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 39
by Remtar85
"Whoooooa, we're halfway there!" Malibu all but shouted into his microphone.
"Whoooooa, livin' on a prayer!" Fang followed along with his own microphone.
Malibu then proceeded to grab Fang's hand and raised both his and the cougar-man's up high. "Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear!"
Fang grinned at this and continued on. "Whoooooa, livin' on a prayer!"
The owner of a food business near the bar, having installed a stall outside to better tend to Halloween partiers, had decided to use an extension cord to set up a karaoke machine and two microphones outside for the drunk revelers to entertain themselves while ordering more food and drinks. Malibu, not one to shy away from trying out new things, had coaxed Fang into doing some duets, and to his delight, the cougar-man agreed after some hesitation.
After waiting for their turn, the two took the microphones and Malibu chose songs to sing. While Malibu was enthusiastic from the start, Fang started off rather stilted as Malibu randomly decided they start with Don't Stop Believing by Journey, which Fang was decidedly not a fan of, but halfway through the song, he started to get into the karaoke experience and enjoy it. Then they followed it up with Don't Lose My Number by Phil Collins as their next song, the two getting much more into it, now following with Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi. The two sang their hearts out with each song and hammed it up for all it was worth, having a lot of fun with it. Of course, "sang" was a polite way to put it, because they both knew they sounded terrible, and so did the people that had gathered to watch them. Despite how bad they sounded, or perhaps because of it, the audience was thoroughly entertained and enjoying the show that mutate and gargoyle gave; Fang was pretty sure that alcohol was definitely involved in their enjoyment of it.
"Thank you!" Malibu spoke into the microphone, bowing to the applauding crowd as the song finished.
"One more! One more! One more!" the crowd chanted.
"Haha! Alright, just one more," Fang said with a smile. Though he admitted he was having fun with this, his throat was getting parched and he wanted to go get another drink.
Malibu browsed through the selection of music in the karaoke machine, then he grinned and turned to Fang, moving the microphone away so only Fang could hear him. "I got the perfect song and the perfect idea to make this a real show."
"What'cha got in mind?"
Malibu spoke in a lower voice, and Fang grinned and nodded. Another chance to show off had presented itself and he was going for it. Malibu chose the song and they got ready, clearing their throats, and after a moment, they began singing Paradise City by Guns N' Roses. As it was one of his favorite songs, Malibu got especially into it, badly singing the lyrics, with Fang sticking to back-up vocals. As it was a shortened version of the song, it didn't take long to get to the end, and with a grin shared between two friends, they prepared for their grand finale. Fang stopped singing and set his microphone back onto its stand, then stood behind Malibu, as Malibu sang the last verse of the song, then did something he knew he could do very well.
"Oh, won't you please take me..."
The next word in the lyrics was to be "home", but Malibu decided to switch it around. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, leaned his head back, then suddenly he screamed into the mic. An intense, powerful shriek that would have made any member of a good heavy metal band proud, and Malibu was glad that gargoyles were so good at loud roars and screams; while singing didn't suit him, this part was easy. And to accompany such a display of hardcore metal scream, the moment Malibu started his final note, Fang raised his arms high above his head, and using his electricity in a harmless way, a shower of bright sparks emerged from his fingertips, raining all around himself and Malibu, as the clone sustained his metal scream for a good seven or eight seconds. This drove the audience wild, the people applauding, whooping and cheering loudly.
After his loud final note, Malibu took a deep breath, and both he and Fang bowed and thanked the very entertained audience. After Malibu put his microphone back on the stand, the two friends stepped away, letting other people have their turn to sing, while also being congratulated in their final moment by a bunch of party-goers, and passing off questions on Fang's display of sparks as simply special effects built into the so-called costume. As the two headed back to the bar they had begun their night at, the two girls Malibu had been hanging out with for a portion of the evening returned, enthusiastic about his performance and wishing to hang out more with him.
"Hey, you don't mind, do ya?" Malibu asked his friend.
Fang hesitated for a bit, then shrugged. "Nah, it's cool. You go ahead and have fun."
"Thanks, man. Hey, if I don't see you later, let's meet up at your place, 'kay?" he said, then turned and, with a smile, put his arms around both women. "Let's go, ladies."
