All disclaimers in part one.

Vera stumbled into the security office, muttering under her breath. After all her service to Xanatos Enterprises, she had been promoted to head up the worst group of imbeciles possible. Robbins didn't know a damn thing about the security protocols. Wilkenson, with his neon hair and piercings, had plenty of circuits fried. Harrison was a dolt, plain and simple. Denaro was an irritating, insubordinate little bitch who just happened to vanish right when things got somewhat strange.

And for some reason, Mr. Xanatos had actually taken their advice into consideration. Burnett had been in his office, his usual stoic self, and yet there was a watch on his door. Wasting two people on a hunch, indeed. Vera sniffed. Not that Robbins and Wilkenson were an especially useful pair to begin with.

She sat down comfortably behind the desk, flipping past views of the various hallways with practiced ease. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Radar was clear, the lines were quiet. Denaro was nowhere in sight, but maybe she'd fallen off the side of the building. This job was going to be a cake walk.

"Ten-fifteen," she said to the empty office, "and all's well."

As she spoke, one of the monitors suddenly became tinged with a reddish glow. Surprised, Vera sat up, nearly choking on her drink as the redness intensified and flowed from the screen, solidifying into three solid forms before her.

Vera let out a cry, dropping the Coke and whipping her gun out of its holster. "Hold it!" she barked at the three identical women. "Nobody move or I'll shoot!"

Smirking, the black-haired woman merely flicked a finger. The 9mm shotgun suddenly sprouted black wings and feathers, fluttering out of Vera's grip and through the stone ceiling, turning to black ash as it made contact.

Stunned, Vera backed away from the intruders, whimpering, her cold facade forgotten as they advanced on her. "Oh, Lord, oh, Lord," she murmured, casting about for some weapon. "Lord, oh, Lo--"

The world stopped mid-sentence, and Phoebe, Luna, and Selene eyed the subdued woman critically as she stood there, frozen in place, wide-eyed and seeing nothing. "Pitiful," Luna remarked after a moment.

"But useful," Phoebe remarked, throwing up her hands. A shimmering glamour surrounded the three of them, briefly shrouding each with Vera's image. The hair colors, however, remained intact, and the illusion faded after a moment. "Done."

Selene cocked her head curiously, tapping a fingernail against Vera's forehead. "Should we not dispose of this trash?"

The gleam in Luna's eyes belied the impassive look on her face. "Immediately."

"What do you mean, 'Network inaccessible?'" Sarah exclaimed, staring at the computer screen. "I've got top-level access!"

She hopped to her feet and ran down the hall. Ignoring the elevator, she took the stairwell, bounding down flight after flight of stairs. When she reached the sealed titanium doors, she swiped her card and stalked into a room full of hardware, with numerous rows of network and processing machines.

"Hey, Rick!" she called to the nearest person there, a thin and wiry man with salt-and-pepper hair and mustache. "We got a problem!"

Rick Phelps pulled on his glasses as she dashed over. "What kind?"

"Might be nothing," Sarah said. "But can you do me a favor? You checked the network status in the last five minutes?"

He shrugged. "Not really." He jogged over to one of the main terminals. "Lemme see here." As he fooled around for a moment, his confused expression gave way to shock. "H-h-holy--"

"What?" She bounced over to get a better look. Rick's stuttering wasn't too bad, and it only flared up like that during public speaking or when something terrible was happening.

Rick shook himself to try to regain some coherence. "It-it - um, I'm not getting activity from any area in the building. The whole network just took a nosedive!" He scratched his head. "But it was fine ten minutes ago."

"I've got to call Fox," Sarah said, snatching up the phone on Rick's desk. She put her ear to the receiver and scowled. "The phone's dead. Great."

Rick was over at one of the machines that housed the primary network server, checking the lights that signaled connections through the fiber-optics. "They're out. Every l-last one of them. What the hell?"

Slamming down the receiver, Sarah dashed over to another machine, peering at the nest of network cables that adorned the side. "Same here, too. These can't all be out, can they?"

"No way. Maybe the machines need to be re-routed."

She crouched down to get a closer look, and the dog tag swung forward, smacking against one of the cables. As it made contact, a reddish bolt of light jumped from the cable, striking the tag and fizzling into oblivion.

"Oh!" Sarah jumped back, the startled cry escaping her lips. She hadn't been electrocuted or even shocked, but that was the last thing she was expecting.

Rick's head popped up from behind one of the servers. "Sarah, y-you all right back there?"

"Fine," she muttered. "Just, uh, hit my head." As she examined the dog tag for damage, she found none. Not even a sign that it had been shocked with an energy surge.

Come to think of it, she should have at least gotten a mild shock herself, since it was around her neck. Sarah examined the cord, checking for signs of damage. As her eyes traveled up its length, she nearly choked in surprise. While the others were still dead, the light on this cable's connector was on, signaling a working link. Somehow, the connection had been restored in that cable.

She glanced back at the dog tag, remembering Callie's words: "Is this made of iron?" Yes, that bolt should have traveled through the chain and given her a mild shock, since she was grounded. But that was what happened according to the laws of conductivity. If this sort of energy wasn't following laws of science - how could it have been created by science?

It took her only a moment to get the answer. "Rick!" she cried, dashing around the stacks of equipment to where he was inspecting a panel. "Find anything and everything you have with iron in it!"

"Iron?" He stood up, genuinely baffled. "What do we need that for?"

She demonstrated with the nearest cable. "To reach out and touch someone, mate." At his astonished expression, she sighed. "Don't ask, you won't believe me. Just get some blokes and start working on the connections."

"At this hour, that won't be easy." As she turned away, he added, "Where are you going?"

"Sorry," Sarah called over her shoulder as she dashed down the hall, "but I've got to run!"

Rick watched her go, sighing as he rummaged through his desk, grabbing keys, pins, anything that might qualify. "Should've stuck w-with software," he muttered to no one in particular.

Fox was taking a detour this evening. Instead of finishing up her work as she usually did - finding David and immediately teasing him into some sort of workout - she chose to follow her instincts. Besides, she had wrapped up the last deal of the day earlier than expected, and there was no excuse to hang around the office.

