The Price of Friendship: Part 2---By Lennox MacDuff----cpmills@indiana.edu

Summary: The clan battles to free Steve from the clutches of the Quarrymen.  
WARNING:  Graphic content.

Greetings!  Welcome to part two of my little tale!  You can find part one, as
well as my other works, at my webpage.  Just truck on over to
http://members.tripod.com/~movieland/gargoyles

Being part two, this is of course a continuation of part one.  I suppose you 
don’t HAVE to read part one first, but it would make the whole thing a lot 
easier to understand.  If you read part one, you will no doubt notice that 
part two is much shorter.  In truth, part one is the first two-thirds of the 
story.  I just couldn’t let that wonderful cliffhanger pass by  :)

Legalities surround us in our society.  To appease the gods that be, I’ll let
you know that the Gargs aren’t mine, blah blah blah.  Remember what I said 
in "Hakon", Disney.  FREE ADVERTISING!!

The main reason I write these fanfics is so that others can enjoy my work.  
Thus feedback is not only welcome, it’s eagerly sought after.  If this story 
doesn’t get much feedback, it might be quite some time before I’m inspired to
write another one.

Special thanks go out to Kealani Brown and Cinnamon for their support, 
proofreading and advice!

Okay, I think that’s it.  On with the show.  Where did we leave off?  Oh yes,
right around the point Goliath was yelling...
<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>^<>
	
	"AMBUSH!"
	Goliath’s deep voice echoed throughout the warehouse.  Moments ago 
the human/gargoyle team had walked into the middle of a trap.  Quarrymen 
surrounded them from all sides.  Electrified hammers cackled happily, waiting
to strike.
	Things began to happen all at once.  What seemed an eternity to those
involved actually covered only a few moment’s time.  Carlson yelled out the 
order for the Quarrymen to attack.  Before he had even finished his cry, 
Xanatos had already leapt into action.  A laser sprung from the forearm of 
his exosuit, and he quickly began to shoot out the lights.
	With a roar the gargoyles leapt into battle.  Elisa and Owen stayed 
near each other, each covering the other’s back.  Elisa gave an attacking 
Quarryman a roundhouse kick that sent the hooded figure reeling.  She allowed
herself a moment to smile as she watched him smash down to the floor.  She 
had hated the Quarrymen and everything they stood for ever since she had 
first encountered them a year ago.  It was nice to give at least one of them 
what was coming to him.
	Broadway was the first to reach the swarm of Quarrymen.  He to swung 
at them, blinded with rage.  Two or three men fell with every punch.  He was 
so impassioned with finding Steve that he never heard a lone Quarryman sneak 
up behind him.  The Quarryman ran at Broadway, throwing his shoulder into the 
large gargoyle’s back.  Broadway toppled to the ground.  The Quarryman raised
his hammer and prepared to strike.  Suddenly he was jerked off his feet as 
Angela lunged at him with a catlike screech.
	Brooklyn and Lexington were also fighting back to back, but not doing
as well as their human friends. Blood flowed down Brooklyn’s neck from the 
loss of a tuft of hair, which one of the Quarrymen had managed to rip out for
a trophy. The gargoyle was fighting as best he could, despite the ringing in 
his head.  He threw a punch at the man, hearing a satisfying crunch as his 
fist broke the Quarryman’s jaw.  
	"Lex, how are you doing back there?"
	"Fine!" the young gargoyle replied excitedly.  "I could take these 
guys any night!"
	Brooklyn grinned as he fought.  "Just watch out for yourself.  Don’t 
let your guard down."  For a moment there was no reply, then Brooklyn heard a
pained yell.  He turned to see four Quarrymen dragging a bleeding Lexington 
away.   Brooklyn’s eyes flared.  "LEX!"  He started to run to his friend when
two more Quarrymen jumped on him from the rafters above.
	As Brooklyn fought to shake off the Quarrymen, Hudson charged into 
the fray.  Two Quarrymen met him as he ran.  The first one swung his hammer 
at the aging gargoyle.  Hudson had fought in battle for far longer than this 
man had been alive, and he knew how to spot a weakness in his enemy’s attack.
As the Quarryman swung his hammer in a high arc over his head, Hudson ducked 
out of the way.  The weight of the hammer pulled the Quarryman off balance as
it continued it’s arc to the floor.  Quickly Hudson pivoted and caught the 
young man with a vicious uppercut with the pommel of his sword.  The 
Quarryman was sent flying into a file of crates and was still.
	The other Quarryman ran at Hudson with a yell.  Hudson jumped back 
and countered with a roar of his own.  As the electrified hammer bore down on
him, Hudson’s sword flew up to meet it.  The razored blade sunk deep into the
hammer’s handle, biting through the insulating layer and into the power core.
Both Hudson and the Quarryman jerked as electricity surged though them.  His
eyes wide, Hudson threw his head back and screamed.

