___________________________________________________________________________

The harbinger of October began with the slight temperature drop. The warm temperature that barely waned during the transition from summer to fall in the past September had shifted from the mid eighties to highs between 78 and 82. The fading temperature, coupled with a few soft breezes was more than welcomed through out the city.

It was a pity the same comfort did not transfer down to the sub terrain depths of the metropolis. People raced through the sweltering sub way stations, trying to catch their trains, or to leave the burning pits for the surface, where the crisp autumn breezes cooled them down. The heat from the tunnels were too much for the citizens of New York. A few may pause to buy a newspaper, or a cool refreshing drink from one of the small shops and restaurants, but they would not stay long.

Hardly any of them paused at the far corner where a young woman-- in her late teens-- had set up a small shop, selling brilliant hyacinths. A small table cloth, yellowed from age, was draped over a crate. A few wicker baskets, full of the fresh cut blossoms were placed on top along with a few envelopes to hold the money. A sign was taped to the front of the table, advertising the Hyacinths for sale at a dollar per flower.

The young woman sat on a rickety stool, trying not to fall over as she kept her balance and looked eagerly for customers. She was dressed for the heat in a short skirt that had been patched over several times with different colored thread and scraps of different material. Her chest was concealed with a tube top, the bottom half cut away to reveal her bare midriff, slick from the beads of sweat rolling down her skin. Her light brown hair was styled in a braid, tied at the end with a frayed burgundy scrap. The only piece of jewelry she wore was a metal U, hanging form a thin chain around her neck.

The children of the Labyrinth called her Aeris after a character in a video game, a beautiful woman who, in the beginning or the game, sold flowers she grew in an abandoned church. It was true she had the same hair color as Aeris and her eyes were the same aqua hue, her past was a mystery and she did grow flowers and sold them, but that was where the resemblance ended.

She was found in the abandoned tunnels at the age of ten in 1995. Her adoptive mother had found her amongst a pile of rags wearing nothing, except for her U necklace, and not knowing anything about who her parents where, or even her own name. She was named Annie, like the famous orphan and while the small hole in the wall was not much of a home it was her home. She had only been living with her mother for a few months when one of her friends told her about a better shelter. They moved closer to the former underground research center, the Labyrinth, and were given a small apartment like dwelling.

The nickname was not given her until 1999 when she discovered a packet of flower seeds and wondered if she could grow them. She found an abandoned building, not a church. She wasn’t sure what it was but there was part of one of the walls missing, enabling the warm and nurturing sunlight to spill inside. She gathered as much dirt she could find and provide plenty of water. The seeds grew strong and bloomed the following April after planting.

A crisp five dollar bill appeared on her table, disrupting her thoughts of the past. She stared blankly at the image of Lincoln before looking up at the man standing in front of her. He was old enough to be her grandfather with a neatly trimmed silver beard framing his strong chin and a full head of hair the same color.

"I’ll take five of those lovely flowers my lady," his deep voice and rich Scottish accent reminded her of the first James Bond. He was dressed in a dark gray suit with a white shirt and black silk tie, tucked neatly under is jacket. "I also have something else for you." He placed a clear plastic cup, full of an iced coffee drink and topped with whipped cream, next to the money. "The heat down here is ungodly and you look like someone who could use a refreshment."

"Thank you," she breathed as she selected five of her healthiest flowers. Her eyes never left the man and caught a glimpse of the golden band adorning his finger. "Are they a gift for your wife?"

"Aye," he accepted the small bouquet from her while she slid the folded bill into her envelope. "It’s not a special date. I just wanted t' give her a gift and my American literature class is about to start on T.S. Eliot." He stared at her blank expression and cleared his throat. "You gave me hyacinths a year ago, they called me the hyacinth girl."

"He was a poet," her tone was cold and lifeless. "Poets have many memories. I only have a few."

"You are young," he brought the blossoms to his nose. "You will develop more as you age, but do not feel bad you don’t have many memories. Having too many can weigh down on you." He clutched his purchase to his chest and followed the heard of commuters up the stairs.

The Hyacinth girl? Is that how the people who lived above saw her? Is that another nick name? She wondered if people would see her as something other than Aeris or Hyacinth girl and see her as Annie.

___________________________________________________________________________

The reconstructed castle of of layered stone bricks was similar to the original before it burned nearly ten years ago. Both architectural splendors was inspired by the castle's of the immortal’s old home except for the technical advances. Laser cannons would emerge from the top of the towers once the sensor picked up an intruder approaching. The advanced security system may seem to be too much, but Macbeth did not live for nearly a millennium without learning he could never be too careful.

The rich meaty scent of a roast cooking the oven greeted Macbeth’s nose as he entered his home. Even with the distance between the foyer and the kitchen the powerful aroma was picked up by his nostrils.

"Angelica my dearest, I am home." He carefully stepped over the grease soiled work boots, placed on a small stack of folded newspapers, set near the doorway and headed straight towards the kitchen.

"Did you bolt the door?" Fleance quickly raced up to him on feet clothed only in old socks. The boiler suit she was dressed in was not nearly as soiled as the boots and her sleeves were rolled up, displaying freshly washed hands. Her hair was disheveled and a smudge of dirt decorated her left cheek.

"Of course I did," Macbeth replied. After last February he installed several new locks and bolts into the doors. He had also asked the olive green gargoyle, Lexington to install a newly improved security system. He was not going to allow any one to barge in. Even if he had the new improved security system back in February he still would have been attacked. He blamed himself for allowing Bathalzar and his family of vampires to enter his home. If only he was a better judge of character and asked for their credentials before he allowed them in, five innocents would not have been threatened and Banquo would still be alive.

He viewed Fleance as a strong woman, but even she broke apart after Banquo's murder. He was her ex husband and she may have lost the original love she felt for him, but there were a few feelings left for him. He gave her time off, following the incident, not a specific set time, he allowed her to take all the time she needed to grieve. She surprised him by showing up to work five days later.

"What kind of flowers are those?" Her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the bouquet in his hands.

"Four of them are a gift for Angelica," he removed one of the flowers from the bundle and handed it to her. "and one is for you."

"Thanks boss," she carefully accepted the flower. She held the blossom to the light while she studied the structure of the petals. "What kind is it?"

"A Hyacinth."

"Never heard of ‘em. I’ll put it in my room before I go get something to drink." She pointed at her boots. "That is the reason they are there. Angelica won’t let me walk through the mansion in them."

"She loves to keep a clean house," he chuckled. "Are you planning on going back to work after you received your drink?"

"Yeah," her ginger colored brows rose. "Why?"

"Why don’t you join us for dinner?"

"I still have a lot of work to do."

"Quit for the day. It will still be there tomorrow."

"I’m still going to have to put my boots away and shower."

"Take your time, we won’t start dinner with out you."

_________________________________________________________________________

A pair of deep brown, Saloon doors creaked open as Macbeth stepped out onto the wooden floor of the large kitchen. The overhead cabinets and drawers forming the main square shape of the room appeared to have been carved out of the same sycamore trees that made up the floor and were adorned with curved handles of polished brass. The kitchen was equipped with a triple sectioned sink near the window. Blue and gold silk curtains hung from the small and thin curtain rod. The double sided black refrigerator matched the the counter tops and the electric stone complete with a microwave overhead. A second stove, made of brick was built on the opposite end and used exclusively for baking.

Angelica had just donned a pair of blue and white checkered oven mitts as he entered the kitchen. A matching, lace trimmed apron was tied around her slender waist. Her hair, dark as semi-sweet chocolate at the roots and faded out to beige at the ends, was tied back, to keep it out the way.

"A heavenly aroma," Macbeth brushed past her as she opened the glossy door of the electric oven. "I hope ye dinae mind, but I invited Fleance to eat wi us."

"I donae mind at all," Angelica pulled out a covered pot and placed it on the side of the stove not occupied by the two stainless steel pots. "If ye donae mind the fact I did not prepare a dessert fer tonight."

"We still have half a pie left." He opened the cupboard containing the miscellaneous containers and pulled down a slender crystal vase and set it down on the smooth black surface with swirls and flecks of gold imbedded in.

"What are ye doing?"

"Preparing my gift for ye," he turned around, keeping the bouquet behind his back. "I bought ye some flowers." He pulled out the concealed bundle.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the flowers. "Hyacinths, tis been a long time since I last received hyacinths." She abandoned the cooling meal to brush her lips against her husband’s mouth. "Thank ye."

"I am glad you like them." He filled the vase half way with water before stirring in a spoonful of sugar.

"Could ye put them on the table? I think they would make a lovely center piece." She gave the mashed potatoes one last stir before she removed the lid to the steamed carrots and onions.

Her husband placed the flowers into the vase and spread them apart the best he was able to and carried them to the long dining room table.

"Ye are not going to be going out on one of yer patrols tonight are ye?"

Macbeth shook his head. "Not tonight. Tonight we enjoy a nice evening together. Perhaps in a few nights from now."

"I understand ye want to talk to their leader," Angelica sighed. She wondered if it was going to be enough. "I tried to talk to him a couple of weeks ago at the reunion, but he still won’t listen."

"Are ye tellin me ye are about to give up?"

She shook her head. "I’m just wonderin what will it take to get through that boy." She selected a couple of large bowls from the cupboard and began to spoon the potatoes into one.

___________________________________________________________________________

After pulling a hamstring from chasing down a couple of perps, Elisa Maza had only wanted a few things once she returned to her home in the castle. A warm cooked meal, with a rich chocolate dessert, followed by a long warm bubble bath and a massage from her husband.

What she didn’t want was to be ambushed by her son and daughter. Both Rebecca and Rowan were nonstop forces of energy when they had cracked out of their stone shells at sunset. She had wished they waited until after sunset before they nodded off, but she had made a promise to not deny their stone slumber if they wished.

"Kids?" Elisa pleaded, knowing in her exhausted state she sounded more like she was whining. "Could you not climb on me?"

The twins were the equivalent of two year olds and showed no signs of easing up on the terrible part. Rebecca’s talons were ensnared in the crimson , terry cloth robe and tried to slip it off her mother. Elisa fought to keep it closed, despite the fact she was wearing a night gown underneath. Rowan had taken a flying leap and landed on top of her shoulders.

"Piggy back!" the tawny hued child cried out. His large feet, ending in five toes, gripped onto the back of her robe while his tail thrashed back and forth.

"Tug a war," Rebecca squealed as she gave her mother’s robe another pull.

"I don’t want to play right now," Elisa tried to keep her weight off her sore leg. "Mommy’s very tired."

"No," Rowan cried.

"Off!" the deep rumbling voice of her husband was heard before she felt tremendous weight being lifted off her shoulders. She turned around to watch as over seven feet of bulging lavender picked up and placed their son on the foot of the bed. "Your mother needs her rest." He kneeled down next to Rebeca who wasn’t pulling on Elisa’s robe, but was still holding on to the material. He carefully rubbed his knuckles under her arms, causing her to laugh and release her tenacious hold on the robe.

