Dino Thunder: Chemical Beast
Chapter 5: Ambush!

"Zeltax! Report!" Into the lab strode Mesogog, with his claws behind his back. His golden gaze picked up on Elsa who stood before a table, he didn't get to see the redhead who was out like a light on the floor in a corner.

"My lord! We just finished the new genetic creation we call, Megalador. We combined the cunning elements of a shark with the toxicity of the oleander flower," Explained the Cyborg as his hand gestured toward a container.

"Then we threw in some extra car parts for fun.~" Elsa's grin told him how much fun she was having right now.

"Well... Let's see it," There wasn't an ounce of care in his eyes when they told him. He'd prefer to see it to believe it. Progress was always something he sought after, to see plans succeed, and have fewer failures.

"Geno-Randomizer engaged," As he saw Elsa pull the lever, he looked about for the redhead who would usually run around and work.

Predatory eyes scanned the entire room as they worked. Even though he could smell her nearby, he couldn't see her, so he decided to lean over to check under surfaces and saw a small bit of red curls under a table. Why is she sleeping under there? As always, her behavior was questionable. However, upon the sound of the Geno-Randomizer's doors hissing open, he looked over and saw a shark-like creature step out.

"It worked!" There was a bit of joy in the Cyborg's tone when he spoke. They listened to the growls it made and how it moved, it didn't please the dino man in the least.

"Fools!" Their idiocy almost made him facepalm, for he marched over to the Randomizer and examined his options. "What we need is new raw materials. We need to find... The perfect specimen," His red claws tapped at keys to maneuver about and brought up a view of a woman in red, who carried a man on her shoulders. "Strong... Brave. She's the one," He began. "Zeltax- send your creature to fetch me that woman," What he didn't know was that the woman he watched, wasn't one at all.

"And what if the Power Rangers interfere, Master?" The question from Zeltrax annoyed the beast, had he not had enough self-control, he would've been obsolete by now.

"That's what Tyrannodrones are for!" Mesogog whipped around to get it through his thick, titanium head. It was as if the Cyborg completely forgot they existed and it irked him to no end. He growled when he slowly walked away, albeit with a nasty glare directed at him, and made slow steps toward the table Amelia was under.

His head cocked lower to see her slumbering face and in her arms sat the Franken Baby's container. With both arms lazily on top of his crouched knees, he reached a claw toward her glasses and noticed a small crack in them. However, something caught his attention. Although hidden beneath the hair close to her ears, he saw incision scars.

"What do you think you're doing... Dr. Ray?" His outburst caused her to jolt awake and sit up just as fast, resulting in hitting her head with a comical thunk. Her grunt and a quick 'ow' made a smug look cross his otherwise prehistoric features.

"Huh?" Groggily, he watched her look at him and blink. "Ah! I'm sorry! I hadn't slept in days!" It was amusing, to say the least, to hear her hysterically whine and watch her scoot backward to get out from beneath the table. "How long was I out? I need to know!" When he stood to his full height and watched her twirl around to look for a clock, there high on a wall she adjusted her glasses to read its analog time. "No! No, no, no, no, no, no..." Her shoe-less feet scuffed across the floor, keeping Mesogog's attention the entire time.

At the table she was under, he noticed more Chemic Bombs made and another device that was in the process. That one must be the Barrier Bomb she referred to. It was for a brief moment that he pondered before his gaze returned to her panicked state.

"Excuse me- Elsa!" Past the two who were just leaving with the creature they made, the container she had was put on another table, and saw her turn to face him. "Do you have a microscope I can use?" Her outstretched fingers toward him and expectant stare, left him curious, to say the least.

"Why do you need it?" Humming with interest, a few steps closer brought him to the center of the room and a few feet from her.

"So I can examine your pretty blood! I mean- your DNA! I still have bits of your blood left over, so I want to use that to study and see what I can extract in terms of prehistoric DNA! If I can do that, I can recreate the tiny bits of DNA from yours to put together... Maaaaybe- a Compy? Oh- Oh, better yet! A raptor!" The snap of her finger, her beaming smile, and what she said, made his golden gaze light up with astonishment. "If I can do that- then I'll be able to use that Recreated DNA to my advantage! I could do all sorts of things!" Her squeal and cherry tone echoed in the room. Despite his lack of tolerance toward anything happy, slowly but surely he was beginning to tolerate her better.

