Voyagers Saga

Season of the Dracolich

Chapter 1

Night duty at the Center used to be boring. Now it was dreaded by every agent that was employed there. There was even a rumor that the job was cursed as nobody seemed to last longer than a week before something happened. Agent Leroy couldn't help but think this on his fifth night in the security office for an artifact containment area.

There was no arguing that working the night watch in a place like this would give anyone the willies. There were hundreds of nasty things locked away in this place and nighttime brought the worst out in the imagination. It also didn't help that almost all containment breaches happened at night.

"Ok, nothing to worry about, Leroy. It's just like Agent Jenkins said before he took this same job, nothing to worry about...come to think of it, I haven't seen Jenkins for weeks," squeaked Leroy before screaming as a blur shot past a camera's view.

Leroy spun and looked around in fear. There was nothing around him and he grumbled, "That's it. The next person who mentions 'Five Nights at Freddy's' is gonna get a sock to the jaw."

"Really? I personally found that game hilarious," said a hissing voice behind him, Leroy spinning to find nothing

"Ha, ha, very funny," said Leroy dully before turning around to see a draconic skull-like face staring right at him. The creature leapt at Poor unfortunate Leroy at that, the agent screaming, scrabbling for the alarm.

Return of the Lizard King

Avalar

New Atlantis orbital shipyard.

"Ok, people. We've finally got the job that's had popular demand," said Matt cheerfully, his apparent human form flickering as he move too suddenly for the borrowed holocloak to compensate before he made a hologram of Ghoulwyrm in mid spiderbot mobbing, "Everyone's favorite zombie. We're gonna take him down and beat the snot out of him and pour what's left onto the council room floor."

"And how much are we getting paid to do it?" asked NegaMorph. The others gave him an odd look. "Well, I mean it's fine to be paid to do what you love, but being paid well makes you love it more."

"Full bounty," said Chloe cheerfully .

"I'm pacified," said NegaMorph.

"I'm not pacified until I've had lunch," said Morph in the back grumpily. Just then, a bacon sandwich appeared in front of him. He looked around for the source but when he didn't see it, he just shrugged and chowed down.

"Ok., now I know that the ship we got from Avalar been impounded, but Morgan said he had something better, something his engineers did with ours," said Matt cheerfully, removing the opaque from the window behind him to reveal the North Star, the name 'North Star IV' on the side. "Atlantean and NSC tech, best of, all in one," he said proudly , "This ship is the latest in technology in almost every aspect, virtually unsinkable. BUT IF ANY OF YOU LITTLE MONSTERS MAKE SO MUCH AS ONE SCRATCH ON IT-" "Alright, alright, we get the point," said Chloe dryly, pushing Matt aside.

"Ok, Morgan's buddies traced Ghoulwyrm to a world in the Combine territories. Their confederation's given us permission to go in," she continued, a wormhole map appearing, a red dot over one clearly inside combine territories .

"Anything remarkable about this world?" asked Wilson.

"Class C, heavy magic content and paranormal activity, alot of alien races, with at least 40% of them hostile. We go in silent, scan for Ghoulwyrm, grab him...and use this on him," said Chloe, holding up an orb that floated with an air of contentment in her hand.

"What's that thing?" asked Kala.

"Atlantean device, temporal reversal orb. Should turn Ghoulwyrm back into flesh and blood, so he can serve out his life sentence properly," said Chloe cheerfully .

"Ghoulwyrm without all the rotting skin and showing bones?" asked Chris, "That's ready odd to imagine."

"Welp, we get to see it firsthand...and as long as he's alive when he arrives," said Techo with an evil grin, the rest of the mercs present sharing it. Ghoulwyrm, for all his failures had cost the crew alot of men. Not to mention the dracolich had also placed a nasty curse on little Lumina that so far has warded off both removal and definition. His near-destruction of Avalar by waking up the golems of the deep was the final straw for the council.

"Ok, Aria is installed, we are out of here 5 minutes ago, so let's roll out," said Matt, the mercs all cheering and headed for the doors.

The new North Star IV made to the planet in plenty of good time. But Matt had enough time to read up on what they could find there. Apparently, there was a lot of variety to expect on this world, but there was one thing linking all the paranormal together: the guys who were watching over it.

"Ok, this Center sounds like the bloody men in black. Badasses, the lot of them. High tech, wrist computers with containment systems called U-Watches, maybe this is where the NSC 'appropriated' the tech. If that's the case, we could be in for a rude welcome," he said to Chloe, Kala, Chris and Techo, Aria's hologram on the table .

"Perhaps if we inquire them, they will inform us if they have encountered Ghoulwyrm," said Aria.

"More likely, they'll impound the ship, mind wipes, containment facilities. These guys are DARKRIFT lite," said Chloe darkly before she paused, "Why do you suggest calling them?"

"Because otherwise, there's not much chance finding them," said Aria, "Their exact position is extremely hard to detect. Apparently, they utilize portal technology quite frequently. Find the source of them is like finding a needle in a haystack."
"We're not calling them...they've got him, haven't they?" said Matt, sighing the last part .

"His active ecto-signature is not on the grid and the last detectable trace is in an area where a portal had manifested," said Aria.

"Crap, so we're breaking into the local cop HQ," said Matt gloomily.

"Perhaps there is another way," said a voice. The others turned to look at the newest member of the crew. Her name was Syva, a spritely young woman short-cropped blonde hair. Technically, she was only a technician since Morgan thought someone had to come along to make sure the crew don't accidentally blow up their own ship. But being a shadow Shar-Khan, she was definitely a capable fighter.

"Go ahead newbie," said Chris in a friendly tone.

Syva nodded. "Part of the new upgrades is an advanced sensor array and teleporter. We can lock onto their portal and hijack the signal...and use it ourselves," she said calmly, her eyes glowing a peculiar black.

"Sounds simple enough," said Matt, "There's a tricky part, isn't there?"

"You'll need to hijack their system on site to get back," said Syva gloomily .

"Oh? That's all?" asked Matt, "Shouldn't be a problem."

"You should expect extreme resistance once you enter. They will most likely shoot first and not bother with questions," said Syva coldly .

"Hmm, and I bet Ghoulwyrm's cell isn't right next to their portal controls," said Kala.

