Danzaiver by Shayne Dark (Ottawa, Canada) Copyright (C) 2004, by Shayne Dark Author's note: This story occurs just before Team Metric. Danzaiver was based very loosely on the character from the video- game Evil Zone, as were his two assistants. Friday, 1145 Colonel Byrd's Office, IST London Colonel Byrd's office was an exercise in casual belligerence that reflected the officer's nature better than any mirror could hope to. Thibor leaned back in the single, uncomfortable visitor's chair and marveled at the collection of stuffed avians that served Byrd in lieu of pastoral paintings or other such diversions. Red Tailed hawks fought for space against Golden Eagles and all manner of raptors. Perched on a filing cabinet, the large, glass eyes of a great horned owl were fixed on the equally stuffed rabbit that it was in the process of vivisecting. Charming, in a horrid sort of way. The wolf skin was new though, spread flat against one wall as if the former owner had stepped in front of a steamroller. Only the head retained some shape, it's jaws were agape, revealing a mass of broken, chipped teeth, as if someone had rammed an arm down it's throat and throttled it from the inside. Knowing Byrd, he had probably done just that. "Major Sawchyk." Entering from the glass paned door was none other than Byrd's loyal aide and sycophant, Captain O'Neil, a blocky, red haired American whose very existence was an affront to nature, at least from Thibor's perspective. "The Colonel's been delayed, so I'm here to brief you." He saluted crisply. "Pupa-ma-n cur O'Neil." Thibor remained seated, but returned the salute nonetheless. It was unlikely that O'Neil knew the meaning of the phrase, and would assume that it was a suitable thing to say and parrot it back to someone in the diplomatic corps. He allowed himself a smile. Kiss my arse wasn't the worst thing you could say to a visiting general, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. O'Neil did fancy himself as a bit of polymath in regards to languages, and might well end up with someone else's foot in his mouth. "Very well then Major." O'Neil paused for a moment before taking a seat behind Byrd's desk, he seemed nervous, as if he feared Byrd would enter and see him appropriating his chair. It was probably a valid fear. "As you know we have been following recent reports of General Domingo Lopez Hoya's movements in Guatemala. Two days ago a contingent of operatives, who we suspect have links to Hoya, were spotted in the Los Angeles area. We want you to find out what they are up to." He slid a folder across the desk to Thibor. "The actual situation was picked up by one of our Japanese operatives, who has requested that he be included in the investigation. He should be here momentarily." There was a hint of a smile on O'Neil's ruddy face, as if he knew something Thibor didn't. This was bad, O'Neil took special pleasure in tormenting others when there was no fear of reprisals. The bastard was enjoying this. The thought echoed through Thibor's head, fuelling the start of what was probably going to be an epic headache. "Who is.." The question was cut off as a pillar of white light manifested in the center of Byrd's office. A humming noise accompanied it, growing louder until the various stuffed birds were shaking and rattling on their perches. Thibor reached out and caught a lanicus nubicus that had broken free from a branch and was plummeting towards the floor. The column of light exploded outward, revealing a man dressed in a bright red suit of high tech armor of vaguely Japanese design. "I am Here! Ultimate Hero Danzaiver!" The faceplate of the armor obviously had some sort of resonance box built into it. The ache in Thibor's head became a hammer slamming into his brain. The newcomer looked like he had just stepped out of one of those insipid shows that Halo favored on weekday afternoons, what were they called hentai... no that wasn't right... sentai shows. He wondered where the blue, yellow, black and green ones were; given how loud this one was, it was probably better that there wasn't a bloody Greek chorus of them. "Danzaiver." O'Neil saluted. The red armored git made struck three distinct martial arts poses before returning the salute. "I don't think you've met our Major Sawchyk, code named Nightbreed." Fearing that saluting might bring on another flurry of kata, Thibor merely offered his hand. No such luck, Danzaiver seemed unable to do any simple action without first striking at least three ludicrous poses. "Greetings Wolf Hero Nightbreed! It is with Great Harmony that we Will Triumph!" It was fascinating in a sick sort of way Thibor thought as he shook that man's hand. He hadn't previously encountered anyone whose abilities included gratuitous capitalization. There was an epiphany here, as he came to the sudden realization as to why Kyoumen insisted on carrying a rail gun with her. "Just Thibor is fine." He settled back in the chair and flipped open the file. Danzaiver leaned in over his shoulder, getting uncomfortably close. Thibor ignored it as best he could, many Japanese had no sense of personal space outside of the home, and Danzaiver seemed no exception. The armor had an odd smell that seemed split between organic and inorganic materials. Rapidly reading through the reports brought a grim smile to Thibor's face. This should be easy. According to the reports, at least three of the agents were beast creatures, creations of Messrs. Neo and Dig-Dig. They must have been at the back of the line too, judging by the grainy photos. A pangolin, an otter and what appeared to be some sort of brightly coloured tree frog. "Is looking pretty weird, even for L.A. should not be too hard to find." "We Will Find Them With Speed and Technology!" Danzaiver stepped back and struck yet another pose, this one with his right arm extended. "Danzaiver Communications Are Go!" A panel on his armor flipped open and a flat, rectangular hologram was projected in the air. Two young girls with appallingly green hair appeared on the screen, by the similarities in their builds and facial features, it was immediately apparent that they were sisters, possibly twins. "Yuri! Ruri! Scan Los Angeles for the animal miscreants." One of the girls skipped away to another console and bending over it commenced the scan, the hem of her blue sailor-style skirt riding up daringly. "Ruri and Yuri are my Assistants!" Danzaiver announced, noting the odd expression on Thibor's face. "They aid Me from My Satellite of Justice!" "You keep twin school girls trapped on a private satellite in space?" Thibor raised an eyebrow. "No, forget I asked. Is not my business." It wasn't really. The man was obviously completely out of touch with reality, so lambasting him about inappropriate relationships with schoolgirls would be completely pointless. If he was operating under the auspices of IST, it meant that all local laws about age of consent were being strictly enforced, and whatever sexist male fantasy he was living was technically legal, no matter how unwholesome it appeared. "Sorry Danzaiver. There's no sign of them." One of two announced, her perky smile falling away in disappointment. "We'll let you know as soon as we see anything." The communication panel closed with a snap, cutting off the hologram. "Louie is standing by with transport." O'Neil's smirk was like a knife ramming between Thibor's ribs. "Good luck Major." Friday 1530 IST Transport "Couer D'amour" Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. The Roman Catholic Church has never looked kindly on werewolves. Thibor noted bitterly in his personal log. According to the last four popes, and years of common knowledge, werewolves were the spawn of Shaitan himself, and God took a special interest in making them suffer. The first part just wasn't true, and up until recently, the suffering had also seemed unlikely. No longer. It was only an hour into the flight, and already an eternity of suffering in freakish agony, tormented by the flames and pitchfork wielding homunculi of hell was looking extremely desirable. To make matters worse, he could not even spend the time bantering with Louie, the pilot. The moment that the French officer had picked up that Danzaiver was one of his passengers, he had locked the cabin door and posted a sign warning of plague. That made sense. Louie would readily take a bullet for a friend, but friendship could only be stressed so far. Thibor only wished that he had thought of it first. The first half hour had been hard, as he had been trying to go over the file, but was interrupted by a constant bombardment of questions, comments, explanations, and poses from the sentai hero. For a brief moment, Thibor had considered throwing caution to the wind and gagging the armored cretin. Despite the pleasing image it presented, he had forgone the pleasure. It was unlikely that that transport would survive such an act and if traveling on a plane with him was unbearable, the thought of sharing a life raft was worse. If he could not silence him, he could at least drown him out. To this end, Thibor was currently sheltered in the front seat of his Plymouth Fury, with the stereo turned up to an ear ripping maximum. Between the wails of Jerry Lee Lewis and the hiccoughing voice of Buddy Holly, he was safe for the moment. "Make connection." Thibor returned his attention to the files in front of him. All three of the labs linked to Hoya had been captured and their contents seized. The question was what remained, and could be so valuable as to warrant the risk of sending agents to retrieve them. Thibor rolled the question around in his mind, playing out different avenues of thought. Research records were unlikely. Incriminating documents? Possible, but why send obvious, metahuman agents to retrieve them. