"So let me get this straight Antonio, we're going to be getting that new weapons shipment from Puerto Rico tomorrow at 7:00 AM, correct?"
"Yes Mr. Garrison, that is correct. Your shipment will be arriving first thing tomorrow morning on schedule."
"And I trust there will be no police interference?"
"Of course not sir. You know that I keep all of my illegal business dealings tightly under wraps. We have not ever had police intervention in our affairs, nor do we plan too." Antonio assured, holding out his hand to close the deal with Mr. Garrison, a major black market weapons buyer.
"Excellent." Mr. Garrison replied, taking Antonio's hand to close the deal. The pair was just about to shake hands when a scream was heard coming from the entrance to the warehouse.
Mr. Garrison and Antonio spun around immediately. Standing in the doorway was a creature unlike anything either of them had ever seen before. Two of Antonio's men walked toward it, holding out their guns and pointing it at the creature. Antonio watched the creature raise a hand and throw two fireballs at each of the men. They screamed and were turned to pile of smoldering ash. The creature chuckled and shook its head as it began to advance on Antonio and Mr. Garrison's position.
"Stay back!" Mr. Garrison yelled, picking up a glock that was sitting on the table. Mr. Garrison raised the glock and fired several rounds at the creature. The shots had no effect on it as it continued to move closer to them. Frantically, Mr. Garrison emptied his magazine on the creature, his bullets falling to the ground with a metallic ringing sound.
The creature stuck its hand out and reached for Mr. Garrison, grabbing his face. Mr. Garrison screamed in pain as the creature's hand began to heat up and melt his face. When the creature let go, all of Mr. Garrison's facial features were welded together, no longer recognizable. He screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his face and writhing in pain. The creature smiled as it moved closer to Antonio, who was walking backwards and trying to get away from the creature. Soon, Antonio backed into a wall.
"Are you Antonio Sanchez, younger brother of Marco Sanchez?"
Antonio gulped, his face turning white. "Y-yes…"
"Good, then you will be the one to help me."
"W-why? Why would I want to help you, alien?"
At this comment, the creature began to laugh a dark, menacing laugh.
"Alien? Is that what you think I am?"
"Yes… I do."
The creature laughed again.
"Not alien baby, virus."
"Virus?"
"Yes, virus, like the one who killed your brother."
"You know who killed my brother?"
"I do."
"Who?"
Just them Mr. Garrison let out an ear-splitting scream. The virus rolled his eyes, turned his head and sent a fireball at Mr. Garrison's writhing body. On impact, his screams stopped instantly.
"Now." The virus said, turning his head to face Antonio. "Where were we?"
"I-I… You were going to tell me who killed my brother."
"Was I?"
"Y-y-yes. You were."
The virus snickered.
"You want to know who killed your brother?" He said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his DNA bracelet. He then squeezed one of the beads and hung it over Antonio's face. "I did."
"No!" Antonio screamed in shock.
"Yes. This little DNA bead belonged to him. I'd be happy to add yours to my collection, unless you would like to cooperate and help me that is."
Antonio didn't answer. Instead he dropped to the floor, brought his knees up, buried his head in his arms and cried for the death of his brother. The virus ignored Antonio's whimpering and walked around the room, getting a feel for his new surroundings. After a few moments, he walked back over to Antonio.
"Are you finished yet cuz I have a lot of stuff to do 'round here baby."
Antonio lifted his head up, sniffed and wiped his tears away with his sleeve.
"Y-yes…"
"Good. Now get up."
Antonio did as he was ordered, not wanting to make the huge and scary looking evil virus in front of him angry. Antonio knew he stood no chance against him. The virus was at least two feet taller than he was. He knew that he would have to wait to exact revenge for his brother when he was able to catch this thing off guard. So now he though, he would just play along until opportunity knocked.
"Thrax?" A voice from the doorway asked. "We didn't hear anymore screams."
"I understand that Diego."
"Yo Thrax, you're getting a little sloppy, you missed one." Raven commented, pointing to the human standing next to Thrax.
"I am not getting sloppy Raven." Thrax growled. "I want this one kept alive for now. He is after all, our gracious host."
"Right…" Raven said, his voice dropping off when he saw the look he was getting form both Thrax and Diego.
