Scars

by DarkHououmon

Ever since their formation, the Dino Squad have always managed to keep Veloci in the dark about their secret. But what would happen if he did find out? And what if he was far more capable than they initially thought? Despite what fairy tales may say, the bad guys don't always lose...

2. Deception

Chapter 2: Deception

"So are the tests back yet?" Victor asked as he sat at his computer. He had arrived several hours ago with a blood sample from Caruso. He was now waiting for it to be analyzed. Normally this kind of test would take a few weeks, at least by normal human means. But Victor had created a technology that would detect dinosaur DNA in a few hours. After sitting down for a few hours, he started to feel a little uncomfortable and started to shift a bit in his seat.

"Negative sir," said one of his minions. "But it shouldn't be too long."

"I've been waiting here long enough." Victor's nictating eyelids closed, and when they reopened, they were just tiny glowing spheres of yellow with a black background. The minion backed away immediately and hurried to where the scientists were. Victor's eyes changed back to their human state and he leaned back in his chair. That would hurry things up a bit.

Before long, one of the scientists came out with a sheet of paper with the DNA patterns on it. He stood next to Veloci, and said, "Sir, we found some...rather unusual traces in this kid's blood. I think you may want to take a look at this."

Victor grabbed the sheet of paper and looked through the data written on it. At first he didn't see anything really unusual about it. The DNA was typical of that of a modern human, and there were no unusual spikes in it. But as he skimmed further, he did notice a change. There was an abnormal pattern hidden deep in the kid's genetic code, one that didn't resemble anything he's seen in a human. He peered closer to try and recognize the pattern.

The odd DNA looked a bit..thicker than the rest, and appeared a bit flimsy, as though it didn't fit perfectly in the DNA code. And yet it stayed there, unmoving, as if it was glued there. As he read down the paper further, there was a description of the strange DNA, including the acids that made it up. And he recognized the pattern.

"..Stegosaurus." Victor whispered, narrowing his eyes. "Caruso has Stegosaurus DNA in him."

It was starting to make sense to him now, and memories started to flood back to him. The talent show, the park, the abandoned building, the motorcycle tracks.. oh why hadn't he noticed this before? Why hadn't he put the pieces together? How could he miss something that was so..obvious? He crumbled the paper in his hands as he seethed with anger. "I've been such a fool. The answer was right in front of me the whole time."

He couldn't track the dinosaurs not because they were too perfect. He couldn't track them because they weren't really pure dinosaurs at all. They were just teenagers that could turn INTO dinosaurs, and apparently at will. He didn't know how they gained control of their forms so easily and so quickly, but he would worry about that later. Regardless of them being human, their dinosaur forms were still perfect, not any bizarre mutations.

He then recalled the lighthouse again. There would have to be some signifance with it. The Stegosaurus..no Caruso..he had tried to stop him. The yellow van was heading towards the lighthouse. There had to be something special about that SUV. Maybe Caruso's other dino-transforming friends were in the van, yes. Yes, yes that had to be it.

And the lighthouse...that must be their lair. That must be where they gather, where they keep their instruments, their tools, everything. And if the students knew about his plans to take over the world, if they knew how to neutralize the ooze he spreads, then someone must have trained them. Someone who knows his plans, knows the way he thinks, knows about the primordial ooze.. Someone like... Joanne Moynihan! It figures she would be the one training these teenangers.

And the incident involving the park, when he had punished one of his men because he thought he tricked Victor by trapping five children. Now that Victor thought of it, his men have never intentionally lied to him before. And he had spotted some dinosaur tracks in the vicinity the following morning. Due to him still being sore with his employee, he paid him no mind when he reported he spotted the dinosaur tracks mixing in with human ones. If the children could turn into dinosaurs, that would very well explain how they were able to fool him so easily. Those clever little tramps... Moynihan had indeed taught them well.

Then something else started to add up, something he had suspected before. He knew that Moynihan was almost as clever as he was, maybe even more so in some ways. When they were partners, she had displayed remarkable talent in human technology. Even after thirty years, this knowledge would not have waned. Victor did recall that, anytime he got a perfect dinosaur in the sight of his satellites, the picture would go static. He had thought it was just bad luck or coincidence. But now it seemed it was a deliberate act of sabotage. Someone was preventing him from seeing the perfect dinosaurs, and no doubt it had to be Ms. Moynihan. He had already suspected this before, but now, knowing that Caruso could turn into a Stegosaurus, his suspicions were confirmed. Moynihan was protecting these kids.

"I knew it. She really is blocking my satellites. Well now..." Victor said as he started to type on the keyboard. He clicked a button and it enlargened several times, showing the Kittery area. He followed the road down a ways. If his suspicions were correct, then when he would try to view the lighthouse, he would see static.

And sure enough he did. The screen went black and white noise filled the screen. This proved it, he believed. It really was Moynihan blocking out his satellites. He now had the location. Victor grinned evilly. "I gotcha, you little traitor..."

"That was close..." Moynihan whispered as she closed the lid on her laptop computer. The computer had alerted her that Victor was trying to scan the lighthouse with his technology. She didn't understand why, since as far as she knows, Victor doesn't know there's anything special about the lighthouse. And the Dino Squad hadn't arrived yet, so there was literally no dino activity. Either way, she couldn't let him detect any of her equipment in the building, or else they could be in big trouble. That crazed Velociraptor could easily trap them in the lighthouse. There wasn't a lot of room to run around, and it was dangerously close to a ledge.

The only advantage they would have being trapped inside is that they would know the building better than Veloci, and possibly better able to trap him that way. Victor probably has little idea of all the weapons Moynihan actually had. There were even some she kept secret from the children. It was for their own good. These weapons were far too dangerous for youngsters to play around with. Only she had ever operated them, as she was the only one with the knowledge necessary to activate them and control them safely. The only other one who might have the skills necessary is Victor Veloci.

But she didn't believe she had much to worry about. She had been hiding from the male Velociraptor for thirty years. The odds of him finding her now were relatively slim, near zero. But according to humans, the more time passes, the higher the chances of something occurring. If they were right, then Veloci's chances of finding her may have doubled now...or tripled. She drew in a deep breath as she grabbed her cane and scooted her chair back. It was almost time for the Dino Squad to arrive for their daily training.

As if on cue, she heard knocking at the door. "I'm coming!" She shouted as she made her way towards the door. She turned the knob and opened it, and was greeted by a familiar group of five teenagers. "Hello. Come in, come in." She said, smiling. It was nice to finally have her mind on something other than Victor. Her students walked in, their motorcycle uniforms now off. Max and Rodger immediately sat down on the couches to relax while Fiona went over to greet Rump, who had been waiting patiently for the team to arrive. Caruso and Buzz, on the other hand, were still arguing about Michelle. They had been arguing on the entire ride to the lighthouse and was driving the other members insane.

"What are they arguing about?" Ms. Moynihan asked as she sat down in a chair and set her cane aside. Her voice was more that of annoyance rather than concern. It seemed the boys hadn't learned their lesson from yesterday.

"Caruso keeps trying to explain how he saw the new student transform into a dinosaur." Max said.

"Well it was just her foot... but still, I'm not sure how it's even possible." Fiona said.

"I told you, second-hand exposure." Rodger said, looking up from a magazine he had brought with him.

"I still don't believe it." Fiona said as she scratched Rump behind the ears. "It just sounds too unbelievable...isn't that right Rump?" Rump barked happily and licked her hand.

Joanne smiled and slowly shook her head. The reality of it hadn't quite set in yet. At first she just thought it was another prank or joke. She was about to start the lessons until she thought about the kids' words again. Had they just mentioned something about transformation? She looked back at them again, and made her way towards Caruso and Buzz, who looked like they were about to kill each other.

"Quit defending your girlfriend! She's a dinosaur!" Caruso yelled.

"She's not my girlfriend! And you're a dinosaur too! Does this mean I shouldn't trust you?!" Buzz yelled back, forming fists with his hands.

"Oh you want to fight now?" Caruso got into a fighting stance. "Well bring it!"

"Settle down, you two! It is clear you did not learn anything from yesterday, have you now?" Moynihan rapidly tapped her can on the floor to express her displeasure. This got their attention. Slowly, they relaxed their fists and let their hands hang loosely at their sides. "Have ye forgotten what I told you yesterday? About not wasting such energy on each other over ridiculous reasons?" She was now standing right next to them, her frown not lighting up as she looked back and forth between them. "What is it about this transformation that you two seem you have to argue over?"

Buzz and Caruso looked at each other, pondering on what they should tell the teacher. "Well..." Caruso began, "..during class, I saw that new kid..what's her name? Michelle?" Joanne nodded her head. "Well I saw her transform her foot."

"Yeah, but I'm sure he's just making it up." Buzz shrugged. "I mean, no one else saw it."

"No one, with the exception of a few, have ever seen you transform into dinosaurs." Moynihan explained. "Does that mean you aren't real?" She asked them and awaited a response from her mutant hunting team.

"But...how could there be another dino-human mutant?" Fiona walked over, holding Rump in her arms. "Weren't we the only ones who got exposed to that mutagen?"

At this question, Moynihan frowned slightly. She turned her head away, slightly bowed. She knew this day would come. There was something about Veloci's DNA experiments that she had never told them before. She regrets keeping it a secret for so long. She should have told them on day one. She should have warned them about the true extent of the DNA's powers. "There's...something I didn't tell you kids before, about that DNA."

Rodger frowned slightly. He set down his magazine and sat straight up in the couch. "Ms. M, are you saying you were hiding something from us?" She nodded. "But..why? Why would you do a thing like that?"

"It was to protect you. I didn't want you to worry so much..." Moynihan looked to the ground. "And I never thought this day would come so quickly." She interlocked her fingers and put them on her lap. "The DNA doesn't need to spread through direct contact with the substance. It is also airborne, spreading as small particles in the air, so small it's impossible to see. I do not yet know if it's possible you all are breathing out these particles, but in any spill, some DNA gets swept up in the air. From here, they are usually broken, or too small to make any real change. But if one were to accidentally inhale enough DNA, they could become mutated."

