Author's notes: Just wanted to hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Ugh, now I'm so full of turkey…
Allo: you're full of a lot of things…
Quiet you. Now let's see who is the lucky Misfit or Misfit-handler who is "immune" to Justin's status quo!
CHAPTER 8: Misfits' Madness
Justin couldn't help it. The tears kept coming, no matter how hard he tried to willfully remain steadfast and stoic. No matter what, Justin couldn't suppress the sadness he felt at leaving the only home that gave him happy memories. Yet what choice was there? Justin felt it was better this way. No sense in endangering Ryan, the Secret Scouts, or Allo and the Dinosaucers with his mutant powers. But what was the most painful was the thought of the Dinosaucers no longer wishing for Justin to stay with them, for rejecting him. Even though they never said it, Justin could sense the fear. It just hurt, thinking that this family was different and that for once in his miserable life, there was hope for something good, that there was the hope he wouldn't be an outcast and an exile ever again. That was why Justin felt it was best to run away. No sense in waiting until the Dinosaucers rejected him first.
Already, he was grateful for the windbreaker and the new tennis shoes Bronto-Thunder and Tricero gave to him. It made the journey across the desert a lot easier, and judging by it wouldn't be long before the Dinosaucers would discover that he was missing, Justin needed to put as much distance between himself and the Dinosaucer base as possible. Of course, that was only assuming the Dinosaucers would even want him back. That was why he only took a small duffel bag of a few choice clothes and a few bottles of water. No sense in being hampered with too much luggage. Justin didn't even take his Secret Scout ring with him, symbolically abandoning it on his desk in his room. Even though it would have been safer and handy to have it, Justin knew that it was practically a homing beacon for Allo and the others to track him down whenever they could locate on the ring's radio signal.
Despite the heat of the sand, the icy grip of cold sorrow refused to lessen in the pit of Justin's stomach. There was nothing else he would wish for except that he could just go back and somehow, things would be all right. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be possible. There was no way things would ever be back to normal, to the way they once were.
Suddenly, Justin heard voices in the distance, and they sounded like they were coming from a large group of people. His breath catching in his throat, Justin managed to duck for cover behind a huge sand dune, hiding himself from view. As the voices got closer and closer, Justin got more and more nervous. He just prayed that they wouldn't spot him, or else he'd be in real trouble. Yet, this was certainly suspicious. Why would a bunch of people come into the middle of a vast desert within the Montana mountains in the brunt of nowhere? He could just make out the conversation emerging from the mysterious gaggle of people, picking up a harmonious plethora of men, women, and surprisingly, children.
"Anything yet, Trinity?" asked a woman.
Three girl voices replied in unison, and Justin had to admit hearing them in sync sounded quite eerie, "No, our scanners can't pick up anything in this desert. Nothing can be detected."
"Wait a minute!" snapped a teenager girl's voice, and after a few moments of scuffling…
"Hey, give that back!" protested one of the three voices earlier.
The teenager groaned loudly, "I knew it! You weren't scanning for the Dinosaucers!! You three were trying to play 'Tetris' on this stupid thing!! No wonder we haven't found anything within the past hour!!"
Justin's heart stopped at that sentence. They knew about the Dinosaucers?!
"Hey, we were bored!" snapped another girl of the three called Trinity.
A deep man's voice, husky yet whimsical, then said, "It wouldn't have mattered anyway. If the Dinosaucers are as smart as they say, we'd have no chance of finding where their secret base lays. A cloaking device, an anti-teleportation shield, and defensive weaponry all around! Even though we're not going to fight them, I'm pretty sure the Dinosaucers want to hide themselves from humans, all safe and sound!"
Justin had to stifle a chuckle from hearing this adult trying to rhyme his sentence fragments.
"Well, that would explain why we weren't able to transport into the middle of the desert. Our Mass Device sensors were unable to plot coordinates directly smack-dab into the terrain. Something is blocking our Mass Device. That's why we had to settle for teleporting to the edge of the desert and making headway through on our feet," another adult mused.
