumble. "And apparently, hungry too." He added. Jean let out a chuckle.
"Come on. Ah've already finished cookin' up some dinner." He said, gesturing for the gargoyle to follow. As he set up a chair for Broadway, Jean gave him a bowl with the stuff in the pot and a wedged slice of the yellow bread. "You ever had Red Bean 'N' Rice or Corn bread before, Broadway?" He asked as he also gave him a glass of iced tea.
"Nope. First time eating this kind of stuff." Broadway replied, shaking his head.
"Then you're in for a treat." Jean grinned as he ate. "This is one of the most well known dishes in the state of Louisiana. Cajun cooking at its finest." He added as a commercial came on. It's topic apparently covered a group of five called The Pack. "Oh goody. Those five." He grunted, unimpressed.
"You don't like the Pack? My friends think they're pretty cool." Broadway said as he took another bite of cornbread, which tasted sweet if he was being honest.
"My grandpappy always told me you shouldn't believe everything you see. Especially when it comes to 'heroes'." The gator man stated.
"Oh come on. The Pack can't be that bad." The gargoyle said as he took a sip of tea.
"Ha!" Jean chortled. "You mentioned friends, there more'a you gargoyles out there?" He asked.
"Yeah, we're all part of a clan. There's six of us all together." Broadway told him. Jean hummed for a moment.
"My daddy once said that if you find someone who enjoys good food, they probably good people." He said as he wiped his mouth clean. "So if they're friends of yours, they're friends of mine." He added as he stared wrapping up a few bowls of red beans and rice with cornbread before handing it to his new friend. "Here you are, food to take home for ya friends."
"Oh, they're gonna love this. Thanks." Broadway nodded with a smile.
"Any time mon ami. Anytime. Stop by when you have the chance, ya hear?" Jean told him. "Don't be a stranger now."
Broadway chuckled at his new friend's words before he took his leave. Jean meanwhile sat back in his chair with a thoughtful look on his reptilian face.
"Livin' gargoyles… Not what Ah was expecting tonight." He mused.
(Later)
Broadway landed back on the castle balcony and he carried the food carefully. It was then that a dark blue gargoyle that looked similar to a bulldog bounded up to him.
"Hey Bronx, you hungry boy?" The gargoyle asked the quadruped. He got his answer in the form of excited barking, causing him to chuckle. "Alright, here you go." He said, unwrapping a bowl of Red Bean 'N' Rice for him. As well as letting him eat a slice of cornbread.
Bronx happily started eating and quickly downed it, even licking the bowl clean before sitting down, his tongue wagging in delight.
"Hey guys, Broadway's back!" Brooklyn said as he ran up to his friend and noticed the bag he was holding. "What's in there?" He asked as Goliath, Hudson and Alisa came to greet him.
"Found our Alligator man. His name's Jean LeBeau. He's actually a nice guy." The chunky gargoyle replied. "He even gave me some food to give to you guys. Here, try it." He added as he gave some food to everyone.
"Red Beans huh? I haven't had this stuff ever since the last time my parents brought me to the south when I was a little girl." Alisa noted as she tried some of the food. "His name sounds French, did he have an accent at all?" She asked.
"Yeah, a really thick one too, why?" Broadway asked.
"Just trying to narrow down where he may have come from. And from the sounds of it, he sounds like he's from the backwoods of Louisiana in Bayou country. Cajun territory." The Detective deduced.
"He did mention this was Cajun cooking." Broadway said, thinking back to that conversation.
"Then that means he's traveled halfway across the country to live here. Question is, why?" Goliath wondered as he ate a piece of bread, right as Lexington glided back in.
"Where were you?" Brooklyn asked.
"I was gliding around the studio where the Pack is supposed to be appearing and I can't be sure, but I think one of them saw me." The yellow gargoyle replied. "Though I'm honestly not sure." He added, scratching his head.
"Let's hope they didn't, lad." Hudson groaned.
"Yeah…" Lexington nodded.
