"The scariest thing when I wake up, is never knowing if this might be the last time I'll ever see those I love"
- Cordula Davis
***
The last thing Cordula expects this day to come.
A Mutant Jellyfish swimming along the waters of New York City. Not to mention it carries with it something akin to a toxic waste which is a huge no, no for a sudden influx of water contamination. They were able to quickly chase it out to open waters.
Currently, they were still in pursuit.
"You can swim but you can't hide from the G-Man!" Randy shouted to the fleeing mutant as it desperately tried to swim away from Godzilla who pursued it non-stop. On the H.E.A.T Seeker, the gang quickly spread out a net to capture the mutant and hopefully sedate it enough to contact Hicks and transport it to Monster Island.
"Too bad doc's laid up. He's missin' all the fun" Randy said. Elsie gave Randy a look "What fun? The jelly that thing spews is as toxic as nuclear waste" She answered, not exactly an appealing monster to have at Monster Island. She'd prefer the monster they took down than this one, at least they weren't foul smelling.
"We're just glad lucky Godzilla chased it out of New York Harbor or we'd have a major contamination problem on our hands." Nick said "Why are we even thinking about keeping this thing on Monster Island when it barely benefits the environment. The only thing it does it stink and suffocate the whole place." Cordula mumbled.
"Incoming!" Was all the warning Nick shouted before they dropped the net and ran to safety. Cordula's face grimaced as a foul smelling odor reached her nose. Nick quickly neutralized the glob with water from the water cannon in front of the deck before it bit down through the wood and into the deck.
Godzilla rose from the water with the Mutant Jellyfish in his mouth and proceeded to swing it around like a chew toy as the creature continued to let out noises. "Oh, now that gotta sting" Randy said, watching the action. Elsie squinted as she watched the clouds suddenly darken "Mother Nature at 3 o'clock!" Elsie suddenly shouted, pointing through the distance to see condense dark clouds gathering before a tornado suddenly sprung up out of nowhere followed by flashes of lightning.
"And it looks like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed" Nick called back. Inside, Monique watched as every navigation, sonar and tech began to malfunction rapidly like a domino effect. "Instrumentation is malfunctioning." She quickly informed. They all watched the storm with sinking feelings on their chest.
"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Randy asked uncertainly "Yeah, and that's bad news for me" Cordula replied. Being a fisherman's daughter, you have to be adept at reading the weather patterns otherwise a voyage out at sea might turn out to be your last. She gripped the railings tight as the feeling grew.
Monique tried to steer the seeker away but they were instantly swept into the storm via a huge shift in the waves. The last thing Cordula saw was beautiful clear skies and Godzilla's head popping out before that too disappeared as fog covered them like a veil.
***
Godzilla roared as he finished off the mutant and watched its blood stain the sea. Head popping out, he expected to see the vessel which carried his pack only to find...nothing.
Letting out a noise of confusion, he sniffed the air, their scent was still in the air but then it suddenly cut off like it vanished. Not liking it one bit, Godzilla quickly swam back to his den, thinking his pack might have gone ahead.
***
3 weeks.
Joe Davis came into H.E.A.T headquarters as Mendel welcomed him in. There was a tiredness in the man's eyes in which Joe completely understood based on his sometimes episodes of insomnia especially when thinking about her. "How is he?" Mendel didn't have to ask who Joe was even referring too as he quietly opened the cams to see Godzilla resting on his den, a half eaten pile of fish that Joe left the other day lay rotting.
It really looked pitiful to watch. Neither of the men blame the poor mutant. Everyday, Godzilla goes out to search for their missing friends and family, with no luck. Joe even accompanied Godzilla when he has free time to find out exactly what happened to his daughter, not once believing she died like the official reports Major Hicks had reported.
It wasn't just Joe that was mourning, families and friends of the missing people were even searching and looking for them.
"Do you really think they might still be out there?" Mendel asked, staring out to the open sea. Joe stared at the sea which provided his family for generation and took his daughter away. "I know my daughter. I taught her everything I know and the wisdom passed down from our ancestors. I just hope she would be able to find her way back home."
***
1 month.
Everywhere chaos reigned as cities were overrun by creatures that seemed to never die, the military was in tatters by this point and Joe was assisting people evacuate. Godzilla roared as he bravely fought off as many of these creatures as he could. Mendel grabbed Joe by the arm "We need to head down underground, it's our only chance of survival" Joe stopped and turned to look at Godzilla who was quickly losing energy and being overpowered by so many of them.
With a determined look on his face, he handed Mendel a tape. "When my daughter gets back. Tell her I love her and let her hear this" Mendel gaped and was about to say that it should be him who would get to say that when she and the others returned but Joe was already charging straight into the fray, shooting down the creatures that clung to a weakened Godzilla.
If they stand here or fall, no one is cutting off the last living connection he has with his daughter.
That was the last time anyone saw Joe Davis as Godzilla fell with one last roar in the sky, saving millions of people from the siege.
***
In the storm, the seeker rocked violently as Nick, Elsie, Randy, and Cordula were being tossed around like dolls. Cordula gasped and gripped the rails tightly as water splashed her wet. Randy sputtered as he lost his grip and fell to the floor. Monique desperately tried to restart the engine to no avail as the seeker drifted deeper into the storm.
