Gargoyle: Iron Will

In the third issue of the Mechanical Monsters story arc, a professional weightlifter gets viciously mutilated by a group of robbers, and is left with a scarred face and a jaw made of jagged iron. He sets out on a journey of revenge, crossing paths with none other than Davis DeGraff. Wrap this up with a new love interest, and Gargoyle's life is about to get really hectic. Will he be able to defeat this iron-jawed foe, or will Gargoyle finally meet his match? Find out in Gargoyle's newest adventure: Iron Will!

Chapter 1
It had been two weeks since Davis had become the Gargoyle. He had been training day in and day out to become the ultimate warrior. He had gone on his first official mission (even though he had disobeyed direct orders by doing so) and succeeded, resulting in the arrest of seven of the most dangerous criminals in the city. They were known as the Jackpot Crew, and had robbed their own casino just to get Gargoyle to come. They wound up taking Roy (his best friend) instead, but that was just to ensure that Davis followed them. He saved the day just in time, with a little help from his mentor, Beta.

This whole event brought a curious thought to Davis's mind. Why did the Jackpot Crew want Gargoyle? Stratagem said that he had known all along that it was him, and he even said that he had personally hired Porcupine to kill him. So how had he known?

Davis put the thought out of mind. It had been three days since the events of the Jackpot Crew, but he was still exhausted. He had gone to work every day, since Sundays were his only days off. It was finally his break, so he was going to enjoy every minute of it. There wasn't a better way to rest than to sit on your butt and watch TV all day.

Sadly, Beta had other plans for him.

Beta was a member of BEAST, which was apparently some super-secret organization. They were the ones that originally decided to make Davis the Gargoyle, although he still didn't really know why they had chosen him. All he knew was that he had accepted, and now he had the responsibility of protecting the people of Porvanir.

As soon as Davis sat down and turned on the TV, there was a knock at the door. He groaned in disdain, but got up and answered it nevertheless. Standing in front of him was the red-haired secret agent, Beta.

"What do you want?" groaned Davis. "I told you, today's my day off. No superhero business."

Beta laughed. "I warned you when you became the Gargoyle that it would be hectic work. But don't worry too much. Today's business won't require much on your part."

"And what exactly is my part in this 'business?'"

"I'm going to have to relocate you for the next few days."

"Relocate? Relocate me where?"

"That's up to you. You can move wherever you want, as long as it's in the city."

"Why do I need to move?"

"After the whole Porcupine fiasco, I realized that someone knows who the Gargoyle really is. Someone hired him to kill you. And I don't think that it was Stratagem."

"But he said that..."

"I know. You told me all about his little speech on top of Porvanir Tower . But that's exactly why I don't think it was him. He wouldn't have just told you like that. If it was really him, he wouldn't want you to know."

"Still, Stratagem isn't the most secretive person. He tends to blab."

"The man still has common sense, though. I've dealt with him several times in the past. He may be talkative, but he isn't a moron."

"But if it wasn't Stratagem, then who was it?" asked Davis.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that they know where you live. Porcupine didn't just make a wild guess. He knew that you lived here. That means that whoever hired him knew that too."

"So that's why I'm having to move."

"Exactly."

Davis sighed. "I guess I could always stay at a hotel..."

"I'd stay away from hotels, actually," replied Beta. "People would be able to track you down from the instant you check in."

"Got any better ideas?" responded Davis, slightly frustrated.

"Do you have any friends that would be okay with you staying for a while?"

Davis sighed. "One. And you know exactly who I'm talking about."

Richard Evans stepped into his car. He was finally allowed to leave the hospital after being in a coma for almost three weeks. He didn't have any memories of what had happened to him. Everything he knew was from a News segment he had seen on the news.

The day before, he had woken up in the hospital to find that his Jaw had been replaced by Iron. It made him look like a monstrous beast, like something out of a child's nightmare. According to the News story, a group of burglars called the Jackpot Crew had broken into his house and mutilated him in the process. So now that he was free, he was going to find them.

As he drove his car, he couldn't help but think about what he was going to have to do to survive. He used to be a professional weightlifter, but nobody would accept him now that he was a freak of nature. He had gained millions by doing what he did. He was one of the strongest men in the world, and he still was. It just didn't matter anymore. Right now, his strength only mattered when he got the chance to smash in the skulls of the Jackpot Crew.

As soon as he got home, he went to the computer. The first thing he did was look up information about his accident. Apparently, the Jackpot Crew had put a grenade in his mouth when he had tried to fight them off. Normally, he would've died. That's pretty obvious. In fact, nobody knew how he survived. It seemed ridiculous that he wasn't killed instantly. But Richard knew why.

You see, he didn't necessarily gain his muscle through working out. Whenever Kingdom Inc. started to produce their special drugs, Richard was one of the first to sign up. Kingdom specialized in a special type of steroids. There were hundreds of different types, all produced illegally. With one pill, you could change your chemical makeup. You could give yourself the ability to manipulate matter. You could give yourself the ability to breathe underwater. You could turn your hairs into iron needles. The possibilities were endless. Richard purchased the Strengthening pill, needless to say. He was given the strength to lift things twice his size, allowing him to dominate any and all lifting competitions. However, there were side effects.

