Chapter 2:A Simple Plan
AN:Just a note to point out a couple of things about two of the characters featured here, but not in MASK 2: The Next Generation:
-Tony Whelan was named after two people: Tony Hale from "Arrested Development" and fellow fanfiction writer Fionn Whelan. Mr. Hale was also the basis of the character's appearance and voice in my mind.
-Elizabeth Winters was (very) loosely based on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. You see, Buffy is a nickname for Elizabeth and of course, Winters is the exact opposite of Summers.
And with that out of the way, we shall continue. And I apologize for the plot dump.
Hondo's theory had proven correct. With the improved equipment in the Manta and Condor, as well as the assistance of Warfield and the resurrected Brad and Malloy, Riley was able to escape his castle. The "army of descendants" were unable to stop them.
The vampires set up a new headquarters somewhere in the southwest United States. They built a small undead army over a period of years. They also constructed converting vehicles reverse engineered from the Condor and Manta. They were unable to develop masks due to the lack of an energy crystal. However, they had numerous abilities which made up for this.
Unable to assist the descendants, Matt turned MASK's focus to keeping this vampire army in check. VENOM had also changed their focus, but had mostly kept a low profile. MASK had introduced several new operatives and improved their vehicles in an effort to counter the vampires' increasing ranks. Oddly enough, several of the new recruits would have become members of the second MASK team had the vampire war not occurred.
The long battle was not without casualties. Dusty Hayes and Nash Gorey had fallen victim to the vampires and joined their ranks. Jacques LaFleur and Ace Riker were both killed in separate battles as were several new recruits on both sides.
To this day, the agents of MASK continue to search for a solution to the conflict. They are investigating two angles: the location of the vampires' headquarters and a possible cure to vampirism. They are very close to either, but are still quite far from a viable solution.
2007, Boulder Hill headquarters...
"Ali, how does it look in Southeast Asia?" asked Matt into a videophone.
"Forces in India and Pakistan are holding the line." said Ali. "I still do not have reports from Vietnam or Laos. All other countries are unchanged from last report."
"What about Europe, Calhoun?" asked Matt.
"We found a few strongholds, raided same." said Calhoun over the videophone. "We've still got a long way to go, but we're getting there."
"Good to hear." said Matt. "How does it go in Russia, Boris?"
"We had a few attacks in the area of St. Petersburg." said Boris. "We managed to find the source and stave it off."
"Good work." said Matt. "How's the research coming, Nevada?"
"Michael's making some progress." said Nevada. "We believe him to be closer to a solution. If he does manage to discover one, we are ready to test. A biker gang that had been turned attacked us last week. We've imprisoned the survivors."
"Thank you, Nevada." said Matt. "Thank you for your reports. I believe we're getting closer to finding their nest. Good luck and keep fighting."
Matt shut down the videophone and let out a sigh of disgust.
"Trouble, Matt?"
Matt looked over his shoulder at Bruce Sato. "The usual." he said.
"The battle is not lost yet." said Bruce.
"But it's far from won, Bruce." said Matt. "What are we doing wrong? It seems like we've settled into a routine. We fight the vampires, they fight us. We kill some of them, they kill some of us. It's not working."
"Perhaps now would be a good time to try the tracking device?" asked Bruce.
"I'm still not sure." said Matt. "Just about every plan we tried involving a tracking device ended with failure to get such a device planted on a vampire or one of their vehicles."
"Alex and Scooter have been working on a device all the same." said Bruce. "They say that it might perform a second function if we can plant one."
"We can try that." said Matt. "Let's take a look at the situation and our current equipment and see what we can do."
"I believe Gloria has been begging Liam to let his cousin join." said Bruce. "Also, we have a few new vehicles in development."
"Thanks, Bruce." said Matt. "I'll look into that."
Matt left his office. He ran into Gloria Baker in the hallway.
"Matt." she said.
"What's going on?" asked Matt.
"Buddie and Enzo finshed the work on the Wyvern." said Gloria. "She'll be ready for a test drive tomorrow."
"That's good." said Matt. "Does it have a driver yet?"
