Prologue

The cop looked down at the man wired to the light post and sighed. "Dunno about you, Caryn, but I don' want to meet the bloke who did this."

"Well, whoever did, I'd like to thank him," his partner said as she scribbled in her report. "Lady who owns this place said he practically disintegrated all the glass cases with some sort of laser thingy. Robbed her blind and scared her to death, and from the looks of this, it's all been returned."

"Yep, but there's no 'laser thingy' on 'im, m'dear," he said. "Yer hero might have just been somebody lookin' to use his buddy's new toy."

She shrugged. "Whatever the case, we got everything else. And there's no fingerprints that can clue us in to our vigilante." As she spoke, she knelt and began to unwind the culprit. "Help me get him out of here so we can cuff him, will you?"

During all this, the thief was moaning. "Please, please, take me away, get me away from that giant! He was huge, man, like fifteen feet tall! And he was wearing this big metal suit, and a claw - oh, god, oh god."

"Sure, mate," the officer said with a wry smile. "An' we'll even git you yer own little white jacket and room all t' yerself." He stood up as his partner cuffed the man. "Let's go."

No one noticed the dark figure in a black rain slicker turn and vanish into the alley.

One week later

The young man sitting at the desk barely looked up as the big man entered and asked to see Sarah Adams. Personally, he really didn't care how important this person's business was. It had been a horrid morning from the moment he'd first been jolted awake by his alarm, which was helped by the fact that he had to work at this job on a Saturday morning. Consequently, he was in a very contrary mood.

He fixed his eyes on the papers before him. "Do you have an appointment?" Smirking to himself, he continued to scribble. There was no need for one - Sarah Adams was a junior attending Melbourne University, nothing more than that. But nothing helped a bad mood like spreading it around.

The tall man crossed his arms. "I don't need a bloody appointment. She's m' sister."

"Mmmmm-hmmm." The student looked up at the man, surprised at his size. He looked as if he could pick up the heavy oaken desk and throw it into a wall. "Well, anyone can just waltz in here and say that, now can't they?" Adjusting his glasses, he fixed his adversary with a cold stare. "What with security and the desperate need for quiet time to study, you'll have to do better than that. My superiors won't take kindly to strangers barging in." He smiled a nasty little smile. At this point, since there were a number of people milling about, the person usually swore and stalked off in a huff.

This person, however, did not. He reached down, grabbed the student's collar, and lifted him out of his seat with one hand. He shook the other in the young man's face. "Now listen here, mate," the man growled softly, "I ain't stupid enough to waste my energy on the likes of you. But if you don't either get my sister or tell me where she is, I'll be raising hell for the rest of your shift. Got that?"

The student was white as he was gently set down in his seat. "She's upstairs, at computer 23," he gasped hoarsely as his assailant passed him and headed towards the stairs. Idly, he noticed what looked like a laptop carried in the man's hand. Funny, he thought, I've never seen one that shade of silver before.

His attention was diverted towards the next victim of his bad attitude as she moved towards his desk.

Dingo turned right and immediately saw the rows of computers, many with young students clicking away at them, staring entranced by the monitors. Personally, he'd never liked computers, and had never had any luck with them.

Of course, that had all changed with the Matrix.

In his hand, the "laptop" seemed to pulsate with warm energy as the Matrix lay dormant in a non-obtrusive form. During their long conversations about working "undercover," it had learned a variety of forms to conceal itself in the outside world, mostly electronic. The Matrix had even managed to emulate the functions of its forms, being a state-of-the-art, sentient being created by nanotechnology. Dingo was glad of this; if he ever had to do any investigation that didn't require force, it was good to be temporarily separated from the Matrix.

Almost immediately after he'd laid down the basic terms of surviving each other, their first "case" had fallen into Dingo's lap. A shipment of a new sort of laser weapon had found its way to the docks, and it was spreading all over Sydney, and somewhat in Melbourne. With the help of the Matrix(and the flapping jaws of a panicky thief), Dingo had managed to take out most of the distribution centers and stop the shipments. It felt good to be a hero again, especially since it was for real this time.

However, they hadn't been able to get a clue as to where the guns were coming from until two nights before, when the Matrix had managed to hack into an e-mail at the docks from the dealer to the shipper. They'd been able to trace it, but the location had been encoded in a new sort of language that the Matrix was unable to crack, called DataSpec. Matrix had requested several days to try to crack it.

But there wasn't enough time. In several days, the dealer might catch on to them and move, and the guns would start shipping in again. Dingo had managed to save the file on a disk before they'd had to bolt.

When they had made it clear, he'd had the Matrix check on the names of the nearest colleges with experience in DataSpec.

The University of Melbourne had been first on the list.

Dingo knew the perfect person to contact. A person who was majoring in computer science and programming. A person who wouldn't be too greatly put off by Matrix.

A person who he'd known since she was two days old.

As he walked quietly down the rows of computers, trying not to disturb the figures hunched over them, he spotted her at computer 24. Figured that little moron would be off.

Unlike the others, who were practically leaning into the monitors, she sat erect and straight at her station, the screen's white glow reflected in the frames of her wire-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a green T-shirt and jeans, and her light brown hair, the same hue as her brother's, was bound in a long, thick braid down her back.

Her head jerked up suddenly, and her tanned face broke into a wide smile. "Oh my god," she gasped as she leapt out of her seat and flung her thin frame into his arms. Dingo hugged his sister tightly. She was almost as tall as he was, but not as heavily built. "Dingo, what are you doing here?"

He grinned and released her. "Just wanted t' see my favorite sister."

"Yeah, right," she said, and behind her he could see that she had managed to set a password protected screensaver just before leaping up. "I know you too well. You've got an ulterior motive, big brother."

He eyed the screen. "Haven't changed much, have you? Never let yer guard down."

Sarah looked around; their conversation seemed to be virtually ignored. "Hold on a sec." She sat down, woke up her screen, and closed the program. Flipping off the program, she smiled up at him. "You're right. I don't, and I learned it from you. Let's go somewhere private and talk."

At the same time, some miles away in Sydney, someone else was hooked up to a computer, typing furiously. His superiors really would not be pleased that someone had traced their last e-mail message. True, it was mostly encoded in some new stuff, but that plus the rumors of a metal giant....well, it was best to play safe.

He activated the video uplink and furiously typed in each of the seven connection passwords he was asked for. Damned computer security.

The video window's pixels seemed to fizzle, but then settled into a silhouetted image. His contact, the operation leader, always did this; it was irritating, especially since he knew what the bitch looked like anyway. Wisely, he kept that thought to himself. "Blue team leader, ID number 7-225."

"Gold strike leader here." Even through the online distortion, the voice was extremely nasty. "Talk. This had better be good news."

He snorted. "I wouldn't call it good news, but you should hear this anyway. Ten distribution centers are wiped out, and the last four shipments have been stopped. We aren't making much progress with these things."

"What?" Pure evil in that tone. "Mind telling me just how this happened?"

It was hard to keep his voice from shaking. "The guys who talked - that is, those that were coherent - told us garbage about some huge guy in a bulletproof metal suit that tore through the place. Heard a similar story from the guys at the docks, too, so that can't all be imagination."

She swore softly. "This is not what we need now." Another voice spoke in the background. "No, idiot, we can't use the airlines because the security would catch us!"

