“What am I doing here?” Rex asked himself for the hundredth time. A rat on the other side of the alley stared at him briefly before going back to rummaging through trash. Rex didn’t blame the rodent. He must be insane to be hanging out in an alley past midnight in this part of town.

It was a run down area, where people who had no other options lived. It was rock bottom, the gutter. Nobody sane came out after dark here, not unless they had business that wasn’t suitable for the light of day. Awfully enough, Rex had business here, or at least he was pretty sure he did.

This neighborhood was where Rex spent much of his free time - which he had so much of these days. He’d taken up many volunteer missions to work with the poor and homeless. For nearly a year he’d been walking these streets on behalf of his church and some other nonprofits and charities, trying to make the lives of the people just a bit better. He’d started getting to know them and they’d started opening up to him, at least somewhat. Much had changed the night he’d stepped in and made himself a wall of fire between two unsavory individuals and their unwanted attention on a teenaged girl.

And that’s how Rex had heard rumors about the free clinic he was now staking out. Many people hailed Dr. Cama as an angel, performing medical miracles when they were sick or injured. He’d even had several media events and such due to his unusual successes, which had really been increasing as of late. Much of the local area was ready to canonize him.

Those weren’t the rumors Rex was hearing though. A few people, after checking that they were all alone, had told him about the disappearances. Some people were reported to meet with the doctor late at night for special procedures and nobody ever heard from them again. What was worse though, was that sometimes they did appear again. And things just weren’t right about them anymore.

So Rex had been lurking in this dingy, dark alley across the street from this miracle clinic, in an awful section of town with only a rat for company. For seven nights in a row.

“I’m starting to think these were just rumors after all,” he told the rat, uncharacteristically verbal. Seven wasted nights watching a clinic could drive a man crazy.

”Free me and I will grant you a swift death, abomination!” the god boomed as someone slid some food into the small room. Normally the god would have been able to break out of these puny chains, the cardboard like wall of concrete and eventually dig himself out from where he was chained.

All things being said this wasn’t the worst prison he been chained in. At least he couldn’t hear the wails of lament from the dead who had things left undone. This place was no hell however... even his uncle Hades wouldn’t have done the things he had seen. This man was no healer.... he was a monster.

The food didn’t look appetizing, no doubt it was laced with poison or some drug to put him under again. Fool the prince of power once shame on him. Fool the demi-god four times shame on them. He didn’t need to eat, or sleep his master channeled enough for the god to survive for weeks without either. Even with his power being dampened the god could survive for another few days before he had to start consuming food again.

There was a low growl at the door followed by the creaking of a sturdy metallic door. “I’m impressed you still have the strength to resist the temptation of food... clearly those sigils and runes littered about your body allow you to reserve your energy. I don’t know how but the wounds I inflicted on you already seemed to have healed. Most of them were pretty deep. I wonder... has your kidney grown back?” asked Dr. Cama as the humanoid wolf creature at his feet hissed at the imprisoned deity before them.

”That poor creature.” Hercules said tears starting to run down his face. It was littered with scars and had a rabid look to it. ”I will free you from pain when I get free.” ignoring the questions posed to him. “See, I’m positive that will be impossible. For you will never be so long as I have questions about your form. My patrons are curious how you can do the things you do as well as I. You’re just... fascinating!” his glasses caught a glare as one lone gold tooth shined in the dim light.

”I am perfection I know, however the sins you have committed to these poor mortals have enraged me and you will know no peace!” he shouted as he tired to struggled against the chains again. His formed glowed for a moment then flickered out as he tried break the two around his arms by pulling from the wall with all his might. ”No prison can hold me!” he shouted feeling the chains dig into his flesh as he did so.

“Maybe not, but I have no doubt I’ll be able to figure you out before then.” the doctor said as he closed the door behind him. Hercules roared as the door shut again pulling at all the chains this time. The sigils on the chains glowed yellow as he struggled more.

