Mockingbird
By Christi Smith Hayden (wdh@computek.net)

All Gargoyles characters property of Disney and Buena Vista television.
All original characters and story concept copyrighted 1996 by Christi Smith Hayden.
Story #8: A rogue Illuminati scientist has joined the Quarrymen. A dark novella of passion and torture. WARNING:  Graphic descriptions. For mature readers only.


Mockingbird

APRIL
I.
The thick leather bound book lay next to the computer hard drive, a glaring reminder of days gone past. The musty smell of the yellowed pages fought with antiseptic scent of the laboratory. Yet, it was not the keyboard that the sole occupant of the lab reached for, but the book. Carefully, methodically, the thin pages were opened and the handwritten words traced with a long, aristocratic finger.
"Westminster, England. 1847: I was laying in wait at the Abbey tonight. It was just as Grandfather said, there is still wonder in the world. The moon shone full and bright and just as I had almost decided to return home for the evening, they appeared. Soaring high above me across the face of the moon, the creatures swooped and cavorted with each other. One could almost place real emotions to their antics.
"I counted four pairs flying in tandem, possibly mating and a number of others were visible on the Abbey parapets. I wonder if I can share this information with my brethren when we meet next month. The Society has many interests, both mundane and mystical. I am unsure how my naturalist studies of these remarkable animals will be received. Many of the Brethren are dedicated to their own avaristic gains and would undoubtedly try to use them for profit.
"I shall continue to make my observations according to the scientific principles put forth by the Academy of Science and follow in the steps of my mentor, the naturalist Charles Darwin. It will be interesting to see exactly where these creatures, these Gargoyles, fit in his evolutionary theory. ---W.E.H."
The man in the white lab coat considered the words on the page gravely. He closed the book and placed it in a desk drawer for safe keeping. He slipped on his half-rimmed glasses and pulled out the keyboard.

MEMO TO CASTAWAY:
CONTINUE THE OBSERVATION ONLY PATROLS AT DESIGNATED TIMES ACCORDING TO LUNAR CYCLE. IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT AS DICTATED IN MY PROJECT OUTLINE. -- E.F.H.

II.
Immediately after cracking out of their shells, the younger gargoyles went into a huddle. Brooklyn looked around at his co-conspirators. "Okay, how are we doing?"
Lexington grinned. "Everything's set at the Rockaway. Owen's smoothed out all of the arrangements."
"Fox and I have taken care of the catering," Broadway said.
"All the guests have been invited," Angela concluded. She raised an eyebrow at Brooklyn. "And how's it going on your end?"
Brooklyn grinned sheepishly. "As far as Avery's concerned, she's got the most ignorant spouse in the free world. Her exact words to her cousin on the phone the other day."
"Ooh, there's a stretch," Lex teased.
"Well, she's in the castle kitchen," Broadway said, sniffing the air. "Mmm, chicken." He glared at Brooklyn. "That's the only thing I've had against you taking Avery as your mate."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"You've been hogging all her cooking."

Avery was standing on top of a large upside-down pot, stirring something on the stove. She looked over at them and smiled. "Hey, gargoyles. Soup's almost ready."
Brooklyn frowned. "Isn't that dangerous?" he asked, pointing to the pot she was standing on.
She shrugged. "The new cook took away the stepstool I usually use. He's got a lot of attitude. We were cussin' each other out earlier, him in Italian and me in Spanish." She laughed. "Actually, I don't think he's mad at me, he just likes to pick fights."
Broadway peered into the stock pot. "What's this?"
"Caldo Xochitl. Mexican chicken soup. I used to live on this in college. There was a little hole in the wall Mexican joint and the owner's wife would make this at lunchtime. It was a race to get to the restaurant after class before the soup ran out." She sniffed the aroma coming from the pot. "I've gotten it pretty close to her recipe. A handful of tortilla strips on top and you've got a great meal."
As dinner was winding down, Brooklyn looked at his mate speculatively and said, "How'd you like to get out of the castle tonight?"
Avery's eyebrows went up. "Oh? What do you have in mind?"
"Lex has been pestering us to go to that blues club with him. There's supposed to be a really good band tonight. You could get all dolled up," Brooklyn nudged her, "I'd even let you dress me up."
Avery looked across at Angela. The lavender gargoyle's mouth curled at the corners. "Sounds fun to me. Broadway and I were thinking of going. The people there are used to Lex. It seems like a gargoyle-friendly place."
"Well," Avery pursed her lips. "Okay, then, it's a date." She jumped up and started clearing the table. Brooklyn took the dishes from her.
"You and Angela go get ready," he said. "We'll straighten up here." The girls flounced off. 

 Brooklyn found his mate contemplating the contents of her closet, nibbling on the end of her finger. Her makeup was done, her long honey blonde hair caught up in an elegant French twist; now it was down to decision time. He had already seen the reject dresses lying in a heap across a chair outside the door. He decided to speed things up. "You know," he said, selecting a simple sleeveless dress, "I've always liked this one."
Avery raised an eyebrow. "And what's so great about it, considering you've never seen me in it?"
Thinking on his feet was one of the reasons Brooklyn was made second-in-command. "It's purple and it's velvet," he let his eyes glow, "and I always love the way it feels against my skin when you're wearing velvet."
"Oh, mercy." She came into his arms and gave him a big kiss. "You are acting so weird. Nice but weird."
He returned the kiss. "The night's young. Go put on the dress."
Avery had already picked out his ensemble and had it laying out. Knowing his reluctance for human clothing, she kept it simple. Brooklyn had inherited part of Spike's wardrobe, a bit big but still wearable. He put on black jeans with a convenient tail hole, white T-shirt with wing slits and picked up the charcoal jacket with the black lapels. Avery's mother had found an easy way to disguise wings by putting a deep pocket in the back lining of coats and jackets and as wings were very flexible, the deception was very convincing.
There was a knocking at the door and Broadway was standing outside, looking uncomfortable in his human clothing. "Uh, Angela wanted to know if Avery could help her with her hair."
Avery came out and Brooklyn complimented himself. She looked absolutely fabulous in the dress he'd picked out, flirty little skirt showing off her toned legs. She patted him on the beak in passing and gave him a sly look. She knew she looked terrific too.
"Sure, Broadway. I'm all ready," Avery said as she picked up her things. "You coming?" she asked her mate.
"In a minute," Brooklyn replied. He and Broadway watched her walk down the hall then ducked back into the apartment. They grabbed the bookcase and moved it out from the wall. Brooklyn grabbed a lightweight wooden frame from behind it and they put the bookcase back. Broadway followed him into the bedroom and watched the red gargoyle putting eye screws in the ceiling.
"This seems awfully flimsy," Broadway commented, handing up the frame.
"It's just for looks," Brooklyn said as he hooked it in place with delicate brass chains. "I'm not planning on hanging from my toes on it."
"Are you sure she's gonna like this?"
"No." The red gargoyle opened a large decorative hatbox in the corner of the room and took out several lengths of gauzy fabric. "But I know she's going to love it. Go out to the hall and be a lookout."
Broadway wandered out into the hallway shaking his head. His rookery brother had always been the planner of their group, the big idea man. The heavy gargoyle had only been let in on part of this scheme and he suspected Brooklyn had bigger goals in mind than just a nice surprise for his mate. Angela was dying of curiosity and Broadway had to admit he was too.
Brooklyn came out grinning. "All set. Do you suppose they're through fooling with Angela's hair?"
"Probably not," Broadway said with a little smile. "If there's anything Angela's vain about, it's her hair. I've watched her brush it for hours at a time."
Lexington met them outside the gargoyles' suite. He was clipping on an ingenious backpack of his own design. The straps hooked on his belt front and back and it contained his clothes since he would be dressing on the roof of the club. "Girls ready?" Lex asked. He peered in the door and added quietly, "Everything else ready?"
"It's a go, Houston. We're on standby for liftoff," Brooklyn intoned humorously. He yelled into the suite, "Hey, let's get a move on!"
"Aw, keep your shirt on!" Avery yelled back. She and Angela reappeared shortly afterwards. Angela had caught up her hair in some intricate braiding and was wearing a long, off-the-shoulder dress.
They flew over to the Village to the eclectic blues club called the Rockaway that Lex had been spending so much time at lately. The short green gargoyle sailed in first and landed near the roof entrance. He started pulling on clothes and was almost finished dressing in jeans, T-shirt and oxford shirt by the time the others had landed.
"It's about time you guys got here," Lex quipped. "I got things to do and people to see." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed inside.
The seductive backbeat of the music snaked up the stairwell to greet them. The gargoyles' first view of the Rockaway was the pherosome-charged atmosphere of the balcony. They gathered a few curious looks from the patrons but the young humans shrugged it off and went back to their own pursuits.
A willowy girl dressed all in black with waist length brunette hair came towards them arms open wide. "Lex! Your usual table, sweetheart?"
Lex pushed his way past the other gargoyles and hugged her. "Not tonight, Tish. I brought some friends and I'm going need a bit more room."
"No problem, I've got just the place." She smiled at all of them. "I'll be right back." 
Before they had a chance to say anything, a striking girl with tiny black braids sashayed out of the crowd. She had a cafe au lait complexion and was wearing a midriff-baring outfit that showed off her gold belly button ring. "Lex, baby!"
"Sasha." Lex's voice dropped an octave and he grabbed her around the waist, pushing her hair aside with his face, growling up her neck. He gave her a nibbling kiss on the ear.
"Oh, I just love it when you do that! Ramona's going to be so sorry she had to work tonight." The tall girl melted in the shorter gargoyle's arms. "We gonna dance later?"
"You bet." He gave her another little growl and a kiss and sent her on her way, patting her on the butt.
Brooklyn leaned towards Broadway. "You ever get the feeling Lex leads an entirely different life when we're not around?"
Lexington spotted some people looking his way. "Tish'll be back in a second," he said to the others, "I've got some business to take care of." He went off in a corner and set up his laptop and a portable bubblejet printer. A line began to form.
Tish came back and showed them to a large booth along the wall. She beamed at them. "I'm so thrilled you finally decided to come in. I've been telling Lex all along we should've been getting gargoyles in here long ago."
"Well, thank you, Tish," Avery said. She pointed at Lex. "What is he doing?"
"Oh, he's such a doll. He's been doing other people's tax returns," Tish said with a laugh. "He did mine as a favor a few weeks back and it kind of snowballed. He charges a lot less than the tax place."
Brooklyn stared at her. "Lex?"
"Oh, yeah. He's cleared out his bar bill and you'd be surprised what Lex would do for a free drink. I won't serve him anything alcoholic so he always finds somebody to buy for him." Tish wrinkled her nose up as she smiled. "It's so cute the way he thinks he's tricking me." She flipped out her order pad. "Speaking of drinks, what'll you have?"
"Who was that girl?" Angela asked. "The friendly one with all the braids?"
"Sasha? She's one of Lex's Ladies." Tish looked at their uncomprehending faces and grinned. She patted Broadway's shoulder. "Scoot over, hon. You mean," she began, lowering her voice, "Lex has never told any of you about all his Ladies?"
"No," Brooklyn answered. He cast a wicked glance Lex's way. "We're discovering our little brother has a dark side. What's he been doing with these girls?"
"Oh, you'd have to check the latest stats on the ladies' room wall, but Lex is known as the best head-first third base slide in the place."
The gargoyles looked puzzled but Avery spluttered and asked, "What? No home runs?"
"Not that I've heard of," Tish said confidentially. "But he's got a regular stable. If he disappears during the evening, he'll reappear a half hour later, looking rumpled and out-of-breath." She giggled. "And the girl always shows up a few minutes after, looking absolutely radiant."
Brooklyn whispered in Avery's ear, "Are we talking about the same baby-faced innocent gargoyle?"
"I think Goliath should have given Lex the safe sex lecture a long time ago."
The house lights went down. Tish grinned. "Show's going to start. You really ought to come over to the railing and see their opening number. It's really something."
Brooklyn looked at Broadway and shrugged with feigned casualness. "I'm game." He slid out and let Avery lead the way, her natural attributes more than compensating for his unearthly looks.
The MC came out on stage from the wings. "All right! The Rockaway is proud to welcome back for a special one-night performance, from Austin, Texas, home of the Texas blues -- The Lone Starz!!"
Avery squealed and clapped her hands. She tilted her head back and asked, "Do you suppose Dennis is still with them?"
Brooklyn grinned smugly and pointed. "I'd say so."
Avery's musical cousin, Dennis Bishop, was down on stage, playing keyboards and grinning like a maniac. Tonight he was wearing a Western shirt styled like the Texas state flag, as were the rest of the band. The guitar wailed the intro as Dennis leaned into the mike. 

"I stay stoned all the day
Fly alone all the night
I ain't got no baby
To make me feel all right!

I got them Lex-ing-ton Blues ..."

"Cool!" Lex shoved his way to the front, Sasha and a couple of other girls clustered around him. "Dennis said they added it to the line-up."
Broadway rolled his eyes. "Just when you think you know a guy, you find out he's a celebrity with women crawling all over him."
Lexington just wiggled his eyebrow ridges at him and pulled his ladies closer.

Towards the end of the set, Dennis took the mike again. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Rockaway, before the band takes a break, we have a special number we'd like to play for someone on her big day." He looked up at the balcony with a twinkle in his eye. "This is for you, cuz."
Avery started to back up but Brooklyn put his hands around her waist and held her firmly in place. The band started off in a jazzy blues riff but it soon morphed into a variation of  "Happy Birthday." Brooklyn embraced his mate and said softly  in her ear, "Surprise, my beloved."
She covered her face with her hands and looked back only to get another surprise. While she had been occupied watching the band and shielded by the larger gargoyles, the balcony had been cleared of its regular patrons. A buffet table had been set up with a large birthday cake and refreshments. Standing around, grinning at her were friends and family: David, Fox and Alex Xanatos with Owen, Elisa and Goliath, Uncle Leroy, Aunt Kay and Tina Harris, her cousin Josh and Dennis' daughter, Nina, Matt Bluestone, Hudson and MacBeth.
Her amethyst eyes were shining as she met Brooklyn's pleased look. "But my birthday isn't until tomorrow!" she protested weakly.
"Not so," Aunt Kay chirped up. "You were born on April seventh. You only hatched on April eighth.
Leroy grinned. "The only reason we've always celebrated on  April eighth was that Spike made such an ass out of himself about it. You don't know the meaning of hissy fit until you've seen one thrown by a six foot two purple gargoyle." He shrugged. "What's an hour or so, more or less?"
Goliath stepped forward. "Since you gave us a memorable Christmas, Brooklyn thought that we should give you a birthday to remember." He smiled and bowed over her hand. "To the Lady Avery, Happy Birthday!"
The band prompted the crowd on the dance floor. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" thundered throughout the club. Avery was speechless but her sunny grin said it all.

