ZK Chromedragozoid: The team of heroes are gonna battle the Hive Lords.
"So, this is Smart Brain Metropolis," Topper spoke as his taxi stopped in front of the large office building. After paying the driver, he stepped out of the vehicle and towards the door. He flashed the guard an identity card and he was let inside. He looked around and smirked, "So many years. Looks like Ichiro made his company international. It was a long time ago when I first saw him start this company. It was in London and-"
"So you've arrived," Topper heard and he smiled. The youthful-looking-dragon-in-disguise smirked and spun around, tipping his hat. He could see that the one who'd addressed him was Ichiro and standing next to him was his eldest son, Ichijyo.
"Yes, I have," Topper smirked.
"Did you bring them?" Ichiro asked.
"Got them right here in my hat," said Topper, pointing to his top hat. "So, you asked me to come along for a reason, correct."
"That's right," Ichijyo said as he stepped forward. "We need those extra Power Whistles to complete the Slayer system."
"Well, I know I had to construct those other whistles, plus I made these four new ones," Topper reached up to his hat and removed it from his head. He flipped his hat over and reached inside, pulling out 4 new whistles. Unlike Fang's which were clear, these were black. Three of the whistles were copies of Fang's Savage, Sniper and Juggernaut Whistles, while the fourth one looked like a snake's head. "But what do I get in return?"
The two Amakusa men frowned. They'd known Topper for awhile now and they knew that he would want something in return. Ichiro said, "Well, we can offer compensation."
Topper dropped the whistles back into his hat and put it on his head. "I'll think of something. Now, where is this thing?"
"Follow me," said Ichiro, leading the dragon towards the elevator. "It's underground."
Danielle, Seras and Gillian arrived in front of the Metrotower. However, the guards standing in front of the entrance would not allow them inside.
"We need to get inside!" Danielle exclaimed. "Please!"
"Sorry, but Leaguers and personnel only," the guard said, shaking his head. Danielle frowned in frustration and gritted her teeth. She walked away and joined her friends.
"I told you we should just wait at the pool," said Gillian, crossing her arms. She had been threatened into coming along. She was also here because she'd heard that all the men in the Justice League were hunky in their tight spandex costumes. "I mean, the lords can handle it."
"We're here to see Sandy," said Seras, earnestly. "We have to get inside, somehow."
Danielle looked the Metrotower up and down. She smirked, "Seras, does the Metrotower have an anti-ghost shield?"
Seras gave her a look, "I don't think so. Why?" She then caught on. "Oh…"
"What are you two planning?" Gillian looked between her two girl friends. When the girls exchanged mischievous looks, she caught on as well.
"Grab my hands, girls. We're breaking in," Danielle said. The Fangire and female slayer grabbed her hands and the halfa turned intangible.
The two Riders and three Leaguers entered the building and Superman noticed something about Fang. "Are you okay?" the Man of Steel asked. Fang's breathing was haggard and he was supporting himself with the shaft of his weapon, the hammer's fist-like head down on the ground.
"I'm fine," Fang replied, breathing hard. "I'm alright."
Fangula detached from Fang's belt and looked his partner over. "No, I don't think so. You've been in your armor too long. You need to get it off."
"Is there something the matter?" Steel asked.
"It seems that our young friend needs to remove his armor," Dr. Fate observed. "He's exhausting himself."
Fang hissed, "I don't need your pity!"
"Tough luck, because we're getting that armor off!" Fangula cried out as his eyes and the stone on his head shone. The Juggernaut Hammer vanished and so did Fang's armor. The chains stripped off Fang's armor, leaving Devlin who then collapsed onto his hands and knees, breathing hard.
"He's just a kid," Steel stared. Devlin picked himself back to his feet.
"Yes, I'm just a kid, but I can fight these Fangires," protested Devlin.
"You're not the only one," spoke Tamashii as his armor deactivated and he removed the Knuckle. The other heroes stared. "Yes, I'm a kid too. Happy?"
"No, you're more than you seem," said Fate, seriously. Tamashii rolled his eyes.
"Well, that's unimportant. Right now we got Hive Lords to beat and the antidote to get for Sandy," said Tamashii with determination.
