-1Who Goes There?
"Very superstitious… writing on the wall…" The sounds of Stevie Wonder echoed through the halls of the research station, loud enough to reach everyone working within- including the whiny meteorologist-
"Nauls! Will you turn that crap down? I'm trying to get some sleep- I was shot today!" he hollered through the intercom.
However loud the music was, it was not enough to budge the team geophysicist from his quarters as he perused a pile of charts and graphs relative to the area. So engrossed was he, that he failed to notice the Siberian Husky creep his way into the room.
"Oh, hey there." The man said as he turned to greet the dog as he walked in and shut the door with his hind leg. "You've been through some day, huh boy?" he continued as he scratched behind the dog's ears. "Well, don't judge all of us by a couple of crazys, ok?" The dog became suddenly still. Then, as its flesh began to tear open…
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dana screamed as he sprung awake in his bed, just as his clock radio alarm turned on. Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Not again…" he sighed to himself.
"Coming up after the break on Sanders in the Morning- a crank call to a telemarketer, followed by meteorologist Art Bennings' Accu-Weather Forecast!"
Dana shut the radio off before the first ad aired and rushed out of bed. He showered and dressed as fast as possible, yanking his sweater on as he flew out the door and climbed into his blue Ford Police Interceptor.
"Shit, you'd think they'd make these damn cop cars faster…" he muttered to himself as he rushed his way to work.
"Where the hell is this kid?" Dreyfus asked, referring to Dana's empty seat at the table in the command center.
"Give him a break, Charlie. He's been having trouble sleeping lately." Sean responded.
No sooner did Sean speak than Dana stumbled in.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone…" he apologized as he took his seat and plopped his head onto his forearms.
"You look like hell- did a truck run over you?" Dreyfus inquired, referring to Dana's mussed hair and half-exposed shirt collar poking from his sweater.
"Rough night…" was all Dana could muster.
"All right, all right, never mind. Now that you're all here, let's get down to business. We've begun to collect evidence suggesting that the power of whatever was used to awaken the Antarctic biohazard was enough to reactivate otherwise dormant volcanoes." Dreyfus said.
"You mean like Mount Rainier, Pinatubo, Dante's Peak?" Katie asked.
"Well, yes," replied Dreyfus, continuing, "but those are not our main concern right now. My worry is a mountain in the Canary Islands off West Africa…"
"Cumbre Vieja…" Dana uttered, his voice muffled by the crook of his elbow.
"Right…" confirmed Dreyfus, continuing, "if this thing goes off, a huge chunk of the mountainside would go plummeting into the Atlantic Ocean, sending…"
"sending a wall of water almost 200 feet high barreling towards the east coast…" Dana finished.
"Thank you, Dana." Dreyfus replied.
"That means everything less than 5 miles from the Atlantic coast would be decimated." Katie realized.
"Right. That's why we're putting you on alert. It's not a certainty, we just want you to be ready in case the mountain decides to blow its top." said Sean.
"Why us? You picked us to protect the earth from aliens, not volcanoes." Gage inquired.
"Because you're the only ones equipped to minimize damages stemming from the mountain erupting," replied Dreyfus, continuing, "and because I've learned through bitter experience exactly what can happen to a team sent to investigate a possible eruption risk without any kind of protection."
An uncomfortable silence, then…
"All right, folks- meeting adjourned. We'll let you know if anything comes up." Sean said.
Katie, Gage, Destiny, and Jason headed for the door, leaving Dana face-down on the table, his head still buried in his arms. Jason, noticing Dana's dreary appearance, walked back to him at the table.
"Hey, Katie and I are going to go grab a coffee or something, wanna come with?" he asked.
"Can't… gotta work…" Dana mumbled.
"Aw, get outta here! You're no good here in the shape you're in. Don't come back until you're fully awake! Now that's an order!" barked Dreyfus.
"You're the boss, boss…" Dana managed as he pushed himself off the table and followed Katie and Jason out the door.
As the 3 walked along the sidewalk outside, they got to talking.
"So, how long have you been working for the USGS?" Katie asked Dana.
"Geez, for as long as I've been old enough to work." Dana replied, wiping the remaining sleep from his eyes. "It's all right, I guess," he continued, "it's the family trade. I guess we're like the Andrettis of geophysics or something."
"Yeah, it's the same with me. Biological science has had my family in a grip for generations. It's pretty much all I've known." said Katie.
"Really? Have you ever considered anything else?" Dana asked.
"You know, I've never thought about it. You?" Katie replied.