Minutes later, the seas calmed but the storm was still there as well as the weird fog surrounding them. "Whoa, what was that?" Randy asked. Never once did he experience a storm as weird as this one. "I'd say a spontaneous and unstable atmospheric anomaly of immeasurable strength" Elsie replied to which Randy did not understand.
"You've been uh...moonlighting on the weather channel?" Randy asked. "Don't you? We mostly use the H.E.A.T seeker when we go gallivanting off to distant islands and this is the first time I hear someone say they don't watch the weather channel" Cordula spoke up, sneezing before Randy could come up with a quip or two.
"I think we should head inside and dry off before one of us ends up like Mendel and catches a cold"
***
As the rest of the team dried themselves off, Monique was finally able to restart the engines and they have been drifting for quite some time. Using only their eyesight to find any form of land or possibly a way out of this weather.
"I don't like the way that storm is still sitting up there" Elsie said as she watched lightning flash every second. "It's almost creepy to stare at it" Cordula added, that sinking feeling never subsiding but only seemed to amplify as she watched the storm move away. "Radio's dead., nothing but static. All other systems are back online" Randy said as he removed the headphones before his gaze went to a very clear sonar.
"But the sonar's clear"
"Clear? Then where are Godzilla and that mutation?" Nick asked, bewildered. Even if they were swept away thanks to the storm, Godzilla would still be able to track and find them. "Could the storm have forced them so deep they have moved out of sonar range?" Elsie asked in theory. "Monique, do a sweep" Nick said.
2 hours of searching non-stop with only the storm as their companion and this thick fog. "Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of where we are. Visibility is so low I can barely see Randy's face inside" Cordula said. "It's been two hours with no sonar or visual contact. Maybe Godzilla just headed home without us" Elsie said, stopping Nick from searching anymore with his binoculars.
Nick and Cordula looked at each other. Through all their adventures they knew Godzilla would check up on them to make sure they were safe before he headed home. As Monique drove the seeker back to home base, Cordula and Nick could not help but feel uneasy in this situation. As Monique drove the seeker straight back to headquarters, the rest of the team stood outside to try and see through the fog. Once the fog was lifted, they were all in shock at the sight that greeted them.
"Since when did H.E.A.T Headquarters become a fixer-upper?" Elsie asked out loud. "Doc must have had some party." Randy commented which only confused most of the gang. "I don't recall Mendel being a party animal." Cordula stated as Monique carefully docked the seeker. Randy and Nick lowered the plank as Elsie and Cordula were the first to step out.
"Agh!" Cordula squealed when she stepped on a loose board and her foot came down. Elsie quickly grabbed her and pulled her up before Cordula's entire leg completely fall through. "Okay, this is too much. How long were we even gone to make this place look like...this?!" Cordula gestured around her. The entire team had no answer to give.
***
With the lights switched on, they all blinked in shock. If the outside was bad, the inside was worse. It really looked like it had been ravaged by a monster invasion. "Mendel?" Elsie called out, waiting to hear a reply but there was no answer back. Randy quickly moved to where his computers were stationed and gasped "Oh man, every computer, the cameras, even the coffee machine, toast." All gadgets Randy held were destroyed. He turned to them to try and rationalize what was going on.
"This has got to be Doc's idea of a practical joke. We must be one of those hidden video shows."
"This is too much for it to be a video show" Cordula said, crossing her arms. Nick, who had been silent for most of the time finally spoke up in surprise. "Godzilla's lair" Nick said before dashing back to the seeker. Cordula's eyes widen before slapping her forehead. So caught up they were in the state headquarters was in, they forgot a certain lizard that has yet to show his face.
Elsie turned on the computers and connected it to the cameras that showed Godzilla's lair. To her surprise, none of the cameras work except for CAM 2 which only shows the entrance of the den.
"What happened?" Nick breathed as he stared at the screen even Cordula was stunned at the state the entrance was in. "The storm?" Nick turned to Elsie for inquiry.
"I don't think so. Plant growth like that should have taken decades." Elsie replied before her gaze turned to Randy "Still think this is a TV show?" Crossing his arms, Randy replied in a solemn tone. "Yeah, the Twilight Zone"
"We can't just stay here wondering what could have caused this mess. We have got to find out what is going on."
***
Apocalyptic.
That was the first thing that entered everyone's minds as the scene of Manhattan came to view. The air was slightly thick with fog and there were no sounds of birds or seagulls chirping or tweeting and everything was silent.
Not a good sign for a usually bustling city 24 hours.
Randy had gone to try and connect to anything to figure out what was happening. Cordula and Nick took to scanning for any living form. "I've been up and down the dial jefe, nothing." Randy said, resigned.
"So much for the city that never sleeps." Elsie commented as they stared at the desolate city. As Monique drove the seeker deeper into the city. Randy took note of a familiar structure that lay half sunken in the waters.
"Whose been playing dominos with the World Trade Center?" Randy asked Nick who merely shrugged, wondering even himself how it even got to that state. From Cordula's eyes, she squinted to see a shadow suddenly moving at rapid speed towards the seeker. She could make out a familiar shape. Her mouth blurted out the words before her brain could catch up.
