Dev Em and Timberwolf left the Office of Security and headed towards the Sharktank.
Dev slowed his chair and turned to Timber Wolf, "Lon, let me ask you something before we get Sharklad and leave."
Timberwolf looked at him, pretty much knowing what to expect from his brother. "Go ahead..."
"Who is she Lon? I heard a name mentioned and Cobie made some sort of accusations when we found you guys at the Bunker, but I can't really remember it or what everything was all about...my memory is spotty with some of the stuff over the last couple weeks, and some of it seems like a dream."
"If you don't know, then just leave it at that. You have enough on your plate right now without getting into...all of that."
Dev just closed his eyes and sighed, "You sure about this woman brother?"
"Yeah. Not so sure about Cobie pushing us the way he is, but I'm in love with her. I finally found someone that I can just be myself with and not worry about trying to hide who I am and what I do."
"How is Cobie pushing you?"
"Not important right now, let's just say that he's just being him."
"Ah, always looking for how he can use something to his advantage, and playing things close to the vest...as it were. Speaking of which, how long have you two been working together?"
"Longer than you want to know about, please don't ask anything more...I really can't talk about too much anyway. Let's just say that it is all on the up and up and there are things that you wouldn't really approve of, but need to be done...and we get them done."
Dev shook his head, "Too much going on to really worry about that at this point. Both he and Lardy have things they need to answer for...hell, so do I. It's all tied together though. My actions were in response to two sides both going about things the wrong way. One inside the law and one outside."
Lon thought about telling Dev that things were not always what they seemed, but decided that things would be better if they worked themselves out naturally. Truths would be laid bare, and true allegiances would come into the open over time.
"Let's get your stuff and go get Sharklad."
The headed off to the Bunker.
[ March 18, 2011, 09:00 PM: Message edited by: Dev Em ]
Posted by Dev Em on :
They arrived at the Bunker and Lon got out. "Give me a few minutes..."
Dev Smiled, "I want to come in, at least without breaking in this time. You're my brother, I want to actually see what your place is like."
"Okay then. Not much to really see though."
As they enter, Dev is hit by the starkness of everything. It is set up for business, and there are very few personal amenities. There is a room that Lon uses for sleeping that is also rather bare. The most care and attention seems to be paid towards the weapons room.
"Interesting decorating style," Dev says almost laughing.
"Don't really do much here except sleep. So, I never thought to really do anything with it."
"That's all..."
"You're my brother, don't push."
"Okay."
Lon looked at him, and thought about how much they really had not talked over the years. "Sorry man. Just not used to having anyone other than Cobie in here for meetings and planning sessions."
"It's okay Lon...really."
Lon was packing up several bags with supplies. "How long you going to need to be in that chair?"
"Really, I could probably get out of it tomorrow, as long as I do not do anything too strenuous."
"Good. How are your shoulders doing?"
"Hurt like hell. Even with everything you and the Doctors did for me, they're not sure if they'll ever be 100% again. He really did a number on me. My insides are pretty much back to normal at this point, and according to the monitor on my arm here, my vitals are doing good. The fractures and breaks in my legs are doing good, and are almost healed, and thankfully, being able to fly will keep a bit of pressure off them for a while. You doing alright after everything?"
"Yeah, had to re-break and reset my arm...healed a little off, but it seems alright at this point. Other than that, I didn't take too much damage. I just have a little bit more training at avoiding getting hurt than you."
"Yeah, we need to talk to dad about that."
"You're not thinking about..."
"I need his help. I am not going to be much good in a knock down fight if it comes to that. He has already agreed to meet up with us."
"Does he know I'm with you on this one."
"Yeah, and he's alright with it."
Timberwolf rolled his eyes, "he is not going to be pleasant for me to work with again."
"He's never gotten over whatever it was that made him send you here?"
"Nope, he didn't like it when the Daxam Government started using me for their purposes without his knowledge, and did what he could to get me out of there as fast as possible."
"I'll deal with him, when the time comes...he'll be fine."
Lon finished packing his stuff and they headed to the Sharktank.
Posted by Dev Em on :
Dev went into the building and called out to Sharklad, to let him know that they were there.
"C'mon," Dev said to Timberwolf.
"I'm just gonna wait out here."
"Look Lon, you two need to..."
"I know, I know. We've been doing better lately...I just think it'll be better if I don't just go barging into his residence...don't want to push things to fast here. I understand why you want him to come along, but...we have a history to get past."
Dev laughed, "You two are like little kids. Alright, wait here then." he turned and shut the door behind him.
"Sharky, we're here..."
[ March 19, 2011, 08:06 AM: Message edited by: Dev Em ]
Posted by SharkLad on :
The walls of the vault containing SharkLad’s tank were dripping wet. Though asleep, SharkLad had been thrashing around in his tank. His dreams, tainted by the toxins he had absorbed from biting the Red Bee, nearly drove him mad. He watched helplessly again and again as his sister PsychoticBeaver beat his mother to death as she cried for help. In the dream, his mother morphed into one LMB member after another, until finally it was Lolita that lay before him begging for mercy.
“No!” SharkLad screamed, “Not her! Not another one!”
SharkLad thrashed violently in his tank, scrapping the glass walls with his talons uncontrollably, obscuring the sound of his teammate Dev Em’s voice, who had just entered the vault.
“Sharky, we’re here. Hey, Sharky, what are you—“
Dev Em didn’t have a chance to finish asking his question as SharkLad leapt out of his tank and lifted Dev Em by the throat out of his hoverchair.
“You dare enter my vault!” SharkLad bellowed, blinded by toxin-fueled rage.
Dev Em attempted to speak, but as SharkLad tightened his grip, no words would come. He struggled to pull himself free but was still too weak from the battle with the Red Bee.
“It’s been too long since I’ve eaten,” SharkLad growled, licking his lips. Slowly, he opened his mouth, exposing rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. “You’ll do nicely.”
Before SharkLad could act any further, Timber Wolf burst into the vault, charging and knocking SharkLad to the ground, face down. Dev Em was sent sprawling into the corner.
“I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” Timber Wolf growled. He leapt onto SharkLad’s back and grabbing him by the back of his head, smashed him repeatedly into the ground.
“LET! GO! OF! ME!” SharkLad cried out. Flipping himself over, he tore at Timber Wolf with his talons, knocking him into the side of the tank.
“You’ve had this coming for a long time, fish,” Timber Wolf barked as he got to his feet.
“Bring it, dog!”
In the corner of the vault, Dev Em groaned. He managed to lift his head just as Timber Wolf and SharkLad charged each other.
“Lon, stop! Look in his eyes. He’s been poisoned!”
Timber Wolf and SharkLad continued to battle, a flurry of fists and teeth. Their cries echoed through the vault. Dev Em crawled over to his hoverchair, grabbing a blaster from behind the seat. He fired it between the two combatants, shattering the glass wall of SharkLad’s tank. As water flooded the vault, SharkLad had a brief moment of clarity.
“What the sprock?”
Dev Em reached into his hoverchair again, this time pulling out a hypodermic dart gun. He fired a dart at SharkLad, striking him in his fin. SharkLad fell to the ground as he let out a deafening roar.
“What the hell, bro?” Timber Wolf asked.
“I was worried this might happen. SharkLad still has the Red Bee’s toxins in his system from when he bit him, or at least he did. The serum in the dart should take care of it.”