"Not yet." said Gloria. "If we don't find someone, I might volunteer."
"Anyone in mind?" asked Matt.
"Not at the moment." said Gloria. "Matt, I'm going to check out the finals of the Pan-American Martial Arts Tournament. The final battle is tonight."
"Good, you can go." said Matt. "Maybe you can find someone willing to help us."
"Right." said Gloria.
"Wait." said Matt. "Bring Liam and Tony with you."
"Liam?" asked Gloria. "I guess you want me to keep pressing."
"You know me too well." said Matt. "I'm going to the lab. Alex and Scooter had something they wanted to show me."
Gloria took off for the garage while Matt went to the technology lab. He found computer specialist Jack "Scooter" Marshall waiting. He was wearing a jumpsuit consisting of a brown top and green pants.
"So, what's this you wanted to show me?" asked Matt. "And where's Alex?"
"According to the computer, somewhere on the level above." said Scooter. "Specificly, he's near the cafeteria."
"How do you know that?" asked Matt.
"He's testing out our latest tracking device." said Scooter. "It has an integral listening device. On the other hand, it could be a listening device with an integral tracking device. It depends on how you look at it. Hold on."
Scooter had heard a woman's voice say "Alex." over the listening device.
"Ah, good evening, Julie." said Alex. "Heading for dinner, now?"
"No, I was just getting ready to leave for tonight." said Julie. "I'm sure whatever's on the schedule for tomorrow will be interesting."
"That it should." said Alex.
"Hey, have you seen Matt?" asked Julie.
"Not recently." said Alex.
"I know he's looking for new operatives." said Julie. "I was going to run my usual suggestion by him."
"Agent Jeremy Sanchez?" asked Alex.
"He was in my class at Quantico." said Julie. "He's displayed excellent skills in numerous fields. He's bound to be a valuable member of the team."
"I think your father would have liked him." said Alex.
"Yeah." said Julie sadly. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Good night." said Alex.
"So, why did you wire in a listening device?" asked Matt.
"I thought we might be able to use it to pick up some extra information." said Scooter. "We just plant the bug on the vampires and keep our ears on. The only problem is the one we've been having all along."
"Planting the bugs." asked Matt.
"I know that." said Scooter. "We're working on it. We need someone who has a lot of bravery."
"Or a death wish." said Matt. "I'll see who our next in line could be."
He started to leave and ran into a blonde woman, FBI agent Julie Gates, in the hall. She was wearing a white and blue jacket and a white skirt.
"Matt, I've been looking for you." she said.
"I thought so." said Matt. "Look, I've asked your superior about Agent Sanchez again and he's still on undercover assignment."
Julie watched Matt walk away with a confused look on her face. "How'd he know I was going to ask about that?" she asked.
"Lucky guess." replied Scooter.
----------
"This is Allison Mulligan reporting." announced a blonde woman reporter. "I am here at Fox Industries with CEO Malcolm Darwood. Earlier this week, Darwood announced that Fox Industries would be lending their support to efforts to investigate the vampire invasion. Tell me, Mr. Darwood, how do you plan to support this investigation?"
"Well, Miss Mulligan," said Darwood "I was as shocked as everyone when it was announced, maybe fifteen years ago, that vampires were real and slowly taking over the world. In our research, we have discovered that different people react to becoming vampires in different ways, depending on their personality. Some embrace the change, others reject it. Some who have rejected it have volunteered samples for research. Hopefully, this research will lead to a possible cure to this condition."
"When you said that some reject the change, what do you mean by that?" asked Mulligan.
"I'm talking about psychology on that subject." said Darwood. "If a person mentally rejects the transformation into a vampire, the range of reactions is quite wide. Some may attempt to rationalize their situation, others might devote their every moment to finding a way out. Then, there's those few who develop some kind of mental derangement."
"By that, you mean they go insane?" asked Mulligan.
"Unfortunately, yes." said Darwood. "We've seen all sorts of mental derangements. Split personalities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder. We've even heard of someone who regressed to a child's mentality after becoming a vampire."