Richard found himself in a state of constant pain. It was fuzzy, like a pins and needles feeling. When he talked to Kingdom Researchers, they told him that his body was still trying to bulk up even though he had reached his physical limit. Due to this, anytime he received an injury, it healed itself almost immediately. He had inadvertently made himself nearly invincible.

He continued his research, looking up any information he could find about the Jackpot Crew. Apparently, they were led by a man named Stratagem. If that was true, then Stratagem was to be the first one that he killed.

When he looked up information as to their whereabouts, he met instant success. There, at the top of the web results, was an article that told him exactly what he was looking for. Three days ago, the Jackpot Crew had been apprehended. They were currently being held in the local prison, but they were due to be transported to Station 17. In fact, they would arrive at the prison that afternoon. Once there, he would have no chance at getting to them. If he was going to intercept them, he was going to have to do it fast.

So after reading the article, he went back to his car. He decided right then and there that he was going to kill them. Each and every one.

Roy Johnson sat in his living room. He had a bag of chips in his lap and a six-pack on the table. Not a six-pack of beer, though. He had never liked it. No, he had a six-pack of Coke. That was his equivalent of alcohol.

He was watching an old episode of Friends (like real men do) when he heard his phone ring. He paused the DVD (he owned every season) and got up to answer it.

"What do you want?" asked Roy after seeing the caller ID. "Are you trying to sell me those protein shake things again?"

Davis laughed. "Not this time."

"Then what do you want?" he asked.

"I need a favor."

"For the last time, I'm not shaving your back."

"When have I ever asked you to shave my back?" laughed Davis.

Roy grinned. "Seriously though, what's up?"

"I was gonna ask if I could move in for a few days."

"Why?"

Davis explained the situation to him, telling him about Beta's theory. Roy listened patiently, taking in the details. Roy was the only person other than Beta that knew who the Gargoyle really was, so that allowed Davis to speak freely around him.

"I don't see a problem with it," Roy replied. "You're sleeping on the couch though."

Davis chuckled. "No problem."

"You aren't bringing any furniture, are you? Cause no offense, but your style isn't exactly modern."

"No, I'll just bring a suitcase. I'll try to stay out of your hair as much as I can."

"So will you be moved in by tomorrow?"

"Probably. Why?"

"Oh, no reason."

"She's gonna be there, isn't she."

"Yup."

"Dangit."

Davis and Roy both knew who they were talking about. You see, Roy had a sister. Karen Johnson. Davis and Karen had dated each other in the past, but that relationship had long since gone.

Still, Davis wasn't anxious to see her again. He still liked her, but she had... different opinions. She had actually been the one that had ended their relationship. He still had hopes that they would get back together, but it probably wasn't going to happen.

Plus, she was a cop. Vigilantes don't exactly get along well with cops.

Chapter 2
Stratagem was shoved into the back of the van, and rather forcefully at that. After all, these people had been looking for him for years and they finally had him. They weren't exactly going to be gentle with him. The name of Justin Joy had gained quite a negative reputation over the last few years.

They shut the door behind him, leaving him all alone in the dark truck. They had seven different trucks, splitting the Jackpot Crew among them. They apparently didn't want them planning their escape together. I guess they must've forgotten that Wraith could teleport.

There was no point to keeping them separate, because they already had an escape plan in mind. They had come up with it two years ago in case they ever got captured. Now, they just had to implement it.

As soon as the engine fired up, Stratagem saw Wraith appear next to him. The teleportation animation was always interesting to see, even though Stratagem had seen it hundreds of times. She pixelated in like a picture does when it's loading. It starts with her feet (which were usually bare) and transitions upwards, until her entire body was "loaded."

Wraith was a younger woman with dark brown hair. She wore a brown robe that looked like it belonged in the 1600's, and had a very unique look. She looked like a witch right out of the story books, and that was exactly what she was aiming for.

"It's about time," laughed Stratagem.

"I was the last one that they put in the vans," replied Wraith. "It's not my fault they loaded us in so slowly."

"Let's just get out of here," responded Stratagem. "Do you have the gun?"

She pulled a pistol out of her pocket, and yes. Some robes have pockets. "Of course I have the gun. I always have the gun."

"Do you know the plan?"

"Yes. I teleport to the front, kill the driver, and take over the car. While you drive this one, I'll go and do the same to the other cars. Then the seven of us will drive away as a group so that BEAST doesn't realize that anything's wrong."

"Good," smiled Stratagem. "Now get on it."

Right before Wraith had a chance to teleport to the front seat, everything went wrong. Stratagem heard a crash from further up the street, like one of the other cars had hit something. He was correct, although it was probably closer to something hit the car.

"What was that?" asked Wraith. Before Justin could answer, they heard a similar crash, followed by another, and then a third. The crashes continued, with Stratagem counting down how many vans were left.

"There will be two more," he said. "Then it'll be us."

There was another crash. "Make that one more," replied Wraith. "What do we do?"

