Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from Gargoyles, those belong to their owners.
Author's note: This story takes place the summer following "The Journey", and though it ignores the comic's continuity, I'm using Fang's real name, revealed in Bad Guys #2.
Chance Meetings
Chapter 7: Out Of The Frying Pan…
By RemTar85
A blast of electricity made Brooklyn back away from the open door as he tried to look inside, missing him by inches. He only had a one second glance, though one second was all he needed to scope out the situation. The mutate in the office was currently standing behind the desk, arms raised, ready to blast the gargoyle should he try to come inside. Brooklyn frowned, standing with his back to the wall, only inches from the door.
"Don't you dare come in here, or so help me, I'll fry you to a crisp!" Fang cried out, the anger in his voice quite evident.
"Yeah, I understood the message on the first blast," Brooklyn replied in a deadpan tone. "Why are you here, Fang?"
"None of your damned business! And what the hell are you doing here?"
Brooklyn scoffed and shook his head. "I live here, genius," he said mockingly.
"WHAT?!" Fang screamed in disbelief.
"Oh, so nobody told you? It figures. Well, just so you know, we moved back here many months ago," Brooklyn said.
"Oh, gimme a goddamn break!" Fang shouted out, more to himself than to Brooklyn.
"Why did you do it, Fang?" Brooklyn asked. "Why did you do that to Derek?"
It was Fang's turn to scoff, sounding smug as he explained. "He had it coming. He's had it coming ever since he locked me up, and damn did it feel good to finally get some payback! So, how's he doing?"
"He might be in a damn coma, Fang!" Brooklyn shouted, angered at how casual Fang sounded when speaking of his reasoning for the savage attack. "You're not getting away with this. You're going back in your cell, and this time we're throwing away the key."
"You're gonna have to catch me first," Fang said, sitting down in the desk's chair, his aim never wavering. "I finally managed to get out of that damn prison, and I'm sure as hell not about to go back."
"You're cornered in there. The glass behind you is bulletproof, you'll never be able to shatter it, no matter how much you blast at it. There's no way out for you, except through this door."
"And you can't come in here without me zapping you like a bug," Fang said, getting comfortable in the leather chair. "Looks like we got ourselves a stalemate here. But unlike you, I don't turn to stone when the sun comes up."
"So, your big plan is to sit there for hours until dawn comes?" Brooklyn asked.
"If I have to," Fang replied. "I sat in a cell for this long, I got patience to spare."
"Good point, but there's more than one way to skin a cat," Brooklyn said, reaching to his ear and activating his communicator. "Goliath, it's Brooklyn. I found Fang, he's here at the castle and I got him cornered in Xanatos's office. Contact the others and come here now!"
Fang instantly panicked. He had no idea if Brooklyn was bluffing or not, but he would rather be safe than sorry, knowing that he'd never escape if he had to deal with the whole clan. He got out from behind the desk and rushed to the door, electricity crackling in his hands, ready to blast at the gargoyle. The very moment he made it to the door, though, the mutate felt a lot of pain on his face, as it was smacked hard by Brooklyn's powerful tail. Fang stumbled back, clutching his snout, and he was then tackled hard to the floor by Brooklyn. Both gargoyle and mutate were now rolling along the floor, trading blows, each trying to overpower the other.
"Get… off… me!" Fang cried out, grabbing at Brooklyn's arms and sending a strong jolt of electricity into the gargoyle. Brooklyn screamed in pain, and Fang was able to push him off of him.
Growling once more, Fang stood and rushed Brooklyn, but the gargoyle was ready. He used his legs and Fang's momentum to flip the mutate over him and against the wall. Fang grunted as he slumped to the floor after impact, and now Brooklyn charged towards his fallen opponent. Noticing this, Fang raised both hands and started shooting electric blasts at Brooklyn, who dodged the first few before running towards the desk and leaping to take cover behind it.
Fang was panting in rage now, standing up and shooting more electricity. "Come on out here, you freak!" he screamed, his blasts missing the gargoyle, blowing chunks off of the expensive wooden desk, others hitting the glass behind the desk to no effect.
"Oh, look who's talking about freaks, pussycat," Brooklyn replied with a smirk. The gargoyle heard Fang snarl in a fury and charge at the desk, to which Brooklyn put a stop to by grabbing the desk chair, standing quickly and throwing it at the advancing mutate with all his might. The chair hit its mark, slamming right onto Fang, sending him crashing down to the floor, while Brooklyn shook his head in disbelief. "Jalapeña, this idiot never learns," he muttered to himself.
Brooklyn leaped over the desk and onto Fang, who was dazed and groaning, trying to get up. Grabbing the front of Fang's sleeveless t-shirt, Brooklyn dragged him to his feet and slammed him hard against a wall, where he proceeded to punch the mutate in the face and stomach several times. Try as he might, Fang could not get Brooklyn away from him, as the gargoyle was quick to swat Fang's arms out of the way every time he bought them up to zap his assailant, and the barrage of punches continued. The tide of the battle had turned considerably in the gargoyle's favor, with Fang finally doubling over and falling to his knees after an especially fierce blow to his gut.