Nina Bishop and Alexander Xanatos were playing contentedly with wrapping paper at Avery's feet. Xanatos shook his head and murmured to his wife, "Look at that. Our son, richest kid in the world, and he's happy as a clam playing in litter."
"Now, now, David," Fox said smiling. "I suppose you never built stuff out of empty boxes either."
"Well, yeah, but I was rather hoping Alex would buy the box companies first."
Nina tugged on Avery's skirt. "Lookit, Tia Avery. Alex's made me a booful necklace." She proudly showed off the twisted metallic paper around her neck.
"Oh, it's very lovely." Avery patted his head. "Very nicely done, Alex."
The red-headed toddler beamed and gave the little girl a sloppy kiss. Dennis came upstairs just in time to see his daughter being kissed by the crown prince of Manhattan. He walked up to Xanatos and glared.
"Sir," Dennis said in mock anger, "what are yoah son's intentions towards mah little girl?" He gave the multi-billionaire a stern look.
Xanatos was a bit startled but Fox started laughing.

Lex watched as Avery opened his present. She held up a hooded wool tunic. "Oh, how thoughtful! It's just like my old one!"
The short green gargoyle shoved his hands in his back pockets. "It's the least I could do, since I lost your other one."
A hand clapped on his shoulder. "Way to go, Lex!"
He looked into a pair of serious blue-gray eyes level with his dark brown ones. He hadn't seen Tina Harris face-to-face since his birthday last November although they e-mailed each other all the time. Lex had forgotten how beautiful she was, dark blonde hair framing a heart-shaped face. Sometime over the last few months, Tina had become more self-assured and Lex found that to be very sexy. She was wearing a rather conservative dress but she looked just as hot as his other ladies.
Lex's mouth went dry. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her. "Hi, Tina."
Tina smiled at him. "Hi, Lex." She leaned against the wall next to him. "So, Dennis tells me you come here a lot."
"Sometimes," Lex said, shrugging. "I just come here for the company." He raised an eyebrow. "How's Paul what's-his-name?"
"I don't know." Tina sighed and looked at her shoes. "He's dating somebody else."
Lex fought back an insane grin. "That's too bad. He doesn't know what he's giving up."
"Oh, I try to look on the bright side." She laughed, showing her dimples. "My grade point average went way up when I stopped carrying him through school. I'm graduating in the top two percent of my class in May."
"You picked a college yet?"
"Already signed with M.I.T.," Tina said proudly. "Mom and I went up at spring break and they've got a great computer lab."
"Yeah?" Lex offered her his arm. "You have got to tell me all about it."

Avery opened the small velvet-covered case and took out the delicate amethyst earrings. "Why, Lord MacBeth!" she exclaimed. "How lovely!"
"I rather thought they'd go nicely with yuir little trinket," the silver-haired Scot said lightly. "Besides, it's the least I could do for the lass who has provided me with such a charming houseguest."
"How is Demona these days?" Avery asked. "Still cussin' up a storm?"
"Oh, aye, my Lady Avery," MacBeth answered roguishly. "She's learned a lot of colorful language over the years and she has yet to repeat herself. If I had you and yuir husband over for dinner, Demona would likely have an apoplexy."
"Now we wouldn't want that. It would probably give you terrible indigestion," Avery teased. She came around and gave MacBeth a peck on the cheek. "I love the earrings. Thank you."
MacBeth glanced at Brooklyn, who was giving him a slightly sour look, and laughed. "Now, none o' that, lad. I'll say it again. Yuir th' luckiest gargoyle in th' world."
Aunt Kay nudged Hudson. "Who is this MacBeth fellow, anyway? He has a nice accent like you."
"Aye," Hudson rumbled. "He's a fellow Scot, true enough, but a more impudent and errant rogue, you'll not find anywhere."
"In other words," she laughed, mischief dancing in her sightless eyes, "he's a grand rascal like you." She hugged Hudson's arm and he chuckled along with her infectious laughter.

Sitting in the stairwell next to Tina, Lexington couldn't remember the last time he'd spent just talking with a girl. The shocking thing was that neither one of them had attempted anything and he wasn't in the least bit disappointed. The girls that normally came up here with him threw themselves at him with varying degrees of alcoholic frenzy and once they were satisfied, they really weren't interested in talking.
Tina crossed her legs, pulling down the edge of her skirt down in a lady-like fashion. He looked away politely but she caught him looking. She smiled.
"So, what have you been keeping busy with?" Tina asked. "Aside from the usual gargoyle things?"
"I've been picking up a little money doing people's taxes." He shrugged. "It pays my bar bill."
"It's a shame you can't go to M.I.T. with me. They're doing a lot of experimental hardware design." She stared off into space. "After I get through school, we oughta form a computer company. You could design the hardware and I could write the code."
Lex laughed. "And what would we call this company? Carbon & Silicon, Inc.?"
"How 'bout," Tina pursed her lips thoughtfully, "C&L Unlimited?"
"What's the C from?"
Tina looked at her feet. "It's my name. Tina's just short for Christina. Christina Elizabeth Harris. Kinda dorky, huh?"
Lex was enchanted. He reached over and tilted her face up. "I think it's an elegant name." He leaned in and whispered, "Christina." He kissed her, not sloppy and anxious like their first time, but a long, sensuous, mature kiss.
She drew back and regarded him solemnly. "I've been wondering when you were going to do that."
"Sorry," Lex sighed, scooting back towards the wall, "It seemed like the thing to do."
"No, no, you don't understand. I liked the kiss. It's just," she said hesitantly, twisting her fingers together in her lap, "Well, you do have rather extensive documentation on the bathroom wall."
"Oh. That." Lex scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Um, well, one girl decided to make out with me and she told her friend and the next time I showed up, the friend grabbed me and after that, well ..." He threw up his hands.
"Have you, you know, slept with any of them?"
"No."
Tina looked at him, a relieved smile on her face. "Really?"
Lex smiled back. "I'm a gargoyle. We bond with the first person we mate with and it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing." He sighed. "The first time, I'm going to give my heart away. I just want to make sure it's the right one, that's all."
"So," Tina's eyes gleamed, "if you're not having sex with these girls, what do you get out of it?"
He cleared his throat. "wingrubs."
"Excuse me?"
Lex blushed. "I get off on having my wings massaged. It's a gargoyle kink." He smirked, knowing Tina's favorite show. "You know, like oohmox."
"Lexington Gargoyle, you little son of a Ferengi!" Tina giggled and soon they were both laughing.
The balcony door opened and Dennis' voice echoed up the stairwell. "Lex? Tina?"
"Yeah, Dennis," Lex answered. "We're up here."
"Lexington, whut you doin' in th' dark wi' mah baby cousin?" Dennis asked with a thick Texas accent. "Boy, don't make me come up there aftah yeuw."
"Dennis!" Tina said reproachfully. "We're just talking!"
"Yeah, right. You're just lucky it's me and not Leroy. He'd whip out one of those hidden knives of his and whack off Lex's ears." He gestured. "Come on back. Avery's about to open Brooklyn's present."
"We don't want to miss this," Lex said, jumping to his feet. He held out a hand to Tina. "Whatever it is, Brook's been working on it for weeks."

Leroy was nursing a beer and shooting the breeze with his nephew. "I'm surprised to see you up here, Josh. Don't you have one last semester of school?"
Josh rubbed the end of his freckled nose. "I got some job interviews lined up. I did Cyberbiotics today and I got Gen-U-Tech tomorrow."
Xanatos's ears perked up. He wandered over. "Cyberbiotics? What position are they hiring for?"
"Genetics and biotechnological research. I did a paper on practical nanotechnological applications and my professor sent it to them."
Dennis walked up and hung his arm off Josh's shoulder. "My little brother's got all the brains in the family. He went off to college at sixteen, got his bachelor's at nineteen and now he's polishing off his Ph. D." He chuckled. "We don't buy him graduation presents any more. We just ask him when the next one's coming."
"I thought you were going to be a vet," Leroy said. "Carl's always thought it would be a useful thing to have in the family.
"Yeah, but then I got into this biogenetics course with this series of guest lecturers. Now Sevarius was kind of a kook, but the ideas were interesting. The guy that replaced him, Harcourt, now he had some fascinating theories on genetic tagging and engineering non-carbon based lifeforms." Josh's gray eyes lit up. "It was all I could do not to jump up and say, 'Gargoyles! You should meet my cousin!' but of course, I'm not that stupid."
"You're interested in doing research on gargoyles?" Xanatos asked thoughtfully.
Josh looked at the darkly handsome man. "Only if they agreed to it. My Aunt Sue is a doctor and she did extensive research on Spike, you know, Avery's father. Aunt Dee was having some anomalies when she was pregnant so Spike let Aunt Sue run all kinds of tests. Plus she has all the records on Avery from prenatal on up." He started talking with his hands. "The comparisons with baseline humans are amazing. There's the high percentage of selenium in gargoyle blood, for instance, I think it has a lot to do with their ability to absorb and process solar energy. Humans have none, Avery has a little, but Spike was loaded with it. And then there's the boron present in their osteopathic matrix..."
"Tagalong," Dennis said disgustedly. "You're coming down with hoof-and-mouth disease again. This is a party, not a lecture."
"I suppose you're right, Oddball," Josh shot back. "But it's the mindset I have to be in if I wanna make a good impression at the interviews."
"Are you interviewing with the XCG research labs?" Xanatos asked.
Josh shrugged. "I sent them a copy of my paper and my resume and I got back  a nice form letter with a stamped signature of the corporate head. I don't got time to pussyfoot around. Dad's gonna kill me if I don't get a job and start paying off those student loans."
Xanatos looked over his shoulder and gestured. "Owen, I want you to set up an interview for young Mr. Bishop here with the head of Research and Development. Tell him it's in regards to my personal projects. Tell the head of Personnel I want to have a talk with her first thing tomorrow morning." He shook Josh's hand. "I hope to see you around the Eyrie Building sometime this week." He walked off.
Josh narrowed his eyes and said out of the corner of his mouth, "Who was that?"
Owen regarded him placidly. "That was Mr. David Xanatos, head of Xanatos Enterprises, the Xanatos Corporate Group and possibly your future employer."
Josh paled under the freckles.

The last present was a small rectangular package wrapped in gilt paper and tied with a mauve taffeta ribbon. It had no card. Avery slipped off the wrappings to discover a small antique book. She examined it carefully.
Avery opened the slender leatherbound volume and read the inscription on the frontispiece, "To she who wears the ring, joyous birthday greetings, your adoring servant, Crim." She glanced at Brooklyn, who made a courtly half-bow. A note was in  the book, and Avery's complexion became gradually rosier as she read it.
"Oh, very good," Broadway complimented the red gargoyle. "I had forgotten about that."
"What did he do?" Angela whispered, tugging on his sleeve.
"Tell you later," Broadway whispered back. "Brook's scoring major romance points here."
"Well," Aunt Kay said, prompting her. "What is it? I can hear you reading something."
"Oh, my." Avery looked across at Brooklyn, who was enjoying himself immensely. "It says, 'This is a book of tenth century love poems. Take it home, and milady will find the second part of her present in her bedchamber upon her pillow. Whereafter, her worshipful servant will translate romantic verses for her pleasure until such time that she commands other services of him.'" Her amethyst eyes sparkled.
Goliath and Hudson exchanged an amused look. "I always told the lad all that early training would come in handy," Hudson murmured.
"I had wondered why he had asked me about tenth century literature," Goliath answered back, "I know he finally had to go to MacBeth and check through his library."
"I was wondering how MacBeth got invited," Hudson said. "Amazing, the lengths a gargoyle will go through for his mate."
"Indeed." Goliath smiled slyly. "I seem to recall in my youth, a gargoyle warrior that went out in a thunderstorm to fetch hawk's eggs for his mate just because she took a fancy for them."
Elisa nudged the old gargoyle. "Hudson, you old softie." 
Hudson harumphed.

Leroy nudged Dennis. "Y'know, seems to me what we need to round off the evening is to take Avery for a little Waltz Around Texas."
Dennis and Josh both grinned. "Ooh, Uncle," Dennis said, "That's cruel. I think Avery and Brooklyn are gonna try to sneak off as soon as they can."
"What's a 'Waltz Around Texas'?" Lex asked Tina.
She laughed. "Old wedding tradition. All the guys keep the bride dancing and away from the groom. It's kinda like keep away."
Lex looked across the room. Avery and Brooklyn were standing less than arm's length apart with their hearts in their eyes. He looked back at Dennis. "You want to do this up here or on the dance floor?"
"Dance floor, I think."
"Okay." Lex zipped across the floor, took the book from Avery, handed it to Brooklyn, and scooping Avery up, jumped off the balcony with her. Her startled scream followed them down.
Brooklyn's mouth dropped open. "Lexington! Where are you going with my mate?" he demanded.
Dennis and Josh thundered down the stairs, Tina right behind them. Leroy sauntered over. "It's called Waltz Around Texas," he said lightly. "We keep Avery dancing until you can get her away from us."
"Leroy," Brooklyn growled, "If you tire her out, you're going to ruin my whole surprise. How'd you like me to twist your head off?" His tail was slashing through the air angrily.
"Come on, Owen," Xanatos said as he headed for the stairs. "Let's live dangerously."
"Very well, sir." Owen handed a sleepy Alex over to Fox.
MacBeth chuckled to himself and followed them down.
Leroy looked the red gargoyle in the eye. "I expect you might want to get in there before it gets really out of hand." He wandered downstairs.
Brooklyn leaned on the railing, shaking his head. Lex had Avery out in the middle of the floor, dirty dancing. Bluestone was out there dancing with some girl that picked him up in the bar. Josh was clearly on deck waiting for his turn. Brooklyn turned to Broadway who was watching with his arm around Angela.
"Why are they doing this to me?" he complained.
Angela laughed. "Because it's fun to pick on you."

