Gold Digger the Insertion files

Chapter 3: Betwixt and Between, what happened before it all happened?

I own nothing owned by others. This includes Gold Digger, Marvel, DC, Transformers, and any other series I may use. I'm making this for fun and get no profit from it.

Well folks, when last you saw me I had just helped Gina and Britanny defeat Dreadwing, free two elves, and scored a large treasure...or part of a treasure as Gina and Britanny are owed a third of it each too. But since I was shot into a DVD then what happens? Did I get sent back to the beginning of the film to re-live this entire screw-up for all eternity? Thankfully no that didn't happen. What did happen is that Tark and Mesha were able to manipulate the forces of magic and shrank Dreadwing's vast gold and treasures into a convenient carrying size.

"So how exactly are we going to get all this gold out of here?" I asked no one in particular as Britanny's burnt flesh and fur shed off and fresh tissue replaced it. It was more interesting than disgusting and looked no worse than my cat shedding.

"It is quite simple really Mr. Alex." Mesha smiled as she and her spouse Tark (who was also smiling). "Allow us to show you." The pair of fae summoned their magical powers and the great treasure started to lift up and began what reminded me of the scene from "Sword in the Stone" with Merlin packing up the contents of his home. Granted there was no sentient sugar cup or musical number but it did have the same result.

Holding a very large bag in his hands, Tark helped to make sure that the constant flow of material to be stored didn't hit a snag in the line. The sheer tonnage of glistening gold that was compacted into a small carrying case was awe inspiring.

"Wow...what a way to pack." I said in spite of myself as Britanny giggled and Gina just smirked at me.

"You know pal, that was going to be my line." The brainy blonde playfully chided me.

"Oh put a sock in it will you Gina." The tall werecheetah said as she took the bag from our male elf friend and carefully tried to lift it using only one hand. "Dang it's heavy. Probably going to have to take shifts to carry this thing out Alex."

Britanny's assessment was not meant as a criticism, but rather just an observation. Though Mesha did seem apologetic for not being able to remove any more of the weight from the bag than was already done.

"Actually we could just have Alex turn into that giant green guy again. You know the massive mountain of muscle who clobbered Dreadwing with nothing but his fists." Gina said thinking the answer was that easy. "He seemed like he could have just carried the treasure by himself."

"Excuse me? What giant muscle guy?" Britanny asked as she set the bag down and started to scratch her head; bits of fur came off as she did. "Did I miss something important while I was dead?"

"Oh yes the great and powerful being that Alex became after he saw you hurt." Tark said as he remembered that form as well. "After Dreadwing nearly killed you Britanny, Alex here became very angry, in fact very very angry and changed into a being of great strength and size who was able to break the dragon's bones with one blow and ripped off one of Dreadwing's talons."

Mesha continued as I tried not to think about being the Hulk, though I wasn't sure why. I knew that the Digger's sisters had a weakness for muscular guys, but in retrospect it was more that I didn't want to try and bring out Banner's other persona unless needed.

"Wait you're telling me that our little friend here turned into someone who easily dwarfed me and smashed the Dragon with is bare hands?" Britanny smiled as she said.

"Wait little?" I thought to myself. Okay Britanny was 7' tall in hybrid form but I was not little.

"After he saw me get hurt?" The werecheetah finished, and was looking at me with those big green eyes and a smile that was even bigger.

"Um yea well you are a friend Cheetah and it greatly upsets me to see a friend get hurt. And since I was more angry than I had ever been I just used someone I knew could take Dreadwing apart."

"Well thank you for caring so much." Britanny said in reply as she hugged me a bit, though not a really big hug as she was still a little sore. "And if someone hurt you I'd kick their butt too."

"Anyway you two," Gina interrupted. "why don't you give Alex room so that he can try to turn into that guy again and just carry the treasure out of here?"

"Sounds good to me. I'd love to get a chance to see what that guy looks like." Britanny dropped the bag and moved away from me so that I had plenty of room to give it a shot.

"Sorry but no." I tell everyone.

"But why? You have already shown an ability to control that great being? And while you did seem simple of mind, that form did have more than enough strength to carry this load easily out of here." Tark asked.

"Well see, you're sort of wrong there. I didn't have all that much control over the Hulk as much as I gave him a target to unleash his anger on. Don't get me wrong he is a great hero and all, but that force of nature is best used when you don't want what you are fighting to exist for long."

"Surely he is not all that bad, or dangerous as you say." Mesha countered.

"Yea, yea he is. The main reason that superhero teams will have the Hulk on their side is because he's too powerful to want to make him an enemy, course he also does try to do the right thing but can't control his power too well..." I try to excuse the idea, but I figured that Britanny still wanted to see me Hulk-out at least once.

"Okay, but if you have access to as many characters as you say then surely another one is as strong without being so dangerous?" Gina pointed out. "And if that's so then you could still carry the bag for us."

"True there. Give me a moment to think please."

I pondered and pondered who to use. Guessing that Britanny could lift about 15 tons without difficulty, and she considered the bag heavy then I would need to use someone who was in the 100 ton bench press range, and more controllable than Hulk. Also I'm in a cave so I have no idea if Superman would be able to do the job as he needs the sun I wasn't sure how much of a charge he'd have before I turned into him, nor would Captain Marvel be a good idea with summoning lightning down (if it could actually go through the rock above and that I didn't know). Colossus could do it easily, but if Tark and Mesha needed magic then his metal skin would get in the way of that just like before. Thing maybe? He could do it, but I was never a big fan of the guy and his massive build would make it impossible go get through small openings and such if needed. Thor? Used him before but I didn't want to use someone I already had...sort of a braggart that way. But maybe someone like Thor, just with a nicer personality and a slightly different choice of weapon.

"Got it." I said as I snapped my fingers.

"Oh, and who are you going to use this time?" Britanny asked as she leaned over in anticipation.

"That's whom Britanny, not who." Gina corrected her younger sibling as she cleaned some smudge off her glasses.

"Okay then whom?" The werecheetah yelled at her sister and stuck out her tongue to Gina. Which caused an equally immature response from the other blonde, and the sisters were going to start bickering soon.

"Lets just say, I have the POWER!" In a blinding flash of light I did the whole superhero transformation thing as a sword of power materialized in my hand, my form replaced by one of a far taller and vastly more bulky body, and my cloths changed from typical western get-up to arm bracers, furry boots, and my mostly bare chest protected only by a crossing metal strap.

Where once a normal human stood, now was the most powerful man in the universe: He-Man the defender of Eternia. I swung the Sword of Grayskull in my hand for a moment the set it in place on my back. Granted such a use of my abilities for such a small manner could be seen as abuse by some, but I figured that I was just using the talents I had for some good use.

"Wow..." Gina said, right before I heard her glasses drop to the ground.

"Uh Gina." Britanny said. "Did Alex just turn into hunkzilla just now?"

"Oh yea." Gina smiled hungrily.

"Well anyway my friends I shall be able to carry our luggage without difficulty from now on." I said to the elves facing me, trying to delay what I knew was going to happen. "Is there any more that I can carry for you? Any private items or personal mementos that you wish to bring with you? I don't mind doing all the lifting for you."

"Why thank you Mr. Alex, but Tark and I really only have one another." Mesha said as she smiled and hugged her husband.

"And that is really all that matters to us. That, and our shared freedom." Tark smiled.

"Then let us be off. If no one has any objections." I smile as I easily picked up the cargo and swung it over my shoulder.

"Um Alex...would you mind doing me a favor?" Britanny said as she started to limp a little walking towards me.

"Oh? What can I do for you Cheetah?" I had a good idea what she was going to ask, but you weren't going to hear me complain.