Brooklyn panted as he looked at Fang, who clutched his stomach and struggled to regain his breath. He looked stern and determined as he grabbed Fang by his t-shirt once more and dragged him up. "Give it up, Fang. The others will be here soon, and we're making sure to lock you up so deep that you'll never hurt anyone again."
Fang finally looked at Brooklyn, slowly regaining his breath, panting heavily as everything started registering in his mind. His ego had been bruised yet again, as Brooklyn had once more defeated him. Fang could not get over the idea that for the second time, Brooklyn would be responsible for having him locked up. All of the other gargoyles were on their way there for him, to make sure he would be delivered back to his cell. His freedom was about to end forever after only a few hours of having regained it. He would never see the outside of that cell again.
Fang's thoughts of despair ended there, as they turned into an anger that completely consumed him. His eyes flashed a furiously bright white, just like Brooklyn's. The mutate suddenly snarled, and with lightning fast movements, grabbed Brooklyn by the head and delivered a fierce headbutt to the gargoyle. Taken by surprise, Brooklyn could not avoid the attack, and the blow to the head left him dazed, stumbling back and away from the enraged mutate. The strength of the blow was such that it cut Fang, right above his left eyebrow. Blood now trickled down his face, falling into his left eye, but that did not stop him.
"I'M NEVER GOING BACK THERE!" Fang screamed at the top of his lungs, raising both hands and firing a powerful blast of lightning at Brooklyn. Despite being dazed by the blow to the head, Brooklyn was able to duck in time and dodge the electric bolt, which ended up blasting the large monitor on the opposite wall to pieces.
Brooklyn stood back up, slightly recuperated from his daze, and turned to face Fang. The mutate was bruised, battered, and the blood trickling into his left eye did not allow him to see out of it, but all that did not matter now. The cougar-man was acting on pure rage and adrenalin, and before he could defend himself, Brooklyn was struck in the stomach as Fang rushed him surprisingly fast. Now it was the gargoyle who had doubled over and clutched his stomach as his breath was knocked out of him, but the assault did not stop there. A snarling Fang then punched Brooklyn on the side of his head, sending him to the floor. Grabbing Brooklyn by the hair, he pulled him back up, to which the gargoyle responded by swiping at the mutate.
Fang felt a sharp pain, watching as Brooklyn's claws connected with the right side of his lower torso, making him let go of Brooklyn's hair. Fang's shirt got ripped by the swipe, three claw marks on it, and blood now trickled down Fang's side out of three cuts. The mutate was stunned for only a second, as the pain only increased his animalistic fury. He roared now, and he brandished his own claws, swiping at Brooklyn. The gargoyle managed to dodge the first few attacks, but Fang finally connected, cutting Brooklyn across his chest. The gargoyle cried out in pain as blood trickled from four cuts, his blood darker in color than his skin.
The momentum now on his side, Fang grabbed Brooklyn by the neck and smashed the back of his head on a wall. He repeated this two more times, the wall cracking with every blow, and now Fang used his free hand to grab Brooklyn by his loincloth. Lifting the gargoyle above his head, the cougar-man roared once more, as he smashed Brooklyn onto Xanatos's desk. The wooden structure cracked and broke in half as the gargoyle was smashed on its surface. Fang panted, a low snarl escaping him with every breath he took, as he watched his downed opponent, who lied amidst the broken desk, clearly unconscious. A wild rush of adrenalin still coursed through Fang, however, and it urged the mutate to continue his savage assault. The smell of blood was abundant in the air, flooding Fang's nostrils, making him brandish his claws again as he slowly approached Brooklyn. He would make sure that the gargoyle would never bother him again.
A small ping sound echoed through the main hall as the elevator doors opened. Stepping out, Owen Burnett took a deep breath of relief. He had just finished closing a deal with an important company from Japan. It had taken hours to finally come to an agreement, but he was pleased with his work. Being David Xanatos's right hand man meant he had to sometimes take care of such important business like the one he had just tended to, especially when his boss was taking a well deserved two week vacation with his wife and child in Europe.
Checking on his wristwatch, Owen saw that it was now past midnight. He had been awake since early morning, with little rest and a lot of work. Now that he had managed to close the deal with that company, he was looking forward to a relaxing shower and a long sleep. As he walked down a hall towards his quarters, he suddenly heard footsteps. Someone was running down an adjacent hallway. Owen sighed, going out of his way to intercept the runner. It had not been that long when Lexington and Bronx had broken an invaluable vase while running around the castle, giving rides to young Alexander Xanatos, and Owen was not in the mood to clean up more broken, irreplaceable objects.
As he reached the next hall, Owen saw Bronx dash by, but was certainly not expecting to see an unknown child in the gargoyle beast's company. The brown-haired boy was running so quickly alongside Bronx that he did not notice the man standing there. Owen thought back as to how many trespassers there had been on the castle ever since it was settled atop the Eyrie building, but never one so young. Owen set to follow them, wanting an explanation from the boy, when a beeping sound caught his attention. He set his briefcase down, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device, which he quickly checked. The small screen indicated a security breach, specifically in Mr. Xanatos's office.
