Chapter 3
In the darkness of Dr. Grim's lair, the evil doctor worked with his chemistry set. He was paying close attention to a cylindrical capsule made of glass. Various tubes and wires led into it. There was nothing in the glass except a small, black pod. As Dr. Grim watched, a small crack formed in the pod. "Oh yes," he said with excitement.
"Mecha-Reaper! Come here. Come witness the birth of our means to control our army," he called. Mecha-Reaper rushed over and looked into the capsule. More cracks were spreading over the pod. "What is that, Master?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Wait until it hatches and then you will see," said Dr. Grim.
The pod cracked some more until a very unusual creature popped out. It looked like a black leech. But it had a human torso mounted on a leech body. It had two small, clawed arms. Its face was featureless except for two red eyes. "It lives!" exclaimed Dr. Grim.
"What kind of creature is this?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "This is my creation. A parasite composed of DNA from a common leech and cells from my own brain. It is also infused with a small sample of BJ energy, which is what I termed the energy I took from Beetlejuice. This will attach itself to the mind of any Neitherworld creature and bend it to my will. I call this creature, the Mind Infester," stated Dr. Grim.
"How do you know it will obey you?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Well, for one thing, it is composed of a bit of my genetic information. But the main reason is that I manipulated the BJ energy into a mind-controlling force that responds only to me. Despite its marvelous ability to control these creatures, that's not the best part about these little guys. With a special ray that I have designed, I can stimulate mutagenic properties of the Mind Infesters. I will show you when the time is right," said Dr. Grim as he strolled to a control panel that was attached to his ghost containment capsule.
A long tube ran from the capsule to a metal cylindrical container. Another tube ran from the cylindrical container. This one was unattached. From the top of the metal capsule, a tube connected it to the glass capsule that contained the Mind Infester. "When I choose a creature to release, it will travel in its ooze form from my containment unit into the metal capsule. There I will administer the Mind Infester and release it outside. There it will reassume its original form with the Mind Infester attached to its mind," stated Dr. Grim.
"How can you tell which monster it is? I don't know about you but I definitely do not want to encounter a sandworm again," said Mecha-Reaper. "You piece of junk. My system will analyze the components of the ooze and tell me what sort of monster it will become when it is released. So I will have an opportunity to pick a monster. Now let's see what we have here," said Dr. Grim as he typed on a keyboard and gazed at a small computer screen. Mecha-Reaper stood by and watched as his master scanned through the assortment of creatures. He rejected many until he said, "Perfect! Stand by, Mecha-Reaper in case of the very slim chance that I have made an error."
Then he pushed a series of buttons and blue ooze traveled from the ghost containment unit to the metal container. The Mind Infester in the glass capsule traveled through the tube into the metal container. "Yes. The Infester is attaching itself to the mind of this creature. Get ready. I'm releasing it now," said Dr. Grim as he pressed another button.
The ooze spilled onto the floor of the lab. The shape of the black Mind Infester could be seen within it. "I'm ready to take action if this ooze so much as takes the form of a worm," said Mecha-Reaper as he tightened his grip on his scythe.
The ooze started to grow. It started to take the shape. But it didn't take the shape of a worm like Mecha-Reaper expected. It took the form of a convertible. Its color changed into a pale green. "A car? What kind of monster is a car?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Take a look at the front of it," said Dr. Grim whose evil grin was growing wider. Mecha-Reaper took a look at the front of the car and gasped.
The grill at the front of the car was a grinning mouth. It had a skull ornament on the nose. Its headlights were pitch black eyes. "Now I remember. I captured this car creature shortly after we arrived in the Neitherworld. It was one of the few creatures that put up a struggle," said Mecha-Reaper. Dr. Grim chuckled and yelled, "Mind Infester! State the name of this creature!" A voice similar to Dr. Grim's emitted from the mouth of the car creature.
"I am the Dragster of Doom. But my creators, Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, call me Doomie," it said. "So Beetlejuice created this car. How ironic that the same thing that he created will be his undoing. Doomie, I command you to destroy Sleepy Hollow! Find Beetlejuice and bring him to me," commanded Dr. Grim.
Then he pulled a lever and a wall at the other end of the room slid back to reveal an upward ramp leading outside. Doomie started his engines and rolled toward the ramp. As he left, the wall slid back into place.