The others stared at her in shock. But she wasn't finished yet. "It is highly unlikely this girl has much control over her transformation, or even if she has perfect dinosaur DNA just as you do. I haven't figured out just what caused that gamma contamination that perfected your forms, but the odds of it happening to a sixth person is low. But I will not rule out that possibility. She might have a perfect dinosaur form just as you all do." Moynihan frowned and rubbed her head with her right hand. "But in order to transform perfectly, a master would have to have given her that ability."

"Like you?" Max asked. "You were the one who helped us completely control our dinosaur forms."

Moynihan nodded. "However, I wasn't the one who gave her that ability. There's only one other person who could have done that..." She didn't have to say it. The Dino Squad already knew who she was talking about. They know that there was another Velociraptor out there who could have easily given this kid the ability to control her dinosaur form.

And who knows how many others there could be...

WHOOOOSH!

The sleek metal doors of an elevator pulled apart, wide enough for a figure to stop inside. The figure leaned against the right wall as they pressed a few buttons. The elevator jerked a bit and then started to move up. Near the ceiling it displayed the floor it was on. The number kept rising until the number glowed red, and the elevator stopped. The doors pushed open, and the figure stepped out.

They made their way down a hallway. Doors were on both sides, and the floor was covered in tiles, and no carpeting. One of the lights on the roof was flickering. The figure groaned. They knew they had to change the light bulb sooner or later. They walked to the end of the hallway and turned left. The door was a darker color than the rest, and it had large letters on it that read 'Restricted Area.' The figure held up their hand and placed it on the scanner just outside the door. The small device whirred to life, and a faint red light scanned the hand. After a few seconds, the words 'Access Approved' flashed on the screen. There was a clicking sound, and the door was unlocked. The figure slowly opened the door, stepped inside, and shut the door behind them.

The figure walked forward, now entering a narrow metallic hallway. There were plenty of warning signs planted on the walls. The large door in front of them had a large yellow X on it and had a warning about what would happen to trespassers. The figure completely ignored these signs as they did not apply to them.

The doors opened up automatically for them as they walked by. There were scanners planted near the ceilings and were programmed to open up automatically for a select few individuals. But the final door would not open. Next to it was a card slot. The figure reached into their pocket and pulled out a silvery black card and swiped it in the slot. Another click, and the door opened up. The figure stepped out, and was now in a reddish room. It was hard to tell if the person had stepped back in time or not. It was Victor's lab!

Nearby, another figure leaned against the wall. They were about the same height as well. "Well..." said a feminine voice. "I thought you'd never get here."

The figure stepped into the light, revealing who they were. It was Michelle, the new student at Kittery High! Michelle still wore the same outfit as before. She strode into the large room, and scoffed at the new figure. "At least I got here." She put the card back in her pocket. "I still don't know why Victor wants me to spy on the children in that classroom..."

"He doesn't want you to spy." said the other figure. "Just..observe."

"And how is that different from spying, Oscura?" Michelle asked.

Oscura wore a sleeveless black top and blue jeans. Her hair was long and black as the night. She merely chuckled at Michelle. "Trust me, there's a difference." She pushed herself from the wall and walked towards the auburn-haired girl. She gave her a quick smirk and then walked straight past her. Michelle just rolled her eyes. Oscura always had an attitude, and not even Victor could change that. Oscura pulled out a chair and sat down on it. She swiveled it so she could face Michelle.

"So, Oscura," Michelle said as she leaned against the wall. "Any idea why Victor wanted to meet with us in here?"

Oscura simply shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. Not like I care anyway. I could easily pull off any task he lays out to me. There's nothing I can't do. Victor should make me his second-in-command..or even better. Leader." Michelle could have sworn she saw stars in Oscura's eyes as she said that. "Oh yes..then we could really get the progress going around here..."

"Dream on!" Michelle scoffed, stifling a laugh. "Like Victor would ever let you run. You're only seventeen years old!"

"Yeah? And you're only eighteen, so shut your trap." Oscura sneered. "You're just jealous that Victor prefers me over you."

"I am not!" Michelle said bitterly. Even though she and Oscura were partners, they just couldn't stop getting on each other's nerves. They both sometimes wondered why Victor paired the two up. They could only reason it was because they both shared the same secret, and it would help aid Victor in his quest of transforming the world back to the way it was when dinosaurs roamed. Michelle wasn't all for this idea, but she decided to stay anyway. She had nothing better to do with her time, and she was receiving excellent pay.

Oscura on the other hand absolutely loved Victor's plans. She didn't care much about money. She just wanted to wreak as much havoc as she could. She felt a bit bitter than Victor barely let the two go out and cause any real trouble. They were mainly sent out as spies to try and find any unusual activity, and to find the perfect dinosaurs. Oscura wanted to fight someone, to sink her claws and teeth into them, and make them plead for mercy. Perhaps this is why she rarely go to on any missions. She was the type of person who would rather attack first and ask questions later. For the moment, Victor didn't want to engage anyone unless he had a really good reason, well other than hating humankind in general that is.

Michelle had been recently assigned to take part in Ms. Moynihan's classroom. It was such a sudden mission she was almost ill-prepared for it. But Victor refused to tell her exactly why he wanted her in that particular classroom. She hadn't seen anything in particular interest in the room. It just seemed like any other science room to her. "It just seems like a waste of time." She said out loud. Oscura stared at her. "I mean, assigning me to an ordinary science class? Just..how ridiculous is that? I mean, there's nothing special about it. Why did Veloci make me waste my time?"

"I don't know..." Oscura said slowly, a dark grin spreading across her lips. "But why don't you ask him yourself?" She lifted a single finger, and pointed.

"Wha...?" Michelle turned towards the door, and her eyes widened. She hadn't heard the door reopen. There, in the doorway, stood Victor Veloci. He had a cross look on his face as he walked towards Michelle. "Veloci, sir! I-I-I didn't see you there..." She stammered, backing up against the wall. She knew the consequences for talking about Victor behind his back like that. "I'm sorry."

"I made you waste your time? Well sorry, I guess next time I should check to see if it's okay with you!" Victor said sarcastically.

"I said I was sorry! It's just that...you didn't tell me exactly WHAT I was looking for in that room. All I saw was a bunch of useless students..." Michelle tried to explain.

"You were to keep an eye on Caruso, and any of his close friends." Victor said, his expression softening. "That was your task. Just to observe them, and to tell me if you see anything unusual. If you did, you were not to engage them, just tell me."

"Caruso? Why?" Michelle tilted her head quizzically.

"I've confirmed he is the perfect Stegosaurus I've been searching for." Victor responded.

"No way..." Michelle looked at her hand, and for a few seconds, had it transform into a dinosaur's paw. "So we're not the only ones..." She wasn't sure what to make of this new information. She had always thought that only she and Oscura were 'infected' with dinosaur DNA.

Victor nodded. "And I suspect the other perfect dinosaurs are really teenagers as well. And since I usually spot the dinosaurs together, in a group, Caruso is part of a pack. But I have no idea what the names, or appearances, are of anyone he hangs out with. So although we can capture him, we aren't much closer to capturing the other four."

"When am I going to see some action?" Oscura rudely interrupted the two, walking over, hands held out in a questionable manner. "Come on! I want to sink my teeth into something!"

The anthropomorphic raptor held his hand up to make her stop talking. "Patience, your time will come soon enough. I have a task for you, Oscura." Victor turned to Michelle. "This tasks applies to you as well. I am sending both of you out to do something for me. "

"Finally! A real mission!" Oscura gleamed. "Am I going to tear someone up this time?"

"Not yet..." Oscura's smile fell and she slumped her shoulders in disappointment. "However, part of this plan will involve some..combat." Oscura looked up at him expectantly. "You two are going to work together to help me capture Caruso."

"Just him? Why not all of them?" Oscura asked.

"Oh don't worry. We'll get them all. But I need to know their weaknesses and strengths. And Caruso will provide that information for me..." Victor grinned.

"Like he's just going to give it away..." Michelle said, looking at her hand, transformed back into a dino paw. She flexed the claws. "I doubt he'll turn on his buddies just like that."

Victor chuckled. He knew very well Caruso wouldn't turn on his teammates. And he had prepared for this. "Oh he'll talk..." His eyes glowed and his head shifted, and soon took the form of a red Velociraptor's head. 'Trust me...' He grinned a toothy smile. 'And I have more planned for him... But that's not of your concern right now.' He turned his head towards the monitor. 'I have located the source of the radio waves that have been blocking me from seeing the perfect dinosaurs. I couldn't figure out what to do about it at first, but I believe I have the solution.' He faced the girls again. 'And that's where you come in, Michelle.'

"Me sir?" Michelle took a step forward. "What do you want me to do? Disable their equipment or what?"

'Not just disable it... sabotage it. I don't want Moynihan to be able to track me. I want you to cut off power to that lighthouse.' Victor Veloci told her. 'Do you understand your task?' He inquired. He wanted to be sure she understood the task, as he did not like repeating himself. She gave a simple nod, though she did frown with uncertainty. Victor ignored it, and turned to Oscura, who was eagerly awaiting her assignment. 'And as for you... your task is to lure them all outside.'

"And how shall I do that, sir?" Oscura questioned, rubbing her hands together with anticipation.

Victor narrowed his glowing eyes. 'Anyway you want...'

"Oh dear..." Michelle commented softly, rubbing her head. Victor must really be desperate if he was going to send Oscura out to cause some trouble. And she could tell Oscura was going to enjoy this. A little too much, in her opinion. But she didn't question Victor's orders. If this is the way he wanted to catch the Dino Squad, then so be it. But she wondered how she could infiltrate the lighthouse without being seen. If it was really high tech, how would she manage?

"Yes! Finally, some mischief!" Oscura said excitedly, acting like a kid in a candy store.

"What I don't understand is how am I going to get into that lighthouse? Just walk in, invited?" Michelle held her arms in the air. "Should I just ask to come on in? I'm sure they'll let me." She was being sarcastic and they knew it.

'Why that...' Victor trailed off, and a gleam appeared in his eyes. 'That sounds wonderful!'

"You mean..she's just going to ask..?" Oscura stared at Victor in mild shock.

'Yes...and here is how it's going to work...' Victor started to explain to them his plan in more detail.