"Is that a Triceratops?!" That prompted Monique to turn and see the creature moving towards them sideways as it used the structure of the WTC as a path. She quickly drove. She drove the seeker away from the building.
"Does that answer your question?" Elsie pointed as the creature roared, very much unlike the roar a Triceratops would make, at least in Cordula's mind with all the dinosaur documentary there is with dinosaurs.
"It flies?!" Cordula panicked when the creature suddenly threw itself off to spread its wings before it landed in the water, disappearing in the depths below. Randy and Cordula peered down the railings only to see it suddenly rise up and fly above them with a roar.
"Uh Oh. Apparently, it swims to." Randy added. "I don't need another tidbit to how much trouble we are in." Cordula deadpanned before they all ducked as the creature landed on top of the seeker.
It roared at them as they all took a step back. Monique looked around for a way to get this creature off their boat when she spotted a broken hole of a bundling big enough for the seeker to squeeze in but not big enough for a creature that size.
Deciding to take chances than getting eaten alive today, Monique veered the seeker a hard turn to the hole and pushed through. "Move!" Nick shouted, pushing the others to the ground as the creature bent its head down to try and take a bite only to bite down on one of the railings.
"Hey! That's against your biology!" Cordula shouted, pointing a finger at it only to receive a roar. "I think you just made it all the more mad chica." Randy pointed out as the creature moved to full height before the back of its head suddenly hit the concrete, making it fall to the water.
They stared back at it, wondering what the heck just happened in just a few minutes ago. "Did we just get attacked by a cretaceous creature, a herbivorous cretaceous creature?" Cordula blinked. She did not add the fact it could fly and swim, and its structure was slightly different from the fossils of Triceratops she sees on TV.
Nick snapped himself out after Cordula said those words. "Let's get to shore." He said and the team gave each other looks.
Surely, the shores couldn't be worse than the dangerous seas.
***
They were wrong.
"The whole city looks like a, like a war zone." Nick commented as they walked on the broken concrete main road. The team stared at the scene with increasing bewilderment.
This all happened in a span of hours they were gone?
"Those cars, they don't exactly look like this year's model." Elsie pointed to some cars. Unlike the car doors that swings sideways to open, the car doors here swing upwards to open. "Not to mention they all look so...advanced?" Cordula tried out the words and found out how accurate that description might be.
"Check this out." Randy pointed to the movie house which showed what movie it was playing. The title shocked everyone.
"Ghostbuster's 10? Am I missing something here?" Elsie asked, crossing her arms. "Yeah, parts 3 through 9." Randy said, counting his fingers. With all this evidence pointing to a very weird conclusion, Elsie looked at Nick who had a skeptic look on his face.
"Nick, I know this is gonna sound crazy but, what if we're in the future? I mean, maybe we've been caught in some sort of time vortex."
With those words out of Elsie's mouth. Nick turned to her. "You're right, it does sound crazy." He said, moving away from her. "Wait a minute, jefe. Everything's been kinda wacko since we went through that storm cloud." Randy added.
"I'm a scientist." Nick said. "Hey Einstein, look around." Elsie said, arms spread wide to the dilapidated city. Something that could never happen in a span of hours.
"It is the only viable explanation." Monique said, supporting Elsie which was less shocking with the fact they just time travelled raging in their minds. "Does this mean all those reports of the Bermuda triangle are true? Cause I am never going to pass over that ever."
Cordula shivered, remembering the missing reports of planes and boats with only one location that seem to connect them: The Bermuda Triangle.
"Don't worry, chica, that place is already off my list." Randy said. Cordula looked at Randy in shock as the group continued to move, better than staying in one place. They were very much unaware they were being followed.
As they turned to a corner, Monique stopped to turn back once she heard something from behind. Her eyes spotted a shadow darting.
Sneaky, but not enough for a veteran like her.
The rest of the team were a bit wats away but close enough to hear Monique grunting and a very young voice shouting "Hiya!" They ran back to see a young boy dressed like he's prepared for war.
"Who're you?" Nick asked. "The dude who's saving your butts, duck!" The boy suddenly shouted, pointing behind them. They turned in time to see a familiar flying Triceratops diving straight for them.
They quickly separated into groups of three and Nick, Monique and Cordula hid behind a building while Randy, Elsie, and the young boy hid behind a fallen yellow vehicle.
The creature grabbed the vehicle, showing the people hiding behind it. "I thought we gave that thing a permanent headache!" Randy shouted, glaring at the creature. "That thing's a DRAGMA and there are thousands of them." The boy said.
The creature dropped the fallen vehicle and circle around to try and attack them. "There's a storm drain by the subway Station." The boy said, shoving the group to a direction as they ran away from the creature.
Seeing the drain, Nick quickly assisted the rest of his team into getting inside first before the boy shoved him inside to the adult male's surprise.
The boy jumped down just seconds before the creature's snout came through. "Go! (3x)" The boy shouted as the team ran.
