Sorry again for no new chapters last week. Hopefully these will make up for it. DOUBLE BILL!
Episode Seven - Meet the Parents
Takeda stood in the lab with Carlin, a fold was opened in the middle of the room. A strike team emerged. "Report." Takeda said simply.
"They were waiting for us. We came under fire sir." A soldier said.
"What do you mean they were expecting you." Takeda said "Surely enough time has passed that they would have forgotten."
A soldier walked forward. "Sir. If I may. We have been through several times." He sounded scared, despite the fact he was heavily armed.
"WHAT!" Takeda roared. The strike team all took several steps backwards.
"Takeda, calm down." Carlin said.
"SILENCE! WHO AUTHORISED THE USE OF THE MACHINE!"
"That would be me." Robinson said, walking towards the centre of the room.
Takeda fumed. "You went behind my back, and put my men at risk. To what end?"
"My friend I..." Robinson began.
"ANSWER ME!" Takeda yelled, the sound echoing around the room.
"...I have been accquiring new methods of offense against the Guardians." Allow me to demonstrate. He pulled a gun from inside his coat and shot at one of the men from the strike team.
The dart from the gun struck stuck into the mans neck. For a moment he seemed unphased, before falling to the ground. Motionless.
The other men froze. Takeda began to feel angrier. "What have you done?"
"Oh he's fine. I simply used some venom from this little fellow." Robinson said, pulling a jar with a luminously coloured scorpion. "They're venom is a very potent. One sting is enough to put a full grown man to sleep for a full 24 hours. He was given a diluted dose. He'll be up again momentarily."
The soldier woke up. He shook himself of, dazed, but unharmed. Takeda eased up. "I'm...astonished."
"Oh yes. I've recovered many things which I have had a team of scientists working on. One of which is a potential...Cure."
Takeda suddenly lit up. "You mean for...?"
"Yes." Robinson smiled. "I hope you'll understand, I only did this with your best interests. But, I didn't tell you because, I didn't want you to get your hopes up.?"
"I see." Takeda stated. "I feel I may have overreacted. I apologise, Robinson."
"Please don't worry about it." Robinson said. "I'll let you know next time I intend on sending a team to find more samples."
Takeda was still a little uneasy. Robinson had used the machine several times behind his back. "Very well. But from now on you answer personally to Carlin. He is our senior most scientist. He must authourize every procedure with twenty four hours notice."
Robinson grinned. "Excellent. Professor Carlin is a remarkable mind, I will take great pleasure working with him."
Sunday morning meant different things to each one of the Guardians. For Hay Lin it meant she had to work the early shift at the Silver Dragon, but was free to spend the evening with Eric. For Cornelia it meant a full day of shopping and browsing in all of her favourite stores, which all had sales on Sunday. Taranee was using her free time to study heavily. For Will, it meant a few more hours of sleeping. For Irma however, this particular Sunday was causing her to stress out.
She had agreed to go to Stephen's for dinner that evening, but she was begginng to have second thoughts. She knew both Stephen's parents worked as scientists, she was begginning to think they would find her inadequate for their son, who was a genius in his own right. "I'm doomed." She said to herself.
The door knocked. Her mother entered the room with a freshly folded pile of clothes. "Irma have you decided what you're going to wear tonight?" She asked setting her clothes in the drawer.
"Not yet." Irma said sullenly.
Anna looked at her daughter with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Is that like a 'I haven't decided what I'm going to wear' or a 'I haven't bought what I'm going to wear so I need your credit card.'"
"Neither." Irma said in the same seemigly bored tone.
"Okay are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or do I have to wrestle it out of you." She asked jokingly.
Irma rolled her eyes. "It's just that I'm worried."
"The mighty Irma Lair is worried."
"Mom, I'm serious." Irma moaned.
"Let me guess." Anna said sitting on the edge of her daughters bed. "You're feeling nervous about meeting the parents of a boyfriend, who you think won't approve of you, because of their high standards, and the fact that all parnets are evil."