Watching Malibu walk away, two women by his side, Fang grumbled. "Lucky bastard. Bet Brooklyn would be seriously pissed if he saw that..."
On the one hand, Fang was happy to see his best friend get attention from women, his being a gargoyle notwithstanding, and wondered what would happen if the women found out what he really was. Or had he already told them? The clone had mentioned about them being part of a new organization that promoted trying to co-exist with gargoyles, and Fang wondered if this was true, thinking that there must be a way to investigate and find out if they were legit. He didn't like the idea of it probably being some sort of trap for unsuspecting gargoyles, though he knew Malibu was smart enough to not let himself be pulled into any shady situation. However, and much as he tried not thinking about it, Fang was also annoyed at how first Wolf and now Malibu had left him behind, both with more than one person at their side.
"Dammit, how'd I get back to being so unlucky?" Fang whined to himself as he entered the bar and headed towards the bartender. "Man, I'm really missing Cee right about now..."
Taking a seat at the far end of the bar, which he had occupied earlier alongside Wolf, the cougar-man ordered a small mug of beer to freshen up his throat, having become parched from the karaoke, which he had to admit had been a whole lot more fun than he'd expected. He smiled to himself and drank from his beverage, guzzling it all down in one go, knowing that a whole year was a very long wait to do all these fun things and more once again on Halloween, but he was already pondering the possibilities.
His throat not dry anymore, Fang burped and paid for the beer. He knew that by now he was drunk; not as drunk as he got the last time he drank a lot, but certainly past the threshold he had set himself after that unpleasant experience. He figured if there was at least one night to go all-out without restraint, it was Halloween, and fortunately, he had those potions that cured drunkenness and hangover which he had purchased from the London Clan's shop waiting for him at his place. This caused Fang to ask the bartender for the time, who replied that it was close to 2:30 AM.
Fang sat there, resting, relaxing, looking at the crowd talking, dancing to music and drinking, but noticing that there were less people now than before. He figured that by this time, many had either stepped outside for a bite to eat, or simply gone home. The cougar-man pondered on trying to find Malibu or just heading straight home. But before he could make any decisions on the matter, someone took a seat next to him.
"Hey there," a feminine voice greeted him.
"Hey," Fang greeted back as he looked at the woman next to him.
Fang couldn't help but eye the woman up and down. She was around her mid to late 20's, with a toned, athletic figure, bright blue eyes and dark-blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore no make-up, and Fang felt she didn't need it, as she had a pretty face with a confident smile, which went along well with her attractive body and the confidence she clearly had in her looks. The woman was going for a tough yet feminine biker chick vibe with her costume, which consisted of a leather jacket, black boots, form-fitting denim pants, and a white t-shirt that had been cut to both display cleavage and leave her toned tummy exposed.
"I passed by the karaoke machine earlier with my friends and saw you and your buddy having some fun there," she said with an amused smile. "Shame that you don't have the vocals to go with that great costume."
Fang couldn't help but chuckle. "Eh, can't win 'em all. It was still a lotta fun, though."
"You looked like you were having a blast, that's for sure," she said, looking at the bartender, and upon seeing he was busy with another customer, turned back to Fang. "I'm Megan."
"Fred," Fang introduced himself. "So, since you've gone out of your way to chat me up, how about I buy you a drink?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Megan said with a smile. Smiling back, Fang called over the bartender, who had just finished pouring a drink for the other customer. While the mutate decided to pass on another drink for himself, not wanting to get too drunk to safely return home, he paid for Megan, who asked for a beer.
"So, Fred, what kind of job do you have?" she asked, sipping her beer.
"Me and my pal work for a private security firm," Fang answered; he technically wasn't lying, since Xanatos did pay him to keep some things secure if it was needed. "Important customers and their valuables. We work hard to keep 'em safe."
Megan smiled. "Sounds like a tough job, and it probably pays good too. I guess that explains why you both have those fancy gargoyle costumes."
"That's right. It's a great gig, pays well, couldn't ask for anything more. And I tell ya, these costumes cost a serious pretty penny to get built, and it took some time to get used to wearing them," Fang said. "But it's been worth it and then some. This is the best Halloween I've had in as long as I can remember."