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed the red line of a laser beam chasing up and down his body. The beam originated from a disk-like emitter, which had emerged from Danzaiver's arm. "What are you doing?" Thibor turned the sound system down so he could be heard. Was that really his own voice? It sounded so level and reasonable. Had working at being more patient with Halo and Uriko actually paid off? "Do Not Be Alarmed Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver announced. "I am seeking further Data to help Locate The Villains. By scanning your Unique Genome pattern, Ruri and Yuri can tune my scanner to Detect other Manimals like you." "Manimal?" To hell with patience, he was going to kill him. No court on earth would convict him given the circumstances. "Yes man animal. Like our Foes Your DNA is part animal." "No." Thibor rubbed his temples. "Is heritage of pure breed werewolves. When human, genetic code is human. When wolf, genetic code is wolf. Is not mixing. Common lycanthropy is genetic disease, can only be detected when victim is human or wolf by exposing subject to known allergen, silver or aconite is good. For creations of Neo's laboratory, is melded pattern in which no more than 3.7% of helix is re-written using regressive chemical therapy. It might be possible to scan for residual agents of mutation process." He let the explanation hang for a moment. It was impossible to read the expression in Danzaiver's glowing eyes, but a certain uncomprehending blankness had settled into them. The laser scan had also paused momentarily. "Danzaiver Communications Go!" The screen manifested as Danzaiver threw off the momentary confusion with an abbreviated series of gestures. Ruri and Yuri crowded the viewing area. "The scan didn't help." One of them, possibly Ruri, it was hard to tell, said. "He looks human." "But he's a dirty old wolf." The other said, scowling fiercely. "Do you know what he has in his pants?" Thibor echoed the scowl momentarily. The fatigue pants he wore had four large side pockets, which contained first aid gear and several survival necessities. "You are looking in my pants and I am lecher?" The headache was back with a vengeance, but the pounding was a clue as to what the silly bit of fluff was talking about. "You are meaning the prophylactics?" He was right as the girl colored slightly, the red blush clashing horribly with the green of her hair. "Is basic survival tool. Prophylactic can be used to hold two liters of liquid. Can be used to waterproof electronic equipment. Will act as osmosis filter. Also works as tourniquet to slow bleeding and can be used to seal wound. If needing to hunt, can be used to make slingshot." "Sorry..." Both girls hung their heads slightly. "And if opportunity presents itself, you can still use them to fuck." There was a scandalized eek and the communication was suddenly cut off. "Wolf Hero Thibor!" There was a scandalized tone in Danzaiver's voice, and he seemed to have forgotten to turn on the resonance echo. "That did not bring Harmony." "Harmony is waiting on practical things." Thibor returned his attention to the files. "Why is Hoya sending superhuman agents to Los Angeles? Is not making sense yet. Is not using unless there is tangible reason to, but what is reason?" "He fears IST Heroes and their Righteousness!" The echo was back in Danzaiver's voice, and he pumped his fist vigorously in the air. Thibor silently counted backwards from ten before replying. He had his doubts as to Hoya being terrified of aphorisms, whether righteous or not. "Let us say, for the moment, that IST heroes rate no higher than concern." Thibor said, "Has already been spanked hard. Has lost scientists, facilities, agents and resources." There it was. Of all the items seized in the raids on the lab facilities, he didn't remember any records of cash, stocks or other monetary valuables. With operations the size of those in the Los Angeles area, there would have to be ready cash on hand. Cash, which could not have been moved through normal channels, such as banks or trust companies. It was likely that some of the money came from drugs, a stable export of Hoya's regime, but that could not account for all operational costs, even if he was personally powdering every nose on Sunset Boulevard. "Is trying to recover stash of cash." Thibor said. "And is not expecting whoever is holding it to give it back. If is just a matter of smuggling out of country, is already having infrastructure to do so, so is sending agents because is expecting a fight." Thibor flipped open his communicator and punched the operations code. Friday, 1850pm Operations Center: IST Great Britain. "Kso!" Naoko kicked at the metal leg of her desk. "It's not fair!" From across the room, Simon ducked his head and desperately tried to disappear behind his monitor. Naoko was on a rampage and there was nothing that could be done except stay low and hope that it passed over. Further downturns in the technology market had played havoc with her stock holdings, and what remained of her nest egg, tied up as it was in high-risk tech stocks, would not make a particularly satisfying omelette. To make matters worse, he had shifted most of his own tech holdings into bonds some months previously, and had been mostly unaffected by the crash. He had recommended that Naoko do the same at the time, but she had chosen to wait out the drop in the expectation of a rebound. Fortunately the shrill ring of the phone interrupted the rant. "Call's up!" Simone keyed the receive channel and adjusted his headset. Naoko put both feet on her desk and pushed off, sending her chair scooting across the floor towards Simon. "Operations, we're online and ready Major." Simon said. He winced immediately winced and tugged at the headset, Naoko could hear the high pitched squeal of feedback rise out of the small earpiece. "Major," Simon's voice was strained. "Please ask your friend to step back, his resonance echo is causing system feedback." The wince faded and Simon's features became animated with interest. His fingers flew over the keyboard in quick staccato bursts, noting down the parameters of the investigation. "We're on it. Good hunting Major." "So what's the op?" Naoko leaned over Simon's shoulder and glanced at the screen. "Another one of Thibor's impossible missions." Simon took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "We have to find a hidden cache of money in the greater Los Angeles area. It's going to be large, and it is going to be protected by some serious muscle." "And." Naoko prompted. "And that's it. End of operational parameters." Simon replaced his glasses and reached for the phone. "I'm calling down to the commissary for coffee and snacks. It is going to be a long night. Do you want anything?" He caught himself as Naoko's expression fell. "My treat." Saturday 0100 Landing Strip, Los Angeles International Airport. "Many Thanks French Pilot Louis!" Danzaiver enthused as he hopped down to the tarmac and greeted the pilot. "It is with Much Joy that I see that Your Plague has been lifted." Louis, his eyes holding a tired expression, shrugged silently, hoping an epic display of Gallic disinterest would somehow dissuade Danzaiver from pursuing the matter. "Good luck Louie, but it is hopeless." Thibor thought to himself as he backed his Fury down the transport's loading ramp. Surprisingly enough, the journey, despite its rough start, had been remarkably painless. The strange quirk of fortune that looked out for small children and drunks had a previously unknown soft spot for werewolves. In going through the trunk of the Fury, looking for his Global Positioning Unit, Thibor had found one of those silly, beeping video games. It must have been left in the car by Halo or Uriko during a mission, and summarily