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 25
by Remtar85
Tyler Jenkins couldn't deny that while he had come to enjoy the feel of soaring through the skies in the safe grip of either a gargoyle or a mutate, he still got scared of going too high up. Such was the case now as the boy clung to Malibu with his eyes closed while the clone followed Broadway through the skies up towards the castle atop the Eyrie Building. Tyler was tempted to ask Broadway to carry him, but as he had not met him before, the boy felt it would be more polite to let Malibu carry him as they glided.
"Hey, Malibu?" Tyler spoke.
"Yeah?" Malibu responded, taking advantage that they were gliding a few meters behind Broadway so he couldn't hear them speak, the wind carrying their words away from the portly gargoyle.
"I know you lied back there, about Talon giving you permission," Tyler said. "But were you really gonna ask Broadway about going to the castle right in front of Talon?"
"Yeah, I was," Malibu replied.
"Really?" an incredulous Tyler asked. "But you know he would've said no."
"So? I would've come anyway," Malibu scoffed. "What would Talon have done, ground me? Ha!"
"Dude, you're bold," Tyler said. "And lucky too, that Danny wanted to talk to Talon. Now you won't get in trouble till later."
"Heh. Yeah, I guess. But it's like you guys said, Talon can't babysit us clones forever," Malibu told his young friend. "He's gonna have to deal with the fact that I can make my own decisions now."
"Well, yeah, but that's not cool to lie to Broadway to get your way," Tyler called his friend out.
"You guys lie too!" Malibu retorted. "You went along with my lie so you could tag along. And the whole thing about keeping Fang in Daniel's apartment has been about lying."
"That's different," Tyler argued back. "We're trying to keep Uncle Fang safe. You just wanted to go to the castle. And as for me going along with your lie, well, I feel guilty about it now."
"Aaah, fine," Malibu groaned. "You're right, I shouldn't have lied like that. I'll apologize to Broadway when we land. Anyway, I guess Daniel wanted to talk to Talon about Fang being his dad and all that?"
"I guess. He didn't tell me about wanting do that, so I guess he just sorta decided on it right there," Tyler said. "We know that Talon knows by now about the whole dad and son thing, so knowing Danny, he wants Talon to back off of Uncle Fang."
"Oof. Hope that talk doesn't go too bad, then. Anyway, we're here."
Tyler sighed in relief as he heard that, and a few seconds later, he felt Malibu land. Finally opening his eyes, Tyler let go of Malibu, who set him down, the boy taking a few seconds to get stable on his feet; he was glad he had brought his jacket, for the night air was colder now in October. Broadway, who had landed nearby, approached them with a smile.
"Well, here we are," he said to them. "Welcome to our home."
"This is so damn cool," Malibu said, looking all around him.
"I know, right?" Tyler added. "There's no way a castle in the sky wouldn't be awesome."
"You can follow me, I'll show you the place," Broadway offered.
"Ah, Broadway? Before you do, there's something I gotta tell you," Malibu said rather sheepishly. "I, ah... kinda sorta lied to you back at the Labyrinth."
"What?" a baffled Broadway responded, realizing instantly what this meant.
"I've been wanting to come up here for a long time, but Talon would've never let me come," Malibu admitted. "I really was gonna ask him back there, but when he left with Daniel to talk, I kinda saw my best chance to get to visit the castle and lied to you about having permission. I'm really sorry."
"Aww, man," Broadway groaned. "You might've just gotten me in big trouble with both Talon and Goliath."
"No, no, I won't let that happen," Malibu said. "I'll tell them that we followed you here without you knowing. That way you won't get in trouble."
"Yeah, I'll say the same thing," Tyler said as well.
"You let us come with you," Malibu continued, "so we don't wanna get you in trouble."
The gargoyle sighed. "That's nice of you guys, but still... just please don't lie like that again, Malibu. Not to me, or Talon or Goliath or anyone. It's not a good way to start getting to know our clan. You don't have to lie to us either, Tyler."