"Well I'm still a little sore from being blasted with fire and all, so would you mind carrying me too?" She pressed herself to my, or He-Man's, or whoever's chest and started making circles with her finger tip over the "H" in the center of my armor. "If it's not too much trouble for youuuuu..." I knelt down a bit and lifted the beautiful werecat up in one arm like I do my cat so often. While Britanny was far bigger it was still the same.

"There, better my friend?" I smile at her and let don't even mind that her hormones are probably racing for the more attractive features of the Eternian prince. I figured that it was like her and her alternate forms; no matter the outside it's still the same person on the inside in all of them.

"I hope that I'm not holding you too tightly or rubbing a sore spot."

"Don't even think of it handsome." My cheetah friend said as she hugged me and set her head on my shoulder, though turning her head quickly and sticking her tongue out at her sister again before resting once more on my shoulder. Her tail was wrapped around my arm as an anchor. "Now lets get back to civilization while you tell me all about this guy. You have my complete attention so don't worry."

"Oh of all the..." I heard Gina huff and fume as she stomped off to follow the two elves to the exit from the cave, and who were also being lovey-dovey as the saying goes. I didn't blame them at all as this was the first time the couple had been free in countless centuries and had a future to look forward to.

"You know she's just fooling with you right?" Gina yelled back towards us. Which caused some chuckles from the two elves.

I figured that Gina was just being jealous (an emotion I knew a lot of) and that I should just let her fume. This thought was interrupted by a very familiar sensation in my ear, that of the soft and reverberating purr of a happy kitty. Although she said I had her complete attention, Britanny had dosed off to sleep in my arm with her own wrapped around my chest and neck. I smiled as I followed the other member's of our party to freedom and just let my friend recover and regenerate. All the while little things would pop out of her mouth that caused me to blush a bit.

With none of those stone monster things, and no apparent traps, we were able to make our way out of dragon's den easily and out in the open sunlight. It was good to get out of that mess, and likely was even better for Tark and Mesha as I have no idea when the last time they actually saw the sun was. It would be interesting to see what exactly what had changed since they were forced into Dreadwing's service, but since this was an isolated and very rural part of England probably not a whole lot.

"It's beautiful." Mesha said as she looked at the large amount of trees and rolling hills.

"Yes, but doesn't look that different from centuries past." Tark observed. "But I don't think I'll ever take a day of it for granted again."

Gina was more focused on returning to our previous campsite at the moment, and Britanny was still napping so neither one said anything in reply.

"So where exactly do we go to now?" I asked aloud, and to no one in particular.

"Well first thing is that we find the campground again and collect our things, and then we make out way back to civilization and to our pilot Ace." Gina said as she pulled out her PDA and started messing with it.

"Just as soon as I find where our base camp is," Gina smiled. "We can start heading back to civilization. Shouldn't take too long once we get out of these woods." The attractive and shorter blonde smiled as her personal computer unit made a registering tone indicating that she had found what she was looking for.

"Well saddle up partners we're heading West." She smiled as she pointed in the general direction indicated on her device and proudly marched on with the rest of us in tow.

Like Gina had indicated the campsite where we had stayed before heading into the cave was not really that far from us, and was a pretty easy walk (though it felt weird as I had never had fur skivvies before or boots). I was really hoping that Britanny didn't ask me to pose around in this form too often. He-Man's awesome and exceedingly useful but there was a reason he uses Battlecat for traveling long distances.

"Cheetah you still with us?" I asked the mass of spotty fur attached to my arm.

"Yep, but you really are too comfortable to just let go of." The werecheetah smiled as she squeezed me a bit harder.

"Well thanks, but we are here so I do have to put you down, as much as I hate to." Britanny pouted a bit but agreed and hopped off of me and smiled as she headed to where she had left her stuff.

"Glad you finally decided to wake up." Gina said as she was putting her tent away. "We have a lot of work to do if we are going to reach any sort of civilization before nightfall."

The brainy blonde had a good point as I had no freaking clue where the heck we were and in reality only Gina and Britanny had a clue where to start walking to. If this was open ground I could try some sort of vehicle mode and just drive everyone away, but since it's not that idea does not work.

"Yea you're right sis." Britanny said as she groaned. Stressing herself for a moment, the graceful and powerful woman who had shown great interest in me dashed around the camp site in a flurry (or perhaps more truthfully furry) of motion in which she grabbed, packed, folded, and tossed together her stuff into a moderately sized backpack. "There all done."

I had half expected her to give a sarcastic tone to her voice, but instead I only heard sincerity and an air of tedium. It was as if the amount of time it took her to gather her stuff, only a few seconds, was a boring waste of her time.

"Well that's that. You done yet Gina?" Britanny said as she adjusted the weight of the pack on her shoulders.

The older of the Digger's siblings smirked as she merely pressed a button on here PDA like device in her hands and all the things she had left at the site, which really wasn't that much, instantly vanished from sight.

"Very interesting magic you have access to Ms. Gina." Tark said as he saw what happened. "Tell me where did you send all your things?"

"Oh that's nothing really." Gina smiled with pride. "Just your basic subspace storage device, which I invented and patented. And it allows for easy storage of all manner of things to be retrieved at a later date."

As Tark and Mesha looked at it in wonder, and Britanny deliberately tried to find something else to look at (I not being one of them) I had a rather curious thought that maybe this subspace she was using was the same dimension as the DCU Phantom Negative Zone and the Marvel Negative Zone...or was it the other way around? Regardless of the name, perhaps this subspace is the exact same dimensional gap that exists in other comic universes. I only hope that it's not or that those universes don't cross into this one as the last thing any universe needs is to face the likes of Zod or the bizarre alternate universe monstrosities found within those zones.

"So are we going now? I thought we were on a schedule." Britanny nearly spat as she continued to look around disinterested.

"I'm sorry but I was waiting on one of you to show me the way out of here." I politely retort, well politely and playfully.

"Oh I'm not blaming you cutie." Britanny apologized, finally taking a renewed interest in me. "How could I be upset with a gentleman like you with such a sweet face?"

"hussy" I heard Gina huff.

"Uh thank you, but really I have no clue where we need to go so I'm going to have to follow your lead here." If I was my normal self I would be blushing so much my head would resemble a radish. Fortunately I seem to have far better control of my feelings and reactions when assuming other personae, so I was only slightly blushing.

"Oh I'm going to be more than happy to uh...lead you where you need to go." Cheetah said in a very seductive tone as she wrapped her arms behind me. "But I'm going to do so from behind for a bit."

"Huh?" I asked as I felt her furry tale tickle me a bit.

"Don't blame me Alex, you chose this guy so don't get upset that I'm going to be giving him a complete looking over." Britanny was going a little overboard with this, and I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to control myself. Having never been shown this much attention by so stunning a beauty I was beginning to wonder how much more I could take.

"She does have a point there." Gina said as she took the lead again. "You did choose that particular guy and say that you read our comic so you know exactly how my over active sister thinks. Therefore any and all things that happen are on your head."

"Yes well...shall we be off then?" I say as I follow Gina through the woods. Her lively skipping jump was not encouraging.

Thankfully it did not take long before we did finally come across some sort of indication of civilization, but it was only a dirt road.

"Well now what?" Britanny asked as she looked around for some indication of where to head to.

"You mean you didn't leave a vehicle here or have some arranged transport for your return?" I asked as I put the sack down on the ground.

"Nope. Thanks to little miss hormones over there the taxi driver was a little...scared off from picking us up." Britanny said as she used her thumb to indicate Gina.

"Who is miss hormones now thank you very much?" Gina berated Britanny. "Besides you can't say that he wasn't cute and had an accent to die for." Gina's incredulous look, annoyed huff, and generally ticked off demeanor indicated that once again these two sisters where deep in a long standing argument.

