avalon mists / serial feature
Serial Feature: Bad Guys, Part I, "An Auspicious Beginning..." story by: Stephen R. Sobotka Jr. & Tony "Marios" Teakles issue date: 9/2/03 print friendly / pdf file .......................................................................................................... Disclaimer: the characters of the main "Gargoyles" series are the creation of Greg Weisman and his staff, and the property of Disney and Buena Vista Television. Other characters from "The Gargoyles Saga" are the creation of the TGS Project, and are owned by them. They are used here without permission, but with all due respect. All other characters are the sole creation of the authros, and cannot be used without strict, written permission beforehand, and should not be re-posted in any form or format without like permission. .......................................................................................................... BAD GUYS Part One - "An Auspicious Beginning..." Continued ~#@#~ ~ A Private Clinic, Manhattan, The Following Day ~ Jason shivered a bit, wishing the nurse had given him a full gown and robe, rather than this paper-cloth surgical cover that kept him decent, yet exposed to the cold metal of the treatment table underneath him. It didn't help matters further that he was strapped to the now canted table by a waist belt, waiting for ages for his 'doctor' to arrive. Barbousse had been quick to move on Jason's agreement, taking him back to his appartment to deal with his personal affairs. Before the night had set, his lease had been severed and most of his personal effects moved out for relocation to 'another place'. He'd also had his parole officer contacted, so he'd not be in violation of that anymore. "The files are being changed so that your parole term appears to have ended a few months back," Barbousse had explained to him. "That way, your disappearance won't coincide with the end of your monitoring." By morning - after a night in an unknown hotel somewhere else in the city - Jason had been whisked away to this clinic where the procedure to work on his disabled legs could be started. Having just finished an in-depth MRI scan and several other examinations, he'd been left in his current state to wait for the specialist Barbousse had hired to come in. Rubbing his arms, Jason frowned at the clean, sterile room around him. "Feels like they should be calling for Dr. Frankenstein about now," he muttered humourously; not realizing the door to the exam room had opened just then. "Well, don't expect me to screw some bolts into your neck, Jason." Turning his head around, Jason stared with surprise at the sight of a man in surgical scrubs standing there, looking down at a chart in his hands. "Doctor...Sutter?" With a slight smile, William Sutter stepped further into the room and started leafing through the papers in the chart. "Well, I've got some good readings back from your scan-." "Whoa! What is going on here?" Jason asked. "How did you get here?" "Well," Sutter muttered, "right now I'm trying to explain to my patient that we've got some good findings here. As for how I got here, I was hired by Mr. Barbousse to continue your treatment." Looking up, his carmel-toned face smiled brightly. "That mean's I'm finally going to be able to treat your disability properly, Jason. Thanks to our employer, I've got all the medical and surgical means to do the job right." "What, you didn't...weren't before?" Jason asked. Dr. Sutter sighed, and put on a frank expression. "Well, yes and no... let me explain. Since I was assigned to be your doctor, before now, I've been doing all I could for you with what medicine could and has provided for paraplegics and quadras for years. However, there's always been... more that could be done, but no one has ever been allowed access to. At least before, you see?" Dr. Sutter paused for a moment, watching Jason nod his head. "You also have to remember your case. You're on something akin to long-term, medical parole. The procedure I hope to use is still highly experimental and the new regenerative drugs are all very expensive." He shruged, adding, "Thanks to your new employer, I've got all the access I need to get those drugs and the information on this procedure." Jason understood the implications of this new revelation tumbling through his head. "So you're in on this, too?" he sighed. "In a sense..." He tucked the chart with the exam results under one arm, and leaned on the angled table with the other, giving his patient an honest look in the eyes. "I've been hired to cure you by the same man who's hired you, but that's where my involvement stops. I don't know what for, just that it's important and that a friend I trust brought this to me." "And the parole, then?" "If I'm asked, I just have to say that you got transfered elsewhere, as per the paperwork. Your covered. I'm covered." Jason frowned, "Well, that's all and good, Doc, but what do you get out of