Attack of the Fleshmongers

Boz1310

Word Count: 1,260

Warning: I do not own Martin Mystery nor do I own any of the characters with the exception of my OC Lewis Harper who will be introduced in later chapters.

AN: Tad bit AU- Set 10-20 years after the final episode of MM

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Diana Lombard awoke to the sound of everything ringing at once. That's right- it was 4:00 am on a Sunday and everything seemed to demand her attention. Struggling to turn off her alarm clock- the one in which she had set to eight the previous night- she grabbed her slippers and made a quick dash to the phone.

Picking up the phone, she rubbed her eyes and barked out, "Dr. Lombard, how may I help you?" To her bemusement, it was one of those pre-recorded messages that companies- who were too cheap to hire human telemarketers- would send out. She always assumed that the big wigs of the company never expected any actual positive results, but merely sent them out to the common people just to annoy the heck out of them.

"Good morning," said the cheerful robotic voice, "You have been selected to be part of a nation wide survey concerning-"

"Can it, Terminator." She growled and hung up before the voice recording could have a chance to explain itself. Normally, she would not have been as rude, but seeing as it was an ungodly hour and the telemarketer was AI, she simply could not contain herself.

To top it all off, the doorbell began ringing. The ringing changed to knocking and to her frustration, ringing and knocking in a steady but nerve-wracking rhythm. She let out a puff of hot air. There was only one person who would act like that regardless of time.

She stormed towards the door, forgetting to step over the cord of the telephone and tripped rather ungracefully onto her plush carpet. At that moment the infernal racket stopped and the door opened.

"And a good morning to you! What was keeping you sis, you took so long I had to let myself in…" the voice exclaimed, but stopped short after nearly tripping over her body. The blond haired man let out a chuckle and pulled out his phone.

"I can see 'we' are not a morning person." He tsked playfully, pressing the 'record' button on his android. Diana gnashed her teeth together with a snarl as she attempted to get up and snatch the phone from her brother's hands in one swift motion. She failed miserably as he sidestepped to the left, leaving her on her face again.

"Martin Mystery, if you do not turn that off right now, I will bash your face in with a frying pan!"

"Threatening to murder someone when they are using a recording device of significant quality, real smart doc." Martin said, as Diana got up, steadied herself, and self-consciously adjusted her sleeping robe. To her dismay, he was still filming.

"I mean it, Martin." She crossed her arms and frowned as her stepbrother put away the phone. Once he done that, she angrily demanded, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What?" Martin blinked with the innocence equivalent to a thousand puppies. "I can't visit my little sister of whom I adore?"

"Not without an ulterior motive." She retorted. "Especially at 4 in the morning." With that, Martin sat down and handed her a Manila envelope. His expression darkened.

"We could really use you again Agent Lombard."

Diana stopped short and turned back with a smile. "Agent Lombard." She said thoughtfully, more to herself than to anyone else. "I haven't heard that name in a while."

Martin agreed with a curt nod. "Could you make some coffee?"

"Thanks." Martin said as she handed him a mug of coffee and a plate of bacon, eggs and toast. The coffee was instant, the eggs were overcooked and the bacon was almost unbearably oily. Nonetheless Martin dug into the meal as soon as she put the plate down.

"That's good." He said between mouthfuls, ignoring the look of disbelief on his sister's face. "Y'know, I haven't eaten anything this filling in a while."

Diana took a better look at her brother. What he said was certainly true. He had lost a significant amount of weight since the last time she saw him, albeit seeming to be in good health. 'That's a relief' she thought to herself and suppressed a smile. Remembering the conditions of many of the missions they had been on, she figured he still never had the time to sit down and eat something that came on a plate.

"Yeah, you look like you needed it."

Martin answered with that charming grin of his. The smile turned into a questioning glance when he noticed he was the only one eating.

"You didn't make yourself any." He stated, pushing his half-finished plate to her. She pushed it back.

"No thanks, I'm a vegetarian." She shrugged, getting up again to retrieve her own breakfast. 'Yogurt, bread and an avocado it is.' She thought disdainfully when she was unable to find any other edible substances in her fridge. 'Lucky me.'

"I could never do that. I love meat too much." Martin declared, taking a large bite out of a strip of bacon to prove his point.

"Once again, you look like you need it." Diana smirked, drinking her coffee. Raising an eyebrow, she pointed out, "Are eye bags a trend this year?" Martin responded by giving her a thumbs up.

"Brings out the colour of my eyes." He said sardonically. They both shared a laugh. Diana was surprised at how well they were getting along. She could remember it being the complete opposite when they were younger. Much to the annoyance of their friends and family, they would constantly be at each other's throats, squabbling or finding some other way to inflict emotional and physical pain onto the other. Martin had really grown up- and so had she.

"How are the parents?" she asked. She knew she was treading on thin ice. It had been awhile since she saw their parents and she just had to know how they were doing.

"Mom is…mom. Dad is, well, dad." Martin shrugged, playing with the crumbs on his plate. "They really haven't changed at all Di, besides the fact of wanting to see you more often." This was said with hint of bitterness in his voice. Remembering the tense relationship between their father and Martin, Diana knew it was time to change the conversation.

"And Java?" she grinned at the thought of their big, playful caveman friend who was as loyal as he was strong and brave in all situations.

"Java is in charge of caring for the creatures at the Center." Martin smiled. The positive change in the atmosphere was a stark contrast to the negativity only seconds before. It couldn't be helped; they both loved their friend very much.

"Java always was very nurturing." Diana agreed. "That job seems very suitable."

"At any rate, it's helping him overcome his fear of technology and cats." Martin laughed.

"I really miss the big guy." Diana murmured soberly.

"Which is why you must help us with this mission." Martin said seriously, as she opened the large envelope. "Small talk aside, it is one hell of a case."

AN: Thanks for reading. More chapters will be posted soon. Of course, reviews and comments can always speed up the process so feel free to PM me!

Cheers,

BOZ1310- May 4, 2013