"I just hope they'll be friendly enough to give us a chance to speak to them," commented another male worriedly.
"Despite what that fool Cliffton says, I think they will, Lance," a deep yet calm voice spoke up, "if we can show to the Dinosaucers that we mean no threat to them and that we are sincerely trying to protect them from Eddington and Cobra, then there's no reason for the Dinosaucers to distrust us. They are probably all open-minded enough to see that Cliffton does not speak for all of those in the military, and if they are truly benevolent, then they will be able to sense the same in us."
Cliffton?! Cliffton was involved in this?! Even though he was rarely mentioned, the other Secret Scouts told Justin of how Major Cliffton had a personal vendetta in exposing the Dinosaucers and capturing them for the government. Then if Cliffton was involved, that meant the people Justin heard were from the United States army.
"Pietro!!" screamed another female teenager, this one full of raging annoyance and temperamental frustration, and a minute later, there was the sound of girlish screaming and scuffling, as if something or someone was being pounded into the sand multiple times.
"Yeow! Ooh! Ouch! Mercy, mercy! Yeow! Wanda – ow - can't – owie - you take – yargh – a –eek – a joke?!! OW!! Not the hair! Not the hair!! AAAA!!"
"Putting a handful of sand in the back of my pants is NOT funny!!" screamed the voice as the sounds of the beating continued, "Do you have any idea how long I'm going to be feeling it ride up my butt, you jerk?!!"
"Well, considering you act like something's riding up your butt 24-7, anyways…"
"DIE!!!" and several seconds later, there was an agonized squeal.
"Ouch…that's gotta hurt," commented an adult nearby, and Justin could almost picture the man wincing.
"I suppose having sand in the back of your pants is less irritating than having an entire hexed cactus shoved in your front," another female teenager commented, this one kinder and more soothing, like a gentle flower or tranquil butterfly.
"Pietro does know you're going to have to dig out those cactus spikes with a needle, right, Lina?" a baritone voice, thick with a Texan accent, asked.
"If he doesn't, he will soon."
"Didn't Lifeline teach you to use tweezers instead in cases like this though, Lina? Because it's less painful?" asked a third person.
"I could…but I want to get back at Pietro for lacing the bandages and latex gloves with poison oak in the infirmary last week," the girl snickered.
Justin had a funny look on his face as he eavesdropped; it was as if these soldiers were the reincarnation of "The Three Stooges"…only wackier. Suddenly, the first female teenager from earlier called out in a warning command.
"Everyone, hold it!!"
There was a deathly pause.
"Yo, what's wrong, honey? Why'd you call out?"
"I sense someone is nearby, really close! And it isn't one of us!"
Uh-oh…
"Wavedancer's right, I can sense it too!" a man confirmed with suspicion and caution.
"Everyone, fan out!"
Cripes, Justin had to move fast. Even though it wasn't part of his plan to run away, Justin needed to get back to the Lavadome and warn the other Dinosaucers. Yet before Justin could even move, he heard a sudden snarl to his left and Justin saw nothing but stars as a huge amount of pain in his midsection exploded as he went flying and landed heavily in the sand. Groaning, Justin held his stinging stomach as he groggily sat up. To his horror, out of thin air materialized a lizard-like human. He had a slim build, almost feminine, yet the lizard looked incredibly dangerous and strong, his build wired with tough green scales and a yellow underbelly similar to Plateo's coloring. The individual also had yellow, snake-like eyes, stringy black hair reaching to his shoulders, and wicked claws on his hands and feet along with a snarling mouth edged with teeth. Justin whimpered. What was this thing?!
"Die, you miscreant!" snarled the lizard person as he pounced on Justin. Gasping, Justin dodge-rolled to the right at the last second, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid Xi's claws. With a yelp, Justin gingerly held his slashed shoulder, now sporting four parallel, bloody gashes amidst the torn jacket. The lizard seemed even more furious that he missed and was about to strike again when suddenly, a figure leapt in front and stopped him.
"Xi, stop this!! What has gotten into you?! Stand down!" commanded a baritone voice sternly.