"No, if the intel is correct, containment is on the lower levels, makes sense. Any attacker would need to fight past the staff to reach those areas," said Chloe .

"At least Ghoulwyrm shouldn't be hard to find, right?" asked Chris.

"They've got hundreds of monsters and creatures down there," said Techo, "Still, Ghoulwyrm has a unique profile."

"He's right. We just go down and scream that Ghoulwyrm's a hack," said Matt cheerfully before he said, "Stun weapons only. We're not blasting people just doing their jobs."

"That's quite an admirable amount of self-restraint," said Aria approvingly.

"I grew up," said Matt calmly, ignoring the snorts around him .

"I should point out that there are some very nasty creatures that are also in containment," said Aria, "So be certain not to open any more cages than you have to."

"We'll just check the windows," said Matt cheerfully.

"Wait, you're calling us because you've already caught the monster?" asked Diana Lombard dubiously.

"Yes, Agent Lombard because I suspect he let himself be caught. After he terrified Agent Leroy into a coma, he simply roamed the containment level until we caught him. I don't like it," said Mom calmly, glaring at an image that showed Ghoulwyrm in a cell, smirking at the camera .

"What kind of monster is he anyways?" asked Diana.

"Hmm...hard to say for certain," said Martin, "His wings seem to indicate he's some kind of bat mummy, yet he has cyborg zombie implants as well. Of course, the dragon skull head throws them both off. But the only thing I can say for certain is...he is totally, awesomely, freaky!"

Diana looked at the view before saying cautiously, "He can't see us...can he?" only to eep as Ghoulwyrm mouthed 'No...I can smell you.'

"I am also in the dark about what he is," said Mom, "But one's thing for certain: he is not of this world."

"You mean not of this world in the alien sense or in the spirit world sense?" asked Martin.

"Possibly both," said Mom, "But I think he might actually be a combination of various creatures, much like the 'ultimate monster' that was sent to destroy us."

Ghoulwyrm could be seen facepalming at that.

While Ghoulwyrm was impressed with the Center's security, he was unimpressed with their 'top agents'. Yes, the director was quite competent, but the others were a literal caveman, a girl who looked the perfect model for the skeptic chick that's always picked off first, and some paranormal fanboy.

"Ok, time for a little mindwarping. Three loyal minions, starting with the fanboy...REWHFHAEUFHEW!" he said, his eyes spinning as he tuned straight into martins brain and regretted every microsecond of it .

By the time he was able to extract his mind, his head was spinning with supernatural trivia, none of it useful. "Oh by the darkness...that boy is not well upstairs," he said in a shaking voice .

The caveman would have been a simpler puppet to seize control of, but Ghoulwyrm didn't quite feel so well after being in Martin's head. He was about to try the girl when he sensed a group of familiar minds, smirking. "Right on time," he said to himself, looking up at the camera and smirking evilly.

"Ok...Agent Daniel's just checked in," said the security officer in charge of the portal traffic.

His partner nodded. "Guess we're done till the China teams check in..." she began before the controls began to beep .

"That them already?" asked the first security officer.

However, the portal opening was more oval-shaped...before two darts shot out and hit the officers in the neck, the two slumping down unconscious before a half dozen masked troopers ran through.

"Alright, we're in," said one of them, "We find the target, get him ready for transport, then head back."

"Ok, Chris, take Techo and Kala and secure the security room. I want to have to unlock as little doors as possible," said the leader, the helmet retracting to reveal Matt.

"Syva, you got a lock on skull face?" asked another trooper, retracting her helmet to reveal Chloe.

Syva nodded, the only one wearing a dragon-shaped mask. "I can sense the little moron. He's not even trying to hide," she sneered .

"Odd, usually Ghoulwyrm's more discreet," said Kala.

"We'll ask him why later. Let's go before..." began Matt before alarms began to ring. "That happens," he finished .

"Ok, set stunguns to rapid fire," said Chris.

On cue, the far doors opened and several Center staff ran in, their own stun weapons at the ready before the shadows grabbed them, Syva holding out her hand before making them bash into each other .

"Just like having Megan around, without all the possible magical backlashes," said Techo.

Ghoulwyrm laughed to himself as he saw several guards run in and check the cells. "Problem?" he asked one of them tauntingly .

"None of your business, creep," said one of the guards. "It probably is my business if my minions are here to break me out. Oops, did I say that out loud?" asked Ghoulwyrm with false modesty.

The guard glared before walking off, talking into his U watch. "Oh, this should be worth it." said Ghoulwyrm happily to himself

Progress not going well with the gang. Even though they were using non-lethal rounds, the security was proving to be a lot harder than they thought.

"Since when did the Center have nucleon disrupters?" yelled Matt as black beams shot past. These new guards were clearly the Centers heavy squad, wearing combat gear and firing the aforementioned rifles

"Apparently when they get intruders, they expect the tough guys," said Chloe.

Matt glared, tossing some stasis grenades down the hall. "One more floor. Kala, dear. How's the security coming? Kala?" he asked, pausing as he got no answer.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they had some form of communicating disruptor," said Chloe.

"No jamming signal confirmed," said her wrist computer, adding, "Communicator was forcibly shut down 3.2 minutes ago."

"This monster had better be worth it," said Syva.

Matt glared before stepping out into the open and sent a low level blast out, scattering the remaining troopers flying and demolishing the door. Sadly, it also seemed to knock out the power.

"Syva, you shadow dragons can see in the dark, right?" asked Matt's voice.

"Easily. We should move...and hope that the cells have backup magnetic locks," said the Shar-Khan scolding .

The trio hurried, but the cells they passed were not reassuring. Namely in that they were all open and empty. One however was still occupied, Ghoulwyrm sitting back, having conjured a glass of what Matt hoped was red wine. "Took your time," he sneered .

"Trying to get out early with good behavior?" asked Chloe dryly.

"You could say that," laughed Ghoulwyrm before noticing an orb floating towards him. "What the heavens that supposed to be?" he said before freezing in place as the orb engulfed him in a blue field.

"Let's just say you're getting another chance at life," said Matt.

However, Ghoulwyrm was unable to respond as he shrank down, flesh reappearing, his necrotic properties vanishing until he was finally the size of a younger dragon, an ill-looking purple-scaled Dracon with silver hair. "Urgh...my head...I...wait, I don't feel pain," he said, sounding horrified before an armored foot connected under his jaw, sending him flying and into the far wall.