"Thank you," Elisa pulled her robe closer to her body. "I don’t think they could understand the concept of having a pulled muscle."

Goliath did not say anything as he looked at her. He turned to the twins who seemed to be in opposite mode again. Rowan had his black, bat like wings folded across his shoulders while his sister kept jumping up and down on the mattress.

"Wanna play, wanna play, wanna play." The lavender child repeated the same two words over and over.

"I wanna play with mama," Rowan pouted.

"You will have to wait until tomorrow," Goliath grabbed onto Rowan first and caught his daughter in mid bounce. "Elisa, the bed is yours."

_________________________________________________________________________

The large clan leader carried his youngest children, one in each arm, to the nursery where both their cribs and plenty of toys were scattered amongst the carpet. "You will stay here."

"I suppose you want me to keep an eye on them," Owen said softly from his son’s crib as he tucked in Ronnie.

"I am sorry Owen," Goliath slowly stood back up while trying to ignore the tugging of his tail by his daughter. "I did not see you."

"Even as a father I tend to go by unnoticed," the blond man finished his speech with a sound that was a half chuckle and a half snort.

"I'm sorry if you felt ignored, and I hate thrusting you into the role of a sitter at the last second, but right now my love needs me," he grabbed the nearest two toys: a blue and yellow striped ball, and an off white stuffed elephant with a dark pink Kool-aid stain on one of the ears, and handed them to his children. "You two behave."

_________________________________________________________________________

Elisa was still sitting up on the bed when he returned to the bedroom. She had removed the robe and gently pulled her legs up onto the mattress.

"Is your leg still causing you pain?" Goliath’s voice was soft with concern as he closed the door behind him.

"Not as bad as before," she mumbled. Her eyelids drooped but she forced to keep them open as she stared at her husband. "I don’t suppose you have a way of making it feel better?"

"Lay down," he pulled the bottom of her gown up, over her thigh by a few inches. "I believe this the massage you asked?" He pressed her fingers against her skin and rubbed gently, moving in wide circles and first, then gradually shrinking into smaller loops.

Elisa sighed as he continued to knead, his touch more soothing than a heating pad. His rubbing and stroking was not just relieving, but also sensual in a way, earning a relaxed rumble deep in her throat, like Cagney’s purring.

Goliath had alternated between the size of his circles and shifting towards deep kneading. He would only stop if his beloved had asked him to, or tense up from a sudden pain, but she never said anything, or give any indication she was in discomfort. Good. He only wanted to make her feel good.

Staring up at her face, he saw that she had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply. "Elisa?" He raised his brow ridges in an uncertain manner. "Are you asleep?"

"Not yet," Elisa moaned

"Do you want your sheets?" Goliath grabbed the edges of the lined material.

"Yes."

"What about your blankets?" He pulled the sheets up to her chest.

"No blankets."

"In a few more days you will have a two day vacation. I want to do something special with you."

"Special?" She opened her lids half way and stared at him with blurry eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Many married couples have special nights where they go out together. They eat a meal and see a move or a play. I would like to do such with you."

"What where?"

"Fried Saturn and then an outdoor symphony in the park. You have always said you liked the sound of violins and flutes."

"I do," she yawned. "Good night Goliath."

"Good night, my Elisa." He kissed her forehead while running his talons through her hair.

___________________________________________________________________________

If it wasn’t for The Pack, the recreation room of Ambrosia Leahs mansion would not get much use. Leahs was glad the three core members only used the room sparingly, considering how they always leave a mess for her cleaning staff. At least when Jon Canmore visits he makes sure they clean up after themselves, but that is only one a week if she is lucky. She knew why he was not visiting as often as he used too, and that was due to the birth of his second son, Eddie.

Whenever the weregoyle did visit The Pack would either divide into two and square off against each other in games of air hockey, pool, or foosball, or they would sit together and play a few rounds of poker. Poker night meant lots of snacks, in addition to the twin’s special drinks that provide their flesh and blood parts with enough energy and the bowls of corn chips and pork rinds, there were Wolf’s sandwiches, loaded with a variety of deli cut meats, spicy chicken wings, and beer. More beer was poured on poker nights than any other night.

Metal fingers of rich gold pulled the clear straw from the smug mouth of the male half of the cybernetic twins and set the glass down. He didn’t mind the flavor of his energy drink. Vanilla was a sweet and pleasing favor, but he missed the way beer tasted and would often stare at the large plastic solo cups in front of Jon and Wolf with envy. He may have a small glass, but not enough to satisfy his craving. More than one glass and his constitution would give out instantly.

"Is everyone ready to ante up?" Jackal asked as he stared at his hand. The four twos and a single five stared back at him. He was sure he had the winning hand.

"I’m out," the canine muzzle covered in a thin pelt of silver grunted in defeat before shoving another immense paw filled with pork rind’s into his mouth.

"What do you mean?" The male cyborge raised his single eyebrow.

"I don’t really like what I’ve been dealt with." Beige crumbs of the crispy snack fell from his snout and rained down onto the floor.

"Tough shit," The only female of the group snapped as her copper plated fingers extended into the chip bowl and snatched a few of the snack treats. Her brown eyes shifted from the players on each side before she stared at the mutate sitting in front of her "too late to back out now."

"It’s not like we are playing wi real money," light green hands of four thick talons contrasted against the red ornate design of the back of the cards. Jon’s dark green wings were cloaked over his shoulders. On game night he usually left his armor at home and wore just his black clothing. He even left his black leather gloves at home.

"Which is a shame," Wolf used one of his claws to pick at the bits of food sticking to his fangs,slick and sticky from the extra amount of saliva he was producing

"Will ye stop yer whining?" Jon rolled his eyes of gleaming onyx. Even his iris’s went through a transformation of sunset. Cold blue always darken to black and shifted back to their original tint at sunrise.

"Why should I?"

"Because the three of us will make you," Hyena stood up. "Okay anti up, and just so you know my hand sucks also." She slammed her five cards, a mix of different numbers and jackets, face up on the table.

Canmore placed his hand next to hers, like the female cyborg’s, his was not impressive. He ran his talons through his blond hair, free from being tied in a pony tale and grabbed onto one of the sandwiches

"Four of a kind," Jackal placed his cards on top of theirs. "Beat that." He leaned back into his chair with his arms folded behind his head. The light in his artificial eye matched with the tirumphant gleam in his biological.

"I will," Wolf turned his hand around, revealing a king and knave of hearts, a queen of spades, ace of clubs, and a ten of diamonds. "Royal flush, read it and weep." He slammed it down on the table, shaking both his and Jon’s cups and managed to spill a few pork rinds on to the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" Jackal narrowed his eye and rose to his feet. "You said you didn’t like your hand."

"He was bluffing," Jon gave the mutate a wide grin exposing his fangs. "Well done me friend."

"He could be bluffing without making a mess on the floor," Hyena stared at the pork rinds scattered on the carpet.

"You are just pissed, because I won," the hairy mutate shoved his thumb into his chest. "Me, I won."

"And now he’s gloating," Jackal swept the cards into a pile. "Should we play again?"

"Perhaps one more game," Jon swatted away Wolf’s hand as it was nearing his own sandwich. If the mutate wanted the last of the roast beek sandwiches he should have selected it before he did.

The mutate pulled his hand away and growled. "Why only one more game? do you have to go home early?"

"Lorrie keeps him on a short leash," Jackal ‘s grin only lasted for a second. The sound of Jon’s growling erased it from his face. "I must have struck a nerve."

"I have two sons," Jon’s voice rumbled in his throat. He ignored their stares, thinking of the people who matter most in his life, his family. He had been trying to convince his Lorrie to stop dieting. She had lost most of her pregnancy weight, but she wanted her old figure back, before she had children. His sons were getting bigger every day. Four year old Colin had been seen standing on his windowsill and dresser, stretching his wings and trying to glide to the floor and his bed.

Eddie, like his brother was born with a pair of large bat like wings, but unlike Colin his ears were of a normal size and barely had any point. His feet were different. They were shaped like a gargoyle's with a defined arch and a heel spur. When he learned to walk he would be balancing the most weight on his toes. Dark red hair had started to grow on his head recently and he was able to sit up and stare at the world around him.

The sight of their wings was a shock for Lorrie’s relatives when they attended the 40th anniversary party for her parents. There were many shocking revelations that night: Lorrie’s brother, Donny, coming out of the closet, the fact Jon was a weregoyle and Lorrie’s angelic heritage. The shock was to overwhelming for his father-in-law. He suffered a heart attack, but was revived thanks to two special guests.

"And you can be with them six nights, all we ask for is one."

"Ye are obviously not a father."

"Which is obvious a good thing," Hyena ignored her brother’s protest. "A good thing non of us are parents."

Jon couldn’t have agreed with her more. She may have been insane, but she wasn’t stupid. "It’s nae just me family. I also have me Quarrymen."

"Good point," Jackal's cybernetic hands shuffled the cards at a rapid speed before shooting them to the the other players and himself. Neat stacks formed in a mayter of seconds before Jackal set the remaining cards in the middle. "Why hang out with us when you have your special club?"

"It’s not a club," Canmore took another bite off his sandwich. A mixture of mustard and maynaise decorated the upper right corner of his mouth "It’s an organization."

"That is apparently better than us."

"I started them myself," Jon placed his double edged elbows onto the table and picked up his napkin. "Well not just myself I had help. Someone privately funded me, but still I cannae just abandon them."

"You have more in common with us you know," Wolf  picked up his small stack of cards. His face did not display any emotion. he didn’t want to use the same ruse twice if his luck did turn out well. "All four of us are former humans."

"I have a responsibility to lead them."

"Then let us join."

The question seemed to have jumped out of the blue for Jon. He was bringing his plastic glass to his mouth and paused, the surface edge of the cup only an inch from his mouth. "What?"

"You heard me, let us join your gargoyle hunting group."

"You obviously don’t have to be a human to be a member," Jackal sat up with interest. "And you aren’t hunting all non humans, just gargoyles."

"I’m not sure if I can accept ye as members," the weregoyle had managed to take a long drink form his cup and set it down. "It’s not that they won’t accept ye-"

"Then what is it?"

"I’m not sure if have any armor fitting fer ye, and I donae know if ye can handle the hammers."

"Is that all?" Hyena rolled her eyes. "I’m sure we can get a armor switch on our next upgrade. Our chestplates can match your uniforms and we can have something similar to the hammers installed inti our systems, hell it would even be better than the hammers."

"I wanna get an upgrade too," Wolf spok into his beer mug. The half empty container echoed his words.

