Title: Athena Please send all comments to Ryan Stout, proteus@postoffice.ptd.net or stoutjb@iu21.cliu.k12.pa.us Hi there. This story takes place shortly after the "Gargoyles" episode "The Price," and just before "Avalon Part 1," mainly because the last episode I've seen was "Grief," and I don't want to mention anything about Angela or Owen's hand until I see the next few episodes. I probably never would have bothered to write this if it weren't for the incredibly well-written Gargoyles, X-Files, etc. crossover story "All Through the Night" by Melissa "Merlin Missy" Wilson. Melissa, if you're reading this, I've gotta say that that story was one of the best I've ever read. It was extremely well thought out and your style is wonderful. With any luck, you'll appreciate this story, but it won't be nearly as much as I appreciated yours. This is the third draft of this story, as the first and second ones had some rather embarrassing errors. Disclaimer: As I'm sure you all know, any and all Gargoyles characters mentioned herein belong to Disney/Buena Vista. I'm just doing this because it ought to be fun and I've got some extra time on my hands. I'm not trying to infringe on anyone's copyrights here! Okay, now I guess it's time to get on with the story! Hope that whoever is reading this, you'll enjoy it! --Ryan Stout, January 8, 1996 * * * INTRODUCTION The elevator was hidden deep within a granite wall of the thousand-year-old castle. One would have to come all the way up to the highest spire of the world's tallest building to reach it, know which wall it was concealed behind, and press their hand to the palm reader, which looked like just another stone slab. David Xanatos had done this every other day for the past two weeks. Traveling all the way up his Xanatos building and entering a secret elevator only to be carried back down the way he came was inconvenient, but a small price to pay for security. The palm reader identified his finger prints and blood vessel configuration, and he stepped into the small titanium elevator pod. Abruptly the stone wall snapped shut behind him and the elevator plummeted straight down, flying past hundreds of stories. It was taking Xanatos awhile to get used to the rapid descent, but he found the exhilaration of falling quite appealing. As the elevator neared the last dozen floors of the Xanatos Building it began to decelerate at a sickening rate, forcing its passenger to feel immense pressure on their legs. The ICD display clicked the numbers of the floors he passed. Five, four, three, two, one...sub-basement two, four, twelve, sixteen, twenty-seven.... The elevator pod stopped at the thirty-fourth sub-basement and the doors split open with a quick hydraulic hiss. Xanatos stepped briskly out and the doors shut once again, and the elevator shot back up, making a faint whistling sound. The thirty-fourth sub-basement was huge. The high ceilings and large walls were lined with enormous pipes, tiny wires, flexible tubes and other things seemingly taken from NORAD or Dr. Frankenstien's lab. In the middle of the room was a large iron dome, thickly armored and coated with the same miscellaneous gadgetry that snaked across the walls. The only opening was an airlock, three feet of titanium steel with a small, round window, just as tough as the metal surrounding it. The window was frosted over, though, preventing Xanatos from peering inside. Small vents over the dome hissed and leaked out a mist that was halfway between a liquid and a gas. It flowed slowly down the sides of the dome to fill the room in fog, bringing a chill to the air and forming specters of vapor in the shadowy corners of the room. As the multi-billionaire stepped forward to examine a panel of flashing lights he truly didn't understand, something emerged from between the thick pipes and mist. It was quite large, much bigger than any man, and approached Xanatos' turned back, its feet making loud impacts on the metallic floor. Calmly and cooly, Xanatos turned slowly around. A faint smile crossed his face. "Why hello, Coyote. Good to see you up and running again." "Hello, Mr. Xanatos. It's good to *be* up and running again." Coyote stood by its master, a gleaming golden hunchback. It stood twice as tall as Xanatos, even hunched over. Its wolf-like legs and triple-elbowed arms flexed experimentally. "I appreciate the new design modifications," said the robot in Xanatos' own voice. "Now maybe I won't have to worry about being hit by any more subway trains. And the laser is a nice touch." Xanatos smiled slightly. The only part of Coyote that wasn't a modification was the disembodied head suspended in a transparent sphere in the robot's chest. Coyote had started out as an android based on Xanatos, an advanced prototype which theoretically could both mentally and physically pass for a human being. Unfortunately, after two run-ins with Goliath and his clan, all that was left of the original Coyote was the head, half of which looked like Xanatos and half of which looked like something out of "The Terminator." The rest was a sort of "life support system" with combat capabilities far beyond the original design. "No problem," said Xanatos. "It seemed that everyone else had a laser in their forearm, so I equipped the Pack with them. Besides, I had some extras from spare parts for Coldstone." And anyway, he thought, it was surprisingly cheaper to continually repair Coyote's extensive damage than to build a new Coyote all together. He wasn't like the Steel Clan; His brain represented the greatest advancement in artificial intelligence the world had ever witnessed. It would be a shame to loose such a prize. There was a snap-hiss, and the bullet elevator arrived again. The pair turned to watch as the doors parted to deposit a rather sick-looking young man who stumbled around a bit as if he were going to vomit. "Really, Mr. Xanatos," he said. "You should do something about that elevator. It falls *much* to quickly." "Nonsense, Sevarius. It works just perfectly." "Indeed. Now then, would you please tell me why I'm here? This is hardly my field of expertise, and I should be leaving for Scotland." "Please, doctor, calm down. The plesiosaurs have been in Lock Ness for millions of years. They'll still be there when you arrive," said Coyote. "Besides," said Xanatos, "I want to have my employees open to a wide range of experiences. It's either this, or I could have you transferred to the magical research department a few floors down now that Demona's been kidnapped by some sort of elves. And it was, after all, your research which has made this all possible." The panel of flashing lights began to organize itself into a pattern, and soon the board was a uniform green color. "Sir," interrupted Coyote, "I believe our test subject is finished in there." "Ah, excellent. It seems your timing is once again impeccable, Sevarius," grinned Xanatos. The vents on the dome suddenly increased their production of mist, which spouted out and turned the waist-deep wisps of fog into an all-encompassing froth. A klaxon briefly hooted, and the lights dimmed save for a few rotating red flashers. The light from the little window on the dome increased until it shone like a beam through the darkness, and there was a loud *clack* as various locks on the door popped open. The thick hinges groaned and the airlock swung open, belching out mist and a bright white light. Sevarius closed his jacket against the sudden cold and held up his hand to block the light. He squinted against its intensity. "Is it supposed to do all that?" he muttered under his breath. "Shh!" hissed Coyote. "You're ruining the dramatic effect." From out of the mechanical dome stepped something humanoid, outlined in gas and light. Sevarius did a double take as he stared at the naked figure. "My, my, my," he said with a smirk. "I'm glad I came after all." Coyote watched the entire display dispassionately. "All according to plan." "But of course," said Xanatos. "You were expecting less?" "Well, one thing's for certain," Sevarius said mischievously. "Things ought to be getting a lot more interesting around here." * * * TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER Brooklyn stretched out on the ledge of the clock tower, watching the police go by beneath him and breathing in the brisk night air. "Ah, this is the life," he sighed. With Broadway and Lexington out on patrol with Goliath, he had his first night off in a long time. Not that he could complain, of course. Ever since he had been named Goliath's second in command, he was obligated to do more work than the others, he had more responsibilities. But that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself from time to time. With Hudson and Bronx guarding the clock tower (along with a few dozen police officers), he was free to do whatever he wanted tonight. But what to do? Or rather, where to start? There were so many new movies out Broadway had mentioned, and it had been awhile since he'd been to Central Park, and tonight "America's Most Wanted" was supposed to have a special on about the "strange occurrences in New York" ... Namely the sightings of gargoyles, robots, broadcasts by blue-skinned women, and cyborg criminals that had been sprouting up all over the city. He might be on TV! What would they say about what he called the City of Stone incident? Hmm, maybe Elisa or Matt would know. They were up to date with things; after all, they were human. He spread his wings and launched himself into the air, quickly catching an updraft and soaring off above the rooftops, out of the canopy of street lights that blanketed the city that never sleeps. He glided over the road, easily clearing the tops of the skyscrapers...except of course for the Xanatos Building. The world's largest free-standing structure, he couldn't quite