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 9: New Day, New Start

By RemTar85

As he awoke, Derek Maza, now known better as Talon, remembered everything that had transpired before he had been knocked unconscious. He remembered that Fang had somehow managed to escape his cell, and how Fang had tricked him, laid a trap for him. He had tried to stop the rogue mutate, but Fang had managed to get the upper hand on him, and savagely beat him till Talon remembered no more. Talon did not know how long he had been out, but when he regained consciousness, the only thing he could register was a lot of pain.

He groaned as his head ached, opening his eyes and being blinded by the lights above him. He breathed deeply and slowly, trying to calm down, and he once more opened his eyes, though this time did so very slowly, allowing his eyes to get used to the light. Slowly but surely, the world around him came into focus. He was in the Labyrinth's infirmary, and was the sole occupant. Talon then noticed he was hooked to various medical devices, such as an I.V, and he could feel two small plastic tubes, attached to a much longer one, going into his nostrils, blowing a gentle, steady flow of oxygen. He didn't know where these devices had come from, but he could inquire about it at a latter time, for now he had more pressing matters. Talon tried to get up, and then cried out as he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Maggie… Claw… Al… anyone," Talon tried to call out, but his throat was dry, and his voice came out low and raspy. He was becoming desperate now, anxious to know how long he had been unconscious, how the others were doing, and what had happened with Fang. Not knowing how else to call for attention, he squinted his eyes and focused on the infirmary's entrance as best as he could, then raised the hand without the I.V on it. He gathered electricity on his hand, and then released it, hitting the wall next to the door with a loud crackle. He did this once more, then again, and was about to shoot a fourth time when Claw suddenly appeared on the doorway. The tiger-man's face was one of shock and surprise, eyes wide as he caught sight of a now conscious Talon. Smiling, he ran to his friend's side, using sign language to ask how Talon was feeling.

"My throat's dry… and my head… my head's killing me," Talon uttered. "Where's…"

Talon could not finish his sentence, as Maggie came rushing into the infirmary. "Claw, what's happening?" she asked nervously, but then gasped at the sight of Talon being awake. "Derek!"

The panther mutate finally smiled as Maggie rushed to his side, holding his hand, tears running down her face. "Hi, dear," he greeted her in a low voice.

"I'm so happy you're awake!" she told him, as Claw stood by her side. "I was worried sick!"

Talon took his hand out her grip and slowly pulled her into a hug. "I'll be fine, after this damn headache goes away," he said, speaking better now. "And I'll be even better once I get my hands on Fang."

"There will be time for that later," Maggie told him, kissing him on the cheek. "Right now I have to go call Elisa, and Dr. Sato, too. He asked me to give him a call if you woke up."

"Thanks, Maggie," Talon said.

The she-cat smiled at her mate, and after kissing him again, she exited the room. Claw stayed with Talon, keeping him company. Taking his pen and notepad from his waistband, Claw was quick to scribble down on it and showed Talon what he had written.

"Fang's on the run. I went in search of him, along with Goliath and the others. We almost got him, but he got away. Don't you worry, though, Derek, we'll catch him sooner or later. You just worry about resting and getting better now."

Talon read the note, then sighed and nodded. "You're right, Claw. You and the others are more than capable enough to handle Fang," Talon told his friend, then looked up at him with a frown etched on his feline face. "But if you haven't caught him by the time I recover, then you can count on me to hunt the bastard down. I'm really raring for some payback right about now."

"Hey, Elisa. You're here earlier than usual."

Elisa Maza looked up from her seat, and she smiled at her friend and co-worker, Officer Morgan Morgan, as he walked by, dragging a handcuffed, middle-aged man. "Hi, Morgan. Just thought I'd check something out," she told him, signaling to the computer in front of her.

Morgan nodded and smiled at her, continuing on his way. "Hope you find what you're looking for."

"I hope so too, Morgan," she said to herself in a low voice as Officer Morgan walked away with the handcuffed man. She was counting on this search to hopefully find new information that could lead them to Fang.