Most men would have cursed out loud, but Owen remained stoic and level-headed as always. It seemed that the boy that ran past him was not the only intruder, and when comparing a child to someone who had activated the silent alarm in Mr. Xanatos's office, he did not have to even think about it. Immediately he grabbed his suitcase and ran towards the office. It took him only a few moments to get there, but he could hear sounds of a scuffle from quite the distance. He approached the door quickly but carefully, and his eyes opened wide at what he saw. The office had been the place of what seemed to have been quite a battle between Brooklyn and the mutate known as Fang. The place was wrecked, and the mutate was looming over the fallen gargoyle, clawed hands raising, ready to deliver a finishing blow.
Owen was quick to act. He stepped into the room and threw his briefcase at the mutate, hitting him on the back of the head. Fang turned to the door, snarling, only to be met with the sight of a blonde, bespectacled man in a business suit run towards him and deliver a flying kick to the cougar-man's face. Fang fell back against the glass wall, and Owen quickly checked on Brooklyn, feeling his neck for a pulse. As soon as he had made sure that Brooklyn was okay, Owen turned his attention to Fang, and barely managed to dodge a charging cougar-man. Both were quick to stand, and Fang threw a punch, which Owen swiftly dodged and countered with a kick to his side, right where the injuries from Brooklyn's claws were. Fang screamed in pain, but was silenced quickly as Owen threw a punch with his stone hand, connecting heavily in Fang's stomach and knocking the wind out of him.
Despite being bigger, having enhanced strength and the ability to shoot electricity, Fang was not a fighter. His idea of fighting was simply to throw punches and hope to hit. Owen, an accomplished martial artist, was fully aware of this, and he was definitely going to exploit that advantage. Clutching his stomach and struggling to catch his breath, Fang charged Owen again, throwing several punches and swiping with his claws, but could not land a single hit, for his new opponent dodged them all with practiced ease. Owen counterattacked again, kicking the back of one of Fang's knees, making the mutate lose balance, and followed with an elbow directed to Fang's face, connecting on his left eye.
Fang fell to the floor yet again, groaning in pain. The blow dazed him momentarily, his eye now in quite some pain. Already he could not see due to the blood that had gotten into his eye from the still bleeding injury on his brow, and now he was sure to not see anything at all, for that blow had made his eye get swollen shut. As he was getting back to his feet, a small beeping sound took Fang's attention away from the pain. Turning his head, he saw that Owen had taken a small device from his pocket, and he was certain of what it was.
"Securi…"
Owen was unable to finish speaking, as a bolt of electricity grazed him on his right shoulder. He grunted in pain, dropping the communicator. Having one eye swollen shut, Fang had difficulty aiming, and was frustrated when his attack did not connect properly. He was about to shoot again, but Owen had recovered quickly, and rushed Fang, ready to take the mutate down. The man was upon the mutate, fist raised, and Fang instinctively brought his hands up as though to shield himself. Owen's stone fist was about to connect with Fang's face, and then he flew back, for he had not expected Fang to suddenly let loose an electric bolt right when Owen was up close. He hit the floor, grunting in pain, slightly dazed, but still on the alert. He got up quickly, not wanting to give his opponent even the slimmest chance to get the upper hand on him.
Turning back to the mutate, Owen could only gasp. In the few seconds it had taken him to get up, Fang had picked up Brooklyn and flung the unconscious gargoyle at him. It all happened too quickly, and Owen was unable to dodge, getting hit hard. His glasses were knocked off as he fell to the floor, a fainted Brooklyn on top of him. Though he had the breath knocked out of him, Owen was not about to give in, and immediately tried to move Brooklyn off of him so he could get back on the fight. Fang was not going to have any of that, however, as he rushed over, grabbed Owen's arms and let loose with his electricity.
Fang put all he had into making sure the blonde man would not get back up, and he did not stop the flow of electricity until Owen's scream of pain ended. With both his opponents now unconscious, Fang sighed and fell to his knees, panting slowly, feeling exhausted. He knew he had no time to rest, however, as he remembered Brooklyn calling for his clan and Owen attempting to contact security. It was only a matter of time before someone would show, and he had to get out of there. Getting back to his feet, Fang winced after the first couple of steps, the bleeding injuries on his side stinging in pain, but he bit through it and got going. He was almost to the door when he stopped and looked back at Owen.
"Hold on a second," he muttered to himself, making his way back to Owen and kneeling again. Pushing Brooklyn off of Owen, Fang began searching the inner pockets of Owen's suit. It took him only a few seconds to find a leather wallet, and he quickly went through it. It had the typical things like credit cards and driver's license, and Fang grinned when he came upon quite a number of twenty dollar bills, a few tens and fives and a single one dollar bill. He counted it quickly and came to a total of two hundred and thirty-six dollars.