And her instincts were all pointing her to one of the most important people in her life.

She entered the nursery quietly, hoping that Alex was still awake so she wouldn't have to worry about waking him. He was supposed to be asleep at this hour, but according to Owen, Alex persisted in keeping late hours. For some reason that she just couldn't fathom, she wanted to be alone with her son, to hold him, to play with him, to spend time with him like a real mother should.

Quietly, she crept over to the crib, careful not to disturb anything in case he was asleep.

Fox promptly let out a cry.

The crib was empty.

"You did what to her car?" Sam asked. "Balloons aren't that bad. I've got a little brother; I know."

"Yeah, but you don't know Elisa," Matt said. "That car is her baby. Should've known better than to mess with it."

He would have said more if Sarah hadn't rounded the corner, running down the hall at top speed. Seeing the two of them in her path, she hastily tried to brake. Still, she might have bowled them all over if Sam hadn't shot an arm out, catching Sarah before she could do some damage. "Hold it! Brakes!"

"Sorry," Sarah gasped, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Look, you know where Fox is? Or Mr. X? Or Owen?" At their confused looks, she continued. "The entire network and the communication systems are crashed through the entire bloody building, and I know it's not an accident!"

"Hey, Slick!" a voice shouted, and the three turned to see Handsaw hurrying towards them. "The witch is--"

"Going to kick my ass when she finds me?" Sam finished.

He shook his head, baffled. "I wouldn't know. She's gone. Vanished. Poof. Nowhere."

Sam and Matt turned back to Sarah. "And everything's crashed?" Matt asked skeptically.

"If it's communications, it's out," Sarah added. "Look, this is not a typical computer glitch."

Handsaw's brow furrowed. "Hey, you don't think Vera--"

"Hell no," Sarah snapped. "That woman can't even play Solitaire on the computer without instructions." A ringing sound cut into the conversation, and Sarah snatched the cellphone out of her pocket. "Hello? Fox? I know, this is the only damn thing working! Rick's trying to bring up the network now!" She paused. "Wait, slow down! He's what? When? Okay! What do you mean, wait? You're sure? Fine, fine, I'm on it!" She hit the End key and shoved the cellphone back into her coat.

"Well?" Sam asked.

"Alex is missing," Sarah said. "She thinks someone's kidnapped him. She's up in the nursery now. I've got to go try to get Lex's radio up and running."

"We'll get up there," Handsaw said, turning and heading the main route towards the nursery.

Matt started to follow, but Sam grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute. I know a shortcut."

"But then why--" Matt began, jerking his head towards Handsaw's retreating form as she dragged him along.

Sam snorted. "I paid attention during the briefing."

Fox had just hung up when she heard a sound. Turning, she heard giggling from the pile of stuffed toys in the toybox. As she picked up the huge stuffed Tigger from the top of the pile, she was overjoyed to see her son looking up at her.

"Alex!" She gathered him into her arms, holding him tightly against her chest. "Don't you ever do that to me again! How did you get out of your crib?" He couldn't answer, which was fine since she really didn't want to know. "For crying out loud, you scared me to death!"

She sighed as the baby played with a strand of her red hair. Although he was all right, she no longer felt safe just leaving him in the nursery. Work was done for the day anyway, and while the designer suit she was wearing wasn't optimal for child care, she had no desire to take the time to change and come back. Alex was right here, wide awake and apparently happy to see her.

Well, her hair at least. As he yanked on a strand, she winced and pried it free from his fingers. "Don't pull Mommy's hair, Alex," Fox said, carrying Alex over to the bookcase and pulling out one of his favorites, a Winnie the Pooh book. "How about a story?"

Alex clapped his hands and pointed at the cover. "Tibbah!"

"All right," Fox said as she opened the book, "I suppose that means yes."

Xanatos was hurrying down the corridor when he nearly collided with Gwen and B.J. "Robbins, Wilkenson, I was just looking for you."

"Same here, sir," Gwen said. "Mr. Burnett's gone. No one left or entered his office, but last we checked it was empty."

Xanatos frowned darkly. "Communications are down all over the building. Network, phone lines, et cetera. I'm positive there's a saboteur at work here. Come with me."

They were just outside the main security office when the radio at Gwen's belt suddenly crackled to life. "--testing, one, two, three! Can anyone hear me? Please respond or I'll go through every song from 'Rent'!"

Gwen snatched up the transceiver. "Robbins here! I read you! No singing!"

"Stop the music!" B.J. crowed in a bad British accent. Gwen kicked him before he could reenact the Monty Python scene.

Xanatos took the transceiver from her and spoke into it. "This is David Xanatos. Who is this?"

"Sarah Adams. Look, Mr. X, I don't know how much longer I can keep this channel open, so I'll keep it short. Someone or something's gotten into the network, any form of communications, and is screwing around royally. I can't get to Fox on the cellphone anymore."

"Well, guess what else," B.J. said. "Burnett's gone now. Vanished. Poof."

Sarah reacted with a string of profanity that surprised even B.J. "Wonderful. Look, can you get to the security office? I'm going to try to get the protocols running again, but I need someone on the other end in case something goes wrong."

"We're right outside the door," Gwen said, pushing the door to the office open.

Xanatos raised an eyebrow and spoke into the transceiver. "Add Vera Lundy to the list of missing persons."

B.J. folded his arms. "I'm not complaining."

Gwen headed for the nearest terminal and switched it on, typing a string of characters. "What's the path to connect to?"

Xanatos held the transceiver for Gwen to hear. "The comp I'm using is on network drive J. It's R45567/SNOESHOE." She spelled out the path name for Gwen to type.

"Who do we have working on the network?" Xanatos asked.

Sarah sighed. "Me, Rick Phelps, and maybe two other interns. I'm telling you, nobody else down here is working this late."

Xanatos shrugged. "I suppose it'll be enough." Gwen was engrossed in the screen in front of her, and B.J. was staring at his shoes. The green-haired security guard knelt down to pick up a black crow feather, peering at it curiously.