"You can’t," Hyena gloated. "You chose the beast rout. There is nothing more they can do to you." She was pleased she was able to rub his nose in his choice for once. She and Jackal may not be able to enjoy the pleasures of certain kinds of food and able to consume as much beer as they wanted, but they were able to do something he could not. The could keep changing, adding and replacing new accessories.

"I can get another injection."

Jackal’s face paled. "If you get any more wolfish and we will have to take you out on a leash."

The mutate chose to ignore him and turned to Jon. "What’s it like having these?" He grabbed onto where Jon’s wings connected to the back and quickly pulled away when the gargoyle tensed up. "Sorry."

"It’s like having another pair of limbs," Jon gave his wings a rustle and stretched them out before refolding them. "Why?"

"I’ve been thinking of getting a pair," he should have rephrased his words better. The twins snickered and tried to hide their faces behind their cards. "I already have a pair of those. Would you like to see?"

"Donae ye dare," Jon quickly grabbed onto the mutate’s wrist. "Why do ye want a pair of wings?"

"Easier to get around without the three of you having to carry me. You turn into a gargoyle and the twins have their rocket packs built in."

"They are also another appendage that can get injured, not to mention how sensitive yer back will become." Jon did not want to admit he didn’t care if he scraped his wings up a bit, the were worth having. The feeling of wind currents underneath them as they carried him into the sky, and the way he could go into a dive and pull up several feet above the buildings. He didn’t mind the sensitivity of where his wings connected to his back because of what Lorrie can do with her fingers, and her tongue. He would never acknowledge the fact he enjoyed having wings and was at the point where he didn’t know if he could give them up.

"You with wings," Jackal scoffed as he took a wing from the platter. "Why does this idea disturb me?" He was more than certain the big ball of hair was going to abuse his new ability, even more than he and his sister. He loved showing off his new gadgets to the clan and any other enemy, but not too excessively, he just wanted to earn his pay and have a little fun doing it. "Next thing you are going to want is a tail."

"A tail?" The golden eyes of the mutate blinked. He slid his chair back and stared at Jon’s long, supple tipped tail. The light green appendage was motionless, not even a single twitch. "Nah, I don’t want a tail. You guys would try to stomp on it whenever you can."

"Didn’t think of that until you mentioned it," Hyena said while staring at Wolf’s back side. "Damn. I guess I’m just going to have to kick it every now and then."

The mention of stepping on Wolf’s tail caused Jon’s own tail to twitch rapidly. "None of ye are getting any ideas?"

"Your tail is safe," Hyena assured him. "I like you more."

"And I’d like you more if you let us join, Hunter." Jackal said while reaching for a napkin to wipe the red residue of his mouth and metal finger tips.

Canmore sighed, knowing they would never abandon the subject until they got what they wanted. "I would, except I donae know how the rest of them would react to ye joining."

"Tell them to not be such pussies," Hyena replied. "After all you are their leader."

"Aye, I am their leader." He took a long chug from his glass, nearly emptying it of the golden liquid within. "Ye can join, on the condition I write up the specifics of yer upgrades." The answer seemed to satisfy the three of them.

___________________________________________________________________________

Jon approached one of the windows of the building serving as his Quarrymen headquarters. He tired to ignore the chill he felt as his bare feet tread across the icy cold tiles. The sun was setting and he had removed his shoes to prepare for the change. He spread apart the blinds to peer out and watch as the light slowly faded.

"Almost time before we go out," he spoke in his well polished English accent, knowing he was doing it more out of habit since his men and women knew who he really was.

"Why do we have to wait?" Wolf’s question caused Jon to turn around. The three members of the Pack were seated on one side of the room while the Quarrymen were seated on the other side. They had pushed their chairs to the other side of the building, trying to keep their distance from the three former humans.

"Because I don’t want to change in the middle of the hunt."

"Make’s sort of sense," the mutate muttered as he unfolded his large wings from across his shudders. He had gotten his upgrade like he requested and grew a pair of bat like wings, covered in long, charcoal-gray fur. Jon and Ambrosia Leahs both agreed they didn’t want to give him the ability to electrocute anyone and gave him a small amount of the electric eel DNA just enough to make it possible for him to glide. The only other change to Wolf’s appearance was the dark blue leotard he wore, complete with golden Quarryman symbol on the chest.

The only upgrades the twins received was change in armor, their limbs were still the same golden brass metal, but their armor on the mid sections of their bodes was replaced with a metal that had been spray painted blue. The quarrymen symbol was painted on their chests. Both had their left’s arms modified to display the same kind of charge the hammers give when they make a fist.

"I’m already feeling it begin," Jon licked his lips. "Once it’s over. We will-" His arms wrapped around himself as he felt the painful displacement of his internal organs. "Begin." He was able to finish his sentence as his canines lengthened into razor sharp fangs. His skin changed color, taking on a lime-green hue while his hands shifted into talons. A pair of dark green wings tore through his back and lengthened into full size while his forehead extended into a short frill, and ivory white spikes formed. The final changes were his feet growing in length and arching, the weak, round toes changing into three sharp and powerful claws and his tail growing to it’s full length.

Buck waited until the phosphorous light faded from the gargoyle’s eyes before he stepped forward. He carried the crimson chest armor, gloves, and mask of his leader.

Jon panted while accepting the last parts of his uniform. "Thank you," he croaked out between gasps.

"Are you sure it’s a good idea to work with these guys?" Buck asked, casting a nervous glance at the former television stars.

"I have worked with them in the past," Canmore slid the chest armor over his head and slipped his arms and wings through the slots. "They have proved their worth."

"I don’t think any of us want to work with a werewolf and a couple of lunatic cyborgs."

"Don’t forget they used to be human, my dear friend, like me."

"Yeah," The beefy man looked back over his shoulder again. The mutate was staring at the quarrymen, most likely the women while licking his lips. Several female members blinked in fear. Jackal looked bored, which may, or may not be a good thing and Hyena was smiling. "But they asked for their transformations. You didn’t."

"We will talk about this later," Jon slipped his gloves over his hands. "Listen up everyone. We are going to divide the group up into several different parties and take on different parts of the island. We’re are accomplishing several things this night. We will be, hopefully removing the evil beasts who plague us at night, but I also want to test out a couple of things." He held up a talon. "The first will be testing out the Pack’s latest up grades," he raised a second talon. "And number two, we will see how the Pack works with the Quarrymen. If any of you wish not to work with the pack raise your hands now." He slipped on his black leather mask, complete with opaque eye-guards and three slash like red steaks paint on the surface. He was ready to begin the hunt.

_________________________________________________________________________

Pale golden light flooded out through the window of Elisa’s bedroom, highlighting the exterior of the windowsill and blending with the silvery white moonlight as it washed over the stones of the castle.

Brooklyn stared up at Elisa’s window, knowing full well she was in her bathroom, preparing for her date that night with Goliath. "Take your time Elisa," He removed his gaze and fixated it on the clan as they gathered before him. "As we all know Goliath has a romantic evening planned for Elisa, and we all know what it is like when our best romantic plans are ruined."

"Ye are asking fer us ta watch over the lad and lass?" the eldest member of the clan was interested in patrolling that night. It wasn’t because there was nothing good on. There was a nature special that looked interesting, but he felt bored with just watching and wanted to engage himself in the activities of protecting the city.

"Just for tonight. Goliath had been making arrangements for a while."

"I donnae know about this one," he rubbed the thick beard that covered his tan face. His brown wings with tattered edges cloaked his shoudlers. "Are we to leaving the city unprotected?"

"If we see any criminal activity going on we’ll take care of it," he counteracted Hudson’s stare with a smirk. "And besides I’m in charge for tonight."

"What about the hatchlings?" Angela asked from her place next to Broadway. She didn’t pay any atention to th his warm hand holding onto hers. Deidre and her infant sister’s safety was the only thought on her mind.

"Your mother is watching over them, along with Jam" Matt answered, "It was Brooklyn’s idea," he shrugged, causing his bronze wings to bounce slightly.

"You had a lot of good ideas tonight," Frank smiled, thinking of Macy. His daughter along with Matt’s son, the twins and Alex Xanatos was spending the night in the labyrinth as part of sleepover.

"We have made arrangements for all the kids. Demona, Jam, Kitty and Owen will be watching over the youngest three, while the rest of us watch over Goliath and Elisa." He stared down at Bronx and Boudicca. "Including you two." The dog like beasts replied with a single blink of their eyes.

___________________________________________________________________________

Goliath knew he could be taking his time in preparing for his date, but hecould not wait. He wanted to see his Elisa dressed up for their night on the town. He wasn’t going to rush through the process either. He wanted everything to be perfect for his wife and mate.

Xanatos had loaned him his bathroom to prepare. It was wide enough for the huge gargoyle to hop a round in case he had trouble slipping into the suit Marle had had mde for him. It was modeled after the suit Miriam Bluestone had made for her son to wear when he was a gargoyle. Both the back of his light blue button down shirt and black jacket had tailored oval shaped slits for his wings to slip through. His black dress pants also had a tailored hole for his tail. He did stumble around trying to slip his wings throughout the slits and fumble with the buttons, but he managed to get dressed. He refused to wear a tie, even a solid print and non tacky one. They made him think of snakes that tightened their prey to suffocate them.

He brushed his sable brown mane with a wide paddle shaped brush until his hair was smooth and shone with healthy shine. Goliath chose not to wear any jewelry save for the wide golden band around his middle talon, and the gold plated ID tags listing the important dates in his and Elisa’s life on a chain around his neck. Before leaving the bathroom he grabbed the clear plastic box, containing a lavender corsage and tied with a satin white ribbon..

________________________________________________________________________

Elisa wanted to look nice, but she didn’t want to appear she was getting herself ready for a ball room dance. She had shaved her legs, and massaged them with peach scented lotion before slipping into a pair of sheer hosiery. She chose a pair of black shoes with a wide, one inch heel that went with everything. She slipped into a white cottom top and a pale blue skirt that hung just an inch below her knees.

She couldn’t decide on whether to wear her hair up or down and decided to opt for somewhere in the middle. She divided her hair and pulled the top half into a small pony tail before twisting it and pinning it to the back of her head with a few bobby pins.

Elisa brushed on cocoa brown eye shadow and painted her eyelashes with black mascara. She chose a coral shade of lipstick close to the color of polish on her nails. Citrine hued jewelry hung from her earlobes and a coral necklace was around her neck. She asked Fox to paint her nails for her before the halfing took the children to the labyrinth.

"Elisa?" Goliath gently tapped onto the entrance of her room with his knuckles.

"Hey Dad," Elisa sang out, her voice carrying a heavy hint of humor. "Could you keep my date busy until I’m ready?"

"Dad?" Goliath’s voice softened to an unsure tone that Elisa always thought was cute.

"I’m teasing you," Elisa said as she left the bathroom and grabbed her small black pursing hanging on the edge of the bed.