Tyler nodded in response. "Okay, Broadway, I won't."
"I won't either, I promise," Malibu assured Broadway, the clone looking genuinely uncomfortable now. "I mean, ever since Sevarius created us for Thailog, we know we're kind of a sore subject for your clan. But you've never treated us like freaks, Broadway. You talked to me like I was any normal gargoyle and you let me come here with you. That means a lot to me."
Broadway looked touched at Malibu's words. "Well, it's not your fault that you guys are what you are. Thailog, Demona, Sevarius, they're the ones to blame."
Tyler nodded and patted Malibu's arm. "Yeah, what he said. Plus now that you guys are smart and know better, it's like a new start."
"Right," Malibu said with a smile. "It's one of the reasons I wanted to come up here. I already have the other clones and everyone else down at the Labyrinth as my clan, but I wanna get to know your clan too, Broadway. I promise I'll talk to Talon about it and not lie anymore."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Broadway said, beckoning the clone and young human to follow him. "And that's great that you want to really get to know my clan. Some of them should be around, and you two can check out the castle while we look for them."
The two gargoyles and the boy continued walking, entering the castle-and much like in their first visit, Malibu and Tyler spent a lot of their walk looking into whatever room or hallway they came across, this time Broadway letting them know what was which way and showing them too. Malibu especially enjoyed taking his time to explore the castle, as he had not had the chance to truly do so the first time he had been there. It wasn't long until they eventually came across another gargoyle, as the shortest of the Manhattan Clan sat in the TV room's recliner, playing a video game.
"Hey, Lex," Broadway called out to Lexington after entering the room.
"Hey, Broadway," Lexington replied, pausing his game and turning around, a surprised look on his face upon seeing the others. "Oh."
"Yeah, we have some guests," Broadway told his rookery brother. "You haven't met Daniel, but this is his friend, Tyler. And you already know Malibu."
"Well, sorta," Malibu said. "I guess you could say I'm a new Malibu. Normal intelligence and no loyalty to Thailog anymore. Nice to officially meet you, Lexington."
"Yeah, likewise, Malibu," Lexington said, looking a bit more at ease now and getting up from the recliner. "Nice to meet you too, Tyler."
"Same here," the boy said with a grin. "I'm never gonna get tired of meeting gargoyles. And you're a gamer too!"
"Hehe. Yeah, I do love video games," Lexington said with a smile.
Before anyone could say anything else, a loud bark reached all their ears, as well as the sound of fast, heavy footsteps. The four turned to the entrance of the small room, and seconds later, Bronx entered and immediately went to Tyler, almost knocking the boy to the ground.
"Whoa!" Tyler exclaimed as he lost his balance and fell on his backside, laughing as the gargoyle beast licked his face, all while he mentally reminded himself that he should not say Bronx's name out loud, not wanting the gargoyles to know he had already met the friendly beast. "Easy, easy!"
"Bronx has always been really fond of kids," Broadway told his guests.
"Heh! Yup, looks like it's pretty easy to notice," Malibu said.
After a few more moments, a very pleased-looking Bronx allowed Tyler some breathing room, backing up a bit to let the boy get up and wipe his face. Bronx then turned towards Malibu, looking happy, but then the beast's face went from happy to utterly baffled.
"Oh boy," Malibu said in a low voice.
"Poor fella's confused," Tyler said with an amused grin, stroking the beast's back.
"Bronx, this is Malibu," Broadway said, gesturing to the clone.
"He's... related to Brooklyn," Lexington added.
After a few more moments of studying Malibu, the beast's curiosity was sated. Bronx proceeded to yawn and walk next to the recliner seat, where he slumped down for a nap.
"Guess he likes you well enough," Lexington said. "So what are you guys doing here?"
"Just visiting," Malibu replied. "We wanted to see the castle and get to know you guys."
For his part, Tyler had moved closer to the TV, kneeling down next to Bronx and in front of Lexington's Nintendo 64. "Dude, you got Goldeneye! Do you have an extra controller?"
