Chapter 22: Monster Mash

When I walked into the classroom, John and Future Bat were facing each other a few feet apart. Bright lights and flashes lit up the room, making my eyes burn. Black cables with sparks shooting from the ends swung from the ceiling. It looked like Future Bat had already done some damage to the alien tech altered room.

Wincing from the lights, I controlled one of my wings to shield my eyes from them. John and Future Bat noticed me. Future Bat's face changed to a look of horror.

"What are you doing here?! I told you to stay out of this! Go back! I will not let you go through this again!" She waved me away, but didn't move from her spot. I could sense John's eyes flickering back and forth between us from behind his sunglasses in confusion. It took him just a minute to realize who we both were. His eyes went to my future self.

"Wait...Bat? Is that you? Why are you-?"

Future Bat answered him by lunging at him, baring fangs. She pinned him to the ground, her robot arm changing into a gun; pointed at his face.

"Yes! I'm from the future! and it's because of you that I look like this!" she screamed. John lifted his robot arm at lightning speed, smacking her gun arm out of the way, then grabbing her tightly by the throat. John's mouth changed into a snarl as he rose up to his feet.

"Then I'd say we are even...an arm for an arm." I took a step forward. John turned his head to me and gave me an evil smirk, standing straight up and holding Future Bat up by the neck. Her feet barely touched the ground while her wings flapped like a hawk caught in a trap.

"You scream, she dies." He turned his head to Future Bat. "...I don't exactly know how you were able to time travel, but growing up watching Back to the Future, I know there's always...consequences..." he said as he slowly began squeezing Future Bat's neck.

Future Bat started choking.

Before I could react, Future Bat lifted her gun arm and shot John in the leg. He screamed a blood curdling scream, releasing his grasp on her. She rolled away from him and stood in front of me with her wings fully spread out, protecting me. John bared his teeth, struggling to stand.

"If I had known this is what you would have become, I would have finished the job and killed you!" He screamed

"Funny...I was thinking the same thing about you," Future Bat hissed. John glared at my future self through his sunglasses, shaking from the pain in his leg. "So, you know my plan already...You know what happens when I activate the machine then," John said, not in a question.

Future Bat nodded. "You turn all the teenagers trapped inside into monsters."

"Monsters?" A new voice asked.

We all turned our heads towards the door. Hunter stood in his cheesy alien costume at the doorway. His eyes were wide behind his thick glasses. John's face changed from a cold hearted villain to a shocked father.

"Hunter! What are you doing here? Sh...shouldn't you be at your dance?" he asked, trying to sound innocent. Hunter stared at his dad and all the weird alien technology that cluttered the huge classroom.

"What...what is all this? Dad? Were you...Is this what you've been up to every night? Does mom know you are doing this?" he sputtered out the questions. John held his hands out to his son, trying to limp towards him, but his bad foot was too broken to allow him to move. "Hunter, my wonderful son, listen to me, I can explain all of this, you just need to trust me-"

"Don't trust him, Hunter! He's a bad guy! Your father is a terrible man who did this to me! He changed me into a monster and then turned me into this!" Future Bat yelled in her raspy voice. Hunter stared at her, not recognizing her or knowing if he could trust her. Then he looked to me. His eyes recognized me immediately. He knew me. His friend. Then I watched as the wheels started turning in his head. He connected the dots when he saw my bat wings.

"It's you..." he said.

I nodded. "It's me."

I could hear Hunter's heart pounding loudly in his chest. His breathing quickened. This was all happening so fast for him. Finding out his father was part of a secret evil world dominating plan to turn the whole school into monsters; his best friend was a monster, the same one that got him famous.

"I have no idea who these two monsters are!" John shouted over Future Bat's voice. The two turned and started yelling at each other, saying the other was a liar. The bickering was interrupted when one section of the machine Future Bat had damaged previously had exploded, causing all of us to be thrown back to the other side of the classroom. After that was another loud boom sound and a flash of green light. Hunter moaned in pain, rubbing the back of his head near the lower cabinets. I heard a loud cracking sound above him. The ceiling was coming down.

"Hunter!" I cried out.

Hunter looked up just in time to see it starting to break and buckle. He scrambled to his feet, just as it started coming down. I lunged forward towards him, wrapping my arms around him while my wings wrapped around both of us as a shield. We slid a little across the tile ground on our sides; away from the falling ceiling. I felt my wings bend from parts of the ceiling debris coming down on us. Loud crashing sounds were heard all around us.