As the sixth van wrecked, Stratagem's eyes grew wide. "Brace ourselves!"

Suddenly, their van lurched through the air. Wraith screamed as the van flipped over, bringing both of them down to the roof of the van. It slammed into the ground upside down, skidding to a halt.

There was silence for a few moments. All they could hear was the sounds of their own breathing, followed by footsteps outside of their van. Suddenly, the doors ripped open and they came face to face with their attacker.

It was a man, about six feet in height. He was freakishly buff, like one of those wrestlers you'd see on TV. Each muscle was about as thick as Justin's head, with bulging veins and all.

Normally, the man's figure alone would be enough to make a grown man wet himself. This man had something else about him that added to his intimidation factor. His lower jaw was made entirely of Iron. Everything above his nose was normal. Everything below his nose was terrifying. The metal mouth had a slight underbite, meaning that the serrated metal edge came up like fangs. Stratagem couldn't help but wonder as to how this man ate.

"Are you Stratagem?" asked the man, picking him up by his collar. Justin felt the man's heavy breathing on his face.

"That's what people call me," grinned Stratagem. "What do they call you? Metal Mouth? Silver Tongue? Iron Jaw? Oh! I like that! Iron Jaw!"

Iron Jaw growled in anger. "Where's the rest of your group? The Jackpot Crew."

"You tell me," he replied. "You're the one that attacked the convoy."

"Are they in the rest of the trucks?"

"I sure hope so."

"Good. I want you to watch me while I kill them."

"Now why would a guy like you want to do that?"

"Because you did this to me," yelled Iron Jaw, pointing at his jaw. He had a savage look in his eyes, making it obvious that he despised his new fashion statement.

"What are you talking about?"

Iron Jaw roared in anger and slammed Stratagem into the pavement. He brought his face in close, staring him in the eye. "You put a grenade in my mouth and left me to die."

"Now why would I do that?"

"You tell me," he replied, mimicking Stratagem's previous words.

Stratagem had to think. Of course it had been him. He remembered the event vividly. After robbing the millionaire weightlifter's house, he had come face-to-face with the millionaire weightlifter himself. Richard had tried to fight them off, but the seven burglars quickly outmatched him. Stratagem had always been good at shocking people with gruesome acts of violence, so he had punished Richard by putting a live grenade in his mouth. The man should've been killed instantly. In fact, Stratagem was quite surprised that he was still alive.

Of course, he had to deny that he had ever done any of it. Normally, people remember the man that blew your jaw off. That was why Justin had told Amnesio to erase all memories of the event. This gave Stratagem the chance to make up the story of what "really happened," and how he had been "falsely blamed" for the crime.

"You have it all wrong," replied Stratagem. "Yes, I was at your house the night you... got your..."

"Jaw blown off," replied Iron Jaw menacingly.

"Yes. That. But it wasn't me who actually did it."

"Then why were you in my house?"

"I was robbing it."

Iron Jaw growled, but Stratagem continued. "Just hear me out! Yes, I robbed your house. My entire crew did. But it wasn't me that put that grenade in your mouth. It was..." Stratagem had one chance. One chance to get Iron Jaw to not destroy him. Whoever Stratagem chose as the culprit was going to get killed, most likely. This was his chance to take out whatever enemy he chose. It had to be believable too. Someone that he could make up a good story for.

"It was... Gargoyle."

Rodent sat up, rubbing his sore head. He wasn't quite sure of what had just happened. All he knew was that there was a loud crash, and then the entire van had been thrown up into the air.

He noticed that the locking mechanism on the door had been broken in the impact, giving him the opportunity to escape. He got out of the truck and checked on the driver, just to make sure that he was okay. He had been knocked out, but he would survive. Out of all the Jackpot Crew, Rodent was probably the only one with a conscience. Don't get me wrong. He wasn't a good guy. He had robbed houses, told countless lies, and killed more people than he had fingers for. But at least he felt remorse for those that he had killed. He only did what was necessary. And even then, he felt bad for it.

He checked the rest of the vans, making sure that everyone was okay. There weren't any fatalities, and almost everyone was conscious. After finding Hypnos, he told him to make sure that all the drivers were asleep. He didn't want any of them calling BEAST and telling them about their escape. Or at least, not until they had had enough time to get far enough away.

Rodney made his way down the line of wrecked cars, until he made it to the back. He found Stratagem sitting in the back of the last van, an impish grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked.

"I just convinced a weightlifter to kill our greatest threat."

"What are you talking about?"

"You remember that guy whose jaw we blew off?"

Rodent groaned. "Don't get me started on that. I still don't see why we had to..."

"He came back. He figured out that it was us, and he wanted to settle the score. I managed to convince him that we weren't the culprits though."

"How?"

"I told him that even though we were the burglars, we weren't the ones that blew him up. I told him that there had been eight of us in the Crew."

"But there were only seven sets of DNA," replied Rodent.

"Alias was mimicking one of us, so it would've looked like there was one less than there actually was. But anyways, the eighth one blew off his jaw without asking the rest of us. Of course, being the noble man that I am, I promptly kicked him out if the crew. I personally called the ambulance to come and pick him up, as a matter of fact."