Dennis got the band back on stage to play some more suitable music. He jumped in and took Avery away from Josh. "Having fun, cuz?"
"Well, I'm not the only one," she said, watching Tina and Lex dancing a few feet away. They were smiling at each other. "I'm glad to see that."
Dennis smiled. "Yeah, it's hard to tell now, but it looks promising. I gotta hand it t'Brooklyn, though. That book's got to be the most romantic thing a guy's done for you since Donny Esterhaus spraypainted your name on the overpass."
Avery let that comment go by. "Who thought of this, you or Leroy?" she asked, letting him do all the work.
"Speak of the devil, here he is!" And Dennis spun her away into Leroy's arms.
Her uncle two-stepped her around the floor. "How's married life, punkin?"
"It's not half bad," Avery replied. "But I'm warning you, this is really tickin' off my gargoyle up there."
Leroy flicked his eyes up. "Yeah, he's got a real baleful stare. Guess he had something else in mind for your entertainment this evening."
"I know," Avery said earnestly, "and frankly, I rather liked the sound of it!"
"Too bad." Leroy handed her off to Xanatos.
"Miss Bishop," Xanatos said suavely, "or is it Mrs. Brooklyn? I don't remember if you ever decided."
"Tonight, it's Lady Avery," she replied archly. "Y'know, queen for a day, pip-pip and all that rot."
Xanatos chuckled. "Oh, well. You're Nana the rest of the time and I expect that's the only title that counts with Alex. You really are very good with him."
"Thank you, Mr. Xanatos."
He passed her to Matt Bluestone who in turn passed her to MacBeth. He gave Avery a courtly bow and she returned with an elegant curtsy. They glided across the floor. "Brooklyn neglected to say you were such a graceful dancer," the immortal Scot said.
"Mom ran a dance school. I had private lessons all my life." Avery leaned in and whispered, "Most gargoyles don't dance very well. Brooklyn is forever tripping over his own feet."
"I'm sure he makes up for it in other ways." MacBeth smiled. "I think you should know he spent four nights in my library looking for that wee book he gave you."
Avery smiled impishly. "Really?"
"Oh, aye. He's a bundle of contradictions, yuir Brooklyn. One minute he'd be reading some obscure Latin, the next he'd be down in the dungeon, exchanging blistering insults with Demona."
"Are you gonna be a sweetheart and let him have the next turn?"
"Nae," MacBeth said impudently. "I think he should sweat a bit more."
Owen snatched her up next. The tall pale man allowed himself to smile. "It's been quite a party," he said, "Miss--Avery." He had to remind himself to use her first name.
"It's a nice club," Avery said. She raised an eyebrow. "Lex says there's some really fun girls that come here."
"Yes, I believe I've met them." Owen flushed to a bare trace of pink. "Some of them are very forward."
"Maybe you should be a bit puckish and flirt back," Avery suggested. She watched Owen turn slightly pinker. "Oh, you already have, I see. Good for you."
Owen spun her out at arm's length and a red tail wrapped itself around her waist, drawing her into Brooklyn's arms. Avery snuggled into his chest. "It's about time you got here."
Brooklyn rested his beak on the top of her head. "I've had all the torture I can stand for one night."
Avery felt the book in his jacket pocket and bit him lightly. When he looked down in surprise, she said impishly, "The night's young, my adoring servant."
Brooklyn's face deepened to burgundy as he blushed. "Well, then, my mistress, let the games begin."

Wrapped in his jacket, Avery was flown home in Brooklyn's arms. The party was breaking up by the time they left, only Dennis, Bluestone, Lex, Tina and surprisingly, Owen stayed behind at the Rockaway. Brooklyn insisted on carrying her all the way to their apartment, setting her down only after they'd crossed the threshold.
Avery smiled as he took her hand. "What have you been up to?" she asked as he lead her across the apartment.
"Come and see." Brooklyn made a grand sweeping hand gesture. "Milady's bed chamber awaits."
She stood at the bedroom door, awestruck. Somehow, in the few minutes she had been occupied with Angela's hair, Brooklyn had turned their bedroom into a medieval boudoir. Banners of light, silky fabric draped from a frame suspended from the ceiling gave the illusion of a canopied bed. Candles were clustered around the room and Brooklyn wandered around lighting them as he watched her. She approached the bed and opened the large box she found propped against her pillow.
"Oh, my." Avery smiled at her mate. "You've been into my Victoria's Secret catalog, I see."
Brooklyn raised an eyebrow. "Let's see how well I did." He pointed to the bathroom. "Go put it on." 

 He was perched up on the windowsill busy leafing through the book, looking for the poem he had in mind when he heard the door open. Brooklyn looked up and his breath caught in his throat. His mate was standing spotlighted in the single patch of moonlight on the carpet, the pale light making the ivory fabric of the Victorian style peignoir glow softly. Avery had taken her hair down and it shimmered down her back. Everything was absolutely perfect.
Brooklyn  came towards her and knelt on one knee. He offered her the book and said humbly, "I am at your service, Mistress." He kept his eyes downcast, partly for effect and partly to keep from giggling.
Avery hesitated a moment, chewing  on her finger. She composed herself and said archly, "So, my Crimson Cavalier, how do you propose to entertain me tonight?" She walked around him and ran the leather binding of the book down the edge of one wing and up the other.
"May I rise, Mistress?" She nodded, looking away so he wouldn't see her eyes dancing. He led her to the bedside where he had prepared a tray with iced champagne, strawberries and those exquisite chocolate-dipped cookies Avery swore were too fattening but always seemed to have stashed away behind the granola bars. Brooklyn sat her down on the edge of the bed, handed her a glass of champagne, and said, "With your permission, I thought I'd ply you with libations while I read to you."
Avery sipped her champagne and regarded him amusedly. She straightened out the ruffles of the sheer robe covering the low cut elegant nightgown. "I'll admit, this is not what I thought you'd pick out. It's very romantic."
Brooklyn winked at her while he settled down with the book. He smiled and began to read.

"Your beauty was not meant for the light of day.
It cries for the mystery of moonlight.
Sweet are your lips with sunset's blush,
And reflected in your eyes are the colors of twilight."

He looked up to see what Avery thought of it. She was sliding off the robe and smiling at him. The translucent nightgown clung to her curves and Brooklyn began to have second thoughts about playing out this scenario. Avery gave him a stern look. "Turn around and keep reading."
Brooklyn raised an eyebrow but did as he was told. He felt the bed move as Avery came up behind and lifted up his hair. Her breath blew soft across the tiny, fine curls on the nape of his neck. He twitched his shoulders uncontrollably. He'd forgotten one of the reasons he wore his hair long was that he was so ticklish back there.
Avery reached over and tapped the book. "Read, read."
He managed two more verses but then she began doing extremely cruel things to him, running her hands along his wings, all the while leaving a trail of moist, soft kisses from his neck down his spine. The thing that really made Brooklyn squirm was when she lightly ran her silk-covered nipples down his back.
"Mistress," Brooklyn said, clearing his throat so it didn't sound quite so high-pitched, "If you continue to do that, I won't be able to translate your Latin verses."
Avery leaned against his shoulders. "Well, we can't have that." She tapped the book. "Read, read." She slid off the bed and refilled her champagne. She handed him a glass too, and he wasn't sure he liked that gleam in her eye. It usually meant she was thinking.
She polished off her drink and set down the glass. Taking his glass from him, she tapped the book and said, "I don't believe I told you to stop reading." He started translating again but found it very hard to concentrate. Avery tossed back the last of his drink and picking up the hem of her gown delicately, went down on her knees before him. She had his belt unbuckled and his loincloth off while he was busy conjugating verbs and it was an intense sensation to suddenly find himself engulfed in a mouthful of bubbling champagne. The end of his tail thumped the carpet.
Brooklyn tossed the book over his shoulder. "Mistress, my ability to comprehend language just went right out the window." He arched his back and hissed as she lapped up the spilt champagne.
Avery put her hands on his thighs and raised up. Her eyes were glowing crimson. "Pity." She walked a few steps, turned and looked at him. "I suppose I should give you a new command." She smiled archly. "I hereby proclaim that you are no longer my servant but my lord and master. Do with me what you will." Her voice was low and teasing.
Brooklyn's eyes flared white-hot as he came towards her. He slid his index fingers under the spaghetti straps of her gown, pulling it off her shoulders, and slowly gliding it down her body. He sunk down on his haunches and parting her legs, drew her on to his lap. "Milady, let us indulge in the fierce passions only true gargoyles may know." He snapped out his wings and growled low in his chest as they slid together.
Eyes blazing, Avery flung out her wings and snarled.

Shortly before dawn, Brooklyn collapsed on his elbows amongst the tangled sheets. Avery wrapped her arms and legs around him and smiled. "What about one more to grow on?" she asked impishly.
"Uhn, uhn, uhn," Brooklyn whimpered. "I'm glad your birthday only comes once a year. This would kill me on a regular basis."
Avery pushed him over on his back. "So when does your birthday roll around?"
He stretched and looked sleepily at her. "Broadway and I were born in July. Same hatching. Lex was from an off-season mating. That's why he's so much smaller."
"What shall we do for the occasion? Hmm," Avery said, tapping her finger on her chin. "Warrior gargoyle overlord and slave girl or Hell's angel and big, bad, biker mama?" She looked at him cheerfully. "I have handcuffs."
"Oh, she does want to kill me," Brooklyn said as he covered his eyes and laughed weakly. "I love you to death, but sometimes your imagination scares me."
Avery kissed him on the beak and snuggled into his shoulder. "Oh, I'm not going run right out and start buying leather lingerie. Besides, maybe by then, I'll be carrying your child."
That shook Brooklyn awake and he turned on his side to look at her. Such a hopeful look was shining in his eyes. "Do you think so?" he asked wistfully, taking her hand.
"Well, we'll have three months to work on it and if I come into season this month," she reached over and stroked his beak, "You'll just haveta be available to fly me."
He started to kiss her but the sun froze him in mid-pucker. The bed creaked dangerously and Avery giggled. "Now this is a Kodak moment," she said and went in search of a camera.

III.
The sonagrams came up on the screen side by side. The fetal development was proceeding as expected. It was pure luck recovering these specimens. The adults had defended their nest with their lives and the only adult specimen that had been captured was too old to do any formative research. She had only survived a few days with the new lithium procedure. Still, the data gleaned was most informative and the post-mortem was yielding excellent results. He twirled his gold pen idly between his fingers and arched one shaggy eyebrow. It would be months before these specimens would be ready. What was needed now was a steady supply.

The first thing Brooklyn saw when the stone shell fell from his eyes was the light of the full moon gleaming off his mate's blonde hair. He smiled at her. Avery smiled back but with a curious wild look in her eyes. She was appeared to be shivering and with what she was wearing, that wasn't surprising. All she had on was a pair of silky shorts and her Texas flag midriff top. He hopped over to her perch and put a wing around her.
"Hi, babe." Brooklyn intended to give her just a little kiss but she twisted her fingers  in his hair and kissed him hungrily. He pulled away, a little shocked, to see the crimson lights flickering in her eyes. She was shuddering, but not with cold. Her skin was very warm and her scent was overpoweringly irresistible. He felt his own excitement building. "Darling, is it time?" he asked anxiously.
Avery nodded. "It's much stronger this year. It's all I could do not to fly all day." Her wings flexed nervously. "I thought the sun would never go down!"
Brooklyn cupped her face and kissed her again. "Fly slow. Remember, I want to catch you." The thought of rising with her had him incredibly aroused.
Avery sprung out of his arms and soared into the thermals. He watched her for a few seconds, eyes burning hot. He heard someone behind him and turned to see Goliath and Hudson.
"Go on, I will take patrol tonight," Goliath said with dignity. "Have a good flight."
Brooklyn grinned and went after his mate.
"It's a grand sight, eh, lad?" Hudson said. "Finally, new life for the clan."
"Yes, old friend. It's been long overdue."
 
The midnight blue helicopter landed on a nearby building and killed the engines. "Uplinking to QLabs," the female communications officer said for the record. The three Quarrymen knew this was to be an observation mission only. Castaway had been  most specific about the Doctor's orders but it still grated on them, to be so close to gargoyles at their most vulnerable and not allowed to strike.
"I got two blips on radar," the pilot said quietly. "Looks like we're gonna get lucky."
The technician operated the long range camera and chuckled, "Well, somebody's getting lucky anyway." The com officer and the pilot looked over his shoulders at the screen. A red male gargoyle had swooped under a pale-colored female and lashed his tail around her hips. Their faces were obscured by their long, wind-tossed hair but their thrusting body movements were clear enough as they tumbled across the sky.
"Hoo, boy," Technician nudged Pilot, "The Doc's gonna get some kinky film tonight."
Com sighed and checked her equipment. "QLabs are receiving the telemetry. I wonder how the Doctor knew? He's made a point of posting these observational patrols every full moon. What's the connection?"
Pilot laughed coarsely. "Maybe the moon gets them in the mood, who knows?" He and Technician stared in perverse fascination at the gargoyles mating in mid-air.