ride an updraft above it. Besides, he thought, it was probably safer to stay below Wyvern Castle at the skyscraper's peak. No telling what anti-aircraft defenses Xanatos Enterprises had installed. Now, think, would Matt and Elisa be out on duty now, or would they be at home? It was hard to tell at this time of ni--* Brooklyn never finished that thought. He had been gliding about thirty feel over the street in front of the Xanatos building when the main entranceway exploded in a deafening fireball. The macadam buckled and split as if a gas main had detonated. A forty-foot hole was blown in the skyscraper's side and windows for blocks were shattered. The shock wave blossomed upward, smacking Brooklyn around like so much ash and sending him spiraling into the side of a building at top speed. He hit with a sickening crunch and the world went dark. Ten blocks away, Goliath heard a thunderclap followed by a deep rumbling and distant cries of panic. Broadway and Lexington snapped their heads around to see the pillar of darker-than-night smoke rising above the cityscape and the unearthly orange glow cast by what must have been a fire. "Oh, boy," gasped Lexington. "That did not sound good." Hudson's chair flipped over and the television fell off its stand with a tinkling of broken glass. The gargantuan gears of the clock tower moaned as the walls reverberated with an ear-splitting sound. He sat bolt upright and ran to the balcony door, Bronx trailing at his heels. What he saw reminded him of the cloud over Hiroshima. "Never a dull moment, is there boy?" Bronx whined his agreement. Hudson sighed. "Well, come on, then. We best go see what Xanatos has done now." "Would someone mind telling me just what the *hell* that was all about?!" cried Xanatos when his office stopped shaking. There was a rumble that he knew was probably some masonry falling off the castle. Fox came running in from the gymnasium, panting. "David, have you neglected to tell me something?" "Certainly not, my dear," he said. He was calm and collected as ever, but there was a fiery anger in his eyes. "I suggest we go assess the damage and seek to rectify the situation." The Xanatoses descended to the main lobby in an elevator. As the double doors slid open, they were greeted with chaos. The lobby was in ruins, floors buckled, walls burning, wounded and possibly dying employees were laying throughout the room. It looked like a sink hole had opened up and the main entrance. Xanatos peered down into the depths to see that some of his sub-basements had been breached. Luckily, the first few were mainly just for appearances sake, and had little to hide. The city didn't know about the subterranean complex that extended beneath the tower, and he planned to keep it that way. One of Xanatos' personal combat troopers in full armor and toting an automatic weapon ran by. Xanatos grabbed him by the arm. "Keep the civilians back!" he said over the noise of the automatic fire extinguishing system. "I don't need people snooping around my home when it's blown wide open." "That won't be a problem, sir," said the trooper. "The street's in worse shape than the lobby is. The only people left out there are those that can't move. Sir." "What happened? Who did this?" Fox asked. Did someone set off a bomb? Who would be so bold? Coldstone? Demona? MacBeth? Or maybe even her father at Cyberbiotics? "I think I can answer that, ma'am." Fox turned to face a trio of soldiers dressed like the one already before her. The one in the middle had on a red-colored helmet, showing that he was the commando team leader, taking Bruno's place while he was with Sevarius in Scotland. "We had a break out from sub-level twelve." "The obstacle course test lab?" said Xanatos with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, sir. It's Project Athena. She's escaped." Xanatos' eyes grew wide. "Oh, there'll be hell to pay now." She huddled in the alleyway, cold, frightened, naked, and desperate. She could hear the fire sirens in the distance. Luckily, there was no one back here to see her. No one but the alley cats that were rooting through the garbage behind her. Soon they'd be after her. How could she escape? She had to hide. She had to get help. She would need clothes, and a place to stay, and money. She was in the middle of a city with over seven million people. How could she do anything without being noticed? Calm down, she told herself. You'll be all right. You just have to straighten out your thoughts. Now, first things first. Clothes. She couldn't go running around like this. But what was she going to do? Find somebody who looked about her size and mug them? Wouldn't *that* be interesting. But what choice did she have? She heard a clatter behind her and whirled around. The cat next to her yowled and dashed off in surprise. A group of punks had walked in the back of the alleyway. It looked like three-- no, four of them. All boys, and apparently in their late teens. They were the typical stereotype New York hoods. Colored hair, large earring, leather jacket. They scared her half to death. She had to get out of here before-- Too late! They'd seen her! "Well, well, well," said the tallest punk, pulling out a switchblade. It clicked open and the blade flashed in the dim alley lighting. Her body tensed and she felt as if her heart would leap out of her throat. "What *do* we have here...?" Xanatos locked the steel helmet over his head with a loud click and flexed his arm experimentally. His battle armor seemed in perfect working order. The silvery wings on his back unfolded and he appeared for all the world to be a metallic gargoyle. Behind him stood no less than four of the Steel Clan's latest model. These robots were built to take on anything. Xanatos hoped they would be enough. He stood in the center of his office, next to his elaborately carved desk. At his side was Fox, and before him stood the technological wonders that called themselves the Pack. One robot, two cyborgs, one mutant, and a somewhat normal human in robotic battle armor. They used to be among the deadliest human beings alive. Now, after a couple multibillion dollar "upgrades," they were the deadliest ... *things* alive. Beside them stood a group of the troopers, fully armed and bulletproof suits. "How many soldiers do you have ready to go?" demanded Xanatos. "When?" replied the red-helmeted leader. "Immediately!" "Er, uh, two squads, sir. That should be more than enough for whatever you need." "Only two? Blast. All right. This is our target." He held up an eight by ten glossy that made their eyes bug out. Jackal smirked. "Xanatos, aren't you a little old for dirty pictures?" "Shut up, you idiot. This is Project Athena's current condition. At least, it was up until a few hours ago. Athena was undergoing testing in sub-level twelve when she escaped. Violently. It seems that Athena made it as far as sub-level three before she was discovered and the blast doors locked her in. That's when she blew the generator, which in turn took out the gas main. We're not sure exactly how she did it, seeing as how sub-level three is now scattered over half of New York. Now we only have a few hours to find her. Before you know it it'll be dawn, and then we'll be even more conspicuous than we are now. As much as it pains me to loose such an ... expensive test subject, I must authorize deadly force. We can't risk being gentle. I want her brought back in as few pieces as possible, just as long as she's not moving. And I should distribute a couple of laser rifles to the squads. Bullets alone may not be enough." "Let me get this straight," said Dingo, holding a hand to his forehead. "You need all of us to track down this one girl? You could have us take down small countries with the firepower in this room!" "Trust me, Dingo, it may not be enough," Coyote said. "If we can't find her soon, Project Athena may be out of the country in no time. We can't have her running loose." "If you ask me, this'll be fun," growled the feral Wolf. "Let's see who can get her first! Besides, she's a naked and defenseless girl on the streets of the Big Apple. How far can she get?" Goliath landed on the solid stone floor of Castle Wyvern with a slight thump. He walked with large strides toward the door of the castle, but before he could throw it open, it slid back to reveal Fox Xanatos. She smiled sweetly and opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she had the chance to speak Goliath grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and hefted her up to his eye level, seven feet off the ground. "Where is Xanatos? I demand to see him now! People were killed down there!" Fox sputtered in surprise, then landed a solid kick in Goliath's midsection, doubling him over. She pulled loose from his grasp and flipped easily through the air. "An unprovoked attack on a pregnant lady? I'm shocked. That's not like you, Goliath." Goliath recovered almost instantly, but as he was about to speak he did a double take. Fox? Pregnant? More Xanatoses? But-- Goliath shook his head. That's not why he had come here. "You know what I want. What have you been doing? Why has the street exploded?" "Honestly, Goliath, I had nothing to do with it. The gas main exploded. Really." It wasn't hard to lie; after all, that was true! "Where is Xanatos? I demand to see him immediately!" Goliath's eyes had begun to glow. That did not bode well. One of the many things Fox had learned since meeting David was never to anger a gargoyle. "David's not in, Goliath. He's away on business. He'll be back before too long." Fox suddenly realized how ironic that sounded. David and Goliath? "I'll make sure to tell him you asked for him. Now then, I'm really very busy." She pulled something similar to a TV remote and pointed it at Goliath, clicking the large red button in