"This is the British countryside Gina; every guy sounds that way." Britanny nearly yelled back. "Besides he wasn't that cute and had that horrible set of buck teeth."

"So what? He still should have been nicer to us and more appreciative of the fact I was complimenting him." Gina said back while walking along the roadside. I had a better idea.

"We could argue this all day, and it would get us nowhere." I say going back to my real form. "So why don't we just say enough is enough and try to actually get to a hotel or inn."

"Fine by me, but how are we going to carry that loot and make it to town without you being Samson's blond brother?" Britanny asked.

"I think I have an idea." I smirked as I grew again. Not into He-Man or Hulk, or any organic superhero. Cold blue/black metal became my body as two massive cannons formed on my arms and my height overwhelmed all the others standing around. "This should work."

My voice was a grizzled mix of southern and Texan with a bit of drill sergeant and instead of feeling muscles and skin move with me I felt the spinning of servos and hydraulics. I walked a bit from my friends and started part two of my idea. Instantly my body was twisting, moving, turning, adjusting as the robotic form of Ironhide was configured to that of his GMC topkick alternate form.

"Well everyone." I said popping open the doors. "Climb inside and rest a spell."

"Nice." Gina said as she took a look over the massive 4X4 I had become. "How long were you going to hold out on this one pal?"

"I was waiting till we had some open ground to allow me to change. Drop the sack and your other stuff in the bed and climb on in." Britanny did as I suggested and was able to lift the gold holding bag and her traveling pack into the bed that was my aft and shut the tailgate.

"Um excuse me but how are we supposed to get inside this mechanical chariot? No offense meant Mr. Alex." Mesha asked as her mate was equally clueless.

"Don't worry Mesha, Britanny and I will show you." Gina answered before I could. In a matter of moments they were buckled up and ready to go.

Gina was situated in my driving seat while Britanny had requested the shotgun position; claiming she liked the greater leg-room. Only once did Gina make the mistake of attempting to drive me, and well.

"Lets see we take this turn up here and we can make it to a small town in about half an hour." The brainy blonde noted as she took the wheel and gave it a turn, only to find that I pulled her seat belt back a bit and that I took control of the wheel from here.

"Hey what they heck?" Gina said in shock. "This truck possessed or something?"

"No this truck is our friend." Britanny said back. "And I take it that you like being in control?" She said speaking into my dashboard, which was about a good a place as any to speak to me as I could actually hear her just fine if she has talked to me normally.

"You got it little missy, and don't try shifting gears either little lady. Last thing I need is a new transmission." I gritty tone was harsh, but not intended as I actually become the character I turn into. Realizing I may have insulted them I made a more friendly suggestion. "Now why don't y'all just relax and let old Ironhide get you where you need to go. I got clear satellite radio if anyone wants to listen to some good music."

"Why not. Can't remember the last time I've been chauffered around and didn't have to pay for it." Gina said smiling.

I started doing a long-range scan of any and all signals to find a good station. And found started to play one very fitting song that got an instant laugh out of the two front-seat passengers.

"East bound and down, load it up and truckn'. We're going to do what they say can't be done." The two blondes went into a fit of giggles.

"We're in the English countryside, driving down a dirt road..." Gina started.

"Inside a truck that's really a nice guy who turning into an assortment of super-powered guys and at least one transforming robot..." Britanny continued. "With a country accent..."

"And the first thing that he turns the radio to is a song from 'Smoky and the Bandit'." They say at the same time in-spite of themselves.

"Oh why not." Gina said as she turned the volume up a bit and joined in.

"We've got a long way to go, and a short time to get there." Gina said as she started singing.

"I'm East bound just watch ol' Bandit run." Britanny said as she started singing at the top of her voice too.

"Keep your foot hard on the pedal. Son, never mind them brakes.

Let it all hang out 'cause we got a run to make.

The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there's beer in Texarkana.

And we'll bring it back no matter what it takes." We all sang together.

"I really wish that I knew this song, as it has been a very long times since we have been able to sing just for the joy of it. Or have reason to." Tark said as he smiled at his wife.

"Well partner why don't you and the misses just listen a spell." I suggested as I turned the music down a bit. "When you feel up to it, just join in."

So there were were: an autobot, a werecheetah, a super genius, and two elves all moving driving down some forgotten English back road towards a town while night was falling all trying to sing a song by Jerry Reed. And there was a large bag of treasure in my truck bed, a bed I quickly covered over with a top cover so no one could actually see there was a bag there. This is how we drove into the town as dusk was settling. A long day over and needing to find a place to stay for the night.

"So little lady where does that device of yours say we can find a place for a pair of ladies and a nice couple?" I ask after we all did finally have enough fun singing.

"Well shouldn't be too far. About two blocks on the left. But aren't you going to want a place to sleep too Alex?" Gina as she looked up from her computer.

"Oh I'm going to be sleeping just fine. Just going to be watching your stuff out here while you enjoy the comforts of a nice bed and a good shower." I didn't really mind doing this as the cold and such didn't bother me nor did anything else. In fact being a truck felt, well right at this point.

"You sure you don't mind?" Britanny asked as she leaned a bit closer to the center console. "Really paying for a room for you wouldn't be a problem."

"Shucks pretty lady I'm flattered, but someone got to watch the loot. Besides, I don't think you be wanting to explain why a truck turned into a robot and then into a man do you?"

"Well you have a point there." Britanny said as she sighed. "Still I don't feel right about leaving you alone in the cold."

"Naw don't worry about me, I'm built tough." I beam with pride. "You just take that refresher you need and in the morning we'll get up early and head out."

Britanny sighed but agreed.

"See you in the morning then." The werecheetah said as she playfully tapped my dashboard and stepped out.

It wasn't a bad night, strange perhaps but not bad. After my friends had gotten settled in the inn and were nestled sound asleep, I found that yes cybertronians do dream. My doors were locked, my parking brake was on and my engine was off and yet my mind was still active while not actually being active. While like every other dream I've had in which I am a part of, it had the appearance of being through a digital camera. Let's say that it was an interesting night for me, and one of many more to come.

The morning was thankfully not as eventful as my previous one and as soon as Gina payed the bill, and Britanny surprised a few locals who were almost ready to go looking for pitchforks, we were on our way once more back to the states.

"So ma'am where's our stop?" I asked after making some distance between us and the town.

"The airport at Yorkshire. We have a friend who should be waiting there named Kevin. He'll be flying us home, or to our home I should say." Gina said as she used her minicomputer's GPS function. "We shouldn't have any trouble getting..."

"Gina please for the love of Charley Tuna don't finish that sentence." Britanny cut in, and if she hadn't I would have as I knew that what Gina was about to say was a classic cartoon set-up if I ever heard one.

"Okay fine." Gina said as she started playing with her device and left the driving to me.

Thankfully she was right and it did not take long at all to get out of the backwoods and rolling hills and into the more urban expanse. I reluctantly agreed to let Gina drive me to the location once we got into town for a few reasons. One being I didn't want to be pulled over, two I didn't know the way, and three I wasn't used to driving on the other side of the road like they do in England.

Thankfully the drive through the city was more or less the same uneventful situation as before, minus a few gaukers who thought I was some sort of big deal. Course Gina just took the opportunity to flirt with the cute guys who came to take a look see, and I chuckled at this. Britanny was thinking that her sister was a bundle of hormones as she mumbled under her breath. My Elven friends just chuckled as they found the whole situation most amusing.

The looks on the English seeing this monster of a truck driving through their town was nothing to the look of a certain young African American who was sitting on a packing crate. He looked to be in his twenties with a baseball cap on and a newspaper in his hands.

