Chapter Text
Orlando, Florida, 2004
Rockets flew and masers blasted against the smaller Coalition Ships darting through the sky above, all while the beleaguered GDF forces hurried to get civilian stragglers into shelter as the Final War raged.
Despite the oncoming invasion, the people of Orlando had thought all the giant monsters and alien invasions would remain isolated to the Pacific. They were so very, very wrong.
A large, golden saucer flew above the fighting, firing golden destructive rays from its underside at the oncoming fighters and tanks. A pair of maser armed attack helicopters, descended from the ASTOL-MB93 deployed against Godzilla in 1992, flew down from above where the ray couldn't hit, striking its hull with a shower of sparks that rocked its inhabitants, a species of aliens called the Serpentians. As they swung around for another pass, the saucer uncoiled with a roar. A massive, golden, dragon-like head swung around, crushing one of them in its powerful jaws.
The mechanical dragon, called Nurse, swung around, preparing to take out the other warmachine with a whip of its tail…when a massive blue and red shape erupted by the nearby ocean and slammed into it.
Spiraling around, the machine let out a mechanical screech as the nuclear mutant known as King Cobra spread his hood and gave a hissing screech back.
"Got word from General Hicks!" blared a commander over the coms. "He has ordered that all of the mutants on Site Omega be released to combat the aliens! Dr. Tatopoulos says their instincts will send them right at 'em! Back the big snake up for now! We can get him back in his cage when this war is done!"
The GDF forces didn't need to be told twice and redirected their efforts to keeping the craft off the giant cobra's back so he could fight the heavy hitter.
The two serpents roared at one another before the alien machine rained destructive bolts down on the Cobra. The massive creature roared as several struck his hide, but he swerved between several buildings to evade before slithering over another building and let loose a stream of adhesive venom from his fangs. Nurse's head pivoted down as its pilots tracked the trajectory and noticed it land directly on the firing beam cannon. The emitter exploded when its next shot of destructive energy detonated against the venom and rocked the mecha, also denying its only ranged weapon.
King Cobra gave a fierce hiss, striking and sinking his teeth into the machine's throat. Spiraling around, the two serpents both tried to wrap around and constrict one another before they came down in ICON Park, crushing its iconic Ferris wheel under their mass with a responding crash.
***
Power flickered in an underground facility beneath the city. Abandoned except for a skeleton crew intended to keep an eye on the…assets held here. The roars of the two warring serpents outside had them on edge…especially when the power went out.
In the dark, a pair of green eyes surrounded by black snapped open. Claws tested the door, managing to force their way between the cracks. Scaly lips curved upwards in an oddly human-like smirk as the heavy metal doors gave and were pulled open with a snarl of effort and no sign of an alarm.
"First an alien invasion and now the power is out, what next?" muttered a 'security guard,' actually a death row murderer named Brutus on reprieve in exchange for working here. His employers had learned the hard way to only put workers here no one would miss after the string of…fatalities that tended to follow the one in charge of it like the plague. Not that he knew that. As he came around the corner, (and nearly fell as the ground shook with the sound of roaring and maser fire) his eyes fell on the door, forced open and metal bent. "...Crud, she's loose!"
Spinning around frantically, Brutus prepared to reach for his earpiece…when a clawed hand erupted from the darkness of the enclosure behind him and grabbed him by the hand before it could reach. The being behind him snarled as his hand was harshly pulled down, sniffing him. He gulped, noticing she hadn't attacked yet. He remembered the thing seeing him kill an attempted whistleblower on their boss’s orders. She'd just stared at him then, almost judging him. He could tell that's what she was doing now. One claw reached to his belt and the key ring on them. When the room once more shook, some pieces of ceiling falling, the creature and Brutus both staggered. He quickly spun around once her hand let go, gun ready to fire…when her claw caught his gun and crushed it like a soda can.
The green eyes staring back at him were indeed judging as the other claw grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground like he weighed almost nothing despite the creature being a head shorter. Dashing forwards with unnatural speed, his last moments were spent trying to scream before his head and neck were slammed into the opposite wall hard enough what was left after the impact flew through the resulting hole and painted the lab behind red.
As Brutus' corpse hung limply from the wall its upper half had been smashed through, the room fell quiet enough to hear and sound of roaring, explosions, and weapons fire from the surface. The escapee looked up, cocking her head at the comotion before shaking it and focusing on the task at hand. The creature's mind ran through the sound of footprints, the occasional sight of the guard rotation and paths. Logically if the backup generator hadn't come back on yet, either it'd been destroyed or she'd just put the member of the skeleton crew sent to activate it through a wall. She stalked forwards to the door he would have been traveling through next, long tail whipping behind her as she tested it, aware there was an alarm if it was forced open. As she carefully pulled the door open, no alarm sounding, she gave an approving nod.
Smirking, the creature reached back with a claw. She gave a pained snarl, struggling not to roar out as a tracking chip was torn from her scales. Panting, she drove the chip into the still warm corpse so it'd still think it was in a living thing. She quickly grabbed the leg, spinning around and hurling the body across the room and into her enclosure with unnatural strength even for something her size.
***
The reinforced door to the complex dented outwards several times before finally being sent off its hinges. A reptilian form, about 5 feet tall and 16 feet long, stalked out of the building, emerald eyes taking in the outside world for the first time, briefly blinded by the light of day she had been denied so long…and then noticed everything was on fire.
Nurse threw King Cobra across their battlefield with a flying toss of both jaws and small arms, the serpent landing not far from the facility with an earthshaking crash. The creature gave a startled jump, eyes darting around the understandably chaotic situation.
Nurse roared, diving down at the massive serpent before a full metal missile collided with its head, blowing one of its optics out and dealing great damage to everything behind it. His opponent's attention drawn by the missile launchers, King Cobra took advantage, surging forwards before striking up and slamming his jaws shut on the machine's midsection. Rising with the motion, the massive serpent spun around and came crashing down as Nurse tried to coil around him…
Directly at the facility.
The escaped reptile wisely dashed away right before the place that had been her prison was crushed under thousands of tons of metal and flesh. Nurse let out a mechanical screech before the massive cobra's jaws slammed shut on its head. King Cobra shook his head violently as his coils constricted around the machine's body and began crushing inwards. Fangs pierced into its internals and began to flood it with adhesive venom, quickly incapacitating its pilots. With one last squeeze and tear, the mecha's head was ripped from its imploding body, several muffled explosions heralding the deaths of its crew.