the center. From the towers of the castle rose what looked like anti-aircraft guns and at least one rocket launcher. "The latest in home security," she smiled sweetly. "Now if you would please remove yourself from the premises..." The weapons swiveled to face the gargoyle. "Yes, it would seem I should be off. But before I go, know this; you could not have stopped me." His eyes narrowed to glowing points. Fox had to laugh. "Oh, really?" The sound of wrenching metal filled the air and Fox whirled to see a gargoyle perched behind each of the guns, with torn wires and components dangling out of their talons. She dropped the remote. "Yes." Goliath turned and spread his wings. A hint of a smile crossed his lips. "Really." Brooklyn awoke with a groan and rubbed his aching head. He had quite a lump forming behind his horns. He was a little disoriented as he woke up, and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. He looked around to find himself surrounded by gargoyles. Statues, not living creatures. How apropos. How long had he been out? He was sore and his hair was singed, but that was nothing a day of stone hibernation wouldn't cure. He'd made quite a dent in the side of this building, and apparently slid down to this ledge. He peered over the edge to view the street below. "My, that's quite a hole down there." The fires had died down and the police were cordoning off the area. But the destruction was now clearly visible. Widows were shattered for blocks, and some cars caught in the explosion were now just twisted heaps of burnt-out metal. Walls of the nearby buildings were cracked, but the Xanatos Building seemed in fair condition, considering that the explosion was on its doorstep. That figured. Xanatos probably had his home rigged to survive World War III. Groaning softly to himself, he sunk his talons into the side of the building and began to climb. On his way up, he noticed the graceful forms of Goliath, Hudson, Lexington, Broadway and Bronx gliding away, with Hudson carrying the gargoyle-dog. He was about to follow them when he noticed a group of much faster fliers jetting in the other direction. Even at this distance, the forms were unmistakable. Xanatos and the Steel Clan. But who was that with them? A large hunchbacked figure flying off, carrying two others... and a figure in armor flying off with a werewolf?! The Pack! Obviously Coyote had been rebuilt, or replaced, and could now fly. He had been carrying Hyena and Jackal. The armored figure and the werewolf were Dingo and Wolf, respectively. Should he go after Goliath? No, no time! They'd be out of sight in an instant! He had to follow them! He launched himself off at top speed, straining to keep up. Abruptly, the members of the groups veered off in all directions, and for a moment Brooklyn worried that he might have been spotted. But no, no one came after him. It was almost like... they were scouring the city, looking for someone. Brooklyn sighed to himself and set off after the slowest one: Coyote carrying those two cyborgs. "Well," he said, "So much for my night off." They approached slowly, forming a rough semicircle around her, giggling like idiots and swinging their weapons from side to side. Two had knives, one had what looked like a wooden stick, and she was pretty sure that the other had a revolver. She was breathing heavily now, and she backed away slowly until she was up against the cold brick wall of the alleyway. She wanted to cry out for help, but her throat wouldn't work. She knew what she had to do. Abruptly she relaxed, crouched, and seemed to calm herself all at once. One of the kids seemed taken aback. He didn't expect that reaction. But the tallest one just laughed and lunged. He didn't realize what happened. He stabbed outward and she caught his wrist. He blinked in surprise. That gave her long enough to twist his arm, causing him to cry out in pain. He was cut short as her bare foot struck him like a pile driver. He flew no less than ten feet into the far wall, his rib cage collapsed. He dropped the knife and was still, a look of total shock on his lifeless face. It took less than a second. The next punk was shorter, meatier, and dark-skinned. He stared in shock at his fallen friend. He never saw her coming. One kick to the back of the head. She might as well have hit him with a sledge hammer. She didn't even look at the next one. She crouched and spun, slamming her hand into his knees and sweeping him off his feet, crippled. She grabbed his knife and threw it behind her. She didn't have to turn to know it hit the gunman in the solar plexus. Then she swung her arm down on the crippled man's neck before he even realized his knees had been broken. It was over. A total of perhaps two or three seconds. She drew in a shuddering a breath and sunk against the wall. What had she done? But they hadn't really given her a choice, had they? She swept her hair back and massaged her temples. This was terrible. But at least now one of her problems was solved. She had clothes. And she had their weapons. The tall one looked about her size. "Ugh," she said. "I feel like a ghoul. But these won't be doing you any good, will they, pal? Sorry. But you asked for it, if it's any consolation." She pulled off his jacket and set to planning her next move. "You think she did this?" The trooper examined the four bodies, all quite dead and some at rather odd angles. "It makes sense," he told his partner. "These kids were killed quick, mostly by hand or some kinda club. And they're missing articles of clothing. This wasn't very long ago. Maybe even a few minutes. Yeah, I think this is our girl." "I'll call it in," said one of the half dozen troopers in the alleyway. "We'll have reinforcements in just a few--*" "Hey, what's that?!" A shadowy figure sprinted down the alley further back. It paused to look back at them. "Is that her?" asked a younger trooper. "We can't take the chance that it isn't! Cut her down!" Three silenced assault rifles responded, chewing up the alley with a *vip-vip-vip* sound. The figure jerked, then fell. "We got her!" snapped the leader. "That was easy," the younger one said. They ran down the alley the fifty or so feet to the body. The young one tilted the victim's head back to get a good look at her features. He felt her throat: no pulse. "Yeah. It's her. Radio Xanatos. Tell him we've got Athena." She lay perfectly still and did not respond when they pried open her eyelids and shone a light in her eye. The iris did not contract. She could hear the one furthest away radioing in to Xanatos. She couldn't allow that. One of the troopers was examining her body. "That's odd," he said, patting down her shirt and jacket. He pulled out the little snub-nosed .38 she got off one of the punks and put it aside. "I don't see any blood. There's no bullet holes in these clothes. It's almost as if...." He trailed off and his eyes grew wide. "We didn't hit her!" "What?" said the leader. "That's impossible. She's dead, isn't she? We cut her down." "Yes, sir, I mean, no, sir... She's dead, but we didn't shoot this woman. I just don't understand how--*" *Now,* she thought. Her hand came up with lightning speed and hit the trooper in the chin, snapping his head back. She was on her feet before they could react. She slapped the leader open-handed in the face, flinging him away while grabbing his rifle. In one fluid motion she spun around, her leg kicking another of Xanatos' Goon Squad in the stomach while simultaneously strafing the other three with silenced gunfire. They wore bullet-proof suits, but that didn't stop the armor-piercing ammunition in their guns. Barely a second. Excellent. She hadn't been paying attention to the radio operator. How much had he had the chance to say? She had to assume reinforcements were on the way. She had little time. This encounter would greatly aid her. Rifles, armored clothing, IR and night vision goggles, and most importantly, a radio to monitor her enemy's actions. She was about to pull off one Goon's ammo belt when she saw something that caught her eye. One of the troopers had had a portable combat laser. Those things cost millions. And they did a lot of damage. She had to laugh. "Xanatos, you fool." Now she was ready to fight. As long as she could survive until morning, she'd be fine. But she needed to get moving. She guessed she had five minutes to spare. She started grabbing whatever she could carry. "Say again, I didn't quite hear you." "I said, Mr. Xanatos, we've got her. We bagged her in an alleyway. She's dead all right. No pulse, no breathing..." "You idiot!" he cried into the mike of his battle armor. "That doesn't mean anything! She's--*" "Sir, I--oh my God! She's-- Augh! SSSskrrrrrrrkssssssshhh...." Static. "Blast!" Xanatos snapped. "Fox, did you get a position?" "Yes, dear," radioed Fox from Castle Wyvern. "I'm transmitting coordinates to the Steel Clan now, and Coyote's already on his way." The four robots in formation behind Xanatos broke off and headed east. He veered to follow them. Not long until dawn. "Get the squads and the rest of the Pack there ASAP. I want everybody there in less than five minutes, do you hear me?" Brooklyn was relieved to see Coyote veer off to the left at a sharp angle. It would make it easier for him to catch up. He had to make sure he wasn't spotted, though. The huge robot began to descend, not appearing to care if anyone on the lighted streets below spotted him. As they shot past Central Park Brooklyn noticed a bunch of the Xanatos Goon Squad running to wherever Coyote was headed. "Looks like quite a rendezvous," he muttered. "I'd love to see what this little party is all about." Coyote slowed and fell, approaching an unlit alleyway in one of the worse sections of town. What was that? He thought he heard something. There is was