"Now Antonio, would you be so kind as to show us around?" Thrax asked, pushing Antonio forward.
"Of course. Um, well what we're in right now is just really the tip of the iceberg so to speak. I only conduct business up here. The rest of the facility is below this warehouse. If you will all just follow me, I'll escort you to the stair case."
Thrax motioned everyone to follow Antonio. Antonio walked over to on of the side walls and pushed in a secret panel. This action caused a door to appear in the wall. Antonio walked through the door and his unwelcome guests followed. At the end of the staircase was another door. Antonio punched a numeric code into a wall computer by the door and after he had entered the sequence, it swung open. Antonio gulped as he walked inside.
The main room of Antonio's secret underground complex was of an average size. It had a table on the far wall, a few maps and posters and a computer system mounted in the right wall. There were also doors lining the walls, 12 in all.
"Where do all the doors lead?" Thrax asked.
"Well the first door on the right leads to the shipping room. That's where we process all of our employer's shipments. The second door leads to the shipment storage room. The third door leads to the weapons and ammunitions room where I showcase some of my dealings. The fourth, fifth and sixth room all lead to living quarters. The first door on the left leads to the shipment control and communications room. The second door leads to the mess hall, kitchen and supply rooms. The fourth door leads to the radar and satellite tracking room. The rooms behind the fifth and six doors are empty."
"Perfect. This place will do nicely. Don't you guys agree?"
The Strykers nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay Alpha, you can move in and re-supply. You are dismissed."
Stryker Team Alpha separated as they went into the various rooms of the complex. Each member going where they felt they had too. Raven and Shade thought it most important to go feed their faces so they hurried off to the kitchen. Xion headed to the radar and satellite tracking room. Zen, Demo, Diego, Rip and Spike all headed to the weapons and ammunitions room to re-supply. Before he left, Rip gave Draco to Thrax. Thrax was about to head to the living quarters when a timid voice form behind stopped him.
"M..m..m..Mr. Virus, sir?"
"Antonio." Thrax hissed, not bothering to turn around.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"First off baby, the name's Thrax. Take some time to memorize that. Second, I'm not going to do anything with you, right now, unless you decide to bother me again. Understood?"
"Yes…Thrax."
"Good. Now carry on with your daily activities but don't bother any one of us for anything."
"Yes Thrax."
With that, Thrax with Draco is his arms, walked through right door number six, down the hallway and to the dormitory at the very end of the hallway. When Thrax opened the door, he found that the dormitory had several rooms too it. There were two bedrooms, a TV or living room, a small kitchen, a small laundry room and a bathroom. Thrax carried Draco to the second bedroom, placed her on the bed and kissed her forehead.
"Get well soon baby, please." He whispered before shutting the lights off and closing the wooden sliding door.
Thrax walked into the TV room and with a sigh, sat down on the couch. He leaned his head on the top of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments, Thrax stood up and walked into the bathroom. He shut and locked the door. Then he turned the water on in the bathtub to the hottest possible temperature. Thrax opened the medicine chest and found a small box of bath bubbles. He ripped open the top of the box with his claw and dumped the entire thing into the tub. Within seconds, little pink bath bubbles began to build up on the surface of the water.
Thrax then proceeded to take off his clothes, hanging them on a towel rack as he did. He took his sunglasses and put the on the edge of the sink while he hung his DNA bracelet for them faucet, making sure to close the drain first. Thrax walked over to the tub and placed his body into the mountain of bath bubbles and water.
"Ah…" Thrax said, taking a deep breath and allowing the steam to enter his throat.
Thrax slumped down in the tub, taking a deep breath before disappearing into a sea of bubbles. After several minutes, he let himself come back up. The water streamed down his face, taking some bubbles with it as he did. Thrax reached forward and turned the water off, not wanting to overflow the tub, at least with water. The bath bubbles were already flowing down the side of the tub onto the white tile floor.
