Doctor Who Fan Fiction / Danny Phantom Fan Fiction / H.P. Lovecraft Fan Fiction ❯ The Champions ❯ Issue 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Issue 2:

Snake In a Lab

 

 

 

WRITTEN BY GOLIATH MANTICORE

ART BY YAK HUCKABEE AND STU TWICESTYLES

 

Author's Notes: Hopefully this will make up for the last chapter. Not very good, huh? Still, I plan on making this pretty exciting. And, let's hear it for… the Doctor!

 

 

 

LAB 99:

 

Scientists filled the conference room of Lab 99. The seats were packed and set in front of the presentation stage, which had a large projection screen on it. A projector was mounted and ready in the back for the presentation to begin.

 

“I didn't expect so many scientists to show up for this.” Kakashi said to himself from his seat as he looked around. He wore a black mask that covered the lower half of his face. A cloth was wrapped around his head, hiding his left eye. He had spiky, silver hair and was dressed in a white lab coat like most of the other scientists.

 

“The entire lab's been waiting for the Doctor to reveal his findings on Meta mutations for months.” Jiraiya pointed out, overhearing Kakashi. Jiraiya had long, wild white hair. He was a bit of an eccentric, wearing red stage makeup and a kabuki actor's robes. “Considering that about a third of the planet was changed it's a pretty big issue.”

 

“Oh, Mr. Jiraiya.” Kakashi realized calmly. “I didn't expect the Board of Directors to show up.” “No, just me.” Jiraiya said. “Where are your cadets?”

 

“Naruto's off visiting his father.” Kakashi explained. “I see…” Jiraiya said soberly. “Is he still catatonic?” Kakashi was silent. Jiraiya sighed sadly. “Such a tragedy… Yondaime had such a promising young mind… and n—.”

 

“Excuse me!” A voice on the stage said with a strange, unfamiliar accent. An elderly man with slicked back, white hair stood on the stage. He wore a black sweater with a white shirt beneath it. “I am ready to begin.”

 

 

 

THE KAME INN:

 

Goku was laying face-down asleep on a couch in the Kame Inn. He had wild, black, spiky hair and black eyes. He wore a blue, sleeveless shirt and black pants.

 

“Goku!” A voice yelled as someone kicked him in his side, waking him up. Goku sat up to see his wife, Chichi was menacing over him. Her black hair was in a bun and she wore an orange dress.

 

“Stop lying around and get to the gym!” She ordered irritably. “You've got a lesson to give, remember?”

 

“Sorry… I was out on patrol all last night.” Goku said with a yawn. He stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “I've got a responsibility to the city to—.”

 

“Keep it down!” Chichi ordered, covering Goku's mouth. “Do you want everyone in Newday City to know you're Kakarot?!” She removed her hand from Goku's mouth, which was in a nervous grin.

 

A ring-tone went off; it was Goku's. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue cell phone, which he flipped open and put to his ear. “Who is this?” He asked. “This is a restricted line.”

 

“Easy, Goku; it's me.” A young voice with a thick accent answered. “Oh, Dexter.” Goku realized. “What's up?”

 

“Lee's called a meeting of the inner circle at the Nonagon.” The young voice explained. “As leader of the Champions it's more or less essential that you—.”

 

Goku rudely hung up before Dexter could finish. “Uh… Chichi?” He asked hesitantly. “T-The Green Beast's called an inner circle meeting at the Nonagon… is it okay if I go?”

 

Chichi glared at Goku angrily. “Fine.” She said finally. “Just make sure it doesn't take all day.”

 

Goku smiled happily and ran out of the hotel. Right next to the hotel was a dark alley. He ran into the alley and took off his blue shirt and black pants, revealing Kakarot's orange jumpsuit. He reached under a cardboard box and pulled out a bright-orange scarf. Wrapping it around the lower half of his face, he jumped into the air and flew off.

 

 

 

LAB 99:

 

“As all of you know, fifty years ago we launched space station Alexander.” The Doctor explained. A picture of the huge space-station appeared on the screen; it was almost the size of a small moon.

