An Explanation:

This story, which was my first ever real attempt at creative writing, was based on a bunch of silly movies my friends and I worked on, involving, of all things, killer dustbunnies (see video projects page for more details). We'd already made a few of these spectacular wastes of time when we were joking around with ideas for a new movie, spoofing Hollywood films. We finally decided to work on a project ripping off "Jurassic Park", which is still in production, but before that, I got the inspiration for a storyline paralleling "The Terminator," as well as many other flicks.

Because the story was a spoof, I decided to place myself in the roll of the reluctant hero, and because I'd been interested in furry fandom for about a year, I figured a way to have a (marginally gartuitous) furry element in the story. The story also uses a couple of the beloved characters from the dustbunny films (though one of them is converted over to a anthropomorphic wolf). Because the story was based on our films, and written for my friends, there are several inside jokes, many relating to life at an engineering school, but hopefully will still be entertaining. The story is meant to be incredibly campy and silly, and by no means should be taken seriously. And with that, enjoy the story…

The movie opens in a dark and desolate landscape. The sky is obscured by dark, dense, angry clouds. Lightning flashes continuously in the distance. Words come onto the bottom of the screen: "Earth, 2005, 3.5 years after the genetic wars, Tuesday, 7:45." The camera zooms along the landscape flying past hundreds of broken bodies of many different creatures, many of which are anthropomorphic mutants. The camera comes to a very gothic castle, it tilts upward and skims along the castle wall, finally flying in a window on the top floor. Here we see the laboratory of the Octaurian Overlord, a malignant extraterrestrial, bent on world destruction. The Overlord is humanoid, but with skin of a light purple tint. He is wearing a black robe with a hood, much like the garb of death, and swimming goggles. The Overlord is locked in mortal combat with another mutant, Confucius Slime. Confucius Slime is also humanoid, but with some major revisions. His face is mostly human, except for a wolf-like muzzle, gray eyes, and pointed ears. He is covered with thin brown fur and has a tail protruding from the back of his armor suit. His hair has also been modified, it is long and purple and it sticks up much like the style of the punk rockers back in the 1970's.

We see the two struggle for a few minutes. The Overlord then manages to throw Confucius Slime's weapon away from him. With an evil grin on his face, the Overlord pulls out his own laser handgun and blasts his opponent with a lethal dose of radiation. Falling to the ground, as his victor gloats above him, Confucius Slime's last words are "It doesn't matter Overlord, you're still beaten, my armies have defeated your dustbunny minions and will storm the castle in a few minutes. I have not died in vain." The Overlord looks up with a worried expression on his face, he rushes to a view screen where we see laser fire in the distance getting close all the time. Cut to Black... cut to opening credits.

Cut to the country side, we see a barn and a farm house near US highway route 4 leading into the city. The subtitles on the screen read "Earth, 1991, the outskirts of Troy, NY." We see a flash of light from within the barn. From the barn emerges a hulking, six-foot-tall, naked werewolf. As his head turns to the camera we see a momentary flash of red in his eyes. He turns his back to the camera and heads into the house. The scene fades to black as we hear strangled screams.

Cut to downtown Troy, outside of Sutter's, a cheesy college bar. There is another flash of light and another strange figure materializes. This figure is a female leopard morph who is well built and strangely very attractive. She is also naked showing off her well-toned muscles under her spotted fur. She looks up toward the entrance of the bar as two drunken frat boys exit from it. Being drunk and not too bright, they do not find the sight of a humanform feline abnormal, quite to the contrary, they find it very exciting. "Hey Bob, let's get us some PUSSY!" "Wait till the guys at the house hear about this!" "Shut the fuck up assholes and give me your clothes!" "Ooooh, she's a feisty one isn't she...that's just the way I like 'em." Tiring quickly of their sophomoric innuendoes, she grabs the nearest one, digs her claws into his chest, and throws him against the building where he collapses into a pile of inebriated and bloody flesh. Turning to his accomplice, she grins at him showing her full set of very sharp teeth, as he begins to quickly remove his shirt with a very frightened look on his face.

Will Sanborn, just your average engineering student, is awoken at 2:30 in the morning by a loud pounding on his dorm-room door. Musing to himself as to just who it could be knocking on his door at this time of night, our hapless hero gets out of bed trying to shake the sleep from his eyes and blearily answers the door. The sight of a 5' 8" cat morph standing before him takes a few moments to register in his tired and confused brain. This slight hesitation is all she needs. She pushes the door open, grabs him and throws him down on the floor. He is able to get one muted scream out before she is on top of him. Ripping open his shirt, she bares his chest and shoves some sort of a hypodermic needle into his shoulder. As darkness overtakes him, Will has just enough time to wonder exactly what is going on. It occurs to him that this is the weirdest cartoon dream he has ever had and that his friends will find it very amusing.

But this is no dream, and his friends are nowhere to be seen. Stephen Chan, whose room is just two doors down, had heard the scream, but he was too deep in sleep to act on it. Will's next-door neighbor, Jeff "Taldin" Young, also heard the scream and cautiously stuck his head out his doorway. The sight of a humanized kitty carrying his unconscious neighbor over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes is too much for even an avid D&D player to take. He quickly convinces himself that this must be a dream, a very twisted one at that, and decides the best thing to do would be to crawl back into bed and go to sleep. The only other occupant of the dormitory who heard the scream was Clark, the R.A. who was used to the guys upstairs making all sorts of noise by jumping around and smashing hot wheels cars against the wall at odd hours of the night. He decides that he is way too tired to deal with their shit tonight, as long as they don't get too loud.

Darkness slowly fades as a dim light fills Will's half-closed eyes. Opening them he realizes he is in some sort of garage or warehouse. His head hurts with a dull throbbing pain, and to make matters worse he is tied down by his arms and legs onto a table. The leopard has her back to him, it looks like she is fiddling with some sort of instrument. Whatever it is it, it looks very sharp. She senses he's awake and turns around. He tries to close his eyes and feign unconsciousness, but it is too late for that. His heart is pounding in his temples as she leans over him. He's confused, and oh so terrified, what is she going to do to him? He manages to squeak out "please don't hurt me, I'll do whatever you want me too." She grins at him, partially showing her teeth. It is not necessarily an evil grin, but it doesn't bring him too much comfort considering the situation he's in. Under different circumstances he probably would have found the smile very interesting, perhaps even attractive, but now it does nothing but cause his heart to beat faster, making his head throb more. It's a miracle he doesn't lose control of his bladder.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you, quite to the contrary, I'm here to save your ass. If I was going to kill you I would have done it already, and I have a disdain for any form of torture. I'm sorry about the ropes, but I needed to make sure you didn't accidentally hurt yourself, also it will make it easier for me to install the implant." His face grimaces at her last comment, the thought of her performing some sort of medical procedure on him ties his stomach in a hundred knots. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. It shouldn't hurt, too much."

"Why don't I give you a quick explanation to raise your confidence in me. I am Captain Morrigan, of the first division of the rebel forces. I was sent back here to protect you." "What do you mean 'sent back,' what are you a time traveler or something." "Exactly, you didn't think I was from your time did you, I mean the way I look and all." "No, but the thought of you being an alien had crossed my mind." "Nope, not an alien, I'm as much an Earther as you are, this physique is the result of genetic mutations; I'll explain that later. Anyway, as I said you are in grave danger. In the future you will be a very key player and somebody wants you taken out before you ever get that chance." "You mean somebody wants to kill me" he said, his face becoming a notch paler. "Yes, but I'll do my best to see that doesn't happen. You're lucky and you got one of the best goddamn fighters the rebels have to offer, if I may say so myself." Saying that she gives him a kind smile, this helps to relieve some of the worry from his face, but not by much.

"So you're from the future, and I assume my assassin is too, how did you get here, how does it work?" "I can't tell you the theory behind it, but it creates a temporal displacement field around the subject and is able to merge two time-continuums into the same space. After the merge, the field is shut down and presto, you're back in the past. The only kicker is that it is a one way trip." "You mean you can't get home?" "Nope, but I knew that when I took the assignment, and it doesn't really matter. If I fail, there won't be any home for me to return to." "Can't they send reinforcements?" "No, after I went through they destroyed the machine. One of ours got through, following one of them. Nobody else comes, and nobody gets to leave. One more annoying thing about the displacement field is that it can only transmit living tissue, nothing artificial can get through. That's why I wasn't able to bring any of our high-tech weapons; had to settle for your primitive bullet slingers."

