Voyager Saga
Trials and Retributions
Chapter 2
The gang had been grounded for two days and the change of pace took a lot of getting used to. Since they had so much involuntary free time, they had to find new ways to keep themselves busy.
Draco was slumped in the corner, doing the time honored traditional hobby in these situations, paddleball...or seeing as experiments never did anything simple; 4 paddleballs at once.
Of course, as everyone knows, a repetitive sound tends to annoy a person's tolerance to a thin sheet. And Matt didn't have much left, judging by the way he was grinding his teeth. Matt turned to glare at Draco. "Draco...I'm giving you a choice...you can either walk outside with those...or I throw you outside...Ok?" he said in a strained voice.
"Everyone knows you can't walk and paddleball at the same time," said Draco.
Morph, Contrinus, and Stitch who were playing cards in the corner winced at that. Stitch commented "3...2...1..." to himself before Draco shot over the table and hit the far wall with a splat noise before slowly sliding down.
"That's something I would have expected from you, Morph," said Contrinus.
"That's something I really wanted to do," said Morph.
Just then, Chip stuck his head into the room and said, "Hey, could you keep it down? I'm doing delicate work here."
Matt glared at everyone before saying, "I can't take this anymore. I thought prisoners at least got exercise time."
"Yeah, the guards are still ticked about you making them triple-overweight," said Contrinus.
"Technically, we're already criminals. So why not just knock em out and leave?" said Matt, pointing to the foot bracelet, "It's not like I can skip the country with Mr. Bitey attached to me."
"If you want a furlough, you're going to need to improve your act," said Chip, "Now if you don't mind, I need to keep a very close eye on-" Suddenly, a bang like a firework was heard and Chip swore in Tantalog before ducking back through the door.
Matt sighed before knocking on the door, one of the guards peering in, in human form. "What do you want? If it's another cake..." he began only for Matt to say "Let me out of here or I'll blow a hole in the wall," in a serious tone
"You're in enough trouble already, pal," said the guard, "You keep acting up and they'll put you in solitary."
"I need to get out before I snap..." said Matt, as reasonably as he could manage which sadly wasn't much.
"I need better proof before I even consider such an infraction," said the guard.
Matt plasma-controlled Morph into his hand and held him up. "This guy's my roommate," said Matt.
"Hello," said Morph sucking his nose into his mouth.
The guards both peered at Morph. "C'mon...this guy's a walking talking interrogation tool. Please...mercy," said Matt, desperately.
Morph snuck his tongue around his head before sticking into one ear and poking it out the other. The guards grimaced with disgust and one of them said, "Ok, you've made your point."
Matt grinned. "FREEDOM!" he yelled, shoving Morph at one of the guards before running out laughing insanely.
The rest of the gang peered out slowly, before Chloe said, "Sorry about that...stir craziness."
...
Meanwhile, in his secret hideout, the evil Ghoulwyrm was insidiously plotting on his next wicked scheme...or at least he's trying to. "Ok...I could turn everyone to stone...no, that's already been done..." he muttered to himself, tossing a screwed up scroll over his shoulder onto an impressive pile.
Omnirus chuckled to herself. "Writer's block?" she taunted.
Ghoulwyrm growled at her and said, "I can't think of new ideas all of time. I need some inspiration."
"You've forgotten one thing: as an unknown, the local police won't be looking for you," said Omnirus, as if to herself.
"Which can work in my favor," said Ghoulwyrm, "It's the best way to catch them by surprise. But still...I need to find a scheme that will take full advantage of it."
"Why not go take a look around? Get some inspiration, case a bank," said Omnirus, not looking up from her book
"Case a bank? Why would I want to do that?" snapped Ghoulwyrm as he floated towards a wall, "I have enough treasure for ten generations."
Omnirus rolled her eyes and looked up to explain before seeing that Ghoulwyrm had opened a portal and walked through. "Fine...screw him," she muttered to herself.
...
Broadway Avenue is pretty well-known for its entertainment establishments. Everyone knows that there are dozens of people who want to get into show business. What they don't know is that there's an agency for magical creatures as well. Finn McTavish was a well-known talent agent among the magical community and has dozens of hopeful people auditioning for him a week.
The leprechaun looked at the latest on the list and said "Next," hearing the door open.
The door opened and a young woman walked in, wearing a mauve dress. She was rather slender, but not unattractively so. Her hair was long and platinum blonde, which made her milky skin seem even paler. Her face was pretty and fresh, with eyes one of the palest blues found in human eyes. "Good day," she said in a distinct Irish accent, "Um, this is the right office for Mr. McTavish, right?"
McTavish shook his head to clear his thoughts before replying, "Yes it is, m'dear. What can I do for ye?"
"Well, I'm kinda new here," said the woman, "I just first came to America, ye know. My name's Alice McClain. I was hopin' ye'd help start a singin' career."
McTavish smiled, "MacClain? Why, I think I met ye ma and pa. Strange to see a selkie so far from the old homestead."
"Selkie? Oh, I'm ne a selkie," said Alice, "I was adopted."
"Ah, I be guessin' yer a siren then," said McTavish, "Sirens be a bit popular over here. O' course, there's some regulations considerin' yer voice. But let's hear a wee bit."
Alice nodded and began to sing a scale. While it was pleasant...it was also powerful enough to cause anything made of glass to practically explode.
McTavish's small body was knocked off his chair by the blast. "Saints preserve us," exclaimed the leprechaun.
"So, do I get the job?" asked Alice, "That was a perfect note, right?"
"I'll...I'll get back to ye," said MacTavish, a little too quickly
"But I barely started," said Alice.
McTavish pressed a button on the intercom and said, "Er, Ms. Riley, I be takin' me lunch break now. I'll be back in an hour." He quickly went over to the door and said, "Just leave yer number and I'll call ye. Don't call me." He then ran out.
Alice just stared as MacTavish practically fled. "Why'd he run like that?" she muttered to herself. As she walked out of the talent agency, she muttered, "I know I've got a good voice, Ma and Pa said so. I shoulda been a shoe-in."
Not far above, Ghoulwyrm was still trying to clear his head. "That's one way to clear earwax," he muttered to himself before hearing Alice. "Hmm...I think this may be exploitable," he said, "But I better check it out before springing. But first, I need some ear plugs."