"Because you've been the center of attention wherever you go thanks to your costume being so much better than almost everyone else's, especially the people also going out as gargoyles?"
Fang chuckled again. "That's been a big reason, yeah. And my son too. He loved having me take him trick-or-treating, and even pick him up at school while wearing the costume."
"Oh, you're a dad?" Megan asked, then smirked. "I take it you're married too?"
"Dad, yes, of an eleven-year-old little geek that I adore," Fang replied with a smirk of his own. "Married, not now, not back then, and probably not ever. Why do you ask, though? You interested?"
"Not on being married," Megan replied, sipping her beer again. "But I wouldn't mind having some fun with a nice guy. It's been an okay night, but all my friends already went home and I'm way too bored and way too full of energy."
Fang smiled. "Now here's hoping that your idea of fun goes beyond just having a guy with a cool costume to buy you a drink."
"It can go beyond, yeah," Megan replied. "So long as you play your cards right, of course."
"Alright then. But why me? You could've gone with my friend. Or are punk rocker types not your style?"
"He already looked busy with the two girls I saw him with before I came in here," Megan replied. "And well, no offense to your friend, but he looks a little scrawny for a guy who works security. I'd say you're more my type, physically. Unless those muscles are just part of your costume?"
"Oh, trust me, there's no padding here, just fake fur atop real muscle," Fang said, then flexed his arm that was closer to her. "Care to check?"
Megan did not hesitate to take him up on his offer. Setting her beer mug down, she reached over and squeezed Fang's bicep, a smile coming to her face. "Damn, you're not kidding. That really is solid muscle. And the fake fur feels nice and silky too, actually. I like that combination."
"Spared no expenses," Fang bragged, very appreciative of the attention he was getting from this attractive lady. "If I had, I wouldn't have been able to show off to pretty women."
Megan laughed at this, going back to her beer. "Well, at least you're honest about it."
The two of them continued to talk and openly flirt with one another for a while. Fang learned that she was a fitness instructor and also an assistant in self-defense classes, that she shared an apartment with her best friend, and that she enjoyed all kinds of sports but also liked more traditional feminine hobbies, such as shopping. The mutate, on the other hand, had to resort to lying sometimes, saying that he tended to stay in all sorts of hotels due to his job taking him to various places, though he was honest about his hobbies, such as watching TV and movies, and exercise (though he of course didn't mention that his favorite exercise was flying), and also about his relationship with his son and how much Fang liked being there for him despite not getting along with his mom.
He noticed that Megan seemed to especially like him being a good dad. Naturally, as they continued their talk, a lot of flirting occurred, with them complimenting one another on their good physiques, their costumes, their tastes in movies and music, among whatever else they could think of, and Megan was not shy about feeling his muscles a few more times. Their talk was interrupted when the bartender called out in a loud voice that, while he was grateful for everyone's patronage, it was now close to 3:30 AM and he was closing up the bar, which was near empty as it was anyway, with only about seven people still there.
"I can't believe it's so late," Megan commented, leaving on the counter the mug of a second beer Fang had paid for her. "Honestly, it feels like it's still much earlier."
"Yeah," Fang agreed. "Time flies when you're having fun."
"So are you heading back with your friend now?" she asked him.
Fang shook his head as they exited the bar alongside all other customers. "Nah, we decided to go our own ways and then get back to where we're staying when we can."
Indeed, the streets were far less crowded now as well. Outside, some stalls were packing up after a long, busy night; other stalls had already been packed up and away, and most every other busines had already closed, and Malibu was nowhere in sight. Fang was glad about this, as he was already rather tired and definitely not sober, so he felt like having to leave the area was a good thing.
"And what about you?" the mutate asked. "Goin' home?"
"Home? Come on, Fred, you heard me back in there. The night isn't over yet," she said, then casually wrapped her arms around one of his and smiled. "I don't live close by, but a friend of my family owns a clothing store nearby and has an apartment on the second floor. She's staying with her boyfriend during the weekend and I have spare keys she gave me just in case, so if you're feeling daring, we could sneak a little extra fun at her place."