"That sounds quite shocking." said Mulligan. "Can you give me any details on your method of support?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot." said Darwood. "As I said earlier, some people embrace the transformation. These people are actively trying to spread the vampire infection. As you can now tell, divulging too much information on our plans would give said individuals enough fodder to difuse those plans."
"I see." said Mulligan. "Thank you very much, Mr. Darwood. Will this plan lead to an end to the vampire invasion or will it be yet another empty promise? Time will tell. For Channel Ten News, this is Allison Mulligan. Back to you, Gary."
Darwood turned off the television. "That should bring them to us." he said.
He left his office and met with his board of directors.
"Good evening, Malcolm." said one.
"Saw your interview on television." said another. "Sounds like a noble effort."
"I'm hoping it will work." said Darwood. "You know that the war with the undead is out of control when it makes the news."
A loud explosion was heard.
"What was that?" asked one of the directors.
"It came from the laboratories." said another.
Darwood went down a couple of floors to investigate. He found one of the laboratories engulfed in flames. A small group of security guards were trying to put out the fire.
"What happened?" asked Darwood.
"Somebody mixed the appropriate chemicals and a lab-destroying explosion was the result." said the chief of security.
"Sabotage?" asked Darwood.
"We found someone running from the lab just before the explosion." said the chief. "There's another group of guards searching for them."
"What was this lab working on?" asked Darwood.
"This was the lab working on a cure for vampirism." said the chief. "I'm afraid everything's lost."
Darwood scowled at the news. "Find those responsible." he said.
"Chief, we've cornered one of the suspects." said someone over the chief's walkie-talkie.
He picked it up and asked "What's your location?"
"Next floor down, near the fire stairs."
"Hold him until we get there." the chief replied.
A minute later, Darwood, the chief, and a few more guards made their way to the scene. Five guards had cornered a black-haired vampire with a moustache. One of the guards held a makeshift cross on him while the other four had their guns on him.
"Well, maybe you destroyed our research." said Darwood. "But with you, we can rebuild it."
"You can't fight us, Darwood!" snarled the vampire. "We're taking over this world!"
"How about we see whose prediction will come true, hmmm?" asked Darwood.
Suddenly, someone fired a gun and hit the guard holding the cross in the arm. Everyone looked to see a blonde female vampire pointing a gun in their direction. She was wearing a black jumpsuit with a red abdominal area and a yellow chest area.
Darwood's eyes widened with surprise. "Melissa?" he asked.
"You've aged gracefully since graduation." said Melissa. "I, however, haven't aged at all. I suggest you let Daniel go. Keeping him caged like that will only bring out the beast in him."
"You've destroyed valuable research tonight, Melissa." said Darwood. "With your friend's help, we should be able to rebuild."
"Fine by me, Malcolm." said Melissa. "Daniel, waste them. Oh, Malcolm, if you somehow manage to survive, tell Mayhem that Vanessa sends her regards."
As Melissa ran to the elevator, Daniel grabbed the two closest guards and threw them into each other. The other guards tried to subdue him, but were tossed around like stuffed animals.
Melissa forced open the elevator doors to discover there was no car waiting for her. Not caring about that, she casually jumped down the empty shaft.
Daniel was about to go after Darwood when a gunshot hit him in the shoulder. He wasn't phased. "Nice try, but you should realize I'm invulnerable." he said. A second shot rang out and he was hit in the chest. "You...cheater!" he gasped as he crumpled to the floor.
Darwood and the surviving guards looked to the source of the shots. They saw a man about Darwood's age holding a sniper rifle. "Sorry about the delay." he said. "I must've had a normal bullet in there instead of silver."
"Better late than never, Marcus." said Darwood. "You just missed Melissa Cale."
"So she's behind this." said Darwood's old friend Marcus Gilford.
"Her transportation must still be in the garage." said Darwood as he took out his cell phone. "Garage level, do you have any vehicles that seem out of the ordinary?"
"Everything seems to be in order." said the guard in the garage. "Wait, I see a Crossfire. It doesn't look familiar."
"Are you sure?" asked Darwood.
