Busuzima, Uriko, Bakuryu (Kenji), Yugo, Alice, Shira, Stun, Long, Jenny, Alan and Shen-Long are all characters of the Bloody Roar Series, and I don't own them, Hudson do. Although I wish I did. However Vincent, Kevin Lightfoot, Horn and Tusk, Barry Serpent, Yotaba Kouto and Subject Drake Dante are mine, and I keep them locked tight in a cupboard. In the unlikely event that someone else would want to use them, please e-mail me first, or I'll be very annoyed and little else.
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: New Friends, New Enemies
Busuzima looked at the prone man before him with fascination. He was in a white walled room, which was barren with the exception of the steel operation table to which the muscular young man was strapped to, lit only by a pair of strip lights hanging from the roof. It stank of disinfectant and a faint touch of blood, and indeed there were many faint cuts across the mans chest. Busuzima grinned and rubbed his smooth skinned chin; it had certainly been some fight to try and get the struggling man back into his prison. As usual, he had been at the back, laughing all the while as the struggling zoanthropes had been tossed about by his little test subject. However, much to his disappointment, they had managed to subdue the man after morphing into their beast forms and clubbing him to the ground. However, if his test-subject had changed into his beast form, it would have been a very different story. Very different indeed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a group of tall figures strode into the room; one was tall and imposing, another split off from the others and watched the all from a distance, and the last two were heavily built and looked like they were some kind of hired muscle. The leading figure smiled faintly at Busuzima, who looked away uncomfortably from the mans gaze.
'Er, hello Mr. Kouto,' He mummered. The figure nodded slightly, a faint smile on his thin lips. He continued to stare at the back of Busuzima's head, as if studying his thoughts with extreme interest, before turning his gaze onto the prone figure on the table. His long thin fingers idly played with the strong metal straps that held the mans arms and legs down.
'Fascinating. Where are his wounds? My associates here were less than friendly when our subject here attempted to escape, and yet now he looks perfectly healthy.'
Busuzima looked up hopefully and cleared his throat. This is the reason he had been brought here after all.
'Er, it's truly an amazing specimen Mr. Kouto. You see, while he have yet to see him fully morph into his beast form, he seems to carry some of the properties of the suspected beast within him in his more human form. Note the rough skin, the easily healed skin, and, er, his teeth.'
Very gently, he leant down and lifted up the mans lip. There, clear for all to see, was the mans teeth; small, sharp and with two sets, one set before the other. Mr. Kouto looked at them with his usual long, calm gaze and then looked back up at Busuzima.
'Very good work. And you say that there is something else we should know about him?'
'Yeah. Er, I mean yes Mr. Kouto,' He corrected himself swiftly, as those strange eyes bore into his skull, 'Well, we've managed to make the test subject morph to his beast form under controlled lab conditions, but we believe he has a third form which he can morph into during his second stage.'
He had expected at least a moment of awed silence. This was one of the biggest things in zoanthrope history. But Mr. Kouto (damn, how did you get eyes like that!?) simply said, 'And what is that then?'
Busuzima, taken aback at the mans coolness, stumbled over his next words.
'Well, erm, you see…..AAHH!'
'Oh dear, you seem to have bitten your tongue,' Commented Mr. Kouto, watching the scientist hop around the room gripping his mouth, 'Well, we can discuss our business later. Horn, Tusk, accompany me back to my limo. Barry Serpent, stay in the facility and help Mr. Busuzima in any way you can. Don't worry,' He added, turning back to the cursing zonathrope, 'Barry Serpent is an excellent helper, and has studied genetic engineering with some interest I might add. I'm sure he will not be a burden.'
Busuzima nodded, still holding a hand to his mouth. He knew he hadn't bitten his tongue, but Mr. Kouto had some really weird powers at his command; if only he could get that man on an operation table, then he'd see how he did all them mind tricks on people, he'd make sure of that. Thankfully, if Mr. Kouto had read his thoughts, he chose not to comment, leaving the room with the two large, bulky men. That left himself, the test subject and the scrawny man called Barry Serpent, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall in the far corner of the small room. He looked up from his pondering when he felt Buzusima's gaze on him.
'Isss there problemssss?' He said, more of a whisper than anything else. The scientist couldn't help noticing the accent was foreign (Mexican if he was correct, with a light lisp on the "s"). He quickly shook his head.
'No, nope, nada problems here my friend,' He said hurriedly. The silence intensified, 'Er, I'm just going for a soda, you wanna come with?'
Barry Serpent just gave him a look that was nearly as bad as Mr. Kouto's. Buszima edged his way towards the door, eyes still locked with Barry's, and swiftly left the room. Leaning against the wall, he wiped his brow with the back of his hand; what had he gotten himself into!? This guy made Shen-Long look like a member of Green Peace for God's sake! Suddenly, he heard the hissing voice from behind the door.
'And get me a cherry ssssoda while you're there,' Called Barry.
Yugo opened the door to his apartment, threw his bag onto the floor, and collapsed onto the couch. He gripped his head in his hands and tried to stop the feeling that his brains were trickling out of his ears. He hated having to go back to school, but he needed to finish it to get qualifications, which he needed to get a job. Pah, job; why couldn't he just be a professional boxer like before!? He remembered the argument he and Alice had had when he had brought this up; his girlfriend had said that he needed a job that would help pay the rent and still leave his brain cells intact (God knew he needed as many as he could get). He had argued that maybe she needed to get a job that paid a bit better than nursing. And then she had snarled and kicked him out the window. Fortunately, the car below had broken his fall…..less fortunately, it was his own, but at least he had gotten out of an argument with Alice with only minor injuries. He sighed; maybe she was right, but at that time he would never had admitted it to her face. He had his pride at stake, and he didn't have much of it left after being kicked out of a window. He heard the door open and close again, and heard footsteps getting closer, and stop (probably having seen the bag on the floor).
'Yugo?' Called Alice, putting her groceries to one side and picking up the bag, 'How many times have I had to tell you to put your bag in your room, not just hurl it on the floor?'
'About seven times,' Called Yugo, still hidden from view by the back-rest of the couch. There were more footsteps, and Alice's face appeared over the top of the rest. She half smiled, half scowled at him, and tossed the bag onto his chest, knocking some of the wind out of him.
'Well, it's about time you started paying attention. Where's Kenji? He should have been back by now.'
'Give the kid a break Alice,' Panted Yugo, trying to suck air back into his lungs and placing the heavy bag back onto the floor, 'He's only just started at his new school. He'll probably be out with Uriko and his new friends. I wish I was,' He added mournfully, but Alice smacked him across the back of his head.
'Not until you do your homework! God, you're a bigger kid than he is!' She yelled. Yugo leapt up, growling indignantly.
'Am not!' He retorted.
'Are too!'
'Am not!'
'Are too!'
They paused for a moment, nose-to-nose, but then there was a ring at the doorbell. They held their gaze for a moment, and then Yugo lost. Grumbling, he looked away and slouched towards the door. When he opened it, he straightened up hurriedly. Standing on the doorstep was Master Long, standing stiff backed and with a grave look on his face. This came as no surprise; Long always looked stiff backed and grave, and put Yugo in mind of a more old fashioned teacher. He was wearing more "normal" clothes than his usual silk waist-coat thing and baggy trousers, and Yugo almost burst out laughing when he saw the serious China man wearing a pair of jeans and a white Tommy Hill-Figure T-shirt. For a moment Yugo thought he had found a doorway to an alternate universe where Long was a hip-hop fashion guy, but then the man snapped, 'Yugo, are you just going to leave me standing on the doorstep?' And he knew he was in the real world. Standing to one side, he let Long stride (He always strode, like he was incapable of simply walking) into the flat. Long nodded to Alice, who went through a similar experience to Yugo, albeit much faster than the dull-witted boxer.
'Er, hello Long. You look….nice?' She hazarded a guess, but it seemed to be the right one; Long beamed happily at her.
'Do you like it? Uriko has been teaching me about the modern world; when you've been a hermit living in a cave for the last few years, you tend to be a bit behind on things. Do you think it looks alright?'
'It suits your…..it suits….yeah, it looks nice,' Finished Alice lamely. In truth Long looked so out of place he couldn't be located on a map of the Earth, and she didn't know whether Uriko had just played a really cruel joke on her Kenpo master or simply had no sense of fashion, but right now she would not have admitted it to the smiling face of the clueless Chinese man for the world.
'Thank you….er, I mean cool,' He corrected himself, as though he was trying to remember his words from a script, 'I just came over to ask if you've seen Uriko? She's been missing her Kenpo training lessons recently, and I wondered if you knew what she was up to.'
'Relax Long, she's probably out with Kenji and his friends,' Said Yugo. The wolf zoanthrope smiled slyly, 'I never knew you cared so much for her.'
'Yugo!' Hissed Alice, 'You don't make rude jokes at the guests. Besides, I wouldn't get Long mad, or he'll kick your ass onto the pavement from the top story window.'
'Hey, I could take him!' Said Yugo, taking a fighters stance. Long just looked at him.
'Er, does that mean you don't know where Uriko is?' Asked Long, still looking rather puzzled at Yugo's eagerness to be beaten in a fight.
'I told you, she's probably just with Kenji. Now are we going to fight or not!?'
Long smiled faintly. Several seconds later, the apartment door burst open, taking its hinges with it, and Yugo was hurled onto the street, hitting his head off the curb. As he staggered drunkenly to his feet, Long handed Alice a couple of notes.
'For the door. I'll see you later then Alice. Bye Yugo,' He called, walking away down the street. Yugo blinked heavily a couple of times, and tried to focus on him.
'Hah! See, you're running away! I am the victor!'
And then he promptly collapsed on the ground, eyes rolled into his skull. Alice sighed irritably, and dragged his prone body back into the house.
'Honestly, that's what you get for having no manners,' She chided.