"Enough talk, you're going to need some rest. But first I have to get this transponder implanted." She holds up a shinny metal cylinder about the size of half an AA battery. "What's that for?" "It monitors your life signs. In case we get separated, I want to be able to track you and make sure you're still alive." "I'm not too crazy about the idea of you putting that thing inside me, and I'm not completely sure that I trust you." "That's why I tied you down. You really don't have any other choice than to trust me and I'd suggest you start doing it pretty soon if you want to stay alive for very long. I'll make a small incision on your right shoulder. The scalpel emits a pain-blocking field and will also quick heal the cut after I'm done. You shouldn't feel more than pressure and a slight sting." "Uh Morrigan, if the field can't transmit inanimate objects, how did you get the medical equipment here?" "I had it stored on my person, as long as flesh is surrounding it there is no problem. You really don't want to know where I kept it for the trip." "Well I sure as hell hope you sterilized everything." "Of course" she said letting out a generous laugh which helped raise his spirits. After the operation, which was only a mild discomfort, she unties him and shows him a mattress over in the far corner. It isn't much, but it is enough for him considering how tired he is and what he has just been through. "You get some sleep, I'll stand watch. I'll fully brief you about our situation in the morning." With that he is fast asleep.

Next morning, the wolf character returns to picture. We see him force his way into the E-dorms main door. Then using his massive body, he breaks the lock on the door to 22 Waite, only to find an empty room. He sniffs around and can tell that his prey has not been there for several hours. He lets out a disgusted growl and leaves the room with the broken door hanging by a single hinge. Most of the dorm residents are either still asleep or at class by the time this intrusion occurs, so nobody is around to investigate. Matt Garretson, whose catlike behavior has him up for long periods of time, and whose personal methodology of study does not include attending too many classes, is the only person on that side of the building in the position to witness an attack on his friend's room downstairs. However, as luck would have it, Matt is so busy venting his anger at losing yet another game of "Prince of Persia," by kicking the shit out of the third-floor janitor closet door, that he doesn't notice the added sound of breaking timber from the floor below.

As the wolf is leaving, with a look of fierce determination on his face, he runs into Fred the janitor coming up the stairs. Fred, not being too bright, does not clue into the fact that this supernatural figure before him could be dangerous and starts in with an inane conversation. "Say, you're new here aren't you? You look like you could play football for the school. My son used to play football, but then he got his girlfriend knocked up and had to get married. He sells shoes now, at the Latham Circle mall. Well this kind of pissed my wife off, but screw her. All she's good for is cooking and cleaning. She made this great banana bread out of some moldy bananas that someone threw out here a few weeks ago. Can you imagine that, somebody actually throwing out perfectly good produce like that? What is this world coming to?" At this point the wolf, who is obviously tired with this mindless chatter, grabs Fred by his scalp and tosses him down the stairs where he collapses with a busted ankle and four bloody claw marks running the longitude of his bald head. The beast shows no concern for his victim as he steps over him to exit the dorm; leaving him sitting there in a stunned state of pain and confusion.

In the few minutes before the Semiconductor Electronic Devices lecture starts, the werewolf enters Sage 3303. Being typical RPI students, who are not concerned with anything that doesn't directly affect their grades, most of the people in the room seem oblivious to this apparition appearing straight out of some horror movie. Targeting out one student, this hulking figure asks in a very thick Austrian accent "I'm looking for Will Sanborn, I understand he is a friend of yours. Where is he?" Ed Perkins is too surprised to fully comprehend what is happening. He is able to stammer out that he has not seen Will all morning and that he must be sick or something. "Well, he's not in his room, I've already been there, so I think I'll just wait here and see if he shows up. I have some very important business to deal with him." "Suit yourself, but be warned, this class is pretty boring." So they sit and wait, and Will never does show up. Professor Paul Chow, the incredibly clueless, manages to put everyone to sleep, including the werewolf, which as you'll soon find out, should not be physically possible.

"Will, wake up, its already 10:00, we've got to get moving. I brought some clothes from your room for you to change into." There really isn't a secluded place for him to change; turning his back to her has to suffice. His modesty seems to amuse her, although he doesn't notice the smile lurking on her face. He is much too preoccupied. "I went and got these for breakfast" as she opens a paper bag containing some assorted bagels and muffins. "Its the best I could find, I didn't want to break into any place that was too large. Don't look so shocked, we're renegades now, until we kill or get killed." "It sounds like I'm about to have an adventure of a lifetime. I just hope I'm around to tell someone about it." She gives him a warm smile, he finds that he is no longer afraid of her and that she has more of a personality than just that of nameless warrior. He realizes that underneath her gruff exterior must lie a very warm and caring person. 'Too bad we had to meet under these circumstances' he muses 'I would like to get to know her better, but I guess there isn't time for that now.' He also notices that when she's not terrorizing him she is strangely attractive. 'Must be because she's so exotic, one-of-a-kind, at least at this point in time. But I've got more important issues to worry about, such as how to keep my ass alive and in one piece.'

"Morrigan, may I call you that, you said that you would brief me in the morning. Well, we should get it started. It seems like this is a matter of grave importance." "Yes, you may call me Morrigan, no need for my title here. Rank doesn't matter in this situation. You'd better sit down, this is going to take awhile. Well I guess I should start by explaining the way I look. You see I'm a mutant, more accurately a retroactively-encoded genetic recombinant. Most of humanity was altered in 2001 when the genetic wars started." "So you used to be human, how horrible. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, it's just such a hard thing to comprehend, having your body change so drastically like that." "It wasn't that bad, true it was a week of confusion and occasional pain, but I, like most of the others, have learned to accept what I have become. I've gotten used to my new body and I like how it performs so much better than my old one. I have so much more strength and stamina now, I also have grown accustomed to my new look and find myself attractive." This causes him to blush slightly. If she notices this she doesn't comment on it.

"So what exactly were these genetic wars?" "They were a ploy by an evil extra-terrestrial being who calls himself the Octaurian Overlord. He fell to Earth, or will fall to Earth, in the mid 1990's, after the freedom fighters of the Labidia constellation forced him out of power. Because of his cunning intelligence, he was able to keep himself from being discovered while he built a huge economic empire. He was able to develop new technologies and use them to amass his fortune, all the time controlling the show from behind the scenes. Only one or two of his most-trusted and very greedy employees ever knew who it was they were actually working for. Besides being a brilliant mastermind, the Overlord was also very demented. He was somewhat of a schitsofrenic megalomaniac built on world domination. Because of his body chemistry, which would break down under exposure to bright light, he was forced to be nocturnal, forever cursing the sun. His hatred of the sun also led to him to hate all of humanity. He decided that he was the rightful ruler of this backwards little world and he would shape it to his liking. It was at this point when he started up research in genetic engineering to achieve his goals. He concentrated on mutagenic reagents and the creation of custom life forms, experimenting liberally on hapless souls whose only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"By the end of 2001 he had amassed enough of his reagents to spread throughout the world causing a wave of mutations that spread like the plague. I remember that being the worst week of my life. The worst part is that I was living in one of the last places for the change to reach. I still don't know which was worse, the actual changing itself or the waiting for it to happen." Her voice cracks slightly and she pauses her speech. "I'm sorry, I can't believe anyone could make it through something like that." He impulsively puts his hand on her shoulder and is surprised by undertaking such a brave action. She smiles at this and continues on. "Over half of us didn't make it through the change. It was just too much for their bodies to take. I think that was part of his insidious plan. There were different levels of mutation. Some people were lucky and weren't affected at all, or maybe they weren't so lucky since they were now a member of the new minority and had a hard time fitting in to the society."

During this time, the Overlord also was able to change the whole planet. He had constructed a huge climate-control apparatus which turned the Earth into a desolate wasteland, covering the sky with clouds so thick you couldn't tell if it was day or night. But those weren't the only facets of his plan. He had also created hordes of killer dustbunny warriors which he unleashed on us in the aftermath of the change. The following months were pure hell, we were systematically hunted down and exterminated. It wasn't until the middle of 2002 when things began to turn around. Those of us that were left alive were finally able to group and organize a resistance force. What followed were three years of battle, but this was better than being hunted as prey. Then at least we had a sense that the situation wasn't hopeless. We started winning too, by 2005 we had the bastard beat."

"So where do I fit into all of this?" "Okay, I'm about half through. This part might be tough for you too accept though. Hold on, its going to be a bumpy ride." His face changes to reflect a strange mixture of surprise, apprehension, and morbid intrigue. "Go on." "All right, after you receive your doctorate from MIT in 1997, you are offered a job at a fledgling genetic research company. You are, of course, excited at this research position, and you jump on it, not knowing that you are indirectly working for one of the galaxies most notorious psychopaths. Don't worry, you weren't directly responsible for any of this, you were just a cog in his machine of destruction. You were also given a chance to make things right."