(Elsewhere)
In the very same building Lexington had just come from, the Pack was busy training. And their leader, Fox, had just received something in the mail.
"Well look at this. No sender ID and no return address." She noted. She then tossed some pictures of Goliath on the bench she was on.
"Stone me!" Dingo, a muscular Australian man said in surprise. A woman next to him picked up one of the pictures.
"Ya know, I remember reading something in the Daily Taddler, something about gargoyles coming to life." She said, before a man who looked almost exactly like her chuckled.
"Right, and Alligators live in the sewers." He chuckled.
-With Jean-
Jean sneezed as he walked through the sewers before shrugging and continuing on his way, diving into the water.
-Back with the Pack-
"Regardless, I'd say this is worth looking into. But for now, we have a public appearance to make." Fox states as they continue to train.
(Later)
The next morning, Jean crawled out of a storm drain and swam through the east river until he reached the docks that were a couple miles down. And then opened his travel sack and started scraping oysters off the docks with his claws.
"These should hold me over for a bit." He said to himself. He then swam to where the Hudson and east rivers met the ocean and saw a red fish and pack of speckled trout swimming his way. 'Oh, I can make some good dishes with those.' He thought with a grin, already coming up with an assortment of dishes that involve fish.
Grabbing a net from his belt he swam around the fish and caught them all in one move. Even getting some shrimp as well. Satisfied with his haul, he swam to the bank of Central Park and got out of the water, seeing a mother and father duck walk past him with their ducklings.
The gator man was tempted to snatch the male duck up for dinner… but shook his head, seeing how cruel it would be to the ducklings. As they walked past him into the water, one of the little ones stumbled and almost hit its head on a rock, but luckily—Jean stopped that from happening by catching the little fluff ball.
"Careful, now. Wouldn't want to worry your family, would ya?" He said gently as he released his grip and gently set the duckling in the water to swim with its family, getting a grateful quack in return.
Smiling Jean continued on his way, staying out of sight until he reached his usual entrance to the sewers and dropped in… Little did he know that he was being watched.
"Well whaddya know." Hyena said as she walked down that same street in her civilian clothing. "Looks like my brother was right, there are alligators in the sewers." She chuckled to herself.
Back with Jean, he crawled into the waters of the sewers and swam to the bank of his hideout, got out and entered his house. The trolley itself was decorated with everything New Orleans related one could think of, as well as traps, fishing lines, family pictures, and even a mounted Red Fish. There was also a refrigerator, oven and other appliances as well as an old record player.
He then put his haul in the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Abita brand Root Beer before plopping down in his favorite easy chair and reclining back as he turned on the TV.
"Ah, it's always good to kick back after a long day of work." He sighed, eating out of a bag of Elmer's Chee Wees, a brand of New Orleans chips. A taste of home… Though his session of watching "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" was interrupted when he heard something outside his house. "That better not be some scavenger, or I'm killing it!" He growled to himself. He really detested scavengers. Sure, he knew they were just trying to survive, but so was he and being robbed pissed him off as much as the next guy.
As man stepped outside, he cracked his knuckles. "Alright, who's out here? Broadway, is it you cap? Come on, don't be shy now!" He called, thinking it could be his new friend. Before he could call out again, his instincts told him to duck, and he did so just in time for a boomerang looking projectile to fly by him and explode.
"Guess not." The man said as he looked around, and saw Hyena walking from behind some cover, currently in her costume. Jean growled as his eye membrane covered his icy blue eyes, showing that he was agitated. "Somethin' Ah can do for you, Cherie?" He questioned with a low growl.
"Just one thing." Hyena began as she got in a stance. "Show me a good dance." She finished as she leapt at him.
As Jean spun around to counter, his record player started automatically playing "Born on the Bayou" as he slammed his tail into Hyena's stomach, sending her flying into the wall of his section of the sewer.
