Meeting A Rhino in Africa

Coming to the end of the instructions Gar had given Miss Martian, he failed to find a cave nearby so at a rock outcropping he dug a hole to help hide his human form.

All this traveling has made him hungry, but food is not plentiful in the African planes. Taking advantage of the cool dawn, Gar made sure to mark the area to ward off predators and then return to his outcropping and shift back to human, so he could get some sleep.

One of the reasons Gar was comfortable sleeping on the ground was because it makes an excellent warning system, vibrations travel a long way through the earth.

About the time Gar became aware of the vibrations, he felt something soft hitting his cheek. Waking up and looking around groggily Gar saw Morph on his shoulder using a tendril from his body to tap him awake.

"Thanks, little buddy, I hear it." With that said Gar could feel a sense of pleasure coming from Morph as he felt he did good.

Taking note of the sun, he figured it was about 10 am, and on the horizon, there was a dust cloud very reminiscent of a convoy in the desert.

"We better check this out Morph, hold on or whatever you do when I shift forms. Time to fly."

Shifting to a Peregrine Falcon, Gar took to the air. He knew they weren't indigenous to the area but if there were any ornithologists in this group, he decided he would just have to consider himself unlucky.

Thinking a little more, Gar realized it wouldn't really take an ornithologist to point out that a green falcon was suspicious, so he flew as high as he could and still see the figures on the ground.

Angling himself over the head of the convoy, Gar hoped it was just normal traffic that had nothing to do with him. [We all know that comic book logic doesn't work that way.]

Seeing 5 military troop transports, Gar focused on the third one knowing that's usually where the commander of the group sits.

Lowering himself a bit, Gar circled around and through the open top jeep, he could see a man with a device in his hands that showed a map with a blinking light on it.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with his current form, Gar cussed himself for not thinking about the possibility of a tracker somewhere in this body.

[It would have to be very small or organic enough that my body would change it with every shift for it to still be on me.]

Seeing the soldier talking on the radio and the convoy stopping, Gar quickly traveled back to the outcropping then he changed back to his human form to think his way through this.

Gar didn't have to fight, but well, he wanted to. He could say it's because he didn't want Miss Martian to think this was a trap or have her get hurt somehow and have her uncle on my ass.

But that was all secondary thoughts next to just a plain old, [I just want to see what I can do. I don't want to kill anyone for just following orders but all's fair in war when you're chasing me, and your leader is a dictating gold-digging psycho with dreams of ruling all mankind.]

Standing up, Gar moved away from the rock outcropping and mentally placed himself near the red wall in his mind and shifted.

That's right, 30 foot long 5 Ft. round, pincer mouth with a lot of tounges Graboid. Getting a feel for the short spines that push him through the earth Gar shoved his head into the ground and started moving under the surface.

It took a minute or two to get the hang of it, but it was a lot like swimming through the dirt with lots of hands pushing you along.

The weirdest thing to get used to was the loss of eyesight and the increase in hearing. The sounds of the trucks moving were almost defining. But Gar felt like he had a better understanding of the surroundings than he ever did with his eyes.

[I 'see' every bug and scorpion hiding just under the surface of the sand, I feel where the ground is hard and where it is soft. The wind pushing the sand along to level out the area, it's all rather a beautiful thing.]

Making a quick decision, Gar swam under the right side of the road the trucks were traveling on leaving just enough dirt that they wouldn't fall until after he had passed, and by the sound of wreckage behind him, Gar succeeded wonderfully.

Hearing all the soldiers bail out of the truck, Gar could accurately tell the weight and even gender of them all. Then there were a couple of loud thumps and to his hearing, it had to be Mammoth and believe it or not someone bigger and much heavier.

Going way around them, Gar started to pick off stragglers by pulling them down into the ground with just their heads showing so they don't suffocate.

'Seeing' a female with no weapon, Gar assumed it was Shimmer and gave her the same treatment. Wanting to freak her out a bit, Gar took his time as 3 of his tongue's slithered around her, pinning her hands against herself. Gar waved one tongue in front of her face just to hear her scream before pulling her down as he laughed evilly in his mind at her panicked voice.

Then all of a sudden, the fun stopped. A head splitting boom traveled through the ground that made it impossible to think, all Gar could do was act, and the Graboid instinct was to get out of the ground much like people hunch down when they hear a loud sound.

Popping up out of the ground, Gar released the form he had, as he rolled around clutching his head in pain. After a few seconds, he stood up and looked at the blood on his hands that was coming from his ears.

Knowing they would heal quickly, Gar looked around to see what made that sound only to see a large Rhino standing on his back legs in a hole that looked like he punched out.

"Rhino, is that you? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting your ass kicked by a little spider all across New York?" Gar shouted trying to give himself time for the ringing to stop so he could think clearly.

"Queen Bee pays better, and I like the room to run here. It helps me build momentum to hit things harder." Rhino replied as he started to charge. "Better get to growing strong baby Hulk, or I'm going to smash!"

Seeing Rhino lower his head and charge in his direction, Gar shouted, "You may have super strength for a human in a Rhino outfit, but I have the real thing!"

Gar shifted into a real Rhino and knowing his form was at the peak of Rhino's natural strength, Gar charged at him to show him the true gift nature gave the Rhino species.

Slamming together, poor Rhino learned what being hit by 8,000 pounds of muscle and a 4-inch-thick skull traveling at 30mph felt like.

Blasted back through the air into one of the troop carriers that just folded around Rhino like a blanket, Gar was sure that hit would be played time and time again in Rhino's nightmares that were sure to follow this encounter.

Hearing the shooting and feeling the impacts on his armor only a few bullets made it beyond his skin, and Gar doubted those were intentional shots. These guys had 7.62 rounds, not big-game stuff, so he wasn't in too much danger.

Still, after a bit it started to hurt so Gar began charging the groups and smacking around the people he could reach. Spending extra time stomping on the weapons that were dropped.

Seeing an arm coming out of the twisted metal heap Gar put Rhino into, he debated the usefulness of charging into the heap of twisted metal or letting him out and hitting him again.

As Gar was deciding on Rhino's next bruises, he felt a large weight settle on his shoulders and strong legs clamp around his sides. Heavy impacts from what Gar assumed were fists, rained down on his head and shoulders, [Well there is Mammoth.]

[Let's see how 8,000 lbs. feels to you Woolly boy.] Thinking this, Gar just dropped and rolled onto his back and wiggled back and forth driving his weight into his rider.

Gar then shifted his weight to get off Mammoth, but before he could get his feet under him, Rhino slammed into Gar's side, and he felt a couple of ribs give way. Rolling back the other way across poor Mammoth again, some opportunistic soldiers started shooting at Gar's soft underbelly.

Feeling a few bullets make it through his tough skin, Gar started to worry a bit. Getting to his feet, Gar rushed the group of soldiers to split them up again as he tried to keep an eye out for Rhino and Mammoth.

Unfortunately, the Rhino form isn't exactly made for 360 visuals, and Gar couldn't take the chance of turning into something that was more apt to be shot full of holes.

[Well, this does suck! I could make a run for it and I'm positive I can get out of here but that would leave a group of pissed-off soldiers and a couple enhanced when Miss Martian shows up. With no me keeping them occupied as they make their surprise entry.]