After having viewed the security tapes at the castle and discovering that Fang's accomplice was eleven year old Daniel Sykes, Elisa became even more determined to find the mutate, seeing as how he seemed to be manipulating a boy into doing his dirty work. She had bid farewell to Goliath and Lexington and had gone home immediately afterwards, where she had a rather restless yet long sleep. After waking up, she had immediately gotten ready to go out after a quick breakfast and feeding her pet cat, Cagney, heading directly to the police station, and immediately going to the computers.

Elisa tapped on the keyboard, bringing up the search function, and then took a paper from her pocket, unfolding it and reading the contents. She was now reviewing every bit of information that Derek, Claw and Maggie had been able to provide her about Daniel Sykes. She recalled watching the video, how Fang and the boy interacted, and how Daniel had referred to Fang as 'Uncle Fred'. Checking the paper, Elisa noticed that Daniel's father, who had walked out on his family when Daniel was six, was called David Sykes, and that he had a brother named Fred. Elisa was glad that Claw had inquired quite a bit during his conversations with Daniel when they hung out, as they had been able to provide a physical description and other details.

"Let's see if I can find anything on this so-called uncle Fred," Elisa muttered. Setting the paper down, she used the search function on the computer, searching for any mention of criminal records on anybody named Fred Sykes. It took a few minutes of searching, and eventually Elisa found someone who fit the physical description and birth date.

The picture on the file was that of a man in his early to mid twenties of age. He was about five feet and eight inches in height, with brown eyes and hair, and a skinny, lanky body. His criminal record was not extensive, however, as he had been arrested only once for petty theft, and had somehow managed to pay the money for bail. What followed was equally insightful, as Elisa saw that during early April of the year 1995, a missing person's report had been filed for Fred Sykes, and it was still an unsolved case. Elisa recalled that one of the very few things of his pre-mutate life Claw had told them was how, in early April of 1995, he and another man had been 'hired' by Anton Sevarius to work on his lab, and ended up becoming guinea pigs, and eventually, became Claw and Fang. The physical description Claw had given in regards to that other man certainly fit the picture in Fred Sykes's profile.

"Everything fits. Fang really is Daniel's uncle," Elisa said, once again looking at the picture of Fang before he had been mutated. Elisa sighed, as she decided to print out a copy of the picture and all the details, just in case. Fang being Daniel's uncle could only complicate things further, Elisa knew. Still, at the very least now she knew where to start looking for the fugitive mutate. As she turned off the computer and was about to leave, a young female officer approached Elisa.

"Detective Maza, someone left a message for you on the phone a moment ago."

"Who was it?" Elisa asked.

"She said her name was Maggie," the officer replied. "She asked me to tell you that you should drop by her place as soon as you can, and that she has good news that you'll want to hear about."

Elisa gasped slightly, but then she smiled, knowing that good news from Maggie meant good news about Derek. Elisa thanked the officer for giving her the message, and she left the station in a hurry, eager to get to the Labyrinth and to her brother.

The day was very bright and sunny, and Daniel's bedroom was flooded in sunlight coming in through the window. Fang groaned a bit as he woke up and had to slowly open his eyes to get used to such brightness. It took him about a minute to get used to it, but afterwards, he sat up slowly. He immediately noticed that the injuries on his side were now hurting a lot less, and most of his bruises didn't hurt anymore. His swollen eye was quite healed as well, only a tad swollen now, and he could open it. The cut above his brow seemed to have healed by now, but he decided to not remove the bandage just yet. It was then when he remembered where he was, though, and immediately noticed that his nephew was not in the room. The bed was made, and the door was closed, and Fang then checked the clock on top of Daniel's dresser. It was almost one o' clock in the afternoon, and Fang was surprised that he had actually slept that long.

Getting to his feet, the cougar-man made his way to the bedroom door. He slowly turned the knob and carefully opened the door, peeking outside. The apartment seemed silent, but after a few seconds, the sound of pages turning came from the living room. Opening the door the rest of the way, Fang slowly walked to the living room and peeked in, noticing his nephew sitting on the couch, a small stack of comic books next to him as he read one of them

"Danny Boy," Fang called out in a low voice.