Grunting, the woman got back to her feet and ran at her target before throwing a swipe at him, forcing the reptile man to jump back. Noticing that they weren't far from the water way, Jean lunged at Hyena and slammed his skull into her stomach, sending her crashing into the water as he leapt in after and grabbed her by her midsection and started employing his personal finisher: The Death Roll.
Hyena struggled to get free as her lungs burned while she was spun around under the water. She tried to go for her gadgets, but couldn't get her brain to function correctly.
After she was properly disoriented, the gator released his jaw grip on her and started swimming around her and bashing her at random at various angles, before grabbing her and dragging her to the water surface and hurling her onto dry land.
Hyena panted as she shook the cobwebs from her head and sat up, not quite ready to stand after the thrashing she just got. As she held her head, Jean came back ashore and glared at her, his current height making him dwarf her in height and sheer mass.
"Had enough yet, Cher?" He asked, his battle scarred scaly arms rippling as he crossed his arms, making the woman see just how much of the man was pure, primal, muscle.
"Yeah… I think I've had my fill." She groaned while discreetly eying him. 'I wanna eat food off of those abs…' She thought, still slightly dazed.
"Hmph, well if ya done here, then Ah suggest you get a move on outta my backyard bayou, now." The gator told her, slapping his tail on the ground for emphasis.
Not needing to be told twice, Hyena got to her feet and stumbled out of Jean's territory. She wouldn't forget this encounter for a long time… And she certainly wouldn't forget how good he looked to her, either.
(The next night)
Jean was grilling up the fish he had caught as he watched the news, seeing that the pack had been arrested for assault and holding hostages. Well, most of them at least. Jackal and Hyena in particular were still at large after evading arrest.
"Hmph, serves 'em right!" He chortled as he kept cooking.
"Hey Jean!" Broadway called as he walked into the gator's territory with the rest of the gang, including Alisa.
"Over here Cap! Y'all just in time for supper!" Jean called back, waving them over.
"So you're Jean. I've seen you in the local newspaper lately." The police woman commented as she took a seat.
"You mean da daily taddler? Hogwash! I ain't no man eatin' gator!" The man snorted. "I just a'soon die then raise a hand against my fellow man." He added. His words got a series of chuckles from everyone else.
"We figured as much." Hudson said in an amused tone. Bronx meanwhile sniffed the grill as the gator man slid a raw oyster into his open mouth.
"Bark!" The dog chirped, liking the briny taste of the oyster.
"Here, have some oysters while y'all wait. Help yourself, we got grilled and raw." He told them as he set two large trays on the outside table.
"Wow, that smells great." Brooklyn sighed as he took a bite out of a grilled oyster. "Tastes great, too." He added.
"Glad y'all think so, Ah just got them from the east river. Fresh as fresh can be." The man said as he continued cooking. "Speakin o' which, Ah almost had someone kick me all the way to Georgia today." He added.
"Who would be foolish enough to challenge you?" Goliath wondered as he ate a raw oyster.
"A woman, real wild one too." He replied right as the TV showed a mugshot of Hyena. "Well Ah'll be a neutra rat's uncle. Dat's her!" He added, pointing at the picture.
"Hyena attacked you? Why?" Lexington asked in surprise.
"No clue. It looked like to me that she was looking for a good fight." He shrugged. "Not that Ah blame her though, Ah enjoy a good fight as much as the next reptile." He added as he set the cooked fish on the table. "Dig in." He told them.
And dig in they did. They spent the rest of the night just talking and enjoying each other's company until the sun came up.
It seemed finding new friends in the modern era wasn't so hard after all.
Dragon Emperor0: Hello fellow Gargoyles fans. I hope you like this new story of mine because it's something I've been wanting to do for awhile. Especially with Jean here, as a Louisiana native myself I really enjoyed creating him for this story.
ThermalsniperN7: I must confess, I haven't really watched the show in years since TV shows in general got boring. This should be a good chance for me to catch up on it.
Dragon Emperor0: This series really is a classic. And I can't wait to get this story going. For now though, see you next time!