Her eyes widened when she opened the door. When she and Goliath were married he wore a tuxedo and he appeared down right attractive in it. He had the same effect dressed in his suit. She was stunned at the sight of him, His bulging muscles appeared a bit more streamline in his suit, but quickly recovered to lean against the door way and stretch out her leg. Her lids lowered seductively as her husband gave her a look over with his jaw hanging. Elisa enjoyed having that effect on him.

"Do you like what you see?" she made her voice into a deep smooth purr.

Goliath gaped for only a minute longer before he licked his dry lips. "I like everything about you, my love."

"Do you now?" She placed her hand behind her head and her evening bag against her hips.

"Aye," he brought out the corsage from behind his back and bowed, keeping one wing folded over his chest. "Allow me to give you this gift." He snapped open the case and carefully lifted the flower out. Elisa leaned forward, giving him easier access while he pinned the corsage to her chest.

"Shall we?" She hooked her arm.

"We shall," He curled his arm around hers and lead her through the halls.

The castle was surprisingly quiet. Both Elisa and Goliath were aware of the older children attending a sleepover, but it was still too quiet. Wyvern appeared empty and cold. Was the whole clan on patrol? Demona might still be home, but she would take full advantage of alone time to either read in the library, or indulge herself in a long and peaceful swim in the atrium pool.

"Where is everyone?" She asked as they entered the courtyard. "Are they also at the Labyrinth?"

"I believe they are already on their patrols," Goliath placed one fott on the edge of the building and pulled her close

"Even Bronx and Boudicca?"

"They could be on patrol, or perhaps they are in the nursery," he carefully rubbed his knuckles against her eyebrows. "Do not worry my love. I am sure everyone is fine." He carefully scooped her into his arms and spread his wings, waiting for the right thermal to carry them both into the air.

________________________________________________________________________

"I’m not going to eat you!" Wolf barked at the two quarrymen who were not too afraid to accompany him, but were not brave enough to go near him. Both men in blue were watching him from the opposite side of the building the three of them were standing on.

"I know," the member standing on the building, Lucius said. "We just need to get comfortable being near you."

"What about him?" Wolf pointed at the one still seated on the single air bike. Jon provided the small vehicles but gave only one or two to a group.

"Cal does have a tendency to be a coward," Lucius stepped closer to the mutate, fingering the handle of his hammer. Jon had assured him Wolf was not able to shock them, but they could shock him if he became too much trouble.

"So why did a chicken shit like him decide to come with us?"

"He usually works with me or Roscoe. That could be one reason, or maybe he just wants to score points with Jon," he turned to glare at Cal. "You are not going to win our leaders approval if you stay on the bike the whole damn night. Please move your ass!"

"But," Cal turned to the mutate who stared at him back with a toothy grin and then at Lucius. The masks hid their faces, but he could feel the other man’s glare.

"No butts. Get down here now or I will inform Castaway of your cowardice."

Cal tapped the handlebars of the bike repeatedly before he slid down onto the roof top. "I’m not just standing here," he slowly approached the two of them.

"Why do you call him Castaway?" Wolf raised his brow ridges. "His real name is Canmore."

Lucius took another step closer to the mutate. "We all know that, but we also know the Quarrymen was originally started by John Castaway. He prefers to be Castaway when we meet and his true self the other times."

"That still don’t make a lick of sense," the mutate stared at the buildings in front of him. None of them appeared interesting except for the one with a neon sign of a ringed planet resting on a skillet. "That makes even less sense. Why name their restaurant The Fried Saturn? Why note Broiled Jupiter, or the grilled Mercury."

"It’s a P.I.T restaurant. They are strange group indeed."

"I get it. Someone must have been fried." He sniffed the air, wondering if he could smell anything frying. He detected the aroma of beef and chicken dishes. "Well there goes that theory."

"What theory?" Lucius leaned over, not too far, but enough to have an easy view of the restraint and their top floor entrance.

"I thought it was a vegetarian place."

"And how did you come across that decision?"

"I dunno. I just figured this was created by a bunch of wussy enviromental hippys." He sniffed the air again, bobbing his head while his nostrils twitched. "It smells good, too good." He rubbed his stomache while it made a sound similar to his growls. "I knew those snack foods were not going to do us any good."

"Is he hungry?" Cal had managed to walk halfway across the building before Wolf’s stomach forced him to pause.

"Of course I’m hungry." He turned around to face his cohorts, still in disbelief at how the one named Cal could be such a weakling. His lips pulled back, allowing his sharp fangs to be easily seen. "How many times do I have to point it out? I’m not going to eat you!"

"I’m not afraid of that," Cal took two more steps closer towards them. "I’m feeling hungry also."

"Don’t expect to go there for food," Lucius pointed at the restaurant with his hammer. "There isn’t going to be anyone there willing to serve us." He kept his focus on the building. Castaway had given them strict orders to watch over the Fried Saturn. Their leader had the knowledge the place had been frequented by gargoyles and every patrol night he would assign a group to watch over it. It had been nearly two weeks and nothing, but Castaway assured them they would eventually come a cross a few. All they had to do is wait. Lucius was beginning to wonder if it was going to be another fruitless night when a large winged being glided toward the ceiling entrance, carrying a woman in her arms. "Here we go. We got one."

"Where?" Wolf pounced over to the edge of the building and gripped the cement border with his large talons.

"We do?" Cal cried out at the same time, but his voice was drowned out by Wolf’s bark. Whatever fear had control of him relaxed it’s grasp, allowing him to race over to the side of his companions.

"It’s pretty hard to miss," Lucius scoffed. "Unless your wolf DNA had affected your eyesight."

"I get plenty of that crap from the twins," Wolf did not remove his gaze from the ceiling entrance as the large gargoyle set the woman down and folded his wings across his shoulders. Even though the gargoyle was in a suit he was easily recognized by the mutate. "Goliath."

"That was the one Castaway said leads the clan," Cal pointed out.

"I know who Goliath is. I knew him before Castaway did." He leaned forward spreading his wings to their full span. "You guys take the woman and I’ll take care of Goliath."

"Not so fast!" Lucius grabbed onto his hairy wrist.

"Let me go," Wolf growled as he tried to shake the human free from him, not relaxing until he heard the hum of one of their hammers being turned on. He glanced back to the restaurant, watching as Goliath and Elisa entered the building. "Do you want to attack them on the inside? I don’t really care how much destruction we cause. We can kill them both and steal some food."

"No!" Lucius raised his hammer. "We are not going in."

"Well, why the fuck not?"

"Because we don’t want to harm innocent people, not to mention we are not allowed inside."

Wolf’s muzzle fell open in a dumb-struck fashion. He was ready for a quick retort, but his disbelieve of what Lucius had said removed his voice.

"You don’t have a problem with that do you?"

"Why did we come all this way here to watch a restaurant for the enemy and not do a damn thing when they finally do arrive?"

"We wait until they leave to follow."

"What?" He stared at the two hammers and quickly turned around to watch the Fried Saturn. "I still say we should just barge in there. Why can’t we?"

"Quarrymen are not allowed in there and to answer your question about why can’t we just go in there and steal the food, we are not thieves."

"Not too mention Castaway frowns on that behavior," Cal brought up.

The mutate slammed his fists against the top of the cement edge. "Fuck! Why didn’t we just get them on the roof?"

"Security camera," Cal couldn’t see them from where he stood, but he knew they where there. "The second we’d land they would send bouncers and guards out to kick our asses."

"Son of a bitch," Wolf relaxed, folding his wings. "Okay then it’s going to be like this. We force the two of them down onto a another rooftop when they leave. You guys kill the cop and I’ll take on Goliath." He turned to face the two humans when his large ears picked up the loud inhalation from Cal. "What now?"

"We can’t kill humans," Lucius answered. "Castaway’s orders."

"But she’s his... his..." He raised his brow ridges. "Fuck buddy."

Lucius coughed into his fist. "I think the proper term is his wife." He chose to ignore Cal’s gagging as he continued. "Even if she views us as the enemy and even if we view her as the enemy we still can’t kill her because she’s human. We are ordered to hunt down and kill gargoyles. We do not harm humans, former humans or hybrids."

"He is still thinking like a human," the mutate shook his head in disgust.

"That is a good thing. He is more human than you."

"Lucius, I know we are supposed to watch the joint but I’m still hungry." Cal spoke up.

"I’m starting to like him," Wolf pointed at him. "He may be whiny, but he’s got a point. It’s hard to do a stakeout on an empty stomach and you have no steak" He inhaled deeply. "Especially with all those good aromas coming our way."

Lucius sighed, relaxing his shoulders as he lowered his head. "I have already told you we are not allowed in there."

"Then why can’t we go somewhere else?"

"Because we are assigned to stay here and we can’t leave."

"What if I go and get some fast food?" Cal offered inching towards the cycle. "I may freak out some kids but I’m sure they will give us food."

The braver human clenched his fists. If they were a man short when Goliath left the restaurant it would be his head. If he didn’t give in he would have to wait while constantly listen to Cal’s whining and Wolf’s complaining and he did not know which was worse.

__________________________________________________________________________

Goliath carefully accepted the wooden pepper grinder and held it over his bowl of clam chowder while he turned the crank, spilling tiny black flecks into creamy white soup.

"You might want to ease up on that big guy," Elisa teased from her side of the small table, her spoon stiring around the the rich, red volcano soup. Both she and her husband chose soup over salad and while the Boston style,clam chowder did sound appealing, she wanted something with a bit more kick. The second the warm bowls of their soup had arrived she offered him a taste. After he head read the ingredients Goliath had to decline. "Don’t want to burn your tongue with all that pepper.

"You know how to tease my Elisa," Goliath placed the grinder down on the table and took a large spoonful into his mouth. The rich broth warmed his mouth while his tounge savored the smooth flavor of the butter and cream used. The menu pormised the used the freshest and best ingredients and with one taste he knew they did not lie.

"I tease anyone who can’t handle the fire," she brought a spoonful to her mouth and gently blew on it before slowly slurping it. Her inner mouth tingled from the various peppers used and her eyes watered slightly. She recieved the kick she had craved.

"Do you tease your partner?" He had read the ingriedents usded for both soups.The sliced jalapenos were bad enough but the few dashes of tobascco and a hint of habanero was too much. His tounge begged for a sip of water when he had first inhaled the steam wafting form her bowl.

Her eyelids were lowered only halfway. "Let’s just say Samson doesn’t get his love for spicy foods from you."

"You may tease now but I will not be suffering from stomach-ache later." He scooped up another spoonful, making sure to capture several bits of clam and a large chunk of potato

"Not with my fire proof stomach." She swallowed another mouthful before pointing her spoon at him. "Do you think you can handle that large meal you ordered? A pound of spare ribs sounds too much even for you."