"Mr. X," Sarah answered, "there's something else here. We're not dealing with your typical network override. I managed to get a couple connections fixed physically, but they didn't require the usual methods."

"What do you mean?"

B.J.'s gaze traveled to the door behind Xanatos. "Hey, Mr. X? Gwen?"

"I'm busy, Brian," Gwen muttered.

Sarah continued. "I mean, I touched something made of iron to one of the cables and that restored the connection. Do the math."

"Uh, guys?" B.J. asked.

"Iron?" Xanatos froze. "No. He wouldn't dare. Not so soon."

"Hey, you got any better ideas?" Sarah snapped.

B.J. gulped. "Hello? Other sentient life-forms?"

Gwen jumped up. "We're up and running!" Finally looking the way B.J. was, she paled. "Oh my Lord."

Faintly, B.J. croaked out a last line of wit. "Run away! Run away!"

Xanatos finally turned, and seeing just what was awaiting them, only had time to shout, "Adams! Get to the nursery! Find Fox! I don't care how!"

There was a flash of light, a trio of shouts, then silence.

"Hello?" Sarah cried through the transceiver. "Is anyone there?"

A greenish bolt fried the transceiver to a crisp. To the casual observer, Xanatos, B.J., and Gwen walked out of the office, leaving on the desk three very confused and helpless gerbils.

"Now where are we?" Matt insisted as he raced up a set of stairs after Sam. He could have never guessed that a skyscraper, with its uniform shape, could manage to be so labyrinthine.

Sam slowed for him to catch up. "Bernie gave us a quick tour of some of the back entrances and exits that not everyone knows about. I don't think Hammerhead was paying any attention, and if someone is trying to get to Xanatos' kid, it'll throw them off if at least one security guard goes in the front way."

"I thought you hated Xanatos," Matt gasped as she stopped at the third landing and yanked open the door. "How come you're so hot to trot to get there?"

"It's the job," Sam answered. "Anyway, this is a kid we're talking about. I wouldn't care if someone swiped Moneybags' millions, but nobody deserves having a kid taken away."

Matt chuckled. "You've got a good heart, Slick."

"Yeah, well, don't tell anybody. I've got a reputation to keep."

The first one to burst through the nursery door was Handsaw. Fox Xanatos looked up from the book and child in her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Handsaw blinked. "I got sent up here. Sarah said you were in trouble."

"Not really," Fox said. "Alex decided to play hide-and-seek without warning me first."

As she spoke, Gwen, B.J., and her husband rushed in much as Handsaw had. "Fox," Xanatos asked, "are you all right?"

She stood up, discarding the book and clutching Alex tightly. "We're fine." Suspiciously, she eyed her husband for a moment. Something about him seemed...not right. "What's going on? David, where's Owen?"

"Owen's disappeared," Xanatos said. "We'd better get you two to a safe place." He extended a hand.

Fox reached to take it when suddenly, a section of the nursery wall slid away and Sam and Matt rushed in. "Freeze!" Matt yelled, suddenly taking stock of the situation. "Oh. Never mind."

But the distraction was enough for the mask to slip, at least to someone who had the sight to see behind it. Fox took a step back from her husband, holding Alex tightly to her chest. "No," she said. "You're not taking my son."

"Fox," Xanatos asked, "what are you talking about?"

Matt and Handsaw looked equally confused, but Sam's eyes narrowed. In her eyes, the forms of Xanatos, B.J., and Gwen melted into the figures of three female security guards, identical in face and form except for their hair colors. Around the neck of the blonde one was an odd black orb which seemed to pulse briefly with a greenish light. She didn't recognize them at all, but she did recognize the intent glinting in their eyes.

Without hesitation, Sam whipped out her gun and trained it on the blonde pretending to be Xanatos. "You heard what she said," she hissed. "Step away from Mrs. X and the kid. Now."

"Slick, what are you doing?" Handsaw cried.

Fox stepped back. Still holding Alex, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the face of the false Xanatos. As his head snapped back, the glamour wavered again, this time for all to see. Stumbling back a step, "Xanatos" held his jaw in his hand, glaring up at Fox. "You'll pay for that, halfling."

With that, the three dropped the glamours entirely, and Fox let out a shriek. A bolt of bright green light flew from her free hand, striking the blonde in the chest. The black-haired one advanced on her, only to have Sam fire once, twice, three times, hitting the woman in the stomach. The third struck Handsaw in the back of the neck, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The dark-haired woman only smiled, and snapped her fingers as the bullet wounds vanished. "Really," she sneered. "You should have used iron bullets."

The white-haired one murmured something unintelligible, and Fox was lifted by a miniature tornado, still hanging on to Alex for dear life. Handsaw stirred. The blow he'd taken would have knocked out a normal man, but he had a rather thick neck. Grabbing a chair leg, he rolled over, throwing the chair like a missile into the white-haired woman, distracting her. Fox landed on her feet.

"You little worm!" the white-haired one exclaimed, pointing a finger at Handsaw. He vanished in a flash of bright light.

Sam knocked over a table, and she and Matt dived behind it like a barricade, trading shots with the three women. "All I wanted to do was work the night shift, get paid more, but oh no," Sam muttered. "Now I'm trading shots with the three witches out there!"

"What's your point?" Matt asked.

"This wasn't in my contract, dammit!" She fired off a series of shots.

As Fox vaulted over the barricade, Sam sized up the situation. In the small room, they were cornered. She pulled out a new cartridge, reading the label thoughtfully, before reloading the gun.

"Get them out of here!" she shouted at Matt. "I'll cover you!"

A burst of energy and a barricade of stuffed animals was enough to distract the Sisters for Fox to answer. "Are you kidding? They'll fry you!"

Sam shook the gun at her. "Steel-tipped bullets! Not completely iron, but there's some mixed in with the alloy! Will that slow them down?"

Matt took the opportunity to shoot off a few rounds so Fox could answer. "Maybe! I don't know! But we still need a distraction!"