forgotten. Playing a hunch, Thibor had tossed it into the back seat of the Plymouth. The result had been as expected, but gratifying nonetheless, as Danzaiver had been drawn to it like a moth to a candle. The beeping and pinging of the game, although shrill and annoying, was as soothing as the Blue Danube when compared to the sentai hero's constant stream of overdramatic heroic phrases. He would have to remember to return the unit to the girls along with fresh batteries and an uncharacteristic, heartfelt thanks. Seeing that Louie was still suffering through a gesture-laden monologue on the wonders of the Eiffel Tower, French bread and Pepe Le Peu, Thibor leaned on the horn, signaling Danzaiver's attention. With a final flurry of farewell gestures, Danzaiver turned away from Louie and took a seat in the Plymouth. The car sank slightly and then evened out. It was obvious that the armoured figure weighed far more than was immediately apparent, but Thibor was not concerned. After months of careful modification, his Fury was more than equal to the task. The new struts alone could accommodate the better part of five tons worth of cargo, and the rebuilt engine could handle a load of three times that. The sides and windows had been bullet-proofed and would stop anything short of an M60 Machine gun. "Here is the plan." Thibor noted. "First is going to check out last known locations of Hoya's agents. Then is seeing if can pick up and follow trail." Gunning the engine of the Fury, Thibor drove off. Saturday 0600 Operations Center: IST Great Britain "Coffee, must have coffee." Getting up from his desk Simon stretched out his tall frame, noted several disturbing creaks that echoed from his neck and lower back. His mind was awash with numbers and statistics, crime reports, shipping manifests, bank transfers and property rental agreements. None of it was coming together. Across the room, Naoko was fast asleep on her desk, her head pillowed on her crossed arms. Her nap was supposed to have been ten minutes, but that was two hours ago and Simon saw no need to disturb her, besides, the coffee pot was beckoning. He poured the last of the dark liquid into his cup, noting that it was giving off an almost toxically acrid smell, a reminder that the pot had been on the burner some eight hours. Cream, sugar and an overwhelming need for caffeine would overcome the burnt sock flavour. He returned to his desk, sent a quick request to the commissary for more coffee, and then called up the next set of files, lists of the manufacturers whose equipment had been found in the labs. Most of the gear could have come through any shipping warehouse, but there were several machines that were far too esoteric to have been off the shelf purchases. "Whah!" Naoko came awake with a start, nearly falling out her chair as she did so. The disorientation lasted a moment as she realized that she was still in her office. "There's more coffee coming." Simon noted. "And I asked them to send up some breakfast." "Have you come up with anything?" There was a hint of guilt in the young woman's voice at having fallen asleep. She made up for it by it by going into a series of cat-like stretches. As she lifted up her arms and arched her back, her IST issue shirt pulled out from her slacks, exposing her flat stomach. "Nothing I can put my hands on." Tearing his eyes away from her, Simon drank his cup of coffee in three long swallows. "I'm going over some of the manufacturers, but nothing is coming together. I am beginning to think that we may be banging our heads on the wall on this one." "Kso!" Naoko frowned as she brought her computer back online. A pop-up window announced that several of her stocks had dipped even further towards zero. "I'm down further." "I warned you about the tech market." Simon immediately regretted the slip as Naoko's eyes narrowed dangerously. Suddenly they widened and a grin began to spread across her face. "I might have something!" She was on her feet and pacing back and forth with manic energy, pausing briefly to tuck in her shirt. "Those labs were research facilities. Research facilities need equipment. Equipment costs money. We need to find the source of that money. Who's got the big money in California, besides Hollywood?" "The tech market! Dot Com start-ups." Simon finished for her. "Huge investments that can come from any investor, high initial expenses, and a significant failure rate. With a little careful accounting you could transfer huge amounts of funds to a series of different companies. They buy the equipment, it comes in through the front door and goes out to the lab through the back door, and the books show a steady loss. The only time that there would be an audit is if the company went bankrupt. Fortunately, there are always more 'speculative investors' ready to further fund the company." "So we are looking for technology companies with offices in Los Angeles that have shown little or no profit, have a consistent flow of foreign investors, and buy top line scientific equipment. We've been looking for a big source. It's not, it is a whole mess of little sources. Not only that, but I bet if we check back on the companies that had the 'break-ins' we will find that a big chunk of them were financed with the same money, and that there was cost recovery on the insurance paid for the stolen gear." Naoko practically leaped for her keyboard. "Are we clever or what?" "Heap big clever." Simon called back. "But we're still missing one piece of the puzzle. Why is Hoya sending a super-human team into the city after them?" "I don't know yet." Naoko's fingers danced over her keyboard. "Maybe one of the companies started making money on its own and is trying to get out of the deal?" "Not a bad place to begin. Especially if some of Neo's technology was flowing back to the company." Simon conceded. "But that's still a huge amount of data to crunch." "Well what are you waiting for?" Naoko smiled widely, her freckled cheeks dimpling. "The sooner we get finished here, the sooner you get to take us out for some real food." Saturday 0615 International House of Pancakes, Sunset Strip. "Wolf Hero Thibor that is not good for you!" Danzaiver motioned to the platter of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and fried tomatoes that was in front of Thibor. "Be Mindful of your health! Demon cholesterol will destroy you." "If only." Thibor held a cup of steaming coffee up in front of his face, hoping that it hid the sarcasm from Danzaiver. All efforts by the sentai hero to procure a bowl of rice with raw egg had been futile. He had settled with a small plate of fruit. It was one of the great dualities of the United States. A heaping great mound of heart choking bacon and eggs was all fine and dandy, but the 1 in 10,000 risk of salmonella from a raw egg was a legislated illegality. That being said, Thibor tucked into his breakfast with good appetite. One of the benefits of lycantropy was the diet. He could readily consume any manner of awful things, secure in the knowledge that his powers of regeneration would quickly purge the awful build-ups from his system. Besides that, although American cuisine was limited to such awful culinary wonders as the cheese-baby and the cheese-baby with special sauce, they could, on occasion, serve up a palatable breakfast. "Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver help up a strawberry, as if the wholesome display of fruity goodness could somehow dissuade a dedicated meat-eater. We were not able to pick up a trail. How shall we proceed?" "Is keeping ear to street, watching last known location carefully." Thibor sniffed at the syrup and then put it back down. It wasn't maple syrup but rather some horrid sugar concoction with added maple flavour, better to do without. "With other IST agents and police watching, will not too long to find." "Weirdest fucking thing I ever saw." Two policemen walked past the booth where Thibor and Danzaiver were sitting. "We pull this dead-guy out of this south side warehouse, but you see, it's not a guy, it's some big-ass frog, they've got him down at County. I don't mind telling you, I don't want to be there when the next of kin shows up." "Or." Thibor continued without missing a beat. "We could head down to Coroner's office and take look at dead frog for clues." Saturday 0730 Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. "You're here about Kermit Doe?" The assistant coroner was a young, tow headed man, whose features were set in perpetual expression of resigned calm. A nametag, pinned askew on his lab coat bore the name Jenkins, with no indication on whether it was a surname or not. He sipped what looked like coffee from a deeply stained coffee mug which bore the motto 'Our day begins when yours ends.' He gestured for Thibor and Danzaiver