When it stopped, I controlled my wings to lift up, causing the heavy debris to get pushed away. Hunter cried out, nearly causing me to go deaf. He coughed from the dust that billowed around us. My wings were sore but still intact. A few scratches here and there.

"You saved me," Hunter said as we got up from the ground. I shrugged. "It's what friends do," I replied. Hunter smiled at me. Our touching moment was interrupted when we heard the click sound of a gun. John held a futuristic looking arm gun in his normal hand. Future Bat's gun arm. Future Bat was on the ground a few feet from him, half crushed under the fallen ceiling.

Her cyborg eye was not glowing red anymore. The place where her arm gun used to be had a spray of sparks coming out of it instead. A pool of blood was forming around her. The blast had really damaged her cyborg installments. John raised Future Bat's gun arm at me. His sunglasses were cracked, his hair a horrid mess, and his suit he usually wore was all tattered.

"Hunter...get out of the way so I can shoot this monster," he snarled. Hunter turned around and found that he was in-between line of fire. Hunter turned back to his dad. If he weren't wearing his alien costume, he would've looked badass. "No, dad." he said. John glared at his son.

"Hunter John Thorson, you better move right now. I'm trying to protect you!" he snapped. Hunter squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest, unafraid. "I'm protecting my best friend against you," Hunter threw back. John sighed, lowering the gun a little and running his fingers through his hair. "This is what I get for having a child who is fascinated with monsters," he muttered, but I heard him. He turned the arm gun to Future Bat. "Fine, if you don't move, her future self will die."

Hunter didn't flinch, but I could feel his heart skip a beat. "Is he telling the truth?" Hunter asked me. I nodded my head. "Yes. That is me thirteen years older...and all the cyborg stuff is what replaced all the parts John-er...your dad... had damaged," I answered him. Hunter went silent for a while. John made sure Future me was still down before talking to his son again.

"Hunter...I'm sorry I kept all this from you and your mother...but this is what my job was. I was part of the government. The place you are so obsessed about. With aliens and monsters. I couldn't tell you because it would jeopardize our life. Our safety. I am trying to make this world a safe place from evil invaders from other galaxies. I've been working on this plan for years. Don't you see how effective it will be? Teens with monster abilities is just part one of my plan. Exp-er...Bat here...your friend? is the first successful experiment to work! She is the perfect weapon. And if we made a whole army, we would be the most protected and respected planet in the galaxies and beyond! No one from any world will want to mess with Earth! Please, Hunter! I'm doing this for you. For everyone on Earth. I am not a bad guy..." John held out his hand to Hunter.

"Please..." Hunter stared at his dad's hand. I held my breath. I didn't know what Hunter was thinking. Hunter slowly turned his head to face me. I stared at him back. "Hunter...I know this is a lot to take in at once...but you need to trust me...Your dad is a terrible person. I was taken from my family and experimented on. I don't have any memories, but this was all against my will...If I had the ability to be human again, I'd take it. I miss my family so much...he wiped their minds so they don't recognize me. All they see is...a monster." Tears started to form in my eyes. Hunter's eyes softened seeing me like this. He turned his focus back to his dad and shook his head.

"No, dad. You need to stop all this. Turning innocent kids into monsters against their will? That's not right...I can't let you continue hurting more innocent people." he said. John's innocent demeanor towards his son darkened to a sinister glare. "Fine...going against your own dad and siding with a girl you have only known for a few months? ...I guess I have no son then..." he raised the gun to Hunter. Hunter's eyes widened behind his glasses.

"No!" I shouted, stepping in front of Hunter. The gun didn't go off, but I instinctively ducked, lifting my wings up high as a shield, and screamed at John. John was sent flying back against the cabinets and collapsed on the floor. John cursed out in rage and started firing wildly everywhere. Hunter and I hid behind a few desks, out of the line of fire as John got up and went back to standing over Future Bat.

"Alright I'm done with this. Goodbye, Future Bat," he said as he aimed the gun at her head and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. That's when I realized it was October's race's tech. Their weapons don't fire on anyone who is Arcipoid, or has Arcipoid DNA in them like me. John realized it too and cursed at himself for not remembering sooner.

From across the way, I could hear Future Bat stir a little, her cyborg eye blinking red. She muttered something softly my sharp ears couldn't pick up at first, then I heard her say one name softly: "...Link..." John gave Future Bat a look, but that second was all that was needed. Link came crashing into the classroom.