MAY

I.
The meeting of the higher echelon members of the Illuminati went according to ritual. Only masters of the top five circles were permitted into the Grandmaster's presence. David Xanatos had been a member of the fifth circle for nearly two years and as he filed in with the others, he was consumed with awesome curiosity. Empires rose and fell, fortunes were made and lost, but the Illuminati went on forever.
All members rose as the Grandmaster entered the room. A tall, bald man with hawk-like blade of a nose, he walked with slow dignity to take his place at the head of the round table almost as large as the room itself. He seated himself and with an imperceptible nod of his aristocratic head, the room was sealed. 
"Let this meeting of the Inner Circle be called to order," the Grandmaster called out in his accented voice, reminiscent of the finest Shakespearean actors. "Let all worldly goods and titles be left behind, for here and here alone, we are brothers of the Illuminati. We are Eternal."
Xanatos settled back into his seat. He listened with half an ear to the mundane details of the early meeting while he scanned the faces of the those he would climbing over in his bid to become the youngest Grandmaster in Illuminati history. They were, for the most part, worldly men like himself, captains of industry. He dismissed them immediately. Corporate takeover was a piece of cake. 
The legacies baffled Xanatos however. Their membership in the Society had been passed from generation to generation and wealth and power did not always accompany it. Some were scholars, some working class stiffs and one master of the second level was a known street person. It troubled Xanatos to deal with people who had no price.
He glanced at the inlayed computer screen in the table top before him. They were coming to the agenda of the tonight's meeting. Xanatos re-focused his attention on the Grandmaster.
"Due to the unfortunate coverage in the press during the last year, we feel the Society must address itself to the gargoyle problem. The antics of the Quarrymen in pursuing these creatures is causing chaos and the economic ramifications are alarming. The property damages alone are startling and many Illuminati investments are in jeopardy." He scanned the room with his sharp eyes, resting on Xanatos for a few uncomfortable seconds, then flicking away. "Harcourt, master of the Third Circle, you and your ancestors have made extensive studies of the gargoyle species. Any thoughts?"
All attention razor sharp, Xanatos looked closely at the man standing up at his place farther up the table. He had made Owen look up the records of Dr. Elliot Harcourt after his name came up in conversation last month. Dr. Harcourt was a brilliant scientist, clearly in Sevarius' league but where Anton bent the rules and took bold shortcuts, Harcourt stayed disciplined and on track. He didn't publicize his work unless every last detail was worked out and documented. It made him seem slowing and plodding, but as Owen pointed out, Harcourt never had to clean up after any messy mistakes.
In person, Elliot Harcourt resembled most Illuminati, a man of middle years, a long, saturnine face with shockingly shaggy eyebrows and an odd mustache that was almost a goatee extending to his chin. His hair was white to his ears and gradually darker down to the nape of his neck. His pale gray eyes, almost colorless, looked out at the meeting with clinical detachment.
"My family has kept records on the gargoyle phenomena," Harcourt began in a scholarly tone, "for one hundred fifty years. In that time, we have concluded that they are to be considered a harmless and mostly benign intelligent species, with occasional aberrations."
Xanatos fought the urge to smirk. The Harcourts must have met Demona.
The lecture continued. "Gargoyles, in their natural state,  prefer to be left alone and only become agitated when threatened, like any other creature. The current hysteria is simply a matter of ignorance and a lack of education. The more that is known about these beings will alleviate the current situation."
"Thank you, Harcourt," the Grandmaster said gravely. "Suggestions from the floor?"
Xanatos came to his feet quickly. The Grandmaster saw him and nodded. "Sir, I note on the financial statement, that the Society is still funding Castaway's organization. In light of recent events, would it not be prudent to cut our losses and discontinue our support?" He gave a quick glance around the room. The businessmen were muttering amongst themselves and nodding; a favorable sign.
"A worthwhile suggestion." The leader of the Illuminati touched his computer screen. "We shall put it to a vote, majority rules. All those in favor of cutting all ties with the Quarrymen, please register your vote by computer."
Xanatos thumbed his screen almost immediately. The Quarrymen were just as big a threat to his family than they were to the gargoyles. The sooner they were out of the picture, the better.
The Grandmaster consulted his computer for the voting tallies. "It is agreed. As of next quarter, we shall pull all funding from Castaway and the Quarrymen. Now, on to new business. We shall now hear from our Japanese representative on the consolidation of our Pacific Rim investments."
As the meeting turned to the comfortable familiarity of high finance, Xanatos felt a odd prickling on the back of his neck. He looked around. Across the room, Harcourt was glaring at him angrily, the first show of emotion he had seen in the man since being admitting to the Inner Circle meetings. Xanatos arched an eyebrow but gave no other outward sign of being disturbed. He made a note to have Owen dig even deeper into Harcourt's background. It seemed he had made a new enemy.

II.
"The honor of your presence is requested at the graduation of  Christina Elizabeth Harris, member of the class of 1997, High School of Science and Technology." Lexington flipped the heavy cream-colored  card over and looked at his name done in calligraphy on the other side. "Are you sure she wants me to go?"
Sitting next to him on the couch in the gargoyles' suite, Avery smiled. "Hey, each student was allowed to invite only so many people. Tina wanted you."
Goliath looked up from his book. "Ritual is very important to humans," he rumbled. "It is a great honor that Avery's cousin has invited you."
"I don't know," Lex said. "She's been kind of bad-tempered lately."
"It's not you," Avery said gently, reaching over and patting his hand. "Her father brought her stepmother and her kids along and Tina's unhappy about it, that's all. She wanted just her father to be here and now she's got to put up with people she can't stand."
Lex looked at the card wistfully. "Are you going?"
"Yep, it's you, me, Leroy, Aunt Kay and Tina's father."
"Can I wear my jeans?"
Avery frowned. "Oops, I didn't think about that." She drummed her fingers on the couch arm. "Let's go see Owen. Maybe he has something that will do."

The big day finally rolled around. The clan gathered in the Great Hall to see Avery and Lexington off. Xanatos came in carrying Alex on his shoulders. His son was rumpling up his hair and yelling, "Gee-up!" in a laughing voice. The beleaguered billionaire set Alex down.
"Seeing the graduation party off?" Xanatos asked as he smoothed back his hair.
"Aye," Hudson answered. "We thought we'd see what Lexington looked like when Owen got through with him." He looked over Xanatos' shoulder. "Although it won't be nearly as pretty a sight as this. Hullo, lass."
Avery and Brooklyn came in, walking hand in hand. Brooklyn was smiling rather smugly at her and he had every right to be. Avery was wearing a crisp, nautical-looking white halter dress with navy pinstripes on the wide-lapeled collar. She had a navy jacket slung over her arm. It wasn't an overtly sexy outfit but when it was on Avery, it had a certain something.
"Nana!" Alex squealed and charged her. Avery intercepted his grubby hands and swung him around. "Da! Lookit! A'pane! Brrrmmm!" His nanny gave him a few more rotations and gently lowered him to the floor, spinning him to a landing on his tummy. Alex looked up, eyes twinkling. "Again!"
"Go get your daddy to play Airplane," Avery suggested. "He can probably swing you a lot higher than Nanny can."
Alex scrambled to his feet and charged his father. Xanatos smirked and said, "Gee, thanks."
"Hey, soak up all that childish adoration while you can," Avery said as she tucked her wings into the jacket Brooklyn was holding out for her. "When he's a teenager and thinks you're as dumb as a rock, you'll miss it." She shimmied her wings in place and straightened the jacket. "Where's Lex?"
Owen coughed. "Ahem."
Everyone looked up. Owen was standing there with his shirt unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up, a shocking sight in itself, but standing next to him, was Lex. If a complete stranger had walked in, it would take several minutes to identify Lex as a gargoyle. In the dark olive green suit, he had a classic V-shaped silhouette and by emphasizing his wide shoulders, Owen had de-emphasized Lex's taloned feet and hands. The rich color of the suit lightened his green complexion and the brightly patterned tie drew attention away from his face.
Brooklyn whistled.
"Oh, Lex. You're gorgeous!" Avery said in awe. She walked up to Owen, rose on her toes and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Owen, you are the master of subtle. Thank you."
The executive assistant flushed pink. "You're very welcome."
"I feel like an idiot," Lex said, slouching.
Avery ran her fingers along his lapel. "You look gift-wrapped. Tina is going to be so thrilled." She sniffed curiously and whispered, "Cologne?"
Lex shrugged. "Owen said it was all part of the look."
Angela brought him a small box. "Elisa said it's customary to give a girl flowers at these occasions so I made Tina a corsage." She opened it to show him the blue-tinged orchid surrounded by delicate baby's breath and ribbons. "I grew the orchid myself ," she said proudly.
"Thanks, Angela. I'm sure she'll like it." 
Avery checked her watch. "Well, we gotta go. If we're not there on time, they'll give our seats away." She kissed Brooklyn good-bye. "Behave yourself."
Brooklyn snorted. "You behave yourself, going out with Mr. GQ coverboy here."
Lex shook his finger at him as he passed. "Jealous, jealous, jealous."

Leroy was wearing his Navy dress whites, complete with rank and ribbons, waiting for them outside the auditorium doors. "You're a little late," he said anxiously. He took a second look at Lexington. "Damn, boy, they put an extra coat of paint on you, didn't they?"
"Is Kenneth here?" Avery asked.
"Yeah, and thank God, he left that skinny beanpole back at the hotel." Leroy made a face as he led the way inside. "She's probably bossing around the caterers for that reception she insisted they have. Kay's party would have been a lot more fun and you could have brought everybody over for it."
"Leroy's sore as a bear over that," Avery said quietly to Lex as they went to their seats. "Aunt Kay has a friend that owns a restaurant and he was going to do a Tex-Mex buffet. It was gonna be a great party, buckets of margaritas and guacamole everywhere but the Queen of Kentucky blew into town on her broom and that was that."
"I take it the Bishops don't like this woman," Lex commented.
"Oh, honey! If pissy attitudes were an Olympic sport, Jocelyn could give Demona a run for her money." Leroy had stopped at the end of a row and Avery filed in to sit by her Aunt Kay. A man with chestnut brown hair was looking them over curiously. Avery called out quietly, "Hi, Aunt Kay, Kenneth. Sorry we're a little late, traffic was murder."
Aunt Kay turned her head to face her. "Oh, it's all right, sweetheart. They haven't gotten to Tina yet. Is Lex with you?"
"Hi, Ms. Harris. How's it going?" Lex replied.
"Kenneth," Kay said, reaching over to pat his knee, "This is Tina's friend, Lexington. He builds computers from his own designs."
Tina's father studied him warily. He glanced at his ex-wife and frowned. "Hello, Lexington. Nice suit."
"Thank you," Lex returned curtly. Kenneth Harris seemed very uneasy, understandable under the circumstances but at least had the self-control to not to make a scene over it.
The graduation ceremony was pretty dull until they started handing out diplomas. Leroy and Avery let out ear-shattering Texas yells when Tina's name was called and Tina looked their way just as the person in front of Lex sat down. Tina stopped dead in her tracks on stage and he could see her mouth his name. He waved and she broke out in a big grin. The person behind her in line gave her a nudge and she left the stage.
It was an hour or so later before they saw her again. Her stepmother had arranged for a reception at their hotel and Lex was standing around with Avery and Leroy, trying to be inconspicuous. According to Avery, most of the guests were society friends of the stepmother and business associates of her father's law firm. Very few of Kay and Tina's friends and family had been invited. Lex recognized the woman who had taken the anti-gargoyle stand against MacBeth in that televised debate a few months back. She had been giving him an icy stare until Leroy had shifted positions and stared her down. 
Kenneth had gone into a huddle with a tall, thin woman that might have been a model once but reminded Lex more of Cruella DeVil. Her clothes and appearance were all very fashionable but she was so thin that all her curves were more like angles. Standing near their mother, were Tina's step-siblings, a skinny little girl with big eyes and an arrogant teenaged boy with a buzzcut and a jutting jaw. He had juvenile offender written all over him.
Tina and her mother came in. She had been changing clothes and it was worth the wait. Her stepmother had bought her an elegant blue dress, strapless with a sheer bodice and sleeves. Her hair was twisted up and this classy young woman was so far from the girl bumming around in jeans and sweatshirts with a pencil behind her ear, Lex couldn't bring himself to call her Tina. This beautiful creature was a Christina.
Leroy went over to take his sister's arm and Avery nudged Lex. "This would be a good time to give her Angela's flowers," she said quietly.
"Everybody will see me," Lex said. "This is not a friendly crowd."
"Too late," Avery replied. "She's seen you."
Lex looked up and she was right. Christina's eyes had lit up and she was coming straight towards him. He took a deep breath and met her halfway across the room. They stood there looking at each other.
At the same time, they blurted out, "You look great!" and blushed.
Lex held out the box. "The clan sent this. Angela made it."
She picked the corsage out of the box and smiled, showing all her dimples. "How lovely! She even put a wrist ribbon on it." She held it against her arm. "Can you tie it?"
He tied the ribbons very delicately, noticing the piercing look he was getting from her father and stepmother. "We're getting the hairy eyeball over here," Lex said in a low voice.
"That's okay, I don't care what they think." Christina sighed. "Jocelyn wants to present me at some debutante ball in June and I don't want to go back to Kentucky with them. This dress is her idea of a bribe."
Lex gave her ensemble another long look. "Well, for what it's worth," he said, looking into her eyes, "You look incredible in this dress, Christina." When she raised an eyebrow, he smiled. "Tina is a fine name for everyday, but tonight," he reached out and traced the curve of her jaw with a knuckle, "Tonight you need an elegant name." 
"You are so sweet." She took a step towards him. "I think you should put your arms around me and give me a kiss."
He flicked his eyes over to her family. "What  about, you know?" he murmured.
"If my stepmother drops dead from shock, I could live with it." She touched his shoulder, brushing her fingers down his chest. "You look pretty amazing yourself, Mistah Lexington," Christina said with a faint Southern accent. She took a curious sniff and broke into a delighted dimpled grin. "And you smell wonderful!"
That was all the encouragement Lex needed. He slid his arms around her and kissed her slowly and seriously. He felt her fingers on the back of his neck, lightly tickling him. There was a thump behind them. They both opened their eyes.
Jocelyn was passed out on the floor and Avery was there checking her over. She shot a hard look at Lex and glanced at the balcony. Lex smiled ruefully. "I've got to get out of sight for a while, I guess."
"Christina Elizabeth!" her father called.
She winced. "Wish I could go with you."
"I'll wait." Lex wandered out on the balcony. After checking for pigeon droppings, he jumped up on the wall to perch and smiled for no good reason, just the memory of that kiss.

III.
Broadway and Brooklyn were flying patrol. It had been a long time since they had been out without their mates and it had taken a while to get back into the routine. Broadway glanced at the red gargoyle. He had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Whatcha thinking about, Brook?" the big gargoyle asked finally. "You've been zoned out a lot tonight."
"Oh, this and that." Brooklyn shrugged. "I always worry about Avery when she's out and about."
"She looked nice tonight," Broadway commented, "Almost radiant, you might say." He glanced at his rookery brother slyly.
"Maybe." A smile slowly curved around his beak. "We had a good flight last month. Avery says it's too early to tell."
Broadway chuckled. "Yeah, I remember you two flying in that morning. She kissed you and skipped inside and you were too tired to get on your perch. You were snoring before the sun came up. I told you in the beginning, pal, vitamins, lots and lots of vitamins."
"Just think, a year ago, we were all competing for Angela and knowing two of us were going to wind up lonely. Now, here we are, you have Angela's favor, waiting for her to rise and I'm mated to my adorable little tyrant, trying to start a family." 
"What about Lex? He's high and dry."
"Somehow I think that's not going to last long," Brooklyn said dryly. "He looked like a regular human tonight. Besides, MacBeth wants to take Demona to Avalon and get their curse taken off. Goliath is thinking seriously about sending some of us along. If Avery's pregnant, I'm not going but it might be a good trip for Lex. Angela did say she has lots of rookery sisters after all."
"Life is good sometimes." Broadway sighed. "That's when I worry the most."