"Oh did you now?" laughed Rodent. "So who was this villainous murderer that blew him up?"

"Gargoyle."

Rodent gasped. "You're serious? That's genius!"

"Yup. I even told him where he worked. He's making his way to Scott Machines as we speak."

"Did you tell him his name?"

"No. He wants the Gargoyle, not Davis."

"I feel bad for the guy," replied Rodent.

"I don't. Davis pummeled me. He needs to get a taste of his own medicine."

"In all fairness, you pretty much invited the beating yourself."

"I still just can't believe that he fell for the idea of Amnesio wiping our memories. How dumb can you get? Just because he tapped us all on the shoulder doesn't mean that he actually did anything."

"So where do we go from here?" asked Rodent. "What's our next move?"

Stratagem had to think. "I guess we can get back to our original plan. We upheld our side of the bargain. All that's left is for him to hold up his part."

"By him, you mean..."

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. It's all up to him now. Let's just hope that he can actually pull it off."

Rodent nodded. There wasn't a force on Earth that could stop their employer. Nobody was going to see it coming. Not even Gargoyle.

Chapter 3
Davis brought the fork to his mouth, and the moment of truth arrived. He savored the taste, taking in every second of it.

"This is delicious, Karen," he said after swallowing. "Best casserole I've had in years."

"Thanks," replied Karen with a sheepish grin. She wasn't exactly a sheepish person (in fact, she was the opposite. Loud and outgoing) but she tended to shy away from compliments. She was a pretty rough girl, with a strong tomboy personality. She had dark brown hair, and a pretty face. Everyone thought that she was drop-dead gorgeous, but she didn't care about that. It took a lot to get her to go out with you. In fact, Davis still didn't know what he had done to gain her approval.

"So how's the whole cop thing going?" asked Roy. "It's like we never see each other anymore."

The three of them were sitting around the dinner table, eating a delicious meal of Karen's casserole. She wasn't the best cook, but that rule didn't apply to this. People would kill for a bite of her casserole.

"Pretty good, I guess," she replied. "I've only been shot twice, so that's a pretty good thing."

"Only twice," laughed Davis. "Wouldn't not getting shot at all be a better high score?"

"In this city? There's not a cop in Porvanir that hasn't been shot at least once."

She had a good point. Porvanir was famous for how much street crime went on. It was home to some of the deadliest gangs in the world, like the Red Bulldogs or the Book Club. They may not sound too intimidating, but the Book Club was one of the smartest and deadliest gangs in the city. They aren't your average gang. They don't mug people or snatch purses. They do big things, like robbing the most expensive, high-security bank they can find. They judge themselves on how complicated the place they rob is. The more complicated you can scheme, the higher up you can rank. The one thing that always puzzles cops is the fact that they always leave a book behind at every crime. The books are usually clues to their next target, but cops can never figure it out in time.

"So how are things going over at Scott Machines?" asked Karen, directing her question at both Roy and Davis.

"Ol' Stonewall hasn't fired us yet, so that's good," responded Roy.

"Stonewall?"

"Mr. Scott's nickname among his workers."

"I'm guessing he's a pretty stubborn dude," laughed Karen.

"You could say that, yeah," replied Davis. "The man's ruthless. He puts on a huge philanthropist act, donating huge amounts to charities and orphanages. But on the inside, he's a monster. He probably commits more crimes than any gang you'll meet on the streets."

"So why hasn't anyone arrested him yet?" asked Karen.

"Because the guy's an evil genius," laughed Roy. "People have tried to figure him out, but they usually disappear or wind up dead. Any detective or cop that digs any deeper disappears too. Nobody can ever get any proof on the man."

"He'll make a mistake someday," said Davis. "And when he does, I hope they put him away for a loooooong time."

"Davis and Scott don't exactly get along," laughed Roy. "Scott's been trying to fire him for years. The only problem is that Davis never does anything wrong. If he just fired the guy for no reason, he could get in a lot of trouble with his workers. Everybody loves Davis."

"Obviously not everyone," laughed Davis, talking about Mr. Scott.

"Oh!" said Karen, swallowing a bite of casserole. "That reminds me. Have y'all heard about that new vigilante?"

"How did talking about Davis remind you of this... vigilante?" asked Roy nervously. Did Karen know about this, somehow?

"Cause everybody loves the guy," groaned Karen. "I think he's just a menace."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Davis. He knew that she meant the Gargoyle, but he couldn't let her know that.

"He calls himself Gargoyle. You remember that break-in a few months ago with that Porcupine guy? Apparently some Gargoyle dude fought him off? Yeah, same guy. He's decided to become a superhero or something. He responded to that casino robbery that happened a few days ago. He beat the crap out of three of the guys. Thanks to him, the Jackpot Crew is behind bars." She said all of this with a hint of anger in her voice. Like she was mad that he had fought the criminals.

"Isn't that a good thing?" defended Davis.

"Not in my book," she said. "The law is defended by cops, not Superheros. People that take the law into their own hands are dangerous to the city."

"How can it be dangerous to the city?" laughed Davis. "This guy puts himself in harm's way to save others."