The creature stared at the ruins of the lab as the mutant gave a hissing screech of victory and thankfully turning his attention to the ships invading what he saw as his territory. Finally escaping the prison she'd been in for her entire life…into a warzone and her life threatened almost the moment her clawed foot touched the ground. The escapee wisely dashed away in the chaos, ignoring the panicked crowds, the fighting soldiers, the aliens, and the vulnerable wounded who'd be easy prey in favor of freedom and relative safety.
***
Pasadena, California, 2010
"So get this, we came across this bounty doing research for anything in our wheelhouse," Randy Hernandez said, sitting at a computer in front of the leader of Langoud as he showed the post from a dark web forum for monster hunters.
As the GDF had found out said ‘hunters' tended to be more of hired assassins, sent around accusing people of being monsters, fae or any other creature the original poster didn't like. Often done regardless of if they were actually doing anything wrong or not, of course. Given the sheer stupidity of those out for a quick buck, sometimes that even included mutations large enough to call for HEAT and their leaders' adopted kaiju son. It was a place that caused more than a few headaches for those trying to manage the supernatural and monsters in general, but on occasion it had its uses, including this exact situation. As a result, most GDF divisions kept tabs on such sites just in case.
"Or serial killers masquerading as monster hunters," Monique Dupre said, a bit of bite in that somewhat cold tone of hers.
Theo gave an approving nod. "Good work. Hope you made sure to use the Langoud encryption software, though. The Dark Web is a really nasty place."
"Yeah, we kinda figured that out when we found the wrong website and a demon possessed NIGEL," Randy commented, his normal playful banter giving way to a shudder.
Not as big of one, however, as Dr. Mendel Craven did, a hand quickly going to his robot companion. "Don't remind me!"
And that was why they'd had protective runes engraved in NIGEL's motherboard while he was being rebuilt from his inevitable destruction during that incident. One instance of exorcizing a demon from their robot sidekick which then ended up fighting Zilla Jr. to the death was enough for a lifetime.
Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos cleared his throat to get everyone back on track. "At first we thought it might be a mutant, but there were things that didn't add up."
"Namely, all the descriptions say it's a dragon," Dr. Elsie Chapman replied. "While we've dealt with things that look like dragons, and I'd love to look at a tissue sample from a real one, they're more your wheelhouse than ours."
Monique gave a curt nod. "The second problem is with the offer itself. Too much pay, even for these websites."
"Well, with help from the GDF, me and NIGEL did some digging and found something…" Randy explained, typing away at the computer to bring up the results.
"Namely, a certain sociopathic lunatic who's made as many monsters as the nuclear tests have," Elsie snarked, more serious than normal. Or at least angrier.
Theo got at least a little more serious, looking at the screen with an annoyed sigh as a list of alias and pictures came up on the screen. "****ing Tiptree."
Theo's wife, Dr. Joanne Wylder, looked up from whatever biological test she was doing. Her more naturally curious nature suddenly took a change for the serious. "Oh what's that witch up to now?"
Dr. Jane Tiptree, a brilliant geneticist, Mysterian hybrid, and also a misanthrope who loved creating genetic monsters and setting them loose on the world. And also one the Wylder Clan's archenemies, more Joanne's than his.
"She's using a shell company to hide her tracks. All indications are she's hiring mercenaries," Monquie explained. "The worst kind of mercenaries."
Classic Tiptree.
Elsie gave a shudder. "And needless to say, a woman who single-handedly raised the world's population of man-eating monsters and lowered its population of teenagers that much having an actual dragon, well…"
"Is almost as terrifying as you when you're angry," Randy finished. "Almost."
Theo nodded, looking over the information on the screen. The creature had been sighted several times across rural America over the last three years, and a combination of HEAT's detective work and Langoud's follow ups gave implications there'd been multiple fights between what were likely mercenaries and this 'dragon'... all of which ended with a lot of body bags. Like Monique suggested, the profiles were all known 'mercenaries.' Psychopaths who didn't care who they had to kill and didn't ask any questions so long as they got their payday.
That was the first sign this wasn't normal, for Langoud or HEAT. The second indication was that the sightings suggested the creature was running and hadn't hurt anyone outside of those fights, despite being in close proximity to several populated campsites and farms. Well, there was a sole exception to that rule: a serial killer with a history of luring his marks online had run afoul with it and ended up in pieces. Theo was still trying to figure out the connection there, if there was one other than karma had it out for internet psychos.
The creature was about eight feet tall, over 20 feet long going on 30. Red scales with a white underbelly, backwards pointed but straight horns on the head, able to breathe fire. However, it was fully bipedal and the bounty listed 'extreme intelligence' as one of the features. While the bounty described it as a dragon, the leader of Langoud had his doubts.
Theo looked over to the brothers. "Being honest, based on these reports I don't think they're an 'actual' dragon. Dragons are arcanically mutated crocodillians and are exceedingly aggressive. They wouldn't be fleeing from non-magical humans, they'd see us as prey. If they're a fae they're likely a dracomorph, and if not, then there's something far more strange going on. Either way, I CANNOT risk an innocent, even a POTENTIAL innocent, being hurt." Theo instantly noticed the groups' faces get decidedly more nervous. He gave an annoyed sigh. "Let me guess, some moron already took the contract?"
"Sadly correct," Monique replied, placing a picture on the table of a tall, black-haired caucasian man. Rather average looking, but face seeming not quite right. One of those faces an average person would see nothing odd with, but someone more observant would see as a warning sign. "Reza Izquierdo. Apparently used to run in the same circles as the Winchester brothers before they were recruited to Langoud."
"And those circles tended to stay far away from the dude," Randy added.
"Yeah, they called him 'that lunatic with the robot arm,'" Elsie commented, crossing her arms. "No offense to our lunatic with the robot arms."
"None taken," Theo said, looking at the picture. "Okay, take it this guy's not going to play nice."
"Reza…that name sounds familiar." Joanne walked over from her work and looked at the picture for a few moments. Her eyes lit up in recognition and then annoyance. "Oh great, this a&&hole."
Theo looked over to his wife. "You know him, dear?"
"Ex-C.C.I.," Joanne explained. "Remember that whole speech they did after we thought both Godzillas and Destroyah were killed, about a 'new era for mankind?' Reza took that to heart. Not like Aso or even Katagiri did. If it's not human, Reza thought it had to die for the sake of humanity."
The leader of Langoud gave a concerned look at his Mysterian hybrid wife. "Did he ever try to hurt you?"