The team leader was getting increasingly frustrated. "Look. I need some input here. Are we going to do anything about this metal vigilante or what?"

"We will." The shadow turned back towards him. "A metal vigilante, you say?" A short, evil laugh. "How interesting. How very, very interesting."

"All right," Sarah said when they were safely in her dorm - her roommate was never around anyway - and closed and locked the door. "What else are you up to, Dingo?" She sat down on the couch. "You know, you're still wanted in the States for breaking out of jail."

Dingo sighed. "I know, I know. Bleedin' bad move." He shifted uncomfortably. "But I've cleaned up a little. Tryin' to git back into the hero biz for real." At her skeptical look, he pushed on. "I mean it, Sarah. I'm lookin' into something real big, and I need you to crack a code fer me."

"What something?" Damn, he'd taught her too well.

He sighed again. "Aah, might as well git on with it. There's been a couple shipments of these laser rifles or whatever they are in Sydney lately. I took out a couple of their safe houses and stopped most of the shipments, but couldn't figger out where they were comin' from." He paused. "Until my new partner hacked into a e-mail and tracked the dealer." Dingo pulled out the disk. "But it's in somethin' called DataSpec, which my partner couldn't crack."

Sarah looked at him. "And where's your partner now?"

"Wellll..." Dingo drawled, setting the laptop on the floor in her room. "You promise not to start screeching?" At the look he got, he shrugged. "All right. C'mon, Matrix," he snapped at the small metal box.

Its surface rippled. Then the box melted and shifted form, an amorphous silvery blob that seemed to pile up on itself into a humanoid shape. Sarah goggled, and Dingo grinned. "Sarah, this's the Matrix, m' partner. Matrix, this here's my sister, Sarah Adams."

"We greet you, Sarah Adams, sister of Dingo," the Matrix said in that irritating multi-voice of its.

"Wow," Sarah said. "I can't believe this. Dingo, what the hell have you been doing these past months?"

Dingo laughed heartily at this. "Met Matrix when I was helping Xanatos Enterprises with some weird project. It was a chance to git home, and work that I figgered wouldn't hurt anyone." He jerked a thumb at his partner. "'Course, I didn't know the project was an order-obsessed Matrix."

"We now seek to preserve 'law and order,'" the Matrix put in.

Sarah looked at Dingo, who shrugged. "Last-minute argument attempt."

"I can't believe this," Sarah said again. She turned to the Matrix. "Matrix, what sort of....organism are you?"

"We are an artificial sentient life-form, composed of a matrix of microrobotic organisms for survival," the Matrix promptly responded. "Our original programming emphasized remaking matter to create order."

Sarah looked back at her brother in amazement. "You must be a better arguer than I thought."

"I was sort of lucky in this case," Dingo said. "You gonna help us or not?"

His sister looked from Dingo to the shimmering form beside him and back to her brother. "I'll get my coat."

"How come you couldn't crack this code?" Sarah murmured to the Matrix (disguised, again, as a laptop) as Dingo handed her the disk.

There was a pause before the Matrix responded. "Our programming was long completed before DataSpec had even entered the first stages of development as an encryption language. It is unlike any previous form we have encountered. We lacked sufficient time or equipment to decipher it before the thugs crashed in; there was only time to save it to disk."

Sarah looked around at her brother. "Thugs?"

"It's a fast learner," Dingo muttered as he looked over her shoulder at the numbering and symbols coming on screen. "Can you do anything with this?"

She nodded. "I've taken a few courses with DataSpec, and this is actually a textbook version. I can convert this into something readable in about half an hour." She looked back up at him. "We'll be fine, but you might have to go get some coffee."

Dingo took one last look at the confusing symbols. "Good idea."

"I got it," Sarah said as he returned with two plastic cups. "Matrix sped up the process a little." She absently sipped at the coffee he handed her. "Mmmm. That's better than they usually serve. The trace was hampered by a lot of intentional interference, but the dealer, unless they know we're on to them, is in New York City, USA, not far from Times Square." She frowned. "Looks like you'll have to take your chances with the Yanks again."

Dingo wasn't surprised that it was New York. "Got any other clues on that, sister dear?"

It was the Matrix who answered. "There are a few mentions that may prove useful. The dealer cites a 'Xanatos' who will regret doublecrossing him or her, plus getting back at a 'clan' later on."

Xanatos and the gargoyles. Whoever was behind this, they knew David Xanatos, and about his guests. "I think I know what some o' that means."

"Good, because I don't." Sarah looked up as her brother pulled out the disk and picked up Matrix. "Where are you going?"

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to the Big Apple, that's where. Say hi to Pop fer me. Wish I could stay," he added as he stuffed the disk into his pocket, "but I gotta move fast."

"But--"

Dingo was out the door and down the hallway before she could say any more.

Brooklyn flexed his wings in the cool night breeze. They felt unusually stiff that evening. He wondered why, but shrugged the thought off as a cheerful voice interrupted. "Are you trying to impress me now?"

Startled, he turned and grinned to see Angela standing there, smiling at him mischievously. "Not really. But did it work?" he asked, letting a note of hope come into his voice and putting on a nervous expression.

Angela laughed at that; she had become much more assertive as the days wore on. Brooklyn rather liked that. "A little. Do you want to go watch Broadway and Lex's newest quarrel?"

"Oh, no." The one bad thing about being Goliath's second was that when he and Hudson were gone, chaos tended to erupt. "I'm afraid to ask."

She beckoned. "Come on, I'll show you."

He followed her down the tower stairs and into the new living room that Xanatos had furnished for them. It was spacious and luxurious, with an entertainment system (VCR, television, big speakers, the works) and extra-large chairs and a couch custom-made for gargoyles, with a few human-sized ones. The stone floor was covered by a tasteful, heavy Oriental rug, which was being badly wrinkled as Broadway and Lex rolled across it.

"I told you, I was here first! I want to watch the Sci-Fi Channel!" Brooklyn stared in surprise; for someone a fifth of Broadway's weight, Lex was holding his own.

"You always hog the tube! And Coach is on!"

"We're watching C-net Central!"

"Coach!"

"C-net!"

"Coach!"

"ENOUGH!" Brooklyn bellowed, in his best emulation of Goliath. His two rookery brothers halted in mid-tussle and stared at him. He glared back. "If Goliath were here now, he would say you're acting like a pair of hatchlings! And you're not hatchlings!" The maroon gargoyle took a deep breath as Angela patted his shoulder. "You guys should be glad Goliath isn't here to see you two. Now knock it off and pick a station, or the tube goes off. Got that?"

The guilty looks showed that they had. "Yeah, we're sorry," Lex said, sounding more sincere than he usually did.

Broadway was scratching his head. "Guess we got a little carried away."

With a sigh, Brooklyn shook his head. "Apology accepted." He looked at the rumpled rug beneath his talons. "Come on and let's fix this before anyone comes in."

As the four of them finished, someone did come in. Elisa Maza grinned. "Couch commando again?" she asked.

"Hi, Elisa. Yeah." Brooklyn gave her a tired smile as Elisa hugged each of them in turn. "Goliath and Hudson aren't home yet."

She shrugged. "No problem. Six hours until dawn, and I got a night off." As she took off her jacket and hung it on a hook - it was a warm night - she added, "Actually, Xanatos had something he wanted to tell you. He was going to send Owen, but Owen thought I should be in on this. I guess he's trying to regain your trust."