this? Money?" Sutter shook his head. "No, if this works, then I get the position doing experimental medicine I've always wanted. And, with further aid, I'll be able to keep doing that medicine for others too." He smiled and added, "I guess that makes you my final exam, before I get my papers!" Jason had to smirk at that. "I hope you crammed all night... I don't want you to flunk the test." Dr. Sutter gave him a nod. "Don't worry, this is one procedure I plan to ace. Now, let me show you a little of what's ahead..." ~#@#~ ~ Somewhere, Somewhen... ~ "So," the Guest nodded, breaking in when his Host paused after speaking for so long. "That's how Jason-?" "Yes," the Host agreed, "but his doctor wasn't the only one working that late at night. Someone else was busy in the city, too. And it is also part of the things that eventually came to pass..." ~#@#~ ~ A Major Biomedical Research Company That Same Evening... ~ Amid the nighttime sweeps of the guard patrols and the hum of electric systems acting as watchdogs for this stone-and-metal edifice for 'future health and longevity', a black shape skittered across the rooftop, over the side and down a sheltered wall, hidden from the video cameras and infrared webbing that sought to snare any unsuspecting 'flies' that blundered into them. Just above a small service doorway, the figure reached down and poppped out two long cables from inside their forearm. Plugging them into the small access panel wired into the door, they quicky unscrambled the lock code and isolated the sensor monitors from the primary security 'net'. "Okay... we're almost in!" they hissed over their shoudler. "Get down here, now!" From above, two more shapes separated from the shadows of the roof and headed down to join the first one. "Be CAREFUL, you oversized metal belladonna! Don't drop me!" "Don't tempt me, Doc... i'm not exactly in a good mood right now!" Peering up at the others, the red-fisheye lense of the first figure winked brightly before its owner scowled. "Keep it down, sis! And remember... he's our guest, for now!" As they reached the ground, the one being carried extracted himself from the other's grip, straightening his dark overcoat and slightly-rumpled slacks with distain. "I am your employer, Jackal. Remember that." As the last of the security protocols were circumnavigated, Jackal just glared at the speaker. "Yeah, Doc, how can I EVER forget that! I file it away under 'Stuff I'd rather just forget, but can't if I want to get paid'!" Snarling tiredly, the third member of the trio, Hyena, prompted, "Save the chit-chat, bro... let's just get inside!" "For once I agree with your sister," Dr. Anton Sevarius interjected smoothly, even though his face still bore a scowl as he waited next to the cyborg twins. Jackal unlatched the door and shoved it back into the building, "After you... Doc." Waiting for his sister to follow the genetisist inside, Jackal make a quick scan around before he backed into the doorway too, closing it behind them. ~#@#~ However, in spite of all of their caution, the trio's entrance hadn't gone unnoticed... "What do you see, Graeme-kun?" Peering though the small monocular scope - a recent gadget he'd picked up - Graeme squinted then sighed befpre lowering the scope from his green-beaked face. "They got in... now what do we do?" Beside him, the young gargoyle's twin sister twirled her bo staff slowly over her fingers; her own beaked, crimson face pinched in a frown. "Well, they can't be up to anything good in there," Arianna murmured. "Duh," Graeme snorted. "So do we go after them?" "Baka, there's three of them and two of us," Arianna replied. Graeme rolled his eyes. "Sevarius doesn't count. He's just a regular human." "Doesn't matter. Jackal and Hyena carry more weapons than a platoon of marines," she replied. "But, we can't let them get away with whatever they're going to do," the green-skinned youth muttered, peering back across the street to where the research facility sat. Both he and Arianna had been off to find a movie theater, when they spied the cyborg pair making their way across the rooftops. Deciding to follow, they ended up on a shorter building across the way. "Yeah, but we need better odds," Arianna replied. "We need Dad, or Mom, or Goliath..." "Or a squad of Marines," Graeme quipped mirthlessly. "Or even-." "Or perhaps a friend?" a soft voice asked from behind them. Whipping around, Graeme and Arianna went on guard, searching for the source of the speaker. "Who's there?" Graeme whispered back. Just then, a tall form rose out from the shadows of the rooftop in front of them; a familiar, fuzzy winged form. "Oh, Claw!" Arianna smiled, "it's you!" "Waitaminute," Graeme said, frowning, "Claw doesn't speak, remember?" "No," the voice replied, just as a darker shape stepped out from behind the tiger-coloured mutate; revealed to be the jaguar-faced form of Sharon Nomura. "But I did." "Sharon-chan!" Graeme and Arianna relaxed their agressive