Justin looked up in surprise. There, blocking Xi bravely, was an African American man and wearing a black, leather trench-coat, black pants, and wearing black shades. In his left hand, he was carrying a white cane with a red handle. Even though Justin could not clearly see his face, the man was impressively built which was apparent underneath the clothing.
"Blind Master, let me kill him!! He must die!!" snarled Xi, the lizard man as he tried to circumvent the man, but with a powerful sweep, the man knocked Xi off his feet and sent him onto his back, landing painfully on the sand. Blind Master? Justin then looked at the cane and the shades before he realized that the man could not see. The man then turned towards Justin, and the adolescent was astonished that the adult could act and focus his attention directly at him, as if he really could see what was going on. If Xi never mentioned his name, Justin would have never guessed that the guy was sightless.
"Are you all right, young one?" he asked, concerned. Stunned, Justin could not answer, his eyes wide and his face white. The stranger was actually worried about him?? But then a voice called out above the sandbank.
"Blind Master, what's going on??" Startled, Justin turned around to see the most peculiar group of soldiers he had ever seen. None of them were dressed in stereotypical army apparel, but then again, a normal army faction would not include women and children. The group was certainly an eyeful. There was a bearded sailor with dark-brown hair complete with the white naval hat and next to him was another tall African American with a shaved head and wearing military pants and tank top and carrying a heavy machine gun and bullet-sash. A tall, gorgeous woman with short, chestnut-brown hair and wearing a lambskin jacket was standing next to a tall, hulking blond man wearing red goggles and carrying a sniper rifle. Justin could not even see the soldier's eyes behind the crimson lens. There was even a tall Native American with long hair of raven feathers, dressed in clothing and boots made with brown deer-hide and a feathered headband and with a wicked Bowie knife sheathed around his waist. Yet what got Justin's attention was the group of teenagers standing by the adults, and despite his time with the Dinosaucers, Justin could have honestly thought that he had never seen such an odd sight.
In the very front of the group was a Caucasian girl of average height with long black hair containing neon-blue highlights and wearing a brown leather jacket and fingerless, black leather gloves. From the way she was standing so confidently in front of the group, Justin naturally assumed she was the leader. Next to her was a slightly shorter boy who was squatting like a…well, like a frog, and he even had the complexion of one with a pointed face, waxy, pale skin and a mess of sickly tan hair. The boy was wearing a black outfit with a gold bandanna tied around his forehead and appeared to also be carrying some sort of wooden staff strapped to his back. A tall, striking, well-built teen stood alongside with a brown mullet, cut face, and wearing a gold headband across his forehead along with a red and black suit of shiny material. There was also a gothic girl wearing a bright red trench-coat over a white tank-top, multiple silver jewelry, and shredded red jeans, and this teenage female also had black hair, but it was shaved short like a boy's and the areas below the fringe were dyed red. Next to the goth was an albino male, slimmer and a bit on the lanky side, but incredibly handsome with white hair, a blue and silver tight-fitting outfit, and a mischievous smirk as wide as the East Coast. A set of three identical girls, obviously triplet sisters, wearing pink and purple battle outfits and high-tech equipment were also gaping at Justin, and Justin noted that they were younger than the rest of the group, could hardly be more than ten or eleven years of age. All were exactly identical in face, shoulder length black hair and body structure except one girl wore a black ponytail on her right side of her head, another wore a ponytail on her left side, and the third girl had two sets of pigtails on both sides of her head. Also nearby was another girl, but Justin could have immediately guessed she was a mutant from her outside appearance. She had dark skin yet bobbed, curly hair so blond, it was nearly white, with a pair of antenna on her forehead, transparent dragonfly wings on her back, and green eyes with no retinas. A huge, incredibly obese and tall male stood next to her, sporting a blond Mohawk and huge, puppy-dog like, brown eyes, and from the way he was protectively draping a hand over the dragonfly-girl's shoulders, it was apparent the hulking blob cared for her very much.
For several seconds, the Secret Scout just stared at the set of strangers.