...
Meanwhile, Matt and the others were enjoying their freedom. "I'm so glad to be out. If I'd had to listen to one more minute of Draco's paddleball tappytappytap, I would have gone psycho," Matt said cheerfully.
"And what are you going to do with your newfound-yet-limited freedom?" asked Chip.
Matt paused for a moment before saying, "I don't know, go to Coney Island?" The others just looked at him. "What? Anyone else got a better idea?" he said deliberately.
"I was hoping for a more intellectual stimulation," said Chip, "For instance, there's an exhibit at the Art Museum of opera sets from Europe."
"Boring, overruled, we're going to Coney Island," said Draco.
Matt and Draco high fived at that. "Woo hoo...day off," said Matt cheerfully before he and Draco's eyes crossed and they grabbed their ears.
"What? What are you guys doing?" asked Chip.
"Didn't you hear that? Argh, I'm gonna feel that all day," moaned Draco.
"Hear what?" asked Chip before turning to Stitch and asking, "Stitch, did you hear anything?" The way Stitch was clutching his head seemed to confirm it.
"You didn't hear anything?" moaned Matt, rubbing his head.
"No, it must have been a very high frequency," said Chip.
"It was loud, I know that," said Draco miserably.
"Hmm, odd that no one else seems to have noticed it," said Chip.
A surge of stray cats and dogs quickly shot that comment down, Morph riding a German Shepard with a cowboy hat on. "IT'S A STAMPEEEEDE!" he yelled as he was carried away.
The group watched the pack flee as if all the dogcatchers in New York were after them. "Hmm...I think we may need to investigate this," said Contrinus.
"But it's our day off," said Draco. "How about we vote on this?" said Matt, "All who says they should blow a possible day of fun at Coney Island and risk crippling headaches raise their hand."
Chip raised all his arms...briefly as Matt blasted them off. Contrinus just glared, her wing up. "That's cheating," she said sulkily.
"All against?" said Matt, raising his hand along with Stitch and Draco, "The nays have it. Coney Island, here we come."
Chip grumbled, re-attaching his hands. "I'm still gonna look into this," he muttered.
"Suit yourself, killjoy. If you want us, we'll be having fun," said Matt.
"Mmm...hot dogs," said Stitch as they walked off.
"I'd wait till after the rides if I were you," said Draco.
...
Alice walked out of another windowless talent agency, her head hung. "I don't believe it. I'm usually so good at singing," she said gloomily.
Just then, a blue Scion xB with teal circuit lines on its sides pulled up beside her. The driver's window lowered, revealing a pale man in a dark suit with sunglasses. "Hey kid, was that your pipes I just heard?" he asked.
Alice took a step back in surprise. "I don't play the pipes. Me cousin does though," she said confused.
"No kid, the singing, that voice, I heard it all the way down the street," said the man, "Did those notes come from your throat?"
"Yes. Me ma n pa say I have a wonderful singing voice," said Alice proudly.
"Well, yer parents weren't just whistling Dixie," said the man, "The name's Steve Zyvar, the finest-tuned talent scout in the Big Apple. And you, kid, have the larynx of a natural-born star."
Alice's eyes practically turned to stars then and there. "Really?" she said happily.
"Sure thing, kid, I got an eye for talent and baby do you got talent," said Steve, "How about we head over to my office and go over some details?"
Alice looked suspicious at that. "I should be gettin' back to me apartment. I told me ma I'd call her every day," she said.
Zyvar paused as that. This girl could be invaluably useful, but dealing with her parents may be a bit too much for him to handle. "Ok, sure, no problem," said Zyvar, "At least let me give you a lift. It's probably a long way back."
Alice shrugged. "Sure...I don't got a car yet," she said, jumping in.
As they drove through the traffic, Zyvar said, "So tell me about yourself. The fans will want a background."
"Well, me name's Alice MacClain, though pa said it used to be O'Callahan," said Alice.
Zyvar, keeping an eye on the road, said, "Oh...they changed their names?"
"Ne, me parents adopted me when I was but only a wee lass," said Alice, "I canna remember much about me first parents, but ma an pa said that they were good musicians."
Zyvar kept his eyes on the road, thinking, 'Man, she was sheltered.'
"Fer some reason, they didn't want me singing to close to hum-, er I mean, normal folk, er, I mean..."
"Kid, I've heard them all, I know alot about magic," said Zyvar, "It's no surprise to me you're an Irish fairy."
"Oh, well, me folks are selkies, but they say me birth family were sirens. I suppose that's why they don't want me singing outside so much. Don't wanna hypnotize too many good folk
Zyvar said vaguely, "That's nice," while inside his head, he was dancing a jig. No way his luck was this good. "So, adopted, Irish, humble origins, the fans will eat this up," said Zyvar, "But, I can't sell it without knowing it. Sing us a song of the Emerald Isle."
Alice smiled and started singing 'The Mountains of Mourne. Zyvar kept a false grin as the power of the voice pounded against his ears. The Scion seemed to be affected too, its wheels started shaking back and forth. "Ok...that's enough," he managed in a friendly tone when he realized smoke was coming from the car bonnet.
"Am I really good?" asked Alice.
"Kid, you'll knock them dead," said Zyvar.
Alice suddenly pointed, not noticing that she brained Zyvar, making his eyes roll. "There...that's me apartment building. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Zyvar," she said happily, jumping out.
"Sure thing, Alice," said Zyvar before handing her a slip of paper, "Here's my number. Call me tomorrow."
Alice took the paper and practically skipped off. Zyvar shook his head "Damn, she's got a pair of lungs on her...and a nasty left hook, even if it was an accident," he muttered. Then he turned to the dashboard and said, "You get all those frequencies?"
"Affirmative," said a robotic voice, "Her sonic wavelength causes notable deterioration in organic health readings."
"Of course they do, but can you filter the song through without killing someone?" demanded Zyvar.
The dashboard said, "Why would we do that? Surely mass organic termination is the purpose of this operation."
"You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar," said Zyvar, "We'll make her a star, alright. Then she'll go supernova."
"Comment understood. Filter implant will be prepped and ready for your return. Should additional shielding be supplied to Omnirus?"