pose, happy to see their friends from the Labryinth. "What are you two doing here?" Claw cocked his head, crossing his arms as if to say, "We could ask the same thing, too." Sharon explained, "We were out patroling when we saw you two heading this way. It's a bit far off your usual patrol route, so we wanted to follow you to see what brought you here." Graeme nodded his beaked face towards the research facility. "We saw Jackal and Hyena sneak Dr. Sevarius into that building. They've got to be up to something no good." Claw's paws clenched into fists at the mention of Sevarius. Frowning, Claw and Sharon looked at each other. The two young gargoyles missed what passed between the two from the quick exchange, but Sharon stated firmly, "It is good that you didn't try to take them on alone." Arianna replied, "But we've got to stop whatever they're planning! It's our responsibility to keep those that mean to do evil from doing harm to others." Graeme rolled his eyes again. His sister had gotten on a 'responsibility' kick ever since their mother talked to her about that incident with the horse. "Well, Sharon's right though. We can't take on those two metal cheeseheads alone." Sharon spoke up, "Then I guess you'll need to get some help." "But they'll be gone before we can get to the castle and back... here," Arianna retorted, pointing to the Eyrie Building in the far distance before she suddenly caught the look the two older flyers were giving her. "Now who's the baka?" Graeme quipped with a grin, only to get thumped on the head by his sister's bo. "Owch!" "Alright, you two," Sharon grinned, hoping to keep them from causing an uproar. "Listen, and here's what we can do..." She quickly outlined her idea, then, with the young gargoyles leading the way, the foursome left the rooftop and glided towards the research company. As she and Claw followed behind the twins, Sharon held him back for a moment. "Claw," she said softly, "I know you are thinking of capturing Sevarius." The tiger mutate nodded back to her, his amber eyes hard with determination and his paws in fists once more. She reached across the airspace between them and took his nearest paw into hers. "No," she said, locking eyes with him. "We must focus on protecting Ari and Graeme first. And that means dealing with the cyborgs. Could you face Brooklyn or Sata should they come to harm tonight?" The larger mutate found he could not keep her gaze and looked down. He tried to turn away, but she held firm. "First the cyborgs, then Sevarius. Promise me this," Sharon said firmly. He turned back to her and nodded, the hardened look of determination gone. He stroked her paw lightly as she released him. Sharon smiled back at him. "Then let us be off." "And Claw," she said as they hurried to join the youngsters, "once Jackal and Hyena have been dealt with, there will be no escape for Sevarius. I promise you." ~#@#~ Hyena rubbed her temples as the other two walked down the corridors arguing softly with one another. She silently wished they'd just shut up. They were giving her a headache, going in circles the way there were. "Think of the money... "Think of the money," she repeated in her mind, waiting while Jackal popped open another security door. Checking quickly before he moved into the stairwell beyond, he grumbled,"I don't know why you instisted on coming along, Doc! You're only slowing us down. We could've been in and out of here by now." "Ah, but you two can't be trusted to get what I need if I'm not here," Sevarius replied, grumbling himself as he nearly tripped over a small garbage can before passing into the stairwell. "I wouldn't be reduced to this if I hadn't become 'persona non grata' in the research community." Hyena grumbled quietly, "Will you two please shut up?" But they didn't seem to hear her. How could they argue in this heat? she wondered absently. Raising his voice, the doctor pointed dramatically at his chest as he continued ranting. "How can Dr.Burundi deny me - Me! - access to his research? We both did our post-docs at Cambridge together. Who did he come to when he needed help with his research?" His frown deepened. "Well, if he won't even let me visit his lab and chat about his current research, I'll just have to take a look at it for myself... and anything else they may have around here of interest." he added with a oily grin. Jackal returned to his previous point. "And why do you have to come along? Can't we just grab it for you?" he asked as he picked the lock at the top of the stairwell. "You wouldn't even know what to look for. Do you even know what a stem cell is?" Jackal started to reply, one finger thrust just under Sevarius' face... then, he let it drop when he couldn't answer. "My point is well taken, then?" The red-headed genetisist asked with mock-cloyingness. "Fine, let us continue with the search." Hyena found herself resisting the urge to beat her head against a wall. Or theirs. She had a sudden image of