Irma blinked in suprise. "How'd..?"
"I went through the same thing when I met you're fathers parents for the first time. Trust me, it's never as bad as you think it's going to be." Anna laughed.
"Really?" Irma asked.
"Really. Now don't worry about it."
"But his parents are both scientists, what if they think I'm inadequate?"
"Irma. Not everyone is scientist material, and scientists don't excusively interact with scientists. I'm sure they'll think your delightful. Besides you're smarter than everyone gives you credit for."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course. I mean, I didn't even know, you knew what the word inadequte meant, til just now." Her mother said jokingly.
Irma's face fell slightly. "Gee, thanks mom." Her mother left the room.
Robinson stood in the lab. The strike team was preparing to cross another fold. "Sir." A soldier said. "I thought you weren't sending us into this world again."
"Well you see. I need some time to figure out how to further our goal. So a little more browsing couldn't do any harm. And we have full authority from our senior advisor. Proffessor Carlin."
"Yes sir. Sorry sir." The man responded.
"Apologising is needless. Rember you're using the five percent strenght sedative. Only powerful enough to knock a human out for about an hour. So stay on the move."
The men dissapeared through the fold. Robinson turned to Carlin. "Now Carlin, I believe we should discuss your plans for this Sunday." He grinned wickedly.
The Elyon lying in bed, the TV was on , she flicked aimlessly through the channels. She settled on a channel showing old cartoons. She smiled. The door knocked. "It's open come on in."
The door opened and Raythor entered the room. "Sorry your majesty. But one of the Guardians is here to see you." Raythor sounded mad.
Irma poked her head past Raythor. "Hey, Elyon."
"Hey Irma. Thanks Raythor. You can go.
"A bad cold, chicken soup and, some classic cartoons." She replied, taking a tissue from a box beside the bed and blowing her nose. "Who knew the Heart of Meridian was still vulnerable to common sickness. aren't you worried you might catch it.
"Oh, great. Listen I need a favour." Irma said. "I know this is gonna sound desperate but, I kinda am."
"Okay." Elyon blinked. "I don't know how much I'm..." Elyon stopped talking in order to sneez before finishing her scentence "...gonna be."
"Ok. See, I'm supposed to be having dinner with Stephen's parents tommorrow, and I'm kinda freaking out. I was wondering if you could give me a crash course on all that, fancy table manners stuff."
Elyon sat up. "Well I could try." Elyon stopped to sneeze again.
Irma felt bad. She felt almost as if she was taking advantage of Elyon. "You know what. I should go. You need to rest."
"Are you sure I..." Another sneeze interrupted her scentence. "Okay, you're right. I'm useless in this state."
"Sorry, Babe. I'll get your mom to send you up some orange juice. By the way what's with Raythor."
"Oh he's trying to find a job. But he was too aggressive to work in the library."
"Oh. I can see how that would be a problem."
" Yeah. I'll see you later." Elyon said lying back and pulling the covers over herself.
Irma closed the door behind herself. She heard Elyon sneeze from the other side of the door. "Whatever she's caught, I don't ever want it."
Robinson sat in his office. Specimens from Meridian sat in jars on his desk. Carlin stood in the corner, Robinson's mental link strong as it had ever been. He remained unmoving.
"Really Carlin, you can sit down." Robinson smirked. Carlin obidiently, took a seat on the other side of the desk. "Excellent. Now Carlin. You've become a very valuble asset lately. And you're going to help me a lot more tommorrow. With you, I'll be able to keep one of the Guardians busy for a period of time while I keep the others distracted in anotherway."
Robinson then made Carlin say the next phrase. "After all, I think of everything."
Irma sat on a park bench. She had asked all of her friends for any help they could give on etiquite. Most of her friends had tried to help but, Taranee had caused her to fall asleep by bringing up a lrge article on fancy dining from the renaissance. And Cornelia said something that resulted in her being doused in water. Irma felt the bench slump slightly as someone sat beside her. She turned to see Eric on the other side of the bench. "Hey, Irma."