"Pretty sure." said the guard. He looked at the car, a Chrysler Crossfire with black/silver color shift paint and a custom spoiler. The sides featured blue and purple tribal graphics.
"We're on our way." said Darwood.
The guard walked over to the Crossfire. He took a long, admiring look over the car. He then turned around and came face-to-face with Melissa. All he mustered was a muffled gasp before her fangs extended and her eyes turned red.
----------
A packed parking lot surrounded the arena where the martial arts tournament was taking place. Several cars slid into the last remaining spaces.
Among those was a white '06 Chevrolet Impala with an Extreme Dimensions Racer body kit, Bomber spoiler, and Konig Holes rims. Across the hood, front fenders, and doors was an angel with spread wings.
After the car parked in a space, the front passenger-side door opened and Gloria climbed out. After that, the driver's side door opened and a priest with short, black hair and glasses climbed out. The third to climb out had been sitting in the backseat. He was a man in his early thirties with reddish-brown curly hair and was wearing an aviator's jacket with an Irish coat of arms on the back.
"Okay, guys." said Gloria. "We're here for the final matchup."
"And here, I thought this was going to be a boring night." said the priest, Father Tony Whelan.
"My mum always said we should take the time to have some fun." said the man in the jacket, Irish pilot Liam O'Grady. "That way, you can relieve some pressure that would cause some mental problems otherwise."
"And we might find someone who could join us." said Gloria. "Let's go."
The three started to head towards the arena.
"I didn't think a priest would find this to be entertaining." said Liam.
"From what I understand, matches are stopped if there's a chance of someone getting killed." said Tony. "Besides, the martial arts are about discipline and are meant to be used for defense only. This is just a test to see who's been trained the best."
----------
Darwood and Gilford made their way to the garage with a group of security guards.
"Spread out." ordered Darwood. "Look for her."
The guards began their search of the garage.
"I don't see the Crossfire." said Gilford.
"If Melissa managed to escape, that guard is in serious trouble." said Darwood.
"Mr. Darwood!" yelled a guard. Darwood and Gilford ran over with a few guards. They found the guard who found the car slumped against a Mercedes-Benz.
"Well, it looks like Melissa decided to punish him for me." said Darwood.
The other guard checked the first. "He's gone, sir." he said.
Suddenly, the "dead" guard sprung up and reached for his colleague, baring his new fangs.
Gilford quickly whipped his rifle into action and calmly shot the guard in the head.
"She's gotten clean away." said Darwood.
"Malcolm, we have to do something about this." said Gilford. "She managed to get in and out without us being able to stop her. Next time, she might blow up something more than the lab."
"I know that." said Darwood. "And I know just who to call." He took out his cell phone and snuck off to an isolated corner. "Yes, I need to speak with Miles Mayhem." he said. "Tell him Malcolm Darwood wants to set up a meeting."
----------
Around the arena, spectators watched as the final battle was prepared. Previously defeated competetors sat around ready to cheer on the final two.
"How many people were taking part in this?" asked Tony.
"Sixteen." said Gloria. "Eight were eliminated in the first round, four in the second, and two in the most recent."
"That's where I got out." said a muscular man. He was well over six feet tall, had brownish-blonde hair, and spoke with a Canadian accent.
"I take it the winners of the individual duels went on to the next round." said Liam.
"You guess right." said the man. "Kenny Harrison, representing the art of Sambo and the state of Montana...and in a way, the fine city of Calgary."
"Is that where you're from?" asked Tony.
"Yep." said Kenny. "Oh, look. The match is starting."
A man in a suit walked out onto the mattress. He picked up a microphone and said "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final round of the Pan-American Martial Arts Tournament! Over the past week, we've seen sixteen of the best martial arts warriors compete to be crowned the winner. Fourteen of them have been eliminated despite their best efforts. Let's not call these fighters losers, but instead honor them for their best efforts. But the warriors who have managed to reach this final round are all set to do battle. So, let's get those two out here and give them a round of applause."
