Disclaimers: Futurama and all its characters are a creation of Matt Groening and David X Cohen. This text is purely fan material, and has absolutely no commercial purposes whatsoever.

Before we start: Time for a little “What if…” story! Or more exactly, a sequel to a What-If story… And also a little homage to one of the most awesome things Japan has ever produced: kaiju eigas!

***

“Good news, everyone!”

Leela looked away and sighed, absolutely not thrilled by this improvised reunion the professor had decided to start. The old man’s conception of what “good news” means brought them enough trouble for her not wanting to hear what he was about to say.

This morning, Hermes called all the employees of Planet Express in professor Farnsworth’s laboratory, although he had no idea of what their boss wanted to tell them. Leela, Fry and Bender came at the same time, as they were all relaxing in the lobby when they got called. Leela didn’t like the sound of this, and the robot wasn’t pleased to have been forced to abandon the Ultimate Robot Fight Championship for some dull reunion (which wasn’t preventing him from recording the contest on his own hard drive), but Fry was much more neutral, and was still sipping at his Slurm can as the professor was about to start his talk. The professor, Hermes and Zoidberg were already in the laboratory when they got in, and Amy quickly joined them. The old man was now standing in front of the What-If machine, which was posed on a table in the middle of the room.

“- I’m proud to tell you that my latest invention is now complete! Resumed the professor, looking excited. I’m pretty sure that it’s my greatest achievement, far above the nuclear-powered trousers-lifters!
- The thing that nearly sterilized the entire state’s population? Asked Amy. I wonder what can top that…
- Something I’m not sure I want to hear about… Said Leela.
- Well, that would be an incredible mistake!” Said the professor. He then pointed at the What-If Machine on the table. “Behold… THE WHAT-IF MACHINE!”

In his delirium, the professor was expecting some kind of gasps or interrogative whispers, but he wasn’t prepared to be welcomed by silence and incomprehension. All his employees were now looking at him the same way as when he came naked to work because some mutated beavers devoured his clothes. That day, he had a hard time explaining them he didn’t lose his last fuse.

“- Er, professor… Said Fry, measuring his words. We already know it. You invented that thing years ago.
- What?! Said the professor, shocked. Nonsense! I would remember such a thing! I never made anything like that before!
- Yeah, you did, mon, said Hermes. The first one is just behind you.”

The professor turned around… And in a corner of the room, posed on a shelf, was indeed the first What-If Machine. Farnsworth adjusted his glasses for having a better look at it.

“- Oh my, looks like you’re right… Bah, nevermind! We’ll throw away the old one and use this one for now!
- Can I keep it? Asked Zoidberg, raising one of his claws like a little kid at school. I don’t have any TV, and sometimes I really get bored when I’m alone, the night, in my apartment…
- You don’t have any apartments, stinking jellyfish! Said Hermes.
- I know… Said Zoidberg, sighing.
- So is this one better than the other one? Asked Amy, getting back to the matter of discussion. More options, freeze mode, language choice, this type of things?
- Well, let me think a little bit…” Said the professor.

The old man started to scratch his skull, then his chin, really taking his time for having an answer. It lasted some extremely long and silent seconds, which were only troubled by Fry’s drinking noise. Leela crossed her arms on her chest, wondering if it would be a good idea to get out of the room before the professor would get out of his meditation.

“No.”

Bender nodded.

“- That was anticlimactic…
- So why would we get rid of the other one? Asked Leela. We could…
- There’s no way I would have spent an entire week working on it for nothing! Said the professor. Especially since I had to pass a pact with the Robot Devil for extending my life for being able to finish it!
- Bah, that was useless anyway! Said Bender. The simulations that crap does always suck!
- You say that because each time you used it, it showed you die a horrible death… Said Fry.
- Exactly! I don’t see why I should care about something that want me dead!
- Then why don’t you ask it to unkill you? Asked Zoidberg. Every time something goes wrong for me, I imagine that the events take a different path!
- And so far, you had to reimagine your entire life, then? Asked Amy.
- Yes. And I realized that if things went a little bit different, I could have a successful career as a ballet dancer right now!
- This is just retarded! Said Hermes. Why don’t you just shut up and die, mollusc?
- Actually, he’s got a point, said the professor. The What-If Machine’s simulations we saw were limited by the few conditions we imposed to it the previous times, so it created the shortest stories as possible. Adding another element like the survival of one of us may change everything!”

Those last words managed to catch Bender’s attention. So far, the robot wasn’t fainting his hostility towards the machine, but this little explanation was changing everything.

“- Really? Said the robot. If I ask it not to kill me, it will be different?
- Oh my, yes! Replied the professor. Although it could mean the fates of the rest of us may be dire in those parallel universes!”

The robot smiled, his eyes shining of this perspective.

“- Now this sounds interesting! Alright, I’ll give it a try!
- You have an idea of what you’ll ask? Said Amy.
- Pretty much. Remember this story of me as a giant?
- Ooooooh, I loved this one! Said Fry.
- Yeah, I remember, said Leela. That wasn’t bad.
- I wouldn’t mind seeing an alternate version! Said Amy.
- But… But I was mean in this one! Said Zoidberg, whining.
- You don’t like this? Asked Hermes.
- No! It makes me feel ashamed!
- Then do it, Bender!”

Seeing the approval of his friends (and the despair of the Decapodian), the robot made his mind. He knew exactly what he was about to ask.

“Then it’s settled! Let’s see how it will look like!”

Bender grabbed the Machine’s microphone and made it come closer to his mouth. He carefully formulated each one of his words, so that the machine would perfectly understand what he wanted.

“What if the story of me as a giant didn’t end with my death?”

Wernstrom was gnawing his fingernails at an increasing rate. He had a very bad feeling about all this. Something was smelling really bad, and he was sure that soon…

“Sir, H-37 is showing some sort of activity.”

The scientist stopped the stream of his previous thoughts and looked at his subordinate. The control room was filled with the men at his command, all of them concentrating on the various monitors that were scattered everywhere in the room, each one compiling the various datas on... His latest creation. On the other end of the room, just in front of the scientist, a large reinforced picture window would allow anyone to look at what was currently sleeping in the large room behind it. Wernstrom however made himself sure that a very limited amount of person would be able to do so. Entering the control room required some specific authorizations that only the persons that were in it at this moment had, and the complex’s security was tight enough for preventing any intruder to come in.

“- What kind of activity? Asked Wernstrom, a bit anxious.
- Erratic moves, accelerated cardiac rhythm, increase of its mental activities…
- It’s dreaming. Of course, by now it must have reached the paradoxical sleep period. No need to worry.
- Yes, sir.”

Wernstrom got back to his thoughts. Yes, no need to worry… And then, he still was. Some things weren’t exactly as he planned. Some little imperfections in its creation development, some variations he wasn’t expecting… The need to increase the dose of sedative, for example. And, of course, some of its features he didn’t remember to have implemented…

He tried to evacuate his worries. He knew such things could happen. That’s what you have to expect when you work in bio-engineering, especially in such a project. Mutations were always a variable to take into account, and for the moment its creation was pretty close to how it should be. No, really, he didn’t have to be that anxious. Just thinking about how Farnsworth will look like when he’ll show him his masterpiece is a good enough reason for…

The ground shake.

Wernstrom had a hard time trying to keep his balance but succeeded, which considering his age was already a real feat. The entire room vibrated, throwing some of the little objects (pens, mugs, sheets of paper…) to the ground and disconcerting all the scientists. Some of the monitors even rebooted, as the vibrations temporarily cut them for their powersource. Wernstrom quickly got to the post of the employee whom he talked with a bit earlier. He was as surprised as his subordinate, but he tried to hide it.

“- What is it? Is there something new?
- I… Oh my God, look at this! Said the young man, pointing to the screen. All its statistics are rising! Its brain activity, as well as the nervous impulses!”

Wernstrom swallowed a large gulp of saliva.

“Oh no… It’s awaking…”

Another tremor shook the room, this one much more violent than the other one. Wernstrom managed to hold himself to the console, but he crashed on it nonetheless. Some of the monitors got moved because of the might of the tremor, while some neon tubes came off and shattered on the ground. Everybody in the room was now shouting, unable to act rationally and slowly beginning to panic. Wernstrom forced himself to still look like he was mastering the situation, but anybody could see he was in fact as troubled as the others.

“- How could this be? It wasn’t supposed to get out of sleep so soon with the last dose of sedatives we gave it!
- I don’t know, sir! Said the young scientist, scared to death. The machines didn’t record anything that could have warned us of this! Maybe it’s grown accustomed to the sedatives!
- What’s making you think that, Clayton? Said Wernstrom, hiding his fear behind anger. The fact it’s trying to tear apart its chains, maybe?”

The young man staggered an answer… But suddenly, something roared. A loud, low-pitched roar that couldn’t correspond to anything that could have been from this universe. It managed to cover up all the screams of the various persons that were in the room… More precisely, everybody got so frightened by it that they were all frozen on their seat. His eyes bulging, Wernstrom took a look at the picture window. He couldn’t see anything but another wall, several dozens of feet away from him. But he wasn’t sure he really wanted to see something else.

Another tremor occurred, quickly followed by a new roar… And a second, then a third one. During very long seconds, the three roars went on, almost deafening everybody in the assistance.

“- Malenkoff! Screamed Wernstrom to another one of his subordinates. Are the titanium chains holding?
- Yes, but they won’t stand such a treatment for long! Yelled the young scientist. The tension is way higher than what you were expecting!
- What?! It’s impossible! It can’t be that strong!
- Chain number 4 is already cracking, sir!
- Activate the red alert!”

Malenkoff obeyed immediately and pressed a big red button that was placed on his console. An alarm started to ring, adding even more to the confusion of the moment. The red flashing lights that came out of the ceiling reinforced the sensation of panic that took control of the room.

“- Someone would better tell me that the special forces are on their way! Screamed Wernstrom.
- They’ve been called as soon as the tremors started! Said a young dark-haired woman somewhere on the right of Wernstrom. They’ll get in the Lair in a minute!
- Do we have a minute, Malenkoff?
- I’m not sure, sir, we…”

The room shook once more… But this time, a roar didn’t follow it. In fact, only a monstrous cracking noise could be heard. Wernstrom, looking at the picture window, only saw something grey and massive flash before it for a very brief fraction of second.