"Oh. Yeah, we do," Lexington said, turning back to the human. "But we almost never use it."
"Of course we use it," Broadway said. "When you and me and Brooklyn play together."
Lexington smiled rather sheepishly. "Yeah, I sorta don't count that, since... well, since you guys kinda suck at playing."
"Hey!" Broadway exclaimed, Malibu trying to stifle some laughter.
"It's cool, Broadway, not everyone takes to video games easily," Tyler said, turning now to Lexington. "Can you get the other controller? I'm gonna knock you down a few pegs, for Broadway's sake."
Broadway couldn't help but smile at that, and Lexington looked amused. "Oh? You think you can take me on?" he asked the boy.
"Dude, you've been in this century how long? A few years? I've been playing games since I could hold a controller in my hands," Tyler bragged with a big grin. "You're going down."
"You're on. I'll show you who's boss in this castle," Lexington said with a grin of his own. As Broadway and Malibu watched Lexington run out of the room for the controller and Tyler settle on the floor next to Bronx to play the game while the smallest gargoyle returned, Malibu and Broadway looked at one another.
"Isn't it cute?" Malibu said with a grin. "Like kindred spirits."
"Yeah, definitely," Broadway agreed. "What do you say we leave these guys here and I keep showing you around?"
"Yeah, I'm up for that," Malibu said, following Broadway.
The two gargoyles continued their walk through the castle. Broadway showed Malibu the varied rooms, corridors and outside areas for a good half hour or so, the two making casual conversation along the way. Malibu found he quite liked Broadway the more time he spent with him, thanks to the portly gargoyle's friendly and welcoming personality. After a while of checking the castle, the two headed to the kitchen. Broadway was making sandwiches for the both of them when they were joined by more of the clan.
"Broadway?" Goliath called from the door, making the two gargoyles turn towards him.
"Hey, Goliath," Broadway greeted his clan leader. "I thought you guys were out on patrol."
"We decided to patrol for longer than usual tonight and returned for some food to take with us," Goliath told Broadway, then turned to Malibu. "But I did not expect we'd have a visitor."
"What visitor, lad?" Hudson said, entering the room followed by Brooklyn, both of them now surprised at the sight of the latter's clone.
Malibu, for his part, smiled widely and rushed towards the newcomers. "Dad!" he exclaimed loudly, suddenly wrapping his arms around Brooklyn.
"Whoa!" Brooklyn cried out, flinching a bit and trying to get an enthusiastic Malibu to stop hugging him. "Ever hear of personal space?"
"Hehe! Sorry, just glad to see you," Malibu said, letting go of an uncomfortable-looking Brooklyn but staying close to him. "How do you like my new look?"
"It's... different," Brooklyn said, looking at his clone's rocker-style clothing.
"What are ye doing here, Malibu?" Hudson asked the clone.
"He wanted to come visit the castle and get to know us," Broadway said.
"Yeah, I saw Broadway and Angela bring Elisa to the Labyrinth and I decided to tag along," Malibu added, then looked sheepish. "But I came without asking Talon for permission, so I have to apologize to him later for it."
"I see. And I do agree you should apologize," Goliath said. "We don't wish to inconvenience or worry Talon. But you are welcome to visit us again, provided Talon knows about it."
"Really? Thanks, Goliath, everyone," Malibu said. "The other clones and I, we've kinda been evolving, I guess you could say. We're smarter now, and we don't have any loyalty towards Thailog anymore. And I know he created us just to spite you guys... but I hope we can have a fresh start?"
"You already have it in my book," Broadway told the clone as he started eating a particularly large sandwich.
"Aye, lad," Hudson agreed. "Ye're just a victim of Thailog's evil. We won't blame ye for what he did."
"Indeed. We know you're a part of Talon's clan, but as you and the others were created by the very blood of our own, we consider you part of our clan as well," Goliath told the clone with a smile.