"That'll take a lot," Broadway remarked. "What's up?"

Elisa sat down in a chair by the couch. "Xanatos is going to have a visitor later tonight - a former Pack member, actually. He wanted to warn you before you attacked him blindly."

"What??" Lex clenched his fists. "Who?"

"It's Dingo, and we're all sworn to secrecy on this." Elisa held her hands up. "To be honest with you, I don't think Dingo means us any harm. We ran into him in Australia during that business with the Matrix I told you about, and it was he who stopped its charge and helped us out. He's reformed, apparently."

"You've got to be kidding me," Lex said, but Brooklyn's eyes seemed to light up.

"Maybe there's some truth in that," he said. "You guys remember way back when the Pack got upgraded?"

"What about it?"

"Well, there was something about the way Dingo was acting. Kind of hard to tell in all the fighting, but he didn't really take much pleasure in it - seemed kind of uneasy with everything." Brooklyn scratched his head. "Maybe it's just me, but I think Wolf, Hyena, and Jackal were having a lot more fun kicking our butts than he was."

Angela added something else at Lex's sour expression. "I met this 'Dingo' when we were in Australia, and when the Pack were in Egypt trying to get Xanatos immortality, he wasn't with them."

"Maybe he's quit them for good," Broadway put in, and Lexington finally relaxed. Slightly.

"Well, all right," he said. "I'll leave him alone if he leaves us alone. But if he doesn't.." He left the threat hanging.

"If he doesn't, we'll deal with him." Elisa patted his arm. "Calm down already. You did promise you'd show me that new computer system you had put in."

Brooklyn watched them go and let out a deep breath. Crisis averted, for now. "I sure hope Goliath gets back soon."

Dingo scowled at the window, his "laptop" on his knees. He'd been conversing with Matrix visually on the keyboard, in typing, and did not want to speak to the person sitting next to him. His anger was directed towards that person, oddly enough. There were three more hours until they reached Kennedy Airport; he was stubborn enough to hold out.

Xanatos had been surprisingly amenable to his terms. Dingo didn't trust that. It was very likely that he wanted to get his hands on the Matrix again, however impossible that seemed. He made a mental note to keep his eyes and ears open while he was there. If Xanatos tried anything, he would regret it. The Matrix was sentient and independent, and it had joined with Dingo out of preference and a need to learn more about the human world. It had nothing to do with programming.

Except maybe for that obsession with order, that he still did not trust.

Matrix, it seemed, was a lot less powerful ever since it had joined with him - or, rather, with his battle armor. He really didn't think it could engulf the world as easily as it first could. Not that it ever showed the desire to, but, well...

No matter. They'd been discussing plans and strategies for the past five hours (after Dingo slept for four), and the Matrix had suggested they speak with the gargoyle clan. That prospect didn't exactly thrill him. Goliath and Detective Maza might be inclined to trust him, but the rest of them might not. Naturally, the Matrix had insisted until Dingo had finally relented out of frustration.

Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, that was the best thing to do. They really didn't have much else to go on. Goliath might just know someone who would be inclined to spread laser guns all over, at a cheap price that wouldn't make much profit.

Now that that was settled, he had one more problem, one that he didn't quite know how to attend to. He turned away from the window and glared at his neighbor, who patted his knee.

"Dingo, don't be angry," Sarah murmured. "I'm not letting you run off again without me. Besides," she added just as quietly, "if Xanatos is the ass you say he is, you're going to need a backup plan."

Dingo muttered something sarcastic about family and turned away.

"Hello, Dingo," Fox said as she strode calmly into the room where Dingo, Owen, and her husband were just exchanging rather stiff greetings.

Dingo allowed himself a small smile as he hugged his old friend. "You look good."

Fox smiled. "The amazing weight-loss plan of childbirth. So what," she added, "is my husband trying to con you into now?"

"Nothing, my dear," Xanatos said. Fox shot him a look. "Well, not at the moment. Apparently, whatever project he's out to stop concerns me as well to a point."

As if on cue, Owen held up a small disk. "This encoded e-mail message has several rather...bloodthirsty references to Mr. Xanatos pertaining to revenge. As well as getting back at a certain clan."

"Hmmmm." Fox pursed her lips, then turned to Dingo. "Should I even bother to ask just where your partner is?" At his look, she shrugged. "Then forget it. David, I have to supervise a few of our upcoming projects, so I'll leave you men to your work." At that, she turned and left.

Xanatos sighed and turned back to the computer monitor. "I'm still trying to figure her out."

"I wouldn't even try if I were you," Dingo remarked as an aerial map of Times Square flashed up on screen. Owen hit a remote control and the picture zoomed out slightly.

Owen set down the remote. "This is a projection of Times Square and its surroundings for a 500-meter radius." A red circle appeared, superimposed over the image. "These are the areas with sufficient phone lines and modem systems to have sent that message."

"Wait a minute," Dingo snapped. "Don't you think that whatever bloke sent that message might've disconnected and moved already?"

"As I was about to say," Owen continued, "this includes lines that have been disconnected in the past few weeks as well." Dingo looked behind him as Elisa Maza walked into the room. "Is there a problem, Detective?"

Dingo stiffened slightly as Elisa moved towards the table. "Hi, Dingo. Actually, I wouldn't mind being let in on this as well. It's preferable to eavesdropping in the hallway."

Xanatos shrugged. "I don't see why not." He turned to his aide, who was standing there patiently, waiting for them to get on with it. "Can you isolate the location of the transmission?"

"In time, sir," Owen responded like a man who had quite a bit of work to do. "However, with this much interference I can only isolate, not pinpoint the source exactly."

"Do the best you can," Xanatos said. In Owen's case, he reflected, his best was going to be damned good.

Dingo folded his arms. "So what do we do now, mate?"

It was Elisa who answered. "I know someone who you could talk to."

At that moment, all four of them would be very interested in a certain phone conversation taking place. It was between two young women, and to the trained ear it was like dueling accents; a heavy British country accent versus a light, nasal Australian accent.

The British girl was adamant. "No, no, no. Forget it."

"Oh, come on, Callie! You owe me a favor!"

"This is m' job, Sarah dear, not a bloody man trap!"

"Cal, you'd still be with that rodent if it weren't for me. Besides, you don't want to work for Xanatos if you want to be free eventually."

"So where should I work, then? Answer me that!"

"How about Cyberbiotics? I know they'll welcome someone with your computer tactics."

A long pause. "You won't leave me be til I say yes, will you?"

"You know me too well. And besides, I've got five dollars' worth of quarters here. So do we have a deal?"

"All right. I already applied over th' phone with a rather smart bloke. 'Ow are you going to fool 'im?"

"'Ow am I going to fool 'im?" A perfect imitation. "Drama did pay off after all, Callie. Just give me all the info I need to deal with this bloke, and we're even. No more crazy favors."

She sighed. "What kind of an idiot am I?"

"The best kind, Callista. The best kind." A pause. "Ummmm.... I'm at the airport right now. You mind picking me up at Gate 18?"

"You and your bleedin' favors, Sarah. You never change, do you?"

"Neither do you, buddy. Pick me up, please." A faint beeping sound. "Can you make a stop at the bus station on the way back? Need to drop something off."