“- Chain number 4 has broken! Yelled Malenkoff. Number 3, 5 and 6 won’t hold on either!
- Quick! Send the tamerbots in the Lair with massive doses of sedatives! Screamed Wernstrom. It mustn’t set free! It…”

The scientist got interrupted by a new tremor, this one much more violent than the others, to the point that some big slabs of cement fell of the ceiling, even knocking down some of the persons in the room, or damaging the monitors. Some of them exploded because of the fragments. The screams of terror intensified… But they all got covered by new roars. Wernstrom’s blood froze in his veins. Those roars were almost materializing all the bestial rage of the thing that shouted it, a rage that was defying time and space and coming from the first days of life on Earth, when only the strongest and the most violent creatures had a chance to survive… But what really scared Wernstrom was the little touch of triumph that he could discern in them…

“Oh my God! Said Malenkoff, completely panicked. It broke all its chains! It is free! It’s…”

But Wernstrom couldn’t hear anything of what the young man was saying. He was staring at the picture window, too shocked for trying to protect himself from what was about to happen.

Behind the window, a titanic flesh mass, covered with dark green scales, was rushing into the control room.

The crash completely shattered the picture window and a large portion of the wall. All the people in the room got thrown to the ground because of the force of the impact, and the closest ones from the window were engulfed in a maelstrom of broken glass and of sharp pieces of metal. Wernstrom barely managed to protect his face with his hands as he was falling, and he couldn’t do anything for breaking his fall. He would never be able, later, to tell exactly what happened during the following seconds… Everything was a confusing chaos of screams of terror, deafening sounds of destruction, flashing lights, pain and explosions… But there was something he would never forget. The powerful roars that were dominating everything else…

After what seemed like an eternity to his senses, the chaos stopped. He could still hear the alarm and see the flashing lights, but the violent tremors stopped, and there wasn’t as much noise as before. Slowly, Wernstrom opened up his eyes and got his head out of the shelter of his hands, and took a look at the surroundings. He had great difficulties to understand that he was still in the control room, as it was now completely unrecognizable: all the monitors had been shaken off or shattered, several electric cables were hanging from the ravaged ceiling. All his colleagues were still lying on the ground, unconscious or moaning because of their wounds. And moreover, there were rubbles and dust everywhere in the room. If a bomb would have exploded, it was certainly how the room would look like.

Wernstrom stood up with difficulty. His right leg was hurting him like it never did, and he was bleeding from a wound on his head, but there was nothing too serious to worry. The scientist limped to the destroyed window, stepping over his unconscious subordinates and holding his hurting leg. When he got to the hole in the wall, he tried to look down, making sure he wouldn’t fall. Considering a 30 feet tall opening was now in front of him, that would have had dire consequences for him… The gigantic room he was looking at was forming a 50 feet wide cube, that was completely hollow, except for what was lying on its ground… Massive broken titanium chains, each one big enough for allowing two elephants to pass through their buckles. But what they were keeping was no longer there… Wernstrom also saw the scratches on the walls, wide as buses and immeasurably long. A quick look to the ceiling revealed to him that it almost disappeared: in its place was now an enormous hole. In the far distance, Wernstrom could even see the daylight.

The scientist grinded his teeth.

It was a sunny spring day in New New York. The sun didn’t rise a long time ago, but the city was already buzzing with activity. Hundreds of flying cars were hovering in the streets, starting the first traffic jams of the day. The transportation tubes were full as everybody was now going to work, and the first insults between people who accidentally stepped on each other or tried to dodge the line were already bringing some more life to the atmosphere, as well the various different kinds of horns. The sky itself was crowded with an impressive amount of ships that were coming in and out of the atmosphere. Some owls were already coughing because of the pollution.

The Planet Express building was almost shining in the daylight. Some recent events had forced the professor to repaint it from the roof to the basement, and this alone managed to make it look like it had been built recently. But there was a little change to the structure, however… On one side of the building, opposed to the main entrance and put just besides the hangar, was now one big warehouse that was apparently a bit much bigger than the rest of the building itself. But apart from this “little” addition, it would have been hard to guess that the entire city had to go through important reconstruction after the battle that opposed a giant robot and a giant as well Decapodian more than a year ago.

Just in front from the building’s entrance, in the middle of the street, there was a sewer manhole... Which got pulled away by someone that was coming out of it.

Morris quickly pulled the steel sheet away and stood up on the pavement before turning to the manhole for helping his wife, Munda, to get out as well. Anybody who would have seen this little scene would have stopped dead and stared at the newcomers, considering how rare it was for sewer mutants to go to the surface. But somebody who would have tried to see a bit further than this would have noticed that the two mutants were obviously tensed. It could easily be seen by the time they were taking for dusting their clothes, arranging their hair (even Morris despite his baldness) and in a whole trying to look presentable. When Morris thought he couldn’t do anything else on this matter, he passed his arm on his wife’s shoulders. The old couple was now looking at the Planet Express building, a bit anxious about what would happen next.

“- I never thought I’d ever live this… Said Munda. I so hope we won’t put Leela to shame too much…
- I hope too… Said his husband. But let’s try to be a bit more confident. After all, it’s Leela’s idea to present us to her colleagues.
- That’s something I still don’t quite understand… Why would she do such a thing? We’ll just embarrass her, and…
- Honey, please… That’s what I thought at first, but then I got it. She’s just happy to have found us; she doesn’t care if we live in the sewers, she hoped all her life that one day we’d be reunited, and that it happened was the only thing she wanted.
- Yes, I think that’s it…” The female mutant took a deep breath. “Well, we didn’t make all this trip just for standing here all day long…
- I guess not. Come on.”

The couple finally made the first steps towards the building’s entrance. At first, it was as if they were carrying backpacks full of rocks, but they were feeling lighter and lighter at each step. Even when they were hiding them from their own daughter, they always had a little hope that someday they could be with her. And now that their wait has ended, they didn’t want to waste another minute.

The door automatically opens before them, and a little bell rang as they got inside. The room was obviously the only part of the building that was designed for welcoming customers, as there was a chair in one corner and a few advertising posters saying such things as “PLANET EXPRESS – OUR CREW IS EXPENDABLE, YOUR PACKAGES AREN’T!” or “CHOOSE THOSE WHO STEAL THE LESS, CHOOSE PLANET EXPRESS!”. They certainly had been here for a very long time, considering their advanced state of decomposition.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Said Morris.

Behind a door just in front of them, the couple could hear some sounds that were evoking someone who would be running and almost stumbling. When the door opened and revealed an excited Leela, this made some kind of sense.

“Mom! Dad! You came!”

Without further discussion, Leela walked forward and hugged her two parents at the same time. Mother, father and daughter stood there for long seconds, as the joy of being together again still hadn’t faded away. Each one could feel their hearts and those of their relatives beating faster, and there was still a little note in their voices when they spoke again that was indicating that they were doing their best for not crying.

“- Of course we came, Leela! Said Munda, finally freed from her anxiety. We would have missed the opportunity to see you for nothing!
- It’s so good to see you! Said Leela.
- I couldn’t say else!” Said Morris.

Finally, they put an end to this moment of intimate contact, but that was certainly not meaning that their emotions had toned down.

“- You look radiant, Leela, said Munda.
- Thanks mom, you’re looking great too! Said Leela. Are you two fine?
- We never felt better, honey, said Morris.
- How are things going in the sewers?
- Well, you remember Glenda? Said Munda. Our neighbor’s daughter? Her baby was born last week!
- Really? That’s great! Is it a he or a she?
- They’re still trying to figure it out.
- Oh.”

Leela stroke her hair. She was certainly as nervous to properly introduce her parents to her friends as them to be introduced…

“- Shall we get inside? Said Leela. The others can’t wait for meeting you!
- Really?! Said Munda, feeling her anxiety coming back. You’re sure we’re not…
- Oh, don’t worry for that, mom! I’m sure they’ll like you two! Said Leela, still trying to convince herself that it would most certainly be the case.
- They don’t have a problem with us being mutants? Asked Morris.
- Well… They were surprised at first, of course, but no, I don’t think they have!”

The young woman opened the path, leading her parents to the hangar where the rest of Planet Express had been gathered, waiting for them. Those were only a few meters but they seemed like miles for Morris and Munda.

Finally, Leela opened the door to the hangar… The first thing Morris noticed was the company’s ship in the back, waiting for its next mission, but as they truly entered in the hangar, he finally saw his daughter’s colleagues, all sitting around a table in the hangar’s entrance. Munda and him immediately recognized Fry, as he was the one who accidentally lead Leela and them to finally be reunited, but they couldn’t know who the professor, Hermes and Amy were. But they were all smiling at them, which slightly reinsured the couple.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet my parents. My father, Morris, and my mother Munda.”

Fry, Amy, Hermes and the professor saluted and greeted Morris and Munda in such a warm manner that for a second, the mutants got disoriented. That was the first time that some people from the surface that they were meeting for the first time didn’t scream of horror at first sight. But they quickly got themselves back.

“- Good morning… Said Munda.
- Pleased to meet you, said Morris.
- So… Said Leela, still a bit nervous. Mom, dad, allow me to introduce to Planet Express… You’ve already met Fry, here…”

The young man waved again. The mutants couldn’t see anything malicious in the way he was looking at them or talking, but after their first meeting, they already knew how nice he was.

“- Hello! Said Fry.
- Good morning, my boy! Said Morris. We will always be in your debt…
- Bah, that was natural! Leela is the closest friend I ever had, I don’t know where I’d be if she didn’t help me when I got unfrozen. Seeing her happy to be with you again is enough for me to be happy too.
- How adorable of you! Said Munda. Don’t hesitate to pay us a visit, you’ll always be welcomed!
- I sure will!
- And this is the professor Farnsworth, said Leela, pointing to the old man. He’s our boss, and Fry’s closest relative!
- Pleased to meet you! Said the professor. You know, I’m quite a sewer dweller myself!
- What, really? Said Morris, genuinely surprised.
- Oh my, yes! You can’t imagine how much your toxic underground river depends on my various experiments! And I must say I’m a little proud to have contributed to the formation of your fauna!
- What? Said Munda. You mean some of the creatures we meet down there are your creations?
- Indeed! Like those fluorescent newts, two headed warthogs and telepathic leeches!
- We don’t have telepathic leeches… Said Morris.
- That’s what they want you to think!”

