"Anytime Owen,"
Owen, who he and Xanatos were dressed in karate uniforms, got into a battle stance, and he and Xanatos circled each other like wolves defending their territory. On their break, they decided to have a bit of martial arts practice to refresh their fighting techniques.
Narrowing his eyes, Owen did a roundhouse kick, in which Xanatos dodged. Seeing an opening, the assistant did a back kick that made a direct hit.
Xanatos grunted as he slid on the mat. Lifting his back up, he looked at Owen with a slightly jarred look. Owen somehow got out of battle stance, then made his way to his boss with a worried look on his face. He went to loan his hand out, but the millionaire waved it away and jumped to his feet.
"You've been practicing," Xanatos commented. "This is the first time I've lost a match to you."
"Would you rather I pretend to lose?" Owen asked with a slight look of worry.
"I'd fire you if you did." Xanatos turned his heel to a chair with a towel and his watch. He laid the towel on his neck as he put his watch on in clear silence.
Owen looked at the man with concern. "Are you alright Mr. Xanatos?"
"Of course," he acknowledged. "Lets move to the next agenda."
Owen immediately went to where his stuff was laid out and picked up his glasses and a small computer. "That would be with the meeting with the Emir at two."
"Tell him to be here at one." Xanatos stated then went to the exit the gym.
Owen immediately went to his phone to make the call with the Emir.
Down at the police station, Elisa just arrived carrying a small television set for the gargoyles (mostly Hudson) and was slowly making her way to the front doors.
Coming up to the door, she didn't realize that holding a TV and trying to open a door was rather cumbersome. Just as she was about to drop the TV set-
"Need some help?"
Elisa turned, and a man with red hair and wearing a beige trench coat over a business suit was walking up the precinct. He went to the door and opened it for her.
"Worried about missing the late show tonight?" the man asked.
Elisa flashed a smile. "It's a gift." She answered. "I'm just stashing it here until I'm off shift." She nodded thanks to the man and entered the building.
The man looked down and took notice of a remote on the floor. He picked it up, then went into the building.
"Captain this is a joke right?"
Elisa recently got called in from Captain Chavez to meet here and discuss some things in her office. One of those things…is Elisa was assigned a partner.
"No joke." Chavez shook her head. "I'm assigning you a partner. Now that you're back on duty, we're gonna make sure you stay there."
"You think I need protection?" the detective asked the captain who walked out of her seat toward the door. She continued. "Getting shot, I mean, that was an accident!" Even not telling her that it was a friend who shot her, she knew it was truly an accident.
"This isn't open to discussion." Chavez declared opening the door to reveal the same man who helped her to the door. "This is Detective Matt Bluestone. He worked with me to close the Dracon business."
When Elisa met Matts gaze, he gave a small smile as a greeting, but Elisa had something else on her mind.
Matt walked up to her and handed her the remote. "You dropped this."
Elisa took it with no question. "Thanks."
Coming out of the office together, Elisa turned to the other detective. "No offense, I'm sure you're a great cop, but I don't need a partner, and I don't want one."
"Hey I understand," Matt remarked. "Problem is, you have a partner." He pointed at himself. "Me. Guess we have to just make the best of it."
Elisa didn't like where this was going. She softly groaned. "There must be some kind of conspiracy going on to make my life difficult."
"Wouldn't surprise me."
Elisa checked her watch, realizing it was 'that' time. "Look, I have something to take care of…" she turned to her new partner. "Alone. I'll meet you outside in 20 minutes."
With that, Elisa went up the stairs that were near them. Leaving Matt alone in the hallway.
After walking a few flights of stairs, Elisa found herself entering a walk in broom closet. She pulled down a ladder in which the interior of the clock tower illuminated the closet. When the ladder was down, the detective turned to the small television set she brought up earlier this evening.
"You guys better appreciate this." She muttered with a smile as she lifted the set with both hands.
Inside the clock area, the Manhattan Clan had settled in nicely since the Macbeth incident. Their new home still need some improvements, but it was a good start. Near the stairs, Hudson was napping in an old recliner they had found recently in an alleyway, and Broadway was at usual cooking some food on a hotplate with some pots and pans Elisa had in storage. The detective came up through the floor entrance carrying the tv when the potbelly took notice of her.