Justin at first was in such awe from seeing them that he didn't realize what was coming until he saw each and every one of their stupefied gazes melt away into seething rage and anger…exactly like every stranger had done before in his past. Justin gasped in dread and fear.
"Oh no…" he stuttered as he nervously tried to back away. It might still not be too late to run. The blind man, fortunately, was still talking calmly talking to the terrified adolescent, trying to soothe him.
"It's all right young one! Do not be afraid! We're not going to hurt you, we're good people -" but the rest of what the Blind master had to say was immediately lost as Wanda, emitting a scream of rage, sent a huge surge of blue hex energy directly at Justin. Unable to move, Justin felt the hex strike him directly in the chest, sending him back flying thirty feet before he landed painfully on his side, his heart stopping momentarily. Justin, overcome with immense pain, curdled into a fetal position, groaning. Blind Master was beside himself with anger.
"Scarlet Witch, what are you doing?!!" Blind Master demanded before turning to Shipwreck, Spirit, Cover girl, Roadblock, and Low Light, "What's going on? Why aren't you doing anything?!!"
Roadblock then said fiercely, "Very well, then…Misfits…KILL HIM!!!"
Blind Master couldn't be more horrified.
His heart now pounding again rapidly against his rib cage, Justin just looked up in shock at the words Roadblock ordered. This was not good. Even though Justin escaped from mobs before, it was only by the skin of his teeth and because the Secret Scouts helped him. This time, he was alone with a horde of soldiers and mutants. He had to get away. Now.
Before Justin could even move, there was a swift rush of wind next to him before the adolescent felt the side of his face explode in pain. A split-second later, Justin felt another blow strike him in the shoulder. Then a third burst of agony emerged from his back. In a matter of ten seconds, Justin was sporting painful red and black bruises from a multiple of blows and kicks so fast, Justin could not even see where they were coming from. Breathing heavily, Justin looked up to see the white-haired albino glaring at him hatefully before he disappeared again, and immediately, Justin was lifted off his feet by a cyclone (due to Pietro running around him at super-sonic speeds) of churning air and sand and sent flying, only to land again in a tangled heap on the sand.
While Quicksilver was busy incapacitating Justin, Scarlet Witch readied another barrage of hex bolts and Avalanche summoned his power of geological manipulation to send a tidal wave of sand to come crushing down on Justin. Wavedancer, unable to locate a source of water, immediately sprang into action with Toad and Xi, rushing in amazingly strategic formation, running towards the disoriented Justin with knife, staff, and claws ready for heavy damage. Trinity then joined hands as their eyes turned completely white, levitating a good distance off the sandy terrain.
"Destroy the half-breed!" the triplets chanted as one, "Kill the demon child! Eliminate the scourge of all that is holy!" With that, the three girls sent a huge blitz of white, psychic lightning from their auras, only to come hurtling down towards Justin. With an immense attack coming from three sides, Justin was doomed.
"NO!!" cried out Blind Master as he was about to sprint forward, but then Justin screamed in pain again as he clutched his head. With the fear, terror, and pain coursing through his body, it was only natural that another telltale headache would happen.
"Stop it! Make it stop! Please, leave me alone!!" the brown-haired teenager pleaded in excruciating torment as he shut his eyes so tightly, the veins popped out of his temples.
To everyone's amazement, thousands upon thousands of white auras, like tranquil fireflies, surrounded the area before engulfing the arrows of attacks. With a brief flash, Wanda's hex-bolts and Trinity's psychic lightning vanished into thin air.
"What?!" roared Scarlet Witch.
"That isn't possible!" Low Light uttered in a combination of shock and fury. Yet with another flash, the blue energy of Wanda's hex-bolts appeared again…behind Trinity. With a rush, the hex struck the Triplets from behind, and with their attention focused on Justin, Daria, Quinn, and Brittney could only scream loudly as the energy seared into them. Breaking their concentration, Trinity released each others' hands as they plummeted to the ground none so gently, the sand luckily cushioning their landing.