After the furor died down, Leroy took Avery down to the bar for a drink. "I cannot believe the nerve of that boy," the ex-commando said, tossing down a tequila shot with his Dos Equis. "I know he and Tina like each other, but to kiss her in front of God and everybody, really! I'll haveta have that talk with him."
"Now, now, Uncle," Avery said coaxingly. "I think Tina had just as much to do with it." She clinked her club soda against his beer. "Admit it, you had to fight not to laugh when Jocelyn hit the floor."
Leroy smirked. "Now that couldn't happen to a more deserving person, damn fool skinny ol' thing. Where was the food anyway?"
"That was that stuff on the trays. Veggies, cheese, and squishy stuff on crackers." Avery sighed. "I'm so hungry, I'm thinking about eating the lime off my glass."
A basket of pretzels appeared in front of them. "When y'hear people threatenin' to eat garnish, it's time to break out the munchies, I say." The female bartender started to walk away, then turned and squinted at Avery. The tall woman broke into a big grin. "Holee Cats! What's the Wee Winged Wonder doin' in mah bar?"
"The Amazon of Abilene!" Avery hopped up on the counter and threw out her arms. "Natty!"
The big brunette threw the tiny blonde into a bearhug. "Avery Bishop! As I live and breath! This is a bit of fresh air from home!"
Leroy looked on interestedly. "Niece, I don't believe I've ever met an amazon before."
Avery got back down on her barstool and said breathlessly, "Uncle, this is Natalie Jones. We roomed together at college for a couple of years. Natty, this is my uncle, Commander L.D. Bishop."
"Howdy!" Natty shoved a hand across the bar. "What do they call you when you're not wearin' the fancy doodads?"
"Oh, honey, you can call me Leroy." He grinned at her. "I gotta say, I woulda never expected to find a good ol' Texas girl in a posh place like this."
"Hey, I go where the jobs are," Natty said with a laugh. "Speaking of which, I get off in ten minutes. You wanna go catch up on old times?"
"I got a better idea." Avery grinned. "Wanna go meet my husband?"
"GIRL! YOU GOT MARRIED??" Heads all over the bar perked up.
Leroy shook his head. "I got the best idea. You two girls take a cab and I'll go upstairs and take Lex with me."
"Okay, Uncle. See you there," Avery said absently. Her left hand was stretched over the bar and Natty was busy examining the ring. Leroy shook his head as he went back upstairs. The last thing he wanted was to be the lone rooster at a hen party.

The French doors opened. Lex looked over from where he was concealed in the shrubbery. He could hear a woman's high heels clicking against the terrazzo but then heavier footsteps came after her, rapidly. An immature masculine voice spoke.
"Come back here, girl. I'm not through with you!"
"We have never had anything to talk about, Jared. Get away from me." Christina this time, and Lex had never heard this tone of voice before, angry but also afraid. He edged out from the foliage for a better look.
"You did that ta Momma on purpose! Kissing that freak! I've half a mind ta call those Quarryman people right now ta come pick him up!" Jared, the stepbrother with the buzzcut, was leaning in closer as he talked, forcing Christina to back up against the balcony railing.
"A half a mind is all you'll ever have!" Christina retorted. "I warned you at Christmas, keep your distance! I don't want you."
"Yoah daddy's not here now," Jared said menacingly. "You know damn well that's the only reason I didn't finish what I started then. But he's in there, fussin' over Momma and nobody is gonna stop me now." He grabbed her and began groping her roughly "You just shut up and enjoy it." He started to pull up her dress. A green taloned hand stopped him.
"Excuse me," Lex said grimly, "but the lady said no." 
Jared spat out an expletive and swung at him. Lex let the clumsy punch whiff by him and the teenager's momentum threw him over the side. The gargoyle snagged his ankle and held him dangling off the balcony effortlessly in one hand. Christina stared at him for a second with wide eyes but then threw her arms around him and whispered in his ear, "My hero."  
Lexington smiled and curled his arm around her. "It's okay," he murmured into her hair, "I'll never let anything happen to you."
Kenneth and Leroy barreled out. Tina's father started forward but Leroy put a cautionary hand across his chest. "I'll handle this, Ken, if you don't mind." He walked out and sized up the situation. "Lex? Would you mind bringin' Jared back inside? I think his mother's had enough shocks for one night."
"Oh, sure." Lex wrinkled his nose. "Somebody might want to fetch him a towel. He seems to have an accident." He hauled the dripping stepbrother onto the balcony floor none too gently but keeping him carefully away from his new suit. The aroma was unmistakable.
Leroy fought a smirk as he checked Jared over. "He's all right, Kenneth. He just passed out and pissed himself." He gave Lex and his niece a hard look. "What happened?"
Christina looked at her shoes. "He tried to molest me again."
"Again?" Leroy and Lex said at the same time. They both looked at her father.
"Jocelyn said she made it up to go back to New York early at Christmas. Jared swore to us both that he hadn't done anything." Kenneth looked disturbed. "We should get Jared's side of it before anyone jumps to conclusions."
Leroy turned to Lex. "Were you here?"
"Yeah," the green gargoyle asked. "He came out here after her and was being really abusive to her. He told her that you weren't around to stop him this time and that she should just shut up and enjoy it. Then he tried to get her dress off." He reached out and took Christina's hand. "I stopped him."
She looked in his eyes gratefully. "Honestly, Daddy. Jared took a swing at Lex and fell out. Lex caught him." She wrinkled her nose as she looked at her stepbrother. "Daddy, please believe me this time. I can't go back to Kentucky with you, not if he's there. I don't care what you and Mom agreed to when you signed the divorce papers. There was no way you could have know Jared was gonna turn out like this." 
Leroy turned to Kenneth. "What are you going to do? I know you just practice business law but what would you do it if a complete stranger told you this?"
Her father's blue eyes softened. "I don't know. Jocelyn won't believe it."
"This time there's a witness," Leroy pointed at Lex. "I can vouch for Lexington. He's smart, honest and he's your daughter's friend. A gargoyle will protect a friend with their last breath and that's the God's honest truth, despite what you may have heard from some of those society types in there."
Jared moaned. Kenneth sighed. "I'll think about it. Let's get him back to his room before there's another big scene. We can pass him off as drunk if anyone asks." They hauled the teen up between them and staggered him inside.
Christina let out a deep breath. Lex held out his arms and she stepped into his embrace. Since they were about the same height, they just stood there cheek-to-cheek, just being there. Finally Lex asked, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Daddy didn't believe me." She shrugged. "Or rather Jocelyn wouldn't believe me. I'm not her child, after all. If I made a big fuss, it would just make a bigger mess between my parents and I didn't want Mom brought into it. Jocelyn would just love to shred her to bits. She's just a big bully in designer clothes."
"You could have told me." Lex sighed. "I would have listened if nothing else."
"I know." Christina unbuttoned his jacket and slid her arms inside.
Lex was startled. "What?"
"Shh," she said softly, her lips brushing against his neck. "I want you to know that I really care a lot about you and I was so happy to see you in the audience tonight." Her fingers found his wing joints. "Having you here was the best graduation present I could ever have."
"I--" His breath hissed through his teeth as the erotic sensation of having his wings stroked surged through his body. "I missed you so much. Nothing I tried to fill your place was ever enough." Boldly, he ran his hands down her back, pulling her closer. "Could we be more than friends?" Lex asked hopefully.
"What if," her fingers stopped and he shuddered, "What if you meet some girl gargoyle and you get the urge and fly her?" Christina sniffed and he realized she was crying. "What would happen to us?"
Lex sighed and cursed her intelligence. "I don't know. It may or may not happen. I do know that when I'm around you, I'm a much better person. I'm happy and I'm not lonely any more."  
"We're still awfully young, Lex."
"Romeo and Juliet were young."
Christina began laughing with tears in her eyes. "Lex, honey, they killed themselves."
He shrugged. "I'm a geek, it was the first romantic-sounding thing I could think of." He smiled at her wistfully. "Why don't we call it Lex and Tina, version 2.0? An advanced friendship with mutual physical affection."  
"Like what?"
"Like this," Lex said softly and he kissed her. Christina's blue-gray eyes flickered open briefly but he felt her hands working their way back along his wing spurs to the sweet spot between his shoulder blades. Their kissing became even more delicious. They were still locked in a passionate embrace when Leroy and Kenneth came back. The two men exchanged an amused if somewhat worried look.
"Leroy?"
"Yeah, Kenneth?"
Tina's father sighed. "Why do I have the sinking feeling when I finally get to walk my baby girl down the aisle, he's  gonna be waitin' at the end of it?"
"Buck up, Ken," Leroy said cheerfully, patting him on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side. It beats marrying a Yankee."

IV.
"Doctor? Telemetry has been established. We have access to the Illuminati satellite for the next two hours."
The saturnine faced man reached casually over to flick on the speaker phone and continued to examine the CAT scans up on his computer screen. "Thank you. Inform the squad commander that he may proceed immediately. I want as many adult specimens as they can obtain. Minimal damage, if possible."
"Yes, Doctor. The attack order is given."

"You couldn't wait until the news came on," Hudson grumbled as he walked outside with Bronx. "You had to go walkies ten minutes into 'ER' and right when the doctor's girlfriend and wife started fightin' in the hall. I'll never pick up the plot now."
Bronx whined and paced from Hudson to the parapet wall and back again.
The old gargoyle rolled his eyes. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold yuir water." He stopped and listened. "Something's not right. I want to check with Owen before we go." Hudson turned back and began walking back in.
The midnight blue helicopter rose up past the parapets and began firing. The automatic defenses came out of the turrets, returning fire. The attack chopper shot them out with rockets. Owen came out of the castle with a plasma rifle. Hudson and Bronx met him by the courtyard wall. 
"What d'ye suppose they want?" Hudson asked. "There's not that many of us here tonight."
"Perhaps it is directed at Mr. Xanatos. He has a variety of his own enemies."
The helicopter lowered to the parapet wall and the familiar blue uniform of the Quarrymen began pouring out. Owen raised an eyebrow.
"'Tis all right, lad. Yuir allowed an off day." Hudson narrowed his eyes. "Now let's get rid of them."

"Then I was working in this port in Maine. Lots and lots of sailors and fishermen." Natty sighed and leaned against the elevator wall. "I had this Newfie boyfriend that--"
"Newfie?" Avery laughed. "What's that?"
"He came from Newfoundland, y'know, one of those Canadian islands. Anyway, he worked on a fishing boat and it was so cute, he'd call me, 'Natty, me girl' all the time." She giggled. "Imagine that, a big horse like me!"
"Cindy Crawford is six feet tall," Avery pointed out. "And nobody thinks anything of it."
"And if I had her paycheck, neither would I." Natty looked at the numbers scrolling by. "Anyway, he had the gall to say I had a strange accent and it was adios, muchacho! I picked up a few temp jobs down here and the bartending is a lot more fun than my other line of work so I moonlight quite frequently." She frowned at the display. "Say, how far up are we going, anyway?"
"All the way to the top."
"You live on the top of a skyscraper?"
"Actually, I live in a castle on the top of a skyscraper."
They heard the commotion the second they stepped out of the elevator into the Great Hall. Avery frowned and went straight to a security panel. Natty followed along curiously.
The second outside vidcam Avery popped up showed a dark blue helicopter dropping off a number of blue-suited commandos. Avery swore under her breath and checked the locations of the other residents. The Xanatos family were sealed in their rooms. Owen seemed to be outside and surely Hudson and Bronx were around somewhere.
"Are those them Quarrymen yahoos?" Natty asked. "I hate those opinionated pendajos. What do you want to do? Wait for the cops or kick their butts?"
"Do you still shoot skeet?" Avery asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but I left my shotgun at home."
"I got sumpthin' better. Leave your stuff here." Avery tossed her purse and shoes in a chair and ran down the corridor. She accessed the nearest weapons locker and handed a plasma rifle to Natty.
"I've only had one practice session with these but they're no harder to use than a 
twenty gauge. Just try to keep steady when you aim." Avery picked one out for herself and showed Natty how to initialize it.
"Seems simple enough," the tall brunette said firmly. "Let's go kick some Yankee butt."
"Right behind ya, Amazon."

