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 34

by Remtar85

It was early morning when Fang awoke from a deep slumber. Fang was typically not a morning person, especially as he could only go out at night, but this morning was an exception. He woke up with a content sigh, feeling well rested, with not a shred of grogginess or wishing to stay in bed. The cougar-man sat up in his large bed and stretched, taking a nice, deep breath. He then smiled and reached under his pillow, pulling out a small, flat stone of a deep purple color, which he had put there the night before when he went to bed.

"Man, Cee and Des weren't kidding about this sleeping talisman. This thing's great!" he said out loud, remembering how he had chanted the simple spell that came on a slip of paper with the stone after putting it under his pillow, then falling asleep pretty much instantly. He had not slept this well in some time and had awoken feeling refreshed and energized. Looking at the clock on his bedside table, Fang realized that he had indeed slept a full eight hours like his London clan friends told him he would, having gone to bed at 11:00 PM and awakening at 7:00 AM.

Getting up, Fang set about on a casual early morning routine. After a quick stop at the bathroom, he first hydrated himself a bit with a tall glass of water, then proceeded to prepare himself a large breakfast, which he ate enthusiastically, the mutate being in a very good mood. After breakfast, he put the dishes and pans in the dishwasher, brushed his teeth, and went off to watch TV to relax for a while. After about an hour or so, with his stomach nice and settled, Fang started his usual workout routine, with lots of push-ups, pull-ups and the like, all while the TV kept him entertained. After a good, long workout, the mutate felt satisfied, utilized the bathroom again, and then took a shower to freshen up, spending a good chunk of time afterwards drying his fur until it was immaculate.

Grinning to himself, Fang then grabbed a white, sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts that went down to his knees. "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it; I'm about to go all-out and I know I love it!" he sang out loud as he got dressed, slightly butchering the lyrics of the song I'm So Excited by The Pointer Sisters. He then put a bunch of $20 bills in a wallet he had found in the bedroom, stuffing it into a pocket of his pants.

Taking a look at the bedside clock in his room, Fang saw it was a little after 10:00 AM, and with a grin on his face, he headed over to the cargo elevator, entering and pushing the button to go down to the ground floor. He felt a thrill as the elevator went down, a rush, electricity coursing through his hands and arms. He took a deep breath to relax a bit, getting his electricity under control. Eventually the elevator stopped and Fang got out, walking towards the private entrance and out into broad daylight at the back of the building, which was deserted. Looking up at the sky, Fang smiled, very pleased at seeing all that blue; it was a touch cloudy but it didn't seem like it would rain, as the weather report had mentioned. In other words, perfect for him.

"Fang, ol' boy, today's gonna be freakin' awesome."

Setting out, Fang was glad that there were many alleyways in the building's vicinity, making it easy for him to move away from the building. He had been studying the area from up above during the last few nights and he had figured the best way to casually walk out on foot without making it obvious where he came from. In a few minutes, he had reached the particular alleyway, looking out into the backstreet that it connected to. From what he had figured out, this street was the least busy overall in the immediate vicinity, and Fang figured it was best to not attract too much attention from the get-go.

Steeling himself and taking a deep breath, the mutate then started walking forward, ready to go out and about in broad daylight for the first time since he had been mutated. It would be his first ever Halloween as a mutate, after all, and he intended to make the most of it, especially after having passed the first Halloween as a mutate hiding out in the countryside with Talon, Claw and Maggie, and the second was spent imprisoned in the Labyrinth. He knew the Manhattan clan of gargoyles would go out every Halloween, down to the streets with all the humans, acting as though they were just wearing elaborate costumes and having a grand time. This made the cougar-man jealous, so for a long time now, Fang had decided that he would take every advantage of Halloween and would thus go out during the daytime. Now out onto the backstreet, which was deserted, he started walking towards the direction of the streets and sidewalks. He only hoped nobody would cause a scene. If anything, he already had an explanation for his "costume", having rehearsed it as well as a bunch of lies the night before, in case anyone asked.

"Alright," Fang muttered to himself as the street and cars on it came into view, pausing until he saw traffic lights turn red. "Here goes nothing."

