Chapter 18
Half the summer was gone.
Snek was marveling as Drax went from 12 feet long to a good 16 feet! He grew thicker and stronger with all the monsters he has taken down. He is nearly capable of devouring a demon level threat if need be.
The house had just begun to settle once more. Garou found balance between his feedings and maintaining the new brood. Granted, it was weird to see him appear rather fat. Melee however wasn't going to complain. "I rather have him like this than scary skinny!" she said.
"You and me both," said Snek.
It was a hot lazy afternoon. No one really wanted to go anywhere or do anything that was until Max came out from his room. "Hey, we got a request!" he said.
"A request?" asked Hunter. "This ain't from some rich snobs is it?"
"Actually, it's from my friend Stinger." Max explained the message he was given, Stinger needed help on clearing the beaches. They do this every summer before a festival to ensure that monsters are kept at bay. A good purging of the waterfront make it a clear sign to any monsters that there are powerful heroes in the area that will destroy them if they come near by. "You remember the festival I tried to take Alley to? This is it, but they want to be sure the beaches are safe, care to help out? No one is allowed on except for the heroes." He teased that last little bit to the family.
Normally, when heroes go to the beaches the people, fans and those who may not take kindly certain heroes, especially the M Class, constantly hound them. Yet the idea of a nice open beach with no one else allow was too tempting to pass up. Not to mention, with their numbers, the purging would be very quick and easy to say the least. Max's phone went off. "Oh… he's got Saitama and Genos going. Metal Bat confirmed a while ago. What do you guys say?"
Melee smiled to the idea. "Ooo, a beach day… depending on what we find, we can do a nice clam bake!"
"A monster clam bake… Or crab boil" said Garou. "You know, I think a trip to the beach sounds like a good idea. We can eat well and get some privacy!"
"Okay seriously, who the hell are you? You go from moody worries to now optimistic happy!" demanded Snek.
Garou shrugged his shoulders. "Hormones?"
Melee laughed as she stood up. "KIDS, SUIRYU, LET'S GO TO THE BEACH!"
#
City J
They arrived. Not a soul was to be seen on the sands, yet Stinger was near by at the ready to do his patrol. When he saw Max, he smiled, yet when he saw the whole M Class, the smile was quick to vanish. "You brought everyone?"
Max nodded. "The more hands the better the patrol right?"
"Uh… okay…" Stinger appeared reluctant to have their help, Snek could tell by the look on his face. But that will change soon enough, he already felt something lingering under the ground and it was starting to approach their location.
"HEY!" Everyone turned, as there appeared to be a sudden gathering of people. "What the hell is this? Beach closed?!"
Snek rolled his eyes, some muscle bound beach goer didn't want to obey the sign. In fact, he stormed down to confront Stinger. "What's this? Closed for a private event or something? Since when do they get that kind of privilege huh?" he demanded.
Stinger tried to explain the situation, yet why explain it, when it can be shown. However, Snek didn't want to. "Damn it…" he muttered. The sensation he felt earlier began to intensify, moving under the boardwalk.
Drax froze in fear. His body began trembling; he must have felt it too. Snek leaned down. "Whatever you do, do not go on the sand until I give the all clear, got it?" Drax nodded as Snek turned to the group. "Someone for the love of God watch my back. I hate being bait here!"
He slithered on to the beach and then he began to contort his body oddly, people watched and stared, as it appeared Snek was merely squirming on the sand. It was for a good reason though, the tremor he felt before was only intensifying. Harder and faster he continued to wriggle until the vibration suddenly stopped. Snek knew not to trust the silent or the still movement. "You guys are… WHOA" he was suddenly wrenched away, just as the ground from under him burst up. Melee struck hard and fast, as sand burst from the earth and into the sky from the blow. As it cleared, she brushed it off her hands and a massive mole like monster lay dead on the beach. She turned and glared at the beach goers, not one of them moved or said a word.
Snek breathless to say the least. "SHIT!" he announced. "I hate those damn things."
The musclehead confronting Stinger suddenly went very pale, Stinger on the other hand crossed his arms. "You still want to go to the beach before we finish our sweep? It's the whole reason why it's closed today."
He didn't utter a word, instead, he turned and walked away, and so did everyone else. Alley was quick to go to work, erecting strange poles on the sidewalk. "What's that?" asked Draven.
"People blockers. I managed to input facial recognition technology into these, it will know whose a hero and who is civilian, heroes can pass easily, civilians… not so much. Also it will hide our activities on the beach for extra privacy." Her device was quickly put to the test.
Of all people to show up, besides Metal Bat and Zenko of course, S Class hero Zombieman appeared. It was a strange sight for everyone as he stood there rather unimpressed to the whole situation. "What the hell is this?" said Hunter. "This isn't like you,"
He glared at him. "Association insisted, claiming that I could help out here. Don't see the point. I got better things to do… Besides, this isn't a spying sort of thing, I don't like being out here, I hate sweating," he paused as he saw the giant mole. "Sand moles huh? Those things are a pain in the ass."
"Tell me about it," said Snek. "Damn thing was going to eat me, then again doesn't help I was bait and squirmed like a worm…"
"I really don't care what you did or how it got killed, I don't even want to be here right now." Zombieman passed the barrier with ease, just as a random citizen came running.
"Zombieman! Can I get your OOF!" the teenager was repelled back and away, He turned around and gave a small smirk.
"Nice barrier kid." He said to Alley. Slowly he made his way down on to the boardwalk. "So, what the hell is going on here?"
"Beach combing. We got a festival coming up and we need to send the monsters a message not to come!" Stinger announced. "I never had this many offer to help before…"
"That and we're going to do a beach bake afterwards." Explained Melee. "Can't let those sea folk go to waste!"
Zombieman rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just tell me where you want me to do."
Stinger divided up the group. Snek, Hunter and Drax. Zombieman, Draven and Goliath. Suiryu and Alley. Stinger and Max. Pac, Metal Bat and Melee. "We will do a good comb of the beach, fortunately that sand mole should be the only one here, those things are territorial as hell… where did it go?" Stinger asked as he noticed the body was gone.
Instantly he turned to Garou who shook his head. "Not me."
A muffled burp was heard, everyone turned to Hunter. "What? I skipped breakfast!" yet he was making strange sounds and spat out some sand. "Should have dunked that in the water before eating it…"
Stinger shuttered. "You get use to it." Said Max. "Okay, let's do this!"
#
Metal Bat came a little late, Alley made an acceptation in the program to allow Zenko passage. Yet as the beaches were getting combed, Zenko stayed with Garou. He didn't want to go out in his condition. If anything, he set up the supplies Melee brought along and laid down under a beach umbrella. "Really? You're not going to be part of this?" Zenko questioned.
"Not in the mood," he said. "Besides, I got to be careful with the new brood, they are a lot smaller than their sister and brothers before them. I can't over do it, nor can I risk getting hit. Unlike their siblings, they spread out, not contained to my left side so… yeah."
Zenko didn't appear to understand at first, until his wings opened up. Garou looked down at himself and sighed. "Normally, I would see little bumps on me… I got nothing. I just look fat and yeah, I know I do," he said.
She giggled at his comment, but stopped rather quickly. "Sorry."
"Meh, I'm use to it." He turned to her oddly. "So… You and Pac huh? How serious are you two?"
Her face suddenly turned beet red…