CORY

Well, at least that's one zombie apocalypse averted. With the banishment of the Boogeyman and the demise of the Manse twins, all zombies have dropped dead, and all those turned have been miraculously turned back to normal! Huh! Who knew stopping the end of the world could be so easy?

But Hannah's said that as long as fear's a thing, or at least the concept of it, the Boogeyman is basically immortal. But since he's been weakened, I bet we won't have to deal with him for…well, a while.

And in case something like this happens again, I've got some pretty good ideas for some new Monster Hunter weapons. You can thank Dead Rising for that. But speaking of a zombie apocalypse, the recent one has attracted more attention. And we're not the only ones thinking this is only the first.

Such as Dr. Frank King, along with his nephew and niece, stepsiblings Nathan and Lindy Nichols. Like Jack Johnson, they've also got a secret power: Their smarts.

It's all thanks to this grape juice-like liquid called Brain Energizer Fluid, or B.E.F. for short. It helped with their stupidity, but it was supposed to be normal grape juice. Instead, it was swapped by two aliens called Morrgul and Gobbul. They hail from this planet called Cerebria, a green world with highly advanced technology and a futuristic civilization. Their emperor, this guy called Vorganius, wanted super smart slaves to do his bidding.

So what did these brainiacs do? Simple: They faked stupidity and got their captors vaporized by the emperor for failing him. Also, they didn't want to be super famous like Jack Johnson.

They and Doc King kept the aliens a secret, and when they learned of this secret society, well, you do the math.

Still, these two have made a breakthrough when trying to find the origin of their permanent-intelligence-increasing liquid. I gotta admit, it's super mind-blowing.

"So…there's another godlike organization like S.C.O.T.U.U.?" I ask.

"They call themselves The Infinite." Nathan says, showing the results of his research on Billy's high-tech holo laptop. "Like the Court, they defend three key aspects. But rather than existence, it's instead what makes a living being: Mind, Body, and Soul."

"There are three factions, each led by a powerful being." Lindy adds. "Cerebrum for Mind, led by a wise being we know as Buddha, with his true name being too complex for our minds to understand. The Power for Body, led by the most powerful being in the universe, Ultra, who has perfected his physical form and has the martial arts fighting power of supernovas. Lastly, there is The Lost Ones for Soul, led by The Keeper, who knows the names of all the souls who ever lived, died, and even those who have yet to exist."

"Woah…" Lisa gasps. "This IS like the Infinity Stones!"

"Both the Court and Infinite all serve an even higher being. A mysterious entity that defends this universe and dimension from any outside threat." Nathan says. "But from the Galactic Database, no lifeforms know its true name. They only call it…The One."

"Like God and the Matrix's Neo?" Hopefully it's not like Thanos…

"In a way. But no one's ever SEEN The One. Only the Court and Infinite." Nathan says. "Thanks to Billy, Sammy, and Mirpo, we've narrowed down just how the Cerebrians made the fluid."

They pull up some kind of yellow crystal shaped like a brain.

"Cortex Geodes." Lindy says. "Forged by the Cerebrum, each containing an immense amount of knowledge and wisdom. The Cerebrians managed to pulverize the crystals and liquify the remains, reversing the color in the process and thus creating the fluid."

"Man…this stuff sounds powerful." Lisa says. "But in the wrong hands, it can be super dangerous. This is the stuff that could make mad scientists if all that knowledge makes them snap from literally knowing way too much!"

"At least someone here knows how to use it." I add. "You two are gonna be super useful. See, there's this big operation we're working on. And you look like just the type to help us know what we're dealing with and going up against…"

The Arbiter descended into the green planet. Cerebria was one of the Zoron Empire's many allies. And the Emperor here had harvested many Cortex Geodes thanks to slave labor. Thus, he had become the greatest mind on his planet.

Of course this planet would be filled with Cortex Geodes. Cerebrum visited this world long ago, when life was still forming. The Infinite…he had heard stories about them, too.

Perhaps some of that energizer fluid could help with Project Evolution. True to the doctor's word, D13 could mutate other beings into aquatic humanoid mutants. The tests proved successful, but so far, mutations on creatures beyond the planet proved…distorted. Flayer, son of Flemen, would never be able to get his revenge as an abomination. No, he needed to be able to control this form.

The research and calculations needed to properly weaponize the creatures D13 created were complex even for the Empire's scientists. Who knew that primitive lifeforms could come up with such equations? At least the work to reproduce the chemical was being done. Still, the Brain Energizer Fluid was needed.

Cosmoron stepped out of the mothership, his forces greeted by the Cerebrian people. Among them was Emperor Vorganius. Just the being he needed.

"Ah, you must be the new Furon of the Empire." Vorganius noted. "We've been expecting you."

"Then you know why I am here." Cosmoron stated. "We require your Brain Energizer Fluid for a living weapon we are working on."

"Ooo, to conquer new planets, I presume?" Vorganius stated. "Well, I'm very much game in the name of complete and utter global domination. That IS why we joined forces after all, with my superior mind and technology and your massive numbers and armada! You can have the fluid, but I will need something in return."

Of course. He always required more slaves. That meant more mining, finding more geodes, and thus more power sources for many machinery and tech. Speaking of the latter…

On an unspoken order, the soldiers stepped aside, and metallic legs clanked on the ground. The Zoron N-Droids stepped forth, silent and obedient. Unlike the organic slaves, they would never tire and work as long as required. Their arms converted into drills as if to demonstrate their mining capabilities, one of many modes.

"It's done." He said.

"Ooo, worker robots! I like the sound of that!" Vorganius noted. "Always doing as they're told, unlike the more organic slaves! The escape attempts have nearly doubled!"

"Can they escape this?"

A Zoron Scientist pulled up a hologram of a fleeing slave, and one N-Droid took notice.

"Alert. Target escaping."

It quickly transformed into Combat Mode, downing the pixelated moving image in just a single shot.

"Saaaay, workers AND enforcers! I'll take this 2-for-1 offer!"

"Like I said," Cosmoron said. "We have a deal. The trade is made."

"Pleasure doing best with you, oh bringer of doom!" Vorganius added. "Come along now, buddy bots!"

"Acknowledged."

The N-Droids headed off with the Cerebrians as the Energizer Fluid was loaded onto the mothership. Cosmoron only took out the last vial of D13 he had and looked at it. Then, his graze turned to the stars.

"This better work."

He then turned and reboarded the ship, the ramp closing behind him. That fluid would not fail. This he knew. He had seen it in action before.

Now it was time to use that brainpower. And then, the ultimate weapon of the Zoron Empire would become reality.

Soon…they would have their revenge.