Thrax sat up, resting his muscular arms on either side of him on the edge of the tub, causing more water and bubbles to drip and flow onto the floor. Thrax tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling once again. His mind was filled with worry and for the first time in his life, uncertainty. He wanted with all of his heart and soul for Draco to be okay. He wanted to be able to see her smiling face, to see her happy or angry, he didn't care which as long as she was all right. He longed to hold her again, to have the feeling of her being next too him whenever he need her. He wished to hear her laugh and to yell. In general, he missed the sound of her voice. He sighed as he sunk back into the mountain of bubbles that had begun to look like a valley instead.
Thrax was also unsure of his present situation. He wasn't sure what he should do next. Should he try an assault? Alternatively, should he wait until Draco was well again? His mind was filled with questions like these. While he was fit to command Stryker Team Alpha, he did not believe that the job was really for him. He enjoyed being in charge but he felt that there are others more suited to it than he, at least in the militant sense. He didn't feel he was qualified to lead a military-like group such as Stryker Team Alpha. If he were to do it, he would feel better knowing that Draco was there to help him or back him up when he needed it. He had done okay so far but the stress of the situation was getting to him and the bath didn't seem to help as much as he originally thought that it would.
Thrax let himself come up again. He then stood up and got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around himself in the process. Most of the water and bubbles from the tub were on the floor at this point. Thrax grabbed another towel from one of the racks and tossed it on the floor, stepping on it so the water would have a chance to soak into the towel. Thrax dried himself off, stuffed his used towel in the hamper and put on a light blue bathrobe. Thrax cringed at the thought of wearing something of that color but he really didn't have a choice. He would have to tell Antonio to go buy some black bathrobes.
Thrax took his clothes from the drying rack and folded them over in his arms. He walked out of the bathroom and to the small laundry room where he started a load of wash. He returned to the bathroom to collect his sunglasses and DNA bracelet. He also let the water out of the tub and threw a couple of towels on the still soaking wet floor before turning off the light and walking out of the room.
Thrax opened the sliding door to Draco's bedroom and sat down by her bedside. He reached for her hand, holding it and rubbing it between his.
"Please, wake up Draco." He whispered, his voice full of worry. "You've been asleep long enough, please, wake up baby."
He stared at her longingly, falling asleep in his chair after a few hours of him watching over her like her guardian angel.
Thrax was awakened by the dryer alarm. He awoke with a start, his attention shifting to the bedside clock. It read 10:00 PM. He then looked over at Draco. She was still sleeping and from the looks of it, her condition had not changed. He sighed as he got up to get his clothes out of the washer/dryer machine. He wasn't sure if he was going to get dressed or not.
When he returned, he sat back down in his chair, still in the light blue bathrobe. He took Draco's hand once more and squeezed it lightly. To his surprise, she squeezed back. His eyes widened and he sat up straight.
"Draco?" His voice said hopefully.
"Thrax." She replied weakly, her eyes coming open.
"Draco!" Thrax said, tears of joy forming in his eyes. He got up off the chair and bent down to hug her. He helped her sit up and the pair embraced. "You're alive!"
"Thrax." Draco repeated, tears beginning to stream down her face.
"Draco, you had me so worried, I thought I was going to lose you." Thrax said through his newfound tears. He held her close to him, making sure he didn't squeeze too hard so he wouldn't harm Draco's stomach wound.
"I thought I was going to die."
"I missed you so much baby."
"I missed you too Thrax. I'm so sorry."
"No, baby, no, don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault."
"Right." Draco agreed, choking back tears. "It was my brother's fault."
Thrax smiled.
"I will kill him."
"We both will." Draco said weakly.
"Draco?"
"Thrax, please, lay me back down on the bed."
Thrax's look of worry returned as he lay her gently back down on the bed.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"No." She said with a weak smile. "I'm just tired and still very weak, that's all."
Thrax's tears began to stream down his face and fall onto the bed sheets.
"Don't cry baby. Please Thrax, don't cry for me."
Thrax wiped his tears on his sleeve but he still couldn't hold them back as hard as he tried.
"Thrax, come lay with me, please?"
Thrax nodded in reply, lying down on the bed next to Draco. He inched over to her, getting close. He then put one arm under her and one over her, locking his hands over her stomach. Draco placed her hands over his and put her head between his head and his shoulder. He rested the side of his head on hers and she rested her head on the bed and his shoulder.
"Stay with me Thrax, don't leave me alone."