"That was for what you did to Mina," said Matt, "I hope the pain lasts longer than usual."

"Urgh...I thought the NSC had rules about pri..." he began before he screamed as Chloe fed him enough energy to light up an office block.

"We need back alive, remember?" pointed out Syva.

"Relax, we can always rewind him back," said Matt.

Ghoulwyrm actually looked frightened at that. "Look...I...I can take the curse off of her," he began terrified until Chloe hit him again .

"Tell it to the council," said Matt before looking a little doubtful, "He's still pretty big, don't we got something we can transport him with?"

"Let's see…" said Syva before smirking and saying, "Shift to your Avalarian disguise, Zyvar."

"I can't shapeshift now!" snapped Zyvar, holding up his unbandaged wings, "You've just stripped me of most of my magic!"

"Then we de-age you more," said Syva, programming something before the beam hit him again, causing him to shrink to a more human size.

"Hey, stop that!" snapped Zyvar, his voice sounding higher-pitched.

"There, problem solved. I had the beam give him an infusion of human DNA," said Syva, the others glaring at her. "What? He's no longer bulletproof now," she said, causing the glares to lower in tone and become more thoughtful, much to Ghoulwyrm's/Zyvar's worry .

"Well, I suppose the council won't care what we do. Zara did say get him back by any means necessary," said Chloe.

"Well, let's grab him and go, the others are probably being pressed really hard," said Matt. "I'm not going out there," said Zyvar, backing into a corner, "It's scary out there."

"Scary? The grand dark master's scared? Get the fuck out here!" snapped Matt, losing his patience, and grabbing Ghoulwyrm...before something leapt down from a upper walkway and sunk its fangs in his shoulder . "Get it off! Get it off!" yelped Matt as he flailed about.

The others began firing, the bullets bouncing off as the creature was revealed to be some form of lizard creature, hissing angrily before leaping over their heads and into a vent, leaving Matt moaning with a shoulder that looked like it had been minced. "I told you it was scary," said Zyvar distantly, before shaking his head and snapping, "CURSE THESE CHILD INSTINCTS!"

"What the heck was that?!" yelped Chloe.

"Something we had just let loose," said Syva grimly.

"Aria's gonna rub this in..." groaned Matt before a hatch opened and the other three of the team walked in slowly, hands raised, a dozen of the heavy squad, with a white suited woman leading them, "Crap."

"You six are in a lot of trouble," said the woman sternly.

Syva said quietly to Chloe, "He needs medical help. His nanites cannot fix that wound alone," causing Chloe to glare "And you had one of our prisoners."

"They tried to take me, I didn't want to go!" yelped Zyvar.

"Shut up, Ghoulwyrm!" snapped Chloe.

"Yes, ma'am." said Zyvar quietly as Syva said "This creature is a DARKRIFT contract and a galactic criminal with a kill count in the millions. On behalf of the Avalarians we are taking him into custody."

"I don't care who you say you are, you're not going anywhere until we've straightened this mess out," said the woman sternly.

"Can my brother at least see a doctor given the fact your pet gecko nearly ripped his arm off at the shoulder?" snapped Chloe, the lights flickering around her .

The woman turned to one of her guards and said, "Get him to the medbay and make sure he hasn't been infected."

"Infected? Infected with what?" snapped Matt, trying to get up.

"We'll require your cooperation to figure out what," said the woman.
"Now look..." began Matt before Chloe hissed "Shut it."

Matt probably would have protested more, but two of the guards grabbed him not so gently. "Ow, easy with the shoulder," snapped Matt.

Chloe nodded. "You hurt him and I'll cook you from the inside out," she said coldly, Kala snapping "I'll do the outside."

"I'll see to it that he gets the treatment he deserves," said the woman, "Now then, there are plenty of 'geckos' that could have gotten loose and bitten him. You better come with me if you want to identify it."

"Fine..." said Syva, the group being led away.

Matt turned over as the interrogator finally left. There was only so many ways to say 'I didn't see what bit me and neither did anyone else'. He stopped as he heard someone else coming in.

"I knew that dragon thing was trouble. Nothing comes to the Center that willingly that isn't looking for a job application is ever good news," said a voice.

"Who the hell is this?" thought Matt, before rolling over and noticing his holocloak had been taken.

"Ooh, cool, check this out," said that same voice before he felt somebody poking at him.

"Do that once more and I'll remove your arm and beat you to death with the soggy end," said Matt in a tired voice, his tail swishing in an irritated motion .

"Oh, sorry, I haven't see a dragon up close before. Well, there was Zook, but no one wants to get close to him. And he was a lot bigger than you are. Say, are you a space dragon?"

"No...I'm tired...the arm threat now covers waking me up," said Matt darkly, his eyes going red .

"Oh, I guess I'll just...hey, cool robot arm," said Matt before he was suddenly yanked over as someone started fiddling with his arm.

"Oi, let go!" snapped Matt, sitting up and pulling back to see a kid wearing, in his opinion, a shirt even Ace Ventura would back off from.

"Er, ok, letting go," said the kid a bit nervously.

"Word of advice, hair gel isn't the same as cologne," said Matt.

The teenager seemed annoyed at that, though the girl with him was grinning, even if she was staring at Matt in a fashion that made Matt feel like he was about to be dissected.

"Java no like lizard man's arm," said the big guy behind them, looking a few notches below the evolutionary ladder than his friends.

"Well, given my real arm was minced, it's essential to my work. So, are you three my jailors?" said Matt, a little sarcastically .

"You might say that," said the kid, "So, were you guys here to capture that wyvern thing or rescue him?"

"Capture, he's a mass murderer and a pain in my tailbone," said Matt

"Yeah, but what kind of monster is he really?" asked the kid.

The girl sighed and said, "Martin meant that in the literal way. He's been coming with one harebrained theory after another about what that thing is."

"Undead dragon before we reversed time on him with some Atlantean tech," said Matt promptly .

"Atlantean? As in Atlantis? I knew that place existed!" said Ma/rtin triumphantly.

"Wrong universe...and I'm gonna sorely regret all this, aren't I" said Matt, adding the last part in a tired voice to Martin's companions .