On the wall on the other side of the room, the silhouettes of the three individuals could be seen. The shadow of a raptor, looking down at young female figures as they chatted away about their plans. After about a minute, the raptor shadow pointed away, seemingly giving off an nonverbal command. The two human figures bowed in respect, and faced the other way. In a matter of seconds, they started to change form. One of them appeared to have a large crest on their head, and was relatively large. The other was smaller and more slender, a long skinny neck head up high connected to a slender head. The two dashed off. The raptor simply turned and walked away. The mission has begun.

"And I win again!" Buzz threw his arms in the air, celebrating his victory. He turned to his opponent. "Ready for another round?"

"Only if you let me win..." His opponent, Caruso, grumbled. "This is the fifth time in a row you've beaten me."

Buzz had to laugh at that comment. Ms. Moynihan had wanted Buzz to help train Caruso with the video game. It was her punishment she assigned them. Provided, it wasn't a really harsh punishment, but it would still teach the two of them a lesson in getting along. They had really been at each other lately, and she couldn't understand why. And she had recalled how upset Caruso had been since he lost three minutes in a battle with her on the computer game. And she knew Buzz had lasted the longest of her students against her, so that influenced her decision to have Buzz and Caruso play with each other on the dinosaur game while she trained the other three.

"You know I can't do that, Caruso. Ms. Moynihan said you had to get better using your own skills, not by someone letting you win. You'll never improve that way." Buzz told his blue-haired friend.

"Well I'm getting sick of losing." Caruso complained. "This game must be rigged!"

"It's not rigged. You just haven't gotten the hang of the controls yet. Don't worry," Buzz assured his friend. "You'll get the hang of it soon." When Caruso turned to face him, Buzz couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"That's what you said about half an hour ago!" Caruso yelled, squeezing his controller tightly.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Watch your temper. We don't wanna have to pay for a new controller, now do we?" Buzz said teasingly. "And besides you can't expect to be an expert at this in a short period of time. So don't be so hard on yourself, Irwin. Just give it some more time."

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time on this game anyway. I should be at the store getting some more hair gel. My hair can't stay perfect on its own you know." Caruso ran his fingers through his hair. Buzz rolled his eyes. Typical Caruso and his typical vain ways. Even after all this time fighting to save the world, he hadn't changed much, caring so much about his appearance, and often regarding his hair as perfect. "If I don't get some soon, I'll have split ends!"

"I thought only girls worried about split ends." Buzz sniggered.

"Laugh while you can, Buzzard boy! My hair will be world famous one day!" Caruso declared.

"Sure..whatever." Buzz picked up his controller. "Now come on, Ms. Moynihan doesn't want this lesson to end until you beat me fair and square." Caruso groaned, but he couldn't go against Moynihan's orders. He picked up the controller and prepared himself for another losing battle. He glanced at the time, and groaned. There was still about four more hours before they all had to go home. And Moynihan wasn't going to let him stop playing the game until he either won or they had to go home. Considering his poor game skills, Caruso predicted that he would be stuck up in that room with Buzz the whole time, and so far that prediction is coming true.

"Are you sure it was a good idea having Caruso and Buzz in the same room together?" Rodger asked as he worked on another broken Chiller. "They good friends and all, but they have been fighting more frequently lately. I don't understand it, yo."

"Caruso's just a little edgy that he missed that big sale yesterday." Fiona tilted the spout of the bucket she was holding as she watered one of Moynihan's plants. "He'll get over it."

"And he's probably still a bit bitter at Buzz for what happened yesterday." Max said. He was sitting on the couch, waiting for Ms. Moynihan to return. She had gone into a restricted part of her house. She hadn't let the children venture in there, and while they never opposed, they had wondered just what she keeps in there. She said she would be back in a few minutes. The teens didn't mind, since they were in no hurry to leave. They enjoyed their visits to Moynihan's lighthouse, even though the majority of the time they were scouting for Victor Veloci or partaking in rigorous training.

"What Buzz did was immature." Rodger said as he rubbed a cloth onto the Chiller to dry it up a bit. He wiped his brow, and wondered, for a moment, if he would ever get a day off from working on the Chillers and Spillers. Just what was the team doing with these things anyway? It was like everyday something would go wrong with them.

"Although it was hilarious." Fiona chuckled to herself.

"As hilarious as it was, Buzz didn't have the right to do that." Max was also not happy with Buzz's behavior no more than he was with Caruso's behavior yesterday. Sure he found it amusing, but he was a bit upset with how those two behaved the other day. Caruso was worried about some stupid sale, and Buzz just wanted to get even. "He does owe Caruso an apology."

Fiona nodded. "As Caruso owes him an apology." The red-haired female set the bucket down, and strode towards Max. "Remember, he was giving Buzz a hard time about some person he was playing with on that game."

"No time to worry about that now." The kids turned to see Ms. Moynihan standing there, a worried expression on her face.

"What is it, Ms. M?" Max asked.

"The scanners picked up traces of primordial ooze just a few yards from the lighthouse!" Joanne said with a sense of urgency in her tone. And the kids shared her fear. Primordial ooze had never been this close to the lighthouse before. "Go out and investigate it! I'll go get Caruso and Buzz." With that, she disappeared into the room where Buzz and Caruso were.

"Let's go, team!" Max said as he made his way towards the door, quickly followed by Rodger and Fiona. They opened the door and exited out. Since the ooze signature was coming from so close to the lighthouse, they didn't bother taking their motorcycles with them. Instead they started jogging forward until they could see the familiar orange glow of the primordial ooze. There was a large metal can of it just laying there. There was a deep cut in it, causing the stuff to leak out.

"This has Victor Veloci written all over it." Max narrowed his eyes at the site.

"But this doesn't make sense. I don't detect any mutated lifeforms in the vicinity." Fiona knelt down further to get a closer look. "I don't see any animal tracks or anything."

Rodger held out his small radar and typed in a few numbers. The instrument lit up, and a thin bright line began making circles around the monitor. Then, in a few seconds, a tiny white dot began flashing on the screen. Rodger looked up at his two teammates. "Something did come in contact with this stuff. And it's heading off in that direction." He pointed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Caruso and Buzz quickly arrived on the scene. "Let's go!"

"And I'm coming with." Said another voice. The Dino Squad turned around and were surprised to see Moynihan running up to them. Due to her old age and injury, they didn't think she would ever participate in very many missions. She was usually just there to help guide them. They were the muscle. She was the brains. That's how it worked out. Moynihan caught up with the kids pretty quickly despite her old age.

"Ms. Moynihan...?" Max gaped. "But-But... You almost never directly joined on any of our missions in the past."

"Yeah...so why you coming this time?" Rodger inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"If my fears are confirmed, then you are going to need my help, Dino Squad." Moynihan said, eyes narrowed slightly. The next thing she did was something she hadn't done in so many years, and was hoping she'd never have to do again. The Dino Squad stepped back as she got a strange aura around her. Her eyes suddenly glowed yellow, and her body transformed. Her mouth became long, and her teeth became sharp. She grew larger in size, her legs grew slender, and a tail extended from behind. A purple crest appeared on her head. For one of the first times since her final battle with Victor, Joanne had transformed into her true self, a Velociraptor...

"Did they pick up the signal yet?" Oscura asked impatiently.

"I'm sure they did. We just have to wait for them. They'll be here shortly, I'm sure." Michelle explained, looking through the foliage to look for any signs of dinosaurs heading their direction. She and Oscura had planted some primordial ooze pretty close to the lighthouse to lure out the Dino Squad. It was part of Victor's plan.

"I hope they show up soon." Oscura said bitterly. "I'm growing tired of waiting." She flexed her hands as she would if she were a dinosaur.

"Haven't you ever heard of the phrase 'Patience is a Virtue', Osky?" Michelle said in a teasing manner.

Oscura gritted her teeth and pressed her fingers into tree bark. Her nails extended into talons, and Michelle could hear the sharp claws scraping against the bark. "Don't call me Osky..." She warned the auburn-haired girl. "I may be younger than you, but I'm no kid." She looked at her with glowing yellow eyes. "And to answer your stupid question, no I never heard of that stupid phrase."

Michelle chuckled. "I didn't think so." Michelle then started to hear some footsteps. She peered over, and squinted as hard as she could. It was hard to make it out, but she could see some figures coming their direction. Rather large figures in fact, dinosaurs! Michelle's eyes brightened, and a grin spread across her face. She turned to her partner, gesturing to her. "They're coming. Time to put this show on the road."

Oscura perked up, her eyes brightening with a gleam of mischief. "Finally!" She walked forward and peered over to see if the Dino Squad was still coming. They were, and now they could make out the different dinosaurs that formed the group. There was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Stegosaurus, a Styracosaurus, a Spinosaurus, a Pteranodon, and a Velociraptor. "Velociraptor...? Hmm... Could that be...?"

"Most likely." Michelle said. "So you remember the plan right?"

Oscura nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Michelle got on the ground. She lay on her back, and she tried to make herself appear as helpless as possible. "Let's make this look as convincing as possible, all right?"

Oscura grinned darkly and gave a nod. Even though this will just be pretend, it's still the entertainment she's been wanting since she joined Veloci's ranks. A symbol of a thinly built dinosaur appeared on her shoulder, and in her eyes, glowing yellow-orange. She leaned forward as her body grew ever thinner, and yet at the same time muscular. Her jaws extended, becoming thin and slender, serrated teeth now decorating her jawline. Her skin changed to red and orange as her hands stretched out, two long claws appearing and a third opposable claw as well appeared. Her legs grew thin and muscular, two claws serving as a foothold, a third raising above the ground in a small sickle shape and a fourth serving as a dangerous dewclaw. A long thin tail grew out of her body and her neck stretched out, raising high above the body. She screeched. She had turned into a Troodon.

'All right, time to put Victor's plan into motion.' Oscura told Michelle with her thoughts. She opened up her jaws, and let out a loud hiss, hoping the Dino Squad could hear her. She then lunged on her partner, pretending to attack her while at the same time trying to look savage. She clamped onto her arm, drawing some blood. She knew she had to injure Michelle in some manner to make it look convincing. Michelle could hear the footsteps getting closer and began to play out her part.

"AAAAAH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Michelle screamed, gently pushing Oscura's head to make it look like she was struggling. "A DINOSAUR IS ATTACKING ME!"