Morris and Munda looked at each other, a bit ticked off by the scientist’s words. Leela quickly felt the cold, and decided to change the subject as fast as possible.

“- And… Hahem… Our bureaucrat, Hermes Conrad. He takes care of all the paperwork and helps us to prepare all the legal details of our missions.
- I also try to keep this company away from bankruptcy, said Hermes. The few years of work here allowed me to find 400 different flaws in the fiscal system that alone avoids us to be closed because of infractions to the working conventions!
- Sounds like you’re a very precious person here, then… Said Morris.
- Well, I did consider filling the forms for getting a reward… Said Hermes, a bit parading. But then it would require a general inspection that would be deadly for us.
- Finally, said Leela, Amy, officially our long-term intern, and officiously the third crew member of the Planet Express ship!
- Hi! Said Amy, waving.
-My, such a ravishing young woman! Said Munda. And I guess you’re as nice as you’re pretty!
- If you consider that helping your daughter to get some fashion sense is a good action, then yes, pretty much!
- And not being the only woman in the group also is…” Leela stopped as she suddenly realized what Amy just said. “Wait a second, what do you mean by “getting some fashion sense”?
- So, how long will you stay on the surface? Asked Fry, not even realizing he prevented a cat-fight.
- Oh, until tomorrow evening, replied Morris. We’d have loved staying a bit longer, but it’s impossible to get authorizations that last longer.
- A pity, mon, said Hermes. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you something better, but as you said, there is no form that goes beyond 36 hours…
- You’re the one who helped us to get the authorizations?! Said Munda, amazed. That’s so kind of you!
- Thank you, miss. Your daughter is by far our best employee and has succeeded more missions than any other captains before her!
- In other words, said the professor, she survived longer than the others! Fry and her are the first of our field agents who can ask for getting a little raise of their pay checks because of their seniority!
- Really? Cool! Said Fry.
- How course, I would then have to find a legal excuse for firing them!”

Fry’s happiness immediately turned to disappointment. The young man began to scowl, mumbling some grievances over his amazingly-high-number-of-“great”-nephew.

“- You could have expected something like this, said Amy. Why do you think I never asked for being paid after all the time I spent as an intern here?
- Because your parents are rich? Said Leela.
- Oh, yeah, that…
- You seem to do well, said Morris, starting another conversation by looking at the professor. With so few employees, it must be difficult to run a company like this…
- Not really, said the professor, you just have to make the worthier choices…
- You mean “accept the jobs everybody else consider as too dangerous”? Said Hermes.
- Of course, what else could I mean? But to be fair, we’re a bit more numerous than the ones you see here. The rest of the company is… Not in the best condition for being here…
- What do you mean exactly? Asked Morris.
- It’s a bit complicated… We’ve got a doctor, but…”

And just at this moment, a huge crash shook the building.

The two mutants, frightened, squeezed up each one against the other, trying to figure out what happened… But Morris quickly realized that the Planet Express employees, including Leela, weren’t looking scared at all. In fact, they were all sighing, suddenly feeling tired, with the notable exception of the professor who for his part was apparently particularly pissed.

“- Not again! Said the professor. That’s the fourth time this month!
- What? Asked Morris, still anxious. What is the fourth time this month?”

The professor didn’t bother to answer to his guest. Everybody was now getting out of their seat and heading to the exit, all looking annoyed. A bit insecure, Morris and Munda finally decided to follow them. They were now all out of the building, but Munda quickly caught Leela as she was about to turn around the building’s angle.

“- Darling? What’s going on?
- Remember what the professor said about the rest of the crew not being in the best condition?
- Yes?
- He meant this.”

Leela pointed something ahead of her. As Munda had been staring at her daughter for the past seconds, she couldn’t see what she was showing her earlier, but as soon as she caught a glimpse, she completely froze, her mouth opening and almost falling to the ground, while her eyes were growing bigger. A bit behind her, her husband was in the same state of amazement.

A 20 meters tall Decapodian was in front of her. Apparently, during all that time, it was in the warehouse that was just next to the Planet Express headquarters, but didn’t show up until this moment. The sandals, blue trousers and white doctor shirt it was wearing were making the whole picture even more surrealist, as the fact it was now rubbing its head with one of its claws, while making a sad face. The couple was way too dumbfounded for noticing that some part of the warehouse’s roof was destroyed just above the entrance.

Leela finally noticed that her parents were still behind. She came back on her steps for catching them up.

“Mom, dad… Doctor Zoidberg, the last member of Planet Express.”

Morris’ mouth was now staggering as some words were trying to take form. It took him less time for finally being able to speak again than he thought it would.

“- It’s… It’s that giant lobster that destroyed the city a year ago!
- Along with Bender the giant robot, yes, said Leela. He was already a member of the company way before Bender came, but he was normal back then. But as the giant robot was getting out of control, the professor decided to enlarge him so that he would oppose him. It quite worked, considering he won his fight against him.
- But… Why is he still gigantic?! Asked Munda.
- That’s the problem with the professor: he can modify genetics and create monsters, but he never cares about finding a way to reverse the process. All his attempts for bringing Zoidberg back to his normal size have failed, so now he’ll have to stay this way forever.
- And the mayor doesn’t care about having a giant Decapodian in his city?! Said Morris.
- Oh yes, he does. After Bender was killed, the city decided to sue Zoidberg for all the damages he caused, but they couldn’t really do anything against him. First of all, he put an end to the menace that Bender was representing, which kind of lightened the grievances against him. And second, there is no structure that can keep him imprisoned anyway. But they turned against the professor instead, and they forced him to look after Zoidberg and to repair any damage he would provoke as he created him in the first place. So now, we’re forced to maintain a giant clumsy lobster. At least, with the trial, he realized all the problems he caused and stopped acting like a maniac.”

After her explanations, Leela went back to meet her friends, who were all gathered around the Decapodian. As for her parents, they stayed a bit behind, still processing everything they saw and heard during those last few minutes. They still needed a bit of time for accepting the fact that their daughter was technically working with a giant monster. But after a while, they finally started to walk again for meeting the others.

“That sure is something we don’t see below…” Said Munda.

When the mutants finally caught up with the others, they heard the continual rants from the professor’s part. Apparently, just as his words in the hanger could have meant, this wasn’t the first time that such an accident was happening. Zoidberg, for his part, was really looking ashamed of what he did.

“- How many times should I have to tell you, Zoidberg: do not try to stand up in this ware house! Sweet zombie Jesus, you do know that we can’t afford it to be higher!
- I’m very sorry, professor! Whined Zoidberg. But an owl came in and began to peck my skull while I was sleeping, so in a moment of panic…
- Then next time just let it pierce your shell and don’t break everything! Said Hermes. You do realize how much those repairs will cost us?!
- And you can be sure we’ll deduct this from your next salary! Said the professor. That’s already a big enough pain in the ass to have to feed you and to pay extras to the junkyard so that they would take away your dejections!”

This was the last straw: Zoidberg began to cry loudly, burying his face in his claws. Morris and Munda couldn’t believe it, but it was enough for making him even uglier than he already was, even compared to what they could see in the sewers. Of course they were way too well-educated for saying this out loud…

Leela turned to face her parents. She was now looking particularly embarrassed.

“- I never wanted you to see this…
- Oh, it’s not a problem, honey, replied Morris. Sure, even for our standards it’s a bit unusual, but it’s not the worst thing we’ve ever seen…
- But… Do you really have to be that rude with him? Asked Munda. He’s already suffering from his condition…
- Yeah? Well don’t expect me to feel sorry for him! Said Fry, particularly pissed. He has what he deserves!
- What?! Said a surprised Munda.
- It’s a bit personal… Whispered Leela to her parents. He was friend with that giant robot, so he never forgave Zoidberg for having killed him…
- Oh… Well, it’s not really a reason for being that cruel! Said Munda.
- Pfah!” Belched Fry.

Meanwhile, Zoidberg’s cries were beginning to tone down. His crisis having diminished, and after having blown his nose with his claw, the Decapodian finally noticed there were some people he never met before.

“- Who are you? Asked Zoidberg. Are you from the pet hospital? I don’t want any more injections!
- Don’t worry, doctor, said Leela. This is my father, Morris, and my mother, Munda.
- Pleased to meet you, said Munda, not afraid from the Decapodian anymore.
- Parents? You’re Leela’s parents?! Oh joy!” Zoidberg’s sadness seemed to have vanished in a blink when he heard the news. “That’s so wonderful! I was so happy to hear Leela found you that I cried like a little baby! More than during the saddest episode of All my Circuits!
- That’s nice to hear, said Morris. And you, are you alright?
- Me? Everything’s perfect! I have a house just for me, even if I accidentally destroy it now and then! I have great food, and I even found a job!
- Really? Despite your size?
- Oh my yes! Said the professor. We found a little something that helps us to get some profits out of his handicap and to pay all the expenses he causes! By the way, doctor, it’s time to start your little tour!
- Owwww, do I really have to? Said Zoidberg, feeling sorry.
- Yes, you have! Said Hermes. We’re getting a huge check for this one!
- But can’t we try to find something else I could advertise? I feel like a traitor…
- Oh, shut up already and take those damn posterboards! And remember, you have to walk on the bank until you reach the Brooklyn magnetic bridge, come back and then do the whole travel again during 3 hours! Hurry up, stinking crayfish!”

Zoidberg sighed again and got back to the warehouse, keeping his head down for preventing himself from doing more damage to it. When he came out, Morris and Munda realized there was now big posterboards on his chest and on his back, each one linked by two long and heavy ropes, saying “COME AT FISHY JOE’S, THE BEST SHELLFISHS OF THE EAST COAST!”. Without a word, Zoidberg then got to the river by the building and began to walk on its bank, getting away. The two mutants stared at him a very long moment, unaware that the rest of the Planet Express employees weren’t completely dazed by this show.