"Credit cards not enough, Burnett? Ah, well, to the victor goes the spoils," Fang told the unconscious man, not really expecting a reply. Taking every single bill in the wallet, Fang left it next to Owen. He then took the one dollar bill from the stack and casually put it in one of Owen's pockets. "There you go. Buy yourself a personality, Burnett. It'll do you better than a stone fist," Fang said, shaking his head. "Where the hell does one get a stone fist, anyway?"
With a nice amount of money now in his possession, Fang got back to his feet and quickly left the room, clutching his bleeding side, knowing he had little time to make a clean getaway. He was quite frustrated that his plan to make himself a home in the castle had turned out to be a disaster. Still, he figured that with the money he had taken from Owen and a second successful escape in one night, it would not be a complete loss. He walked quickly, finally coming across the doors to the courtyard. As he stepped out into the cool evening air, his good eye suddenly went wide and he froze on the spot.
"Daniel!" he gasped, having completely forgotten about his nephew. He groaned in frustration and made his way back into the halls of the castle in search of the boy. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"I need to sit down," Daniel said, gasping for breath.
Pressing against a wall, Daniel slid down to the floor and tried to catch his breath. He had been running for a while in search of David Xanatos's office. He realized that, in his haste to get to his uncle, he had gotten completely lost in the castle's seemingly endless hallways. A light grumbling sound got the worried child's attention, and he looked to his side to see the dog-like gargoyle looking at him with curiosity. Daniel reached to pet the gargoyle, who had not left his side since they had met.
Despite his current situation, Daniel chuckled. He had never owned a pet, and like any child with a dog that follows him, Daniel rather wanted to take him home. "You'd make an awesome pet, that's for sure," Daniel said, petting the pleased-looking gargoyle a little more. After a few more seconds, he stopped petting the beast and got back to his feet.
"Got to find Uncle Fred," he said, more to himself than to his companion. He began to jog rather than run down the hall, figuring he'd get tired less quickly this way. The gargoyle stayed at his side, as Daniel continued his search. He had not gone far when the dog-like beast suddenly started to growl, baring its sharp teeth. The boy gasped, startled by his companion's sudden change of mood. Before Daniel had any chance to wonder what had triggered such behavior, the gargoyle started to bark and then ran down the hall, turning a corner.
A loud yell was heard, then the sound of electricity, followed by a quick yelp. Daniel ran to the source of the sound, and after rounding the corner, came upon the sight of the gargoyle-dog, unconscious at the feet of his mutated uncle. He froze where he was, though, eyes going wide at the sight of the injured cougar-man.
"Daniel!" Fang growled upon setting sights on his shocked nephew. "Where the hell where you?"
"I got lost," Daniel replied in a low voice, involuntarily wincing at his uncle's angry tone of voice. "What happened to you?"
"Some stupid gargoyle and Xanatos's right hand man jumped me," Fang answered with a low growl. "Somehow I managed to come out on top right after getting my ass kicked. I'm lucky this stupid mutt didn't get me."
Daniel looked at the gargoyle. Though it was clearly unconscious, Daniel was relieved to see that it was breathing normally. The boy then took one of his uncle's hands and yanked on it. "Uncle, we have to go. The gargoyles, they…"
"They live here again, I know," Fang said, pointing at his swollen eye. "Found that out the hard way. And yes, we have to go before the rest get here. The one I was fighting called for back- up, and they'll be here any second."
Daniel nodded, and without another word, they both set down the way Fang had come. Daniel looked back, hoping the dog-like gargoyle would recover soon from the shock it had received, and then quickly followed his uncle. Soon enough, they came upon an exit to the courtyard. Daniel stepped out, but was stopped suddenly by his uncle grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him back.
"Hey!" Daniel exclaimed, being quickly shushed by his uncle. Fang kept the door open just enough for them to peek out, and Daniel noticed why his uncle had stopped him. A number of winged creatures were coming from the skies, landing onto the courtyard. Daniel counted six of them, but most prominent among them all was Claw. "It's them. Claw's gonna know it was me who let you loose. Oh, gosh, we're so dead."
"Not just yet," Fang said in a low voice, grabbing his nephew by the arm and moving back into the castle's hallways. "I think I got a way we can leave. But I'll need you to be a good kid and follow my lead, no matter what happens."
Daniel nodded, rushing to keep up with his uncle. "Okay, Uncle Fred. I'll do anything I can to help out."
Goliath, his clan, and Claw were instantly on the move as soon as they set foot on the courtyard. All six of them entered the castle's hallways and set off running towards Xanatos's office. Arriving quickly, they were shocked to see Brooklyn and Owen Burnett both unconscious in the wrecked office. Immediately, Lexington and Angela went to check on the fallen ones.
"How are they?" Broadway asked.
"Owen's fine, just unconscious," Lexington replied.
"Brooklyn's been slashed across his chest, but his wounds aren't deep," Angela said.
"Fang did this all by himself?" Broadway asked, more to himself than to the others. "He was never this tough."
"He's been locked up for over a year, and he just got out. It figures he'd do anything to stay free," Lexington said.