A large JumboTron screen that was located above the information counter turned on and on it was the shadowed visage of a man. Tamashii and Devlin could tell that this man was a Fangire, if the guard that they'd fought was any indication.
"I'm surprised you all were able to get in here. My guard should've been able to finish you all off," said the man on screen.
"Who are you?" Tamashii questioned.
"You may call me Scorpion," said the shadowed man. "I am the Head of the Insect Clan, and may I add that it is an honor to meet the Fang and Slayer."
"Enough pleasantries," Devlin spoke, "Where is the antidote?"
The Scorpion snorted, "You think you can just come in here and make demands. Not going to happen."
"We can have the entire League here to flush you out," threatened Steel. The Scorpion laughed. "What?"
"As far as the law is concerned, you all broke into my property," the Scorpion said, amused at watching Steel's annoyed look. "But, I may make an exception." The elevator nearby opened. "Take the elevator down for further instructions."
The heroes looked at one another. "Should we do it?" asked Steel.
"We need to save the girl. We don't have much of a choice," said Superman.
"Well, it's decided then," Dr. Fate nodded. "But, we must be careful. This place reeks of evil."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Tamashii said in agreement.
"Then, let's go," Devlin said as he strode forward, with Fangula on his shoulder. The 5 of them entered the elevator and the door closed. It went down on its own.
"I can't believe we snuck inside the Justice League's Metrotower," whispered Seras to Danielle as they got inside via Danielle's intangibility. "I mean, we're inside the actual Metrotower."
"What's the big deal?" asked Gillian. "I mean it's just a tower."
"You seriously need to read up on current affairs," Seras said to her Fangire of a friend. She'd gotten over her hatred and fears of vampires and the like and came to accept Gillian as a friend, all because of Devlin.
"We need to maintain invisibility," said Danielle, keeping up her invisibility field to cover herself and her friends. "We can't afford to get caught before we see Sandy."
"But, where is Sandy?" Gillian asked.
"The infirmary, of course. Now, come on."
The elevator door slid open and the 5 heroes stepped out into a strange landscape. It was green and the floor was covered by tall blades of grass. There was a JumboTron hanging from the ceiling and Scorpion's shadowed face appeared.
"Welcome, heroes, to your first challenge!" Scorpion announced.
"You brought us down here for a game!?" Tamashii shouted in rage. "Come out and face us!"
"Actually, I can't agree to that. You see, I know that Suzu spilled about the Hive Lords, so you need to beat them to get to me," Scorpion said.
"We don't have time for games," said Superman.
"You also cannot waste time arguing with me, Superman. The clock is ticking and every second you waste is another second towards the girl's death. Now, you can either play along, or you don't get the antidote you crave."
"Like we have a choice," Devlin muttered. He glared at the image of Scorpion, already trying to decide how he would meet his end for harming a little girl.
Topper, Ichijyo and Ichiro watched as the team of scientists quickly added the final finishing touched to the machine. It was massive, a good 30 feet tall. It was a robot with a long neck and a head resembling a snake. Its base had four clawed feed with wheels under them. A chair with a monitor in front of it was equipped to the left front claw. The primary color of the robot was white and blue. On the back of the robot were 3 large blue explosive capsules contained in a bin.
Topper whistled, "So, this is why you needed that new whistle." He admired the robotic dragon. "So, what do you call this mechanical marvel?"
"The Slayer Mecha Dragoon," said Ichiro simply. Topper cast him a look. "I just funded its construction. I didn't name it."
"Well, despite the name, which is a mouthful if you ask me, this is an impressive machine," Topper said, looking it up and down. "It's smaller than I am, though." He was of course referring to his true form.
"Well, we couldn't really get something that large constructed," said Ichijyo, shrugging, "But, all in all, it's an amazing machine."
"Let's just hope when it goes on a field test, it doesn't break down," Topper said, wearing a serious expression. He then broke out into a smile, "So, I'm hungry. Is there anything here good to eat?"
"I can't say I care for the décor," said Fangula critically. "I mean a literal carpet of grass."
"Well, the first Hive Lord is supposed to be here," addressed Devlin.
"Well, he's mine," Tamashii stated with determination.
"I think we should establish that this is a team effort," Superman spoke up.
"You can be my backup then," Tamashii said arrogantly. He wanted to prove something, so it seemed.
