The Dragon 2200 # 9 The Dragon: 2200

# 9

by Brian Campo (bcampo@hotmail.com)

This is a work of fan fiction. The Savage Dragon and all related characters are owned by Erik Larsen, and I do not contest
that ownership. This story is in no way official and it should not be taken as such. All characters in this story not owned by Mr.
Larsen are owned by me, though I would gladly loan them out if asked nicely.

John Sansker is owned either by Alan Moore or TMP productions, I don't know which. Anyway, he's not mine and I don't think that he is. Blah, Blah, Blah. . .

Warning: This story may contain graphic violence, sexual situations and harsh language. If you shouldn't be reading it, don't.

Visit the Dragon 2200 home page for back issues and covers (http://www.angelfire.com/or/icffa/dragonifshome.html)

Vampire Nation: A Dragon/Sansker 2200 crossover.

Southern France- The bright lights of the transport cut through the rainy night, illuminating the hills and fields it was speeding over. The wind was kicking up something fierce and the little hovercraft was rocked from side to side with the force of the blasts. It was not a good night for traveling, but the two men inside had little choice in the matter.
You see, John Sansker didn't have a lot of time left to live. His heart had been stolen from him by one of his employees and it had been transplanted into the other man's chest. (Don't make me explain all of this, just go read the Sansker 2200 and Sansker: A Change of Heart series) A "friend" of his down in New Orleans had used a voodoo ceremony and the heart of a rat to give him some time, but it wasn't a lot. Come hell or bad weather, he had to be taking steps to reclaim his heart, or he was one dead vampire.
"We're coming up on it, sir." said the driver.
John looked out the windshield and spotted the lights from the Chateau St. Claire, his one permanent place of residence over the last one thousand years. Although there had been many additions made in the last four hundred years, it still looked very much like the original castle that he had lived in back in the eleven hundreds. With the condition of the residence and the prime vineyard land surrounding it, the property was worth a little less than two billion dollars.
It was maintained year round by a small family who worked there for room, board and a healthy salary. The same family had worked for him for thirteen generations, handing down the job from father to son. They were well aware of his vampiric nature but they were old school butlers and servants who believed what the master did was his business and his alone. He didn't visit the castle very often and when he wasn't there, most of the house was there for their own use.
The driver lowered the transport towards one of the estate's large lawns, avoiding the fruit trees and topiary. "Sorry to park you out so far, sir." the driver said to John. "With this wind I'm afraid to fly any closer to the house."
"Don't worry about it." said John. "This will be just fine. I may be a couple of hours, so you might as well shut this thing down and try to get some sleep."
"Yes, sir." said the pilot. He started flipping off switches and letting the hovercraft engines wind down. With a electronic whir, the ramp lowered, and John stepped out of the transport. As he walked up through the rain towards the front door of the house, the ramp closed behind him. Motion detectors turned on bright spotlights before he got halfway across the yard, illuminating his path. When he reached the front doors he pushed the doorbell and was answered a moment later by Christian, a butler in his sixties.
(note: ~ indicates that the dialogue is translated from French. Yeah, like I know french.)
~Mister St. Claire! Welcome home. We did not know you would be arriving this evening.~
~Last minute plans, I am afraid~ said John ~How are things, Christian?~
~Very good, sir. The power went out earlier but we have a generator going so everything is just fine. We were having some wonderful soup for dinner. Would you like some?~ The butler helped John out of his rain soaked jacket which he draped neatly over his arm.
~Thank you, but no. However, I would like a bottle of Hemovin '78 brought over to the east wing where I will be working for the next several hours. After that I do not want to be disturbed. Please tell the others to stay out of that part of the house, too.~
~But of course, sir.~ said the butler. ~Anything else?~
~No, that will be all, Christian. Thank you.~
The butler gave him a nod, spun on his heel and headed straight for the cellar.
John made his way to the east wing of the house, and went into the library. Not wanting to waste any time, he got right down to business and started pulling books off of shelves and moving furniture to accommodate his plans.