again... like muffled gunfire. Coyote's engines died down and he slipped into the crevasse between the two buildings that formed the alleyway. He was approaching with surprising quietness. Brooklyn perched on the edge of one of the buildings and watched the robot descend into the darkness below. "I'm never going to see anything from up here," he said to himself. He took a deep breath and began a head-first climb straight down. He decided to take his time and let events unfold for themselves. She hefted the laser, testing its weight in the crook of her arm. Very nice. There was very little out there that could stand up to a concentrated blast from this baby. But fighting was not a priority. Escaping was. Now, she had better get going. It had been nearly four minutes since she killed those soldiers. She turned to go, only to gape in momentary surprise. A golden triple-jointed limb caught her in the face and threw her into the far wall. Her head connected with a *crack* and she reeled for a moment. "Dammit," she muttered. "You're early." "Hello, Athena," said Coyote as he stalked out of the shadows. Hyena and Jackal leapt from his shoulders and their fingers sprouted long razor-like claws. They approached from either side, while Coyote slowly headed straight for her. "Been a while. I see you've been busy." He swiveled his eyes, one mechanical and one human-like, over the bodies. "Ten dead. Plus any caught in the fire and the guards who were killed in your little breakout. It seems you're more feisty than I gave you credit for." Athena backed against the wall for what seemed like the twentieth time that night. "I just want to be left alone. Can't you understand that?" She stumbled, holding one hand behind her back and the other to her aching head. "Actually, yes, I can," he said. "I'm programmed to understand that," he raised his right arm and a gun barrel protruded from his palm, "but I'm not programmed to care." "Fine. At least we understand each other." Athena brought her hand out from behind her back and leveled the large laser cannon at Jackal's midsection. She pulled the trigger and a column of photons cut Jackal in half. His upper half cried out in surprise as his legs fell away. Hyena cried out to him, but Coyote stopped her. "He'll be fine, Xanatos will fix him! Just concentrate on her!" In fury Hyena leapt straight at Athena. The butt of the laser connected with Hyena's face. "Bad idea," Athena snapped as she backhanded the cyborg. Hyena back-flipped to her feet and cackled insanely. "You'll have to do better than that, girlie!" "Girlie? What's that supposed to mean, freak?" "Ladies, ladies," said Coyote, "Let's settle this in a rational manner. No need to resort to name calling. You see, this is very simple. Step one," he snaked out his left arm and knocked the laser out of Athena's hand. "Step two," his right claw shot out on a cable which wrapped around her legs, pulling her down. The line retracted, dragging her toward him. "Step three," he raised his foot to crush her skull. As his foot descended, she grabbed it, pushing against him with all her might. His hydraulics whirred madly, but his foot wouldn't respond. "Hmm, but you are a strong one. More so than I expected. On to Plan B." He targeted his laser at her midsection. In panic, she shoved even harder against his foot and he toppled backward, hitting the ground with a thundering crash. She picked up her laser cannon and fired at Hyena, taking off one of the cyborg's mechanical legs. Coyote was already getting up. He sat awkwardly upright and tried to swing his laser around. She snapped the cable off of her legs and jumped onto his lap, bringing back her fist. "I've wanted to do this for a long time." Her hand punched through the transparent ball in his chest and shoved the robot's head deep into his wiry innards. He sputtered and fell. Athena backed off and sighed. She had taken a beating. Just need a minute to recuperate... that's all, she thought. But they'll be here any second and I've got to-- She was knocked off her balance by something on her back. It was Hyena. "Why is it people keep smashing my boyfriend?!" Her claws sprouted out and reached for Athena's throat. "I'm gonna--*" There was a *thud* as a large piece of granite hit Hyena over the back of the head and knocked her senseless. Athena stared in disbelief. "What...?" Brooklyn watched the whole fight from a distance, not sure what to do. He couldn't see very clearly at all, except for when a few flashes of laser light lit the alley. The Pack, or at least some of them, had cornered some woman he couldn't quite see. In fact, he couldn't see much of anything. It almost looked like that woman had defeated Coyote by punching him. That was ridiculous. One thing was for sure, though. Regardless of her means, she had just taken out three of the Pack. This woman was dangerous. Then Hyena pounced on the other woman's back and tried to kill her. Brooklyn simply pulled a clump of stone out of the wall he was clinging to and chucked it down. It took Hyena out quick enough. The other dazed woman looked around in surprise. "What...?" Then she looked up. Brooklyn was about to say something when the sun came up. A few rays of sunshine illuminated the alley. They locked eyes for a moment and he recoiled in shock. His skin crackled as he turned to stone. But the last thought he had before stone hibernation overtook him was that he recognized this woman. He knew her. It was Elisa Maza. It was a gargoyle. Brooklyn, if she remembered correctly. Yes, the one with the long horns and beak-like mouth. Well, she owed him her thanks. But no time for that now. That fight had taken three or four minutes. She was lucky Xanatos and his little army weren't here yet. Athena was about to dash off when she hesitated for just a moment. What about the Pack? Hyena was only unconscious, Coyote said that Jackal could be repaired, and Coyote himself had been rebuilt after being reduced to scrap by a subway train. If he could survive that, a little thing like having his head shoved into his innards wouldn't keep him down for long. But there was no time, and furthermore, no reason to kill them. Now she could get away. In the early morning light Xanatos would probably stop searching, but she still had to find a safe place. And she knew just where to go. "I wonder what happened to Brooklyn," said Broadway, staring into the east as the sky began to lighten. "I guess he found something he really enjoyed and just didn't make it back." "Where in the city could he possibly have gone where he wouldn't have heard that explosion?" queried Goliath. "I just hope he found a safe place to sleep. Our time is up." The sun peeked over the horizon and the five gargoyles froze in their usual poses. "Oh, lord," muttered Xanatos. He dropped Hyena's leg and rolled his eyes. "Well, she was definitely here. But the sun is rising fast, and we've already attracted too much attention. Everybody try to grab a body and let's get out of here. With any luck we'll have the Pack up and running again in a few weeks. I hope there's not extensive cell damage." The Xanatos Goon Squad picked up the bodies of the punks and of their fallen comrades. Wolf collected the pieces of Jackal, who was not so badly damaged as to stop whining. Hyena dragged herself along and they all disappeared down a manhole. There were underground entrances to the Xanatos Building. Dingo and a pair of the Steel Clan helped heft Coyote's bulky frame and took off skyward. Xanatos looked around. Where would Athena go? He had better organize a search party that was less conspicuous during the day, but there wasn't enough time. He could think of one obvious place she would go, but quickly dismissed the idea. Athena would never be so stupid as to go there. He would need observers on the street, in stores, and especially in the airport and bus stations. This was already costing him billions. Elisa Maza stepped out of her car and stretched. Ugh, what a night, she thought. Explosions, fires, reports of foot soldiers running through the park... Ah, well, shift's over and it's time to get some rest. She opened the back door and pulled out two large paper bags filled with groceries. With a free finger she picked up the CD-ROM game Lexington had been so interested in buying. "Command and Conquer," or something like that. Supporting half a dozen gargoyles on a detective's salary was no piece of cake. She pushed the door shut with her hips and headed to her apartment. All she had to do now was get the ice cream into the fridge, run over to her brother's to drop some stuff off, and then head back home for some well-deserved shut-eye. After climbing a few flights of stairs with her hands full she was more anxious than ever to fall asleep. She had to angle herself to brace the bags against the wall as she extracted her keys from her pocket. After a moment of fumbling she got the key in the lock and twisted, bumping the door open with her foot. Her jaw dropped at what she saw. It was...her! Elisa Maza was staring at herself! She stood motionless and wide-eyed in the doorway with grocery bags in her hands... While at the same time she was leaning against her sofa in her bathrobe, drying her hair with a towel. "Hello," said the Elisa in the bathrobe cheerfully. "I used your shower. Hope you don't mind." The Elisa in the doorway blinked, tried to say something, and then dropped her bags. She pulled out her gun and dropped into a firing stance. "NYPD! Don't move!" The other Elisa sighed wearily. "Why does everyone keep pulling a gun on me?" In a blur of motion her hand shot out and slapped the pistol across the room. The Elisa in the brown jacket yelped and drew back her stinging hand. The other frowned. "I was hoping you'd be more understanding. Oh, well." She whirled the startled