Dr. Fate sensed something approaching and alerted them, "Someone is coming."
Devlin could hear the Blood Rose singing, telling him Dr. Fate was right. "One of the Hive Lords."
"He's right," someone spoke as he walked towards them passing through the blades of grass. He wore a green shirt with a brown vest and brown leather shorts that came down to his knees. He also wore hiking boots. He had golden eyes, a scar across his nose and short green hair. He also had a green goatee.
"Who the heck are you?" Steel demanded.
"I am Locust, the Ultimate Devourer of the Hive Lords," Locust stated. He showed the tattoo on his arm which was a green locust with the number '7' on its body. "This is where your game starts and also where it ends." His face cracked and become colored like stained glass. "So, come and feed me." His form shimmered and he assumed his Fangire form. To put it simply, he was a humanoid locust with green, brown and gold stained-glass skin. His large compound eyes were focused on the Leaguers hungrily. "Hm…let's see how you taste." Immediately, a pair of green blades shot out of the Locust Fangire's body, too fast for anybody to see. They were headed towards Steel at an impressive speed.
"NO!" Superman shouted and blocked the blades which then stabbed into his body. The glass-like blades began draining at the Man of Steel.
Devlin and Tamashii acted quickly and struck at the blades, shattering them with precise karate-chops. The Fangire seemed satisfied as the Man of Steel fell to his knees.
"Woah, what happened?" asked Steel.
Dr. Fate placed a hand on Superman's shoulder, "It would appear that he's been partly drained. Thankfully, he's managed to survive."
'Thanks," Superman said as Steel and Dr. Fate helped him to his feet. "That was not a pleasant experience."
"Never is," stated Tamashii as he strapped on his Slayer Knuckle and punched it against his left palm.
"READY!"
The Locust Fangire saw this happening and went into action. He moved at blinding speed and then Tamashii was knocked backwards, dropping his Slayer Knuckle in the process. The Locust Fangire then struck at Steel and Dr. Fate in the blink of an eye, knocking them both into the far wall.
Devlin's eyes widened as he saw how fast the Fangire had moved.
The Locust Fangire cracked his knuckles, "That is why I am known as the Ultimate Devourer. I can take on the abilities of the victims I've drained. I possess 1001 talents and it's all thanks to the people I have fed upon." He laughed.
Devlin gripped his fists. "You…dare to steal the talents of others! I won't forgive you!" Devlin charged at Locust but when he swung his fist, Locust had moved so fast that he was now behind Devlin. Devlin ducked under a swipe and rolled away. He called out, "Fangula, now!"
"OK!" Fangula shouted as he flew towards Devlin. Devlin grabbed hold of his partner and pressed him against his hand. Fangula bit down and the Fang belt formed from his energy.
"Hen-"
Before Devlin could finish, the Fangire had grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up with one hand, gripping the arm of the hand that was holding Fangula.
"I've heard about you, Fang," the Locust Fangire chuckled. "You're a huge threat to our kind. I bet I'll be given a huge reward for your death." The Locust Fangire felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and saw that it was Superman. "Hah, I have your strength. Right now you're weaker than I am."
"I'm not letting you get away with this," said Superman as he squeezed on the waist. The Locust Fangire was forced to let go of Devlin to take care of the Man of Steel. He removed Superman's grip from him and flew to the air, as did Superman.
"You wanna play, Man of Steel? Let's play!" the Fangire said tauntingly as he flew straight at Superman. He threw a fist and Superman grabbed it before firing his eyebeams at the demon. The Locust Fangire fired his own eyebeams, pushing back Superman's.
Steel flew up along with Fate who started to fight the Fangire. Though they may not be as powerful, there was no way they were going to standby and do nothing. Dr. Fate used a spell to summon lightning, shocking the Fangire and Steel swung down his hammer, sending the Fangire hard to the ground.
Devlin messaged his neck as Fangula flew over to check on his partner. "Are you alright, Devlin?" Fangula asked in deep concern.
"I think so," Devlin coughed. There was a deep purple bruise around his neck from when the Fangire had choked him.
"Good," Tamashii said as he stood up, Slayer Knuckle in hand. He watched the three Leaguers battling the Fangire and Tamashii narrowed his eyes. "Amakusa, can you stand?"