"That land-lubbing son of a bitch, I'll kill him!!!" roared Shipwreck in the fury only a parent could ever summon as he took out his twin set of Eagle-pistols. Yet Justin's unintentional intervention wasn't finished yet. Before the gigantic wave of earth and sand could crush Justin, with a soft gleaming noise, the seismic energy dissipated, and with no more of the driving force to guide it, the mountain collapsed and fell heavily and lifelessly to the terrain, several meters away from Justin. With another whirr noise, a circle of white sparks danced across a sand dune in front of the G.I. Joe Misfit handlers, and with a large roar, an explosion of sand rushed immediately towards them instead.
"Avalanche, stop this! You're supposed to kill the vagabond!!" Spirit shouted.
Avalanche confessed helplessly and confused, "It's not me! It's him! The good-for-nothing somehow managed to reflect my attacks back at you!!"
Without further hesitation, Cover Girl, Low Light, Spirit, Shipwreck, and Roadblock managed to leap clear of the seismic wave, narrowly missing them by mere inches as it crashed and crumbled into a huge pile of dirt. Had they remained there for several seconds more, all five of them would have been buried alive. Blind Master then realized the truth…the child was a mutant.
Angered, Avalanche tried to create another tremor again, but the flashing, twinkling sparks were not done yet. With a flash, they engulfed Toad's wooden bo staff and Wavedancer's knife from their hands.
"Hey!!" cried out Althea.
"What the -?!!" Todd cried out.
With another flash, the knife and staff materialized in front of Avalanche and flew straight like arrows. Thinking fast, Lance rolled to the side, the knife whizzing by his shoulder close enough to cause a rip through the material of his clothing. However, the bo staff shot directly at Lance and smacked him soundly in the middle of the forehead. Groaning, Lance rolled his eyes and toppled into the sand, unconscious. Wanting revenge, Xi and Toad charged to barrel Justin with their physical ninja skills, but Wavedancer gasped as she sensed something in the air building up in front of them.
"Stop you guys! Stop!" But it was too late for either Toad or Xi to take heed of the warning. In three separate groups, a flurry of tiny, white, sparkling whirlpools emerged again in front of Justin, and Althea immediately realized where Trinity's psychic attack disappeared to. With a crackling roar, the white strands of electric energy shot out from the three whirlpools, and though Xi was quick enough to narrowly dodge the energy blot, Todd wasn't and it struck him directly in the chest, rampaging his mind with hot intensity. Althea somersaulted away from the third burst, but unfortunately, it went past her and headed directly for Fred, Lina, and Pietro. Pietro ran out of the way, but the bolt was heading straight past him and directly at Lina. Lina shrieked, too paralyzed too move. Fred then got in front of the dragonfly-girl, shielding her and accepting the psychic attack in full force. Both Toad and Blob fell to their knees, screaming in pain as the mental assault temporarily left them disoriented.
"Fred!" cried out Lina as she knelt by the mutant, but then she raised her head to shoot Justin a poisonous look, calling out to her friend, "Wavedancer, give that jerk payback in spades!!"
"I've got a shot," said Low Light calmly as he readied his black sniper-rifle, the cross-hairs directly on the spot above Justin's left eyebrow, the no-reaction zone. He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. Confused, Low Light tried again, and all he heard was an empty click. His brow furrowed, the solider snapped open his bullet chamber to find that it was empty.
"What the hell?!" Low Light cursed to himself, but a telltale flash in front of him made him realize what happened as the twinkling materialized the sniper bullets, dropping them lifelessly onto the sand. And it was not only Low Light's sniper bullets…
"Hey! My guns are empty!!" shouted Shipwreck as he tried to shoot his dual Eagles.
"So is mine!" Roadblock shouted.
Then, as mysteriously as they came, the mass of white dust and miniature lights faded away gently. Now there was no trace of anything protecting Justin as the Secret Scout's headache lessened its pounding. Justin was so busy concentrating on his pain, he didn't even realize what was happening just moments ago. Cover Girl saw her chance as she took out her knife from her boot, and Spirit followed suit.