The crowd erupted into applause as two men walked onto the mat. One wore a white karate gi with the Texas state flag on the back. He had short, brown hair and a muscular build. The other man wore a white kung fu outfit with the Nevada state flag on the back. He had blonde hair and a moustache.
"Our two finalists." said the announcer. "First of all, say 'hello' to the man representing the state of Texas and the art of Shotokan Karate, Chris Bush!"
The guy in the karate gi did a few punches and kicks into the air.
"And his opponent," said the announcer "representing the state of Nevada and the style of Hung Gar Kung Fu, Dennis Paulsen!"
The kung fu artist flashed a thumbs-up at the crowd.
"Okay, gentlemen." said the announcer. "Give a bow of honor, then we shall commence."
Chris bowed to Dennis and said "Don't hold back. I didn't come this far for a freebie."
"Don't worry, I won't." said Dennis as he bowed to Chris. "I know how you feel about a challenge."
"And now." said the announcer. "Take your marks."
Chris and Dennis took their marks.
"Get ready." said the announcer.
Chris and Dennis took defensive stances.
"Fight!" called the announcer.
Chris approached Dennis, then performed a spin kick. Dennis dodged it, then responded with a straight punch. Chris blocked it before taking a step back.
The crowd started to cheer.
"So, Liam." said Gloria. "There's something Matt wanted me to discuss with you."
Liam groaned. "It's about his manpower shortage, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah." said Gloria. "Your cousin Max has been training with us these past few weeks."
"Look, I know I'm descended from a member of the army that sealed away Riley." said Liam. "My father and his brother were too. By extention, that means my cousin is also a descendant."
"Whoa!" yelled Tony as Dennis successfully landed a kick to Chris' knee.
"You know as well as I do that Riley would like nothing better than to turn one who opposes him." said Liam. "As much as I want this bloody war to end, I don't think that bringing in me cousin is worth it. Do you know what the most important thing to the Irish is?"
"Breakfast?" asked Gloria.
"Family." said Liam.
"Oh, I thought you meant as in things you eat." said Gloria.
Chris threw another punch which Dennis blocked. Chris followed up with a spin kick. Dennis tried to dodge it, only to be struck in the back of the head and knocked down.
Chris covered his mouth in shock as the crowd gasped.
"Ooh, that's a rule violation." said Kenny.
----------
At a mansion somewhere in the American Southwest, Melissa pulled into an underground garage and parked. Within minutes, she had reached Riley's office.
"Well, Miss Cale?" asked Riley.
"Darwood has some kind of plan in effect." said Melissa. "I put a serious dent in it tonight and got the details."
She handed him a flash drive.
"His plan is on this?" asked Riley as he took the flash drive.
"I downloaded it from the computer in the lab I destroyed." said Melissa. "He probably won't even know the information is gone."
"This will help us immensely." asked Riley.
"Hopefully, we can use it to completely crush Malcolm's plans." said Melissa. "We lost Hurt in the middle of the operation."
"I will not miss a low level cat burglar." said Riley. "Perhaps we should take care of this lab on the college campus tomorrow night."
"I think we should wait until Elizabeth returns with her new recruits first." said Melissa.
"I think our current membership should be sufficient." said Riley. "However, a larger group might be able to perform a second raid."
"I hope you realize Darwood is affiliated with Mayhem." said Warfield as she strode in. She had on a purple dress that stopped at her knees with a black jacket over it.
"I know." said Melissa. "And I'm aware that VENOM might be backing up Darwood's efforts. I also know that Darwood will not simply overlook this evening's events."
"So, we can assume he will call for reinforcements." said Warfield.
"Keep your ears open for headhunting expeditions from Darwood." said Melissa.
Another vampire had been listening in on their conference. When it was over, he walked away and dialled a number on his cell phone.
----------
"Look, I'm really sorry about that." said Chris in the infirmary. "They say that as soon as you're okay, they'll schedule a rematch."
"That's generous of them." said Dennis as he held an icepack to his head.
"You know, if they hadn't seen that hit," said Chris "they might have crowned me the winner."
"Lucky me." said Dennis.
"Sure, you can see them." said the nurse.