“- Does he really have to do this? Said Morris. I mean, can’t your company cover all the expenses?
- Unfortunately, no, replied Leela. As we said, he still has to eat. And that enough would have ruined us out long ago if we hadn’t found this solution.
- What do you mean?
- ‘Scuse me?”

Everybody faced the newcomer. It was Sal who shouted from a distance, as he was still standing in a barge that was floating on the Hudson. A barge that was containing several tons of fish that were almost causing it to sink.

“That’s today’s first shipment of fish for your big guy, said Sal. I drop it same place as usual?”

Morris looked at his daughter.

“Nevermind. I get it.”

“… And this, Kif, is why you’ll never become a captain.”

The Amphibian, for once, repressed a sigh. Zapp never missed an opportunity to make a speech about the qualities it requires for getting to his rank, and inevitably finished it by saying that because of those Kif was condemned to stay a lieutenant. He got the idea years ago (and considering the poor arguments he was giving him, it also helped to convince him that Zapp was indeed a pompous jerkass), but somehow the captain couldn’t help bragging about how “awesome” he was. That, or he had the memory of a goldfish, which wouldn’t be really surprising.

What was really bringing Kif down was that despite all his efforts, he still didn’t notice any improvements in the captain’s behaviour.

“- This was… Fascinating, sir… Said Kif, rolling his eyes.
- I know. Sometimes, I’m impressing myself, and God knows that I’m already aware of my magnificent intelligence!”

This time Kif couldn’t repress a sigh. And he could already feel the headaches coming back…

“- Of course, sir. Now, if you’re over with your commanding lessons, maybe we can try to work on the last orders we received?
- Oh please, Kif! Said Zapp, hand waving. We’ve got much more pressing issues right now! Like the dramatic drop of female recruits inside the ship that we need to fill!
- Actually, sir, it can be easily explained. Do I have to remind you that you’re still under that restraining order that is keeping you at least 2 miles away from any female soldier?
- Bah! Who could have thought that a single lady could understand the very principle of lawsuit?
- More like 400 “ladies”, sir… That’s what prevented the central command from covering up the trial. Collective actions tend to attract the Medias more… Now can we talk about this order we received 3 hours ago?
- Well, if we really have to… What’s it about?”

Kif pulled the paper where he noted the order of mission on out of his pocket and gave it a quick look, just for being sure he didn’t forget some details.

“- A military laboratory on Pluto had a little accident with one of their experiments. Apparently, they’re fine, but they’re afraid that one of their top secret projects has managed to go in outer space. They’re asking us to find it and to retrieve it before somebody would learn about it.
- Doesn’t sound that exciting… Said Zapp, obviously bored. It lacks glory and adventure.
- Does this mean you refuse to carry on the mission, sir?
- No, we’ll do it. At least, we won’t be put in danger. Lately, I had some difficulties to convince my men to sacrifice their lives for saving mine.”

The Amphibian kept his thoughts for himself. Their last attack against the Ice Worms had been successful, but their loss had been way over the estimations. Sending their men in the beasts’ men with lowtech laser rifles that couldn’t penetrate the worms’ steel-hard skin was a terrible idea… If Kif didn’t order a retreat until they would at least bring explosives and rocket launchers while Zapp was looking away, the massacre would have been even worse.

And of course, as usual, Brannigan gained all the honours…

“Sir, we’re receiving a distress call from an unidentified escape pod.”

Kif and Zapp immediately looked at the officer in charge of the radio. The captain didn’t look too moved on by this new, but Kif had a horrible feeling about this.

“Alright, connect us, said Zapp.”

The officer pressed a button, and immediately the visiocommunicator came out of the ceiling in front of the captain’s chair. Very quickly, the image of a panicked brown-haired guy in a space suit formed on the communicator.

“- This is Zapp Brannigan, captain of the DOOP ship Nimbus. What can we do for you?
- Oh thank God! Said the man, relieved. Someone caught my call! Please, you must help me! I… I think I’m the only survivor of the space station Bill Cosby, orbiting around Titan! It’s… It’s horrible! This thing!
- Who, Kif? Said Zapp, pointing to the Amphibian. I can’t agree more. I told more than once that it wouldn’t kill him if he would make a little more efforts in…
- No no no! You’ve got it wrong! We’ve been attacked!”

Now, Zapp was looking concerned. Kif too, but he knew he was certainly not for the same reasons. Kif was shocked that in the solar system someone could have attacked a space station and killing many innocents, which was a real casus belli that could have launched the entire earthican army into war. But Zapp was thinking that maybe he could get some glory out of taking down some bunch of terrorists and appear like an intergalactic hero.

“- Who? The Omicronians? Space pirates? Those gross embryo things in battle suits that look like trashcans? The Neutrals?
- None of them! It was… A monster! An enormous beast! It tore us apart in a matter of seconds, I had the chance to get in an escape pod, but I think I’m the only one who...”

Suddenly, something seemed to have caught the man’s attention. He looked on his right, from his escape pod’s windshield apparently. Kif couldn’t see what could have made him stop, but he quickly realized that the man was panicking once again. The look of absolute terror he saw on the poor guy’s face would haunt him for days.

“- Oh my God! It’s back! It… It saw me! It’s coming for me!
- Mister? Said Kif, getting in the conversation. Mister, hold on! We’re coming at your rescue, just tell us your position and…
- NO! The man was no longer able to think rationally. He wasn’t even caring at Kif and Zapp anymore. GO AWAY!!! DON’T KILL ME!! DON’T… NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Suddenly, the communication cut. The screen turned black without any warnings, as if the source of the call had simply disappeared. But Kif managed to see the man curling up in a useless attempt to protect himself from whatever was happening to him. And still this terrorized look…

It seemed like this short conversation managed to get Zapp’s attention. As the communication screen was slowly getting back to the ceiling, he was scratching his chin, keeping silent as he was trying to take a decision. Kif, still dazed after what happened, couldn’t believe that his superior was really taking his time before acting. That was unusual from him to think…

“- Do we know where this call came from? Asked the captain, finally getting out of his silence.
- Yes, sir, replied one of his subordinates. It’s only O,5 Earth-Sun Distance from our position.
- What?! It means that whatever was there, it can reach us quickly as well!
- It looks so, said Kif. What do we do, sir?”

Zapp took a few more seconds. The Amphibian couldn’t really decide if this was good news or bad news.

“We forget this.”

Despite all his previous experiences with Zapp Brannigan, Kif was still not really expecting this.

“- I beg your pardon, sir? Asked Kif, trying to hide his stupor.
- You heard me. We don’t get there. In fact, I even command that we go back to Earth.
- But, sir… We’re talking about the destruction of a civilian space station by some unknown opponent! We must get there and try to save as many people as we can!
- He said he was the last one, and he’s probably dead now! No, really, it’s not worth bringing us some more paperwork… And also bring the attention of whatever is there. Lets it be somebody else’s problem.”

Kif tried to find some more arguments. The DOOP officers were supposed to keep an eye on any criminal activities that would occur in their sector – and the eradication of civilians was one heck of a criminal activity! It was their duty to get there and warn the central command of what happened, even if there’s nobody to save anymore…

But instead, he sighed. He knew Zapp way too well: nothing he could say, no matter how well-founded it would be, would change his mind. Better try to make Lrrr learn squaredance.

“- As you wish, sir…
- Good! Very good! Said Zapp. Now, gentlemen, let’s get out of here before anybody would come here and accidentally see us…
- Too late, sir, said the officer in charge of the radar. Something is coming in our direction.”

Zapp facepalmed himself.

“- So long for discretion… Looks like we’ll have to bring some guys in jail and convince them not to talk about us… So, who are they?
- Well, that’s a problem, sir… It looks like they don’t have any radio, and I can’t identify their origin. All I know is that they’re coming to us pretty quickly…”

Kif suddenly had a very bad feeling. That man who called them… He was apparently close to them. Which means that if he really got attacked, his assailant was too…

“- Sir? Maybe we should prepare ourselves to battle, just in case…
- Yeah, sure, whatever, said Zapp, ditching his advice with a handwave. Who would be stupid enough for attacking a DOOP warship?
- Someone who has enough fire power for destroying an entire space station…”

The way Zapp’s eyes widened, it was clear he finally managed to activate the last of his brain cells that didn’t die at his birth.

“- Can we have visual contact? Asked the captain.
- Yes sir. The incoming ship is close enough now.
- Then what are you waiting for? Activate your thing!”

The officer pushed a few buttons, and the wide screen in front of Zapp and of everybody in the room switched on. The image of their visitor immediately appeared.

Saying that they all got surprised is not enough. Let’s just say that they all came close to a heart attack.

It wasn’t a ship… It was a monstrosity that they couldn’t have imagined somewhere else than in their nightmares. The beast was clearly a reptile, but from an unknown specie that no one in the room has ever encountered before. His long and muscular body was entirely covered with dark green scales that looked to be as strong as steel, except its belly that was only covered with a white skin, which was still looking extremely tough. Its four legs were all ending with four fingers, three oriented to the front, and the last one to the back. The claws at the end of those fingers, from what Kif could see, were certainly as sharp as razor blades. The long tail of the creature was oscillating with each ones of its moves, and it was apparently moving in outer space thanks to its huge two wings, each one looking like bat’s. But what instantaneously caught everybody’s attention was the head of the creature… Or more precisely, its heads. Five long necks were sprouting from the beast’s shoulders, each one ending with a head that was highly reminding to Kif those of snakes. The only things that were differing from the ophidians were the beast’s fangs, much more numerous than in a creature of that variety.

What was the most worrying was that, apparently, it was certainly dozens of feet tall.

And, of course, that it looked particularly angry.

“Fire! Screamed Zapp, completely freaked out. Fire at will!”

For once, Kif didn’t contest Zapp’s orders.