Link charged in like a bull. He roared and came full force at John. John's eyes widened behind his sunglasses and screamed. His scream was cut short when Link's right arm shot out and smacked John away from Future Bat and across the opposite side of the room. Desks flew everywhere from where John crashed. He was not looking too good...and miraculously enough, his damn sunglasses were still covering his eyes. I had to remind myself to later ask Hunter if he ever saw his dad without the sunglasses on.

John spat blood out from his mouth. "Well...if it isn't the walking fish himself...I didn't know fish could be loyal like dogs," John said, trying to keep his cool, but I could tell he was pissed. Link ignored John as he dug Future Me out of the rubble and held her in one arm. Future Bat didn't look so good. She groaned in pain, holding her stomach where the blood was flowing out from. She needed to go to the ER asap. "Link...you aren't... supposed to be here!" she said in a small voice. Link didn't seem to hear her as he gently wiped the dust from her face.

"How did you get inside?" I asked.

"Doc made a portal out of a nearby trashcan and the contents inside. Though I was immediately teleported to the bathrooms. It wasn't pleasant..." he said, cringing. Hunter stared at Link in awe. His jaw hanging open. Link looked over to Hunter then to me and smirked. I gave him a look and shook my head, but I couldn't help but to smile at Link's silent teasing to me.

Hating that he was being completely ignored John bared his red teeth and spat the blood out again. "Do you want a treat for coming to your master, Fido?" John continued teasing. Link snorted hot air out of his nose in irritation as he turned in John's direction. "Yeah...you dead. That would be a treat," Link said. He turned his focus to me. "You ok?" I gave him a thumbs up, but inside I was in a lot of pain.

Link set Future me down on a desk to inspect her damaged arm. She winced in pain. "Why did you come here? I told you...and my younger self to stay away..." Link looked into one of the cabinets and found a roll of bandages. He grabbed it and started wrapping the end of the bleeding stump. Future Bat continued talking to him. "You never trust Doc's inventions-" she was interrupted by Link placing his fingertips against her lips, quieting her.

"I risked jumping through the portal because I couldn't just wait around while you fought John on your own...I..." he hesitated. "...I couldn't stand the idea of seeing you get hurt," he said. He finished wrapping them and started wrapping them around her waist. "You think you can stand on your own?" Link asked Future Bat. Future Bat gently touched Link's shoulder as support as she stood up from the desk. Link stood by her, smiling warmly at her. She looked back up at him and smiled back. "Thank you," she said. Link nodded. "I'm always here for you," he said.

Suddenly, loud screams were heard outside the classroom. Future Bat's one bat ear flicked while her satellite dish swiveled towards the sounds. Link's finned ears flicked out. Hunters normal human ears didnt do anything but pick up the sound. Mine flicked and twitched. We all ignored John, and ran out to see the commotion. We ran to the safety rail and looked down at the huge courtroom below where the dance was being taken place. Below us was something I'll never forget as long as I live.

"The kids are all turning into monsters..." Link said. John's plan was working. All the kids below were turning into all sorts of monsters...ironically while Monster Mash was playing. Claws were coming out of hands. Scales were appearing on arms and faces. Teeth became long and sharp. Extra eyes, limbs, and tails appeared. Kids screamed and howled. Others roared and screeched. Wings sprouted, horns rose out of heads, more hair grew. Clothes ripped from the monstrous new features on the high schoolers. Now this school was something I could fit right into.

Before us, chaos unfolded. Some kids were being forced against their own will by going down on all fours and turning into mutant werewolves, dragons, demons, devils, and all sorts of horrific creatures you would find in fantasy books. Others arched their backs and screamed up towards the ceilings and turned into vampires, gill-men, mummies, Frankenstein's monsters, the fly, blobs, and other monsters from the classic movies.

It was horrific in both the kids were turning into monsters, but looked super ridiculous wearing their costumes. A werewolf in a Minions costume howled near a fake moon. A gill-girl in a Little Mermaid outfit broke the drinking fountain, which started pouring in water, to create her own lagoon. The other teen gill people, who were having a hard time breathing with their new gills, ran towards the water.