caving the genetisist's skull in - very vividly - but she groaned, quashing that notion. They needed Sevarius' money too badly. They were falling behind on their repairs and upgrades... even now she could feel several components that were in much needed servicing... The threesome reached one of the main research labs and, after by-passing the lock, they slipped inside to search. Dr. Sevarius pointed to a couple of personal computers. "Download all the information on the hard drives while I look around." He then started leafing through the files and any loose papers, looking for anything of interest. "You're the boss, Doc," Jackel snickered, jacking into the computers to allow his high-speed link gobble down gigabytes of data in seconds. "Sis, watch the door." She grumbled, "Fine... sure, anything to keep from listening to you two morons..." Sevarius moved over to the storage refridgerator and opened the chrome door. Petri dishes and test tubes clanked hollowly as he shoved them around, digging with both gloved hands towards the back. After a moment, he got up quickly and slammed the door shut. "The samples aren't in this lab. Let's move on." "But what about the computers?" Jackal asked. "I'm not even a quarter of the way through these!" "Forget them. This is all cancer research. Nothing I need here." He stalked out into the hallway. "Let's see if we can find Dr. Burundi's office. His papers should say where the interesting research is done." ~#@#~ A short time later, the two cyborgs and their temp-employer found the office they were looking for, and Sevarius couldn't have been more pleased. "Ah, the mother-lode!" he beamed. "Jackal, help me with the hard copy files. Hyena! Get the information off that computer." Literally dancing around the office, Servarius started opening unlocked cabinets to start prowling through them. Hyena mumbled something under her breath as she flopped into the padded chair behind the wide desk dominating the room. "Didn't you hear me? Get cracking, it's what I'm paying you for!" Sevarius growled as he and Jackal started working on the locked drawers of one of the file cabinets along the far wall. "Yeah, I heard ya," Hyena snapped breathlessly. "I'm... just trying to catch... my breath!" The genetisist scowled. "You don't have any lungs," he retorted sourly, "Ergo, you have no breath to catch." "Ah, go fondle a test-tube," she snorted under her breath, straightening up in her seat to examine the system she had to hack. "You know what i mean..." Popping open a panel on her forearm, she pulled out some thin cables and started plugging them into the computer. Sevarius sighed, just as Jackal jimmied one drawer open. "Ah," he sighed with eagerness. "Let the acquisitions commence!" He couldn't wait to get his hands on Dr. Burundi's data. Added to his own work, he had visions of creating new and far more powerful creatures than he'd done before... Jackal kept glancing at the door, edgy as a cat. "C'mon, Doc! Just get what you can and let's blow this place! We've been in too long for them not to know someones breached their security." "Patience, Jackal," Sevarius tut-tutted. "When I have all that I require, we'll make our exit." Hyena rubbed her face with her free hand, watching the progress of her cracker-subroutines working on the computer's access locks. "Sounds fine t'me... Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" "Oh, stop complaining, sis!" Jackal snapped, not bothering to turn around to look at her. "Just open a window, or something!" Almost as if his reply had been their cue, Claw and Graeme smashed through the thick-glass and thin metal blinds of the office window behind the trio. Distracted by the shower of glass and metal strips, Sevarius and the cyborgs almost missed the entrance of Sharon and Ariana; who broke down the office door with a pair of forward kicks. Graeme started to say something, but Arianna scowled, "If you say 'Knock, Knock!', you'll be sorry, Graeme-kun!" Jackal snarled, "Oh, swell! This caper just had to get noticed by the local rat-pack!" Snapping out an arm blaster, he whipped it up to fire, only to end up on the receiving end of a tackle by Claw. They plowed into the floor, with Claw's larger form ending on top of the cyborg's chest. Sevarius gaped for a second, then shouted to Hyena, "Stop them, you wind-up wench! We cannot lose this chance to get this information! Hyena turned sluggishly to face Graeme, who was standing in an en-garde position of some martial arts form, waiting for her to make the first move. With a low growl, she snapped out her finger claws and swiped at Graeme's chest. The young male dodged by stepping backwards, with only one side of his padded vest getting snagged by the flashing blades. "Graeme-kun!" Arianna cried out, darting forward to help her sibling. Sharon, started to reach out for her, calling out, "No, Arianna! Wait!" Suddenly, she stopped as Claw sailed in front of her, slamming into another