"Aye, lad, a caged animal is at its most dangerous right after it tastes freedom," Hudson added, and then the group was startled for a second when Brooklyn groaned.
"Somebody got that license plate?" Brooklyn muttered, finally coming to.
"Brooklyn, you're okay!" Angela said.
"Don't feel okay, but at least I got a few good hits on that psycho, so he can't have gone far," Brooklyn said, wincing as he tried to get up.
"Don't get up yet," Goliath told him. "Lexington, stay and help Brooklyn and Owen. The rest of us will search for Fang in the castle."
Everybody nodded, and they all ran out of the office, splitting up to search throughout the whole place. Broadway and Angela went one way, Hudson and Claw took another path, and Goliath went by himself. The leader of the Manhattan Clan was dead set on finding the fugitive mutate before he could slip away. He had promised it to Elisa, and Fang had now injured more of his friends. As he searched through the halls and rooms, Goliath was startled when he came upon an unconscious Bronx. His eyes flashed a bright white of anger. Setting off once more down the hall, Goliath suddenly heard footsteps, followed by a door opening. Running on all fours on the direction of the sound, Goliath came upon a door closing, and bounded towards it. Slamming the door open, almost ripping it off its hinges, Goliath spotted the cougar-man trying to make a run for it.
"FANG!" he bellowed. He was about to attack the mutate when Fang turned around quickly. His injuries did nothing to hide the smirk on Fang's face as Goliath's eyes fell on a bundle in Fang's arms. A human child was being carried by the mutate. A blanket covered the child's upper body, but his legs and sock-covered feet were dangling as Fang held him.
"Evening, Goliath," Fang said casually.
"What is the meaning of this?" Goliath asked him.
"I came by here to ask Xanatos for a place to stay. But, I didn't expect to find you guys living here again," Fang said, his ears catching the sounds of a door opening somewhere else. Footsteps were heard, and Fang looked to one side to see Hudson and a furious-looking Claw charging towards him.
Goliath immediately shouted at them. "Don't attack him! He has a hostage!" The old gargoyle and tiger mutate instantly stopped their charge, and moments later, Broadway and Angela joined the group. All the gargoyles and the tiger-man came together and faced down the slowly retreating Fang.
"So, here we all are, or at least most of us anyway," Fang said. "As I was saying, Goliath, even though I didn't know you were living here again, I figured you'd be looking for me. So, I thought of the best way to keep you guys at bay."
"Kidnapping a child and using him as a shield is your way to keep us at bay?" Angela asked, looking outraged.
"That's low, even for you," a frowning Broadway added.
Goliath stepped forward, but kept a prudent distance from the mutate. "Is the child hurt? How and where did you abduct him? Were you seen?"
"Whoa there, Goliath," Fang said with a chuckle. "What's with the whole interrogation thing? Looks like you've been hanging around Talon's sister a bit too much."
"Just answer the questions, Fang," said Goliath, his voice a threateningly low growl.
Fang's grin faded, turning into a serious frown. "The kid was by himself, nobody saw me take him. So, all you wusses can stop worrying about the normal people thinking that gargoyles now snatch kids up from the streets to eat them or something. And no, he's not hurt. He wasn't cooperating, but a nice little shock knocked the little brat out. Makes things easier for me, and I don't have to put up with so much whining from him."
Claw, looking enraged, bared his teeth and seemed as though he was about to charge at Fang, but Broadway grabbed him by one arm, just in case. Fang kept walking backwards, getting closer to a staircase that led to higher ground. Claw and the gargoyles followed him, but kept a safe distance, fearing what Fang might do if they got too close.
"Fang," Goliath said in a calm voice, "you've never gone to the point of harming children before, and I do not think you capable of such an atrocity. Please, release the child so we may solve this in a civilized manner."
Fang snarled, quickening his pace and almost stumbling on the steps. "Do you think I'm stupid, Goliath? Do you think I don't know what'll happen the second I put this kid down? All of you come at me, kick my ass, take me back to that damn cell and I never see the outside of it for as long as I live. And I'm not about to let that happen!"
"Fang, please, think about what you're doing," Angela pleaded.
"I know exactly what I'm doing, toots," Fang said, reaching the top of the stairs and backing up to the edge of the building. "This kid here is insurance. He's my ticket out of this castle and away from you. So, me and my little friend here are going to fly away, and you will stay away from us."
"How would we know ye would nae harm the lad after you've left?" Hudson asked.
"Because, like Goliath pointed out, I'm not some damn monster," Fang growled. "As much as they annoy me, I'm not in the habit of hurting kids, much less killing them. But what happens if you jerks follow me? I more than likely end up panicking and it would very probably end up with the kid getting hurt, anything from getting caught in the middle of a fight or even slipping from my grip and falling to his death in the middle of a busy street."
Fang paused for a second, as the group looked outraged at his examples of what could happen to the child, but he quickly resumed. "Look, nobody wants the kid to get hurt, and I'd rather not have that kind of thing in my conscience. Besides, I'm smart enough to know that, since I look like a gargoyle, I don't want to make the whole gargoyle situation in this city worse than it already is, which is exactly what would happen if this kid got hurt. I already got you guys on my tail, I don't need those Quarrymen nutjobs and every gargoyle hater in the city hunting me down, too."