In fact, Uriko was out with Kenji, as well as their two new friends, Vincent Marks and Kevin Lightfoot. After the fight with Shen-Long, the two young teenagers had been admitted to the new Zonathrope Academy, a school specially adapted for those with the ability to morph into animals. They had only been going for a week, and so far everything seemed to be going alright. The four friends were currently lying in the shade of an ancient oak tree, watching the sun through the green leaves and commenting on the shape of the clouds.
'That one looks a little bit like a elephant without a trunk,' Said Kevin, pointing up at a mass of nimbus cumulus. The others all followed the finger, and laughed.
'No it doesn't Kevin,' Giggled Uriko, 'It looks more like an ox holding a balloon than an elephant with no trunk.'
'Oh yeah?' Grinned Kevin in a mock challenge.
'Yeah,' Replied Uriko, still giggling.
'Well personally I think it looks like a collection of water vapor that has evaporated from the surrounding lakes and rivers and collected in the cooler climates of higher altitudes,' Said Vincent. Everyone turned to look at him; there was, in every young gang, someone who was smart and intelligent, but stuck out like a sore thumb. Vincent returned their stares politely.
'Yes? Have I gotten something wrong here?'
'Vincent, we're supposed to say what they look like, not what they are,' Smiled Uriko. Vincent looked perplexed.
'Yes, but it looks like a cloud. Therefore it is a collection of-'
'Oh stop letting your mouth flap Vincent,' Moaned Kevin, 'You might accidentally swallow a bug.'
Vincent smiled faintly, and remained quite. They had been friends a long time before Uriko and Kenji had come along, and knew it was all a joke, but Uriko didn't. The smack to the back of Kevin's head nearly sent him sprawling across the floor.
'What was that for!?'
'You were being horrible to Vincent! Apologize!' Growled Uriko gripping his arm tightly. Kevin struggled to break free, but the grip was tight.
'Ow! Stop! OK, OK, I'll apologize! Sorry Vincent,' He muttered, when Uriko had realized her grip, 'Although I notice you didn't exactly leap to the rescue.'
'Why should I? You were making fun of me,' Grinned Vincent, before explaining the abusive friendship he and Kevin shared. Uriko apologized to Kevin, but the light hearted boy shook it off and smiled as always. It was only then that they noticed that Kenji wasn't paying them any attention.
'Kenji?'
Suddenly the young boy appeared to snap out of his trance-like state, and turned to look blankly at the three concerned looking teenagers.
'Er, sorry. Kinda tuned out for a while there.'
Shortly afterwards, they decided to go back to their homes, Kenji and Uriko going one way, Kevin and Vincent the other. Kevin and Vincent strolled down the streets, idly commenting about life's smaller worries. The pair were an unlikely pairing; Vincent was tall, stern and uncompromisingly logical, tending towards black, sensible clothing and lightly combed hair as dark as his clothes. His cold eyes seemed to unnerve most people who didn't know him to be a kind and gentle soul. Kevin, on the other hand, was a shorter, broader kid, with sandy blonde hair and wearing a white shirt and jeans. The man appeared constantly hyperactive, simply bursting with unspent energy, and made Vincent look lethargic in comparison.
'Wonder what Kenji was thinking about?' Pondered Kevin, absentmindedly snatching at a passing fly and catching it gently in his hands. It buzzed about his palm for a moment, and then he released it again, sending it skittering once more across the sky. Vincent didn't look around, but Kevin could tell he was also pondering that question.
'It was a little odd how he seemed to loose his perception there,' Said Vincent after a while, 'Usually he can here the mice scurrying under the floorboards of the old school gym from the opposite side of the school, but he didn't appear to hear us at all.'
'Maybe it's something to do with school?' Suggested Kevin.
'But he's doing well in all his lessons,' Countered Vincent.
'Something at home then?'
'We've met Yugo and Alice before, and although they did have a bit of "Lovers Quarrel", they appeared to be adequate guardians for him.'
'Well, I'm all outta ideas,' Said Kevin, 'So maybe he's just going insane.'
'It is possible. From what he's told us about himself, the things that have happened to him might have sent him into a delayed psychic spiral.'
'Er, I was joking Vincent.'
'So was I. What, you believe that I think Kenji is mad?'
Kevin shook his head in dismay.
'You really have to work on your sense of humor Vinny.'
In his hidden lair, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg held the match steady, and lit the small pile of fire fuel before him. Leaning back against a crumbling wall, the huge, well muscled man settled back and tried to concentrate. It was hard though; ever since Busuzima had transformed him into this…..this thing, he had needed a steady dose of a special serum to keep him alive. When he had managed to break free, he had tried to kill his cruel tormentor, but the wily scientist had slipped from his grasp at the last moment. Unknowingly, his fists tightened into a ball at the thought of the grinning idiot that had considered him a test experiment. However, he had managed one thing at least; he had found the formula for the serum in one of the labs before it blew up, and with the help of his……He paused, trying to think of a suitable word that would describe Yugo and Long…….friends, he had produced enough of the serum to keep him going on his own for a while. Ever since then, nearly a year ago, he had been hiding out in the ruined down-town section of the city, lying low and keeping to himself. However, yesterday he had used the last of his serum, and already the symptoms he had experienced before where coming back; headaches, mood swings, difficulty talking and the urge to kill everyone in his way. He needed to see the others as soon as possible and brew up a new batch, before the hunger overwhelmed him and he did something unforgivable.
Suddenly, he saw shadows flicker across the other side of the room, and looked up sharply. The fire crackled again, but it cast no light on any intruders. But that did not mean there was no one there.
He only just managed to avoid the kick to the back of his head, rolling to one side and onto his feet. In the warm glow of the flames, he could just make out the indistinct outline of a giant chameleon, standing tall on its back legs and wearing a dreadful blue Hawaiian shirt; Busuzima!
'Hey, Goldberg old buddy! Did you miss me? I notice you failed to send any post cards, but I know you were thinking about me.'
Stephen snarled, and hurled a punch at the laughing idiot, but the nimble Busuzima leapt out the way and revealed himself, fully visible in the light of the fire.
'Now that isn't any way to treat an old fiend. I thought you'd be pleased to see me,' He grinned.
'Get…..out of here……now,' Growled Stun, each word a painful knife in his throat. Busuzima laughed all the harder.
'Leave!? Now?! But I've only just got here, and there's so much I wanted to do with you….cut you open, study your insides, that kinda thing.'
With a bellow of rage, Stun leapt forward, his fists swinging through the air with extreme power. But the chameleon was too nimble, ducking and dodging every slow swing and retaliating with a blow of his own, kicking the powerful man in the stomach and slamming his knee into the mans head as he doubled up in pain. A punch sent him skidding across the floor and into the wall, his back hitting the stone with a loud crash. Busuzima gave another laugh, and disappeared again. Stun staggered to his feet, looking around for his enemy, and only just heard the sound of the creaking steel rafter above before Busuzima leapt down from in, crushing Stun against the floor with all his weight. The wooden floorboard creaked warningly, but did not break. Rolling off his stunned opponent, the sick-minded scientist lashed out his tongue, wrapping Goldberg in a sickly pink rope of muscle, and slammed him against the wall, the floor, the ceiling, and finally out the window, where he hit the pavement hard with his shoulders. Stun gave a pained cry, but remained on the ground, curled up in a ball. Chuckling evilly to himself, Busuzima leapt down from the shattered window and landed neatly on his feet, sitting on his haunches as he taunted his prone adversary.
'I expected a better fight from my once prized experiment. Oh well, you may not be much, but that bozo Mr. Kouto wants test subjects, so he'll get test subjects.'
The scientist was about to tie him up with his tongue again, when he noticed that Stun was trying to say something. No, not say something….he was laughing. Too late did Busuzima realize he was too close to Stun than was advisable, and before he could turn and run a blinding white flash of energy hurled him through the air and smashing onto a car rooftop. Getting back to his feet groggily, Busuzima only caught a glimpse of the armour plated behemoth that launched itself at him. He felt himself lifted bodily into the air, felt the sudden grip of gravity pull him back down, and most definitely felt the waiting punch that threw him nearly twenty feet along the street. His body began to shrink, and he was once more frail old Busuzima, unconscious and awaiting Stun's wraith. The massive beetle zonathrope lifted a short but heavy leg above the unknowing Busuzima's head.
'Goodbye……bastard,' He hissed, but suddenly he found himself lifted from his feet and hurled against the ancient stone wall of a building, his heavy frame smashing the brickwork to dust. Staggering up to his feet and dusting down his armour plates, Stun looked up to see another tall and skinny figure, a reptilian zonathrope like Busuzima but taller and skinnier. It looked like some kind of cobra, a hooded flap of skin screening the back of its long and narrow face, its long tongue flickering out its mouth full of serrated fangs. It looked weakly muscled despite its height, as fragile as a twig when compared to the lumbering stag beetle zoanthrope trying to pull itself up out of the ruins of the wall. Growling with rage, Stun let the plates on his back slide aside let his transparent wings unfold, flapping faster and faster until they were little more than a blur. His heavy bulk lifted slowly off the floor, but suddenly and with surprising grace the huge monster shot forward, heading directly for the thin snake creature. Without blinking once, the snake's red eyes flared, and suddenly Stun veered off his path, smashing himself hard against a parked van and then crashing down straight into the pavement, knocking himself unconscious. As his beast form shrunk back into his human body, Busuzima came to and pulled himself to his feet, wincing as the stars flew before his eyes. He blinked hard, and saw Barry Serpent walking towards Stun's prone form, a pair of electra-cuffs in his clawed hand. Limping over to his side, he rubbed the back of his head and looked down on the blue skinned man with more than a slightly impressed look.
'Well, you sure showed him. How the hell did you take him down so quickly?'
'Telekanessssssessss,' Hissed Barry Serpent, morphing back into his human shape; short black hair, a thin and gaunt face, weather beaten olive skin and wearing plain black clothes. He was as skinny as he was as his snake creature, 'Massssster Kouto taught me a few of hissss tricksssss.'