"After about a year working there, you were quickly promoted to a higher- paying job with more responsibilities. It was then you started working on the mutagenic reagents. We think you may have discovered what the project was capable of, or maybe you were just another guinea pig. Either way, there was a 'so-called' accident at the firm and you became a new addition to the Overlord's menagerie." His gasp cuts the air between them, his face is oddly expressionless. "I knew this would be hard on you. I'm sorry, but you need to know, so you can be prepared for the future. It's your destiny. It will be hard at first, but like me you will come to terms with it. In fact you have, in the future, confided in me that you had grown to love your new body and its capabilities. In fact you once joked that if you ever got face to face with the Overlord you would thank him for the improvements, and then nuke the sucker's ass." "You mean we know each other in the future?" "Yes, I'm captain of one of your divisions. You're destined to become a great leader." "But how can that be, I've never really had any great leadership skills?" "You'll learn them sometime, sometime soon. It's amazing what trying situations can bring out of people."

"You said I'll become a mutant, what type, I mean of what animal derivative?" He seems oddly excited but a little apprehensive. Smiling she takes out an old and yellowed Polaroid picture of a wolf morph with a wild flowing head full of purple hair. In the picture he is wearing a pair of sunglasses and grinning a toothy grin at the camera. This seems to amuse Will. "I like the hair, it reminds me of this punk wig I got at a costume shop back in high school. We were always going to start a garage band, but we never had any equipment or talent, just the attitude. I created this persona of the perfect poser, when I was wearing the wig I called myself 'Confucius Slime.' She seems stunned by this, then bursts into laughter, leaving him with a confused expression on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just so strange, I mean to find out where you chose your new name from. I was always curious; you just said it was the best name you could think of." "What, you mean I actually change my name?" "You wanted to. After getting used to the change you wanted a new name to go with your new body and your new personality additions."

"You were lucky enough to meet the Overlord after the change. Since you were going to become a member of his private zoo he didn't think you'd be any threat and I guess he wanted to gloat. It was the knowledge from this conversation that you brought to us after the genetic wars. It would have been much harder to form an effective resistance force without knowing whom we were fighting against. You were clever enough to escape from the Overlord's underground fortress with a few other changelings. With these people, and a few of your close human friends, you formed am underground group calling yourselves the 'X Force.' You hide out in a compound in the woods of Vermont and begin an extensive training regimen. By the time the genetic wars started, you had assembled a small army and were ready for the fight."

"So now you see why you are so important, but there's a little more. Toward the end of the war there was final battle. We finally had him beat. We were closing in on his fortress when he realize he was doomed. His army of dustbunnies was falling and he soon would be taken prisoner and tried for his crimes against all humanity. He must have been seething with anger at you as he realized you were the one person most responsible for his downfall. Killing you then wouldn't do any good, he would have to find some way of undoing everything you had achieved. It was then when he decided to not only kill you, but eradicate you from history. One of the projects he had developed was the time portal I told you about. Before our forces arrived at his base he was able to send a member of his special troops back here to terminate you with extreme prejudice. We were able to overpower the Overlord and I was sent to protect you. A job I volunteered for. It was a very honorable mission, and to be able to meet you before it all started was a chance in a lifetime." There was another reason why she had wanted to come back here to meet this hero in the making, but that would have to wait for later. That is if there was even a chance for it.

"All this is hard to take. Its hard to imagine that so much is going to happen and that I will be so important. It is scary but also exciting. At least I know I won't be slaving away at some boring junior engineering position for 40 years waiting for retirement." She smiles at this, "you once said the same thing to me." 'You confided in me' she mused, 'you said that when we had gotten close, after the first time.... Stop it, you've got no time for that now, get a hold of your self Morrigan. Your mind-wandering could him killed.'

"Come on, it's getting late, we've got to run. There's no telling where the assassin could be." "By the way, what does he look like; I'd like to know who to look out for. Is he a mut-- er a changeling like you?" "Sort of, he's a wolf, a very huge and powerful wolf. He'll be hard to kill." "What kind of weapons do you think he'll be using?" "No weapons, they're trained to use their claws, which are razor sharp. He could snap your neck like a dry twig." "But we've got weapons. Look at the size of that gun there, that could probably drop a moose. I'd say that we have the superior firepower." "Don't count on it, but let's get moving. Do you know how to use a hand gun?" "Not really, but I can learn fast in a pinch, pretty much point and shoot right?" Smiling she hands him a pistol, "pretty much. Just remember to remove the safety switch, right there."

As they emerge from the warehouse, they find themselves in downtown Troy, near the Hudson river. "Cool, we're near the bus station. Let's get the hell out of town." "No, you're forgetting that I sort of stand out in a crowd. Also, he will have predicted that plan of action. We've got to get as far away from here as possible." Taking the back alleys, they steal away from the bus depot. When they are nearing River Street they hear a deep growl from behind them. Spinning around in the blink of an eye, Morrigan throws herself against Will barely missing the wolf's trajectory as he lunges past them. Pulling out her firearm she plugs a bullet square into the creatures knee, knocking him off balance. This gives them an opportunity to scramble out of the alley onto a busy sidewalk surprising a group of pedestrians. One fat woman is so surprised she just stands there with a confused expression on her face watching this strange spectacle approaching her. Will hesitates in front of her, Morrigan steps in front and shoves the woman aside. "Come on damnit! You don't have time to be polite! Your ass is on the line here!"

Behind them the wolf is getting up and he starts his pursuit with a blank look of determination on his face. As they run down the sidewalk most people dodge their paths, those who don't wish they did. Those who don't move for the wolf don't have time to wish for anything, ever again. "Keep running, straight ahead, I'll catch up to you." Will obeys her orders without any thoughts, without any fear. His mind is blank accept for the primitive instinct of escape. Morrigan turns around and sees the wolf about a block away and closing very rapidly. Having the presence of mind to try and save as many lives as possible she yells to the few pedestrians who are still in the line of attack. "Everybody, get down, get the hell out of my line of fire!" With that she brings her assault rifle to bear on the wolf and opens fire. Bullets spray out like water from a firehose. Within seconds the wolf's abdomen becomes a mass of bloody flesh and fur. The life seems to drain out of his face and his legs stop functioning, bringing him down face first on the pavement. She tensely waits a few moments, when she sees he is not moving she turns and begins running of toward Will.

She catches up to him in the Troy Atrium parking garage. He slows down when he sees that the werewolf is no longer in pursuit. "Don't stop now. We're still in deep trouble. We've got to get a car and get out of here. Fast!" Blindly following her, they exit the garage and spot a car parked on the street with an open window. As he gets in the passenger seat, something triggers a warning bell in the back of his mind, but it does not register to his over-taxed consciousness. She pulls out a small device, shoves it into the ignition switch and gives it a hard turn, firing the engine to life. As she takes off into the street, grinding gears and cutting off several cars, the wrongness with this situation flashes across Will's brain like a photographic flash tube. "Holy shit! What the hell do you think you're doing? We're stealing a fucking cop car." "We're renegades remember, now hold on and please shut up. I've got enough shit to worry about."

The cop whose car Morrigan had requisitioned had been inside the corner newsstand buying the latest copy of Hustler. He runs out of the store with a pissed and confused expression on his face. Shouting into his portable radio unit, he immediately calls for backup. As luck would have it, the remainder of Troy's finest were stationed for their hourly coffee break at the Dunkin' Donuts on US Route 7. It just so happened that Morrigan was blindly speeding on a course which would cross Route 7 in a matter of minutes. As she speeds through that intersection, narrowly missing a minivan, four police cruisers speed perpendicular toward her, making a sweeping right-hand turn to join the chase. What follows is a hair raising car chase through the housing projects of North Troy.

After five minutes Morrigan sees the road ending in a "T" intersection up ahead. Locking up the breaks, she puts the cruiser through its paces, forcing it to perform a very sharp hairpin turn. The camera shows that Will is not enjoying this wild ride too much. He is siting there with a wild expression of terror on his almost sheet-white face with his body tensed up. His hands are gripping the seat cushion while his feet clamp down on the floor, trying to press an imaginary brake pedal.

Morrigan speeds downward toward the river, with the cops in close pursuit. Only two of them make it through the turn though, the last two end up sideswiping a tree and colliding with each other in a comical Disney-ish sort of way. Reaching River Street, which again ends in a "T," Morrigan makes another hard left, sending them speeding back into lovely downtown Troy.