The screams soon fell on the Dino Squad's ears. Max's massive T-Rex head looked over. He could see someone pinned down by what appeared to be a very thin raptor, and he could smell blood. 'Someone's in trouble!' He said in his mind, broadcasting it to his team mates. Buzz flew up into the sky to get a better view. With his eagle-like vision, he soon recognized the individual.

'It's Michelle! And some..thing is attacking her!' Buzz said urgently.

'Uh yeah..we can kind of tell.' Caruso said sarcastically, earning a verbal growl from Fiona.

'No time to joke! Let's help her!' Fiona said as she was about to run ahead of the team. Ms. Moynihan, however, stopped her.

'We cannot let her see us as dinosaurs.' Joanne warned Fiona.

Fiona reared her head back. 'Then what was the point of us turning into dinosaurs if we...'

Moynihan shook her green-skinned head. 'I didn't know there was going to be a human out here. Sorry children, but we must deal with this without our dinosaur forms. We don't want Michelle to report us, now do we?'

Caruso almost laughed at this. 'Report us? Why? She is a dinosaur herself.'

Buzz shifted his harsh gaze to Caruso. He's about had enough of Caruso's accusations of Michelle being a dinosaur. So far, no one had been able to come up with any positive evidence of her being a dinosaur. They only had Caruso's witness to it, and he hasn't always been reliable. He has lied to them before, so they weren't sure if this was just another one of his lies or not. 'You just won't shut up about that, will you?'

'Not now, you two!' Rodger shouted. 'She's in trouble! And you two are... Ugh!' He had to shut himself up before he lost his temper. He quickly changed back into a human. Without saying a word he ran to where the screaming was coming from. Buzz and Caruso looked at each other, and changed back and followed Rodger.

'Should we go after them?' Max asked, looking at Ms. Moynihan. 'Or do you think they can handle it? The dinosaur I saw didn't seem that strong...'

'No, we should help them.' Moynihan said. 'I could smell it. It's a Troodon. Clever dinosaur. Not very strong, but still cunning, and a trickster. They're a handful, and their teeth are worse than a T-Rex's. They can shred flesh up pretty badly' She transformed back herself. She looked up at Max and Fiona. "Come on!"

As Ms. Moynihan struggled to catch up with Buzz, Caruso, and Rodger, Fiona and Max changed back as well. Max held the Chiller and Fiona held the Spiller. They ran as fast as they could, and nearly bumped into Moynihan as they did so. They soon caught up with the others and stopped in their tracks. Ahead of them, in an open area, they could see the new student, Michelle, struggling to get a Troodon off of her. The Troodon had attacked Rodger, and shredded up his arm pretty good. Without a weapon, Rodger didn't stand much of a change.

Buzz and Caruso were nearby, trying to fight the Troodon with sticks and rocks. But it just ignored them, and continued to attack Michelle. They could easily beat the Troodon if they could turn into dinosaurs themselves. But they couldn't change in front of Michelle. She'd see them. Buzz turned and saw the remainder of the team was coming. "Moynihan! How do we get the Troodon away from here?"

"Use the Chiller and Spiller!" Joanne told them. "Return the Troodon to its original form!" She didn't know why she had to tell them that. They should have already known what to do.

"But..we don't have any weapons!" Caruso shouted, tossing another rock at the Troodon. This got its attention. It shifted its head towards him, baring its teeth. "Well..I got its attention..." He said, backing up a few steps.

"Way to go Caruso." Buzz said, picking up a stick to attack the red and orange Troodon with.

"Don't let it bite you!" Moynihan warned. "Troodons have a cocktail of bacteria in their saliva! It'll infect you and make you sick!"

Michelle's eyes widened at this. Victor hadn't told them about this. And she was sure Oscura didn't know either. This would probably make Oscura happy, knowing she was more dangerous than she thought. She stared at the bite marks Oscura gave her to make the acting look good. Maybe this won't end so badly after all. She could still get in the lighthouse, and it just made the ruse all the more convincing. She smiled, though it was unseen by the others.

Ms. Moynihan caught sight of Rodger, who was trying to stop the bleeding. "Rodger!" She went to his side, and looked at his arm. Luckily the Troodon only bit him once, but it did a heck of a job on him. Its teeth had shredded into his skin, leaving being several short gashes, though they did not go deep into the skin. At first glance, one would believe there wasn't much to worry about, but Joanne knew better.

Shortly, Fiona and Max arrived on the scene, the Chiller and Spiller ready. They go the Troodon in their sights. "There it is!" Max ran forward with the Chiller, his finger on the trigger. The Troodon looked in his direction, and its eyes seemed to widen with fear. Max quickly pulled the trigger, sending a wave of cold air at the dinosaur. Reacting fast, the Troodon ducked, allowing the cold blast to pass harmlessly over it. The Troodon then leapt over Max and Fiona, and took off. "Come on, after it!"

"Not so fast, Max!" Ms. Moynihan called out to the jock as she tried to help support Rodger. The african-american was starting to succumb to the infection in his arm, his hand on his head now. "We have to get Rodger and Michelle back to the lighthouse for some treatment! Troodon saliva is quite dangerous, don't ya know?"

"Um..no I did not know." Max said to the old Scottish woman.

"Rodger!" Fiona looked alarmed at her friend's condition. "Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Rodger said, rubbing his head. "I'll be fine..."

"He needs to take some medicine." Moynihan said to Fiona. "Don't worry. I have something that'll do the trick."

Buzz knelt by Michelle's side, and offered his hand. "You all right?"

Weakly and starting to succumb to the infection, Michelle took his hand, and struggled to gain her footing. "I'll be all right... Thanks for coming to my rescue." She said, smiling a little. She knew if she kept up the acting, she'd be inside the lighthouse in no time. Victor was right. They were rather gullible, unable to detect a trap. Buzz smiled as he helped support her, but he didn't respond.

Oscura ran behind some foliage, and changed back. She fulfilled her part of the plan, although she didn't like the idea of running off like a coward. But it was for a good reason. She had to make it look like they defeated her, and make it look like she just vanished. The Dino Squad had taken care of the primordial ooze that was on the floor, and was now helping the two injured ones, Rodger and Michelle, back to their lair.

Oscura grinned. She pulled out her communicator and pressed the red button. "The plan is in motion, sir. They fell for it." She said into the microphone.

"Yeowch!" Rodger yelped as Ms. Moynihan applied pressure to the injury he had received from the Troodon. The cloth was covered with an antiseptic to help clear the infection. Even though it is supposed to help Rodger, it still hurt. He tried to pull his arm away but, despite her old age, Moynihan had a strong grip.

"I'm sorry, Rodger, but you don't want this to get infected, do you?" Moynihan asked as she placed the cloth down and picked up the medication she mentioned earlier. She poured a bit of the contents onto the cloth and pressed it against Rodger's arm. The teen winced in pain, but didn't put up a struggle. "I know it hurts, but it'll kill off the Troodon bacteria."

"Are you sure, Ms. M?" Rodger said through clenched teeth. The medicine was stinging horribly. It was worse than getting a splinter removed. It was more like getting a shot on the gums and the gums were swollen and hyper sensitive.

"Oh yes, Rodger, I'm sure." Ms. Moynihan assured him. She removed the cloth and grabbed a large gauze, like what doctors use to help stop the bleeding, and pressed it against Rodger's wound. She took some medical bandages and wound them around his arm tightly, but not too tight. She didn't want to cut off his circulation. "There, finished."

Rodger smiled, and got up from the seat. "And how long do I keep this on?" He asked, pointing to the bandage. He tried his best not to touch it, although it did start to itch a little. If he touched it, he would recoil in pain.

"A couple days." Ms Moynihan told him. "Your arm should be all better by then."

Rodger nodded. He turned to their guest, Michelle, who was sitting down on the couch with Fiona, who was applying the medicine to her arm. Michelle was having as much difficulty dealing with the stinging as Rodger had. "Are you sure it was safe to bring her with?" He asked Ms. Moynihan. "I mean, what if she finds out about..."

"So long as we keep her in this one area of the lighthouse, she won't know." Moynihan said softly so Michelle couldn't hear them. "Besides we didn't have much choice. Modern science doesn't have a cure for Troodon poison."

"You've got a point." Rodger stated, but still sounding concerned. "Still..I don't think we should take our eyes off of her. She could wander off and find something we don't want her to see." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Max standing next to him.

"Relax Rodger. She's just as injured as you are, and all of us are in here. What could she possibly do?" He turned to see Buzz struggling to hold Michelle still while Fiona applied the painful medicine to her arm. "She's harmless."

"Harmless? That's a laugh!" Caruso walked up from behind, his arms folded, and the expression on his face told them he wasn't happy. He was the only one opposed to bringing Michelle into the lair. "Bringing her here was a terrible idea. What if she works for Veloci? What if she's spying on us? What if this is all an elaborate scheme to let down our guard?!"

"Dude..you're paranoid." Rodger explained as he shifted his arm. He felt a sharp pain and yelped, holding his arm. "That..was one vicious Troodon."

"Oh relax, Caruso." Ms. Moynihan smiled at him. "Michelle isn't going to do us harm."

"But still..." Caruso began.

"Look, would it make you feel better if we send Michelle on her way home after Buzz and Fiona are through treating her injuries?" Max asked, sounding just slightly annoyed with Caruso's attitude about this girl.

"Ow..." Michelle grumbled as Fiona wrapped up a bandage around her arm.

"Hold still. It's almost over." Fiona told her, tightening the bandage to stop the bleeding.

"Doesn't seem like your friend doesn't like me very much." Michelle commented. She was trying to keep her mind off of the stinging pain.

Fiona looked over her shoulders, and saw Caruso standing with the others, looking rather disgruntled. Fiona sighed. He was obviously ranting about his displeasure in having Michelle in the lighthouse. Fiona did see his point, since Michelle was a stranger and all. But they were all in the lighthouse and they could all keep an eye on her. There wasn't really anything that could go wrong.

"Oh you mean Caruso? Don't worry about him." Fiona told her. "He's a nice guy despite his attitude."

"Heheheh. I'll believe it when I see it." Michelle said, rolling her eyes a little.