Timber Wolf gave a low growl. “You mean, he wasn’t…”
“No, Lon. You know SharkLad would never intentionally hurt me or another LMBer.”
“Really? How do you explain all of our fights over the years?”
“I’m not sure, but I have an idea or two.”
[ March 20, 2011, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: SharkLad ]
Posted by SharkLad on :
As the water spewing from his tank flowed past him and seeped through drains in the floor, SharkLad slowly roused himself.
“What the sprock did you hit me with?”
“Red Bee Anti-Toxin. Ever though you were acting okay after the last battle, I thought you might still have some of it in your system. Guess I was right.” Dev Em said as he pulled himself into his hoverchair.
“Sprock, Dev, I’m… I’m sorry. I could have—“
“But, you didn’t. Don’t worry about it.”
SharkLad turned and faced Timber Wolf. “And you, you son of a—“
“Easy there, fish. I was just defending my brother.”
“Yeah. Yeah, alright… this time,” SharkLad acquiesced.
“Sharky, we need you to come with us.”
“To where?”
Dev Em gave Timber Wolf a wary look.
“This may not be easy for you to hear, but we don’t think we can go ahead without your help.”
“Jeez, Dev. What’s the big deal? Is there a mission you think I can’t handle?” SharkLad asked doubtfully.
“We need to go to your home.”
“LegionWorld is my home, Dev.”
“No, we need you to go back to where you were born. We’re going to Isla Larga.”
Posted by SharkLad on :
“That anti-toxin must be causing me to hear things, ‘cause I thought you said you wanted to go to Isla Larga.”
“That’s what he said, fish.”
“Stuff it, dog,” SharkLad spit. Turning to Dev Em, he continued. “That’s real funny, Dev, but the Isla Larga planetoid has been missing for years. It just vanished. I could never prove it, but I think PsychoticBeaver was responsible. It happened right after she got the jump on me on Argus 7.”
“I know where it is,” Timber Wolf said quietly.
“What?!? Are you sprocking kidding me? I’ve been searching for it for years and you know where it is?”
“I came across it on a black ops mission a couple of months ago. I would have told you, but it would have meant compromising security.”
“Security?!? I was a security officer when you were still spending your days licking your—“
“Easy there, fish.”
“Both of you knock it off. We’ve got a mission to tackle and it’s going to go a lot easier if you can get your hormones under control,” Dev Em ordered. “That means you too, Lon.”
“So, where is it?” SharkLad asked.
“We’ve got a ship ready to go.”
“I can’t believe you knew where it was all this time. You realize I had my father locked up there. For all I know, he could have escaped,” SharkLad said to Timber Wolf, struggling to contain himself.
“Isn’t your father a rat? How far could he have gotten?”
“If he got free, he could have cured himself of the rat DNA I pumped into him after I locked him up. He could be out there, plotting with PsychoticBeaver to…” SharkLad’s voice trailed off.
“To what?” Timber Wolf asked impatiently.
“To do what my sister has always done best. Wreak chaos.”
Posted by SharkLad on :
Dev Em, Timber Wolf, and SharkLad headed for the docking bay.
“Who else knows about this?” SharkLad asked.
“No one. It’s just the three of us for now,” Timber Wolf answered.
“You’re telling me Cobie doesn’t know?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
“Sprockin’ secret agent man,” SharkLad mumbled, shaking his head.
They continued in silence for a few minutes.
“Dev, what do you care about Isla Larga anyway?” SharkLad asked. “Besides my dead mother’s abandoned lab, there’s not much there,”
“Do you remember that security camera footage I showed you?” Dev Em asked.
“Yeah.”
“Do you still think it was faked?”
“Of course it’s a fake, Dev. My mother is dead,” SharkLad growled.
“Your sister was dead too, Sharky, thanks to Lard Lad’s aim with a shotgun. She came back to life,” Timber Wolf said as they boarded the ship.
“That’s different,” SharkLad said, “She’s practically immortal thanks to those microscopic parasites she’s infected with. The ‘madden-ites’ keep her from staying dead too long. They also make her insane, but then again she never was exactly stable.”
“Well, I have a theory about your mother, and if I’m right, well, let’s just say, things are about to get real complicated.”
“Are we ready to go?” asked Timber Wolf, punching coordinates into the ship’s navigation system.
“I don’t know. Are we?” Dev Em asked SharkLad.
“Yeah, we’re ready. Punch it.”
The ship eased out of the docking bay and blasted into space.
Posted by Dev Em on :
It took several hours to get to the Isla Larga planetoid, but good to his word, Timberwolfs intel had proved correct.
They did a pass by it and Sharklad confirmed that it was what they were looking for. "It looks like it's changed a little since I was last here though," Sharklad said moving back to his seat. "Still not sure what you intend to find."
Dev looked back and smiled, "hopefully, what I need to find out."
Dev piloted the ship to the landing pad and set it down. "Well, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to find, but here we are.
Timberwolf was already set to go, and he was ready for action. If what Sharky had told them about what happened here last was any indication of what they should expect, he wanted to get this thing started.
They exited the ship. Dev had left the Hovorchair on the ship. His legs were feeling good enough, and he felt that he was up for at least some ranged attacks if necessary.
Timberwolf was in the lead, and Sharky was right there with him. Dev floated out and then up a bit to get a better view.
What confronted them was not at all what they were prepared to handle.
From the main building came a young woman, about late teens at best. She looked at them and smiled, "Dr. Aurelius is expecting you. Please follow me this way," she said and turned to head back to the building.
They all looked at each other and slowly started moving to follow her.
"What the..." Sharky said under his breath, "there were no other people here before."
Dev put his hand on Sharky's shoulder, "Just be ready for anything..."
They entered the building and Sharklad was surprised by the way it looked. It was decorated, and had a comfortable homey feel to it...at least the portions that they could see through open doors. There were some open labs visable through large plexiglass windows.
The young lady led them to a reception type area, and motioned for them to sit around the large table in the middle of the room. "She'll be right with you."
Sharklad was obviously a little on edge. "She was dead the last I knew..." he said to them again in a low tone.
"Dev smiled, "you know as well as I do that that does not mean much."
Dr. Aurelius, Sharklads mother entered the room through a large set of doors and shut them behind her. She turned and looked at each of them in turn. First Timberwolf, then Dev, and finally her eyes rested on Sharklad.
"This isn't possible..." Sharklad said absently.
They could see tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Bruce. I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you because I wasn't there for you. You are my pride and joy Bruce Brody...you were the best thing that I ever contributed to the universe. I haven't been able to even come close again."
She walked over to Sharklad and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked at Timberwolf, "You were her greatest creation, she was proud of you, and so hurt when her ex-husband took you from her...it pushed her over the edge and she lashed out at the universe..."
They were all feeling like they were missing something. Dev finally broke the silence, "...are you talking about my mother?"
Helena Aurelius turned her attention to him, "Yes Dev Em. Your mother. His mother," she said as she moved her head in Lons direction, "and my sister."
Posted by Dev Em on :
They all got involuntarily wide eyed. "What?" was the only thing that all of them could say at the same time.
"But my mother was Durlan..." Dev said.
"No my dear, she wasn't."