 

“Eight years later, an unknown force caused the space station to become toxic and begin falling apart.” The Doctor continued. “The first chunk fell to Delphi's surface about forty-two years ago.” The picture changed to show a head-sized chunk of metal.

 

“Since then, there have been about a hundred cases of the debris making impact and causing mutations.” The Doctor continued. The picture changed to a picture of the planet Delphi, hundreds of red dots all over its surface.

 

“These are the locations where the debris has landed.” The Doctor explained. “No real pattern, really. There's been at least ten impacts on every continent; the most have hit our continent of Thames, as it's the largest.”

 

The projector shut off and the lights came back on. “Now, my theory is that some extraterrestrial entity shot the space station with some sort of weapon.” The Doctor explained, stepping forward. “So, basically, aliens are responsible of mutated beings, or Metas. Any questions?”

 

Jack Fenton, a large fat man with graying hair and in a day-glow orange jumpsuit, raised his hand. “What are we supposed to do about it?” He asked.

 

“Nothing.” The Doctor answered simply. “Any other q—?”

 

“How can we do nothing?” Prof. Utonium, a black-haired young man in a white lab coat, asked. “Almost a third of the race has already been mutated, and not all of them are as helpful as the Champions! Most of them use their powers for crime!”

 

“You raise a good—albeit, wrong—point.” The Doctor said. “You see, we're not supposed to do anything because there's nothing we can do. The space-station is coming apart and its pieces will fall to Delphi's surface, just as certainly as Fall comes after Summer. We can't stop the Metas from forming. Granted, most of them become dangerous; but Lab 99's resources can handle them.”

 

“What about the reports of an organization that's abducting and experimenting on the Metas?” Jack's wife, Maddie, a much thinner woman in a similar, blue jumpsuit asked.

 

“There's no proof of their existence except for rumors and hearsay.” The Doctor explained. “Even if it is true, we have the Corp 99. What's more—what's much more, we have the Champions.”

 

 

 

THE NONAGON:

 

Nine stories tall and in the shape of a nine-sided building, the Nonagon Tower stood in the center of Newday City. Sleek and metallic, it was new and had only been built eight months ago.

 

On the sixth floor of this huge building there was a meeting room with a large table in it. Sitting around the table were XJ9, Rocky the Squirrel, a short boy in a white lab coat and with orange hair, and Kakarot.

 

The door to the meeting room opened and the Green Beast walked in. His hood was pulled down and his mask was removed, showing a fifteen-year-old boy's face, with black hair; big, round eyes; and an intimidating pair of eyebrows. He was the man without the mask; Rock Lee.

 

“Why'd you call us here, Lee?” Rocky asked as Lee took a seat.

 

“You know how I've been investigating the recent murders of Metas, right?” Lee asked. “We thought they were just hate-crimes, but I think I've stumbled on something bigger.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Dexter, the orange-haired boy, asked.

 

“Well, some of the recent killings have been strange.” Lee explained. “Before, the killings had all been done with a sword, most likely a blade called a jian. But in the recent killings the victims have either been strangled or poisoned.”

 

“What's so weird about that?” XJ9 asked. “It's not unusual for a killer to change his method every now and then.”

 

“Actually, Jenny, it is.” Lee corrected. “A killer will typically stick with the same method if it's a hate-crime. Then I found out something interesting. The poison on all poisoned victims comes from a Meta's power; they could turn their saliva or blood into a lethal poison.”

 

“So that person started killing?” Kakarot guessed. “No.” Lee said. “You see, the person with that power was one of the killer's victims.”

 

“It's not unusual for multiple people to have the same power.” Dexter said. “Goku and Rocky both have the power to fly.”

 

“You haven't been listening.” Lee chastised. “The poison was made from the Meta's saliva and blood. Therefore, it contains trace particles of DNA. I also took any DNA I could find at the other murders and matched it up with the poison left in the victim's bodies. The poison DNA matches skin particles found on the victims, so it's the same guy killing over and over.”