file cabinet with enough force to dent the front. Turning, she watched as Jackal kicked his legs out, flipping himself back upright once more. Deciding quickly, she moved to help Claw. Hyena switched focus from the green male to his scarlet sister, stumbling back to get some breathing space just as Ariana stabbed out with the end of her staff. The pole smacked into Hyena's middle, knocking her back into the chair. Rolling backwards from the force of her sudden seating, Hyena was stopped only by the grace of her data cables - still linked to the computer - which snapped taut as it stopped her from going further. Hyena snarled, wrapping her hand around the near-end of the cables. "I'm not... gonna take a beating... not from a pair of pint-sized brats like you!" Forcing a maniacal laugh, she yanked on the cables, popping them free to swing them at Arianna like a flail. Graeme took that moment to fish out a pocket-sized multi-tool, snapping out the utility blade to use as a weapon. He snagged the flail as it whipped close after Hyena missed his sister with one swing, and hastily severed it with the blade before she could make another swing. The free end slithered back into her arm, coiling in its stowage port. With a leer, Hyena hissed at Graeme, "You little beak-freak! Don't you know that little boy's shouldn't play with knives?" Uncurling her hands, she popped out her claws and took a step towards him. Just then, Claw and Jackal slammed over the top of the desk, sending a shower of broken objects sailing in their wake as they grappled with each other. Hyena threw up her hands to shield herself, which left her open to a charging tackle by Sharon; the dark-furred Mutate seized her wrists, keeping her finger-blades at bay while pinning the female cyborg to the wall. "Your fight is with me, cyborg! Not with children," Sharon growled. Hyena just flashed a half-smile, grimacing as she tried to fight back against the mutate female's grip. "Suits me, sister... more pounce for the ounce...is a good thing in my book!" As the twins watched the fight unfold, Graeme spied Sevarius, slowing edging his way towards the smashed-in doorway, his arms loaded down with files and disk carriers. "Hey! Wait!" He tapped Arianna on the arm, nodding towards the genetisist. Together, they bolted over and cut him off from the exit, growling at the human with glowing eyes. Dropping his armload of research booty, Sevarius tried to placate them by holding out his hands and saying, "Ah-ah-ah! You two little... monsters, you wouldn't hurt an innocent bystander?" Graeme rolled his eyes. "H-yeah, right!" "Some innocent bystander," Arianna chimed in. Meanwhile, Both Claw and Sharon had their hands full with the cyborgs. Sharon was somewhat better at holding Hyena down, but for some reason the mechanical female wasn't fighting as strongly as she'd expected. Claw tried to keep up with the fury of Jackal's punches, but the former Pack member was just too fast. Jackal chuckled, "You know, I never did like the 'strong and silent' type!" A small panel snapped open in his shoulder, sending a burst of irritant gas spraying into Claw's face. With a hiss of pain, Claw jerked backwards, reflexively leveling his hands towards his opponent. A sudden crackle of energy enveloped the air around him, filling the enclosed space with the smell of ozone. Sharon caught it, just as she'd gotten Hyena wrapped up in a arm-lock. With wide eyes, she shouted, "Claw, NO! Not in here!" But it was too late; the tiger-stripped Mutate let fly with a burst of bio-electric power. Jackal quickly dodged the blast, but the back wall of the office wasn't so lucky. It exploded outward in a sudden shower of metal, concrete and shattered glass. That was all Hyena needed, as the explosion distracted Sharon's attention for the barest of seconds. Triggering her back-pack, she kicked off the floor, shoving Sharon back through the now-gaping hole in the back of the office. Caught completely off-guard, Sharon let go of Hyena as the two of them sailed out into the night. Jackal turned to face the gap, calling out after his sister, "Hey, where do you think you're-?" He got cut off as Claw blindly tackled him from behind, and they too plunged out into the empty space beyond the hole. Left alone, Sevarius faced the twins with a moment of hesitation, just before he snatched up a chair and started thrusting it at them like a lion-tamer. "Back! Get Back!" At that, both brother and sister looked at one another with a 'can-you-believe-this?' expression. Sighing almost like she was bored, Arinanna flipped her bo staff out, knocking the chair out of Sevarius' hands. Reversing the stroke, she rammed the opposite end into his middle, doubling him over onto his knees. Graeme just nodded, smirking as Anton was robbed of his breath. "Nice work." "He's not much of a fighter," Arianna quipped. Turning, she noticed that the others had left the building. "Looks like the rest of the fight's