I followed behind Stan and Kyle as they led the way to this Dr. Mephesto's laboratory. The moon was full and illuminated the path before us as we reached Stark's Pond.
"The lab is just up this path through the woods." Kyle turned to talk to me, "I texted my parents and told them that I was staying with you guys for the night. Last thing I need is my mom flipping out and going out looking for me. Even though I'm considered an adult she still acts like I'm ten."
"Oh.. Yeah I didn't really think about that. I'm still sorry I dragged you guys out last minute on a search and rescue. I owe you guys big time." I spoke to all of them as I walked with light steps, avoiding the twigs and dips in the ground that the others stumbled over every so often.
"So do you even have a plan? I'm not your disposable human subject that you can just send in and do your dirty work." Cartman huffed as he tried to catch his breath from the walk. "God damn it do we have to walk must longer?"
"First of all if you were in better shape you wouldn't be so out of breath and second of all I very well could get you to do what I want if I wished to do so." I turned completely around to answer him, walking backwards without missing a step. "Mind control is a very useful skill, one that I can use to make you say… never eat KFC again. Maybe even go as far as to make you a vegetarian." I blew him a raspberry before turning back around.
"Fuck you Luna." Cartman huffed again. "Don't threaten me with the colonel like that."
I laughed as Kenny took my hand in his. "God you know I love when you mess with Eric." He smiled at me and I returned it with one of my own.
I opened my mouth to respond but went quiet as a humming sound reached my ears. "Kyle, Stan we are close now aren't we. I can hear the hum of generators which I'm assuming they are for the lab."
"Yeah, we are close actually." Stan responded as he glanced over his shoulder. "I think Kyle and I have a plan once we get inside too."
"I know." I gave a guilty smile. "I maybe kinda sorta heard you talking about it."
"Dammit Luna! Nothing ever gets past you does it?" Kyle tried to sound upset but couldn't hide his smile.
"You can still tell us. Just because I heard it doesn't mean Kenny and Cartman know." I smiled back.
"Point taken." Kyle and Stan stopped walking and turned to face all of us, waiting until Cartman had caught up before beginning their explanation. "So we can get in easily enough because Mephesto does tours of his lab at night, once we are in splitting off to find your parents is where it may get a bit tricky. If these people are working in his lab then he will try extra hard to get us to stay on the tour route, which consist of the variety four assed experiments." Kyle began to explain.
I chuckled, "Honestly if my parents were not in imminent danger I would be tempted to take that tour just to see that."
"It's a weird sight, trust me." Kyle commented before shaking his head and getting back on track. "But as I was saying once we get in and start the tour we will be alone with Mephesto. That's where Luna's mind control comes in handy. If you can use it on him and get him to tell us what he knows we can find out where your parents are. Getting them is the next step and that's when the splitting off part gets difficult. Making Mephesto tell us information is easy, but sneaking through the lab without getting caught is harder."
"For Luna especially. If these people are specifically looking for immortals then if they suspect even the slightest that she's one of them they will go for her. Not that I doubt your skills babe, but if they took down your parents and they are hundreds of years old then I doubt these people are worried about a vampire that has just barely started her immortal life." Kenny's words were the truth, I may be experienced but not as experienced as my parents are.
"As much as I want to say you're wrong, I gotta admit you're right." I sighed in frustration. My enhanced senses usually worked in my advantage in most situations, but in this case just one movement that's too fast or using my inhuman strength could put us at risk of being caught. "I need to go in, use only my hearing, occasional mind control, and sight to help us, everything else is too risky. If they have access to old world spells they could take me down easily. I'll be captured and tested on like my parents…. Or worse…" i shuddered at the thought of the worst case scenario.
"Great so we go in, start a tour only to mind control Mephesto, and then hope we can save Luna's parents? What do we do when and if we find them?" Cartman questioned.