Hundreds of laser turrets simultaneously opened fire on the creature, which despite all the laws of physics was using its wings for rushing into the warship. It didn’t have any time for trying to dodge the laser beams, and in fact, it was way too big for accomplishing such a thing… And, at everyone in the control room’s great panic, it obviously didn’t need to anyway, as all the beams that were hitting it were bouncing on its scales. Frozen by his fear, Kif saw it reaching them with high ease, as if it wasn’t feeling the attacks against it at all.

And finally, the beast grabbed the ship.

The shock threw Kif fall on the floor, while Zapp and the other officers struggled for staying on their chair. The rumble itself nearly deafened the Amphibian, as well as the alarm that immediately activated. The tremors kept on and on, and Kif quickly had the impression he got thrown in a giant pinball. Around him, Zapp and the rest of the officers had definitely lost their battle for keeping on their seats, and were flying everywhere in the room. The following minutes would be extremely confusing for Kif… all he could remember, later, was an indescribable mess where he was tossing to the floor, the ceiling, the walls, the computers… He even crashed into his superior and his colleagues in more than one occasion. He quickly shut his eyes, hoping it would protect them even a little bit, but it only managed to make him lose conscience of his position in space. The only things that were certain were that he was really getting hurt, and the various noises of screams, metal torn off and rumbles that were merging in one deafening uproar.

If he could ever get out of the ship and take a look at what was going on, he would have seen the giant monster using his claws for ripping off the ship’s hull, before forcing his heads to get inside the structure. His claws and fangs were cutting through the metallic structure as easily as if they were made of paper, and the few explosions that were occurring here and there in the ship were apparently not doing more damage to the beast than the continuous stream of laser beam it went through a few seconds before. The creature was obviously searching something… Maybe it was food, but whatever it was, it couldn’t find it in the Nimbus… And that was apparently really making it angrier than it already was.

The beast was savaging the ship, demonstrating a primal rage that only the fiercest predator in the universe could perform. The glorious DOOP ship was no match to such a primordial wrath… Large parts were coming off the ship, some big enough for crushing entire houses would they ever fell on an inhabited planet, and the space around the massacre was gradually getting filled with metallic fragments… And from corpses of the unfortunate crew members who didn’t manage to get to safe zone. Some of them weren’t even looking human anymore.

And as brutally as it attacked the ship, the beast decided to abandon its prey, like a cat who was getting tired of harassing the same mouse. Its five heads came out of the ship, detaching huge chunks of metal in the process, before the beast deployed its wings and got back to its travel in the space, not without tossing the entire ship away. In a matter of seconds, it had disappeared in the far distance.

The ship had lost all its majesty… It was almost impossible to imagine that the Nimbus was once one of the most magnificent ships of the DOOP fleet. Describing it as a floating pile of scrapped metal was pretty close to the reality, although some would use much cruder words.

And yet, despite the disaster, there were still survivors. People who miraculously managed to reach safe zones, locked down for preventing depressurization, or who already were inside such areas when the beast’s attack began. Among them, were all the people who were in the control room, which got spared by the creature. When he noticed that everything had calmed down, Kif slowly tried to stand on his legs… He quickly abandoned this idea. A look at his right leg made him realize that it was completely flabby. Apparently, the bladders that were supporting it had burst with all the shocks he went through. That was pretty serious, but a few hours of rest would allow his bladders to regenerate, and a few more would be necessary for refilling them with his corporal water. Kif tried to stand again, this time using his hands for resting on the wall behind him and reporting all his weight on his valid leg. He felt his bursted leg pulling on his skin and his ankles, but at least he could take a better look around him. Just as he expected, the room was in a complete mess. Some of the consoles didn’t make it through, and a few cracks were running through the walls and ceiling, but Kif estimated it would still hold long enough for asking for help. As for his colleagues, they were all awakening and getting out of unconsciousness. Some were looking more hurt than others, but none looked really seriously injured. The Amphibian also saw his superior trying to stand up, leaning on his rocked seat. Kif sighed: except for his hair grafts that went out and a few scratches at his uniform, Zapp was looking fine. In fact, he was most certainly the less injured of the lot.

Once again, while his men suffered a lot, he was as fine as a fiddle.

“- Just the week I ask to refresh the officer’s mess paints… Said Zapp.
- Broadshaw, asked Kif to one of his colleagues who apparently had fully recovered, does the radio still work?
- A moment, lieutenant… Said Broadshaw, who came back to his post and began to manipulate his computer. Yes, sir, it’s a miracle! The communicators are still 100% functional!
- Good. Sir, permission to call for help?
- I dunno… Said Zapp. Will it look bad on my promotion request?”

Kif found enough strength for sighing again.

“- Sir, we got attacked and couldn’t even do anything for defending ourselves… You saw it, we used our whole arsenal, and yet it didn’t stop that thing one bit. I don’t think the central command will have anything to say against us…
- Yeah, but still…
- … Moreover, we’re falling apart, and each second that passes is getting us closer to the entire disintegration of the ship, and to our final demise. And we can’t access the escape pods, the emergency lockdown procedure has been activated.
- Okay, fine. Call the headquarters. I don’t even want to think of the disaster my death would cause to our army.
- Sure, sir. What you say. (Kif looked at Broadshaw again). Call the DOOP, Broadshaw – with the emergency frequency.”

The subordinate nodded and started his work. Meanwhile, some other officers, still unsteady, were getting back to their posts as well for making a quick evaluation of the situation. Kif looked at his superior, who seemed to be completely lost.

“- What are your orders, sir?
- Uh?
- Your orders?
- I dunno… We wait?”

Another sigh.

“- Can I suggest we try to make a quick check-up on the ship’s systems and to see if some men have survived?
- Sounds great! Gentlemen, try to make a check-up on the ship’s systems and to see if some men have survived!”

Kif didn’t even bother contesting the captain’s attitude. They had way too much issues to settle for the moment for caring about Zapp’s usual tactlessness.

“- Emergency generators 4, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 16 active, sir, said one of the men. We’ve got enough electricity for 4 hours and 3 minutes, and enough oxygen for approximately 4 hours and 17 minutes.
- In the entire ship? Asked Kif.
- For this room only. I can’t have access to the entire system, but the data I can gather here and there are telling that it’s approximately the same in the other locked zones.
- Are some of them active?
- 4 out of 7, not counting this room, replied another of the officers. The rest had been destroyed. Some life signals are detected in them… Including us, there seems to…” The man hesitated a bit. “… There seems to be 78 survivors, sir.”

Out of 400 crew members. Kif felt a cold drop of sweat run on his back.

“- Reactors?
- Destroyed.
- Radar?
- Working.”

The Amphibian turned and looked at his superior. For the first time in years, they really were on the same level.

“- Now, we can apply your first order sir…
- Which was? Asked Zapp.
- Wait for the rescue.
- Oh. Right. I forgot.”

Kif let himself fall on his rear-end, willing to take some rest. He just had a hard time trying to figure out what really happened… And he preferred not to think about the hundreds of men that got killed in only a few minutes. Before closing his eyes, he gave a quick look at Zapp. His captain was trying to look normal, but Kif could perfectly see he was as shaken as him. He was always in such a state when he was really facing death… Which wasn’t occurring too often to him. It was his men who usually had more problems.

“Uh, sir?”

Kif opened his eyes again and looked at the person who called him (or Zapp, but given the doofus’ current catatonic state, he assumed it was him he called). He recognized the sergeant who was sitting in front of the radar.

“- What is it, O’Connell?
- The radar managed to calculate the beast’s trajectory, when it finally let us go…”

Kif tensed up. He instinctively knew he wouldn’t like what he’d hear.

“- And?
- And… Well, unless it decides to change its path…”

O’Connell swallowed a big gulp of saliva.

“… It’s heading towards Earth.”

Everybody in the room froze.

Kif managed to speak.

“What do you mean, we can’t fly?”

Hermes simply held the note he received from the Earthican Defense Secretary to Leela so that she would see by herself the last order. Sitting in his office, he received it a few minutes before and, according to the rules, had to warn the pilot of the company, after having transmitted the mail to the professor. That was why he called her in his office shortly before. And just as he expected, Leela was more than surprised by the news.

“- I know, that’s pretty strange, said Hermes, as Leela was finishing reading the note. They’re not using this kind of order really often.
- They used it once against us…
- Oh yeah, but it was the procedure which is employed when a company that possesses its own fleet is under judiciary monitoring.
- Yeah, but we managed to dismiss the evidences about the plutonium traffic.
- Because the professor shot everything into the sun. But we digress. This, woman, is a Level A circular, that is applying everywhere on Earth.
- What?! Said Leela, stunned. They’re shutting down all the world traffic!?
- Only the travels that implies getting out of Earth’s atmosphere.
- And they do this without an explanation?
- Nope. I don’t get it either… It is extremely rarely used, as I told you before. Only in cases of invasion… But I haven’t heard of any tensions recently with Omicron Persei 8, Decapod 12 or whatever…
- You think they’re on something big?
- Well, I guess I’ll receive another circular that will explain the reason of the global shutdown. But this is quite worrying, yes. Looks like they didn’t have any time to lose and send the simplified version to everybody before writing down the justifications.”

Leela crossed her arms on her chest, recapitulating the recent events. Something fishy was going on, and usually that wasn’t good news. She didn’t know if she should start to really worry, but in any cases she’d better get ready for anything. At least, her parents went back to the sewers the day before… She hated to admit it, but if something terrible would ever happen, they’d be a bit more safe down there, under several layers of ground and the ruins of Old New York, than her on the surface.

“- What do we do, then? Said Leela.
- We wait that the order is cancelled, replied Hermes. We’ve been laid off, that’s simple; we can’t do a damn thing against this. At least we still have Zoidberg’s advertising for keeping ourselves from drowning… Plus one or two subsidies the professor find here and there.”

Leela gave another look at the bureaucrat.

“- What kind of subsidies?
- Crap, I’ve said that out loud? You’d better forget… That’s what will be paying you for the moment, so don’t go and give it too many thoughts.
- Ooooooookay…” Leela walked away, aiming for the office’s exit. “Well, I’d better tell Fry and Amy that we won’t be able to work for a few days… By the way, does this mean we have some days off?
- Yeah, but keep your wristamagig switched on in case we need to call. The professor may need your help in the following days.
- Alright.
- And if he does, don’t start asking questions. That would be bad. Reaaaaaally bad.”