	Steve hung from the shackles in his small room.  Breathing shallowly,
he struggled to keep his eyes open despite the incredible weight on them.  He
didn’t know why he was being left alone for the moment, but he didn’t care.  
His broken body and mind had pushed him to the verge of surrender.  It would 
be so easy to just let the darkness come.  He was so tired he really wasn’t 
afraid of the idea.  It would be so peaceful.
	Steve’s mind began to wander back to one of the evenings he had spent
with Broadway.  The two of them had taken kites to Central Park.  Ordinarily
Steve would have been crazy to be in Central Park at night, but ordinarily he
didn’t have a six foot gargoyle with him.  Broadway had never flown a kite 
before, and despite his great knowledge of air currents, he was not having an
easy time of it.  The kite bobbed in the air lazily before hitting a tree.  
Broadway threw down the string in disgust.  *I can’t get this!* he yelled.  
Steve had only smiled at him.  *It’s okay if things aren’t easy.  The 
important thing is that you don’t give up.*
	Steve was snapped out of his daydream be a muffled crash.  He looked 
weakly at the closed door behind him.  Sounds of commotion began to seep into
the room.  Steve listened closely.  It definitely sounded like a fight.  
*They’re watching a movie with the sound turned way up again* he thought.  As
the sound continued, he decided that it was too real to be coming from the 
television.  As he bit his lip, Steve hoped against hope.  Maybe they had 
come for him.

	Lexington sailed across the room and crashed into a wooden crate.  A 
rectangular burn on his chest was seeping deep red blood. Goliath turned just
in time to hear the sickening crunch of several of Lexington’s ribs breaking 
as the young gargoyle hit the crate.  A Quarryman dove at Lexington, intent 
on choking off his air supply.
	Goliath shook off the men he was fighting and picked up the Quarryman
attacking Lexington by the scruff of his neck.  Just then he heard Hudson 
scream.  A quick glance told Goliath what was happening.  Without pausing he 
hurled the Quarryman he was holding at the one fighting Hudson.  The two men 
slammed together, and the hammer was pulled away from Hudson.  The final jolt
of raw power sent the aging gargoyle reeling backwards.  Brooklyn ran to his 
side.
	"There be too many of them!" Hudson feebly cried to Goliath.  The 
clan leader looked around and decided that Hudson was right.  Elisa and Owen 
were barely holding their own, and Broadway was so blinded with rage that he 
wasn’t thinking clearly.  On the far side of the warehouse he could make out 
Angela and Xanatos, swarmed by Quarrymen.  Hudson and Lexington were in no 
shape to fight, and Brooklyn had his hands full protecting them.  They were 
completely outnumbered.  Their only weapon, that of surprise, was gone.
	Goliath was about to cry out the order to run when something slammed 
into his back.  He toppled to the floor, his shoulder blade in agony.  Above 
him stood a Quarryman struggling with his malfunctioning hammer.  After a 
moment he gave up and contented himself with simply smashing in Goliath’s 
skull.  He raised his hammer to deliver the deathblow when a howling flash of
blue toppled him. Goliath struggled to his feet and heard a gurgling cry as 
Bronx tore out the Quarryman’s throat. 
	"WE MUST RETREAT!" Goliath roared.
	"No!" yelled Broadway, his eyes flaring.  "I’m not leaving Steve 
behind!"
	Xanatos ran over to the large gargoyle.  "I’m afraid we don’t have 
time to argue the point!"  He pointed an armored finger at Broadway. A dart 
flew from his extended finger and hit Broadway in the neck.  Broadway shook 
his head, then fell to his knees.  Xanatos caught him before he hit the 
floor.
	"No.." Broadway stuttered.  "We’ve...got to...save...him..."
	Xanatos aimed his forearm laser at the wall.  There was a sharp whine
as a deadly beam of light blew a hole large enough for them all to escape 
through.  With those who could run supporting those who could not, the team 
fled from the building.