"No, but he wanted to." Joanne looked at the picture. "Apparently, he got really messed up in the head in Fukuoka back in '94. Still, Katagiri liked having him around at first, was a 'get the job done' kinda guy. But eventually Reza got a little too aggressive with the Mysterians in G-Force and C.C.I. and anything else he saw as inhuman. It got to Katagiri's ears and Reza got fired from C.C.I. Katagiri had his faults, but taking that kind of thing wasn't one of them."
"That's what Shinoda said too," Nick added.
"Dear, let me put it this way," Joanne said, putting a hand on Theo's shoulder. "This psycho could see your mom being her nice, sweet self and try to shoot her in the head without blinking."
The entire group stepped back from Theo as the young man's mood instantly took a turn for the frightening, some magically generated lightning crackling as he glared at Reza's picture.
"He's not gonna survive meeting me," Theo said in a tone literally everyone at Langoud and the GDF who knew what was good for them was wary of.
"Oh, I don't doubt it. Is the Grue hungry?" Joanne asked.
Craven swore he heard something from the nearby shadows and whimpered, looking around in a small panic.
Nick gave a sigh. "It's the dragon I'm worried about. The Winchesters say he's good at what he does."
Elsie looked over to Salindra Darkveil, one of the world's few surviving Dracomorphs (as in 'single digits' few), keeping an eye on things, before giving a small shudder. "And I don't know about you, but that witch Tiptree having DNA from a dracomorph? No thank you."
"That is an understatement," Theo replied, before standing up and grabbing a few things. "Which is why I'm going to go kill a self-righteous psychopath and see what the Hell is going on. Any of you want to come, pack up now."
—-
Black Hills National Forest, Wyoming, 2010
The group of mercenaries slowly crept through the forest, guns on trained on the darkness around them for another sweep. Their tactics and formations were rather rough and out of sync. Security forces of a privately owned company was only the official story, naturally. Unofficially, they were glorified mercs and hitmen looking for a quick payday that wouldn't ask questions working for one of the world's most dangerous humans. They were becoming increasingly annoyed that the 'quick' part of that was not happening.
This was the fifth night in a row they'd been sent to sweep this forest. Their boss was extremely persistent that their target was here, and they were more afraid of a certain someone than of whatever they were after. Still, that didn't stop them from having a sense of unease. So far they'd seen nothing, but they certainly didn't feel alone.
And indeed they weren't, as a pair of large, green eyes surrounded by black sclera watched them from the forest. They narrowed into a glare, reptilian lips curling into a snarl…but one that looked distinctly different than that of an animal. Dexterous, but still very saurian, claws clinched in rage.
Five of them, one of several squads that'd been combing the area. Poor trigger discipline with several constantly keeping their fingers on the trigger when in no way ready to fire. Not covering their rear, or even properly combing the area to prevent blindspots. No attempt not to make noise that might alert their believed prey to their presence.
A single grunt wandered away from the group, scanning his surroundings…but not nearly well enough. Turning to finally take a look at the forest to their rear, he didn't even have time to react as the last thing he saw was a claw swinging directly towards his face.
The rest of the group spun around, discharging their weapons blindly into the forest and confirming their lack of discipline and training at the sound of tearing flesh. Their eyes were greeted to nothing but their squadmate's body crashing harshly to the ground with a thud several feet away. They slowly crept over, looking around erratically, the first finally reaching the body. It didn't take them more than a glance to find whatever had hit the man had done so with enough strength and speed to take his head clean off.
The group, mainly being chosen for how much they wouldn’t be missed and how easy they were to throw under the bus rather than for being a cohesive group, didn't take time to mourn, rather quickly and frantically scanning the forest…leaving blindspots big enough for a big rig to drive through. Blindspots that allowed their prey to dash up from behind with unnatural speed and drive her claws straight through the straggler's neck from behind and violently rip them, and a good chunk of his neck, out. At the same time, her reptilian maw sprung open and doused another with a stream of liquid. As the group spun to face her retreating form, the man she'd soaked suddenly burst into flames, distracting the group with his panicked screaming and attempts to put himself out. Despite their attempts to douse the fire, it just would not stop burning. As he finally collapsed to the ground and stopped moving, the rest promptly had to frantically try to avert a forest fire breaking out around them. Fortunately, it wasn't a dry season and the brush was somewhat wet from nighttime moisture and it wasn't spreading enough for that.
One looked up from stomping the fire…to see the red, clearly dromaeosaurid muzzle of their target lit by the flames several feet above him before she lunged forward, crushing his head in her jaws with unnatural strength even for the creature's size and violently throwing the corpse into the last remaining grunt hard enough to knock his gun away from his grasp.
Charging over, the creature agilely leapt over him and slammed down on the gun he was trying to reach with her huge foot, shaking the ground slightly. Looking up, he shuddered, seeing the creature in full, far larger than the full grown, muscular man. The body type was very clearly that of a dromaeosaur of some sort, but heavily altered and much like InGen's attempts, featherless. Her body was primarily red with a white underbelly, a series of blue horizontal stripes down the length of her back and on her thighs. Longer, dexterous arms with functioning thumbs extending from the shoulders. The iconic killing claw emerged from her toe and she possessed orange frilled 'ears' and a pair of backwards pointed black, screw-like horns. The muzzle and other features did indeed appear draconic at a distance or to an untrained eye.
What had his attention the most, however, were the eyes. Almost human if it weren't for the color of the sclera, and while many animals had black sclera, only one thing the mercenary knew had that combination. What stunned him more was what came out of her mouth, and it wasn't the combustible liquid she'd spewed before.
"Morons."
His eyes widened as her foot came down on his chest, not hard enough to kill but enough to knock the wind out of him and keep him pinned as she craned her neck down to look at him. The creature careful to keep her foot positioned so she could look him in the eye without crushing him. She moved her killing claw to be pointing at his throat to make her point.
"Even I could do a better job as a soldier than you imbeciles!" said the obviously female voice emitting from the creature's blood covered mouth. An oddly human voice.
The creature then leveled a glare at the mercenary, black eyes with burning green irses glaring daggers into him. "All I want is to live my life, but you all just won't leave me alone, will you?!" she snarled, pressing harder and cracking a few ribs. "Every time I find somewhere I can live, you pieces of *&@% keep barging in and ruining it!" Her voice transitioned from angry to…almost sorrowful. And then right back to angry. "How many times do I have to do this before SHE gets it through her thick skull to LEAVE ME ALONE?!!!"
The man's eardrums nearly burst as the last three words stopped being yelled and were instead literally roared, becoming distorted and beastial.