"I won't I promise. I will stay here with you as long as you want me to." He replied lovingly, nuzzling her a bit.
"Thank you Thrax…" Draco's voice dropped off. She had once again fallen asleep. Thrax closed his eyes and fell asleep as well. He stayed with her through the night.
When he awoke the next morning, her found that Draco had turned around to lay on her back and was now looking over at him with tired and loving eyes.
"Good morning baby." He said with a smile, leaning over to kiss her. The pair kissed as passionately as Draco's condition would allow for a few moments.
"I missed that." Draco said softly. "And I missed you too Thrax."
Thrax smiled at her.
"I'm just so glad you're alive. I have thought about you ever since…" Thrax's voice trailed off for a moment. "Ever since Sirus shot you."
"I know you have. I've been thinking about you too Thrax. My dreams have been full of you and your smile."
Draco's words made him remember his dream. He instinctively raised his hand and rubbed his chest where his heart was located. Draco frowned.
"Thrax? What's wrong?"
"Nothing baby. It' s nothing really, just haunting memories of a bad dream. That's all."
"Would you like to tell me about it?"
"Maybe a little later, when I'm you feel better and I'm feeling less emotional and moody."
"Okay. Just promise me you'll tell me?"
"I promise I will tell you Draco." Thrax said, taking her hand.
"Thrax. Can you tell me something?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Where are we?"
"Los Angeles." Thrax replied honestly.
"In whose body?"
"We're not in a body."
"Then we're outside a body?"
"So to speak, yes."
"I'm don't understand."
"Draco, are no longer part of the microscopic world."
"What?"
"I'll explain later."
"Explain now, I have all the time in the world."
"Alright, here goes." Thrax said taking a deep breath.
Thrax spent the next two hours telling Draco the story of how they went from being in The City of Frank to where they now were, Los Angeles. He told her about the syringe and how they were got to be at their current size. Thrax told Draco of how they escaped from the underground facility and ended up in this one. He explained to her the stress he had been feeling lately and how being in charge of Stryker had not helped. She listened intently and when he was finished, he and Draco embraced each other.
"How's the team?"
"They're fine. Xion's been getting on my nerves and yesterday I threatened to kill Diego."
"Wha'd he do?"
"Piss me off." Thrax said flatly.
"You're defiantly commander material." She said with a weak smile.
"No. I'd rather pass and leave that job to you."
"Okay. If you don't want to I will respect your decision." Draco replied, wincing a little bit.
"Draco!" Thrax said, the tone of his voice heightening with concern.
"I'm okay." Draco replied, resting her head on the pillow. "I'll be fine, really."
"Do you need anything?"
"A drink of water would be nice."
"Okay. Water it is. I'll be right back." Thrax said leaving the room. When he returned with Draco's water, he found her sweating and breathing a little heavier.
"Draco, what's wrong? What's happening?" Thrax asked, putting the glass of water on the nightstand.
"It's my stomach. It hurts baby."
"I'll be right back. I'm going to get Rip and Spike. Okay?"
Draco nodded a weak "yes" in reply.
Thrax left the room, walking to the laundry room and throwing off his robe in the process. He picked up his clothes off the top of the washer/dryer machine and dressed himself as he walked to the door. He exited and walked down the hallway. When he stormed through the door, Antonio, who was sitting at a desk in the main room, nearly jumped and fell out of his chair. He spilled his coffee all over his pants though.
"Antonio!" Thrax yelled.
"Y-y-yes Thrax?" Antonio replied shakily.
"Where are Rip and Spike?"
"Who?"
Thrax snarled, picked Antonio up by his shirt collar and lifted him several feet into the air.
"Where are they!"
"I don't know who "they" is! I was never introduced to anyone of them!"
"I don't give a damn Antonio! I need to know where they are, NOW!"
"I can't tell you if I don't know which ones they are Thrax!"
Thrax growled and sighed, realizing that this was getting him no where and he was just wasting valuable time. Thrax lowered Antonio back to the ground and regained his composure.
"Rip and Spike are the two large, muscular viruses with black hair."
"Oh, them. They're in the kitchen right now."
Thrax hastily turned around and headed towards the door that led to the kitchen. He put his hand on the doorknob and swung the door open.