"What good can that car do besides flatten everything? You should just send me instead," said Mecha-Reaper. "You and the Zombots are backup for my creatures. Besides, the Mind Infesters carry some of the BJ energy. The BJ energy will give the monster some sort of extra ability that it didn't have before. And that will be before I activate the mutagenic properties of the Mind Infester. Now come and watch," said Dr. Grim as he walked toward a wall covered with TV monitors. Each one showed a different part of Sleepy Hollow.
"I had the Zombots install miniature cameras around the town last night. They will allow me to see every bit of carnage my monsters will cause," said Dr. Grim and he sat down into a chair. "Just relax and enjoy the show. It's party time!" he said with an evil laugh. Mecha-Reaper stood beside the chair and watched the monitors.
Outside, Doomie rolled down the street with an evil grin pasted on his face. "Master said to flatten the town. But first, I'll build an army to help me," said the voice of the evil Mind Infester within Doomie. Then he noticed a brown Volkswagen parked at the side of the street. His grin grew wider. "Excellent," he chuckled showing a bit of Dr. Grim's evil personality.
He wheeled toward the front of the Volkswagen. "Awaken my brethren," he said as he opened his mouth. A black mist emitted from it and covered the Volkswagen. Soon, the mist cleared and the Volkswagen began a horrible transformation. Six insect-like legs sprouted from the sides. The front headlights transformed into faceted insect eyes. Antennae sprouted from the top of the car. Pincers, similar to a stag beetle's, emerged from the front of the car. Doomie laughed.
"Now the term Volkswagen beetle applies! Now my friend, recruit others and cause major destruction. We're going to turn Sleepy Hollow into one gigantic demolition derby!" exclaimed Doomie. The transformed Volkswagen nodded and then crawled off west. Doomie continued north looking around for more cars to transform.
Back in Dr. Grim's lair, Dr. Grim laughed malevolently. "I knew that car would have some sort of extraneous power. But I never imagined that it would manifest itself as an ability to transform ordinary automobiles into monsters. I am a genius, am I not?" asked Dr. Grim. "Yes indeed, Master," said Mecha-Reaper. "Sleepy Hollow, this is the beginning of the end of the world as you know it!" exclaimed Dr. Grim as his maniacal laughter filled the lair.
In the darkness of Dr. Grim's lair, the evil doctor worked with his chemistry set. He was paying close attention to a cylindrical capsule made of glass. Various tubes and wires led into it. There was nothing in the glass except a small, black pod. As Dr. Grim watched, a small crack formed in the pod. "Oh yes," he said with excitement.
"Mecha-Reaper! Come here. Come witness the birth of our means to control our army," he called. Mecha-Reaper rushed over and looked into the capsule. More cracks were spreading over the pod. "What is that, Master?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Wait until it hatches and then you will see," said Dr. Grim.
The pod cracked some more until a very unusual creature popped out. It looked like a black leech. But it had a human torso mounted on a leech body. It had two small, clawed arms. Its face was featureless except for two red eyes. "It lives!" exclaimed Dr. Grim.
"What kind of creature is this?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "This is my creation. A parasite composed of DNA from a common leech and cells from my own brain. It is also infused with a small sample of BJ energy, which is what I termed the energy I took from Beetlejuice. This will attach itself to the mind of any Neitherworld creature and bend it to my will. I call this creature, the Mind Infester," stated Dr. Grim.
"How do you know it will obey you?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Well, for one thing, it is composed of a bit of my genetic information. But the main reason is that I manipulated the BJ energy into a mind-controlling force that responds only to me. Despite its marvelous ability to control these creatures, that's not the best part about these little guys. With a special ray that I have designed, I can stimulate mutagenic properties of the Mind Infesters. I will show you when the time is right," said Dr. Grim as he strolled to a control panel that was attached to his ghost containment capsule.
A long tube ran from the capsule to a metal cylindrical container. Another tube ran from the cylindrical container. This one was unattached. From the top of the metal capsule, a tube connected it to the glass capsule that contained the Mind Infester. "When I choose a creature to release, it will travel in its ooze form from my containment unit into the metal capsule. There I will administer the Mind Infester and release it outside. There it will reassume its original form with the Mind Infester attached to its mind," stated Dr. Grim.