detective around and locked her in a sleeper hold. Elisa Maza tried to yell for help, but suddenly her eyelids had become unbearably heavy. Her feeble struggles ceased and she fell to the floor. * * * Elisa moaned softly to herself. What was going on? Where was she? She shook her head slowly and the usual disorientation that followed sleep began to dissipate, leaving in its place a throbbing headache. She realized that she was bound at the hands and feet, and tied to something behind her. Slowly, cautiously, she opened her eyes. And there she was. Or rather, there they were. She was bound and handcuffed to the radiator while at the same time she, or someone who looked exactly like her, was leaning casually back in her recliner, chewing some sort of sandwich. She didn't seem to notice that her captive was awake. Elisa sighed and collected her thoughts. After awhile, she spoke. "So, what are you, hmm? Did Xanatos surgically alter one of his goons to replace me? Are you some magical version of me from another reality? Or did Sevarius cook you up in a nutrient bath to fill his cloning quota? C'mon, tell me. In the last two years I've seen so much weirdness that nothing will shock me at this point." The woman in the chair at first did nothing, then calmly turned and regarded Elisa coolly. She finished chewing and swallowed. "Well, all right, I suppose you do deserve an explanation for all this." She propped her feet up on Elisa's coffee table. "First things first. My name... or, rather, my project designation, is Athena. I am not a spy, nor a clone, nor an extradimensional alien. Indeed, nothing so inventive. I am, simply..." she sighed heavily, "... an android." Elisa raised an eyebrow. "An... android?" Athena waved her hands over her head. "Yes, yes, an android. Don't you ever watch Star Trek? No, I don't suppose you're the type. I am, by definition, a robot that looks or acts like a human. Incidentally, I do both." Deep breath. "Okay. Next question; Why?" "Why what? Why am I a robot? Why are you tied up? Do try to be more specific," Athena said in an exasperated tone. "I'm a robot for the same reason you're a human; That's the way God intended it." "What do you mean?" "I thought that was rather self-explanatory." "But you're a machine. I'm a living creature. How can you compare us?" Athena crossed her arms. "How can I not? What's the difference? Your brain is carbon based while mine is made of silicon (or whatever Xanatos uses for his machines)? Humans' definition for life is so vague. To be purely scientific, in order to be alive something has to fulfill the seven life processes. But what about viruses? They aren't considered alive, yet they sure aren't inanimate objects. And many would argue that according to the seven life processes, fire is a living creature. Which most would agree it isn't." Athena laced her fingers behind her head and stared at the ceiling. "Besides, what does it matter if I'm alive? I learn. I think. I feel emotions and physical discomfort. I am a sentient creature, dead or alive." "But... a sentient computer?" said Elisa. "That's impossible. At least, it is now. With our technology, I mean. The best we have is some machines that can play chess!" "Don't look at me like that. I'm not built with any alien technology, if that's what you mean. Technology is not so primitive as many think. All you need is money. Why does Xanatos use the laser-wielding Steel Clan when the United States Army uses slug-throwing chemical reaction guns? Because each of those lasers costs big money. Millions. God only knows how much that gargoyle-like battle armor cost him. It's more advanced than those robots of his. And you have to remember that Xanatos has the Illuminati Society behind him. They've got everything from anti-age drugs to particle accelerator pistols. Radically advanced stuff." "So Xanatos built you," sneered Elisa. "Well who did you expect? What does Xanatos *not* do in this town? He's been responsible for everything that happens." "Why me?" said Elisa flatly. "Why you? Well, why me? You see, this isn't some scheme of Xanatos to replace you. I'm not out of a science fiction movie. I don't think robots should rule over inferior humans, I don't go running around yelling 'Danger! Danger Will Robinson!' and I'm not here to terminate anybody named Connor. I was created by Xanatos because he felt like it. Because he wanted to test how far he could advance his robotics field. The Steel Clan were mindless zombies, and not too well programmed at that. That MacBeth android your winged friends ran into a few weeks back was physically very human. Mentally, however, it was a dud. As brainless as your can opener over there." "What about Coyote?" "Well, he seems like a success, doesn't he? But he's not. He acts perfectly human, but that's only because he's programmed to. Inside, he's nothing like a human. He's... mechanical. No feelings. No emotions.... I was supposed to be the next step. A machine that thought, felt, looked and acted human. For my physical body, it was only a matter of money. Before long Xanatos had developed a body with the full human range of movement, layered in a biochemical substance that felt, stretched, and moved just like skin. It even felt warm to the touch. He gave it the full human range of senses; sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. From temperature to pain to pleasure. It could even have hair and fingernails that grow." Athena ran her fingers through her long raven black hair. "It was given a dependency on food and water and oxygen, just like a real human. But lesser, of course. Just in case food and air were scarce at any given moment. It was given a self repair system based on Coldstone's, so it could heal wounds. There was no blood, of course, but areas of the skin were designed to have a pulse and discolorations could simulate bruises. But, naturally, this wasn't enough for Xanatos. Now his robot needed to be better than human. He kept on developing more and more powerful motors and actuators for agility and strength way beyond the norm. You were the perfect template, of course. He had tons of data on you, and he could always compare his creation to the real thing anytime he wanted. I think he liked the irony of it. The only problem was that I was rarely given clothes. Supposedly it was to make sure I could pass for human, going through acrobatics and obstacle courses o-natural. Make sure my muscles bulged in the right areas and so on. The biggest problem was that pervert Sevarius. I hated the way he looked at me.... "The mental aspect of the project was a different matter. They had to use an entirely different approach from normal Artificial Intelligence. A program that could learn and mature in the same way the human brain does. One that could be taught, but at a rate fast enough to be acceptable to Xanatos. They succeeded. But Xanatos wanted more. He had them put in a secondary program, one with extensive files. Everything from crocheting to karate. But the robot's cognitive mind could only access the subconscious knowledge when it was absolutely necessary. They put the two concepts together, the brain in the body, and got me." She spread her arms wide. "Ta-da. You're not impressed? Good. Neither am I. You know I could probably disarm a nuclear warhead, but I'll never know for sure unless I'm stuck next to one that's gonna blow up? It screws with your head. It's like when I'm in danger I'm barely in control of my body. I think of what I want to do and somehow, without my really understanding it, I do it." Her eyes drooped and she looked forlorn. "Story of my life. If I were alive, that is." "You can think and feel?" Elisa shook her head. Did this robot really feel emotions, or was it just designed to seem like it did? If the latter were true, it was a hell of a good actress. "Tell me..." Elisa looked into Athena's eyes. She noticed that they were watery, and that the irises contracted. Such attention to detail! "Do you have a soul?" Athena snorted a little laugh and shrugged, pointing upward. "That, my friend, is for God to decide." Derek Maza pulled down on one of the plastic rungs of the venetian blinds. His slitted cat's-eye peered down at the street below, scanning the crowd for signs of his sister. It wasn't like her to be late. Not that he was complaining or anything. His sister took excellent care of him, and she was one of the only people who knew he was still alive. Considering that he was now a mutant cross between a man, a bat, a panther, and an electric eel, it was probably better that everyone save his family thought he was dead. Elisa had set him and his fellow pseudo-gargoyles up in this apartment and told his parents and other sister about him. She had tried time and again to warn him about the evils of Xanatos. Because of Elisa, he still had a chance at happiness, despite being a furry lion-tailed bat-winged monster. He owed his sister everything in the world. On the other hand, Mom and Dad were out of town and food was running low. He had tried to call Elisa's, but the phone was off the hook. Maybe she was out with some guy. But no, Elisa had a thing for Goliath. He wasn't sure it was very healthy for Elisa to go running around with someone outside her own species, but then again since Derek was dating someone with claws, fangs, a tail and wings, why couldn't his sister? Well, one way or the other it wasn't like her to miss an appointment. Derek knew that Elisa had told her partner, Matt Bluestone, about her relationship with the gargoyles in the police station's clock tower. Had she told him about her brother, the mutant gargoyle-wannabe? He hoped so. Otherwise this might be a little hard to explain. Derek picked up the phone and dialed. "You still haven't explained why you're here," said Elisa. She struggled