Terror-Fest: Dr. Moreau's Creature Zoo

>> "All right…Feel free to use your powers."

Poseidon’s brow rose as he glanced over at the queen with a look of irritation. It did not last as long as he normally would have done, but still…the look said it all. To be treated as if he were some war hound allowed given permission to go on the offensive was an insult. He was a god, not some foot soldier. But so far the evening seemed to prove that nothing was going to go as it normally would. The dark skinned beauty, though a bit too fiery of temper, had proved useful…if not a bit immune to his charms. But the night was young …

“Do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot do, witch queen.” he said, not with anger, but with merely a small whisper. “I have already given you my blessing. Do not make me regret that.”

Though the god was indeed not one to show fear, he was not foolish either. Gemma had told him that he was in a mortal body. The pain he felt, the easily inflicted wounds, his lack of control over the elements, all of it added up to something, something that proved that just maybe the queen was correct. And if that were indeed the case, he would have to take caution until he could shed this mortal frame and once more return to his full godhood. He would need Hades’ help with that…as well as this queen.

He said no other word as he continued on, eyes glanced left and right as he tried to make sense of where he was. He did not remember Hades’ stables being in this state of oddity. His skeletal horses were gone, the undead creatures, even Cerebus was not here. It was rare for that three-headed best to not be at its post. The few times he had visited the stables, Cerebus, whenever not on duty, was there for his normal feedings. Now though, this place looked deserted. A few creatures still clamored in their pens, but none that the Greek god could recognize. Then, he saw one…lurching out from the shadows and snarling about.

The creature was wall and covered in fur. Drool flicked off its mouth as he turned directly towards them. With teeth bared, the creature let out a long, human struggled howl that resulted in more howls in return. The sea god turned as several more of the creatures appeared. Three in front of him and two more behind the mortal queen. All looked different, but each of them no less a man wolf.

“King Lycos!” Poseidon bellowed as he glanced about. “You have been cursed with the wolf’s head…you have found others for your cause, I assume?”

The lead wolf gave no reply. Instead, he simply howled once more and all creatures charged.

>> "Poseidon. Jorge…Do not kill them. Hades' pets, remember?"

Poseidon had barely heard her. Instead his focus was entirely on King Lycos ahead of him and his entourage of Wolf Heads. With the smallest of gestures, the creatures flew back as a surge of water was pulled from one of the nearby animal pens and shot out with fast moving jets. Each of the attacking creatures was hit hard enough to be knocked onto their backs, false faces flying off and makeup melting from their skin. Poseidon stood in surprise as he regarded the trio of beasts…now who look little more than men. Still though, they snarled and snapped at Poseidon as if they were little more than beasts.

“What trickery is this?” he grumbled as he stared between the three of them. “Why do you acts as if you are all beasts?”

But they paid no heed. Instead, without care the three continued the attack, roaring as they charged forward and snapped their teeth. The Sea God could only shake his head as he lays out a level of water on the ground and watches as they all slip and skid around the concrete before crashing into onto another. Two hurt, one unconscious, Poseidon was about to turn back to the mortal queen before he heard her suddenly shriek out in pain.

Unsure why a feeling of extreme anger overtook him, he looked on as one of the creatures had Gemma on the ground and had its mouth clamped onto her shoulder. Poseidon turned and shot out both his hands. The water gathered on the floor immediately shot out and flew directly towards the attacker but oddly, within range of the woman the water shuddered and collapsed with a splash onto the floor. Seeing red Poseidon connected with the human nature of the body he possessed. Before he knew it, he found himself running into the fray.

Upon coming to the beast, his large hands suddenly clutched the madman’s face and forcefully pried open his jaws from Gemma’s shoulder. Poseidon growled as he pulled the werewolf back, hands still holding open his mouth before he suddenly pushed out and dislocated the man’s jaw. The creature yelped and cried out in pain, but Poseidon paid no heed to it, and simply kicked away the beast, leaving him sprawled across the ground.

Poseidon knelt and eyed the wound on the woman’s shoulder. Unknown concern filled his voice but quickly disappeared the second he remembered his place as a god. He patted her gently as he turned and eyed the now terrified beasts who sniffed in the direction of badly hurt wolfman.

“You foul creatures DARE to harm one blessed by Poseidon’s hand?!” The anger washed over him as he stormed towards the now cowering creatures, fists clenched as he tried to regain his control over the waves. They would suffer.