Leela stopped at the doorstep and gave a quick look at Hermes, trying to determine what those last words could mean… But she quickly decided that, maybe, it wasn’t such a bad idea to not know all the details and went out.

As she wandered in the corridors, looking for any living souls, she nearly ran into Amy. Leela immediately noticed the intern was looking a bit insecure, which surprised her a bit considering her usual state of mind.

“- Whoops! Said Leela. Sorry, Amy, I was a bit lost in my thoughts… Are you alright? You look troubled…
- No… Yes… Maybe… Said Amy, which convinced Leela that she was feeling a bit out of sorts. Er… Did you see Hermes?
- Yeah, right now. That’s why I wanted to see you, there’s…
- What? Did he say something about cutting the phone?
- No, not at all…”

Leela took a second for examining the young girl’s attitude a bit more. She was rubbing the back of her right hand with her other hand, and really was looking tensed.

“- Why? Asked Leela. There’s something wrong with the phone?
- Well… It’s just…” Amy took a deep breath. “I couldn’t join Kif today. Every time I tried, it didn’t even reach his phone. So… I was about to ask to Hermes if he was cutting the phone because I used a bit too much, or something like that…
- Oh, that’s just this? Said Leela, a bit relieved. I don’t think you should worry that much. He’s on the Nimbus, you know. Maybe he’s got so much work today that he can’t answer…
- Yeah, well, that’s precisely because he’s working in a warship that I’m worried. He could have been caught in a battle, or something…”

Leela frowned. Yeah, when you see it that way, there are indeed some reasons to worry. Especially when, just a few minutes before, you learned that the authorities have decided to close Earth…

“- Look, Amy, it’s a bit early for worrying for this. I’m sure he’ll call you as soon as he can.
- OK, Leela, said the young girl, still a bit worried. I… I think I got a little bit carried away… But didn’t you want to tell me something? I interrupted you…
- Mmh? Oh right, I almost forgot!”

Leela explained Amy the situation, giving her the few details she managed to gather so far. She internally swore, however, to make further investigations and try to uncover the true reason to this global lockdown. Amy welcomed the news quietly, but instead of getting back to her apartment, she decided to stay a little more in the headquarters. Leela could understand why: Kif always uses the company’s number for calling her, as phone calls to a delivery company were free for DOOP officers. This way, his superiors would never ask him why he was spending so much time for private calls. Leela then left Amy, not without asking her if she knew where Fry was. Apparently, he was on the tower’s balcony, looking at the city. This made Leela worry a little bit. She knew all too well what this meant when Fry wasn’t watching TV during his spare time… After a few words of comfort to Amy, Leela walked to the stairs and quickly got to the last floor.

Just as she thought, she found him leaning on the barrier, watching the town’s activity. She didn’t need to see his face for knowing in what kind of mood he was at the moment. Just like every time, that made her feel sad for him. She got closer to him, even getting outside, but he still hadn’t noticed her presence. She had to cough to finally make him get out of his thoughts. His face lighted up when he saw her, but she could see a little tension in his features that were telling he wasn’t all that happy.

“- Hi, Leela! Said Fry. What’s up?
- Hello, Fry.” Leela came even closer, staying by his side now. “I just wanted to warn you that we’ll be out of job for a few days.
- Really? What’s happening, another complaint against us?
- Not this time, no. The interplanetary travels have just been declared forbidden. They didn’t give any explanation.
- Oh, it’s just this? Pfew! For one moment I thought I would have to help the professor again with his other activities!”

Leela frowned.

“- That’s the second time someone tells me something about this… What is he doing exactly?
- I dunno… He erases my memory afterwards. Each time, I just remember I did something for him, but can’t remember what exacly…
- Oh… Said Leela, particularly not thrilled by this revelation. Wait, if you can’t remember, why did you fear to have to do this again? Because it’s illegal?
- Can’t tell, but every time he erases my memory, it gives me one hell of a headache, and I’ve got country music playing in my head as if I had a radio grafted in my brain.”

Leela definitely decided that she really didn’t need what this secret business was about, after all. She and Fry stood silent for a few seconds, watching the landscape in front of them. In this time of the day, the sun was reflecting itself on the dozens of windows of the skyscrapers that were just across the river.

“- Did your parents get back to their home? Asked Fry.
- Yeah, in the early morning, replied Leela. I promised myself not to cry when they went away, but this was harder than I thought it would.
- I’m happy for the three of you, said Fry, without a single drop of lie in his voice. It’s so great to see you together, after all the years you’ve spent alone.
- It would never have happened without you, Fry. I’ll never thank you enough for this… Said Leela, slowly feeling softer and softer inside.
- You know, the face you’re doing when you’re with them? That’s enough for me. It’s great for you to… Man, I’m not good with words… It’s just good you know you’re not alone anymore…”

Fry suddenly scowled, struck by what had been harassing him for months. Leela knew perfectly what it was… She grabbed his shoulder, and by this contact she could almost feel his sadness overwhelming her as well.

“You still miss him, don’t you?”

The young man couldn’t look at her, in her eye, as he knew that it would drain away his last bits of strength.

“- Yeah… Yeah, I do… Said Fry, looking down, to the river.
- Fry… I feel really sorry for you… But you know he had to be stopped. I too would have preferred to find a way to let him live, but that was the last option we had left…
- Oh, I know, replied Fry. Took me a long time, but I finally understood. Still…” Fry wiped his nose quickly. “… He was my friend, the best one I ever had. We had moments I never lived with anybody before, even before I got frozen. Plus there’s the fact he was a giant robot, that’s the kind of thing that makes the awesomeness scale explode!”

Fry sighed, visibly tired. Leela so wanted to make him feel less bad, but she couldn’t think of anything… This story shook him up much more than they thought at the time. After a long time, Fry spoke again.

“- I should be ashamed… This is wonderful for you to have found your parents, but it also made me remember I’ve lost everybody who cared about me, with no chances to ever meet them again. This is so selfish of me…
- You can’t blame yourself, Fry, said Leela, hoping he would understand she was truly sympathizing with him. You miss your parents and your brother, how could anybody be mad at you for this? Fry, sometimes… Sometimes I wish I could help you to see them again.
- But you can’t.”

Fry didn’t say this out of reproach, he was merely expressing a fact… Which made Leela look away, as she had to admit that whereas she always had a little hope to ever find her parents and learn the truth about her origins, Fry couldn’t even rely on this.

“- When Bender died… I dunno, I think I had the feeling that I couldn’t even have a buddy for helping me to get through all this, resumed Fry. I can’t really tell how much lonely I feel, sometimes…
- You’re not alone, Fry. We’re with you. Me, the professor, Hermes, Amy… We’re all here for you.
- I know. That’s what keeping me getting up. Especially you, Leela.”

Leela smiled sadly. She knew how too well how the young man was feeling towards her… She couldn’t count the number of times he tried to date her, and each time she rejected him. And each time, it was getting more and more difficult. At first, she was extremely direct about it, but as time passed, she realized that it was adding more pain in his existence. She still couldn’t see him as anything as a friend, but she tried to be less harsh with him than she was at first.

Something else was amazing her, however. She said no a thousand times, and yet, now and then, he was still trying, despite all the suffering it was causing him.

Sometimes, it made her think that it was the hope that one day she would say yes that was really driving him.

“- Fry… I’m sorry…
- No, this time, I won’t ask you anything, Leela. I just wanted to tell you that you always tried to make me go further and forced me to take care of myself. Sure, I’m complaining when you’re yelling at me, but later, when I really take some time for thinking about it, I realize you were right. That’s what I meant.”

This time, Leela’s smile was much warmer. The compliment really moved her, much more than what she would really admit.

“Awww, that’s sweet, Fry. I’m sure one day…”

Leela stopped. She suddenly had the feeling someone was watching them.

A quick look to her left managed to turn her soft mood into anger… Towards the one who was spying on them and towards herself for not even being able to hear him coming, which was usually extremely hard to fail.

“Zoidberg!”

The doctor immediately looked embarrassed for having being spotted… Which would be hard not to do, as it’s pretty difficult to miss a 25 feet tall lobster, even when he was trying to hide behind the Planet Express building’s tower. As soon as Fry saw the Decapodian, he turned red of rage as well.

“- Dammit, don’t you have better things to do?! Yelled Fry.
- I’m sorry, my friends! Whined Zoidberg. I didn’t intend to spoil your moment! Just continue, do as if good Zoidberg wasn’t here! I’ll be extremely silent, I swear!
- Well, sorry if I’m not really thrilled by the idea of being spied by a giant monster! Said Leela. And besides, Fry is right: aren’t you supposed to make some animation in Central Park?
- Yes, but the kids kept on throwing rocks at me, and one even puked on my sandal! Pathetically explained Zoidberg. I decided to take a pause!
- For God’s sake, Zoidberg, your pauses are supposed to last at the best 10 minutes! You’re getting late just by making the round-trip from the park to here!
- Pleaaaaase! I can’t take this anymore! They’re all mean with me! One of them even bragged that his parents brought him to a sea-food restaurant last week!
- Oh, cut us some slack! Said Fry, even more enraged than Leela. Get back there, or else I’ll tell the professor you’re not doing your work properly!
- No, please! You didn’t hear what he threatened to do if I kept on making trouble! Just thinking about it makes my shell clicking!
- You’d better have thought of this earlier!”

Leela was still pretty pissed by this incident, considering they had enough trouble taking care of the giant Decapodian without him goofing him around here and there… But it was nothing compared to how Fry was treating the doctor. The young man had forgiven pretty much all those who ordered Bender’s death, but he had still some trouble forgiving the one who did the dirty job.

