Chapter 2: New Monster: Part 2.
Upon returning to the common room, Dragonis found that Cockroach had gone off to his lab to experiment, Link had gone to play with Insecto, and Bob had wandered off to do… well, nothing in particular. Susan however was most curious about Dragonis. Not only was the new monster female, but she was also fifty feet tall! Well, fifty-two and a half feet to be precise, not counting the horns, which were ten feet long.
"So, what was your life like before…" Susan gestured to the common room.
"Before fifty foot? Well, I was born a mutant. My parents were perfectly normal and nothing weird happened to them before I was born, so it was a shock to say the least when I came out all red and scaly with wings, claws, and a tail. They tried, they really did, but in the end…" Dragonis sighed heavily. "In the end they abandoned me in a forest. I was six years old at the time."
Susan gasped. "That's awful! Why?"
"They couldn't handle my 'special needs'. They couldn't handle being judged because their daughter was an unnatural freak. They were afraid of hurting me," Dragonis replied, sighing sadly.
"What?!" Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I overheard them talking the night before. They said they couldn't keep me without hurting me, because my nature wouldn't allow me to fit in with society. I didn't understand at the time, but now I do. They would have had to restrain me. There would have been so many rules to follow, I probably would have become violent. Especially during my teenage years. I was a wild beast back then. My instincts were too strong and I couldn't control or temper my nature due to my youth.
"However, I did meet with other mutants. Not exactly like me, but they understood enough about what I was going through to help me learn to control my powers and abilities. Thanks to their lessons, I'm able to hold this conversation with you. They taught me how to 'fit in' with normal society, even though I never really would be able to. I'm glad they did. It's nice to be able to talk to people, even if most of them would run away in terror of the old me, let alone the new me," Dragonis explained, smiling wryly.
"So, they taught you how to control your powers and fit in and your parents took you back, right?" Susan asked hopefully.
Dragonis shook her head. "No. I haven't seen my parents since they abandoned me. I don't even know if they're still alive or not. They probably are, but I doubt they want to see me.
"Anyway, I lived in the woods and wilds, hunting my own food and staying as far away from normals as possible. I was spotted a few times and every time I was hunted like an animal. I was caught once by a private bio-weapons company and experimented on. Actually, I was tortured. I was starved, beaten, nearly drowned, electrocuted, crushed under nearly two thousand tons of weight, and half dissected while fully conscious with no pain killers."
"And you survived?!" Susan was flabbergasted.
"Yep. My skeleton is perfectly indestructible and I have heal factor. It takes a lot to kill me, as my wounds heal within moments, but it is possible to overload my heal factor. I also can't live without food, water, or air. However, starvation, dehydration, and asphyxiation take much longer and are much more painful for me than a normal human," Dragonis said, wincing at a few painful memories.
"How long does it take?" Susan found herself asking, wincing in anticipation of the answer.
Dragonis sighed. "It takes about six months before I starve to death, eighteen days before dehydration kills me, and half an hour before asphyxiation does. However, I really do need to eat, drink, and breathe at least as often as a normal does to be fully healthy and happy."
"You don't seem phased by your new size or strength. I was totally freaked when I discovered how much damage I could do if I really wanted to," Susan shuddered, remembering the day she had totally demolished an old military base, when Monger and Cockroach were testing her limits.
Dragonis shrugged. "I admit it's rather weird being so big, but I've always been far, far stronger than the average man. Even when I was normal-sized, I could tear a tank apart with my bare hands. Plus, my fire-breath can literally melt just about anything. Even without my current size, I'm still a very dangerous and powerful force. In all honesty, I doubt even you could have stopped me if I went on a rampage back then. I wouldn't have been able to kill you, I still can't do that, but neither would you have been able to stop me."
"So, you're used to having to watch your strength?" Susan asked, a lightbulb going off in her head as the pieces fell into place.
Dragonis nodded. "Yep. When I said the Fusonium increased my strength, I was mostly talking about my lifting capacity. Sure, I could mold steel like putty, but I couldn't lift much more than about sixty tons. Now, I'm sure I could lift about five or six hundred tons. It'd probably be pushing it, but I could do it, especially if I had a lot of adrenaline pumping through my system."
"Why those figures?" Susan asked, scratching her head.
"I've increased in size by exactly ten times my original hight. I was five-foot-three, minus my horns, which added about six inches of height, despite really being a foot in length. So, I presume my strength also increased at least by a factor of ten," Dragonis explained.