"Kid's kinda bossy, isn't he?" Nick commented as they ran. "He's not the only one who's bossy!" Cordula added, giving glances to Nick as the creature's roars slowly faded the more they ran deeper to the sewers.
They turned to a section before the kid quickly went to a set of ladders and began climbing up. Thinking they were going back to the surface, the group followed only to find themselves in an underground settlement.
"Okay, we are officially in apocalypse town." Cordula stated as she watched the state the people are in. The boy called them to follow him as the team looked at each other before following to see a door with only a curtain that served as a barrier.
The boy stopped them from proceeding further. "Wait here" He said before walking inside. "Why do I get the feeling we're about to meet the wizard?" Elsie commented as they waited outside.
"What else is new? We just discovered we time travelled to an Apocalyptic era, got ourselves entangled with a supposedly extinct cretaceous dinosaur, and now a soldier kid." Cordula listed off the weird things that has been happening as of now.
"If there's one thing I hate more than taking, it's taking orders from a 10 year old." Randy said, crossing his arms. The boy returned ans gestured them inside.
"This way" The team entered through the curtains to stop when a tall figure moved outside the shadows. All eyes of the team went wide when they saw a very familiar face stare back at them.
"Mendel?" They breathed. The man stared back at them with a nostalgic look in his weary eyes.
"Long time no see."
***
Mendel had gone through a lot in his life that had made him the man he was today. He never thought the ghosts of his past would suddenly plop themselves here.
"I found some stragglers, they're a little weird." Animal's son had gone to inform him of a new situation.
What else is new?
Mendel could not help but think. Nothing scares him now apart from the impending doom humanity is now facing. What they were doing now was only borrowing time for the inevitable.
So what made him still continue to fight?
The words of a man, of a father waiting for his daughter to return and a scientist who wanted nothing more than for his friends to come back safely remained in his memory.
Imagine his surprise when he heard familiar voices echo in his ears, Mendel thought he was hallucinating until he laid eyes on them. They looked exactly like the day they disappeared with the exception of how haggard they look. Probably from running away from the DRAGMAs.
"Mendel?"
"Long time no see"
Mendel breathed, not knowing which emotion to show. "You're alive." Nick felt relief course through him as he stared at Mendel. "So are you." Mendel added, crossing his arms.
"Huh, I hate to admit it Doc, but I'm really glad to see you" Randy said with his arms wide open, expecting a hug. "Everything has changed since your disappearance." Mendel said before covering his mouth to let out a sneeze.
Randy, feeling slightly unused at this version of a doctor, took a step back as Elsie commented "Maybe not everything."
"Wait, disappearance?" Cordula and Nick looked at Mendel for an explanation. "You chase that mutation into the open ocean but only Godzilla returned." Mendel said.
"Right, being here in the future means we literally erased ourselves in the past." Cordula said after some thought. "I think we we're caught in a time vortex." Elsie supplied.
"Considering you haven't aged a day since I last saw you, I'd say that's possible." Mendel affirmed Elsie's statement. "What year is this?" Nick asked. "18 AD. That's After DRAGMA, but by the Roman Calender, it's 2022." Elsie and Nick looked at each other in shock.
Apparently, they travelled way too far into the future.
A familiar sets of squeaks made Randy and the others turn to a darkened tunnel and saw a familiar yellow robot wheel itself in. "N.I.G.E.L" Rnady breathed as he moved closer to look at the upgraded version of the yellow bot.
"Doc, Recon Patrol Reports Nauties Fighting In Sectors 9 And 12" N.I.G.E.L's voice had a familiar voice echo.
"That's my voice" Randy looked at Mendel for an explanation. Feeling something akin to embarrassment, Mendel looked away. "Well, still a few glitches." Was all the doctor could say but there was a nostalgic look in his eyes as he looked back at Randy then at N.I.G.E.L.
"Mendel, Where's Godzilla?" Nick asked the question Mendel waited for. He gave Nick a sad look as he took them to a separate room. It was dilapidated as all the other sections of this underground base but it was cleaner than most.
A statue stood in the center. The team stared at the statue of Godzilla in silent shock and horror at this indication. "Those statues are memorials" Nick concluded, feeling something heavy settle on his stomach.
"He died a hero Nick, allowing millions to escape during The Second Great Siege, but he was not alone at that time." He said, turning to Cordula and handing her an old tape. "This was the last thing your father gave me before he, along with Godzilla, stopped the DRAGMAs. This was also the last time I ever saw him." Mendel didn't mince any words.
He held back a strong sense of guilt when he saw the devastated look fall into Cordula's face as she stared at the recording like it was lifeline. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you, but this is the last wish of your father." Cordula nodded before she felt Elsie's strong hands grasping her shoulders.
The woman gave her a tight-lipped smile, and Cordula wanted to smack herself. It wasn't just her family that might be dead or missing in this future.
Why does the future suck?
"Come on, how about you watch the recording while I wait outside for you." Elsie said, giving Nick a look that Cordula needed some alone time. Nick nodded before he and the others left with Mendel to give the girls some space.
***
Cordula sat down and watched the recording blare to life, and the image was something she doubts she'd forget for a long time. The image of the father she was seeing looked old, weary, and tired.