"Actually we think we figured out how to take down this organization from the inside as well as help your parents… But you're not gonna like it." Kyle fiddled with the flap of his hat at he spoke. "This bond you have with Kenny, it goes beyond a normal relationship that humans take part in yes?" I nodded, sensing he was right. I wasn't going to like this. "So since you have a connection with him we don't have with you if he goes in with either Stan, Cartman, or me and pretend to be interested in joining this organization we would be able to take away their one strength over you. With the bond between you two we would be able to get in good with these people while also knowing when the others are close or in trouble. We can find what they are using to hurt your parents."
"That's all fine and dandy, but Kenny is still only human. He feels the bond but not to the extent I do. He may be able to feel the difference between me being near him and away from him, but I can tell when something is wrong and when his mood changes. If he was a vampire then he would be able to feel it as intensely as I do plus some, but for now it's only useful as a locator for him. If something happens to me I can't communicate it through the bond like he can." I explained the best I could.
"Well then we will have to hope the built in GPS you two have on each other is enough." Cartman commented. "Come on let's get this over with I'm hungry."
"At least I have someone to love that's not food." I threw a twig at Cartman. "Well, I have to admit your plan actually could work… If we are careful and play the our parts right that is."
With a nod from everyone in agreement to my statement we continued on up the path towards the lab. We walked for about five more minutes before a large mansion like building surrounded by a gate appeared. We all approached the entrance as Kyle pushed a button on an intercom system attached to the side of the closed gate.
"Hello, what do you want." A voice came through the system.
"Uh, we are here for the tour." Kyle replied.
"Oh yes. That's right, well come on up." The voice came through one more time followed by a loud buzz that caused the gates to slowly swing open.
Once the gates stopped moving we all looked at each other one more time before we ascended the steep hill up to the door of the lab. The door swung open as we approached, an older man wearing a yellow hawaiian style shirt stood before us in the doorway.
"Well come on, let's get this tour on the road. I'm Dr. Mephesto and in this lab I work on genetic engineering to give a variety of things more asses." Mephesto began explaining as we entered one by one and followed him past workers in white coats and a horse in a fluid filled container with multiple asses attached to it.
I covered my mouth as I snickered at the sight of the horse in the containment structure. "Okay that's probably going to be the most fucked up thing I'll see in my whole imm.. uh life." I stopped myself from saying immortal. I may have only been whispering to Kenny as he took my hand but I wanted to make sure none of these workers were listening to us. "Kinda feel bad for it though."
"Yeah, but crazy old scientists are going to do what crazy old scientists do. I just don't see why Mephesto would work with this group still, unless they are paying him enough that he just stays out of their business. He's not the smartest when it comes to knowing if something should or shouldn't be done so if someone pays him enough he will work with them." Kenny whispered back as we followed the others onto a moving platform with seats that was used as an elevator.
Mephesto rambled on about his work and how with his genetic engineering how many things he has managed to give more asses as the elevator began to move, taking us up floor after floor. Stan and Kyle sat across from Kenny, Cartman and me, each of us sending glances from one to another in silent communication that my chance to get the information we need was approaching. I gave a slight nod as the elevator came to a stop and we were ushered off and into a room with rows and rows of modified vegetables.
"And on this floor we have our greenhouse where we have genetically engineered fruits and vegetables. By adding more asses it creates more nutrients and larger produce."
"So, why add more asses to things?" I asked hoping to get his attention to turn to me long enough for me to catch his eyes. This greenhouse was vacant of people save for us so I knew this was my chance.
"Oh don't tell me you're the skeptical type." Mephesto scoffed as he stopped by a patch of eggplants that had just been watered, droplets of water dripping from the plants.
"No sir I was just wondering why asses out of all the choices you could have picked." I continued to poke, this man's obsession with asses was weird as fuck but questioning it seemed to be the best way to get his attention.
"Asses are grand for their size, adding them to these plants create larger portions and could feed more people around the world!" Mephesto plucked one of the eggplants off its vine and turned to face me. I had a small window of opportunity now that I have his attention and I needed to make it count. "You see this eggplant colored hair girl. This one eggplant could be added to a meal for two to three people alone. That cuts down on the amount of eggplants said people would need for said meal."