The child instantly perked up and looked back. "Hey, Uncle Fred," he said, setting his comic book aside. "Don't worry, it's just us here. Mom's gone to work, and my stepfather's gone someplace, so he'll likely not come back till really late."

"That's a relief," Fang said. "Finally, I can relax a bit."

"Yeah," Daniel said. "How are those cuts?"

Fang grinned and gently laid a hand on the bandages. "Hurts a lot less. I figure that by tonight, I'll be back to normal. See, there's another advantage to being a mutate."

"Hooray for the healing factor," Daniel said with a smile. Getting up, he signaled for Fang to follow, guiding him to the bathroom, where he handed the mutate a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. "I set up a spare toothbrush for you, so you can brush your teeth. I figure it must take longer than normal to brush those teeth of yours, so I can fix you some lunch while you freshen up."

"Thanks, kiddo," Fang told the boy, patting him on his shoulder. "But I thought you didn't know how to cook."

"I don't," Daniel answered. "But you don't have to know how to cook to make some sandwiches, just know how to work the oven so you can toast the bread and some bacon. I got my savings and went to the grocery store around the corner earlier, after Mom had gone to work, and I bought bread and cheese and other stuff to make sandwiches."

Fang looked down at his nephew with a surprised look and a smile. "You used your money that you save to buy comic books to buy me some food? Geez, little pal, that's pretty damn nice of you."

Daniel smiled and shrugged. "You're my uncle. I can't just let you go hungry. I can try and save more money for comics later."

Fang shook his head a bit and chuckled, patting his nephew's back. "And I'm supposed to be the adult here? You're embarrassing me, kid!"

"Nothing adult about being responsible," Daniel replied with a shrug. "Go ahead and freshen up. I'll be in the kitchen."

Fang looked on as his nephew left the bathroom and went on to the kitchen. He shook his head again, sighing while he put toothpaste on the brush provided to him and started to brush his sharp teeth. Normally, Fang was very meticulous about the hygiene of his namesake, and often took a good five to ten minutes to properly brush his teeth, but at the moment he was just rushing through it, for his mind was elsewhere. He was surprised at how his nephew had changed since he had last seen him, first by learning that the boy went out by himself at night, asking for money to have dinner, then his visits to the Labyrinth, and everything else after they had met once more. Daniel had gone behind everybody's backs to free him from his cell, he had insisted to go along to Xanatos's castle, had played a willing hostage in order to help him escape from Claw, Goliath and the other gargoyles. Even after all that, Daniel took care of his wounds, offered him his room to stay in, and had even used what money he had saved to buy him food. Spitting out the toothpaste foam from his mouth, he rinsed it all off, then stared at himself in the mirror. For quite some time, he took care of his nephew after his brother had walked out on him, and yet now it was his nephew who was taking care of him. It made Fang feel awkward to know that he was now literally under the care of an eleven year old boy, but at the same time he knew what that other feeling was at seeing how responsible Daniel was being and how he stood by his uncle's side despite any difficulties. The mutate was proud.

Fang smiled to himself again. He took a pee after he was finished with brushing his teeth, then he flushed the toilet, washed his hands and left the bathroom after drying off. Passing by the kitchen, he peeked in to see his nephew assembling about five or six sandwiches. Still smiling, the mutate decided to leave his nephew to the task, and headed for the living room, sitting on the couch. He was pondering about turning on the television when he noticed the comic book on top of the stack that Daniel had on the couch. He picked it up and stared at the cover art, in which a black teenage boy wearing a black spandex suit, mask and a black baseball cap with an X on it, was producing electricity from his hands. Static was the name of the comic. It was the first issue, and though certainly not in mint condition, Daniel certainly took good care of it, just like his other comics.

"Man, this brings back memories," Fang said to himself. He was not a fan of comic books like his nephew, but back when Fang was human and he took Daniel to buy them, he would sometimes find one interesting enough to sit down and read along with the boy. Static was one of the few comics that Fang genuinely liked, even though he never read that many issues of it, and now he opened the comic and started to read. He found himself enjoying how the story felt more down to earth in regards to making the characters, settings and situations be more real despite the superhero situations, without things that overcomplicated most other comics, such as time travel, alternate realities, and other such things that Fang found too confusing and a complete waste of time.