Hudson and Owen were pinned down. "The police are on the way," Owen said, folding up the phone. "That should bring the other gargoyles back with Detective Maza. Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos should be sealed in their quarters now."
"Aye, that's one less thing to worry about," Hudson grumbled. "It's a pity your weapon lost its charge. Cannae Puck do anything?"
"I'm afraid not. At the moment, Alex is asleep and unaware of any danger."
Bronx raised his head and sniffed. "What is it, boy?" Hudson said. The gargoyle dog whined.
Plasma fire streaked over their heads, driving back the Quarrymen. Bronx bolted and ran towards the shooters. Hudson and Owen risked looking up. Up on the landing between the tower and the courtyard, Avery and a tall woman with a long brunette ponytail were firing plasma rifles, quite accurately, Owen noted. They were hitting everything they aimed at and the bodies were beginning to stack up.
Bronx was running up the outer stairs to Avery's side. Hudson frowned.
"I suggest we use their diversion to get to a more defensible position," Owen said in an irritatingly calm voice.
A distant roar caught the old gargoyle's attention. "Aye, you do that. Here come the lads." Broadway and Brooklyn came soaring in at top speed, sweeping through the ranks of the Quarrymen trying to retreat back to the helicopter.
Natty started to take aim at them but Avery pushed the barrel of the gun up. "If it has wings, it's on our side. Trust me."
"Uh, oh." Natty looked at her weapon. "Everything just went red on this thing. What's that mean?"
Avery's eyes went wide. "Overload! Toss it!"
Natty narrowed her eyes at the hovering helicopter. "Okay." She gripped it by the barrel and slung it around like a hammer throw. An eerie green glow traveled down her arm and surrounded the weapon, the stressed whine of the overload growing higher in pitch. She hurled it for distance, the arc of her throw carrying it within a few feet of the helicopter.
"Hit the dirt!" Natty yelled as she pulled Avery down with her. The explosion rocked the castle and hot air rushed past them, dropping bits of debris all around. Bronx whined and stood protectively over the hybrid gargoyle. They peeped over the top of the wall. The concussive force of the blast took care of any Quarrymen formerly standing. Luckily the gargoyles were airborne and managed to get around to the sheltered side of the tower.
"Natalie Rhiannon Jones, just exactly what did you do?" Avery demanded.
The big brunette shrugged. "I put a little whammy on it, y'know, that thing I do," she answered. "I guess it reacted kinda funny with whatever power cell that thing had."
"Well, we'll just say it overloaded for now. No point in getting everybody more worked up," Avery sighed. She gave the gargoyle dog a little push. "C'mon, Bronx. I wanna get up."
"Avery!" Brooklyn landed and hauled Bronx out of the way. "Are you all right?" He pulled her up into his arms.
"I'm fine, honey." She smiled and winked at Natty.
"This must be the guy with the great taste in jewelry," Natty commented. "He seems to be a right colorful character."
Brooklyn gave her a startled look. "Hello."
"Natty, this is my mate, Brooklyn," Avery said cheerfully. "Hon, this is my old college roommie, Natalie Jones. She's working as a bartender at the Waldorf."
The big brunette grinned as she looked Brooklyn over. "Hmm, big nose, big hands, big feet." She raised her eyebrows. Avery blushed. Natty laughed and whooped, "Yeee-hah! Ride 'em, cowgirl!"
Brooklyn shook his head. "Another Texan on the loose." He looked up. "Here comes Goliath and Angela. Why don't you go inside while we mop up what's left? Tell Xanatos it's over."
Avery and Natty went down to the family quarters, Bronx trailing behind all the way. Hudson met Brooklyn at the bottom of the stairs. The old gargoyle had a thoughtful look on his face. "What do you think of that, lad?" Hudson said, thrusting a thumb at the departing females.
"I think when I took Avery as my mate, I married the entire state of Texas."
"Nae, not that, lad. The last few days, Bronx has taken to following Avery everywhere."
"Nothing unusual in that," Brooklyn said, shrugging. "She feeds him all the scraps from our kitchen."
"That's not what I mean, either. One of a gargoyle dog's primary tasks was guarding the rookery and the egg bound females," Hudson said, grasping the red gargoyle's arm. "Is it possible?"
"If it is," Brooklyn said gently, yet firmly to his elder, "It's something my mate and I need to know for ourselves first. You keep this to yourself for now, please, Hudson. You know how angry she got the last time we jumped to conclusions."
"Aye, lad, I remember." He sighed. "You'll forgive me if I keep a close eye on her, just in case."
"Some wise old gargoyle used to tell me that eggs hatch in their own sweet time." Brooklyn smiled. "Maybe you need to follow your own advice."
"Och, push off, you cocky hatchling."

V.
The castle residents had gathered in the large kitchen, the excitement having given everyone a hearty appetite. Natty, being a boisterous, easy-going person, demonstrated her bartending skills a la "Cocktail." She had whipped up a concoction that she dared everyone to guess the name of. Everybody had some except Avery, whose glass was neatly intercepted by Brooklyn. He was holding it out of reach when they heard Lexington coming in. He was singing, of all things.
"I stay stoned all the day, Fly alone all the night, But now I got a lady, To hold me tight! No more Lex-ing-ton blues, lexington blues," Lex burst through the kitchen doors, sliding across the floor, "Lex-ING-ton blues, Sad times are through, I've paid my dues, No more Lex-ing-ton Blues!" Lex was really wailing by the time he came to the end of the song. His unexpected audience gave him a rousing chorus of applause and whistles.
Lex turned red. Brooklyn held out the untasted glass to the younger gargoyle. "Here you go, Sinatra. We're playing guess the drink."
The green gargoyle took a sip. His eyes lit up and he took a longer drink, smacking his lips. "There's nothing I like better than a Slow, Comfortable Screw Against A Wall." He thought for a second and added, "Unless, of course, you can make Sex On The Beach. Got any peach schapps?"
"Sorry, honey," Natty replied with a chuckle. "There wasn't any under the bar."
"I don't what's scarier," Broadway commented, "The fact that Lex drinks them or that he knows the difference."
"The really scary thing," Lex said thoughtfully, "is that this is the first alcoholic drink I've had since Tina and I got back together last month."
"Whoo!" Avery grinned at him. "So, how was the party?"
"Tina's stepbrother got dangled off the balcony, and Tina and I smooched a bit and then Leroy took me, Tina and her mother to a Mexican joint and I'm supposed to say we had Enchiladas Verde, nyah, nyah, nyah." Lex shook a finger at Avery. "Did you know your uncle carries an eight-inch butterfly knife?"
She rolled her eyes. "He must have given you the 'treat my niece like a lady' lecture. Did he whip the knife around a lot?"
"He got the point across." 
"I must have missed that," Brooklyn mused.
"You didn't kiss me in front of roomful of society people," Avery replied archly. "You can dress Lex up but you can't make him behave."

Owen met them by the elevator in the Great Hall when Brooklyn and Avery were seeing Natty off. He gave the tall brunette a cursory look before speaking. "The clean up crews and the police are finished. They're leaving through the freight elevator." He frowned at his hand-held computer. "Curious thing, they couldn't determine how the helicopter exploded. The security cameras noted the plasma rifle exploding a few feet away but it doesn't have explosive capability to destroy an object that big. Any thoughts?"
"Gee, I can't imagine what happened," Avery said innocently. "Can you, Nat?" 
Natty was staring at the pale man, squinting one eye. She leaned forward. "How come you got two auras?" she asked bluntly. "What about it, Skippy?"
Owen blinked. "I beg your pardon, Miss Jones?"
"I'm not talkin' to you, Blue Eyes." She pointed to his chest. "I'm talkin' to Skippy here. C'mere, you." Slowly, deliberately, Natty reached into Owen's chest, her arm becoming intangible and flipped Owen inside out with an imploding pop. She stood there, holding a surprised Puck by the scruff of the neck.
Brooklyn's mouth dropped open. He looked at his mate and was even more shocked at her reaction or rather, lack of one.
"Natty!" Avery moaned. "I thought you said you stopped doing these things!"
The tall brunette blinked and looked curiously at Puck. "I thought I had too."
The Fey trickster looked at Natty with a mixture of stunned horror and unadulterated lust. "What a woman!" Puck exclaimed. "How did you do that, sweet cheeks?"
"Don't know exactly," Natty said absently. "I just think about it and do it."
"Oh, good grief!" Puck smacked himself in the forehead. "First, Alex and now this." He glared at Avery. "And I suppose you knew all about this?"
"She's picked up some new tricks since I lived with her," Avery replied weakly. "I wouldn't worry. I'm sure Natty can put you back."
"Is he supposed to be two people in one body?" Natty asked. "One for everyday and the other for parties?"
Puck grinned and leaned up against her, an incongruous sight as Natty stood a foot taller than him. "You'd never guess which one I am." He was right on eye level with her more prominent attributes. "Mmmm, I could get used to this."
"You're a nuisance, that's what you are." Natty took Puck by the shoulders, snapped him like a sheet and suddenly she was supporting Owen Burnett, looking confused and trying to straighten his glasses. "Sorry about that, Blue Eyes. Sometimes things just happen around me. Hope you aren't too ruffled."
"I believe I know how the helicopter blew up now," Owen said calmly. "I shall try to think of something believable to put on the accident reports."
Natty patted him on the back. "Hey, say it was hit by a Texas tornado. Then it'll be half right." She stepped into the elevator. "See you around, Avery, Brooklyn." She winked at Owen. "Blue Eyes. Bye!" The elevator doors closed.
"I really must take some vacation time and visit this Texas of yours," Owen said to Avery blandly. "It seems to produce some of the most unusual people."
Brooklyn shook his head. "You have no idea."

Castaway was livid. "You threw away an entire squad attacking the castle!" He bit out his words in his clipped English accent. "A fully loaded attack helicopter destroyed, with crew. Over half the assault team dead in the explosion, the rest severely injured or incarcerated in Riker's Island."
"You agreed I had complete autonomy in how Illuminati funds were to be spent," Harcourt said benignly. "You see only a small part of the big picture."
"What exactly did this failed raid accomplish, I should very much like to know?" 
Harcourt turned back to the monitor bank. "The gargoyles are breeding." He pointed to a segment of film showing a large blue gargoyle and a red gargoyle flying up. A few seconds later, the video screen flashed blindingly as the helicopter was destroyed. "And I now know where one of them lives. Capture that one and the mate will follow."

The editorials were so engrossing tonight that Brooklyn lost track of what his mate was doing. They had just had dinner with the others but as he peered around the edge of his paper, he watched Avery wolfing down a huge sandwich and a glass of milk. He raised his eyebrows but wisely said nothing. Personally, he had always thought she needed more meat on her bones.
He went back to reading. Lately there had been more pro-gargoyle letters, possibly due to the P.I.T. movement. It seemed people thought the Quarrymen destroying public property right and left were more dangerous than flying humanoid creatures. Brooklyn thought it was about time people woke up and smelled the coffee.
He felt a pair of fuzzy socks rubbing against his feet. He smiled and looked up. Avery was curling up on the other end of the couch, wearing her 'Kill Barney' shirt and her new glasses. She opened her book and smiled back at him.
"How's the world according to the Times?" she asked.
"Still fairly messed up," Brooklyn answered. "Your friend Natty's kind of interesting. I remember you saying she was tall, funny with a great personality but you never said she could do magic."
"Technically, she doesn't know how she does what she does. Natty is one of those people that goes through life following the end of her nose. She wouldn't happy any other way," Avery said absently. "Anyway, we made a promise not tell anyone our secrets."
His tail curled around her ankle. "Not even me?" he teased.
She raised an eyebrow. "Hey, me rat on a girl who can blow a helicopter into scrap? No way. Natty's come a long way since college. She used to just read auras and energize things." Avery laughed. "She's had the same tank of gas in her car since she bought it."
"Gives new meaning to economy, anyway." Brooklyn snapped the paper back open and continued reading. By the time he finished the section, he found Avery asleep with her face in her book. He shook his head and removing the book and the glasses, scooped her up and put her to bed. It was the fourth night this week that she had conked out on him. Brooklyn curled up next to her, just to watch her sleep but a bright star in the corner of the bedroom window caught his eye. It was probably a satellite, he told himself, but he closed his eyes and made a wish anyway. Without thinking about it, his hand rested lightly against his mate's belly.

JUNE

I.
Halcyon Renard was dying. He had been plagued by ill health for years but his doctors had finally come to the conclusion the end was near. Renard had retreated to his private island off the Maine coast and Fox was determined to be with him. Although Xanatos barely tolerated his father-in-law, he insisted that he and Alex go along as a show of family unity. Owen was accompanying them and he was giving Avery last minute instructions on the edge of the helipad.
"Here are all the employees authorized to be in the castle during business hours. The security guards will be keeping a strict watch on them." He handed her a palmtop computer. "If you need to leave the castle during the day, Rogers, Franklin and Deese will be available to guard the gargoyles."
"Are they trustworthy?" Avery asked.
Owen arched an eyebrow. "They have to be. I have their immortal souls in a jar in the back of my closet." He said it with a straight face but his blue eyes danced.
She stared at the pale man for a second then burst out laughing. "Aw, Owen, you're just pucking around with my head again!"
"I'm not without humor," Owen said gravely. "Has everything been packed for Alexander?"
"Yep, clothes, toys, right down to his potty chair." She patted his arm. "Have fun."
Owen sighed. They were both having a struggle with Alex's potty training. "Avery, just as I have a hidden sense of humor, you have a vicious mean streak."
"Aw, that's nothing." She grinned. "When it comes to sheer vindictive meanness, nobody tops Natty."
"As intriguing as Miss Jones is," Owen said sternly, "I really wish you would keep her out of our conversations. I am not interested in her."
"If you say so, Owen." Avery batted her eyes at him. "Anything else?"
"Mr. Xanatos asked Detective Maza to move in during his absence. She has yet to give him an answer so you might encourage her a bit."
"Owen, sweetheart, why don't I just have Goliath take care of that? He's got loads more of the kind of persuasion  Elisa's after."
Owen raised an eyebrow at that and was about to respond, when Xanatos, Fox and Alex came out. Fox was looking worried.
"I just got off the phone with Preston Vogel. We need to leave right away. There's a bad storm out in the Atlantic and we'll be just beating it there."
"Well, I guess you'd better get a move on." Avery cupped Alex's chin as he sat in his father's arms. "You be a good boy for Mommy and Daddy, y'hear now?"
"An' Unca Puck?" Alex asked soberly.
Avery smiled. "Especially Uncle Puck. Bye-bye, Nanny loves you!" She and Alex waved to each other all the way to the helicopter and on into take-off. Avery sighed and wandered into the castle, footsteps echoing until sunset.

Light poured through the warehouse windows into the industrial style loft. A few of the windows were cranked open and the faint smell of salt water mingled with diesel from the ships coming and going off the Brooklyn shore. The owner of the loft, a short man with thinning sandy hair wearing sweats and an undershirt, was circling his opponent, a tiny woman with braided blonde hair  in a leotard and shorts. The wings made her remarkable. 
Uncle Leroy flipped the wooden practice knife into an attack grip. "Okay, darlin'. Let's try it again." He lunged at her.
Avery blocked him with her wooden tonfa, an Oriental style weapon derived from an Okinawan farm tool, predecessor of the nightstick used by police all over the world. She used her left one to smack Leroy across the ribs in a roundhouse punch, the tonfa extending her reach by almost two feet. He countered by attacking her legs with a sweeping pass.. She jumped and let his strike go beneath her. Avery knocked the knife away and pressed the attack, Leroy defending himself unarmed as best he could until she pinned him against the wall with  her weapon against his throat. He threw up his hands.
"Okay, you win." He waited until she lowered her weapon and her eyes lost their crimson glow. "You've come a long way since our last session," Leroy commented as he went to the kitchen to fetch two bottles of water from the refrigerator. "What's up, sweet pea?"
Avery wiped the sweat off her forehead and took the water bottle gratefully. "Just tired of being low man on the totem pole, I guess."
Her uncle raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were a nanny. Going out to fight crime was not in your job description, y'know."
"I know." She took a long drink. "It's just ever since Christmas, I feel responsible for them all, y'know, 'cause I'm the only day-time gargoyle. Brooklyn takes me along on patrol sometimes and I even took on Demona but they still patronize me." She gestured. "Stay back, Avery. Fighting is warrior's work. Ugh! Me gargoyle, you little nanny-sit-by-the-fire." She made a very stern face, jutting her lower teeth over her upper lip like fangs.
Leroy snickered. "Girl, you crack me up."
"What bugs me the most is that I used to be perfectly happy," Avery said sadly. "I wish I knew why I have to push myself this way."
 "Avery, you're a mockingbird," Uncle Leroy said. "Most of the time, you're content to sit in the tree, mind the nest, and sing your sweet song simply for the joy of singing it. The minute your nest is threatened, wham! You are a spitfire, a one woman wrecking crew." He took a swig from his water bottle. "This whole Quarrymen bizness hit a little to close to home for you and that's why you're so bothered. It's good to know trouble's coming. I think you'll be ready."
"I hope so," Avery twiddled the bottle cap between her fingers. "I'll be glad when the Xanatoses and Owen get back. It's been kind of dull without them."
"I thought Elisa was staying there," Leroy commented as he walked over to the window, idly looking around. "And of course, you can be up all night with Big Red if you like."
"Oh, Elisa's used to sleeping all day so I seldom see her, and I guess I'm too used to being up in the daytime. I haveta be really tired to sleep while the sun's out." She smiled. "I don't think Brooklyn much minds, though. He loves to play games."
Leroy raised an eyebrow. "I'll take your word for it, niece. There are some things about your marriage I have no bizness knowing." He pitched the water bottle at a blue recycle bin. "Now, let's have a little knife-throwin' practice and see if you still got yer edge." His blue-gray eyes twinkled.