She would later make a comment on the sense of timing of the next entrance. With a shout that sounded like "Ohhh, shit!" a tan gargoyle smashed through the window, landing on his hands and knees as his passenger slid off his back. Surprised, the three women turned and glared at the slim black woman standing beside him, dusting the glass off of her jacket.

"Callista!" Fox shouted. "Drew!"

Alex was suddenly snatched from her arms by an invisible hand, pulled towards the trio.

Sam aimed her gun, but she couldn't fire without endangering Alex. "Dammit!" she cried again.

Before Fox could do anything, a halo of white light shot from Callista's hands, intercepting Alex's flight and pulling him into the safety of the girl's arms. "Callie!" Matt yelled. "Get Fox and Alex and get them out of here!"

"Not so fast," the blonde woman said as the three women's hands glowed with blue light. Seeing what was coming, Drew leapt at them with a roar, plowing into the trio and knocking them down like a stack of dominoes. With a snarl, the blonde floated into the air and blasted him with a stream of red light, knocking him through the window and into the gray haze of falling snow.

Fox and Callista were almost at the back exit as the women turned back to their target. But now there was nothing in the way of Sam's line of fire. She jumped up, intending to distract them enough for the other two to get going. "Hey, bitch! All three of you!"

As their cold blue stares swung towards her, Sam fired off an entire round into the three of them before Matt pulled her down again. "Are you crazy?"

"It worked, didn't it?" she snapped as the wall closed behind Fox, Callista, and Alex.

Then the table was shoved away, leaving Matt and Sam face to face with the three women, who looked suddenly aged and wizened. But in a moment, they returned to their youth and beauty, shedding the security uniforms in favor of flowing white robes as they floated off the floor. "You have injured us, mortal," one said.

"And insulted our honor," the second said.

"Which means," the third said, her pupiless blue eyes narrowing, "you must pay."

"I can't believe he went through the window!" Callista gasped as they raced down the stairs. "I hope he's all right!"

"If he's not in there with them, he'll live. He's got wings, doesn't he?" Fox slowed a bit, noticing that they weren't being pursued. "I don't know about Denaro and Detective Bluestone, though. If the Weird Sisters aren't following us, they must be ticked at the two of them."

"The Weird Sisters? As in - oh, never mind." Callista scowled. "Oberon's flunkies?"

"Something like that. And they've managed to get rid of Puck." Fox stopped and pulled open a door that was camouflaged into the wall. "Come on. I don't know where David is, but he has an arsenal for just this kind of crisis."

"Goodbye," Phoebe hissed as she pointed a finger at the police detective. A crackling blue ball of energy leapt from her hand and flew at Matt.

Without thinking, Sam shoved him out of the way, firing a shot into Phoebe as she took the brunt of the assault right in the chest. "Sam!" Matt shouted as the floor erupted into tentacles of stone, wrapping around his arms and legs and trying to pull him in as the floor turned into quicksand.

Sam didn't fall down. She didn't burn, sizzle, or scream, or even seem to be in pain. The prickling feeling in her spine was increasing to a steady buzz. Vaguely, she recognized the same feeling that had warned her before Brooklyn had landed on her roof. Instead of being scared or shocked at nearly being fried, she was furious.

And instead of frying her, the energy of the assault only fueled her anger. Even the strongest coffee couldn't have produced such a jolt.

She stumbled back a step, dazed, before she regained her balance. Sam whirled to face the women as they surrounded Matt, letting out a scream of rage.

The trio turned just in time to see an identical ball of light fly from Sam's chest and strike them head-on, temporarily swamping them with tendrils of energy. They screamed as one, and with a flash, Matt was on his hands and knees on solid floor, unfettered by the tentacles.

He was used to such weirdness by now, and it took him only a second to recover, leap to his feet, and reach Sam's side. "Slick, what was that?"

"I have no clue," Sam said, still somewhat dazed.

The women were recovering, but Matt kept his wits about him. Before they could launch another assault, he fired a few shots at them and grabbed Sam's arm. "Whatever it was, it's our ticket out of here! Come on!"

He pulled her out the front door. "Where do you think you're going?" Sam shouted as they raced down the hallway.

A roar interrupted his response, and they glanced back to see a flash flood of water erupting through the nursery door, the sheer force tearing the door off its hinges as the water filled the hallway, foaming and frothing right towards them. "Up sounds good!" Matt answered as they made a break for the nearest flight of stairs.

The tactical lab hadn't seen much use since the last assault the Quarrymen had launched. Still, the consoles and panels were still gleaming brightly. Callista stared in awe at the walls of security screens, equipment, and various computer consoles. "And here I thought we were going to the security office," she murmured.

"Forget the security office," Fox said. "This lab is too secure and too valuable to let even hand-picked security mess with it. Lundy's never coming in here, that's for sure."

"Fox?" Sarah's head popped up. "Callie? What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Fox didn't waste time answering. "Forget it. How's the network coming?"

"Network's pretty much coming up, and so is the phone line, although I keep getting Elisa's machine." Sarah scowled, standing up and dusting her hands off. "The radio's the real problem, though. If I can get it to work, I can get a hold of the clan." She pounded a fist on a panel. "'If' being the operative word. What's the deal?"

"Three of Oberon's flunkies tried to grab Alex," Callista answered. "Puck is missing, they threw Drew out the window, and they're probably going to turn Detective Bluestone and Sam Denaro into squirrels right now."

Fox looked up from the console she was already tapping at. "Squirrels?"

Callista shrugged, still cradling Alex. "Some sort of rodent. So what are we going to do?"

Sarah glanced over to where Fox was rummaging through the equipment lockers. "I think a better question is: if these flunkies want Alex, why aren't they here now?"

Fox emerged in jeans and a T-shirt with an armful of weaponry. "Most of this lab is insulated with iron, so that should throw them off for a little while." She laid the pile on the table. "But I'm going to check the monitors anyway."

Slamming the panel shut, Sarah hopped up. "You tell me where to look and I'll bring up the image."

She sat down in front of the monitors, tapping away as Fox spoke. "Nursery." Empty. "Try the outside hall." Static. "Courtyard." Empty. "West tower entrance."