Though the writing was good enough to keep Fang entertained, it was the main character's powers that caught Fang's attention after reading only the first five pages, for the teenage superhero could do more than simply throw electricity. After reading the first few pages and watching Static use his powers in various ways to dispose of a gang of teenaged thugs in an arcade, the mutate was intrigued. He studied how Static could charge metallic objects with his power and move them around at will, as though he were a magnet. He also charged up electricity in one hand and punched one of the thugs, sending him flying back due to the impact. His taser punch, as he called it.

Fang closed the comic book and set it back down on the small pile. Raising his hands in front of him, he stared at them intently as electricity crackled through his fingers. Fang loved his new body, despite the fact that he now couldn't go out without causing a panic. He loved the strength, and the flying, and shooting electricity. But now that he really thought of it, he wondered about his electric powers. He remembered how Dr. Sevarius had explained that the electricity he and the other three mutates were able to generate could serve as an offensive weapon, as well as giving them their strength and energy for flight. And as far as he remembered, him and the other mutates always used their electricity in two ways. Either they sent continuous jolts from their hands onto someone else to shock them, or they shot those shocks from their hands as electric blasts.

Fang was, of course, quite pleased by those abilities. But now, just reading a few pages of a comic book, Fang wondered if, perhaps, there could be more to his electricity, an as of yet untapped potential beyond shocks and blasts. It made Fang wonder if those abilities could improve, or, as Sevarius would probably put it, evolve. Focusing entirely on his right hand, gazing at it intently, Fang tried to direct all his electricity to it, trying to focus it all on just that one point. The crackling of electricity became louder, intensifying, as the cougar-man continued to focus. His right hand now fully covered in electricity, and though it looked like it was dangerously close to bursting out all over the place, he somehow managed to keep it all in his hand, which was now barely visible.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here's my taser punch," Fang said to himself. He continued to add more electricity to it, concentrating hard to try to get the rather unstable ball of electricity under control while it got stronger, and though at times it seemed to work, he found himself unable to get to control it the way he wanted, as it seemed too wild and erratic, dangerously close to bursting out of his hand, and he was having a more difficult time to control it with every passing second. "Oh, crap."

Fang growled, getting to his feet, looking a little worried about what to do with this powerful ball of electricity he held in his hand, just waiting to burst. His eyes fell on one of the living room windows, which was open. He rushed to it, looking out and down at the street, full of cars and people. Crouching so they could not see him, Fang stuck his hand out the window, pointing up to the sky, and he shot the ball of electricity. It flew high in the sky at great speed, and in the bright sun, Fang could not see how far it went. He sighed and stood up with a scowl on his face. It had been going well, and suddenly he couldn't control it anymore, which frustrated him. Turning around, he saw Daniel standing there, looking in awe as he carried the sandwiches in a plate, and a large bag of potato chips on his other hand.

"That was totally cool, Uncle," Daniel said with a big smile as he walked to the couch and set the plate of sandwiches down on it. He returned to the kitchen and got two 7-Up's from the fridge, bringing them back and handing one to his uncle.

"Thanks, Danny Boy," Fang said, eyeing the can of soda. "Don't you have any beer?"

"Sorry, Uncle," Daniel said, shaking his head. "If there's one thing my jerk of a stepfather keeps track of in that fridge, it's his beer. And I can't buy beers for you."

Fang sighed, popping the can open. "It's okay," he said with a shrug. Daniel took his one sandwich, a simple ham and cheese, and began eating. Fang took one of the four Daniel had made for him and took half of it in one bite. The bread had been toasted and it crunched as Fang bit into it, and he could taste lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing and bacon. Fang smiled a bit as he chewed and swallowed, glad that even after two years, Daniel remembered the things his uncle enjoyed eating.