Fang was surprised at this, but then chuckled as she started walking and he followed right by her side. "Defiling your friend's place with a guy you just met? Now that's kinda crazy, don't'cha think?"
Megan smiled flirtatiously. "Hey, if you can't do something crazy on Halloween in New York, then when can you?"
"Heh. Alright, that's a good point," Fang conceded. "So, you, ah... got protection?"
"You don't?" she shot back, an eyebrow raised.
Fang had the decency to look sheepish. "Well, y'know, I'm not really used to having attractive women inviting me to a one-night-stand after just meeting them. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm all for it, but I just didn't expect it to happen tonight."
"Ah, okay then, that's understandable," Megan said with a smile. "Thankfully, I do carry some protection myself. A girl's gotta be responsible."
"A woman who's not ashamed of her sexual appeal, embraces it, and is safe about it too," Fang said with a smile, putting an arm around her shoulders. "What more could a man ask for?"
"Well, this woman wants to ask you for something else," she said teasingly. "I want you to keep the costume on while we have our fun."
Fang's eyes went wide, then he grinned. "Ooooh, you're one kinky gal. I love it!"
It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination. There was a set of stairs next to the clothing store that led upstairs to a security gate, which Megan unlocked, then she unlocked the apartment door, turning on the lights as they both entered. The place was quaint and organized, if rather over-decorated for Fang's tastes, but he didn't mind, considering he wouldn't be there for too long anyway. As Megan locked the door behind her, Fang wrapped his arms around her, chuckling and nuzzling her neck.
"Soooo, what would you like to do for starters?" he asked her.
"For starters, we're a little overdressed, don't you think?" she said, stroking the soft fur of his arms, enjoying his nuzzling. "Let's start by me getting comfy and you taking off that... Viking costume?"
Fang couldn't help but chuckle. "Thor. Superhero from comic books. Even if no one else got it, I knew my son would, so that was good enough for me. Plus I look damn cool with it."
"Aaah, I was wondering about that. It just seemed weird to think of a Viking gargoyle, for some reason," Megan said, getting out of his grasp and taking his hand to move to the living room area. "You do look cool in it. And you're a very nice dad."
"Thanks. I figure if I do something right in my life, it's making my son happy," Fang said as he followed her, then smiled and removed his hammer, setting it aside as he now started working on his costume. "And also, right now, making you happy as well, sweetheart."
"Well, let's see what you can do about that," she said as the now shirtless Fang set the top part of his Thor costume on the couch. Megan wasted no time in drawing closer, hands on Fang's torso, his fur sliding through her fingers as she felt his abs. "This costume must be skin-tight to show off your muscles. You're just solid..."
Fang took a long, slow, deep breath as he relaxed under her touch, enjoying how she explored the firm muscles under the soft fur, moving from his abs to his chest. "Mostly skin-tight, yeah. Gotta leave a bit of space in the headpiece and the back for the little gadgets that control the animatronics for the face and wings."
Megan chuckled softly. "Don't mind the details, big guy. Mmm, I wonder what kind of material they used for the fur. It feels so real."
After that, Megan proceeded to remove her leather jacket and set it aside. She then removed her boots and pants, ending up in just her halter top and underwear, all while Fang kept her close and stroked her hair, nuzzling her neck too, feeling like the night couldn't possibly end on a higher note for him. The young lady took his big hands and guided him to a bedroom, assuring him that it was the guest bedroom and that, so long as they picked up after themselves, nobody would notice anything.
"Hehe. I'm real grateful to ya, Megan" Fang commented, embracing Megan from behind, his chin on her shoulder. "I thought the night couldn't get any better, till I met you, and you're definitely being the highlight."
"Happy to be such a positive influence on your evening," Megan said with a charming smile, petting Fang's cheek. "How about you get comfy and lie down in bed? I want to feel your muscles some more."
"Aaah, you really do like your men buff, huh? Lucky me," Fang said with a grin. Dressed now in only his blue trunks, the mutate proceeded to get on the bed and lie down on his chest, wings spread out so they draped off the sides of the bed.