Zyvar looked thoughtful before saying, "Eventually, but I think she ought to hear Alice's music at its full potential first."
"Understood," said the robotic voice gravely.
...
2 days later...
Chip squeezed a few more drops of a clear liquid into the beaker of reddish liquid before him. He watched the mixture bubble for a minute before saying, "Yes, it seems to be reacting properly."
Draco wandered in, holding a hot dog from the vendor in the street below. "Hey...you sure you should be doing that in here? Matt still hasn't forgiven you for blowing up the North Star's lab," he commented, taking a bite
"I wouldn't have blown it up if someone hadn't let their crumbs spoil the chemicals," said Chip in a sour tone.
"Crumbs?" said Draco, with his mouth full, spraying crumbs over the liquid which began to boil violently.
Chip said darkly, "I hate you."
...
Matt opened an eye half way as the apartment shook with an explosion. "Chip," he and Chloe said at the same time
A minute later, Draco and Chip stumbled out, both covered in soot. "Matt, please instruct this sloppy eater in the proper maintenance policies that should be observed in a chemical lab," said Chip.
Matt pulled his hat over his eyes. "And you stop messing with unstable chemicals," he said with a yawn.
"They're not all unstable," said Chip, "Fortunately, I managed to save one before the rest went kaboom." He held up a small perfume spray bottle that had a pinkish liquid in it.
"What the hell is that?" said Matt, looking up with mild interest.
"I'll show you, but first you need to open your mouth," said Chip.
"Oh hell no...I remember what happened the last time," said Matt, angrily, not noticing Morph waddling up with a hammer from a tool kit he'd found in one of the other rooms.
"Smashy-smashy," Morph said, hitting Matt on the foot.
"ARRRGH...MORPH, I'LL-urk!" yelled Matt before Chip sprayed him in the mouth.
"That should do it, now try doing a bit of singing," said Chip.
"Er, you sure that's a good idea?" asked Chloe.
"Trust me," said Chip.
Matt glared and made a throat-slitting motion before trying some singing tones. The group braced itself for an ear-splitting racket, but Matt's notes were surprisingly in-tune and on-key. It sounded pretty good too.
"Ah, a success reproduction," said Chip.
"What was that stuff?" asked Draco. "It's called atomizitune," said Chip, "I found the formula while browsing the extranet and decided to try it."
Matt's eye twitched at that. "What?" he said, worried.
"It stimulates the larynx to produce harmonious sound waves when being used to vocalize," said Chip, "In other words, it gives you a melodious singing voice."
"But...that's how I get my information," said Matt miserably.
"Oh, relax," said Chip, "You need a much larger dose to make it permanent. That little spritz should wear off in about an hour."
"What am I supposed to do until then?" demanded Matt.
"I don't know, why don't you serenade Kala?" suggested Draco, "I hear girls like that."
Matt glared at that. "How about I brush up on my ion blade work?" he said darkly, readying the aforementioned weapon.
"Now, Matt, let's not be hasty," said Chip.
Chloe got up and said, "I think I'll read somewhere that will have less noise."
Chloe walked out, closing the door just as Matt yelled, "DIE!"
...
Omnirus yawned in the corner, watching Ghoulwyrm preparing a disguise spell. "Oh, when are you gonna drop pretenses? Not even she will be fooled forever," she commented.
"She won't be, just long enough," said Ghoulwyrm, "Besides, I'm sure her newfound fame is plenty distracting."
Omnirus sighed. "Ok, I'll bite, what's your stupid plan?" she asked.
"Simple," said Ghoulwyrm, "we let her filtered singing draw as big as a fanbase as we can. Then we'll be host a large live concert for her. And when she's up performing in front of that huge crowd, we drop the filter."
"And where's my filter?" said Omnirus suspiciously
"How long are you going to keep harping about that?" snapped Ghoulwyrm, "You're not even part of this plan, all you've been doing is criticizing and second-guessing!"
"Cause I don't wanna have my brain turned to porridge. I heard that girl all the way over here when you first met her," said Omnirus accusingly.
Ghoulwyrm scoffed, "With those tiny little ears? I doubt it."
Omnirus growled. "Keep laughing, ugly," she muttered.
"Oh, that's not a laugh, this is," said Ghoulwyrm before hitting a button on the console, allowing a few seconds of Alice's unaltered singing play.
Omnirus yelled in pain, gripping her head as the windows in the warehouse shattered...before an energy beam melted the console. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO UNFILTER IT!" roared Red angrily.
Ghoulwyrm glared at Red and said, "It was just a brief demonstration. I wish you wouldn't keep destroying our equipment. These were pretty pricey to get."
"Silence, you should not interfere with banshees. They tend to have tempers," said Red warningly.
"Ha, banshee tempers, that's a good one," laughed Ghoulwyrm until he realized he was the only one laughing.
"I wasn't joking," said Red coldly before walking off.
Ghoulwyrm gave the leaving Red an annoyed look before saying, "The girl doesn't even know she's a banshee. She thinks the filters are to tone down her siren song. She won't know what's really going on until her crowd drops like flies."
Omnirus rolled her eyes. "Where is this 'Alice' anyway?" she asked.
"Signing albums at the Magic Market," said Ghoulwyrm, "A little more publicity to draw in the fans."
…
The Magic Market was bustling with people lining up to get their albums signed by Alice MacClain. She's been an overnight sensation and several dozen magical creatures wanted her autograph, as well as a few nonmagical individuals.
Two of the aforementioned non-magicals were arguing in the cue. Trixie sighed. "Spud, don't you think you're getting a bit obsessed with this Alice girl?" she asked.
"Obsessed? What gives you that idea?" asked Spud who was wearing an Alice MacClain T-shirt, wearing a baseball cap with Alice's picture on it, along with a matching bag in one hand, three new Alice albums in the other, and a poster of Alice rolled up under his arm.
"I dunno...a hunch?" said Trixie to herself.
"Spud, I think you need to slow down with this MacClain stuff," said Jake, "It's just Celtic stuff, I don't see why you're so caught up in it."
"You wouldn't, Mr. Chinese Hip-Hop," said Spud, "But I've got a strong Irish heritage."