Rex was twenty-seven percent finished mentally reciting his fire manual when something changed. He said nothing to the rat. Not only would that be silly and a waste of time, but also because the rat had long since moved on to other trash cans. A duo of new rats had swung by and even they’d been bored and left, especially after determining Rex wasn’t intending on doing anything to them, or perhaps doing anything at all.

A shadowy figure was making its way slowly up the sidewalk. It wasn’t moving very fast and it seemed to have a limp. Interesting. From what Rex had gleaned from his time working with the people of the neighborhood, such obvious weakness wasn’t something anyone dared to express. This was either someone new, naive, or confident they were in no danger. Regardless, they bore watching.

The figure was hunched over and seemed to be carrying a large sack on its back, an irregularly shaped sack with various lumps and protrusions coming from it, to the point where Rex could not easily discern what was inside, even as the figure passed underneath the single flickering orange streetlight. Peculiar indeed.

Rex pressed himself back into a grimy wall, glad he’d gone with dark clothes. The shadows covered him soundly.

He peeked out of the alley and his hopes fell a bit when the figure walked past the front door of the clinic. It seemed another night wasted then. The figure instead limped past the building and turned into an alley right beside the building. Rex stood up straighter and leaned forward. Now things were heating up! He watched the figure vanish into the darkened alley, along with the sack, and waiting for exactly sixty seconds.

Then Rex slipped across the street, as silently and stealthily as he could, and pressed himself against the building adjacent to the clinic before finally peeking his head around.

”Rrrrrgrgggghhhh!” Hercules grunted now that he was a lone feeling blood trickle down his wrists where the manacles cut into his flesh. ”Curse these chains! As if they were crafted in the fires of Hephaestus’s forge!” he tried to call his club again with little success he could feel the pull but it was weak barely noticeable to the god. He couldn’t even hear his masters thoughts. This was truly a frustrating situation the god found himself in. Somewhere his club fell over. Somewhere else a master turned his head in response to an echo hoping the god was near.

”Forgive me master!” he chided himself as he struggled more. The blood continued to drip as he struggled against the cold iron with the yellow glowing sigils. Ones that mirrored several tattoo’s on his perfected form. The god looked around the room of his ‘cell’ it looked similar to a doctors office however the floors were unfinished leading down to a drain. A window was above him, yet barred. The gurney to the side of the cell would be of little help. There wasn’t even anything to... Hercules looked over to the small domed metallic ‘hat’ that had been left on the floor, could that help him? No, there were no sharp edges. Not yet at least.

”Father, give me strength and watch over my master while I remained imprisoned in this cell!” he prayed as he took a deep breath and started to fight against the chains stepping on the metallic ‘hat’ and lifting it with his foot. ”Ha!” the god then struggled against his manacles and then launched it to the window as hard as he could. Not even a crack of the window. There were bars on it but he still hoped it would be enough for him to break the window so he could call out for help.

What a pathetic state he was in. He a god, slayer of giants and titans! Reduced to mortality. Speaking of which he felt a little lightheaded at this point the healing was slowed and the blood continued to drip from his cuffs. One thing was for sure, this would go down as his most complicated trial. ”No chains can hold me!” he struggled one last time roaring loudly.

The alley was pretty much all you’d expect an alley to be. Short, cramped, out of sight, out of mind. There was a dumpster and a metal trash can, as well as random detritus from previous trash haulings. Interestingly, there was no graffiti on the building, at least none that Rex could see in the dark. He didn’t know if that meant the doctor and his staff were that meticulous in keeping the building clean or if people just held him in too high of esteem to tarnish the facade.

The alley was empty though. There were two steps that led to a door and it was quite obvious that the hunched figure had gone through it. Rex moved into the alley and approached the door. As he did so, he thought he heard something and froze.

Done by Rex’s feet were a number of ground-level windows, implying a basement level to the clinic. Most of them were darkened, which made sense if the clinic was closed, but one of the windows had weak light coming from it. He frowned and listened hard. Was that yelling? Then something thudded against the window with a decisively metallic clang and Rex reflexively leaped back.