"Hey there, little one. If you're watching this and I'm not around, it means that something must have happened to me, and Mendel gave this recording to you, or nothing happened to me and you suddenly stumbled upon this. Your curiosity knows no bounds when you find something of interest.
In all my life, I have only loved 2 things, the sea and my family. The day I met your mother and she had you before she died was one of the greatest and worst moments of my life."
Cordula had a weird look on her face. Not sure what expression she should show.
"When you went to join with this new H.E.A.T crew with that baby Godzilla, half of myself was afraid to lose you. The only link I have to my wife and my only child, but a bigger part of me grew so happy that you finally have some friends of your own, even though most of them are adults."
Cordula pouted, "I am a growing adult, dad." She felt slightly embarrassed that her father knew she had more or less no friends at school. There are acquaintances, but they weren't close enough for her to consider them as friends, and they didn't exactly even state they were friends to the public.
"Anyways, enough about those. The day I heard about your disappearance along with the other families of the team. We spared nothing to find you, all of you. Heck, even the big guy went along with the search, I'm pretty sure it freaked out most of the search teams."
The image Cordula had in her mind made her laugh a bit.
"I doubt you and the others are dead, despite others saying you all died out to sea chasing the mutation, but I know you all are safe. The big guy wouldn't let anything happen to you."
The serious stare he had on screen made Cordula wonder if the "you" He was talking meant the entire team. The screen suddenly jolted. Cordula could make out the sounds of gunfire and people screaming.
"I don't have much time. There are so many things I wanted to say when you and the others get back. But I have only one thing to say to you, Cordula Davis."
Cordula straightened as she waited to hear what her father had to say.
"I love you, and I am one of if not, the proudest father to ever have a daughter a common fisherman could have."
Biting her lips, Cordula felt tears suddenly pool over as she fought to keep her sobs at bay. She only had a few minutes to watch this, and she needed to hear whatever her father needed to say without any interruption.
"When you get back and the world I am living in now goes down the drain. I know you and your friends can find a way to fix this. Know this, your mother and I are always, always waiting for you."
That was the last of the recording as it faded to black, her father's soft look. She broke down in tears and cried. No matter if they get back in time and Cordula would see her father, young and healthy again. Losing a parent, especially one that is always a constant to a child's life, is always devastating when they pass on.
Elsie entered when she heard Cordula cry for a long time. She didn't say anything but embraced her. Feeling her own tears start to form, Elsie held them back when she thought of her own family in this time. Estranged they might be, they were still her family.
"Elsie...what do we do?" Cordula sniffed, feeling drained and tired all of a sudden. Grasping her shoulders, Elsie made Cordula face her. "We find out what's going on. Stop whatever happened in that past that made the future like this, then we can all go back to our families"
Cordula grasped one of Elsie's hands at the words of the paleontologist. She nodded as she dried her tears and the two went after the team. Cordula had a mind to bring with her the recording but decided not to.
She did not need that emotional roller coaster right now to cloud her thoughts and hinder her way back to her father.
***
Elsie and Cordula found the rest of the team in a separate room which Mendel calls as the War Room. "Unfortunately, we are mostly on the defensive these days." Mendel explains. Cordula eyed a woman cocking a gun with bandages on her arms, a haunted look was on her face yet she still fights for another day.
"Mendel, what exactly are we dealing with here?" Elsie asked as Mendel went over to a set of computers. The boy they had met was manning them. "Genetically created mutations. Highly adaptable, sulfuric acid based circulatory systems, impenetrable exoskeletons, accelerated regenerative powers." Everyone's faces went grim as Mendel informed them of this.
"We are talking about a monster of everyone's worst nightmare come to life. What kind of sicko would want this to even be made?" Cordula glared at the screen. "It didn't take long before the DRAGMAs wiped out most of the planet. Animal took these images just before he going MIA but his legacy remains." Mendel said solemnly. The team looked at one another in confusion, "Legacy?" Nick wanted Mendel to clarify on what Mendel meant when the boy turned to them.
"I'm his son." The boy said casually as if he didn't just drop a bombshell of information at them. "Excuse me, Dr. Craven, but if I don't get home soon my mom's gonna thrash me." He said with a wince. "Dismissed" Mendel said with a slight smile before the boy took off. Randy and Cordula watched the exchange.
"Ever wonder what kind of girl Animal could even get?" Randy asked. Cordula jabbed him in the stomach before answering with a pondering look on her face. "She must be as dedicated to following the news as he is in filming them, or maybe he found himself a better partner than Audrey. Still makes me wonder how he never seems to develop something whenever they go out. They always seem tied to the hip when we see them." Randy quickly shushed Cordula.
"Let's just keep that to ourselves chica, the last thing we want is another one of jefe's mood swings" Cordula and Randy nodded to each other in agreement.
"Red Alert! Sector 32 Is Getting Munched!" N.I.G.E.L suddenly beeped. "I'll take point!" Mendel's tone suddenly went tense and rigid when a hand landed on his shoulder. Mendel looked back to see Nick and the others giving him smirks and grins of their own. "You mean, we'll take point," Nick restated. "You're not alone in this anymore Mendel." Cordula said with her arms crossed.