The face looking down on him suddenly looked…worn. "...I just want to be left alone…" Her foot seemed to lift off a little, almost like she was getting ready to let him go…when she saw him reach for a knife and try to stab her in the leg. She caught his wrist with her clawed hand, giving an unamused glare. "...I'd ask what kind of person willingly works for a hit squad for that witch, but I've done this enough times to know the answer."
Her jaws dove down, clamping down on his head hard enough to instantly crush it. She stood, the night now silent except her own breathing, which seemed somewhat labored, fatigued. Far more than that fight logically should have caused. After a few moments, she closed her eyes and gave a sigh. "Well…guess I'd better go pack up and move agai-"
She sensed the movement just in time to dodge…but the hollow point Beowulf round still grazed her thigh, causing her to give a roar of pain as fragments dug into flesh and tissue. Not a crippling wound, but she knew enough about biology to know this was trouble as blood ran down her leg.
Quickly ducking into the thick trees, she looked out, seeing a man who very clearly wasn't dressed like the others pointing a modified antique revolver at the woods. She scanned her surroundings, keeping her form as much behind the trees as possible to avoid his sight.
Reza Izquierdo kept his gun trained on the forest, actually scanning and sweeping for a target or ambush. He looked down at the troops and growled. "Monster…Humanity will sleep much more peacefully with you dead."
The creature gave a bitter laugh. "Oh that's rich. One, they were sent here to kill me, and two, tell me, do you know who these goons are? They're the ones their superiors send after people they want to acquire or silence. No questions asked. People who want a quick buck and don't care who they have to kill to get it. Some of them probably get off on it. Joke’s on them, given their boss doesn't care any more about them. Let me guess, you're some hired gun hired to kill me?"
"I'm not a hired gun," Reza replied, giving a growl, firing and forcing her to dodge as the powerful round tore through her cover. This was not yet a fight. It was a context of who would blink first and make a mistake. "I'm just doing what's best for humanity: taking out monsters like you so we can thrive." Despite how grandiose his words were, he was soft spoken and blunt in tone. His expression never changed from the stern glare he leveled at the forest.
"I'm getting tired of being called that," the creature replied, trying to poke her head out just enough to spit her flammable liquid right at him, but having to dodge back into cover as a bullet tore through the air. Fortunately, the forest was thick and dark enough to hide, but not for long…especially with the searing pain in her leg. Adrenaline would keep her moving for now, but once it faded... "I have a name, you know."
"I don't care what it is. Naming a monster or a disaster doesn't change what it is," Reza replied, firing several more accurate shots that came close to hitting their mark. "It doesn't change what it breaks or destroys. Doesn't silence the cry of an evil god of war. Only its destruction can do that." The stoic, mechanical visage, for the briefest of moments, had the slightest hint of a broken stare, voice have an almost sobbing edge to it before mechanical malice returned even as he fell back into cover, keeping his eyes open as he reloaded. "Now enough talk. In case you forgot, I'm the one with the gun. You're in no position to lecture me."
The creature noted how borderline robotic he was, how strange his face appeared. It was like something was missing. But judging by that broken stare and sob in his voice, destroyed was more likely. Still, whatever happened to make him this way, that didn't change the fact he wanted her dead.
Looking around, her eyes fell on one of the goon's guns laying discarded in the woods not far from her. Taking a chance, she charged, dodging several shots using the woods to her advantage and grabbed the submachine gun.
"Yes, you have a gun…" the creature replied, using a claw to rip the trigger guard off. She peaked out of cover, holding the gun in her claws. While comically small compared to her size, she was still able to hang on and reach the trigger well enough that Reza had to roll out of the rain of gunfire and take cover. "And now so do I."
Now this was a fight.
Reza snarled, exchanging pistol shots as the 'dragon' returned fire. After a few exchanges of fire, a heavy barrage of gunfire from the submachine gun somehow didn't pepper the trees with holes when Reza dodged and flew off into the woods.
“AAAAAAuuuaaaaaaah!”
The two combatants paused in response to the strange scream from the woods, waiting for another party to show itself. When nothing happened in a few moments, Reza growled and fired another shot, breaking the stupor and forcing the creature to duck back into cover and resume counterfire, both assuming they might simply have caught another mercenary combing the woods in the crossfire.
The 'dragon' wasn't a good shot, as one would expect from a huge raptor-like dragon creature trying to use something meant for human hands that they could barely hold. She largely resorted to spray and pray, but that wasn't the point. Counting the shots from that revolver and maneuvering, she finally leapt from cover and charged while he was in the middle of reloading. She covered her approach with another rain of gunfire to keep him from finishing, and finally leapt on him, slamming him into the ground. She prepared to bite his head off…only to give a startled cry as his right arm punched her in the skull, far far harder than a human normally could. A second blow dazed her and a third finally knocked her off, actually busting her scales open.
As the creature scrambled to her claws, she grabbed her gun and pulled the trigger…only to get an empty click. "&*^#!"
Seeing Reza finish reloading, she spat a stream of fluid as she fell back, forcing him to roll out of the way and giving her time to rush to cover as it ignited. She barely evaded another shot, noting her leg was beginning to sag behind, pain growing worse and worse.
Peeking from cover, she noticed, in the light of the fire she'd just ignited, metal glinting on Reza's right hand from where a normal human limb would be bleeding from repeatedly punching something that hard. She touched her claw to the right side of her face, finding blood trickling from where he'd hit her. "Okay, so he has a robotic arm. Of course he *&^%ing has a robotic arm."
Robotic arm with strength exceeding a normal human meant likely a good chunk of his chest was also mechanical. If it were just his arm then the force of punching that hard would rip the arm off his body at the joint or fracture his clavicle. That meant attacks on the right side of his chest were less effective, as it was effectively armored.
She knew she had to get the advantage somehow, or her leg would soon leave her a sitting duck. The creature examined the situation as Reza carefully kept his eyes on the woods. Close range wasn't a sure thing with that arm and long range heavily favored her opponent. Her eyes looked to the corpses scattered around the woods, noting they'd have more than just guns. Creeping through the woods, her slight limp now in her hind leg gave her away and she quickly had to dodge and evade, taking a few more grazing shots that fortunately didn't leave shrapnel embedded in her body, but still drew blood. Counting rounds, she waited for him to run out of rounds and seek cover to reload before finally dashing to one of the corpses.
Reza, putting bullets back in the chamber, gasped as an object landed next to him. Running and jumping into cover, a sizable explosion echoed from the grenade that his prey had managed to chuck his way.