He crept toward the window and tried to peer through it, but it was opaque. He could see vertical lines through it and a vague shape in the room’s weak lighting, but nothing else. That was odd, though. Bars on a window were one thing, not even a rare thing in this neighborhood, but the bars were always on the outside, to keep people out.

You only put bars on the inside if you needed to keep people in.

Mother of God, he thought, making an effort to not speak in case he would be overheard. He pulled his dark leather jacket tight around him and then finally reached out to the door’s handle, praying it was still unlocked.

Another few moments passed and the god slumped back and leaned to the wall. He was tired, not from shouting but from channeling through the manacles that kept him prisoner. He thought about giving up and releasing himself from his mortal coil but then thought about what that would do to his master. As if a part of themself would just be gone. No more mental connection to the god they channeled for. William would never get his revenge. Poor William... the god felt his tears streak down his face as he felt rage in him once again.

The god stood up, as the P.A. system above the door boomed to life. “The time is 8:00 PM, surgery will commence in fifteen. ‘Hercules’ I hope you had at least consume some of the food and water. If not... well it will be quite painful. Nurses, prepare for surgery.” the P.A. clicked again this time starting to play something on the radio. It was a man talking about selling something for the spooky season. Hercules did not know what the spooky season was but didn’t think that would matter. Unless he could free himself he would be purchasing nothing.

The blood that dripped down his limbs where the cold iron dug in seemed to dry already. It took too long, at that rate he’d kill himself before he could heal and the power that it was already requiring from him... poor William. The boy was no doubt passed out at this point from exhaustion. How long had he been here now? Two days?

His clothes were tattered and there was dried blood on his person in multiple locations where the ‘good’ Doctor decided to cut into his flesh. The chains shook one last time. He wasn’t going to be cut open again. The amount of power it would take to heal him once again. Was too much for one master. ”Father.... give me strength!” the god struggled forward once again trying to pull the chains around his arms from the wall. He might not be strong enough to break the cuffs but maybe he could break the bolts holding them to the wall. It’s only concrete right?

It seemed God had not forsaken him after all. The handle turned easily under Rex’s hand and he pulled the door open soundlessly. Dim light showed him a hallway illuminated only by emergency lights. He stepped in carefully, as paranoid as a cat, and pulled the door shut behind him, slowing it at the last moment so it wouldn’t make much noise. He didn’t lock it in case he needed a quick escape.

There didn’t seem to be anyone around though.

Rex slowly stalked down the hallway, straining to listen for any noise, see any motion, shadows, anything. He saw what looked like offices, a couple of exam rooms, a nurse station. Pretty much what you’d expect from a clinic. A few computers hummed, various LEDs sparkled, but nothing that obviously announced a sinister presence.

He wandered around for several minutes, searching for...something. Some kind of clue that would hint at anything. Rex was no investigator though. He didn’t have an idea where to begin. Actually, that wasn’t true. He knew there were at least two other people in the clinic, downstairs in fact, since he hadn’t found any lights on upstairs. He’d poked his head into every unlocked room and was greeted by nothing.

Then he found the stairs.

At the bottom, he pressed his ear against the door and spat out a near-silent oath. “Blood of God,” he whispered. Crying, wailing, clanging chains, a mournful howl, growling. So many different sounds, all with one thing in common: pain. He’d heard that recording that was supposed to be from Hell. That recording was a light-hearted ditty in comparison.

What manner of devilry was going on here?

”As if they were forged by the cyclopi themselves!” Hercules howled as he found himself standing on the wall horizontally pushing against the wall with all his strength. The prince of power stood that way for a moment till he heard the P.A. click on again deafening the broadcast from the radio, “Attention nurses, please make your way to the operating room within five minutes to prep. I do hate a dirty operating room. Hercules, now is the time to consume the sedatives if you want it. Either way the exploratory surgery shall commence. That is all.” the P.A. system clicked again and it went back to the radio DJ whom Hercules had been blocking out.