"So, what was that all about just now, with the electricity?" Daniel asked casually, opening the bag of chips and his can of soda.

Fang shrugged, putting the other half of his sandwich in his mouth. "Nothing much," he mumbled while chewing. "I noticed your Static comic book, and it made me wonder if I could do more with my electric powers, so I tried doing something. You know, the taser punch thing, or moving metals around."

Daniel looked up at his uncle in curiosity. "I thought this mad scientist guy had basically put eel DNA in you guys so you could generate electricity."

"That's what he did," Fang said, reaching for some potato chips.

"Well, in the comics, Static's powers are electromagnetic," Daniel explained. "You can generate electricity, but electric and electromagnetic aren't exactly the same thing. I really don't think you can move metals around."

Fang thought about what his nephew said for a second, and then he frowned and growled under his breath. Being embarrassed was one of the things Fang hated most, and he always reacted badly to it, even when the only witness to it was his favorite nephew. "Figures," he grunted. "Can't believe I was so damn stupid to try things I see in a comic book."

"Oh, come on, don't beat yourself up," Daniel said, wanting to cool down the mutate's suddenly angry mood. "I just said you can't move metallic objects. The other stuff, I guess they could work, if you practice on them enough. I mean, that big ball of electricity you did just now was awesome, and just imagine how cool it could be if you could learn to control it all the way. And there might even be more things you could learn to do."

Fang took a deep breath. He kept his eyes on the boy, taking a second sandwich and biting into it, chewing slowly. He then scoffed, a bit of a smirk on his face as he swallowed. "I'm not becoming a superhero, Daniel."

"I didn't say that," Daniel said.

"But you were thinking it."

Daniel was silent for a moment, fidgeting. "Well, okay, so I guess I thought about it for a second," he finally admitted. "But can you blame me? I'm a comic book geek, and I got an uncle like you, all mutated into a humanoid cat with wings and electricity. And, besides, I know that as much as you try to deny it, you got a bit of geek in you, too. You wouldn't love your new body as much as you do if you weren't at least a little bit of geek."

Fang chuckled, setting his can of soda down and messing up his nephew's hair with his now free hand. "Okay, now you're overstepping your boundaries, boy. No calling your uncle a geek, especially not when he can give you the mother of all wedgies."

"Okay, okay, I won't call you a geek anymore!" Daniel said while laughing and trying to shove his uncle's hand away, straightening up his hair after Fang had pulled away.

The both of them went back to their sandwiches and chips, eating up till all was gone. Fang had not taken a single sip from his soda, and now that he was finished eating, he downed the whole drink in one go, gulping loudly as he guzzled it down, and he let out a quite loud burp after he was done, earning a laugh from his nephew. With their lunch now finished, Daniel took the plate and empty soda cans and chips bag to the kitchen. As he left the living room, Fang's eyes fell onto the television, which was turned off. Thinking back to what Daniel had said to him, he got up and unplugged the television. At that moment, Daniel returned from the kitchen, and he stared at his uncle in curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked.

"Experimenting," Fang said, shrugging. "You're right, Danny Boy, maybe I just need to practice some more with my powers, and maybe they can be used in different ways. So, I thought to start out with something small. Let's just hope it works."

After having witnessed his uncle discharge a large and powerful amount of electricity out the window, Daniel looked rather concerned that his uncle wanted to try something with the television. The mutate took the plug for the television and held it in one hand, closing his fist around it. Electricity was once again visible in his hand, and the television flickered on at that moment. Fang and Daniel both smiled, as the television worked perfectly, the same as it would if it were plugged.

"That is so awesome, Uncle!" Daniel exclaimed with a laugh.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. You ever need to save on your electric bill, I'm at your service," Fang said, a smug grin in his face as he took a bow. The mutate was certainly pleased at having found a new use for his electricity, even if it was something so simple.

"So, what's the diagnosis, Doctor?" Talon asked.

"This is about the speediest recovery I've ever seen for injuries such as yours," Dr. Sato replied, having just finished checking up on Talon. "This rapid healing resulting from your mutation certainly did you well."