Dana thought, then replied, "Look. Don't tell my dad about this or he'll disown me- but ever since I was a small kid I've been fascinated with the thought of working for law enforcement in some way. I don't know, even sirens are enough to get my adrenaline going."
"You're kidding." Jason chimed in.
"I kid you not." Dana groggily replied.
"Hell, I know tons of people that work for the LAPD; I'm sure I could arrange for you to go on a ride along sometime." said Jason.
"Thanks- I'll definitely keep that in mind." Dana responded.
They continued walking, then Jason said, "Hey… if we keep going this way, it'll take forever. If we cut through that vacant, empty park over there, we'll get there in half the time."
(Music insert- "Sporadic Movement", CKY)
They agreed, and followed Jason through the park. It wasn't long before 3 figures appeared in front of them, as if out of nowhere. They looked identical to Dana, Katie, and Jason and said nothing as they took fighting stances.
"What's going on?" Katie asked, confused.
"I don't know… should we change?" replied Jason.
"No… let's see what these guys are all about." answered Dana.
Each took their respective fake, who matched them move for move but were infinitely more powerful. The genetic copies vanished, but not before beating down the 3 teammates.
"What the hell just happened?" asked a stunned and confused Katie.
"I don't know… but we've got to warn the others." Jason replied.
They all helped each other up as they ran back to the command center.
Meanwhile, back at Duncan's Antarctic lab, Burke and Jameson (2 of his top scientists) were overjoyed with the results of their experiment.
"This has turned out better than I ever expected." enthused Burke.
"Yes… the 3 genetic copies we have so far formed even faster than I anticipated…I wonder what's taking the other 2?" replied Jameson.
"Hmmm…" thought Burke, continuing, "there's got to be a reason why the first 3 formed so fast."
No sooner did Burke finish his sentence, than the door to the lab slid open and 2 figures entered…
"What's the problem now?" Dreyfus asked as the command center door slid open, allowing entrance to a ruffled Dana, Katie, and Jason.
"We were cutting through the park, and we were attacked…" rambled Dana.
"By what?" asked Sean, handing his son an ice pack.
"By us." Katie replied.
"What do you mean, 'by us'?" Dreyfus responded.
"She's right- they looked like us, matched us move for move; we couldn't even faze them." Jason answered.
"All right… Jason, try to get in touch with Destiny and Gage." Dreyfus commanded.
"Got it." Jason affirmed as he dialed on his cellphone.
"They did it… I don't know how, but they did it…" Dreyfus worried.
"Did what?" Dana asked.
"They were somehow able to get your genetic coding fed into the biohazard…" Dreyfus replied.
"It's really not that difficult. It only needs a couple drops of blood to learn your genetic makeup." Katie remarked.
"So, how did it get our blood?" Dana asked.
"I'll call up front and see if anyone asked for samples." Sean said as he dialed.
"Gage and Destiny are on their way." said Jason.
"All right… did they get attacked at all?" Dreyfus responded.
"I don't think so… Gage didn't mention anything." replied Jason.
"OK… all right, thanks." said Sean as he hung up. "The receptionist said a 'Dr. Burke' from Mt. Sinai hospital stopped by asking for blood samples… he said they were needed to determine if anyone here had rare blood types necessary for transfusions." he continued.
"Damn! OK, call the hospital and ask to speak with this 'Dr. Burke'." replied Dreyfus.
"I'm on it." affirmed Sean, as Gage and Destiny arrived.
"What's going on?" asked Destiny.
"Bad news… Duncan's been busy using the biohazard to make copies of us. We just got our asses kicked in the park." Dana replied.
"So that means there's probably a fake me and a fake Destiny running around out there, too." deducted Gage.
"It's very likely. But I can't help but wonder why only those 3 showed up first. Had there been 5 of them, we probably would have been more than just roughed up." wondered Jason.
"Hold on a second… look at this." said Dreyfus, looking at the security monitor.
"Gage and Destiny, meet Gage and Destiny." Katie said, pointing to the figures on the monitor.
"Wow… you know, for an asshole he is pretty handsome." joked Gage.
"Charlie- I just got off the phone with Mt. Sinai- there is no 'Dr. Burke' registered as a physician there." Sean said.
"All right. Tell all staff in the building that any future release of blood or DNA materials is now strictly prohibited without my OK." ordered Dreyfus.
"Got it." Thomas replied.
"The rest of you, get up there and stop the impostors- they must not be allowed to set foot on the premises." Dreyfus said.
