2Disclaimers
All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended and is not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Special thanks to my creative consultant for this story Superfan44. You were very patient waiting for this story to become a reality, and here we are.
Gargoyles Odyssey - Prelude
By Celgress
Manhattan Museum of Art, evening
"Thanks for pulling a few strings so we could visit this unopened exhibit after hours," Beth Maza said.
"What else are big sisters for. Just be sure to put everything back the way you found it when you're done. My Museum Board friend would freak out if anything is disturbed." Elisa said. "Matt and I have to patrol the area. We'll be back in about an hour. Call me if you need anything before then."
"Will do, sis, and thanks again," Beth said waving goodbye to her sister who did likewise. Beth and her study group from Northern Arizona University at Flagstaff were visiting the city on a week-long trip. They wanted to get a sneak peek at one particular new exhibit before they went home tomorrow.
"Isn't it exciting, Pen? We get to view the lost tablet of Gargon before the general public does." Beth asked excitedly.
"I suppose," The mousy pale-skin brunette girl said adjusting her thick glasses.
"Maza, you know Star Wars and Anime are more up Pen's alley than archaeology. She's only taking this course as an elective, same as me. She wants to be a famous comic book artist or writer someday." Laughed a skinny dark-skinned punk with a dyed green mohawk who wore a leather jacket.
"I know that Kevin." Beth snapped. Kevin sure could be annoying when he wanted, still, he was an okay guy.
"I like Star Trek better than Star Wars it is more cerebral," Penelope said. She hugged her notebook to her lithe body.
"Chill out ladies, I meant no offense," Kevin said.
"Would you like to kiss and make up?" Beth teased.
"You're not my type Maza. I prefer them tall, muscular, and handsome, and most importantly male." Kevin said with an impish grin.
"Daniel honey I'm bored to tears. Can we leave?" A smartly dressed young blonde woman whined at the young man whose arm she was hanging onto.
"Sure, once I get a look at the tablet we'll go, okay Celeste?" The young man said after running his free hand through his short brown hair in an act of frustration. While he loved Celeste, her obsession with fun could be trying at times.
"Daniel I still don't understand why you want to see some old dusty tablet. You're studying to be a doctor, not an archaeologist." Celeste huffed.
"I've been interested in ancient civilizations since I was a boy, especially the Minoans. Did you know we have yet to fully decipher than language?" Daniel told his girlfriend.
"Fascinating," Celeste said dryly. "If you want to waste your time I won't stop you."
"Why are you taking this course again?" Daniel said.
"Because I need a final elective if I want to complete my Communications Degree on time," Celeste said stamping her feet.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you're cute when angry?" Daniel said.
Celeste playfully pushed Faniel away. "Until we're away from here, flattery will get you nowhere."
"Attention everyone the time has arrived." An older bearded man with glasses who was dressed in a three-piece tweed suit said. He held a rope in one of his hands. "I give to you the fabled Tablet of Gorgon!"
He pulled the rope which caused a red satin curtain to fall unveiling a display stand. Upon its display sat the artifact in question. Beth and the others approached in awe, except for Celeste who would not have cared less.
"What an honor, huh Professor Randal?" Beth said her expression full of wonder.
"Quite, Bethany," Professor Randal said. "I only wish someone could read these fascinating inscriptions, sadly it is no possible." Randal leaned forward to more closely inspect the unknown writing as did Beth.
'Hey, was that a crouching gargoyle craved above the dual columns of text? He looks sort of like Elisa's special friend Goliath,' Beth thought with a smirk. Goliath and Elisa were friends like Mark Anthony and Cleopatra had been friends.
Beth then felt a strange sensation envelop her body, similar to how she felt when doing magic with her Fae buddy Coyote. Intense heat flushed through her. Unconsciously, Beth began speaking in a strange language.
"Beth are you okay?" Kevin asked. Beth continued to babble incoherently. The room turned deadly cold everyone could see their breath.
"Did someone turned the air-conditioner to the max?" Celeste said shivering.
"Beth you're scaring me," Penelope said. Penelope tugged on her friend's arm but Beth ignored her.
Beth and the Tablet of Gorgon both rose high into the air surrounded by red energy. While everyone save Beth screamed in terror, the letters on the tablet seemed to come alive. These letters floated around in a spinning circle that swirled faster and faster until a blinding flash of red energy consumed everything around them, including Beth and her group.
Later
"Did anyone get the number of that truck?' Kevin groaned. Rubbing his head he wobbled to his feet where he swayed unsteadily. Something felt off.
"Kevin!?" Penelope gasped covering her mouth with her hand. She took an involuntary step back. This monstrous-looking thing could not be her friend, could it?