Busuzima nodded faintly, still looking at Stun's body; he was really worried he had gotten himself in way over his head in this deal…..
Uriko arrived back at the apartment she and Master Long shared, trying to open the door as silently as possible. She was nearly two hours late for her Kenpo lesson, and she knew that Long would be angry, but she had been enjoying herself with her friends, and, well, Kenji seemed to have been clueless all day, and probably would have been run over if she hadn't taken him home. Slowly she crept from the front room to the kitchen, taking the second door to the backyard, and finally crawling into her room through the window in the back garden. Uriko grinned, thinking she had gotten away with it, when suddenly there was a sharp but polite cough behind her. She spun round, and there was Master Long, standing stiffly in his old silk waist-coat and baggy trousers. He was staring down grimly at her.
'Where have you been?' He asked. Uriko's mouth flapped open, but there was little she could say.
'I….I was out with some friends,' She said, hoping he would see this for the truth. Long locked gazes with her, and finally nodded.
'You've been missing your Kenpo lessons. I believe you should make alternative arrangements the next time you want to go out with your friends.'
Uriko felt the sinking feeling in her gut turn to red hot rage. Who did he think he was, ordering her about? She glared straight back at his stony calm gaze.
'You can't tell me what to do!' She yelled, 'I don't need to learn Kenpo anymore! Shen-Long is gone now!'
Long raised an eyebrow in surprise, but remained as cool as ever.
'That may be true, but you still need to practice your abilities regularly; I fear Shen-Long will not be the last evil man who may try and take control of all the zonathropes and lead them on a killing spree. We need people to stop them, and we need them to be ready.'
'There isn't anyone else Long! There are no evil men left! Your…..your just a dried up old relic, wanting one last chance to show his glory! I hate you!'
Uriko had never seen Master Long loose his cool before, but there, just for a spilt second, she swore she saw him loose control. But his anger was swiftly subsided by a wash of sadness. Is this how she saw him? He thought to himself. Without a word he turned and walked out the room. Uriko sat down on the bed, too ashamed of her actions to say anything or do anything.
Later that night, she heard footsteps going into the kitchens, and the sound of someone drinking something from the bottle. The next morning, Uriko saw an empty bottle of whisky on the table top….
In the morning, Alice and Yugo woke Kenji, ate their breakfast with him, and watched him walk serenely to school. Yugo looked concerned as he watched the young zonathrope make his way around the corner.
'There's something up. I haven't seen him like this since he was trying to fight Busuzima's brainwashing. He just goes blank when you talk to him.'
'Yeah,' Said Alice, biting her lip nervously, 'I'm worried too, but there isn't anything we can do just now. We'll ask Alan Gado about it next time we see him; he seems to have an answer for everything.'
'Yeah, he's just a regular brain box,' Muttered Yugo resentfully, but Alice just laughed.
'Well he's more intelligent than you are!'
'Hey! I beat him in a fight remember!'
'And I'm sure that taxed you to the very ends of your wit that did,' She said sarcastically, walking past him back into the house. Yugo stood in the doorway, confused.
'But I beat him!!' He protested to the uncaring world in general.
Busuzima watched as Stun's body was strapped down tightly next to that of the other test subject, the two hulking figures pulling the chains tightly so they cut into the flesh slightly. Barry Serpent was again in his favored corner, watching everyone's moves intently, and Mr. Kouto was standing just behind Busuzima, smiling faintly.
'A rare specimen indeed. One of your own past tests you say?'
'Er, yes sir. He's one tough cookie, and as you can see his armour plating will provide excellent protection,' He replied, handing the thin man some photos of Stun in his beetle morph. Mr. Kouto studied them for a moment, and then looked up, his mad eyes again boring straight through Busuzima's head and pinning him to the spot.
'And what of the third subject? The one you call Bakuryu?'
'Ah, the squirt. Well, he's still out there, but I fixed something together that'll bring him back. When he first left me, the brainwashing failed, but I had a plan just in case I needed him defenseless and weak. A small chip in his right arm is wired to the nerves leading to his brain, and when activated it'll make him loose any sense of being with himself. After a few days of the chip being activated, he'll be a brainless couch potato,' The evil scientist grinned, but it froze when Mr. Kouto's gaze locked once more with his own. He felt….something, like a presence, in the back of his mind, and winced as un-called for memories surfaced, brought forward for inspection by the tall figure before him. After a moment though, the presence left, and his limbs thawed out. Mr. Kouto smiled.
'It seems your plan will work Busuzima. Make sure it does. I will know the instant something goes wrong, and if it does…..then it will be you on the operating table.'
He lifted his jet black cane and tapped the metal table twice for enthuses. Busuzima gulped, and nodded hurriedly. Once again, he and Barry Serpent were left in the room, an odd atmosphere in the air. Busuzima wiped his brow of sweat, and looked over to where Barry Serpent was chewing on something hidden in his hand.
'God, how do you put up with that guy?'
The snake zoanthrope looked at him, and shrugged.
'The pay'ssssss good,' He hissed, taking another bite out of whatever it as he was eating.
'Well, you're braver than I am…..Hey, how come the mice cage door is open!? Where are the lab mice!?'
Barry Serpent looked up quickly, and shoved the last of his snack into his mouth, but not before Busuzima spotted the pink tail disappear into his mouth like a strand of spaghetti
'Oh my God, you ate them didn't you!?'
'Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Whatsssss it to you?'
'About a years research that's all! Damn your sick.'
'Hah! Fine wordsssss coming from you! I heard about your little habitsssss,' Grinned Barry Serpent, watching as Busuzima started to go red with anger.
'Those accusations against my sexuality were false Goddamnit! I am a perfectly straight heterosexual male!'
'Yeah, and the Pope'sssss a Sssssatanisssst,' Chuckled Barry in his heavy Mexican accent, wondering out the room to the soda machine.
Kenji stared out the classroom window, watching the birds fly past and the grass rustle in the breeze. This wasn't really surprising, as Mr. Hettik's Math class was VERY boring, but he was having trouble coordinating his thoughts. He blinked hard once, and shook his head hard. He could hear voices, but they were muffled and sounded like they were coming from a distance.
'What?'
'I said, Kenji, that if the answer to the equation X + 6 = 43, what does X stand for?'
Many of his lessons that day ended up like this, with him struggling to keep control of his thoughts. What was happening to him? And the pain in his arm was really not helping any. He rubbed his right arm without thinking as he leant against the trunk of the tree, staring at the ground between his feet. He didn't notice Uriko, Vincent and Kevin walk up to him and start talking. It was only when Kevin lightly but politely cuffed him across the back of his head that he looked up in surprise.
'Hey man, pay attention!' Said Kevin, 'Uriko is having a lot of trouble at home with that Long guy, and all you can do is study your footwear! Is there anything wrong with you man?'
'I'm….I'm….' Kenji was trying to talk, but his breath was becoming laborious, and his brain was going fuzzy. Suddenly, from the shade of the trees above, there was a rustling noise, and something landed heavily on the ground between the group and Kenji, throwing Kevin backwards and onto the floor. There was a chuckling noise, and suddenly the air seemed to pull itself together, revealing the chameleon morphed Busuzima. Smiling madly, the estranged scientist kicked out, knocking the wind for Uriko's lungs and sending her skidding across the grass, coughing and spluttering. Vincent was standing as calm as ever, an eyebrow raised in question.
'Who, may I ask, are you?' He said coldly, taking up a more threatening stance. Busuzima laughed at the stern young man before him.
'Oh-ho! A tough little kid aren't we? We'll see if we can't do something about that!'
'If I might suggest you remove that sign from your back first?' Said Vincent, smiling very slightly. Busuzima looked confused for a moment, and pulled his blue Hawaiian shirt around, upon which was pinned the sign "Am I a Gaylord? Si Senor". The chameleon snarled angrily.
'Barry!? You're a dick Barry!'
'Better than being a Gaylord, no?' Chuckled the Mexican, emerging as if by magic from the shadows of the tree. The man was morphed into his Cobra from, and nodded towards Vincent.
'A little tip ssssenor. Don't turn you back on Ssssenor Busssssuzima here, if you know what I mean, ssssi?'
'Shut up, or I swear I'll rip your tongue out and choke you with it!!' He yelled. Barry shrugged.
'OK, whatever you want. Jussssst remember we're here for the boy, not to ssssscrew around with little kidssss. You do that in your own time.'
'I'm warning you! Just one more wise crack, and I'll have your intestines on an operating dish faster than you can say "Sssssasssssaguessssss"!'
Snarling, Busuzima turned back to see Vincent. The young man had taken up a fighting stance legs spread wide and one in front of the other, his arms held in a 60 degree angle and palms facing forward.
'When you two are quite finished, shall we begin?'
'Hah! You think you can beat the pair of us!? Dream on kid.'
'Maybe I can even the odds,' Panted Uriko, but Kevin bounded over her head and stopped her going any further.
'Leave these goons to us Uriko, your still hurt!'
'I'm fine!' She said, but Barry Serpent waved a hand and sent her back onto the ground, skidding along on her back. Kevin turned around, looking furious.
'You'll get a beating for that, snakey!' He growled. The Cobra zonathrope laughed.
'Oh yesss little ssssenor? And how do you plan to beat usssss?'
'Like this!' He grinned, turning to Vincent, 'Ready Vinny?'
'As always, friend,' Smiled Vincent. Suddenly, the pair were lost in a blinding flash of energy, and from it emerged something very different from the two young men.
The first, where Kevin Lightfoot had been standing, was a tall and well muscled Mongoose, with a long snout with small but very sharp teeth producing from just under the lip. He was covered in short sandy coloured hair and seemed to be constantly twitching with energy. All that remained of his clothing was a loose fitting sleeveless shirt and a pair of ripped denim shorts. The next, where Vincent had stood, was a jet black Panther, staring just as calmly as his human form, if not calmer. The Panther was standing in the same combat stance, wearing a pair of baggy canvas trousers and a pair of steel bracelets on his wrists.