Sam and Matt appeared on the black and white screen, dashing up the steps with raging waters not far behind. The water flowed upwards after them, and as it rose to the camera's level, the image fizzled into static. "Well," Sarah said, "at least they're not squirrels."

As she spoke, Fox was already arming herself, and charging up one of the laser rifles, switching the safety lock off. "Which means that they'll be dead if those three have their way. Either Bluestone or Denaro got them ticked off."

Callista recognized that tone of voice, shooting her an apprehensive look. "What do you plan to do?"

"As much as I appreciate the distraction," Fox said, "I think someone's going to have to get their attention."

Sarah was frowning. "We've got another problem."

Both women turned to stare at her apprehensively, and both demanded the same answer. "What?"

"The only way I'm going to reach the clan in this weather is Lex's radio equipment," Sarah said with a sigh. "Which is up on the castle level."

Callista groaned. "This just gets better and better."

"This is fucked up!" Sam shouted as she and Matt charged up the stairs of the tower. The flood waters bashed through the door, surging up the steps behind them. "Water doesn't flow up, even I know that!"

They emerged onto the high turret, only to be buffeted by the snow and strong winds that swirled it around them. "Yeah, well, you know what it's going to turn into when it gets up here!" Matt shouted back, slamming and locking the trapdoor. "I don't want to turn into a frozen ice pop!"

Sam glanced over the edge. Even to the courtyard, it was a long drop, especially since the cobblestones were starting to ice over somewhat. "If we jump, we'll break our necks!" she cried. "Any ideas?"

"No!" Matt shouted as the water broke through the trapdoor, fountaining into a miniature geyser.

There was a rush of wings, and a hand snagged Sam by the collar. She felt her feet leave the ground, and sailed downward towards the cobblestones as the water flooded the tower, overflowing and pouring over the sides. For a second, she thought she was falling, but the descent was too gradual. Sam glanced up in time to see that the tan gargoyle was gripping her shirt collar in one hand and Matt's trenchcoat in the other.

The next thing she knew, they crashed in the middle of the courtyard, slipping and sliding on the ice. It was all she could do to finally brake to a stop. Matt was gasping on his hands and knees, bruised but not broken. The gargoyle didn't have it so easy; he tumbled and skidded a few times before crashing to a stop. "I'm never flying in this again," he muttered.

Matt glanced back at the tower, where the water had frozen completely, the spillover forming gigantic icicles. "Thanks, Drew." He rubbed his shoulder. "I think."

"Sorry," Drew said apologetically. "I can't glide too well carrying just one person. I can't glide too well, period."

Matt drew his gun as they approached the side door. "Come on." He sighed. "I guess we're going to have to get to Xanatos' kid before those three do."

"Hey," Sam whispered as she and Drew followed Matt inside. "Do I know you?"

Drew shrugged nervously. "It's a long story."

The Weird Sisters materialized above the courtyard, identical scowls on their faces. "Your brilliant plan is not unfolding well, sister," Luna snapped.

"Injured by a mortal," Selene sneered. "What's next?"

"We are not defeated yet," Phoebe hissed. "Goliath's clan is still absent. The Puck is still imprisoned. These unexpected arrivals are minor setbacks."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Minor setbacks, indeed."

Phoebe continued, ignoring her. "We shall have to try a new tactic."

The scorn on Luna's face changed to confusion. "What?"

It was Selene who answered, realizing what her sister was thinking of: a tactic they had not dared to try in years. "We shall split up."

"You know, I think they forgot about us," Matt said. He was following Sam through the arboretum, half-crouched with his gun drawn, with Drew bringing up the rear. The second the words left his mouth, a vine shot out and curled itself around his wrist, yanking him into the air.

Sam spun and fired once, the bullet slicing through the vine. Matt dropped to the ground and jumped to his feet as more of the plants came to life, leaves and stems reaching towards them. "You were saying?" Sam shouted as she holstered her gun and did a backflip to escape the reach of a knotted tree branch.

"Run for it!" Matt yelled, pulling out his gun and firing at any foliage that moved. He kicked at some tiny vines that tried to snag his shoe. "Wish I had a machete!"

"This'll have to do," Drew answered as he slashed through the vines with his talons as they came. As they came thicker and faster, though, he struggled to keep up. "We've got to get clear!"

They crashed madly through the bushes somehow, with Matt and Sam firing and Drew slashing madly to stave off the nest of living plants that threatened to choke them. Finally, they stumbled into the main garden, the open and clear area with the pool and the main exit not far away. The plants were undaunted, however, and snaked towards them. Sam tried to shoot, but couldn't; she was out of bullets.

So she picked the second best option: run like hell. She made a beeline for the door, ducking under and jumping over the vines that threatened to get in her way. Matt followed her, firing back from time to time to stave off the rush.

Two massive leaves sprang up across the doorway just as Sam reached it, and Drew suddenly let out a cry. Sam and Matt whirled to see the tan gargoyle lifted into the air, frantically chopping at the vines that held him. But for each one he cut, another sprang up to take its place. Drew didn't give up, though; he just kept on slashing, refusing to let the plants strangle him. Sam moved to help him, but stopped when she realized that her feet and Matt's were rooted to the floor.

"Give it up, gargoyle. You cannot win."

The pool water suddenly rose up, a humped shape reforming into a watery replica of one of the Weird Sisters, standing on the surface of the pool. Without the hair color, it was impossible to tell which one it was. "Yeah, right," Drew snapped.

"Perhaps you need some convincing," was the response as the Sister gestured, letting a few drops fly. With that, Drew let out a howl of pain, convulsing and twisting in the grip of the vines as his form changed, shrinking, wings and tail shriveling into nothingness, talons becoming fingers and skin taking on the normal flesh tone. In a second, the vines were holding a lank young man instead of the tan gargoyle who could have slashed through them.

Sam suddenly realized where she'd seen him before, but there was no time to question. By focusing on his transformation, the Sisters had forgotten about them, and the roots faded from her feet and Matt's. Grabbing her pocketknife, she slashed through one of the leaves, punching and kicking enough of a hole through them to kick the door open.