And with that, Fang took a deep breath and, with his wings unfurled so they'd be in full view, he walked out into the main street, where cars were stopped at the light. Instantly he saw people inside the cars gawk at him in stunned surprise, and before anyone could react negatively, Fang spread his arms wide, turning his back to them, then turned again to face them.

"Hey, thanks for the reactions," he called out loud, glad that some of the cars had their windows down. "Now I know my costume's convincing!"

To his immediate relief, Fang saw some of the people relax, still staring at him in awe, others still looking unnerved. Still, he sighed in relief, and feeling at ease now, he continued walking along the sidewalk. He found, to his amusement, that cars who drove by often honked at him, to which he waved back in return. And it was shortly afterwards that he started to run into people, starting with two women walking out of a building, who shrieked in surprise at seeing the tall, winged cougar-man right as they stepped out, and he could not help but laugh.

"Easy, ladies. I don't bite," he said cheerfully. One of the women sighed in relief and chuckled before shaking her head, the other looked annoyed at being frightened like that. And as they walked away, Fang noticed a taxi moving his way and he hailed it. "Oh, hey! Taxi, over here!"

Fang was not surprised when the driver looked spooked and just drove off, which made the mutate grumble in annoyance. This area was more taller buildings, offices and not much else to see, which is why there weren't many people out on the sidewalk, so he wanted to go elsewhere. Standing on a corner, he waited for yet another taxi, waving to cars that honked at him and smiling at people who passed him by and complimented his "costume". After a few failed tries, finally a taxi stopped for him, the middle-aged African-American woman smiling brightly at him.

"My goodness, that costume is amazing!" she exclaimed as Fang opened the back door to get in.

"Thanks," Fang replied as he got in the back and closed the door. "You're the first person to actually stop and let me get a ride. Guess other people think I'm an actual gargoyle or something. Probably didn't get the memo that gargoyles are stone during the day."

"Lucky you, I did get that memo. And I had to take a closer look at that costume, honey," the woman said as she looked at him through her rearview mirror. "How do you get the eyes and mouth to move like that?"

Fang grinned as he tried to get comfortable in the back seat, as he was a bit too big to properly fit. "Hehe. State-of-the-art animatronics. Took a long time to get this baby functional, and a lotta practice to get used to wearing it."

"Well, I got me a camera right here in my glove compartment," the lady said with a bright smile. "How about a discount on your fare if you let me take a picture with you?"

Fang grinned at this. "You got yourself a deal."

After telling the lady, whose name was Sandra, where he wished to go, they went on their way. Fang remembered more than a few very talkative taxi drivers back when he was a normal human, which annoyed him, for he never liked making conversation with them during rides. On the other hand, Sandra was an exception, as Fang appreciated her enthusiasm over his "costume", so they engaged in pleasant conversation about a variety of things, and he even had no problem using his normal name, Fred, when she asked for it. They also both got a kick out of the reactions of pedestrians and other drivers whenever Sandra had to stop at a red light and they spotted Fang inside the taxi.

It did not take long for them to reach Fang's desired destination, an area of Manhattan with plenty of stores, eateries and the like, as well as plenty of foot traffic. The cougar-man just could not wait to be in a place with lots of people in broad daylight, it felt like the biggest thrill to him, and he just desired to be the center of attention for once, in a positive way. After paying Sandra with the discount she promised, she grabbed her camera and they both got out of the taxi, where she asked a passersby to take a picture of her and Fang. Already a good number of people had stopped to stare at the mutate and comment on the quality of his costume.

"Alright, here we go," Sandra said, noticing the mutate's arms and chuckling as she reached to squeeze his right arm's bicep. "Ooh, you got muscles under that suit, too?"

"You bet I do. No padding under that fake fur, I tell ya," Fang said with a pleased grin, putting his arm around her shoulders, flexing his other arm and unfurling his wings, smiling at the camera. The young man took the picture and gave the camera back, then complimented Fang on the costume before walking away.