Reaching the city, which is quite a confusing combination of one-way streets and several roads converging at odd angles, Morrigan starts to lose her sense of direction. There are several near misses with other cars, and one scene where she sideswipes the front of a very expensive sports car, sending it spinning into a mailbox, a garbage can, a small tree, and finally coming to rest against a building.

Speeding through the city, they are confronted with a road construction crew, whose work blocks half of the road, which happens to be the side of the road that they're on. Further complicating the situation, an 18-wheeler truck is approaching from the other direction. Realizing that she is not going to make it, Morrigan slams on the breaks, sending the car out of control, crashing through the glass window of Elda's bar and Italian restaurant. The cruiser smashes through the wall of the kitchen and comes to rest against the crumbled remains of the dish-washing machine, as the two police units in pursuit come to a stop out front. Luckily for both Will and Morrigan the airbags in the front seat protect them from most of the impact, leaving them with only small contusions. Luck would also have it that Elda's was not very popular during the day since it was mainly used at night by the college population as a beer house and meat market. For this reason nobody was injured in the crash which destroyed several thousands of dollars of both public and private property. Cut to black.

Captain Jack Stranton is not a happy man. "Okay, somebody try and explain this shit to me? We've got two civilians with an insane amount of stolen firearms and 3 destroyed cruisers. Not to mention that the woman is some sort of tiger or something. What the hell is going on here?!" "Actually, sir, I thinks she's more of a leopard, tigers don't have spots, and you're forgetting about the body of the werewolf we found on River Street." "Oh great, now we've got Marlin Fuckin' Perkins here! I don't give a shit what species she is, I just want to know where the hell she came from. What the hell. We might as well interrogate them now. Bring them in James."

The two of them are led into the Captains office. They are bruised up, but not too bad off. Both of them have several bandages covering various spots of their bodies. Will looks tired and dazed, Morrigan is seething with anger. If it wasn't for her handcuffs and the fact that she was being 'escorted' by two officers, she would have attacked the lot of them. "Okay, we can either do this the easy way, or the HARD way. Which is it going to be?" Morrigan shakes the officers' grip off her shoulders and sits down, showing great restraint she gives the captain a look that reads 'okay, you've won, for the moment.' Will numbly sits down and stares blankly at the man sitting at the desk in front of him. "That's better. Now maybe you can explain to me just what is going on."

"I'm special divisions officer 657-183, Captain Morrigan of the Earth Resistance Coalition Forces. I've been sent from the future, 2005 to be exact, to protect Will here from an assassin, also sent from the future." "Oh, that's just fuckin' rich. Ralph, get the shrink in here, we got a live one. Phil, what do we have on this guy here?" "His name's Will Sanborn sir. He goes to school at RPI. This morning his dorm room was found broken into and ransacked. I think we're looking at a simple case of kidnapping here." "Well not so simple since the perpetrator of the crime doesn't seem to be human, but it seems safe to say that the kid's the victim here. Get the Feds on the line, we'll let them take care of the lady here." "You fools" Morrigan screams as she attempts to jump out of the chair. She is held back by the two fast-acting officers behind her. Even with two of them she puts up quite a struggle. "You don't get it do you, he's in grave danger. If I'm not human, how in the hell did I get here?! There's an assassin out there somewhere, and he won't stop until he's dead!" "Yeah, whatever lady. Look, it's only 12:30 and it's already been a very bad day. I really don't need any shit from you. I've got to explain to the mayor how three of our cruisers were destroyed and a major downtown establishment was trashed in a car chase. So if you'll excuse me I've got better things to worry about. Get her out of here guys. Lock her in the interrogation room until the Feds get there. And I want two guys on the door at ALL times. Is that understood?" "Yes captain."

As three of them drag Morrigan kicking and screaming out of the office, Will continues his blank stare. "Its okay kid. It looks as if you've had a piss-poor day too. Why don't you lay down on my couch for awhile until I can get someone to take you to the hospital." With that Will lays down on the couch and instantly goes to sleep. The captain mutters some obscenities under his breath, opens his desk drawer, pulls out a chocolate-frosted donut, and dryly begins to munch on it looking into the camera with a very pissed-off expression on his face. Cut to black.

Cut to a scene in a morgue. There are rows of dead bodies with sheets over them in the foreground. The camera swoops by them to the back of the room. Here we see two men dressed in green scrubs smattered with blood bending over the body of the werewolf. One of them is preparing to dissect it with a rather large and shiny scalpel which he holds up so the camera catches the glint of fluorescent lights off it. "This is gotta be the weirdest shit I've ever seen Jones. I bet the Feds are gonna have a field day covering this up. You say he was part of the firefight they had downtown this morning. What the hell is this world coming too?" "I don't know man, but this is definitely some bizarre stuff. Nobody's gonna believe this." They begin cutting through the wolf's mangled chest which gives way with a wet ripping sound. "Man, this is one of the worst I've seen. I'm glad I didn't have that burger for lunch." As he continues to cut he reaches something very hard. "Hand me that bone splitter. His ribs are a lot stronger than I figured on... What the hell. Take a look at this. Its fucking metal." Widening the incision they expose a metal chest plate which contains raised letters in some alien language. Tapping on the chest plate, "Man this is too strange for me, this thing was never alive, it's a fucking robot."

At that split second the camera cuts to the wolf's eyes which spring open, flashing red for a brief instant. His claws jump up and grab the nearest paramedic's head and gives it a quick 90 degree turn counter clockwise. He falls to the ground with a stunned expression frozen on his face. The wolf grabs the other whimpering paramedic and forces him against the wall. Again with the thick Austrian accent. "Where am I?" "Please don't hurt me, I have a wife and kids." "Where am I?" This question is punctuated by his claws digging deeper into the man's flesh. "You're in the morgue, of the Troy Public Hospital." "Where are the others?" "You mean the ones you were in the fight with? The police got them. They're at the station downtown." With that the wolf releases him, he falls in pile to the floor. The wolf turns and exits the morgue. Cut to black.

Cut to a scene outside of the Troy Police Department. An ambulance comes speeding up and crashes into two police cruisers parked out in front. The door opens and the werewolf climbs out. The front of his chest is cut open with a flap of skin hanging from it. The shiny aluminum-colored metal beneath glints brightly in the sun. He walks to the door with the look of death warmed over on his face. As he enters the building, the man behind the steel grill doesn't look up from his paperwork. "I'll be right with you, just wait a sec." "I'm looking for the leopard woman and the human male that were brought in here a few hours ago." "Sorry bud, I can't help you there. They're both being held for questioning." Looking up he stares into the face of a monster. "Holy shit what the hell are you." For an answer, the wolf throws himself against the wire-mesh door which gives way very easily. Grabbing the intercom, the desk jockey is able to get out "this is main desk, help, there's a monster..." before he is rendered functionally useless as a living organism.

The wolf makes his way down the hall. Several officers come out of different doorways along the hall. They take one look at him and open fire. As his body is riddled with bullets, we see new wounds appearing, but they don't bleed like that of anything normal. Instead coagulated blood slowly dribbles out of them. The bullets don't seem to have too much affect on him, although occasionally he jerks slightly. As he reaches the first officer, he picks him up and slams him into the wall.

Cut to a scene from the wolf cyborg's point of view. Here we see the digitized footage of the cops firing at him. Here the footage is processed so only the edges of objects are shown as red against a black background, with random hexadecimal numbers scrolling across the bottom. We also see several target crosshairs superimposed onto the picture. These targets are positioned on the central chest regions of the officers and they track their movements. Cut to a scene of a cop as she shoots a bullet at the wolf. Track the progress of the bullet as it connects with his left eye leaving an exposed socket with flashing LED's. Cut back to the cyborg's point of view. The screen goes to static. A message pops up, "optical unit #1 failed. Bringing up backup systems. Enhancing S/N ratio." With that the screen clears, an icon of an hourglass briefly pops up, then the original computer vision footage is restored. Cut back to the wolf, if you use your imagination, you can see a slight grin on his lips.

Will is jerked awake in the captain's office by the sounds of gunfire and screaming somewhere in the building. The sleep has done wonders for him and his mind has cleared. He realizes that he's got to keep himself together if he wants to stay alive. He also realizes that without Morrigan his chances for survival are pretty slim. He cautiously opens the door and peers into the dark hallway where an occasional fluorescent light briefly flickers randomly. The sounds of the fight are coming from the far end of the building. He heads in the opposite direction.