"It's about the one positive thing about this body," Talon grumbled.

"Come on, Derek, don't be a downer," Maggie said, holding one of his hands. Elisa and Claw also stood by Talon's bed.

"Sorry, darling," he said, patting Maggie's hand.

"Well, despite being mutated, your physiology is still very much like any human's," Dr. Sato explained. "It means that medicines and treatments will work as well for you as anybody else, except that you heal much quicker. These injuries would have taken quite a while to heal for most people, but you've made a remarkable recovery in less than a day."

"And the headache's finally gone, thank goodness," Talon said, rubbing his head and finally smiling.

"Still, I want you to stay in bed for a few more days," the doctor said, gathering his equipment. "You might be healing quickly, but you're not at a full one hundred percent. It's best to be safe."

"I'll make sure he gets his rest, Doctor," Maggie assured him, smiling broadly. Now that she had been assured that Talon was recovering well, her somber mood had fully disappeared to make way to a much brighter one.

Elisa, who had been rather quiet the entire time, neared her brother and put a hand on his shoulder, turning to the others. "I'm very grateful for everything you've done, Doctor," she said. "But, right now I'd like to talk to Derek in private."

The others nodded, and after bidding farewell to Dr. Sato, Maggie suggested she and Claw accompany him out. As they exited the infirmary, Claw lingered in the doorway for a moment, looking back at the siblings. He knew that Elisa was going to tell her brother about everything that had happened with Fang the night before, and any new information they may have found out, and the tiger-man was very tempted to stay and listen in. He was not the sort to do that to his friends, however, and he walked away rather reluctantly, closing the door behind him. Both Talon and Elisa noticed this.

"So, he wasn't doing that well last night, right?" Talon asked.

"No, he wasn't," Elisa replied. "He was angrier than I've ever seen him. He seems more determined to catch Fang than anybody else. At least he seems to have cooled down after you woke up."

"Let's hope this problem stops getting worse, for everybody's sake," Talon said. "I assume you want to talk to me about Fang, right? Claw already told me about what he did last night, taking a kid hostage and going to Xanatos's castle."

"That's precisely what I wanted to talk to you about," Elisa said, taking a paper from an inner pocket of her jacket, unfolding it and handing it to her brother. "Look at this."

Talon took the paper, looking curious as he studied the picture of a young man in his twenties. He saw that the paper was taken from the database at the police station, and read the man's information. Talon looked curious still, but at a certain point his face turned into a slight frown of surprise and realization. "You mean, this is who Fang used to be?" he asked Elisa.

"Exactly," she replied. "And if you notice his last name, you'll see he's related to Daniel Sykes. Lexington checked the castle's security tapes, and found out that Daniel was accompanying Fang, calling him his uncle. He pretended to be a hostage, and Fang covered him with a blanket so Claw wouldn't recognize him."

"They're related?" Talon asked in disbelief. "I can't believe this. A kid fooled us all along?"

"I wouldn't say that," Elisa said, shaking her head. "We studied the tapes, and from the looks of it, it seems Daniel got to meet Fang in his cell by pure coincidence. His only uncle has been missing for about two years, and he finally finds him in an underground community, locked in a cell and mutated into a gargoyle-like creature. It's obvious that he'd want to help Fang out, and Fang would definitely take as much advantage of it as he could."

Talon sighed and nodded. "That does sound more up Fang's alley," he said. "So, it's likely that Daniel is helping Fang remain hidden. What's worrying me right now is that Fang could hurt that poor kid."

"I agree," Elisa said, nodding. "That's why Goliath proposed we should keep an eye out for Daniel, since he might come back to the Labyrinth, and that way we can make sure he's okay and, hopefully, get to find out Fang's whereabouts. We had decided that we shouldn't tell you guys for the moment, especially Claw, since he's gotten attached to Daniel, and we don't want to risk accidentally tipping him off. But I thought at least you should know."

"That makes sense," Talon said. "And I understand why you don't want Claw to know. I'll keep an eye out for Daniel if he stops by, and I'll let you know when it happens."