"Wait a second," Lon said as he stood up, "what does this have to do with the kids?" he asked, and looking from her to Sharklad, "...and what the hell do you mean we're related?"
Sharklad let out a sound that they had never heard before, but it caused Timberwolf to sit back down.
"Do you want to know?" she asked.
They looked back and forth at each other, clearly confused by what they were encountering.
"I'll take that as a yes then, and don't worry...I'll explain everything." She then looked at Dev and simply said, "don't worry, they're safe."
She moved back around and sat down at the head of the table and started talking.
"Some years ago," she said with a little grin, clearly remembering a mich happier time, "there were twin girls named Helena and Suzanne born to Dr.'s Francis and Gretta Aurelius. Unortunately, our mother died in childbirth."
She obviously did not like talking about her mother, but she continued, "we grew up very close, but we were always competitive for our fathers affections. He was a a geneticist and spent most of his time in a lab, away from us. He created a nursemaid by a genetically engineering the nurturing parts if animals and humans."
Lon poured himself some water from a pitcher in the middle of the table. He casually, but it's pretty obvious what he is doing, inspects it before taking a sip. He offer the pitcher to Sharklad and he pored himself a drink as well. In turn, Dev took some...but never actually drank it. Not out of concern, but out of interest in what wa being told to them.
"Our nanny was a wonderful creature with one flaw I suppose. She let us watch way too much television, especially old movies and shows from centuries earlier, mostly because our father loved old television and movies. That's why I name you Bruce, and why Suzanne named him Lon. You were both named after some aspect from our favorite movies."
Lon and Bruce just looked at each other. "I don't sprockin believe this..." Sharklad said, and Timberwolf nodded in agreement.
"In turn, we both studied science, specifically genetics, the same as our father. We grew more competitive as we got older, we began creating animal/human hybrids to compete against each other, sometimes, to the death. Each time, whichever of us lost, worked that much harder to create the perfect specimin."
Dev broke in, "is that why these two have wanted to rip each other to shreds since pretty much the day they met?"
"Yes. I am so sorry about that."
Timberwolf and Sharklad looked at each other with a mix of astonishment and relief on their faces. They now understood why they had always acted the way they did towards each other.
"Suzanne eventually experimented on herself and mixed Durlan DNA with her own, giving her all the power of a Durlan. She eventually met and had a child with Kar Em of Daxam." She stood and ,oved to Dev Em with a look of sorrow on her face. "I'm so sorry dear, but by the time your mother had you, she had been driven slightly insane by what she had done to herself." She stood and moved closer to Dev. "When he found out that he had had a child, he took you from her and raised you on Daxam. I know that you searched her out when you were old enough, and that she used that time to take the samples of your DNA to create your brother Lon."
She touched Dev's hand. "Have you noticed any signs of irrational behaviour in yourself lately...maybe over the last year or so?"
ofDev looked at his brother and Sharklad. Sharklad just kinda looked away, not wanting to mention anything, but Lon just nodded, "yeah, he has...it's been getting worse, especially lately."
They all thought to Dev's apparent suicide run at the Red Bee. Even though he had had a plan, it was a long shot.
She glanced back at Lon for a second, and then back to Dev. "It's just going to get worse over time, if I don't help you. There's a price to be paid though," she said with a sadness in her eyes. "You will loose what shape shifting abilities that you do have."
Dev looked at her with some disbelief on his face, and then put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.
"Think about it, and let me know."
She looked between Bruce and Lon, "as far as you two go...I can curb the thing inside you that makes you want to fight constantly."
Sharklad and Timberwolf just looked at each other.
Posted by Dev Em on :
They looked at each other. Bruce was the one to speak this time, "you mean all this time we really had no control over that?"
She shook her head, "No, not really. Mixed into the samples used for all of our creations were markers to bring out the worst in the sujects when confronted with a creation of the other. You two represent our crowning achievments, and we never would have suspected that you would end up being so close to each other once you were taken from us...however that happened. Oh, and don't worry, it won't change anything else about you, just remove that thing in you that makes you want to tear each other limb from limb."
She smiled, "the fact that you two are siting here and not fighting is a testament to how much control you both have. You both have times of total abandon when you fight don't you, where you're operating at a different level than anyone else can understand? That's by design. In your own ways, you're both the perfect fighting machine, it's just that you have different talents to draw from."
Dev had somewhere between relieved and an annoyed look on his face. "Why tell us this now? Why offer to help us now? Why expect us to believe you?"
"I know that these two have instincts that they have relied on to keep them alive all these years. You have other powers that you can use to tell if I'm lying. As to why now...to try to redeem myself a little for what I have done to all of you in some way. Let me finish telling this story, and I will explain to you where your children are...just know that they are safe."
Dev's brow furrowed and he got a very serious look on his face. "Then please...continue."
She cleared her throat, "when you and your father had discovered what she had done, you came and stole young Lon away from her. Lon was a confused and troubled child. He had been created to fight against his cousins. You tamed him and taught him everything you could. But he preferred his native furry state as a youngster, and was nicknamed Furball. You, Dev, never had any idea that he was partially your clone...or that he could morph into a human state. Which really is your true form Lon."
She returned to her seat, "you all eventually grew up, and while we still competed against each other, we were both extremely proud of you all. We were surprised that you all ended up so close to each othr in this LMBP that you belong to, but maybe fate has different ideas for us than we know."
She looks at Sharklad and shuts her eyes, a tear rolls down her cheek. "Then I died."
Posted by Dev Em on :
Sharklad is obviously upset with the memories that this portion of the tale brings up.
"I was truly dead dear," she says looking right at him.
My sister revived me. Then did a few little adjustments to my DNA as well. She was quite insane at this point, and dying herself. She gave me a dose of the Durlan DNA she had before she died.
I have since learned that it will eventually drive me mad as well, but I plan to take care of that soon. I have had need of it lately," she says as she hangs her head, and closes her eyes.
"I am so sorry about what I did, but please understand the needs of this operation, and the costs involved. Years ago, Your mother," she says looking to Dev quickly before closing her eyes again, "she had struck up a deal with a ruling family on the Main moon of Xyler 7 to provide heirs to the throne that had certain powers different than the prevailing illusionary ones that are passed through the royal lines. In return, she...now I, have received enough funding to keep this facility going for my lifetime."
"She had found out that you had fallen in love and were planning on marrying, she tried to replace her before that happened, but fate kept that from being the case. The accident that happened was truly that. The investigations proved that. Your wife was near death and easily replaced by one of the daughters of the King that had been granted the illusionary power at a young age. It helped that she actually looks enough like your wife that the illusion was not very deep and could be maintained with minimal effort."
Dev put his head in his hands. "By the gods."
"When I heard that the Red Bee was coming back to Legion World, I decided, by the Kings prompting, that the time was right to bring them home to Xyler 7's moon. Your wife had been kept alive in stasis, believe me when I say that she was brain dead and in no pain, she was an innocent in all this. Upon being taken out of stasis, she passed almost immediately. She was placed at a mass slaughter of the Red Bee, and given enough stings to smake her death look like any of the others. I didn't count on Lon finding her in the morgue, or the camera he had set up mile away to watch the house. I had had her take out everything that we knew about, but there were other things happening there that rushed us, and apparently you caught enough of us on tape to track us."
Lon looked at her, "you're not exactly dealing with amatures here..."