"Laser weapons?" Broadway asked. "You don't mean those things Tony Dracon tried to spread all over New York?"

Dingo shook his head. "Worse, mate. Only thing I've seen that can withstand these things is Matrix. And these aren't those big guns; they can fit in yer pocket." He brought out the pistol he'd first confiscated and displayed it in his meaty palm.

Goliath made his characteristic rumbling sound. "Where is your partner, anyway?"

"I talked 'im into temporary separations. He's with a friend." Dingo sighed and spoke in a lower tone. "I still don't trust our host any farther than I can throw 'im."

"You aren't alone there," Elisa said quietly. She was rather pleased with the way this meeting was going. Hudson, Broadway, and Brooklyn had eventually relaxed and were being polite to Dingo. Angela had only known Dingo from the Matrix business, so she was behaving nicely; and Goliath was always polite. The only exception was Lexington, who was standing off to the side in a dark corner of the room, having lapsed into a cold silence. At least he didn't attack Dingo verbally or physically. Elisa figured that she couldn't ask for more. Two out of three wasn't too bad.

Hudson looked thoughtful. "Do ye even know where the dealer is, lad? New York's no small hamlet."

"Somewhere near Times Square," Dingo answered. "But we don' know exactly where." He paused. "What I wanted t' know is if you'd seen anything strange near there, since you get a lot of chances to fly out at night round here."

Bronx barked for no apparent reason as a thought occurred to Brooklyn. "Wait a minute, I might have." The others looked at him in confusion and he pressed on. "Remember a while ago, out patrolling? There's this abandoned warehouse that's supposed to be condemned. It's not too far from Times Square but out of the way enough to stay out of sight."

"What about it?" Broadway asked.

"Well, when I was down around that way about three days ago, I saw lights and heard a lot of noise in there. I thought at first that somebody had bought it, but the windows were still boarded and the Condemned sign was still up. Didn't get a chance to check it out, though; sunrise was coming."

Elisa bit her lip. "That's a pretty sketchy lead to go on. Do you remember where the building is?"

Brooklyn shrugged. "Give me a map, I could find it."

Dingo was about to add something when a sound caused the group to turn. Owen was standing there, calm and placid as ever. "Ahem." He adjusted his collar. "I believe we have been able to narrow down the options. If you will follow me?" He turned and headed back towards Xanatos' office. Dingo looked at Elisa, who in turn looked at Goliath. The gargoyles and humans shrugged and followed Owen down the corridor.

Back in the spacious office, they found Xanatos leaning over a terminal. "Just a moment," he said as the map reappeared on the wall monitor, complete with points and the red circle of the radius. "There!" The circle shifted and began to shrink, becoming smaller and smaller until it stopped. The new area encompassed a few blocks, and a couple of the points. Xanatos shrugged. "That's our best guess."

"It's good enough," Brooklyn said as he moved towards the monitor and placed a talon on an unpinpointed block within the new radius. "That's exactly where the building is."

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. "Care to let me in on this, Detective?"

"We had an exchange of information," Elisa said coldly, still not trusting the man.

Dingo's expression mirrored her feelings. "Let's go." He turned and followed the group out the door, then paused and allowed himself a last parting shot. "No, we don't need yer help, mate. Had enough of that lately."

Elisa's smile was tight in the dark corridor.

"Is that the place?" Elisa asked as Goliath landed softly on the roof of the old factory and set her down.

Brooklyn and Lexington were already crouched at the edge, looking out over the condemned warehouse - which, oddly enough, was alive with shadowed activity. Angela, Hudson, Broadway, and Bronx were perched across the way, also watching the building. Brooklyn waved silently at them, and in response a bluish arm waved back.

"This is it," Brooklyn said as two figures in black carried out a small crate and threw it into the back of a truck. "No doubt about that."

Lex looked over at Goliath. "So where's Dingo already?"

Before Goliath could speak, there was a sound of rockets and a soft clink behind them. "Right here, mate," Dingo hissed as they turned to see him standing there, noticeably changed. Instead of the plain shirt and jeans he'd worn earlier, or his Pack battle armor, he was clad from head to toe in a weird kind of silver battle armor - which looked a lot tougher than the old outfit.

Dingo destroyed the effect by breaking into a big grin. "Sorry fer the wait. Had t' pick up my partner."

Brooklyn, along with Lexington, goggled. To Brooklyn, however, this new apparition seemed to make a few things clearer. It was no wonder that Dingo had been so distrustful towards Xanatos; the man's normal behavior beside, he would definitely want to get his hands on this "Matrix." Dingo must have had some safe place away from the Eyrie for his "partner", which is why he was late. But where? And how?

He shook it off. No time for more questions. "This is the place," he said again. "And I think they're moving out."

"Kind of a rude way to treat guests," Lexington said, his eyes glowing white.

Goliath smiled tightly and took Elisa in his arms. "Then we will teach them some manners." He raised an arm in the air, then brought it swiftly down again.

The attack was blindingly fast, and so well timed that Brooklyn was able to get a few blows in before the black-clad thugs started fighting back. He'd knocked out two of them before he was set upon by three more, all at once. With a roar and a thrust of wings and tail, he threw them off as Lex dive-bombed into three more.

There were a lot more of them than he'd originally thought. The clan and Dingo were constantly besieged, and when Brooklyn knocked out one guy, three more appeared. Looking up, he spotted Dingo hot on the tail of one man who had been giving orders, the obvious leader. He opened his wings and tried to follow as Dingo cut his way through the masses of men, but was suddenly cut off as someone jumped on his back and wrapped his arms around Brooklyn's throat.

Choking, Brooklyn struggled to stay partially aloft, weaving back and forth to dislodge his attacker's iron grip on his throat. He wasn't all that successful, and the world was spinning as he felt the lack of oxygen causing him to black out....

Then a shadow passed overhead, and a soft thump caused the man's grip to loosen. Looking up, he smiled at Angela, who hovered above him, gripping his unconscious attacker in a talon. "Thanks, honey," he said jokingly.

Angela grinned and gave him a peck on the cheek before dumping her cargo in the nearest dumpster. Brooklyn shook his head and tried to regain his awareness of the situation below.

Things were getting worse. The men had gained an ounce of common sense and had broken into the crates to get their hands on the laser pistols. Now they were firing at the shapes that dipped and glided above them. He heard Lex shout as his tail was singed, and saw his rookery brother swoop down on the offender in anger.

Fortunately, they were bad shots; and another piece of good news appeared as Dingo burst into the fray, cutting through the gunmen easily as their lasers bounced off his armor harmlessly. This caused the thugs to back down in fear and the clan to fight back harder.

As Dingo disarmed the men with ease, Goliath and Hudson circled around them, blocking all means of escape. Lex and Angela joined them, and soon the ground was littered with unconscious dark shapes. Elisa, meanwhile, with Bronx in tow, had cornered a few strays and was tying them up in the corner. "They don't know anything," she said bitterly. "Even the sight of Bronx didn't let much out."

"That can be fixed." Brooklyn landed and strode over to the two men. He glared at them with glowing eyes and they cowered. "Mind telling me what you know?"

"I don't know nothin', man!" one groaned. "It's just a job! I get hired off the street by this guy who offers me money, and I didn't even know what the stuff was! Please don't hurt me!" He was almost in tears, and his partner had fainted.

Goliath frowned. "And we still have no clue to this dealer."