Wordlessly, both Cover Girl and Spirit hurled their knives through the air. As marksmen, their blades would hit their target, and they whizzed through the air with deadly accuracy and speed.
Clack, clack!
At the noise, still breathing heavily, Justin looked up in awe as the Misfits and the G.I. Joe soldiers looked down in betrayed disbelief. The knives Cover Girl and Spirit threw were embedded in the sand, unable to hit their target as Blind Master stood in front of Justin, in a defensive martial stance and his brow furrowed. It was Blind Master that blocked the knives with his cane and stopped them from striking the teenager.
"Sensei?" gasped Wavedancer in shock.
"STOP THIS!!" Blind Master commanded sharply as he readied his cane in his hand for automatic defense. Justin was shocked at the sight of the man who was willingly shielding him. So were the Misfits and the handlers.
"Get out of the way! He has to be killed!!" snarled Spirit, red in the face, the veins in his head twitching.
"What is wrong with you?! Why are you trying to kill him?!! You're attacking him for no reason!! This isn't like you, people!! You're being consumed by hate and anger!! I can sense it! Please, stop this!" Blind Master shouted boldly.
"He attacked us! He deserves to die!!" screamed Scarlet Witch in unmeasured fury.
"Why the hell are you taking his side?!" roared Roadblock.
"He's just a child!" reasoned Blind Master stubbornly, "It wasn't his fault!! He never intended it to happen!! He's not in control of his powers! Even I can see that! And the only reason you got attacked was because you struck the first blow! The boy was only defending himself and reflecting the weapons you threw at him in the first place!! So stop this! Please, for God's sake, he's innocent!!"
"The kid must have Blind Master under some kind of mind control!" shouted Cover Girl.
Low Light snarled, "Then I'll make him let go!! One way or another!"
Whimpering, now completely scared beyond all reason, Justin immediately dashed away from the group, running as fast as he could. But he wasn't fast enough, for immediately, Quicksilver managed run over to grab Justin, halting him instantly in a bear hug. Blind Master, distracted, tried to leap after Pietro, but then by a combination of Wanda's hex-bolts and Fred's strength, the ninja master found himself stunned to the sandy ground before he too was picked up and imprisoned in a tight bear hug by Blob. The brute strength was crushing him, nearly breaking his arms, as Blind Master winced and struggled against the grip Blob had on him. Yet he couldn't get free.
"I am sorry, my friend," Spirit said coldly as he passed by, "but it is for your own good."
"Let me go!" whined Justin, pleading, as he tried to sunfish out of Pietro's grip. Meanwhile, Low Light immediately transformed his body into hard, clear diamond. Being a genetic experiment for Cobra in his past, Low Light had the mutant ability to transform his flesh and body into any matter, whether it was gaseous, solid, energy, or liquid. Just one, well-aimed punch, and Justin would die from a severe skull fracture. Toad, ready for some payback readied his amphibian tongue before spewing out an acidic slime-mass the size of a basketball directly at Justin's head, the goop so deadly and caustic, it could dissolve steel in a matter of seconds.
"No!" cried Justin as he winced, seeing Low Light raising a fist directly at his head and the ball of slime coming directly at him. Yet, once again, by miraculous intervention, the slime-ball vanished in a bright, white blaze before being teleported directly into Low Light's face, splattering upon impact. Low Light yelled in pain as he tried to wipe the acid off him; being in diamond form, the pain was luckily mild and the situation was not as worse as it could have been. Now hesitant to throw any projectile at the teenager, Althea, Toad, Xi, and Lina all rushed directly at Justin, their fists ready to connect to the Secret Scout's body. Justin knew he couldn't keep this up.
On cue, another surprise occurred. The white, twinkling sparks appeared again, but this time, they completely surrounded Justin's body, encasing every inch of the boy with an outline of silver dust. To Pietro's horror, he no longer could grip Justin as the lights disappeared, taking Justin with them. Justin had vanished out of Pietro's hold and into thin air…in the split-second before Wavedancer, Toad, Dragonfly, and Xi's fists passed right through the space where Justin was and struck Quicksilver directly in the chest. Needless to say, Pietro was down for the count.