"He kind of makes a good point," Broadway said, hoping to somehow appease Fang.
"You're damn right I do," Fang said with a nod. "So, here's what we're gonna do. You guys won't follow me, and I'll wake the kid up, take him near a police station and letting him go there so someone can take him home. I keep my freedom, the kid goes back home, everybody happy. So, do we have a deal?"
The gargoyles looked at one another, all looking concerned and hesitant. Claw was the exception, though, his furious glare never changing. Finally, Goliath turned to Fang and nodded. "Very well, Fang. We will not follow you. And I do hope you keep your promise."
Fang said nothing, but nodded at Goliath. He took his hand from underneath the blanket, and then gripped the covered child firmly with both arms. Extending his wings, the mutate leaped back, turned in midair and descended rapidly. The gargoyles and Claw moved to the edge of the building, watching as Fang went lower and eventually disappeared amidst the many buildings.
"That didn't go well, at all," Broadway muttered with a heavy voice.
"What can we do now?" Angela asked in concern.
Goliath growled in frustration and anger. "Unfortunately, we must keep our word and not follow him. Fang is currently in an agitated state of mind, willing to do anything to keep his freedom, and I don't want to risk him harming the child."
"So, the only thing left to do is wait and hope for the best," Hudson said. "Let's go check on Brooklyn and the others. Then, later, we can check the news on the television, or ask Elisa for anything regarding any missing children."
The group nodded in agreement. All but Claw, that is. The gargoyles saw their friend still looking in the direction Fang had fled. The tiger-man was one of the gentlest people they had known, and to see the furious, almost savage expression in his face was unnerving. It was clear to all that Claw was taking this far worse than anyone, and they wondered how this would affect him in the long run, especially if Fang was not caught before he did anything worse than putting a child in danger.
As the others made their way into the castle, Goliath walked over to the mutate and put a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. "I know how you feel, Claw. I wish I could go after him and stop him, but we cannot risk that child's safety any more than Fang already has. I really don't believe he'd be so cruel, but should he really cross theat line, I assure you we will have no mercy on him."
Claw took a deep breath, looked back at Goliath and nodded. They turned and followed the others into the castle, the feeling of dread heavy in them.
As soon as they were a fair distance from the castle, Fang had taken the blanket off of his nephew and tossed it onto a rooftop. Keeping a fair grip on his sneakers, Daniel had his arms around his uncle's neck, looking up at the sky from over his shoulder, following Fang's instructions and keeping a lookout, making sure they were not being followed. The boy had to reassure his agitated uncle several times that they were not being followed, and eventually Fang felt secure enough about it, setting for Daniel's home quickly afterwards.
Having one eye swollen shut and various injuries, Fang found it a little difficult to fly, and it took him longer than usual to get to their destination. Upon finally arriving at the apartment building, Fang landed as gently as he could on the roof, but still gritted his teeth in pain from his still fresh injuries. Daniel led the way down the emergency staircase, thankful that it was late and most tenants were sleeping, so they could go down quickly and unseen. As usual, his uncle had a rather difficult time going through the window, and had to keep himself from crying out in pain as he fell to the floor and right on top of the open cuts on his side.
"Wait here, Uncle Fred, I'll go get something to help you out," Daniel said as he entered his room, and immediately went to the door, opening it slowly and carefully. He took one look at his mother's bedroom, and was relieved to see the door closed. Stepping out of his room, the boy tiptoed his way into the kitchen, the light that came in through the windows enough to illuminate his way. He made his way to the refrigerator, and as he reached for it, he gasped out loud when he heard a sudden sound nearby.
"What the fuck you doin' up?" a slurred voice came from the living room. Daniel shut his eyes tightly for a moment and cursed under his breath, then turned to face his stepfather. Richard Parks was lying on the sofa, fully dressed, bathed in moonlight that filtered in from the window on the opposite wall.
"Just getting something from the fridge, sir. That's all," Daniel said in a low voice.
The stocky-built, red-haired man straightened up slightly on the sofa, staring at the boy with a scowl, and it was blatantly obvious how drunk he was. "This late? And why the fuck you all dressed up anyway? You running away?"
"No, sir. I… I fell asleep with my clothes on, and got up just now."
"Damn shame, then," Richard said, lying back down and closing his eyes. "Would've been nice if you'd run off. Always locked in yer damn room, doin' nothin', wastin' money on those stupid books. Jus' go back to yer room and stop botherin'."
Daniel frowned as his stepfather went back to sleeping on the sofa. He took a deep breath and opened up the fridge door, as well as the freezer. Using the light from the refrigerator, Daniel searched amidst the frozen foods until he found what he was looking for. Closing the doors, the boy headed back to his bedroom, finding his uncle now sitting next to his bed. Daniel knew, from the scowl in his mutated uncle's face, that Fang had heard what had just happened.