The last werewolf cowered in fear as Poseidon loomed over him. He glared with the rage that only a god could possess but even as he stood there, staring at the beast, something inside him kept asking him why he was so angry? She was just a mortal. Mortals live and die all the time. Sometimes it was peaceful, sometimes it was cruel and harsh. It was one of those things that mortals had to experience eventually. But if that were the case, why is it that Poseidon was so angry. Yes the mortal queen had promised to help him and he had blessed her for his protection, but that should not have driven such a reaction to protect her.

Perhaps this mortal body is even weaker than he thought. After all only humans care what happens to other humans…right?

Poseidon felt his connection to the waters again but before he could summon another destructive burst of water, he locked eyes with the single remaining wolf man who covered like a child. Unable to stand the sight he made, the god fake lunged when sent the man scampering and whining away. He then turned back to Gemma who stood facing him.

“Mortal queen…are you…um…well? Does it hurt much?” he asked referring to the wound she received on her shoulder. He then looked back up and glared in the direction they had first seen the werewolf appear. “Lycos…he’s gone. Coward.”

“Heeeelp! Please!” someone screamed from on to the animal cages.

Interested, Poseidon followed the sound and peeked into one of the cages to see another mortal man, this time dressed simply in a plain t-shirt and jeans. The man with the scruffy beard and the shabby hair looked relieved to see the Greek god, especially the gold trinket he wore on a chain around his neck.

“Oh thank god, police! Finally! I need help! M-My girlfriend and I came here! Then…there was some white fog and she started acting weird. She was dressed as a sheep and…she started eating grass and hopping around.” He explained as he tried to climb out of the pen. “I followed her here…but then….then those…maniacs in the wolf costumes tried to eat her! Help me!”

Poseidon rose a brow before he turned away towards Gemma. “Can you make sense of this mad man’s ramblings?”

>> "It's okay, we're here to help. All over the park people started acting like their costumes, and there's a person out there somewhere who's repsonsible for it. We're trying to find him….My name is Gemma, and I thought I was the only one not affected. This …is Detective Poseidon, and yes, he really can control water. When he's not a god, he's with MRC. So….We need to get you out of there, I guess. Although I have a feeling you might be safer in there until this is over..."

The man in the pen looked up with an expression that seemed to denote that he must have thought they were also insane. But, he had quickly decided that he had no other options. Instead he sighed heavily as he nodded towards Gemma and the…Police God that stood outside the bars.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you…Gemma, my name is Arnie. And affected by what? What did the fog do?” he eyed Poseidon warily as he the detective seemed to lose interest and go about seeking the werewolves again. “Is he a little…you know…?” he twirls his finger on the side of the head to signal that the detective may be crazy but he quickly tosses the idea out. “Listen I can’t be left in here. Mary needs me, I don’t know what they did with her!”

The sea god returned to them with his arms cross his chest. Though to everyone he may have looked a little comical in just a black shirt and shorts covered by the remains of the bottom half of a robe and in sandals, his expression was dead serious. He had the face of someone who truly believed he was a deity and had the power to back it up. Yet, though he stood still and faced them with an expression that could have chilled the hardest of hearts, Poseidon merely regarded the man closely.

“You’re a brave mortal to have come here,” he muttered before he glanced to Gemma. “The road will be dangerous, but his quest is true. Though he may die, at least it will be a glorious death, a heroic one that will lead him to the Fields of Elysium.” He then walked up to the pen door. “Stand back, Arnie AndAffectedByWhat! I shall rend these bars asunder for your release!” He growled as he suddenly pulled with all his strength.

Now what Poseidon did not know was that the pen doors which held no animals were unlocked to begin with. They could be closed and patrons could take Halloween photographs with actors in costume, but they did not lock on their own. Yet, Poseidon pulled the pen door open with little resistance and immediately thanked it to his own Greek God strength. He stood triumphantly aside to let Arnie AndAffectedByWhat out into the open air.

“Come along now, King Lycos could not have gone far!”

So far the night was like something out of a dream. Poseidon had found himself descended down to the level of a mortal, with his heroics and all that. These were not things that a god partook in. They were meant for mortals who aspired to be something close to a god! And yes, finding himself in a mortal body, the ocean god could only hear his heart thumping in his ears. The fear and the uncertainty about what could happen next compelled him to continue and continue he would. Especially with his new entourage of a mortal queen and a mortal man who dressed very odd.

“We must hurry. Whoever causes this madness must meet their end!” he stormed as he turned another corner.

Around them cages rattled with fake monsters within. Most cages were empty but in many, animatronic monstrosity screeched and snarled at passer-bys. Poseidon wanted nothing more than to dive into this cages and slay the beasts, but he thought it best not to, it could anger Hades to have his stable pets harmed.