"Whoa there chia, where'd you get the ride?" He asked as Gina hopped down from my chrome stepping guard.

"Oh you won't believe me if I told you Ace." Gina replied happily as the other doors opened and the other three travelers got out.

"That was a very nice ride." Mesha said as she was helped to the ground by her husband.

"Indeed. Never have I had as a comfortable trip, much less one in a magical chariot." Tark said as I shut the doors and opened my truck bed.

"Magic smagic. I'm an autobot." I said in reply, and to Ace's shock.

"Did that truck just talk?" Kevin asked as he dropped his newspaper.

"Yes and no partner. I'm not really a truck." I answer while Britanny huffed the large bag and her stuff out of the bed and moved towards her friend.

"Hey Ace." Cheetah called out, completely ignoring the conversation I was having with her friend. "Mind telling me where the plane is?"

"Uh sure chia, it's getting fueled up and should be ready to fly." Kevin said as he indicated where she could drop off her stuff. "Now how are we going to transport this new toy of yours I wonder."

"TOY!" I yell while style in vehicle mode. "You think I'm some sort of toy?"

"Cool it pal." Cheetah cried back over her shoulder. "Ace has been a long time friend of mine and while I like you, I won't let you yell at my friends. Got it mister?"

"Uh yes ma'am. Sorry, I forgot my manners." I sheepishly called back towards my lycanthropic friend.

"Good. Now Ace allow me to introduce our newest friend, Alex." Gina said indicating me still in truck form.

"You made friends with a talking truck?" Kevin asked her in a hushed tone.

"Not exactly Ace." Gina said. "Is there anyone else around this part of the airport? I'm not sure how to explain this to any looky-lues."

"Not a problem chia, I know you like your privacy so I made sure that we're where no one will notice use for a while."

"Good." Gina cheerfully chirped as Britanny returned from dropping off the luggage. "Ace allow me to introduce you to our latest friend, and person who saved our lives, Alex."

With Gina's indication I transformed from my vehicle mode to my robotic mode of Ironhide and popped a few gears into place like a human cracks his knuckles.

"Nice to be able to walk again." I looked down at whom Gina had introduced me to. "Ah so you are Kevin "Ace" Kos? Gina and Britanny's friend and personal pilot?" I smile at him while letting him gawk a bit at the robotic form of Ironhide.

"Um yea that's me." Ace said, taking this whole matter as if another day in the office, till I turned back into my normal self.

"Name's Alex, Alex McLean. Sorry about yelling earlier, I don't have complete control over the guys I turn into." I offered my hand and we shook.

"Naw, no sweat man. So how did you do that whole truck-robot thing?" Kevin asked me while picking up his paper.

"Oh it's not just robots that Alex turns into Ace." Britanny said as she hugged me. "He can change into a whole range of guys, and used his powers to help Gina and I take on a dragon, free those two elves, and apparently is from a world where we're comic characters."

"What?" Ace asked as he had no idea how to follow what was just said. "We are supposed to be what now?"

"I admit that it's an outrageous claim, but as incredible as it sounds Alex has shown that at least part of what he says is true." Gina added. "Try not to think about it too much as that helps a lot."

Ace just nodded his head in agreement and went over the details of the flight with Gina while Britanny (in typical cat mannerism) got bored and started to go find something more interesting to take part in. I decided to follow like a puppy dog, which sounds dumb but really what else was I going to do.

"So what's up?" Britanny asked me as she found a place to sit down for a bit.

"Uh sorry?"

"You've been following me pal, so I'm guessing something's on your mind." Britanny answered back as She leaned towards me and bent just enough that I was able to get a clear view of her cleavage in that tight fitting sweater. This when combined with her great height meant that I was close to bopping my head into hers.

"Um yea, ah...Well there is...something on my mind and I..." okay I'm a dolt when it comes to women, much less when it's someone as stunning as Britanny and knowing about how happy she is with Strype in the comics. Yep it was confusing for me.

"You know, you're cute when your flustered Alex." Britanny smiled. "But really I'm just a normal girl when you get to know me and you've already shown to be a genuinely nice guy so if you have something on your mind you can just say it. I'm not going to bite."

"Yea I know, since your lycanthropy is sealed anyway I don't have to worry about going furry if you did." I chuckle a bit and sit down next to my friend. "Not that being furry is wrong, just don't think it would suit me."

"Ah but you'd look cute as a werecat, but I get it." She smiled at me. Dang getting a good look at those green eyes was a shock. Completely unlike human eyes my cat-like friend's pupils were surrounded by a see of very reflective yellow green that looked like precious stones. "So spill."

"Well Brit...I mean Cheetah. I do have something on my mind and it has to do with you...uh I'm not sure how to say this uh..."

"You really don't have a lot of experience with this do you?" She smirked as she wrapped her arms under her chest and leaned back.

"Uh no, none actually. It's just, I've never had a friend like you before, much less one as flirty and genuinely nice to me. So when you ah kissed me I..."

"You?" Cheetah probed.

"I'm, well...sort of...I really like you Cheetah and I just wasn't sure how you would feel about a guy showing up claiming to be from a world where you're a comic book character, and that such a guy was...beginning too..." No guy can really stay mentally focused when dealing with one of the Diggers girls and thinking of something of the heart so don't judge me on this.

"Well..." Cheetah thought for a moment. "I would first consider how that guy has treated me and my family, how he's acted around me, and how forward he is being with me."

Britanny took another moment to think and continued.

"And of course how much respect he's shown me."

"Okay." So far things could have gone either way, but I was probably more nervous than I'd ever been before.

"But most of all, I would consider how cute the guy is and how sweet he's being to me." This last part was ended with a big hug that completely encompassed me. "And you've been extra sweet to me so don't worry. Right now I think of you as a friend, and a very very good friend so I'm not against the idea of going out with you. But I'm still not sure about going beyond that with you."

"Well I guess that makes a lot of sense. But I'm very happy you consider me a friend."

"Of course I do cute stuff." She said letting me go and tussling the hair on the back of my head. "But I'm not sure I'd get my hopes up just yet if I were you because we have a lot to work on. For starters your sense of fashion."

"What is wrong with my sense of fashion?" I reacted looking at my blue jeans, boots, and other typical Western apparel.

"Nothing, except that you look like you walked out of an episode of Walker Texas Ranger." Britanny shot back. "Seriously when is the last time a woman shopped for you?"

"I live in Montana thank you very much. What else would you expect me to where?" I gave her the best incredulous look I could.

"Hem, true...but I'm going to have to do something about you only having one change of clothes. Don't worry pal, while I know you've probably had enough of women telling you what to where, going to malls, and all the like, but you've never had a gorgeous werecat as myself to show you how it should be done. I hope my reputation as a professional shopper is well known in the comic books."

"That and you have a credit card debt that rivals the national debt of some countries." I joke back.

"Can I help it that I have high class tastes?" Britanny joked. "Plus there's always the problem of me ripping my cloths apart when I shift forms, or fit me in it, or that can fit around my tail." My furry friend punctuated this by tickling me with it.

"Yea I can see that...but what if I could make a clothing that would stretch with you? That you could wear in either form and it fit perfectly." Her eyes went huge at this.

"You serious about this pal? You're not just pulling my tail...so to speak."

"Cheetah I would never pull your tail, literally or figuratively." I say back to her. "I'm sure that I'll be able to copy some unstable molecular fabric, but don't expect me to make anything thing that is up to your high standards for looks."

Britanny and I continue talking like this for hours, even after everyone else got packed up and we took off into the air. She was right when she said that she was a normal gal as I found she was very easy to just talk to. We did flirt a bit, but mostly we shared friendly banter between each other and I found myself feeling a lot less confused about what to consider doing. We were friends and there was something perhaps there, but no rush and no pressure.