As he got to his feet, Reza did a roll, dodging a pounce and having to slam the chamber back in mid-movement. Spinning around frantically, he barely missed her head due to a combination of her movement and his lack of time to properly aim. Grabbing his gun arm, the 'dragon' lunged forwards, attempting to sink her jaws into his head. Unfortunately, his gun arm was also the much stronger mechanical one, and thus was actually able to fight back and force her to dodge to avoid a point blank shot. This led to her having to keep out of the line of fire while Reza kept weaving and dodging as best he could to avoid her claws and teeth. This lasted until the creature managed to lower her head and slam it into him, knocking him to the ground.
Roaring in fury, the 'dragon' leapt on him, preparing to rip his throat out…only for her to barely evade a barrage of bullets. Turning, she saw more goons rushing towards them. She turned and tried to run…only to cringe and nearly fall from the stabbing pain in her thigh.
Reza got to his feet and pointed the revolver at her head, looking disheveled, panting, and borderline insane, mechanical calm having dissolved entirely. The broken stare fought to force itself to the surface before being buried again. "Did you really think…a dumb beast like you could win?!"
"...I'm still smarter than you, a$$hole," the creature replied…but clearly shaking, her heart racing. 'I'm not going to beg…not you or anyone…'
Reza snarled. "Well, like I said, I'm the one with the gu-"
A gunshot rang out (though much quieter than expected), the creature clinched her eyes, trying to hold back tears…but nothing happened. Slowly opening them, she saw a pink mist settling where most of Reza's head had been a few seconds ago. His body spasmed a few times before collapsing to the ground as she cleaned the resulting visera off her face. "W-What?"
Breathing heavily, she saw the rest of Reza's goon squad emerge from the woods and look just as shocked as she was…before a bolt of arcane lightning streamed from the woods and zapped between them, causing their bodies to convulse and finally fall paralyzed to the ground.
The 'dragon's' head snapped around, looking for the source…when the sound of footsteps caught her attention.
"Alright," said Theo, stepping out of the woods…looking dead serious and crackling with lightning just to add to the intimidation factor. The fact Monique stepped out beside him with a gun in hand only added extra fear factor. "You goons know who I am?"
The paralyzed grunts gulped, staring at him in terror.
"Then just lay there and you'll live."
None of them argued.
Theo slowly turned to the creature, looking her over with a much softer expression. He took note of the fact she was snarling and looking ready to bite him if he took another step…as well as the bleeding wound on her thigh. He simply stopped crackling with lightning and put away his heavy revolver, transitioning to a more friendly smile. He held out a hand to Monique to do the same and she slowly lowered her weapon. "Hey there. My name is Theodore Wylder, this is Monique Dupre, and you are?"
The 'dragon's' eyes widened and she backed away, but found her injured leg limping. She looked back and forth between him and the disabled hit squad. "...You're the first person to ever ask that…" She gave a distrusting look his way, before her eyes wandered back to Reza's corpse. "...My name is Anna, don't forget it…" she declared with a bit of pride in her tone. She promptly spat a wall of flame between them, bolting for freedom, not noticing Theo form symbols with his hands to summon a wall of literally solid fog to smother the flames away.
"Well, that wasn't the worst hello I've ever gotten," Theo commented before turning to the grunts and his serious air returning. "Now, what's going on here?"
"W-We don't know! We were just ordered to help him hunt that thing down and capture or kill it!" one of them stuttered, before finding Theo's finger put to his lips.
"Didn't you hear her? Her name is Anna," Theo corrected with an air of irritation. He looked over to Monique. "Mind wrapping these guys up for me?"
Monique nodded, moving over to begin binding the unconscious mercenaries. "What are you going to d-"
“NIIIIIGEEEEEEEEEL!”
The two turned, seeing Craven, following at a distance to check on NIGEL after they'd sent to scout for them and his camera had gone dark, had found the machine, riddled with high-powered, submachine gun rounds and totalled in the woods.
Monique simply turned back to Theo as Craven mourned his creation…again. "What are you going to do about that…I mean Anna?"
"Talk to her."
—-
Anna groaned, limping through the forest before leaning against a tree to take stock of her injuries. "Head injury is superficial. Most other grazes didn't go deep or fragment…" she analyzed, checking her smaller wounds with almost surgical precision. "Also superficial." She then gave a sigh, turning to her thigh. "That just leaves…you…"
"Lacerations, heavier bleeding." She gently felt around it and cringed. "Shrapnel still embedded into the muscle tissue. Can't leave it in…Great, I'm going to have to do surgery on myself…"
"So, you have medical knowledge?"
Anna jumped, finding Theo standing ahead of her, leaning casually against a tree. She looked back and forth between the direction she'd come from and the man in front of her. She took a defensive posture, her eyes widening fearfully for a moment before her face returned to a more neutral, annoyed expression. "Yes, more than most humans probably do…" she muttered, slowly backing up…before dashing away, cringing as sharp pain tore through her wounded leg. She couldn't keep the burst of speed up for very long, and was soon limping again.
"Well…at least it missed arteries so I won't be bleeding to death before I can properly tend to it…" Anna muttered as she continued lipping forwards. "But there's still the shrapnel and the risk of infection…"
"Need some help?"
The 'dragon' jumped, once more finding Theo standing a few feet in front of her. "How…what…" she stuttered, once more looking back the way she'd come. "What the Hell are you?! A cartoon character?!"
"No, but my sister is," Theo replied.
Anna gave a frustrated growl….but his expression gave her the distinct impression he wasn't joking. "Whatever…" she said, once more putting a wall of fire between them before dashing off as fast as her wounded leg could carry her.
The frustrated, wounded 'dragon' finally hobbled into a small cave nestled deep in the woods, odds and ends scattered about she'd gathered, including a first aid kit. Not meant for her massive size or biology, but enough to be of help. She turned to a small fire pit and spat her flammable liquid breath into the pit to light it before leaning against the wall. Her other claw reached for the first aid kit and put it next to her before she ignited her claws with her breath, harmlessly burning away the pathogens and quickly doing the same with her actual wound.
After smothering the fire once it had done its job, Anna stuck a piece of wood in her mouth and bit down. Now came the hard part.
Her teeth sank into the thick piece of wood and she choked back roars of white hot agony as she began using her sharp claws as scalpels and a few medical tools from the first aid kit to carefully, agonizingly, remove the pieces of shrapnel one by one, dropping them on a nearby table.