"Let me help you Elisa," he walked over to her.
"Thanks Broadway." The said gargoyle picked up the TV with one claw and used the other to pull Elisa up. As she dusted herself off, she walked forward but jumped back when something yellow zoomed past her feet.
"Hey!" she looked to her left and saw Lexington holding a remote control and a yellow toy car zoomed around him.
"Neat toy huh?" the green gargoyle grinned at his new toy.
"Yeah, slow it down or I'll give ya a ticket." She straightened out as she looked at the others who were fixing the tv. "Where's Goliath?"
"Down in the library," Broadway replied, then added. "You staying for breakfast?"
"No thanks, I gotta get back to work soon." The detective answered, then turned back to the clan. Before she could ask the question, Chelsea spoke.
"He's probably in either Psychology or the Philosophy section."
That made the detective smile. "Thanks Chelsea."
The female smiled back as the detective walked down the stairs toward her new destination.
In the library, Elisa was walking past long rows with thousands of books shelved together. Being closed and no one around, the detective knew Goliath would be in here. Recalling, Goliath had been visiting the library since he can no longer go to the one in the castle.
"Goliath?" she went to the last of the bookshelves and found the big guy reading a large novel in his claws.
"What are you reading?" she asked.
"Dostoevsky." Goliath answered, not even looking up from his book.
"Yeah? Whose it by?"
That made the gargoyle stop reading and looked down at her with a confused expression.
Elisa shrugged. "Kidding."
Goliath rumbled, then looked over at the window. Elisa followed his gaze and saw he was looking at a crystal view of Cattle Wyvern on top of the Eyrie Building. She looked up at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Xanatos…" he growled. "He stole our ancestral home and drove us into hiding here…and I was unable to prevent it."
"Hey, look on the bright side," Elisa spoke in a soft voice. "You didn't lose a castle; you gained a library."
Goliath still didn't look convinced. "This is his century, his world." As he felt his anger rise in every syllable, his claws were bending the book he was reading. "We are outcasts, strangers in a strange land." He looked down as he shook his head. "We have no hope of regaining what is rightfully ours."
Elisa kept quiet as Goliath let it all out. "You're right," she informed him. "It's a lousy deal. But Xanatos won't stay on top forever. What goes around comes around Goliath. I wouldn't want his karma."
Goliath looked down at his human friend, then turned back up at the castle above the clouds. His frown still lingered on his face.
"If only I could make him feel what I feel now…"
After their conversation, Elisa and Goliath arrived back in the clock tower, and saw the rest of the clan just finishing set up the TV. Later, they were all around it as the box was on mute.
"Well, it's not a 6-foot screen but I hope it'll do." Elisa told the clan.
"Hey, it's better than no TV." Chelsea turned to the detective next to her with a smile.
"It's a grand gift lass," Hudson turned to her. "Thank you."
As Brooklyn held up the remote changing the channels, a particular one was showing a particular millionaire.
"Xanatos," Goliath growled as the hothead unmuted the screen.
"This is Travis Marshall at the Museum of Modern Art where one of the world's most priceless jewel, the Eye of Odin, is being donated by David Xanatos from his private collection."
"He can do that?" Chelsea turned to clan with a raised eye ridge. Her only answer was Goliath rumbling a growl in his throat.
Gulping, and turning back to the screen, Xanatos was shaking hands with the museum curator, a strange yet familiar smile on his face.
"This is quite a philanthropic act, Mr. Xanatos." Marshal turned to the millionaire with a remark. "The eye is worth millions to just give it away?"
"Well Travis," Xanatos replied. "I just felt that the eye should be shared with the world instead of locked away in my personal museum. Besides, it's a great tax write-off."
The camera turned back to Marshall. "A grand gesture from a man known for grand gestures."
Out of know where, Goliath gave out a mighty roar, making the whole clan turned to him with startled expressions. Before anyone could say anything, Goliath turned and ran off toward the balcony and into the night.
"A few more donations like this and New York might even forget about your prison record." Marshall recalled, making the clan turn back to the TV.