"Eric? What're you doing here?" Irma said, suprised to see him.
"Nice to see you too." He laughed. "Hay Lin said I'd find you here. Exactly here. She must be psychic."
"Well you know Hay Lin. So hyperactives, she's everywhere." Irma laughed nervously.
Eric smiled. "So, Hay Lin told me about, you're dilema."
"Well, I want to make a good impression. I know the other girls won't take it seriously, but I really like Stephen. More than any other guy I've dated. And I just want his parents to like me. I've been trying to find out all day how to behave in front of scientists, and prestigious people. But so far all I got was the satisfaction of throwing water over Cornelia."
Eric nodded. "You know, I can give you a little advice."
"Really? 'Cause I'll take any help I can get." Irma stated.
"Well the advice is. Don't worry about it."
"What!" Irma yelled. She was expecting a little more than that.
"You heard. I met Stephen's Parents, they're not what you'd expect."
"Really? What are they like?"
"Thery're pretty normal, the dad has a love for building models. And his mom breeds dogs in her spare time.."
"Really?Hey, how come you've met Stephen's parents already, anyway?" Irma asked.
"We're in a lot of the same classes. I've been to his house a few times to work on projects."
"Wow. Thanks Eric." Irma said. "You really know how to cheer a girl up."
"No problem." He smiled.
"What're you doing out here anyway?"
"Astronomy. Mercury will be visibe tonight, so me and Hay Lin are having a picnic here tonight."
"Well don't let me stop you." Irma said. "I'd better go." Irma said moving from her seat.
Will, Taranee and Cornelia were at the Silver Dragon. Hay Lin having just left to go see Eric. "So what do you guys wanna do tonight?" Taranee asked.
"Well, we could go a movie." Will said.
"Ooh, Vance Michael Justin's is out, and I really want to see it." Cornelia suggested, with a little too much force for the other girls liking.
"Okay, that's one option." Taranee said. "Maybe we could go to the Carnival."
"Yeah. We should Call Matt, Caleb and Nigel." Cornelia said.
"Okay, we're going to the carnival." Will said taking her phone out of her pockets.
"Wait, what about Irma and Hay Lin." Taranee said.
"They're already on dates." Cornelia said. "So now we make our plans."
"Ok. Should we call Elyon." Taranee said.
"Elyon's stuck in bed." Will said. "You wouldn't think the Heart of a Meridian would be vulnerable to common illnessess."
"I know right." Cornelia agreed.
Irma approached Stephen's door. She hesitated for a moment. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. She heard rustling on the other side of the door. The lock clicked and the door swung open.
Stepehn stood in the door, dressed in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. "Hey. Glad you could make it." He grinned.
"Yeah. Wouldn't miss it." Irma said.
"Great. Come on in." He stepped to the side to let her in.
Irma was shocked. The house wan't anything like she was expecting. It was modestly decorrated. There were pictures hanging on the walls, depicting Stephen at different ages. Aming them were pictures of Stephen in a baseball uniform, and net to a model of what a valcano.
"Wow. Guess you're family is just like anyone else's." Irma said .
"More or less. Aside from the whole science thing." Stepeh laughed.
Irma smiled. The sound of tapping caght her attention. She turned to see several puppies running towards her. They all began running around in circles. Irma suddenly felt overwhelmed with excitement. "Oh my gosh. You are the cutest puppies ever."
One of the dogs hopped into ther arms. He was brown with two white paws and pattern on his chest. He began to lick her face.
"I see you've met the gang." A woman's voice came from down the hall. She was slightly taller than Irma. She had shoulder length dark blonde hair, and brown eyes. She was dressed in a tie dye t-shirt and loose fitting jeans. "You must be Irma." She smiled.
"Yeah that's me Irma said standing up, trying to make herself presentable. The dogs still hopping around her ankles.
"I'm Mary Carlin." She smiled. "I hope you are well."
"Yeah, I'm great. thanks for having me over." Irma said.
"It's no talks about you a lot." She smiled.