Buzz chuckled at that comment. "Took me a little while to get used to his attitude as well." Buzz recalled how they all first met on that field trip. Well technically they didn't just meet, but it was the first time they had to work as a team and that first mission allowed them to get to know each other better. Buzz hadn't liked Caruso much because of his vain attitude. And he believed the feeling was mutual. He sensed Caruso didn't feel comfortable working with him due to his appearance. Buzz was used to this attitude. In the past, people have judged him as being 'dangerous' simply because he dressed up like a punk.

But after a few missions, tensions had lightened up, and they grew closer, eventually becoming true friends. While the others still tease him once in a while for his appearance, he knows it's all in good fun and they don't mean to hurt his feelings. They, overall, accepted his interests, the way he was. He was glad he could trust them, to confide in them, that they could see he was a really nice guy despite his looks. McFinn used to give him a hard time for his looks, but even he had a change of heart when he saw that Buzz wasn't such a bad guy after all, and there was no reason to be so afraid of him.

"Fiona is right, though." Buzz said. "Even though Caruso has acted selfishly in the past, he comes through for the team in the end, and he does genuinely care about us. He's not really a bad guy. I'm sure if you two gave each other a chance, you could be friends."

Michelle placed a hand on her arm, wincing as pain shot through it. She quickly removed her arm, and gave a low sigh. She glanced over at Caruso and the others, pondering what they were talking about her. No doubt her. Caruso was probably trying to talk the others into throwing her out. She frowned slightly. If he succeeded, she wouldn't be able to complete her mission. "I'll consider it." She told Buzz before going into deep thought.

She knew there had to be a room in this place somewhere where Moynihan kept her monitoring equipment and her computers. She would have to find someway to locate it. She suspected it would probably be on a higher floor. But she couldn't just ask them. They would become suspicious and realize Caruso was right. She couldn't have that happen. She looked around herself. There was no way she could just sneak away. Someone would spot her quickly.

She could go outside and act like she was going home, and then just sneak back inside. But then, this could also be tricky. She could still get spotted. If the radar equipment was as good as she had been told, Ms. Moynihan would know she was still around the lighthouse parameters. That is, if she were in the equipment room. There was chance she could pull this off. If she waited until the others left, then Moynihan would be all alone, and it would be easier to sneak around the lighthouse with less eyes around to see her.

Or maybe she could find another excuse, like she had to use the bathroom. But what if the bathroom was on the bottom floor? She couldn't very well get lost upstairs if the bathroom were downstairs, could she? There wasn't a high chance of the bathroom being anywhere near the location she needed to be. If she asked for an escort, that would look rather odd.

And on top of that, exactly how was she going to pull this off? Victor had instructed her to implant a virus, claiming it would be more subtle. Michelle mentally rolled her eyes. Victor didn't know the first thing about being subtle. The guy drives around in a red van with a dinosaur face on it, and he wonders how the Dino Squad evaded him before. She did admit though, the virus thing would be a quick solution, and it would make it difficult to recover.

She had also been considering Oscura's idea. Oscura said that the best way to sabotage the equipment would be to completely destroy it, to go dino and just tear up all the wires and such. This would be just as devasting, though far less subtle. She would have the make a clean getaway, since someone was bound to hear it. Such a move would make the equipment harder to recover, since they would have to buy whole new equipment. And Ms. Moynihan wasn't as rich as Veloci was. She couldn't just throw money away to get new equipment.

She closed her eyes and placed her hands gingerly on her head. She was becoming frustrated as to how she was going to pull this off. She would have to quickly decide how she was going to put this plan in motion. She didn't want to know what would happen to her if she failed and Victor found out about it. She guessed she'll just have to wing it and hope it'll work. She then remembered Caruso. He was the specific target of Veloci, for now. She had been told to tag him with a transmitter without being caught. The transmitter was small and designed to cling to the skin without causing an itch and was so tiny the recipient couldn't feel it.

The transmitter had another feature which will prove useful later on. With a push of a button, the transmitter can send a wave of disabling electricity through the body, paralyzing the victim and making them easier to catch. It was Oscura's idea to add in that feature, and Victor loved the idea.

"Hey..." She was shaken out of her thoughts when Buzz nudged her gently. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, you were spacing out there. Is something wrong?" Fiona asked, standing next to Buzz and looking over his shoulder.

"Oh? Oh! I'm fine." Michelle said quickly, slowly rising up off the couch.

"Michelle, is your house far from here?" Michelle turned to see Ms. Moynihan walking over, Caruso standing by her side with his arms crossed.

"Why?" Michelle asked.

"Because you've been treated, so there's no more reasons for you to be in the lighthouse..." Caruso muttered under his breath, and just earned himself a glare from Ms. Moynihan.

"I'm sure your folks must be wondering where you are." Moynihan said gently. "And it is getting late. Perhaps you should get going." Joanne was right. The sun was starting to set. She'd been there longer than she thought.

Then Michelle realized this could work in her favor. She could go with her one plan, to pretend to leave, and wait for the others to go home. She assumed they would be leaving soon anyway. She would just have to be patient and wait until they left. If Moynihan stayed downstairs to wave goodbye to them, she could sneak back in and follow the old woman up to the equipment room. But then...what of Rump, their dog? She eyed the dog cautiously, wondering what she was going to do with him.

"Are you worried about Rump?" Joanne asked her. "Don't worry about Rump. He's gotten a little sick earlier today, so he won't do anything to you."

Perfect, just the news she needed to hear. Okay it was settled. Michelle knew how she was going to pull this off. Without hesitating, she answered Moynihan's question. "No I don't live far from here." She made her way towards the door. "I'll be able to walk there on my own." As she reached for the door handle, she turned back and gave the Dino Squad a smile of appreciation. "And thank you for rescuing me from that horrible Troodon."

"It was no biggie!" Buzz said with a big grin on his face.

"Just be more careful next time, all right?" Max said. "Next time we might not be there to help you."

Michelle chuckled. "I'll keep note of that. See ya." She walked out the door and closed the door behind her. She started to walk away, assuming the Dino Squad was watching her. She started to make her way towards the road, not looking back. When she was out of sight of the lighthouse, she made a sharp turn, and behind a tree to disappear. She lay low to the ground, and peered out to the lighthouse. She was close enough so she could see the children leave, but far enough so they can't see her snooping around.

She heard a low ring, and pulled out her communicator. She held it to her ear, and heard Oscura's voice on the other end. She groaned. Oscura had seen her leave the lighthouse and somehow could tell she hadn't done anything yet. "Yes, I left the lighthouse. No I did not sabotage their equipment yet... Why? Because there were too many of them around!" Oscura was definitely not happy with her. "You aren't in charge of this mission you know! Look I know what I'm doing. Trust me...their equipment will be gone by tonight. ...the transmitter? Oh no.. I didn't plant it on the boy yet..."

Michelle nearly banged her head against the tree. She had forgotten all about tagging Caruso. She was too lost in her thoughts on how she was going to pull off this plan. And when Caruso was near enough for her to tag, she blew the opportunity. "Oh dear...I'll find some way to get the transmitter on that boy." She continued to listen to Oscura's rants when she saw the door to the lighthouse open up. "Shhhh! They're coming out.. I'll contact you when the mission has been completed." She closed her communicator before Oscura could get out another word, and waited patiently for the teenagers to leave.

"I still don't trust that Michelle girl." Caruso said as he put on his Stego-Cycle helmet. "It just seems too...weird for..."

"Too weird for what?" Max asked. "I don't get what you have against her. She hasn't done anything to harm us."

"She was too close to the lighthouse." Caruso insisted. "No one comes way out here... Well no one except us. But still..just what was she doing here? Don't you think it was too much of a coincidence that she just happened to be here, this close to the lighthouse, just due to exploring?"

"...okay I'm going to try to agree that what you just said made any sense." Buzz said, scratching his head.

Caruso groaned. He knew he wasn't going anywhere with this. And he started to wonder if he was just overreacting. Maybe he really had imagined the transformation. Maybe it was just a coincidence that Michelle was close to the lighthouse. She probably wasn't a threat after all. He started to feel a little guilty about the way he treated her. Maybe he should have given her a chance.

"Look guys..I'm sorry.. I guess you're right." Irwin said, slumping his shoulders. "Maybe I am making a big deal out of this. Maybe I should apologize to her."

"You can apologize to her if you want if we pass her on the way." Max said. He jumped onto his motorcycle.

"I'm sure we'll her on the road." Rodger told him. "If you wish to stop to talk to her, we won't stop you."

Michelle watched from a safe distance. The teenagers were all on their motor-bikes now and headed along the road. It wasn't far from the patch of forest she was hiding from. She almost decided to remain hidden when she realized she still need to plant the tracker on Caruso's body. This could provide the only other opportunity she'll ever have. She decided to walk near the road and walk down, to make it appear as though she's been walking this whole time. She didn't see how they'd become suspicious of that.

The sound of the motorcycles got louder, and she grew a little tense. They could just pass by her, or one would stop and it would be the wrong one. She felt the wind whoosh as four motorcycles drove past her. She realized the fifth was missing. She looked around, and heard the sound of metal clanging. She whirled around and saw the Stego-Cycle laying on its side. She then saw someone jump out of the seat and slowly walk towards her.

He pulled off his helmet, revealing himself to be Caruso. "Hey..." He said. His tone was different this time around. He sounded apologetic, and calm, no longer harsh or brash as he had before. "I just wanted to...apologize for how I treated you before."

Michelle walked closer to him. She hid the transmitter in the palm of her hand. "Oh?"

"Yeah..I guess I'm just so jumpy because of monster..." Caruso quickly caught himself. "Monster tests.. Yeah, the monstrous tests at school. They put me through a lot of stress."

Michelle chuckled light-heartedly. "Yeah I know what you mean. Those tests are murder!"

Caruso nodded. He held out his hand. "So...no hard feelings right?"

Michelle looked at his hand, and her eyes slowly trailed to her own hand. She looked up at him in the face, and smiled. She thrust forth her hand and clasped his, and shook it. "Right." As she shook his hand, the transmitter clung deeply into his skin without his awareness of it. At least one part of the plan was now out of the way.

Caruso returned the smile, and headed back to his bike. "Well, see you Monday in class then." He said as he got back onto his motorcycle and drove away. Michelle simply waved goodbye to him, watching him as he disappeared onto the road.