"Once you've gotten him on a roll, there's no stopping him," said the girl regretfully.

"Have you tried chloroform?" asked Matt innocently

"Mmm...tempting, but I'll save it for when I really need to," said the girl, "By the way, I'm Diana, the dufus over there is my stepbrother Martin."

"Hmm...you realize that under multiversal law we were in our rights to drag Ghoulwyrm out of here by his tail, right? This arrest is a joke," said Matt pleasantly, with an underlay of steel .

"Well, you have asked nicely," said Diana.

"I'm a professional mercenary," pointed out Matt .

"Which apparently means you don't have to bother with manners," said Diana.

"Java want to be mercenary," said Java, "Less manners for Java."

"I've spent the last 6 years being shot at, mutated, mangled, thrown off cliffs, attacked by nightmares, savaged by mutant reptiles, turned into mutant reptiles, attacked by anything and savaged by spiderbots. My manners and patience dried up years ago," said Matt flatly .

"Sounds like a dream life to me," said Martin.

"I'd say 'wanna try it', but if the rumors about this place are true, something would probably literally take me up on that," said Matt.

Diana sighed before pointing to the patchworks of scars Matt had earned. They were hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for, though the large one on his right eye was obvious...and the scars where his organic and mechanical arm met was also clear.

"Oh, probably rougher than I thought," said Martin.

"It's worse than that," said Matt, "It's not about what I lose as it is about who I lose."

The trio fell silent at that, Matt saying, "Yeah, I thought so...I'd like to sleep until formal charges are presented."

"No problem," said Diana as she pushed Martin and Java out, "We'll back later with something for you to eat. Hope you'll feel better."

Matt nodded, before hearing a second later, something else coming in. "Can't a guy get some peace and quiet around here?!" snapped Matt.

Matt groaned and turned over to be snout to snout with what was probably the creature that had attacked him, though it was wearing a ragged Center suit. Matt stared as it growled before he did what his instincts told him to do: he kicked it flying .

The creature hit its head on the ceiling and fell to the floor unconscious. Matt jumped off the bed, looking around for anything as the first thing going through his head was 'oh shit, an infected'.

He picked up the bed he was laying on and used it to pin the creature in place. The creature hissed in a strange language though 'Naqopec' was a recognized word. "Nice last words," he began, readying a fist before a tazer hit him in the back, two guards piling on him .

"Hey, get off me! That creep was trying to kill me!" snapped Matt. Matt looked up at that to see a doctor looking dazed. Matt's eye twitched as his mind tried to make sense of it...and got tangled up with itself.

"We let out an infected?" said Chloe dully, looking at the files on a creature called Naqopec, Kala facepalming in the background

"I'm not certain what you would call an 'infected', but unless they're Hopi lizard demons, I doubt they're very much the same," said Mom.

"They turn people into lizard, they're infected...and you kept it alive instead of firing it into the sun?" said Chloe in an annoyed tone.

"We don't execute creatures out of principle," said Mom sternly, "If they do expire, it's because it was in the field where the situation was necessary. Would you rather we exterminate any paranormal creature we obtain?"

"Let something like that came, we ended up in our own re-enactment of aliens. The NSC had to bomb the colony and we barely escaped alive. Oh yeah, it almost mentally scarred my brother," snapped Chloe before a roar echoed out. "Oh...right on cue," said Chloe glumly before MOM's intercom beeped.

"MOM...we got a problem...that guy in the medical bay's lost it...turned into...oh hell, he's blown a hole in the..." began a voice on the other end, desperation in his voice before the sound of a plasma blast ended the call prematurely .

"You said it almost mentally scarred him?" asked Mom dryly.

"No, I said it did. Hell, it scarred me!" snapped Chloe, turning to leave, "I'm going to go stop my brother before he turns this entire county into a crater. Tell your men to stay clear."

"I'd prefer it if my top agents went with you," said Mom.

"Well, they better be the best because that's what I need," said Chloe.

"They're your best?" said Chloe, looking at Martin, Diana, and Java in a dull voice

"Oh, I'm the best alright and I can show what other things I'm the best at," said Martin, oozing with what he apparently thought was charm.

"Was that supposed to be impressive?" said Chloe, her eyes glowing faintly. Chris and Techo looked at each other and slowly inched away .

"Oh, I know, I can be too much to take in at once, but take your time with me," said Martin smarmily.

Chloe's eyes narrowed even more and she pointed her finger at him. "So, you wanna get dinner and-" started Martin before a lightning bolt shot out of Chloe's finger and electrocuted him.

"Nope," said Chloe striding past him, Chris saying "I would never do that again. She must like you a bit. You don't need to be swept up."

"Yeah, she digs me..." said Martin in a dazed tone.

"He'll be dead by the end of the day," muttered Chris.

Kala nodded. "If you come onto me, you blonde twerp, I'll set you on fire...and that's not a figure of speech," she said sweetly, juggling a fire orb for emphasis .

"Or her boyfriend will roast you, which happens to be the crazy guy we're going to help," said Techo.

The group stepped out of the portal to find themselves in a town, a university in the distance. "Ok, which did he go?" asked Diana.

An explosion was heard and a mushroom cloud was seen rising from near the school. "That way," said Chloe.

The group walked forward, at Chloe's insistence. "At the moment, if he's nuts...going up slow will make it less likely he'll try to liquefy us with plasma," she explained.

"So, it sounds like being wild runs in your family," said Martin suggestively.

"I thought I made myself clear a few minutes ago," said Chloe sternly.

"Oh, I know when a girl's playing hard to get," said Martin.

Chloe glared before her eyes widened and she yelled "GET OUT THE WAY!" tackling Martin down before an empty police cruiser smashed into the ground.

"Who throw car?" asked Java.

"Unless that school's having a car-tossing contest, I can only think of one person right now," said Techo.

On cue, a stampede of people ran towards them, a plasma blast shooting over their head and blasting an empty building apart before Matt, in his full dragon form with glowing green eyes came into view .

"That's your brother?!" yelped Diana.

"Oh, we've had a few modifications over the years," said Chloe, giving her a fang-filled smile to show what she meant.

Syva glared. "That's impossible. Our minds are unbreachable," she snapped before raising a shadow portal in the path of a blast and aiming the exit back at Matt .

"You haven't been around us long enough," said Kala dryly.