"Put this steak on your eye, Uncle. I'll be right back," Daniel said, handing Fang a frozen slab of meat, which he immediately held up and pressed gently on his swollen eye.
Daniel quickly left the room and headed towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Taking advantage of his nephew's absence, Fang reached under the mattress and pulled out the little bag of money he had kept hidden. He opened it and inside he put the money he had taken from Owen Burnett. He stuffed the little bag on the back of his shorts, then looked at the door as Daniel left the bathroom and returned to the room moments later, closing and locking the door behind him.
"Sorry about that, I had to wash my hands after touching that meat," Daniel explained in a low voice, turning on the light and taking off his jacket. "I brought the first aid kit."
"Thanks, kiddo," Fang said with a sigh, watching his nephew open the kit and sort through the contents. "So, that's your stepfather, huh?"
"Yeah, that's him," Daniel said, taking some gauze and applying a disinfectant ointment on it.
Fang removed the steak from his eye momentarily and leaned forward, exposing the cut above his eye, and grunting under his breath as he felt that burning sting when Daniel applied the ointment on the cut. "I won't even ask what your mother saw in him. Carmen always had bad taste in men. No offense to you, though, her being your mom and all."
"None taken. My dad's your brother, and look how he turned out," Daniel said with a shrug, making sure to fully clean his uncle's cut and wipe off all the blood.
"Is he always such an asshole?" Fang asked.
"Yeah, he is. The only times he's tolerable is when he's not here. Which, especially lately, tends to be pretty often. Thank goodness for that."
"And he makes you call him 'sir' to boot?" Fang asked in a low growl as Daniel set the used piece of gauze aside.
"Yes," Daniel replied. "He can't stand me. You pretty much heard him say so back there."
Fang frowned and reached to pat his nephew's shoulder. "I really hope he's never even tried to hit you, Danny. Cause if he has, I'll gut the bastard like a fish."
"He's never hit me," Daniel assured his uncle. "I'm smart enough to stay out of his way. If I avoid him, I don't get in trouble." The boy then took some clean gauze and pressed it on the wound on the mutate's brow. He used some of the white tape from the kit to keep it on his uncle's forehead and stop the blood flow.
"Do you really have to put tape on me to hold those?" Fang asked. "I don't want my fur getting ripped off when we pull those out."
Daniel rolled his eyes, preparing more ointment on gauze as Fang pressed the steak back on his eye while being careful with the bandage on his brow. "Do you want to stop bleeding? I don't have any rope or anything like that, so we have to keep those on you with the tape. We just have to be careful when we pull them out, that's all," Daniel said, yawning afterwards. He shook his head a little, then lifted his uncle's shirt and started dabbing at the bleeding injuries from the gargoyle's claws. This time, Fang's reaction was more intense, as he snarled, squirmed and pounded on one of his thighs with his free hand, so he would not pound on the wall or floor and make unnecessary noise.
"That fucking burns!" he whined in as low a voice he could muster, finding it difficult to not cry out louder. "Why the hell do they make it so the remedy's worse than the damn injury?"
"Gosh, Uncle, that gargoyle seriously did a job on you," Daniel said, waiting for his uncle to get used to the stinging burn so he may continue to dab at the cuts. "These cuts are pretty deep."
Fang smiled after hearing that, chuckling slightly as he gritted his teeth. "Guess the one satisfaction I get from it is that I won the fight."
Daniel looked at his uncle and smiled a bit, then he started to tape clean gauze to the injuries, finding it a little difficult due to there being three cuts spaced rather closely together. "I'm glad you feel positive about that, Uncle Fred, but there's a difference there," Daniel said, getting more gauze. "From what Claw's told me about gargoyles, that stone sleep of theirs heals them fully. So in less than a day, he's going to be completely healed. And I don't know how to do stitches, so I can't close up those wounds on you."
"Hey, don't worry about me, Danny Boy!" Fang said with a confident smile. "I'm a pretty quick healer. Comes with the whole mutated DNA gig. I'll be okay soon."
"Okay, if you say so," Daniel said, looking a little relieved now. He kept silent afterwards and continued to work on fully covering the cuts with clean gauze. After a few minutes, he was finally done, sitting back and putting the first aid kit back in order. "There, that'll do."
Fang nodded, looking down at the gauze and tape on his side, then smirked at his nephew. "Thanks, kiddo. This is a pretty good patching job. Where'd you get the medical credentials, Doctor Sykes?"
"They showed me basic first aid at school," Daniel replied with a smile. "We have to do something about your shirt, though. I don't think a shirt that's torn up and soaked in blood will do you much good."
Fang looked down, finally taking in the sorry state of his shirt. He frowned, then grabbed it with both hands and ripped it off of himself, tossing the remains aside. "There goes my only one. Now I just have to find a clothing store for sci-fi rejects. Just like I'll have to find a new home after the absolute freaking disaster my plan was."