"Really?" Irma said slyly.
Stephen merely smirked. "I ain't denying or agreeing to anything. Do either would prove my guilt."
"Well, dinner's gonna be a few more minutes. You two can head on into the living room." She smiled. "I better feed the dogs before I do anything else." She let out a small whistle and the pups all followed her out of the hall.
Irma blinked. "Wow. You're mom is really good with dogs."
"Well she loves dogs." Stephn said. "C'mon." He took her hand and lead her into the living room.
The room was decorated in the same manner as the hall, very modestly, yet was full of class and taste. There were shelves full of trophies, and more photos. There was a large TV hung from the wall. There was a cartoon on. "You watch cartoons?" Irma asked.
"A lot of people watch cartoons." Stephen said smugly. "They're way better than those soap operas."
"Yeah, that's true." Irma said taking a seat on the couch. Stephen took a seat beside her.
The sound of the front door opening caught their attention. The sound of dog's paws tapping on the hardwood floor. followed. They watched as a man walked past the door. A swarm of dogs at his feet. He was wearing a suit, and looked fairly stern. His hair was the same bright blonde that Stephen's was, but his eyes were blue.
"Hey dad." Stephen said from the couch.
The man turned. "Hey son." He walked in to the living room. He eyed Irma. "This must be the girlfriend. You've told me so much about. Irma blushed slightly.
"Yeah, dad. This is Irma." He said standing up. Irma followed his lead and stood beside him.
"It's very nice to meet you. My name is Michael Carlin." He replied. Irma however didn't know that everyword he said was being chosen by another mind.
"Pleasure, to met you sir." Irma said.
"Such good manners. Always wonderful to see."
Mrs Carlin appeared in the doorway beside her husband. "Hey, honey. Ok dinners on the table. So get your seat.
"Ladies first." Carlin said standing aside. Irma made her way past.
'This isn't so bad.' Irma thought to herself.
Robinson sat behind his desk. With Carlin in place he was now able to use probe through Irma's mind undetected. He was planning on using her to find out where the other Guardians were. His plan was now going to be much earier.
He picked up his phone. "This is robinson. Release Several creatures from the fourth cell in the sub basement. We need to keep the Guardians busy."
Will, Taranee and Cornelia were on there way to the Carnival. "Well okay. Just because the boys are busy, doesn't mean we can't have fun on our own." Cornelia said.
"Cornelia. You're the one who was the most upset that they weren't coming."
"Well, I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation." Cornelia said. "So what are we going to do first."
Will was about to respond when she saw something. A small trail of slime was leading into a drain. She walked towards it. "Hey, does this stuff look farmilliar to you guys. She said pointing at the slime."
"Ewww. Will, we are supposed to be having fun here." Cornelia moaned.
"Wait a second." Taranee said. "Something is down there."
The girls crowded close to the drain. In the darkness they could hear the water splashing around. A pair of eyes became visible in the dark. They made their way closer to the drain.
The girls gasped as Blunk emerged swiflty from the drain. "Girls!" He yelled ecstatically.
"Blunk." They all said together.
"What are you doing here?" Will asked.
"Blunk find place to stash treasure. Wanna see?" He asked innocently.
"Uh. No thanks Blunk." Taranee said.
"Suit self." Blunk scoffed.
"Well, Blunk, we gotta go." Cornelia said.
"Yeah. We're going to the carnival."
"Ooh. Girls bring Blunk cotton candy?" Blunk asked.
"Sure Blunk." Will said. Will turned around. She saw more slime. "Hey Blunk, you probably know better. What kind of slime is this?"
Blunk spotted the slime on the sidewalk. He scampered over, leaning down he licked the ground. "Mmm, Mudslug."
The girls suddenly panicked. "Mudslug." Taranee said panicing.
They then saw the creatures. Three Mudslugs the size of minivans making their way towards them. "No, Mudslugs." Cornelia said.
The grass beneath them began to bulge as more of the creatures made their way out of the ground. "Lots of Mudslugs."