Kevin was now a dark almost black seeming blue-green gargoyle with fin-like web wings, ears, and a crest of scales in the middle of his bald head in place of his mohawk. Even his fingers were webbed. Kevin prompted by Penelope's reaction glanced down at his body and yelped.
"What happened to us?" Kevin said inspecting his webbed fingers by stretching out his hand.
"Don't you mean what happened to you?" Penelope said fearing the worst. Kevin's next words confirmed her fear.
"I mean what happened to us, all of us," Kevin said looking around at the others who were only starting to stir.
Penelope caught her reflection in a nearby suit of medieval European armor. She too was a winged-monster! Penelope had become a light brown beaked gargoyle with two thin horns on her head similar to those of Brooklyn. Her tail ended in a spade shape. On the bright side even though her glasses were missing she saw everything in frightful clarity.
"We must call 9-1-1 for help," Randal said searching the remains of his destroyed tweed suit which barely clung to his now leanly muscled frame for his smartphone. The device crumbled in his clawed hands once he located it. "Dear me, the only explanation is my strength must have increased dramatically along with the physical changes." The Professor had changed into a pale blue bearded gargoyle of medium build with prominent brow ridges and two short curved horns.
"Stay away whatever you are!" Celeste screamed at the scarlet skinned gargoyle with a large muscular frame only somewhat smaller than Goliath's (although she did not know who Goliath was) that Daniel had become. Daniel's brown hair had was now orange. He did not have any horns only prominent brow ridges.
"Calm yourself, Celeste, it's me, Daniel," Daniel said.
"Prove it," Celeste challenged. "Tell me something only Daniel would know."
"Okay, you have a pink crescent-shaped birthmark on your l-," Daniel said stopping himself. "Although given your alterations I doubt it is pink anymore."
Celeste too was now a gargoyle. Her yellow-skinned matched her blonde hair. As with Penelope, her face was now a beak but he lacked Penelope's long thin horns or horns of any kind.
"Ah," Celeste gasped. "What do I look like? Is it bad?"
"Not really," Daniel said at a loss for words.
Celeste ran over to where Penelope stood mesmerized by her somewhat distorted reflection in the suit of armor's breastplate. "Out of my way, nerd girl!" Celeste pushed Penelope aside.
"How rude," Penelope said.
"Hey," Kevin said.
"I look like a bird! I'm hideous!" Celeste said bursting into tears.
"Hush, it's not that bad," Daniel said putting his arms around Celeste to comfort her.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have this honker." Celeste said feeling her beak with one hand. "You're still a hunk just with wings, and tail, and red skin."
"For what it's worth I still think your hot, make that very hot," Daniel said. Celeste's preexisting curves were enhanced by the sleek muscle she picked up from becoming a gargoyle.
"You do?" Celeste sniffed.
'Ah-huh," Daniel said. He instinctively wrapped his new wings around his girlfriend.
"Aw, cute, but we have bigger problems," Kevin said snarkily. "Namely, how did this happen to us and how do we turn back?"
"I think I might know," Beth said. Being the last to recover she was only now back on her feet.
Beth's gargoyle form greatly resembled that of her sister Elisa when Elisa changed briefly during "Mirror". Beth sported dark tan colored skin and a minimum of facial changes. Unlike Elisa, however, her interior wing membranes were black whereas the others were dark shades of their primary colors.
"If you reading from the Tablet of Gorgon caused this maybe if you read from it again we'll switch back," Penelope suggested beating Beth to the punch.
"A logical theory, if an impossible one to prove," Randal said picking up a handful of small tablet fragments. "Alas, the Tablet of Gorgon is no more."
"We're back. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves." Elisa said entering with partner Matt Bluestone. The two police officers were rendered temporarily speechless by what they saw.
"Hi, sis, uh, things didn't exactly go as planned. I think I screwed up, ah, big time, hee, hee, imagine that," Beth said with trying to avoid eye contact with her sister and Bluestone. "I'm hoping your special friend Goliath can help."
To Be Continued
Author's Note One -
This story takes place at the end of the Gargoyles Timeline. It happens not long after "The Journey", which I consider the last true Gargoyles episode. As with most fans, I do not include the remaining 90% of "The Goliath Chronicles" (which were trash, in my opinion) in my headcanon.
Author's Note Two -
While it is hinted that Lexington is gay in the semi-canon comic books in my headcanon he is straight (and will remain so until I'm told in canon otherwise), simply because he never acted differently from his brothers in that regard. My OC Kevin will not become Lexington's future mate. I do have a possible romantic relationship with a character from the expanded universe in mind for Kevin.