"Do not forget I’m a gargoyle. I do have to worry about you. Are you going to be able to finish your meal, or are we going to have to bring home a kitty bag for Cagney."

"I’m not only going to clean my plate, but I’m also going to have some dessert." She gave him a wink, a symbolized mixture of her love and answering his challenge. She reached over to the laminated menue clamped inbetween the small bowl holding the packets of sugar and the bottles of ketchup and A1.

"I hope you are not eying the castle cake. I do not want to explain to our children why you have become sick."

"I’m thinking of a nice turret torte," she glanced over the various cakes and ice cream dishes before she replaced the small menu. "I just need to decide if I want choolate or caramel."

"And I need to decide if it will be one fork or two," Goliath smiled warmly at her, knowing she would take up on his romantic offer.

___________________________________________________________________________

The neon sign of the Fried Saturn cast a brilliant glow onto the roof top across the street from the restaurant, highlighting the three quarrymen as they tore through the greasy paper bags from McDonalds The two humans shared one bag. It was enough to contain their extra value meals. Wolf had a large bag to himself, full of burgers, fries and containers full of chicken nuggets. In addition to a soda to drink he also had a large triple thick banana milkshake.

The meat saturated aroma carried through the air and was picked up throughout the nostrils of a slate gray, female gargoyle. Cecilia watched the three of them from where she hid, feeling her tail, ending in a spade tip, banging against the ground.

"Where are they?" She hissed, staring over her shoulder. Brooklyn and Hudson were waiting along with her, watching the restaurant in case any form of trouble might show up, but left when they heard the alarm of a nearby bank. "It shouldn’t take this long." Part of her wanted to take the enemies on now, but she knew she couldn’t take the three of them on by herself. She felt somewhat relieved when she heard the sound of leather wings riding on air currents and turned around to greet her patrol partners. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry?" Brooklyn did not expect her to be this blunt, nor rude. "We were protecting our castle."

"The criminals who robbed the bank loaded their car with the stolen loot," Hudson tried to explain, hoping she would understand. "They led us on a bit of a highspeed chase."

"A high speed chase in New York city?"

"I know it’s hard to believe," Brooklyn shrugged. Hours before, when they glided to the Fried Saturn, they noticed how the cars on the streets below traveled at a near snails pace. "But it’s true."

"Should have let them get away," she balled her talons into fists as she snarled. "You could have been still chasing them while Goliath, Elisa and I would have been battling the Quarry men."

"Quarrymen?" Brooklyn was ready to forgive her for her angry outburst. "Where?"

"Right there," she pointed at the building the two men and mutant were resting. "They arrived a few seconds after you left."

"Smells like they are having dinner," Brooklyn sniffed.

"They are waiting for Goliath and Elisa to leave. They saw them enter the Fried Saturn."

"They are ready to ambush the lad and lass," Hudson had never removed his gaze from the three of them. One of the members seemed to be taller and bulkier than the others. He also had a pair of large hairy wings. Hudson blinked, he could swear the figure was covered in fur, gray fur. "That cannae be Wolf?"

"Wolf?" Brooklyn strained his eyes as he studied the large figure. "Looks like Canmore is letting his Pack buddies in."

"I thought Wolf didnae have wings."

"It must have been another DNA upgrade," Brooklyn shook his head. "I don’t even want to know what Jackal and Hyena have done to themselves."

"What do ye want us to do lad?"

"Take them out," Brooklyn’s eyes took on a milk white illumination as he took to the air. Cecilia and Hudson’s eyes lit up as they glided after him.

_________________________________________________________________________

Brooklyn took on the taller quarryman as he was replacing his hood. His feet crashed into his chest. The force caused him to be pushed backwards. Both of them slid back a few feet, nearly crashing into the railing.

Both Wolf and the shorter one were ready. The mutate raced forward towards his comrade crimson gargoyle, only to be blocked off by the old gargoyle.

The Third Quarryman did not even bother to replace his hood. He quickly scrambled over to the air bikes and managed to climb aboard his Cecilia dove for him. He ducked nearly sliding off the vehicle as she swooped down and missed. He didn’t bother to turn around to see if the gargoyle had landed or not and quickly turned the ignition key.

The quarryman Brooklyn knocked down quickly rose to his feet and raced forward, raising his hammer above his head.

The charge was painful, but Brooklyn made sure he endured a minute of the pain before he slowly fell down onto the cool tarmac. He heard the quarryman chuckle while he was sure the man was kneeling over him. This time he did not dare to open an eye and quickly lashed out his tail, feeling it strike against the quarryman’s feet. He rose to his own feet in time for his enemy to fall onto his knees.

"One down," his voice shook as he tried to get it out, wondering if he was rattled from the two shocks he received. He stood up and looked around for others. Hudson was battling Wolf on the building next store. He was sure the older gargoyle cold take care of the mutate. Cecilia was another question. He did not know where she was and if the third Quarryman was chasing her around on a air bike he was going to have search for her.

___________________________________________________________________________

Hudson felt the coolness of his sword’s hilt as he curled his talons around it. He was ready to bring it down against the mutate even if it meant he would split the skin and spill blood.

The golden yellow eyes of Wolf were kept on the blade as well as the shimmery white glow in Hudson’s eyes. Wolf did not remove his gaze from his enemy as he slowly inched around in a circle

"I’ve beaten you before," Wolf growled softly. "Even before I got my wings."

"Aye, ye got yerself a pair of wings," Hudson did not remove his gaze from Wolf’s hands, not knowing if he was able to throw bolts of electricity like Talon, or not. "Do ye even know how to use them?"

"Not only can I glide, but I’m pretty fast on my wings. Those two wussies couldn’t even keep up with me." He was beginning to wonder when the old geezer was going to make his move, or if he was going to dance all night.

"Pride in yer speed are we?" Hudson paused in his dance, waiting to see what the mutate would do next. To his surprise, Wolf stopped in his tracks also.

Hudson rubbed his index talon up his hilt. His enemy looked like he was getting more impatient by the second. The constant flaring of the nostrils, breathing heavily through the mouth. He knew that any second the mutate was going to make a dumb move, and that would be to his advantage.

Wolf narrowed his eyes into golden slits as he lunged forward, aiming for Hudson’s chest with his claws out. He had no idea how thick the leather chestplate was, but was betting on the fact he would have been able to tear through it.

Hudson force himself to refrain from chuckling. This was exactly what he wanted Wolf to do. He brought the blade up as he stepped to the side and brought the blunt end of the hilt into the beast’s ribs.

Wolf grunted from the sharp jab and landed on the ground briefly before he rose to his feet. Growling he spun around and raced for his advisary with both claws swinging.

The old gargoyle ducked from his blow and grabbed on to his arm. For the first part of the battle he kept the light out of his eyes, and only allowed them to illuminate. He had one hand in his talons, but the either hand was free. His foot was up, read to kick him in the stomach when Wolf brought his hand down on his chest, his talons cut deep, but did no quite tear through his chest armor. He did, however, strike Wolf with his foot.

The mutate roared back, roaring in pain and grabbing onto his stomach. He felt blood, his blood. He pulled his hand away and stared at the three deep and short scratches in his chest, the blood oozing from the cuts andstaining his first.

"That was your last mistake," Wolf’ growled in a deep tone that was more animal than human and raced forward, racing on all fours.

Hudson was ready for him. He stood calmly, allowing the light to die form his eyes.. If it was anyone else he would have tried the same trick of side stepping at the least second, but this was Wolf. The Mutate aimed for his chest, his talons were an inch away when Hudson shifted his weight to the side and brought the sharp edge of the blade against Wolf’s back, right near where the wing joint met fur covered flesh.

Hudson could never remember when he heard something howl at his pain as loud as the mutate and wondered if he reached decibels a human ear could not pick up. Not even Bronx had made such a loud sound.

"Ye shoulda knew better," Hudson clicked with his toughen as he approached the mutate. "Ye shoulda knew with every new strength ye would get a weakness." He curled his talons into a fist and struck the mutate right between the eyes.

"I wonder how the others are doing?" He wiped the blood on his blade onto Wolf’s shaggy wings before searching the area. Brooklyn had already knocked out one of the quarrymen and was gliding after the second to help Cecilia. "I wonder if I should help? Ach, it wouldna be fair if I did." He resheathed his sword.

_________________________________________________________________________

Brooklyn watched as Cecilia sped across over the buildings, trying to escape her pursuer, but her efforts were next to fruitless. The air bike was always within a few feet from her and even if she could give forth an extra spurt of speed she had to reserve her strength for when he fired at her. The vehicle had a weapon mounted on the front, a lazer canon of some kind.

Both of them heard the canon start up again, the energy would build up for a few seconds before a powerful blast would fire out.

The man swung forward, slamming the top of his hammer down onto the top of Brooklyn’s hand

The crimson gargoyle roared out in pain and heard the snapping of his bones in his hand. Even if he didn’t her it he certanily felt it.

"Castaway is going to be proud of me," the Quarryman’s words were barely heard by Brooklyn. He ws to busy trying to hold onto the bottom of the cycle. He glared at the blue hood.

Brooklyn was still trying to decide what to do when Cecilia landed behind the quarryman and pushed him back. She forced her whole weight on top of him, forcing him down while she knocked the hammer out of his hand with a strike of her tail.

Growling, she struck the quarryman in the face with a swing of her back hand. Her talons curled into the metal, trying to tear through as she pushed both herself and the quarrymen out of the bike.

Brooklyn watched as her wings spread after they had fallen a few feet. "They are going to be fine." His main concern was to climb behind the bars of the cycle, figure out the controls, and land the vehicle on one of the roof tops. ________________________________________________________________________

Elisa’s fork dug down into the remains of her dessert, chopping the last bit of cake and cream, her fork clinking against Goliath’s as he swept up the second half. The last bite of their shared dessert was just as sweet as the first. The cake was moist and spongy and the cream was not too rich. After swallowing it she licked the single droplet of caramel that was sticking to her bottom lip.

"Complimentary mints?" Their waitress had returned to take their plate. Goliath had already paid the bill, using cash given to him by Xanatos. She replaced their dessert plate with a small dish containing two individual wrapped pieces of candy.

"Thank you," Elisa said as she accepted the pink mint, wrapped in clear plastic with opaque red stripes.

"I don’t normally eat mints," Goliath picked up the other mint, "but I’ll accept."

"I keep it," Elisa held out her hand, ready to accept his candy. "We could save them for later." She raised an eyebrow at the last word of her sentence and placed both candies into her purse.

Goliath wanted to know by what she meant when she said later, but he had an inkling of what she may have in mind. He decided not to ask and wait to be surprised.

He was ready to sweep his Elisa into his arms when they had stepped out onto the ceiling entrence, but there was something amiss afoot. He did not know why, but he felt there was a small battle that happened a few feet from where they were.

"Goliath?" Elisa raised her eyebrows at her husbands behavior. "Is something wrong?"