"He wasn't saving anybody," scolded Karen. "All he did was beat three people nearly to death."

"They were criminals."

"So? Criminals get arrested. Criminals aren't supposed to get attacked. Gargoyle broke the law just as much as they did by attacking them."

"I wouldn't say it was an attack."

"Who are you to say anything?" replied Karen angrily. "What are you, Gargoyle's personal fanboy or something?"

"I'm just saying my opinion on the matter."

"Well your opinion is a load of..."

"Guys, just calm down," interrupted Roy. "None of us have anything to do with this guy, so just let it go."

Karen set down her fork. "I got to go. Thanks for inviting me to dinner."

Roy sighed. "No problem, sis."

Karen walked out of the room, and out of the apartment. As the door shut behind her, Roy just started to laugh. "Lovely gal, eh?"

"Yup. Lovely gal."

The next day, Davis and Roy went back to work. Their jobs were split into shifts, where you'd do one task for a few hours and than another for the rest. They both had the same shift schedule, so they were always working together. Their first shift was done at assembly, meaning that they'd be working on the factory floor.

At Scott Machines, they made almost anything technological you could imagine. From video game consoles to miniature refrigerators, they produced it. Due to the variety of what they produce, they can't use automated systems. Almost all of it is done by hand. About one fifth of all the men in Porvanir worked at Scott Machines, so it still went by extremely fast. Companies would just send production orders to Scott Machines, and they would find blueprints and fill the order. With this system, even individual people wanting a custom fridge could get one. Scott invented a unique system, and he made millions from it.

"So how's training going?" asked Roy. "Still working on flight?"

"Nah. Beta said that I'm good on that front. Now we're working on combat."

"What's to work on? Punch and kick, bro."

"It's a little more complicated than that."

Before they could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by Mr. Scott's assistant, Luke. He walked up to them seemingly out of nowhere, relaying orders for Scott. That was pretty much his only job. Fetching people that Scott wanted to speak to. This time, Luke had a nervous look to him, like he was bearing bad news.

"What does Scott want this time?" laughed Davis. "He gonna fire me?"

"Nah," replied Roy. "He's probably going to kill you and blame it on faulty machinery."

"This is serious," replied Luke urgently. For the first time in his life, Davis heard Luke speak with emotion. He was usually like a robot, with no tone or power to his voice it all. This was different.

"What's going on?"

"There's a man climbing the tower."

"What do you mean, climbing?"

"Like, the stairs."

"Oh yeah," groaned Roy. "The elevator broke again."

"What's so special about a dude climbing the stairs?"

Luke sighed, and spoke with a hint of terror in his voice. "He's looking for the Gargoyle."

Chapter 4
Davis held back his shock. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Cause I know your secret," admitted Luke. "Don't freak out though, it's okay. I'm an agent of BEAST."

"Seriously?" laughed Roy. "You? A secret agent? I didn't see that coming."

"I've been spying on Mr. Scott for years. We have reason to believe that he's been planning something dangerous."

"So that's how BEAST knew about Davis! You told them!"

"Exactly."

"Enough about that," interrupted Davis. "What were you saying? Something about a guy looking for Gargoyle?"

"Yeah. Dude was unreal. Like something out of a horror movie."

"What'd he look like?" asked Davis.

"Biggest dude I've ever met. He looked like he could throw a semi truck. But the scariest part of this guy was his jaw. The whole thing was made of metal."

"Why does he want me?"

"I'm not sure," replied Luke. "He saw me in the hallway and pinned me against the wall, asking if I knew the Gargoyle. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about."

"So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure. But whatever he wants you for, it can't be good."

Before Davis could respond, a loud beeping noise entered the Factory Floor. It was the sound of the intercom turning on. A deep voice came over the speaker, echoing through the room.

"They call me Iron Jaw," he said. "I have sixty hostages on the roof of this building. If the Gargoyle gives himself up, nobody gets hurt. But every five minutes, I'm gonna drop one of these lovely ladies off of the side. Every five minutes that the Gargoyle doesn't show up, one of them dies. And these aren't just average women. These are loved ones of people at the factory. Probably the wife, daughter, or sister of someone you know. You may have eaten dinner with them before. Maybe you've even dated them. It doesn't matter to me. I'd hate to see them fall, but the clock is ticking."

The intercom beeped off, and everyone in the factory began to panic. People were frantically asking around, resulting in a frenzy of, "are you the Gargoyle? Are you? What about you?"

Davis began to walk towards the stairs, but Roy stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"To this Iron Jaw dude. If he wants the Gargoyle, I'm gonna give him the Gargoyle."

Roy tried to speak, but Davis cut him off. "Every minute I spend here, is another minute closer to someone dying. And I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Dude," interrupted Roy. "I'm not trying to stop you! I'm just saying that flying up there will be quicker."

Davis smiled. "Thanks, man."