 

“So they're not hate-crimes; that still doesn't change the fact that we don't know who it is.” Rocky pointed out.

 

“True, but I think I've found a motive.” Lee continued. “All of the victims are Metas without secret identities and who use their powers openly. What's more, all of the brains were forcibly removed from then when they were alive. The brain, I remind you, is where the energy that causes Meta powers to arise is proven to be stored.”

 

“So they're taking the powers out?” Dexter realized.

 

“Taking them out so they can take them for themselves.” Lee added on. “If the powers are kept in the brains then it's only a simple matter of taking the power out. I read a report by a scientist from Lab 99. He believed that if the brains were… well, eaten the powers could be gained.”

 

“Eaten?!” XJ9 repeated in disgust. “Who in their right mind would eat someone's brains?”

 

“I think that there's little evidence to suggest our killer is in their right mind.” Lee pointed out. “It would take a madman to kill all of these people, even more so to eat their brains.”

 

 

 

LAB 99:

 

Jiraiya yawned tiredly as he walked into his office. Posters he had gotten for research in his series of scientific reports—or, in laymen's terms, `porn'—were hung on the walls. His desk had a computer on it and a small, glass toad. Behind the desk was a window overseeing the 23rd division of Lab 99's various facilities—the division that trained the elite 99 Corp.

 

“Better get back to work on my report.” Jiraiya said to himself as he sat at his desk and began typing on his computer. Before he could get to any of the sex parts, though, there was a knock on his office door. The door opened and Prof. Utonium walked in.

 

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes suspiciously for a moment but then smiled cheerfully. “Oh, professor!” He welcomed. “Can I help you with something?”

 

“We're having some problems down in genetic construction.” The Professor explained. “You know that experiment to create beings with Meta abilities? I was wondering if I could have that list the Doctor gave you of all confirmed Metas so I could collect DNA.”

 

“Well, professor, I can't do that.” Jiraiya said as he stood up. “You see, the Doctor gave me instructions to never tell anyone about the Metalist unless they're on it. So that would lead me to wonder how you happen to know about it, Orochimaru.” Jiraiya smacked his forehead in mock stupidity. “Oh, sorry! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that either!”

 

“You've gotten clever, Jiraiya.” The Professor said with a chuckle. Slowly, the Professor pulled on his cheek, peeling his face off like a mask and dropping it to the floor. The face beneath the face was pale and had eyes like a snake. Long, brown hair hung from his head.

 

“Good to see you again, old friend.” Orochimaru said as he took off the Professor's lab coat, revealing a black jumpsuit with buckles all over it. On the left shoulder was a musical note. Hanging on his belt was a sword called a jian.

 

“What snake hole in Hell did you crawl out of?” Jiraiya asked. “Where did you get Metabilities? You never had them before.”

 

For a brief second, Orochimaru cringed in anger. However, he quickly put on a mask of cynical joy. “I've found a way to acquire them.” Orochimaru explained. “It just wasn't fair that you and Tsunade were Metad while I remained normal.”

 

Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock. “Orochimaru… you couldn't have!” He protested. “Did you actually follow through with your theory that Metabilities could be acquired by consuming the brain?!”

 

“Oh, I don't like to be called Orochimaru anymore.” Orochimaru explained. “My servants call me the Serpent, and you should, too.”

 

“The Orochimaru I knew died a long time ago; I don't have a problem with that.” Jiraiya said coldly. “I'm not giving you the Metalist, Orochimaru.”

 

“GIVE ME THE DAMN LIST!” Orochimaru yelled, his anger breaking through. “I'll take all Metabilities as my own! I'll show the fools of Delphi who and what I am!”

 

Jiraiya quickly put his hand to his mouth and blew through it, spewing flames between himself and Orochimaru. Thinking fast, he ripped the computer off of its cords and threw it through the window. He jumped through the shattered window to the lab below.