I walked closer to the crazy scientist, reaching up to take the eggplant as I tried to get my eyes to meet his. "Can I feel how heavy it is?" I stopped my hand just below the one he was holding the purple vegetable in. "If it can do what you claim then it must be a good bit heftier than a regular eggplant."
"Why, yet it is." Mephesto's tone sounded almost proud with a touch of braggy as he placed the eggplant in my outstretched hand. "There you see the weight difference?" He asked as he looked to my face with pride.
That was what I was hoping he would do, finally catching my eyes with his. That was all I needed as he tried to look away but was forced to focus on me. The pull of the mind control from the first connection too strong for him to break.
"That's more like it." I smiled to myself as I held the eggplant, pretending to be asking questions about it as a cover just in case there were any cameras it would look less suspicious as to why the tour came to a halt. "Now, Mephesto please tell me something. Is someone paying you to work in your lab?" I started with a simple question, one that I could ask with low risk if my control has not fully set in yet.
"Yes." His answer came in a short and to the point answer, signaling to me that I had full control over him now. If I didn't he would have rambled on from what I've experienced in the short time I have been in his presence. "Who?"
"People who needed help in genetic engineering." Another to the point reply that was confirming the information I was given by the now deceased James.
"Why do they need your lab?" I was prodding further, needing to get answers.
"They want to alter a strand of DNA and essentially grow it in test tubes."
"Where are they getting this DNA and why do they want it?" My anger was beginning to boil with the fact that this man was actually willing to let just anyone work in his lab if they wanted to take part in his craft and paid a pretty price.
"They told me they have volunteers, kept on the fourth floor in a locked room constantly monitored. They want to create life with this DNA, a person much stronger and more resilient than normal."
"Who are these people?" My anger continuously growing with each answer he gave. These people had to be stopped and soon, but in order to do that I had to know exactly who we were up against.
"They call themselves Immortal Hunters. They search for ones unlike us, those we hear about in myths and stories but yet walk among us in secret."
I held the eye contact as I ran the information through my head, all that was left was the need for one more answer. "Are they using anything against these so called volunteers? Something to weaken them if they are unlike normal humans."
"I am not sure, but the room they are in is always guarded. These guards periodically go in with a scroll, but that is all I know." I took in the words, turning them over in my head. If the Scroll of Elders was found by these people then they have been searching for many generations.
"You're no more use to me. Now you will forget this ever happened and continue on with the tour like normal." I commanded as I snapped my fingers.
Mephesto came out of his trance, blinking a couple times before taking the eggplant back from me. "You see, the weight of this eggplant is much heftier than that or a normal one." He turned back around and began walking towards another moving platform on the other end of the greenhouse. "Well come now we must get this tour moving."
I gave a look to each of the boys with slight nods in return. With this information we know what we have to do. Kyle, Stan, and Cartman followed Mephesto towards the elevator platform as Kenny and I lagged behind.
"You know what you have to do Ken. Take Kyle with you once we get to the next floor, out of the three of them I think I trust him the most with you. Stan and Cartman will stay with me." I looked at him with determination in my eyes. "This will work, and once we are done here and my parents are save we have some alone time to catch up on."
"Don't worry Luna, we will be walking out of here by morning with your parents and that scroll so these people can't hurt you, your parents, or anyone like you again." He spoke quietly but with a stern sense of trust and promise that he was going to follow through.
I smiled at him as we approached the elevator, knowing that once it began to rise we would be setting the plan into action.
"And Luna, I love you." Kenny smiled at me as we sat down next to Kyle so I could whisper to him.
"I love you too Kenny." I smiled back as he raised my hand and kissed the back of it as the platform began to rise. The time to act was upon us as I whispered to Kyle and he nodded to acknowledging what he had to do. The elevator came to a stop and we all exited to a room with multiple containment containers each with a different animal in it. The time to act was now as we all nodded to one another and followed Mephesto off the elevator and began to put our plan into action.