Here we go, folks! A new growth drive for all you out there eager to get your big on! Here's hoping this one is as enjoyable as Jake Long's!

Story by myself
Art by  rockytheprocy

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There is a human phrase that Brooklyn was only now beginning to understand; “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” The world was simply not the same place the Manhattan Clan had woken up to in 1994. In fact, part of Brooklyn felt that he was awake now for the first time. Fighting Xanatos and Demona, and later Hunters, Macbeth, Oberon, and the Quarrymen seemed like simple and straight-forward tasks compared to what his role was now: a politician. At the most frustrating points, Brooklyn thought bitterly that Goliath had it easy as Clan Leader. When he was around, the Clan Leader’s job had amounted to one objective; punch bad guys until they either stopped being bad guys, or just stopped moving altogether. But then, Brooklyn knew better. He had far too much respect for Goliath’s memory to remember the hulking, grey gargoyle as anything besides honorable and heroic, but everything felt so much simpler in the past. Now, he had a nation sitting in his lap. The word still sat weird on his tongue, “nation.” It was a human word. And politics were an intrinsically human art; gargoyles just had no need for it, but now they did and all the other rookeries around the world looked to the Manhattan Clan to lead by example. All in all, it gave the gargoyle a profound headache.

“Hey, Lex?” Brooklyn looked up from his seat at Lexington, one of the Manhattan Clan’s founding members. Short, olive-green skin, and with webbed wings attached to his arms, a rarity amongst the gargoyles, he was one of the smallest in the clan, but made up for it with quick reflexes, a quicker mind, and a natural affinity for human technology.

It took a moment for Lexington to look up; he was engrossed with his newest toy, a smart phone, courtesy of Castle Wyvern’s downstairs neighbors, Xanatos Enterprises. “Huh? Sorry, Brooks.”

“Do you think we’re doing this right?” Brooklyn asked.

“Uh… doing what right?”

Brooklyn made a gesture with his hand, “This whole… nation thing. We have to do this all from scratch, and I want to do a good job, you know? For Goliath’s sake.”

Lexington rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah… but, hey, you wouldn’t be Clan leader if he didn’t think you’d do a good job, right? You look the part, at least.”

Brooklyn grinned a bit. Over the years, he’d grown up a little more. His features were distinctively hawk-like, with a large beak and sharp eyes, and his thick mane of white hair, red skin, and two long horns coming out of his forehead gave him more than a little distinction. He’d become stronger as well, and after all the battles the Manhattan Clan had fought, he had come accustomed to wearing a makeshift set of armor. He was still considerably smaller than Goliath had been; it made him feel even more in the former leader’s shadow.

“C’mon, Brooks,” Lexington smiled a bit more, “I don’t think any of us knew we’d end up with a nation, but… we’ve got it now, so I’m sure we’ll figure it out. You know you got me, Broadway, and Hudson, at least.”

Brooklyn scoffed, “Yeah, if I can ever get Hudson away from the TV and Broadway out of the kitchen.” He sighed as Lexington frowned at his comment, “I’m sorry, I’m just stressed out. I appreciate it, really. Is there anything I need to know about?”

“Well…” Lexington gingerly tapped the screen of his smart phone with a stylus; he’d already scratched the screen half a dozen times with his claws. “The London Clan still wants to know what our next move is. Una is having a summit at Buckingham Palace, and she needs something to tell the Queen and Prime Minister.”

“Yeah?” Brooklyn smirked, “And did Staghart have anything to say?”

Lexington blushed, “N-nothing much… just the usual.”

“Sorry, sorry. Look, uh… just give me an hour or two to think, and I’ll let you know, okay, Lex?”

Lexington put his smart phone away, “I think that’s all the time she’ll give you. She’s getting pretty antsy about the whole thing- she’s been texting me since sundown London time.”

“Yeah…” Brooklyn sighed, alone again. The Great Hall of Castle Wyvern was as good a place as any for a new political leader to set up shop; his desk was covered in letters from all around the world, from the White House to the Kremlin, all very official looking and filled with so much political double-speak, Brooklyn couldn’t wrap his head around it. He leaned back in a throne-like chair, staring at nothing as he tried to think.

“Ah, the chain of command getting a little tight, is it?” a silky smooth voice spoke, echoing in Brooklyn’s head.

“Puck. Not tonight,” The gargoyle growled.

An otherworldly figure and Child of Oberon, Puck was mischief incarnate. Long, pointed ears, elfish features, stark white hair, and a purple and red tunic right out of Shakespeare, Puck had almost no regard for such mortal limits like walls and ceilings, coming and going as he pleased; like a pest that had no extermination service to treat it. “Oh, come now, big Mr. Clan Leader, I’m just trying to be a friendly neighbor. I didn’t know the new Gargoyle Nation had such a hostile foreign policy.”

“Don’t you have Xanatos’ kid to terrorize or something?”