"Thank you." said Gloria as she, Liam, and Tony entered the infirmary. "Are you alright?"
"I think so." said Dennis. "Chris walloped me pretty bad, but they say I'll be fine."
"You guys were pretty good out there." said Liam.
"Thank you." said Chris and Dennis simultaneously.
"You both showed off your training and discipline out there." said Gloria. "We just might have a request of you."
"How's that?" asked Chris.
"A request." said Tony. "A challenge, a dare, whatever you want to call it."
"I don't know if you've heard," said Liam "but we are part of one of the biggest groups fighting the vampire menace. However, we are frequently losing members to the rigors of battle and we need..."
"New blood?" asked Chris.
"You could say that." said Gloria.
"Whoa." said Dennis.
"I appreciate you considering me for your group." said Chris. "However, I can't help you right now. I've just been through a major tournament and I need to recooperate. If you still need me in a month, come around. I just might be able to help."
"I don't know if you were paying attention," said Dennis "but I took a rather serious injury out there. I'm going to be recooperating as well. If you still need either of us, you can also look me up."
"I see." said Gloria. "I think I'd like to know your qualifications for when you're available."
"Well, I was trained in Las Vegas since the early nineties." said Dennis. "My sifu was a Hung Gar master from..."
"Hold it, what's that?" asked Tony as he looked to the entrance. A loud commotion was coming from the arena.
The agents returned to the arena and found utter chaos. "Holy cow!" yelled Liam.
The arena was under attack by a horde of vampires. One had his fangs in the announcer's neck. The crowd ran for their lives. Some of the vampires were attacking the former contestants in the tournament.
"Are we going to let these undead hosers take us down?" yelled Kenny.
"No!" came the collective response.
Kenny punched the palm of his other hand. "Then, let's take THEM down instead!" he said.
"Yeah!" yelled the fighters.
"This is better than the tournament itself!" said Tony.
"Tony, go to the car and get our masks." said Gloria.
"We'll try to survive until you get back." said Liam.
"Right." said Tony as he ran out to the parking lot.
The vampire biting the announcer finally sucked him dry.
"You took too much." said a female vampire. She had brown hair and was wearing black and blue motorcycle leathers. "Oh well, he wouldn't have worked for our purposes anyway."
"I know who that is." said Gloria.
"Who?" asked Liam.
"Her name is Elizabeth Winters." said Gloria. "In the nineties, she was a mercenary for hire. In 1997, she began using her skills to hunt vampires. A bite to the neck changed all that in 2003. She's been single-handedly responsible for several losses on our side ever since."
"Maybe we should stake her here and now." said Liam.
"Good luck with that." said Gloria. "Many of the ones she's bitten were attempting to kill her at the time."
"Sorry I brought it up." said Liam.
Chris and Dennis ran to the doorway.
"I know you're hurt, but can you do this?" asked Chris.
"I'm suddenly feeling better." said Dennis.
A vampire pounced on Kenny. He grabbed it and threw it to the ground, then did an elbow drop on it.
Another vampire tackled a judoka only to be thrown over his shoulder. The judoka grabbed the vampire's arm and quickly performed a hold which broke it.
A third attacked a capoeira fighter, but was unable to land a blow due to the fighter's dodging moves. The fighter then performed a spin kick followed by a foot sweep which brought the vampire to the floor.
A teenage girl who'd been a spectator was hiding under the stands. Thinking it was safe to make a run for it, she ran out of hiding and ran for the closest exit. It wasn't safe and she was quickly captured by a vampire. "Let me go!" she screamed.
"Join us." said the vampire.
"I believe she asked first." said a black man with an African accent.
"I don't recall her saying 'please'." said the vampire.
The African man threw a dagger and hit the vampire in the arm, making him release the girl. "Please." said the African.
The girl continued her run to the exit while the African took a wooden knife and tossed it at the vampire. He pierced the vampire's heart with it. As the vampire slumped to the floor, the African said "They say that you must use a stake, but I find knives just as effective."
A young couple had been trying to escape through the main entrance. They were now completely surrounded by vampires.