"Maybe not," Dingo said thoughtfully, extending a hand. It held a slip of crumpled paper. "Got this off the leader here. He was finishing some sort of e-mail and writing this down, but when Matrix and I caught up, the bloke panicked and slammed a crowbar inta the machine." He made a face. "There wasn't enough left for Matrix to salvage, but I still got this."

Lex glared. "If you hadn't bashed in like that, he might not have trashed it," he snapped. Brooklyn glared at him, not wanting a fight, but Dingo pretended to ignore the comment as Elisa took the note from Dingo and read it out loud.

"Meet at 1900 hrs at A-15, B6," she read, then stared at Dingo. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Beats me," the big man said as Hudson looked up at the sky.

The old gargoyle held up a hand. "We'll have to find out later, lads," he said. "Sunrise is coming soon, and I don't want to be stone out here."

As if on cue, sirens sounded in the background. "Hudson is right," Goliath said. "Let's go."

The young woman at the computer terminal aroused no suspicion from the security in the Eyrie Building. As far as they knew, she was Callista Reynolds, a computer systems analyst who was starting her first day on the job running a routine system check. That was what her ID card and (forged) license said.

Sarah Adams smiled thinly. Her brother's new partner was rather handy to have around. Even knowing Callie as well as she did, and having the info, drama skill, and expertise to pull it off, she wouldn't have gotten through the front door without the hacking skills of the Matrix. Ten minutes and she had a fake driver's license and references that passed even the highest security measures and fooled the tired interviewer.

And now she was trying to cross-reference the printout on the Net, and find its source, under the guise of a systems check. It appeared that even with top-flight security and the latest in technology, there were still quite a few holes in Xanatos' database.

So far, so good. Sarah hadn't been caught. Unfortunately, she was no closer to the answer than she'd been two hours ago. Glancing up at the clock, she saw that it was her designated lunch break. If she hung around, there would be a lot less people working at the computers, giving her a lot more freedom.

She leaned back and eyed the video camera. No, maybe not. It would arouse too much suspicion if she ignored her break after sitting at this terminal for two hours. As long as she was here, she would play her part correctly.

With a sigh, she exited the program and shut the computer off. As she turned down the corridor towards the water cooler, she noticed a shadow slipping into a door marked PRIVATE. Ignoring the warning bell that went off in her head, Sarah turned and moved towards the door.

"I don't know, Elisa," Matt Bluestone yawned as they walked down the street, bathed in late afternoon sun. By his schedule, he and his partner were up abnormally early. "If you ask me, it sounds like that old girlfriend of Goliath's - what's her name again?"

Elisa yawned - it was contagious. "Demona. How do you mean?"

"Well, you told me that she's got this vendetta against the human race. Hell, after what happened last month," he added, "it's obvious she'll resort to any tactics."

"I don't follow you." Elisa rubbed her eyes, not having slept well.

"Look, Maza, this person's dumping laser weapons all over for a cheap price. If they're going for profit, they're going all wrong." He paused for effect. "But if they're out for destruction, a spread like this could put a dent in the human race in a few years."

Elisa ran her fingers through her hair. "I just wish that I knew what that note meant."

"Let's get some coffee. It'll wake up some brain cells," Matt said as his coat brushed against some magazines by a newsstand. "Oops, sorry," he said to the owner as he stooped to pick up the mess.

Elisa bent to help him, and froze as she picked up one that had fallen open. "Matt," he whispered hoarsely. "Look."

"A city map of New York," Matt said. "So?"

"The page numbers," Elisa said, swallowing. "A-12, B-12....A-15."

Matt stared at her. "That note - city map grids? Come on."

"Why not?" Elisa flipped through the pages. "It's so simple and obvious that it's easy to miss. Besides, anyone who's lived here as long as most cops never bother with these." She landed on a page. "A-15; main business district. And in B6 is..." She froze. "I've got to get to the Eyrie and show this to Goliath!"

Matt grabbed her arm. "Hold on. What's the problem? What am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing yet." Elisa turned and headed down the street, suddenly reenergized. "Remind me to listen to your hunches from now on!"

There was till an hour before sunset as someone knocked on the door of the guest room. Dingo was mildly surprised to see Detective Maza standing there, holding a road map in her hands. Matrix was in its favorite laptop shape, closed but plugged in. "I found out what that note you found meant," she said in a low voice, glancing at the small camera behind Dingo.

He moved to hide her face from its range. "So what does it mean, then?" he whispered.

Maza shoved the open map into his hands. "There," she said. "A-25, B6. Nightstone Unlimited."

"What time is it?" Dingo immediately spun, trying to get a glimpse of the clock. "Six-thirty. We got half an hour."

The detective looked at him. "You aren't planning on charging in there, are you?"

Tempting. "Can't. That ain't no beer shack like last night. The minute I'm spotted, the bloke behind this'll split."

"There's still an hour before the clan wakes up," she reminded him. "I hate to admit it, but maybe we should ask for Xanatos' help on this one." Sliding out into the hall with her, Dingo closed his door behind him.

Dingo shook his head. "Hell, no." Matrix had received a warning message from Sarah that something strange was up. "I tried to git through to Fox, but the only answer I got was that she was busy with some project." They moved down the hall and into the elevator towards the roof. Suddenly, he stopped. "I got an idea. Go on ahead." He turned and headed back down the hall, diving quickly into the guest room and muttering to his partner to unplug.

"Not until you give me a clue as to what this is about," she retorted.

He sighed and turned to face her. "Get yer friends together at sunset and meet me at the Nightstone building. I gotta catch the dealer in the act if we're gonna get 'im."

"And just how are you--" she began, but he had already grabbed Matrix and was gone in a moment.

Elisa sighed. "I should be used to this by now," she muttered as she headed towards the elevator.

The figure had stationed himself in a supply closet that was not supposed to exist, seated at a put-together computer terminal that he was hacking away at frantically. The door was locked too tight for Sarah to bust open, and he was twice her size. To top it off, from her vantage point in the ventilation tunnel, she couldn't get a decent glimpse of his screen. Obviously, he was a spy, but for whom? She had to find out. She'd been watching him all day - the PRIVATE had been an excuse to hide from someone - and this was the first actual lead she'd gotten all day.

And she wasn't going to be able to wedged in the air vent. With as little noise as possible, she began to wriggle back down the tunnel. In a few minutes, she was sitting back at her station, none the worse for wear save for her blouse, which was rather wrinkled and a bit stained. Maybe she could tell someone it was coffee.

The real problem was that guy in the supply closet. She couldn't alert Security - he might have an accomplice or two in there. However, if she could tap into his modem connection, she might have a chance. She isolated his location in the Eyrie, than did a search for the type he'd been using - a used 486 IBM compatible PC.

It wasn't too hard. He hadn't properly activated all security locks, which meant that he was in a hurry. However, she couldn't just bring up a terminal echo of it on her screen - that would be noticed by the others in nearby cubicles.

Sarah suddenly made a face, put a hand over her mouth, and dashed out the door, making the best sick noises she could. It seemed to work - the security people left her alone, not even noticing the disk in her left hand.

She slipped into an unstaffed security office, its monitors off. Punching in the disk, she began to relay the transmission through to play on the screen.

A computer vid screen showed up. "So he's taken the bait," the shadowed figure said.