to follow him, as if a Slavic soldier and a Japanese Sentai hero showing up to identify the body of a humanoid frog was an everyday occurrence. Perhaps in Los Angeles it was. The morgue was spotlessly clean, but even without his wolfen senses, Thibor could smell various forms of death with the strong underlying smell of formalin and other preservative liquids. They were led to an examination table, where the body lay, covered in a white sheet that had soaked up an odd purple-red fluid. It was immediately apparent from the way that the sheet bulged in all the wrong places that the body was not human. "Is having done prelim?" Thibor pulled back the sheet, which parted reluctantly from the body, issuing a slight tearing sound. "No," The assistant coroner busied himself with assembling a tray of tools. "I wanted to run a toxicological examination on the fluids before I got too far into the process. Frogs are sort of like Crips and Bloods, they don't wear colors like that unless they are dangerous. The lab got back to me just before you arrived, it looks like we're safe." He turned on a tape recorder. "Preliminary examination of subject 3244, unidentified Kermit Doe. Subject is pretty hard to miss, appearing as a human frog hybrid, with frog aspect bearing red and blue coloration similar to that found on South American tree climbing species. Subject is of indeterminate sex, approximately 5 feet, four inches in height. Rectal temperature taken at time of discovery would suggest that the subject died six hours prior to discovery, but amphibian aspect might suggest a lower than normal body temperature, making this number suspect. Cause of death appears to be ex-sanguination, due to deep lacerations of unknown origin at the throat, upper left arm and outer aspect of right thigh." "Is not a knife wound." Pulling on a pair of latex gloves, Thibor gently probed the throat wound. "Claws." "So it was attacked by another manimal?" Danzaiver's voice sounded a little strained. By the way that he kept looking away from the body it was obvious that saving the universe did not normally involve digging your fingers into great green gobs of grenouille guts. "No." Thibor used a thin stream of distilled water to clean away the clotted blood from out of the throat wounds. "Wrong shape. Spread of fingers is human, not animal. Damage to tissue indicates greater than human strength." He picked up a pair of forceps and dug into the wound. "Nail fragment." He extracted a thin splinter of material from the wound and dropped it into a stainless steel tray that the assistant coroner held out. If his suspicions were correct, there was a good reason why Hoya had sent the extra muscle. "Wolf hero Thibor." Danzaiver was looking as green as his bright red armour allowed. "May I be excused to pursue other Matters?" "Here," Thibor handed over the tray containing the nail fragment. "Take this outside and have little friends run a scan on it." "I will!" It only took the sentai hero a gesture and a half to retreat from the autopsy table. "Check this out." The assistant coroner drew Thibor's attention to the leg wounds. "We have ourselves a genuine connoisseur. They do love their frog's legs." If anything the leg wounds were more savage than those on the throat. It looked as if great mouthfuls of tissue had been torn from the legs. "Animal dentition." Thibor noted the shape of the tear wounds. "Extended canines. Is mouth of predator." "We have a forensic dentist on call." The assistant coroner noted. "I'll have her do a mold of the bite for identification." "Wolf hero Thibor!" Danzaiver came rushing back into the room. "The nail it.." "Was touched by sunlight and went up in burst of flame which burnt right through tray." Thibor finished. "Is vampire." Stepping back from the table, Thibor skimmed off his gloves with a practiced motion, shooting them across the room into the biological waste bin. "So Count Dracula is running around Los Angeles." The coroner took the tray from Danzaiver and held it up to the light, examining the blistered metal. He reached for his coffee with a steady hand and took a sip. "No." Thibor noted. "Is not Dracula. He is pro, would leave two tiny holes, not great big gouges and torn out throat. Not all vampires is having extended canines, this one is liking finger food." The Romanian skimmed off his fatigue shirt and tossed into onto one of the adjoining tables. It only took a moment to call his beast. Hair and muscle rippled out from his skin as he took on the aspect of a wolf. If anything the smell improved. Rather than the stink of disinfectant and formaldehyde, the air was filled with individual threads. Formalin, flesh, sweat, coffee and even the sweet pork smell of a recent burn victim, each scent separate from the other. Leaning forward, Thibor inhaled deeply over the frog. There were three distinct smells attached to the corpse. The slight salt, fish and musk scent on the leg wound screamed sea mammal. Probably the otter. While the wound in the arm was some sort of insectivore, most probably the pangolin. That left the throat. "Right." The Assistant Coroner seemed nonplussed by the transformation. "I have a human frog who was killed by a vampire, and I am conducting an autopsy with the help of a Japanese Sentai hero and a werewolf." He swallowed the last of his coffee and set the mug aside. "I love this city." "Son of bitch!" Thibor blew the air from his nostrils and sniffed again, the scent was unmistakable. "You rotten son of Bitch!" "You are in Distress Wolf Hero Thibor!" Danzaiver had regained some of his enthusiasm. "Is it fatigue? Perhaps you would like an energy drink." "Perhaps would like foot in your ass?" Thibor growled menacingly. He regained control with visible effort. "You have idea what is dealing with, do you? No? Then listen. Is infected vampire, original bloodline coming from steppes of Russia. Bloodline is known for powerful hypnotic ability through eye contact. No extended canine teeth, but capable of growing fingernails into claws. Superhuman strength, endurance, invulnerable to most weapons, can switch to mist, and assume form of bat and wolf. Can also control animals mentally. Bite is non-infectious unless delivered on three consecutive nights. Is killing him with magic, silver, wood, garlic and sunlight." "What about crosses?" The Assistant Coroner looked as fascinated as his bored demeanor would allow. "Is very useful in this situation." Thibor nodded. "Is letting authorities know what sort of burial service you prefer. Most powerful recent vampire of this type was priest. Was trying to convert Russian Royal family into actual rather than symbolic vampire dynasty." "Rasputin?" The coroner prodded. "Is extreme, but vampirism is reliable cure for anemia. Tsarina was looking for miracle, and Rasputin could provide one." Thibor shrugged. "So vampire took control of Pangolin and Otter, all three ate frog. Is leaving body as a warning to Hoya not to pursue." "Fascinating!" Danzaiver enthused. "Your knowledge of vampires is inspiring! With such spirit we shall triumph" "Why didn't he just hypnotize the frog?" The coroner's assistant turned his attentions back to the body. "Is adapted to aquatic life." Thibor peeled back the dead amphibian's eyelids. "Nictating membranes. Vampire, he is not able to make direct eye contact to control, so is killing. Sunglasses is good defense against vampire of this type. If cannot see eyes, cannot control." He shuddered slightly as he resumed human form, the fur and muscles melting away into his skin. Reclaiming his shirt, he headed towards the door without a further word. "We thank you for your Assistance!" Danzaiver turned back to the coroner and gestured expansively. Three times. "We shall overcome the vampire with great harmony." "Okay." The assistant coroner returned his attention to the frog. "You do that." Saturday 0830 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles "Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver spoke even louder than usual so that his voice could be heard over the rush of Los Angeles Traffic and the Fury's blasting sound system. "Are you going to bring forth what is troubling you." "Is vampire. That is what is troubling me." Thibor grated back, turning the stereo up even louder. "You know him?" Danzaiver asked quietly. Thibor sat upright, his foot coming down hard on the brake. Immediately a chorus of honks and beeps started up as the drivers behind them began signaling their displeasure. Noting that gunfire would begin shortly, Thibor resumed driving. He had to do something that he never thought he would do. "Sorry." Thibor turned down the stereo. He had thought it unlikely that Danzaiver would figure that much out. Perhaps he wasn't a complete clot, and some small portions of his brain were not