In the interrogation room, a plain room with a wooden table, assorted chairs and a glass windowed door, Morrigan has managed to pick the lock on her handcuffs when the commotion starts. She smashes the small window on the door with her elbow, causing several lacerations on her arm. The two guards in front of the door had departed when the commotion had started. The hallway in front of her is deserted. 'First things first, I need my equipment,' as she heads toward the evidence room.

The cyborg has managed to significantly reduce the size of the police force in the last ten minutes. The main hallway is littered with the bodies of the fallen officers. Only four officers remain, the rest have been killed or have run off. At the end of the hallway they are facing off the beast trying to slow down its progress. Unfortunately the only damage they have been able to do is purely cosmetic. The werewolf continues to approach, by now he looks like a rotting corpse animated by some unholy magic; something George Romero might have thought of, had he been a furry fan. His only attire is a pair of pants which by now have been almost totally stained a disgusting shade of maroon. His hide is riddled with oozing bullet holes. His chest has been peeled away revealing the shining chest plate, which is now splattered with drying blood. His left eye socket is dribbling a pale white fluid while the flashing LED's inside it create an odd hypnotic pattern. One of his ears has been severed and it hangs by a flap alongside his head. Perhaps the most horrifying thing of all is the expression on his face. It is not completely blank and devoid of emotion like one would expect of an automaton. Instead there is a subtle look of hatred on the snarl of his lips and an evil that can be seen in his remaining cold dead eye.

The remaining officers have by now realized that their task is futile and that death is imminent, but to their credit they put up a valiant fight. Realizing that there may be a slight chance in taking out his second eye, one of the officers takes aim and shoots. Having learned his one weakness, the cyborg covers up his Achilles' heel this time. In the split second before the bullet reaches his face, his right claw comes up deflecting the bullet into the wall. Staring at the officer with a look of cold vengeance he heads for him. Grabbing him by the throat, he crushes the windpipe and discards the body like an old rag doll. The three other officers have similar fates. The only good thing to be said about it was their deaths were quick, and to some extent painless.

Will has run into a dead end. He can hear the fight behind him and it is drawing ever nearer. He doesn't dare trying to backtrack, instead he crawls into a nearby utility closet. He realizes if he's found, he'll have no chance of escape, but he doubts he could outrun whatever it is pursuing him and decides to bank on the chance that he can go undetected. Inside the closet he can hear the pounding of his heart which sounds as loud as some industrial machine. He doesn't know how long he can stay there without loosing his mind and screaming.

Within minutes the door is swung open. He does almost scream, but his throat chokes up on him. He is resigned to the fate when he realizes the shadowy figure standing before him is Morrigan. He all but collapses into her arms. She helps him regain his balance and starts to lead him down the hallway. From around the corner up ahead lurches the cyborg, Will lets out a stunned gasp. From her belt Morrigan reaches for a magnesium flare, ignites it and tosses it at the cyborg. Cut to the cyborg's view screen. We see the image go completely white, "over-saturation of sensor element, cannot compensate" flashes upon the screen. Cut back to see Will and Morrigan racing past the cyborg as he is momentarily blinded.

They race out of the building into the afternoon sun. Morrigan smashes a window of a non-police car on the street with her rifle and uses her universal pick on the ignition switch. They are pulling out of the driveway as the mangled wolf cyborg runs out of the front door. he watches them driving down the street. The camera cuts to show a close-up of his face. His one good eye turns red again, the red region then constricts down to a point, like the effect of a camera iris focusing on a target.

Back in the car Will is obviously shaken up, but not catonic as before. "Just what the hell was that back there." "One of the Overlord's newest weapons, a cyborg, even more powerful than his dustbunny warriors." "You mean it's half machine?" "More than half, the organic covering is just for camouflage to allow them to penetrate our defenses, it also served as a transportation buffer for the trip through the portal. These units are tricky bastards, and damn hard to kill too. Luckily for us he had just started developing them and had only deployed a few of his prototypes. If he had come out with them any sooner, it could have lost the war for us." "But what happened back where we first ran into him? You managed to stop him, at least for awhile." "I was taking advantage of a design flaw in the primary power coil that the Overlord hadn't had a chance to fix yet. If the unit receives enough of a shock to the power system, located in the upper abdomen, it will overload and have to shut down. It isn't permanent, as you have seen, but it bought us some time while his system diagnostics went through a complete reset cycle. If we hadn't ran into those idiots with badges back there we could have avoided that whole unpleasant encounter. We could be halfway across the state by now."

"But we can't keep on running Morrigan, you must know that." She turns to face him, giving him a look of surprise and admiration. "From what I understand, this cyborg won't stop until I'm dead. We might be able to outrun him and live in hiding but in the end that will be as good as if he kills me. I mean in a global sense, of course it matters to me. I'd rather live, but if I don't finish my schooling and get into the position where I can learn the Overlord's secrets, I won't be any use to the rebel forces, then we'd all be dead. I know the path I must travel down, there cannot be any turning back. We're going to have to destroy that thing back there, or die trying." She smiles at him, "I'm glad you've stopped being such a wimp. I'm beginning to see where you got your leadership skills from."

They rent a room at a dumpy motel in Menands. Well actually Will rents the room, Morrigan stays in the car since she would only draw more attention to themselves. His bandages and bruises draw enough attention as it is, but the man behind the desk doesn't do much more than give him a strange look. He has seen stranger people than that coming in here to rent a room for the night.

Coming into the room Morrigan throws her firearms and other assorted equipment on the table and collapses onto the bed. "It's 3:00, we need to get some rest before we do anything." There is only one bed in the room. Will feels a little awkward crawling into it with a woman, especially one he finds as attractive as Morrigan, but they are both fully clothed. 'What the hell, I need the rest, it's not like anything is going to happen anyway. Its funny though, twenty-four hours ago I never would have dreamed that I'd be sharing a bed with someone, let alone an exotically pretty mutant from the future. As they say, shit happens.' Crawling into bed feels so deliciously comfortable; having a warm body beside him feels so reassuring. The next six hours are the best sleep he has ever remembered having.

Will's consciousness slowly regains as he realizes his eyes are open and he has been staring at the ceiling for several minutes. He turns over and looks at the digital clock on the night table; it reads 9:16. The yellow light from the lamp in the parking lot shines in through the part between the window shades, making objects in the room visible. He turns over and looks at the sleeping form of Morrigan, admiring her beauty. He's still looking at her when she comes awake. Stirring, she opens her eyes and gazes into his, with a slight expression of surprise on her face.

Will quickly turns away, embarrassed at being caught in the act of spying. She puts a hand on his shoulder, "its okay, there's nothing for you to be embarrassed about. Please turn around." With his heart beating heavily, he slowly turns to face her. She has a kind look of compassion on her face, mixed with another emotion he can't quite make out. "I'm sorry" he mutters. "Don't be, you've done nothing wrong. Do you find me attractive Will?" Surprised by the openness of her question, it takes him a moment to answer. "Yes, of course I do. I think that you're beautiful Morrigan."

With her hand she lightly rubs his shoulder through the fabric of his shirt, sending tiny tingles shooting down his spine. He stares into her eyes feeling both mild panic and excitement. "There was another reason I accepted this mission Will" she says with a tender smile on her face. "I wanted to know you before all of this happened. I wanted to meet you before the change. I had always wondered what you had been like before." "Do you mean this is some sort of hero worship?" "No, its more than that. I didn't tell you this because it didn't seem appropriate at the time, but in the future you and I are lovers. We have been for a year and a half." "But that's so far off, I'm not the same person that you left back there." "Not exactly, but I can see the traits that I love in him emerging from inside of you. You are a wonderful person, and what has happened here is bringing out the best in you. I also find you attractive. You are extremely cute." He blushes at this comment causing her to smile again. "It's hard to compare you to how you'll look after the change. It's not that you're more or less handsome now, just different. I like what I see, and the idea of you as a younger man is really exciting."

Will doesn't know what to say to this. He is very confused; his body is on fire and it is hard for him to think straight. Sensing that she will have to make the first move, Morrigan gently turns him over on his back, rolls on top of him and gently kisses him. Reacting first with surprise, he struggles for a moment before realizing his situation, then kisses her back. The fuzzy sensation of her lips against his is electrifying. As she deftly forces her tongue into his mouth he brings his arms around her, running them up and down her back.

After several minutes, she eases up. Her face is flushed and her eyes are slightly watery showing the formation of tears. Will caresses her furry check, moving up to stroke her ears and run his fingers through her long smooth dark hair. She turns to nuzzle her head in between his neck and shoulder. They cuddle for awhile when she realizes that she will have to take the initiative again. Running her hands down his chest, she starts to pull up his shirt slightly. "Morrigan, I don't really have much experience at this. I'm nervous." "Don't worry love, I won't bite, just nibble a little." With a deliciously evil grin on her lips, she lifts his shirt up, lifting his arms he lets her take it off him. She brings her head down on his chest, running her ever-so-slightly abrasive tongue over his nipples.