"How can you tell which monster it is? I don't know about you but I definitely do not want to encounter a sandworm again," said Mecha-Reaper. "You piece of junk. My system will analyze the components of the ooze and tell me what sort of monster it will become when it is released. So I will have an opportunity to pick a monster. Now let's see what we have here," said Dr. Grim as he typed on a keyboard and gazed at a small computer screen. Mecha-Reaper stood by and watched as his master scanned through the assortment of creatures. He rejected many until he said, "Perfect! Stand by, Mecha-Reaper in case of the very slim chance that I have made an error."
Then he pushed a series of buttons and blue ooze traveled from the ghost containment unit to the metal container. The Mind Infester in the glass capsule traveled through the tube into the metal container. "Yes. The Infester is attaching itself to the mind of this creature. Get ready. I'm releasing it now," said Dr. Grim as he pressed another button.
The ooze spilled onto the floor of the lab. The shape of the black Mind Infester could be seen within it. "I'm ready to take action if this ooze so much as takes the form of a worm," said Mecha-Reaper as he tightened his grip on his scythe.
The ooze started to grow. It started to take the shape. But it didn't take the shape of a worm like Mecha-Reaper expected. It took the form of a convertible. Its color changed into a pale green. "A car? What kind of monster is a car?" asked Mecha-Reaper. "Take a look at the front of it," said Dr. Grim whose evil grin was growing wider. Mecha-Reaper took a look at the front of the car and gasped.
The grill at the front of the car was a grinning mouth. It had a skull ornament on the nose. Its headlights were pitch black eyes. "Now I remember. I captured this car creature shortly after we arrived in the Neitherworld. It was one of the few creatures that put up a struggle," said Mecha-Reaper. Dr. Grim chuckled and yelled, "Mind Infester! State the name of this creature!" A voice similar to Dr. Grim's emitted from the mouth of the car creature.
"I am the Dragster of Doom. But my creators, Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, call me Doomie," it said. "So Beetlejuice created this car. How ironic that the same thing that he created will be his undoing. Doomie, I command you to destroy Sleepy Hollow! Find Beetlejuice and bring him to me," commanded Dr. Grim.
Then he pulled a lever and a wall at the other end of the room slid back to reveal an upward ramp leading outside. Doomie started his engines and rolled toward the ramp. As he left, the wall slid back into place.
"What good can that car do besides flatten everything? You should just send me instead," said Mecha-Reaper. "You and the Zombots are backup for my creatures. Besides, the Mind Infesters carry some of the BJ energy. The BJ energy will give the monster some sort of extra ability that it didn't have before. And that will be before I activate the mutagenic properties of the Mind Infester. Now come and watch," said Dr. Grim as he walked toward a wall covered with TV monitors. Each one showed a different part of Sleepy Hollow.
"I had the Zombots install miniature cameras around the town last night. They will allow me to see every bit of carnage my monsters will cause," said Dr. Grim and he sat down into a chair. "Just relax and enjoy the show. It's party time!" he said with an evil laugh. Mecha-Reaper stood beside the chair and watched the monitors.
Outside, Doomie rolled down the street with an evil grin pasted on his face. "Master said to flatten the town. But first, I'll build an army to help me," said the voice of the evil Mind Infester within Doomie. Then he noticed a brown Volkswagen parked at the side of the street. His grin grew wider. "Excellent," he chuckled showing a bit of Dr. Grim's evil personality.
He wheeled toward the front of the Volkswagen. "Awaken my brethren," he said as he opened his mouth. A black mist emitted from it and covered the Volkswagen. Soon, the mist cleared and the Volkswagen began a horrible transformation. Six insect-like legs sprouted from the sides. The front headlights transformed into faceted insect eyes. Antennae sprouted from the top of the car. Pincers, similar to a stag beetle's, emerged from the front of the car. Doomie laughed.
"Now the term Volkswagen beetle applies! Now my friend, recruit others and cause major destruction. We're going to turn Sleepy Hollow into one gigantic demolition derby!" exclaimed Doomie. The transformed Volkswagen nodded and then crawled off west. Doomie continued north looking around for more cars to transform.
Back in Dr. Grim's lair, Dr. Grim laughed malevolently. "I knew that car would have some sort of extraneous power. But I never imagined that it would manifest itself as an ability to transform ordinary automobiles into monsters. I am a genius, am I not?" asked Dr. Grim. "Yes indeed, Master," said Mecha-Reaper. "Sleepy Hollow, this is the beginning of the end of the world as you know it!" exclaimed Dr. Grim as his maniacal laughter filled the lair.