Two hours later he was ready. The library was now lit by the twenty or so candles that John had placed around the room, leaving it dim, but still bright enough to see by. All of the furniture had been removed with the exception of two chairs and a small table that were now placed in the center of the library. On top of the table there was a table cloth, two candles and a large piece of poster board that had strange, arcane symbols drawn on it. John sat in one of the chairs with a wine glass in one hand and a book on summoning devils in the other. He was reading from the book and making sure that he remembered the ritual correctly. He referred to the book one last time, and then checked the poster board to make sure everything was perfect. Satisfied that he had done everything right, he closed the book and sat both it and the wine glass on the floor beside him. He placed his fingers on the center of the poster board, took a deep breath and spoke two words.
"Pudervrag, come."
John waited for a moment until he felt a familiar tingling sensation on the back of his neck and then he sat back in his chair. Relax, he told himself. He could do this. He could do this. He repeated that phrase to himself several times as he reached down and retrieved his wine glass from the floor.
A few minutes later the air turned static and a devil in a loose fitting suit stepped out of no where. The air in front of John just turned dark for a moment and then the devil was striding into the room. It was one of your classic demons, with red skin and small horns on it's forehead. His clothes were in the style of the old american west and he wore a gunbelt with two six shooters around his waist. The devil looked around the room, no doubt checking for traps. Apparently satisfied, he turned to John.
"You request an audience with Mr. Pudervrag?" he asked.
"Yes, I do." said John.
"Pertaining to what?"
John took a sip from his wine, hoping that he could keep his voice from cracking with fear when he said the next sentence. "I would like to sell my soul." he said.
The devil stared at him for a moment, studying his face. "Very well." he said. "I shall go get him."
He took a step backwards and the same spot of darkness appeared and swallowed him up. It was another minute before he reappeared. This time he was with another devil who was similarly dressed and a third devil who John recognized.
"Pudervrag." he said. He tipped his head in respect.
Pudervrag was tall, nearly seven feet in fact. He sported a long horn mustache and his skin was like a hard, tanned leather. John knew that he had horns but they were hidden beneath the cowboy hat on top of his head. He could almost have passed for human if you didn't look at him from the waist down. He had the body of a goat down there. Pudervrag was very sensitive about this and tried to hide it with very loose fitting trousers and a pair of specially made cowboy boots.. It didn't work. When he walked it was clear that there was something very wrong with him.
The devil removed his hat and sat down in the chair opposite of John. His two bodyguards took up positions behind him, relaxed but ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.
"Now, Mr. Midnight," said Pudervrag. " what's this I hear about you wanting to sell your soul?" His voice slithered.
"I go by the name Sansker now." said John.
Pudervrag chuckled and shook his head. "You and all your silly names." said the devil. "I never could keep up with them. Very well, Sansker it is. What can I do for you?"
"I've lost my speed and my strength. Without them I will not be able to recover the heart I recently had stolen from me and I will surely die. I am willing to sell you my soul in return for what you have given a hundred gunfighters before me. Superhuman speed."
Pudervrag stared at him. "You realize how unbelievable that all sounds, don't you?"
"Yes, sir." said John. "Unfortunately it's all true."
"And why should I want to keep you from dying?" asked the devil.
"Because you've been after my soul for over four hundred years. If I get killed right now it's up for grabs. Anyone could end up with it, Malebolgia, Archapedrix, Charnelwind, hell, even heaven could claim it if they were so inclined. If you make a deal with me it's yours. You probably won't even have to wait that long until you can take possession of it. The fact of the matter is that even if you do help me there's a good chance that I will still be killed in the next couple of days. I don't have any of my regenerative powers so it would only take one bullet to kill me. Make a deal with me and in as little as two days you could have the most cold blooded son of a bitch that ever lived leading your army."
It looked like Pudervrag liked the sound of that. However, this was John Sansker he was dealing with, so naturally, he was still suspicious. "You seem confident that you will live, though. Why is that?"
"I'm just optimistic to a fault, that's all." said John. "I'm keeping in mind that I could fail, though. If anyone is going to own me for all eternity it might as well be you."
"Why is that?" asked the devil. "You've always hated me."
"You're the devil I know." said John. "You may be a vile piece of shit, but you're a predictable vile piece of shit. If I have to work for you forever then I know what I'm getting into. Somebody else gets me and I could end up doing handstands in neck deep shit until the end of time. You know what I am capable of and you'll put me to good use. The way I see it, at least I won't be bored."
"It just all sounds too easy." said Pudervrag. "I've been after you for so long and now you just want to hand your soul over to me? What is it that you are not telling me?"
