9:00 Hours Military Time

USS Argo, En Route to the Amazon Basin

Briefing Room

"Shit. This mission just got a lot more complicated" The Argo, as if accentuating his point, jostled with the wind. The group was gathered around a large oval table made of adamantium. The monsters followed the Argo as best as they could with the grounded ones taking time. Nick had called this meeting to discuss their recent findings after gaining Rodan.

An awkward silence ensued for a moment, with Martin taking initiative. "So, is anyone gonna fill us in on this 'Apex'?" He finished with a quotation gesture.

Under his breath, Nick muttered before explaining. "How the hell do I put this into words? Apex is a rival organization to ours. They seek to turn monsters into living weapons for their own twisted agenda. Cartels, Black Market deals, terrorist cells, they make deals with and are the scum of humanity. Bottom rung of the barrel ladder. I should've known they would get involved sooner or later."

Everyone's eyes turned to the transponder that sat atop the table. They studied the insignia on the device.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Martin could not help but quip, "Well, they certainly get a hard fail in logo design." He braced for the swift, inevitable backhand, only it never came. Opening his eyes, he saw Alex restraining Diana; one hand holding arm, the other over her mouth. She has had enough of Diana's abuse and holier-than-thou antics at this point, her face one of pure boredom and passiveness. Nick shook his head. "I was wondering when someone would shut her up."

An alert sounded through the ship. "All personnel! We have arrived at the LZ! Report to your stations! Repeat: All personnel report to stations immediately!" "Ladies and Gentlemen, that's our que."

The group made their way to an airlock. Normally the soldiers would open it on que. For some reason, they refused to. "Sorry Sir. There's an odd red mist outside where you're supposed to drop. We don't know if it's poisonous or not, but until you prepare with Gas Masks, we are not taking the risk."

"Well, hand over yours then." Nick outstretched his hand. "Sir?" "Gas masks, private." Nick said with a snap of his finger. "Now please."

Reluctantly, they complied, and opened the airlock. Sure enough, on top of their being heavy rain and wind, an odd mist of crimson red, covered the Amazon, giving it an ominous aura that made it seem like the Amazon was bleeding. From the ground, Kong looked hesitant to enter the rainforest, and Rodan refused to follow the group. Even Mothra was wary of this mist, trying to signal the group with a series of movements that the mist meant danger.

As the platoon made their cautious trek, the quiet mood was pierced by the shrill screeches of soldiers being dragged away, and heavy footsteps accompanying it, branches and plants being crushed underfoot.

"First squad! Report in! What the hell happened?!" A Second Lieutenant, going by the name of Fowler, shouted into the radio, only receiving static in return.

"Tatopoulos, we must move. The Lightning in the Mist follows."

As if to prove Mimi's point, a pair of white pupil-less eyes peered at them, followed by the distinct sound of electricity crackling on top of a horn. A loud roar not unlike those of primates pierced the air.

Now realizing what the monsters sense, what's left of the platoon starts bolting, dragging the heroes with them. Unknown to the soldiers, they had only dragged the remains of their comrades, as the mist had separated them for their charges.

The heroes ran together, but now without protection. Behind them, the sounds of roars, gunshots, and the screams of the damned soldiers were audible. All that could be seen of the battle was a giant silhouette resembling a scaly-horned baboon, and the flashes of gunfire.

"Oh man! This is bad!" Billy was terrified out of his mind at the battle.

As if a light of hope at the end of the tunnel appeared, the group saw headlights of a vehicle, and heard a new sound: a car engine. The vehicle was a HMMWV, with a white paint job, the Center Logo, and a familiar face in the driver's seat.

"Marvin?!" Diana was agape at the sight.

Rather than stay for pleasantries, Marvin ushered the group in. "Get in! We gotta get out of here!"

Accentuating his point, the monster started charging at them full tilt, fully revealing itself to have teal scales, a central horn, catlike muzzle, and a long prehensile tail: Salunga.

Nick, upon seeing the beast, recognized it, and ordered everyone into the Jeep, and once everyone was on, ordered Marvin to floor it. "Drive damn it! DRIVE!" "I AM DRIVING!" Around them, trees fell as Salunga gave pursuit, forcing Marvin to sometimes to avoid electricity. To try and deter the raging monkey, Nick thought of the .50 Caliber BMG Browning M2 on top. "Clover! Man the machine gun! Try and deter this blue monkey!" Not arguing with his logic, Clover got into the turret, although she's still panicking inside. She pulled back the charging handle, and put a round in the chamber. Not caring about her aim, she shut her eyes tight, and pulled the trigger.

The stream of hot lead missed or hit the scales. It was especially difficult because of the swerving of the vehicle. One round however did hit Salunga in the eyeball, causing him to rear up, roar in pain and fury, and charged again to try and ram the car into a tree. He didn't go very far however because he felt a tight grip on his tail: Kong and the other Kaiju sensed their masters in danger. Kong then yanked the tail back to him and tossed him to Rodan, who then grabbed Salunga's back, and proceeded to crush him in his talons. Salunga managed to pry himself free, but was chased off by Zilla. All this gave the heroes the opening they needed to escape to a top secret Center facility.

The guards saw the vehicle approaching and lowered the barrier for them. Nick then yelled out: "Bar the entrance! Don't let that thing get through!"

Martin then stared Marvin in the eyes, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks for saving us Marvin. Don't expect me to say it often though." "Don't worry, chick chaser, I won't. In return though, I won't save you." Seeing the rivals starting in a time like this, Sam stepped in between them. "Alright boys. Mom says that's enough." Diana, too, decided to her own input."I'm surprised you haven't divorced yet." The two simultaneously looked at her. "Hey!" The banter was cut short by alarms and the base security activated. Salunga was trying to break the security, and people saw who it was targeting: Clover. Nick saw this: "Inside! Now!"

Once inside, Clover asked Nick the question on everyone's mind. "What is that oversized blue baboon that looks like its mom was a lizard?!"

"Salunga."

Miki then entered the conversation. "That electricity came from its horn, and it is the source of this red fog. It is patient, and silent, hence why our platoon was ambushed. However, it is a grudge against you Clover Ewing, because you blinded him."

"Well that's perfectly peachy! An overgrown lizard monkey has a grudge against me for trying to survive!" Alex chimed in. "Could be worse! It could be a giant three headed gold dragon, or a giant purple demon." "Tatopoulos Sir! Two new contacts on scope! Ghidorah and Destroyah!"

Alex then blinked. "It wasn't me!""