Episode LVII

Finals are over.

The past weekend had left Dennis's brain and body completely shot. After the incident with Darth Onion, he had quit his job as Dr. Pettigrew’s assistant and managed to avoid him for the rest of finals. He had decided that the best way for him to recover and for him and Carry to stay safe was to be out of sight. It hadn't been hard to convince his girlfriend that she needed to avoid regular hangouts.

* * *
Thursday morning

Dennis had been doing some work on his laptop and researching anything he could find about gangs in the city. Well, he thought to himself, I guess there aren't very many technologically advanced gang members. The few pages he could find didn't have much information on the gangs. They contained little more than the creed of the gang and other non-relevant things. He also noticed that they didn't seem to have been updated for a while. As for a list of members, that was completely out of the question. Apparently they were at least that smart, he concluded. I don't know what I expected anyway, a home address and the latest crimes committed by each member, perhaps?

He'd opened that e-mail from whoever Damien Valiant was and glanced over it just to be sure it wasn't something he needed to see.

Hey,
I'm a friend of Hegel Jeremiah's and I was wondering if I could meet with you sometime, Maybe over lunch or a doughnut or something? I have a piece of equipment I'd like to ask you about. I think it might be kind of interesting for you too. I'll be talking to you.

~ Damien Valient

Dennis wasn't sure what he thought about that. He'd have to find out a little more about this Damien character before having anything to do with him. Having the ability to read minds didn't exactly make everyone like him. Especially certain ones, he thought to himself.


* * *

Later the next day.....

Realizing that computer skills can only go so far, Dennis decided he'd better do a little groundwork if he didn't want to move to another city and change his name, which he most certainly didn't. Donning a hat, sunglasses and a rather large coat, he took off to find out more about Dr. Pettigrew. He had decided earlier that his best chances for figuring out what exactly was going on was to find out about the prof. himself, since he didn't seem to do too well finding information online.

He pulled up to The Brother's Coffee shop, a favorite hangout for certain members of the academic community. Not knowing whether Pettigrew had ever been in there, Dennis was hoping to get a little more information from some of his colleagues. Slipping inside, he noticed another MSU professor who hadn't taught any classes that Dennis had taken. Perfect, he thought. Someone who won't recognize me but might still be able to help. Approaching the man’s table, he sat down.

"Excuse me, can I get you something to drink?" Dennis asked right off the bat.

"Um...."

Oh, that was smooth all right, he thought to himself, noticing that the guy already had a a coffee and a doughnut. Launching right into what he wanted to know seemed to be the best way to save a rather uncomfortable situation.

"Actually, I was wondering: do you know anything about a Professor Pettigrew? I'm looking on doing an article about some of the things he's been publishing and I would really like to learn a little more about him." Dennis didn't know if his prof had actually been writing anything, but he figured that was the easiest way to make the best of the situation. He hoped that the man didn't know Pettigrew well enough to call his bluff. Luckily for Dennis it seemed to go over well. He sensed the man's thoughts and heard him make the decision to tell him a little bit.


* * *

Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, thought Dennis as he walked down the street looking for a good place to eat. It was getting late in the day and he wanted to catch dinner before heading back to the house. About half an hour later he was getting pretty exasperated. The only thing he'd seen was a little dingy Italian restaurant about two blocks back. Well, I don't want to be a burden to the people I'm staying with, so I'd better eat here. Though it looks almost as if I'd be better off not eating dinner at all, he thought grimly. He walked in and ordered a large portion of lasagna anyway. After finishing it, he left and retired to his home away from home.

As he entered his room he emptied his pockets and kicked off his shoes. No sooner had he flipped on the light switch, than he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

* * *

"That's pretty much all that happened," a gang member finished in a dark storehouse somewhere deep in the bowels of the great Mammoth City.

"So you poisoned his food with some kind of poison you've never heard of and you couldn't even think clearly enough to follow it up by seeing what happened?!" The dark-cloaked man asked, making the henchman start crying almost spontaneously.

"We barely even got it in the food! You wouldn't believe how protective of the kitchen they were in that stupid little restaurant!" Squeaked the excited henchman.

"And the cook was probably 350 pounds, not counting the fact that he had a cleaver at hand!" Another underling whined.