"Well Cheetah, no offense, but I'm going to nod off for a bit." I finally said as I started to yawn. "If you need me just waked me up." I flipped my hat over my eyes and propped my boots on a packing crate. Before I could to sleep though, I felt a poke in my side.

"Yes?" I turned and asked the person who was keeping me from catching a few zz's, guess who that was.

"What? You said wake you up in case I needed you, and I need you." That got me up in a flash and Gina's head instantly turned towards us.

"Not like that!" Britanny cried. "What kind of girl do you think I am?" Britanny's question was of course rhetorical, but I really have problems telling that.

"Um..a lady...?"

"Oh you are just too much." Britanny said as she laughed at me.

"Tell me about it." Gina replied halfheartedly.

"Anyway." Britanny said as she huffed at Gina. "I need you right now to do something for me."

"And that would be?" I was about to just put my hat over my head again and say to heck with it, but I thought I should appease her for a while.

"To keep me from getting bored of course. You know how easily a cat gets bored."

"I also know how easily a cat goes to sleep." I grumble a bit and place my hat back in place.

"Oh no you don't." Britanny said as she grabbed my hat from my head.

"Hey now."

"Not till you play with me buddy."

"Oh fine." I said as I turn into Gambit again and begin to pull out a deck of cards.

"Nope, sorry but we played enough card games in that cave. Think of something else cutie."

"Man chere you know of any other game we can play?" I say going back to myself and really wanting to catch some zz's.

"I don't know, just think of something." Britanny cried out exacerbated. "Do you have any idea how awesome it is that I finally have a guy that I can talk to on these adventures? Face it pal most of the time I'm stuck on these trips with my brainy sister and no one that I can just talk with. I guess you were half expecting that we face dragons on a daily basis, or maybe get tons of gold every week that we blow on stuff right?" Oh how much I knew that was what was in the comics all the time.

"Well sorry to say but most of our adventures don't end nearly as well or are as exciting so come on and help me out here and lets play something, or do something, or...I don't know just keep me company for a bit."

"Alright sure, why not?" I finally gave in, figuring I could sleep later.

"Yay. Now any ideas what to do?" She asked me back.

"Well you woke me up so I figured you had an idea." I reply back, and got a hard glance for it. "Okay okay I'll try to think of something." I pondered and pondered and came up with a probably dumb or genius idea depending on how you look at it. Seeing some scratch paper and taking my hat, I placed my item of clothing upside down and handed a few sheets of paper to Britanny.

"What exactly am I supposed to do with this? hem?" My answer was as followed, I crumpled up the paper and tossed it at my hat, just missing the target and bouncing off the rim.

"Your turn." I said half yawning. I had thought she was going to play along, but instead she rolled up the paper in her hand and playfully bopped me in the head with it.

"I take it that you don't like my idea much?"

"No, I just thought mine was better." Britanny smiled at me, indicating she didn't really mean anything by it. "So try thinking harder cute stuff."

"Fine. If you are really that bored then maybe this will help." I didn't want to use my powers so flippantly, but I knew that when bored Britanny could be a real pain. Not as much a danger as Brianna would eventually be, but still Britanny could make the rest of my trip an absolute pain.

Knowing more about Britanny than I told I figured the only way to keep her entertained would have to be tuna, cookies, or probably best of all: a ball of string. And since I had would have to conger some out of thin air...it was spandex time again.

Going from my cowboy duds to a green, black, and white uniform I pointed my right hand out when a beam of bright green energy shot out from the ring on my middle finger and formed into a hand sized ball of yarn.

"Did you just create a ball of yarn out of a ring?" Britanny asked.

"Yep." I say willing it towards her. "Wanna play with it?" Britanny's cat side went ballistic at this and she rushed up and grabbed at the ball. She tossed it into the air, batted it around the ground, and gnawed on it. If it were not that I had Hal Jordan's concentration I would have lost all control and the yarn would have dissipated.

It only took a few moments for her to become completely wrapped up in it and she was loving every minute of it. Wrapped in the throngs of ecstasy with her new toy, Britanny was completely unaware of how silly she was acting.

"Yarn huh? Been a long time since I've seen her go that giddy for it." Gina said as she walked up to us.

"Yep, yarn." I didn't even take my eyes off the adorable sight of Britanny making an absolute fool of herself.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would say you have the hots for my sister." Gina said as she chuckled a bit.

"Wait huh?" I said turning my head and loosing my concentration on the string dissipated.

"Huh where did the string go? Oh string...here string..." Britanny's cries for her new play toy caught my attention as she went looking all over for her toy.

"Uh, sorry Cheetah." I said to her and generated a slightly larger ball of yarn for her to play with. My feline like friend was once more a very happy kitty.

"Oh please Alex it's obvious that you're being sweet on her. Personally I may be jealous of the attention, but I'm actually impressed that you are being so nice to her. Most guys see her and instantly think that she so hot and try to rush into having sex with her, but ignore her after seeing her human form. You on the other hand have been that the utmost of your manners and have been going the extra mile to be friends with her." Gina smiled as she sat down and watched her sister play like a little kitten.

"So tell me, is your fandom crush everything you hope she is?" Gina pried, leaning in towards me.

"It's not that simple Gina, and I'm not sure how I feel about Cheetah...I mean she's hot, awesome, sweet, very affectionate, incredibly athletic, strong, but...there is something that I'm..."

"Look Alex it's obvious you feel for her, and that you care deeply about her. If you want my advice don't be so scared about what may have happened in the comics, and focus more on what can be. You being here changes everything so don't be afraid to let you be yourself and go with it. But if you hurt my sister in any way, then I will make you hurt no matter how powerful you become. Got it?" Gina punctuated he last part by getting into my face and attempted to make me flinch. Good thing Hal Jordan long ago learned to conquer even great fear.

"Got it."

"Good. Now keep quite. I want to preserve this moment for a very very long time." Gina smirked as she went back to recording. Britanny's purring was so great that it was vibrating the floor and I could feel it through my feet. I'd have stopped this, but Britanny was having such a wonderful time that I couldn't bring myself to.

After our flight, and the insanity therein, I found myself in the insanity of the Atlanta airport, in a more normal appearance. Britanny was still giddy as all get out from the gift I gave her and blushing like crazy that she every did something so silly in front of me. I had tried to say she looked too cute while doing it, but that actually caused her to continue to blush.

Thankfully, unlike last time where I was the vehicle of choice, Gina had made sure that she had left a vehicle behind in the parking lot.

"Well here we are." Gina commented as she clicked the unlock button on her keys and opened the gull-wing doors of a custom-made Lamborghini-esc sedan.

"Wow. Nice wheels." I said, noticing how much like it looked like she made a real-life version of Hot Rod from Transformers.

"Why thank you. This is my Gina Mobile Mark 1. A fully customized ride with..."

"The remarkable ability for the engine to flood when going over a puddle of water." Britanny interjected as she huffed the bag to the car.

"Sure that thing isn't going to break the suspension?" I ask as Gina popped the trunk.

"Why should it? It didn't break yours." Britanny said as she dropped the bag into place, then her and Gina's luggage, and then shut the trunk.

"Yes, but I was an extraterrestrial robot who was able to modulate my body into an extra large overpowered 4X4. This on the other hand is a sports car." I said with open palms towards the vehicle.

"I'll have you know Alex that this particular model is built to be able to carry far more than any mere sports car, as well as provide a quick and comfortable ride to all passengers. With it's built-in neutrino power supply the Gina-mobile Mark 1 can out perform any other street legal vehicle while carrying the massive load of Britanny's shopping trips."