outside." "Then, let's get out there and help," Graeme suggested. "What about him?" Arianna gestured towards a breeathless Sevarius. Graeme shrugged. "Better bring him, just in case." Outside, the fight continued to see-saw back and forth between the Mutates and the Cyborgs. Jackal had started to gain ground against Claw, but he was running out of gagets and weapons quick. Claw surprisingly held his own, using brute strength and some speed to keep the older cyber-sibling at bay. Sharon, on the other hand, wasn't holding up after initially landing to take care of Hyena... at least at first. Hyena's slashes were coming close to the mark, forcing Sharon to keep on the defensive rather than use her own bio-electric blasts to turn the tables. As time progressed, Hyena's blows were going wide and wider still, missing the dark-furred female while allowing Sharon to get in a few blows of her own. By the time the twins arrived, carrying Sevarius between them, Hyena made an angry lunge forward, her hands together with fingers spread to form a spiked mace to club Sharon with. Ducking under the blow, Sharon seized the cyborg's forearm and shoulder, rolling with the charge to flip her over her head. "Ouch!" Graeme winced as Hyena hit the ground hard. "I should try that one when we get a chance to spar at home," Arianna quipped. Graeme shot her a look. "Don't get any ideas!" Staggering to her feet, Hyena started flailing around with both fists, her punches going everywhich way but near Sharon. "I'll... I'll GET you! I'll get...ALL of YOU!" She tried to maintain her balance, but from the round-heeled stance she had, it was clear something had dizzied her during the last exchange. Warily, Sharon kept her distance, crouched to move the second Hyena got her equilibrium back... But that never happened. Hyena suddenly dropped her arms, panting as the pale white skin of her face lay shiny and wet with sweat. With a gasp, she shook her head and asked aloud, "Why...w-why is it...soooo damn HOT out here?" The moment the last word left her lips, she crumpled into an unconsious heap. Jackal, locked in an arm-bar by Claw, spied his sibling's collapse. "SIS!" With a snarl, he reared back and booted Claw in the gut, wrenching himself free to dash towards his sister. Before Sharon could intercept him, he uncorked a flame thrower attachement on his arm; sending a spray of flamming gas out to keep her at bay. At the same time, Sevarius suddenly came to life, turning to shove Graeme aside before savagely kicking Arianna in the shin. The sudden moves distracted the twins long enough for him to get clear of their reach. "Hurry, you fool! Grab her and get us out of here!" "What's wrong, sis? What did that FREAK do to you?" Jackal asked his unconsious sister, rolling her over to smack her slack face a couple of times. "If you don't get us out of here, we'll never know what's wrong!" Sevarius snapped, joining the cyborg. Already, the Twins and Claw had recovered, and the firewall keeping Sharon at bay was dwindling. Jackal glared at Sevarius hotly. "If I didn't THINK I needed your help..." He left that to hang between them as he snapped out a pair of glider wings from his back. Craddling Hyena in his arms, he motioned for Sevarius to hold onto him, before leaping into the air. A pair of rocket-jets ignited, sending twin spears of flame shooting from the back of his lower legs. As the Mutates and twins scrembled for cover from the backwash, the trio soared off into the night sky, darting behind the maze of buildings before vanishing from sight. Claw started to head for a high spot nearby to chase after them, but Sharon reached him in time to clap a hand on his shoulder. "Claw, no! We can't chase them now! Our fight has surely alerted the guards and the police! We need to get away ourselves, before we are found here!" Turning towards her, Claw shot Sharon a look that spoke volumes of hurt, anger and betrayal. "I know, I promised... but, we can't risk ourselves being caught by the authorities," she hissed urgently. Already, the faint sounds of approaching police sirens could be heard in the distance. "Besides," she added, nodding towards the twins, "we aren't alone in this venture!" Claw looked as if he was about to rebel - the urge to go after Sevarius was still keen in his eyes. However, he took one look at Graeme and Arianna and sighed heavily. Nodding, he motioned towards a nearby cul-de-sac alleyway; mimicking the sign of a manhole cover. With a sigh of relief, Sharon nodded a silent thanks to the larger male, before she motioned towards the alleyway, speaking to the twins. "Come on, we need to leave here, now!" Without any arguement, the young gargoyles followed the two mutates into the allyey. With a quick search, they found an entrance to the sewer ways, and quickly fled down below the streets, away from the arriving cop-cars and security forces. After moving along the darkened tunnels for a while, the foursome paused