"Maybe sneaking out of the house wasn't such a good idea." said the boy.
Chris and Dennis vaulted over the rail at the stands.
"Banzai!" called Chris.
The two martial artists joined the couple. "We'll handle this." said Dennis.
The vampires approached them. Chris jumped and kicked one in the head. Dennis delivered a series of strikes to the chest of another.
"Think we should give them a hand or two?" asked Liam.
"I think it best that you do not interfere." said the African.
"Who are you?" asked Gloria.
"Call me Carl." said the African.
One of the vampires grabbed Dennis by the back of his head, aggrivating his head injury. Another twisted Chris' arm until he dropped to his knee. A third grabbed the boy and prepared to bite into his neck. The girl started to hyperventilate.
Suddenly, Tony burst through the entrance wearing his mask and carrying Gloria's and Liam's. When he saw the scene in front of him, he dropped the two masks, reached his arms out to the sides, and called "Cross, on!"
A gold cross appeared in front of him and made the vampires cringe. The couple ran from the circle and Chris and Dennis continued their fight.
Liam dove for his mask and threw Gloria's to her. The couple ran over to Tony. "Thank you." said the girl.
"What was your plan?" asked Tony.
"To get out of here as soon as possible." said the boy.
"Good plan. Continue it." said Tony.
Liam and Gloria donned their masks. Meanwhile, Elizabeth watched the scene take place. She suddenly glaced over her shoulder, then turned to intercept Carl.
"You noticed me." he said.
"Not good enough yet." said Elizabeth.
Carl jumped back and took a defensive stance. Elizabeth threw a kick at him, but he countered with one of his own. She threw a punch that he managed to block.
A Tae Kwon Do expert knocked down a vampire with a series of kicks. Another vampire was taken down by a few kicks from a kickboxer.
Kenny threw in another vampire he had taken down. "You know, for monsters, they're not putting up much of a fight." he said.
The vampires got back up and resumed the fight.
"Happy now?" asked the kickboxer.
Liam stepped into action while wearing his mask and called "Cataclysm, fire!" A blue spout of water fired from his mask and sprayed all over the vampires and the TKD expert. The vampires started to twist in pain, then slumped to the ground.
"Water?" asked the TKD fighter.
"Holy water." said Liam.
Carl and Elizabeth continued their fight. She wrapped her arm around his chest and said "You now get to join the rest of your tribe."
"What makes you think I'll join you?" asked Carl.
"You know deep down, you're just like me." said Elizabeth.
Carl quickly twisted out of the hold and sent her stumbling across the mat. "Any other ideas you have?" he asked.
"Just one." said Elizabeth. She pulled a few throwing daggers out of a holder and threw them at him.
"Aura, on!" called Gloria. A yellow bolt of electricity shot from her mask and knocked the daggers out of the air.
Carl still caught one and threw it back. He hit Elizabeth in the abdomen.
"You're becoming quite the burden for us." said Elizabeth as she pulled out the dagger. "I can see this was a costly mistake."
"You can tell Riley I am close to tracking him down." said Carl. "I will be getting my vengeance."
"Thanks for the warning." said Elizabeth. She turned and left. However, none of her undead warriors had survived.
"Good job, lads." said Liam. "You just banded together to soundly defeat an enemy much more powerful than yourselves. We only had one casualty, but that's still one more than I'd like."
"We almost had a few more." said Dennis grimly.
"Will he become a vampire?" asked Gloria as Tony looked over the announcer's corpse.
"No, they took too much blood." said Tony. "Look, is it okay if I give him last rites?"
"Go ahead." said Gloria.
----------
Half an hour later, the police had arrived on the scene. The people who remained behind were questioned. The announcer was zipped into a body bag and taken away.
"I liked him too." said Tony.
Liam walked up to Carl. "If I heard right, you have some kind of history with that lass." he said.
"She was with those who attacked my village." said Carl. "Nearly one hundred of my tribesmen either died or were transformed into those abominations of nature."
"And you're on a hunt for revenge." said Liam.