She glanced briefly back to Drew as the vines advanced on them. "Go on without me!" he yelled. "I'll be all right! I think," he added quietly.

Matt nodded, and he and Sam dashed out of the arboretum, slamming the door shut behind them before the plants could trap them too.

The forms of the Sisters melted back into the pool, but the vines still held Drew securely, no matter how much he struggled. Defeated, he sagged limply. "This was a mistake."

The ceiling of the tactical lab suddenly split down the middle, curling back like torn paper as mortar crashed through. Unable to directly touch the iron, the Three had exerted their magics on the wood and mortar above it, using the material to cut through.

A glowing hand, composed of skeletal tendrils of light, snaked through the opening. It wound its way through the lab, steering clear of anything containing iron as it zeroed in on the young woman and screaming baby. Callista ducked beneath a metal table. When the hand tried to reach under, she shoved the table on its side, the iron cutting through the "wrist" cleanly. It dissipated with an unearthly howl as Callista dashed out of the lab.

She rounded the corner only to find that Luna was blocking her path. "Foolish mortal. You will not keep us from our prize."

Callista was already running before she finished the sentence, ducking a bolt of magical energy and diving into a seemingly random office. She left the door open, though, and Luna floated inside after her.

She advanced on Callista, who was huddled in a corner with Alex. Suddenly, the young woman's look of fear melted away into a smile. As Luna started in surprise, Callista and Alex melted away as well.

"Illusion!" Luna screamed as the door slammed shut behind her. The windows and door of the "office" were immediately covered as iron panels slid across them. Furious, she tried to blast the door, without success.

Out in the hall, Callista and Sarah exchanged a high-five. "That'll hold her for a little while," Sarah said. "I hope."

The office was unlocked. Fox turned the knob, pushing the door open a crack, then kicked it open, flattening herself against the wall before leaping into the doorway, laser rifle at the ready. She was almost disappointed not to find any activity. "That was simple."

Her eyes fell on a peculiar sight. On the desk, next to a smoking transceiver, were a trio of gerbils: a small gray one, a black one, and a brown one that was bigger than the other two. Fox paused as her eyes fell on the black one. The patch of fur on the top of its head was speckled with green. The gray one was merely sitting there, watching the other two. And the brown one was sitting back on its haunches, almost imperiously, as it peered up at her with black beady eyes.

Fox picked the brown gerbil up, and as she held the rodent in her open palm, she understood. "David?"

The gerbil sat up again, nose twitching. Fox gaped at him for a moment, then put a hand to her mouth to stifle her hysterical laughter. "Oh my God!"

A soft sound attracted her attention. "Who's there?"

Matt sidled around the corner, hands in the air. "We come in peace."

Sam was right behind him, and grinned as Fox lowered the rifle. "You don't want to shoot me on the first night."

"I'll save that for tomorrow."

Sighing, Matt closed the door behind them. "Seriously, I'm glad to see you. We were this close to being toasted if not for Slick over here." Something occurred to him, and he turned to give her a curious stare. "Hey, how'd you do that anyway?"

Sam was pulling out a new clip and reloading her gun. "Do what?"

"That little bounce-back trick you, uh, pulled." He was suddenly aware of the odd look Fox was giving the two of them.

"I don't have a damn clue, and I don't want to try and see if I can do it again." Sam shoved the new cartridge in with the palm of her hand. "I think the bitch just screwed up."

Fox was staring at the two of them. "What are you talking about?"

Matt paused, looking from Sam to Fox. "You don't want to know."

She looked at them for a moment more, then turned her attention back to her husband. "Well," she said ruefully, "I found David. Sort of."

The other two stared at the gerbil in her hand, and Sam was the first to get the connection. She didn't bother to stifle her loud and raucous laughter. Matt blinked at her, confused. "What?"

She shook her head, unable to control her hysteria. "That's--that's--"

Fox sighed. "Detective, this is what has become of my husband."

Matt's jaw dropped.

"You know," Sam chuckled, "it's an improvement."

Fox frowned. "I won't kill you, but I can still have you fired." She set her husband down gently as something rang. Matt and Sam glanced around, as Fox reached into the pocket of her vest and pulled out a cellphone. "Hello? It worked? Only one of them? Damn. Hold on."

She covered the receiver. "Detective, can you check to see if that terminal is working?" Matt shrugged and sat down as Fox turned back to the cellphone, listening to the explanation on the other line. "I don't know how long it'll hold her. Maybe an hour, unless one of the others bails her out."

She glanced over at Matt and Sam. "Yeah, they're right here. They're fine. No, he's not. Hold on, I'll check." Fox put a hand over the receiver. "You didn't happen to see Drew, did you?"

Matt winced. "Briefly. He got tied up in the arboretum. He'll be all right."

"Gonna need a machete to break him out, though," Sam muttered.

Fox looked at them oddly before turning back to the phone. "They say he's going to be all right. I don't know, I guess they must have just tied him up somewhere. What about the radio?" Another pause. "All right, she's on her way. Just keep them off the scent."

She hung up the phone and turned back to the two of them. "Callista and Sarah trapped one of the Sisters in an iron-plated room. But the other two are running loose, and Sarah's making a break for Lex's radio equipment."

"Okay, I'm no computer genius," Matt said, "but it looks like everything in here's online. What's the plan?"

Sam cocked her head. "Didn't Lundy mumble something about a force-field thingy?"

"They're in the building," Fox answered. "It'll only keep them in and keep the clan out, assuming Sarah gets through to them and Detective Maza." She strode over to the nearby wall, punched in a security code, and the concealed storage locker slid open. Fox reached in and pulled out a pair of laser rifles. "We've got to keep the other two away from Lex's equipment on the main castle level at all costs, and away from Sarah."

Sam holstered her pistol, catching the laser rifle and releasing the safety lock in one fluid motion. "Then what are we standing around here for?"

Phoebe knew the instant it happened, through the psychic connection she shared with her sisters. Those two mortal girls had trapped Luna in an iron prison. And all the little halfling witch had required was sleight-of-hand illusion, a parlor trick!