Trixie raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "I thought 'Spudinski' was polish," she said.
Spud said, "My mom's family is from Ireland."
"Still, you know you're getting too wrapped up," said Jake, "I mean, you won't stop talking about her or listening to her music."
"Yeah, this is as messed up as that stupid potato diet you tried," said Trixie.
"Who says I've stopped doing it?" said Spud, "100% potato all the way."
Jake asked worried, "You sure that's good for you, Spud?"
Spud said proudly "I'll have you know that I lost 3 pounds over the last week.
Trixie sighed, "Yeah...from bad diet."
"You guys will never understand. Potatoes are Irish and Irish is strong in my- Hey, we're next!" Spud's defensive tone dropped when he noticed they were up at the front of the line.
Alice looked up at Spud approached and dropped several CD's of Alice's singing. She giggled at the sight of him. "Well, aren't we the fan?" she said.
"Oh, Alice, your music reaches down to the deepest part of my heart," said Spud.
"Ugh, this is reaching the deepest part of my stomach, and bringing it up," said Jake.
"I'm sure I could sing ye a few notes. Anything for me fans," said Alice, pleasantly.
"I would be greatly honored," said Spud.
"Ugh, Celtic keening, I'd rather have something loud and funky any day," said Trixie.
Alice ignored Trixie's comment and starting singing an aria. Fortunately, she had enough voice-coaching from Zyvar to keep everything fragile around her from shattering. But while the music was lovely, it was loud enough to make everyone cover their ears.
"It's definitely loud, but it sure ain't funky," said Trixie.
Spud however seemed to be having a different reaction, staring straight ahead wide eyed. After a few seconds, Alice stopped singing. The crowd was shaken, but still applauded, though probably not as enthusiastically as they might have done. Spud however keeled over backwards, out cold. "SPUD!" yelled Trixie and Jake, horrified.
"Oh, I musta overwhelmed him," said Alice.
"He needs to get to a hospital," said Jake.
"I'm on it," said Trixie as she hit 911 on her cell phone.
Jake turned into his dragon form and picked up Spud.
"Tell me if he recovers alright," said Alice before handing Trixie a note with her cell phone number on it.
...
Matt was wandering near the magical district with Kala. "At least we're out of explosion town. Hopefully we'll still have a safehouse to come back too," Matt said, happily.
"The guys aren't that bad, at least when Draco remembers to clean up after himself," said Kala.
"Yeah I supp-" began Matt before the same deafening tone from before assaulted their ears. Matt and Kala covered their ears until the keening ended.
"Ow, that hurt," said Kala.
"Yeah, I know that sour note, I hoped it was a one-time only," said Matt.
Kala winced before looking around. "It came from there," she said, pointing.
Matt and Kala were heading over there when they nearly got bowled over by Jake. "Whoa, where's the fire?" asked Matt.
"No time, Spud needs to get to a hospital," said Jake.
"What?" said Matt, following before spotting Spud, who was now sporting a bloody nose. "What the hell happened?" asked Matt, turning to dragon form to keep pace.
"He was listening to that Alice MacClain girl sing for a bit and he dropped," said Jake.
"Never heard of her," said Matt, promptly.
"She's this new artist," said Trixie, "She does Irish songs and stuff, nothing that great."
"Most singers don't cause comas and nosebleeds," commented Matt, gravely.
"I'd try to heal him, but I don't think my powers have progressed beyond the EXP Virus," said Kala.
"Let's just get him to A&E as fast as we can," said Matt.
…
Matt, Kala, Jake, and Trixie were all in the waiting room. They had gotten Spud checked in and were currently waiting for results. "I've never seen Spud in such bad shape," said Trixie, "It's got to be that potato diet he's been on. He needs to round out his eating."
Kala said darkly, "Potatoes don't cause nose bleeds."
Just then, the doctor walked in, "Well, we had a bit of a scare, but it looks like Mr. Spundinski is going to be just fine," he said.
"What caused it, doc? He just went down," said Trixie in a worried voice.
"Vitamin deficiency, plain and simple," said the doctor, "I assume he hasn't been eating right."
"He's been eating nothing but potatos for the last week," said Jake.
The doctor looked puzzled. "Just a week? His levels are more consistent with a year of that diet...maybe more," he said.
"Uh, he's had a fever too," said Trixie, "Probably burned up all those extra vitamins."
"Hmm...I see," said the doctor, "Well, Arthur should be back to normal with enough vitamin supplements. And make sure he eats properly, not just potatoes."
Matt nodded. "We will, doc. Thanks," he said. As soon as the doctor left, Matt said, "You heard him, Spud couldn't just be suffering from malnutrition. It's got to be something else."
"You mean that MacClain girl?" asked Kala.
"I believe so," said a voice before everyone turned to see Lao Shi.
Matt turned in surprise. "YOU ALWAYS DO THAT!" he yelled before being shushed by several doctors.
"This Alice MacClain," said Lao Shi, "Did her singing have a loud and piercing quality?"
"It felt like someone had fired a cutting laser in one ear and out the other," said Matt simply.
"I see," said Lao Shi, "I believe I know what is going on. It would appear that Alice MacClain is actually a banshee."
"A banshee...on a singing tour," said Matt flatly before saying with all seriousness, "Your music industry needs serious work."
"Aren't banshees those Irish ghost women who can shriek people to death?" asked Kala.
"A banshee's wail does not cause death by itself," said Lao Shi, "It exacerbates any pre-existing condition of the listener to a dangerous state. A healthy person would only feel weakened and a large headache."
Trixie said, "Wait, if this Alice girl can scream people to death with her singing, how come we aren't seeing more people here?"
Matt shrugged, "Plenty of sonic filters, bound to be one that'll make her singing non-fatal."
"Who's making all her CDs anyways?" asked Kala.
"Some independent guy named Steve Zyvar," said Jake.
"Zyvar?" said Matt suddenly.
"Yeah, weird sounding name, isn't it?" said Jake.
"No, I know that name, it used to be Ghoulwyrm's," said Matt.
"Who?" asked Jake, Trixie, and Lao Shi.
"Oh, yeah. You've never met him," muttered Matt before saying, "He's undead...and I swear he's stalking me. We always bump into him."
"I can handle a zombie," said Jake.