When he was out of earshot, Michelle smirked to herself. "The fool...He doesn't even realize he walked straight into a trap..." She turned towards the forest and disappeared into it, and started to head back towards the lighthouse again. She still needed to fulfill her other part of the plan. All alone, she didn't think Joanne could do much to defend herself. And with Rump sick, getting in the house without being spotted won't be too difficult either.

"Are you hungry Rump?" Joanne asked as she knelt by the white dog. She placed a hand on him gently and stroked his fur. Rump whined a little, lifting his head up to look at her. He had a slight fever, and was taking it easy. He didn't attempt to get up though, and he did not accept Moynihan's food offer. He must not be hungry right now. "Oh you poor thing..."

She had to check on the monitoring equipment now. She knew Rump would be all right on his own. He just needed to rest. He would be fine by tomorrow or the next day. He just caught a slight dog cold, is all. She headed upstairs where she kept her equipment she used to keep an eye on Veloci. To this day she'll never understand his hatred for mankind. But she already tried to reason with him and it didn't work.

"I often wonder how that mind of his works." Moynihan said softly to herself. As she reached the top of the stairs she made her way towards a group of computers. They were all turned off. She did this so that Victor would not be able to track down the source of the hacking. She suspected he already knew she was meddling with him, but since he didn't know where she was or track her down through cyberspace, there wasn't much he could do to stop her.

She smirked to herself. Victor was clever all right, but not as clever as she was. She's been doing this for years, and has not yet once got caught. Thanks to her knowledge of computers, she's been able to thwarted him enough to ensure his plans don't pull through. It had been hard working along, and with the Dino Squad with her, a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Now she had help to defend the world from Victor.

She felt a little guilty about something, now that she thought of it. Maybe she should have taught the kids how to intercept Victor. After all, they must have computers at home, or at least Rodger, being the geek of the class and all. She wasn't sure if it would ever have come in handy, but maybe there would come a time when she would be unable to monitor Victor, and someone else would have to temporarily take her place...

She shook her head. She realized she shouldn't be worrying about this right now. It had been pretty quiet lately when it came to mutant monsters. Other than the ooze they found earlier and Victor visiting the school, there hasn't been much cause for alarm. There wasn't anything to worry about right now. She strode towards the computer and sat down. She pressed the power button and it whirred to life. The light green monitor flickered on, displaying information she needed to see.

The monitor was not registering anything at the moment. She sighed with relief. Looks like it was going to be another quiet night. She shut down the computer and got up from the chair. She was about to head towards the stairs when she realized she forgot to shut off her laptop computer, which was still sitting on her desk. She slowly shook her head. She felt a bit foolish she left the computer on and now the batteries were low. She sighed. She'll have to buy more batteries tomorrow morning.

She then remembered that she told the kids to meet her early tomorrow morning. It was the weekend after all. She wanted to get some extra training in and felt Saturday would be the perfect day to do so. "I'll ask Rodger to help me with the computer." She told herself as she shut the laptop computer to preserve what little power the battery had left.

Back downstairs, Rump's ears started to twitch. His eyes snapped open, and he lifted up his head. He saw the doorknob moving, and he began to whimper a little. Someone was coming inside! He struggled to his feet and began to growl softly as the figure strode inside the house. His expression softened slightly when he saw it was Michelle. But he could sense something was not right about her. He somehow sensed she was in this house without permission, and believed her to be an intruder. He slowly climbed to his feet and opened his jaws to bark at her, but in a flash, a pair of claws wrapped around his neck. He yelped quietly as a snout full of sharp teeth pressed against his head.

'Now be a good little doggie and I won't have to tear your head off...' Michelle told him as she dropped him back on the floor. She quickly changed her head and hand back into a human and looked to the stairs. She chuckled softly. This is probably where Ms. Moynihan went, and probably where she's going to find the equipment room.

She started to walk towards the stairs when Rump suddenly glowed. She turned and saw that Rump was growing larger, a mane sprouted from his head, his jaws grew massive, his feet grew large sharp claws. Her eyes widened slightly. She hadn't been expecting this, especially from a sick pitbull terrier. The dog growled at her and lunged. Quickly Michelle ducked, letting Rump sail over her. The dog reacted fast and turned around and went after her again.

Michelle only had seconds to react. She could guess, just by looking at him, that he had a very powerful bite. She would have to avoid that maw of his. Rump was now in the air, his jaws wide open for the attack. She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth, now transformed into fangs. Her hand glowed to reveal a black paw with three hooked claws. She pulled her arm back and struck forward. The claws slashed into Rump's side, blood splattering from them, and the dog fell to the ground, letting out a loud yelp of pain...

AAAARRRRROOOOOOOOOO!

Ms. Moynihan's eyes widened as she heard the howl. "Rump!" She made her way towards the steps as fast as she could, and walked down the steps as fast as she could. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she quickly looked around. She finally saw Rump laying on the floor, whimpering as he tried to get up. He had three gashes in his side, and was bleeding a bit heavily from them. "Rump!" She yelled again as she rushed to his side, not noticing a figure behind her going up the steps.

She placed a hand on his furry face, trying to calm him down. "You poor thing... What happened to you?" She didn't see the intruder anywhere, but the door was wide open. Someone was inside that's for sure. She cautiously looked around. The attacker was no where in sight, and she couldn't hear any signs of things being packed, and she couldn't hear any footsteps.

"Who's here?!" Moynihan said loudly, holding Rump in her arms gently. "Come on out and show yourself!" There was total silence. "I'm warning you..you don't want to make me angry!" The warning fell on deaf ears. Whoever was in the house, they either didn't hear her or were just plain ignoring her. She gently set Rump on the couch, careful not to injure him more. "Answer me!"

She heard a laugh coming from upstairs. It took her a few seconds before she realized just what the intruder was after: the monitoring equipment! She gasped and made her way back upstairs. She could only hope she wasn't too late. She reached the top of the steps and looked around the room. She narrowed her eyes in slight confusion. There wasn't anyone up here either. And nothing seemed out of place. "Now where did they go...?"

Michelle chuckled. Her plan was working perfectly. She knew she could trick Ms. Moynihan to lead her into the equipment room. But she never suspected that this one large room would be it. There wasn't a lot in here, it seemed. But then again, she couldn't afford much equipment, so it would be understandable. She watched as Ms. Moynihan began cautiously walking around the room. Michelle grinned darkly. She would just have to take out the old woman and then she could sabotage the equipment.

Ms. Moynihan could have easily given up on the search. If her eyes couldn't see anything, it would mean no one was there, right? The answer to that would be wrong. As a Velociraptor, Moynihan learned there was so much more to tell than just by sight. There was also her sense of smell, and her hearing. She closed her eyes. Her face grew green, and her jawline extended until her head was now a raptor's head. Michelle looked a little surprised. She had seen this before. Victor would sometimes do this.

Ms. Moynihan held her nose up in the air to pick up scents in the air. She caught whiff of something unfamiliar, and snarled. She shifted her gaze towards one part of the room, where Michelle was hiding. She narrowed her eyes and walked over there, and shifted her head back to normal. "I know you are there. Show yourself!"

"Heheheh..." Michelle chuckled as she walked out of her hiding place. She smirked at Moynihan's shocked expression. "I bet you weren't expecting me eh?" She asked, flexing her fingers a bit.

"Michelle? What are you doing back here?" Joanne asked. She then noticed the blood on Michelle's hands, and gasped. "You..attacked Rump? Why?"

"To keep him from attacking me of course." Michelle told her, licking the blood off her fingers. "I must apologize. This is such an..awkward way to talk isn't it? Should we talk as humans, or as dinosaurs?" She looked at the woman straight in the eyes. "What do you think, Ms. Moynihan..or should I call you Velociraptor Lady..?"

Ms. Moynihan was at a loss of words. "H-How did you..?"

"How did I know?" Michelle chuckled. "I'm sorry, but you should already know that.."

A symbol of a dinosaur with a crest appeared on her chest, and in her eyes. Her body began to glow, and darken until it was pitch black. Her jaws elongated and serrated teeth, like miniature T-Rex teeth, grew from her jawline. Her hands stretched, forming three sharp talons. Her feet flexed and bulged, and four talons emerged from her food. A black tail shot out from behind her. White markings and a red underside appeared on her body. On top of her head, a prominent crest, red with orange streaks, grew, and a short feather mane grew from the nape of her neck.

Michelle had transformed into a Guanlong Wucaii. It was the earliest known ancestor to T-Rex. Despite the head ornament, it didn't serve a head butting purpose, but was rather just a display, to allow Guanlongs to recognize one another. Unfortunately this limited her field of vision somewhat, but she could deal with it.

"So Caruso was right... You can transform..." Ms. Moynihan said after witnessing the transformation. "But tell me...that other dinosaur... That wasn't a mutated Troodon. It was perfectly formed. Was that your comrade?" Ms. Moynihan asked, sounding all calm.

'...y-y-yes...' Michelle was a bit surprised that Moynihan knew this. 'How did you know?'

"Actually I didn't. Thank you for telling me." Ms. Moynihan smiled a bit at her own little trick.

Michelle's head snapped back, growling softly. 'Why you...' Her claws fingers flexed impatiently, ready to tear into the old woman just for payback for her little trick. She was not supposed to reveal any information to the Dino Squad.

"I'm not as foolish as Victor believes." Joanne explained as she took out a small cloth. There was a dot of red blood on it. "This is your blood. I knew right away it was contaminated with dinosaur blood. The only reason I didn't say anything earlier is that I didn't want to draw attention to you, or worry Caruso. He was the most suspicious of you." She put the cloth away. "I wasn't sure if you learned how to transform or not, but I see that you have..."

'Wait wait..how did you know my blood was contaminated?' Michelle asked, her glowing eyes widening a little.

"I can smell it. You see, human blood has a certain smell to it, and when contaminated with dinosaur DNA, it gets a unique scent, like a cross between dinosaur and human. I can detect it, being a dinosaur myself." Ms. Moynihan explained. "If this was a plan to get into the lighthouse without arousing any suspicions, you could have at least tried a plan that didn't involve your blood being spilled on the ground."