	The man’s fist slammed to the desk, knocking over a pencil cup in 
it’s path.  The pencils scattered across the desk, marring the order that had
been present mere moments ago.
	"What do you mean, they ESCAPED?!" the man shouted.  His face went 
red with his rage, contrasting his black suit.  His fingernails began raking 
the desk mat, leaving long, uneven scratches.  He listened intently to the 
phone, as a hasty explanation was carried to him via the airwaves.  "You 
idiot!  You had over thirty men, and they escaped?!  Now they know where you 
are!  They won’t stay away for long."
	A mumbled voice came over the phone in response to the man’s words. 
While listening, the man’s eyes narrowed to slits.
	"You had better be," he growled through clenched teeth.  He slammed 
the phone down with such force it cracked the plastic casing.

	Carlson listened to his leader yell at him over the phone.  He winced
as the yells grew more intense.  
	"Yeah, but boss," he started.  "That was just a fluke.  We’re already
rebuilding and recharging.  They’ll be back in a night or two.  We’ll be 
ready for them."
	The voice on the far end growled at him, then slammed the line shut.
Carlson quietly closed his cellular phone, his own rage building.  He closed 
his eyes in an attempt to control the rage flowing through him.  After a few 
moments he threw the phone with a roar.  It smashed against the cinderblock 
wall, sending out a rain of silvery bits.  Carlson stormed off to take out 
his rage on the only person in the building he dared to.

	Owen walked out of the infirmary calmly. Xanatos, Elisa and the clan 
looked up worriedly at him as he walked into the Main Hall.  Owen looked at 
each of them before speaking.
	"Lexington suffered third degree burns, several broken ribs, and a 
number of cuts and bruises in the fight.  However, his condition is stable 
and he will make it until sunrise."
	Everyone let out a sigh of relief, many surprised to find they had 
been holding their breath as Owen spoke.  All looked a little more relieved 
except for Broadway, who had recovered from the tranquilizer and was 
dangerously close to pacing again.
	"But what about Steve?" he insisted.  "We’ve got to go back!"
	"We will, lad," Hudson groaned.  "But we should rest a night to 
regain our strength first."
	"No," cut in Goliath.  "That is what they will be expecting.  We will
attack tonight, in the midst of their repairs."
	"I like your thinking," Xanatos said as he walked into the room.  
"But I’m afraid we’re still a bit outmatched.  I noticed a number of those 
crates in the warehouse had weapons in them.  Military surplus, most likely. 
No doubt they’ve stepped up security a bit."
	"Much as I hate to say it," Brooklyn said, "Xanatos is right."
	Xanatos smiled at the fiery gargoyle.  He loved being right.  
	"Fortunately, I have a few things that might just even the score."  
He walked over to one of many small recesses hidden throughout the building 
and pushed a button.  The wall silently rose, revealing what Xanatos had in 
mind.

	Steve’s chains rattled as he tried to soothe his sore wrists.  His 
fingers were numb from the lack of blood, and they were beginning to turn an 
alarming shade of purple.  In vain Steve tried to pull his hand away from the
wall.  The chains held tight.  Even if he wasn’t weak from torture he would 
have had no hope of breaking them.
	Pounding footsteps began to echo from  the hall.  They grew louder as
they reached the small room that had become Hell to Steve.  The door flew 
open and Carlson charged in.  He was breathing so hard he was practically 
growling, and his face was flushed with rage.  Steve looked at him for a 
moment.  He was reminded of all the cartoons he watched, where steam would 
geyser out of the villain’s ears when he was mad.  Despite himself, Steve 
chuckled at the thought.
	Carlson saw Steve smile at the sight of him and lost control.  With a
viscous backhand he sent Steve  flying, only to be stopped by the chains.   
He hung limply as Carlson stood over him, his breath hissing through his 
clenched teeth.  
	"They tried to save you, just like we knew they would.  But they 
escaped!"  Carlson hit Steve again.  "THEY ESCAPED!"
	Carlson raised his hand again, then stopped himself.  "No, there’s no
point.  Do you know what you were, boy?"  Carlson came right up to Steve’s 
face.  "You were _bait_," he hissed.  "Nothing more.  The gargoyles will come
back, because they know you’re here.  And since they know you’re here, 
there’s no reason to keep you around."
	Steve looked up at Carlson.  "Then...you’re going to let me go?  Me 
and my mom?"
	Carlson laughed viciously.  "You really are a stupid bastard, do you 
know that?  We don’t have your mother.  We never did.  You told us 
everything...for nothing."  Steve looked into Carlson’s eyes.  For the first 
time Carlson’s hating gaze was matched.  Steve spat in the Quarryman’s face.
	Carlson punched Steve as hard as he could.  The boy went limp as 
consciousness left him.  Carlson savagely wiped the spittle from his face and
stormed out of the room.  He stopped at the door to inform the guards of his 
decision.  His voice trembled with fury as he gave the command.
	"The boy dies at sunup."