"We're on it." replied Gage.
Gage and Destiny exploded out of the base's doors and confronted "themselves".
"If it's a fight you want, you got it!" Gage called out.
"You think you tough, huh? Come on, let's do this!" affirmed Destiny.
"Wait, hold on a second… let's even up the playing field a little." said Gage. With that, the other 3 Pyromen stepped from the doors of the building.
"Let's see how you like it when you have to fight fair!" Dana yelled.
"Anyone wanna run for it? Now's the time!" taunted Destiny.
The clones looked at each other, nodded, and took off running towards the park. The team gave chase, keeping up with the clones until they reached the park. The clones suddenly stopped and turned to face their pursuers.
"You ready to stop running like pussies and fight?" Destiny asked.
"You have no idea…" laughed Gage's clone as the other clones revealed themselves again.
(Music insert- "Smack My Bitch Up", The Prodigy)
"If you want us, come and get us!" hissed Destiny's clone as they took off and separated. Each team member gave chase to his or her respective clone.
As Dana's clone booked down the street, he looked behind him and saw Dana in hot pursuit. The clone ducked into a walk-in clinic. Dana, close behind, pulled the fire alarm and warned for the patients and employees to get the hell out of the building. As the patients and doctors vacated the premises, the clone hightailed it down the hall- where he stopped and turned, taking a kick to the ribs from Dana. Dana picked the clone up, grabbed his shoulders, and bulldozed him into the wall. The clone does the same to Dana, as the 2 went back and forth until they reached the corner at the end of the hallway. The clone fired a roundhouse kick, landing on Dana's upper-left chest and sending him reeling into a supply shelf in the corner. Dana slid down the shelf and onto the floor. He pulled himself up and reached to clutch his chest, when he noticed his sweater had been irreparably torn. "Son of a BITCH!" he cried as he pulled off the unsalvageable garment. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his clown duck into a large infirmary room. Dana gave chase and was greeted by a frozen icepack to the head. Enraged, Dana jumped off one of the beds, tackled his clone and threw him to the other side of the room- while at the same time tripping the switch on a defib machine on the floor. Dana turned it all the way up before his clone managed to pick himself up. The clone rushed at Dana, who sidestepped out of the way, sending the clone crashing down on the floor. Dana picked his clone up and slammed him face-up on a gurney. The clone is in bad shape at this point and is coughing up orange goo. Dana reached for the defib machine and grabbed the paddles. Electricity jumped between them as Dana called out, "CLEAR!" and JAMMED them into his clone's chest. Almost instantly, it caved in on itself. Dana yanked his arms clear of the abyss in his clone's chest seconds before it exploded into a mess of tendons and slime. Dana staggered back and took a couple deep breaths before hitting the walkie-talkie button on his phone
"One down, four to go… who needs a hand out there?" he asked.
"I could use some help!" Dana heard Jason's garbled voice call out over the phone's speaker.
"All right… I've got you on my GPS tracker; I'll be there as soon as I can." replied Dana.
He burst out the door and looks at the screen of his phone.
"Quarter mile, due east…" he remarked to himself, before snapping the phone shut and taking off.
Meanwhile, Katie and her clone were sparring in a vacant horse corral, each one trading and ducking blows until both of them disappeared into one of the stables…
Jason and his clone were fighting in an abandoned military training center when Dana rushed in.
"It's about time!" Jason said has he ducked a kick from his clone.
"I'm sorry!" Dana apologized. "Look, is there a working fuse box anywhere in this building?" he continued.
"Yeah- try the basement!" struggled Jason.
"Come on!" said Dana.
He then gave Jason's clone a roundhouse kick to the head, stunning it long enough for himself and Jason to head to the staircase leading to the basement. Jason's clone gave chase and kicked open the basement door only to find Dana, arms crossed, standing near the back wall.
"Where is he?" hissed the clone.
"Where's who?" Dana taunted.
The clone lunged at Dana, who stepped aside, revealing the opened fuse box. The clone stopped just short, saying,
"You didn't expect me to fall for that, did you?" -
Just as Jason stepped from behind and kicked him into the fuse box. The clone convulsed violently before exploding.
"How did you know which one was the clone?" Jason asked.
"I didn't." said Dana. "Come on. We need to get our hands on some tasers or something- these things hate electricity." he continued.
"I think they kept a few around here for hazing new recruits." replied Jason.
"Let's hope they still work…" Dana responded.
Gage and Destiny ended up back at the park as they fought their clones.