"Okay then." I say as I got into the back seat and finally was able to catch some zz's as Gina drove, having not gotten any sleep during the flight and now fighting a minor case of jet lag. Britanny was sitting shot-gun, and Mesha and Tark occupied the seats to my left.

The next thing I knew, I was bolted to life by a pair of large hands shaking me and the familiar voice of a certain werecat urging me up.

"Oh we there Cheetah?" I said while half asleep.

"Yep, so get your cute little tuckus up and out of the car."

"You can be real pushy when you want to be. You know that?" I kid her as I stepped out of the ride and got my bearings.

"Oh I know mister. Now come on, my family is probably dieing to learn about our latest adventure and would love to meet you." Britanny patted me on the shoulder as she lugged the huge bag containing out treasure.

"If you don't mind Cheetah, I'm going to stretch my legs for a bit."

"Okay cutie, but don't keep us waiting too long." Britanny smiled as she took the large sack into her home and left me to my thoughts. I had no idea how I was going to play this situation as I remembered a little of what happened after the dragon, but not the details. Should I tell them about Brianna? Or warn them of the curse? Nope not doing. Tell Britanny about Strype? Maybe...nope not doing that either. If he exists and she falls for him I'll step back, but till then there was no reason I shouldn't explore something with Britanny if she wanted to.

I was standing there for a while, walking around the front of the large mansion. I knew that Gina and Britanny shared a small town house at some point, but it seemed at this point they still lived with their folks. So what would that mean? Well for one Dr. Diggers would probably do the whole demon head thing and no idea how I'd react with that...man I was over-thinking everything. I should have just walked into the house with Britanny and be done with it.

"Excuse me young man but I couldn't help but notice you with that particular young lady." I heard an older male voice behind me, but didn't really recognize what that would likely mean.

"Yea she's my new friend Britanny. Really awesome gal. Never met anyone quite like her, even forgetting the lycanthropy thing." I said.

"Oh? And how do you feel about her?"

"Not sure really." I answered still in thought. "I mean I just met her and I know she likes me, but at the same time I'm really not sure how to progress as I really want to show her how much I respect her as I'm not very successful with women."

"And by successful you mean what exactly?" I was beginning to wonder who this guy was.

"What? Look the fact is I'm not good when it comes with impressing..." I turned around to see a flaming skull with a pipe in his mouth behind me. "Oh hell."

"You were saying?" I had no idea who it was I was looking at, but I before I could allow myself to be attacked I reacted.

I didn't have much to work with, but I did have the Gina-mobile between us and I indented to fight. I shifted again, but this time I decided to use a villain for the first time. Garbed in purple and red with a ornate helmet, boots, and gloves, I could feel the world around me in a far different way as I lifted the car up.

"You want to fight demon, so be it." I lifted the Gina-mobile with the power of magnetism and launched it at him. "But know that you face no mere mortal man, but the phenomenal power of Magneto."

The moment that the car body slammed into this thing, he went sprawling.

"Okay 'Magneto', let me show you that I'm not someone to be trifled with either. Especially when protecting my own home." This monster blasted at me with some sort of mystic bolt, but oddly it deflected off of my magnetic shield. What was going on here?

"Your home? I don't think that the master of this home would be a demon." I shot back as I was struck by a far more powerful beam which knocked me several feet back and caused me to drop the car to the ground.

"And I didn't expect my girls to bring home someone who would so blatantly violent. Seems we both are getting to face the unexpected." This monster blasted at me again with magic.

This time I was ready though and was able to hold back his blast with a more re-enforced magnetic shield. With him focused on me, I was able to tear the nuts, bolts, and pipes from the Ginamobile and pelted my foe with them. This caused him to drop his attack, and I used this opening to tear the rest of Gina's car to pieces and used the metal parts to crush my opponent. Why a demon would be harmed by the parts of a car you ask? Heck if I know I just thought I was fighting for my soul and logic just got shot out the window.

"Now demon, allow me to show you the true power of the x-gene." I was being pulled into Magneto's personality and was preparing to obliterate this one I thought was a fiend and send him from the pit from wince he came. And I would have, if someone hadn't pulled me back to reality.

"Daddy what is going on here?" I heard Britanny cry out as she saw an older man now where the demon headed being was before. Yep I fucked up bad.

"Oh blast it." I was kicking myself in the head when I let him free from the twisted remains of the Ginamobile.

"Daddy you okay?" Cheetah said as she helped her old man to his feet, and looked at me like she was going to kill me.

"Quite alright my dear. First time anyone has actually fought me when I'm using my demon head. Now stand behind me as I'm not letting him hurt you." Yep it was Dr. Diggers, and I had just goofed up big time as I mistook the illusion he uses to scare the guys his daughters bring home for a demon from hell. Britanny took her place beside her father and looked like she was going to take me on as well.

"Oh bother." I sighed, expecting to have to try and explain my mistake to someone who likely wanted to kick my ass with magic and who happened to be the father of my new friend. "Wait please. I'm sorry but there has been a terrible misunderstanding here."

I tried to stop this from going further as I shifted back to my normal self and just stood there.

"Alex?"

"And what exactly would that 'misunderstanding' be young man?" Dr. Digger's aura flared as he looked like he was going to blast me again.

"I thought you were a demon." That did it. Instantly Dr. Diggers dropped his aura field.

"You thought I was a demon and instead of cowering in fear you attacked me?"

"Well yes sir."

"You actually were able to overcome the fear generating aura of my demon head? Impressive. I'll just have to demonstrate why you shouldn't do anything wrong with my daughters another way." This time Dr. Diggers' aura field this time was about 3 times as large as before. At this point I thought I was going to have to pull out some serious firepower to defend myself in a situation I didn't want to be in. Thankfully Britanny had a far cooler head and stopped things from going out of control.

"Daddy this is Alex, he is my friend." Britanny calmly said and grabbed her father's shoulder. "He's never done anything to hurt me, and you did say you were using your demon head so maybe he thought you were a bad guy."

"Is this usually how he handles 'bad guys' or am I a special case?" Theo calmed down a bit as his daughter calmed him down somewhat.

"Sorry about that, I sort of panicked after seeing your flaming head and..."

"Now now no need to apologize. If Britanny trusts you then I suppose that you are trustworthy. She is a wonderful judge of character." He took his pipe from the ground and shook it off before putting into his pocket. "I'm actually impressed that you did fight back. Most people just cower in fear and run."

"Thanks. Name's Alex." I stuck out my hand and he accepted it.

"Dr. Theodore Diggers. As you've likely guessed I'm Britanny's father. If you excuse me I'll be inside and would love to talk with you about my daughters' latest adventure with you." He smiled as he went indoors.

"Well pal you seem to have made an impression on him." Britanny smiled.

"Yea, I think it's from the front grill of Gina's car." I replied back. Britanny found that very funny and entered into a series of chuckles as she looked over Gina's pet project.

"Yea she's probably going to want to get back at you for that. You did totally annihilate her latest pride and joy."

"Maybe, maybe not..." I messed it up so it was my responsibility to clean it up. I shifted again into Magneto. Thanks to his greater sensitivity to the electromagnetic energy spectrum I was able to feel where most of the parts o the car where and gathered them up. The wheels, oil, gas, etc. were all gone, but at least I was able to gather the parts together.

"Nice cape, looks very good on you. While I thank you for cleaning up the the mess, you still didn't whole thing together again."

"Why thank you my dear. A leader must always look as best as he can when he is trying to inspire others." I didn't let her see Magneto without the helmet, just went back to myself. "And I'm not quite done yet."

I wasn't sure how it was going to work, or even if it would work, but if I did have access to the most powerful weapon in the universe then just maybe I could put it together again.

Once more as I turned into Hal Jordan, much to Britanny's delight.