'Er, crap,' Muttered Busuzima, 'This looks ever so slightly bad.'
'You think your guy isssss bad?!? I have a **&^$@#^ Mongoosssssse!? Do you know what Mogosssssesssss do to sssssnakessssss?'
'Well I…..Damn it, what are we panicking about?! They're still just kids, we can crush them both!'
'Unlikely,' Growled Vincent, leaping forward with mind-numbing speed. Busuzima didn't have time to think before the first punch struck him on the skull right between his eyes, followed by a flurry of powerful yet calmly calculated punches to his ribs. The last blow was an uppercut that sent him soaring into the air and into the branches of the oak tree, crashing hard against the wooden limbs.
'OK, time for a little rethink,' He coughed, falling out of the tree and landing hard on his back, 'Maybe…..AAAAGGGHHHH! I bit my damn tongue again!'
'Forget about the tongue, get thisssss thing off my tail!' Yelled Barry, rushing around the tree with Kevin close behind, chuckling to himself.
'Oh come on? Just a nimble?' He laughed, chasing the Cobra faster and faster. Barry, who was too busy trying to avoid being eaten, didn't see the crumpled body of Busuzima in his path, and tripped over the downed scientist. The pair, weakened by their fights, were forced to morph back into their human forms.
'Uh-oh, we're in really big trouble now,' Muttered Busuzima, heaving the gibbering Barry Serpent off his chest and staggering back up. Although his vision was swimming, he could plainly see Kevin and Vincent standing there, still in beast form and ready to kick his @$$ into the sky.
'Er, kids, don't you think we can just discuss this?' He said, smiling openly and taking a few steps backwards. The two zoanthropes stepped forward after him.
'I believe your first mistake was to underestimate us,' Said Vincent methodically.
'Er, what was the second one?'
'Calling us kids,' Grinned Kevin. But before they could leap forward to attack, Barry (who seemed to have recollected his sanity) waved an arm, sending a rippling wave of psychic energy into the two unprepared creatures. Both were sent to the ground in a heap, leaving the way to the still clueless Kenji clear.
'Quick, grab the kid!' Yelled Barry, running as fast as he could. As he passed Uriko, who was trying to crawl to her feet, he lashed out with a boot, smashing her neatly under the chin with a shiny black shoe and knocking her spark out. Busuzima raced after him, the blankly staring Kenji slung over one shoulder.
'Hey! Wait for me, I'm right behind you!'
'All the more reasssson for me to run fassssster!' Cried Barry over his shoulder. Vincent and Kevin staggered to their feet, watching helplessly as the odd pair ran for the hills.
'Damn! Uriko!' Kevin cried, rushing forward towards the unconscious girl. Vincent was striding forward, trying to see where the pair of clowns were headed.
'It looks like they're moving towards the center of South Town,' He said, 'If we hurry, we can catch them.'
'But what about Uriko?' Said Kevin. Vincent thought for a moment.
'Mr. Long's house is along the way. We could do with his help; God knows what those two jesters have up their sleeve.'
Back in the hidden lab, Barry Serpent and Busuzima were arguing.
'Well you hardly did great on your kid, eh sssssenor?' Said Barry spitefully. They were in the test room, where the mystery man, Stun and Kenji were strapped to separate tables.
'Yeah, at least I didn't run away screaming like a little girl! And what happened to Mr. Cold Hearted Killer?'
'I had a moment of sssstressss, OK? The guy turned into a Mongoosssse for Godsssss ssssake!'
'Well you hardly handled yourself with grace and finesse did you?'
'The kid wassss trying to eat me! You try staying calm when someone isssss trying to take a bite out your @$$$$$$$!'
'OK, let'ssss calm down now….Damn it, you've got me lisping now!'
'Hey, you want to sssssay sssssomething about my lisssssp, sssssay it to my face!'
'I haven't got the time for this! Mr. Kouto is arriving any minute now and I've still got to clean the lab area. Someone keeps leaving cherry soda cans lying around the place.'
'I wonder who doesssss that?' Said Barry innocently.
'God damn your a slob Barry.'
'And you're a Gaylord.'
'Hey!'
The bickering pair left the test room, leaving their three captives tied to their beds. But not all of them were sedated. Stun opened one eye, looking around the room to see if anyone was still there, and took a deep breath. He pulled his arm up sharply, snapping the metal chains binding him with relative ease, and swung his legs over the edge of the table, easing himself gently onto the floor. The massive blue skinned man looked at his surroundings, the two subjects with him, the door that was the only exit to the room, and then suddenly something in his brain clicked. He turned and looked back at the youngest of the two captives; short, with blue/grey hair and narrow faced, wearing a Zonathrope Academy uniform. He had seen him somewhere before, with Yugo and Alice and Long. Then he remembered; Yeah, it was that kid Uriko went out with, Kenjo or something like that. The massive man walked quietly over to his sedate form and slapped him lightly on the cheek.
'Wake up kid,' He said, wincing as the words left his warped throat and caused him a jolt of pain. However, he slap seemed to have brought him too. Kenji opened his eyes, and looked up to see Stephen Goldberg. This is not the kind of face you want to wake up to, especially if you have a headache and can't remember the last few hours of your life. His instinctive reaction was to morph and stab the creature's eyes out, but he found his body refused to change. Goldberg tried to calm the thrashing kid, in case he aroused the suspicion of Busuzima and Barry.
'Hey, take it easy there! They've injected us with some serum that'll prevent us from morphing for a few hours,' He said soothingly, ignoring the fiery pain in his throat. Kenji stopped struggling, but looked up with suspicion and ferocity burning in his eyes. But not fear, Stephen noticed, and that impressed him.
'Who are you?' The kid asked, 'And why have you brought me here?'
'I didn't bring you here, Busuzima and that slimy new guy Barry Serpent did. And my name's Stephen Goldberg, I'm kind of a friend of your foster parents.'
'Yugo….Alice….Are you that beetle guy they were talking about one time, the one that wanted to kill Busuzima for something he did?'
'That's me,' He said, trying to smile, but he had long ago forgotten how to, and even if he could remember he doubted his new form had the muscles to make it possible, 'I ran into the guy not that long ago, and they've just carted you in. Someone keeps coming in here, some rich Japanese businessman who wants three Zoanthropes for some cooky experiment. And there's this guy.'
'Who's he called?' Asked Kenji, as Goldberg ripped his chains off him as silently as possible. The man turned to look at the third and final man.
'God knows, just some poor guy who was unlucky and got under Busuzima's nose.'
Kenji, now freed from his bonds, hopped down to the floor and studied a clipboard that hung from the end of the table.
'Subject Drake Holland Dante? That must be his name,' He thought out loud, 'I wonder if he can hear us?'
It was over so quickly that the mole zonathrope didn't even know if it had happened. The man had sat up faster than the eye could follow, snapping the chains binding him like they weren't even there, leapt from the table and carried on right through the brick wall, leaving a huge gaping hole next to the door. Both he and Stun stared in utter confusion as a couple of screams rang through the other room, and finally ended with the sound of a smashing window. There was silence for a few moments, before the pair were brave enough to open the door and peer through into the next room. Busuzima and Barry Serpent were gone, the lab was nearly totally wrecked, and the window was shattered, the glass covering the ground outside.
'Well, that was handy,' Said Kenji. He nodded to Stephen, 'Come on, before something else happens.'
The odd looking man allowed Kenji to guide him through the corridors, trying to find a way out into the open again….
Vincent and Kevin arrived at Master Long's house, carrying the stunned Uriko between them. They knocked on the door, but no one was answering.
'We have no time for this!' Snarled Kevin, and kicked the down with all his might. The wood shattered under the blow, falling back into the corridor beyond.
'That wasn't very nice,' Commented Vincent.
'Well, we can pay for it later.'
'Who's we? I didn't kick the door down.'
'Look, can we stop arguing and get Uriko to her room!?' Said Kevin in exasperation. Picking her up again, the pair were just about to enter when something came thundering towards them, yelling something. Foul smelling breath hit Kevin in the face, but then he noticed that it smelt an awful lot like whisky and scotch. He side stepped the rampaging figure, tripping him up as he passed and sending him tumbling down the steps and onto his head. In the clear light of the sun, they could see it was Master Long, his usual pristine clothes crumpled and reeking of alcohol. Vincent nudged the empty bottle that had rolled out of the mans hand.
'My word. He's drunk,' He noted, watching Long stagger back to his feet. Kevin snarled, and gripped the swaying man by the starched collar.
'Look after Uriko, or I'll kick your stiff @$$ back to China, got that!?!'
'Whatzat!? Is dere anothaothaothaothaotha beer ina fridge den?' Giggled Long, before falling unconscious over Kevin's shoulder and started to snore.
'OH FOR $%#*@)$% SAKE!' Screamed Kevin, 'WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!'
Vincent, ignoring Kevin (who was struggling to push the sleeping Kenpo Master off of him) had pulled a sleek cellular phone from his pants pocket, and punched in a number quickly.
'Hello, Alice is it? Ah yes. It's Vincent Marks, one of Kenji and Uriko's friends. Look, we have a problem; Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some other dubious character, Uriko is unconscious and Master Long appears to be in a drunken stupor. Er, please calm down. Just take a deep breath. That's it. So, could you and Yugo come around and look after the others while we're gone…..well, you're a nurse, and Yugo will need to be here in case they double back. No, we'll be fine. Certainly. Alright, take care.'
He snapped the case shut and slipped the phone back into his pocket. By now Kevin had managed to disentangle himself from the snoozing Long, and was trying to rearrange his ruffled shirt and hair into something more presentable. The pair looked at each other for a moment, and both nodded.
'Right. The next problem is to save Kenji. You ready?' Asked Kevin. Vincent nodded slightly.
'As ever. Lets go.'
And so the pair, leaving their unconscious friend and the drunken Long safely in the house, headed off down the street, to meet whatever fate had for them head on.