Goliath gave the area one last sweep with his eyes. "Nothing is wrong, although I have a feeling something happened out here and we missed it." He scooped her into his arms. "but I digress, there is something else I want to see more, and hear with you." He jumped off the edge of the building and took to the air.

__________________________________________________________________________

If Elisa had attend the symphony with a group of friends from work she would have a hard time buying tickets near the front of the concert. On her own salary she would have been lucky if she could afford them at all, but she wasn’t with her fellow humans. She was with her husband and mate.

Goliath glided towards the roof constructed over the miniature ampi theater and landed on the smooth surface, taking extra care his large feet did not land on the metal at a loud enough sound to be noticeable. The audience below them would have been suspicious of a loud thump and he did not wish to know how many would figure it was caused by a gargoyle.

"Looks like we made it just in time," Elisa slid out of his arms and carefully walked across the surface. The smooth material had the appearance of being slippery and she did not want to trip.

Goliath turned to stare at the orchestra pit. Several men and women in tuxedos and gowns were fine tuning their instruments, creating a strange blend of music that was harmonies to his ears. "You may be right."

"I think we may have the best seats in the house," she carefully sat down and folded her legs, thankful for her panties and hosiery. She knew they could not be seen by the paying audience and the muscians would not be looking at her. The slight wave of modesty was due to instinct.

"I think you are right." Goliath sat next to her and placed a wing across her back while she leaned against him. His eyes were focused on the band stand when a spot light shone down on it. He quickly searched the right and left.

The man he was looking for slowly walked from the right. Even if he ran he would have remained dignified. The conductor was dressed in a neatly pressed tuxedo and had a head full of silver hair, not gray, but actual sliver like nature had taken a handful of moonlight and weaved it into a cloud of silk before placing it on the man’s head. His mouth looked like it was being pinched, the corners tugged at both ends. Eyes, framed by thick eyebrows, resembling the clouds stared out over the crowd above a long and pointed nose.

"Good evening," the conductor addressed the audience through his microphone. "We will be playing a several classical songs from the early twentieth century. Songs by geat artists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Perry Como. We are going to start with a song I remembered dancing to when I was a teenager: Some Enchanted Evening by Perry Como."

"I love this song," Elisa breathed as the string section began the first few notes of the song. Her eyes watched as the bows gracfuly slid across the strings

Goliath tilted his head to the side as the woodwinds and brass caught up within the seventh note. "I have heard this before."

"It’s a classic. It’s a pity it won’t be sung."

"I would be honored if you sang it for me."

"Gladly. Some Enchanted Evening you may see a stranger. You may see a stranger across a room, and someone you know. You know even then, that somewhere you'll see her, again and again."

Goliath could not tell which was more beautiful the music or the sound of his beloved’s voice. He listened to both, eyes half closed and content, not moving until he saw small red body in the corner of his eye.

"Is something wrong?" Elisa asked, noting his sudden movement. She only half noticed her husband’s reaction when his leathery appendage was no longer keeping her shoudlers warm and fully noticed when he was staring off to the side.

"No it’s not." He turned back to her and pulled her close, his talons ran through her hair. He had no idea some of the clan was here, but the fact they were patrolling other parts of the park made him feel at ease.

___________________________________________________________________________

He had seen him. Mercutio had glided too high and Goliath had seen him. The web wing quickly back tracked through the trees, trying to find the place where he left Matt. The weregoyle’s coloration had made him somewhat difficult to find amongst the trees. The leaves had begun to turn colors, providing camaflauge for Matt’s natraul gold, bronze and red coloration.

"Anything?" Matt asked as soon as the web wing and taken his place on the thick branch next to him.

"I think I may have been seen," Mercutio replied and continued when Matt raised his brow ridges. "By Goliath. I glided close to the concert and I saw both him and Elisa and Goliath saw me."

Matt smiled. "Don’t become too paranoid. I’m sure Goliath might think you were patrolling the area."

"You are telling me to not be paranoid?" Mercutio tried to cross his arms, but lost his footing and nearly slipped.

"Wiseguy," Matt snickered. "I’m serious. I don’t think Goliath knows we are watching over him and Elisa."

"Do you think when this is over Broadway will make us some of his enchaladas?"

Matt blinked at the question. He could not believe how the smaller gargoyle went from worried to thinking about food. Not even Broadway would shift temperaments that quick.

"In a minute." He brought the headset to the communicator to his ear. "How are things looking on your end Rayne?" Brooklyn had assigned four members of the clan to watch over the park. Matt felt it would have been better if he split the four of them up to observe the opposite ends of the park. Ever since Cecilia called in to report her group had a run in with the Quarrymen, the four of them had been on edge.

"Boring on our end," Rayne’s voice came through the headphones. "I think Bronx is about to fall asleep."

"Same here," he slid the head set off, careful to not get them tangled on the long and slender horns topping each temple.

"Enchalada’s?" The supple end of Mercutio’s tail wagged as he repeated part of the question.

"You have a one track mind," Matt grinned.

"Matt pick up," Rayne’s voice called out through the speakers. "I think we got a couple of blue hoods."

"How far away are you?"

"About ten minutes south."

"We’ll try to get there as fast as we can." He left the set on his head.

"You don’t suppose they are hunting them down on purpose," Mercutio asked as he leaped from his branch and spread his limbs.

"I don’t think so," Matt glided after him. "They hadn’t any idea Goliath was planning on a special evening with Elisa. My guess is they were just on random patrols." He shifted his wings as the warm air current took him up higher.

__________________________________________________________________________

Rayne shrank back into her hiding place in one of the trees while she kept her eyes on the two figures in blue armor as they approached her. By the shape of the different constructs of armored suits she could tell the one on the right was male and the other was female.

A deep growling brought her attention to the bushes below her. "Not now, boy," she spoke to Bronx, hoping to keep him from attacking too soon. "We have to wait for the others." She searched the sky, trying to find them before staring back at the Quarrymen. They seemed to have paused and turned to each other. At least it was buying her some time, but if they would continue down the path past her she would not have much choice but to attack them.

The two quarrymen seemed to be deep in the conversation. Perhaps she and Bronx could slowly approach them, keeping to the greenery before leaping out at he last second, surprising them and holding them off till Matt and Mercutio arrived.

She was about to tell Bronx her plan when a movement near the quarrymen had caught her eyes. Something else was jumping from tree to tree, disrupting the branches. At first Rayne had thought it was either Matt or Mercutio, but the only gold she saw was not flesh but metal.

Rayne was still trying to figure what it was when the being jumped down. There was no mistaking that puffed up hairstyle along with the metal mixed with flesh, even if she didn’t say anything or laugh. Her vision flooded with crimson. She will never forget or forgive the Pack for what they did to her and Gloria. They were the reason she was on that awful ship. They were the reason why she temporarily left New York.

Bronx’s whine cleared her eyes. "You are right. I need to be clear headed. I can’t fight all three of them." She had to wait for the others. Her eyes regained the glow once she heard the sound of Matt and Mercutio gliding closer. "Don’t have to wait any more." She leaped from the branches and zeroed in on Hyena.

_________________________________________________________________________

Hyena was bored waiting for the Quarymen to keep up from her. She wanted to race through the park, leaping from tree to tree, from ground to tree and from tree to ground leaving the two quarryman she was partnered with to run after her. After a while they had to walk to catch their breaths.

She took the extra time to communicate with her brother. Apparently he, and his group had discovered the beaten bodies of Wolf and his group. The old gargoyle had cut a gash in the mutate, right in the middle of his back. She almost wished she could have heard Wolf’s whimpers from the way her brother described them to her.

Hyena would have berated the humans if it were not for the cougar like cry of a female gargoyle. She turned to see a bright orange gargoyle gliding straight onwards her.

She jumped back too early and the gargoyle shifted causing Hyena no choice but to duck. The gargoyle landed in the grass near her and quickly spun around to pounce on her again.

The cyborg grunted as the gargoyle landed on her, pinning her to the ground. "Nice attack," she smirked as she thought of her next move. "You really want to see my new toy?"

"You don’t even remember me?" Rayne snarled.

___________________________________________________________________________

The brass section were the first to play for the next song. The French horns and trumpets played the first notes followed by the trombone. The conductor held his hand up, keeping the other peformers still while the end of his batton instructed the brass players to continue.

"I know this song," Goliath reconzed the music after the first few notes and the drums joined in on the beat along with the tubas.

"Since when did you become a Sinatra fan?" Elisa did not want to disturb the flutes, clarinets and violins as they and the rest of the orchestra began.

"I wouldn’t really call myself a fan."

"Do you reconise the words to this song?" She grabbed onto his wrist.

"Aye."

"Could you sing it for me?"

"If you insist," Goliath clared his throat. "Fly me to the moon. Let me sing amongst the stars. let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars."

"You have been holding out on me," Elisa careful stood up. "You can repay me with a dance."

"If you insist." He kept a hold of her as he rose to his feet.

"Oh but I do," her eyes behld the familiar gleam. It was the gleam of a determined Elisa who did not back down until she got her way.

It was no use fighting it. Goliath placed his hand against the small of her back as they waltzed ontop of the roof, the movment of their bodies keeping to the rythem of the music.

_______________________________________________________________________

Mercutio danced around the male quarryman, his talons held in fists. He felt like a prize fighter on the HBO boxing match Hudson likes to watch. He stood as high as he could while shaking his right fist high above his head and holding up his left fist in front of him.

Bronx leaped for the quarryman first, enormous paws grabbed onto his shoulders and jaws snapping close to the Quarryman’s face. The enemy was struggling to not fall backwards. He could not keep it up for long, not with the other gargoyle free. He swung the hammer around, striking the back of the beast with a shocking blow.

Mercutio did not want to bring out his knife too soon. The sheath for the blade was close near his thigh, making it a bit more obvious, but he counted on the enemy not noticing it.

Mercutio jumped forward, removing the knife form his sheath and stabbing it in the Quarryman’s thigh, digging deep into the armor until it came up to the base of the handle.

Mercutio heard the quarryman cry out in pain but did not remove his gaze from the human and leaped for his chest while the quarryman tried to remove the knife.

The enemy was ready for him with his hammer, but Mercutio saw Bronx had recovered and stepped back to allow the beast to make his move.

Bronx pounced on the quarryman’s back, sendhing him forward, right into the direct path of Mercutio’s tail. One quick whip and the human was on his back and the his hammer was away from him. Both Bronx and Mercutio cimbed onto his legs and chest to pin him down.

_________________________________________________________________________

Matt knew to never underestimate his opponent and even if the woman’s skills were clumsy he wouldn’t let his guard down. She could have been bluffing for all he knew.

She ran for him, hammer swinging. Matt waited until she was a few inches away to spin around and swing out his tail. The female quarryman was able to jump but only one foot cleared the hurdle, the other struck the smooth end of his tail and she stumbled.