"Oh and Antonio." Thrax said, stopping in the doorway.
"Y-y-yes?" Antonio replied with a hint of fear in his voice.
"Find a way to familiarize yourself with Stryker Team Alpha, would you?"
"Yes sir." Antonio replied with a gulp. He let out a sigh of relief when Thrax finally disappeared through the doorway.
"Rip! Spike! Get over here!" Thrax yelled as he ran into the mess hall at a full sprint, nearly hitting the wall before he was able to stop himself.
Rip and Spike ran out of the swinging door to the kitchen.
"What's up Thrax? You hungry because I can make you something if you are." Spike offered, spatula in hand.
"No! I'm not hungry! Thanks anyway Spike but I need you and your brother back in my quarters, now!"
"What for?" Rip asked, looking slightly perplexed.
"It's Draco."
"Is she awake?"
"Yes, she's been awake since last night."
"Well why didn't you tell everyone?"
"No time, she's in pain and she needs your help, right now." Thrax said sternly.
Rip and Spike looked at each other, nodded and followed Thrax as he ran out the door. When they arrived back at Thrax's quarters, Rip and Spike took out their field medical kits and followed Thrax into the room where Draco was.
"Draco!" Thrax yelled as he entered the room.
The trio found Draco lying on the floor; her shirt over where her wound was located was drenched in fresh blood. Draco's eyes were closed and she was sweating. Thrax ran over to her and took her hand. Kneeling down he cupped his hands over hers and rested his head them. By this time, Rip and Spike were next to her, their field medical kits already disassembled.
Rip took out a pair of medical scissors and began to cut Draco's shirt so that both him and his brother could get a better look at the wound.
"Damn, it's really bleeding." Rip observed as he placed the blood soaked piece of Draco's shirt in a plastic bag.
"We're going to need to close that up, the hard way." Spike said to his brother.
"Right. Thrax."
"Yes?" Thrax answered, looking up at Rip.
"We're going to have to seal off the wound chemically and it's going to hurt her, very badly but we don't have much of a choice because we're running out of time."
"Is she going to die?"
"No. Not if we act fast she isn't."
Thrax
nodded.
"You're going to have to help me hold her down."
"Alright." Thrax agreed, letting go of Draco's hand. He placed both of his hands over her arms, pinning her to the ground. Rip positioned himself over her legs, pinning them to the ground as well.
"Okay, are we ready?"
"Yes." Rip and Thrax said in unison.
"I'm sorry Draco." Spike said, holding up a syringe filled with blood red liquid. Spike rubbed a sterilized cloth over her wound and the surrounding area. He then skillfully plunged the needle into the swelled skin outside the wound. He pushed down on the plunger to inject the red liquid into her body.
In an instant, Draco's muscles tensed and she tried to get up of the floor. Her eyes went wide and she screamed a terrifying, earsplitting scream. She struggled to get up but both Thrax and Rip had her pinned down as she screamed and tried to fight the pain. Draco fought Thrax and Rip with all of the energy she had left, but still was unable to move from the floor.
Seconds later, her muscles relaxed and her eyes closed as she lay her head back down. She was breathing heavily. Rip and Thrax both let go of her arms and Thrax lifted her head into his lap and caressed her face. Rip and Spike re-bandaged the newly sealed wound, knowing that it would continue to hurt for a while regardless of the fact that it would no longer bleed. When they were finished they re-packed their field medical kits and helped Thrax lift Draco back into bed.
"How are you doing Draco?" Spike asked softly.
"In pain." She replied in between breaths.
"I know Draco. It's going to hurt for a while. We had to re-seal your wound using Flash Fire."
"You had to use Flash Fire?" She asked weakly.
"Yes. You would have died if we didn't."
Draco nodded weakly in reply.
"Thank you guys."
Spike nodded, took her hand and gave it a squeeze before they left the room.
"Draco."
"Thrax."
"Sleep now baby. You need to regain your strength."
"I'm tired of sleeping Thrax. I…"
"I know but there's nothing more you can do but sleep. The sooner you get well, the better."
"Are you going to stay with me?"