Arnie sighed as he looked anxiously from side to side, brandishing a broken piece of wood for a weapon as he glanced over to Gemma. “I’m sorry, but why are we following him? He like your husband or something? Cause if so…think it’s time you found someone with less of an ego…”

Poseidon heard none of this, but instead paused as he turned his head curiously in another direction. He felt certain he had heard a noise. He remained quiet before he moved on, following the sound until he found another pen. In this pen there was another large grouping of creatures…animals of all sorts! Some from his native lands of Greece to has far away as Africa! All of them seemed terrified and bleated and moaned in a corner of the pen as they remained close to each other for comfort. But there was something off about the creatures. As he peered close, he saw that some had human faces and bits of their skin were torn off revealing clothing beneath.

“What is this? More mortals…dressed as beasts?” Poseidon asked in surprised as he tried to peer close at the creatures.

Arnie ran up and yelled out as he tried to reach through the bars. On the floor, nursing a wounded leg, sat a woman who bleated like a sheep, wearing a full costume of fluff and softness. She cried, as a baby lambs does to her mother, for help.

“Mary! Oh god there you are! Come on baby!” Arnie yelled. “We need to go!”

Another howl pierced the night and Poseidon turned away to see another creature step out from the shadows. It was Lycos again, snarling in all his costumed glory. His fur sleek and black he drooled as he glared between them all and pointed his finger out.

“You dare touch our dinner stores!?” He growled as he howled once more…again this was repeated by several more howls. Only…there were a LOT more.

Poseidon and Arnie snapped around as they turned about and spied several more costumed men and women dressed as werewolves crept out into the dim moonlight. There were a lot more this time, but not only that, accompanying them were several REAL wolves from the zoo’s exhibit. They snarled as they glared at the intruders and turned to their alpha for attack orders.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes as he pulled Gemma behind them, ignoring the bleats and cries from the caged animal/people/feast within the pen. “You will regret this Lycos! You’re curse shall become ten fold!!”

Lycos only grinned wide…

Inhaled…

And howled murderously into the night. All parties there then descended upon the hapless trio.

Frenzy. That was the only way to describe the events that unfolded. The ocean god and the two mortals watched as the wolf-king admonished them for invading into his land and his store of food by summoning all of his legions to attack. Poseidon could feel the terror that came from Gemma and especially the young mortal Arnie. They feared these obviously wild creatures, but he was a god, he could easily have them under control. Then again…why was his heart racing?

The first to attack were the wild beasts. The four legged demons ran fast and hard towards them and Poseidon was quick to respond as he stepped forward. Away from Gemma and Arnie, he felt the force of the water around him once again. With a wave of his hands it leapt to its master’s aide and gathered quickly at his feet. Dangerously the water churned and swirled about, faster and faster as it spun like a whirlpool with him in the middle. He glared at the wolves as they advanced and firing out both his hands, he jets of water shot fast and direct. The wolves yelped in pain, snarled and whined as the continuous jets of water stayed upon them. Finally, the impromptu bath threw the wolves off enough to send them running off into the darkness of the park around.

Poseidon smirked but it was short lived. He heard more swift footsteps and watched as several of the wolfmen and women now moved into the attack. They all charged but as Poseidon raised his hands to deluge them as well, a dull headache pounded behind his eyes. He winced as his vision began to blur and a dreadful thirst dried up his sore throat. He wanted to gag. All he needed was a sip, a drink of water, he knew that, but he could not summon any to his lips.

“M-Mortal body…c-cannot su-sustain…” he fell to his knees as his control over the waters faltered and collapsed around him.

“What’s happening to him?” Arnie asked as he brandished his broken piece of wood against a wolfman that got too close.

Inside the cage the animal people cried in sadness and horror as the wolfman turned towards them briefly and snarled in hunger. Arnie too the opportunity the THWHACK!!! the costumed man hard across the skull, effectively knocking him out. He glanced to Gemma and nudged her to look over at the detective.

The water flowed away from Poseidon, no longer his ally, and ran down into cracks or formed into pools, all of which splashed as angry feet ran through them. Poseidon, still gasping, glanced up towards Gemma and Arnie, just as a wolfman tackled him to the ground. The beast snarled as spittle splashed against his face. Poseidon tried his best, struggling until finally he managed a strong enough punch to dislodged the beast from his chest. But just as he did, another pair came directly towards him. The weakened Poseidon could only watch…

“Water.... I…need water…”