Castaway walked into the cramped hangar of the private airstrip currently containing the Quarrymen's private air force. They were currently down to four attack helicopters, thanks to a wild goose chase in Texas a few months back and the recent failed assault on the castle atop the Eyrie Building. The current helicopter crews and assault forces were the finest that could be gleaned from current and recently dismissed armed forces personnel from bases across the New England area.
He faced the assembled Quarrymen. "Tonight, we launch a major offensive. I know many of you have objected to the long hours of observation patrols, of only watching when you could be ridding our skies of the gargoyle menace." He walked along the orderly lines, watching their reactions carefully with a steady gaze.
"Our observations have established a routine to these animals' movements, and we will use this to our advantage. Tonight, when they go forth on their early patrol, we will be there. We will draw them away from that castle and they will be defenseless. If their fellows come after them, we will be there. The doctor wants at least three gargoyles for experimentation purposes, but all others," Castaway paused and looked grimly around the hanger, "are ours to destroy."
The assembled warriors looked at each other and an excited muttering underscored Castaway's next words.
"Tonight is the beginning of the end for Gargoyles in New York!"

II.
It was mid afternoon when Avery got back to the castle. She showered and as was her habit on her days off, crawled straight into bed. The sheets were cool and inviting against her bare skin. It was the most comfortable she'd been all day. She soon dozed off.
She was having that odd dream about chickens again when Brooklyn's delicate nibbling on her neck began to wake her up. He could do amazing things with that beak of his. He had slid under the sheets with her and was giving her his favorite wake-up treatment, soft, whispering kisses and wing caresses. He pulled her close and she could feel every inch of his muscular body rubbing against hers.
"Mmm," Avery murmured, "I've got a horny gargoyle in my bed."
"Like you're complaining," Brooklyn teased.
Lately, Avery had been feeling more aggressive in these intimate situations and in minutes, she had rolled Brooklyn over on his back and mounted him with deep, grinding pelvic thrusts that left them gasping in passion. Flinging out her wings and snarling in the gargoyle fashion  that she knew excited him so, Avery looked down at her mate, hair falling across her glowing crimson eyes. Brooklyn was looking back with blazing white-hot eyes of  his own and she felt his strong hands tighten on her hips as they moved together. His tail snaked deliciously up her spine. She fell across his chest as they both cried out in release.
"My God, Avery," Brooklyn said weakly as he wrapped his arms around her, "I love it when you wake up."
"Mmm-hmm." She snuggled under his chin. "You make a good rooster."
"Cock-a-doodle-doo," he joked. "How are you feeling, babe?"
"Wonderful."
"Hudson thinks something's up." Brooklyn smiled. "I've been wondering myself. You've been sleeping a lot lately, eating like a horse, and then, there's all this incredible sex we've been having lately."
Avery raised her head and smiled. "Right, like you're complaining."
He rolled them over and ran his hand down her body, settling on her flat stomach. He traced circles on it. "Are you sure?" Brooklyn asked meaningfully.
"If it'll make you happy," Avery said, "I'll do another test." She kissed him and he responded ardently. Round two was soon underway.
The bedside phone rang. Avery picked it up. "Hello? Oh, just a minute." She held it to Brooklyn's ear. He listened intently without breaking stride.
"Okay, I'm on my way. Bye."
Avery set the phone down. "Playtime's over?"
"Yeah," he growled, eyes glowing. "Talk about your mood breakers." He kissed her and reluctantly pulled away. "Hate to do this but-"
"You gotta run," Avery finished. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I understand."  They kissed again before he sprang out of bed to clean up and get dressed. Brooklyn grinned at her before he jumped from her window.

Lexington and Angela were three blocks ahead of him and Brooklyn had to push himself to catch up. Lex was listening intently to someone on his headset.
"Uh huh, Brooklyn's with us now, Elisa," Lex was saying. "We'll be there in five minutes, just hang on." He glared at his rookery brother. "It's about time you got here."
"What's happened?" Brooklyn asked.
"We're not exactly sure. Goliath and Broadway were following Elisa and Matt on patrol and then Elisa lost radio contact with them. The next thing she knew, bits of building were hitting the street all around them and a Quarryman dropped out of the sky on the top of a parked bus."
Brooklyn swore under his breath. "Great, just great. There's been nothing from these guys for months, then first the castle, and now this!"
"Lovely time for Xanatos to take a vacation," Angela commented acidly. She had been on edge a lot lately. Broadway had told Brooklyn privately she was very near to rising, it might only be a matter of days. 
They heard the helicopters long before they saw them. Brooklyn grimaced. One helicopter had landed and the roof top was swarming with blue-suited Quarrymen. "Lex, get Hudson back at the castle. Tell him we're going to need back-up. Tell him to give Avery a plasma rifle and bring her along but keep her well back."
Angela shot him a worried look. "Is that wise?"
"Can't be helped. Avery's a great shot and Hudson won't let her out of his sight. Trust me."
"Okay, Hudson's on the move," Lex said, swooping down. He squinted at the battlefield. "I can see Elisa and Matt trying to get into the building. Where's Broadway and Goliath?"
A pile of Quarrymen suddenly rose and flew in all directions. They could see Broadway's blue head and shoulders above the crowd. His tail and wings flung his attackers aside and for a few seconds, his back was unprotected. An fully-charged hammer crackled to life and a lone Quarryman barreled in, striking the gargoyle directly over the left kidney. Broadway screamed and collapsed on the ground.
"MY LOVE!!!" Angela shrieked like an eagle and plummeted to the defense of her intended mate. Lex and Brooklyn folded up and dived into battle.

Avery was down in the castle kitchen having a snack when Hudson found her. He looked upset. "What's up?" Avery asked curiously.
"I hate to do this, lass, but I need you. The others are in trouble and we've got to help."
Avery tossed her sandwich down. "No prob." She was thrilled. All the extra practice with Leroy was finally going to be used. She followed Hudson to the courtyard, stopping only once to pick up one of Xanatos' plasma rifles.
"Now, lass," Hudson said firmly, "I know you can use that thing. I want you to stay at a distance and follow my orders exactly. I have more battle experience than you do."
Avery threw him a salute. "Yessir!"
"Enough silliness!" He scowled. "Come, lass. You take the high point." They launched into the air.
"What's the problem?" Avery asked. "It's been quiet lately."
"Broadway and Goliath were attacked by Quarrymen while they were following Elisa and Bluestone on patrol. They called for help and Brooklyn, Angela and Lexington went to back them up but something went wrong. All I know is they're in trouble and we are needed." He gave her another stern look. "I'm not taking any chances with you, lass. You stay high and give me cover fire. If things look bad, you go straight back to the castle."
"Aw, Hudson," Avery said, "I can do this. I'm not made of glass." She zipped to a  higher altitude. Brooklyn was right, Hudson had been watching her closely for the last few weeks. He had already came to a conclusion about something she was only beginning to suspect.
It wasn't hard to find the others. Two midnight blue helicopters were hovering over the action on the rooftops. Brooklyn and Goliath were back-to-back fighting off attackers. Broadway was down and Angela was fighting desperately to keep back the hammer-wielding maniacs. Avery aimed the plasma weapon and cleared some room for Hudson to land.
As he descended, Hudson pointed and shouted, "Lass! Get him!" Lexington was being loaded into one of the helicopters. He was chained but he was fighting every inch of the way.
Avery shot out of the sky like a bullet, blazing a trail with plasma fire. She swept people out of her way by sheer velocity. Lex got on his feet and turned just in time to be flung over Avery's shoulder like a sack of 'taters. She sailed up away from the fight.
Lex wrapped his tail around her waist. "Drop me at the first good cover!" he yelled in her ear. "I can get these chains off myself. You go and back up Hudson."
"Okay, you're the boss." Avery slowed down and skimmed the rooftops, dropping Lex off in someone's urban garden. She pivoted on a wingtip and  flew back to the fight. Hudson and Angela were pinned down and Angela was bleeding badly. The old gargoyle was trying to shield her. Avery reset the weapon and sprayed plasma in wide bursts, clearing the area around her friends. The charge was soon exhausted. She swept down and snatched up some discarded weapons. The first one she tried was empty but the second was useful. It was a fully loaded grenade launcher.
She landed and aimed at the nearest helicopter. The load went straight into the open cargo doors and the aircraft went up in a ball of fire. The surviving Quarrymen fled like rats, some bolting into the remaining helicopter and the rest swarming down the fire escapes. Avery let them go. She could hear the police sirens below.
She leapt off the building to get a better shot at the second aircraft but it was airborne and away before she was in position. Avery heard Hudson's voice.
"Avery! Come away, lass!" He was carrying Angela's limp body.
Avery looked around. Lexington was flying in but the others - Goliath, Broadway and Brooklyn - were gone. "Where are they?" she asked.
"They loaded the lads into the airship," Hudson said. He looked at her stricken face. "We'll find them, lass. First, we must get Angela back to the castle."
Avery looked back at the rooftop battlefield. Not a trace remained of the fight save for a few scorched marks. She swept over it looking for something, anything. There were scraps of cloth, shell casings, and then her eyes filled with tears. She picked up the thin white braid tied with a familiar strip of ribbon and wound it around her finger.
"Brooklyn."
The world stopped for Avery at that terrible moment. The next thing she knew, Lexington was shaking her gently. She looked at him blankly.
"C'mon, Avery. We need you back at the castle. Hudson's taking Angela straight to the infirmary." Lexington turned her in the direction of the castle and got her moving. "I'm worried, too, but Brooklyn wouldn't want anything to happen to you." He hopped on to the edge of the building and helped her up. "Come with me, Avery. We can't do anything else here."
Numbly, she followed Lex home. The flight helped clear her head. Avery had to focus on the problem at hand, not get bogged down in emotions. It was going to be hard. Her emotions were not entirely her own at the moment. She put her suspicions and hopes in the back of her thoughts. She had work to do.

III.
His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Blearily, he tried opening his eyes but his gummy eyelids would only give him glimpses. He had an impression of neon green lights in the dark, blurry pale faces, a smell of new car interior and sweat, and a deep, jarring vibration all around him. Brooklyn took a deep breath and tried to remember.
Angela had gone to Broadway's defense. He and Lex split up, Lex going fast and furious to break up the crowd and Brooklyn to dig Goliath out of the pile of Quarrymen he was under. Savagely, he flung the blue-suited goons off his clan leader. Goliath was blinded from a bleeding cut over his eye and he took a swing at his second-in-command before he recognized him.
"Brooklyn!" Goliath brushed a hand across his eyes and blinked furiously. "We need to get off this roof!
"Right," Brooklyn grunted, using his tail to whip the feet out from under a nearby assailant. "Broadway's down. Hit with a hammer." He and Goliath backed up to each other and went defensive.
"Who is here?"
"Angela and Lex. Hudson and Avery are coming." Goliath shot him a worried look over his shoulder. "I know, I know. She's gonna keep her distance."
"Elisa?"
"Lex said she and Bluestone are trying to get in the building." Just as the crowd seemed to be thinning out, Brooklyn looked up to see the second helicopter lowering to the roof. The next wave of Quarrymen surged out. "Oh, damn."
Angela was screaming at the top of her lungs. She had a eight foot section of pipe and she was standing over Broadway, swinging it to clear a space around her. Someone got a lucky shot and the hammer charge surged up the pipe. It shattered in her hands and her white tunic was flecked with blood. Goliath roared and leaped towards his daughter.
Swearing under his breath, Brooklyn went after him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Lex go down and changed direction. Lex was being held down and chained by four or five men. His head was suddenly jerked around to the left. He had a split-second glimpse of a blue-gloved fist wrapped in his hair. Brooklyn growled and threw a roundhouse at him. There was a sharp ripping that he felt rather than heard as the punch connected and the Quarryman fell away. An arm throttled his neck, a hissing in his ears followed, and then blackness.
Brooklyn forced himself to lay still as he put it together. Drugged, restrained by the feel of the heavy enclosed manacles on his hands and feet, and by the vibration, on board one of the helicopters. He ground his teeth together as a cold fear gripped him. It was his worst nightmare come true.
A faint moan caught his attention. Brooklyn let his head loll in that direction and pried an eye narrowly open. His eyesight still wasn't focusing very well but he could see a large blue blur and a large lavender blur. He took a quick scan around. He couldn't see any other gargoyles in his limited range of vision. He sniffed the air deeply. He thanked his lucky stars and sighed. Her scent wasn't here.
There was a prick in his neck and the familiar hissing sound returned. His eyes opened wide involuntarily. The woman in the Quarryman uniform standing over him brandished the hypospray and clucked.
"Naughty, naughty. You can't play possum with me, gargoyle." She tapped a panel above his head. "Your EKG gave you away."
Brooklyn growled weakly as his thoughts slipped past into the looming darkness.