"I know that. I just didn't ecxpect the levels at which you all would go to protect each other."
Dev stood, and there was an ever so slight look of emotional and physical pain on his face when he did, "Where are they now?"
"They're on the Xyler 7 Moon called Daroon. They are safe, and they are actually happy. They miss you, and their friends, but they are with their mother, and are Royalty. Please let me help all of you before you leave...it's the very least I can do for you. I want to help in whatever way I can, and I think that your mother...if she had retained her mind, would have wanted that as well." She looks at Lon, "your portion of the Durlan DNA is not enough to be detrimental to you over time. She muted that with you and it's more the Lupine DNA that pushes your transformations."
Dev thought about so many things as fast as he could. He shut his eyes and nodded, "fine. Do it."
Lon stopped her for a second, "can I analyze those first?"
She looked at him, "by all means, I didn't know that could understand the..."
"There's a lot of things that a lot of people don't know about me."
She gave him the vials, and had the assistant lead him to a lab.
Dev stood up to stretch his legs and winced. "I'm going to go outside for a few minutes, if that's alright."
She motioned to the doors, "please feel free."
He left the room leaving Sharklad and his mother alone.
[ March 22, 2011, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Dev Em ]
Posted by SharkLad on :
SharkLad stood unspeaking for a few minutes. The tension in the room was palpable. He had so many questions to ask of his mother. In the end, however, it was she that spoke first.
“Can I offer you some tea, dear?”
“Tea? Do I really look like I’m the kind of guy that drinks tea?”
“Well, dear, I really don’t know you very well so—“
“You don’t know me well?” SharkLad interrupted, “You sprockin’ created me, for sprock’s sake!”
“Language, dear, please,” his mother said blushing.
SharkLad sighed. He took several deep breaths trying to calm himself.
“And just how long have you been ‘alive’ again?” he asked.
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it sprockin’— of course it matters. Do you have any idea what I’ve been through since you died? Since I found your body and… and had to bury you?”
SharkLad gave a low growl.
“I buried you right out there,” SharkLad said, pointing to the window. “Under your favorite tree. What a sap I was.”
“I’m so sorry, Bruce,” his mother said, tears welling in her eyes. “I didn’t know if you’d accept me after what you’d been put through. After I was revived, I started to hear about your adventures with the LMB, and I was so proud. You were a hero! I didn’t know if telling you the truth would be helpful or hurtful.”
“Speaking of hurtful, what the sprock were you thinking when you created PsychoticBeaver? Do you realize how much destruction she’s been responsible for? How many lives she’s taken? You created something purely evil. How do you explain that?”
“Now, that was never my intention. Why, her original name was CuddlyBeaver. But, your sister became infected with something, a parasite. I couldn’t stop it. Fortunately, it didn’t spread to you.”
“It might as well have because her madness has been plaguing me for years. She made it her mission to destroy me. Her madness even spread to some of my teammates before my father… oh yeah, my father. What the sprock?!?”
“Language, dear, please. I don’t know what kind of crowd you’re used to spending time with but—“
“Fine, whatever, but I have a father. He was conveniently left out of all of your records. I had to find out the hard way when he abducted me and subjected me to all kinds of experiments.”
“Josiah Marner is not truly your father. He was my lab assistant. I used some of his DNA to stabilize yours and Beaver’s and a few other of my children’s DNA, but I would hardly call him your father. Besides, from what I’ve been told, you… took care of him.”
“I pumped him full of rat DNA. He should be in a cage somewhere in your lab,” SharkLad said, glancing towards the door.
“Well, my sister made some changes to my lab before she died. I can’t say I know where Josiah is anymore.”
“And Beaver?” SharkLad asked.
“What about her?”
“Have you seen her? Does she know you’re alive?”
“I can’t say,” SharkLad’s mother answered as she turned away.
“More secrets, huh?” SharkLad growled.
Mother and son stood in silence for several minutes. SharkLad looked around the room. There were holographs of him as a child, some with his siblings, but mostly just him and his mother. She looked so deliriously happy in holographs. SharkLad exhaled deeply.
“Things could have gone so differently if--”
“If your sister hadn’t killed me,” his mother interrupted.
“I was going to say if your intentions were really as noble as you had made them out to be in your research and reports. You weren’t trying to create a master race or even a hero. You were trying to settle a grudge with your sister by creating the ultimate combatant. You might as well have made me a pitbull.”
“No, Bruce, don’t say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I did truly set out to create a hero. One who could rise above my reasons for starting the whole competition with my sister to begin with.”
“I don’t buy it.” SharkLad stated flatly.
“You have no reason to believe me, but I promise you – you were special,” his mother pleaded.
“Not special enough to tell when you came back to life.”
“It’s complicated,” she offered.
“What in life isn’t?”
SharkLad’s mother opened her mouth to speak, but, before she could say anything, the door opened and Dev Em walked in.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Posted by Dev Em on :
Sharklad looked around at him, "Nice timing Dev..."
Dr. Aurelius composed herself and said, "All right then, let's go right through here," as she motioned to the doors that Timberwolf had gone through.
Sharklad got up from the table and joined Dev as they walked towards the doors.
Dev had a concerned look on his face, "are you going to be alright?"
Sharklad just looked at him.
"Right. Well, if you need to talk after this, just let me know."
"Sure."
They walked into a lab, and Timberwolf was talking to one of the techs. He saw that they had entered and turned to them.
"Well, her science is definately sound for us," he said as he tossed a hypo to Sharklad. "I took mine a few minutes ago, and I feel nothing different, except I don't have that hyper acute anxiety feeling that used to happen every time I saw you. I don't wanna give you a big hug and a sloppy kiss either, but there you go."
Dev looked at him and raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah her serum would work on you Dev, and what it will do surpress the Durlan gene in your body, but there is no clear way to remove it totally. Essentially it would keep the side effects in remission as long as you do not use what will be left of your shapechanging ability. Each time you use it, the effects will comtinue as long as that Gene is actively in use...and at an accelerated rate. It's also going to take an incredible amount of concentration to maintain any changes, which is why the side effects are so drastic."
Dev looked at him, contemplating the implications.
"Look, she's agreed to give me another sample to keep testing...we'll figure something out."
"But for now?"
"It's not going to hurt you to stop the effects as they are in the infancy stages at this point. Barely noticable, but they are there. That's where that insane stunt you pulled against the Red Bee came from...that's not like you to take that kind of chance with your own life. I know you'd give your life for all of us, but that was motivated by something else entirely."
"Yeah, it was personal."
"Yeah, and when was the last time that you really did something for you? Outside of the kids, you're all about business now. The marriage that you were supposedly in had fallen apart years ago. There's nothing wrong with living for your job, but several of us are worried about you. Your stress levels can magnify the effects of this sickness, and you've been under severe stress lately...and acting strange. This will help you, and to be honest, repair a little of the damage that has happened already...nothing totally noticeable, but you'll feel a hell of a lot better.
Dev looked at his brother and smiled, "You never are going to stop amazing me are you?"
"Probably not...just be quiet Bruce," he said as Sharklad looked like he was about to say something.
Dev walked over to Lon, "if you say it's for the best, then let's do it."
Lon got the inoculation ready as Dev took his shoulder guards and uniform shirt off.
Both Timberwolf and Sharklad noticed the scars and bruising still on his upper arms and shoulders.