She frowned. No, not sleight-of-hand. Luna would only have been fooled by the most carefully constructed illusion. Either Puck was a better teacher than she had thought, or they had underestimated the power that Callista Reynolds had. Knowing Puck, the latter was the more likely possibility. The girl was an even greater threat than they had thought.

Forget Titania's daughter, the detective, that smart-mouthed mortal security guard--deflection or not, that could have been a ward constructed by someone else--Puck's newest apprentice had to be eliminated. She probably still had the child. Luna would have to wait. The other three were for Selene.

The pulsing green light within the orb seemed to glow brighter with soundless laughter. Phoebe shook it threateningly. "Oh, be silent!"

Drew sighed for the fifth time. He was still trapped by the vines, and utterly alone. Not that he was expecting to be rescued any time soon, but he was suspended in an uncomfortable position. And the silence was driving him crazy. So much, in fact, that he'd sunk to playing one of Handsaw's favorite games to maintain his sanity.

He half-heartedly pulled at the vines before returning to the problem of connecting Gene Wilder to Kevin Bacon. It wasn't easy with the discomfort of hanging diagonally with his feet in the air, not to mention the distraction of that barking dog....

Barking dog? He looked down, and grinned widely at the blue-gray form below him. "Bronx!" The gargoyle beast woofed happily as Drew shifted position as best he could. "Where in the--forget it," he added. "Can you get me down, boy? Can you?"

Bronx merely whined, looking up at him inquiringly. "The vines! Chew them, claw them, bite them, just get me down from here!" The beast barked again happily and attacked a vine, chomping through one, then another, then another. As Drew had hoped, without any of the Sisters there, the vines couldn't fight back.

By the time Bronx had gone through the fifth vine, the tendrils started to give, and Drew tumbled to the ground in a tangle of leaves and vines. "Whoa!"

He landed on his back in the soft grass, bonking his head on the ground. Sitting up, he rubbed his head, wincing. "Thanks, Bronx." Bronx barked joyfully and nearly knocked him flat again, licking his face. "Yeah, I missed you too," Drew chuckled, managing to gently shove Bronx off and get to his feet. He patted the garg-beast affectionately on the head.

Wiping his face off with his sleeve, he shot Bronx a look. "You were raiding the kitchen again, weren't you?" The happy look on Bronx's face fell away. "I thought so. Look, here's the deal. I've got to go get something, but then I need help to find Callie. Can you do that?" Bronx barked in the affirmative. "Come on, then."

He raced out the door of the arboretum, with Bronx at his heels.

"That's your idea of a diversion?" Matt whispered as the three dashed into another darkened room. "Wing her with a laser rifle and run?"

Sam shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Both of you, be quiet," Fox hissed as she crouched behind a jewel case.

As Sam's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she recognized the art gallery, filled with artifacts and pieces belonging to Xanatos' private collection. The combined net worth in this room was worth more than her life. "Could have picked a better place to hide."

Fox smirked. "Hey, if you break anything, I'll just take it out of your paycheck."

The doors exploded inward at that, and the threshold was illuminated by shimmering emerald light as Selene floated into the room, bathing the art gallery in an eerie green glow. The three humans crouched down lower as she sailed across the room. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," the raven-haired Fae crooned.

She received no response. "Very well then," Selene said coldly, raising her hands to the sky, "I'll just have to find you."

Between her cupped palms, a brilliant sphere of white light glowed, and bolts of magical energy shot from it, striking the sculptures in the gallery. As the light struck each object in turn, it glowed faintly white for a second before the light faded away.

Matt blinked. "That was it?"

Then the statues stepped off their pedestals. The jewel cases slid back to reveal the three humans crouching there. A cruel smile crossed Selene's face as she turned to the moving works of art. "Get them!"

"You had to say it, didn't you?" Sam snapped as the living sculptures advanced on them.

"Think, stupid, think!" Callista scolded herself as she dashed down the hallway, a bundle in her arms. The only reason she was able to run was the wards she had placed on herself and Alex, something that Phoebe had not been expecting.

Behind her, the sinuous form of a lioness bounded down the hall, with a black orb on a chain around its neck. Belatedly, Callista noted that Phoebe had been wearing that from the start, and that it had not been transformed with her. Could it possibly be...?

She didn't have time to think as the lioness pounced. Callista stumbled and crashed to her hands and knees, almost dropping her cargo. The lioness flew over her head, its claws missing her tender flesh and slicing through the cloth of her dress instead. Phoebe didn't correct herself in time, and plowed headfirst into the stone wall.

Callista cursed and kicked off her dress shoes. "Now I know why Sarah hates these blasted things!"

Before the lioness could recover, she pitched a shoe like a missile at Phoebe, charging it up with a bit of magical energy as she did so. It broke through the Fae woman's wards, hitting her in the muzzle as Callista kicked open the door to the Great Hall, slamming and locking it shut behind her.

She glanced around at the size of the room, and an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Hey, boss?" Sam asked as the three humans edged away from the sculptures, guns drawn. "You were kidding about the paycheck, right?"

A stone dragon leapt at Fox, who rolled out of the way and fired at it with her laser rifle, blasting it into bits of marble. "Under the circumstances: you break it, David buys it."

"Fine!" Sam took out an abstract sculpture that was skittering towards her. It looked too much like a spider for her tastes.

There was a hiss, and she whirled to find herself staring into the face of a marble Medusa, with writhing snake locks and clawlike hands. Fortunately, this Medusa didn't live up to the legend.

But she didn't have a chance to turn and shoot before the hands shot out and grabbed her by the throat, squeezing her windpipe in their stony grip. Sam dropped the gun and scrabbled ineffectively at the claws as they closed around her throat. Black belt or not, she couldn't judo-flip a stone attacker that weighed over 500 pounds.

Just as she thought she was done for, she heard the whine of a laser, and Medusa was blasted into bits, the hands going slack in surprise as Sam fell to her knees beneath a shower of dust and stone chips. The hands and wrists fell to the ground, cracking as they hit.