"Nice to have you back." Mendel replied, shoulders loosening with a small smile beginning to form. "Let's Rock and Roll Jefe!" N.I.G.E.L beeped, Randy's familiar wording echoed in their ears. "I don't really sound like that, do I?" Randy questioned. Elsie merely gave the man an 'Are you serious?' look.
***
The silent ghost town of Manhattan City was suddenly brimming back to life in the form of hailing laser guns, blasters and monster roars. Mendel drove the vehicle straight to a DRAGMA's foot, bringing the creature down by making it flip before pulling the car to a stop in the middle of the broken street.
"Monique, Nick, Cordula, flank me! Randy, Elsie, Cover!" Mendel began ordering like a sergeant which made Elsie blink in surprise. "Just when you think you have a guy figured out..." Elsie muttered. Cordula had to hand it to these new tech they were introduced with as it gave off automatic firing without any manual set ups first. Also, it doesn't contain bullets so there's no need to squat down and reload with the risk of getting picked on by these DRAGMAs.
"Craven missed!" Randy shouted when Mendel shot at an underpass. "Guess again!" Elsie said in elation as the underpass collapsed, taking the DRAGMA standing under it. Silence filled the air for a few moments as everyone gathered themselves. Cordula assisted in helping the injured ones patch up their wounds as Elsie and Randy looked around for any boogies.
"Look Out!" Mendel suddenly shouted. Behind Randy and Elsie, a DRAGMA managed to sneak up behind them. Randy and Elsie quickly moved away as the DRAGMA approached. In a surprising series of movement and flexibility, Mendel managed to single handedly take down a DRAGMA. A feat the team was pretty sure 'their' Mendel could never do.
"Alright, doc!" Randy cheered with a fist pumped in the air. Elsie moved slightly closer to Mendel with an impressed look on her face. "Pretty impressive, Mendel" She complimented. "Unfortunately, I've had a lot of practice." Mendel said with a grim look on his face before more roars of DRAGMAs came.
"Three boogies incoming!" Cordula shouted as she spotted three DRAGMAs speeding down towards them in sync like jet planes. "Inside!" Mendel shouted. Nick looked around, wondering which building Mendel meant to head in when steel doors of a warehouse building moved to open.
Quickly signaling the rest of the gang, they all headed inside and barred the doors just as soon as everyone was inside. The sounds of the DRAGMAs roars and the banging resounded in the building before silence. As Mendel picked himself up, being the last one to head inside, his gaze turned to a nearby soldier to report to him the details.
"Status?"
"DRAGs, 360 this location, we've got a frenzy on our hands." The soldier reported. "So what else is new?" A familiar voice entered, all gazes turned to see a familiar face step out. "Major Hicks..." Nick's voice felt breathless for a moment as he stared at the now elderly major. Hicks turned to the familiar voice and almost doubled back in surprise. "Nick? You haven't changed a bit" Nick took a once over at Hicks "And you, are you alright?" His gaze could not help but land on the metal blaster that was now serving as Hick's arm.
"Not bad, we've all lost something in this war. My losses are just a bit more obvious." Hicks said, staring down at his blaster. Pounding from the doors and parts of the walls collapsing to reveal a snout made everyone raise their blasters as Mendel drove the DRAGMA sticking its snout in away. "These thins must have a weakness." Nick said.
"Not any that we've found." Hick said regrettably. "The DRAGMAs were genetically engineered to be perfect killing machines." Elsie quickly took hold on the word blurted out by Hicks. "Engineered? By whom?"
"Dr. Jonathan Insley" Hicks answered. The team looked at one another in confusion, having never heard of this scientist at all. "Never heard of him." Nick said as he tried to recall if there was any familiarity with the name only to come up with nothing. "If this dude Insley built'em, he must know how to stop'em" Randy said.
"Insley's dead. By the time we tracked him down it was too late, the military was in taters. The DRAGMAs adapt to quickly, time is not on our side." Hicks said solemnly. "But it might be on ours" Cordula and Elsie said at the same time. "If we could stop Insley from even completing this deranged project of his then this future would never happen." Cordula said but then frowned "But we still need to find a way to get back to our time."
"That time storm might still be out there. If it brought us forward in time, maybe it could take us back." Elsie said just before the doors gave way and the DRAGMAs entered in droves. Blasters were quickly fired but Hicks pulled Nick away. "Your battle's not here, it's in the past. Find Find Insley, stop him, save our future." The last part was a desperate plea of a man who had lost too much.
Mendel quickly opened a secret hatch to lead the team to safety. Nick took one last look at Hicks firing everywhere, never leaving a man behind unprotected before he followed after them and the lid of the hatch fell shut.
***
They got out of the sewers with Mendel leading them back to H.E.A.T headquarters without any DRAGMAs breathing down their necks. It was to Elsie's displeasure that she and Randy were covered in muck. "You look like I smell" She could not help but glare at Randy and scrunch her nose at the same time. Poor Randy had no idea what she even meant.
With no time to waste, they quickly headed to the seeker. Mendel handed Nick his blaster "Take this, I think it'll do me more good in the past than it does in this present." Mendel said in a light tone. "Just make sure I don't barbeque any of you by mistake." He added jokingly. Nick looked at Mendel, not knowing what to say.