"Thanks. I'm really, really grateful to you guys," Malibu told them, then turned to Brooklyn. "We're cool too. Right, Dad?"
"I guess," Brooklyn said, still looking a bit uncomfortable. "Maybe we can start with you calling me Brooklyn instead of Dad?"
"Okay then," Malibu said, smiling at the red-skinned gargoyle. "Brooklyn it is."
It was very clear to Malibu that Brooklyn was still not keen on being near his clone, and Malibu actually enjoyed making him feel that way. He had not forgotten how Brooklyn always avoided him every time the Manhattan clan's second-in-command visited the Labyrinth, nor how Brooklyn had referred to him as a forgery. Therefore, Malibu was not interested in getting on Brooklyn's good side and wanted to have some fun making him squirm-especially now that he was making good headway into getting himself into the good graces of the rest of the Manhattan clan.
"But shouldn't you be heading back to the Labyrinth?" Brooklyn pointed out. "If Talon doesn't know you're here, he'll be worried sick looking for you."
"Yeah, you're right, I should," Malibu agreed with Brooklyn, trying his best to come across as being friendly to him.
"We could accompany you to an entrance while we go on patrol," Goliath offered.
"Oh, that'd be great, thanks," Malibu said. "But I didn't come alone, though. My friend, Tyler, came here with me, since he wanted to get to see the castle and get to meet you guys, so I should take him home first. He's playing video games with Lexington right now."
"Don't worry, lad," Hudson assured the clone. "Ye go with the others so ye can get to the Labyrinth sooner, and I can take your friend home. It's the least I can do. And besides, he did want to meet us."
"And I can take Hudson's place on patrol tonight," Broadway offered.
"You guys are great," Malibu said with a bright smile. "I really appreciate all this."
Pleased with the progress he had made tonight, Malibu accompanied Goliath, Broadway (who had packed up plenty of sandwiches for himself and the others) and a still wary-looking Brooklyn, while Hudson left to the TV room, where he found Lexington and Tyler engaged very enthusiastically in video game battle. As Hudson interrupted the two, introducing himself to Tyler and explaining that he'd be the one taking Tyler home, the child thanked Hudson, gushing about the coolness of the oldest gargoyle's sword and scarred eye. Hudson took it in good nature, and after Tyler and Lexington promised to play against one another again, the child left with Hudson.
And seeing everything from his office, thanks to the numerous security cameras through the castle, was David Xanatos alongside Owen Burnett. He had seen Malibu and Tyler arrive with Broadway and had kept an eye on the clone the whole time, the businessman smiling as he watched the whole exchange in the kitchen.
"What did you think of that, Owen?" Xanatos asked his right-hand man. "It's only his second time here and Malibu's already earning the trust of Goliath's clan. I'd say our new friend's quite a smooth operator."
"Do you think he means to do something underhanded, Sir?" Owen asked.
"Other than making Brooklyn uncomfortable on purpose, I doubt it," Xanatos replied, having easily noticed Brooklyn's discomfort around Malibu. "He seems to simply want more friends and have more freedom. And I'm quite fine with helping him achieve all that. After all, it pays to have more friends. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes, Sir," Owen replied as the two watched Goliath and the others take off with Malibu.
To Be Continued...
Author's Extra Note: Hi, everyone. Been having a bunch of trouble with the internet at home, as I live up a mountain, not the most ideal location. Thankfully, I managed to post this chapter today, August 15th, which is my birthday, and this made me feel good. I wanted to give Malibu some more attention, plus I like adding in more nostalgic things here and there, like the Nintendo 64 with Goldeneye in this chapter, which is taking place in early October of 1997, and that game was released in August of the same year. Though I must apologize to all who were wanting to see what's going to happen down at the Labyrinth with Claw and the others, I feel like I'm being rather mean by keeping that cliffhanger going. I promise next chapter will focus on that, then afterwards we'll return to Fang in London. Thank you all for reading!