Vampires in cheerleader outfits tried taking flight with their wings, only to crash into walls. Fights broke out between mummies and ghouls. Mermaids vs Unicorns. Zombie football players threw their own heads around. Goblin nerds and geek ghosts were playing DnD in the corner. Blobs were over near the banquet and eating everything in sight, even the tables themselves. Gremlin teens were climbing the walls and swinging on the lights. A cyclops girl screamed in terror at her own one eye in a reflection. A vampire girl screamed because she couldn't see her own reflection. An invisible girl screamed cuz she couldn't see herself at all, just floating clothes. A few Freshmen monsters ran chaotically around the dancefloor with their new abilities. Shape shifting, flying, oozing, lifting tables up. Tearing and shredding the walls and decorations. Everything was chaotic while that old song played:

They did the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(They did the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They did the mash) They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun (Wa hoo)
The party had just begun (Wa hoo)
The guests included Wolfman, Dracula and his son
The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, 'The Crypt-Kicker Five'

They played the monster mash
(The monster mash) It was a graveyard smash
(They played the mash) It caught on in a flash
(They played the mash) They played the monster mash

"Woah! Everyone's a monster!" Hunter said out loud, but I could tell he was super excited. Link and I nodded our heads. "That's a bit of a problem," I said. Link wrapped his arm around Future Bat's waist to make sure she was still standing. "Yeah. We need to...figure out a way to reverse this..." Future Me said.

Link sighed. "If only Doc were here instead of me." I was surprised to hear that from him. He was always so confident in himself, now he felt he couldn't figure it out just because it was a science thing. I turned my head to him. "We can figure this out together. We don't always need Doc to figure out the crazy science stuff."

"Isn't the machine damaged?" Hunter asked. Link's eyes widened. I winced. "There was an explosion...and a flash of green light," I said. Link made a concerned face. "Flashes of any color light is not good," he said, turning back and heading back to the classroom where John and his teen monster making machine was. When we were back inside, John had gotten to his feet and was leaning against his damaged machine, all smug and proud.

"Welcome back," he said. He didn't appear to be in any hurry to kill us. His plan was already working. We stood in a row fifteen feet from him and his machine.

"John. We aren't going to ask you twice. Reverse the machine and change all the kids back to human," Future Bat said. John pretended to think about it for a moment. "Mmm...no." I gritted my teeth. He was really starting to get on my nerves. I wanted to scream at his stupid face, but that would just cause more damage to the machine that we needed to change the teens back...and so far, John was the only in this room who knew how to do that.

Link cracked his knuckles. "Alright, then we go about this the easy way then," he said, moving forward. John's smirk turned into a grin. Future Bat noticed and quickly grabbed Link's arm. "No! Don't get near him. Please! I can't lose you again!" Link stared down at Future Bat in surprise. Future Bat realized what she said and looked away.

"Bat..." Link said. I turned to him, but I realized he was addressing my future self. He gently cupped his hand under Future Bat's chin, lifting her head up to look at him. Tears had formed in her eyes. "I can't lose you again..." she repeated, this time in a whisper. Link brushed her hair out of her eyes. "You won't lose me..." Future Me trembled and shook her head. Link placed both of his hands on the sides of her face. Then, what he did next shocked everyone in the room. He leaned down and kissed Future Bat on the mouth. Future Bat flinched in surprise from the kiss. I felt my heart stop beating for a few seconds. Hunter's eyes widened, but was still a little confused. John's eyebrows went up.

Link pulled away and smiled that cocky smile of his. Future Bat's face was bright red. I bet mine was bright red too at that moment. Suddenly we all heard a zap sound, then a rising hum as if something tech related was coming back to life. John jumped from the alien machine he was leaning against and turned to look at the monitors. As if by magic, the machine was automatically going through the process of reversing all the teen monsters back to humans.

"No...no no no! NO! NO! NOOO! MY WORK!" John screamed as he tried pressing random buttons to stop the machine from doing what it was doing. We all exchanged glances. None of us had done anything. It was like some unknown force or guardian angel was watching over us. We all just kind of stood there awkwardly as John started panicking. A flash of green light went off again and a loud buzzing hum sound. A wave of screams from the other room was heard, then sighs of relief and cheers. Hunter ran out of the room to see the commotion, he appeared back in the doorway.

"Everyone's back to normal!" he announced happily.

"Awesome, I didn't have to do any science stuff," Link joked, making Future Bat laugh, which I had to admit was nice to hear. John whipped around to face us. His hair was a mess, his clothes torn to shreds. Blood drippled down his mouth. He picked up Future Bat's arm gun again and aimed it at us. Link immediately went into protection mode, becoming our shield and blocking us from the line of fire. Future Bat screamed his name and moved towards him. John fired a few rounds at Link's chest, then suddenly-! ...

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