"Uh, he's a lot more than just a zombie," said Kala.
"How much more?" asked Trixie.
"I think you would put it as 'a full-combo horror meal with a heavy side of dragon'," said Matt.
Kala glared at Matt. "Never...talk like that again," she said darkly.
"Yeah, leave it to the professionals," said Jake.
"Wait a minute," said Trixie, "Alice is doing a live concert in Central Park tonight."
"Oh god, he wouldn't be that cliché, would he?" said Matt, moaning.
"Hundreds of lives are at stake," said Lao Shi, "You must go and stop that concert before the banshee strikes everyone down."
"How are we gonna do that? I'm technically not a merc at the moment...not till the hearing anyway. And can you think of one cop who'll actually LISTEN to me?" said Matt.
"If only we had some backstage passes," said Kala, "We could go in and stop Alice before she starts singing."
"And where are we gonna get some?" asked Trixie, "Those things cost a lotta money, we don't have that kind of green."
"We don't have to pay, cause someone already owes us," said Jake.
"Who?" said Matt suspiciously.
"Alice doesn't know who we are or that we're onto her," said Jake, "And I'm sure she'll want to make up for accidentally making Spud faint."
"That's evil...I love it," said Matt, smirking evilly
"You know Ghoulwyrm's going to be putting up a fight," said Kala.
"Yeah, but when has he ever gotten close to beating us? We just cut his head off and hide it in a bucket usually...what?" said Matt conversationally before turning as Trixie fainted from the thought.
...
The plan went more smoothly than Matt would have believed. Alice seemed genuinely remorseful and had agreed to giving backstage passes for Spud and his friends.
"That was easy...too easy. Something will go pear shaped...I just know it," Matt said complainingly.
Just then, Draco stuck his head out of Jake's backpack and took a deep breath. "How comes we need to stay in here?" demanded Draco.
"Cause they don't allow pets," said Matt, pushing Draco back in.
"You should be thankful I can hold my breath for such a long time," said Chip's voice from Trixie's backpack.
"You've survived vacuums...and be quiet. Pets don't talk," said Matt simply.
Pretty soon, they found Alice's dressing room, which was recognizable by the big star on the door with Alice's name on it.
Matt looked at it. "Ah well...Key time," he said, getting ready to kick the door down.
"Hold up," said Trixie, "Ya can't just smash into a girl's room like that. She might not be presentable in there."
"So? She's a threat. This is how I respond to threats," said Matt.
Kala glared. "Matt...you don't kick my door down," she said accusingly.
Matt said, "That's cause you can incinerate me," before seeing her glare, "Fine, I'll knock."
Matt reluctantly knocked on the door. "Who is it?" asked Alice.
"It's me, Spud, from your autographing," called Spud.
"Oh, give me a wee few minutes. I'm not proper."
Matt looked at the glares. "I hate you sooo much...sometimes the villains have it easy," he muttered.
"You know, even if she's an evil banshee who nearly killed me, I still find her voice so soothing and melodic," said Spud.
"Oh, for heaven's sake..." he muttered.
Just then, Steve Zyvar came around the corner and said, "Alice, you're on in 15 minutes. Don't take all- AAAAAHHHH!" The girly scream at the end was when he spotted Matt. He shot back round the corner. "It's not possible...does he stalk me?" he said panicky to himself, a vision of his head in a bucket in his mind's eye
Matt looked around and asked, "Did anyone hear a girl scream?"
Kala slapped him for that just as Alice opened the door. "Oh...Mr. Spudooski, it's good to see ye up and about," she said happily
"Well, yeah, I should really stop eating too many potatoes," said Spud.
Alice looked at Matt, spotting, just for a second, Matt's blaster. "Who're your friends?" she asked.
"Uh, just some concerned...people," said Spud, "You know, worried about my health."
Alice looked at Matt suspiciously before continuing, "Well, it's good that ye made it. Mr. Zyvar said this'll be a concert tae remember."
"Yeah, he would say that," said Matt, "Too bad that's not gonna happen."
"What?" said Alice, upset.
"We're onto you," said Jake, "I'm the American Dragon and I know what you really are."
"Oh, ye aren't comin' ta deport me, are ye?" asked Alice, "I know there's restrictions for sirens, but I weren't using none of me hypnotizin' powers, I swear."
"Wait...say what?" said Matt, confused. "We heard you were a banshee."
Alice laughed and said, "A banshee? Me? Me ma and pa said me birth parents were sirens. Why would they lie to me?"
Matt looked at the others. "Erm...team meeting please," he said, pulling the others back. "Nobody acts that well, she really believes it," he hissed.
"How can someone not know what kind of magical creature they really are?" asked Jake.
"The same way we didn't tell you were a dragon until you started developing your dragon powers," said Lao Shi.
"That's messed up. She can sing people to death...that's kinda 'need to know'," complained Matt.
"Banshees are not inherently evil," said Lao Shi, "They are meant to ease the suffering to the other side. However, they are suspect to much discrimination and bad reputation."
"What about how they hospitalized Spud?" said Matt
"Spud was on that stupid potato diet too long," said Trixie, "Alice here didn't know that. Spud was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Nobody is perfectly healthy...hell, before me and Chloe got medical nanites, I had a laundry list of illnesses," said Matt.
Even though Ghoulwyrm was in disguise, his powers were still as effective as ever, including his hearing.
Still, he wasn't too quick to jump to conclusions. Matt may have had an unstable health, but becoming part dragon may have balanced that out. He pulled out his comm and said, "Soundwave, I need you to hack into the NSC rifter medical records..."
"That might take a while," said Soundwave.
"What? I thought you were supposed to be a master over sonic technology," said Ghoulwyrm.
"Correct, sonic technology, not computer hacking," said Soundwave.
Ghoulwyrm growled before saying, "Patch me through to Mantichrome then."
"Acknowledged," said Soundwave.
A few minutes later, Zyvar walked around the corner and snapped, "Alice, we've got a crowd out there waiting for you. We've got no time to dilly-dally. Let's move it already."
Matt spun, weapon coming out, "Hold it right there, buster," he said seriously.
"Listen, kid, don't know who you are, don't care. Alice has a big date with the young people of New York City and she can't waste time with you lot," said Zyvar.