Hudson was fussing over Angela in the infirmary when Avery arrived. Lex went straight up to Xanatos' office to access the main computer. Avery scrubbed up and gave Angela's injuries a quick once over as she gloved up. She took out a pair of surgical scissors and began cutting off the tunic.
"Here now, lass," Hudson protested. "Is that really necessary?"
"It's full of holes anyway," Avery said absently. "There's a light blanket in the bottom drawer. Get it out for me." She tossed the bloody garment aside. She probed the wounds gingerly. "This is going to take a while. Most of these are superficial but some of them have shrapnel in them. I'll have to flush them out individually to be sure."
"What can I do for ye?" Hudson was visibly upset now.
"Why don't you run to my apartment and fetch my glasses? They should be on my dresser." She smiled at the old gargoyle. "It's okay, Hudson. It looks worse than it is."
Hudson nodded and covered Angela with the blanket. "I'll check on Lex too. Perhaps he's heard from Elisa."
"Go ahead. I can handle things here for a while." Avery unwrapped a scrub kit and dug around in the medicines cabinet. She didn't look up as Hudson left. She had lied to him a little, just to get him out of the way. Avery used a tongue depressor to push on the voice activation switch. "Phone doctor on call." She listened to the dial tone on the speakerphone as she began painting Angela's wounds with an orange antiseptic wash.
A masculine voice came on. "Doctor Meyers, here."
"Good evening, Dr. Meyers. I am calling from the Xanatos private infirmary at the Eyrie Building. I need your assistance immediately. My name is Avery Bishop and I am a fully trained EMT."
"Nature of the problem?" There was the sound of a computer booting up in the background. Avery reached over and switched hers on as well. Xanatos had recently installed the latest in diagnostic tools, a computer-controlled remote scanner so if any injuries occurred to the gargoyles, they could be taken care of with a maximum of discretion.
"The patient is a female in her early twenties. She has multiple lacerations and contusions due to near approximity explosion. Initial examination has revealed shrapnel entering the subdermal layers. She is unconscious, pulse is strong but irregular, blood pressure falling."
"Is she in position for scanning?"
"Yes, doctor."
"I'm ready. Start the scan."
Avery stripped off the gloves to operate the keyboard. The scanner came free from its housing and lowered itself on its robotic arm over Angela's body. She initialized the scan and a low-level blue laser passed the length of the table. It made both vertical and horizontal passes, plotting out a grid-like simulation on the computer screen. Avery bit her lip. The scan was showing several places where bits of metal had intruded much deeper that she originally guessed.
"I'm getting some anomalous readings. Is this," the doctor hesitated, "is this one of Mr. Xanatos' special cases?"
"Yes, sir. It is."
"All right. I'm assembling my team now. Are the surgical facilities prepared?"
She checked on the computer. "Yes, sir. I'm turning the equipment on now." Lights came on in the adjoining room.
"Begin an IV. As long as she's unconscious, I don't want to give her anything until we have a chance to do some blood work on her. I'll be there in ten minutes." The line clicked off and the dial tone returned.
"Hang up," Avery said absently. She busied herself with the IV and calling security to let them know of the medical team's arrival. She changed out of her clothes and into some medical scrubs. She was tucking her hair up into a scrub bonnet when Hudson came back with her glasses. He gave her a startled look.
She held a finger to her lips and motioned him back into the hall. "I did a remote scan and there's a medical team on the way."
"Why? You said--"
"The scanner picked up some shrapnel I didn't see. It's too deep. It has to be removed surgically. Don't worry, I'll be with her the whole time." She took a deep breath. "What about Elisa?"
"She's still at the scene. Bluestone said they're running a trace on some of the weapons." Hudson suddenly looked older than his years. "Lex is trying to reach Xanatos but there's a storm over the Atlantic that's messing up the phone lines. He's trying to talk to Owen on the computer now."
"Blood." Avery had been thinking ahead while Hudson was talking. "Angela might need a blood transfusion. Should we call MacBeth and risk bringing Demona here? A relative would most likely be the closest match."
"If it comes to that, I'd rather you took it from me." Hudson looked into the little hybrid's confused face. "Although, we never put much into family ties, I know Goliath was from my last mating."
Avery smiled. "But, Hudson! That's wonderful!"
"Hush, now!" The old gargoyle scowled. "They're not to know. It's not the gargoyle way."
The XCG security guard came down the corridor. "Ms. Bishop, these people just arrived on the helipad."
An older man with silvering hair pushed his way past the guard. "Dr. Roland Meyers. Where's the patient?" He looked over Hudson curiously. "Who's this?"
"Next of kin," Avery answered. "In case you need a blood donor for--"
"O'Brien!" Dr. Meyers called over his shoulder. "Do a blood work-up on him when you do the patient." He went into the infirmary with Avery right in his shadow.
The nurse took Hudson into a corner of the room and drew several vials of blood while the doctor and two other medical assistants clustered around  Angela. The doctor wasn't much on bedside manner but he was very thorough in his examination, donning a magnifying headgear to examine the wounds.
"Messy, but not as bad as it could be," Dr. Meyers commented. He had the scanner run again. "We need to get these three fragments right away," he circled the areas on the screen with a  light pen, "They're near a major artery. Let's start with 10 cc's--" The doctor promptly started talking in technical terms and despite Hudson's dedication to television medical drama, he was soon left out of the conversation.
The nurse returned with some samples from Angela and bandaged his arm. "You can step out of the room now but don't go too far. I'll know whether we can use your blood or not in a little while."
Bronx was outside the door waiting. He whined and leaned against Hudson.
"Aye, boy. I know how you feel," the old gargoyle said kindly. "All we can do is wait."

Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone burst into Xanatos' office. Lex blinked wearily and pulled back from the console, stretching his back and neck. "Any luck on your end?" he asked as his vertebrate cracked and popped.
"The weapons we found went through so many hands, we'll be chasing the paper trail for months," Elisa said disgustedly. "Any luck contacting Xanatos?"
"No. The National Weather Service says the storm system in the North Atlantic won't break up until some time tomorrow morning. I sent Owen an E-mail but he hasn't picked it up yet."
"The Quarrymen we have back at the station aren't talking," Matt said. "Funny, all the ones we've identified so far are all current or former military. Up to now, it's always been a mix of social groups, regular misguided fools."
"Swell, just what we needed," Lex said disgustedly, "an elite group of Quarrymen commandos."
"How's Angela?" Elisa asked.
"She's going to be fine." Everyone turned to look at Avery, who had just entered the room. She pulled off the scrub bonnet and shook out her hair. "The surgical team just left. They removed fourteen metal fragments from her. Hudson is in the infirmary too. He's a little woozy."
"Hudson?"
"Yeah, we were lucky. His blood was a close match so we borrowed a couple of pints. He's going to be weak and little anemic for a few days but nothing rest and some good meals won't cure." She flopped into a chair. "I left them with the nurse and Bronx is on guard between the beds." There was a bowl of fruit on the coffee table in front of her. Avery selected an apple, sniffed it, polished it on her sleeve and began eating. "So, where are the guys?"
Matt sighed. "We don't know."
"Why not?" Avery's eyes became just as hard as the gemstones they resembled. "You are the police. You're supposed to know these things."
"Avery, I know exactly how you feel," Elisa said, "They've got Goliath and Broadway too. We're doing everything we can."
"It's not enough!" Avery got up and started pacing, in an eerie imitation of her missing mate. "And you have no idea how I feel. Your relationship with Goliath is nothing compared to the ties I have to gargoyles."
Elisa's dark eyes flared up in anger but she brushed off Matt's restraining hand on her shoulder. "You don't mean that, Avery. You're just upset."
"Bullshit." Her strong fingers dug into the apple. "My father died for being a gargoyle. I'll be damned if I see my mate go the same way." She glared at the two police officers with burning crimson eyes. "Get off yo' asses an' do sumpthin!'" she screamed and started to hurl the apple at them.
There was a green nimbus of light. "Little bit, didn't yo' momma ever tell you not t'play with your food?"
Avery looked up into the face of Natalie Jones.

It was the damp coolness on his skin that awoke Goliath. The moon and stars were the first thing in his vision. The second was the hooded visage of the Quarryman approaching with a hypospray. Cunning was lost on Goliath, rage served him much better. He managed to snap the bonds on his right arm and across his chest as he batted the medic away. He snarled and started to free himself.
A calm, clinical voice spoke. "If you continue to do that, I will kill your companion."
Goliath looked up. Standing by Broadway, who was still unconscious, was a grim-faced man with mostly white hair and an elongated mustache. He stood quietly, white lab coat billowing in the light evening breeze. His hand was holding a large hypodermic, the end of which was jabbed into Broadway's chest.
"I see I have your attention," the man said. "This is a cardiac needle. It is long enough to reach into the chest cavity of even such a robust specimen as this one."
"You threaten him with poison." Goliath's voice dripped with contempt.
"Hardly. This is a simple saline solution. However," he raised an eyebrow, "there is an air bubble in it. I press this plunger and this gargoyle dies in agony as the air bubble enters his blood stream." He stared at Goliath. "Cease struggling and submit or you will be responsible for the painful death of your clansman."
"Let me see you remove the needle," Goliath countered.
"Very well," the man said. He drew it out slowly.
Reluctantly, Goliath eased back on the stretcher, growling even as Quarrymen pushed him back down on the gurney and the hypospray was re-administered.

IV.
The tall dark-haired woman gave the apple back to Avery. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed, wearing a baggy T-shirt and boxer shorts with her long hair loosely braided. "Y'know, I was havin' the best dream with Brad Pitt, Kevin Sorbo, and Adrian Paul and we were playin' strip poker and I was winnin', mind, and I got this strange urge to get up and instead of walking into my kitchen, I wound up here." Natty looked around. "So, what's happened?"
"Oh, Natty!" Avery took a deep breath. "It's awful. The Quarrymen have Brooklyn and two other gargoyles and Angela's hurt and everybody else is off some place and we don't have any idea where they took them!" She finally burst into tears.
Natty made the little blonde gargoyle sit down and just sat with her silently. She looked at the others. "Is it that bad?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," Elisa answered. "We haven't been able to get anywhere with any of the people we have in custody. Goliath, Broadway and Brooklyn were last seen being taken north but that was hours ago. They could be anywhere now."
Lexington went back to the computer. He sighed. "Still nothing."
"Avery, I think I can help," Natty said thoughtfully. "I need a map, an atlas, or sumpthin' that shows a wide area. Do you have anything of Brooklyn's that he keeps on his person all the time?"
"I've got something better," Avery said, hope lighting her eyes. She put her hand down her shirt and pulled out a coiled braid of white hair. "I found this after the battle. I braided Brooklyn's hair last Halloween and he's wore it ever since. Someone jerked it right out of his scalp."
Natty examined it closely, her grayish-green eyes brightening to an electric emerald as she began generating the mystic energy so unique to herself. "Yes," she said slowly, her Texan twang slipping away. "I can use this. Where is the map?"
Matt and Lex began searching through Xanatos' office. "You'd think he'd have a globe or something," Matt complained. He dug through the pockets of his trenchcoat. "Hey, it's a little ragged, but will this do?" He held out a tattered, dog-eared travel map.
"I don't know what we're doing," Elisa said, taking the map, "but anything's got to be better than doing nothing."
"It's called psychometry," Matt explained excitedly. "Some people get impressions or auras off of things and trace them down using maps." He helped unfold the map gingerly as it was gaping open in places. "I don't know who this girl is, but I can't wait to see this."
Natty cupped Brooklyn's braid in her hands over the diagram of Manhattan on the map. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and wrinkled her forehead in concentration. The coil of white, wispy hair began to glow. Natty raised her hands and the glow traveled from the braid to a point on the map.
Elisa leaned in and squinted. "That's where Goliath and Broadway were attacked," she said in astonishment. "The exact location. How did she know?"
"Shh," Matt hissed. He was staring unblinkingly at the map, barely even breathing in his excitement.
Natalie kept her eyes closed and began to speak. At the same time, the light on the map began to move. "Helicopter, dark, blue, it moves across the water. They follow the river and the road. They come to a fork and fly up the middle." The light went at a forty-five degree angle between the Hudson River and Interstate 90. "They cross a wilderness covered with lakes and mountains. There is a string of waterfalls, lakes, all tied together like beads on a necklace. The helicopter is on the ground. I hear the waterfalls, they're very close, loud, the air is damp, moist. They're going down, down, deep under the ground." Natty opened her eyes, the emerald color draining away." She stabbed a finger at the map. "Brooklyn is here."
Elisa shook her head. "There's nothing there. It's a state park."
"Wait a minute," Matt muttered. He took out a pen and marked the map. Taking a envelope from his pocket, he made a vertical and a horizontal rule extending to the border. He squinted at the tiny numbers along the edge. "Lex, go warm up that computer. Let's see what exactly is at seventy-five degrees latitude north and forty-five degrees longitude west."
"Matt, this is a wild goose chase."
Matt looked at his partner mildly. "Hey, that's my specialty."

Broadway knew he was hurt. His skin burned and there was a dull ache on his back where the hammer stuck him. He felt latex-covered hands touching him, probing. He tried to move, to open his eyes, anything but found he couldn't. When the unseen hands began going places Broadway felt very uncomfortable about, he realized he was laying there totally naked. His pulse began to beat loudly in his ears.
"Doctor, we have completed the initial examination," a female voice said.
"Swell," Broadway thought to himself, "Some strange woman has been feeling me up. Angela's gonna kill me!"
"Very good," a male voice replied crisply. "What have you determined about this specimen?"
"This is a male, young, perhaps in his third decade. He is overweight and his body fat ratio and cholesterol levels are dangerously high."
"Oh, fine. Everybody's a critic."
She continued. "He was injured during capture and is suffering from electrical shock. In addition, his left kidney is bruised and renal failure is eminent. If we expose him to the lithium bath, he will have serious toxicity problems."
"We will begin with minimum levels then. His injuries should make him more susceptible to the treatment than the others. We will reserve this one as a control. Monitor his body's ability to heal itself without the carbo-silicon molecular transference. It should be interesting."
Broadway didn't understand all of it, but he really didn't like the sound of that.

"Okay, I've got all the search parameters logged in," Lex said. "Now we'll run the program and see what we get." He checked the clock. "I hope it doesn't take long. I've only got an hour or so left before dawn."
Elisa picked up the phone. "I'm going to check in with Captain Chavez. Maybe she can use this to prod somebody's memory."
Natty solemnly handed Brooklyn's braid back to Avery. "Y'know, I think I'm callin' in sick today. I reckon I'm gonna be hanging around here with you guys." She put an arm around Avery's shoulders. "Girl, let's see if we can rust