"Mendel...I" Nick began but was quickly cut off by Mendel's "Good Luck" before Nick opted to nod and headed up the plank board. Monique did the same before following after Nick. Randy stopped in front of Mendel "You could come home with us doc." Randy said but Mendel declined the offer. "I belong here" Mendel said resolutely that all Randy could say was "I'll see you back at headquarters." Cordula ran up to Mendel and gave him a hug to which he ruffled her hair.
"I hope to see you grow up more by the time you get back."
"I'll make sure of that Mendel."
As Cordula walked up the plank, she couldn't help but turn to get one last glimpse of Mendel only to turn back around in shock when she witnessed Elsie and Mendel sharing a moment. Monique fired up the engine just as Elsie stepped on board and the seeker was off. Elsie stayed in the back to watch the figure of Mendel growing smaller and smaller before he disappeared completely from the fog, like a mirage.
"Storm ahead!" Cordula's call made Elsie move back to the front as the familiar sounds of thunder and flashes of lighting coupled with the rolling fog came. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see bad weather." Elsie said. Monique drove the seeker straight through without any twists or turns otherwise who knows when they would end up next.
A familiar roar made everyone outside turn to see a DRAGMA swooping down at them. "You have got to be kidding me!" Cordula shouted as the DRAGMA flew up right in front of them. Nick raised the blaster gun Mendel had given him to shoot at the creature when a flash of lightning managed to hit the creature, making it fall deep into the water.
"Thank you Mother Nature!" Cordula praised. "Now it knew how Ben Franklin felt!" Randy added. "Is it just me or is the storm receding?" Elsie stated as the sounds of thunder grew ever so distant before they were suddenly sailing under a sunny sky. "Please tell me we're back" Cordula whispered as they all looked around.
A familiar monster roar made everyone turn to see a familiar mutant jellyfish emerge. "Jellyfish!" Cordula screamed as Nick aimed the blaster at the mutant. A second later, a familiar jaw came out and clasped the mutant away from the seeker and back under water. The team looked down to the sea's surface and watch it bubble before purple liquid began to color the sea.
Godzilla emerged with a roar of victory before he stared down at his pack. They all blinked at him in shock, he especially stared at his father and female who looked both shaken. He let out a cooing noise before he dove back down to the sea, preferring to head back to the den before he could check up on them than out here.
***
Mendel could not believe how rough the day has been for him. When he finally saw the team, he could not stop the need to vent. "Where have you guys been?" Mendel asked, sounding funny in his ears thanks to his clogged nose. "Visiting an old friend" Randy replied to which Nick grasped the man by the arm in warning.
"Randy"
"Well while you're off having fun, my humidifier broke, I ran out of nose drops, and I think I'm getting bronchitis." Mendel said as he listed off with his fingers. Randy and Nick looked at him before Nick began ordering everyone on what to do, time is of the essence right now. They could not afford to wait anymore.
"Randy, download everything you can about Insley. Elsie and Cordula, grab the tasers. Monique, prepare the H.E.A.T copter for immediate departure."
Mendel watched in shock as everyone ignored him and began running around, doing what Nick told them to do with no questions asked. "What's going on? You guy are running around like it's the end of the world" Mendel asked, grasping Nick by the arms. "Not if we can help it. Mendel, let's move!" He said, urging Mendel to change his indoor outfit.
"Now? But I'm sick. Honestly Nick, you don't know what I've been though." Mendel said
That makes two of us.
Nick thought as Randy brought up every file of Dr. Jonathan Insley to the screen "Dr. Jonathan Insley, Genetic Engineer, Founder and President of American Technologies." Randy read the headlines as Elsie dropped the tasers Nick asked to the table. Cordula had gone back to grab the rest. It was unfortunate that Mendel's curiosity got the better of him and grasped the one Future Mendel gave to Nick.
Cordula yelped as she dodged a blaster that almost hit her side and possibly explode the tasers in her hands like a bomb. Monique, having prepped the copter, shook her head. "Sorry Cordula, woah..." Mendel eyed the blaster in shock.
"And he has his own website. "the Democratic Resurgence Against a Global Mechanized Armageddon." That's a mouthful." Randy said. Elsie took out her lipstick once she saw the first letters of the words "Not if you abbreviate it." She said as she circled the first letters to reveal: DRAGMA.
"And evidently, Insley's recipe for saving the world is making humans the main ingredient." Elsie stated with distaste. "You have a location?" Nick asked as Randy opened a schematics of a map. "A warehouse on Montauk Point, Tipa long Island" Randy said as he drew up a picture of a warehouse. Now that they have visual confirmation, Nick did not hesitate anymore to send everyone out.
"Let's go!"
"Go? Go where? Oh, nobody tells me anything." Mendel moaned before Cordula grasped him by the arms. "Just go with this Mendel. Now come on, we have to stop Insley!"
***
One they arrived, they immediately barged in unannounced. Thankfully there were no guards around which meant that this was a secret project Insley didn't want the world to know, until H.E.A.T came in.