Maybe it was her enthusiastic attitude or passion for science. Either way, his gaze aimlessly averted to look everywhere else but her. A nervous habit he found odd to have, it wasn't something he used to do until she arrived and achieved many one-ups over him. "Over there," To a far, distant station, his claw pointed. He cared not to look at her, lest he'd show a side of him he never knew he had, and heard her feet pat across. She plans to recreate a dinosaur. So... The DNA wasn't for the creature that's in the making. The creature was more of a test to see a reaction to its development. I was right about her ulterior motive not to strengthen my hide or the creature that is being made... Otherwise, she would have made a vial by now for my skin. As he stared into space to ponder, a glance over his shoulder at the redhead gave him enough time to see her snap two glass plates together and place the blood drop under the scope.

His thoughts soon trailed back to when he saw the scar on her face. It was a wonder if there were more on her somewhere. Slowly but cautiously and silently, he made his way closer to her backside and examined the back of her calves that her lab coat didn't cover. However, the small rips in her pantyhose only showed bits of her tan skin, but not enough to see if she had more scars.

"This is amazing! Your DNA is amazing! It's so beautiful! Just looking at the chemistry of it all is mesmerizing!" There was no shame in her words when she cooed at the discovery. What she said made his pride bubble up more, his ego flared and made him grumble with delight.

A bit closer now, he peered over her shoulder, just to lean back when she squealed and hopped like a bunny. "There are so many dinosaurs in here!" He watched her smile broaden and life fill her eyes with so much excitement, that he might have to end up wearing sunglasses soon.

"You like my DNA?" The curious head-tilt and his claws behind his back showed how professional he tried to be, but the more she opened her mouth the more his head blew up with pride.

"Yes! Who wouldn't?! You're a walking Masterpiece!" Her hands yanked the glass plates out from beneath and looked to the side to another machine.

He couldn't stop his mouth from opening, a form of smirk that he knew she wouldn't see. That could also be one of the reasons why he was able to tolerate her a bit. Unlike Elsa and Zeltrax, she gave him genuine compliments and praise, especially over things that regarded his chemistry which many would be afraid of.

~~~~

"Alright- In another hour or so, we can head back," Ace Solar wandered through the hall with a limp in one leg. The halls were much cleaner now that janitors and workers put in effort to clear the debris and shattered glass.

His loafers clicked across the floor and almost stepped on an employee's hand when they leaned over to pick up a piece of ruined paper. Pale hands adjusted the collars of his white business jacket before his dark eyes spotted a soldier, who ran to him.

"Sir, the Steel Shields have been prepared," The man reported back and held his Rifle close to his black armored form.

"Excellent. Now, before we head back- I'm going to change out of this attire before any more blood gets spilled and stains it! A white, leather trench coat is preferable," More to himself than the soldier, Solar mumbled the last bit and groaned at the idea of crimson stains on his business suit.

"Alright, Sir," He didn't need to look to see the man trudge off, he turned to trek to a different hall with stairs and descended past the surface level.

After about a minute, brown eyes ignored the long glass window to his right, that exposed a lab of sorts as on his left had various closed-off padded rooms. Each with one person, whom he cared not to glance at on his way by and strode into a room at the end of the hall. The pained groans and pleas for mercy were all like background noise he was able to ignore.

Into his grand office, he walked, before he turned to a closet door and pulled out his casual attire. The white trench coat he mentioned, was taken from its hanger. Next, a tight, white cloth shirt, and a pair of gray jeans that had pockets galore on the sides. The loafers he had were replaced with black combat boots which he figured he was going to need, given the gruesome display from before.

He prepped for the visitation. The only weapon he donned was a pair of black gloves with cybernetic lines on the palms. When he left the room, there was an intense glint in his eyes that could kill if it were possible, for he clenched his fists upon the memory of Amelia's resistance.

The coat was swiftly buttoned up in front but the split tail at the bottom flailed behind him regardless. "I don't care how long it takes. I will bring her back... And when I do- there's going to be some severe punishment. That dinosaur prick's going to pay just as much, for shielding her and standing in my way!" Through the halls, he yelled, as fury burned in his gaze.

~~~~

As Amelia trekked the halls of Mesogog's lair, a cry for help made her head perk up, despite the ramblings that went on in her low mumbles. With her heels on, she sprinted the best she could and came across the one room that had a hostage chair in it.

In the said chair, her blue eyes landed on a woman in red and Mesogog who loomed over her. "I like your energy," She overheard from him. "Your DNA is pure evil," With that, she saw him remove the straps that bound her and blinked curiously when Mesogog mentioned the Pure Evil bit.

Hahaha! He's ridiculous! There's no such thing as Pure Evil.~ If only she knew otherwise, nonetheless, Amelia giggled and continued to linger in the doorway to listen in.

"Well, I have been looking for some darker roles. But... I don't know if I'm right for pure evil," The last strap was unhooked, which the redhead saw, and craned her head around to see the woman glance at Mesogog.