"Looks good huh?" Dev said with a little chuckle, "they said it's going to take a while to heal properly, and even then there are going to be things that will limit their full range of use...thankfully since I'm mostly Daxamite now, it's not going to be noticeable unless I go up against someone the same level as Space Ranger. Lot's of scar tissue and joint pain though...and not the best thing in the world to lok at."
Lon just sighed and gave him the shot.
Dev winced a moment as the serum went in, and thought for a second, "how are you even doing this with my invulnerablity..."
Lon laughed. "My secret," he said as he finished up. "...and my little contribution to this procedure."
He showed him the syringe he used. It had a tiny little machine on it. "It gives off just enough red sun radiation to penetrate your skin and allow me to do things like this and what I did on the battlefield. Not enough for it to affect anything else...just enough to give a shot the od fashioned way."
"Think of everything don't you?"
"I do my best," Lon said as he packed up the samples that he was taking.
They decided to not stick around to much longer as they had to go rendevous with Dev and Lons' father at Daxam.
So they said their goodbyes, and headed to the ship. After loading up their stuff, they set the ship for their next destination and took off.
Posted by SharkLad on :
Dr. Helena Aurelius watched the LMB cruiser take off from Isla Larga.
“Goodbye, Bruce,” she whispered. Dr. Aurelius fought not to cry.
‘Good riddance.’
“Quiet! How can you say that about our sons?”
‘A bigger group of failures, I’ve never seen.’
“That’s enough, Suzanne! Get out of my head!”
‘Too late, sis. You let your guard done. I’m calling the shots now.’
“No! Stop! I don’t want to go to slee—“
For a moment, Dr. Helena Aurelius’ head dropped as if she were about to pass out. But, just as suddenly as she appeared to nod off, she picked up her head, a deliciously evil grin on her face.
“Ah, that’s better,” said Dr. Suzanne Aurelius, now in charge of her sister’s body.
She walks over to a cage holding a naked mole rat-human hybrid.
“It’s such a bore when she’s in charge,” she continued to the hideous looking creature. “To think just how boring the universe would be if I hadn’t transferred my consciousness into her body just before I died. Of course, it didn’t all go exactly according to plan. We have to share – something we were never good at as kids – and she’s the dominant mind, but I still get to play when her stress level is too high and she’s not being mindful of keeping me in the ‘basement.’ Such a shame, really. I would have loved to have greeted the boys.”
Dr. Suzanne Aurelius gave off a loud cackle.
“Oh yes, that would have been quite the little reunion.”
Posted by SharkLad on :
From a remote, hidden lab on the other side of Isla Larga, a small, decidedly insane, semi-aquatic rodent watches the LMB cruiser take off.
“Good riddance,” said PsychoticBeaver.
“Now, now,” squeaked a small, rat-like creature. “Don’t you get a warm, fuzzy feeling seeing your brother and cousins?”
“Not exactly warm and fuzzy. More like murderous and bloodthirsty.”
“Ah, my psychotic offspring. Will you never change?”
“Easy with the ‘offspring’ comment, ‘pops.’ You overheard Helena as well as I did. She spilled the beans on your claim of being mine and SharkLad’s father. You were nothing but a drop in an otherwise pretty big DNA milkshake,” sneered PsychoticBeaver.
“Helena lied. If not for me, you wouldn’t exist,” said Josiah Marner, aka RatDad.
“Where’s the proof?”
“I won’t be spoken to this way, Beaver! Regardless of Helena’s claims to the contrary, I am your father, and you will treat me with respect!”
“Even though I could crush you with one flick of my tail?” taunted PsychoticBeaver.
“You wouldn’t dare,” answered RatDad. “Not when we’ve come so close to finishing our plans. Once we’re done, Legion World will never be the same!”
“Hmmm… maybe you are my father. I mean, you did kill StudlyWoodchuck without so much as batting an eye. I could have gotten my bloodlust from you. Sprock knows I didn’t get it from Dr. Goody-Two-Shoes.”
“Yes, Beaver. We have much in common, you and I, and not just our diminutive stature. Together we will rule the universe as father and daughter.”
“You mean, daughter and father, don’t you?”
“Don’t start with me again, Beaver!”
“Just pulling your tail, pops. Sprock, you gotta lighten up. Otherwise, our plan is never going to work.”
“It will work, Beaver. Before they even know what’s happening, the LMB will be no more. And that which is purest of them shall be the first to go.”
Posted by Dev Em on :
The flight to Daxam was relatively quiet between the three of them. They all had a lot of things to work through.
The proximity alert finally went off and the ships communication system came to life, "Please Identify..." the voice come through.
Dev hit a button, "This is Legion World Cruiser 247 on approach to land at Embassy Row."
"Copy LW247, proceed and land."
"That was easy," Sharklad said, finally looking away from the window next to him.
Timberwolf laughed, "helps when they know we're coming. Although, nobody knows I am here...it wouldn't be a good thing."
"What the Sprock did you do?'
"Not me really, but they would love to get me back on their payroll again, and that just leads to all kinds of messes if I actually set foot on the damned planet. So as long as I stay on board, they can't touch me."
Sharklad just looked at him and shook his head, "you are a piece of work."
Timberwolf just laughed.
----------------------------------
Dev landed the ship and swung his seat around. "He'll be here soon, he already sent a message that he was enroute. Before he gets here though, a bit of an explanation is in order...don't you think Lon?"
Lon let out something between a sigh and a grunt, "Fine. Before I came to Legion World, I was an operative for the Daxamite military. Dad taught me his trade and the military started sending me on missions as soon as they could, without his consent. When he finally found out, he decided that I needed to be off world, adn not doing these things, so he sent me to live with Dev. I kept the Furry mascot thing going because...well, for a while, it was fun as hell. then I got bored. About 6 months or so after Cobie started the Office of Security, I started doing things to help out Legion World on the side. I got to do things, and he got things done off the books. Somewhere along the way, it grew into something that I cannot talk about, but regardless...dad probably knows at this point that I am back to doing the things he didn't like back then, and probably not real happy about it."
Dev looked at him and shook his head. "I wish you would have thought enough of me to let me know what was actaully going on, and not having to learnabout it in the middle of a fight."
"Need to know basis brother, until recently. Then it was decided that it was not necessary to maintain certain protocols. Meaning, it was up to me to reveal myself whenever I wanted. There are things happening that take priority over maintainingthe mascot image...thank the gods."
A big voice boomed from behind them, "You forgot to mention the final reason I sent you to Legion World. The one thing that changed my mind."
They all turned towards Kar Em. He was a tall man, taller than Dev, and had obviously been behind a desk for a while, but not too long. He carried himself well, and even under the red sun of Daxam seemed to be more than able to handle himself in a tough situation.
Lon looked at his dad and sighed, "you really want to go there as soon as you see me?"
"I think they have a right to know, or at least Dev does."
"Fine," he said and looked at Dev, "I killed our Uncle Kel. He had turned over document databases to teh Dominion and the Daxam government wanted him gone...so they had me do it."
Kar held up his hand, "I put up with a lot, but having him kill family was a bit much. So, I had him sent to Legion World, not expecting him to be doing the things I hear he's been doing."
Lon looked at him with a look that was questioning and had a warning in it.