"I made a mistake, Mr. Marshall. I paid my dept to society. All I'm trying to do is give something to benefit others. Would you rather I kept the eye?"
Before anyone could answer, Brooklyn changed the channel again and gave the remote to Hudson.
"Strange how Xanatos would say something like that." The old one started taking a seat in his recliner.
"I like to know what made him donate that little trinket?" Broadway inquired going back to the kitchen area to finish cooking.
"Who knows." Chelsea shrugged heading to a small bookshelf in the corner and taking out a thick red book named The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. "I will say," she went next to the bookcase to lay her back against the wall. "That human is full of mystery." she slid down and took a seat on the stone floor and opened the first page. Bronx whined, came over and curled up next to her right thigh.
It had been a few hours since the museum of Modern Art closed for the night. Walking around the displays, the nightwatchman was doing his usual rounds, checking the doors were all locked and watching out for intruders. Walking past the Expressionist Era paintings, the sound of broken glass cracked the silence, and the alarm began blaring around the room. The guard took off heading toward the source. As he rounded a corner, he flipped his flashlight on to look at the culprit. He wished he didn't… Dropping the flashlight, what he saw made him take a step back.
In the shadows, a huge monster with glowing red eyes and large bat-like wings, was standing in front of the exhibit of the Eye of Odin with the artifact in his claws. Once it saw the guard, it threw a quick punch, knocking the guard backwards toward another display, shattering it on the ground.
The creature looked down at the unconscious guard, then walked toward a large window, and shattering it in the process. It jumped down to a small balcony below, freedom awaiting it out in the night. Just as it was heading to that freedom…
"Police! Freeze!"
The creature turned behind, and Matt and Elisa were on the balcony aiming their guns at it. It did no such thing, spreading its wings out, and took off in the night. Matt leveled his gun up and went to open fire.
Elisa turned to her new partner with wide eyes. "No!"
The sound of a gunshot rang out and hit the creature flying away. Out of relief (to the detective), there was no cry of pain. Instead, the sound of a bullet ricocheting off metal was heard.
Elisa, knowing that it wasn't her friends, turned to Matt who put his gun away. He turned to her with frown.
"Why'd you try to stop me?"
"Who knows what that thing was?" she quickly replied. "It might've blown up when you hit it."
Matt didn't look convinced but accepted it.
"Well, let's go see what it was I was shooting at."
Elisa was in Captain Chavez's office discussing what she and Matt saw in the museum.
"According to sightings all over town, there are at least three of these things," Chavez told her as she looked at the file. "Well, they're not shy about being seen."
"This doesn't make any sense…" Elisa muttered.
Chavez gave a raised eyebrow. "What's that Maza."
Before Elisa could explain, Matt walks into the captain's office. "Check this out." He turns on the TV near the Captain and it was the news from Travis Marshall.
"The station had acquired the security camera coverage of the robbery last night," Marshal announced.
The three saw a silhouette of a gargoyle (a perfect replica of Goliath) walk up to the glass case, shatters it before taking the eye out and walking away.
"According to witnesses, this gargoyle-like creature attacked a guard and then flew away from the scene."
Matt turns the TV off then turning to his colleagues.
"All I know is, I hit it with a .38 slug and didn't even slow it down." Matt said to Chavez.
She turned to the female detective. "Maza, any ideas?"
Elisa had a strange feeling but didn't show it. "Not yet," she knew she had to talk to the clan about this. Whatever it is…it's involving them big time.
That night, Elisa went up to the clocktower, and explained the events of the robbery. The clan were around her as she finished explaining.
"So, there you have it. Someone's impersonating you Goliath." Elisa finished.
Brooklyn, who stood in the kitchen area with Chelsea, was the first to speak. "Do you think it's possible there are other gargoyles alive out there?"
"Wouldn't that be something?" Chelsea added with a bit of hope.
"You guys are tough, but you're not bulletproof," Elisa interjected. "I heard Matt's slug bounce off metal."
That made Goliath's gaze harden. "Xanatos robots."
"The Steel Clan?" Broadway spoke up. "But I thought we destroyed them all."
"We did," the leader answered. "He must have made more."
"It makes no sense." Hudson said in his recliner. "Why would Xanatos donate the jewel to the museum and them have it stolen?"