"Wha-?! Where'd he go?!!" Lina gasped.
The answer came when the Misfit adults turned to see Justin fall out of the sky and awkwardly on top of Blob himself, madly and awkwardly scrabbling on the giant leviathan's back and shoulders. Justin was amazed. How the heck did he move like that?
"Hey, gerroff me!!" yelled Blob thickly as he released his hold on the Blind Master and managed to grab Justin by the collar of his windbreaker painfully, holding the teen a good five feet off the ground. Yet Blob was no longer holding the Blind Master, and it was the moment the ninja was waiting for. Taking a smoke bomb out off his pocket, the G.I. Joe threw it hard on the ground, causing it to release a huge plume of thick, black, charcoal-smelling smoke in seconds with a bang. Startled, Blob started coughing, his eyes watering, and so did Justin. The smoke was stinging his eyes, burning like pepper, and causing the skin around them to swell. But then Justin felt himself being snatched out of Blob's vise-like grip and being carried out of the smoke-screen. Sputtering, Justin managed to see it was the blind solider as the black man set Justin down hurriedly.
"What -?"
"Run!" Blind Master commanded.
"But – but why are you helping -?"
"Damn it, get out of here! Go!" But it was too late as a cascade of bullets ripped through the smoke, and Justin felt the G.I. Joe solider tackle him to the ground, taking cover. Blind Master then hissed in pain as he shielded Justin with his body, and the teenager was petrified upon seeing the blood run out of the sleeve of the man's leather coat and run down his wrist. There was another blossoming spot of blood staining his right side, glistening his shirt. Justin, whimpering with guilt, managed to drag himself out from underneath the man's weight and tried to have Blind Master use his body as a lean-to. Justin then realized that the smoke screen had faded and the remaining Misfits and the G.I. Joe soldiers were glaring at the both of them coldly. Roadblock reloaded his machine gun.
"Kill them both," he said emotionlessly.
"Fine with me!" Shipwreck said as he aimed while Wanda readied another surge of hex energy. It was over. Even if Justin could run off, he would never get far before the bullets and attacks struck him. And he couldn't leave behind the man who tried to protect him. Blind Master was panting heavily, considerably injured, and there was no way the ninja could fight all of them.
"No, don't hurt him!" pleaded Justin as he held on tightly to Blind Master. This was too much. Now Justin just wished he was back home. He wished he was back at the Lavadome.
That was the last thought in Justin's mind as Roadblock, Shipwreck, and Wanda fired.
---
"I swear…when I find my son, I'll hug him first, and then I'll ground him until the next ice age!" raged Allo for the umpteenth time as he, the Secret Scouts and the Dinosaucers prepared to start their search across the desert for Justin.
"Gee, why not just put his room under lockdown and behind a reinforced wall with barbed wire and a pack of guard dogs while you're at it?" Compy drawled deadpanned as he hefted his shoulder-pack.
"Don't think I didn't think of that, smart-mouth," snapped Allo back in irritation before he turned his attention to Sarah.
"Sarah, where's Ryan? Why isn't he here with us?" the Dinosaucer asked the female Secret Scout. Sarah reluctantly told the truth.
"He didn't want to come. I'm sorry, Allo."
Allo shook his head sadly. He should have known better than to accept Ryan's word that everything was all right, and had there been time, Allo would have tried finding out why Ryan was so resentful of Justin. Even during the party, the allosaurus could tell Ryan was incredibly moody and distant, especially around the teen. He could honestly say he was not angry with Ryan, but rather, he was disappointed and worried, like a father always was whenever there is a painful fight between his two children. Allo then made the promise that when things settled down, he would have a thoughtful talk with Ryan. Tricero and Bronto-Thunder were giving orders.
"We'll split into four teams, each one going into a different direction, and as such, we'll be able to cover all four points of the desert, going north, east, south and west," Tricero said, "I'll lead Struthio and Itchy, going north."