This was no good. Sarah began frantically cleaning up all the interference, desperate to get a look at the contact. "You're sure he's coming here?" She couldn't hear the spy's response. "Perfect. He'll be bringing that "Matrix" thing, too?" A face began to emerge, blurred and distorted. Sarah worked harder.

"No, we're not going to kill him. Not at first." The face was beginning to come up. "Dingo might like what I have to say."

There was another pause as the face finally began to come into view. "If he doesn't, we'll kill him, idiot," the dealer said calmly. Sarah stifled a gasp; she recognized that face!

There was a noise outside, but she'd heard all she needed to know. Shutting off the monitor, she entered the hallway, then dived into the ladies' room just as a security guard headed down the hall. Alone in the bathroom, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. "What the 'ell am I going to do?" she murmured, unwittingly mimicking Callie. Shaking her head, she splashed some water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't contact Dingo. There was no one she could trust in the Eyrie. The only option was to go after him.

But how?

An idea came to her suddenly, a project she'd read about during her file hacking that morning. She'd barely given it a passing thought then, but...

Sarah wiped off her hands, straightened her blouse, and turned down the corridor. She had to hurry.

The delivery man was barely searched, and was pointed towards the stairs after his package, a new high-speed laptop that one of the senior execs had apparently ordered, passed inspection. The door guards at Nightstone were too tired to notice that his jacket was a bit small for him.

Dingo had knocked out the biggest delivery worker he could find on the way to Nightstone, but not big enough. Once in the safety of the elevator, he tore off the jacket and pressed the button for the top floor.

It opened on the floor beneath that one. Confused, he hit the button again, with no result. Dingo turned into the empty hallway and headed towards the stairwell unnoticed. He climbed two flights and came to the top door - the roof. It was locked - no surprise. As he turned and headed down a flight, he saw that the door to the top floor was open.

"Worth a shot," he muttered as he stepped through into the darkness.

The hallway was completely empty, and the lights were out. As Dingo tried one of the lines of closed doors, he heard the door behind him slam shut. Dashing over to it, he realized that it was locked.

"All right, Matrix," he hissed. Nothing happened. "Matrix?" There was still no answer. He looked down. Matrix was gone.

The young woman who strode down the corridors of the Eyrie did not look like someone to be reckoned with. Her blouse was wrinkled and slightly stained, and her face wore the pale, drawn pallor of someone who has just been violently sick. Her eyes beneath the glasses blazed, her fists were clenched, and her sandy brown hair was in disorder. The ID card at her breast revealed her to be Callista Reynolds, a bright new systems analyst and computer engineer hired the previous night.

None of the security personnel bothered her as she passed by; she was cleared for the area, and it was not surprising to see someone in such a state at the end of a hectic day working for Xanatos Enterprises. Besides, a number of people had heard the rumor of her being violently ill that afternoon, and no one wanted to take the risk of it being contagious.

She entered the engineering wing and stopped at the security annex in area 14. The guard looked up at her. "There's been a computer error of some sort down 'ere. My supervisor told me t' come down."

"And what sort of computer error?" the guard asked, tired.

"I don't bloody know!" she cried. "All I was told was that I 'ad to come down to area 14 and fix it!" She ranted on, her appearance and blazing eyes adding to the effect. "'Ow am I supposed to know when not a soul tells me anything 'ere! I'm ill, I'm tired, and in a horrid mood, and all I want to do is get in there and finish my job so I can go back t' my flat."

The guard let her through.

She made her way to a large set of metal doors with a computer keypad lock. Setting her box down, she took out a small tool and reached for a slot she knew was there. If it was anything like the lock blocking the environmental lab back home, Sarah mused, she might be able to hotwire it. Maybe.

"Can I help you?"

Dropping the tool, she spun to see the slim figure of Fox Xanatos glaring at her.

"Nightstone Unlimited?" Xanatos asked, seemingly unsurprised.

Elisa nodded. "It makes sense," she said. "What better way to make a dent in the human race than to give us an easier way to kill each other off? It's the same logic that drove her to aid in World War II."

"That would be true," Owen said, "if Dominique Destine hadn't been out of the country for the past few weeks."

"What?" Elisa looked at the two men. Xanatos seemed as shocked as she was, even more so. "Then who sent that message? If not Demona, who would try something like that?"

Xanatos frowned. "I don't know," he admitted after a moment. Looking at him, Elisa saw that he was increasingly agitated, the mannerisms of a man who has suddenly been double-crossed. "But if we don't find out," he added, regaining his composure somewhat, "Dingo may be walking into a trap."

No sign of Matrix. Dingo felt a chill run up his spine, and he cursed inwardly at himself. He'd walked right into a trap! So much for being a hero - he couldn't even watch his own back effectively. He should have joined with Matrix when he had the chance, damn it! "Where the bloody hell are you, mate?" he muttered into the musty darkness.

"We are right here." He spun to see the silvery blob reforming into a humanoid shape. "The door is magnetically polarized. To try to break through it might endanger our circuits."

Dingo swore again. "It's a trap, mate. They knew we were coming." He looked back at the Matrix. "I think we oughta join."

"Negative. If the door is magnetized, the probability that the rest of this hallway is also is very high. We cannot risk both of us."

With a groan, Dingo turned towards the door at the very end. "Then we ain't got a choice." He squared his shoulders. "We'll have to take the bait."

He moved towards the door with Matrix moving soundlessly behind him, slowly, looking for traps. Placing his hand gently on the knob, he turned it and carefully opened the door.

The room beyond was a sight. The walls were adorned with all sorts of devices, and the only light came from a set of bay windows that looked out of place with the stone floor and weirdly adorned walls.

He only had a second to take it all in before he was struck by an electric blast. As Dingo crashed to his hands and knees, he caught a glimpse of Matrix, writhing as only an amorphous metal blob could while trapped in a magnetic force field.

Gasping, he clutched his chest and looked up towards the shadowed corner where the blast had originated from. Thoughts were whirling through his head. How could he have been so stupid? Why had someone gone through so much trouble to trap him like this? How had they found out about Matrix when their guns wouldn't penetrate it? And why bother with him?

This last question was answered as two familiar figures stepped from the shadows, the setting sun gleaming off golden armor. "Well, hello, Dingo," Jackal said with a grin. "It's so good to have you back."

The young woman stared at Fox; not from shock, as Fox had expected, but recognition. "Fox?" she gasped. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you worked for Xanatos!"

"I don't work for him; I'm married to him." Fox kept her stance, ready in case the girl tried anything.

But she didn't. "God, Dingo left out a bloody lot of details," the girl muttered. Fox's eyes widened. "Don't you remember me? When you and my brother came down to Sydney?" She pulled her glasses off and held her hair in a pigtail. "Get it now?"

Fox relaxed a little. "Sarah?" Dingo's sister? Here? Well, it made sense. Dingo didn't trust her husband, so he'd had a backup plan.

Sarah shook her head. "Look, this is complicated, so I'll give you the short version. Dingo's walking into a trap, Jackal and Hyena are behind this, and they know about Matrix, and I have to go after him so they don't get away with it." She gasped for breath.

"There was a virus," Fox said, reaching for the keypad and plugging in the code. "The security lock broke down, and Project 14 malfunctioned while we were trying to move it." She smiled at the girl. "Say hello to your brother. I'll give you a head start."