"What can I say? I have a type, just like everyone. Mine just happens to be strong men. Must be due to working in fitness." Megan then followed Fang onto the bed and straddled his lower back, her hands now moving back onto his torso, where she started massaging his muscular back.
Fang sighed, feeling entirely relaxed now as Megan massaged his back and shoulders. After what he'd had with Cecily in London, he had thought he'd never be able to meet another woman he could be intimate with, much less a human woman at that; and while both he and Megan were treating this as strictly a one-night stand, the cougar-man felt like the luckiest guy in the city to get such an opportunity. His mind wandered as he all but melted under Megan's touch, pondering if she'd had any kind of training as a masseuse, because she was quite good at it, and it took all of Fang's self-control to not purr like he did back when Cecily massaged his shoulders for the first time.
Megan was quite content helping Fang enjoy himself, a smile on her face as she massaged his broad shoulders and started moving her hands down his back. "Gosh, I wish I could afford something as detailed as this costume. It's..."
Fang noticed that Megan had paused in both talking and massaging. "Hmm? It's what?"
"So real," she commented, running her hands up and down his back, then his wing joints, and then back to his shoulders, now including the side of the neck.
"Mmmm, feels so good," Fang mumbled happily. "You sure that being a masseuse is not in your life calling?"
Her reply was one Fang did not expect at all. Not only because it wasn't a reply with words, but because said reply consisted of Megan grabbing Fang by the scruff of the back of his neck, yanking his head up and delivering a fierce punch right between his eyes.
"AAAAAHHH!"
The blow had been unexpected and quite strong, and it left Fang dazed, but his feline reflexes kicked in and he rolled to one side, taking her off balance. She was not letting go of his scruff, not until he reached back to try to grab her hand to forcefully remove her. Once she let go, he rolled on to the other side, falling off the bed and onto the floor. Still rather dazed, Fang got to his feet, only to catch the sight of Megan jumping onto the bed and spinning, delivering a fierce kick to his face that sent him sprawling to the floor.
The mutate grunted and rubbed his aching jaw, now glaring at the blond woman as he backed away, trying to get back to his feet. "What the hell, Megan?!"
"That's not a costume," she replied in an angry voice. "There aren't any zippers or seams or anything. You're a real gargoyle! You were pretending to be a human wearing a costume to take advantage of women, you sick freak!"
"Whoa, hey now, this isn't what it looks like!" Fang quickly said, finally back to his feet, hands in front of him. "I'm not a gargoyle, I swear! My name really is Fred Sykes, I really have a son, and I was just a regular guy till that same nutbag who mutated that Wolf guy from The Pack got his hands on me and mutated me too, except he decided I should have wings, so now everyone thinks I'm a gargoyle!"
"That's the worst lie I've ever heard in my life, asshole!" she shouted, jumping off the bed at him, a punch aimed at his face again, but he was able to dodge it.
"WHY IN THE SHIMMERING FUCK WON'T ANYONE EVER BELIEVE ME?!" Fang cried out in frustration.
The mutate decided in an instant that it was in his best interests to leave rather than further try to convince her that he was not a gargoyle, so he rushed out of the room before Megan could attack him again. Fang snarled in anger and annoyance, because he knew that if he tried defending himself, he could really hurt her badly, and that would be a whole heap of trouble if it got out to the media. He could imagine how bad the reactions would be if this made the news; from Daniel being massively disappointed in his father, to Talon and the others deciding he was not worth the opportunity they had given him to be free and coming after him again.
At the same time, he wasn't about to become a punching bag to a woman who clearly knew how to fight. The mutate stumbled as he tried getting to the couch where he left his things, and as he went to grab them, Megan leaped over the back of the couch and delivered a blow to Fang's face with her knee that sent the mutate tumbling back, tripping over the coffee table and falling on the other side of it.
"You're not getting away!" she shouted at him.
"Look, I get it, it's weird that I look like this, but I swear I wasn't trying to take advantage of you!" Fang retorted; she dove at him and he managed to catch her arms and shove her aside onto a reclining chair, then he backed away. "I mean, it was you who invited me here to fool around!"