She brings her head up to his neck and continues her kissing. Sensing he still needs some encouragement she whispers "please don't be so shy" into his ear. He tentatively brings his hand up as she rolls on her back giving him better access. He slowly undoes the buttons to her shirt revealing her inch by inch. We see that the white patch of fur on her neck and under her chin continues down to cover her chest and abdomen, trailing further downward into her pants. Opening her shirt he thinks to himself 'I can't believe this is happening' with a smile on his face. Most people might not find the woman before him attractive and may find the idea of what he was about to do very perverse. Will however, was not most people and was trembling with anticipation.

Bringing the shirt up around her shoulders and down her arms he buries his head in the fur of her shoulder inhaling the sweet aroma of her pheromones. He brings his hand up to cup one of her furry breasts, lightly stroking her erect nipple. His explorations are unsure at first, but with her quiet encouragement he quickly learns to navigate the territory. Both slowly rising to a kneeling position, he kisses her again. Taking one of his hands he moves it slowly down her spine coming to rest at the base of her tail. Stroking the region where it meets her body he illicits a deep growl of pleasure from her.

She brings her hands down and slips out of her pants, revealing her perfectly toned legs and her furry buttocks. She gently pushes him down on his back, running her hands down his chest toward his belt buckle. She hesitates a moment before undoing the belt, then sliding his pants and underwear off very slowly to heighten the pleasure. She leans down against him and he is surrounded by her fur. He has never felt so warm and secure before. She kisses him as they start to move their bodies in a rhythmical motion.

Laying in the bed with her head on his chest she sighs deeply as he caresses her back. "That was incredible Morrigan, thank you." "Thank you too. I didn't know if I'd ever be with you again. I think this was the best it has ever been." They lie there in quiet ecstasy for several minutes before she speaks again, this time in a quiet shaky voice. "Will, there is something I need to tell you about the future." After moment's hesitation, "the reason I came back here was because there was nothing left for me there." Letting out a couple of sobs she ads, "you were killed during the final battle. When we got to the castle we found the Overlord gloating over your dead body." "Morrigan, I don't know if you should be telling me this. Nobody should know too much about their own destiny. I might use that knowledge to act different than I otherwise would have." "I don't think so, that's not the type of person you are or will become. You could use it to save yourself and still win the battle. Now listen closely, you've got to remember this. The weapon the Overlord was using was a prototype he had just developed. Unlike ordinary pulse phasor weapons, which your armor suit could shield you from, this was a neutrino repulser. The particles can penetrate your suit and disrupt the electric fields of the molecules in your body causing them to fall apart. Sometime during your studies you'll need develop a method to protect you from the weapon's blast."

Holding onto her in the bed, Will wishes this moment would never end. Finally Morrigan pulls away. "Its getting late we need to start planning for the fight." With a devilish grin on his face he says "well we can't go into battle all dirty like this. What do you say, I'll wash your back if you'll wash mine." Returning his smile she leads him to the bathroom, shutting the door behind them.

After they have cleaned up, they sit at the table working out their plan. Will reaches out his hand across the table, Morrigan smiles at him and puts her hand in his. "So now where do we stand, what are the capabilities of that thing?" "They're incredible, there's not much I can do with these primitive weapons against that thing's armor." "You mentioned the design flaw in its power system and that gave me an idea. How well is it shielded against electromagnetic interference?" "I don't know, but I doubt if its shielded very much. Our forces didn't have anything to produce interference powerful enough to present a threat. I doubt if the Overlord would have foreseen any need for any extra shielding." "That's what I was hoping to hear. I believe the school might have something that could do the trick. We happen to have a Van de Graf generator in the power lab. If I could get it into overload I believe that it would create an EMF pulse strong enough to fry that sucker's brains." "It sounds pretty good, but I don't know how well it will work. Still, I think it's probably the best chance we've got. In all the time I've fought for the resistance, you haven't come up with bad plan yet." "But that's in the future." "Yes, but in the last few hours I have seen a lot of Confucius Slime's traits emerging in you. I trust your judgment."

As they're leaving, Will turns to her, "Morrigan, in case something goes wrong, I'd just like to thank you. Not just for saving my life, but for giving me more confidence. Without you, I don't think I could prepare myself for what we're about to do or for what waits for me in the future. I just wish we had more time together." She turns to him and they embrace, he rests his head on her shoulder. "I wish we had more time too, we'll just have to see how this works out. I need to thank you too, for all you will do in future, and for being there for me when I needed you." They hold each other tightly, moving their hands slowly up and down the other's back. They both try to hold back their tears as time seems to stand still between them. Finally Will is the one to speak, "well... I guess we should get a move on, we've got a job to do." They hold each other a moment longer, Morrigan is the first to let go. They exit the motel and drive in silence, neither one wanting to mention the possibility of them not coming back.

They enter the Johnson Engineering Center and proceed to the basement. They reach a door which is clearly marked as the power lab. Morrigan is able to use her universal key apparatus to jimmy the lock. Entering the room, which is very expansive, they turn on the lights which randomly flicker on and off before coming up to full brightness. The room is basically a large industrial bay area filled with assorted industrial equipment. At the far end of the room stands the Van de Graf generator, a large metal sphere, five meters in diameter, standing on a large column which raises it high into the air.

Will powers on the unit, bringing the control panel to life. The unit is a complex array of lighted switches, with a computer screen in the center displaying a complex 3D wire-frame model of the generator. Will studies the schematic readout for several minutes. He then enters several commands into the terminal and flips a few switches and adjusts a knob or two. "There, it's all set up. When it reaches overload it will discharge about ten megawatts of power. That should be enough to toast his ass. We should be safe down here beneath the sphere. There is one problem though, it will take seven minutes to build up the charge. We'll need to keep him busy until it blows." "I'll take care of that. You just make sure it blows when we need it to."

"Now, how do we let our friend know where we are?" "We'll considering we left him in the dust back at the police station, he will have returned to your dorm by now. My guess is that he's in one of your friend's rooms waiting by the phone in case you call." "Oh no, what would he do if they happened to be there when he came? I can't stand the thought of one of them dying so needlessly." "Its hard to say, but from what I understand of their programming, the cyborgs strictly adhere to their prime directive, which in this case is to wipe you out. It will only kill it's target and those who get in it's way. The Overlord was fond of taking prisoners... for use as guinea pigs. As long as your friend is unarmed he should be okay, except for a mild concussion."

Cut to a scene of a phone ringing, the answering machine next to it picks up. "Hello. This Is Stephen. I'm busy eating some pork products right now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you when I'm done." "Steve, this is Will. Look man, I'm in some real trouble here and I need your help. I need you to go and get Public Safety and bring them down to the lab. I need all the firepower they have. Get them and bring them down here to the power lab in the JEC. Its in the basement. Downstairs and to the left." The camera zooms out and pans around to see the cyborg standing there with what could somewhat be perceived as a look of satisfaction on its face. His processors are not capable of realizing what any student would have in an instant, that the request for Public Safety, those glorified security guards, to fight a demon machine from the future, could only be considered as a joke. The cyborg turns and walks toward the door, stepping over the unconscious form of Stephen Chan laying on the floor.

Cut to a scene of the hallway in the E-dorms. Kumar Ramaswamy, an interesting and hyper freshman, is coming down the stairs from the third floor to hang out in Steve's room and play with his G.I. Joe toys. When he is a few steps from Steve's door, it opens quickly and the cyborg emerges. Kumar, stunned as he is, manages to exclaim "cool beans" before he is roughly thrown against the wall. The cyborg turns, goes down the stairs, and exits the building. Kumar picks himself up and rushes into Steve's room. Seeing him there on the floor he immediately calls for an ambulance. Steve is rushed to the hospital and treated, leaving him with no permanent damage and a hell of a story to tell his kids someday.

Will hangs up the phone in the lab. "Okay, that should do it. Steve was the only one with an answering machine and the others weren't home." "He'll be coming now, get the machine ready to go." "I can't start the overload until he's here, then you'll have to hold him off while it charges up." "Okay, I'll be waiting out in the hall. I'll yell when he comes. Where does he need to be when this thing goes off?" "Anywhere near the center of the lab should do it. When this thing discharges it will spread out spherically. The only place that will be safe is up here underneath the unit. Here, take my watch. Make sure you're up here in time to get out of the way of the field." "Gotcha boss." "One more thing Morrigan, be careful." She smiles at him and heads out into the hallway, leaving the door open. The camera pans to Will who is busy making last minute adjustments to the system console.