	The inside of the warehouse was a total mess.  Everywhere cleanup 
crews scrambled to repair the damage from the battle.  Two crews of four men 
each worked on cleaning the shattered crates and repairing the holes in walls
and windows, a third crew was hefting the two-ton steel slab back into place 
over the main entrance, and a fourth was busy installing a few new security 
measures.  No chances were being taken this time.  Laser cannons were in the 
process of being installed in various locations throughout the compound.  
They would be up and running by dawn, noon at the latest.  Plenty of time.
	Carlson stormed into the room.  He looked around at the men working.  
	"Why the hell is this taking so long?!" he shouted.  Heads throughout
the warehouse snapped around to face him.  Carlson’s face was flushed, and 
the tendons on the sides of his neck were raised.  "I want this place ready 
in one hour!  Understood??"
	Variations on "Yes sir" flooded to him.  Carlson didn’t hear them, 
though.  He had already stormed off in search of someone else to yell at.  
The work crews dove back into their jobs.  Everyone had been set on edge by 
the battle, and they preferred not to make Carlson any more furious than he 
already was.  The Quarrymen were so engrossed in their work that they didn’t 
notice several forms swoop down into the woods nearby.

	"Is everyone ready?" Goliath whispered, his eyes glowing slightly.  
The others nodded silently.  Each was holding a blaster, compliments of 
Xanatos.  The billionaire was quite proud of these weapons.  They were the 
latest thing from the weapons division of Xanatos Enterprises.  Most laser 
blasters suffered the problem of overheating when fired continuously, leading
to eventual overload. Thanks to a new internal cooling system, this problem 
was eliminated.
	"Remember," Xanatos hissed.  "These new models are designed for 
firing several times in a brief timespan, but don’t press your luck.  Use 
short, controlled bursts."  Those holding blasters nodded again as Xanatos 
secured the helmet of his exosuit in place.  A laser raised from his forearm.
	Elisa silently checker her gun as Xanatos was speaking.  She had a 
full clip in the pistol, with two others tucked under her belt.  She took a 
moment to close her eyes and breathe deeply.  When she opened her eyes again 
she saw Goliath looking at her.  
	"I’m okay, big guy," she said with a smile. "Just getting psyched."
	Hudson looked at his blaster warily.  
	"If it’s all the same to you," he said to Xanatos, "I think I’ll just
be use’n this."  
	He put the blaster on the ground and unsheathed his sword.  The 
others smiled.  Hudson always preferred to use his old fighting techniques 
than the weapons of modern day.
	"All right," Goliath whispered, holding his blaster.  "Let’s go."