"No doubt he has some sort of devious plan in mind."
"I wouldn't doubt if Xanatos wants us under his control again…" Chelsea muttered crossing her arms.
Goliath must have heard her as he turned to her, a thought forming in his head. He turned to Hudson and Bronx. "Hudson, you and Bronx guard out new home." He turned to the young four. "The rest of you, come with me."
Goliath walks forward toward the stairs leading toward the balcony. Behind him were Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and Chelsea. Elisa turned to the leader who was walking away, a dark aura surrounding his presence. She ran up in front of the leader to cut him off.
"Where are you going?"
"To deal with Xanatos," he replied with a gravel in his voice.
"Hold on Goliath. I wouldn't take the chance of being seen if I were you." Elisa argued. "You're not rating very high in public opinion polls right now."
"No Elisa. No more hiding. Xanatos will answer to me for this,"
He gently pushed Elisa out of the way and continues up the stairs. The other four following closely behind.
"Goliath wait!"
Before Elisa could call out more, Goliath slammed the balcony door open. He spread his wings and took off into the night, the other gargoyles right on his tail. Elisa watched them go, silently cursing at Goliath's stubbornness, then turned on her heels down the steps out of the clocktower.
Elisa ran out of the police station, wanting to get the Eyrie Building before things could get worse. Before she could get in her car-
"Yo, partner."
Great… Elisa groaned in her thoughts as stood tall. "No offense Matt, but this is something I have to handle alone." She turned to her so called partner.
"No way," Matt answered as he opened the passenger door. "Not with those stainless-steel monsters out there."
"Look." The detective tried at her colleague. "This is one time I don't want a partner."
"Oh yeah?" Matt countered. "That's usually the time when you need one the most."
Surprised, even touched (just slightly) by his words, Elisa gave up.
"Get in." she told him, sliding into the car and gunning the engine.
In the courtyard at his estate in the sky, clad in an over coat, Xanatos waited for his guests to arrive. Smirking upwards, he saw the gargoyles coming in for a landing. While Goliath glided forward, the four young gargoyles landed on the high battlements behind him. Each of them glaring down at the man.
Goliath landed down in front of the man, his eyes gleaming with malice and fury. "Xanatos! You have gone too far! First you steal our home and now you steal our very identities."
"You've got it all wrong," Xanatos shook his head, then looked up at him. "I'm the best friend you have in this world."
That statement made Goliath growl turn into a roar of rage.
"What's he doing?" Broadway turned to his friends who were all looking down at the man and leader. "What does Xanatos mean he's our best friend?"
"He wasn't even one to begin with." Lexington growled. "He was just using us to get some technology…"
"He must be trying to catch Goliath off guard." Chelsea spoke at the end. She turned to the trio for a second but turned down below with a narrowed look. "But why?"
Brooklyn turned to her but didn't say anything. He looked back down below with a narrowed look.
"You see," Xanatos continued with a calm expression. "Soon everybody in the Big Apple will be hunting gargoyles."
"Because of you!" Goliath exclaimed.
The man waved his finger. "If you want to be picky, we won't get anywhere. Let's try to focus on the big picture Goliath. I've got a research facility upstate, where you and your friends could be comfortable and protected."
"What?!"
"Doesn't seem a difficult choice to me. Stay here in the city and be hunted down like animals or be my guests in a safe haven. What do you say?"
"I'd rather be in a cage than any so-called safe haven you own!" Chelsea exclaimed. Before she could say anything else, Brooklyn clapped his claw over her mouth, and was struggling in his grip in protest.
Goliath looked behind her with wide eyes, surprised at her outburst. Xanatos was in too shocked at the female gargoyle speaking over her leader, but that shock soon turned into a smirk.
"Now where have I seen that type of anger?"
Goliath turned and glared at Xanatos. The leader gave out another roar before smashing a light post to the ground. He ran toward the stairs and jumped up them to join the others on the battlements.
"Let's go!" Goliath ordered, making the four gargoyles jump out of the way as he jumped into the air.
Brooklyn let go of Chelsea as they, Broadway, and Lexington jumped off and followed their leader into the night.