 

Jiraiya landed on his feet, remarkably uninjured. Meanwhile, in the flaming office, Orochimaru held up his arms to his face to protect himself from the flames. He quickly ran out of the office and down a hallway to stairs that led to the lab below.

 

“Jiraiya, sir.” Kakashi realized in confusion when Jiraiya landed. “What happened in your office?”

 

“My old buddy's back.” Jiraiya explained. The 23rd division was filled with people in black suits like Orochimaru's, some of them no older than fifteen. Shelves of weapons also filled the room.

 

“Okay, everyone; Code Black!” Jiraiya yelled. “We've got a hostile in the lab! He's got shape-shifting abilities, so be on the look-out for anything unusual!”

 

Kakashi quickly tossed off his lab coat, revealing a black suit like Orochimaru's, but with a different, swirling symbol on his shoulder. “I'll gather up the Leaf Division, sir.”

 

“Someone get Wakeman, too.” Jiraiya ordered as people began running around. “Tell her to call Jenny and get the Champions down here; we need a lot of firepower.”

 

 

 

17TH DIVISION—CHRONOLOGY:

 

“No, no, no—you'll never achieve time travel with this, Jimmy!” The Doctor exclaimed as he took a very high-tech clock from a very big-headed boy. Scientists all over the 17th division were working on ways to travel through time. For some reason, the Doctor insisted on keeping a police box in the middle of the lab.

 

“In order to travel through time you need to crack the Clockwork Formula.” The Doctor explained. “This is near-impossible, because he's a ghost and they're pretty darn clever. Still, I—.”

 

A pale hand covered the Doctor's mouth. The hand was attached to a stretched arm which was attached to Orochimaru, standing ten feet behind him. “Give me the list, you old fool!” Orochimaru answered.

 

The Doctor quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, metal, high-tech cylinder. He held one end to Orochimaru's hand and it gave off a high-pitched sound. Orochimaru screamed and withdrew his hand, pulling his arm back to normal length.

 

All of the scientists ran in a panic; none of them were trained to handle this. The only one who didn't leave was the Doctor. “Do you mind telling me what you plan to do with the list?” The Doctor asked as he faced Orochimaru, who was holding his hand in pain.

 

“Just give me the list!” Orochimaru yelled.

 

“All right, all right.” The Doctor said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card holder and, from within it, a blank piece of paper. He showed it to Orochimaru with a smile.

 

“Do you think I'm an idiot?!” Orochimaru yelled furiously. “That's blank!” “Oh, it is?” The Doctor asked, looking at the paper in surprise. “Well, you're either psychic or a genius. Possibly both, but not neither. Of course, I suppose I could simply just not be focusing. The thing with psychic paper is—.”

 

Before the Doctor could tell him, Orochimaru's tongue stretched out of his mouth and wrapped around the Doctor's, gagging him.

 

The Doctor moved to set off his device, but Orochimaru's hand stretched out and grabbed his. The Doctor felt Orochimaru's saliva drip off of his tongue and into his mouth… everything was getting foggy…

 

Orochimaru moved quickly as the poison began to work. He unsheathed his sword and ran up to the Doctor. He fiercely struck the Doctor on the side of his head with the sword's hilt and continued hitting until he broke through the skull. As soon as the brain was visible, he pulled his tongue back, yanked the brain out, and devoured it wildly.

 

Blood covered his hand and mouth. He chuckled quietly as he wiped the blood off of his face with his sleeve. “I'm not even sure if that was a Meta's brain.” He said to himself with a smile. “I don't care, either.”

 

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. Orochimaru cringed and guarded his eyes to the strange, otherworldly aurora. A few seconds passed and Orochimaru uncovered his eyes.

 

Standing before him was a roughly middle-aged man with a black mop-top, wooly black coat, and a blue shirt underneath.

 

“Sorry to tell you this after you went through all of that trouble, but you're still not getting that list.”

 

 

 

Coming Soon!: The Champions respond to the attack on Lab 99, but with a little help from the 99 Corp! Then, when the Serpent goes after one of their own, can they get help from a strange, new hero? Find out who in the next issue!