Elisa nodded and smiled, leaning down to give her brother a gentle hug. "Thanks, Derek. You just think of getting better now, okay?"

Talon nodded, hugging his sister gently, and assured her that he would take it easy for a while. Still, they decided to take advantage of being left alone for the moment, and started to catch up on things. Since they couldn't visit each other much often, they found that they quite liked these rare chances to just sit and talk. After a thoroughly enjoyable chat with her younger brother, Elisa ended up leaving for home about forty-five minutes later, in hopes of a quick nap before heading for work.

Having finished their lunch a while earlier, Fang and Daniel now sat on the couch, relaxing as they watched a television show. Daniel had told his uncle it was a fairly new one and he was quite into it, some show based off of a movie about a cheerleader who kills vampires and other monsters. They were watching a rerun, in which a very attractive substitute teacher revealed herself to be a monster praying mantis in disguise, out to mate with men and then eat them. Fang had to admit that he was quite enjoying it.

Once the episode ended, Fang took the remote and turned the television off, turning to his nephew with a serious expression on his face. "Well, Danny Boy," he started, "I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about what do I do once I heal up fully. I can't stay here for too long, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel said with a nod. "I'm worried about where you could stay now that's both safe and comfortable, especially now that the castle is out of the question and you got everybody looking for you."

Fang sighed, staying silent for a few moments before continuing. "I had honestly thought, that just… just maybe I should skip town…"

"What?!" Daniel exclaimed.

"I know that it doesn't sound good, Daniel, but I got slim options now if I want to stay free," Fang said in a stern voice, his face equally stern. "There's the other mutates, the gargoyles, those damn clones, and I've not even gone into it with those Quarrymen yet, but you can bet it'll only be a matter of time."

"Okay, so maybe it is rough here," Daniel said, trying his best to not sound whiny, "but you can't just up and leave, especially not when you just came back after two years. Besides, even if you leave, where would you go? It would probably be just as rough for you anywhere else, and at least here you know me. And you know I'd help you out as much as I could."

Fang could not help but smile. The thought of leaving Manhattan had indeed come to mind, but Fang was certainly glad to see his nephew sticking up for him like that, wanting him to stay. While Tim was nice to him in the Labyrinth, Daniel stuck by him all the way, admired him and did everything to help him, from setting him free to playing the part of hostage. And his point was a fair one, in a way. "Okay, okay, I'll stay," the mutate told his nephew, "but only because you're asking me to stay, Danny Boy. I guess I still have another option left."

"Man, that's a relief," Daniel said, indeed looking visibly relieved after his uncle's assurances of sticking around. "I hope this one option works out for you. So, then, what is it?"

Fang took a deep breath, pondering momentarily, and then he reached behind him. Daniel looked curiously as the mutate produced a small bag, which had most likely been held by the strap of his trunks. Opening it, Fang reached inside and pulled out a wad of rolled up bills. The boy's eyes went wide as Fang unrolled the bills, and took out three twenty dollar bills, handing them out to Daniel.

"Where'd you get so much money, Uncle Fred?" Daniel asked without taking the money.

"I had some money saved from before I was turned into a mutate," Fang quickly replied, having had this excuse ready, just in case. "I had it hidden somewhere only I knew of, and picked it up on my way here last night."

"Oh, okay," Daniel nodded, now looking curious while taking the bills from his uncle's hand. "So, why are you handing these to me?"

"I need you to do me a favor, Danny Boy," Fang said seriously. "See, I need to see someone else, and for this one, I'd really need to look… decent." The cougar-man looked down at himself, now wearing only his blue trunks and nothing else.

Daniel immediately understood the message. "You want me to buy you new clothes?" he asked, despite knowing the answer. "I mean, I can do that, yeah. But, I doubt I could find clothes that can handle your wings."

"Well, I'd say some measurements to know the best size for me, and a little but precise scissor work will do the trick," Fang said with a slight shrug. "You just worry about finding some place that sells clothes cheap and buy me as much as you can with that. A pawn shop, a thrift store, anything like that."