"You're taking this much too personally!" they heard Xanatos call out to them but knew they wouldn't answer back.
Down below at the lobby, Elisa was refused by none other than Owen, who told her she was no longer to enter unless she had a warrant. Typical, letting Xanatos have his personal bodyguard to protect him from her.
"Well, that was spectacularly unsuccessful." Matt noted.
"Yeah," she added. Looking up, she could see the silhouettes of her friends flying away from the castle. Knowing they might be heading back to the clocktower, she picked up the pace and ran to her car.
"Come on hurry!" she told Matt who was shocked at her speed.
"I can tell working with you is going to be good aerobics."
Before he was able to put his seatbelt on, Elisa instantly put her foot on the gas, and was out on the road in seconds.
Up in the skies, the gargoyles were silent, unable to speak at what just happened minutes ago. Well, almost everyone…
"So, what happened?" Brooklyn asked coming a bit closer to the hardened leader. "Did Xanatos admit he was-"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Goliath barked, making him and the others flinch.
Suddenly, a laser shot came out of nowhere, striking the leader in the left wing.
"Goliath!" Lexington shouted
Goliath fallen hard, landing on a large satellite dish, and instantly clinging on for dear life.
Chelsea turned behind to where the laser came from, and gasped.
"Heads up!" she shouted.
The trio turned behind and saw three familiar robots above them. Two were green and silver while one was red and silver. They all dove down and began to fire many lasers. The four gargoyles had to spread out in order not to get hit.
"It's the Steel Clan!" Lexington called out.
As the Steel Clan were in open fire, the gargoyles tried to dodge the multiple lasers, but were having a hard time dodging them with grace.
Down at the rooftop where Goliath fell, he managed to dodge a blast from the Steel Clan leader. He dodged the robot, then looked up at it flying away.
"We've beaten them before! We can do it again!" Goliath proclaimed as the robot made a U-turn back to him.
While the red one was solely taking on Goliath, the two green and gray ones were taking on the other four. Even though they've beat them before, these new robots were better built, as well as better trained.
Like a living nightmare, the robot took aim at Broadway, and managed to hit him clear in the back. The large gargoyle exclaimed, then went down like a rock.
"Broadway!" Lexington exclaimed, then went after his friend. Before he could do anything else, he too was struck with a laser, and dropped down.
The potbelly rolled down on the same rooftop with Goliath until a large brick wall stopped his momentum. Lexington was next as he bounced on the ground, struck a metal railing hard enough to let it loose, and his limp form dangling over the edge. Broadway managed to rescue him and brought him out of harms way.
Chelsea was having a hard time dodging the robots as one of them kept chasing along, firing lasers at her. She yelped as a laser almost burnt the top of her head. She turned behind, only to be shocked that the robot was no longer behind her. She turned forward, only to be slammed by the green and gray robot. She grunted as the robot grabbed her by her wrist, and with a mighty throw, she spun down toward the rooftop where the others were.
"Chelsea!" Goliath jumped forward and managed to catch her in his arms. He looked down at the shaky gargoyle. "Are you alright?"
Chelsea moaned and shook her head. She looked up at him with a dizzy look. "Yeah…yeah I think I'm alright." She gestured him to put her down, and she stood next to him off balanced.
Up in the sky, Brooklyn tried to remove the head of one of the robots, only to be electrocuted with probably 1000 volts. The robot did a 360 spin with the gargoyle flung away in front of Goliath and Chelsea. Broadway and Lexington soon joined them.
Before they could leave, the two robots shot through a brick wall behind the clan, which caused the bricks to topple on top of them. They manage to halfway break through the brick, but they saw the Steel Clan robots diving towards them. Each of them was ready of the unthinkable, but soon changed when they saw them halt and hovering above them a few feet away.
"What the…" Chelsea mumbled with shock.
Lexington groaned on Broadway's shoulder, then opened his eyes. "Ow…" He then realized what predicament they were in. "Hey, we're still alive. How come?"
"Its like…" Brooklyn shook his head. "They're waiting for something."
"Waiting?" Chelsea turned to the hothead in front of her. "For what?
"No doubt for us to lead them back to our new sanctuary." Goliath stated. With a mighty heave, he and the rest of the gargoyles broke free from the bricks.