with the handcuffs, but it was no use. If she had been awake when they were put on, she might have been able to angle her wrists to get out, but as it was she wasn't going anywhere. "Simple," said Athena, "This is the first place Xanatos would look for me. Therefore, it's the last." "You mind extrapolating a bit?" "Certainly. Physically, I am you. From body measurements to dental records to fingerprints to retinal scan, I can pass for Elisa Maza. It makes perfect sense to hide out as you. Now I know Xanatos. He realizes that the most logical place for me to go is here. And *he* knows that *I* know that. But he also knows that I'm no fool, so I'd never go here. Therefore, he won't even bother to look." "I see. So the most idiotic tactical decision is the most brilliant." "Exactly. The best hiding spot is in plain sight, after all." "You better hope you're right. That's an awfully big chance to take." "Trust me. I know Xanatos. He's the closest thing in the world I have to a father. He'll be scouring every inch of the alleys, the sewers, lavish hotels, the areas you'd least expect me to be. And the bus stations and airports of course. He'll be expecting me to leave. He won't stop until I'm dead... or disassembled, or whatever you call it." Athena nodded to herself. "But for now, at least, I'm safe." "You had something to do with that gas main explosion last night, didn't you?" Elisa said, her eyes narrowing. Athena's face fell. "You don't understand. That was an accident... sort of. I detonated an experimental generator to get out of the lower floors of the Xanatos Building. You don't know what it was like, what he did to me. Trying to see if I had a greater threshold of pain than most people, seeing how long I could endure agony. It was... beyond description.... I expected the explosion to blow through a couple of floors, facilitate my escape, but I never knew that it was connected to the gas main. I have no idea why it would be. But Xanatos has his reasons. Anyway, the blast was much bigger than I intended. I never meant for that to happen." "People were caught in that blast wave," said Elisa. "Don't you think I know that?" snapped Athena, anger edging her voice. "It was unintentional. There was nothing I could do about it. I never meant to kill those people." There was silence between them for a few minutes. After a while Athena got up and slipped on Elisa's jacket. "Where does the day go? I'd best be off." "Hey! Wait! Where are you going? What are you going to do? You just said Xanatos will be scouring the city looking for you." "I'm free for the first time in my life... or my existence. You know what I mean. For once I can do whatever I want. And I want to see the sights. This is the Big Apple. The city that never sleeps. I want to visit everything, do everything... but I really only have a little while. Soon I'd better leave the country. As for Xanatos, remember what I said about plain sight. He'll be expecting me to stay hidden. If any of his spies see me waltzing down main street with a badge pinned to my chest, they'll simply assume I'm Elisa Maza, working the daylight hours for a change. My sleep requirements aren't nearly as great as yours unless I want them to be. I could sleep a few hours every week and still get by okay. Besides, the sun severely cuts down his options. He hasn't had time to organize a plain clothes search party, and he can't have advanced scanning systems flying overhead in broad daylight. His henchmen will simply have to hope they can spot me with their own two eyes and wait 'til dark when they can call out the big guns again. It's unlikely they'll see me in the crowd in the first place." "Fine. You want to go out there when there's a hit on your head? Do it. Just tell me why I'm tied up," said Elisa. "I'm your perfect *physical* duplicate, Maza, not mental. I have no idea what you're really like. You could run to Xanatos the minute I'm gone and tell him his crazy robot's on the loose downtown. I doubt you would, but I'd rather not take that chance. But you're a clever girl, I'll give you that. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you got loose while I'm gone. If so, just remember that you're in as much danger as I am; Unless someone tries to take a blood sample, there's no way to tell us apart. So you better hope I'm right about being safe in plain sight." Athena picked up Elisa's wallet. "Oh, I almost forgot. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it seems I'll need your driver's license, badge, credit cards... Don't worry, I won't spend much. I have dozens of secret accounts with money taken from right under Xanatos' nose. I can use them to build a vast financial empire, equal to MacBeth or Demona. I'm supposed to be perfectly human, and what is more human than greed and personal power? Then maybe I'll tour the world. Take a cruise. I'll pass for you when I need to. Other than that, you can just forget that I was ever here." Athena opened the door and noticed Elisa'a keys in the door lock where they had been all this time. It seemed that she'd forgotten to take them out. It was a miracle that no one had stolen them... until now. She pulled them out and put them in her pocket. "Nice meeting you, Elisa. Don't worry about your car, I'll probably leave it at the airport or something." * * * Now *this* was living! Lunch at the Hard Rock Café, a visit to South Street Seaport and the Titanic Memorial, a movie, and in a few hours, dinner at Planet Hollywood. Athena was enjoying herself immensely. But she had a few hours to kill. What next? As she walked down the street she spotted a singles bar and grinned to herself. No, she really shouldn't... oh, what the heck! She wouldn't be in New York long anyway. With a mischievous smile she walked up to the bar and opened the door. As soon as she stepped in she turned heads. How flattering. She stepped up to the bar and began wondering what to order when she caught someone staring at her out of the corner of her eye. When she turned to meet his gaze they locked eyes for a split second and he turned away, blushing. He'd been caught gawking at her. Well, he looked nice enough. Six foot two, perhaps, with brown hair and a slight tan. His eyes were sky blue. She pondered for a minute and then gave in to temptation. Why be shy? Might as well go for it. Boldly, she walked up to the lone man's table, trying to look sensuous, and sat down. "Hello," she said with a seductive smile. "My name is Athena Maza. And I would love to get to know you." The man gaped in shock, then tried to regain his composure. "Uh, Michael Ritter, ma'am," he sputtered, elated surprise thrilling through him, "That's a lovely name. Pleased to meet you." "Charmed," she replied. She ended up inviting him along to dinner and they had a wonderful time. "Elisa? Hello? Hey, Maza, you in there?" Elisa came slowly awake, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and regaining her thoughts. She must have dozed off. What time was it? "Matt? Matt, is that you? Thank God! Get your butt in here!" "Uh, the door's locked, Elisa." "Look, there's a key in the--*" *Click* Matt saw her by the radiator and ran over. "What the heck happened to you? I got a call from your brother awhile ago. Seems the phone didn't wake me, so he left a message." "Matt, how did you get in here?" "Picked the lock." "Picked the-- Bluestone, is there anything you don't know?" "Yeah, how to make small talk with an attractive lady." He used his handcuff keys to unlock her. She undid her legs herself and stretched for the first time in hours, causing her spine to crack a few times. "You would not believe the day I had. What time is it?" "Almost six." "The sun'll be down soon. I gotta drop some stuff off at Derek's, and then we'll go see the guys." Elisa rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Would you mind telling me what happened here?" Bluestone said, his hands on his hips. "I'll tell you on the way. But you're not gonna believe me." "So what else is new?" Goliath broke free of his stone skin with a yell, sending fragments of granite showering in all directions. The other gargoyles emerged in a similar manner, stretching their wings and flexing their other limbs. It wasn't long before Brooklyn arrived back at the clock tower. He had quite a story to tell. "Coyote, Hyena, *and* Jackal? The six of us together would have trouble with that. I don't see how Elisa could have pulled that off," said Hudson, rubbing his chin. "Well, I know what I saw," said Brooklyn, arms crossed. "It seems we have a lot to talk about with Elisa," muttered Goliath. Broadway pointed to the street below. "Hey, I think that's Matt's car. Maybe now we'll get some answers." Xanatos watched the setting of the sun with impatient anxiousness. "It's about time," he said, when darkness finally overtook the land. "Time to scramble the troops." Fox walked in with a cup of java, leaned on his desk, crossed her legs, and sighed contentedly. "Hyena's back up and running. Jackal will take a while longer, and the techs aren't sure about Coyote. Wolf and Dingo are ready for a fight, as always. And our little goon squad is itching to avenge their fallen comrades." "Fine. I'm sorry, my dear, but I don't have time to chat. I'll see you in the morning." