GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Messes: 2

Demona and Goliath were circling above Roosevelt Island. It was quiet below. The island in the center of the East River was connected to Manhattan only by gondola, which meant that for the most part, people were either in their homes or at the station—there was rarely anything happening on the island itself. It was the perfect place for a discrete laboratory.

The two gargoyles were waiting for the moon to be covered by clouds. They could see the shadow moving from the far end of the island toward them. When it reached them and the street below was dark, they tucked their wings and descended. Upon landing, Goliath quickly removed the manhole cover they'd landed over with a talon—it was no effort at all—and Demona went in. He followed and pulled the cover back over their entrance.

It was stuffy below, but not nearly as smelly as they had expected. There was only a faint odor, like old moss, and a gentle trickling sound. With a wave of her hand, Demona lead the way forward. After only about thirty feet, Demona stopped. Just ahead in the tunnel they could see the faint outline of a steel gate. Above it were two tiny red lights. Demona looked at Goliath and nodded. With a flash of their eyes, the two sprang forward with incredible speed and agility. Once at the gate, Goliath grabbed onto the right side and Demona the left. With a glance at one another they then both pulled in unison. The hinges came out of the soft concrete with ease. They lifted the gate over their heads and then let it crash down behind them.

Now the Gargoyles were running. They new it was only a few meters to the next gate but the first alarm was now triggered; they had no time to lose. The second gate went just as the first. Once they were through, they only went a few feet before Demona stopped. She looked the wall to her right up and down, then reached into her waste garment and withdrew a small disc, about the size of a hockey puck, and stuck it on the wall. She touched a button in the center which lit up red and then she and Goliath pressed themselves against the wall on either side.

The explosion was surprisingly quiet. It sounded more like someone slamming a door hard than a mine going off. Inside the room they had just exposed was a different story, though. The disc was designed to output all of its concussive power in the direction of the surface it was attached to. As such, it blew a hole through the wall that launched pieces of debris and dust directly into the room. Chairs and workstations were overturned. Fluorescent lights were dislodged from the ceiling. Cabinets tipped over, spilling their contents to the floor. A siren began blaring.

"Quickly," Demona yelled over the noise.

She rushed in and headed directly for a storage locker at the far end of the room. Suddenly the door to the lab flew open and two armed guards came rushing in. Goliath moved with incredible speed. He leapt past the overturned desks and cabinets, swiped the weapons from both guard's hands, and knocked them off their feet with the swish of his tail.

"I have it!" Demona cried out behind him.

He turned to see her disappear through the hole they had entered in. He followed and within minutes they were climbing the ladder to the manhole. This time, Demona simply smacked the cover out of the way and the two emerged onto the street. They ran straight ahead toward the park at the end of the road. There was a small lookout point over the River at the end of it and, once there, the two leapt onto the railings and leapt into the air. The railing was low and it was a close call. Goliath felt his tail touch the water before he caught an updraft and climbed into the air.

Everything had gone as planned. They now had the Phoenix Gate.

— —

Matt was sitting in his car outside the ATF building, thinking about what he was going to say to Captain Abott. Every time he ran through it in his head, he felt more and more ridiculous. He took a deep breath and opened the door to his car. Walking away simply wasn't an option, he decided. It was time to go look ridiculous.