"Hey this is the guy you used to make yarn for me." She smiled as she thought back to what I did on the plane for her.

"Green Lantern Hal Jordan." I start. "Guardian of space sector 2814 and first human member of the Green Lantern Corp." I say this with great pride as I look at the flaring green ring on my hand.

"Well no offense, but I don't think that you can create enough green yarn to fix Gina's toy." Britanny's misunderstanding of the Green Lantern's powers was understandable, so pardon me for showing off.

"That is only a small fraction of the power of that every Green Lantern is entrusted with my breathtaking friend." I raised my arm level and scanned the yard. In doing so I was able to gather the various pits of rubber, gase, lube, and the battery together. I then turned my attention to where I left the wrecked Ginamobile and blasted it with the emerald energies of the rig too.

With my concentration focused on my task at hand, I barely acknowledged Britanny's existence. I learned later that she was equally focused on the goings on and had the deer in the headlights look as if she had just found a mountain of yarn or had a pass to a tuna factory.

"Now all I need is the will and imagination...and..." The unlimited abilities the ring offers were truly wondrous as all I had to do was imagine the Ginamobile being repaired and the cosmic powers I was wielding did the rest. In a few short moments the car that I had destroyed was now looking like a showroom piece The various fluids, the tires, even the charge in the battery were all restored and ready to go.

"There." I say putting the car back on the road. "All back to the way it was and ready to drive again." My job done I just went back to myself.

"Remind me to call you whenever I have car trouble." Britanny said appreciating exactly what I had done.

"Yea I wasn't sure if that would actually work or not, but I'm glad it did." I said as I looked at Britanny and hoped that all was forgiven for accedintaly attacking her father.

"Well it did. And following the advice you said when that 'Magmeto..."

"Magneto actually."

"Whoever. Regardless since I'm the best looking now, therefore I shall do the leading." I would have argued with her about exactly what I had said, but Britanny took me by the arm and pulled me inside to meet her family in a more formal manner. I also hoped it was a far more civilized manner too. "And I know that the rest of my family can't wait to get to know you."

"They? Oh your mother is back today for her once a year visit?" I smiled as I was a big fan of Julia Diggers as well and couldn't pass the opportunity up to say hello. Besides I had impressed Britanny's dad somewhat, so impressing her mom would probably be a good idea too.

"Now how did you...oh right never mind sweety." Britanny waved me off. "Well if you must know, my mom is no longer cursed and hasn't been for several weeks. Thanks to our newest family member. I have to warn you though, she's very...grabby. And after seeing some of the guys you can turn into I feel that she will become obsessed with you."

'Wait a second.' I thought to myself as I tried to remember the early story line of the comic. 'Julia wasn't introduced till after the whole Gyphon arch, and then she wasn't able to stay with you permanently on Earth until Bri...but that was supposed to happen after Strype which was immediately after the Time Raft arch. What the heck was going on here?'

"Cheetah you don't mean?"

"Oh there you are Britanny. So did you bring any gifts for us from jolly old England?" She was about 6' tall with blonde spotty hair that reached mid way down her back and a single stripe of black on one side of her face. Her garments were revealing and she smiled so sweetly as she happily munched on what I supposed was a Tuna sandwich.

"Well not really Brianna. Brianna may I introduce my newest friend, Alex McLean. Alex this is my wonderful, and impossibly boy hungry sister, Brianna." Britanny said introducing us. Brianna had always been my favorite of the Diggers sisters and to finally meet her in the flesh...wow she was stunning.

Don't get me wrong Britanny was always a looker, but she was married and I respected that greatly. However now Britanny wasn't and since she wasn't making any references to having a guy Strype likely wasn't here either.

"Hey. Nice to meet you." Brianna smiled as she offered her hand to me. She wasn't going gaga over me, but to be honest I wasn't sure how to react as I had no idea what she was doing here. I was in a state of perplexed shock as I took her hand and shook it.

"You know Britanny how it is that you went to England for two weeks and came back with a cowboy has got to be one heck of a story. Though I have to say, he's not the usual kind of guy you try to bring home." Brianna joked as she rubbed her sister.

"I'm standing right here you know." I said, and was somewhat ignored.

"Brianna, you don't know the half of how true that statement is." Britanny chuckled. "And don't go trying to just have a quickie with this guy. He's sweet, nice, and a very good friend who has been nothing but a gentleman so I don't want you using him for just a quick romp like you usually do with guys."

"Hey now I'm not that bad." Brianna defended herself. "Look Alex is it? Don't let ms furry one here give you the wrong impression, I'm really a great gal who just likes to have a little fun."

"Nothing wrong with that is there?" Brianna continued this teasing me while doing the big doe or puppy dog eye thing and letting me get a pretty good view of her cleavage as she did so. I'm used to being the tallest around but with girls like the Diggers I was feeling very uncertain.

"No...no...provided that this fun isn't at the cost of anyone else, I don't cleav...I mean see something wrong with it." I stuttered in reply.

"Oh you are fun to tease, and so polite. I see why you're interested in him Brit." Brianna smiles at me while. "Well Mom and Dad will definitely want to see him. Just beware pal my Dad has a curious way of meeting the guys that we bring home."

"Dad's already met him, but he did want to have a longer talk with Alex here asap."

"Great. I'm looking forward to hearing all about how you met my sis so don't keep us waiting too long." Brianna walked on towards one of the other rooms of the house.

"Oh boy..." I thought to myself, wondering just how it was Brianna existed at this point. Did that mean that Genn was here as well? Probably. Heck with it, paradoxes and foul ups can wait till later, I had people to meet.

"Yea she has that effect on people." Britanny said as she chuckled. "But we still love her. Just be careful around her. If she learns about your ability to become a wide range of super beings she won't stop trying to drag you to her room till she tries out every one of them."

"I'll make sure to remember that..." I chuckled, the idea had crossed my mind of that very thing at least once, but since I was forming a closer bond with Britanny I figured that it would be a very bad thing to do.

"Well Britanny you sure took your time getting here." Gina smugly called to her taller sister.

"Now Gina that's not very nice." I heard an older female voice softly remand her. "Hello I'm Mrs. Julia Diggers, and you have already seemed to have met my husband Theodore Diggers as well as my other daughter Brianna."

"It's a pleasure ma'am." I said to her tipping my head with my hat in hand. "And all of your reputations precede you."

"Doctor Theodore Piqual Digger, aura mage and member of the counsel of mages in the realm of Jade. You father is Johnathan Diggers, also an aura mage at one time, who was cursed into the Lych King thanks to the actions of the wererat Gotherwaine a.k.a. Iceron. Trained in his aura powers by the same mage who trained your father, your magical abilities are phenomenal but you share the same weakness as all aura biased beings, being that metal shall instantly disable your aura field probably due to the magnetic nature of metal polarizing your aura field so it doesn't flow through your body."

"Young man how is it that you..?"

"Please Dr. Diggers I'm just beginning so may I continue?"

"I don't see why not. Do you dear?" Julia asked her husband.

"Very well, but I can't wait to hear the explanation. Plus if Gotherwaine is Iceron, as you say young man, then I want to have as much information on how you know this as possible." Dr. Diggers said as looked deep in thought.

"Trust me Dad, you can't wait to hear it." Britanny smiled.

"Marital status:" I continued. "Married to Julia Brigand Diggers, the daughter of the giantess Mummsy Brigand and the ninja master Tsunami Brigand. Mrs. Diggers you are a phenomenal marital artist who has trained since you could walk in the art of fighting and prefer a more pragmatic way of dealing with problems than relying on magic. Preferred weapon of choice is the rapier, but you are well trained in all martial arts weapons. Practitioner of the Shun Leep style your teacher was, and from all I know still is, a centuries old pervert who only trains women and forces them to wear incredibly skimpy clothing."