Daniel looked forlorn as he witnessed his uncle looking frustrated and angry. "I'm really sorry it didn't work out for you, Uncle Fred. And I'm sorry for messing things up. If I hadn't gone wandering around, you wouldn't have gotten attacked."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up, Danny," Fang said. "It's not like you could've predicted the gargoyles being up there, so don't blame yourself."
"But now you can't live in the castle, and Claw and the gargoyles now have it in their heads that you're going around, kidnapping kids and using them as human shields," Daniel said in a low voice, yawning again.
Fang shrugged and smirked. "Hey, they've been thinking I'm a piece of shit for a long time now, so there's not much of a change there. As for where I'll live now, I'll find a way to solve it somehow. Don't you worry about your uncle, kiddo."
Daniel sighed softly, but then slowly smiled. Standing up, he walked to his bedroom door and locked it. He then headed to his closet, which he opened and started rummaging through the things there. Moments later, he came out with several blankets and a pillow, and immediately began to set up a makeshift sleeping area on the floor, next to his bed.
"You're injured, and they're looking for you to lock you up again," Daniel said as he set the folded blankets on the floor, trying his best to make them as comfortable as possible. "So, until you can manage, you're staying here with me, Uncle Fred."
Fang looked surprised at this, smiling a little. "Hey, I appreciate the offer, little buddy. But, isn't it kinda risky? What if your mom or that drunken douchebag try coming in here?"
"He never comes into my room," Daniel answered. "He can't stand me, remember? So we stay out of each other's way. And my mom doesn't really come into my room anymore, either. And even if she tried, my door will still be locked, so at least it gives you a moment to hide in the closet. You're big, but there's enough space for you to fit anyway. And in regards to food, it's like you say. We'll find a way to solve it somehow."
Fang simply stared at his nephew for a moment, and chuckled afterwards. "First you go all out with the escape plan when you hand me the blanket, and now hiding me in your own room. I'm pretty impressed, Danny Boy, being all smart and resourceful like your deal ol' Uncle Fang. Where's that shy, quiet little kid I always took care of?"
"He realized that he has to grow up and take care of his uncle as much as his uncle has taken care of him," Daniel replied with a smile.
Fang chuckled, reaching forward and pulling his nephew in a one-armed hug. "You're a great kid, Danny Boy. Shame my stupid brother never realized that."
"Yeah, it's a bummer that he walked out on us," Daniel said, hugging his uncle's torso while carefully avoiding the wounded area. "But you were there while he wasn't, and now you're here again. You've been more of a dad than he ever could be. I wish you were my dad, actually."
Fang remained quiet for a few moments, letting his nephew's words sink in. He sighed, smiled and patted the child's back. "That's about the most flattering thing I've heard in ages. Thanks, kiddo. You'd be a great son."
"And thanks to you too, Uncle," Daniel said, yawning yet again. As he broke the hug and backed up a bit, Daniel's yawn ended and he noticed Fang yawning as well, which made the child chuckle. "Hey, so yawns really are contagious."
"Uh-huh," Fang muttered, removing the steak from his now slightly less swollen eye. "And that's the sign that you need to go to sleep. You've been yawning non-stop since we got here, it's way past your bedtime. Let's both get some sleep and tomorrow we can talk better about what we can do with this whole me living here thing."
"Yeah, sleep sounds great right now," Daniel said, standing up and taking the steak from his uncle's hands. "I'll take this back."
Fang nodded and watched his nephew leave the room. As he heard the boy put the steak back in the freezer and immediately head to the bathroom to wash his hands, the cougar-man started to settle on the blankets that had been set down for him. He grunted as he felt some pain from the injuries on his side, so he was careful as he lied down on his back. He sighed as he set his head on the pillow, finally settled down, thinking back to past fights with Talon and the gargoyles. He had gotten pretty banged up, but he had never been injured by deep clawing. He had no idea how quickly those kinds of wounds would heal, and he hoped it would be soon.
Daniel returned from the bathroom quickly afterwards, shutting and locking the door. He sat on his bed, kicked off his shoes, and then lied down, too tired to even bother changing into his pajamas. Fang grunted once again as he got up a bit, reached up to the bed and patted one of his nephew's arms.
"Good night, kiddo," Fang whispered out, lying back down again.
"Good night, Uncle," Daniel muttered, falling asleep a few minutes later.
Fang stayed awake a while longer, thinking about the events of the entire evening. He had two close escapes in just one night, one of them while holding his own nephew as a willing hostage while being faced by most of the Manhattan Clan along with Claw. He was quite beaten up, and yet had managed to beat Owen Burnett, Brooklyn and give a severe beating to Talon. He felt quite good at having taken some revenge on some of the people he hated most.
Still, Fang knew he was not out of the woods yet. The gargoyles were now bound to look for him harder than ever. He had managed to get himself a place to stay with his nephew, but he knew it was not the safest place to be. Not when there were two adults living there as well, and not when Claw knew that Daniel lived there and could drop by at any time. The cougar mutate knew that he had many problems to face if he wanted to be completely free and safe, but he decided it would be better to think of a way to solve those problems when he was well-rested. Moments later, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
To be continued…