"Trust me... You're ready," Mr. Prehistoric faced the Cyborg after he had leaned away from the woman. "Zeltrax. Take her to the Energy Transfer Chamber. Ready her, for the purge," When he walked away and headed toward the door, she whimpered a little to move out of the way.

"W- Wait! Wait, no, no, no!" Amelia tried hard to get past him but when he grabbed her arm and forced her to tag along with him, she tried her best to keep up with his long strides. Why?! I wanted to talk to her in person! This is one of my favorite episodes- Ocean Alert! Her internal tears were enough to make a pout grow on her lips and grumble at Mesogog's handling.

His silence was her answer. Whether she liked it or not, she couldn't intervene much in the storyline, so this was acceptable even if it was meant to drag her out of his way and prevent her from causing trouble. "Aw.~ You liiike me!~ Why else would you drag me away to my possible demise?~" Amelia was always playful when it came to Mesogog. There was just something about him that made it fun to mess with him. His irritated growl only resulted in giggles on her part, until he spoke up; most likely to distract himself.

"What are the results of your studies?" Without so much looking at her, she could still tell he was annoyed, and it made her chuckles stop.

"Oh- you mean from looking into your DNA? Within a short amount of time, I managed to extract a piece of Raptor DNA!" Just ahead of them was the door to the lab, where he stopped just before it. The faintest slack in his jaw and dumbfounded golden eyes told her that he was a bit astonished at her words. "All I have left to do is finish up my Barrier Bomb and create some spare chemicals to combine for later usage, as an explosive distraction! And once my Franken Baby is up and walking about, I plan to train it!" A triumphant fist close to her chest, a grin, and sharp eyes showed just how eager she was. And if worse comes to worse... I'll have to use the Raptor DNA as a last-ditch effort, to fight them all off on my own. I don't want to risk having anyone getting killed while I'm here! Despite her expression, she started to feel uncomfortable with the idea of showing him what her secret was. Being compatible with every other creature's DNA meant she had an ability she didn't care to show often.

"Raptor?" This time he fully faced her, nor did he release his grip on her wrist, and stepped an inch closer. It was strange, she could almost see a glint of hope in his otherwise evil and heartless eyes.

"Yup! If I had more time- which I don't, since they will probably be here in another hour, I'd extract more from the small bit of blood! But, I'm afraid I'll need more later! The blood's drying up pretty quickly," At the last few words, her gaze averted irritably when her lips puckered and clicked her tongue.

"I want to see how you will achieve a Raptor. Recreate it, and do as you planned! Knowing your capable mind, you will undoubtedly pull it off," For the first time, he praised someone. Amelia knew it, too, which was why she gasped and gawked at him with a dropped jaw.

Did the evil, narcissistic, heartless, cruel, and sadistic dino man just compliment or praise me?! Woohoo! I must be doing something right! From cheek to cheek, she grinned, and for the first time in a long time, she blushed. "Leave it to me! I got this! I do want to ask though..." Trailing off, her eyes examined his skeptical ones as she inched closer to his face and gave him the puppy-dog stare. "Is there a spare room where I could place all of my re-created dinosaurs?~" One blink, two, and three, she watched him avert his gaze and look around everywhere else he could to not stare at her.

He almost scraped his claws on her wrist when she felt him let go, and hissed as he thought about her question. "Yes," With a gesture of his claw, she squealed happily and didn't waste a second to follow him in a different direction.

In another room, there stood hundreds of Tyrannodrones and Triptoids. The space was vast, a machine in the distance was creating more as a crane moved to the batch of them and dropped a drone into the horde. "Whoa," Impressed would be an understatement of the year, for she knew there wasn't a single episode that showed this part of his lair and it left her speechless.

"In here... If you create one, you may place it along with the others. So long as it remains tame and doesn't threaten to eat any of these," Amelia didn't need to see to know he was smug about her baffled expression.