Devlin picked himself back up. He said to Tamashii, smirking, "You almost sound like you were worried about me." He discreetly took out a capsule and popped it into his mouth.
"You're an ally, and it was a standard question," Tamashii said harshly. Devlin frowned. "Henshin!"
"Henshin!" Devlin called as Fangula snapped onto the belt.
"FIST ON!"
"Wake Up!"
The two Riders ran to join the battle. As Slayer changed to Burst Mode, releasing his wings and taking flight, Fang jumped up and actually flew on his own. In truth, it was all due to a special potion capsule Devlin had swallowed earlier. For a short period of time, Fang would be granted the power of flight.
The Locust Fangire blew the heroes away with a breath that was as strong as a gale. He smirked in victory as the three heroes were blown back, especially the mighty Superman.
"Hah! I am unstoppable!" Locust laughed.
"Guess again," stated Fang as he threw a punch. The Locust Fangire dodged and gave Fang an uppercut. Slayer was armed with his twin swords and slashing at the Fangire but each swipe was avoided due to the Fangire's now impressive speed. He blasted Slayer with eyebeams and backhanded Fang out of the air. Fang touched down and leapt up to engage the Fangire again but was hit by a heat beam that scorched his chest armor and caused him to yell in pain.
The Locust Fangire laughed but was then struck by magical lightning. Superman flew up to smash his fist into his face as Steel slammed his hammer into his gut. The Fangire was knocked backwards in midair. Superman and Steel then proceeded to give the Fangire the beat down.
Slayer and Fang looked up and exchanged familiar looks. Fang and Slayer reached down to their belts and took out their Fang and Knuckle Whistles, respectively. Fang placed his whistle between Fangula's lips as Slayer slipped his into his belt buckle and detached the Knuckle.
"Releasing the Chains of Fate!"
"SLAYER KNUCKLE: RISING UP!"
Fang jumped upwards and allowed the chains of his armored boot to shatter, releasing the demonic batwings. He flew high up that he touched the ceiling. He flipped his body around and kicked off the ceiling, leaving a crater in the form of his emblem. He then twisted his body back around, aiming his winged boot at the Locust Fangire.
"BLOODY MOON SMASH!!"
Superman and Steel saw Fang coming down and got as far away as possible as not to hinder their young ally. The Locust Fangire's eyes widened as he looked up to see Fang coming down. The kick smashed straight into his chest and sent him plummeting down towards the ground where Slayer was standing.
"BROKEN FANG!!" Slayer shouted as he threw his fist upwards. The Slayer Knuckle shot out an orb of pure heat energy upwards which hit the Fangire. The orb impacted the Locust Fangire and he screamed from the intense heat of the attack. The heat became too much for his glass-like body that it shattered into a million pieces.
The heroes landed back on the ground, watching as the Fangire's soul orb started to fly off. Fangula, acting quickly, flew up and caught the soul, chewed it up and then flew down to spit it into Fang's hand.
"Ultimate Devourer," Tamashii mocked as his armor vanished.
"Well, that's one down," Devlin said as his armor was stripped off via chains. "A troublesome one."
"May I see that stone?' Dr. Fate asked. Devlin looked hesitant but gave the wizard the soul stone. Dr. Fate inspected it. "Amazing…"
"Fangires are a tricky breed," Fangula explained, "Even with the body destroyed the soul can still become a threat."
"I see," Dr. Fate nodded and returned the soul stone to Devlin.
Tamashii didn't want to waste time talking so he headed towards the elevator for the next challenge.
Danielle, Seras and Gillian, via the use of Danielle's ghost powers of invisibility and intangibility, eventually snuck their way into the hospital wing of the Metrotower. They snuck into the infirmary to see Sandy in bed, not looking too well.
"I hope she gets better," said Seras worriedly.
"I do too," Danielle nodded.
"Don't worry," Gillian assured them. "The Masters will be able to help her."
The heroes went down the elevator which stopped at another basement floor. The dirt floor and the flora made it look like a jungle.
"Love the décor," spoke Devlin in appreciation. Whether he was being honest or not was up to interpretation.
"Well, knowing our hosts, there's a Fangire here waiting for us," said Superman.