	A roar filled the night sky.  It echoed throughout the warehouse like
a summons from hell.  The Quarrymen working looked up, terrified, as the 
gargoyle/human team rushed into the complex.  "Hit the alarm!" one of the 
Quarrymen shouted as he ran at Broadway.  Broadway used the man’s momentum to
hurl him across the room.  He hit the wall and lay still in a heap on the 
floor.  The large gargoyle turned to face the rest of the Quarrymen.  
	"WHERE IS HE?!" he bellowed.  The Quarrymen began to scramble over 
each other, running for their hammers or any other weapon they could find.
	"Angela, Brooklyn, block their path!" Goliath roared.  In a flash the
young gargoyles leapt to the two doors leading deeper into the warehouse, 
keeping the Quarrymen contained in the main area.  Realizing that they were 
cornered, the Quarrymen lunged at the gargoyles.
	Broadway flung the attackers off him.  He stooped down and grabbed a 
nearby Quarryman by the scruff of his neck.  Broadway held the terrified 
human at eye level. "Where is he?" he growled.  The Quarryman pointed a 
trembling finger at a recessed door.  Broadway threw him against a wall and 
stormed past Brooklyn through the door, swatting any Quarrymen that attacked 
away.
	Across the room, Owen was busy fighting as well.  He had already 
knocked out two of the Quarrymen, and was grappling with a third.  The blonde
assistant noticed Broadway storm out in the corner of his eye.  Frowning 
slightly, he began to make his way to the same doorway.

	From his small room, Steve could hear yelling and running footsteps. 
As he hung, he wondered what was going on.  He listened as closely as he 
could, but wasn’t able to make out what the voices were saying.  Steve bit 
his lip, hoping.  Maybe they had come back.  Maybe they were there to take 
him out of this hell.
	More sounds floated into the room.  Steve had no idea what was making
them, but they sounded like rayguns from all of those old movies he loved to 
watch.  The thought of movies took his mind to the night he and Broadway had 
met.  It felt like a lifetime ago, even though it had only been a little more
than a week.  
	*God, I could go for some of that popcorn* he thought.   His throat 
was starting to go dry again, and he was feeling weaker than he ever had 
before.  In his heart, he knew that he wouldn’t last much longer.  He was 
surprised that he felt no fear, only an eerie calmness.  *So tired...I’m so 
tired…*  He knew that if he wanted, he could just let go and sink into the 
welcoming darkness.
	A loud metallic screech snapped him out of his thoughts.  Through his
blurred vision, he saw the space where the door was pull away, and light 
flood in from the hall.  A large shape cut into the light, and moved closer 
to him.  Instinctively Steve closed his eyes and turned his head away.
	"Steve?"
	Steve opened his eyes slightly.  "Broadway?" he managed to croak.
	"Yeah, it’s me.  Hold on, we’re getting you out of here."
	Broadway snapped the chains holding Steve and hoisted the teen into 
his arms.
	"Broadway..." Steve mumbled deliriously.  "Broadway..."
	"Hang on buddy," the gargoyle whispered as he carried his friend out 
of the room.  "Hang on."

	Carlson hid in a recess, watching Broadway carry Steve down the 
hallway.  Quietly he activated his gun, listening to it hum to life.  A bead 
of sweat trickled down his hooded forehead.  Cursing to himself, he tore his 
mask off and aimed the gun at the two friends.  It took a moment to get them 
in his sights...there.  Carlson fingered the trigger.  One little pull, and 
the beast would be destroyed...
	"Excuse me."
	Carlson turned to the source of the sound.  Before he turned all the 
way around a fist smashed into his face.  His nose crunched under the force. 
 Carlson slumped to the floor, unconscious.  His last thought before blacking
out was that the fist looked odd, almost like it was made of stone...

	Broadway carried Steve into the main warehouse, with Owen following 
closely behind.  The battle was still in full swing.  Broadway ducked just in
time to avoid a laser blast.  
	"Hey!  Watch it!" he yelled.
	"Sorry!" Brooklyn yelled back.  "These things are kinda hard to 
control!"
	"I think I’ve found a way!" returned Angela, swinging her laser rifle
like a club.  Broadway and Brooklyn ran over to her.  
	"How much charge do you have left?" Angela yelled.  
	"Not much!" replied Brooklyn.  "How about you?"
	"I ran out a few minutes ago!"
	A Quarryman sailed over their heads.  The three looked up as Xanatos 
ran over.  
	"You know, for the price you paid for these things, they sure don’t 
last long!" Brooklyn yelled.
	"I’ll be sure to make a note!" Xanatos yelled angrily back.  They all
continued to fight, moving their way over to the rest of the group.  The 
others were faring no better.  
	"We are surrounded!" Goliath roared.  The Quarrymen had managed to 
reach their hammers, and were slowly advancing on the group.
	"I think it’s time for some reinforcements, don’t you Owen?" Xanatos 
said.
	"Indeed, Mr. Xanatos," the majordomo replied.  He calmly pulled a 
small box out of his belt pouch and pressed a button.  Suddenly the room was 
filled with a low roar.  It took everyone a moment to realize it was coming 
from above.  The Quarrymen looked up just in time to see three Steel Clan 
robots smash through the ceiling.
	The robots landed in the center of the room, lasers blasting.  The 
Quarrymen that remained scrambled over each other, trying to organize to 
fight this new enemy.  Xanatos turned to the rest of the group. 
	"Let’s get out of here!"
	While the Quarrymen fought the Steel Clan, their real targets used 
the distraction to make their escape.