"But why?" Broadway asked stepping out of the bricks, helping Lexington in the process. "Why not just kill us?"
"Because Xanatos doesn't want to destroy us." The leader answered. "He wants to dominate us."
"He's probably controlling them by radio like that toy car I have." Lexington put out.
"Yeah, so what do we do now?" Brooklyn turned to his younger rookery brother.
Just then, sirens were heard below. Chelsea quickly went to the ledge to investigate, only to see not only the police, but also a large crowd of humans looking up at their building. She went back to group so the robots couldn't hear them. Coming back, each of the clan members were watching the three robots hovering over them.
"There's a lot of humans down below. I think they noticed us and the Steel Clan." Chelsea reminded. Goliath nodded, then turned back to the robots.
"We can't lead them back to the clock tower, and we can't stay here." Goliath whispered. "It's not long until sunrise."
"We could tackle them again." Broadway suggested.
"Are you out of your mind?" Chelsea retorted to him with an 'are you kidding me' look.
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that." Brooklyn added sarcastically while rubbing his head. "They're a lot tougher than the last batch we fought."
"Yeah, particularly that one." Lexington pointed at the red robot that was in the center of the two, which was probably their leader.
"We must continue the fight someplace isolated." Goliath insisted. "Come!"
One by one, each of the gargoyles took off into the air with the Steel Clan following them.
Down below, the police had set up spotlights in order to get a look at the things flying above them. All around, people were shouting in surprise as 'gargoyle' was on almost everyone's lips. To some it was shock, but to Elisa it was a nightmare.
Looking in a pair of binoculars, Matt could see where the 'gargoyles' were going.
"They're heading south." He informed his partner.
Back in the skies, Goliath and the others were leading the Steel Clan through the city, then to open water.
Lexington glided forward then next to his leader. "Where are we going Goliath?"
"There." He pointed forward, only to see the Statue of Liberty, standing proud facing the open ocean. Devoid of any people at this time of night.
The gargoyles landed on Liberty's head, then watched as the Steel Clan closed in on them.
Goliath turned to the four. "You take the others. I'll handle the leader."
The four nodded, then the red robot open fired. The gargoyles jumped off and split up. Broadway and Chelsea in one direction, Brooklyn and Lexington in the other, and Goliath by himself with the red robot.
With Broadway and Chelsea, they were gliding high into the sky, dodging and somersaulting over the constant laser fires.
"Okay tin man, let's play follow the leader!" Broadway proclaimed as his eyes glowed. Another laser fired, but it missed.
"Catch us if you can!" Chelsea taunted as her eyes glowed red, and she dove down following Broadway behind.
While the two of them dove down, the robot followed and was aimlessly firing at them. Thinking fast, Broadway dove toward the large metal book in the statues hand. Chelsea followed close, so the robot didn't get any suspicions. It was intently focused on them that when they shot upward, it didn't have time to react. It hit the metal book hard with a mighty explosion.
"High claw!" Chelsea cheered as both she and Broadway did a high five (or four in their case).
Circling above the statues torch, Goliath and the Red Steel Clan robot followed each other close. At first, they dodged each other acrobatically, and were occasionally dodging each other swipes. The leader dodged the robots move, then decided on a different tactic. He flew high in the air, then dove on top of the robots' back. Both struggled to who gains control, but the robot seemed to have the upper advantage as it turned its rocket jets to full blast and both went higher in the air.
At another end, Brooklyn and Lexington were being tailed by the second green and gray robot. The olive gargoyle looked behind with a plan in mind. As Brooklyn glided forward, Lexington lifted his wings and went above the robot.
Seeing their friends in danger, Broadway and Chelsea looked down at the shattered former Steel Clan robot of Liberty's book. Both gargoyles looked at each other, then both dived toward the stone book. Chelsea landed first, then found what she was looking for. She picked up the robot's claw, then turned to Broadway who was gliding over.
"Catch!" Chelsea threw the arm and Broadway caught it with ease. The potbelly did a turn then went to aid his brothers while the female followed behind.