"You got that right, cape-boy," spoke a voice whose owner dropped down from a tree. He had on a tight black muscle shirt with a white spider web design. On his right shoulder was a tattoo that resembled a tarantula with the number '6' on its abdomen.
"And who are you?" Dr. Fate questioned.
"Call me Tarantula, the Ultimate Trapper," stated the Fangire, which was obvious when his face cracked to reveal a stained glass pattern on his skin.
Devlin's eye narrowed as he walked forward. Superman placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Superman.
Devlin gave Superman a serious look. Superman knew better than to argue with the boy who had the power to defeat Fangires.
Devlin walked forward, keeping his grip on Fangula.
"So, a little boy is gonna fight me," smirked Tarantula.
"As the Americans say: Bingo," stated Devlin to the obvious statement. He held Fangula against his left and the sealed vampire bit down. Devlin's Orphenoch markings appeared on his skin as the chains wrapped around his waist and morphed into the blood red Fang Belt.
"Henshin!" Devlin called, attaching Fangula to the perch, hanging upside down.
"Wake Up!" Fangula called out.
The chains wrapped around Devlin, changing his body from the inside, before shattering. His visor flashed blood red as he got into a battle stance.
"And so it begins," the Tarantula said before changing into his Fangire form.
Fang rushed forward, throwing his fist, but then his foot stepped on a trap and a net made of spider webs captured him. His arms were pinned to his sides and his legs got pinned together. The Tarantula Fangire hissed gleefully before striking the Rider with his claws. Fang yelled out in pain from the strikes, sparks ripping from his armor.
"NO!" Superman shouted, flying to help Fang, but then he was forcefully bounced off an invisible barrier. "What?"
"Dark magic," Dr. Fate analyzed. "A barrier formed as soon as Fang went to confront his foe."
"So the kid's alone in there," Steel said and then took a look at Tamashii. "You don't look too worried."
"I've fought him before and I know he can turn this around," Tamashii said. "Because, if he loses to a mere Fangire, he's not worth my time or worthy to be my rival."
Fang was able to tear off the webbing and then launched a fist at the Tarantula Fangire's face. Instantly, the Fangire snapped his clawed fingers. Sharp arrows flew down from the ceiling, headed towards Fang. Fang saw them and tried to dodge each one. The ones that struck, pierced his armor, eliciting cries of pain from him. He collapsed onto his knees and pulled out the arrows, which hurt like hell. He then realized why. The arrows were tipped with silver. It was his weakness actually. Direct contact never hurt him, but when used to wound him, the injuries healed very slowly.
Fang growled. Fangula asked, "Devlin, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Fang hissed in pain.
"So, this is the Fang that has been giving us trouble," laughed the Tarantula Fangire. "You don't look so tough."
"I can surprise you," said Fang as he stood up, though shakily. He flicked his wrist, producing explosive potion capsules. He then hurled them at the Fangire and they blew up on impact, creating a smoke cloud. Fang ran into the jungle setting, hiding behind a tree.
"Devlin, we need to try something," said Fangula.
"But what? My other forms?" Fang asked, reaching down to his Arms Monsters whistles.
"No!" Fangula interrupted. "Combine them!"
"Combine them?" Fang asked.
"Devlin, use all three whistles! Now!" Fangula instructed. Fang reached down to his belt and pulled out his three Arms Monsters summoning whistles. He was a little unsure about what he was going to do, but there wasn't anything for it at the moment. He put all three whistles inside Fangula's mouth, allowing the sealed vampire to blow into them simultaneously.
Lobo was at a café enjoying his 3rd cup of coffee when he heard the call of the Savage Whistle. Leaving money on the table, he then stood up and walked away. He walked into an alley and howled before a blue statuette flew out of the alley.
Gillian was in the infirmary with Danielle and Seras, looking after Sandy when heard the call of her Sniper Whistle. With a sigh, she said to the girls, "Sorry, guys. Duty calls." She snapped her fingers and a green aura surrounded her, shrinking and transforming her into the Sniper Magnum's statuette form. The statuette then flew out of the Metrotower.
Danielle blinked and said, "No matter how many times I see that, I can never get used to it."
"I agree," Seras nodded.