to catch their breath. Leaving against the side of the tall tunnel, Sharon absently rubbed a few spots on her coat that had been singed from the firewall. "Well, they got away...and, they left a mess behind them, as usual." Claw made a questioning gesture, pointing in the general direction of the departing crooks. "No," Sharon said, "we don't dare try to follow. They're too far gone for us now, and further more, that area will still be crawling with police called in to investigate the robbery." The twins looked at one another, "We should have kept a better eye on Sevarius," Graeme stated. Claw and Sharon just smiled at the young male's admission. "You'll do better...next time." "It wouldn't have been so hard this time," Ariana commented, "since Hyena fainted like that." "Yeah," Graeme piped in. "What did you do to her, Sharon-chan?" Sharon rubbed her shoulder, gazing at Claw who returned her look with a questioning one of his own. "I'm...not sure. But, if I didn't know better...considering Hyena is a cybernetic being now..." "Yeah?" the twins echoed each other. "I could swear that she was feverish...or at the most very, very sick." Graeme blinked, puzzling over those words. "But, I thought cyborgs didn't get sick?" ~#@#~ ~ Somewhere, Somewhen... ~ Blinking, the Guest piped up. "He's got a point. Cyborgs can't catch a cold like a normal human can." The Host waved a slim hand, as if to push his remark aside. "That's something that can be better explained later," she stated. "Right now, we need to get back to Jason Canmore." "Ah, and his contribution to...?" "More or lest...after all, he still needed to get one thing for the Director..." ~#@#~ ~ Riker's Island Prison, New York City, N.Y., About two months later ~ The bald-headed guard unlocked the door to the Visitor's Area, swinging it inward to allow Jason to roll inside. He stood there impassively, while the wheelchair-bound man in semi-casual clothes paused just inside the doorway. "Thanks," Jason said amicably. "The prisoner is on the way from Cell-Block-G," the guard reported cooly; not responding to Canmore's thanks. "Visitation is limited to one-half hour." Jason merely nodded, to which the guard merely grunted, locking the heavy door behind him as he left. Jason mused to himself, "Obviously, the guards aren't up on their PR interactions with the general public as of late..." Turning to look around at the stark room around him, Jason noted the bleak, hueless furniture and drab concrete walls. The only two exits were the locked door behind him, and a second door - covered with a heavy gate of iron bars - on the other end of the room. Just then, a small buzz heralded the opening of the second door, which revealed two figures waiting on the other side; a butch-looking female guard, and a blond-haired prisoner in an orange jumpsuit. The lack of handcuffs or shackles made Jason relax a little... at least Robyn had been behaving herself. As the iron gate slid back to admit the two arrivials, Jason pushed himself towards a low table in the center of the room. The guard led Robyn there, where she pulled out a chair across from Jason, and her charge took her seat. "You have one-half hour," the guard stated. "Bear in mind, you will be monitored, so no funny stuff." Robyn didn't say a word, but put her hands in her lap, her tired face lowered so that her eyes were dully fixed on the table in front of her. "Understood," Jason replied, nodded. "Thank you, Officer Baynes." The guard nodded, then turned to leave, glancing up at one of the security cameras mounted in the ceiling overhead. On cue, the door behind the gate opened and the guard exited the room to give Jason and Robyn their privacy. Such as it was. Both brother and sister sat silently for a moment; Robyn kept her place, but Jason started fiddling with the wheel lock on his chair. "How...how are you keeping up?" he asked presently. Robyn stared at the tabletop, shrugging. "I'm alive." "Are they treating you well?" Another shrug. "As can be expected, towards someone that blew up a police station," she muttered. She reached up to brush some of her blond locks back over her ear. Jason wasn't liking this toneless, listless manner that Robyn was displaying. "Nobody's tried any funny business, have they?" he querried. At that, Robyn snapped her head up to stare at her brother. For the first time since this visit started, her features took on a more animated set. "Oh, they tried...emphasis on the word tried!" She scowled at some past memory. "One of my bunkmates tried to take some...personal items one day." Jason blinked, then frowned. "You didn't stand for that, did you, sis?" A ghost of a satisfied smile flickered across Robyn's face. "Let's just say...after I got through, I don't have to worry about sleepless nights anymore." Jason laughed. "Sounds like you're holding your own then." Robyn sighed and nodded. "I get by. I've kept my nose clean, and that's gone a long way with a lot of the