"Hey, the last thing I want to do is give you my soul. But I'm up against a wall here and I'm out of options. It's either work with you and take my chances or just sit down and wait to die. You know me. I'd never be the kind to just sit and wait to die. Now, I don't want to be rude, but I'm kind of in a hurry. Do you want to make a deal or not?"
Pudervrag stared at him and weighed his options carefully. John could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking this out, trying to see all the angles. After a few more moments he came to a decision. "Very well." he said. "Orville, the contract."
One of the devils standing behind him reached into his jacket and retrieved a neatly folded piece of paper, a bottle of dark red colored ink, and a feather pen. Pudervrag took them from him and sat them on the table. He opened up the paper, revealing that it was a contract. It was your standard satanic contract, the paper made from human skin, the words printed in blood. It listed the terms of the deal in large letters at the top and a bunch more stuff in microscopic fine print at the bottom.
Pudervrag slid the contract across the table to John and said, "Sign here, here, and here."
John borrowed the devil's pen and signed his name in all the appropriate places. He slid the contract back to Pudervrag, who signed it also. Orville took the contract when he was done and blotted it before folding it up and putting it back in his pocket. Pudervrag reached across the table and put a hand on each side of John's head.
"I give to you the gift of speed." he said, and a jolt of power shot through his hands and into John's body. John shouted in pain and convulsed. His body went rigid and he ended up falling over backwards onto the floor.
Time slowed down for him. As he hit the floor he saw his wine glass begin to topple over. Before he realized that he was doing it, his hand snapped out and caught the glass. He was a blur.
"Oh, yes." he said. He almost felt like he was back to normal. In a flash he was back on his feet and standing in front of Pudervrag. He moved so quickly that he spooked the two bodyguards and they reached nervously for their guns. "Relax, boys," he told them. "I'm just trying this thing out."
He grabbed the edge of the table cloth in front of him and yanked it off the table with a loud snap. The poster board and candles remained in the respective positions, unmoved. He giggled with delight. "Something bigger." he said. He paced around the room, looking for some better test of his speed.
He looked down and said, "A-ha!"
Pudervrag started to protest as John reached down and grabbed the edge of the rug that covered the center of the wooden floor.
"Don't worry." said John. "I can do this."
The devil looked down and saw that the rug went underneath his chair. "Look," he said. "I don't think that's such a go-"
John yanked the rug out from under them with a snap. Pudervrag kept his seat and his two men kept their feet. The devil sighed with relief.
"Uh, oh." said John. He was still looking at the floor. Pudervrag glanced down and a look of horror leapt onto his face. Where the rug had been had been arcane symbols had been carved into the wooden floor. A pentagram, a goat's head, all the symbols required for binding a devil. And Pudervrag was sitting right in the middle of it. He was trapped there, unable to step out of the circle or to escape back to hell.
John started to laugh
"You son of a bitch." said Pudervrag. "You are going to undo this right now, do you understand me?" He ended the sentence with a shout.
Ignoring him, John turned his back and walked over to one of the book shelves. He selected a book from the shelf and opened it, revealing it's hollowed out center and a large, silver, automatic pistol.
"Kill him." said Pudervrag. "Now!" He sounded panicked, urgent.
His men went for their guns. John grabbed the automatic out of the book and spun toward the devils. The devil's guns roared but John was crossing the room in front of them, too fast to draw a bead on. John opened fire with the automatic and the two body guards took rounds in their heads and chests. Green blood and brain matter splattered the walls and bookshelves behind them. They fell in unison and hit the floor with a thump.
Pudervrag looked like he was still trying to figure out where everything had gone wrong. All he could manage to say was, "But . . .but. . . but"
John walked to the edge of the symbols on the floor and said. "Funny how things turn out, isn't it? You were thinking, 'Finally! After all these years I have him!' " John laughed at the devil, a sly, malicious chuckle.
The devil let out a shuddering gasp. "I'm not armed, John. You wouldn't kill an unarmed man, would you?"
In reply, John started to sing. "If you don't know me by now, you will never, ever, ever know me." He raised the gun and put three rounds between Pudervrag's eyes and two more in his heart.
He sat the gun on the edge of a shelf as he left the room and headed back for the front door of the mansion. Christian met him there with a dry jacket and an umbrella.
~Leaving so soon, sir?~
~I have pressing business.~ said John. ~There's a mess in the library that needs to be cleaned up and the floor needs to be refinished. Please have that taken care of, won't you, Christian?~
~But of course, sir~ said the butler.
~Thank you.~ John told him. He took the umbrella from Christian and stepped back out into the rain. He thought he might try to get a little sleep on the transport. He doubted that he would get another chance for a long while to come.