"I better head out now, but thanks so much, honey, you absolutely made my day," Sandra told Fang, even giving him a hearty hug, which the mutate returned, being in such a good mood. "My God, strong muscles under soft fur. You really went all out with this costume."

"Hehe. I'm pretty proud of it. Thanks for the ride, and take care!" Fang said as she got into her taxi, then she waved at him as she drove off. "Man, this day's off to a great start."

Turning around, Fang suppressed the desire to grin widely as he saw that every person walking by would stare at him, some looked spooked, many looked in awe. The mutate started to walk around casually, aimlessly, with no particular destination in mind. He merely just wanted to enjoy a day out in public, during the daytime, for the first time in years. The attention he got from it was a very welcome bonus, one he was enjoying now that he was in an area with plenty of people. Halloween decorations were everywhere, and it set the perfect ambiance for the mutate to stroll along.

"Whoa! That costume's awesome!" someone commented.

"Thanks! I put a lot of hard work into this baby."

"That looks so real," a woman said. "Like straight out of a movie."

"I know, right?" Fang commented with a grin. "Maybe I'll take this to Hollywood, see if they make a movie about gargoyles."

"Do the wings really move?" a nerdy-looking man asked, and he was not the only one. Many people asked this of Fang, and he delighted in moving his wings, from folding them around his shoulders to rest, to extending them to their full length.

Everywhere Fang went, people had something to say. Whatever store he passed, the people inside who caught a glimpse would stare at him, and Fang could not get enough. He found himself relishing the attention, the praise, the smiles of awe at what people thought was a normal person inside a high-quality costume. If they only knew the truth, Fang pondered, what would their reactions be.

Much as he hated the Quarrymen after his one run-in with them, in a way he was very grateful to them, for it was thanks to their revealing to the public that gargoyles turned to stone during the day that the mutate could go out during the daytime without arousing suspicion. He had not yet seen anyone out and about in costume, but then again, it was still late morning, and he figured that by the afternoon, he'd see some adults out there with costumes on, ready to party, especially college students and the like-as not only was it Halloween, but also Friday. He smirked, knowing that even with people going out in costumes, he'd still be the center of attention, and Fang lost track of time as he walked all over the place, at times sitting down at a bench to rest his legs.

And it was not only Sandra the taxi driver that was carrying around a camera and wanted to take pictures with Fang upon seeing him. Several people, mainly tourists, eagerly asked to have their pictures taken with him too. Most of the tourists Fang encountered throughout the day spoke little to no English, but Fang did not need to understand what they spoke to know what they wanted, and he was more than happy to pose for pictures. More importantly, he had fun doing it, with a variety of poses at that.

Sometimes he just put an arm around the person or people, sometimes he smirked and flexed his muscles, and sometimes he would lower himself a little, hands raised, claws and wings extended, mouth open in a silent roar, the mutate taking the Manhattan clan gargoyles' posing before stone sleep as inspiration. His favorite, however, were a group of young ladies, clearly French due to their accents; they were enthusiastic for pictures and not shy about feeling his muscles, and one of them even allowed for Fang to stand behind her and hug her to him as they both smiled for the camera, at one point even wrapping his wings around her like a blanket.

Noon came, and lunchtime was a peculiar time for the mutate. As he was a big eater, and he didn't want anyone to even slightly suspect that something might be off with him, Fang resorted to eating normal portions from more than one place. He had a foot-long sub sandwich from a shop, where he got a lot of attention and comments, and took it to go, eating it at a small park to be more discreet, where he also used the public bathroom. He also had a couple of hot dogs from a cart, and two slices of pizza at a pizzeria a couple of blocks away; then he returned to the small park to sit at a bench and relax with a large, ice-cold soda, and even then people occasionally passing by would compliment his look. Fang had loved getting to go out in public back in London, but getting to do it in his home city, during the daytime, was truly a different experience, and it made him lament that Halloween was just once a year.

For quite some time more, after a good resting of his legs in that small park, Fang walked around the city. He would sometimes enter random shops just to browse around, not really buying anything, but just to feel that sense of normalcy again, to once again experience something as mundane as going into a store; though of course, the comments and admiration he got for his so-called costume were quite a welcome added bonus. He was quite glad that his lie about state-of-the-art animatronics was accepted by the people he told it to in regards to how his eyes, mouth, and wings moved.