"Oh please Lon, I keep up in intel...I trained you remember. I sent you away when they sent you after your own family...even if he deserved it...and took his post as a favor to the President to save face."
Dev just started laughing. "This just keeps getting better. My dad's a political pawn so my brother can go and do the nasty work of a even larger political organization," he sighs and rubs his temples, "...my family gives me a headache."
Sharklad laughed. "You should try mine. Oh, wait..."
With that Timberwolf, Dev and Sharklad broke out in almost hysterical laughter.
Kar looked between the three of them like they had all gone mad.
Dev stopped finally and looked at his dad, "Dad, this is Sharklad..."
"I know who he is Dev. I've followed all of you..."
"...he's your nephew."
"I beg your pardon?"
They broke out into more laughter and eventually explained the bizarre events that had unfolded on Isla Larga.
"So, I now have an extended family of sorts..." Kar Em said, "welcome to the family Bruce."
Sharklad looked at him, "thanks."
Kar looked at Dev, "let's go get my grandchildren."
Posted by Dev Em on :
Dev and his father piloted the ship to the Main Moon of Xyler 7, called Daroon.
They were cleared for landing immediately, but something seemed off in the voice on the other side of the transmitter.
"Be ready for anything when we land. I'm sure they know why we're here and aren't going to be real willing to let the kids go," Dev said.
They all got ready as Kar landed the ship.
He looked at them, "go easy on them guys, they really don't stand a chance against you three, and I may be able to come to a peaceful solution...but I suppose none of you want to wait."
They all just looked at each other.
Lon finally spoke, "We're just going to go outside and talk to the nice people dad..."
They turned and strode down the ramp.
"Sprockin kids today," Kar said as he reached for his Omnicom, "although it does feel good to be under a yellow sun again."
-------------------------------
As they reached the bottom of the ramp, they saw hundreds of the Kings men in full armor and weapons drawn.
"You have been allowed to land as a courtesy. You will refuel your ship and leave immediately," the Captain of the Guard said.
Dev shook his head, "I'm not leaving this place without my children."
"We know who you are and why you are here...you are ordered by King Graftun to leave immediately."
Sharklad looked over the crowd, "are they sprockin kidding me?"
Lon started grinning, "this is gonna feel so good..."
Devs' eyes started glowing, "Remember boys, don't kill anyone. But make a point."
Timberwolf and Sharklad waded into the armored guards, while Dev flew above them flash frying arrows that headed his way.
-------------------------------
Inside the ship, Kar was waiting for a response from Daxam.
[ March 22, 2011, 09:18 PM: Message edited by: Dev Em ]
Posted by SharkLad on :
SharkLad grabbed a bow and arrow away from one of the King’s men.
“Hey, watch where you’re pointing that thing!” he growled.
“Again, I command you to turn around and leave this world,” the Captain of the Guard barked, drawing his sword.
“Too late for that,” said Timber Wolf with a distinct gleam in his eye. “What do you say, cuz?”
“I say… we kick some arse!”
SharkLad leapt into the air and crashed down upon a phalanx of the King’s men, scattering them and their weapons.
Timber Wolf caught a spear as it was thrown at him and used it to pole vault into the crowd.
“Hey, Sharky! Catch!” Timber Wolf said with a laugh as he threw the Captain of the Guard at SharkLad.
SharkLad grabbed the shaken captain by the sides of his breastplate.
“Mmmm… you’d probably taste good with a little barbeque sauce,” SharkLad said licking his lips.
“Remember!” Dev Em yelled from above, “No killing!”
“Eh, I was just joking,” SharkLad said as he tore the breastplate off of the Captain of the Guard. He tossed him over his shoulder and threw the breastplate towards Timber Wolf.
“Hey, Lon! This may be a good look for you.”
Timber Wolf finished bashing two of the King’s men’s heads together and reached up and caught the breastplate.
“Maybe, but I don’t think it would stay on when I go furry.” He smashed the breastplate down on the nearest guard’s head.
“Whoa! You mean ‘Furball’ might make an appearance? Sprock! I hope I can fight the urge to kick your furry arse!”
SharkLad grabbed a guard by the leg and tossed him up into the air where Dev Em met the guard’s face with his fist.
“You’re a laugh riot, fish,” Timber Wolf said with a sneer as he rolled a small, burly guard into a group of others, knocking them down like a set of bowling pins.
“Seriously though, don’t you find it strange that we haven’t torn into each other yet? Usually by now, we’re at each other’s throats.”
“I guess your mom’s serum worked,” Timber Wolf said with a shrug as he ducked from a barrage of arrows. “Hey bro! You missed a couple!”
“Sorry ‘bout that!” Dev Em yelled back. “Looks like there’s more guards coming.”
“Sprock! We gotta end this before the King has a chance to make off with Dev’s kids. If you were going to go furry, now would be a good time.”
“Alright,” Timber Wolf answered. “I ruess I rave ro roice.”
“Nice! Furball lives to scratch again! I guess there’s only one thing left for me to do -- Inyuk Chuk!”
SharkLad grows to 50 feet tall, scattering a group of the King’s men with a kick of his foot.
“FURBALL! WHAT DO YOU SAY WE END THIS?”
“I ray re rend the Ring a ressage that unress re rurrenders Rev’s rids row, re ron’t rave rany ruards reft to ripe ris rass.”
“UM, SURE, YEAH… ANYWAY, I’LL PIN THESE CLOWNS DOWN WITH A COUPLE OF PROJECTILE TEETH. YOU CLEAR THOSE GUYS OUT WHILE DEV FRIES THE REST OF THEIR WEAPONS.”
The air is filled with the sound of teeth and claws clashing against metal, as SharkLad, Timber Wolf, and Dev Em make quick work of the remaining guards.
Dev Em swoops in and lands between SharkLad and Timber Wolf. “Alright, that takes care of the lot of them. I don’t think the King is going to put up much resistance now.”
Kar Em walks down the ramp of the ship and approaches the trio.
“I guess this was as good as any peaceful solution I might have come up with. So, who’s ready for an audience with the King?”
[ March 22, 2011, 07:33 PM: Message edited by: SharkLad ]
Posted by Dev Em on :
Kar Em had become a very patient man over his years in the Daxamite Military, and after spending the last several years in the role of Diplomat to many worlds. He had never been assigned to any one particular world, as his talents made him an asset in traveling around and establishing initial relations and leaving the day to day stuff to others.
He was now waiting for Xyler 7 and Daxam to finish arguing over the rights that the the King of Daroon was claiming. The situation had been explained, and the negotiations were under way. Everyone was claiming foul as to the way their people were being treated, and nobody wanted to give up their position. The matter was made worse by the initial reaction of the King, and his assembling his army to force them to leave Daroon immediately. The fact that there was now a skirmish happening outside the ship was not helping matters in any way. "Grife...I know that Lon is hotheaded; Bruce, from everything they explained to me is just as bad, if not worse at times, and these are Devs' children...what did they think was going to happen here?" He asked nobody in particular. "I didn't raise my boys to not fight for what they believe in."
His Omnicom beeped to life to let him know that an agreement had been reached. He picked it up and hit the read option. He shook his head, "Sprockin politicians."
He stood, and pressed his uniform down. "Time to get this situation under control before the natives get hurt too bad.
-----------------------------
Kar Em walks down the ramp of the ship and approaches the trio.