"Well, see what you can do about the situation anyway. I want you to find out what happened and find out now!" The gang lord named Onion sent the henchmen scrambling for fear of their lives.

Ah yes, this is how it was meant to be. Me with power over gangs only imagined by their so-called leaders. Had I been a Sith emperor it could have only been a slight improvement in the situation. He reveled in the small pleasure of making each and every slimeball that served him fear for his measly insignificant life. Onion reveled in this, although the irony was that his so-called insignificant minions were the source of over half of his collective power and influence in the large, ever-spreading metropolis.

* * *

While the dark forces of evil worked at their inner problems, a certain college student's body was undergoing it’s own amazing inner reconstruction at an amazing pace. Unfortunately for the henchman who had tried to do away with Dennis, he had swiped something from a medical truck to put Dennis's food that looked deadly enough but had a far different effect than what he expected. As Dennis laid there on the floor of his room his skin began to glow dimly and then brighter and brighter till it passed and Dennis awoke, somewhat sickly looking.

* * *
One more day has passed.

Darth Onion was suddenly disturbed by a messenger.

"Excuse me sir! I have urgent news."

"Just tell me," sighed Onion with his usual distaste for anyone and everyone.

"Just this: they've found the person you were looking for and he's currently at Foyer and Reed Blvd. and moving north."

After a quick moment, Onion replied with orders. "Have my main man assemble a strike group to take him captive. Make certain that there are enough people. He's a slippery character, and above all make certain there are NO mistakes! Did you get that?"

"Yes, yes, I'll go now?"

"Yes, now!" Onion gestured hurriedly. "We need to get him immediately... Oh! And one more thing, tell him to capture the target at all costs, do not spare any firepower and tell him not to worry about it being seen. Only that he must avoid getting caught."

"Yessir!"

* * *

Dennis walked up the street thinking about what had happened. He couldn’t remember anything after the moment he had gotten home. He'd woken up on the floor later with the feeling that something had changed and that he was somehow different. But maybe that was just an after-effect of the food poisoning he'd gotten from eating at the run-down restaurant. Definitely should have avoided eating till I got back, Dennis rebuked himself. I still don't feel quite right. Maybe this exercise will help.

He had been walking for about an hour already; not feeling too bad, and ready for more exercise, he kept on going. The day had become warmer. Forgetting his disguise, he took off his coat, glasses and hat and carried them under his arm. He continued walking.

About 20 minutes later.

"Hey!!" Somebody called out. Dennis ignored it and kept walking.

Suddenly out of a nearby alleyway; "Hey somebody help!!" Dennis stopped and turned back. Peering into the alleyway, he heard a muffled scream echo out, accompanied by sounds of a struggle. He hurried down the alleyway a little further.

"Help!" It came again, a little quieter this time.

Dennis slowed as he neared a corner in the brick walled dingy alley and thought about what to do. What am I doing?! This could be really dangerous! But there could be someone in danger! He battled his uncertainty. Wishing he were small enough to peek around the raw brick corner without being noticed, Dennis hurriedly thought about what would possibly be the best action, and the safest.

Suddenly the world around him became grey! The colors skewed and snapped out of existence! The ground rushed up at him and he found himself going down on his hands and knees. But, they weren't his hands! He felt his weight shift to all fours and the bricks in the walls and pieces of trash grew to his size. Looking down, he saw paws, not hands! Mouse paws! His heart began to beat quicker and quicker as he realized what had happened.

I've changed into a rodent?? Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with that food I ate. Well, now I can peek around the corner I guess. He scurried and took a glance around a paper cup. There were four or five towering humans around the corner with various weapons. He ducked back again. It was a trap! I should have known; this is Dr. Pettigrew's doing. I'd better get out of here and figure out what to do about this.... condition But then, as quickly as the colors had faded away and his vision had changed it returned and he grew again to his original size and shape. His heart still pounded wildly as he stumbled from the alleyway with a heavy sweat breaking out on his brow and he nearly tripped on the way out.

"Hey! You all right? It's getting warmer out all right, but it ain't that warm!" Dennis was just a little tongue-tied at that moment and dashed off crazily, without a glance back.

Probably some addict getting a fix, the at-first concerned man thought disgustedly.