And thus ends the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it (and no, I am being serious), and another chapter will be on its way soon. And there is nothing you can do to stop it! My plan has been set in motion! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Ehem, please excuse that bout of insanity there. Keep on livin'!
Right, legal stuff out the way, I would just like to thank God, for inventing the fingers (useful little beggars), my parents for letting me use the P.C at all hours, and the people who wrote in about some of my other books I've written. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: New Friends, New Enemies
Busuzima looked at the prone man before him with fascination. He was in a white walled room, which was barren with the exception of the steel operation table to which the muscular young man was strapped to, lit only by a pair of strip lights hanging from the roof. It stank of disinfectant and a faint touch of blood, and indeed there were many faint cuts across the mans chest. Busuzima grinned and rubbed his smooth skinned chin; it had certainly been some fight to try and get the struggling man back into his prison. As usual, he had been at the back, laughing all the while as the struggling zoanthropes had been tossed about by his little test subject. However, much to his disappointment, they had managed to subdue the man after morphing into their beast forms and clubbing him to the ground. However, if his test-subject had changed into his beast form, it would have been a very different story. Very different indeed.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a group of tall figures strode into the room; one was tall and imposing, another split off from the others and watched the all from a distance, and the last two were heavily built and looked like they were some kind of hired muscle. The leading figure smiled faintly at Busuzima, who looked away uncomfortably from the mans gaze.
'Er, hello Mr. Kouto,' He mummered. The figure nodded slightly, a faint smile on his thin lips. He continued to stare at the back of Busuzima's head, as if studying his thoughts with extreme interest, before turning his gaze onto the prone figure on the table. His long thin fingers idly played with the strong metal straps that held the mans arms and legs down.
'Fascinating. Where are his wounds? My associates here were less than friendly when our subject here attempted to escape, and yet now he looks perfectly healthy.'
Busuzima looked up hopefully and cleared his throat. This is the reason he had been brought here after all.
'Er, it's truly an amazing specimen Mr. Kouto. You see, while he have yet to see him fully morph into his beast form, he seems to carry some of the properties of the suspected beast within him in his more human form. Note the rough skin, the easily healed skin, and, er, his teeth.'
Very gently, he leant down and lifted up the mans lip. There, clear for all to see, was the mans teeth; small, sharp and with two sets, one set before the other. Mr. Kouto looked at them with his usual long, calm gaze and then looked back up at Busuzima.
'Very good work. And you say that there is something else we should know about him?'
'Yeah. Er, I mean yes Mr. Kouto,' He corrected himself swiftly, as those strange eyes bore into his skull, 'Well, we've managed to make the test subject morph to his beast form under controlled lab conditions, but we believe he has a third form which he can morph into during his second stage.'
He had expected at least a moment of awed silence. This was one of the biggest things in zoanthrope history. But Mr. Kouto (damn, how did you get eyes like that!?) simply said, 'And what is that then?'
Busuzima, taken aback at the mans coolness, stumbled over his next words.
'Well, erm, you see…..AAHH!'
'Oh dear, you seem to have bitten your tongue,' Commented Mr. Kouto, watching the scientist hop around the room gripping his mouth, 'Well, we can discuss our business later. Horn, Tusk, accompany me back to my limo. Barry Serpent, stay in the facility and help Mr. Busuzima in any way you can. Don't worry,' He added, turning back to the cursing zonathrope, 'Barry Serpent is an excellent helper, and has studied genetic engineering with some interest I might add. I'm sure he will not be a burden.'
Busuzima nodded, still holding a hand to his mouth. He knew he hadn't bitten his tongue, but Mr. Kouto had some really weird powers at his command; if only he could get that man on an operation table, then he'd see how he did all them mind tricks on people, he'd make sure of that. Thankfully, if Mr. Kouto had read his thoughts, he chose not to comment, leaving the room with the two large, bulky men. That left himself, the test subject and the scrawny man called Barry Serpent, who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall in the far corner of the small room. He looked up from his pondering when he felt Buzusima's gaze on him.
'Isss there problemssss?' He said, more of a whisper than anything else. The scientist couldn't help noticing the accent was foreign (Mexican if he was correct, with a light lisp on the "s"). He quickly shook his head.
'No, nope, nada problems here my friend,' He said hurriedly. The silence intensified, 'Er, I'm just going for a soda, you wanna come with?'
Barry Serpent just gave him a look that was nearly as bad as Mr. Kouto's. Buszima edged his way towards the door, eyes still locked with Barry's, and swiftly left the room. Leaning against the wall, he wiped his brow with the back of his hand; what had he gotten himself into!? This guy made Shen-Long look like a member of Green Peace for God's sake! Suddenly, he heard the hissing voice from behind the door.
'And get me a cherry ssssoda while you're there,' Called Barry.
Yugo opened the door to his apartment, threw his bag onto the floor, and collapsed onto the couch. He gripped his head in his hands and tried to stop the feeling that his brains were trickling out of his ears. He hated having to go back to school, but he needed to finish it to get qualifications, which he needed to get a job. Pah, job; why couldn't he just be a professional boxer like before!? He remembered the argument he and Alice had had when he had brought this up; his girlfriend had said that he needed a job that would help pay the rent and still leave his brain cells intact (God knew he needed as many as he could get). He had argued that maybe she needed to get a job that paid a bit better than nursing. And then she had snarled and kicked him out the window. Fortunately, the car below had broken his fall…..less fortunately, it was his own, but at least he had gotten out of an argument with Alice with only minor injuries. He sighed; maybe she was right, but at that time he would never had admitted it to her face. He had his pride at stake, and he didn't have much of it left after being kicked out of a window. He heard the door open and close again, and heard footsteps getting closer, and stop (probably having seen the bag on the floor).
'Yugo?' Called Alice, putting her groceries to one side and picking up the bag, 'How many times have I had to tell you to put your bag in your room, not just hurl it on the floor?'
'About seven times,' Called Yugo, still hidden from view by the back-rest of the couch. There were more footsteps, and Alice's face appeared over the top of the rest. She half smiled, half scowled at him, and tossed the bag onto his chest, knocking some of the wind out of him.
'Well, it's about time you started paying attention. Where's Kenji? He should have been back by now.'
'Give the kid a break Alice,' Panted Yugo, trying to suck air back into his lungs and placing the heavy bag back onto the floor, 'He's only just started at his new school. He'll probably be out with Uriko and his new friends. I wish I was,' He added mournfully, but Alice smacked him across the back of his head.
'Not until you do your homework! God, you're a bigger kid than he is!' She yelled. Yugo leapt up, growling indignantly.
'Am not!' He retorted.
'Are too!'
'Am not!'
'Are too!'
They paused for a moment, nose-to-nose, but then there was a ring at the doorbell. They held their gaze for a moment, and then Yugo lost. Grumbling, he looked away and slouched towards the door. When he opened it, he straightened up hurriedly. Standing on the doorstep was Master Long, standing stiff backed and with a grave look on his face. This came as no surprise; Long always looked stiff backed and grave, and put Yugo in mind of a more old fashioned teacher. He was wearing more "normal" clothes than his usual silk waist-coat thing and baggy trousers, and Yugo almost burst out laughing when he saw the serious China man wearing a pair of jeans and a white Tommy Hill-Figure T-shirt. For a moment Yugo thought he had found a doorway to an alternate universe where Long was a hip-hop fashion guy, but then the man snapped, 'Yugo, are you just going to leave me standing on the doorstep?' And he knew he was in the real world. Standing to one side, he let Long stride (He always strode, like he was incapable of simply walking) into the flat. Long nodded to Alice, who went through a similar experience to Yugo, albeit much faster than the dull-witted boxer.
'Er, hello Long. You look….nice?' She hazarded a guess, but it seemed to be the right one; Long beamed happily at her.
'Do you like it? Uriko has been teaching me about the modern world; when you've been a hermit living in a cave for the last few years, you tend to be a bit behind on things. Do you think it looks alright?'
'It suits your…..it suits….yeah, it looks nice,' Finished Alice lamely. In truth Long looked so out of place he couldn't be located on a map of the Earth, and she didn't know whether Uriko had just played a really cruel joke on her Kenpo master or simply had no sense of fashion, but right now she would not have admitted it to the smiling face of the clueless Chinese man for the world.
'Thank you….er, I mean cool,' He corrected himself, as though he was trying to remember his words from a script, 'I just came over to ask if you've seen Uriko? She's been missing her Kenpo training lessons recently, and I wondered if you knew what she was up to.'
'Relax Long, she's probably out with Kenji and his friends,' Said Yugo. The wolf zoanthrope smiled slyly, 'I never knew you cared so much for her.'
'Yugo!' Hissed Alice, 'You don't make rude jokes at the guests. Besides, I wouldn't get Long mad, or he'll kick your ass onto the pavement from the top story window.'
'Hey, I could take him!' Said Yugo, taking a fighters stance. Long just looked at him.
'Er, does that mean you don't know where Uriko is?' Asked Long, still looking rather puzzled at Yugo's eagerness to be beaten in a fight.
'I told you, she's probably just with Kenji. Now are we going to fight or not!?'
Long smiled faintly. Several seconds later, the apartment door burst open, taking its hinges with it, and Yugo was hurled onto the street, hitting his head off the curb. As he staggered drunkenly to his feet, Long handed Alice a couple of notes.
'For the door. I'll see you later then Alice. Bye Yugo,' He called, walking away down the street. Yugo blinked heavily a couple of times, and tried to focus on him.
'Hah! See, you're running away! I am the victor!'
And then he promptly collapsed on the ground, eyes rolled into his skull. Alice sighed irritably, and dragged his prone body back into the house.
'Honestly, that's what you get for having no manners,' She chided.
In fact, Uriko was out with Kenji, as well as their two new friends, Vincent Marks and Kevin Lightfoot. After the fight with Shen-Long, the two young teenagers had been admitted to the new Zonathrope Academy, a school specially adapted for those with the ability to morph into animals. They had only been going for a week, and so far everything seemed to be going alright. The four friends were currently lying in the shade of an ancient oak tree, watching the sun through the green leaves and commenting on the shape of the clouds.