"Okay, Uncle, I got it," Daniel nodded, folding the bills and putting them in a pocket of his denim shorts. "Who's this person you need to see?"

Fang chuckled, shaking his head for a moment. "I honestly must be crazy to go see her," Fang said, sounding as though he was saying this more to himself than to his nephew. "You ever heard of this Dominique Destine chick?"

Daniel nodded and answered. "Dominique Destine? You bet I have. She's the owner of that Nightstone company, and probably the second most powerful person in the city, after Xanatos."

"That's the one," Fang confirmed.

"Oh, don't tell me she's also involved with the gargoyles and all, too," Daniel said.

"Actually, she's a gargoyle herself, just that she turns into a human by day instead of turning to stone. Her real name is Demona, and she's a brilliant chick who's pissed off most of the time. She's lived for one thousand years, hates humans and most of the gargoyles here in Manhattan, except possibly her daughter, and now owns a company by day while plotting evil schemes by night. She was locked up for some time in the Labyrinth, in the cell right next to mine. Her boyfriend ended up being this other gargoyle clone, except this one's also brilliant but even more deranged than she is, and one night he busted her out, and she busted me out too, so I worked for her one night, and then I got caught by Talon and taken back to the Labyrinth again."

Daniel remained entirely still and silent after his uncle's quite thorough explanation, causing the mutate to chuckle. "Everything just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Daniel muttered, shaking his head.

"Welcome to the Twilight Zone, kiddo," Fang said, chuckling still.

Daniel looked up at the cougar-man, and could not help chuckling as well. "Guess weird doesn't necessarily mean bad," he said. "So then, since you were cell mates and you worked for her at least for one night, you're hoping that she'll help you out somehow?"

"I guess so," Fang said, now sounding slightly uncertain. "I mean, I'll try and see her somehow, and pretty much do what I was gonna do with Xanatos, and beg her for a job or something. I just hope I can catch her in a really, really good mood, or else."

"Or else what?" Daniel asked.

Fang looked rather awkward now. "Let's just say that, as cell mates, we didn't exactly get along. I mean, the one reason she actually let me work for her that night was because she thought I might've been useful for something, even if she did call me a fool. So, hopefully I can be of some use to her again and she might give me a break. Or, she might just get pissed at me, and then break my limbs, gut me, castrate me, slit my throat and probably do horrible things to my corpse," Fang uttered, now looking grim and a little queasy.

The both of them remained silent for a few moments after such a statement, until finally, a mortified-looking Daniel opened his mouth. "Are you really sure you got no one else to go to ask for help?" he asked in a low voice.

"Like I said, I got few options, Daniel," Fang spoke in a weary, heavy voice. "I could leave town, but like you said, I wouldn't know where to go and what to do to get by without getting in trouble. If I left, I couldn't take you, and if I left and took you, I don't even wanna think what kind of complications that would cause. And if I stick around, staying here with you, it will be mostly me trying to not get caught and find stuff to eat and use the bathroom without your mother and stepfather noticing, and in the long run I'll probably still get caught by either one of them, or by Claw or someone else dropping by unexpectedly. So I could stay at some abandoned building while the whole bunch of gargoyles look for me, or go to Demona, the only one left that I could go to, and take a chance, which would end in either her helping me, or… well, you know the alternative."

Daniel sighed, looking depressed. "I'm really sorry, Uncle Fred," he said, sounding forlorn. "It's like taking one step forward and two steps back. I really wish I could help you more."

"Hey, you've already done more than enough, Danny Boy," Fang told his nephew as he scooped the boy into a firm hug, though still being mindful of the wounds on his side. "You don't get anyhere in life without taking risks, you know? Maybe this time the risk will be worth it. Let's just take one thing at a time, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle," Daniel said with a nod, as his uncle set him back on the couch.

This simple reply was enough to get Fang smiling again, and he good-naturedly messed up Daniel's hair with his hand as he so often did, making the boy smile too. "There's a good kid," Fang said. "So, since we're taking things one step at a time, do you have anything that we could use for measuring? We better make sure the new clothes will fit me after we make those modifications for my wings."

To be continued…