"Fine..." said Syva coldly as Matt shook his head before noticing the gang.

"Uh oh...he looked annoyed," said Techo .

"Uh, maybe you should try and calm him down," said Diana to Kala.

Kala nodded, shifting form to her dragon form and saying, "Matt? You ok?" She spoke in Avalarian, sadly sounding like snarls and growls to the Center trio . Matt turned and snarled at her, causing the Center trio to back up.

Kala glared at that "Matt, get a grip!" she snapped .

"Naqopec..." growled Matt.

"Yes, we know about him," said Kala, "But he's not an actual infected so you don't have to act like one."

"Naqopeeec...you will serve him...allll with serve him," hissed Matt, this time in English .

"Oh, that's not a good sign," said Chris.

"LEG IT!" yelled Chris as Matt sent a stream of fire at them, Kala blocking the flame as best she could .

Martin got behind a car and hurriedly fiddled with his U Watch. "C'mon, give me something I can use," he muttered.

"You have a weapon for grabbing a dragon with advanced military training?" teased Chloe before jumping up and dragging him into an alley .

"Well, something that ought to hand a dragon," said Martin, "Ah, here we go."

"X Rod selected," said the U Watch before a device materialized above it.

"If that hurts him..." snapped Chloe, her eyes turning draconic .

"If I wanted to hurt him, I'd have gotten something more heavy duty," said Martin before aiming carefully at Matt. Waiting for the right moment, he fired out a net which wrapped tightly around Matt's muzzle.

"You realize a few minutes ago he threw an 800 pound police car...right?" said Chloe flatly as Matt wore a 'seriously?' expression .

"Well, he can't breathe fire if he can't open his mouth, right?" pointed out Martin, "Besides, this thing can hold the rest of him, once I've reloaded that is."

"He's the size of a small building," said Chloe as Matt pointedly reached up and pulled the net off, before eating it for good measure.

"Oh...he doesn't happen to have any weaknesses, does he?" asked Martin.

"Heavy weapons...other dragons...missiles can really mess up a dragon's day..." said Chloe listing off things.

Chris peered out and added, "If it wanted to stick around that is."

Martin peered out to see Matt's tail vanishing back into the campus, a green goo appearing over the door. "You ever get that fun feeling that we're not welcome?" said Techo, before noticing that Kala was gone, "Now where did she go?"

"She must have gone after Matt," said Chris.

"Or she may have gone with him, if this is what I think this is," said Martin, looking at the goo.

"That's it, Syva, get online with the ship. I want a tac-team down here in 20 minutes!" snapped Chloe as Chris, despite his personal warnings, asked "So...what do you think it is?"

"Just a sec," said Martin before activating his U Watch.

"Slime scan selected," said the device before materializing a hi-tech-looking test tube. Martin scooped up a bit of the goo and put it into the tube.

"Urgh...you gotta be kidding me," muttered Techo, poking some of the goo.

Chloe stomped up at that, "Teams on its way with flame units and assault cannons."

"Aha, just as I thought," said Martin, looking at the scan results, "This slime is identical to the stuff that Naqopec produces."

"Ok, that's the second time I've heard that name now, three counting that file. What the hell is Naqopec?" snapped Chloe

"Naqopec was a Hopi demon, known as the Lizard King. He attempted to convince the Indians in Arizona that he was a god to be worshipped, but they soon saw through his lies especially with the way he turned people into his servants. So they sealed him underground and hoped he wouldn't ever rise again. Of course, a group of prospectors messed that up."
Techo whistled, "Nasty...so how'd he get beat? That sorta thing wouldn't want to be locked up in the Center if you just ask him."

"Well, we weren't the ones who trapped him," said Diana, "That was actually one of MOM's captures. But I'm pretty sure she could tell us how to deal with him."

"And why couldn't she have told us earlier?" snapped Chloe.

"Because taking down a dragon takes a little more precedence," said a familiar voice, causing everyone to jump.

The group turned to see MOM, Chloe snapping, "That's a perfect way to get shot. You usually make a habit of sneaking up on pissed off people?" as several whining engines were heard, two arrowhead-shaped ships flying down, a beam from each depositing 6 armed troopers each before the ships shot back up with a mechanical scream .

"I don't recall authorizing the deployment of more troops," said MOM sternly.

"Unfortunately, your name isn't on our contract with DARKRIFT and standing orders is to contain any Z class lifeforms with any firepower necessary," snapped Chloe .

"This is the only tool that will be necessary," said MOM, holding up what looked like a flamethrower only attached to a gas canister and showing no igniter.

"What's that?" asked Diana.

"The Hopi Indians used a smoke made from burning sacred plants to subdue Naqopec," said MOM, "We've been able to weaponize it a bit more thoroughly. It'll also make any of his victims or their victims go to sleep."

"How long does it take to get through that goop?" said Chloe, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the goo.

MOM looked at the goo barrier and said, "Hmm, that's a new trick. Usually, Naqopec just spreads his goo to those he wants to make into followers."

"Yeah, guess he wants nobody to get in. Gun please," Chloe said, catching a thrown assault cannon, a boxy rifle made of several dozen barrels. "Let's try this the NSC way," flicking a switch and aiming. "Target analyzed...ammo modified. No noncombatants inside radius," it said before Chloe shrugged and fired a green blast into the goo .

The goo splattered everywhere. "Please try not to get everyone wet with lizard demon mutagen," said MOM dryly.

"Lads, high powered stun, teams of three. You find this Naqopec whatever, blow its stupid head off. Nobody messes with my brother's head!" snapped Chloe .

"Need I remind you that the Center does not condone lethal force unless necessary," said MOM.

"It's attacked a small town. If we don't kill it, the army will when they get here!" snapped Chloe, the grounds of the school strangely silent .

"We take care of these kinds of situations every other week," said MOM, "We know what we are doing here."

"I can see that, no combat armor. At least my men are wearing hazmat armor. Teams, sound off, can you see anyone on thermal?" snapped Chloe, turning away .

"I'm picking up something," said one, "Something's radiating a lot of heat."

"Probably Kala," said Chris.

"Multiple environment temperature lifeforms in the main buildings...could be mutates...few stragglers holed up in the dorms..." said a merc methodically .

"So how are supposed to find the king?" asked Syva.