'That one looks a little bit like a elephant without a trunk,' Said Kevin, pointing up at a mass of nimbus cumulus. The others all followed the finger, and laughed.
'No it doesn't Kevin,' Giggled Uriko, 'It looks more like an ox holding a balloon than an elephant with no trunk.'
'Oh yeah?' Grinned Kevin in a mock challenge.
'Yeah,' Replied Uriko, still giggling.
'Well personally I think it looks like a collection of water vapor that has evaporated from the surrounding lakes and rivers and collected in the cooler climates of higher altitudes,' Said Vincent. Everyone turned to look at him; there was, in every young gang, someone who was smart and intelligent, but stuck out like a sore thumb. Vincent returned their stares politely.
'Yes? Have I gotten something wrong here?'
'Vincent, we're supposed to say what they look like, not what they are,' Smiled Uriko. Vincent looked perplexed.
'Yes, but it looks like a cloud. Therefore it is a collection of-'
'Oh stop letting your mouth flap Vincent,' Moaned Kevin, 'You might accidentally swallow a bug.'
Vincent smiled faintly, and remained quite. They had been friends a long time before Uriko and Kenji had come along, and knew it was all a joke, but Uriko didn't. The smack to the back of Kevin's head nearly sent him sprawling across the floor.
'What was that for!?'
'You were being horrible to Vincent! Apologize!' Growled Uriko gripping his arm tightly. Kevin struggled to break free, but the grip was tight.
'Ow! Stop! OK, OK, I'll apologize! Sorry Vincent,' He muttered, when Uriko had realized her grip, 'Although I notice you didn't exactly leap to the rescue.'
'Why should I? You were making fun of me,' Grinned Vincent, before explaining the abusive friendship he and Kevin shared. Uriko apologized to Kevin, but the light hearted boy shook it off and smiled as always. It was only then that they noticed that Kenji wasn't paying them any attention.
'Kenji?'
Suddenly the young boy appeared to snap out of his trance-like state, and turned to look blankly at the three concerned looking teenagers.
'Er, sorry. Kinda tuned out for a while there.'
Shortly afterwards, they decided to go back to their homes, Kenji and Uriko going one way, Kevin and Vincent the other. Kevin and Vincent strolled down the streets, idly commenting about life's smaller worries. The pair were an unlikely pairing; Vincent was tall, stern and uncompromisingly logical, tending towards black, sensible clothing and lightly combed hair as dark as his clothes. His cold eyes seemed to unnerve most people who didn't know him to be a kind and gentle soul. Kevin, on the other hand, was a shorter, broader kid, with sandy blonde hair and wearing a white shirt and jeans. The man appeared constantly hyperactive, simply bursting with unspent energy, and made Vincent look lethargic in comparison.
'Wonder what Kenji was thinking about?' Pondered Kevin, absentmindedly snatching at a passing fly and catching it gently in his hands. It buzzed about his palm for a moment, and then he released it again, sending it skittering once more across the sky. Vincent didn't look around, but Kevin could tell he was also pondering that question.
'It was a little odd how he seemed to loose his perception there,' Said Vincent after a while, 'Usually he can here the mice scurrying under the floorboards of the old school gym from the opposite side of the school, but he didn't appear to hear us at all.'
'Maybe it's something to do with school?' Suggested Kevin.
'But he's doing well in all his lessons,' Countered Vincent.
'Something at home then?'
'We've met Yugo and Alice before, and although they did have a bit of "Lovers Quarrel", they appeared to be adequate guardians for him.'
'Well, I'm all outta ideas,' Said Kevin, 'So maybe he's just going insane.'
'It is possible. From what he's told us about himself, the things that have happened to him might have sent him into a delayed psychic spiral.'
'Er, I was joking Vincent.'
'So was I. What, you believe that I think Kenji is mad?'
Kevin shook his head in dismay.
'You really have to work on your sense of humor Vinny.'
In his hidden lair, Stephen "Stun" Goldberg held the match steady, and lit the small pile of fire fuel before him. Leaning back against a crumbling wall, the huge, well muscled man settled back and tried to concentrate. It was hard though; ever since Busuzima had transformed him into this…..this thing, he had needed a steady dose of a special serum to keep him alive. When he had managed to break free, he had tried to kill his cruel tormentor, but the wily scientist had slipped from his grasp at the last moment. Unknowingly, his fists tightened into a ball at the thought of the grinning idiot that had considered him a test experiment. However, he had managed one thing at least; he had found the formula for the serum in one of the labs before it blew up, and with the help of his……He paused, trying to think of a suitable word that would describe Yugo and Long…….friends, he had produced enough of the serum to keep him going on his own for a while. Ever since then, nearly a year ago, he had been hiding out in the ruined down-town section of the city, lying low and keeping to himself. However, yesterday he had used the last of his serum, and already the symptoms he had experienced before where coming back; headaches, mood swings, difficulty talking and the urge to kill everyone in his way. He needed to see the others as soon as possible and brew up a new batch, before the hunger overwhelmed him and he did something unforgivable.
Suddenly, he saw shadows flicker across the other side of the room, and looked up sharply. The fire crackled again, but it cast no light on any intruders. But that did not mean there was no one there.
He only just managed to avoid the kick to the back of his head, rolling to one side and onto his feet. In the warm glow of the flames, he could just make out the indistinct outline of a giant chameleon, standing tall on its back legs and wearing a dreadful blue Hawaiian shirt; Busuzima!
'Hey, Goldberg old buddy! Did you miss me? I notice you failed to send any post cards, but I know you were thinking about me.'
Stephen snarled, and hurled a punch at the laughing idiot, but the nimble Busuzima leapt out the way and revealed himself, fully visible in the light of the fire.
'Now that isn't any way to treat an old fiend. I thought you'd be pleased to see me,' He grinned.
'Get…..out of here……now,' Growled Stun, each word a painful knife in his throat. Busuzima laughed all the harder.
'Leave!? Now?! But I've only just got here, and there's so much I wanted to do with you….cut you open, study your insides, that kinda thing.'
With a bellow of rage, Stun leapt forward, his fists swinging through the air with extreme power. But the chameleon was too nimble, ducking and dodging every slow swing and retaliating with a blow of his own, kicking the powerful man in the stomach and slamming his knee into the mans head as he doubled up in pain. A punch sent him skidding across the floor and into the wall, his back hitting the stone with a loud crash. Busuzima gave another laugh, and disappeared again. Stun staggered to his feet, looking around for his enemy, and only just heard the sound of the creaking steel rafter above before Busuzima leapt down from in, crushing Stun against the floor with all his weight. The wooden floorboard creaked warningly, but did not break. Rolling off his stunned opponent, the sick-minded scientist lashed out his tongue, wrapping Goldberg in a sickly pink rope of muscle, and slammed him against the wall, the floor, the ceiling, and finally out the window, where he hit the pavement hard with his shoulders. Stun gave a pained cry, but remained on the ground, curled up in a ball. Chuckling evilly to himself, Busuzima leapt down from the shattered window and landed neatly on his feet, sitting on his haunches as he taunted his prone adversary.
'I expected a better fight from my once prized experiment. Oh well, you may not be much, but that bozo Mr. Kouto wants test subjects, so he'll get test subjects.'
The scientist was about to tie him up with his tongue again, when he noticed that Stun was trying to say something. No, not say something….he was laughing. Too late did Busuzima realize he was too close to Stun than was advisable, and before he could turn and run a blinding white flash of energy hurled him through the air and smashing onto a car rooftop. Getting back to his feet groggily, Busuzima only caught a glimpse of the armour plated behemoth that launched itself at him. He felt himself lifted bodily into the air, felt the sudden grip of gravity pull him back down, and most definitely felt the waiting punch that threw him nearly twenty feet along the street. His body began to shrink, and he was once more frail old Busuzima, unconscious and awaiting Stun's wraith. The massive beetle zonathrope lifted a short but heavy leg above the unknowing Busuzima's head.
'Goodbye……bastard,' He hissed, but suddenly he found himself lifted from his feet and hurled against the ancient stone wall of a building, his heavy frame smashing the brickwork to dust. Staggering up to his feet and dusting down his armour plates, Stun looked up to see another tall and skinny figure, a reptilian zonathrope like Busuzima but taller and skinnier. It looked like some kind of cobra, a hooded flap of skin screening the back of its long and narrow face, its long tongue flickering out its mouth full of serrated fangs. It looked weakly muscled despite its height, as fragile as a twig when compared to the lumbering stag beetle zoanthrope trying to pull itself up out of the ruins of the wall. Growling with rage, Stun let the plates on his back slide aside let his transparent wings unfold, flapping faster and faster until they were little more than a blur. His heavy bulk lifted slowly off the floor, but suddenly and with surprising grace the huge monster shot forward, heading directly for the thin snake creature. Without blinking once, the snake's red eyes flared, and suddenly Stun veered off his path, smashing himself hard against a parked van and then crashing down straight into the pavement, knocking himself unconscious. As his beast form shrunk back into his human body, Busuzima came to and pulled himself to his feet, wincing as the stars flew before his eyes. He blinked hard, and saw Barry Serpent walking towards Stun's prone form, a pair of electra-cuffs in his clawed hand. Limping over to his side, he rubbed the back of his head and looked down on the blue skinned man with more than a slightly impressed look.
'Well, you sure showed him. How the hell did you take him down so quickly?'
'Telekanessssssessss,' Hissed Barry Serpent, morphing back into his human shape; short black hair, a thin and gaunt face, weather beaten olive skin and wearing plain black clothes. He was as skinny as he was as his snake creature, 'Massssster Kouto taught me a few of hissss tricksssss.'
Busuzima nodded faintly, still looking at Stun's body; he was really worried he had gotten himself in way over his head in this deal…..