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy hunting, David." Xanatos donned his helmet and took off on a trail of fire. They danced all night, enjoying each other's company. Athena had never dreamed freedom would be this good. Michael seemed like such a wonderful man. Perhaps she could stay in New York for a while longer... When he held her she could feel her heart pounding... But she didn't know whether or not she had a true heart. Being with him brought up a whole slew of questions she hadn't thought about before. Just how human was she? If she ate too much, would she get fat? Obviously, she could never have a child. Would she grow old? Was her body designed to age like a human's? If she ever married, could she pass for human all those years to someone so close? If she told her husband her secret, how would he react? And how long would she live? She remembered that Xanatos had once told her gargoyles aged at one half the speed of humans. Would she? When she thought about it, that really didn't mean anything for the gargoyles. So they aged half as fast. That would mean they lived twice as long as the humans at Castle Wyvern in the tenth century AD. But those humans only lived thirty or forty years. Was the gargoyles' life span therefore about eighty years? That was about equal to a modern day human. They just would take twice as long to mature. Oh, but who cared about gargoyles? She should be worrying about herself. She shouldn't have stayed out this late. She should have left by late afternoon, early evening. It was approaching ten o'clock. But how could she resist temptation? She didn't want to leave. She just wanted to spend time with this man. When he asked her back to his place, she just couldn't say no. As they walked down the street she leaned her head on his shoulder. All was right with the world. Who cared about Xanatos? She was just being paranoid. It was ridiculous to be so nervous. A city of seven million people. How could he possibly hope to find her? "We got her." The pair of troopers were in a long black Lexus with mirrored windows. One of them was staring across the street with a pair of high-zoom night vision goggles, watching the woman in the tight black dress leaning on the tall man in the suit. "Xanatos says he's on his way and to wait for reinforcements." "What do you mean? They'll be lost in the crowd in a moment. We have to hit her *now,* before she spots us." He pulled out a ridiculously large pistol with a laser sight and snapped a clip into the handle. "Uh, I don't know about that. Xanatos was very clear. I better radio back and--*" "No time! Mr. Xanatos didn't understand the circumstances. We go *now*!" He opened his door and hopped out, crouching low to the car. He held the big pistol over the hood of the car and aimed carefully. "Oh, crap," muttered his partner, cocking his assault rifle. "I hope you know what you're doing." "You seem nervous, Athena." Michael smiled warmly at her and she placed her hand on his chest. "Oh, never mind me. I've just got some things on my mind. I guess I'm a little paranoid. Forget it. Are we almost to your place?" "Yeah, it's just another block or two." Athena was distracted by something dancing on the abdomen. What was that? A little red light? The realization hit her a moment two late. *BLAM!* She jerked backwards and gasped in surprise. Michael looked alarmed. "What was that? Are you all right? You look a little..." *BLAM!* *BLAM!* She was knocked flat on the pavement. What a fool she was! How could she let down her guard? How could she be so stupid?! She looked up at Michael with sadness and remorse in her eyes. "Michael, I'm so sorry..." "Oh, God, you're shot!" She stood up and spun around, sprinting at top speed in the other direction. She heard shouts and the sound of footsteps after her. There was a whizzing sound by her ear and a lamp post above her head exploded into a shower of glass. How many were there? She needed cover. Central Park wasn't far. If she could only make it. Xanatos listened to his helmet radio. Those idiots had engaged Athena, probably shot her. There was no telling what kind of secondary survival programming would manifest itself in her now. He would have to make an example of those insubordinates later. Now there was work to do. He veered off toward the park with his quartet of robots in formation behind him. The troopers were already crawling throughout the park. He would be there in a couple minutes. He wished he had had the foresight to equip his armor with supersonic capabilities. She laid curled up in a fetal position, her back to a large oak tree. The pain was just beginning to get to her. She felt as if she would vomit. Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled her arms away from her stomach to assess the damage. "Oh, God," she whispered. Three gaping holes in her abdomen, large and very deep. Luckily they hadn't punched through her. One of the holes sparked and a thin wisp of smoke curled upward. Her skin was torn raggedly and a few small wires and tubes hung out. One was leaking a red lubricant that looked amazingly like blood. From out of the holes she could hear the faint whine of damaged servomotors. She wanted to cry. Now what? Where could she get help? It wasn't likely that her self-repair systems could handle this. She needed someone with advanced technology, or at least big money. MacBeth? She couldn't think of a reason for him to help her, but that was the only option she could think of. One of his many mansions throughout the world was right outside of New York. Oh, no, wait. Didn't Xanatos say MacBeth and Demona were captured by Children of Oberon? She felt panic begin to creep up her spine. Cyberbiotics! Of course! There was no better place for a wounded android to go! With any luck, Mr. Renard would be more of a humanitarian that Xanatos was. He had a tower on an island near the Statue of Liberty. She could probably make it. She *had* to make it. Blast! No time to think of that now! Xanatos goons, headed this way! Suddenly, she felt her body go lax. Her fear was repressed. Her arms left her tattered belly and took up a fighting stance. Something inside her had been turned on. It was as if a light switch had been hit. Her panic was gone. Now she was very, very, angry. They fanned out, running low to the ground with their guns sweeping the area from side to side. Their unit leader used hand signals to order his troops, who took turns running and covering their buddies. There where about a dozen of them working together, with other groups searching other areas of the park. Something moved in the nearby bush and there was a pair of quick *pfft!* sounds. A man dropped from the shadows. They approached cautiously. One shook his head. "This isn't our target," he whispered, poking the body. "Just looks like some punk mugger." "Shh!" hissed another, whirling around. "You hear that?" "Hear what?" "Shut up! Fan out! Shoot anything not working for Xanatos!" The troops obeyed with mechanical precision, crouching low and preparing to move, when something descended from the tree overhead. The leader heard something like wet celery snapping and turned around. Four of his men were already dead. His eyes widened. It was a woman, or at least it used to be. Her hair was in tangles and the look in her eyes was pure fury. Her mouth was twisted like an animal. And her body! With a dress like that, it was easy to tell she had been attractive once. But it looked as if her stomach had been mauled by an auger. He noticed that her arms glistened in the moonlight. They were covered in blood. He opened his mouth to cry out but she grabbed his rifle out of his hands and punched the butt through his stomach. He felt internal organs moving in ways they shouldn't. She strafed the area in silenced gunfire and the only sounds where those like rain hitting leaves and the stifled cries of dying men. The leader felt fire behind his eyes and the world went black. One point eight seconds exactly. "What happened here?" said the soldier in dismay. "It looks like it used to be Squad Two." Heads snapped around as the rapport of shots sounded through the night air nearby. "Call Xanatos again," he said grimly. "Tell him we have target acquisition." Xanatos landed in the middle of a war zone. He and his Steel Clan touched down, charring the grass with the flame from their foot and back jets. Their wings folded back with a clank. Machine gun fire and grenades were going off everywhere. The men were running to and fro, shouting to each other and spending ammo fast in all directions. As one young man ran past, Xanatos reached out and grabbed him with his gauntleted hand, dragging him off his feet. The man was stricken with panic. "What's going on here?!" demanded Xanatos. "She's here!" the man cried, struggling to get away. "She came right at us! She's running through us like a shark!" Xanatos looked around. He didn't see Athena. Just soldiers yelling and firing at shadows. "I don't see anything!" The man was about to answer when suddenly his eyes rolled back and he gurgled. Xanatos turned him around. He'd been shot in the back of the neck, execution style. It was unlikely that that was a stray bullet. He'd been sniped. Xanatos dropped the body. "Full IR scan!" he ordered his robots. "Find Athena! We can't take much more of this!" She saw the world through a red haze. She found she could sprint at up to forty miles an hour, but to tell the truth she didn't care. Bloodlust was running rampant through her mind. She had to kill, to destroy, to fight and survive! This was war! Every time Athena fired, a man died. Every time one got close to her, she lashed out. They were trying to take her happiness. Trying to kill her, or worse; To send her back to the lab for more damned experiments. She wouldn't let them. They didn't know what it was like. But they would now. Oh, yes, now they would feel all the pain she had. She would make these monsters pay. She would send them all to hell! There you are, thought the newcomer. Athena had stopped running around, and was now simply standing in one place, shooting wildly. Every time she shot, someone cried out. And she was shooting a lot. The newcomer drew a bead on Athena and then shot forward with a speed not humanly possible. She extended her claws and leapt through the air. The weight