"Man, these guys are hard-core…" remarked Destiny.
"No shit!" Gage replied.
"Guys! Heads up!" Jason called out. Destiny and Gage turned around to see Dana and Jason's arrival.
"Here, catch!" Dana said as he and Jason tossed a taser each to Gage and Destiny.
"Got it!" Gage called, as he and Destiny aimed and fired the tasers at their clones.
"Mutherfu-" was all Destiny's clone could utter before she and Gage's clone were turned into spatter.
"You guys OK?" Gage asked as he and Destiny ran to join Jason and Dana.
"Yeah… I'm a little winded but other than that I'm fine." Dana answered.
"Me too." Jason added. "Where's Katie?" he continued.
"GUYS! Get away from Dana!"
The 4 turned around to see Katie approaching from behind.
"What the hell are you talking about?" a dumbfounded Dana asked.
"This." Katie said as she produced Dana's torn sweater. "I found this in the walk-in clinic on my way back."
"So?" Jason asked.
"Guys… when this thing takes you over, it tears your clothes." Katie answered.
"Yeah… come to think of it, you never did answer how you knew which one of me was the clone." Jason sneered as he grabbed Dana's shirt collar.
"Dammit! Can't you see, that's just what it wants- to pit us against each other!" Dana angrily replied.
"But if that's not Dana, how'd he get that tattoo on his chest?" a voice called out.
The five turned towards the source of the voice to see another Katie approaching them.
"Ok, now this has officially become a fucked up situation." noted Destiny.
"Guys, it's me… she's the fake." the second Katie said as she revealed the stylized horse tattoo on her back.
The team started backing away from the obvious remaining clone as it began to convulse, grow, and transform.
"Time to go to work!" Dana called out as he grabbed his PyroChanger from his back pocket.
The others followed suit and henshined. As they began taking shots at the clone-creature, more tendrils and orifices began sprouting around its body.
"Guys, what's say we use the artillery the good doctor gave us?" Green called out.
"Good call." said Gage as they produced their weapons.
The creature took a shot across the chest from White's straight whip, then a blow to the back of the head from Blue's cannon. Red and Yellow both used their weapons to cut deep gashes in the monster's writhing flesh as Green used his rifle to fire away at it.
"It's working!" Blue called out as the creature stumbled and fell.
"Wait- oh, shit!" said Red.
"Motherfucker…" Yellow uttered as the monster righted itself. Dog-like creatures began pushing themselves through the gashes cut into the monster.
Green thought a second. "Blue and Red- Fire your weapons so the ammo streams cross into each other!" he called out.
They did so- creating a stream of intense fire, propelled and surrounded completely by a razor-sharp ice column. The stream penetrated the creature and the resultant blast sent pieces of it flying.
"Good thinking!" enthused Red, slapping Green on the shoulder.
The group checked to make sure no bystanders were around before de-henshining. But Destiny's head mechanic Leaves, who was hiding in the bushes, saw the whole thing go down. All he could manage to say after seeing his boss change into a superhero and back was,
"You gotta be fucking kidding…"
Meanwhile, at Duncan's lab..
"BURKE! JAMESON! Get your asses in here!" the tycoon shouted. The lackeys entered the room within seconds.
"Yes, Sir?" they quivered in unison.
"I thought you two said you didn't want to become alien food… give me ONE REASON why I shouldn't toss both of you in that chamber and lock the door behind me." Duncan barked.
"Well, sir, because we found out why the clones of that big dude, the blonde chick and the army guy came together so fast… you might be interested…" Jameson replied.
(Music insert- "Karma" Karmastition remix, Alicia Keys)
The crew was gathered at Destiny's garage while Dreyfus had maintenance work performed on one of the USGS' cargo vans.
"How much I owe you?" Dreyfus asked to Destiny behind the counter.
"This one's on me." Destiny replied.
"Thanks, I owe you one." said Dreyfus as he and the crew, minus Destiny, left.
"I know I've heard this song before…" Dana commented as he shut the door behind him.
"Nice folks, those guys…" Leaves drops as he lights his bowl and jams the pipe into his mouth.
"God Damnit, Palmer- what the hell did I tell you about bringing that shit in my garage?" Destiny asked.
"Oh yeah, sorry…" Leaves apologized as he removed the bowl from his mouth. "By the way, you look hot in that yellow suit of yours." he continued as he placed the bowl back into his mouth and toking up. Destiny's jaw drops…
The End… until Episode 3- Pyroman Vs. The Volcano!