“I guess this was as good as any peaceful solution I might have come up with. So, who’s ready for an audience with the King?”
The three of them looked around...
"Rhfter rall this, I don't think..." Timberwolf said as he changed back.
Dev looked at his father, "There is no way that I am going to let him..."
"Let's go meet with him before we do anything else too hasty," Kar said as he looked around at the guards scattered around them, "and let's go before this group starts waking up."
-----------------------------
They were at the Castle in no time and were escorted in.
It was a scene that they had often heard about, a King with his Queen sitting on their thrones. The Princess with the children to their right.
Dev made a move forward.
"Wait, let them come to you," Kar Em said quietly.
The children bolted as soon as they saw their father..
"DADDY!"
"DA!"
Dev scooped both of them up and they hugged his neck as tight as they could.
"I've missed you two so much," he said, tears forming in his eyes, "I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner."
"It's okay daddy, momma and the King and Queen are very nice and they are very happy to have us here...we just missed you."
"I know sweetie."
Han Em ran over to her grandfather and gave Kar Em a big hug as well. "Why are you here Grandpa?"
"To help your daddy sweatheart, the best that I can."
Jon Em ran and jumped at Timberwolf, "Unca Furbie!"
Lon caught him, "Hey kiddo, missed you."
Jon proceeded to pull something out of his pocket and started to babble about what it was.
The King rose and descended the stairs to meet them.
"Mr. Em," he said looking at Kar.
"King Graftun ," Kar said.
Dev shifted his glare from the Princess Alyson, the mother of his children, to the King, "what gave you the right..."
The King held up his hand. "Please. Let us retire to my office to discuss this matter."
Dev had his hands clenched into fists. "Fine."
Kar looked at Bruce and Lon, "Can you two stay out of trouble for a while?"
They looked at each other and shrugged. "I thought we'd been doing pretty good so far," Lon said with a grin on his face.
Bruce looked at him and nodded, "yeah, let;s go find someplace to get a drink."
"I can live with that."
With that, Lon and Bruce walked out of the castle looking for a local pub.
-----------------------------
Kar caught up with Dev Em and King Graftun . Princess Alyson was moving to join them, and the look on Devs' face was not real accepting to that thought, but he bit his tounge.
Once they entered the Kings chambers, or office as he liked to call it, they took seats that had been placed in a circle.
"Where are my chldren?" Dev asked.
"They're my children too, and they belong here with..."
The King cut her off, "Enough. There is no reason to make this any worse than it already is."
He looked at Dev, "Please understand, we were out of options. There are no valuable suitors for the Princess here, and a precedant had been set by the King of Orando for allowing commoners to marry his daughter."
Dev shifted in his chair.
"We were looking for someone that could help provide children with natural powers, physical or mental. Your mother told us that it was possible to have you and my daughter marry, and produce heirs to the throne. By the time things were moving into place to have you two meet, you had already fallen in love and were engaged. Suzanne told us that there would be time to fix things. When the accident happened, she said that she had passed and that you were open to the idea. We had no idea what she had really done, until it was too late and there was no way to get Alyson out of there without causing a huge problem."
"You expect me to believe that you all had no idea..."
"Of course not Dev Em. What I hope you do believe is that..."
Princess Alyson interupted, "please let me tell this part daddy."
"Very well."
"Dev, I wanted to tell you, I wasn't convinced and wanted out, but your mother said that she had things under control and that I would only have to pretend for a short time. I really loved you all those years we were together, and am sorry that I did this to you. The plan was for us to have been killed in the Red Bees attack, and to slip out and come home. The children were to have been told that you perished as well, and we actually feared you had during your battle with him. We obviously couldn't go through with everything that we had planned...or at least I couldn't."
Dev was holding his head in his hands, "I don't sprocking believe this."
Kar Em had risen and was standing behind his son with his hands on his shoulders. First as a sign of support to his son, and secondly as a sign of where his u;ltimate loyalty lied in this matter to the King.
"Let her finish son."
The Princess continued, "We are ashamed of what we have done. I am ashamed, and do not blame you for hating me right now. But please listen. the arguments we had about your time with your friends...those were real. You spend so much time away fighting for all the right reasons. But still away from your family constantly. Sometimes we barely saw you for weeks at a time."
Dev shifted again in his chair.
"We were thinking at times about telling you the truth, and inviting you here to live with us as Royalty, but I knew that you would never be able to give up what you do. You are one of, if not the most caring people I have ever met...but your heart is that of a hero...not a stay at hime father and husband. You need something to fight for, and Legion World needs you to be there fighting for it...as do your friends. I know you love the children, they love you and have talked about you everyday since we got here. They know what happened, and were quite upset at first, but they have grown to love it here. There is a life for them here that they could never realize anywhere else..."
"If you think that I am leaving them here alone with you and your family..."
Kar walked in front of Dev and knelt down, "They're not going to be alone. If, and only if," he said as he shot a look at the King, "you agree with this, I will be staying with them. To watch over them. Face it...she's right son. You and your brother are not people that can stand still and turn your backs on your duty. You have your children, and they will be here for you to visit as often and as long as you'd like. But they need to stay here. On a planet that is not attacked every other month by the Villian of the moment."
Devs' face had gone emotionless. "I...you're...they..."
"Why don't we leave him alone to think this through for a few minutes," Kar said to the King and Princess, and motioned toward the door.
As they exoted the children came running in.
They closed the doors, and Kar looked at the King, "you;re a lucky man. My other son would have gutted you about five second after we walked through the door."
The King looked at him with an indignant look forming on his face.
The Princess chuckled under her breath, obviously feeling her emotions settling, "he's right you know."
Kar looked at the doors, "there are three reasons he'll agree to this. First, he knows that she's right about his true nature. he cannot sit back and let others fight in his place. He s tried and failed miserably. Second, the childrenlove it here, and are used to him being away on assignments with the LMB and Legion Worlds Office of Security. Lastly, he trusts me. Even with everything he and I have disagreed on over the years, he trusts my judgement, and if I am willing to give my life up on Daxam to oversee the raising of his children, he knows that this is a serious enough situation that he needs to carefully consider."
"So in other words..." the King said.
"He'll agree for all the right reasons...oh, and there's a fourth...he'd do anything that those two will ask him too."
-----------------------------
About an hour passed before the doors opened.
Dev walked out with the kids up on his shoulders.
Dev smiled a half smile, "go ahead sweetie, tell them."
Han jumped down, :we get to stay with Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Grandpa Kar! Daddy said he will be back soon to check up on us, and that he will talk to us everyday that he can."
Princess Alyson went over to Dev, and hugged him. "I know this isn't easy for you, but they have two planets and a Moon to protect them now. Daroon, Xyler 7 and Legion World."
"Let's not forget my staff that will be joining me from Daxam," Kar said with a grin. "50 or so Daxamites under a yellow sun is something that will raise the political attention of the United Planets."
-----------------------------
A short time later, Dev and his father were talking under the night sky.
"Thanks dad. how long did you know this was going to happen?"
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
"By the gods...you know that Lon says the same thing all the time don't you?
"Where do you think he got it from?"
Dev gave his father a hug, "I wonder where those two got off to?"
"That is something I don't think I want to know."
"Give this to them. It's just a note telling them that this is something I agreed to, and that I expect to see them back on Legion World as soon as they can make it."