Matt reached out for her, ready to strike her in her arm with his fist. Hopefully she would be able to still feel it under the armor and it would be enough for her to loosen her hold on the hammer. His fist struck her arm before she had enough time to recover from her trip. She lunged out with her foot and kicked him in the stomach.

The pain from the kick was not just because the toe end of the boot was sharp, but also because of the force of the kick. Matt placed his hand against his middle. The stinging feeling was fading and he was ready to counter strike.

Both fist’s shot out as her weapon was brought down again. Matt did not know how much charge the hammer had, but what was delivered was more than enough. The blunt metal slammed down onto both arms while delivering a powerful charge that coursed through Matt’s body.

"I know it might not matter with some of you," Matt sat on all fours and breathed deeply. "But I’m certain one of your leader’s policy’s is not to kill members of his species."

"That is true," the woman answered. "I would never seriously hurt those like my daughter, but Castaway has instructed us to keep you from protecting the real monsters. Besides," She raised her hammer for another blow. "He told me to kill the golden one with red hair."

Matt’s eyes instantly regained their milk white glow as his wings spread out to their full span, catching Duchamp in surprise. Marle may not forgive him if he had seriously injured her. He had to be careful. He kicked out, striking Duchamp in the leg. He reached out and caught her as she stumbled, and wrenched the mallet out of her hands.

"I’m not going to hurt you because of who you are," he folded her arms behind her back. He tried not to wince from the pain his arms still felt and ignored the bruises that were forming. "but if you ask me, you are a terrible mother."

___________________________________________________________________________

Hyena flattened herself to the ground, hugging the earth as the female gargoyle sailed over her head. The gargoyle tried to pounce on her but only succeeded in running the sharp tips of her talons across her back, leaving scratch marks in her flesh and metal.

"Another swing and a miss," Hyena laughed as her limbs spun around and pushed her from the ground.

Rayne was ready for her as she neared the ground. The cyborg’s toes hadn’t even touched the dirt when she bounded forward. She tackled Hyena to the ground and struggled to try to grab onto her arms.

"You think you have chance?" Hyena pulled back her other arm as her metal fingers lengthened into six inch claws.

The gargoyle snarled and swiped at them. Her own talons combined with her strength had severed off a half inch from one finger and two inches from another.

The cyborg’s mouth was pulled into a snarl as her left arm spun around, rotating on the should socket.

The gargoyle tried to jump back, but she was able to strike her on top of her knee.

"Nice try, but you are going to have to do better than that." The point of her left foot lengthened into a blade.

Rayne’s knee was still sore, but she didn’t care. She dropped to the ground and loped around the cyborge, leaping to avoid her foot blade and hammer fist and managed to land a few scratches and punches.

"This is annoying," Hyena hissed as she kicked out at her foe. "And I have a new trick." She kicked out again, the blade dislodged from her foot and shot forward.

Rayne tried to dodge it, but not every part of her escaped the edge of the blade. She cringed when she felt the blade slice through the upper part of her wing. She felt the warm liquid trickling down her wing she stared at Hyena. Her eyes were no longer glowing but still had the red color.

"Awe, poor baby got a boo-boo?" the cyborg laughed, her voice grating on Rayne’s ear drums. "I always wanted high heels that was similiar. Just kick and the sharp pump impales someone, but I got something better." She held up her hand with the severed fingers. The remaining digits stretched out behind her hand.

Rayne knew what was coming next. She focused on the flare developing and leaped to the side as the canon fired, missing the white lazer as it struck a few inches toward her left. She didn’t even have time to rest as a second blast shot forward. She jumped backwards, nearly landing against a tree, while listening to Hyena’s laugh.

"Do you need any help with here?" Mercutio asked. Both Matt and Bronx had the quarrymen detained, leaving them free to give her a hand.

"Don’t need it," Rayne braced herself against the bark of the tree, trying to get back to her feet. She paused when her hands came a cross something smooth and cold. It was the blade from Hyena’s foot. She quickly pulled it out and slipped it into her shorts pocket. "Hyena is mine." She scaled up into the tree, not knowing or caring what Hyena was up to.

"Sit still you little red grasshopper!" Hyena’s screeching voice was even louder.

Rayne turned from the branches to see Mercutio dancing around in front of the cyborge as she fired lazer blast after lazer blast at the web wing. She told him she wanted to take care of Hyena herself, but that didn’t mean he could provide a distraction.

It was now or never. She leaped from the branches, gliding towards Hyena. Her roar escalated into her battle cry.

The cyborge didn’t even duck when she tackled her. "You want to try this dance again? You did remember the last time right?" She raised her hammer fist, ready to strike down on her again.

"I do remember," Rayne said she pulled the blade from her pocket and rammed it straight into Hyena’s arm. Light blue sparks danced around the blade before it radiated out, sending sparks to dump out all over while thread thin bolts of electricity coiled around the arm.

Hyena cried out in agony as she grabbed onto her shoulder. She could still feel pain in some of her limbs, some wires were attached to her nerve endings. The Prometheotech scientists had agreed with her that if something would happen to her arm the pain would be tremendous.

"Awe poor baby got a boo-boo?" Rayne sneered as she kicked Hyena’s legs from out under her, causing the cyborge to fall to her knees. "Let me kiss it and make it better." She grabbed Hyenas hair and held her head up as she struck her face with a punch strong enough to hurt her hand.

"Rayne?" Mercutio’s voice was high with uncertainty.

"Yes?" The orange gargoyle cradled her hand.

"You’re bleeding." He pointed to the tear in her upper left wing.

"It will heal." She stared at the unconscious cyborge before turning towards Matt. "We are going to keep them detained?"

"Until we get word Goliath and Elisa are heading back towards the castle," Matt replied while maintaining a tighter hold on Duchamp.

________________________________________________________________

The beautiful music from Sinatra’s "Stranger’s in the Night" was still vivid in Elisa’s mind as Goliath carried her back towards the castle. The whole evening seemed magical to her. She was able to have dinner with her husband in a restaurant and wondered why they didn’t think of the Fried Saturn earlier.

"What are you thinking about?" Goliath asked, noticing the dreamy look in her eyes.

"I’m thinking about this evening." There was nothing else in her mind. The music of the concert along with her husband’s singing was the only sound she heard in her ears. The sweet flavor of their desserts along with Goliath’s kisses were still on her lips and the image of the two of them in her bedroom was the main image being broadcasted in her mind.

"It’s not over yet," Goliath smiled. "There is one more thing I have planned for us at the castle."

"And what would that be?" Elisa raised her eyebrows. She had a feeling she knew what the answer was going to be.

"What you are saving those mints for?"

"Sometimes I think we know each other too well." She nestled her head against his chest. "I’m not tired, just enjoying this feeling."

"Enjoy it all you want, my Elisa," He inhaled the sweet fragrance of her hair, washed with jasmine scented shampoo, and glided closer towards Wyvern.

_________________________________________________________________________

The image of Goliath carrying Elisa was captured by a pair of binoculars. The spy glasses shifted in direction, towards the old Scottish castle placed on top.

"Ye are almost home," Canmore said underbreath as he lowered the binoculars from his leather clad face. "But not quite." He turned around on the building he perched on, facing the two quarrymen that were with him. Both of them were seated on their air bikes, ready to take off after their leader.

"Should we go after them boss?" Buck asked.

"Yes," Jon quickly reverted to his fake accent. "Remember to carefully take Maza away from the gargoyle. We don’t want to hurt her."

"She actually loves him," the young female member shuddered. "Just as gross as my sister."

Jon held up a claw. "Both Maza and your sister are misguided."

"And stubborn, at least my sister is."

"Some people can be stubborn," Jon rested his hand on her shoulder. "Maza may be stubborn and you may have to coerce her to get away from Goliath. I want you to be careful, Miss Wellington, this is your first time hunting."

"I’ll be fine, and please call me Serena."

"Serena it is," he spread his wings and glided off the side of the building.

_________________________________________________________________________

Elisa was the first to notice the strange man, dressed in black riding around on what resembled a sleek air bike.The long front part of the vehicle resembled the sender body off a race car while the wingspan resembled the bat like wings of a stealth bomber. The man’s outfit appeared familiar: long, dark jacket, tight fitting chest armor ,dark pants and boots, the only difference was he wore a mask. A dark mask with three red streaks that completely covered his head.

"Macbeth?" Elisa’s brows turned up. "What is he doing here?"

Goliath stared into the direction she was looking at. "He has been going on hunts, trying to fight any Quarryman he comes across. What purpose he has in doing so remains a mystery to me."

"I know but why here?"

The Scottish immortal answered by firing a red beam from the laser canon at something and by the way he was aiming, Elisa judged something was behind them. Her affirmation were right when she saw two Quarry bikes, being lead by Canmore, dodge the full charge of the lazer.

"Goliath," Elisa’s voice rose from fear.

"Canmore," Goliath said, half sighing and half growling. "Why tonight of all nights?"

"We don’t have to worry," Elisa smiled at the sight of the winged forms behind the Quarrymen. "The clan is here. We just have to get home."

________________________________________________________________________

"Castaway!" Buck shouted after they maneuvered themselves out of the way of the lazer. "What should we do now?"

"We forget about Goliath for now," Canmore sighed. "Right now we have to take this stranger out. Try not to hurt him too much. I want to talk with him."

"We got more trouble," Serena pointed towards the opposite direction where three more gargoyles were gliding towards them, eyes blazing.

"Buck I want you to take on the stranger," Canmore instructed. "Serena, I want you and me to take on the gargoyles."

"Three of them verses the two of us?" Serena asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Don’t worry. We can handle it" Jon stared at their enemy. He felt a light slowly developing in his eyes. He didn’t know which of the two to tackle: either the mahogany brown male with the two large, rabbit ear shaped horns, or the bluish gray female with butterfly like wings.

He finally decided for the male and dove straight for him, claws out as he roared. The male gargoyle hovered back a few inches, avoiding Jon’s claws before the lime green gargoyle lunged for him. Part of him wanted to use his hammer, but another part, wanted him to wait. He wasn’t sure if what was fighting was a weregoyle or not.

The brown gargoyle adjusted his wings as he avoided Jon’s fist and reached out to grab Jon by the wrist.

Canmore tried to punch him a few more times, each time the other gargoyle would dodge. Luckily for him, his enemy was good at defense, but not at offense. He was too slow at landing a punch. Canmore’s patience was thinning. He could not just spend the rest of the night in the air while two of his men were battling a few other enemies. He barreled into the gargoyle, kicking his foot out.

The kick met it’s mark. Canmore’s talons struck the mahagony gargoyle’s thigh, tearing through the flesh. His eyes lit up as he tried to hit Jon with his fists.

Jon grunted from the impact from the left but grabbed the right fist before it neared his chest.