“- So what are you waiting for? Said Fry. Get back to work, now!
- I can’t! Said the Decapodian. It’s my lunch time now, and you know I’m not allowed to go working if I’m starving since that incident with that lady’s dog!
- What are talking about? Said Leela. You’ve eaten just a few hours ago! It’s not noon!
- But… The sun… It’s high in the sky…
- Are you kidding? Said Fry, pointing to the sky on his right. Look! It’s way from being on its zenith!
- I’m not talking about this sun, I’m talking about this one!”

As he was saying this, Zoidberg was pointing to something in the far distance above him. Wondering what kind of stupidity the Decapodian was making up again, Leela gave a look to what he was pointing at.

She nearly choked herself out of surprise.

It certainly wasn’t the sun, but there was some kind of gigantic fire ball in the sky.

Fry finally saw it too. His mouth fell on the ground, while his eyes were growing bigger and bigger.

“- What the hell is this?! Said Fry.
- I have no idea! Said Leela. But it’s… Oh my God, It’s definitely coming this way!”

Zoidberg needed a few seconds for understanding that this vision was troubling his friends.

Bendizer Z and Mega-Zoidberg versus Hydra (chapter 6)

“Aren’t you ashamed, young man?!”

Feeling particularly tired, the manager of the Madison Cube Garden rubbed his eyes, trying to stay as calm as he could. If he had ever known this exposition would create such a fuss, he would never have made it just for the sake of his tension. Of course, there was also the fact he couldn’t imagine this exposition would create such problems.

But it did, obviously. A group of robotologist zealots, led by the Preacherbot, were demonstrating in the park just in front of the stadium, as the exposition was apparently shocking them and was outraging their beliefs. The manager decided to make them leave quietly by a having a little chat with the Preacherbot, but it wasn’t leading him to a conclusion.

“- Please, said the manager, can’t you just stop to see sin everywhere? This is just an exposition about the last discoveries on the first attempts to create robots! Can’t you see we’re just telling your history to children?
- You’re telling blasphemies and are even exposing pornography to innocent eyes!”

Behind the Preacherbot, the dozens of robotic extremists cheered him and yelled insanities towards the manager. Many of them were carrying posterboards saying such things like “We want sane entertainment for our blueprints!” or “Say no to the work of the Robot-Devil!”

“- Oh, come on! Said the manager. We’re just doing our duty of educating the youngs about…
- By telling them that robots didn’t create themselves, but had to wait for the men for coming on this world?! Replied the Preacherbot. The Holy Book said the first robots auto-made themselves, from their own will, and that this way of conception is still the norm!
- Are you freaking kidding me? I can see your serial number! Like all the robots, you’re coming straight from Mom’s factories!”

This reaction had the opposite effect the manager was expected. All the robots, the Preacherbot being the most vindictive, loudly contested and were on the verge of stoning him.

“- This is a lie made up by you humans! The robots decide to be created, and Mom’s factories are only the vessel of this miracle!
- Look, don’t start playing all this mystical rhetoric with me, okay? I have an exposition to…
- Oh no, you won’t! Are you forgetting you’re also displaying pornographic items in this den of sin?
- We’re just showing schematics of the internal processor of your ancestors, as well as their circuitry!
- That’s what I said: pornography! We cannot tolerate that an insane maniac like you might damage our youngs’ mind by showing them such… Horrors!”

The crowd behind the Preacherbot firmly expressed their support to their leader. That was just making the manager even more furious than he was before. He already had to cope with the supporters every time there was a match, but if he couldn’t even make a single exposition without having to cope with hung-up devout robots…

“- That’s it! This conversation is over! Now get out of here, or else I call security!
- There is no way we would abandon our fight! We won’t leave this place until you decide to come back to your senses! You’d better be wise, or a great punishment will fall on you, straight from the Heaven!”

The manager had no patience left. This time, he would be firm and force them to leave, whatever he would have to do for that. He was about to tell them to get lost… When he saw something behind the crowd that froze him.

A giant fireball was rushing right on them.

For a split second, the manager thought they would all be blasted by it, the robots and him alike. But before he could even see his entire life flashing in his head, the fireball passed above them… And crashed on the Madison Cube Garden. The blast made several tons of cement and glass fly over, scattering fragments thousands feet around the point of impact. As for the sound of the explosion, it was so powerful that the manager could hear something whistling in his ear… The smoke produced by the crash was covering the entire area, making it impossible to see what could have caused it exactly.

As for the Preacherbot, he stood frozen, completely stunned by this turn of event. But quickly, he interpreted it the only way he could conceive.

“Ask, and ye shall receive…”

The manager wasn’t caring about the robots anymore. In fact, he wasn’t really able to think at anything at the moment. That was way beyond everything he experienced in his life so far. But as the smoke was beginning to get lighter, he tried to give a better look to what was in the stadium.

He blinked, looked again, and thought he was dreaming.

Something was moving in the ruins. Something big.

And suddenly, the thing stretched its bat wings out, creating a real storm that dissipated all the smoke.

When he saw the monstrous reptilian body and the five snake heads that were dominating him, many meters above him, the manager ran away.

He ran even faster when five abominable roars rang out behind him. Roars that could only be performed by beasts that were really, really pissed off…

***

The manager and the robots weren’t the only one who witnessed the arrival of the creature. Dozens of passer-byes were now starting to panic as it was screaming its fury.

One of them, obviously asian, didn’t run to safety immediately, though. Instead, he started to point at the beast.

“My God! Those heads! Those wings! It’s… It’s Ghid…”

But just at this moment, a friend of him who was standing next to him put his hand over his mouth, forcing him to shut up.

“Stop right there, you idiot! The author didn’t pay a single penny to the Toho, you can’t start calling this creature this way!”

The first guy looked at his friend, pretty surprised by his words. As the second one let his mouth free, he could finally engage a real conversation with him.

“- He didn’t? Well, this is going to complicate things…
- Not if we find it a completely original name…
- El Serpente Grande?
- What the… Does it look Mexican to you?!
- Well, I’m trying to figure something out… Q?
- There’s already a winged serpent called like this. Besides, it sounds like “ass” in French.
- Yeah, but this language is no longer spoken in this distant future!
- Not at the time this story will be read.
- Okay… BiggaCobra?
- Are you trying to help me, or do you just want me to punch you in the face? Can’t you find something classier?
- How about Hydra? After all it looks like this mythic greek monster, and I don’t think someone could blame us for using an antic name!
- Mmmmmh… Yeah, let’s do this. Hydra this is.
- Oh, one more thing…
- What?
- There’s the same joke in Austin Powers 3: Goldmember.
- Really?! Even guys complaining about how to name the creature?
- Uh, not really, it just ends with one of the guys saying “we’ll just say it’s not Godzilla”, or something like that.
- Our author is recycling jokes now? I know he’s an amateur, but that’s still pretty lame…
- I’m surprised you’ve just noticed that. He did this a couple of times before. For example…”

Unfortunately, this fascinating conversation ended a bit abruptly… As they were too busy arguing, the two guys didn’t notice Hydra started to move in their direction. The two of them got squished when the monster stepped on them.

Hydra was hungry and tired after its long travel. Its little stop at the station and against the Nimbus didn’t provide it what it needed, and the slow-burning suffering it was inflicting to it was increasing its rage and blood thirst.

But it could feel that its torment would soon come to an end. It could sense the presence of what it was looking for, not too far away. If the entry in the planet’s atmosphere hadn’t disturbed it that much, it could have landed much closer to its goal… But it was already pretty much enough. A little more time, and it will regain all its capacities.

Then, it would start to feed.

And to multiply.

Hydra felt that what it was searching was somewhere in this strange grey forest. Where exactly, it couldn’t tell exactly… But it could feel its presence anyway. It would have to search the whole area for getting a better idea. The monster began to walk in circle, trying to determine the exact location of its goal.

Of course, it didn’t care about anything that was standing in its way. And it wasn’t as if buildings could stop its hulking mass anyway.

***

The entire Planet Express crew was on the balcony of the highest store of their headquarters, except Zoidberg who was still standing on the river’s bank. From this point of view, they could see all the details of the beast’s ravages. Buildings crawling, people trying to flee as far as they could from the disaster, all this sometimes covered by Hydra’s roars. Even though this was looking a lot like what happened more than a year ago, they were still contemplating the destructions with horror and astonishment, divided between staying there for seeing everything, getting inside for having a shelter while hoping the beast wouldn’t come this way, and finally taking the ship for fleeing.

“- This is horrible… Said Farnsworth.
- Yeah, that’s what I think, said Amy.
- The city is being destroyed, and this time I’ve got nothing to do with this! What went wrong in this world, dammit? Am I so old I can’t even start oblivion instead of just living it?
- What should we do? Asked Leela, not really caring about the professor’s lamentations. Launching Zoidberg at it, like the last time?
- I’m not sure I want to fight… Said Zoidberg. Last time I was foolish, and finally being strong kind of made me lose my mind. But now… It’s different! This thing’s bigger than Bender!
- Pfuh, chicken… Said Fry.
- Yeah, come on, fight! Said Hermes. That’s the only thing that must be done!
- Really? Asked Zoidberg.
- Of course! That way you’ll get killed and we’ll finally no longer have to pay for your damages anymore!”

The giant Decapodian buried his face in his claws and started to cry loudly, as this was not something he wanted to hear at all. Leela looked at Fry and Hermes, menacingly. Doing this to Zoidberg really was stupid.

His tears stink even more than him. Making the Decapodian cry would only make them suffocate because of the stench.

“- Do you think it will come this way? Asked Amy, much more worried than the others.
- Maybe, maybe not, answered the professor. If we’re lucky, it just wants to eat.
- Pardon my ignorance, asked Leela, but why would it mean we’d be lucky?
- Because it’s heading to the hospital and the retirement houses. Lots of meat that just begs to be collected!”

Leela more or less knew the professor would answer something like this before she even asked her question. But as she was about to tell the old man what she thought of his theory (that she wasn’t sure old and sick meat would really please the creature), a bunch of fighters flew over them, making as much noise as the thunder. Surprised, the Planet Express crew had to hold to the balcony, especially because of the air blast caused by the fighters’ movement.

And before they could have fully got their balance back, they heard the first detonations, as the fighters opened fire on the monster.