"Yes. I stayed with you and didn't leave last night and I won't again." Thrax said, glancing over at the clock. It was 12:05 PM and he hadn't eaten anything since that coffee he had when they were still in the syringe. However, his hunger would have to wait. He needed to stay with Draco because this was the time that she needed him now more than ever. He would not leave her, even if he had to starve himself. Thrax lay down on the bed next to her again. This time he lay on his back. He helped Draco get over to him and rest her head on his chest. He put his arm around her, being careful not to get near her wound. He wasn't the least bit tired but he knew that Draco needed her rest and there was nothing else for him to do but rest as well.
"Sleep well Draco." Thrax said softly and calmly, stroking the back of her head and running his fingers through her hair lovingly.
"I will try Thrax. For you I will try to sleep…" Draco's voice left her as she was consumed by sleep.
"Sleep well." Thrax whispered. "Sleep well."
San Andreas Research Facility Sub Level C 12:12 PM
Sirus, Stryker Team Beta, Osmosis Jones, Drix and The Chief had all been called back to the conference room by Dr. Sanders. They had enjoyed a night of food, drink and well-deserved sleep. They had all been awoken at 10:00 AM for breakfast, exercise and briefing on any further developments.
It was because of those developments that they were all back in the conference room sitting the exact same spots as they had yesterday. Dr. Sanders had set up a computer/video projector and a presentation to show his guests.
"Good afternoon gentlemen." Sanders greeted.
He received a tired and effortless "hey".
"You're all looking perky."
"Shut up Sanders." Sirus growled. "I am not in a terrific mood at the moment so make this brief, would you?"
"I will try but after these latest developments that I had recently received, after this morning's debriefing, you might feel differently."
"So does this mean we're finally going to get some action?" Osmosis asked, putting his feet up on the nearby conference table.
"Perhaps. It really depends on you Mr. Jones and whether or not this new information is enough cause to get you out of your chair."
"Well then let's get started! I haven't got all day!" Ozzie shouted, throwing his arms up in the air.
"Very well." Sanders replied. "Gentlemen, please direct your attention to the very large screen over there."
Every head in the room turned to look at the screen.
"Okay, first off we've been gathering information on Alpha's whereabouts since their escape. After some odd reports submitted by the highway patrol, we've been able to-"
"Odd reports submitted by highway patrol cops! That's what you called us here for!" Sirus yelled, standing up from the couch he was sitting on.
"Sit back down Sirus, I'm not finished yet."
Sirus growled as he sat back down on the couch.
"As I was saying. We have been able to pin point the places where they have been spotted based on reports submitted by highway patrol cops and an eyewitness who called the police on the belief that she had seen aliens on the side of the road." Sirus said, pressing a button on his remote control. A map of the California highway system came up on the screen. On the map were several flashing red dots. "The red dots on the map symbolize the places where Alpha has been spotted. Now if I draw a line between the points, connecting the dots and predicting where the next one will land, where does that put me?"
"Um, on that big black dot over there." Osmosis answered pointing to the screen.
"That's correct Mr. Jones but do you know what they black dot represents?" Sanders asked with a smile.
"No." Ozzie replied, shaking his head.
"Does anyone know?"
There were no attempts to answer from the rest of the organisms in the room.
"Alright, I'll take that as a no. That black dot that Osmosis was pointing to represents one of the most densely populated cities on the West Coast. In fact, it is the second most populated city in the United States, the first being New York City on the East Coast. Los Angeles itself is populated by over 15,000,000 people."
"15,000,000? That's nothing!" Osmosis said with a laugh.
"Perhaps by cellular standards it is but by our standards, that's a very large number of people. To put it into perspective for you, think of a body as the United States of America. Then think of California as a major organ. After you have done that think of LA as part of that organ. Does that clarify things a bit better Mr. Jones?"
"Yeah man, it does."
"Good. In knowing and understanding that and by interpreting what you all have told me about Stryker Team Alpha and their leaders, we have to get to Los Angeles as soon as possible, before it's too late and we've lost 15 million lives."
"Well then what the hell are we sitting around here for?" Osmosis Jones said, getting off the couch, putting his sunglasses on and walking towards the door. "Let's get going."
"You heard him gentlemen. We're going to Los Angeles."