"Are ye a weregoyle?" Canmore asked, hoping his voice did not sound threatening.

"What if I am?" the gargoyle grunted.

"I donae want to use my hammer on ye." Jon glanced briefly at his hammer, still attached to his belt. He would only take it out if the gargoyle he was fighting was a true gargoyle.

_________________________________________________________________________

Lexington glided straight for the quarryman dueling with Macbeth. By the size of the human he knew he would have a small challenge fighting with him physically. He hoped he would have an easier time fighting with him intellectually.

Lexington glided near the quarryman, trying to get close to the bike, before hovering a few inches from his enemy. He wanted to be too close to hit by the lazer, but also too far to face the hammer.

The small gargoyle quickly jumped backwards at the last second, dodging the charged up hammer. He wanted to mentaly kick himself as he when the air cycle moved backwards. His adversary knew what he was trying to do and was not going to allow him to get close enough to avoid being a trget of his non projectile gun.

Multiple blasts from Macbeth’s central gun were aimed at the quarryman’s bike and earning a smile from Lexington. He took full advantage of the Quarryman’s confusion to land on the bike behind him and tackle him from behind.

The quarryman reached behind and tried to pull him of. He struggled to keep his webbed arms to keep a fast hold onto the clad head. He felt his lower talons dig into the back of his armor while keeping his eyes on the hammer. He hoped the quarryman would not beable to grab onto it before Macbeth could steer his hover vehicle around

He watched as Macbeth had returnd in just the nick of time. The quarryman had his blue, armored fingers around the handle.

Lexington jumped off as soon as Macbeth’s lazer cannon fired up. He did not see see it fire but heard the impact of the weapon against the air bike.

He spun around to see both Quarryman and vehicle desending to the city bellow. He was ready to glide to the human’s rescue when Macbeth pulled out a gun from his belt and fired at the falling man, the bola spheres wrapped around his built form, wrapping him up in cords and the balls securing together before he pulled back. The cord yanked the man of the bike and sent him to whip backwards. The immortal secured his end of the cord to his bike before he carried the man to safety.

"That is one down," Lexington allowed his weary body to desend down to the nearest building to rest. His eyes were focused on the general direction of the tower and Wyvern. "Goliath and Elisa are back home by now. Unless Jerry and Gloria need my help I’m going to stay here and rest."

He did not have to search long to find them. Both Gloria and Jerry were trying to pilot the second air bike to land safely on another building and Canmore was landing on another building with the quarrywoman in his arms. He thought about gliding after the two quarrymen, but once again Macbeth was taking care of a task for him. The other Quarryman was dealth with and the immortal was steering his vehicle towards the building Canmore had landed on.

"I really owe this guy," Lexington sat back and allowed his sore limbs to relax.

_______________________________________________________________________

Jon released Serena onto the top of the nearest building, before tumbling towards the pointed glass of the top of the studio floor. The weregoyle blinked as he tried to rise to his feet, using the smooth slanted glass to help him to his feet. The grayish blue female had delivered a sharp blow to Jon’s side. He could still fell it.

"Mr Castaway?" Serena kneeled next to her leader. There were several dents in the once smooth and shining armor covering her leader’s chest and shoulders and there where several tears in the black cloth underneath. She had wondered and almost wished he would have worn a quarryman uniform that was modifed for his gargoyle form.

"I’ve been through worse," Jon struggled to his feet. "How have you faired, my dear?"

"I got the wind knocked out of me." She ran her hands over her chest and stomache. "And I think I may have recieved some bruises."

"As long as ye are not too injured. The next time you go out you will be on your feet and not on an air cycle."

"Jon!" Serena pointed up. The masked strange who was helping the gargoyles lowered his air bike dove towards them. The masked warrior removed a large silver sphere from his coat pocket.

Jon raced forward, pushing Serena out of the way as the sphere fell onto him, exploding into a cloud of pungent smoke. Jon coughed as he tried to fan it away with his hands.

"Laddie," the voice of the stranger was heard from behind the cloth mask.

Jon coughed once more before he turned around. "Who are ye?"

"Just someone who wishes to speak wi ye," the stranger had stepped off from his bike He appeared to not be armed and had his arms held up, bending at the elbows.

"I donae have the time," Jon shook his head before he turned around. From behind him Serena had returned to her feet and strode towards the stranger. "Donae try to fight. Ye have done exceptionally well fer yer frist time. As ye can see he is human and unarmed."

"What if he tries to use his fists?" the young quarry woman asked.

Jon stepped in front of her. "If he tries anything I will protect ye."

"Donae try. The gas I used on ye tends to weaken gargoyles." The masked stranger had yet to lower his arms. "I promise I wont hurt ye or the lass."

"Why are ye fighting fer those monsters."

"Ye are verra stubborn." The peeled off his mask, revealing an aged face. "Ye still refer to them as monster when ye spend half yer life as one

"Macduff?" Jon blinked. His confusment was replaced with a burst of anger "Why are ye wearing the mask of me ancestors?"

"Because I’m a distant relative," Macbeth slipped his mask into his pocket. "Are ye to going to take your mask off?"

"Why should I?"

"So we can talk face to face."

"Do I have to remove my mask?" Serena grasped onto the bottom of her mask.

"Ye can keep yers on lass."

The weregoyle sighed before sliding the leather mask off his own face. "Are ye happy?"

Macbeth nodded. "Still hunting gargoyles despite the fact you are one."

"Nae," Jon shook his head. "I’m a weregoyle."

"You almost said that quite proudly," the corner of Macbeth’s mouth turned up on amusement.

"I’ll never be proud of this form," Jon sighed as he studied his hands. "Its a reminder of the lows these beasts will go."

"Still think they are evil? Do you feel any different during the night than you do during the day? I mean emotionally, intellectually," the immortal tapped his chest. " and in here?"

"Nae."

"Have you ever thought they felt the same?"

"Nae," Jon growled. "The can never feel what I feel. They donae have a soul."

"You will never consider the possibility you might be wrong?"

"I have considered and I know I am not wrong."

Macbeth sighed, shaking his head. "I shouldnae be surprised at all. If yer close relatives cannae get to ye then what chance would I have?"

"A lot of people have tried to get me to lay down my hammer. Donnae be ashamed ye couldna convince me either."

"I understand," Macbeth turned around towards his aircycle. "I’m giving it a rest fer tonight, but I will never give it up. If ye wish to talk with me then look me up at Colombia. My office door is always open."

"Thank ye," Jon stretched out his wings. "Can I still glide and carry people?"

"You can glide and you can carry. Just don’t try any fighting for the next two nights."

"Are you really going to take up his offer?" Serena waited for the elderly man to leave before she asked.

"I may," He replaced his mask. "I better get you back to the meeting hall."

"What about Buck?"

"He can find his own way back home." He pulled her into his arms and waited until the first thermal before he left the building.

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Goliath landed on one of the ancient and restored castle walls and gently set his wife down one the stone walkway. "We made it," he carefully brushed her hair with his talons nad looked over his shoulder. There were no sign of Canmore or the Quarrymen. There was also no sign of Jerry, Desdemona and Lexington either.

"I know what you are thinking," Elisa brushed the tips of her fingers acoss his shoulders. "I have a feeling they have already defeated Canmore and the others."

"I hope you are right."

"I am right. It was three against four. Macbeth’s vehicle could fly circles around theirs and Desdemona brought her bow and quiver.

"And if they needed our help the would have called," Goliath removed the tiny ear piece from his communicator from his ear. "Do not worry, my love. Nobody called, or I was on a differenct frequency."

"I guess I can’t stop you from being you," Elisa swung her arms back. "I’m going to check on the twins and then change into something more comfortable."

"That sounds like a good idea," Goliath tugged at his shirt collar. "I better get out of this suit."

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The lavender clan leader approached Xanatos’s bedroom, hoping the couple would still be awake and wouldn’t mind if he would borrow their bathroom to change out of his tuxedo. The long maze like hallways between Elisa’s room and the Xanatos’s were just as quiet as when he and Elisa left for their date. The concern for his clan’s safety invaded his mind once more.

"How did the date go?" Brooklyn met him half way towards the Xanatos bedroom. The crimson gargoyle stood with a little more of a slouch than usual: The telling sign he was weary and ready for sunrise.

"It’s not quite over yet," Goliath contained his enthusiasim at the sight of his second in command and was even more relieved when he saw the communicator hanging on his shoulders. If Lexington and the others needed his help they would have radioed Brooklyn.

Brooklyn knew what that meant and tried his best to hide his smile. "How was it so far."

"It was wonderful," Goliath smiled. "It had been a while since I did something special with Elisa."

"Then it was a perfect evening?"

"Not quite," Goliath noticed his second’s hands. The left one was covered in gauze. "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh this?" Brooklyn held up his injured talons. "Small run in with some Quarrymen. One of their hammers broke a couple talons."

"The quarrymen seemed to be a bit of a nuisance tonight. Brooklyn I need to ask you something. Did you send the clan to watch over us?"

The beaked gargoyle nodded. "I just wanted you and Elisa to have the perfect evening."

"I appreciated it. Thank you."

"Your welcome. One more thing. The Xanatos’s are asleep."

"Thank you again," Goliath turned around in his tracks. He’ll change in Elisa’s bedroom. She might enjoy a good strip tease.

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The heat remained at a tremendous level amongst the under ground tunnels of the subway system, even with the temperature waning on the surface. Several men and women walked around with their suit jackets draped over their shoulders and their sleeves rolled up to their elbows.

Annie was thankful she remembered to wear another short skirt when she set up shop again. In addition to her flowers and signs she brought a skirt bottle to mist both her flowers and a small wash cloth she had brought. Every so often she would blot it across her forehead.

"In a couple of months we will be thankful for this heat," Annie’s new friend set down a small cup, filled with a ice old beverage, on the table in front of her. The old man used the hand that had been holding onto the glass to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"People will be running down and walking up," she slid the plastic straw into her Tazo drink. "It will be a complete reversal." She took a long sip. The cold mixture of tea and fruit juices cooled down her parched mouth. Macbeth had given her a variety of cold drinks from the coffee house until she discovered her favorite. Every day he would bring her a different flavor of Tazo. "Thank you."

"You are welcome lass. I may need to purchase a few of your flowers again in the near future."

"Another gift for your wife?"

He shook his head. "A gift for someone who is going to visit my office. The flowers will be for his wife."

"Thank you for visiting me again."

"How could I avoid you? You bring something special to the subway."

Annie didn’t know how to reply. She never thought of what she was doing was special. She just wanted to sell flowers, live out a legend and perhaps find out who she truly was She hadn’t found out much, accept she felt one of her biological parents might have been a doctor, perhaps a dentist or a vet. Maybe when she found out where the U hanging from her neck came from she will have another piece to the puzzle that is her past.