"Find lair," said Java.

"Lizard like that, it'd go for the warmest area like a boiler room or similar," said Techo .

"Torrington Academy would have a big boiler and a lot of food for it to eat," said Martin, "Good thinking, Java."

"Yeah, but I think I know who'll be guarding that door. The fact he made a barrier proves he's smarter than anyone planned on. So what would you do after the last time where your home was blasted into?" said Chris.

"Put a pretty nasty guard dog outside," said Martin.

"Try a professional mercenary who happens to be able to turn into a dragon capable of cooking you like popcorn in a microwave," said Chloe darkly, turning on her comm. "All units...steer clear of the basement...Matt's probably lurking there and...plan D...that's all I'll say," she said, a chorus of groans and swearwords coming out.

"And what exactly are you planning?" asked MOM.

"My dear brother's had a stressful life. He's picked up a mental pal from all the bottled-up anger, rage, and sheer stress called Draconus. Don't ask cause I won't tell," said Chloe rudely .

"And how is his split personality disorder supposed to help?" inquired MOM.

"It won't. Matt has restraint in fights. Draconus is a bloodthirsty maniac," said Chloe coldly .

"So you're considering unleashing a worst monster to deal with this situation?" snapped MOM sternly.

"No...I'm saying he's probably already loose," snapped Chloe, losing her temper, "You two-bit mall cops are keeping monsters that are better off in an asteroid several light-years away in a basement and you didn't expect an outbreak sooner or later? Good god, universe save me from overconfident morons. My brother's enough of one as it is."

"We had contingencies in place for such event that would have worked if you hadn't compromised our security systems," snapped MOM, "And in case you hadn't noticed, the Center is located in a place that doesn't have a simple front door. The creatures wouldn't have had anywhere to run to you hadn't overridden our portal system."

"Weirdly enough, all we did was go in. We had to rehack it, which you stopped Kala doing. This thing got out all by itself," sneered Chloe .

MOM frowned and said, "No...not by itself. Your dracolich creature was unconcerned about being imprisoned. I wonder if he knew there would be a way for him to escape later. But I'll have to check for any compromised lines of defense later. Right now, we have a lizard king to dethrone."

Chloe nodded, "That we can agree on. Let my team handle my brother. Nothing you have will even annoy him."

"Very well and we will be dealing with Naqopec," said MOM.

Most of the other doors turned out to be also gooped up from the inside and it seemed that Naqopec had sensed the 'entry' and had some minions stand near the doors, preventing the same door opening trick...at all but one.

Physically, Matt didn't look any different from his normal dragon form, but the fact that he was treating the door like a classic Western dragon was treating his treasure meant he wasn't operating on a very high intellectual level.

Chloe was about to send her men out when Syva shook her head, rippling and growing to a female shadow dragon, peering out before striding into view, fluttering her eyes. Matt stared at her, giving a soft, but suspicious, growl. Syva only made a purring sound as she went around him, allow her tail wave in his face.

Chloe just stared, the rest of her team staring as Syva purred, causing Matt to follow her before she span, put a paw on his head...and slammed it repeatedly into the door until it demolished, then bashed him on the floor a few times till he stopped twitching and just groaned .

"You realize Kala's gonna flambé you for doing that," said Chloe before pausing and asking, "Where is she anyways?"

"Heat source is in the main hall," said a merc, the team headed in.

Syva changed back at that and said, "Why not help with the lizard thing? I could help."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure about going in there..." said Chloe with some doubt.

"Oh, so you're just gonna let Mommy tell you what to do?" asked Syva teasingly.

Chloe's eyes blazed for a second. "Let's get in there. Everyone else, perimeter duty...except for you two, you're getting Kala," said Chloe angrily, pointing at Techo and Chris who groaned .

"And how are supposed to get her?" asked Techo.

"Where's fire, there's smoke," said Chloe. When the two looked blank, Chloe sighed and said, "The Indian sleeping gas or whatever it is, use it."

Sometime later, Chris and Wilson were taking care of the 'fumigation' in another part of the cellar. The stuff was quite effective, making the lizard people pass out in seconds.

They were getting ready to head on to the next section when their comm rang. When they answered, Chloe's voice came through. "Guys...bad news...one of those mutants got Syva...she's dead," she said, sounding sad.

"We'll burn those freaks for that," growled Chris.

"No, no, we've already made a bad enough first impression with the Center already," said Chloe's voice, "We need to play by their rules."

"Say what? We're letting these amateurs take the show? By the way, Matt's awake, back in control and headed for the boiler with what I think is prolonged murder in mind, orders?" said Wilson.

"Get plenty of fire suppressants and follow him," said Chloe's voice, "In fact, get a lot of knockout gas too. You know how we dragons can get carried away."

"You ok, girl? You don't sound yourself. You were ready to tear that monster apart yourself," said Wilson suspiciously .

"Well...seeing Syva get torn open...it's...it's...I can even describe it," said Chloe's voice, sounding distressed, "I just want to get Matt and Kala out of this mess so we can head home."

"Hell no, we got a contract to complete," said Chris cheerfully as he signed off. He turned to Wilson and said, "Let's smoke out the rest of these snakes."

Matt stomped through the corridors, headed for the boiler room. He was in the perfect mood to tear that lizard's head off and use it for a football. Having his shoulder gnawed open was bad enough, but having his brain messed with yet again was too much. Especially since Matt had apparently been used to infect Kala.

He turned the corner to see a Center containment team trying to set up a sleeping gas bomb. "Out the way, rent-a-cops. Let me show you how a professional handles pains in my ass," he snapped, slipping a couple of devices he'd taken from the Shar-Khan armory. They looked like futuristic knuckle dusters, till someone noticed the tazer prongs.

"Sir, we have the situation under control," said one of the agents.

"Really? Let's take a looksee," said Matt, peering round the corner to see a mind-controlled Kala in anthro form and with her filter mask down. "Gas won't work on her," he said cheerfully

"That is what this is for," said an agent, holding up a tranquilizer rifle.

Matt took out the dart and poked the needle into his arm, which snapped. "Nope," he said, before saying cheerfully, "Plan me." He strolled round the corner, calling, "Oi, douchebags!" causing the lizard minions, a mix of students and teachers and even a few cops, and Kala, turning and hissing.