Fang had already walked a lot and quite far for quite a while, and he felt he could've done it all day if he could. But eventually, when asking someone the time, he realized it was about time to go elsewhere, and he hailed another taxi. This time he had no trouble catching one, but the driver, a middle-aged man, wasn't as enthusiastic about his passenger, commenting that such a costume would scare children, so Fang just sat back in a huff and said nothing during the trip.

After what felt like entirely too long, Fang finally arrived at his destination, paying the driver and exiting. Fang sighed and smiled as he looked at the surroundings. "This place hasn't changed a bit," he said to himself as he eyed the familiar street and buildings, for he had not passed by this area since before his mutation.

He eyed a familiar corner store, and out of nowhere, a sudden memory hit him. It was during the time he had tried taking over the Labyrinth; he, alongside Claw and his two human goons, had been harassing Al to extort some goods from him, Fang being infuriated when the homeless man produced only coins. Remembering his reaction to that, what he ranted at Al upon that offering of coins, Fang couldn't help but grin and chuckle. He proceeded to enter the store, which had just a couple of customers and employees at the time, some of whom gasped in surprise upon looking at him.

Going directly to the register, Fang smiled at the stunned young lady at the cash register, and reaching into his pocket, he plunked down some change on the counter, then grabbed and showed the lady what he intended to buy. "Hey there. Just this pack of bubblegum."

After a moment of surprise, the young lady nodded. "Oh, yeah, sure," she said, taking the change as payment. "That costume looks so real."

"Thanks," Fang said, taking the pack of gum and putting it in his pocket, extending his wings just to show off. "Worked real hard on it. Been out and about since this morning and I'm loving people's reactions."

"I'll bet," the woman said, looking Fang up and down. "I've never seen something so over-the-top, in a good way. So why are you wearing it since so early?"

"Well, after all the money and work I've put into this masterpiece," Fang said rather smugly while patting his chest, "to wear it just for Halloween, I might as well milk it for all it's worth."

"That makes sense," she said. "So, basically, just hanging out and showing off. If I had a costume that good, I'd show it off too."

"I know, right?" Fang said with a grin. "Though there's actually one more thing I gotta get done, which is why I'm here."

"And what's that?"

Noticing that a blond-haired woman with glasses wanted to pay, Fang got out of her way, and he also noticed that this woman was really not keen on his presence with the way she looked at him with apprehension and even a little disgust. Fang did not let that dampen his mood, and while waiting for the cashier lady to finish with the customer, a familiar sound that Fang had not heard for years reached them inside the store, and the mutate smiled. The customer then took her leave as she warily eyed Fang, and ignoring her, the cougar-man focused on replying to the employee's previous query while pointing out the door at the building across the street.

"That's the main reason I'm out here right now," Fang declared with enthusiasm. "I'm picking up my kid from school."

"Oh, that's great!" she replied with a smile. "The kids will freak."

"In a good way, I'll bet," Fang said, staying inside the store and keeping an eye out. The sound he had heard was the school bell indicating that school was out for the day, and after a couple of minutes, the mutate grinned and went to leave the store, having caught sight of his son exiting the building. "And here's my cue..."

To be continued...

Author's Extra Note: For a long time now, I had decided that I needed to have Halloween in this story, knowing how the gargoyles celebrate it, and it makes sense to me that so would the mutates. And now it's time for it, but I figured that, Fang being Fang, he'd be bold enough to dare to go out during the daytime, taking advantage that people know that gargoyles turn to stone during the day. I had a lot of fun picturing and writing down the things that Fang could do if he could go out during daytime hours, and I especially had to reference Fang's line about bubblegum that he shouted at Al in the episode Kingdom after being offered just coins. But of course, now you all know the reason Fang had not gone to see Daniel since he returned to New York. Daniel sure is in for a big surprise next chapter, so stay tuned for it, and thanks for reading!