	Steve lay back in the hospital bed, listening to the *beep* *beep* 
*beep* of his heartrate monitor.  The nurse had just shooed his parents away 
so that he could get some sleep.  They had been so worried about him they 
were nearly going out of their minds.  Upon seeing his condition, their 
worries had doubled.  The nurse had assured them that Steve would make a full
recovery, that it would just take time.  But for now, what he needed was 
_rest_.
	Steve’s eyes were just drifting shut when he heard a tapping on the 
window.  He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Broadway waiting on 
the ledge.  Steve feebly gestured to Broadway, and the gargoyle quietly 
entered the room.  Steve smiled to his worried looking friend.  Broadway 
swallowed, his wings twitching.
	"Steve, I..."
	The human stopped Broadway.  "It wasn’t your fault."
	"But...the Quarrymen grabbed you to get to _me_.  And now they know 
where you live.  You’re not safe anymore."
	Steve’s smile faded.  "Yeah, I know."
	"Elisa says that the police can protect you.  They can..." Broadway 
couldn’t even face his friend as he spoke. "...find you a new place to live, 
a new identity."
	"No."
	Broadway turned back to protest, but the look on Steve’s face 
silenced him.
	"I’m not going to just run.  I know the Quarrymen know where I am, 
but that’s no reason to run.  There’s no guarantee that they’ll try anything 
again."
	"But there’s no guarantee that they won’t!  I can’t let you face them
alone!"
	Steve looked into his friends eyes.  "Then we’ll face them 
together...friend."
	Broadway smiled for the first time since the ordeal had began.  He 
laid a hand on Steve’s shoulder.  They were silent for a moment.  No words 
needed to be said, they both knew what the other was thinking.  Their 
friendship had gotten them through this trial, as it would any trials to 
come.
	Broadway finally cleared his throat.  "Well, I should let you get 
some sleep."  He began to make his way over to the window.
	"Broadway?"
	The gargoyle turned to face his friend.
	"See you tomorrow night?"
	A smile spread across Broadway’s face.  "Count on it."

	The heavyset gargoyle landed in the courtyard of Castle Wyvern with a
soft thud.  He walked inside, his mind whirling and with a concerned 
expression on his face.  The others were watching television in the main hall
to pass the time until he arrived.
	"How is he?" asked Angela.
	"He’ll recover," answered Broadway.  "But..."
	"But what, lad?" asked Hudson.
	"I just can’t get over the fact that the Quarrymen know where he 
lives.  They could try to grab him again at any time!"
	"Yes. They could," admitted Elisa.  "But they might not."
	Broadway was still unconvinced by this reasoning.  Elisa sighed and 
put her hands on his shoulders, looking squarely into his eyes.
	"Steve chose not to let us hide him, and that’s his decision.  The 
Quarrymen that we caught are all in jail.  We’ll just have to keep an eye out
for him."
	"Yeah," mumbled Broadway.  It would still be a long time before he 
stopped feeling nervous about Steve’s safety.  *For now,* he thought with a 
sigh, *at least he’s safe in the hospital*
	Goliath smiled, as if able to read Broadway’s thoughts.  "Elisa is 
right, my friend.  Steve will be fine. After all, not everyone has friends 
such as you to care for them."
	Broadway looked up at Goliath and saw that his leader was right.  His
gaze shifted to each person in the room.  All around him, his friends nodded 
in agreement.  Broadway smiled, even though he didn’t feel like it.
	"I guess you’re right."
	With that settled for the moment, everyone went back to the 
television.  Broadway sat down on the couch next to Angela.  She smiled at 
him lovingly and wrapped her arms around his bicep.  Broadway stared at the 
screen for a few moments before speaking up.
	"What are we watching, anyway?"
	Fox glanced at her husband, who was glued to the set.
	"‘Star Trek: The Next Generation.’  David insisted that we watch it."
The others chuckled and looked at Xanatos.  The eccentric billionaire looked 
up and turned red.
	"Hey, it’s a good show!  Good plots, solid characters.  Especially 
that first officer."  Xanatos nudged his wife.  "He always gets all the 
women."
	Fox rolled her eyes at him.  "I don’t know, David.  You kind of sound
like him."
	Xanatos grinned.  "You think so?"