Uriko arrived back at the apartment she and Master Long shared, trying to open the door as silently as possible. She was nearly two hours late for her Kenpo lesson, and she knew that Long would be angry, but she had been enjoying herself with her friends, and, well, Kenji seemed to have been clueless all day, and probably would have been run over if she hadn't taken him home. Slowly she crept from the front room to the kitchen, taking the second door to the backyard, and finally crawling into her room through the window in the back garden. Uriko grinned, thinking she had gotten away with it, when suddenly there was a sharp but polite cough behind her. She spun round, and there was Master Long, standing stiffly in his old silk waist-coat and baggy trousers. He was staring down grimly at her.
'Where have you been?' He asked. Uriko's mouth flapped open, but there was little she could say.
'I….I was out with some friends,' She said, hoping he would see this for the truth. Long locked gazes with her, and finally nodded.
'You've been missing your Kenpo lessons. I believe you should make alternative arrangements the next time you want to go out with your friends.'
Uriko felt the sinking feeling in her gut turn to red hot rage. Who did he think he was, ordering her about? She glared straight back at his stony calm gaze.
'You can't tell me what to do!' She yelled, 'I don't need to learn Kenpo anymore! Shen-Long is gone now!'
Long raised an eyebrow in surprise, but remained as cool as ever.
'That may be true, but you still need to practice your abilities regularly; I fear Shen-Long will not be the last evil man who may try and take control of all the zonathropes and lead them on a killing spree. We need people to stop them, and we need them to be ready.'
'There isn't anyone else Long! There are no evil men left! Your…..your just a dried up old relic, wanting one last chance to show his glory! I hate you!'
Uriko had never seen Master Long loose his cool before, but there, just for a spilt second, she swore she saw him loose control. But his anger was swiftly subsided by a wash of sadness. Is this how she saw him? He thought to himself. Without a word he turned and walked out the room. Uriko sat down on the bed, too ashamed of her actions to say anything or do anything.
Later that night, she heard footsteps going into the kitchens, and the sound of someone drinking something from the bottle. The next morning, Uriko saw an empty bottle of whisky on the table top….
In the morning, Alice and Yugo woke Kenji, ate their breakfast with him, and watched him walk serenely to school. Yugo looked concerned as he watched the young zonathrope make his way around the corner.
'There's something up. I haven't seen him like this since he was trying to fight Busuzima's brainwashing. He just goes blank when you talk to him.'
'Yeah,' Said Alice, biting her lip nervously, 'I'm worried too, but there isn't anything we can do just now. We'll ask Alan Gado about it next time we see him; he seems to have an answer for everything.'
'Yeah, he's just a regular brain box,' Muttered Yugo resentfully, but Alice just laughed.
'Well he's more intelligent than you are!'
'Hey! I beat him in a fight remember!'
'And I'm sure that taxed you to the very ends of your wit that did,' She said sarcastically, walking past him back into the house. Yugo stood in the doorway, confused.
'But I beat him!!' He protested to the uncaring world in general.
Busuzima watched as Stun's body was strapped down tightly next to that of the other test subject, the two hulking figures pulling the chains tightly so they cut into the flesh slightly. Barry Serpent was again in his favored corner, watching everyone's moves intently, and Mr. Kouto was standing just behind Busuzima, smiling faintly.
'A rare specimen indeed. One of your own past tests you say?'
'Er, yes sir. He's one tough cookie, and as you can see his armour plating will provide excellent protection,' He replied, handing the thin man some photos of Stun in his beetle morph. Mr. Kouto studied them for a moment, and then looked up, his mad eyes again boring straight through Busuzima's head and pinning him to the spot.
'And what of the third subject? The one you call Bakuryu?'
'Ah, the squirt. Well, he's still out there, but I fixed something together that'll bring him back. When he first left me, the brainwashing failed, but I had a plan just in case I needed him defenseless and weak. A small chip in his right arm is wired to the nerves leading to his brain, and when activated it'll make him loose any sense of being with himself. After a few days of the chip being activated, he'll be a brainless couch potato,' The evil scientist grinned, but it froze when Mr. Kouto's gaze locked once more with his own. He felt….something, like a presence, in the back of his mind, and winced as un-called for memories surfaced, brought forward for inspection by the tall figure before him. After a moment though, the presence left, and his limbs thawed out. Mr. Kouto smiled.
'It seems your plan will work Busuzima. Make sure it does. I will know the instant something goes wrong, and if it does…..then it will be you on the operating table.'
He lifted his jet black cane and tapped the metal table twice for enthuses. Busuzima gulped, and nodded hurriedly. Once again, he and Barry Serpent were left in the room, an odd atmosphere in the air. Busuzima wiped his brow of sweat, and looked over to where Barry Serpent was chewing on something hidden in his hand.
'God, how do you put up with that guy?'
The snake zoanthrope looked at him, and shrugged.
'The pay'ssssss good,' He hissed, taking another bite out of whatever it as he was eating.
'Well, you're braver than I am…..Hey, how come the mice cage door is open!? Where are the lab mice!?'
Barry Serpent looked up quickly, and shoved the last of his snack into his mouth, but not before Busuzima spotted the pink tail disappear into his mouth like a strand of spaghetti
'Oh my God, you ate them didn't you!?'
'Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Whatsssss it to you?'
'About a years research that's all! Damn your sick.'
'Hah! Fine wordsssss coming from you! I heard about your little habitsssss,' Grinned Barry Serpent, watching as Busuzima started to go red with anger.
'Those accusations against my sexuality were false Goddamnit! I am a perfectly straight heterosexual male!'
'Yeah, and the Pope'sssss a Sssssatanisssst,' Chuckled Barry in his heavy Mexican accent, wondering out the room to the soda machine.
Kenji stared out the classroom window, watching the birds fly past and the grass rustle in the breeze. This wasn't really surprising, as Mr. Hettik's Math class was VERY boring, but he was having trouble coordinating his thoughts. He blinked hard once, and shook his head hard. He could hear voices, but they were muffled and sounded like they were coming from a distance.
'What?'
'I said, Kenji, that if the answer to the equation X + 6 = 43, what does X stand for?'
Many of his lessons that day ended up like this, with him struggling to keep control of his thoughts. What was happening to him? And the pain in his arm was really not helping any. He rubbed his right arm without thinking as he leant against the trunk of the tree, staring at the ground between his feet. He didn't notice Uriko, Vincent and Kevin walk up to him and start talking. It was only when Kevin lightly but politely cuffed him across the back of his head that he looked up in surprise.
'Hey man, pay attention!' Said Kevin, 'Uriko is having a lot of trouble at home with that Long guy, and all you can do is study your footwear! Is there anything wrong with you man?'
'I'm….I'm….' Kenji was trying to talk, but his breath was becoming laborious, and his brain was going fuzzy. Suddenly, from the shade of the trees above, there was a rustling noise, and something landed heavily on the ground between the group and Kenji, throwing Kevin backwards and onto the floor. There was a chuckling noise, and suddenly the air seemed to pull itself together, revealing the chameleon morphed Busuzima. Smiling madly, the estranged scientist kicked out, knocking the wind for Uriko's lungs and sending her skidding across the grass, coughing and spluttering. Vincent was standing as calm as ever, an eyebrow raised in question.
'Who, may I ask, are you?' He said coldly, taking up a more threatening stance. Busuzima laughed at the stern young man before him.
'Oh-ho! A tough little kid aren't we? We'll see if we can't do something about that!'
'If I might suggest you remove that sign from your back first?' Said Vincent, smiling very slightly. Busuzima looked confused for a moment, and pulled his blue Hawaiian shirt around, upon which was pinned the sign "Am I a Gaylord? Si Senor". The chameleon snarled angrily.
'Barry!? You're a dick Barry!'
'Better than being a Gaylord, no?' Chuckled the Mexican, emerging as if by magic from the shadows of the tree. The man was morphed into his Cobra from, and nodded towards Vincent.
'A little tip ssssenor. Don't turn you back on Ssssenor Busssssuzima here, if you know what I mean, ssssi?'
'Shut up, or I swear I'll rip your tongue out and choke you with it!!' He yelled. Barry shrugged.
'OK, whatever you want. Jussssst remember we're here for the boy, not to ssssscrew around with little kidssss. You do that in your own time.'
'I'm warning you! Just one more wise crack, and I'll have your intestines on an operating dish faster than you can say "Sssssasssssaguessssss"!'
Snarling, Busuzima turned back to see Vincent. The young man had taken up a fighting stance legs spread wide and one in front of the other, his arms held in a 60 degree angle and palms facing forward.
'When you two are quite finished, shall we begin?'
'Hah! You think you can beat the pair of us!? Dream on kid.'
'Maybe I can even the odds,' Panted Uriko, but Kevin bounded over her head and stopped her going any further.
'Leave these goons to us Uriko, your still hurt!'
'I'm fine!' She said, but Barry Serpent waved a hand and sent her back onto the ground, skidding along on her back. Kevin turned around, looking furious.
'You'll get a beating for that, snakey!' He growled. The Cobra zonathrope laughed.
'Oh yesss little ssssenor? And how do you plan to beat usssss?'
'Like this!' He grinned, turning to Vincent, 'Ready Vinny?'
'As always, friend,' Smiled Vincent. Suddenly, the pair were lost in a blinding flash of energy, and from it emerged something very different from the two young men.
The first, where Kevin Lightfoot had been standing, was a tall and well muscled Mongoose, with a long snout with small but very sharp teeth producing from just under the lip. He was covered in short sandy coloured hair and seemed to be constantly twitching with energy. All that remained of his clothing was a loose fitting sleeveless shirt and a pair of ripped denim shorts. The next, where Vincent had stood, was a jet black Panther, staring just as calmly as his human form, if not calmer. The Panther was standing in the same combat stance, wearing a pair of baggy canvas trousers and a pair of steel bracelets on his wrists.
'Er, crap,' Muttered Busuzima, 'This looks ever so slightly bad.'
'You think your guy isssss bad?!? I have a **&^$@#^ Mongoosssssse!? Do you know what Mogosssssesssss do to sssssnakessssss?'