Davis grabbed his wingpack that was sitting on the floor next to him, and ran through the chaotic crowd of workers, crossing the factory floor. As he rushed across, Davis looked over at the Fire Pit. It was technically an incinerator, but the workers all just called it the Fire Pit. It was a giant bucket-looking thing, with a steel-mesh platform hanging above it. Workers would take their scrap metal up to the platform, and then drop it into the fires to be melted down and reused. Davis's favorite part of the day was the part when he got to take all his unused steel up there and watch it melt.

But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was Iron Jaw.

Davis made sure that nobody was looking, and then he ducked into a closet. He closed his eyes, and began to focus. He pictured himself turning into the Gargoyle. He imagined his skin turning to stone, his muscles growing thicker. When he opened his eyes, it had worked. He had become the Gargoyle.

He rushed into the street, much to the shock of the street-goers. He got many oohs and aahs as he spread his wings from his backpack, taking to the sky in flight. He propelled himself to the roof, passing the floors of Scott Machines as he flew.

He finally reached the top, landing with a soft thud. He looked around and saw that, sure enough, there were sixty-something women on the ground with their hands on their heads. They all looked terrified, and for good reason. Because standing in front of them all, face to face with Gargoyle, was one of the most terrifying people that any of them had ever seen.

"Hello, Gargoyle," boomed Iron Jaw. "Glad you showed up. One of these women was about to have a nice vacation from existing."

"Really? That's the best way you can come up with to say 'dead?' A vacation from existing?"

Iron Jaw growled. "You better watch what you say. With one swoop of my arm, I could send three of these women to their deaths." He made a swooping motion with his arm, coming close to a small group of women. They gasped in fear, but he stopped right before they were sent over the edge. Davis gasped, having recognized one of the faces in the crowd.

It was Karen.

"Hey," said Davis, speaking to Iron Jaw. "Your beef is with me, not them. Just let them go free."

"Oh, I'll let them go. Over the..."

"Over the edge. Yeah. I know. You really aren't that creative of a villain."

Iron Jaw roared in anger and ran over to Davis. He launched his fist forward, but it never made contact. Davis lurched to the side, and Iron Jaw plummeted forward. He had a quick reaction, however, and spun around with a roundhouse kick, knocking Davis to the ground. Before he could get up, he felt Iron Jaw's hand wrap around his ankle, lifting him high into the air. He whiplashed Davis to the ground, sending him through the roof of the building and into the top floor.

Davis hit the floor of the room with a thud. He found himself in the office of none other than Mr. Scott himself, but the man was nowhere to be found. The office was devoid of furniture, except for a large desk. One of the walls was a full-sized window, and the rest were just plain and white.

Davis pushed himself up in time to see Iron Jaw crash down through the hole and throw another punch at him. Davis tried to dodge, but Iron Jaw was too quick. He was propelled through a wall, landing him in a hallway. He slammed into the opposite wall, and slumped to the ground in pain. He fought through it, pulling himself to his feet. Iron Jaw slowly lumbered towards him, laughing.

"Is this the best you can do? I figured you'd be stronger than this. After all, you're made of stone."

"And do you know what's best about being made of stone?" asked Gargoyle. "I carry a lot of weight with me."

Davis roared and ran at Iron Jaw, throwing all of his weight into a body slam. Iron Jaw may have been a beast of a man, but he still couldn't hold against the full force of Gargoyle. They launched through the room, right towards the full-wall window. They shattered through it at full force, throwing them into the open air.

They began to fall to the ground, more than a hundred stories below them. Davis tried to open the wings to his backpack, but the velocity was too strong. Had they opened, the G-Force would've ripped them apart. The two foes were forced to free fall, with Iron Jaw between Davis and the tower.

Davis used his legs to kick himself away from a nearby building, launching him back into Iron Jaw and back towards Scott Machines. They slammed back into the tower, going through a window and landing in an office about halfway down the tower.

Both men stood up, staring each other down. They were waiting for the other to make their move.

"We both know that you can't beat me," roared Iron Jaw.

"You sure about that?" replied Davis with a grin. Iron Jaw was right. Davis couldn't beat him in a fist fight. His enemy was just too brutally strong. He was going to have to outsmart him.

Davis quickly panned the room for anything that would be of use to him. All he saw was a desk and some filing cabinets, nothing that he could use to his advantage. Running out of options, Davis decided to use the one move he had left at his disposal.

He ran away.

He ducked out of the office, hearing Iron Jaw roar in anger. His lumbering opponent charged after him, following Davis through the halls of the tower. He had to think of a way to beat this guy. What was there in Scott Machines that he could use against this freak? It had to be something big. Something strong enough to take down a monster. Maybe he could trap him in a machine of some sort. Maybe he could push a chunk of metal on top of him.

Or maybe he could throw him in the Fire Pit.

That was it! Something that even Iron Jaw couldn't survive! All he had to do now was bring him down to the factory floor. So what was the quickest way to ground level? They could always jump out of the window again, but there was no promising that they would survive the fall. The only other options were the staircase or the elevator shaft.

The elevator shaft! Perfect! Not only did it lead to the ground, but it supplied Davis with a cord to slow his fall. Plus, there's no rope burn when you have stone skin!

With this idea, Davis rushed over to the nearest elevator shaft. Or should I say, the only elevator shaft. For the only elevator in the tower. The elevator that never seemed to be working.