'Well you seem rather calm.' Michelle noted, bobbing her head up and down. 'I'm about to sabotage your equipment, and you aren't doing... oops..' She realized she said too much. Ms. Moynihan's eyes started to glow as well.

Ms. Moynihan lifted up her cane and pointed it at Michelle. "You've been sent by Victor, haven't you?!" She snapped, sounding angry. Once again Michelle realized she had been tricked. The old woman was indeed clever. "I'll give you one warning. Leave now, and I'll pretend this encounter didn't happen. Refuse, and I'll give you something to remember me by."

Michelle was shocked to see Moynihan act so aggressively. Maybe she did still have some dinosaur psychology in her after all. She would have to tell Victor about this. He may find it rather interesting. She ignored Moynihan's finger pointing towards the stairs, and simply laughed in a dinosaur manner. 'I'm sorry..but I ain't leaving. I have some business to take care off...'

"Then you leave me with no other choice..." Moynihan started to glow, but before she could transform, Michelle slammed into her, knocking her down. She grunted, and struggled to get back up, but something hard slammed into the back of her head. She hit the ground again with a thud, and blackness overcame her. Her eyes closed.

Michelle stood over Ms. Moynihan's still form. She was back in human form, holding a large object in her hand. It was Moynihan's laptop computer. She had quickly picked it up and whacked Moynihan in the head with it to knock her out. She dropped the computer and let it smash into the floor. She ignored the sparks shooting out from it. She made her way towards the monitoring equipment, grinning. She transformed back into her dinosaur self, and went to work. She started to rip at the wires, tearing them out of the sockets before ripping them apart. She used her head to knock the computers off the tables, letting them smash into the floor, and explode as the monitors broke open. Glass shattered all over the floor.

She jumped up on the table, using her feet to kick at the other equipment, smashing it under her weight. The heavy stuff she simply knocked over, and it would break due to the impact on the hard floor. She swung her tail sharply to the side, causing the largest computer to fall down. It didn't break right away, but she would get to it later. There was still other equipment she had to destroy, other computers in the room. She rushed to another part of the room, and clamped her jaws on a smaller computer, and ripped it away from the wall. The wires snapped in her jaws, causing the computer to fall down, and the monitor smashed open.

She repeated this behavior until she had completely destroyed all the other computers, all except for two. The laptop computer might still work, if its lucky, and the large computer where the monitor hadn't smashed open. She strode towards the laptop, and gazed at Ms. Moynihan. She was still knocked out, and Michelle grinned a dino grin. She clamped her jaws on the laptop and, to ensure no one would be able to use it, clenched her jaws tightly, causing the part of the computer where the hard drive was stored to be shattered. She dropped the computer, now completely worthless.

She then turned around. There was just one last computer to take care of. She slowly walked towards it. The monitor was pitch black. It wasn't turned on. She stood over it, and lifted up her leg. She tightened her muscles up as she built up energy in her leg for the kick. She struck down, a loud crack ringing out. Sparks crackled and shot out. Quickly she pulled her leg out before the computer exploded, sending sparks all over the room. Luckily it didn't spark a fire. The sparks probably too weak to do much damage.

Just then she felt something press against her throat. She reared her head back as something heavy jumped on her. She backed up, and began to struggle. Just what was going on? She shook her head back and forth, snapping her jaws at nothingness. She felt the pressure on her throat tighten more, and she heard the voice of her attacker.

"I told you you were going to have something to remember me by..." Ms. Moynihan had woken up faster than Michelle had anticipated. And since she was really a dinosaur, she was able to recover faster from the blow than a human would. Michelle should have realized this. It was foolish of her, on her end, to underestimate Joanne Moynihan like she had earlier.

'Why don't you let go of me, you frail old woman?' Michelle hissed, turning her glowing eyes until she could see Ms. Moynihan through her side vision. 'You're in no condition to fight...especially with an injury such as the one you received thirty years ago!' She managed to grip the old woman's left ankle. Ms. Moynihan's eyes closed tightly and her teeth were clenched. While that area had healed, it still hurt her to this day. It was her weak spot.

Michelle managed to pull the old woman off of her, and she tossed her to the floor. Ms. Moynihan clenched her leg close to her, just like she had when Victor first gave her the injury. She looked up at Michelle with anger in her eyes. "That..was a coward's move..." She said to Michelle accusingly.

'So was sneaking up behind me, and trying to choke me with your cane..' Michelle said, walking up to Moynihan. 'I admit I wasn't expecting someone like you to pull a stunt like that...' She quickly grabbed Ms. Moynihan by the throat with her foot. Guanlong Wucaiis had feet nimble enough to get a grip on certain things and sometimes lift them up. Michelle pulled Moynihan towards the staircase, and gazed down. The black dinosaur then shifted her gaze back to Moynihan, who was struggling to get the talons off her neck. 'Don't worry. I'm sure someone will come by in time...' With that, she roughly tossed Ms Moynihan down the steps. The old woman's body rolled roughly, smashing several times into the ground before she slammed on the bottom floor. Her eyes closed once more and her head lopped to the side.

Now back in her human form, she pulled out her communicator, and contacted Oscura. "Oscura, mission complete. It is successful. Caruso has the device planted on him, and the monitoring equipment has been destroyed. ...Was I spotted? Yes... by Ms. Moynihan." She peered down the steps, where she could see Moynihan's form, with some blood seeping slowly from a wound she apparently received. "But I took care of it. I don't think she's going to do much for quite some time..."

Oscura instructed her to return back to her home before morning came. Michelle rolled her eyes. She still had several hours before dawn, but Oscura did have a point. She would have to flee the scene as soon as possible. She closed up her communicator and ran out of the lighthouse, making sure she locked the door from the inside before shutting it, and disappeared into the forest...

The following morning, as the sun was still low in the sky, the light dim, but still bright enough so that the lighthouse need not shine its light anymore, yet still it glowed, the silence that once befell the area was disrupted by the roaring sound of oncoming motorcycles. Dust kicked up in the air as they zipped by, heading towards the lighthouse.

"I wonder what Ms. Moynihan had in mind today." Caruso said.

"Don't you remember? She wants to train us." Max told him.

"Yeah I know. I mean what kind of training?" Caruso said.

"Uhh..." Max couldn't think of how to respond to that. Was Caruso purposely acting stupid today? He didn't recall Moynihan ever training them any differently. It had always been the same, well except for that time she took them out on the ice. But it was a one-time thing. Moynihan never did anything like that again, so he didn't know how this could be any different. But then again, maybe Caruso is right. Perhaps there is something new in store for them today.

"I just wish I didn't have to wake up so early." Buzz complained. "Why eight in the morning? Why not something more appropriate like... ten? Or noon?"

"You wake up around eight to go to school, so don't complain." Fiona told him, rolling her eyes.

The teens headed up the hill that lead up to the lighthouse. As the lighthouse came into view, they had to shield their eyes. The light shined right into their eyes, and they quickly stopped their motorcycles. The light wasn't too visible because it was light all around them. But it was apparent the light was still on. They could see the faint hit of light shining from the lighthouse, and it was still intense enough that it hurt their eyes.

This wasn't right. Ms. Moynihan is supposed to turn the lighthouse's searchlight off after dawn, when the sun light the surrounding area enough that boats and ships didn't need the lighthouse to guide them. And Moynihan is not the type of person to forget such responsibility.

"Dude..why is the light still on? I thought Ms. Moynihan turns it off in the morning." Rodger asked, pointing at the lighthouse.

"Maybe she overslept?" Caruso suggested.

"She isn't the type of person to do that, Caruso." Max said, staring up at the lighthouse. "And besides, she has an alarm. She could just set it up if she was worried about oversleeping."

Caruso revved his bike, preparing to speed towards the lighthouse. "Does she know how to work an alarm?"

Buzz chuckled. "If she can operate equipment that monitors Raptor Boy, I'm sure she can work a simple alarm."

"Guys I'm worried." Fiona spoke up, removing her helmet and holding it to her side. "Rodger is right. Ms. Moynihan always turns off the searchlight in the morning. Something must be wrong..." She said.

"I'm sure she's fine..." Max started up his motorcycle again. "But we should check to be sure..."

With that, he revved up his Tyranno-Cycle and began to go faster, up the hill, trying to avoid the light that still spun around the cliff. The others followed close behind. The white and red-striped lighthouse seemed to grow in size as they were fast approaching. As they went to the side of the lighthouse, they suddenly stopped short, kicking up dust and dirt. They just noticed something else was wrong.

The door to the garage, where they would test their dinosaur motorcycles, was closed. Moynihan kept this closed only at night to prevent theft. But when she was expecting the Dino Squad, she would open it up shortly before they would arrive. Moynihan clearly didn't forget about them. She would never forget something this important. So why was the garage closed?

The children got off their bikes, and removed their helmets, all looking pretty worried now. Something had to be wrong now. Something must have happened while they were gone. But just what could have happened? No one was in the lighthouse when they left, well no one except Rump and Ms. Moynihan herself. Maybe she was just sick and was taking it easy. No..that couldn't be it. Ms. Moynihan's dinosaur body made her immune to most human-related diseases, and thus couldn't get sick so easily. And she was always a pretty healthy woman, though a tad bit overweight.

And they knew Rump couldn't have done anything. He was such a sweet loving dog, and would never attack anyone on the team. And the poor thing was a bit down in the weather. He wouldn't have had to strength to attack anyone, let alone Ms. Moynihan.

Fiona walked towards the door that led to the lighthouse. "Come on...we have to check up on her." She reached the door and knocked on it gently. "Ms. Moynihan? It's us!" There was no answer, and she peered inside. She couldn't see anyone coming towards the door to answer her, not even Rump.

"Try opening the door." Buzz suggested. "She always unlocks the door for us."

"Good idea." Fiona said. Despite the lighthouse lights being still on and the garage door still locked, maybe Moynihan had at least remembered to unlock the front door for them. She grabbed the knob and gave a few twists and turns. She furrowed her brow, tightening her grip on the knob and trying to push harder. It was still stuck in its position. "That's strange..it's locked.."

"Let me try." Max walked up, grabbing the knob and twisting harder. Fiona was right. It was still locked. "Oh man...why would she still keep this locked..?" He said softly to himself. He began slamming against the door, hoping to break it open so they could get inside. He slammed himself against the door again, but it wouldn't budge. "A little help please?"