"Shut up, Ghoulwyrm or I'll put your head in a bucket," said Matt, nastily.
Zyvar glared and said, "Alice, it looks like your fans won't let you through without hearing some of your music. Give them a quick song and let's get going." Matt turned in horror before the room started spinning. "Beautiful, kid, real show-stopper," said Zyvar, though Matt couldn't really see him, or anything else, clearly.
…
The group watched in horror as Matt keeled over, bleeding from the mouth. "You're DEAD!" Kala snarled, grabbing Zyvar.
"Oh my, looks like your friend needs to go to the ICU now," said Zyvar, "I'll have security escort you out."
Kala snarled before two figures walked on and one said in Omnirus's amused voice "Let's not make...too much of a scene, Miss Triseptus." The guard grabbed Kala's arm with a grip like iron as she picked up Matt over one shoulder and started hauling Kala away. The other guard was pushing the others back down the hallway.
Alice looked puzzled as Matt was dragged away as well. "What's goin' on? He acted like he knew ye," she asked.
Zyvar lowered his glasses, revealing spiraling rings of black and purple. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about," he said in a commanding voice, "You'll be doing the concert as planned."
Alice's eyes mirrored Zyvar's before she shook her head. "Ah, it be nothin'. They'll be fine. We cannae keep the fans waitin', can we."
"No we can't," said Zyvar as he put his glasses back in place, "Now finish up and get on stage. You have a big crowd to please." Alice nodded and turned back to her dressing table. Zyvar grinned and said, "Perfect, not only will my reputation here get a big boost, but I'll be rid of my most persistent enemy." He stopped at that, "No...not gonna get confident...fate follows that merc like a lovesick puppy. Not gonna mess it up now."
...
Not surprisingly, the gang weren't escort out the door and to an ambulance. Rather, they brought down beneath the stage, next to one of the speakers.
"Lemme guess...front row seat?" said Kala, sarcastically.
"The best sound in the whole place," said the guard with Red's voice.
Matt, who had woken up, moaned weakly, "Oh, not. Not you...I thought I blew you up."
"I am not so easily destroyed," said Red, "I may be exiled from Avalar for the moment, but now I have more ample opportunity to extend my power."
"Drop dead," said Kala nastily only to whimper as Red dropped his hologram "I already have once, thanks to your friend."
"Whoa, you didn't say anything about robot dragons," said Jake, "Where'd this guy come from?"
"It's a long and very fascinating story that I'll tell you about later," said Matt.
"No, you won't, the dead do not tell tales," said Red in an amused voice, reactivating his hologram.
"You won't be in much shape to be telling tales either after she starts singing," said Trixie.
Red laughed and said, "The banshee's keening will only strike down living flesh. I won't be harmed."
Spud looked around. "Hey...where's your pal?" he asked.
Red said darkly, "Omnirus...she has fled like the worm she is. I believe her exact words were..." before his voice changed to that of Omnirus "...I trust that undead freak as far as I can throw him."
"Then that will make this much easier," said Chip's voice before he suddenly sprang out of Trixie's backpack and onto Red's neck. "This is going to sting...A LOT!" shouted Chip before sticking all thirty viral energy-charged fingers into the gaps into Red's neck armor.
Red roared "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" before he froze up and suddenly started singing a country western song.
"Huh, didn't expect that," said Chip before jumping down, "Ok, Smokey here's going to be incapacitated for a while, so we better hurry and stop the show."
Red managed to say, "When...I...purge...this...I'll...KILL YOU!" before he twitched and began doing a rendition of riverdance.
Matt, helped up by Kala managed to get a photo on his wrist comp. "This is gonna be great stuff," he said.
"Matt, maybe you should stay here," said Jake, "The song attack nearly took you out. Another blast and you might go down for good."
"Not a chance...You've never gone up against Ghoulwyrm," said Matt.
"Matt, you nearly got killed," said Kala, "You shouldn't go up against him again."
"Actually, that won't be a problem now," said Chip, "Now that I've had a first-hand exposure to Alice's debilitating music, I can tune our comm pieces to filter out the deadly part."
"See? No problem at all," said Matt, cockily.
"Unless Alice's song was more concentrated, then they would just be a temporary defense," said Chip.
"Let's just go get the creep," said Matt, annoyed
...
The huge crowd outside could be heard chanting 'ALICE! ALICE! ALICE!' Zyvar grinned as Alice walked towards the stage. "It's showtime," he said.
Zyvar's voice came over an intercom. "We're sorry to announce that, due to technical difficulties, the show will be delayed by 20 minutes."
The crowd outside let out audible moans and complaints. "What?!" snapped Zyvar, "Who'd dare to impersonate me?!"
Unfortunately for whoever was pulling the trick, a familiar voice said, "Nice one, Chip...wait...why's everyone glaring at...oh crap."
Zyvar growled and said, "I should have known." Zyvar pulled out a comm. "Red? Red, are you there?" he said before getting a confused look as Red apparently sang 'Come by ya' at him. "Erm...is this 555-1874?" he asked, confused.
"10-4, little buddy, I'm truckin' on out," came the reply.
Zyvar sighed and said, "Fortunately, I have a second line of defense here." He switched to another frequency and said, "Eliminate the intruders."
...
Matt was backed into a corner...his foes on all sides...ok, foes was pushing it a little. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T TURN YOUR MIKE OFF!" yelled Draco, ignoring Kala who was being patted on the back by Trixie from laughing herself breathless.
"I thought Chip had turned it off," protested Matt, "It's not like anyone in the crowd heard it."
Chip yelled, "EVERYONE HEARD IT, YOU...BERK!"
"Hey, there's no reason for that kind of language," said Matt. Then Lao Shi shouted at him in very angry-sounding Mandarin. "Uh...that's not appropriate language either," said Matt.
Draco leaned over to Chip and whispered "What did he say?"
"You don't want to know," said Chip.
Jake butted in at that saying, "Hey...we gotta find Alice and stop her before she gives a killer performance."
"Hey guys, look what I found," said Spud. The others turned to see Spud holding a pair of instruments. "Which suits me better?" asked Spud before holding up the red and black electric guitar, "This one that says 'heavy metal rocker'," and then holding up a black and purple keytar, "Or this one that says 'techno music artist'?"