Morrigan is out in the hallway when she hears the door to the stairwell being slammed open around the corner. "We've got company" she yells as she ignites another magnesium flare, just as the cyborg rounds the corner with a snarl on his lips. She tosses the flare at him, it connects with his fur and sets it ablaze. Within seconds he has become a very big torch which is jerking back and forth flailing its arms in a way which is quite comical. The figure then collapses to the floor still burning.

The flames take a few minutes to die down, leaving the cyborg's metal endoskeleton completely exposed. It is a horrifically beautiful design, especially the head which resembles a wolf skull, with a permanent death's grin on its metallic teeth. The camera unit in its right eye is socket is dark. Focus in on it's head. The camera unit jumps to life, turning bright red and focusing rapidly. The shot pulls quickly back as the cyborg pulls itself up on all fours looking life a wolf getting ready to spring. Its alloy body gleaming in the fluorescent lights, it slowly raises up into a standing stance. Its head turns and focuses on Morrigan as it begins to walk towards her. She brings her rifle to bear on the cyborg and opens fire, walking slowly backwards toward the lab. The barrage of bullets from her assault rifle does slow the advance of the cyborg somewhat, but it is not enough. It is beginning to gain ground on her. She glances at the watch which is counting backwards and reads 2:45.

Back in the lab Will is sweating over the control panel as he hears the sounds of gunfire quickly approaching. A meter on the console shows the unit is charged past the green safety zone and is halfway through the red region. At that moment a siren begins to sound and yellow flashing lights dispersed throughout the lab spring into action. An instant later Morrigan backs into the lab followed close behind by the cyborg. Will gasps at the sight of it. Had this been a movie, he would have appreciated the cyborg's design and the outstanding special effects. However, since this was actually happening, and he was an active participant in the show, he had no time for such admiration.

"Morrigan, it's about to blow. Get up here!" Without turning toward him she yells back. "I can't. It's too risky. I've got to keep him busy. When it discharges, I'll get down on the floor." It is now when Murphy's law takes effect and supersedes the A-team effect of unlimited ammo. As her weapon whirs to a stop she stands there with a look more of anger than fear on her face. As Will helplessly watches, she grabs the rifle like a club and stands there swinging it at the cyborg with a snarl on her face.

She swings the rifle up to strike its chest. Its left claw reaches out to intercept the blow, just what she was expecting and hoping for. She quickly changes the direction of her swing, missing its claw and bringing the rifle squarely against its head. Its neck jerks to the right, tilting the head and absorbing some of the blow. With its right claw it forms a fist and hammers her in the lower abdomen leaving a ragged bloody wound. She collapses to the floor, falling on her back. "No" Will screams in a prolonged syllable. His thoughts are more of anguish for his fallen lover and protector than of worry for his life.

The cyborg snaps his head around and regards Will with a look of cold determination, slowly advancing on his prey. At that instant, a loud crackling sound fills the air. The camera angle cuts to show the conducting sphere of the Van de Graf generator which is glowing bright blue. Will throws himself to the ground as several bright blue arcs of electricity shoot out from the sphere. The lightning bolts shoot throughout the room, causing several expensive looking pieces of machinery to explode.

The cyborg looks up as a lightning bolt strikes his chest. Several other bolts then connect to various parts of its anatomy. Its body glows electric blue for a few moments as the crackling and humming sound intensifies. Suddenly its head explodes. This is shown from several angles in rapid succession creating a stroboscopic effect. Its body collapses into a pile of several pieces. The crackling sound fades to quiet as the generator powers down, shooting off a few small remaining bolts. The sirens have also stopped screaming, while the amber warning lights continue to flash, creating odd patterns through the smoke. As the smoke clears, Will picks himself off the floor. Walking over to the remains of the cyborg, he nudges the pile with his foot, as if to make sure it was actually dead.

Will Stands over the wrecked body of the cyborg. As he watches, it crumbles to dust. Running over to Morrigan, he has time to hold her while she lets out her last breath. Holding her in his arms and caressing her hair, he manages to choke back his sobs. "No you can't leave me now... I love you, I need you, I need strength." "I'm sorry but my time is up, we'll meet again someday though. I love you too." She dies in his arms; as he quietly sobs, her body dissolves into vapor. Will is left there dazed as the rescue unit comes to take him to the hospital.

Later in the hospital, as Will lies in his bed, and a nurse adjusts his IV unit, two men in suits enter the room. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over, you can come back tomorrow morning at 10:00." "I don't think so, this is official business," as he flashes a government badge in front of her. "Leave us alone to interrogate the witness please." Will swallows hard, although this is a not a deadly threat, there seems to be no way to escape it. "I'm special agent Jim Johnson, and this is Ralph Hill, head of security for the Engineering Center on campus." Swallowing hard again, Will stammers "I suppose you have some rather difficult questions for me, don't you?" "Actually Mr. Sanborn, we already know more than we care to, we have come to make a deal with you." As an answer to Will's confused expression he explains. "We have watched the footage taken from the security cameras at the police station and the power lab. From these tapes it is obvious you are not responsible for what happened at the station, but you could be held indirectly accountable for the distruction of thousands of dollars of equipment in the lab." "But..." "You didn't let me finish. I said you could be held accountable, that is if we wanted to take you to court, which would require us to show the security-camera footage as evidence. It the opinion of the government that the American public cannot handle this type of evidence. Knowledge of these mutants from the future, our future, would cause widespread panic and total chaos. We cannot allow that to happen."

"We are prepared to offer you immunity in exchange for your silence. In fact it's even better than immunity. Your name will be removed from all official documents connected from this case; you will have never been involved. Your room has been repaired and the police report will read that you were abducted by an unknown perpetrator and found beaten up in prospect park late last night. You were unable to give a description of your kidnapper because he wore a ski mask. It seems that this was a case of mistaken identity. This confused individual thought you were the son of David Sanborn and had hoped to hold you for ransom. The story isn't much, but it will hold since no mention of you appears in the files involved with either the station massacre or the lab distruction." "What about going back to school?" "No problem, you can return to classes as soon as you're released from the hospital. The school is willing to forget that you were involved. We just had a meeting with the president and the provost. When we mentioned certain government grants, they were willing to play ball. So if you agree to keep your mouth shut, we can forget all about this whole messy situation." "But how do you expect to cover this up? There has got to be several dozen people who witnessed our fight down on River street. You can't possibly find all of them." "Watch it kid, you obviously don't understand the situation. All the important information has been removed, what people say they saw doesn't hold too much weight. First of all, most of the people involved in the fight were so confused that it was pretty easy to convince them what it was they actually saw. The few remaining people may talk, but nobody will listen to them. It may show up in the Weekly World News, but you won't see Tom Brokaw or Connie Chung talking about it on TV. So do you want the deal or not?"

Cut to a TV screen of a News 13 broadcast. Chris Kapostacy, the ravishing reporter, speaks to the camera as news footage of the distruction is shown in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. "Troy residents are still getting over yesterday's downtown firefight and massacre of two-thirds of the police force. The FBI has been brought onto the case to see if they can find any leads." Cut to video of special agent Johnson, "The perpetrators of this heinous crime will be found and brought to justice. We will not rest until the deaths of those officers are avenged and justice is served."

Cut back to Chris. "In an unrelated story, there was an accident in one of the engineering power labs at RPI last night, causing the destruction of several thousands of dollars worth of industrial machinery. A statement released by the school explains that the accident was a result of a safety mechanism failure in a piece of automated machinery that was performing a test while left unattended overnight. Rensselaer president, Roland Schmitd, also issued a statement, saying that the incident was a result of incompetence and demonstrates a severe deficiency in safety inspection procedures. He is establishing a committee to thoroughly study the situation and present their recommendations to the board of trustees."

A few days later, after he has somewhat recovered from his experience, Will returns to classes. He is still pretty shaken up by the knowledge that the existence of the entire free world will depend on him, but he is able to pull himself together and focus his thoughts once again on his studies. The whole experience has given him a newfound strength. One day after leaving a particular boring lecture of Computer and Microprocessor Lab, which was spent playing a monster game of dots, Will notices a new student leaving the classroom. For some reason he is drawn to her, it has something to do with her eyes, which are an unusual shade of green. Getting up the courage to talk to her he introduces himself and finds out that she is a new transfer student named Meagan. They spend the rest of the afternoon in the library quietly talking. "For some reason I feel like I've known you forever, Meagan." "I have that feeling too, perhaps in another life... I also have this feeling that we'll be spending a lot of time together and that we have a lot of adventures ahead of us." "You don't even know the half of it." Cut to black.