"Knock (2x)" Randy called as he stared down at a scientist lying down on the floor. "Dr. Insley I presume?" Nick asked even though, it was highly obvious this man was Insley. "What do you think you're doing?" Insley shouted, righting his spectacles. Mendel, even more confused right now, could not help parroting out "Yeah, what do we think we're doing?" Elsie was quick to shush him "Go with it Mendel!"
"We're here to pull the plug on your little DRAGMA project." Nick's words sent the scientist back. He never met these people and he certainly never breathed a word to anyone about his creations. "What-How do you-"
"Let's just say that we've had the displeasure of seeing your handiwork up close." Nick said, crossing his arms. "You owe me months of therapy for this." Cordula added, glaring at the doctor who scoffed at their words. "My creations will force mankind to embrace a simpler time." Insley stated. The team glared at the madman.
"Yeah, the Stone Age!" Randy said, aiming his blaster at the doctor. "Computers run our lives. We're lost without our cars and cellphones and microwaves! Mankind's demise is inevitable." Insley said, growing all the more angrier at the thought. "Technology must be stopped!"
"And we're gonna start right now. Trash Everything." Nick said. Insley, finding no way out of the situation, quickly pulled the lever that would release all of his creations out in the open. Alarms blared as lights were shut on. "Here we go again!" Cordula cursed as the team formed a defensive circle around each other.
They were quickly surrounded in seconds. "What are those?" Mendel cried out. "Doc, meet the DRAGMAs. DRAGMAs, doc." Randy said a quick introduction as Elsie fired a shot at one of the approaching DRAGMAs. To her surprise, the DRAGMA fell quickly to the ground. "Their exoskeletons aren't as developed as they are in the future, their vulnerable!" She said as everyone began rapidly firing at the creatures left and right.
They were caught by surprise at Godzilla's entrance as he came in with a roar and began firing at the DRAGMAs and at the capsules which still contained some DRAGMAs. To Cordula's horror, DRAGMAs were quickly clambering onto Godzilla as he tried to swat them away. "Hey! Hands off that lizard!" She roared and began firing at every DRAGMA clinging to Godzilla.
Seeing everyone distracted, Insley quickly downloaded the blueprints to make another batch of his creations on a DVD. He tried to make a run for it with the help of his creations but to his surprise, his creations turned on him. "Not me, I created you!" Insley said but they attacked him anyways.
It was to the team's amusement to see Insley attacked by his own creations before rescuing him. "You're not leaving the party early are you Dr. Insley?" Nick asked, breaking the disc in half before throwing it in front of the doctor. "I have to save the world." The man said brokenly. "You just did." Nick said before a roar and a familiar atomic breath came.
Everyone ran away from Godzilla's destruction to avoid being in the crossfire but Elsie let out a scream when debris blocked her path. "Elsie!" Mendel shouted as he clambered up the broken debris, not caring if he might get injured. On the other side, Cordula readied her gun to fire when something heavy landed on her back, making her fall forwards.
Feeling a tingle, Cordula leaned her head to the side to avoid her head being crushed by a DRAGMA beak. She screamed before a furious roar came from above and the weight was quickly lifted away from her. She turned in time to see Godzilla forcefully toss the DRAGMA to one of the shelves of containers. Lowering his snout, he gave her a lick as Cordula laughed.
"Thanks big guy!"
Cordula said with a wave before she ran to go reunite with the others.
***
Out in the docs, Insley was as docile as a boy who received a heavy scolding from both parents. The rest of the team were on standby, having contacted Hicks and filled him in on the details. "Doc" Randy greeted as he saw Mendel and Elsie emerge from the wreckage. He had witnessed doc's awesome maneuver and Future Mendel said he had a lot of practice...
"Hah, I didn't know I had it in me." Mendel said humbly with a slight flush to his face when he saw the impressed looks he was receiving from his friends "I do." Elsie suddenly said, kissing him on the cheek. That only served to make Mendel's flush into a full on blush as he stared at Elsie in shock.
"Who knows, you may not have to wait 23 years, for another." Elsie said flirtatiously. Cordula smiled at her friends before she turned to Nick "I don't suppose you could drop me to home? I think I need to have a word with my dad." Nick smiled when he saw Cordula's pleading look before telling Monique to send Cordula home first as the rest will just make do with Hick's copter getting a bit cramped.
***
Joe was startled out of his couch sleep when Cordula suddenly barged in. "What's going on? Is there a fire? Did the fridge act out a-" Before Joe could say anything, Cordula ran up to him to give him a bear hug and began crying.
"Daddy!"
Bewildered, Joe merely hugged his daughter as she cried like she had lost a relative or a loved one. "Oh honey, what happened? Were any one of you injured?" He tried to remember the names of the team when Cordula looked up at him, face full of tears and she was pretty sure snot was slowly forming.
"Promise you'll die when you're old. Don't ever do anything reckless!" Cordula hiccupped and Joe raised brow "Shouldn't that be my line?" He said before feeling tears prick his eyes seeing how devastated his daughter is. "How about you relax for a day with your old man. Forget about adventures for one day and have a father-daughter bonding trip?"
Cordula chuckled wetly as she hugged her father.
"That sounds like a plan."