The other Dino Squad members came up to the door. There wasn't enough room for all of them to slam together, so they came up with another idea. They each took a position, and placed their hands on the door. "Okay, when I say so, we all push!" Max said, gathering as much strength as he could in his arms and legs. "PUSH!" He shouted and quickly pushed against the door.

Fiona, Caruso, Buzz, and Rodger also began to push, using their legs to hold their ground as their hands pushed against the door. They suddenly heard a clicking sound as the door broke free of the hinges. This was unusual, but upon closer examination, it was revealed this was only due to the door's age. Moynihan really needed to fix it. But for a brief moment, the team was relieved to see she had forgotten to fix it, because if she hadn't they probably never would have gotten in unless they went dino, and if they did, they wouldn't be able to fit through the door, or windows.

The team stepped inside, and took a look around. Almost immediately they saw something was very wrong. The room was a bit of a mess, looking as if some sort of small fight had occurred. They ventured deeper inside, looking around warily. They still hadn't seen any sign of their teacher, but they did spot something else...

"Rump!" Fiona suddenly shouted, rushing past her team mates and knelt down next to a white ball of fur. "What happened to you?" She asked gingerly, inspecting the three cuts in his side. Rump slowly opened up his eyes, and looked up at her. He gave out a whine and licked her hand, as if he was begging for help.

"Oh man...what happened to the poor guy?" Buzz asked, his eyes slightly wide.

"I doubt he gave those cuts to himself.." Max observed, kneeling down to get a closer look. He placed his hand on them gently, careful not to hurt the pitbull any further. "The cuts aren't bleeding anymore, but they may have gotten infected... and..." He had realized something else. The pattern in the cuts told him that this wasn't some intruder that cut Rump with a knife. It was not even a person. "The intruder last night must have been a mutant.. Look at these marks. No human could have done this. These were done by something with talons."

"Talents?" Caruso asked, trying to lighten up the situation. "I have plenty of talents."

"I said talons!" Max said sternly, not liking Caruso making jokes during a serious situation. "Talons!"

"I'm sorry..." Caruso said softly. "I was just trying to lighten up the situation you know..."

"Yeah well..." Max said before he stopped himself when Fiona began talking to Rump.

"Rump..what happened?" Fiona asked. "What did this to you? And where's Ms. Moynihan?" When she asked this, Rump's ears perked up at first, and then flattened against his head. While he didn't understand most of what Fiona had asked him, he did recognize the name Moynihan. He gave a small whimper, trying to get up to his feet.

"Sorry little guy." Buzz knelt down and scooped up Rump in his arms. "But you shouldn't walk with an injury like that."

"His legs aren't broken." Caruso muttered softly, and luckily for him no one heard his comment.

"I still wonder where Ms. Moynihan is." Max asked, turning to Fiona. "I haven't seen her at all since we came in.. In fact I didn't even hear her call out to us. Maybe something really is wrong."

"Thanks for the news flash." Fiona grumbled sarcastically, eyeing poor Rump whom Buzz was carrying.

Buzz started to carry Rump towards the couch so he could set him down on it. "Don't worry little guy. We'll fix you right up.." Just then Rump began to struggle in the embrace. "Oh..what? What are you doing?" Rump began to push himself out of Buzz's arms, barking a few times as he did so. Buzz responded by holding him tighter. "I'm sorry Rump, but you need to rest."

Fiona noticed this and started to walk over. "Maybe he's trying to tell us something?" She suggested.

"Maybe he's just telling you he doesn't want to be held." Rodger noted. "Not all dogs like to be held for very long."

"But Rump always likes to be held." Fiona told him. "At least I've never seen him protest before..."

Finally, when Buzz refused to let the dog go, Rump did the only thing he could do. He shifted into his dinosaur mutant form, and snapped his large jaws wildly in the air. Buzz yelped, and released Rump. The dog landed on his feet and began to run, making his recognizable grunt bark as he did so. He made a turn and started to head towards the staircase. "Hey, come back!" Buzz shouted, rushing after the dog. When they finally reached the stair case, he skidded to a stop. He led out an audible gasp, and his body started to shake a little.

"Buzz...?" Fiona asked, coming up from behind. "What's wrong?" Buzz didn't respond, his eyes glued on something in front of him. Fiona came closer, and now stood next to him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello?" Slowly, Buzz lifted up a finger, and pointed. Fiona narrowed her eyes, and slowly turned her head. When she saw the sight, her eyes flew open, and she placed her hand on her mouth, and took a step back. "Oh my...!" She managed to say.

From behind, the others came forward, concerned of their friends' reactions. When they saw the sight themselves, they were stunned, and speechless. Right there, in front of them, was Ms. Moynihan. She lay limp at the base of the stairs, her head turned to the side, and her left ankle red and swollen. She had apparently cut herself, because there was a bit of blood around her in a small pool. They traced their eyes to its source. There was a cut on her side, likely received when she hit the railing if she had fallen at it at the right angle and right speed.

Rump stood over her still form, appearing to be licking her face, whimpering. The teens slowly approached the still form, not sure what to say. Judging from the looks of things, this wasn't an accident. Moynihan had been attacked when she was at her most vulnerable: night, when she was all alone, except for Rump.

"M-Ms. Moynihan..?" Fiona asked as she approached the body at the spiral staircase. She knelt down beside her, and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Fiona... is that you?" Fiona heard a soft feminine voice say.

Fiona smiled softly. Finally some good news, Ms. Moynihan was still alive. She answered, "Yes..it's me... Can you stand up?" She asked the old woman. Ms. Moynihan groaned slightly, and slowly put her hands underneath her body. She pushed upwards, struggling to put her right foot underneath herself to support her weight. Slowly, she rose up off the ground. But when she placed her left foot on the ground, she immediately grimaced, and fell back to the ground.

"Aaaahh!" She screamed as she clutched her leg to herself, gingerly rubbling the swollen ankle.

Immediately, Max and Rodger rushed over to her. They knelt down at either side of her, and draped an arm over their shoulders. They then slowly lifted her up, allowing her to put her weight on them for support. They gently carried her over to the nearest couch. Carefully, they lowered her into the furniture, careful not to hurt her ankle. "Thank you..." Moynihan managed to say over the pain in her leg. It felt like it had been broken again.

"Ms. Moynihan...what happened here?" Rodger asked as he examined her leg carefully.

Ms. Moynihan slowly turned her pained eyes to Caruso. She took in a few deep breaths before she answered Rodger's question. "You...you were right, Caruso." She took in a deep breath as she tried to relax herself from the shock of what happened last night. "You were right the whole time."

"I was right..?" Caruso asked, tilting his head. "I was right about what?"

"Michelle...she was a spy for Victor." Ms. Moynihan explained as Rodger began to treat her swollen ankle the best he could. "The Troodon attack..it was a plan devised by Michelle and her Troodon-transforming friend...to trick us into letting her into the lighthouse. She broke in last night after you all had left for your homes."

"What...?" Fiona's voice trailed off.

"I was right..." Caruso said, feeling slightly angry. "I was right, and you guys didn't believe me! If you had listened to me..."

"Calm down Caruso! We have more important things to worry about." Max scolded him before sitting down next to Ms. Moynihan carefully. "What exactly did she want here? Did she say?"

"She came to destroy the monitoring equipment." Joanne told him.

"Did you stop her?" Max asked her with an urgent voice.

Joanne slowly shook her eyes, and answered in a solemn tone. "I'm afraid not.. She succeeded. All the computers have been destroyed."

"I don't understand..." Rodger said as he pressed some ice against Moynihan's leg to help reduce the swelling. He had come to the conclusion that the leg wasn't broken; her ankle was just swollen. But still, this was a pretty serious swelling. He didn't think Moynihan will be able to walk for a while. "Why didn't you just go dino? Michelle can't be tough enough to take on a Velociraptor. I mean she's a gir..."

Fiona glared at him angrily. "I'm a girl too, and I'm tough!"

"Sorry..I didn't mean..." Rodger said quickly, looking sorry.

"Michelle can transform too." Joanne said seriously, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Caruso was right. She was a transformer, just like the rest of you, and myself. She had gained the dinosaur form of a Guanlong Wucaii." She explained, finding it a little difficult to talk with the scratches on her neck that she was concealing with her hand.

"And she did this to you...?" Fiona whispered, putting her hand on Moynihan's. She took notice of Moynihan covering up her neck. "What's wrong?" Moynihan slowly removed her hand, and revealed the small but obvious wounds. Fiona gasped softly when she saw small scratches on her neck. "Your throat..."

Moynihan flinched. "That's where she grabbed me..." The female Velociraptor-turned human explained. She pressed her hand against it once again and gently rubbed the area. "She gripped me while in dino mode, and she just threw me down the steps after she had destroyed all the computers..." She winced a little from the pain.

"We should go after her." Caruso said, forming a fist with one of his hands. "We should get her before she reveals any information to Veloci." He began to regret not catching Michelle when he had the chance. She was right there, detransformed. He could have caught her, but he let her go. And after seeing what Michelle had done to Moynihan...

Buzz shook his head solemnly. "Dude..it's too late for that. She must be at Raptor Dyne by now." The attack had taken place at night, which would have given Michelle plenty of time to high tail it out of there before they came. Buzz believed it must have been at least ten hours since the attack, long enough for Michelle to get back to Raptor Dyne and report.

"And with the monitoring equipment destroyed, we can't track her down." Max said, feeling frustrated by this whole situation. He had thought seeing Michelle walking along the side of the road in the direction she was going was a bit weird. She was heading towards the school, but then again this wouldn't have been enough to prove anything. After all he and his team mates go along that same road to go home.

"It's worse than that..." Ms. Moynihan said, eyes narrowed almost dangerously. She adjusted her glasses. "Those computers did more than just offer monitoring capabilities to enable use to find Veloci and his men. It was also our only defense against being spotted..."

"In other words..." Rodger continued for her, looking at his team mates with a worried look on his face. "There's no protective zone anymore. Nothing is powering it, which means, while we can't see Veloci..Veloci can see us..." He glanced at Moynihan, hoping she would say he was wrong, but just like in school, he had calculated it correctly. Moynihan could only give a solemn nod.