Matt went wide eyed. "Oh crap. Put em down...PUT EM DOWN!" he said, panicking.
"What? You're saying they're not me?" asked Spud. Suddenly, the guitar transformed into a robotic bird and the keytar transformed into a robotic bat and grabbed Spud. "Oh, robots in disguise," said Spud, "I did not see that coming." Matt tried to get his blaster only for Spud to be thrown at him, knocking them both out. A minute later, the rest of the gang followed.
"Ok, this was an unforeseen event," said Chip.
Just then, a pair of nearby speakers suddenly shifted into a pair of robots. "Looks like we've got some gatecrashers, Rumble," said the blue one.
"Yeah, let's show them the door," said the red one.
"That, however, was a bit more predictable," said Chip.
That...is...IT!" yelled Matt, sending a plasma blast at Rumble.
Rumble jumped out the way while Frenzy sent sonic pulses at the group.
Jake ducked as Matt was sent flying over his head from the blast.
"We can take these cyber clowns," said Draco. Just then, the robotic bat and bird flew out from the security office. "Oh, right, that makes things tricky," said Draco.
An angry plasma burst slammed into the wing of the bat, causing it to go off balance and slam into the wall with a pained metallic squeak.
Matt got up with a scary grin. "Ok, time to make all the robot toys go bye-bye," said Matt.
"Hey Laserbeak, how about a duet?" called Rumble. The bird shifted back into guitar mode before flying into Rumble's hand and a cord connected to the robot's speakers.
However, the sonic power of the two robots may not be quite an even match. Especially since they didn't quite notice how maniacal his grin was.
...
A sudden explosion caught Alice off guard and she looked around for the source. "It musta been the pyrotechnics," she said.
Zyvar, who had also seen the explosion, nodded weakly. "Yes...pyrotechnics...let's get this show a'rollin'," he said a little too quickly
"But the technical delay..." started Alice.
"A minor mistake, we're really ready right now," said Zyvar. Alice shrugged before wandering out onto the stage, Zyvar wincing at another explosion.
Just then, the four robots were tossed out through the side door and four angry dragons, an angry psueudo-dragon, and a miffed cyborg came through. "Ok, Ghoulwyrm, your show's cancelled," said Matt.
"Not yet," said Ghoulwyrm, "I've still got one last line of defense."
Jake stared at Ghoulwyrm "You were worried about that guy?" he said, smugly
"You haven't seen my true face," said Zyvar before huge claws burst through his hands and grabbed the sides of his face and pulled. The fake skin ripped apart as Ghoulwyrm slid out.
Spud looked at Ghoulwyrm and asked, "Is that what he really looks like?"
"Yes," said Kala.
"Ok, just checking," said Spud before screaming.
"Ok, so you're bigger and uglier than I thought," said Jake, "But I've beat worse than you."
"You really think I'd face you by myself?" said Ghoulwyrm before snapping his fingers.
Suddenly, the blue Scion xB charged through the back of the stage right at the group. The group scattered, Matt firing a few blasts at the car as it drove by. The car spun around before suddenly transforming into a large robot. "Inferior organics," said the robot, "Fall before the might of Soundwave." Suddenly, an ethereal shrieking blast of sound shot of Soundwave's speakers.
Ghoulwyrm waited happily for Matt to fall over stone cold dead, only for nothing to happen. "Wait, where's the bit where he falls over?" he asked, only for a slash to hit him at neck height. "Oh, son of a-" he began.
"Sorry, Ghouly, we've got protection against your banshee wails," said Kala as she sheathed her ion blade.
"Oh, do you?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "Soundwave, increase volume and concentration."
"Acknowledged, Ratbat, return, Operation: Banshee will not be stopped," said Soundwave. Ratbat transformed back into his keytar mode before growing and flying into Soundwave's hands.
Jake said, "Hey, you're not gonna fight us?"
Ghoulwyrm said "Erm...I'm comfortable here. It's not like my head's location only depends on balance," he said only for a blast to hit him in the chest, his body going one way and his head sailing through the air to land in front of Spud and Trixie.
"Ok, that is really nasty," said Trixie.
"I think that would a perfect excuse to barf," said Spud, "Speaking of which..." He quickly ran offstage.
Ghoulwyrm said in an annoyed voice, "Oh, just save time and put me in the bucket."
Meanwhile, Soundwave was channeling the synthesized banshee wail through Ratbat. It didn't have a broad enough range to get the crowd, but it was slowing down everyone on the stage.
"Chip...shut...that thing...up!" yelled Matt, hands over his ears.
"Banshee...power...too...much..." said Chip, "Must...disable...audio...receptors..." He clicked the side of his head before jumping and onto Soundwave. Soundwave dropped his fellow bot and tried to grab Chip
Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm's body had found its way over to his head and had reattached itself. "You might as well surrender now," said Ghoulwyrm, "Once Alice is finished, not only this whole crowd but everyone watching it on TV will drop like flies. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." Suddenly, a powerful screech hit Ghoulwyrm in the back and sent him flying forward.
Alice stepped forward, clearly free of her hypnotic trance and looking very angry. "Yer synthetic banshee wail may be powerful, but it's nothin' ta de real McCoy," she said before shrieking at Ghoulwyrm again.
Matt watched with amused interest as Ghoulwyrm was pinned against a wall. "It's...it's beautiful," he said with a fake cry.
Ghoulwyrm unpeeled himself from the wall and turned with a snarl. "You ungrateful wretch!" he growled, "I took you off the streets, made you a star, and this is how you repay me?"
"Ye were gonna use me tae kill these poor people. I was nothin' but a gun to ye," said Alice coldly, her eyes glowing.
"So what? Soundwave can replicate your wail, I don't need you anymore," said Ghoulwyrm before splitting his muzzle in two and sending a sonic howl and Alice. Alice simply screamed back, easily overwhelming Ghoulwyrm's sonic attack and splatting him again.
Meanwhile, Chip had scrambled up onto Soundwave's shoulders, despite the robot's attempts to throw him off. Chip then stretched two arms forward and grab Soundwave on either side of his head before letting out a surge of viral energy.