Finally, the last piece of bloody metal sat on the table and she spat out the shattered piece of wood. She choked back pained sobs, struggling not to actually cry, as she grabbed a bandage and held it to her wound to stop the bleeding. Struggling not to let tears fall, she instead let out the longest stream of profanity she was capable of.
As she settled down, Anna just leaned against the wall, panting. "*#%@ it! That really *&^%ing hurt!" Slowly catching her breath…she finally growled as she acknowledged the cyborg in the room. "Don't you know how to knock before entering?"
Theo shrugged apologetically. "Well, there wasn't a door. I would've offered to help, but you're not a robot and I'm not a doctor. That, and you already had your claws in your leg and startling you seemed like a really bad idea."
"Well, forgive me for not wanting to wait to get the pieces of shrapnel digging into my muscle tissue out!" Anna snarled, but she was in decidedly no condition to run, fight, or anything else. "Well, you'd have killed me by now if you wanted to, so do you have a reason for following me back to my home?"
The leader of Langoud looked around the room, seeing the clear attempts to make it a home despite the blood now covering a portion of it…including a laptop she'd clearly put a lot of effort into keeping charged up. He noted she'd gone through the trouble of dragging several mattresses to sleep on, likely from a dump not that far from here. "Well, I know your name, asking if you're okay is a moot point. So…are you hungry?"
Anna had expected a lot of things to come out of his mouth. Her wide-eyed, bewildered expression showed this was not one of them. "What?" she asked flatly.
Theo kept a friendly expression as he sat down on a log that'd been dragged in by the 'dragon' for that purpose. "Ever had lobster before? It's really good, especially that green stuff in the head, which makes a delicious base for shellfish broth. Or maybe you prefer less opulent stuff, I got some chicken nuggets or, hell, there's a Hardees nearby, we can grab a burger…after we finish patching you up, of course."
The 'dragon' just stared for a few moments. "You're…You're offering me dinner?" Her eyes narrowed as she suspiciously analyzed the scientist. "...Why?"
The cyborg looked over Anna, noticing her stomach growling and she looked somewhat ill. Granted, part of that was her self-surgery, the battle, and blood loss, but while what she looked like healthy was an unknown, her stomach definitely didn't look like there was much if anything in it. "Honest answer? I skipped dinner and you look like you haven't had a proper meal in a week." As if on cue, the battle mage's stomach growled almost as loudly as hers.
Anna was quiet for a few moments, gears turning in her head. She finally gave an annoyed sigh and growl. "These morons kept scaring the deer off looking for me. I've caught a few birds, but obviously that isn't nearly enough meat for something my size."
The fact she'd shredded a squad of hired psychos and fought Reza as well as she had despite starvation setting in was not lost on Theo.
Theo gave a smirk. "Oh, venison's always good! Gimme a second, I think I got some in my luggage."
Anna blinked, staring as Theo took out what looked like a wallet. Which he then unfolded several dozen times and inflated into a very large trunk he placed on the ground and opened up. Her jaw dropped as he promptly climbed inside of it, disappearing. "You've seen weirder, Anna, just roll with it…" she whispered to herself. "...Well, as crazy as you clearly are, you make the one sending these goons after me look sane, so you're at least an improvement."
"Thanks, I take pride in being 'merely' eccentric instead of completely psychotic!" He then climbed back up, carrying several, two foot-long logs of dried meat her flaring nostrils informed her was venison. "Bon appetit!"
The 'dragon' carefully removed her claw from the bandage she'd been using to apply pressure to her thigh wound and grabbed one of the logs. She lifted the decent-sized roll of meat examined it closely. Given she knew exactly what kind of firepower he had, she ruled out poison and took a large bite, noisily chewing it as Theo took some for himself. After a few moments she slowly pointed to the wounds she bared. "Got medical supplies in there? This is just some first aid kit I swiped from one of those goons awhile back after I bit his head off."
Theo went back into his portable base and produced a bottle of a liquid that Anna did not recognize, antibacterial spray, gauze wraps, and…Fazbear themed bandaids of all things. "Here, Anna, drink this and I'll get to work on the rest, alright? Might not be a surgeon, but this I can handle."
Anna blinked, noticing the emphasis he placed on her name. The 'dragon' carefully took the bottle and examined it closely. Sniffing it, she smelled something not unlike baked apples and grilled shrimp, maybe something alcoholic. "Under other circumstances, I'd wonder if you were trying to poison me…but given all the other ways you could've very easily killed me by now, either you aren't…or you're a bigger moron than those pieces of &^%*." Opening her mouth, she downed the liquid, finding the flavor about what she'd expected. The pain quickly faded a bit and the taste of blood, both that of her hunters she'd bitten and a little of her own, washed away by what tasted like fruity seafood. The intense flavor and shock of alcohol made her a little dizzy, though given the night she'd had, getting drunk wouldn't be the worst idea. Granted, it'd take enough liquor to kill a human to get her buzzed (she'd tried), but still.
As her mind cleared, she noticed Theo had already applied antiseptic spray to most of her wounds and used the gauze to cover her thigh wound (which fortunately hurt far less). He was currently delicately laying small children's bandaids with the smiling faces of animal characters over smaller cuts and nicks.
He got up and started tending to her head wound, seeming to trust her not to bite his arm off for getting that close to her mouth. As he did so, he came to a stand still when his eyes fell on her exposed skin the damaged scales would normally cover and he saw oddly black facial veins.
Combined with the black sclera, this was definitely not a fae.
"So…you're part Mysterian?"
Anna froze for a moment, then gave a chuckle. "Human too. Enough of both I'm technically a physical enhancement type hybrid. Wish I'd been a psychic type, but oh well, beggars can't be choosers."
As Theo moved back, the 'dragon' shook her head to clear it, she gave a coy smirk. "Well, I'll give you this, definitely better than anything I've had in...however long I've been out here...probably before." She stretched her massive body, careful of her thigh wound, but overall feeling much better with her wounds properly tended to and something in her stomach. She then grumbled. "Was busy taking care of the small fry and that psychopath was smart enough to get the drop on me."
Theo just shook his head. "Well, I wish I'd gotten here sooner, then," he said, completely genuine and making Anna pause. "Speaking of which, mind giving me some answers? The goon squad just knew 'boss wants scary monster.'"
Anna was silent for a few moments, face cycling through all sorts of emotions she seemed very keen on trying to hide. Theo noticed perhaps even a bit of fear on her face. "...Old hag must want to cut me up and see what makes me tick. There's a few things in my genome that she's probably interested in."