Kala spoke in a creepy voice, "You should be serving the great Naqopec."

"Tried that, handed in my notice. I'd give up and let me go in and tear your boss's head clean off before I get really mad," said Matt with a manic tone .

"You shall not harm our king," hissed Kala before breathing fire at him.

Matt raised an eyebrow, a blue wall springing up in front of him and taking the flame . "You're gonna have to do better than that, Kala," said Matt, "If you even remember how to do so."
Kala snarled and waved her minion companions to attack Matt . "Really, do you have to drag them into our little spat?" asked Matt before blocking two.

One infected tried to claw him at that, Matt grabbing it by the shoulders and letting the stun dusters electrocute it into sleepyland, another being stunned when he grabbed its wrist and threw it into a third, shocking them both .

"I'm surprised you consider him a 'great' anything," said Matt, "What kind of king would throw his subjects at his enemies like this?"

A few more minions were sent at him and quickly neutralized, Kala backing up with a snarl as Matt strolled onwards. "Ok, Kala, you know we dragons are more than lizards for this creep to control. So how about you shake off that jerk's influence before I knock it out?" said Matt.

Kala roared and lunged, screaming "HERETIC!" only to scream as Matt grabbed her sadly and gave her both tazers .

"Sorry about that," said Matt before she fell over, "Now where's that tyrant lizard king?"

"Agent Mystery and his team took the back way. You probably shouldn't-" said the Center agent before ducking back as Matt readied a plasma orb.

Meanwhile, Martin, Diana, and Java had found Naqopec, who was eating heartily from the meat storage of the school cafeteria. "It's just like that old film, 'Invasion of the lizardmen from Planet X'...except he isn't eating human flesh," said Martin quietly .

"And that's supposed to be disappointing?" asked Diana dryly.

Java growled and said, "Lizard man stealing Java's meat."

Naqopec paused at that, looking around, the trio going silent before the beast went back to its meal, the sound of fighting coming from the main door.

"Ok, Diana, you hit him hard and fast while Java gets the drop on him," said Martin.

"What?! Why do I have to attack him first?!" snapped Diana.

"Because you get turned into a lizard so often, you'll hardly be affected," said Martin.

"That summer camp wasn't my fault!" snapped Diana, Java gulping as Naqopec paused again and turned to look in their direction, his eyes glowing yellow around its slits .

"Well, you were pretty handy with that tail that Octavia gave you," said Martin teasingly.

"Martin..." said Java, poking Martin and Diana as Naqopec got up and strode towards their hiding place .

"Oh, if that's your method of logic, what about the times beyond counting that you got transformed or possessed?" snapped Diana.

"Martin...Diana…" said Java more urgently, both of them saying "What?" before going bug-eyed as the box they were behind was lifted up in one hand.

"Well...what have we here?" said the creature in a surprisingly-cultured voice

"Just for the record, she was the one who was saying lizards are icky," said Martin.

Naqopec turned to glare at Diana at that. "Oh really?" he asked before making a hacking noise and spitting in her face. Diana naturally started freaking out and running around. "Odd, usually they convert on the spot," said Naqopec.

"She's had a lot of practice," said Martin.
Naqopec turned to look at his remaining victims at that. "Who's next?" he mused before the doors exploded...literally.

"Honey, I'm home!" called Matt, causing Naqopec to turn in anger.

"You are supposed to be guarding the entrance!" he snapped before looking confused when Matt said cheerfully "Oh, would you look at the mess. I told you not to eat messily, dear."

"Obey your king," snarled Naqopec.

"Nah, Brits have politicians...and kings that I meet are all gits, you too. THINK FAST!" he said, screaming the last part and throwing a plasma orb at the Hopi demon .

The lizard just narrowly dodged the orb. "Hey, watch it!" called Martin, "The others' life forces are tied to his!"

"Oh...fine...that means I can tear the other limbs off. One of your minions nearly took my sister's head off and did take out one of my Shar-Khan buddies," snapped Matt.

"You dare to attack AAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" yelled Naqopec when Matt tore off his tail.

"Ha, not as untouchable as you think, are you?" asked Matt. However, the tail wasn't quite dead and it wrapped itself tightly around Matt's neck.

"I am not some alien. Yes, I was in your little mind. I am not some mutant freak...like you," hissed Naqopec as the tail choked Matt before he screamed as Matt bit it .

"Ok, Java, looks like it's up to you and me," said Martin.

"Diana in trouble," said Java before heading over to her.

"Ok, I guess it's just me then," said Martin.

"Martin...if you have a plan..." snapped Matt, struggling with Naqopec who sneered "You are no match for me. I am far stronger." causing Matt to shrug and do unto Naqopec what was usually done to him.

Naqopec's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he was sent upwards with a loud high-pitched squeal before he knocked his head on the ceiling and fell to the floor, totally out of it. "Huh, didn't mean to kick him that hard," said Matt. He backed up at that, saying "He'll recover fast if he can strangle people with a disembodied tail. What's the plan...and what the hell is up with Diana?" said Matt, turning and getting a confused look .

He had expected Diana to be as badly mutated as Naqopec's other servants, but so far, besides her eyes, skin color, and the long tail, she looked almost perfectly the same. "Huh, that's weird," said Martin, "Maybe they missed a gene when they were fixing Diana."

"Not helping," growled Diana before flicking her tail and smacking Martin upside the head.

"Look, complain later, fix this before..." he began before a clawed hand grabbed his arm and he was thrown into the wall.

"Before I wake up?!" said Naqopec in a squeaky voice

Matt cracked up and started giggling. "Dude, your voice..." he laughed.
Naqopec snarled at that, coughing a little before saying normally, "You dare to mock me, you worm?" before Diana's tail wrapped round his ankle .

"What the-" started Naqopec before he suddenly found him being slammed repeatedly against the floor by Diana.

"Wow, nice work, sis," said Martin.

"Java taught her that," said Java proudly.

"Hold him down. I might have just the thing," said Matt, checking his wrist comp buffer for an item he'd commissioned...for himself in case he ever went nutty, finally generating some heavy duty containment cuffs. After that last slam, Naqopec wasn't in any condition to do anything, except giggle at the tweeting birdies.