totally clogged with aphorisms. "Yes, is knowing vampire by scent, have fought him before." "Then together we shall defeat him! With my technology and your..." Danzaiver seemed momentarily at a loss. "Wolf-ness! We are unstoppable!" Well, the sudden lucid Danzai-moment was at an end, but it had served its purpose. Rather than being wrapped up in the past, Thibor was thinking in the present again. He activated his communicator and waited for the Operations Centre to come online. "I read you Major." Simon's voice sounded tired. It was no surprise as he had been on duty for some 24 hours. "We're pretty sure we have half of your problem figured out." "Tell him he owes us dinner for this one." Naoko's voice could be heard over the line. "Is only having half figured out." Thibor shot back. "So is only getting appetizer and salad course. Figure rest out and is main course, dessert and coffee." "We're pretty sure that it is a technology company, a start up." Simon quickly explained the connection. "We've got the list down to about three dozen possible targets, but it is going to take some time for us to trace their investor's back to Hoya." "Is good work." Thibor actually smiled. "But is going to take too long to trace back to Hoya, am having better plan. Is bringing up employment records. Is looking for largest concentration of." He paused, considering what the politically correct term would be. There wasn't one. "Hot Latino babes. Is vampire, and is having a taste for such, is how he was revealed the first time. If is wanting more information, open restricted file LL-7003241, authorization, Thibor766-2" "Lord Lucan?" Simon's voice was incredulous and he quickly scanned through the report. "I thought he disappeared on his yacht?" "Cover story." Thbor growled, his voice taking on a wolfish timber. "Is House of Lords not wanting to admit having real vampire in ranks. Lucan was getting overconfident, but made mistake. Was attracted to hot little Latino number who was maid at mansion. Got a little too eager and accidentally killed her instead of converting her to vampire, body was found before he could hide it. Press got a hold of it, but did not pick up on vampire thing. I did. Showed up at his mansion, was ten victims, all matching Lucan's taste, all fledgling vampires. All dead now. Had Lucan down, but servant carried off body before could finish him for good. Makes sense that hooked up with Hoya. Is his kind of town. Big question is why is he back?" "Got it www newplasma com." Naoko's voiced came up over the line, she paused and Thibor could picture her cute, freckled face contorted into a disgusted expression "Oh that sucks. It had several independent branches, all of which have received significant foreign investment over the last five years. Their primary line is a broad type blood substitute that uses an administered catalyst to change it to the appropriate type, but they are still running clinical trials to get approval on its use. Their main headquarters were built three years ago on Auriga Drive, it's about an hour north of Los Angeles. They went public about eight months ago, oh, and I think I own stock in them." "Is getting eleven out of ten on this one." Thibor actually smiled. "Upload all company info to my console and go home, is dinner on me when getting back." "Data's on the way Major." There was a tone of tired relief in Simon's voice. "If it is all the same to you, we're going to stay on operations and see if we can find out anything else at this end." "Thanks." Thibor smiled grimly, this was going to cost him more that one dinner, it was likely that he would be feeding them for the better part of a week. A bargain at any price. "Is appreciated. If is not checking in by 1130, is notifying team." "Major?" There was a plaintive note to Naoko's voice. "This vampire is attacking young, attractive women right? So, speaking for young, attractive women, could you please, please." She paused. "Kick his undead ass six ways to Sunday!" "Yes Ma'am." Thibor clicked the communicator off. He pulled the Fury to the side of the road and tossed his personal data pad to Danzaiver. "Is coordinates locked and loaded, please having little friends run penetrating radar scan of building and grounds. Is vampire, so is going to have vault." "Danzaiver communications are go!" It was fascinating, seated in a car, restrained by a shoulder belt, and he still managed to make all the appropriate gestures. The holographic emitter popped out of its concealing plate and the faces of Yuri and Ruri appeared. Both were dressed in baggy pyjamas covered in a Hello Kitty motif, and looked like they had been roused from sleep. "What is it?" The one on the right moaned, she had one eye half open, the other was still closed. "It's too early." "Justice never sleeps!" Danzaiver enthused. "Wolf hero Thibor requires that you scan the following coordinates." "Have the dirty old wolf do it himself, we're still asleep." The one on the left, possibly Ruri, complained. "Can you wait another hour please." The other wheedled, rubbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "Ruri, Yuri, this is important." Danzaiver had the good grace to sound slightly embarrassed. "Please." "Yes, please." Thibor echoed. "Are waiting for jail bait to scan." "What!!" Both girls came instantly awake and moved forward angrily, their faces crowding the small screen. "I said we are waiting with baited breath for the scan." Thibor said nonplussed getting out of the car. "Hmph." They turned their attention to the sensors. "We've got an image, we're sending it down to you." "There it is! A Subterranean Vault of Evil, just like you said." Danzaiver held up the data pad. "We're going back to bed." Ruri announced as Yuri yawned hugely. The hologram snapped off abruptly. "Is day getting better." Thibor opened the Fury's trunk and leaned inside. He lifted out the spare tire and opened the compartment hidden below it, revealing a large battered olive duffel bag, which he removed. It contained everything that the modern slayer required to throw a serious beating to all but the most powerful vampire, and had been one of his more recent projects. As a younger wolf he had believed in using his body's own magnificent powers of destruction to turn back the undead. No longer. If anything he was far stronger, but any sense of fair play had been eroded away over the years. Vampires that escaped would kill again, so it was far better to use every dirty trick in the book to wipe them out. As an old dog, he had learned a great deal of very dirty tricks, and contrary to popular belief, was still picking them up. He replaced the tire, closed the trunk and tossed the bag into the back seat. Reclaiming his seat in the car, Thibor slammed his foot down on the accelerator, sending the huge vehicle squealing out into traffic. Saturday 1000 NewPlasma Headquarters, Auriga drive, Los Angeles. "Is ready?" Thibor glanced over at Danzaiver. The sentai hero looked primed, and was practically vibrating with the energy that coursed through his battle armour. "Here is plan review. Right through building to entrance of vault down into vault. Is daylight, so even if vampire is awake, will be hidden down in depths of earth. Is vampire thing." The building itself was a mass of black, polarized glass, that Thibor suspected would block out even the bright California sun. That would be enough for some times, but most vampires had an intense fear of the sun, and would instinctively shelter themselves from it deep in the earth. "Hai!" Danzaiver echoed. Small compartments and what looked like beam emitters had opened on the armor, giving it a more martial appearance. What looked like a sword hilt now protruded from Danzaiver's left shoulder. The combat readiness pleased Thibor, who had already assumed his wolf form. An elaborate shoulder harness held his collection of weapons; primitive looking bamboo grenades, duct tape wrapped glass vials and gas canisters. An enormous shotgun, nearly five feet in length, was slung over his back, a drum like ammo canister protruding from the breech. "Wolf hero Thibor!" Danzaiver glanced at the building. "How do I avoid being hypnotized." "You can't be." Thibor noted. You are too much technology. Is possible you may not even be able to see vampires. Is not worrying too much, is going to be many human thralls, as well as Pangolin and Otter. Will not want for things to do. Is remembering signal?" "Hai!" There was an infectious enthusiasm to Danzaiver's voice. "When you say so, I will act with Decisive Swiftness and Certainty, bringing us Victory." The code phrase had been agreed upon ahead of time, and Thibor had been sure to choose one that he would never, ever, use accidentally. "Perfect. Is wanting some music?" Thibor popped a tape into the deck. The speakers