'Well I…..Damn it, what are we panicking about?! They're still just kids, we can crush them both!'
'Unlikely,' Growled Vincent, leaping forward with mind-numbing speed. Busuzima didn't have time to think before the first punch struck him on the skull right between his eyes, followed by a flurry of powerful yet calmly calculated punches to his ribs. The last blow was an uppercut that sent him soaring into the air and into the branches of the oak tree, crashing hard against the wooden limbs.
'OK, time for a little rethink,' He coughed, falling out of the tree and landing hard on his back, 'Maybe…..AAAAGGGHHHH! I bit my damn tongue again!'
'Forget about the tongue, get thisssss thing off my tail!' Yelled Barry, rushing around the tree with Kevin close behind, chuckling to himself.
'Oh come on? Just a nimble?' He laughed, chasing the Cobra faster and faster. Barry, who was too busy trying to avoid being eaten, didn't see the crumpled body of Busuzima in his path, and tripped over the downed scientist. The pair, weakened by their fights, were forced to morph back into their human forms.
'Uh-oh, we're in really big trouble now,' Muttered Busuzima, heaving the gibbering Barry Serpent off his chest and staggering back up. Although his vision was swimming, he could plainly see Kevin and Vincent standing there, still in beast form and ready to kick his @$$ into the sky.
'Er, kids, don't you think we can just discuss this?' He said, smiling openly and taking a few steps backwards. The two zoanthropes stepped forward after him.
'I believe your first mistake was to underestimate us,' Said Vincent methodically.
'Er, what was the second one?'
'Calling us kids,' Grinned Kevin. But before they could leap forward to attack, Barry (who seemed to have recollected his sanity) waved an arm, sending a rippling wave of psychic energy into the two unprepared creatures. Both were sent to the ground in a heap, leaving the way to the still clueless Kenji clear.
'Quick, grab the kid!' Yelled Barry, running as fast as he could. As he passed Uriko, who was trying to crawl to her feet, he lashed out with a boot, smashing her neatly under the chin with a shiny black shoe and knocking her spark out. Busuzima raced after him, the blankly staring Kenji slung over one shoulder.
'Hey! Wait for me, I'm right behind you!'
'All the more reasssson for me to run fassssster!' Cried Barry over his shoulder. Vincent and Kevin staggered to their feet, watching helplessly as the odd pair ran for the hills.
'Damn! Uriko!' Kevin cried, rushing forward towards the unconscious girl. Vincent was striding forward, trying to see where the pair of clowns were headed.
'It looks like they're moving towards the center of South Town,' He said, 'If we hurry, we can catch them.'
'But what about Uriko?' Said Kevin. Vincent thought for a moment.
'Mr. Long's house is along the way. We could do with his help; God knows what those two jesters have up their sleeve.'
Back in the hidden lab, Barry Serpent and Busuzima were arguing.
'Well you hardly did great on your kid, eh sssssenor?' Said Barry spitefully. They were in the test room, where the mystery man, Stun and Kenji were strapped to separate tables.
'Yeah, at least I didn't run away screaming like a little girl! And what happened to Mr. Cold Hearted Killer?'
'I had a moment of sssstressss, OK? The guy turned into a Mongoosssse for Godsssss ssssake!'
'Well you hardly handled yourself with grace and finesse did you?'
'The kid wassss trying to eat me! You try staying calm when someone isssss trying to take a bite out your @$$$$$$$!'
'OK, let'ssss calm down now….Damn it, you've got me lisping now!'
'Hey, you want to sssssay sssssomething about my lisssssp, sssssay it to my face!'
'I haven't got the time for this! Mr. Kouto is arriving any minute now and I've still got to clean the lab area. Someone keeps leaving cherry soda cans lying around the place.'
'I wonder who doesssss that?' Said Barry innocently.
'God damn your a slob Barry.'
'And you're a Gaylord.'
'Hey!'
The bickering pair left the test room, leaving their three captives tied to their beds. But not all of them were sedated. Stun opened one eye, looking around the room to see if anyone was still there, and took a deep breath. He pulled his arm up sharply, snapping the metal chains binding him with relative ease, and swung his legs over the edge of the table, easing himself gently onto the floor. The massive blue skinned man looked at his surroundings, the two subjects with him, the door that was the only exit to the room, and then suddenly something in his brain clicked. He turned and looked back at the youngest of the two captives; short, with blue/grey hair and narrow faced, wearing a Zonathrope Academy uniform. He had seen him somewhere before, with Yugo and Alice and Long. Then he remembered; Yeah, it was that kid Uriko went out with, Kenjo or something like that. The massive man walked quietly over to his sedate form and slapped him lightly on the cheek.
'Wake up kid,' He said, wincing as the words left his warped throat and caused him a jolt of pain. However, he slap seemed to have brought him too. Kenji opened his eyes, and looked up to see Stephen Goldberg. This is not the kind of face you want to wake up to, especially if you have a headache and can't remember the last few hours of your life. His instinctive reaction was to morph and stab the creature's eyes out, but he found his body refused to change. Goldberg tried to calm the thrashing kid, in case he aroused the suspicion of Busuzima and Barry.
'Hey, take it easy there! They've injected us with some serum that'll prevent us from morphing for a few hours,' He said soothingly, ignoring the fiery pain in his throat. Kenji stopped struggling, but looked up with suspicion and ferocity burning in his eyes. But not fear, Stephen noticed, and that impressed him.
'Who are you?' The kid asked, 'And why have you brought me here?'
'I didn't bring you here, Busuzima and that slimy new guy Barry Serpent did. And my name's Stephen Goldberg, I'm kind of a friend of your foster parents.'
'Yugo….Alice….Are you that beetle guy they were talking about one time, the one that wanted to kill Busuzima for something he did?'
'That's me,' He said, trying to smile, but he had long ago forgotten how to, and even if he could remember he doubted his new form had the muscles to make it possible, 'I ran into the guy not that long ago, and they've just carted you in. Someone keeps coming in here, some rich Japanese businessman who wants three Zoanthropes for some cooky experiment. And there's this guy.'
'Who's he called?' Asked Kenji, as Goldberg ripped his chains off him as silently as possible. The man turned to look at the third and final man.
'God knows, just some poor guy who was unlucky and got under Busuzima's nose.'
Kenji, now freed from his bonds, hopped down to the floor and studied a clipboard that hung from the end of the table.
'Subject Drake Holland Dante? That must be his name,' He thought out loud, 'I wonder if he can hear us?'
It was over so quickly that the mole zonathrope didn't even know if it had happened. The man had sat up faster than the eye could follow, snapping the chains binding him like they weren't even there, leapt from the table and carried on right through the brick wall, leaving a huge gaping hole next to the door. Both he and Stun stared in utter confusion as a couple of screams rang through the other room, and finally ended with the sound of a smashing window. There was silence for a few moments, before the pair were brave enough to open the door and peer through into the next room. Busuzima and Barry Serpent were gone, the lab was nearly totally wrecked, and the window was shattered, the glass covering the ground outside.
'Well, that was handy,' Said Kenji. He nodded to Stephen, 'Come on, before something else happens.'
The odd looking man allowed Kenji to guide him through the corridors, trying to find a way out into the open again….
Vincent and Kevin arrived at Master Long's house, carrying the stunned Uriko between them. They knocked on the door, but no one was answering.
'We have no time for this!' Snarled Kevin, and kicked the down with all his might. The wood shattered under the blow, falling back into the corridor beyond.
'That wasn't very nice,' Commented Vincent.
'Well, we can pay for it later.'
'Who's we? I didn't kick the door down.'
'Look, can we stop arguing and get Uriko to her room!?' Said Kevin in exasperation. Picking her up again, the pair were just about to enter when something came thundering towards them, yelling something. Foul smelling breath hit Kevin in the face, but then he noticed that it smelt an awful lot like whisky and scotch. He side stepped the rampaging figure, tripping him up as he passed and sending him tumbling down the steps and onto his head. In the clear light of the sun, they could see it was Master Long, his usual pristine clothes crumpled and reeking of alcohol. Vincent nudged the empty bottle that had rolled out of the mans hand.
'My word. He's drunk,' He noted, watching Long stagger back to his feet. Kevin snarled, and gripped the swaying man by the starched collar.
'Look after Uriko, or I'll kick your stiff @$$ back to China, got that!?!'
'Whatzat!? Is dere anothaothaothaothaotha beer ina fridge den?' Giggled Long, before falling unconscious over Kevin's shoulder and started to snore.
'OH FOR $%#*@)$% SAKE!' Screamed Kevin, 'WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!'
Vincent, ignoring Kevin (who was struggling to push the sleeping Kenpo Master off of him) had pulled a sleek cellular phone from his pants pocket, and punched in a number quickly.
'Hello, Alice is it? Ah yes. It's Vincent Marks, one of Kenji and Uriko's friends. Look, we have a problem; Kenji has been captured by Busuzima and some other dubious character, Uriko is unconscious and Master Long appears to be in a drunken stupor. Er, please calm down. Just take a deep breath. That's it. So, could you and Yugo come around and look after the others while we're gone…..well, you're a nurse, and Yugo will need to be here in case they double back. No, we'll be fine. Certainly. Alright, take care.'
He snapped the case shut and slipped the phone back into his pocket. By now Kevin had managed to disentangle himself from the snoozing Long, and was trying to rearrange his ruffled shirt and hair into something more presentable. The pair looked at each other for a moment, and both nodded.
'Right. The next problem is to save Kenji. You ready?' Asked Kevin. Vincent nodded slightly.
'As ever. Lets go.'
And so the pair, leaving their unconscious friend and the drunken Long safely in the house, headed off down the street, to meet whatever fate had for them head on.
And thus ends the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it (and no, I am being serious), and another chapter will be on its way soon. And there is nothing you can do to stop it! My plan has been set in motion! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Ehem, please excuse that bout of insanity there. Keep on livin'!