Matt clicked on the two pairs of cuffs on his hands and feet before the cuffs shot together, hogtying the reptile. "Taadaaaa…" he said cheerfully before 'accidentally' kicking Naqopec .

"Well, that wasn't so bad," said Martin.

"Not so bad?! I've been mutated!" snapped Diana.

"Oh, I don't think it's nearly as bad as the other times," said Martin, "You might want to think about keeping that tail. Could come in handy in a tense situation."

Matt laughed at the resultant violence before asking Java, "Is this usual?"

"Yes," said Java nonchalantly.

"Fun times...shame we have to drag Ghouly off. Well, we can help put the lord of dumb here back in his hole," said Matt a little manically.

"Not so fast there." Matt turned to see Mom, who looked a little upset.

"Oh, it's you again. I could give back your pet gecko. He's still alive, just don't ask him to walk a straight line. Say hello, Mr. Stupid," he said, poking Naqopec .

Naqopec only let out a faint groan. "Good enough. That's concussion for hello," said Matt, dropping his prisoner without any regard, an 'oof' heard from ground level, "Now if you don't mind, I've got a formerly undead dragon to deport."

"Criminal or not, I'm not about to leave him at the mercy of a complete lunatic," said MOM sternly.

"I'm only a lunatic when people threaten my mind or my friends. This little creep filled both criteria," said Matt, pointing to Naqopec, adding, "If I was nuts, he'd be dead by now.

"Even if that were so, I'm not entirely convinced. Not to mention you've caused quite a bit of damage to the Center and allowed some other creatures to get loose. I'm afraid I can't let you leave without making reparations," said MOM.

"Oh? And what are you going to do to stop me? Impound my ship?" asked Matt sarcastically.

"Don't give her ideas!" screamed Chip over the radio...

"You gave her ideas!" snapped Chip, pointing to the error that appeared whenever someone tried to engage the FTL drive. The ship could fly but it'd take a few centuries as sublight to get back to the wormhole.

"How did she do that?" asked Draco, scratching his head.

"I dunno. Looks like someone leaked the FTL drive codes from on board," said Wilson, adding, "That's not all, turns out Syva's alive."

"Oh, that's good, where is she?" asked Contrinus.

"Back on Avalar," said Wilson, "Apparently she never left."

"Pardon'e?" said Matt with a mock French accent.

Chloe suddenly looked worried. "Did she say who jumped her?" she asked carefully .

"All she knows is that one moment she was heading for the North Star's docking station, the next she was stripped to her underwear, bound and gagged, and stuffed in a janitor's closet," said Wilson, "As you can imagine, it was pretty awkward for her when she was found."

Chloe sighed before saying, "At least the imposter's gone, probably an Empire agent."

"But she was a Shar-Khan, we saw her transform," said Chris.

"Maybe she was a clone," said Kala, "I mean, it's a possibility, right?"

"Ok...well, we're limited to Sol so we have plenty of time to work out who was with...Chloe...and Chip and Aria...I want to know who that was!" snapped Matt .

"Well, it's going to be hard to find out without a body," said Wilson, "We looked that place over, not even a sign that there was murder."

"Oh goodie. Ghosts now," said Matt gloomily before looking over at Chloe, "You sure she wasn't faking it? We've met our fair share of undead and shapeshifters to whom a good old mauling would just be an annoyance."

"It's possible," said Chloe, "Though I'm not certain what kind of shapeshifter could match a shadow dragon so perfectly. Maybe she was made with some of NegaMorph's spare DNA."

"Not a chance. The Empire considers me a failure. They won't use me to make new monsters," said NegaMorph voice over the com, the experiment calling from the North Star .

"Well, like I said, we've got plenty of time to unravel this mystery while we're waiting in orbit," said Matt.

"Oh, I think I can give you more to do with your time," said MOM.

"Let me guess, doing enough jobs for the Center until we pay off our debt?" asked Matt dryly.

"Yes, but I would prefer if you would be watched over by some of my more capable agents," said MOM, "And according to the personnel files I've been granted access to, some of you haven't finished your education or even been in the education system."
"We've had flash training for everything we need. There's nothing you can do to me to make me relive college!" snapped Matt, the younger or similarly-aged members of the crew voicing agreement.

"Is that so?" asked MOM with a devilish smile.

"You wouldn't dare...plus I've got a tail," said Matt, suddenly finding that grin worrying .

"I've had to work with worse," said MOM before cracking her knuckles.

There was some universal gulps at that...

The next day at Torrington, things were back to normal thanks to almost everyone's memories about the lizard people being purged. The four exceptions were working a plan of great strategy. Well, two of them, really. "Ok, Billy, the buzz is we've got some new babes arriving. We'll be going with Wingman maneuver A-6. Stick to the plan and we'll have ourselves a couple of dates in no time."

Diana groaned and said, "Martin, why can't you ever learn from your failures?"

"What? I've learned plenty. Why else would I have maneuvers A-1 through F-9 planned?" asked Martin.

"Too many plans," remarked Java as he was trimming a bush.

On cue, the gates into the grounds opened and two teenagers walked in, easily recognizable as Kala and Chloe, Matt having been given a stay of execution while the Center improved his holocloak so people wouldn't trip over his invisible tail or get slashed by his claws.

"Looks like a cute pair," said Billy, "So, which one do you want?"

"Neither, abort, abort!" yelped Martin before running off.

Billy looked a little confused at that till the dark haired girl noticed them and gave a smile that revealed teeth better suited for sharks .

"Uh, Diana, where are these girls supposed to be transferring from?" asked Billy.

"Oh, they're just here until they've work off the debt they owe to the Center," said Diana, "Apparently I was the only one paying attention to the memo."

The redhead, spotting them waved cheerfully before catching up with her companion. "Just a little advice: they're both really dragons, the redhead's already taken, and you do not want to mess with the black-haired one," said Diana.

Billy gulped a little at that, watching as the duo entered the building to presumably sign in.


There's the start of the next new story. We're going in a different direction with this story, going to be more suspense than normal with this. There's going to be some weird stuff linked together throughout this fic so keep note of it. This will also be updated more frequently for the first two weeks, with a new chapter up on each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until Halloween. It'll probably slow down after that, but these first six chapters are going to be keeping up with the spirit of this holiday and the show as much as we can. Look for the next chapter of this fic on Wednesday and please review.