"Will" Taranee yelled.
"GUARDIANS UNITE!" Will shouted pulling the heart of Kandrakar out of her girls transformed. "Okay, how did we deal with these last time?" Will said.
"We threw thm back through the portal."
"Uh, we?" Cornelia asked.
"Corneilia now isn't the time for this."
"Fine. Will open a fold." Cornelia said.
Will did as she was told and opened a large fold to Meridian's jungles.
Taranee set a ring of fire around the slugs to keep them contained. "All right Cornelia, you're up."
Cornelia telekinetically, lifted the slugs. "You guys get easier everytime we meet." Cornelia said beofre sending them all flying through the fold."
"Well that was easy." Will said landing.
"Too easy." Taranee added. "What if Riddle sent those things."
Will was about to respond. When Hay Lin's voice came screaming over the psychic link. 'YOU GUYS! THERE'S MUDSLUGS EVERYWHERE! I NEED HELP!'
'We're on the way. I'll call Irma.' The Guardians took flight.
Irma was enjoying her dinner. She was beginning to feel silly for worrying so much. "This is great Mrs Carlin."
"Thank you Irma." She smiled.
"Hey save some room, Ther'e cheesecake for dessert." Stephen said.
"So Irma. Tell us a little about yourself." Carlin said.
"Well, I'm the head of the schools radio station." Irma said.
"Really? I imagine that's a lot of fun." Mrs Carln said.
"Yeah it is." Irma replied.
Will's voice then burst through Irma's head. 'Irma, there are Mudslugs on the loose. Keep your eyes open.'
'Oh come on you've got to be kidding me. Stephen's parents like me and know they're going to be eaten by Mudslugs.'
'Oh, dear. Things not going as you planned.' Riddle's voice interrupted.
Irma began to feel mad. 'I swear if you do anything...'
'Oh, Miss Lair. I feel you should look around, before you start raising your tone. I'm not that far away after all.'
Irma felt her heart sink. She looked towards Stephen's father. 'No. You can't be.'
'No, I'm not. I'm just using Mr Carlin as a spy. You don't want to lash out and cause a scene do you.' Riddle said. 'Now just sit quietly, and enjoy your meal.'
Will panicked. "You guys. Riddle is in control of Stephen's father."
"Oh, great another spy." Cornelia said. "How original."
"We'll go there after we get Hay Lin. Look there she is."
Hay Lin had climbed a tree. Which was a bad decision. Mudslugs began to crawl up.
Will usee the heart to transform Hay Lin. She promptly flew from her space in the tree. "Thanks. I was nearly wormfood."
"Look we gotta hurry." Will said. "Irma needs our help.
"Will another fold if you please." Cornelia said.
Will opened another fold. "I'll take care of this." Hay Lin said. She spun furiously causing a tornado to surround herself.
The mudslugs were lifted from the ground, spinning round and round. The tornado, dissappeared through the fold. A moment later Hay Lin re-emerged.
"Wow. That was quick." Cornelia said.
"Well it's a mess in there now. It's raining mudslugs." Hay Lin laughed.
"Okay we need to get to Irma. Brace yourselves." Will said before teletransporting the girls to Stephen's neighborhood.
Irma was trying to carry on normally. But knowing that Riddle was essentially possessing Mr Carlin, she was on edge.
'Miss Lair you seem tense.' Ridddle chuckled. 'You really must relax.'
'You are ruining my chances of making a good impression you jerk!' Irma mentally yelled.
'Oh you're first impression with Mr Carlin has long since been made. He knows all about you're...extra cirricular activities.'
Irma gasped outloud, catching Mrs Carlin's attention. "Irma , you all right?"
"uh, yeah. It's just that this is really good cheesecake Mrs Carlin." Irma said. She wasn't lying, rather just giving a false answer for convienience sake.
"Thanks you. I made it myself." Mrs Carlin smiled.
'Very well covered up.' Riddle commented.'How long do you think you can keep lying.
Something inside Irma snapped, at the same time she remembered something. 'You're not gonna find out.'