"Ah. So, Fusonium increased you by ten, while Quantonium only increased me by nine. I was 5'6". Hmm. Interesting. I wonder, could I beat you in an arm-wrestling competition?" Susan mused.
Dragonis grinned. "Wanna find out?"
Susan grinned. "Sure!"
Susan sat on one side of the table in her chair, while Dragonis sat on the other side on the end of the couch. Both rested their elbows on the table and clasped hands. After a quick count down, the battle began. Susan seemed to get the upper hand at first and Dragonis' arm slowly lowered towards the table. However, the dragon-lady wasn't going to be beaten that easily. She pushed back, using power from her shoulder as well, to push Susan's hand back. Susan was surprised to find Dragonis was so powerful. Slowly her hand started to lower towards the table. The white haired giantess pushed back and regained some ground. Dragonis strained, but Susan had managed to get them even again.
"Twenty bucks says Ginormica wins," said Link smiling at his friend.
"I'm sorry, but I believe Dragonis has this contest," said Cockroach.
"I think that toaster looks shiny," Bob said randomly, looking at a shiny toolbox in Cockroach's lab.
Insecto roared.
"See? Insecto agrees with me," said Link puffing up his chest.
"They always like this?" Dragonis asked.
"Pretty much," Susan replied.
The competition lasted about an hour before both giants admitted defeat.
"Well, it seems we are tied for strength. That's good," said Dragonis rubbing her slightly sore upper arm.
"Yeah. That way we won't accidentally kill each other," Susan chuckled, rubbing her own arm.
When dinner came and Dragonis found her meal consisted of live sheep, she wasn't particularly pleased. "Ugh! I hate eating sheep. All that wool gives me indigestion and I get it stuck between my teeth," she muttered licking her teeth, trying to dislodge some of the wool.
"Oo! I can help!" Bob said enthusiastically leaping into Dragonis' mouth.
The stunned dragon-lady nearly gagged in shock, but managed to keep her meal down. Bob absorbed all the wool from between her teeth and leapt out of her mouth. Dragonis licked her teeth again.
"Thanks, Bob. But next time, warn me before you leap randomly into my mouth. I nearly lost my dinner," she said.
"OK!" was the brainless blob's reply.
Dragonis looked around at the facility and sighed. Susan reached over and patted her shoulder.
"Hey, it's not that bad once you get used to it," she said comfortingly.
"It's not that. Well, it is, but I know I can never leave this place. I literally don't fit in anymore. I can't enter buildings unless they're tall enough inside, I have to be careful where I put my feet 'cause anyone I step on will be killed… heck! I can't even feed myself anymore! I'll be fine. I just… need some time to adjust. It's all a bit surreal still," Dragonis held her head in her hands.
"I know. Still, you're handling this way better than I did. I was a mess for weeks after my capture," Susan said.
"Yes, well, I've always been a freak. Just not a fifty foot tall freak," Dragonis sighed. "I'm tired. I'd like to get some sleep," she said pushing herself to her feet and heading for her room.
"Will she be alright do you think?" Susan asked Cockroach, knowing full well he would have listened in on her talk with Dragonis and observed the dragon's behavior.
"Yes. I believe she will be just fine. She's just… coping. From the sound of her story, she's had plenty of experience in that department, hence why she's actually taking this whole situation so well. But we shouldn't be too surprised if she's quiet and moody for a few days. She still needs time to process everything that's happened," said Cockroach.
"Why hasn't Monger shown up? He always talks to the new arrivals," Link observed.
"He had quite a bit of paperwork to fill out for Dragonis. Apparently, a lot of people want her dead. That bio-lab claims she killed twenty of their employees when she escaped," Susan said.
"She didn't though," Monger's voice suddenly interjected. "She did cause quite a bit of property damage and injured quite a few people, but no actual fatalities or even serious injuries occurred. Libra Bio-Tech has been on the government's radar for suspected illegal experimentation for years. Now we have proof. I'm no liberal animal lover, but I wouldn't treat a rat the way they treated her."
"General! So, what are you going to do with her?" Susan asked.
Monger shrugged. "The only thing we can do. Take care of her. And by that I mean feed, clothe, house, and protect her. She actually came willingly. Didn't even have to restrain her. Anyway, looks like you've got a new friend, Ginormica."
Susan smiled. "We all have a new friend and teammate, but I know what you meant, General. It is nice to have another person my size and a girl to boot."
"Yeah, well… goodnight, Monsters. Breakfast is at 07:00 hours. Make sure the newbie gets up," Monger said as he flew off.