Davis quickly pried open the elevator doors, leaping into the shaft. He grabbed the cord in the middle and began to slide towards the bottom, with Iron Jaw left at the top. After thinking for a few seconds, Iron Jaw leapt after him, grabbing the same cord.

This was something that Davis hadn't taken into account. The cord wasn't designed to handle both of their weight. The elevator could do it find, but that was usually supported by three or four cords. With only one, there wasn't enough strength to support them both,

The cord snapped, and the two began to fall once again. Davis tried his wings a second time, praying that they would catch him. To his delight, they did. He caught himself mid-fall, watching as Iron Jaw plummeted past him. Davis watched as Iron Jaw slammed into the ground, crushing the broken elevator at the bottom of the shaft.

Davis quickly landed and ran into the hallway before Iron Jaw had a chance to regain his footing. Davis couldn't help but marvel at this guy's endurance. He had just fallen past fifty floors, and it barely seemed to phase him. There was more to this guy than there seemed. He was too strong to have gotten there naturally. Davis assumed that steroids of some sort were involved.

Davis rushed to the Factory Floor, back into the crowd of screaming workers. He was met with various cries of "It's the Gargoyle!" and "Get him!" but they all shut up when Iron Jaw came screaming after him.

Davis set his sights on the metal platform above the Fire Pit. He jumped onto the ladder, quickly ascending to the platform. The only thing supporting it was four metal chains, so Davis hoped that they were enough to support the two of them.

Davis threw himself onto the platform, with Iron Jaw in hot pursuit. The landing was about fifteen by fifteen feet, spanning the entire Fire Pit. There was a six foot wide hole in the center, where workers would dump their unused metal. It was through this hole that Davis was going to throw Iron Jaw.

Davis steadied himself on one side of the gap, with Iron Jaw across from him. The heat from the fires below made them sweat, adding to the intensity of the moment.

"You can't kill me, Gargoyle!" laughed Iron Jaw. "I've broken stones with nothing but my bare fist. Why should you be any different?"

"Because stones can't think. I can. But what about you? I don't think that you have a conscious thought up in that thick skull of yours."

Iron Jaw roared in anger, launching himself over the gap. Davis smiled, but quickly realized that Iron Jaw was actually going to make the jump. He quickly ducked out of the way as Iron Jaw slammed into the railing behind him.

Right into one of the chains that held up the platform.

Chapter 5
To Davis's horror, the chain snapped. The entire platform tilted under their combined weight, bringing them both dangerously close to the flames. Davis tried to climb the iron mesh to balance it out, but it was no use. Iron Jaw didn't understand the danger that they were in, and still persisted in his attacks against Davis. He threw a punch, but slipped on the tilted surface, slamming into the metal and sending the platform even further out of balance. Davis grabbed the railing as the Platform went completely vertical, leaving nothing between them and the fires below.

Iron Jaw grabbed the railing as well, hanging above the open flames. They looked down at the raging fires, knowing that one slip would result in their death. Their eyes met, and both of them knew that one of them would have to die for the other to escape.

Iron Jaw began to climb the railing, bringing himself closer and closer to his prey. Davis climbed as well, but quickly reached the highest point of the platform. Iron Jaw slowly closed the distance between them, getting closer and closer to flinging Davis into the pit below.

It was all over.

Or at least, it seemed that way. But seconds before Iron Jaw reached Davis, the platform lurched once more. Iron Jaw lost his footing, leaving him to hang with nothing but his fingers.

Davis could see the fear in his eyes. Iron Jaw knew that he was about to die. His only hope was that the man he had spent the past day trying to kill would save him.

"Gargoyle!" he yelled in fear. "You have to help me! I'm slipping!"

Davis didn't know what to do. He had brought Iron Jaw to the pit with all intentions on killing him. But now, he was having second thoughts. Was it really his place to take another human being's life?

Iron Jaw realized that Davis probably wasn't going to help him. He looked up in anger, meeting eyes with his foe. "Remember, Gargoyle. You died for no​thing."

Davis never had the chance to make his choice. Because as Iron Jaw's finger slipped from the metal, the entire platform lurched. Davis lost his hold on the railing, and reality sunk in. The entire battle had been for nothing. There wasn't going to be a winner.

They were both going to die.

Roy had witnessed the entire battle from the Factory Floor below. And as the two warriors fell into the Fire Pit, his heart sunk. His best friend was dead, burnt to a crisp. At least he had some peace in his heart, knowing that Davis had brought his foe down with him.

But there were sounds of movement from within the Fire Pit. The entire room grew silent. Someone was climbing the platform. Someone had survived. But who was it? Who could've possibly survived such an inferno?

It was the Gargoyle.

Roy laughed in victory, and the rest of the room cheered. Davis, still in his form of stone, crawled out of the pit with pride. But he didn't come alone. Behind him, he dragged the body of his enemy. Davis had won the battle.

"You did it, man," said Roy as he greeted Davis. "You won!"

Davis laughed. "Yeah. I guess I did."