On board the USS Majestic, just off the coast of Hong Kong, four nights later- From her desk in the back Maxine watched the twenty or so other super powered beings gathered in the briefing room and couldn't help but smile. In a crowd like this, she realized, she didn't really stand out that much. Anywhere else in the world her green skin and fin might draw some attention, but in a room filled with armored cyborgs, flamboyantly dressed vigilantes and military superfreaks no one gave her a second glance.
According to the UN the men and women in this room were the best of the best. They had all been hand picked by the same people who had recruited Maxine for this mission. Each of these people had been selected not only for their powers and fighting skills but also for their intelligence and their ability to think in an intense situation. Both powerful and responsible, these SPB's were media darlings in their respective hometowns and were respected by their local law enforcement. Every one of them had shown in the past that they could take orders and work well with authority.
Collectively, they were the UN's answer to the Vampire threat in Hong Kong. They had all volunteered to help with the UN invasion because they believed that what was going on in Hong Kong was wrong and because they wanted to be a part of bringing it to an end.
So far, the military had not revealed to them exactly what their roles in the invasion would be. A veil of secrecy had been thrown over the whole mission and every time Maxine had asked about it she had been told that she would know what she needed to know when she needed to know. Apparently the time for her to know had finally come tonight. At a little after eighteen hundred hours a message had been sent out over the intercom instructing all the SPB's to gather in the briefing room.. On her way to the briefing room Maxine had observed that the entire crew of the Majestic was hustling and bustling, preparing planes, gunships, and drop ships for action. All this activity lead her to believe that something very big was about to happen. They were finally going to see some action. She was glad. All of this waiting was killing her.
Maxine saw a group of officers entering the room and she quickly sat up straight in her chair. One of them headed for the podium at the front with a stack of papers while another set up an easel and a bunch of poster boards with maps and diagrams printed on them. The rest of the men sat in some chairs lined up along the wall at the front of the room.
"Good evening." said the man at the podium. "My name is Colonel David Tibbets. It's my duty to inform you that we will be invading Hong Kong in less than an hour and to let you know what your part in that will be.
Your mission is to locate and capture the leaders of the vampire nation. You will meet up with a lot of hostiles on your way into Hong Kong. You are to use whatever force necessary to defend yourself. But remember, your targets are the leaders, not the troops. Avoid skirmishes with them if at all possible.
At the same time that you are being inserted into Hong Kong we will be dropping human troops all over the city. They are there to support you and to distract the Vampire army while you make your way to the leaders. Be aware that there may be friendlies around you, so be sure of what you are aiming at before you pull the trigger.
There will also be bombing runs made by our planes. We've selected sites all over the city that house anti-aircraft weaponry and we will be bombing them through out the night. These sites are marked on your maps so make sure you steer clear of them.
Now, here's how we are getting you into the city."
His aide removed a map from the easel and revealed the next poster board in the stack. It showed a diagram of bullet shaped vehicles of some kind. On of the diagrams had a cutaway that revealed that there were rows of seats inside the vehicle. It looked a little bit like a small passenger jet without any wings or windows.
He tapped the diagram and said, "These are SAPCs, or Submersible Armored Personal Carriers. You will be loaded into one of these and launched from the bottom of the ship. We will steer you into Hong Kong's harbor by remote control using satellite signals. You will surface next to the docks and exit the vehicle.
From here you will make your way into the city." He removed the diagram and revealed a street map of Hong Kong. He tapped where a large circle had been drawn in the middle of the map. "We believe that the Vampire Nation is being run from here. It's the old trade center building in Kenpo Square. It will be heavily fortified and you can expect a strong resistance when you attack here.