Sarah grinned as the doors slid open.

Dingo closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he pulled himself to his feet, his eyes on the blaster built into Hyena's claw. "The gang's together again, huh?" he gasped. "Where's Wolf?"

"He went to get fixed," Hyena said.

Jackal smiled. "Now, now, sister dear. Put that laser down. We have to show our guest some hospitality if he's going to rejoin us." He scraped his claws together.

"Rejoin you?" Dingo snorted. "I ain't about t' do that, mate." He looked over at Matrix and wondered how he could get out of this without his partner.

"What? And lose the opportunity for the ultimate power trip?" Jackal chuckled. "Please. I got a taste of godliness a while back. The power to control and cause death at my whim. Wonderful."

Hyena made a face. "For you, that is. I hated my childhood."

"Well, we've made up now." Jackal patted her on the shoulder. "I lost that power, so I got the next best thing. How easy to cause death by letting the victims do the work for you. The laser guns I stole off the Nightstone VP we're working with just sped it up a little."

Dingo looked over at Hyena, who shrugged. "Sounded like fun."

"And with you back with us, who could stop us?" It was Jackal's turn to aim the laser. "If not, we'll just have to kill you." He fired at Dingo.

Using long-trained reflexes, Dingo rolled out of the way, just in time to avoid being fried. Before, he'd felt an uneasy distrust towards Jackal. Now, there was a lot more than distrust. "The answer is no, mate."

"Suit yourself." Jackal fired again. Dingo tried to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough as he was caught in the shoulder. The big man crumpled to the stones. "Nice knowing you, Dingo," Jackal said as he powered up his laser.

Dingo closed his eyes and steeled himself for the blast.

"You know what's going on, don't you?" Elisa strode toward Xanatos. "At least, you knew about Nightstone. You could at least have faked surprise about that."

"Don't deny it," she snapped as Owen opened his mouth to speak. "If you really were worried about the dealer's intentions towards you, you would have come along last night."

Xanatos smiled thinly. "If I had, Dingo might have had something to say about it."

"Since when has something like that stopped you?" The detective leaned forward, her palms on the desk. "I want answers now, Xanatos."

There was a pause as Xanatos stared back at her. Then he sighed. "All right, all right. I did know that Nightstone was up to something, and that Dingo was on their trail. I wasn't informed of the manner of 'something' they were up to.

"I struck a deal with the senior VP of Nightstone. I didn't want to deal with Demona, who I *thought* was the brains behind the operation." He spread his hands. "It made sense; Demona wouldn't let anyone else take over, and this VP had the manner and limited IQ of a typical lackey."

"And what was this deal?" Elisa asked coldly.

He shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? The Matrix, no matter how committed to 'law and order' as it appears, is still dangerous. It could turn on Dingo in a moment. So I arranged to get the Matrix back, and Dingo spared, for a substantial sum." Xanatos managed a wry, defeated smile. "I didn't anticipate outside involvement."

"It doesn't matter what you anticipated." She turned to face both Xanatos and Owen. "There's about five minutes left until sunset, gentlemen. And these threats might be real, if it's not from who you thought."

"And you propose?" The look in Owen's eyes indicated that he already knew the answer to that.

She turned towards the door, then paused. "I'm going to explain the situation to Goliath. It might be in your interests to make sure that Matrix stays out of the wrong hands."

Xanatos sighed as she left. "And I thought that security problem Fox just had was trouble."

The crash that sounded was not quite what Dingo expected. His eyes shot open in time to see a massive metal hulk smash through the window and wall, tearing through glass, stone and metal easily. A metal appendage caught Hyena, sending her flying into Jackal. The laser beam was redirected into the wall, sizzling where it made contact.

Jackal and Hyena were thrown against one of the wall gadgets, possibly hitting a switch, because as the controls sparked and sizzled, Matrix was suddenly freed from its containment.

Dingo spun to see the huge e-frame plowing a hole in the wall. A familiar face peered out its control viewer. "Miss me, big brother?" Sarah quipped through the microphone.

Actually, I did, Dingo thought as Jackal and Hyena regained full awareness. Hyena, forgetting Dingo for a second, launched herself at Sarah. "NOW, Matrix!" Dingo yelled at the confused silver shape as the two disappeared out the hole, Jackal following.

He slammed into Jackal before the cyborg could reach the other two combatants. "Not so fast, mate!" Grabbing Jackal's leg, he bent it backwards - and with all the flexibility Jackal had, the limb wasn't built to bend that way. There was a crunch, and Jackal spun in time to send a blow to Dingo's helmet.

It didn't hurt, but it was enough for the cyborg to slip from his grasp. "So you want to play, hmmm?" Jackal swung out a metal arm, trying to snare his silver-clad attacker. Dingo ducked out of the way and slashed at the appendage, partially slicing it. Jackal snarled, fired up the rockets, and plowed into Dingo, sending the two of them back through the building wall.

Sarah and Hyena, however, were at a standstill. Both were equipped with lasers, and where Hyena was faster and more maneuverable, the e-frame was one hell of a lot stronger. As Hyena pulled away to fire at Sarah, the e-frame spun and dropped, just in time to rocket back up under Hyena, slamming her again. "Look, little girl," Hyena grunted as she broke free again, "why don't you just go home and play with your toys?" She fired, making contact with the left claw.

The only response she got was a slam in the face from the free appendage.

As Dingo and Jackal stumbled to their feet - Jackal hopping on only one - Jackal repowered his rockets and slammed into Dingo again, sending them back out into the sky. "This isn't over yet!" He blasted Dingo repeatedly.

As usual, the blasts didn't penetrate his armor, but Matrix was beginning to wear out, and Dingo was starting to tire again. His arm beneath the armor was starting to throb, and he was breathing hard. He looked up to see Jackal speeding towards Sarah and Hyena, intent burning in his good eye. "No it ain't!" he shouted as he gave chase in time to slam Jackal's shoulder.

A sudden volley of laser fire broke them apart. Looking down, Dingo spotted a number of men armed with laser pistols firing at him and Sarah. "Uh-oh," he muttered.

"Dingo, I think we're in a bit of a spot," Sarah said as she knocked Hyena away and dodged the laser fire. Jackal chuckled and smashed into Dingo from behind, wrapping his elongated arms around his former friend and squeezing.

"Isn't this wonderful," Jackal hissed in his ear as the Matrix shifted, trying to pry him off. "A brother and sister tag team!"

The gunmen fired at Sarah again, and Dingo had a bright idea. He sped right for Hyena, and turned, blocking his sister from the shooters. At that moment, a stray blast caught Jackal in the back and he loosed his grip.

Dingo broke free, but Jackal was still coming, and he couldn't get down to stop the gunmen. What was he going to do?

A roar of anger interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see seven shapes flying towards them - six living, one metal. All gargoyles. Dingo grinned and punched Jackal in the face, sending the cyborg's head spinning - literally. The battle was joined.

"There they are!" Angela, who had the sharpest vision, pointed. Goliath's eyes glowed. "Looks like Dingo's holding his own."

"Jackal and Hyena!" Lex exclaimed in rage.

Beneath his helmet, Xanatos squinted. "And unless I'm wrong, that looks like the e-frame my wife said was destroyed."

"Well, whoever's in it, they're on Dingo's side," Brooklyn said. "But I'm willing to bet that those guys firing at them aren't!"