"For that, I came here." said Carl. "I learned Kenpo and various tracking techniques. I discovered the vampires were planning to invade the tournament and attended to intercept them."
"What? Don't you think you should have warned them?" asked Liam angrily.
"I did." said Carl. "They ignored me. So, I came to protect those who did not know they'd be walking into a deathtrap."
"Carl, we're looking for a few good men." said Liam. "We're trying our best to cure the victims of the vampires."
"The victims of the vampires are vampires themselves." said Carl. "The vampires have the perfect recruiting tool. Anyone they recruit has a perfect chance of joining them."
"That's not what our findings indicate." said Liam. "Some of their victims manage to reject the psychological effects of the transformation. We believe some of them can be helped. This includes some of your tribesmen."
"They cannot be helped." said Carl. "I know that once a person has died, they're gone for good. This is simple."
"I'm asking you to join us." said Liam. "Our team could use a man with your skills."
"Your team needs all the help it can get." said Carl. "Your methods are soft and ineffective. The fact that you want to help these fiends instead of erradicating them tells me this much."
"Nothing will be gained by rushing into the fray with a head full of rage." said Liam. "How would you rather solve this? A temporary fix or an effective, permanent solution?"
"My methods have worked well so far." said Carl as he started to leave. "They will continue to work for me. I bid you and yours farewell and good luck."
"Now wait just a minute!" yelled Liam. "We need someone like you and you need someone like us! If you..."
Chris put his hand against Liam's chest and said "Hey, hey, hey. Don't be mean. We don't have to be mean because remember: Wherever you go, there you are."
Liam looked at him for a couple of seconds, then said "That is the dumbest thing I have heard in my life." He then walked away.
Gloria and Tony followed him. They eventually found themselves in the parking lot next to Tony's Impala.
"That didn't go well." said Tony.
"You think?" asked Liam.
"He was right, Liam." said Gloria. "His methods conflicted with ours. He wouldn't have worked with us. Our search for recruits didn't pan out here."
"Not necessarily." said Liam. "We have a couple of potentials with those two finalists."
"Do you think he was right?" asked Tony. "Are we being too forgiving? Are we searching in vain for good in the vampires?"
"Relax, Tony." said Gloria. "We've seen many vampires resist their bloodlust long enough to help us. Many of them were seeking a refrain from their curse."
"Even so," said Tony "you have to admit Liam was seeking this guy's assistance very aggressively. I think a little more and he would have cracked."
"I had a reason for that." said Liam. "I thought that if we could get him on our side, that would solve our problems. Then, we wouldn't have to seek more recruits. His methods were working for him and I thought we might be able to use them."
"More recruits?" asked Gloria. "Like your cousin?"
"I've mentioned his abilities, his drive, his attitude." said Liam. "I've shared my war stories with him and he's actually found some better ideas than we implemented. But he's my cousin. I couldn't bring myself to bring him in. He's my best link with my family in the New World. Still, everyone is saying that Max would be perfect for us. That I should bring him in. Everybody except for me. However, I just can't shake the feeling that I might be risking the world just to protect my family."
"Are you saying you're ready to call on Max now?" asked Tony.
Liam stood silently for a second, then nodded and said "Aye."
"Call him." said Gloria.
Liam took out his cellular phone. He hit a button on his speed dial and put the phone to his ear. "Max, it's Liam...I've thought about you wanting to join us...I know I told you a few times I didn't want you on the team...Well, I talked it over with some of the others. We need you. You can come in tomorrow."
He then held the phone away from himself and a loud cheer erupted from the earpiece. He then put the phone back to his ear and said "I knew you'd be excited...Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."
He hung up.
"Thank you, Liam." said Gloria.
"It's no problem." said Liam.
"I think you did good." said Tony.
"I hope so." said Liam. "Tonight, I'm going to pray for a sign that I made the right move."
AN:In case you read "MASK 2: The Next Generation" and were wondering, Daniel Hurt and Dennis Paulsen are in fact the Foxes agents known as Hack and Crossbones. Melissa Cale is another character for a future MASK 2 fic which got put on hold due to working on another fic.
We will continue.