She picked herself off of the chair and attacked him again, which he dodged easily this time, but she kept interfering in his attempt to get the rest of his costume as well as his hammer. "Hell, you're the one who started talking to me at the bar!"
"I didn't hear you say no, you damn creep! I bet you'd been waiting all night for someone to take advantage of," Megan snapped at him. She noticed Fang had been eyeing his things and she swiftly grabbed the hammer, slightly surprised at the weight of it, and quickly deciding it could be used as a weapon.
"I was NOT trying to take advantage of anyone! I just wanted a nice Halloween where I could go out and not worry about people freaking out and trying to kill me over how I look!" Fang said in an increasingly loud voice, walking back till he hit a wall. "I never even expected a woman to wanna invite me to a one-night-stand! You sat by me, we talked, we got along, we both wanted a good time, and It didn't work out. So just lemme grab my stuff and I'll be outta your hair and we won't hafta see each other ever again!"
"You're not leaving here alive, monster," she said in a low, threatening voice, and she surged forward.
Fang was ready to dodge, but even more so as his eyes went wide when Megan accidentally clicked on the button at the near top of the handle while gripping it firmly, making the hammer's electricity activate right as she swung it. Fang leaped to the side and Megan struck the wall behind him, making a big hole on it. As she stared at what she had done in shock, and clearly wondering how she was going to explain this to her friend, Fang quickly went over to where the rest of his costume lay and gathered it up. He had been ready to just run off without it, but after Fox went through the trouble of having it made for him, and Daniel absolutely loving it, Fang figured he really shouldn't lose it just hours after first wearing it, or it would make him look really bad in front of them. Now if only he could get his hammer back...
"What the hell?" Megan muttered, then glared at the mutate. "Where did you get this hammer?!"
"None of your damn business!" Fang snapped at her, rapidly losing what little shred of patience he had left. "Now give it back or I'm takin' it from ya!"
She was silent for a few seconds, then Fang saw realization hit her face. "Ohmigod, it's you. I wasn't there that night, but now I remember from what the others said. The brown-furred gargoyle that looked like a cat, alongside the redhead female one. You took one of our hammers, destroyed a rooftop with it and injured some of our people. And now you modified it somehow and carry it around like a trophy?!"
Fang's face fell in disbelief. "You're with the Quarrymen? Are you friggin' kidding me?!"
Her response was to attack again, and this time she had the hammer lit with electricity, which meant that Fang was even more wary about getting hit and put more emphasis on dodging her. It was then he realized that, as Quarrymen were used to wielding their hammers with both hands due to the weight and long handles, Megan was having some difficulty dealing with his own hammer, as it still was rather heavy, but the shorter handle was clearly giving her some difficulty and she couldn't get used to it fast enough. It also worked to his favor that she was now also trying to be careful to not wreck her friend's apartment beyond that hole she had made in the wall.
"C'mon, stop this crap already and gimme back my hammer!"
"The only thing I'm giving you is a caved-in skull!" Megan swung again, missed again, and Fang saw his chance. The cougar-man quickly stepped behind her and grabbed her wrists. He squeezed them just enough to make her lose her grip on the hammer, which fell to the floor, and the weight combined with the electricity created a noticeable dent. Fang then moved her arms and pinned them behind her back.
"Now listen up! You're gonna let me go right now or you're in deep shit with your Quarrymen pals!" Fang said in a firm tone.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she grunted. Try as she might, she didn't have the strength to break the cougar-man's grip.
"Lady, you met a guy at a bar, there was flirting, you invited him to your friend's place for a one-night-stand, and you want the guy to keep wearing what you think is a gargoyle costume while you have sex with him! And you're a Quarrywoman! Now what does that say about you, huh?"
While he couldn't see her face, her silence said enough, so he continued. "Exactly! You got Beauty and the Beast syndrome, and for some reason, you think you can deal with it by killing the beasts, who the hell knows why. What would the other Quarrymen think if they heard about this? 'Cuz I swear, I'll spill my guts out to any of 'em that comes after me!"
Megan was silent for several seconds, squirming a bit more against his grip before stopping and staying still. Fang figured she was thinking of what to say, how to retort to him. Then she finally spoke. "And what makes you think you'd get a chance to talk to any Quarrymen besides me? Any one of them would take you down before you could get to say anything."