'Oh, why is that?' Riddle smirked.
'This is why. Mr Carlin, kick this jerk out of your mind. Take control back, WAKE UP.'
Riddle felt the psychic connection fail. Carlin was in control of himself again. He grasped his head in pain.
"Michael are you all right. Have some water." Mrs Carlin said handing a glass to her husband.
Carlin drank. Irma spoke sent a message to him mentally. 'Mr Carlin, if you do know about the Guardians, you know were the good guys. Please don't throw me out.'
Carlin looked across at Irma. He nodded. "I'm okay he lied. Just a little pain."
Irma sighed in relief. She looked towards the window. The others were outisde. 'I've taken care of it guys. Just go I'll wrap uo here.'
Robinson was in the lab. Irma had blocked him from Mr Carlin's mind. He wasn't going to be able to use him again. This was a problem.
Takeda was with him. "Robinson you better hurry up. I have an importatn meeting."
"Just a moment. The answers you seek will be revealed momentarily.
A man in black clothing approached him. "Sir. I have the item you requested," He said. He pulled a small box out of his pocket."
"Thank you." He took the box and approached the machine. "Takeda. Are you farmilliar with the theory that memorys are stored within DNA."
"Of course. I've read many articles on the matter." Takeda said.
"Well we're about to see if it's true." He took a test tube out of a box. There was a hair in the tube.
"What is that?" Takeda asked.
"Oh this? This is a hair from the red headed Guardian." Robinson said, placing the hair into a small compartment in the machine. "I had it accquired while she was...busy." He activated the machine.
A fold tore through the air. However the world on the other side looked different. It was still a forest, however the leaves were a vibrant purple colour, and the bark was a dark grey.
"We now have a new destination." Robinson said.
"Excellent. We will beable to use this to reach our goal." Takeda said. "Soon, nothing will stop us."
"Well, Irma I'll glad you enjoyed yourself." Mrs Carlin said.
"Hey it was fun." Irma said.
"You should come over again some time." I can teach you how to make that cheesecake.
"Yeah I'd like that." Irma said. "Well, I'd better head home."
"I'll walk you." Stephen said. Grabbing a jacket from the hook.
"Just a moment. Could I speak to for a moment alone Irma." Carlin said.
"Uh, yeah. Okay." Irma said. She didn't like where this was going.
"I'll wait outside." Steaphen said. He dissappeared through the front door. Mrs Carlin made her way back to the kitchen.
"I know your secret, And I know about the other worlds." Carlin said plainly.
"I...well." Irma was stumped. She didn't have an answer.
"I also know, that you aren't the villians that Robinson claims."
"Wait, Robinson?" Irma asked.
"Jeremy Robinson. He's an official at Takeda industries. He showed up a few months ago, claiming to be an old friend of Takedas. But I've known Takeda since college, that man is a total stranger to him."
"What is he planning?" Irma asked.
"I don't know. But I will help you." He said.
"Thanks." Irma said. "I better go."
"Yes of course." Carlin said. "Oh and for the record; Freeing me from that moster works in your favour." He added with a smile.
Irma smiled back at him. "Thanks."
She walked outside. Stephen was waiting for her. "So? What'd he say?"
"Just that he approves." Irma smiled.
"Well in that case. I think celebration is in order." He let out a small whistle. The puppy that had made such an effort to befriend Irma came charging through the dog door.
Irma's eyes lit up. "Hello cutie." She bent down and scooped him into her arms.
"Glad you too are getting along. He's all yours." Stephen said.
Irma's jaw dropped. "But..."
"If you're parents say no he can stay here. But he's still yours." Stephen added.
Irma pulled him close and crashed her lips onto Stpehen's. Making sure not to crush the dog in the process. When they broke apart, Irma held the dog close to her chest. "I'm gonna call you Barney.
The dog barked happily.
There's episde Seven. For anyone who wants to see the dog copy and paste the following like to your search bar. (Rmove spaces)
http:/ .com/images12 / .JPG
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