"Will do son. You taking the scenic route home."
Dev floated off the ground, "yeah, I need to be alone for a while, and flying home is gonna give me the best opportunity to do that. Besides, if they;re causing the trouble I'm betting they are, I don't want to wait around for them to sober up."
"Take care, and I'll see you soon."
"Yeah, you to. I'll be calling as soon as I get back. There are a few things I need to take care of back on Legion World. I still don't buy half of what they told me here..."
"Son, you're mom is a scary person when motivated by greed. She needed the funding, and was goign to manipulate anyone she could into getting it. From what I can gather from talking to the King, they were scared to death of her and kept playing along to save everyones lives. They're not as bad a people as they seem...just motivated by different standards."
"Take care of all of them..."
"I will."
[ April 12, 2011, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Dev Em ]
Posted by SharkLad on :
SharkLad and Timber Wolf stumble out of a bar called "The Xylerzone."
"And those were the worst chicken wings ever!" SharkLad shouted in the direction of the bar.
"We didn't eat chicken wings, fishface," said Timber Wolf stifling a burp.
"Then, what the sprock did I eat?"
"Fairies. Xylerian fairies."
"Oh, gross, man... did you eat any?"
"Nah! I don't like to eat anything that's still moving... or talking," answered Timber Wolf. "I think they were the waitresses."
"Sprock! We gotta get out of here. Where's the cruiser?"
"RIght over there, but hey, we can't leave without Dev... and his kids... I mean, that's why we're here, right? Right?"
"Sorry, I was picking fairy wings out of my teeth. What did you say?"
"Forget it. Hey, I got a message from my dad. What? Dev took off. Everything is fine with his kids and his wife and the King and... and... can you pilot the cruiser?"
"Sure, do you have the keys?" SharkLad asked.
"Keys? We don't use keys. It's a space-cruiser," Timber Wolf slurred.
"So, how do start it?"
"Um, you say 'engage.'"
"'Engage?'"
"Yeah, you like point at the screen and say 'engage.'"
"Alright, whatever. We are we going?" SharkLad asked.
"I have some business on Argus 7 I need to take care of before we <hic> go back to LegionWorld."
"Argus 7? Argus 7? What do you know about Argus 7?"
"Yeah, it's like the seventh planet in the Argus system."
"No, not that. Nevermind. Let's go." SharkLad said, shaking his head.
"Engage!"
"Knock it off!"
Posted by SharkLad on :
It was raining on Argus 7 as Timber Wolf and SharkLad exited the shipyard.
"I can't sprockin' believe I'm here again," grumbled SharkLad. "Now that we're here, you want to tell me what you have to take care of?"
"It's better if you don't know, Sharky," answered Timber Wolf. "I'll make it quick."
"Fine. I know a bar that serves a decent Bloody Thora."
"A 'Bloody Thora?' Who are you? Space Tart?"
"Tough talk from someone who drank so much Spiffany Ale at the Xylerzone that they won't have any left for the next bachelorette party that comes in."
"Aw, cripes."
"What's the matter?" asked SharkLad.
"Missionaries... they're gonna want to save our souls."
"Good luck with that."
Timber Wolf and SharkLad managed to dodge the Swilian missionaries and head for the main section of the Argus 7 colony. They approach a bar called "Lucky 7's."
"How do you know this place?"
"Argus 7 seems to be a place I can't shake. This is my fourth time here," said SharkLad as he stepped up to the bar.
"When was that?"
"Once on a LMB mission -- that was the first time I met my father. The next time was to get some closure from the first time but all I got was a shiv in my side from Beaver. The last time, well, it was to pay my respects to someone who got mixed up and lost their life in the sprockin' game Beaver's been playing with me since I first learned to swim."
"Bummer."
"Yeah, you could say that. Hey barkeep! Two of your best ales. And keep them coming."
---
"So, I told Lardy, I don't care if you wrote your name on every box of Cheez-its, when I'm hungry, I'm gonna eat whatever I want."
"What's a Cheez-it?" asked a pretty little redhead at the bar.
"They're like a little square of cheese, but it's not real cheese -- I guess that's why they spell it with a 'z' -- and they're orange, kinda like your hair ... all orange and powdery and tasty..." SharkLad slurred. "You have nice hair."
The redhead blushed.
"Say, have you seen my buddy? He went to the bathroom like an hour ago, and we gotta get going. Dev is probably already home by now."
SharkLad downed his Bloody Thora.
"Lon thought this is a girl's drink, but I like it 'cause it tastes like real blood," SharkLad said licking his lips.
The redhead gave a nervous laugh.
"Say, don't worry. I'm not gonna drink your blood, unless, ya know, that's your thing, I mean, <hic> I don't judge."
"This guy bothering you?" came a gravelly voice from behind SharkLad. "Cause, I'll take care of him for you."
"What th-- Who the sprock are you to care of me?" SharkLad asked as he turned around.
Behind SharkLad stood a Dividian Man-Hawk, eight feet tall with massive arms and a broad set of wings.
"Say, those are pretty wings. Do you <hic> carry a little bow and arrow too?"
The Man-Hawk grabbed SharkLad by the arms and lifted him off the ground.
"I don't need weapons to take care of scum like you."
"You didn't even get my joke... cupid," SharkLad mumbled. "But, listen, if we're gonna dance, I think I'll lead."
SharkLad opened his mouth and let loose a barrage of projectile teeth. The Man-Hawk, his arms and wings sliced by the teeth, let out a cry of rage as he knocked SharkLad across the bar.
"What the sprock!" SharkLad grumbled as he picked himself up.
"You will leave now," the Man-Hawk bellowed.
"You will leave now, blah blah blah," SharkLad mimicked. "Listen, I'm just trying to have a drink. Why don't you find your little harp, and go fly away."
The Man-Hawk gave a yell as he ran in SharkLad's direction.
"Oh sprock," SharkLad said as he took a shaky step backward. Dodging the Man-Hawk, SharkLad grabbed him by the wings and tossed him into the mirror above the bar.
"Say! We don’t want any trouble here!” bellowed the bartender.
"Oh good, you're still here. Can you get me another drink? Mine got spilled."
The Man-Hawk leapt over the bar. SharkLad met him with a right hook, knocking him to the floor.
"Now about that drink..."
---
Timber Wolf entered what was left of Lucky 7's.
"What the sprock? Bruce, are you here?"
"Heeeeeeyyy! There you are, furby. You missed all the fun. The Man-Hawk -- the guy hanging over the bar in the tutu -- didn't like me talking to some little redhead. So we, um, ya know, whatever," SharkLad said, motioning around the bar. "Turned out the redhead was friends with the Man-Hawk. She called some other guys and, well, I ended up redecorating the whole place."
Timber Wolf looked around. Besides the Man-Hawk above the bar, there were several other additions to the walls.
"How many Bloody Thoras did you drink?"
"Never mind that. You did what you had to do?"
"I can't say."
"Ugh, whatever."
"Where's the redhead, by the way?"
"Oh, I ate her."
"What?!?"
"She reminded me too much of Lardy's Cheez-its."
"You're lucky we're not here on official LMB business."
"And you're lucky my mom gave us that serum 'cause I still got a lot of fight left in me."
"Well, save it. We're leaving."
"I think this might be my last trip to Argus 7. This place rots."