“He’s a teenager, now,” Puck pouted, “Convinced that everything sucks, and I, his faithful tutor, ‘suck’ the big one, apparently. The magic of Avalon is nothing compared to the power of Internet forums, it appears. I considered turning him into a donkey, but making him an ass would be a bit too on-the-nose.”

“He’s a good kid- despite you. Just give him some space,” Brooklyn shrugged. “Now, I got work to do, so can you go bother someone else?”

“Oh, but teenagers are so boring. All the angst, it reminds me of my time with Demona, but without all the fun of turning all of Manhattan into gargoyles.” Puck floated near Brooklyn. “Besides, you need my help.”

“Yeah, like a hole in my wing.” Brooklyn waved Puck away like an irritating fly.

Puck merely appeared on the other side of the throne, “And who else are you going to turn to with all your political concerns? What’re you going to tell the Queen? Or the President? London, Beijing, Tokyo, Washington, all are waiting for the Gargoyle leader’s phone call.”

Brooklyn sighed, propping his head up with his hand as he crossed his legs, “And what exactly are you offering?”

“Mere advice, and unwavering support. Oh, and this little trinket.” Puck opened his hand, producing a golden artifact. Roughly the size of the palm of his hand, the gold talisman was fashioned to show a great bird in flight.

Brooklyn’s eyes went wide, “The Phoenix Gate!” He narrowed his eyes at Puck, “How’d you get that? Goliath threw it into the Timestream to keep it away from you.”

Puck grinned, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Brooklyn, than can be dreamt up in your philosophy.

How I got this is neither here nor there,
I just figured, fair is fair.
Your clan and I have fought so long,
It’s become a tired dance and song.
Xanatos and kin have made their peace,
I’ve come to declare our hostilities cease,” He held out his hand,
“And the Phoenix gate? What matters is it’s got,
And I offer help to you and your lot.”

The gargoyle stared intently at the Phoenix Gate, but as soon as he opened his mouth to protest, he entirely forgot what he was going to say. All that he remembered was that he felt a little light-headed. Shaking his head, Brooklyn looked at Puck’s hand. “I’ll consider it. But unless you can help me with all…” he gestured to the papers littering his desk, “this, then I don’t need to be-“

Puck snapped his fingers, and the papers were whipped into a flurry, gathering themselves into a small pile in his hands. He produced a pair of glasses, which he perched on his long, thin nose. “Let’s see, let’s see… you’ll say no to this one, it’s a extremely one-sided trade agreement with China, diplomatically turn the President down on this… he wants the Department of the Interior to have authority in any rookeries found on American territory, hah. Consider this one, though, you could use sponsorships from American companies… the European Union wants to declare rookeries as protectorates… hm. Ask the European clans about that. And the rest are just notes acknowledging the Gargoyles as a nation. There!” Another snap of his fingers, and the papers disappeared, “All finished.”

Brooklyn’s jaw dropped. “I… okay, so you’re good with paper work. Xanatos knew that much, ‘Owen.’”

Puck gave Brooklyn a bland smile and a shrug, “Well, now all that’s left is your first official act as a world leader. What do you want to do?”

“Well… I think we need to keep doing what Goliath did. Convince humans we’re not monsters, and we’re useful to have around as partners. But I also don’t want anyone thinking they can push us around. I want to make a good impression, but it needs to be a big one, too.”

“There are several ways to accomplish that… do you have any prior thoughts?”

Brooklyn stroked his chin, “Well… I had a few ideas. All the big human nations have armies. All gargoyles defend their territory, but maybe we should be more organized, like a military. I also thought we should invite all the clan leaders and human leaders to a…. what was that word Lex used? A ‘summit.’ Show everyone a good time.”

Puck nodded sagely, still grinning. “Both wise choices… but if I may? The Manhattan Clan has run afoul of several large corporations- not just Xanatos. Some of them even fund people like the Quarrymen… Demona’s old front, Nightstone, is big on their donor list. A pre-emptive strike might be in order, to ‘acquire’ some trade secrets to undermine their efforts.”

Brooklyn glared at the mention of Demona’s name, but shook his head. “Pre-emptive? No, we’re not going to do that. Goliath wouldn’t do that.”

Puck chuckled, “True, but you’re not Goliath. Just what do you really want out of all this, Brooklyn?”

Brooklyn thought for a moment. “I need to be the biggest thing to Gargoyles since Goliath. If everyone wants me to lead, I need to have his… presence. Gah, I don’t know how to put it.”

Puck held out his hand, “All the same… I’m the only one right now who can help you make it reality.”

Brooklyn sighed, shaking his head, and then looked at the child of Oberon, “Fine.” He grasped Puck’s hand and shook.

Puck’s eyes flashed,
“If you think that better is bigger, then so shall it be.
Your prestige will be the new nation’s key.
All the world’s a stage, and the seats are packed,
The bigger your role, the better your act.”


What is Brooklyn’s first move as leader of the new gargoyle nation?
A- Hold a summit for human and gargoyle clan leaders
B- Organize and train a military
C- Raid Demona’s company, Nightstone Unlimited

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