	Three weeks later Steve was resting in his bedroom.  He flipped 
through the pages of his book, uninterested.  A glance at the clock told him 
that it was nearly 10:00.  *Where is he?* Steve wondered.  A tapping at the 
window took him by surprise.  Steve pulled open the drapes and laughed out 
loud.
	Broadway had landed on the roof, and climbed down the wall to Steve’s
window.  He hung upside down as he grinned at his friend.
	"Ready for the movie?"
	Steve rolled his eyes and put his book down.  Grabbing his jacket, 
he slid out the window into Broadway’s waiting arms.
	"Let’s do it."

*	*	*	*	* Epilogue *         *         *	*

	The man sat alone in his office.  The lights were out and the shades 
drawn.  He didn’t want any company at the moment.  After the humiliating 
defeat of the Quarrymen three weeks ago, he had been in a bad mood.  His 
fingers rapped against the desk as he thought of what to do next.  His 
eyebrows knit as he angrily thought.
	"Poor fellow, look at him fuming all by himself."
	The man’s head shot up.  He looked around his office to find whoever 
had intruded on his silence.  He saw no one.  The man jumped to his feet and 
clicked on the light.
	"Who’s there?"
	"Have a look at him, kiddo," said the disembodied voice.  "Sitting 
here, all by himself, seething in his hate of the gargoyles."
	The man tore through the office, trying to find who was watching him.
	"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" he screamed.
	"Ooh, temper temper.  Better let me handle this one, kid.  Watch and 
learn."
	Before the man’s eyes, a small elf popped into existence.  The man 
looked incredulously at the elf.  It was wearing medieval style clothing, 
with long white hair.  Strangest of all it was _floating_.  The man eyed the 
elf suspiciously.  
	"Who are  you?"
	The elf zipped around the room, making the man dizzy.  It stopped a 
few inches from the man’s face.
	"I think the question here, is what do you have against those 
gargoyles?  I admit a few of them are a little drab, but they’re really not 
all that bad."
	The man couldn’t believe what he was hearing, to say nothing of _who_
he was hearing it from.
	"What?  The gargoyles...not...BAD?  They’re monsters!  They must be 
DESTROYED!"
	The elf flinched at the man’s harsh words. A frown crossed it’s 
features.
	"I think the problem is you don’t really don’t know what it’s like to
be a gargoyle.  But that’s a problem we can solve right now, can’t we?"
	The elf winked toward an area of the room that seemed empty, but the 
happy giggle of a baby insisted that it wasn’t.  The elf zipped around the 
room again. It stopped sharply and floated above the man.  It’s eyes and 
mouth lit with an eerie green glow, and it’s hair flowed back as if being 
blown by some unseen wind.  The man backed against his desk as the elf began 
to chant.

	        "Since you’re such a hating fool,
		A lesson taught will be the rule.
		To better know those of wing and horn,
		Let you now take on their form."

	The green light enveloped the man, blinding him.  After a moment it 
began to fade.  In seconds the light was gone, as was the elf.  The man 
looked around, but he was indeed alone.  He struggled to his feet and 
realized how sore he felt.  He stretched his back, his wings opening fully 
behind him...
	He paused, horrified.
	Wings?
	The man looked down to his hands, and saw that they had three instead
of four fingers.  His feet had grown longer, and a tail snaked out from 
behind him.  Feeling faint, he stumbled to the mirror on the wall.  His eyes 
widened as he saw a gargoyle’s face staring back at him.
	"NOOOOOO!!!!"

	       			The End?