Luke ran over to where Iron Jaw's body had been laid down. He got on the floor and put his ear to his chest, before rising in shock.

"He's alive."

"What? Impossible!" yelled Roy. "Nobody could've survived the fire!"

"I did," said Davis. "Then again, I am made of stone."

"But how did he?"

"I'm not sure," replied Luke. "I better call BEAST to come and pick him up before he wakes up."

Davis was about to say something, but Roy interrupted him. "You should probably go and eat some Broccoli."

"Why?"

"Because my sister's heading towards us, and she's gonna want to talk to you."

Davis nodded and ran out of the Production Area. At the same time, Karen scanned the crowd for signs of her brother. When she finally saw him, she smiled and ran over.

"You're okay!" she said in delight.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was kind of held hostage by a burly dude with a metal jaw."

"What?" exclaimed Roy in shock. "How did he get you? What were you even doing here?"

"I was actually here to... apologize."

"For what?"

"For last night. I shouldn't have barged out like that. I was just mad, is all. Where's Davis? He's the one I should really be apologizing to."

"Here he comes now," said Roy, motioning over to his approaching friend.

"Karen!" said Davis in shock. "What are you doing here?"

She started to blush from embarrassment. "I was actually here to say that I'm sorry for last night."

"Don't be," he replied. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"You reacted fine! You never really got mad back at me. You were just defending your opinion. I should've respected that. After all, it seems that you were right. After all, Gargoyle just saved my butt."

"See?" grinned Davis. "Gargoyle isn't such a bad guy after all."

As soon as he had heard that Iron Jaw had entered the building, Alexander Scott had retreated to another office. It was probably a good thing too, because Iron Jaw had used his office to make the loudspeaker call. Now, things had been calm for about an hour. Everyone had gone home, meaning that he had the building to himself. This gave him an opportunity to go visit his project.

He walked over to the elevator shaft. He was lucky that they had only broken the elevator cage in the battle, instead of breaking through the elevator cage. Had that happened, they would've continued falling until they hit the basement. And Scott couldn't let that happen.

He took out a key and inserted it in the Elevator override slot. He heard metal clattering, and was surprised to see that the crushed elevator still worked. Scott climbed in and pressed the basement button. That's why he always had to say that the elevator didn't work. Because if workers knew that it was functional, they were likely to see that the building had an underground warehouse. And Mr. Scott had to keep that a secret.

He slowly descended his tower. It wasn't a smooth ride, but that was to be expected. After all, half of the elevator box had collapsed, and one of the support cords was broken. In truth, Scott was surprised that the box worked at all.

The elevator reached the basement, and the doors pulled open. Scott stepped out into his warehouse, witnessing all of its glory. It was approximately three hundred feet in diameter, and around sixty feet tall. The warehouse was filled with piles of scrap metal and wiring, next to piles of broken inventions and prototypes. Mr. Scott had a thing for inventing. He spent all of his free time doing it, from fire-spewing gloves to... something bigger.

Mr. Scott made his way through the piles of junk, making his way to a control panel on the wall. Right before hitting the button, however, he heard a voice.

"Hello Alexander."

Mr. Scott turned around to see his assistant, Luke, standing behind him. He had a triumphant look in his eyes, something that Scott had never seen before.

"Luke! What are doing down here?"

"After the chaos with Gargoyle and Iron Jaw I decided to check out the damage down to the elevators. That was when I realized that there was a basement. So, naturally, I went down there. I always knew that you were a criminal, but there's enough proof down here to actually convict you."

"Proof? What proof?"

"Weapons. Lots of them. Most of these are illegal. With just one pile of scrap metal, there's enough proof to send you to jail for the rest of your life."

Scott laughed. "Oh, Luke. You haven't seen anything yet."

He hit the button on the control panel, and a section of the wall began to rise. It left an opening about twenty feet wide and fifty feet tall, reaching almost to the ceiling. It was like a garage, but there wasn't a car inside.

There was a giant, mechanical dragon.

"What in the world is that?" asked Luke in pure shock, backing away from the wall.

"That, my friend, is Ladon." Luke watched in terror as Mr. Scott walked over to a pile of metal, picking up a pair of gloves.

"Do you know what these are?" he asked, slipping them onto his hands. "They go with these." He picked up two metal canisters, which he slipped over his arms like sleeves. A cord connected them to the gloves, which made Luke realize what they were.

"You see this finger?" he said, pointing at Luke with his pointer finger. "There's a little nozzle at the end of it. And when I pinch this little mechanism right here..."

In a second, Luke was completely engulfed in fire. It burst out of the glove like a water hose, completely consuming him in the blast. As the fires died down, Mr. Scott just smiled. He had to do whatever he could to protect Ladon. His plan had to work. It had to.

"Sorry about that."

Preview of the Next Story
Psyche: the Rise of Kronos

After the evnts of the Psyche Trials, Grant is struggling to control his powers. And when a close friend, Dr. Crow, begins a dangerous expirement, it's up to Grant to stop him. Will Psyche be able to save the day, or will Kronos rise and destroy Porvanir as we know it? Find out in Psyche's newest adventure, the Rise of Kronos!