11. Deadline Cutter

Helen looked at the screen in disbelief.

Against her explicit orders, Leek had gone behind her back once more to assign a new task to Cryorex and had somehow created a creature from somewhere. How it had been done, she hadn't the slightest idea as Cryorex had repeatedly assured her that he had no means to create monsters in his programming and biology. A monster would have been a good distraction to lure the Rangers away from the ARC but she had made plans to cover for the absence of such an asset. The lack of such beasts would also mean they would stay under the radar of the evils currently attacking the Earth – the monstrous Death Xonix and, based on recent events, an alien race from beyond the stars. On the other hand, the latter group of creatures had been defeated by the 'TW Rangers' or whatever they called themselves; she had been too busy putting everything in place to worry about the details. She had also been preparing an information packet to send to her ex-husband if she found herself in a situation where she couldn't survive but she hadn't really progressed past sending a full copy of her diary straight to the computers in the ARC. A journey to the Silurian would be next on the agenda for Nick to see the delights of the native insects. Or, it would have been, if this thing hadn't popped out from the woodwork. Turning to the reptilian beast, she shook her head.

"What is that and where did it come from?" She demanded of him.

"Helen, you really must understand that there are shifts in any plan." The voice made her skin crawl. "I merely adjusted a few parameters of your plan to suit us in the long run."

Suppressing a growl, she watched Oliver Leek step out of the shadows while adjusting his tie. The past few days had been very quiet as he had been mitigating the backlash in the ARC for supposedly 'allowing' the tranquilised Smilodon to die en route to a secure location. In reality, he had it secured in one of the back rooms for the final phase of their plan…a plan that would still come to fruition, though it would be changed from its original parameters. He knew Helen would fight tooth and nail to ensure there were no changes which is why he needed to nip that in the bud. He also hoped he had brought along his fresh change of clothing from the office as he had no desire to go back there during a monster attack. That idiot, Lester, would probably sequester him in his office taking calls from concerned citizens while their new Public Relations Manager ran around screaming like a chicken with its head cut off. Internally shuddering with disgust at the mental image that produced, he looked at the screen with pride.

Pelter had turned out to be a great success and not too shabby for his first attempt at playing God. Using ground up bones from a Sauropelta, an old tennis pitching machine, and a pitcher plant had produced something that was strong but highly vulnerable to fire and explosive based attacks; something the two Rangers on the field were learning swiftly. It had almost been pure chance that he had fashioned upon an auction by the great Anton Mercer several years ago and had, on a whim, bought a DNA mixing machine with attached booth in the simplistic, yet misguided, whim that it could be used to help the ARC Project. While reptilian soldiers would be great to send through an anomaly and combating the beasts released, they would be highly destructive and have unpredictable results. He didn't want to waste a large portion of his savings to buy the control inhibitors as the DNA mixer had brought about a lot of scrutiny from several women with the businessman. Behind him, Cryorex stood patiently as he waited for the signal.

"Leek, you don't know what you're dealing with. This – "

"You don't know either, Helen." He countered with equal venom. "You came here from a dead world and practically begged for help in taking revenge on your pathetic husband. You introduced me to Cryorex but failed to see the potential he has inside him. Everything here is about you and your middling need to scorn those who hurt you."

Helen sputtered in indignation before calming herself. Becoming angry at Leek wouldn't do anyone any good and he would be receiving his just desserts if he underestimated what Nick was capable of. She would do anything to see her goal come to the blissful release of all life and nothing was going to stop her. Not Nick, not Leek, and certainly not the whims of several super-powered individuals who thought they were destroyers of evil. However, she knew she was a calming and guiding influence on Leek and he would need her counsel on future matters. Turning around to face him, she was momentarily startled as Cryorex moved to place himself between her quarry. The large broadsword was unsheathed and she could see dull red stains on the blade.

"Cryorex?" Helen took a step back as fear began to envelop her. "Cryorex, what are you doing?"

"I…" The beast seemed genuinely sorrowful. "I am so sorry, Helen. I never wanted this but Leek holds all the cards. Rest assured that your need for revenge will live on inside me."

Helen's internal resolve began to crumble as the saurian began to advance. There was no way this could be happening as Cryorex had sworn his loyalty to her and her alone. He had assured her that his loyalty could only be broken if someone meddled with his internal systems, systems that were protected with several different kill switches. Knowing all that, the scene in front of her was something that wasn't supposed to happen but was, nonetheless, happening. Slowly moving her left hand to the hidden knife on her back, she mentally prepared herself for a fight she knew she wouldn't win. Sliding her right hand into her pocket, she pressed a button on the 'Last Resort' remote she had. Barring any obstructions, Nick or one of the others would be receiving everything shortly.

"What…" She shook her head. "You can't be seriously thinking of…"

Whatever she was going to say next was knocked out of her as Cryorex's sword bit deeply into her left shoulder and almost severed her arm from her body. Blood spurted out of the wound as the reptilian beast pulled his sword free with barely a grunt. With her vision rapidly going dark, Helen managed to choke out an ironic chuckle before gasping in shock as Cryorex bent down to close his jaws on her neck. Leek watched the dinosaur tear into its prey for a while, turning away as a piece of skull with scalp and hair still attached came dangerously close to hitting him in the face. Without Helen, he would be able to proceed with his plans and be assured that he would continue his employment at the ARC without fear of being discovered. The next phase of the plan was to shatter the resolves of those in his way of greatness.

"Whenever you're done with that," he pointed at the still-twitching body, "bring it to the Rangers after they destroy Pelter. It will be a great demoraliser for the good Professor and his blind followers."

It was such a waste that Helen had been too caught up in her revenge to understand the bigger picture. Poking through Cryorex's systems had enlightened him to a great many things such as memory transference and a control system that would prove much stronger and effective than the crude transformer in the auction. The majority of his kill switches had been rendered inoperable due to his time transit and battles but he still had needed to bypass a strange and, frankly foreboding, firewall that had threatened to stop him in his tracks. Interestingly enough, a simple Google search had provided most of the answers to the questions that had popped. After that, it was simple child's play to reprogram the monster to be loyal to him. If Lester or Cutter wanted to know where he had been, he would tell them excuse after excuse to confound them.

After all, he had a plan for everything.

TBC…

AN: Didn't want to have this so early in the piece but Helen has had her time to shine in the show. It's time to see what the damage Leek could have done if he had a competent plan and monsters other than the Future Predators.