The scientist narrowed his eyes. "By 'old hag,' I'm assuming you mean Dr. Jane Tiptree?"
The creature before him gave a snarl. "Not the name she used at the time, but not hard to figure it out."
Theo then thought over her words. 'See what makes me tick.' "So Tiptree didn't make you?"
The 'dragon' gave a small pause before she shook her head. "I was made by a mad scientist though. Another ex-Biosyn lunatic."
"Let me guess, bioweapon?"
Anna nodded. "And cancer research, believe it or not."
Theo just stared for a moment. "...They made a killer raptor dragon for cancer research?"
"It's an ex-Biosyn imbecile, what else would you expect?" Anna then got the most deadpan expression possible. "Also, no, I'm not based on a velociraptor, those idiot goons kept calling me one. My base genetic template is actually Utahraptor ostrommaysi with some monster from Skull Island patched in they got a sample of. Not that you can tell all that much: I was made to resemble a dragon for psychological warfare and intimidation. That, and marketability. People love dragons, you know. Of course, apparently the budget didn't include making me actually able to fly, and like everyone and their grandma they think 'oh, feathered dinosaurs aren't scary,' so I'm naked. I would've looked beautiful with feathers, but nope, gotta make the dromaeosaur naked."
The genetic chimera blinked and cleared her throat. "...Sorry for the tangent, but I've been holding that in ever since I learned what actual Utahraptors looked like, and that was fairly early in my existence as a sapient being."
Theo chuckled. "Oh, believe me, I get it."
"I'm just glad apparently being actually capable of talking was a priority in there somewhere." Anna gave a sigh. "Anyway, I got tired of being treated like a servant and a science experiment, and well, you know the rest. Aliens invaded, took advantage of the chaos to break out, kill my creator, blah blah blah. The old witch found out and thought I was interesting enough to send goons after."
"Yeah, that's how these things usually go. Unless you're me and my wife and actually treat your creations like people." Theo paused for a moment in thought. The scientist then gave a sympathetic look. "So, you've been running ever since."
"And probably going to be again…" Anna muttered, looking over her now blood splattered home. "Every time I settle down anywhere, they find me. Then it's uprooting myself again and finding a new place." For the first time since Theo came here, for a moment she looked genuinely vulnerable. Lost. "...I just wish she'd leave me alone."
Theo reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Here, take this."
Anna blinked, staring at the object for a moment before taking it. "A cell phone?"
"It's an untraceable burner phone. There's three numbers on the speed dial, mine, the GDF's, and local emergency service," Theo explained. "So next time those %$$holes find you, you can just call us without exposing yourself. Of course, that's if you don't want more stable accommodations."
Anna stared at it for a few moments, then looked over to him. "...You have somewhere I could go and those pieces of ^%&* can't come after me?"
Theo gave a nod. "Yep, we've got a safe haven. Ever heard of Pasadena?"
Anna pointed to her laptop. "What's available on the internet…" The genetic chimera suddenly gave a smug, mischievous smirk. "And yes, I hacked the nearby campgrounds wifi network to get internet without anyone knowing or having to actually pay anything. No, I'm not sorry."
"I'm more impressed to be honest." Theo got a bit more serious. "Well, you'd be welcome there. Pasadena is for people like you." Anna noted the amount of stress he'd placed on the word people. He just chuckled, shaking his head. "I just, well…I figured with all the running ya did, you didn't wanna risk it. So, well…" He motioned to the phone in her claw. "That gives you an option. You can run free if you'd like and, if *&^% hits the fan, call for help...or, just call me if you prefer having a home over wandering. Or, you know, just leave here with me and head off to Pasadena. The choice is yours."
"..."
Anna was silent for several moments. She merely kept her head lowered, eyes on the phone. "...Why? Why are you being this nice to me? Those five goons back there aren't the first people I've killed, you know."
"Yeah, I saw the bounty on you." Theo then gave a smirk. "And you've never killed anyone unprovoked. Only hired psychos who were out to get you and a serial killer." The battle mage noticed Anna's claws suddenly clenched tightly and she let out a snarl at those last two words. "Goons who were psychopaths who would kill their granny for a quick buck and hired precisely because of that fact. So I'd say that's self-defense, wouldn't you?"
"..." The genetic chimera was silent for a few moments, face unreadable. "I haven't exactly helped anyone either. Not like they ever gave me reason to."
"That's not exactly a crime unless you saw someone in danger and didn't help," Theo replied. He noticed Anna avert her eyes and look away. "Not everyone has to be a superhero."
"...I'm not a fae. I have nothing to do with magic. You're not obligated to help me."
"So?" the scientist replied simply. "Neither are a lot of my kids, over half of them are robots or genetic anomalies. Doesn't change a thing."
Anna slowly looked over the home she'd made. Scant though they were, she'd made an effort to acquire things to make the cave feel like one…or at least what she imagined an actual home would look like from images found online. A bed, some crude chairs made from logs. An old rug from the dump she'd swiped the mattresses from. A few small things and knickknacks she'd collected to spruce it up. Her laptop…but even this, little it was, couldn't all be taken with her. Even as strong as she was, she couldn't carry it all. She'd have to leave most of it behind…again. Her eyes went back to look at her leg wound. If Theo hadn't been there, Reza would have killed her. One misstep, and she was almost dead. She shuddered for the moment, hiding her face before regaining her composure.
Her contemplative expression turned to a sly one. "Well, I might consider it if you can let me actually use a lab. Last one I was in, well, let's just say I wasn't allowed to touch the tools."
Theo tapped his chin. "Well the school HAS been in need of a new science teacher and the lab there is almost as advanced as my wife's so...if you're willing to go the whole way on a teacher's license, we can work it out. Y'know, get ya used to being around people and all."
Anna gave a smirk. "Is that all?" She rose to her claws and went over to her computer (her leg still having a noticeable limp), gently tapping away with her claw tips. "My creators seemed very keen on not letting me get too smart." Her lips pulled back in a snarl before quickly transitioning to a sly smirk. "Well, there are few better motivators than boredom and sheer spite. I've been studying biology and science primarily."
"Let me guess, some of my wife Joanne's work?" asked Theo.
Anna gave a nod. "Yes, I've read quite a bit about her. Some of it was probably hijacked to make me."
Theo had already noted Anna's appearance seemed at least based on Titanosaurus. Given she was definitely part human, he wouldn't be surprised if someone had gotten their hands on some details about one of his many genetically engineered children who had that kaiju's genes.