exploded into the sound of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London. Slamming his foot down hard on the accelerator, Thibor laid down a long strip of rubber as he accelerated towards the building. Infiltration of the facility was right out. If Cammy were there, perhaps she could get past the guards and into the vault without being seen, but that was not currently an option. With stealth being out as possible tactic, that left the ever-efficient option of old country brute force, which suited Thibor just fine. Rather than park, he hopped the huge Fury right over the curb and through the huge glass entrance doors. A snowstorm of safety glass fragments pelted over the windshield and sprayed across the interior of the car. There was a terrified squeak as the receptionist dove for cover, moments before the car smashed her Bakelite desk to pieces. Jamming his clawed foot down on the brake and yanking hard on the wheel, Thibor whipped the car to the right. The back end fishtailed impressively, smashing into the wall with a sickening crunch that could only mean expensive bodywork in the very near feature. His wide, wolfish jaws agape in a canine grin, Thibor gunned the engine again, sending the car peeling down the wide, marble tiled hallway. He recognized the elation coursing through his system and welcomed it. The Sawchyk family, or pack as it were, had been hunting down and killing vampires for generations, and there was an almost instinctual component to it. The joy of the hunt. "Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein." Thibor sang along as he smashed the Fury through a series of security doors. The front end was looking worse for wear, but that was acceptable, as much as he cherished the car, vampire extermination was an even greater pleasure. The huge door to the vault loomed ahead of them. Standing in front was a tall, bullnecked man, immaculately dressed in the manner of British Butler. If the man was surprised that an enormous vintage American car, driven by a werewolf was bearing down upon him, it did not show. He was obviously a very good butler. "Jump now! Is vampire in front of car!" Thibor warned Danzaiver. The butler was familiar to him; it was the same man who spirited Lucan away all those years ago. He didn't look a day older, which indicated that the Lord had rewarded his loyal subject with the dark gift of vampiric power. The poor dumb bugger. Thibor and Danzaiver leapt free of the car, which continued forward, smashing into the butler and then the vault door. The entire front of the car was crushed by the impact. Turning in the air, Thibor pushed off the door as he struck it, and flipped back down onto the crumpled hood of his car. The vampire butler was pinned between the heavy door and the vehicle, hissing and spitting as he attempted to shift the car away. "Don't worry." The werewolf brought the enormous shotgun out from behind his back and racked a shell into the chamber. "We'll see ourselves in." The vampire's eyes widened as Thibor pointed the barrel at his chest and fired. A basketball-sized hole appeared in the vampire's chest as his heart, lungs and spine were sprayed across the door. Thibor worked the slide, ejecting a soup-can sized shell from the breach. Each shell contained over a hundred hardwood skewers, each impregnated with concentrated essence of garlic. Most European vampires were particularly vulnerable to the traditional wooden stake through the heart, and this was merely the latest innovation in delivery. Although limited to a range of about twenty feet, a shot anywhere near the chest could take the piss right out of any bloodsucker. As if on cue the vampire butler slumped as far as the car pinning his legs would allow, his flesh sloughing away and withering until only a thin layer of skin was left, clinging to the bones. With a casual motion, Thibor clipped the head from the body using the long claws on his right hand. What was left of the vampire immediately collapsed into a pile of gray dust. "Wolf Hero Thibor!" Danzaiver shouted. "I shall use my Danzai Beam! To cut Through!" He gestured and a beam of blindingly bright energy shot from his arm and played across one side of the vault door. The metal immediately began glowing with the intense heat, and small rivulets of molten slag began running down the door surface. "Danzai-Power-KICK!" A red blur shot past Thibor's head as Danzaiver delivered a powerful flying kick to the door. The metal gave a shriek and then gave way, the melted portion tearing free of the wall. With a resounding crash the door fell to the floor, revealing a set of wide, stone steps, leading down. Thibor paused for a moment, inhaling deeply. There was the acrid stink of melted metals, a slight tang from the spilled fuel from his car, the rather enjoyable nutmeg-like smell of freshly powdered vampire, and the something else, a rather redolent perfume that he normally associated with vacations in Tijuana, but underlying that, the scent of blood. His large ears twitched, alarms were going off throughout the building and it sounded like a full evacuation was in process. Good. Those who came to defend the vault would invariably be vampire thralls, and those who did not serve the bloodsucker, would be getting the hell out of Dodge. There was an interesting series of sounds coming from the bottom of the stair. Footfalls, obviously metallic, with the odd snap-click cadence of high-heeled shoes. "Careful, is could be trapped." Thibor felt the need to warn his partner. The warning fell on deaf ears as Danzaiver bounded down the stairs. It was trapped as it turned out, but the gunfire that erupted from either side of the hall merely bounced off the sentai hero's armour. Thibor sniffed again. Good old steel and lead shot, nothing esoteric like silver. Excellent. He leapt after Danzaiver, ignoring the ineffectual stings of the bullets, which flattened against his fur. They hit the bottom of the stair together, nearly skidding into the next threat. "Is having to be shitting me." Thibor groaned. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened; it was the inevitable escalation. "Vampire cyber chicas?" It was obvious that Lucan had benefited from experience, and the technology made available to him from Hoya. There were six of them, clad in form fitting power armour, their proud jutting bosoms, and delightfully rounded buttocks sheathed in reflective metal, their fiery, Latino features and dark compelling vampire eyes, visible behind clear, bullet-proof acrylic visors. There were also visible garters and daringly high metal skirts, that revealed flashes of what could only be described as stainless steel thong panties. Vampire powersuits, which bore the obvious design of Little French Maid outfits. It made sense in a sick sort of way. There would be no need for environmental systems, or even life support and the whole system could be sealed save for a small plug in which the vampire, in mist form could enter the suit. Wooden stakes and silver weapons would be hard pressed to cleave through the hardened alloys and already pre-natural vampire strength could be readily augmented. For a moment he wondered if he had been correct in choosing the path of righteousness. One of the perks of being a villain was obviously that you could use your hench-babes to indulge in virtually any of your fantasies or fetishes, no matter how strange or debased they might be. He spared a sidelong glance at Danzaiver. Perhaps such indulgences were not limited solely to villains. "Stand aside Pneumatic Vixen Servants of Evil!" Danzaiver gestured heroically. "Or we shall Severely punish you!" "Look like will be liking that." Thibor noted, watching three of the vampire women licking their lips in obvious anticipation of whatever was coming. It could be worse. Danzaiver might not be able to see the vampires themselves, but it was obvious that the suits were real enough for him to perceive and target, the mystic aura that protected vampires from being observed by mirrors and machines, was usually enough to handle such things as normal clothes and even some weapons, but it was not nearly enough to conceal hydraulically supported push-up bras and stainless steel garter belts. "Nuestro Señor dice mata el lobo de Diablo!" The most top heavy of the vampires shouted out. Two others immediately sprang into action, stamping out with perfectly co-ordinated kicks to the centre of Thibor's broad chest. The impact drove the breath from his lungs and sent him flying into the wall of the corridor. The wall buckled but did not collapse as the steel plate and re- enforced concrete were cratered by the impact. Definitely enhanced strength, Thibor noted, as he felt two of his ribs snap under the attack. "Time to Puta an end to this." Slipping under