Hydra roared from its five heads as the first shots hit it. The beast obviously didn’t like this treatment… But as the fighters flew away before making another attack, other detonations stroke the monster while they were away, making it scream even more. Leela tried to see what have caused this, but in the distance she wasn’t really sure of what was happening.

“- At last! Screamed Amy. The airforce is attacking!
- I don’t think they’re alone, said Leela, but I can’t see a damn thing…
- I can!” Said Fry.

The others looked at the young man, who was now looking at the scene with enormous binoculars. That alone surprised Leela, considering she didn’t see him come with them before.

“- There are a bunch of tanks, coming from approximately every avenue. They’re firing at it. (Fry then looked a bit to the air, on their right) Ah, and I see other fighters coming this way!
- Where did you find those things? Asked Amy, genuinely astonished.
- What, this? Replied the young man, pointing to his binoculars. They were in my cereal pack. You know, those new ones… Stalky Puffs…
- Oh yeah, Dwight asked me to buy some for him, said Hermes. Bah, at his age, I only had my eyes for such things.
- So how many of those tanks are there? Asked Leela, suddenly having an idea forming in her head.
- I dunno, there are still a lot of buildings… But at least a few dozens…”

Leela made a quick calculation, and she really didn’t like the income. Fry quickly noticed how disturbed she was looking.

“- What, something’s wrong, Leela? You don’t want them to stop it?
- That’s not that, Fry… Tell me, since when has this thing started its rampage?
- Not long, replied Hermes. I’d say five minutes, top.
- And considering it obviously comes from outer space, how long did it need for reaching the ground?
- At the speed it was falling, said the professor, I’d say it entered in the atmosphere approximately 15 minutes ago. 20 minutes, at a maximum.
- And you want me to believe that the army learnt that a monster is ravaging New New York, took the decision to attack it, sent their forces against it which engaged that creature after having covered the distance between their bases and the city, all that in less than 20 minutes?”

The rest of the crew looked at each other, wondering what the young woman wanted them to understand. At least, Leela managed to catch everybody’s attention; even of Zoidberg, who stopped crying for listening to her.

“Now add the fact we received earlier this morning the order to not get out of the atmosphere… What does it tell us?”

They all stood silent, trying to figure out the answer. That alone astonished Leela. She knew they weren’t the wisest people on earth, but now they were breaking all the records. But after a few seconds, Fry finally rose his hand. His answer nearly got covered by other explosions and roars of the Hydra.

“They were having a party downtown?”

Leela facepalmed. She needed a few seconds for being calm enough for telling the answer without treating them all of idiots.

Another shot exploded on Hydra’s scales, near its left shoulder. Two of the creature’s head roared, out of pain and anger; the three others were trying to catch some of the fighters which were now circling around them. The tanks were continuously shooting the beast now, but they were still doing their best for not hitting any civilian buildings, or standing in the shooting range of one of their own. But they weren’t the only ones to attack: some regiments of foot soldiers, armed with laser rifles or (a bit more rarely) rocket launchers, were trying to assist the tanks’ attack. Some of them, however, received the order to try to take as many civilians to secure areas as possible and were trying to be as efficient as possible. But their task was extremely difficult to perform. Hydra’s attack freaked out everyone in New New York, which was pretty understandable… But as a result, the army had also to cope with hundreds of panicked people who were running aimlessly, as long as it would take them as far as possible from the creature’s ravages. And despite their training, the soldiers too had real difficulties to stay as calm as they could. None of them had already been confronted to such a situation, and this tended to make them almost as scared as the ones they were supposed to protect.

Of course, one could argue that they could be reinsured not only because of the presence of the tanks, but also because of the growing numbers of fighters that engaged Hydra in fight. There were now at least two squadrons alternatively attacking the beast, backing the ground forces extremely efficiently.

But there was a “little detail” that everybody noticed and almost made all of them to flee.

Despite all the shots Hydra that hit Hydra, despite the massive firepower deployed against it… The creature still hadn’t a single scratch. Its scales were forming a natural armour that apparently couldn’t be pierced and that could withstand attacks that would have destroyed any armoured unit.

It didn’t mean that Hydra wasn’t feeling the attacks against it, however. In fact, the effect was the same as when you get hit by a little rock that had been thrown at you: one is annoying; several start to be painful.

And in the case of a creature such as Hydra, hurting it this way without incapacitating it would only infuriate it even more than it already was.

A bit surprised and worried by all the things that were hurting it, Hydra didn’t reply during the first minutes, wondering what was happening to it. When the monster finally realized it was being attacked, his instinct kicked in… And a bloody rage took control of its actions.

Three fighters were the first ones to endure Hydra’s wrath. The beast suddenly tried to snap up the little “mosquitoes” that were buzzing around its heads, moving way faster than what the pilots expected. In a blink, Hydra’s jaws closed on three unsuspecting fighters who were thinking it couldn’t reach them. Crushed between Hydra’s teeth with a strength that could easily be measured in tons, there wasn’t any hope of survival for the pilots. A few others got destroyed in the following seconds, before the remaining fighters would finally decide to attack the beast from another point.

Unfortunately, they forgot about its wings. When Hydra deployed them for blocking their routes, other fighters couldn’t change their course in time and crashed on them.

Then, as it had finished with the fighters, Hydra finally decided to take on the ground forces. The beast came to them even sooner as, because of the urban environment, the tanks and the infantry were forced to come pretty close to it… Too close. A little jump and Hydra reached the first lines. The creature trampled some of the tanks, while it used its jaws for grabbing others. Some got swallowed, others got torn in halves by two heads, and a last few ones got thrown miles away by the beast. As soon as Hydra began its attacks, the surviving tanks started to back up, still shooting in the same time. It didn’t protect them for long. Hydra came on them without giving them time to reply.

And as the beast was letting its rage explode against the tanks, it wasn’t making a single effort for limiting the damages it was causing. If buildings were standing between it and some tanks, the creature would trample and making them fall as easily as if they were card castles. By trying to escape, the military was apparently only worsening the creature’s rampage…

A few other tanks, unspotted by the beast until that moment, cut through the ruins of Madison Cube Garden for attacking from behind. They almost all got swiped away by a single swing of Hydra’s tail.

After some horribly long minutes, Hydra stopped for taking its breath back and trying once again to locate its goal. Nothing was attacking it anymore… All the forces deployed against the creature had been wiped out so fast that one could have thought there hadn’t been any attempts to stop the beast at all. The destructions around Hydra were denying this feeling: what was once an active part of the town had been turned into a smoking ruinfield. The remains of the various destroyed buildings were looking so fragile that it seemed a single blow of wind would finish them once and for all. Scraps of metal were spread hundreds of yards around the creature, coming either of the buildings or of all the war machines that stood against the monster.

Hydra’s attention got caught by something… Some strange sounds that were somehow awakening its blood lust. Its hunting instinct quickly made it realize what it was: screams of fear, shrieked by its preys. It could see them now, not so far away: thousands and thousands of two-legged ants, trying to run away, some using bizarre machines for trying to go faster (which was bound to fail, as the fleeing human wave were slowing them down anyway). In the far distance, Hydra saw some flies take over, trying to get out of the atmosphere.

The creature reported its attention to the ants. They were certainly running as fast as they could, by with their ridiculously short legs, they needed several minutes to cover a distance Hydra could reach by making a single step.

They were very small… But considering their number, maybe they would be enough for stopping its hunger…

A missile exploded just under one of its eyes.

Hydra screamed of surprise and pain. A little more, and the shot would have burst its eye. Feeling the rage rushing through its primitive brain again, Hydra stopped caring about the weak ants and tried to look at its aggressor.

Another bunch of those flies which attacked it earlier were coming in its direction, more numerous than before. And thanks to its enhanced hearing, Hydra could hear the sounds that those weird spitting scarabs were making. There seemed to have more of them too.

Now, the problem is that I'm having a huge amount of "real world" work currently... The consequence ? This story takes wayyyyyyy too much time for moving on, and I always tend to wind up the events a bit too much... Sorry if anybody thinks it doesn't go fast enough, but I don't have a lot of time for me and I always try to put too much in each chapter...

Anyway...

Bendizer Z and Mega-Zoidberg versus Hydra (chapter 9)

Lewis held his daughter tighter than he already was. The poor little girl was screaming, scared to death, crying, asking her dad if they would die or not. Lewis didn’t answer… He was way too terrified for speaking to Karin for the moment. He couldn’t do anything else than squishing her against him, hoping that somehow it would protect her. On his left, he heard his son, Jamie, who was crying too, as well as his wife Dana, trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, just at the sound of her voice, he could perfectly tell that she was as scared as their children and as him.

But he couldn’t see neither her nor his kids. No light was filtering under the rubbles.

It was supposed to be a peaceful afternoon, when they left… Dana told him it would be a great idea to go to this exposition in Madison Cube Garden, so that the kids would learn a bit more about robots’ history. After all, as she said, they could see robots everyday, and they would certainly have to work with some of them later, so educating them so that they wouldn’t be too prejudiced against the robots would be useful, and make them accept diversity. Lewis wasn’t really thrilled at first; he wasn’t really feeling like seeing something boring, he told her, but the truth was that he wasn’t exactly as open-minded as his wife. Sure, coping with those robots was a necessity, but he had some troubles in the past with mechanical beings and wasn’t sure he wanted his kids to sympathize with such things… But, as usual, Dana proved to be particularly persuasive. He resigned himself; after all, maybe he would understand them a bit more afterwards. And find other grievances against them.

But as soon as they got out of the transport tube… It seemed that Hell broke loose.

They saw the Madison Cube Garden explode, destroyed by a giant fireball. They saw the monstrous beast coming out of the crater.

They saw it coming their way.

Needless to say, Lewis, Dana and the children immediately tried to flee. They weren’t the only ones: around them, dozens, hundreds of people were now running away from the thing, panicked by its obvious aggressiveness. Lewis caught Karin and carried her with his right arm, while she was holding to his neck; with his free hand, he grabbed his wife, who was holding Jamie’s hand and helping him to run, as the boy was old enough for following them without slowing them too much. The moments of panic that followed were quite chaotic…