Bronto-Thunder then added, "I'll be going west with Montacera and Stego and Compy."
Tricero then continued, "Allo will head south with Raptor and Dimetro. Teryx will take Plato and Bonehead. Sarah, David, Paul, you three will fly on your hover-bikes and -"
Suddenly, the air around them again was covered with millions and millions of familiar white embers, illuminating the desert with a soft glow and interrupting Tricero from the rest of his ramblings. Stunned, everyone just stared at the scene in awe. As one, they began to converge and join together, swirling into a huge orb of light, like the eye of a hurricane.
"It…it couldn't be…Justin??" Plateo asked dumbly, not sure what to expect.
On cue, the light faded and out of the orb fell two lifeless figures, landing heavily on the sand. Allo immediately recognized one of the figures.
"Justin!" the patron gasped with dread, fearing the worst, as he and the rest of the Dinosaucers and the Secret Scouts, abandoning their packs, rushed forward at the two. Raptor and Struthio reached Justin first, and one could notice the look of fear and worry on Raptor's usual cold face.
"I smell blood," he said roughly, and Struthio's eyes widened as Dimetro managed to gently pick up and cradle Justin in his arms, examining him.
"By the mother planet, he's wounded!! And as for the blood, Justin's clothes are smeared with it!"
"But he's conscious…barely," exhaled Dimetro in slight relief, "But by Reptilion! Deep lacerations, slight burns, swollen eyes, ripped clothing…!"
"And the kid's got a nasty bruise on his face," whistled Compy, "Must have been a heck of a haymaker!"
"But the good news is though…it's not Justin's blood! I see no other wounds other than the ones on his shoulder! Young one! Justin! It's me, Dimetro! Justin, please, wake up!"
"What on Earth happened?!" gasped Sarah as she knelt down next to her friend.
Justin managed to cough, still disoriented, "I was attacked…"
Allo's eyes then became glazed with insane fury as he turned his attention to the stranger lying alongside. He, too, was still alive. Teryx placed a hand on Allo's shoulders, trying to calm him.
"Allo…"
The Dinosaucer leader quickly stood up.
"Allo, wait!! Don't jump to conclusions!! Allo, stop!"
Those voices…they were not of the Misfits or of the handlers. That was as much as the Blind Master could discern as he groggily tried to prop himself up on his elbows, his mouth dry and cottony. Unfortunately, he was too dizzy and in pain from his wounds to tell what was happening.
"What did you do to Justin?! What the hell did you do to my son?!!" roared a bass voice from above him, and before Blind Master could react, he felt himself violently hurled onto his back, the pain cutting through his dizziness like a razor.
The Blind Master then felt something heavy gripping him by the shirt front and pinning him down at the same time. Though unable to view upon the matter, the ninja could sense that this creature was not earthly, feeling the Dinosaucer's hot breath, angry beyond comprehension, wade down heavily on his face. He could also perceive the scaled claws powerfully pulsating with the heartbeat, ready to tear him into pieces if he ever made an unwarranted move, and despite the stillness of the tense moment, the black G.I. Joe soldier was aware of the hulking form of the alien pinning him down, could feel the breathing of the crowd watching not too far off. All this, he took within his mind's eye, and realizing what was going on, the Blind Master just prepared himself as Allo snarled at him, twitching.
"If you don't talk, I will kill you!!!"
Author's notes: Well, things certainly look bleak, folks! Will Allo kill Blind Master? Will the Dinosaucers be able to escape the clutches of the military, Eddington, and Cliffton? Will Ryan ever stop his attitude problem? Will Justin and the Dinosaucers ever find out what's going on with the Misfits? Find out next Friday in the chapter, "The Sight Of The Blind Master".
Justin: You must think this author is a nutcase, don't you?
Blind Master: Actually, considering who I normally work with…Red Witch could actually make things worse if she ever decided to write about you and the Dinosaucers.
Allo: That is ONE thing I'm thankful for…it hasn't happened yet!!
Everyone: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!