hit Athena hard in the back, and someone's legs wrapped around her tender underbelly, which flared in pain. A steely arm choked her throat and claws flashed in front of her face. "Pay back time, lady!" It was Hyena. Athena's surprise momentarily drowned out her bloodlust. Claws were going for her throat. She reached back with blinding speed and a strength like that of a hydraulic press. She seized Hyena by the throat and flung her head-over-heels away. Hyena flipped gracefully and landed on her feet. "Come on, can't you do better than that?!" "Yes I can!" shouted Athena. She brought up her gun and fired three times. Each time Hyena blocked the bullet with her metal limbs. Hyena's arm extended like a telescope and speared the gun, destroying it. Hyena began to unfold, to extend, into something more along the lines of a mechanical spider than a human. Her fingers stretched into glowing talons and circular saws emerged from her insectile legs. She laughed maniacally and stalked forward. Athena tensed. This was it. "Come on. I'm ready for you." Surprisingly, men stopped dying. Xanatos looked around. The shooting had stopped, except for a few soldiers still firing at each other in panic. An eerie silence permeated the battleground and people began to calm dawn, their eyes still darting about to search the shadows. In the distance, Xanatos could hear an odd sound, like a drill on sheet metal. Heads began to turn toward the noise. "That way!" said Xanatos. "There's no time to waste!" They arrived at an awesome spectacle. Hyena was in full battle mode, a clanking mass of spindly legs and sharp edges. She was repeatedly lunging at Athena, who amazingly dodged each slash. Athena struck back with startling fury, her fist blurring into Hyena's face and sending the mechanical spider reeling. Athena kicked out, throwing the spider end over end away from her. Hyena dazedly shook her head and re-folded into a more humanoid form. Athena stood panting, and suddenly realized she was surrounded. All around her were troops and robots. Xanatos, the Steel Clan, Dingo and Hyena all had lasers aimed at her. Soldiers were pointing myriad guns of all sizes and designs. Wolf looked around, then grabbed a large laser weapon from a nearby trooper, who found himself airborne when he tried to resist. "I hate being the only one without a gun," he said. Athena swallowed hard and backed up against a tree. She was cornered. There was no way even she could hope to dodge all the firepower pointed at her. And after all the fighting, Xanatos would never let her surrender. Her time had come. The secondary war programming ground to a halt, and she slumped, exhausted. She put her head in her hands and waited. "My, these past couple nights have been quite eventful, my dear," said Xanatos. "You've given us quite a chase. It's a pity it had to come to this. So much needless waste of life, such senseless violence. What a shame." Athena looked up, her cheeks wet with tears. "It was worth it!" she choked. She was expecting to cough up blood, but she remembered she didn't have any. Her voice was beginning to grate. All this running around had only worsened the damage to her innards. "Was it really?" Xanatos actually seemed to be almost sympathetic. "Well, to use an old cliché, it's time to pay the piper. Goodbye, Athena." "No! Wait!" came a familiar voice. Headlights illuminated the dark and everyone whirled to see a police car. The doors were open and Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone were both getting out. Elisa pushed through the ring of startled warriors surrounding Athena and stood in front of the android. "I can't let you kill her, Xanatos. Just leave her alone. She'll do nothing to you if you let her go." "Really, detective, this is none of your business. Besides, what do you care? It's only a machine. It's not really alive." Xanatos eyed her coolly while the others restlessly fidgeted. They wanted to end this. "That's not true, Xanatos, and you know it. This isn't a machine. It's a person. And there's no reason for you to kill her." "You honestly think it has a soul, detective?" "I'm not willing to let you kill something that may or may not have a living soul. And I don't think you believe she's just a machine either." "Indeed? That's quite a risk you're taking, standing in the line of fire. You see, my dear Ms. Maza, it really doesn't matter what I believe of her one way or the other. Athena here has terabytes of top secret information in her highly advanced subconscious mind. I can't let that information fall into the hands of my enemies. Blueprints for Athena herself and other advanced prototypes are in there. Now please step out of the way. I would hate to have to kill you both." A new voice sounded. "You do that, and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do." Six large and very mean looking gargoyles descended from the sky. Goliath landed not five feet from Xanatos. The troops began to get nervous, not sure who to aim at. Xanatos sighed. "Goliath, what are you doing here? This doesn't concern you at all." "It concerns Elisa. Therefore it concerns me." "You really think you can defeat me here?" "The six of us, two police officers, and a damaged but highly deadly android could do some real damage." "Good point, Goliath. I'd say our forces are about even." Goliath pointed upward. "Not for long." Four large winged shapes landed in the middle of the fray. Derek Maza and his fellow mutants had arrived. Xanatos' eyes narrowed. Wolf took aim at Goliath and Bluestone leveled his pistol at Wolf's head. "Don't even think about it." "My, this is becoming a volatile situation, Goliath. I'm surprised you'd risk your clan on account of this *device.* But if you really want a fight...." Xanatos raised his gun arm. Athena was just too valuable. She watched it all in quiet contemplation. All these people were risking their lives for her. Why? She'd never met any of them but Brooklyn and Elisa, whose car and wallet she'd stolen. They were willing to die for her? It made no sense. But she couldn't let them. This was not their fight. It was all her fault. Athena needed no more deaths on her conscience. With a remorseful sob, she resigned herself to what she must do. "No!" she cried. Everyone looked at her, momentarily distracted. She took advantage of the situation. "I can't let you kill them, Xanatos." She gritted her teeth. "But I *can* take you with me!" She rocketed forward and did a flip off Goliath's back. A Steel Clan robot got in her way. Her body worked like a pike, punching into the robot's chest and arrowing straight through to the other side. Xanatos whipped his gun arm around, but she caught his hand in hers and twisted. He yelled out as his arm broke with a wrenching of metal. She drew her fist back for the deathblow, when suddenly Xanatos' armor became electrified. It was some sort of defense mechanism. Normally, she would have been well insulated from electric shock, but not with a trio of holes in her torso. She felt her insides begin to ionize. "NO!" She had to survive long enough to hit him-- but it was too late. The shock had slowed her down long enough for the others to react. Her body shook as her back was riddled with bullets. She thought she heard Elisa cry out in horror. She dropped Xanatos and staggered, repressing a scream building in her. Another volley struck her in the stomach, and when she tried to cover it with her arms they were shredded as well. By some miracle she was still standing. She tried to say something. A laser blast struck dead center in her breastbone and a foot-wide hole appeared. Athena crumpled and was still. Xanatos grunted in pain. "Well, that's that. I suppose we'd better leave before the police get here." Goliath glared at him. "Murderer." "So what else is new. You still want to fight? My men would be happy to oblige." The gargoyle looked around and growled under his breath. "This isn't over." Xanatos smiled. "I guessed as much. Good night, Goliath." The gargoyles and mutants took to the air, Derek Maza crackling with electrical power in fury. Elisa looked ready to try to shoot Xanatos herself, but she and Bluestone got into their car and drove off. Xanatos looked around and winced when he saw the angle his arm was bent at. What a night. He pointed with his left hand at a pair of newer soldiers. "You two. Take care of that android. I want her dismantled and smelted down. The rest of you grab whatever corpses you can and get out of here. Half of Manhattan probably heard that fight." It was a pity to loose Athena. But on the plus side, there was still the experiment in sub-basement thirty-five. * * * EPILOGUE The two troopers watched as their comrades picked up the dead and wounded and disappeared into the night. When they were sure they were alone, they got to work. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Moonlighting while working for Xanatos is not exactly healthy. And we're disobeying a direct order," one said nervously. "Relax," said his partner, examining Athena. "No one will know, and the money we'll get for this job is worth the risk.... Excellent. Nobody hit the head. That's where the CPU is." He pulled out a large-caliber silenced pistol and stood up. The trooper braced his foot on the robot's chest and aimed for the neck, firing five times. The armor-piercing bullets severed the head from the body. He picked up the head and wrapped it in plastic. His partner hefted a laser cannon set to wide-beam low-intensity and fired, slowly melting the body. "Great. Now, far as anybody knows, the head was slagged with the rest, and first thing tomorrow morning we mail this to Paris, France. Mr. Thailog will be very pleased to have this robot in his possession. Very pleased indeed...." Note from rat: the sequel to this is "Resurrections"