Gasping, Sam struggled to her feet, grabbing the laser rifle up as Matt reached her side. "Nice shot," she gasped. "Thanks."

"No problem," Matt answered before they were surrounded again.

They blasted through the lines, and Sam eventually stopped counting how much this was going to cost her. Fox was herded to the other side of the room; the sculptures were trying to divide and conquer.

But Fox wasn't going down so easily. As three statues, two marble and one metal, came at her in a row, she dropped, rolled, and fired the taze gun at the metal sculpture. The electric current sparked hrough the metal, leaping to the other two sculptures and blowing them to bits.

Selene pointed a finger at the taze gun, but nothing happened. "These are iron-plated for a reason, bitch!" Sam yelled as she fired off a shot at Selene, who faded away before the laser could hit her.

Matt blinked. "Where'd she go?"

A grotesque creature flew at Fox, an ugly harpy sculpture that was so detailed it could only have been fiberglass. Both Fox and Sam fired at it at the same time. Instead of exploding, it let out a shriek of pain, flapping its wings and flying up through the ceiling.

"Never mind," Matt said as he blasted a wire sculpture into pieces.

There were a number of sculptures left, but they turned to focus on Fox, leaving a clear path to the door. Fox fired off a few shots, but the rifle was knocked out of her hands as she backed into a wire tree, its branches wrapping around her chest, pinning her arms at her sides. Fox was lifted off her feet into the air, another branch whipping out to wrap around her feet and bind her ankles together.

"Fox! Shit!" Sam started towards her.

"No!" Fox shouted, still struggling in the tree's grip. "Get out of here! You know the plan! Just go! Lock the doors so they don't get out!"

"You've got to be kidding!" Sam yelled.

Fox's eyes blazed. "That's an order! Both of you get out of here!"

With a parting blast at a ceramic hawk, Sam bolted for the door, following Matt as they dashed out into the relative safety of the hallway.

As she slammed the door shut, Sam flipped open a concealed security panel by the doors. "This I have clearance for." She tapped in a complex code of numbers.

"Security breach," a computer voice responded. "Initiating lockdown now."

A heavy metal panel slid across the doors just in time to stop the charge of one of the sculptures. There was a crunch, and a dent was left in the metal door.

"Cripe," Sam muttered. "I hope I don't have to pay for that."

Matt chuckled, but winced as something stabbed at his ankle. "Ow!" He looked down, and Sam followed his gaze to see a small crystal unicorn, about three inches tall, poking his shoe with its tiny horn.

Sam snickered. "You've got to be kidding me."

Shaking his head, Matt crouched down to stare at the little creature. "Boo!" he yelled. The tiny unicorn reared back, then turned and bolted down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Matt sighed. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

"I can't believe we're patrolling in this," Broadway muttered as the four gargoyles crouched beneath the relative shelter of an overhang, looking down at the busy city street below.

Brooklyn shivered. "You and me both." He pointed to the Yankees cap on his head, with holes cut and sewn for the horns. "Never thought I'd be glad to have this. Coffee Freak came through."

"Don't call her that to her face," Lex advised, equally glad for the side-slit sweatshirt and jeans Sarah and Callie had doctored. "She was in a good mood on Christmas, but she'll kill you if you call her that now."

"Well, I'm personally happy for all this," Angela said, tightening the scarf around her neck. "How did you three manage last winter?"

Broadway grinned. "Lots and lots of whining."

Lex elbowed him. "Hey, speak for yourself! I didn't complain half as much as you guys did!"

"You were always holed up in the clock tower with that computer," Brooklyn countered.

"Yeah, but you guys were twice as loud as I was when Goliath dragged us out for patrols."

"All right, boys," Angela scolded, hooking her arm through Broadway's affectionately. "That's enough."

Broadway humphed. "We should have stayed in and watched videos. At least it would've been warm."

"Yeah, and Hudson would kill me another five times at chess," Lex muttered. Angela started giggling. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Angela said, but she couldn't stave off her giggles. "I was just thinking; what if Father had seen what I was holding?"

Brooklyn burst out laughing. "What makes you think he didn't? I saw what you did."

Angela looked horrified. "You're not going to tell him, are you?" As Brooklyn chuckled, she buried her face in her hands, mortified. "Oh, no."

"No, no, Angela," Brooklyn said, grinning at Angela's mbarrassment and the stony glare he was getting from Broadway. "I wouldn't do that. It was worth it for the looks on your faces." As Broadway's glare didn't waver, he added, "Really. I wouldn't do that to you guys. I wouldn't stoop so low."

Lex was about to make a comment when his headset crackled to life. "--come in! Dammit, Lex, Angela, Broadway, Brook, Goliath, Hudson, Elisa, somebody answer the radio if you can hear me! We've got all hell breaking loose here!"

The joke forgotten, Lex reached for the headset, turning on the mike. "Sarah, I read you," he said hastily. "What's going on?"

"Thank goodness!" Sarah gasped. "Lex, we've got big trouble here! Three of Oberon's flunkies broke through security and they're trashing the place looking for Alex!"

"Three?" Brooklyn gulped. "These wouldn't happen to be triplets with different hair colors and matching attitudes, would they?"

"How do you - oh, forget it!" There was a hiss of static, and Sarah pounded on the radio.

"Sarah?" Angela asked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" The static faded out. "Listen, you guys are going to have to find Goliath and Hudson fast! I'm having an awful time getting through all the interference from the snowstorm as it is, and there's no telling when they'll figure out what I'm up to!"

Broadway paused. "They don't have Alex yet, do they?"

"No, we've been fooling them for a while, but I don't know how much longer we can handle this!" Sarah took a deep breath. "And Puck is missing!"

The four gargoyles exchanged glances. "Jalapena," Lex muttered. "Okay, Sarah, I think I know where Elisa's patrolling tonight, and Goliath and Hudson should be with her. We'll go get them and meet you back at the Eyrie."

"You do that!" There was a crashing sound in the background. "And hurry!"

With that, the connection was cut off. The four of them leapt into the night, the cold forgotten.