a follow up attack, Thibor drove his claws into the armoured chest of one of his attackers, peeling the armour back as if it were the foil covering a large baked potatoe, or two large potatoes as it were. He followed the attack up by jamming the shotgun into the opening and depressing the trigger. Rather than exiting through the back, the shot was contained by the armour. His attacker had enough time for a single outraged shriek before collapsing into a pile of dust. Saturday 1015 Operations Centre: IST Great Britain "It's the waiting I hate." Simon's long finger tapped idly on the edge of his keyboard. "Do you think they're going to be all right." Naoko perched on the edge of Simon's desk. "Sure." Simon reached out and took her hand. "Thibor's probably surrounded by a bevy of hot Latin babes in little French maid outfits, having the time of his life." "Oh you! Be serious." Naoko playfully punched Simon in the shoulder. Saturday 1020 NewPlasma Headquarters, Auriga drive, Los Angeles. "Ow." Thibor used a pair of forceps to dig a pair of long fingernails from out of his thigh. Behind him, Danzaiver was running a diagnostic scanner over his chest and arms, where the bright red armour was indented and cracked. Scattered around their feet were fragments of powered armour, and small piles of dust, which smelled of rosemary, garlic, tequila and cheap perfume. His shotgun lay several paces distant, the stock shattered and the barrels twisted. The vampires had quickly realized the danger of the weapon and had deliberately targeted it. It had prolonged the struggle, but not by much, as Thibor's claws and Danzaiver's energy bolts had made quick work of those who remained. Already his wounds were closing over, and would soon be a distant memory. All the better, for Lucan was still waiting for them. Thibor did not consider the possibility of the villain taking flight. One of the characteristics of that particular line of European vampires was a tendency towards megalomania. Lucan would be psychologically incapable of recognizing a direct threat and fleeing from it. "All the better to kill you with cácánar." Thibor smiled. "Am going to go badass, better-to-eat-you-with-my-dear on you." Motioning for Danzaiver to follow, Thibor bolted down the corridor towards what the plans indicated was the primary room in the vault. He burst through the double doors and skidded to a stop in the centre of the room. It looked like one of the smoking rooms that you found in the most exclusive of men's clubs in Britain. Heavily paneled walls, thick tapestries and oversized, elaborately carved wooden furniture which looked as though it weighed as much as an entire poor family. A brief sniff revealed that the furniture was some sort of plastic, cunningly fashioned in the image of wood. No sensible vampire, if such a creature could be said to exist, would leave such a ready source of weapons so close. "Ah, so you have laid waste to my dark beauties." The male voice was smooth and sensual, filling the room with the aura of deep regret." One of the chairs pivoted, revealing Lucan, framed against the blood red leather that covered it. The vampire lord was dressed immaculately in an expensive tweed suit, the dark brown colour perfectly matching his eyes. "How tragic that their eternal beauty was to be lost to such an ugly, inferior creature such as you. Must all who would choose to love me be so afflicted? It is only fitting that I, as their one eternally true lover, avenge them." "Pull the other one." Thibor snorted derisively. "Is not coming back to avenge the last ones, so why should this batch be any different. Talking like mincing, depressed, lovesick fairy is not going to make you Lord Byron." "Wolf Hero Thibor!" Danzaiver called out. "The manimals!" Emerging from the recesses of the room, Hoya's other zooanthropes became visible. The humanoid otter, moving with a sinuous grace and the pangolin, bristling its spines and claws with dread intent. It was gratifying that Danzaiver immediately moved to cover Thibor's back. "Simple peasant." Lucan's sneer was manifest. If the barb about his hench-babes had struck home, he failed to show it. "You have no idea what powers I now command, and how my kind shall rise and rule this world. Even now, I have perfected a way to..." "Stop!" Thibor shouted, interrupting the vampire. "Has perfected a way to ensure the ascendancy of the vampire over the human. Have already figured it out. Is coming here to act as agent for Hoya, but learned about development of blood substitute, and used influence to forward research. Is not wanting blood substitute for money, but rather is looking for way to feed army of bloodsuckers. Is needing numbers, but is also needing to keep quiet, and with viable blood substitute, can build huge flock with no need to kill, or steal from bloodbanks to feed. Easy to hide. Could create army of tens of thousands, and when is large enough, can be unleashed. Embezzled money from other of Hoya's interests to fund projects, and when General is taking kicking from IST, you abandon him to act on your own, using mind powers to force others to send all investment money to you and then forgetting transaction. Also convinced stock brokers to talk up public bid when company filed IPO to increase profit from sales of stock. If is any consolation, is not first piss-ant bloodsucker with delusions of grandeur and world domination who has tried. Is pretty boilerplate material, what you would call common." "You utter cad!" Lucan's smooth, pale features contorted in anger. "Others may have tried, but they do not have my strength. Only I can accomplish this! I who can break the wills of the strongest men and compel all the creatures of nature to do my bidding. You are no different and will become one of my many pawns! Bow down to Lord Lucan! Vampire ruler of the world!" He gestured at Thibor, his eyes flaring with unholy fire. Thibor could feel the vampire's power beating against him, trying to batter into the recesses of his mind. "Du-te dracului you pretentious undead fuck." Thibor grated from between clenched teeth. The vampire was powerful but Thibor's will, forged by years of war, was more than equal to the test. He focused his thoughts, mentally screaming his defiance at the vampire. Lucan's power began to falter and then withdrew. "Kill the other one." Lucan shook his head to clear it. He raised his hands, now gnarled and twisted into brutal, killing claws. "I shall take this one as a trophy to be mounted on my wall." "Don't talk about mounting, when you are one who is going to get fucked." Thibor charged forward, thrusting his claws towards Lucan's heart. He staggered slightly as the blows past right through the vampire lord. Lucan's return blows tore deep, bloody furrows down Thibor's back. "And now you see the true force of my might. My powers have grown since we last met." Lucan threw his head back and laughed. "When you strike my body shall be as mist, invulnerable to your pitiful flesh. When I strike, it shall be as steel, far stronger than even your vaunted animal strength! It is you who shall die here." "Danzai Beam!" Danzaiver unleashed a blast of blue-white energy, narrowly missing the otter, who ducked under it with inhuman grace. A tapestry, carefully preserved for five centuries, took the brunt of Danzaiver's attack, flaring away into ash. The otter snaked between the Sentai Hero's legs, coming up behind him and grasping him to its chest with its short powerful limbs. "Do you know about otters?" The creature hissed, as it bore Danzaiver to the floor. "We float on our back and do cute little human things with our hands. Like crack the shells of our food." "Give up Sea-Mammal of dishonour!" Danzaiver riposted. "You face a technology far greater than any that has ever swam off of the Pacific West coast and eaten fish! My scans have indicated that your strong grip is incapable of breaching my magnificent armour!" As if on clue the Pangolin leapt forward, rolling up into a tight ball. Its long spines slammed into Danzaiver's abdomen, drawing a burst of sparks and spurts of the odd neon- blue fluid that served the sentai hero as blood. "Otters often employ different tools to crack the shells of their prey." The Otter chuckled as Danzaiver shouted out in pain. "Where is your vaunted wit now?" Lucan's long nails lashes across Thibor's muzzle, leaving it bloody in their wake. "Are you trembling before the magnificence of my dark gifts?" "Wasn't planning on it." Thibor pulled a pair of canisters off of his harness and cracked them open. A dark yellow gas rushed out, quickly filling the room. "Garlic." Lucan winced slightly at the smell. "It is unpleasant, but I am far too strong to succumb to its poison. Your ploy has failed wol...Wah!" Lucan's head snapped back as Thibor