The bioweapon gave a smug smirk. "But to put it simply, a degree by examination should be a formality."
Theo gave a nod. "Definitely a possibility." He looked at the laptop, watching how careful the huge genetic chimera had to be due to how comparably small the keys were. That and how scratched up and damaged said keys were simply from the long, sharp claws on her digits. He made a mental note to get her a computer that'd remedy both situations. "Got any friends online?"
The 'dragon' froze for a few seconds, eyes widening for a moment before she gave a look that told Theo to drop the subject for now. "No." With that, she closed the laptop and looked around the room. She gave a sigh. "Okay, so this place is a dump…most of which came from a dump…but I'm still taking some of it with me. Mainly the rug and the knickknacks because the only good thing about the mattresses is there's been a few rats in them and they're a good midnight snack."
"Well, there's definitely room in the field lab."
***
Anna followed Theo through the woods, carrying her laptop in her claw after gathering up everything. Well, that and cleaning off the blood she'd spent their entire conversation covered in. She kept an eye out for any indication that she was being lead into a trap, but saw none. No sign of any more hunters. Still, despite that, her eyes continued to dart around uncomfortably.
"Hi papa!"
And then widened in confusion as they emerged from the forest into a clearing to see a nine foot tall humanoid, obviously female red fox wearing daisy dukes and waving with a hook hand. Getting closer, she noticed the obviously mechanical aspects, particularly around the neck. Well, that and Elsie standing at a safe distance watching.
"Hello, dear," Theo called back with a grin. "Foxy, this is Anna, Anna, this is my daughter Foxy."
"Arr! Glad to meet ye!" Foxy replied, offering her hook, sounding playful and upbeat.
Anna blinked, in a rare moment in her life having to look up at something. She reared back a little bit to look Foxy more in the eye. She reached her claw out awkwardly and shook the hook. "Oh yes…I believe I've read reviews of a…Party Palace?"
Foxy nodded. "Aye! Dad said he was gonna rescue a dragon! Well, I just had ta tag along!"
"Well, more 'Utahraptor derived bioweapon imitating a dragon for intimidation purposes' but that's not entirely inaccurate," Anna replied, giving a somewhat forced, but confident smile.
"Oh…can ye still breathe fire?"
"In a manner of speaking," the bioweapon replied, then pointed a claw at her mouth. "I have a gland in my mouth that sprays a stream of chemicals that combusts on contact with the air in large enough amounts."
"Oh…can I see?"
Anna shrugged, turning and spraying a stream of fluid on the ground that burst into flames a few seconds later.
As Foxy was understandably excited, Elsie finally approached, looking at Anna's back where the brief flash of light had lit up. Not bright enough to indicate an energy build up, but still oddly familiar. "Hello there, Dr. Elsie Chapman."
Anna actually gave an impressed look. "Oh yes, you I've definitely heard of. Paleo-biologist with HEAT team. Your research was quite informative."
Elsie smirked. "Wow, I like you already…" She looked over the 'dragon'. "You said Utahraptor derived, right? Let me guess, whoever made you thought feathered dinosaurs aren't scary?"
The bioweapon gave an annoyed sigh. "Yes. So annoying."
"I know, right? All these cloned dinosaurs and still no feathered dromaeosaurids." Elsie looked her over a bit closer. "Horns definitely aren't reptile. I'd wager a guess from something in the bovidae family. So cross class hybrid?"
Anna nodded and put a claw to her horns. "Yes. My guess is either something in the tribe tragelaphini, since my horns have a spiral shape." Theo noticed for once, the genetic chimera actually seemed to be having a bit of fun. "There's Mysterian and human in here as well."
Theo looked curious, looking at the flames. "Wondering if your fire is derived from a bombardier beetle, an A$$blaster, or something else."
Anna faceclawed. "Ugh…I forgot that everything involving Graboids was named on the fly by a bunch of random civilians in a nowhere town in Nevada." She gave a sigh. "I'm assuming it is derived from something that sprays chemicals, but the chemicals aren't exactly anything found in nature normally. A$$blasters' chemicals violently combust to launch them into the air while Bombardier Beetles just spray caustic, boiling acid. Mine acts more like a chemical fire or napalm. I don't know everything in my gen-" Her eyes suddenly widened and she stopped.
"Something wrong?" Theo questioned.
"No, just got on a tangent again," Anna replied, looking away for a moment. "Okay, so dragon in the room, how exactly are you getting the huge, dinosaur derived bioweapon out of here and all the way back to California?"
Theo motioned and led her a bit further away…to a large car with six wheels, dark red in color with a very high end, luxury look and a clockwork theme.
Anna stared in shock for a few seconds. "...Noooo....No way in hell is THAT your car!"
"That's what I said," Elsie replied.
Theo gave a proud nod. "Me and Foxy built it."
"How is that even street legal!?" As she said, you got bored and learned odd things when alone in the middle of nowhere.
Foxy patted the car with her normal hand. "Lotsa work! Had tae make the eagles act as the front blinkers."
The bioweapon's head pivoted to properly examine the deep, rugged woods surrounding them. "There's no way in hell you made it out here in this thing!"
Theo gave a proud tap of the heavily armored side of the vehicles. "Armored like a tank, handles like a dream!"
Anna walked around the car, noting how massive it was. "But...FUEL! How do you have enough GAS in this thing?!"
Foxy gave a playful smile. "It's got a clockwork dynamo! Wind the key 'till it stops an' it'll run fer a hunnerd miles!"
Anna raised a claw before tapping her chin. "...I'm actually curious about that." She then looked it over. "But there's still the fact I'm longer than the entire car, am I just going to be poking out the windows?"
Theo gave a look that implied incoming strangeness, a devious, downright manic grin that wouldn’t look out of place on a mad scientist. "Just get in the back seat."
Anna just sighed and opened the door, shocked back by the sounds of a party going on inside and people chattering together, finagling herself trying to get through the somewhat tight fit of the door with a body type not exactly made to get inside cars.
Elsie turned to Theo. "You know we could've just taken her with us, right?"
"Yeah, but getting her to trust me was hard enough," Theo replied. "Fewer people traveling with her the better."
“You didn’t count your daughters on that list, did you?” Elsie grinned, leaning back when Theo spun around with a face of shocked realization.
Anna finally squeezed her way into the car…and disappeared entirely inside, followed by a happy cheer from within. A few moments later, a claw came out of the door with a finger raised. "Alright...I have SEVERAL questions."
To Be Continued.