The scene cuts to that of the Overlord's lab in the future. We see the Overlord and Confucius Slime doing battle again. Confucius is blasted with the death ray and falls to the floor. The Overlord stands over him to gloat, as he does, Confucius' foot swings up, knocking his gun to the far corner of the room. Confucius Slime leaps up and forces the Overlord to the wall. "But how did you survive a blast from my neutrino repulser?" "Simple, I modulated the current in my armor suit to randomize the particles' momentum. It helps if a man knows something about his destiny" They struggle again and the Overlord is thrown into a giant apparatus covered with flashing LED's and shining fluorescent lights. There is an energy implosion and the Overlord ceases to exist; Confucius Slime is unharmed.

From the broken machine, which was presumably some climate control device, an energy beam emerges, shooting upward. The roof and walls of the castle cease to exist. As the beam reaches the sky it diverges and starts to dissolve the clouds. Confucius Slime's hair and fur is rippled by a moderate wind as the blue sky starts to break through. Within minutes there isn't a cloud in the sky and it is a beautiful day outside. The landscape is also rejuvenated with green grass and plants and bushes starting to spontaneously appear everywhere.

Just then the first of the rebel army starts to storm the remains of the castle. This army is made up of mostly anthropomorphic mutants, but there are also the minority of humans among them. The human Meagan runs up to Confucius Slime and they embrace. As they kiss she metamorphizes into Captain Morrigan, the leopard morph. The scene fades as they kiss on a grassy hill behind a beautiful blue sky. Cut to end credits playing some uplifting instrumental piece (perhaps by Danny Elfman 8) ).

Disclaimer:

Any resemblance of characters in this piece of fiction to those in real-life is intentional and exploits their comical personality traits. No malice was intended... do not blame the writer... blame these people (writer included) for being so strange.

Credit where Credit is Due:

Obviously the whole movie is based on the Terminator movies. The title is a juxtaposition of the words in the title to the sequel (pretty tricky, eh?).

The way I have the rebel army fighting an evil dictator is a lot like the situation in the Star Wars trilogy. The Octaurian Overlord could be based on the Emperor in these movies. He is also of course based on the hit movies Dustbunnies 3 & 4.

The way I give the day and time at the beginning of the movie is reminiscent of something Stanley Kubric used to do... I think he did it in the movie The Shining.

Most of the mutants are just generic furries inspired by the author's delve into furry fandom over the past year. I was a furry before then, but never knew the genre existed.

The werewolf cyborg is very pumped up and has an heavy Austrian accent, just like a certain actor starring in the Terminator movies.

The way the werewolf's eyes momentarily turn red was taken from how in the movie Bladerunner, all of the replicants eyes (including Deccarrd, but that's another can of worms 8) ) are shown to turn red during one scene or another for the benefit of the audience members.

The character of Capt. Morrigan is taken from the Empires stories by Chris Grant. I think she is rather cute and drawn very well. I like her character, even if she is rather bitchy most of the time (kinda makes her more attractive in a twisted and neurotic way 8) ). I also like to believe that there is a kind heart underneath her gruff exterior, and that her attitude is result of the war she is fighting in.

The way I named one of the frat boys Bob is kind of a strange coincidence. A couple of days after I had written that paragraph I remembered the two Delta Tau Delta brothers Bob and Zeppo who were briefly (they got fired for being too lazy... which was really hard to do) on the paint crew with us the summer after my junior year. They were a pair of buttheads and they really lived up to the Delts' stereotype. I may have subconsciously chosen the name Bob for this reason.

The broken ankle Fred the janitor gets is a tribute to the first dustbunny movie where Don Reiff hurts his ankle falling down the stairs of Bray Hall.

Semiconductor Electronic Devices lecture was very boring. It didn't actually put us to sleep, but we came close a few times. Paul Chow was a very clueless professor. He existed in a totally separate world from us. His teaching sucked and like some RPI professors, he couldn't understand why people didn't understand what was going on. He was so out of it that he didn't even notice that most of the students who bothered to show up for lectures would read The Polytechnic, the school's newspaper during Wednesday's lectures.

The Labidia Constellation was the home world of the Overlord in the blockbuster movie Dustbunnies 4: The Mother of all Sequels.

The name of the underground movement started by Confucius Slime is called the 'X Force' which was taken from the concept of the 'X Men' which I have never read but has been explained to me by a few friends of mine.

The phrase "terminate you with extreme prejudice" was horked from the movie Apocalypse Now.

Marlin Perkins was the old guy on that program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. He was a sort of safari leader type who would take the armchair explorers of America across the globe to explore all sorts of cool animal behavior. Of course he didn't do any real work, he just sat there and did the narration, while his underling Jim, had to face danger weekly. Such as getting close enough to a wild beatsie so he could shoot it with a tranquilizer gun 8).

The way I tell Morrigan that no one should know too much about their destiny and then use it to save myself in the future is straight out of Back to the Future.

The message on Steve's machine about him being busy eating pork products is an inside joke on the pranks Matt and I used to pull on him. Since he was the only one of us with an answering machine back then, we used to sneak into his room and change his message whenever we got the chance.

The directions I give on how to get to the power lab are "downstairs and to the left." This of course is paying tribute to one of Matt's brilliant lines in DB^5.

The A-Team was a really bad show that aired back when I was in middle school. It was entertaining for its cheesiness, especially how nobody ever got hit from the barrage of gunfire and nobody ever ran out of ammo... hence I coined the phrase "the A-Team effect" which is what usually happens in a movie where the characters never seem to have reload. I think it was kind of nice touch to actually have the hero run out of ammunition at an inopportune moment. This gave her the opportunity to sacrifice herself to save me (now, ain't that romantic 8) ).

CML class was very boring, the professor (who unfortunately was also Ed's and my advisor) was a senile old idiot. The class was so useless I don't even know why we bothered to show up. We did end up spending one entire lecture playing as I called it "the mother of all dots games."

The way Confucius Slime saves himself from the Overlord's neutrino repulser, by modulating his armor's current, is reminiscent of how on Star Trek the Next Generation they always end up modulating their phasors to do everything from killing the Borg to efficiently slice bread 8).

The ending, with the sky clearing up and the two main characters kissing was probably inspired (at least on the subconscious level) by the ending to the movie Total Recall.

Final Notes

And now one answer to a question you might have been thinking: Why did I choose 1991 for the setting of my story? Simple. This was the earliest time when I had a single as dorm room. It was the spring of 1991 when Howard went on his academic leave of absence leaving me with a super-single. I didn't want to have a roommate in my story since it would have just further complicated things when my protector from the future shows up to get me. It was hard enough dealing with me yelling and screaming at 2:30 in the morning in the middle of the E-Dorms (boy I bet Clark really hated that 8) ).

This really didn't explicitly have any dustbunnies in it, but it was set in our dustbunny universe, and the world was on the verge of falling under the power of the Overlord who was using genetic mutation as a weapon. His army of dustbunnie minions, while never actually shown, was alluded to. This will have to be good enough.

I had fun dealing with the technical aspects of this picture. I liked talking in technobabble and I enjoyed designing the special effects which took extensive use of flashing LED's (can't be high tech without them you know 8) ). I had fun designing the computer screens for the wolf cyborg's point of view. Gee could you tell and engineer wrote this?

I'll agree that the destruction of the cyborg was a pretty voodoo use of science. I took a concept and extrapolated it to a level that was pretty much unbelievable (much like in any episode of MacGyver). Still, most of the general population would have believed it, and like in most Sci-Fi movies, some suspension of disbelief is required. I mean if you can buy the concept of the Overlord turning all of humanity into walking animals and then sending a cyborg werewolf to kill me at college, why can't you believe that RPI would have a device capable of creating an EMF field powerful enough to destroy the cyborg (having it blow up was stretching it, but it made a cool effect). After all in DB^5 you all believed that RPI had a nuclear reactor and that our two heroes were able to survive the blast of it overloading by ducking around a corner 8).

This story has some obvious plot holes and discontinuities in it, but it wouldn't be a dustbunny film without them 8). Seriously though, I put a lot of thought into this and tried to take care of all the details I could think of. Still this is my first real attempt at creative writing. I think it came out pretty good and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. I spent about twenty hours on this endeavor and am very pleased that I was so motivated to put in all the time and get it finished.

Will A. Sanborn / Confucius Slime - July 27, 1993

Copyright 1993, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net