"Hudson, Lexington," Goliath said, "you're with me. The rest of you, take out those men shooting at them." He looked back at Xanatos. "You may choose whatever path you wish."

"I owe Dingo," the multimillionaire admitted. "Besides, I want to see who's in that e-frame."

The gargoyles split up and headed towards the building. Dingo spotted them and decked Jackal just in time for Xanatos to speed in and take a shot at the cyborg. Jackal dived out of the way in time. "Well, look who's here. Mr. Wall Street himself."

"Save it, Jackal," Xanatos snapped. "I don't take kindly to threats." Jackal slashed a chip out of a metal wing.

Dingo shrugged and fended off the other arm. "Tell me later, Xanatos. No time to talk now."

Lexington, meanwhile, had launched himself into Hyena. Although she was fast, he was faster, and had a better grip. "Get off me, you little rodent!" she snapped, prying him off and firing her laser. The blast bounced harmlessly off silver armor as Dingo knocked Lex out of the way. The e-frame fired at Hyena again, and the cyborg went after it. "Thanks," Lex gasped.

"No problem, mate. Just watch yer back." He winced as Jackal broke free from Xanatos and landed on him again. "Damn it, can't you take a hint?" he yelled as Jackal began slashing furiously at the Matrix.

"Not really," Jackal said.

The firing below abruptly stopped as Brooklyn, Angela, and Broadway floored the last of the shooters. Hyena shook off a badly scratched Goliath and Hudson, and latched herself onto the battered e-frame, withstanding Sarah's desperate attempts to dislodge her. Dingo, meanwhile, was bashing Jackal into the wall. The cyborg finally let go only to be blasted by Xanatos. With a final shriek and fizzling of circuits, Jackal dropped to the ledge with his unconscious cronies. Goliath and Hudson landed beside him, having sustained injuries. Angela stayed with them to be sure they were all right. The remaining three gargoyles launched themselves at Hyena, who blasted them back as the e-frame tried to buck her off.

It was no use. Hyena was slashing wildly into the metal torso, tearing through steel and wires in order to get to the human flesh inside.

Dazed, Dingo lost control and crashed to the ledge beside everyone else. "Are you all right?" Xanatos asked him.

Dingo barely heard him. "Sarah! Shit!" He turned to Xanatos. "Give me one of those pistols. Now, mate!"

"Someone mind telling me what's going on?" Brooklyn said as Dingo aimed the pistol into the air.

"Help me on this one, Matrix," he muttered.

The Matrix's voice came through the helmet. //Targeting primary power systems. This shot must be accurate to save your sibling.//

There was a pause as the Matrix aimed.

//Targeted. Fire.//

Dingo pulled the trigger. The laser blast hit Hyena squarely in a small panel in her side. She broke away from Sarah in a crackle of energy, shrieking unintelligibly as her body jerked this way and that before she lost power and fell. Xanatos flew after her to catch her in time.

Sarah, however, was not out of the woods. The gutted e-frame was sizzling and sparking as she fumbled with the controls. "I'm losing control!" Dingo heard her scream.

He fired up the rockets, ignoring Matrix' protests that power was low, and streaked across the sky towards her. As he did so, the massive e-frame exploded.

"NO!" Dingo screamed. "Sarah!!!!"

"Dingo! Help!"

Looking up, he sped upward in time to catch his sister in his arms. Sarah landed with a gasp, her arms and legs jerking. "You all right?" he asked as they landed amongst the menagerie on the ledge.

"Not really. I have a bleedin' awful case of whiplash." She rotated her neck as the group of humans and gargoyles stared at her. "Sorry about your e-frame, Mr. Xanatos. The ejection seat works pretty well, though."

Xanatos grinned as he pulled off his helmet. "I needed to test it anyway." He looked at her, confused. "Who are you?"

Dingo and Sarah burst out laughing as sirens sounded below.

"A good fight always makes me hungry," Broadway said as he scarfed down the food set before him.

Across the table, Sarah just stared in awe at the speed of the vanishing food. "I'll say." She took a long drink from her mug. "Now that is what I call coffee."

Dingo glanced at her. "You drink enough of it t' know. What is this, the eighth cup since we got here?"

"Of course not! I'm not that awful!" Sarah grinned. "The seventh."

Fox smiled as she reclined on the nearby armchair. "I like that attitude. Anyone who can harass you like that and get away with it is welcome here."

"Wait a minute." Dingo stared at Sarah. "You ain't thinking about workin' for Xanatos, are you?"

"She's going to work for me, Dingo," Fox said. "I'll keep her out of David's clutches just because you're my friend."

"Over summer break, anyway," Sarah said. "I still have to finish my major next year."

Fox stood up and walked over to Dingo, wrapping a friendly arm around his shoulders. "I'll take good care of her, don't worry."

"I'll try to stay out of trouble," Sarah teased.

Dingo shrugged. "It could be worse," he admitted as he felt a talon tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see Lexington standing there. "What's the problem, mate?"

Lexington paused, looking sort of reluctant. "Listen, I'm - sorry. About what I said. I was still mad about everything."

"Can't blame you." Dingo grinned. "You were givin' Hyena one hell of a headache there."

"Yeah, but I might not be in one piece if not for you." The small gargoyle extended a claw. "Friends?"

Dingo shook hands with his former enemy. "Friends."

Goliath interrupted. "Then it comes to a truce." He gave the assemblage one of his rare smiles as Elisa took his hand. "We are here to celebrate, not to argue."

"Hear, hear!" Matt stood by the doorway, munching on some pretzels he'd picked up. "You should have seen the mess when we had to clean up. Getting Jackal and Hyena locked away took one heck of a lot of work."

Elisa grinned. "I know, Matt. I was there. But I take back what I said about your hunches."

As Matt began to instigate a debate, Angela turned to Dingo. "So what are you going to do?"

Dingo shrugged. "Go home, I guess. The cops here have pretty much forgotten about me, and I ain't going to jog their memories."

"We will go too," the Matrix said from its corner, where it was recharging through an electric socket. "This 'law and order' has so far proven interesting."

"I don't know if I'd put it that way," Dingo said. "But I like the hero business. It's good t' be back."

Epilogue

The maximum security containment room was dark, cold, and silent, a sort of tomb for the living. From his position, practically wired to the wall, Jackal could see every inch of the cold steel walls. Not that it was any fun to look at. He muttered something sarcastic and retracted his artificial eye, and turned to where Hyena was similarly restricted. "Will you stop that damned whistling? I'm trying to think!"

She sneered at him the best she could. "Well, what else am I supposed to do in this refrigerator they dumped us in? I never should have listened to you! This is all your fault!"

"MY fault? Listen to this, coming from the big-shot strike contact!"

"It was your idea! And you're always messing up my life!"

Jackal snorted. "You didn't have to come along."

"You would have made me anyway. Every time I get an idea, you squash it. When I finally found a man, you had to go and trash him. When - "

"Coyote doesn't count as a man!"

"More than you do!"

"Look, little sister, don't make me hurt you!"

"How? By slapping me in the face with your fake eyeball!"

"That's it, you little..."

Even through the foot-thick steel walls, their quarreling could be heard. The guard out in the hallway groaned, used to this by now. "Only 85 years before they're out of here," he muttered, shuffling back and forth down the hall. "Only 85 more years..."