Francis' eyes opened up as he heard the Juggernaut Whistle's call. He was in the gym lifting weights. He stood straight up and then walked out of the gym. A purple aura engulfed him and transformed him into his statuette form before flying out of the hotel.
Fang stood up as the three Arms Monsters statuettes surrounded him. Tamashii and Dr. Fate could feel the energies radiating from the three weapons as they lent their power to Fang.
Cobalt blue chains wrapped around his left arm before shattering, covering his arm in the cobalt blue Savage Armor. Emerald green chains wrapped around his right arm before shattering, covering it in the emerald green Sniper Armor. Purple chains wrapped around his chest and shattered, revealing the bulky purple Juggernaut Armor. His visor glowed blood red as he stood in his Quartet Form.
Fang walked out of the jungle setting, clad in his new form. This surprised the heroes and the only reaction Tamashii gave was a quirked eyebrow.
The Tarantula Fangire stumbled back in surprise at the change Fang had undergone. This was not expected. Infused with Fangula's power as well as the power of all three of his servants, Fang rushed straight at the Tarantula who fired his web nets at the composite Rider. Fang leapt over the attack and then touched down in front of the Fangire, bashing him with punches and kicks. With Francis' strength backing up Fang's attack, the Fangire yelled with each strike but tried to strike at Fang with his additional appendages, but with Lobo's speed, Fang was able to counter.
Fang pulled the Juggernaut Hammer out of thin air and began swinging it, smashing the Fangire with heavy strikes to the torso and head. The Fangire was sent flying backwards from the hammer strikes.
Deciding to put the playing field back to his advantage, the Tarantula Fangire created his trap holes. Fang leapt up to avoid the holes forming under his feet. He then used Gillian's power to create a pool of water around them, which was ankle deep. The Fangire looked around in confusion. Fang was 'skating' along the water, gripping the Sniper Magnum in his green armored hand. He attacked the Tarantula Fangire from all sides, 'skating' around him and shooting him with pressurized water bullets. The Tarantula Fangire screamed in pain from the shots.
Fang then summoned the Savage Saber and leapt up into the air, doing a flip in the air before landing in front of the Fangire, slashing at him with the powerful sword. The Fangire stumbled back from each slash, screaming in pain.
"Releasing the Chains of Fate!"
Fang's armored leg unchained itself and the wings spread out. Fang kicked the leg up and bent his knee before leaping upwards.
"BLOODY MOON SMASH!"
The kick struck the Fangire hard, sending him flying across the room with Fang's emblem glowing on his chest. The glowing cracks spread and when the Fangire hit the far wall, his body shattered. Fang watched as the soul hovered upwards. Fangula jumped off his perch and flew straight for the Fangire's soul. He swallowed the soul and chewed on it a bit before flying back to Fang and spitting out the sealed Fangire soul stone.
"Now that's a wrap," said Fang.
"Well, all in good, but you need to disengage the armor immediately!" Fangula shouted.
"Why?" Fang asked curiously before he dropped to his knees, breathing hard. "Oh." He realized. The power was overwhelming and having the power of the trio in him was putting a strain on his body. Instantly, he disengaged the armor as three streaks of colored light flew off.
The barrier dropped and the heroes went to help their young ally. Steel helped Devlin up to his feet.
"Kid, you okay?" Steel asked.
Devlin wiped the sweat off his brow. "I'm fine."
Dr. Fate said something that sounded like a compliment, "That form was unexpected."
"Me too," Devlin agreed.
"That was reckless to go off alone like that," said Superman.
"And I agree," Devlin nodded. "But, we've wasted enough time here. We need to go down the next level."
"But we do this as a team, alright?" Superman requested.
"Fine," Devlin sighed.
Information:
QUARTET FORM!
Through the use of the three Arms Monster Whistles, Fang summons his three weapons at once and draws power from them to transform into an amalgam of his 4 forms. Quartet Form possesses the chest armor of Juggernaut Form, the right arm of Sniper Form, the left arm of Savage Form and the head of Blood Form. This form utilizes the strengths of all his forms and he is also able to use the weapons and finishers. However, this power comes with a cost and can only be used for 5 minutes at a time due to the danger it poses to Devlin and the Arms Monsters (Lobo, Francis and Gillian). Overuse of this form can exhaust Devlin and may prove fatal to himself and his Arms Monster allies.