stepped up and delivered a punishing uppercut to the pointed, aristocratic chin. "Will take your word for it." Thibor advanced on the reeling vampire. Lucan was correct in that garlic wouldn't drive him off, but the vapour would keep him from assuming mist form. To do so would be like stepping into a pool of acid, even if Lucan's mind commanded the change, his body could not comply. "You shall not defeat me Manimals." Danvaiver cried out. With a quick, agile movement, Danzaiver locked his legs around the body of the pangolin, holding it tightly, despite the sharp quills. "Danzai Electro-BURST!" Coruscating tendrils of blue-white electricity chased over Danzaiver's armour, the Pangolin and the Otter took the brunt of the current and fell away, their limbs twitching spastically. "Good job." Thibor spared a glance at Danzaiver, who had shakily regained his feet. It was time to put an end to this. Taking a deliberately wide stance. He offered a silent prayer that this was not being recorded. It was worth more than his life if it ever got out. "Now Lucan." Thibor raised his arms, imitating the gestures he had seen Halo and Uriko use when watching the insipid show. "In the name of the moon I shall punish you." "What?" Lucan seemed genuinely taken aback by the odd outburst. Fortunately Danzaiver was not and matched the gestures, just like they had planned it. "Initiating FINAL technique! Danzaiver Satellite Laser SHOT!" The air became heavy and then a great light cut through the ceiling. When it faded, a portion of the room had been burnt and blackened. Wisps of white smoke still hung in the air, where matter had been vaporized by the beam. "You missed." Lucan crowed. "Is that the total of your anger." He grunted as Thibor tackled him, driving him into the blackened area. "Wasn't aiming for you." Thibor locked a huge forearm around Lucan's neck and held him down. "Is just wanting hole in roof. Is Los Angeles, 300 sunny days a year." As the smoke from the blast cleared a ray of sunlight shone down through the massive hole, illuminating both wolf and vampire. "Aiiiggggghhh!" Lucan screamed in thin, girlish tones as bright yellow flames exploded from his flesh as it was consumed by the sun. Thibor could feel his own hair and flesh begin to smoke and char as the fires of the vampire's burning brushed again him. He bore down harder, ignoring the pain as Lucan tried to pry his arms free. The vampire's struggles became weaker and weaker as his body turned to ash and fell away. Within a minute, nothing was left except for ash, and the skull, nestled in the crook of Thibor's arms. "Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver limped over, clutching at the wounds in his abdomen. "The evil has succumbed to the purity of the sun?" "Is dead if that is what you mean." Thibor considered the skull. It wouldn't make a bad trophy for Byrd's office, but that would be a mistake. A vampire as powerful as Lucan could be resurrected if the conditions were right. It was far better to end it here and now. He placed the skull of the ground, and lifting a large, clawed foot, brought it down upon the brittle, burnt bones, shattering them to dust. As a final gesture, he brought out a duct-tape wrapped vial of blessed water and sprinkled the remains, which smoked slightly and then vanished. "Don't know about you, but am ready to go home." Epilogue: 18:00 Monday Vehicle Pool, IST Headquarters, London. "So are you guys ready to go? I'm starving." Naoko bounced from foot to foot as she waited with less than graceful patience. "I think we're out of time major." Simon used a rag to scrub the grease from his hands. Thibor's vintage Fury, battered almost beyond recognition, was propped up on the hoist. They had spent most of the day working on it, but it would be several weeks before it would be fit to drive again. "Please tell me your jeep is back from shop." Thibor tossed the wrench he had been using onto the hood of the car. "I'd love to." Simon unzipped the stained coverall he was wearing and struggled out of it. "But, I would be lying. We'll be flying air Yoshida tonight." "Was afraid of that." Thibor winced. Naoko was an even more reckless driver than he was. Even worse, she had learned to drive in America and occasionally forgot which side of the street to drive on. If there was one redeeming fact, it was that she insisted on loud music while driving. He approved of that. "She's gotten a little better." Simon said, "It's not brown trouser time anymore, she's got it down to terrified beyond mortal comprehension." "Could be worse." Thibor shrugged philosophically, making a mental note to change into his wolf form the moment that he crammed into the backseat of Naoko's little White Fiat. "It's worse." Simon said deadpan. He was right, as Colonel Byrd swaggered into the Vehicle pool, trailed by O'Neil and Danzaiver. "Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver enthused, his voice box set to full resonance. "I have submitted my application to be assigned to Lieutenant-Colonel Hoyle's team. Once it has been approved we shall be work together with great harmony." "Roight you are my lad." His eyes glinting with malicious light, Byrd laid a thick, calloused hand on Danzaiver's shoulder. "I'm sure the Major is just chuffed to hear it, and wanted to make sure that 'e was the first to know. Wants to congratulate you 'e does." He fixed Thibor with an ugly smile. "Don't you my pedigree chum." "Absolutely." Thibor grated. "Champion that is. Well, musn't doddle around 'ere." Byrd was obviously pleased with himself. "I'll just leave you two to get set in, then. Come on Bluey." As Byrd and O'Neil walked out, Thibor's mind reeled with the impact of what had been said. An announcement of the coming apocalypse could not have shaken him more. Danzaiver was a good enough kid, and could hold his own in a fight but... No. A line had to be drawn. It wouldn't be pretty, but it had to be done. "I am most overjoyed at this." Thibor forced a smile onto his features. "It is with harmony that we shall work together. Please to be calling your assistants to share the wonderful news." "Yes. Danzaiver communications are go!" Danzaiver gestured and the holographic screen popped up. Yuri and Ruri crowded the screen. Their features fell when they saw Thibor. "Oh." The one on the left muttered. "It's you." "What do you want you dirty old wolf?" The other said sourly. "Just wanted to let you both know that is going to be spending lots of time working with you, as Danzaiver is joining team. Working closely with you. Is probably going to have to visit satellite to go over briefings." Leaning close to the screen, Thibor leered and winked broadly. Will even show you how to make proper use of prophylactic as survival device and..." "Danzaiver!!" Both girls shouted simultaneously, and then exploded into an angry babble of high pitched, high speed Japanese. "Yes, Ruri...Yuri...but...I can't...Ok... We'll talk about this." Danzaiver weathered the barrage as best he could. "Wolf Hero Thibor." Danzaiver shut off the screen. "I must journey to my Satellite of Justice. We shall speak soon." "Take care." Thibor waved goodbye. It was going to be goodbye to, at least in the short term. He would bet hard cash that by the time that the main course hit the table, Danzaiver's application would be withdrawn. The sentai hero vanished in a flash of light. "So is dinner." Thibor turned back to Simon and Naoko. "Is little Miss Yoshida buying?" "No way!" Naoko exclaimed. "This one is on you, remember." "Come on." Thibor said. "Is going to be getting serious dividend from NewPlasma. Is going to redistribute all cash as dividends to investors. Is not likely that Hoya will be trying to get money back. Is going to be huge payout for you." "Nice try." Naoko reached into her purse and pulled out a thin sheaf of papers. She flipped to the third page and pointed to an area that was outlined in bright pink highlighter. "Have you read a copy of Danzaiver's incident report? The only copy on file here I might add." "Oh no!" "Oh yes." Naoko smiled brightly, she cleared her throat and began reading. "Wolf Hero Thibor then drew my attention by calling out the code word we had agreed on. He said." "Lobster!" Thibor said quickly. "Is little seafood place in west end of city. Is getting fresh lobsters in from Maine daily, is sparing no expense, is shipped live. Is run by Saul Belanger, who is Cordon Bleu chef, is making a sauce of garlic, butter and horseradish. Lobster meat is just melting in mouth." The smile still fixed on her face, Naoko nodded and handed over the report. Language Notes: Romanian slang Es~ti un cácánar - You are a Sh*t head du-te dracului -Go to Hell pupa-ma-n cur - Kiss my arse Nuestro Señor dice mata el lobo de Diablo!" : The Lord said kill the devil wolf.