All of a sudden, Megan kicked Fang in one of his shins, which caused him to cry out and lean over a bit as he instinctively lifted his foot due to the sudden pain. She then threw her head back, taking advantage of the proximity of his head to hers now, smashing against his mouth. He let out a grunting sound of pain, his balance faltering and his grip weakening enough that she squirmed loose, turned, delivered a kick to his torso, two punches to his face, then she kicked him in his privates. The cougar-man's eyes went wide, and a low, weak moan of intense pain escaped him as he bent over and almost fell to his knees. And as Megan reached for the hammer once more, Fang felt a rush of adrenaline and suddenly ran forward, grabbing her before she could retrieve the hammer and taking her along with him towards the bedroom they had been in. He stopped at the door while shoving her and she stumbled inside, falling on the floor. Fang pulled the door and held it shut, bending over once more as he tried fighting through the pain and how weak his legs felt, the sudden adrenaline rush now gone, which meant he now felt the pain in full.
"Why'd my night have to go so bad right at the tail end?" he whimpered.
"Let me out, freak!" Megan screamed at him from the room.
Fang took deep breaths and took his time trying to get over the pain of having his nether regions kicked so hard, all while Megan pounded at the door and kept trying to open it. When the pain finally subsided, Fang looked back at the living room, spotting where his costume and hammer were on the floor. Wanting out of there fast, he looked back at the bedroom door. Knowing that Megan wouldn't be able to get out through a window from the second floor unless she wanted to risk breaking her legs, he turned the doorknob while she pounded at the door, then kept a firm grip on it. He then felt her trying to pull the door open again, and after she gave two yanks, he released the doorknob, which combined with Megan yanking so hard, it made her lose her balance, yelping as she fell backwards while the door flew open.
The mutate reacted immediately, running towards his things. He gathered his costume, shut off the hammer before picking it up, then with everything in hand, he ran to the door. Hearing Megan getting back to her feet to come after him, he threw caution out the window, easily kicking the door open and breaking the lock while at it, then he used his hammer to smash the gate open and leaped into the air, flapping his wings and flying away from there as fast as he could. He could faintly hear Megan shouting insults and death threats his way as he quickly headed home.
Fang flew higher and higher, not wanting to be seen by absolutely anyone; he was incredibly embarrassed, which in turn made him feel absolutely furious. He mumbled and cursed under his breath all the way home, stopping only when he finally landed atop the building that housed his apartment, and the first thing he did was set the upper body part of his outfit, as well as his hammer, on the roof. The cougar-man took a deep breath, then screamed out loud and shot electricity towards the sky in a continuous stream, letting his frustration out. After a few moments of this, he picked his things back up and headed inside.
Finally back in his apartment, and in a foul mood, Fang set aside his hammer and went into his room. Once there, he extracted his wallet from the secure inner pocket of his costume, put it on his dresser drawer, then threw the outfit into the closet. "Next year, no damn costumes!" he snapped out loud.
It was supposed to be the best Halloween ever, and it had certainly been going that way, but then Megan had figured out the truth about Fang, and what had been the best night in some time had quickly turned into the worst experience he'd had in a long time, and with that, his mood had been shot down hard and it affected how he felt about the evening in general. He simply could not calm down; he was irritated, frustrated, and for the first time since his mutation, he was genuinely angry at having wings.
Fang could not help but ponder if Megan's reaction would have been different if he didn't have wings, if he didn't look like a gargoyle; after all, Wolf had left the bar with two dates, and Fang was damn sure that the former Pack member hadn't experienced what Fang had. The fact that Megan was part of the Quarrymen angered Fang even further, and made him despise the gargoyle-hating organization even more.
Needing to take his mind off of the whole ordeal, Fang went to the mini-bar area and took some more whiskey, figuring that if he got more drunk, he'd be able to calm down. After a couple of drinks and feeling a little more buzzed, Fang decided he needed a shower, and once there, he stood for minutes on end under the stream of warm water, letting it just run down his body to try to soothe himself, as though washing away his problems and frustrations of a Halloween gone to ruin. He was still in the shower when Malibu finally showed up, at almost dawn, and stood at the bathroom door.