Soundwave twitched, shuddered before the view on his eyes was replaced with a blue screen and a faint constant beep before he fell backwards.
"Wow, what did you do to him?" asked Jake.
"WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?" yelled Chip.
Matt yelled, "CHIP...TURN! ON! YOUR! HEARING!"
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU, I NEED TO TURN ON MY HEARING!" yelled Chip before clicking the side of his head, "Ah, that's better."
Matt said, "OK...Ok..."
"Critical error...all banshee data deleted," said Soundwave.
Ghoulwyrm said weakly, "What? You don't have backups?"
"Critical failure...worm virus erasing all data...duuuuuuurrrrrrrr..." toned Soundwave before suddenly making a busy signal.
"Well, it looks like yer plan's ruined," said Alice.
Ghoulwyrm glared at her and said, "This one, but it's hardly my last plan. You'll all be seeing me again very soon. And next time, I shall not be so easily foiled."
Matt walked up to Ghoulwyrm as he ranted before saying, "Oh, shut up," blasting Ghoulwyrm's head off again and kicking it as hard as he could.
Ghoulwyrm gave a screech of fury before his body flew off to find his head. Suddenly, Soundwave transformed into his vehicle mode and his minions attached clung onto him as he drove away.
Matt sighed, aiming a blast to take Soundwave out before a crash reminded him he'd forgotten one thing. "Oh...Red," he said, dully.
"I'm hoping he's only responding to that recall signal," said Chip.
Just then, a huge energy blast split the stage floor apart and Mecha Red crawled out of it, clearly having recovered from Chip's virus. This seemed to finally communicate to the audience that the show was over, given how they turned and began to flee. "WHERE IS THAT LITTLE TIN CAN?" roared Red.
"Erm...I'm not here," said Chip before hopping into Trixie's backpack.
Red turned to glare at Trixie's pack. "There," he said coldly, absently firing an energy blast in front of the others before advancing, only for Alice to get in his way. "Out of my way, creature," he said icily
"Ye're master's already fled, it's time for ye to go too," said Alice sternly.
Red smirked and said, "Your screams are useless on me. I am no longer made of flesh." Alice glared, not saying anything. "I have no quarrel with you...yet...NOW MOVE!" said Red, roaring the last part and reaching down to punch her aside.
Alice, however, just wailed at him, putting a bit more effort than she did with Ghoulwyrm. Red smirked, not effected, till he heard a rattle from his blaster arm and a integrity warning appeared on his vision. "What? How is this possible?" demanded Red.
"Banshee wails may not be able to kill robots, but they still pack a punch," said Kala.
Red glared, readying his blaster before the energy pack on his blaster, already agitated by the wail, gave up the ghost and exploded, blasting Red's arm off at the elbow.
"I suggest you leave before she makes the rest of you go boom," said Matt.
Red glared at Matt, aimed his other blaster arm for a second before snorting as his sensors picked up police chatter. "Another time," he said, aiming the blaster at the wall and escaping through the hole the shot made.
"Well, Ghoulwyrm's plan has been foiled and he and his crew have been sent packing," said Draco, "I think that about rounds everything up."
Spud said, "Hey...what about Alice?" looking at the now sad-looking banshee.
"I guess I'll be going back ta Ireland then," said Alice.
"Hey, no one says you have to leave," said Jake.
"But me fans were all scared away," said Alice, "No one will want to see my shows now."
Trixie said, "Hey...nobody knows what happened. Your producer just messed up your opening act."
"But I'm a banshee," said Alice, "I cannae sing fer them if it ends up puttin' them in the hospital." "Actually, I have a solution for that," said Chip before reaching into his chest compartment, "It's a good thing I sprung for the soundproof casing." He pulled out the spray bottle of adamocitune.
Matt glared. "You still have that?" he said annoyed.
"It wasn't meant for you," said Chip, "You were just a test subject. The reason I was working on this was because not only does adamocitune gives one a melodious singing voice, it also cancels out any secondary effects from a siren's mesmerizing call to a banshee's death scream. It also eliminates bad breath. Er, speaking of which..." Chip sprayed a small bit in Spud's mouth.
Matt winced. "What have we said about testing unstable chemicals on people who aren't in our crew?" he said.
"I have tested it," said Chip, "According to my data, a potato diet gives one bad halitosis."
"Whoa, no wonder Stacey didn't want to stand next to me," said Spud, "Why didn't anyone tell me my breath was that bad?"
Matt shrugged. "Bad breath?" he said.
Kala sighed. "Coming from someone who can spit plasma..." she said to herself
"The point being that Alice can continue her career," said Chip, "She just needs to take a dose before her live sessions. Allow me to demonstrate." He spritzed a bit into her mouth and said, "Now show us your stuff."
Matt shoved his helmet on, admittedly understandable given that, far from a vitamin deficiency, her song could potentially cause his own immune system to attack him and therefore was surprised when Alice sang as she had before, but minus the destruction.
"There, harmonic and harmless," said Chip, "Of course, I'll have to whip up a large batch for her to keep."
Alice sighed "I still cannae sing no more. Me producer turned out to be a undead monster and we kinda chased him off," she said
"Well, I do have some people who owe me a favor," said Lao Shi, "I shall see if MacTavish will be willing to see you."
"I...Kinda destroyed his office the last time I sung there." said Alice a little sheepishly only for Matt to said "Then we'll INSIST! I gotta have a few favors laying around."
"I don't know what ta say," said Alice, "I've never thought I'd have this much support over here in America."
"We magical creatures gotta stick out for each other," said Jake.
"You know, as nice as this scene is, I can't help but think I've forgotten something," said Chip.
...
Back at the apartment...
Morph was backing up into a corner, an enlarged flea towering over him. "Erm...down boy?" he asked. The flea just hissed at him and glared with its big red eyes. "Ok, I am definitely staying away from Chip's chemicals after this," said Morph.
Another chapter's up, quite promptly. It was an interesting spin with adding Irish influences to this chapter, shame we don't do it more often. Anyhow, Ghoulwyrm's making his move out into the open and you can be sure this is not the last we've seen of him in this story. He's only going to get more diabolical with nastier schemes. To find out what he'll be plotting next, keep an eye out for the next chapter. Please review.