Whipping around, she was about to speak, just to see him further down the hall and already out of earshot. "Wow, he's quick," With that, she sprinted after him and headed back to the lab to do some more extraction work. Hopefully, she'd have time to recreate the DNA during so.

~~~~

Another hour had passed, another disappointment, as expected when the grown shark was destroyed by the Power Rangers and their Zords. However, the moment Mesogog was about to open his mouth to rage at his two minions, a familiar sound reached his ears and he looked over to see the same portal appear near him.

"And there's the Mastermind himself!" Out of the portal sprinted many soldiers with their SMGs. Behind the horde strode Solar in different attire that Mesogog assumed to be meant more for combat. "I think... I'll take care of you before I find Dr. Ray... Your little underlings will just get in my way," With a piercing glare directed at the dino man, a wicked but confident grin soon curled his lips, as he lifted his fingers to signal his soldiers.

Elsa and Zeltrax both rushed to Mesogog's side to aid him and defend against whatever the man in white had in store. "Your little army doesn't scare us!" The dark woman who raised her blade to threaten, only made Ace chuckle.

"Ah- such a gothic sweetie, aren't you? You're cute," As if it were a joke to him, Solar's smile turned into a disgusted scowl and his finger whirled once to signal his soldiers to switch settings on their SMGs. Several clicks echoed in the room as red cross-air beams pointed at them, which showed where they were aimed. "I'll handle the creature. Men... Take care of the pests," Ace tugged the cybernetic gloves tighter, all the lines on his palms glowed bright and acted like streams of white flowed through as if they were veins.

"You are arrogant," Slowly, away from Elsa and Zeltrax, strode the beast who sprawled his hands out to the sides. Like a predator in the wild, his sharp gaze was glued to brown determined ones.

"Hah!" In unison, Elsa and Zeltrax roared a battle cry when they zapped out electricity. A few soldiers flew across the room and they both charged at what remained of them. However, Elsa only managed to get a few steps closer before her body went limp upon a shot she received and growled.

The Cyborg swiped his blade left and right, for he sprinted through the flurry of paralysis shots. One of the men he swung his blade down onto, blocked with his rifle and kicked at the side of his knee. Zeltrax briefly fell, so he brought up his blade to deflect a swing from the butt of the soldier's gun.

While those two fought to defend their lair, Mesogog glared daggers at the man in white who wore his usual, disgusting grin. "Why don't you come with us peacefully? We could use someone like you. I heard about your feats and talents... They're being wasted away in this world," Far from the battle Ace mimicked the dino man who circled him like a lion to its prey.

Growling, studious eyes remained glued to Solar until he charged after the man and swiped his red claws. "Martial Arts, huh?" Mesogog heard the chuckle after those words, as he continued to swipe and aim to grab his arm. The second Solar ducked just as fast as the beast swung, Mesogog saw his gloved palm a moment too late and felt a force to his abdomen.

Across the room, over the heads of the others and harshly against the closed doors that began to open, Mesogog went. Not a second was spared when he shook off the pain and stood up, but when he hissed and was about to charge once more, a certain redhead jumped in.

Her plasma pistol was used to shoot at a clock on the wall, above Solar's head and made it shatter. Everyone ducked, rolled, and gained some space from the two others who fought to defend, and saw the culprit.

"Dr. Ray! Good to see you again! Instead of all of this fighting, why don't we head back to-" Mesogog watched the man in white's face become full of devastation when Amelia grunted from tossing a sphere. "Take cover!" At that moment, everyone, including, Elsa and Zeltrax, sheltered themselves. Save for Mesogog who wanted to keep the destruction from Amelia by stepping in front of her.

However, none came, a large red barrier between the soldiers, her, Mesogog, and his minions to their far right. "What are you doing?" Hissing, he didn't much care for the anti-climatic display, but the yank on his arm pulled him into a portal that he didn't notice until he turned.

"After them! Don't let them escape!" His voice was heard the second they went through. Heavy footfalls echoed in his prehistoric ears when he trudged along with Dr. Ray through what he could guess was a tunnel.

"Move, move- move- move- move it!" Her words were hasty and panicky, he never did take his eyes off of her bouncy red curls and the hole ahead of them. A moment like this was something he wanted to sit around and take in slowly, however, he knew if he did they would be surrounded.

Never in his life had he met someone like her. Every plan she made so far had turned out successful, may it be to escape or create something. She is not much of a fighter. But she is brave... And smart. He had to admit it to himself, that was probably one of the few things he liked about her. Aside from her creative, scientific mind, and determination to get things done.

Zeltrax and Elsa watched the horde of soldiers rush through the portal and disappear in a flash of platinum, including Solar. Even though the goth was immobile on the floor, the Cyborg held his shoulder and grumbled irritably at what just happened.

"Elsa, I never knew she could do that. So- she's the one that made the white hole appear above lord Mesogog's head, when she first arrived," Through grunts of pain, the clench of his hand held his shoulder tighter. He was baffled, his tone said it all, for he couldn't so much as move straight with how taken aback he was.

"Yeah. But that doesn't matter anymore. She made a smart move, luring them away from our Master's lair. If we know her right... They will be back," Through gritted teeth and heavy breaths, Elsa answered. A tell-tale smirk played on her lips with the thought of the redhead trying to save Mesogog from the group.

"But... When?" That was Zeltrax's next question. For all he knew they could be gone for days, considering that every world was probably set up differently.