With Brooklyn distracting the robot, Lexington landed on its back, and were having a rumble. The robot did twist and turns, even somersaults trying to get the small gargoyle off its back. Immediately, the robot burst into electricity, and the small gargoyle exclaimed in pain.
While distracted, Broadway saw an opening, and threw the arm with its claws forward like a spear. The arm hit its mark on its chest. Once Lexington was off it, the robot started to slow down. Chelsea flew forward to help Lexington land on the statue's torch as the other two landed. When everyone turned to the robot, they saw it slowly give out as the flame from its jet went out. Like a falling stone, the robot dropped down in front of the Statue of Liberty and exploded on impact.
Back with Goliath and the lead robot, they were struggling as to who will win, in which the robot was trying to have the advantage.
"No machine!" Goliath growled. "You'll not get rid of me that easily!"
The lead gargoyle took a hold of one of its metal tubes and brought both gargoyle and robot down back on Liberty's head. After rolling off and onto its feet, the robot brought out its laser cannon, in which Goliath quickly disposed of.
Without a weapon, the robot unexpectedly did the unthinkable by throwing a punch, but Goliath dodged with a growl. The gargoyle did two punches on the face, then the robot did a move of its own by grabbing Goliath's wrist and threw him over its shoulder. Goliath didn't have time to recover as he dodged the robot's stomp. He then used his tail on the robot to fall on its back. Before the robot could stand up, Goliath closed in and did a few more punches, but the robot deflected them, and did a side sweep kick. The gargoyle staggered back but wasn't giving up.
Before it could do more, Brooklyn Broadway Lexington and Chelsea landed with their leader and circled around the robot. Each of them giving off their glowing glares, their wings flared, and their scowled faces.
"Give it up dumpster face!" Brooklyn growled as he closed in on the robot.
The others followed his move as they moved in closer on the robot. The Steel Clan leader looked around as it staggered over to the edge. It looked down and saw its comrades were beyond repaired as his scan reading read 'Destroyed'.
Looking back to the gargoyles who were drawing even closer, it made the decision to activate its jet pack and it flies off into the night.
Chelsea scoffed, crossing her arms. "Coward."
Goliath growls in frustration until the sound of a helicopter rang in his ears. He turned and it was indeed a police helicopter flying toward them.
"We must go quickly!" he ordered.
Soon the gargoyles jumped off the Statue of Liberty and took off into the night toward their home.
The police helicopter was circling around the Lady Liberty. Inside the cockpit were the pilot, Elisa in the passenger, Matt and Travis in the back.
"Thanks for the exclusive." Travis complimented.
"You owe me one." Matt replied.
Elisa turned to them with a bit of concern if the gargoyles were still here. Pretty soon, luck was on her side when the helicopters spotlight found the destroyed Steel Clan robots.
"Robots?" Matt asked surprised.
"Yeah," Elisa answered with relief. "Just robots."
Returning to the police station before dawn, Elisa arrived to see the clan who were on their own individual perch.
"The public's been reassured that the gargoyles were robots," Elisa stated to Goliath. "Who created them is still under investigation."
Goliath turned to her. "Xanatos tried to force us to reveal our new home." He created a small grin. "We defeated him, and if we did it once we can do it again."
"And we will, together." Elisa nodded.
With that, the sun rays rose, and the gargoyles were now ferocious statues. Guarding their new home in Manhattan.
Over at the Eyrie Building, Owen stood behind the Red Steel clan robot on top of the highest tower.
"It would appear that your plan to learn the gargoyles' hiding place has gone awry sir."
The robot twisted the red button on its chest, and air came out of the neckline. The head turned out to be a protective head piece as Xanatos was in a Steel Clan suit.
"Not really." Xanatos answered. "I have the eye of Odin back in my private collection, and the city owes me a favor for donating it. I successfully tested this prototype battle exoframe, and the most important thing…"
"Yes sir?" his right-hand man asked.
The millionaire turned his head to Owen. "I was a little worried that I might be getting soft, but I was able to stand up against Goliath, the greatest warrior alive." He turned forward to look at the city below him. "I'd say I've got my edge."
He gave a smug smile as he stared proudly at the rising sun. It was a new dawn; it was a new day. Xanatos was right, he still got edge, but will that edge last? And what lies in the future for him?