We want the leaders taken alive if at all possible. That means you can't just knock the building over. Move in quickly, take out the defenses, then storm the building. Secure it floor by floor and make your way up. Once you have the leaders captured secure your position and hold it until we come for you.
We know very little about the leaders of the Vampire Nation. Until a week and a half ago it was headed up by John Sansker. Since then we've heard that he has been killed and was replaced. We have no confirmation for this so keep your eyes open for this man." He held up a picture of a tall muscle bound man in a three piece suit. The man had a bronze tan and short blonde hair. Colonel Tibbets put down that picture and held up another one. "This is Mark Trevors. He was an assistant to Sansker and we believe that he is now the leader of the Vampire Nation. We do know that he was leading the Vampires that recently ambushed a UN peacekeeping force in Hong Kong." The picture was a still from a news broadcast. Trevors was standing in front of an exploding UN gunship with his fists raised in the air. He had a wild look in his eyes and was wearing a malicious grin. "Both of these men are considered to be very dangerous and nigh invulnerable so do not try to apprehend them by your self. Make sure that you have back up. Sansker alone has already killed one UN Shadow Striker and hundreds of human troops. The last thing we want is to lose more people trying to catch him. So use you team mates and use your head.
That's all I have. Any questions?"
A hand at the front of the room shot up. It was Air Raid, a hero from San Diego.
"Yes?" asked the Colonel.
"So basically, what you are saying is that you are going to strap us into a bullet and shoot us at Hong Kong?"
The Colonel laughed and said, "Basically."
"Ok." said Air Raid. "Just making sure I understood."
"Anything else?"
No one answered so the Colonel said, "Next I want to introduce you to the man who will be leading you in Hong Kong. Say hello to Crusader."
A man sitting near the front got up from his chair and went up to stand next to Tibbets. The man was dressed in a black uniform that had plates of gold colored armor over the shoulders, torso and legs. He wore a black mask that concealed the top half of his head, his neck and his throat, leaving only the lower half of his face uncovered. A sword was strapped at an angle to each shoulder and they criss crossed across his back. There was a dagger in a sheath on the side of each calf and he had a sawed off shotgun in a holster on his right thigh. Twin forty fives were in shoulder holsters hanging under his arms and extra clips for them were in little compartments on his belt.. In the crook of his arm he carried a helmet made of the same material as his armor. He stood about six feet tall and was very fit.
Maxine had heard of Crusader before. He had been thrust in the spotlight a few years back when he had gone to war with a bunch of Vampire gangs in Detroit. The news media had crucified Crusader for his brutal methods back then. In a few minutes she would be doing the same thing. What would they say about her?
The Colonel continued. "I doubt there is anyone else in the world who has had as much experience killing Vampires as Crusader here. I'm going to let him tell you about himself and I want all of you to pay attention to what he has to say. He knows what he is talking about."
"Thank you, Colonel." said Crusader. "He is right. My family has been hunting and killing Vampires since the fifteenth century. The title of Crusader is handed down from father to son and we are taught how to fight Vampires from infancy. There is no way I can teach you everything I know but I can tell you enough to help keep you alive once you get into Hong Kong. When we are out there tonight watch what I do. Mimic it. Stick close together and watch each others backs. Don't fall behind.
The one thing you need to remember is AIM FOR THE HEART. Nothing is more effective in putting a Vampire down permanently than destroying it's heart. Shoot it, stab it, crush it, punch it, it doesn't matter as long as you render it useless. You don't need an oak stake, a bullet will work just as good. If you shoot a vampire anywhere else it will regenerate and get back up. So even if you cap one in the head, stop and take time to put a bullet in it's heart.
Do not let a vampire bite you. There is no cure for Vampirism. You get bit and you will spend the rest of your life drinking blood. Personally, if I ever got bit I would kill myself. Better that than to become one of the undead. Any questions?"