guards." Switching gears, she asked him, "How's your therapy going, Jase?" Jason started to say something, then he glanced down at his legs with a lesser frown. "Ah, I see," Robyn nodded. "You'll heal up again in time. You just have to-." "If you tell me what the therapists have been saying for the past weeks," Jason growled, yet smiling as he waved a finger at her. At that, the two of them broke out laughing for a few moments. "So, there is improvement?" Robyn asked when they calmed down. "Some," jason replied. "My doctor has great hope for my...recovery." After that, they both let the conversation crumble down into smaller parts of catching up with each other's lives; what books Robyn was reading, how was the new apartment Jason got, and so forth. Eveentually, a tinny voice piped up over a loudspeaker somewhere behind Jason; "Ten minutes, sir." At that, Robyn and Jason paused. They'd been so into talking to one another, the time had flown by. "Robyn," Jason said after a bit, leaning forward in his chair towards her, "when are you due to see the parole board?" Sighing, Robyn slumped back into her chair. "Not for another two years." She looked off to the side, adding, "I'm not trying to sound like a defeatist, Jase, but while I'm a 'model' prisoner, there's no way I'm going to be let out that soon." Dropping her head and closing her eyes, she muttered, "It'll be a long, long time before they let me out of here." Jason nodded in understanding. "I know this place...it can't be pretty encouraging on a body." Robyn grunted, "Y'don't know the half of it, Jase." "You're got to keep your hopes up," he replied, reaching out to offer his hand across the table to her. Absently, Robyn mirrored his action, placing her smaller hand in his. "I've been asking around, and turns out there's going to be another parole board session coming up in a few days." With a little emphasis, he stated, "I convinced them to review your case then." Robyn snapped her head up, staring at her older brother in shock. All too quickly, her expression folded into a frown. "Jason, even if they do review me at that hearing, they'll never let me out, just like that!" She yanked her hand back and stabbed one finger towards her chest. "I'm one of those bloody Hunters, remember? We caused danger and didn't care who we hurt in the process! I even blew up a police station, Jason! Do you understand what that means? i'd be marked by every cop in the city before I even stepped out on the sidewalk!" Jason sat there, listening to her rant with a sympathetic ear, before breaking in when she paused. "Sis...I don't think you'll have to worry about that." "Oh?" Robyn asked with a touch of sarcasm. "How do you figure that?" "Because I've made some new...'acquaitences', within the past few months," Jason explained. "I've been working with them on a special project, and, if you're willing to lend your hand to join in, they'll be willing to help get you out of here." "What?" Robyn closed her wide-open mouth and stared hard at him. "This is a joke, right?" Jason just nodded at her suprised look. "It's no joke, I promise." "Oh, right!" she replied skeptically. "No offense, Jason, but the day you can pull enough strings to get me out of this prison, then that will be the day you can walk again!" As soon as she said it, Robyn quickly bit her tongue. "Oh, damn, Jase! I...I didn't mean..." Even as Robyn tried to hammer out an apology, Jason reached down and set the locks on his chair. Before his sister could form another word, Jason levered the chair's foot rests aside so his feet touched the floor. Calmy, without breaking eye contact with Robyn, Jason gripped the arm rests on his seat... ...and stood up to his full height before her now-flabbergasted eyes. "Jason!?" Once upright, he stepped around the chair and walked over to stand next to Robyn's seat. All the while, she kept switching her gaze from his face to his legs, unable to form a single syllable to express her utter amazement. "So," Jason said with a half-smile, "do y'think I've got enough clout now?" Finally finding her voice, Robyn gasped, "Jason! But...how...when-?" "What you need to say is if you're interested in the proposition I have, if it will get you out of here?" At that, Robyn got a hammer lock on her emotions and surprise, forcing herself to be as calm as possible before stating, "Just...tell me one thing, Jason!" "Of course?" "These...'acquaitences' of yours...they aren't asking you or me to do anything that's going to break the law?" Smiling, Jason reached into his leather coat to remove a folder. "No, sis. In fact, what's ahead is...well, you could say it's going to be a fresh start. For the both of us." ~#@#~ TO BE CONTINUED... .......................................................................................................... Images of Bad Guys used from the following pages: Gargoyles-fans.de (http://gargoyles-fans.de/) Avalon Archives (http://avalon.gargoyles-fans.org)