"Incredible." Dr. Diggers said as he took a whiff on his pipe.

"How exactly is it that you know all of this?" Julia asked me, with an edge in her voice and concern that her family may be under surveillance or that I was about to attack like some Bond bad guy.

"Don't worry I'm not going to attack or anything. I am definitely not THAT stupid." I defensively waved my hands.

"Well you did try to kill me, but that was a misunderstanding." Theo mentioned, but had a slightly stern tone to it.

"And one I hope never to do again. The reason I know all this, like I explained to your daughters, I'm not from your world. And in my world, you're all comic book characters." I thought that letting it all out in the open was the best idea. It seemed to have worked with Gina and Britanny after all.

"What?"

'I don't understand. If that's true does that mean I'm even less a person than...' Brianna wondered to herself, clearly still trying to figure out who she was as a person and that likely meant that she's still just going through her origin story. If I hurt her then I would never have been able to forgive myself.

"Young man that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." This one came from Julia as she looked like she was about to throttle me for the real answer. "Plus the idea that the elder wererat, which how you know about them in the first place I can't begin to understand, is the creator of all lycanthropes just does not make sense."

"Maybe, but it is the truth. Just ask Gina and Cheetah here how they met me." I pointed towards my new friends. "But it's not exactly like the comic. I mean for one Brianna you didn't become a character until a long time after Cheetah and Gina faced Dreadwing and defeated him."

"Dreadwing?" Brianna asked.

"Dreadwing was the dragon who enslaved us Ms Brianna." Tark said. He and Mesha had been sitting on a couch on the opposing side of the room and thus out of my view.

"But your sisters and Mr Alex were able to destroy him and free us from our slavery." Mesha added.

"You destroyed a dragon?" Julia beamed with pride at her daughters. Theo just looked like he was going to have a coronary.

"Well not really Mom." Britanny pointed out. "I sort of got fried by it. Gina and Alex were the ones who really kicked his ass. But you should have seen Alex go at the jerk. He literally tore that overgrown lizard apart."

"Britanny language." Julia reprimanded. "And how was it that you were able to take down a dragon Alex? No offense but I don't see you singlehandedly taking on myself, much less a dragon with as much treasure as Gina alluded to have acquired."

"Well Ms. Diggers you see...I kind a..." If they weren't going to buy the idea of being comic characters then there would be no way on earth they would buy my story about becoming video game characters. Just wasn't going to happen. I mean yea Theo saw me do it, but I doubted he knew what he really saw.

"Trust me, it happened. Just wish I recorded it." Gina smiled as she took a swing back on a bottle of some generic soda.

"If you wished to see it again, all you had to do was ask Ms. Gina." Mesha smiled as she wove an orb of magic.

"Theo what exactly is she doing?" Julia asked seeing the orb grow larger and spread to so that all could view what was going on.

"It's a memory spell my dear. Sort of like watching a DVD or VHS tape. The good news is that they are infamous for being unable to create false stories." Dr. Digger's explained as the events right before till right after the fight. I found a couple of folding chairs and offered one to Britanny, who accepted it.

Just about everyone's eyes were glued to the sphere, apparently enjoying the show. My eyes were darting about between Britanny's statuesque form, and the various faces of the other household members. While Julia, that is Mrs. Digger's, expression was one of pride as she saw her two daughters fight valiantly against Dreadwing's stone panther things, Dr. Diggers was looking at it with the sense "Dear God somebody could have gotten killed".

The story continued, and I'm not going to give recaps, but lets just say Brianna had seemingly pulled out a piece of paper and pen from who knows where and was jotting something down on the page every time I used a different guy. It wasn't long before the scene where Britanny got scorched appeared and...

"Brr." Cheetah shivered next to me. Her furry body puffing out like my own cat's does when cold as her entire body shook all the way down to her tail. I placed my hand to her back and rubbed it to try and reassure her that she was okay. I would have tried to rub her shoulder, but that was a little out of reach.

"It's okay Cheetah. Your fine and back home so it's okay." I know lame me, but hey she's a friend and I care about all my friends.

"Thanks." Was her only reply as she took my hand from her back and held it in her own much larger one. Squeezing it a bit as she watched herself fall more or less dead. Julia, Theo, and Brianna went ballistic when they saw this and had murder in their eyes. Little wonder as Britanny is there daughter/sister.

It was when they saw my reaction that their eyes nearly grew larger than their heads. Nothing in any of their lifetimes, or Gina and Britanny's lifetimes, could have prepared them for seeing the Hulk. Then to see me use that power to utterly annihilate a dragon. I looked away at the last bit, but I still am not sure why.

When it all was over I just sat there and was waiting to see how they would react. It was a sort of tense moment till Britanny looked at me, having just seen me beat the freaking snot out of Dreadwing and then burn his immortal soul raw.

"You did that, for me?" She asked me. "You demolished that monster because he hurt me?" Britanny was getting teary eyed at this.

"Well yea Cheetah. Your my friend aren't you? Anyone who would try to hurt you like that deliberately forfeits their right to live in my opinion. Course I didn't kill him but..."

"What exactly did you do young man? Not as this Hulk character but as the demon biker." Dr Diggers asked me, noting I had done something to the dragon before Gina obliterated him.

"That is the Ghost Rider, also known as The Rider. Spirit of Vengeance he feels the call of the blood of innocence spilled and punishes the wicked and guilty. What I did was burn the immortal soul of Dreadwing so that he never again would be able to hurt another living thing."

"You burned his soul?" Gina gasped. "I mean I should have figured something like that, but you actually..."

"Yes Gina I did." I replied back to her. "Dreadwing needed to pay for what he did, and I could think of no punishment more fitting that for him to be incinerated on the inside and forced to relive every evil thing he'd done through the eyes of his victims."

"So what now Daddy? Do you mind if Alex stays with us for a bit?" Britanny asked. No one seemed to be able to answer and it took a few seconds.

"Well I for one don't mind if he stays a bit." Julia says. "It's obvious that he knew just about everything about our girls, and us, and yet didn't hide it from anyone. And it's obvious that Britanny has some sort of attachment to him."

"True, and he's already shown an attachment of sorts to her..." Theo thought for a moment as he considered his wife's point. "Plus he has great courage and character to him as he was able to overcome my demon head's effects. Then there is the obvious point that he seems to have advanced knowledge of Gotherwaine's operation and if he is responsible for what happened to my parents, then that wererat will be brought to justice."

"Oh please don't let let multi-hunk leave, please don't let multi-hunk leave..." Brianna whispered to herself with fingers and toes crossed. Britanny just fasepalmed at seeing her more hormonally driven sister's antics.

"Mulit-hunk?" I ask aloud.

"Well young man, if you are willing to stay here for a bit I guess that I'm willing to allow you to stay. Provided of course that you can respect a few house rules. And since you know all about us, I want to know just as much about you and the characters you turn into." Dr. Diggers said.

"What a great idea Dad." Brianna said as she was up in a flash. "Let me get my camera so I can record all the wonderful posterior...I mean for posterity of course."

"Yea right." I said as the taller brainy blonde ran off. "So you have a few hours of nothing to do?" I asked the two owners of the house.

"I think so. Why?" Theo said as he lit his pipe again.

"Because this is going to take a very long time."

To be continued.

Author's notes:

Okay so rather than just jump into the Strype story arch I have a few plot points that I have to go through and over. So we'll see the Kyrn prince in a few chapters yet. This was another one of my "I have no idea what I'm doing but I'll post it anyway fics" and I'm so glad people like it. I'll try to update this and my other stories as often as I can. Please be so kind as to leave a review.

Sincerely,

Agent Reptile