"What about holy water?" asked one of the vigilantes.
"Do you have any holy water?" asked Crusader.
The man shook his head, no.
"Well, it will hurt Vampires. Older Vampires can laugh it off, though, unless they are purebreds. Purebreds it will kill on contact. Crosses don't do diddly so don't even bother.
As long as you keep on your toes and remember what I said you're going to be just fine. Remember, aim for the heart."
He turned to Tibbets and said, "That's all I have to say."
"Thank you." said the Colonel and he stepped back up to the podium. "Now, all of you need to head back to your bunks and get geared up. You need to be on the Wet Deck and ready to go in fifteen minutes. We launch the SAPC in twenty minutes. If you aren't there then you aren't going. Understood?"
The people in the room nodded yes and Tibbets dismissed them. Maxine got up from the desk and ran back to her cabin to get ready. She was on the Wet Deck and ready to go in ten minutes flat.
Tibbets had told them that they could use anything from the ship's weapons cache that they wanted but most of the members of the strike team had opted to rely on their own technology or powers instead. Not Maxine. She loaded up on grenades and knives and got herself a Faustin automatic machine rifle that fired the same kind of ammunition that her service revolver back home did. She picked up a backpack full of ammo to go along with that plus a handgun to use in close quarters fighting. Crusader seemed to know what he was doing and he was going into Hong Kong packing heat and loaded for bear. She couldn't find any fault with his logic and decided that she was going to do the same thing.
Over the next few minutes the rest of the strike team arrived as well as Colonel Tibbets and Crusader. While they were loaded into the SAPC and strapped into their seats Tibbets showed Crusader how to blow the hatch once they had surfaced in the harbor.
"Once you hit the surface the pod's going to decompress." he said. " There's a light right here next to this handle. When it turns from red to green, yank on the handle. The whole top of the pod is going to blow off and you're going to find yourself sitting in out in the open. There's two out boards on the back. Use them to get in close to land or a dock and then bail out. We don't think that they're going to be watching the harbor but I wouldn't hang around too long. Get on dry land and get moving as soon as possible."
"Wait for the green and then pull right?" said Crusader, making sure he understood.
"You got it." said Tibbets. He stood up and looked out over the heads of the men and women sitting in the SAPC. "This is it, people. The people of the world are counting on you. Take care of yourselves and each other out there and make it home safe. Good luck."
He stepped down out of the pod and the crew lowered the top down onto it. It was pitch black for a moment, but then the interior lights came on. Maxine could hear the clank of latches being shut outside and the hiss of pressure tanks being balanced. The whole pod jerked and swayed as it was lifted off of the ground and lowered through a opening in the bottom of the ship. She heard the splash of water and felt a momentary flash of panic when the sides of the SAPC groaned. Relax, she told herself. It was just the pod adjusting to the pressure and temperature of the water. There was a sputter towards the back of the craft and then a thunderous roar as the engines started up. The SAPC shot forward and they all found themsleves being pressed back into their seats. The pod's nose turned toward Hong Kong.
The invasion had begun.



~Fin-Fan-Fic-Fanatics~Letters and comments from readers. Do I rock or do I suck? Write me and tell me what you think. If you don't want your comments put in this letters column, or if you want them taken out, please let me know.

Same old, same old. I procrastinated a bunch on this issue while I tried to figure out how I was going to go about doing these Sansker/Dragon issues. The story changed three or four times in the mean time. By the way, if none of the Sansker stuff makes sense try reading the stuff on this page. It would explain alot.
If you want to read other stuff I have written, Bad Monkey Comics is back up and running and it has all my stories and artwork. I had a couple of e-mails from last issue but I replied to them and they developed into long spoiler filled conversations so I decided to skip letters this issue. See you guys next issue.