"Hey, Fang," Malibu said in a cheerful, and rather tipsy, tone. No doubt Malibu had had a few more drinks without Fang around.
"Finally," Fang grumbled. "Where the hell have you been till now?"
"Heh. Sorry, man. Those P.I.T Crew girls I was hanging out with kept me pretty damn busy. They were real cool. And what about you? 'Cuz you're soundin' kinda cranky."
"None of your business," Fang grumbled, adamant on not talking to Malibu about what had transpired after they went their separate ways earlier; the cougar-man wasn't in the mood for either taunting or sympathy. "You still got that communicator with you?"
"Oh, you're worried that Talon tracking me would mean he'd find out that this is where you live now?" Malibu stated more than asked. "Too late for that, Fangster, you know he's been tracking my moves since he gave me this damn thing. He already has to know this is where you live. But whatever, it's not like it matters. He already said he'd leave you alone, right? He doesn't hafta know what you get up to outside of here, hehe."
Fang kept quiet, still showering, clearly pondering on Malibu's words, so the clone continued talking. "Anyway, I got extra bold and told the girls I was with that I'm a real gargoyle. Even proved it like I did with Yvonne and Cynthia."
"Did they freak?"
Malibu chuckled. "Not even a little! Turns out these P.I.T Crew people are for real! They took me to one of the places where they meet at, and I had my guard up just in case, but it turns out it's true. They meet there sometimes, talk about gargoyles, and discusss plans about how to approach 'em if they can, and some talk about how they've been saved by gargoyles from muggers and stuff. I got to meet a couple more of them and they loved havin' a real gargoyle there. They said they hope me and maybe others show up for some of their meetings sometime."
"Good for you," Fang said, though it came out with a touch of sarcasm, thanks to his mood. "If it's about screwin' the Quarrymen over, I say let these P.I.T folks get the attention they want."
"Damn right!" Malibu said enthusiastically; then he smirked. "Hey, Fang? Can you look this way for a bit?"
Fang sighed in slight frustration. He parted the curtain slightly and looked out at Malibu. "What is it?"
Malibu's grin was huge. "Didn't you ask me to tell you if something happened between me and those girls?"
Fang blinked. "Did it?"
"Well..."
"C'mon, man, spill it out," Fang insisted. His curiosity had been awakened now, and he figured that hearing any details about this would distract him a bit from his current frustrations. "I told you mine, you tell me yours. Did you and those chicks hit the sheets or not?"
"Hehe. Alright, I'll tell you. We..."
And then Malibu turned to stone right there at the bathroom's door. Dawn was officially upon him. Fang just stared at the stone clone in disbelief for a moment, then he exploded in a drunken rage.
"YOU WERE TIMING IT JUST SO THE SUN WOULD HIT RIGHT THEN AND THERE, YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHOLE!" Fang screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP, JUST YOU WAIT!"
After more cursing and foul language all through the rest of his shower and drying off, Fang grabbed Malibu, managed to move him to right next to the cargo elevator, then he went to sleep in a foul mood. Halloween had come and gone; most of it had been great, the last two hours had been awful, and Fang hoped that next year, he'd have learned from the mistakes of this evening and make sure that that night would not get ruined as this one did. Still, the next Halloween was a whole year away, and as he drifted off to sleep, Fang pondered just what life had in store for him next. He hoped it wouldn't go as bad as this evening had ended.
To Be Continued...
Author's Extra Note: So there we go, folks. Halloween is officially over, and as we see, it ended on a really sour note for Fang. I mean, things have been going his way for quite some time, so I guess it was about time for life to catch up and balance things out again, and I figured, who better than a member of the Quarrymen to do that; except that I wanted to try it in a unique way and, well, this is what I came up with, since I thought this would have been the way to most frustrate Fang. So, now that Fang's opportunity to be out and about in public has ended, things will get back on track into the usual, but before his next set of shenanigans, for the next chapter we'll see what happens in the aftermath of Halloween. Now they move into November, it's starting to get chilly, and I have a few things planned. For now, that'll be all. Thanks for reading!