“Alright you crazy cats and scary ghouls we are going to take another quick break but when I get back... we are going to ring in the holiday season with some classics! Stay tuned.”

”I will not!!!!!” Hercules roared again this time pulling one of the chains around his wrist loose from it’s anchoring point. The sudden freeing of two out of the four bolts caused the god to fall flat on his face. ”HA! No anchors can hold me!” the god said smelling the cleaning supplies on the floor from his last surgery. ”I shall be free yet and mark my words!” Hercules said crying out to know one in particular. The nurses were mindless slaves from what he could tell. They were strong but lacked the spark most mortals had.

Thankfully he was still alone. Otherwise someone would have raised the alarm, he wasn’t free but still getting started. Tugging again on the loose chain he slowed his progress looking to the plate of food and sedatives there was a fork and a knife there. Could he...? He looked to his wrists that were already bloodied. Then back to the utensils...

Could he use them as weapons the way Elizabeth had? They were tiny in his massive bloodied hands even with his strength being restrained he was still large enough to do some damage.

After a period of time long enough to satisfy his caution, Rex slowly levered the door open. The soundtrack of torment flooded the stairwell and Rex stepped back reflexively as it washed through him. What...what was this place? Were these...the missing people? Some of those sounds they were making...they couldn’t belong to humans!

Rex made his way into the hallway, instinctively making the sign of the cross every few seconds. His normally stoic expression was locked into a grimace, his eyes wide and darting everywhere. There wasn’t much to see though. Unlike the upper floor of the clinic, this one had very little in the way of decoration or information. It didn’t seem like it was meant for the public to see. Everything was plain, sterile-looking, the strong scent of industrial sanitizers in the air, the concrete floor and plain white walls harshly illuminated by fluorescent lights. Under normal circumstances, Rex would’ve approved of the minimalist aesthetic, but when combined with the hellish wails or torment, it unnerved him.

In the midst of some of the more inhuman screams, Rex could hear a rumbling voice yelling in defiance. Rex reached out to a door, thinking to peek into a room, when a door at the other end of the hall opened up and several pairs of footsteps could be heard. Suddenly there was no more time to think. Rex turned the handle and shoved the door open, sliding inside and pulling it softly shut behind him.

Only then did he see the giant of a man partially chained to the wall. “Madre de Dios, help us!” he said in alarm and recognition. “Hercules? What are you doing here?”

With the utensils in his meaty hands the god of strength struggled to pry one of the bolts free on the wall. One hand was free but he needed at least two to put up a fight even in his weakened state. Was this what being mortal felt like? Hopeless? Weak? Frail? The god was scared as well but not for himself but for his master William. Who would help the boy with his revenge? Who would help the boy grow? Would he not get to see William as a young man? The thought angered the god more and he started to struggle more pulling and trying to pry himself free.

How much time was left? The knife wasn’t sharp but it could... he looked to his hand wondering if he had time to cleave through his muscular forearm. Such a task would be impossible to anyone else but the god of ‘will power’? He was capable of such a feat. Even if he blacked out it could be done.

The door opened and the god turned to the man with fury in his eyes only to realize it was... ”Rex of the inferno!?!?” was he apart of this as well? How could he the man was a hero! Like the prince of power himself. ”Just hanging out?” he said hefting the free hand and the chain along with it helping the god realize the ‘good doctor’ gave him a weapon with some range without realizing it.

”Free me!” the god demanded. ”Free me and I shall make sure this ‘Doctor’ will never commit such atrocities again! He was supposed to be a healer!” he said tears streaking down his face they were of rage but of sadness as well for the other ‘patients’ the doctor ‘helped’ had become abominations. ”He is trying to unlock my immortality! Such a feat is impossible to mortals! Somehow he had created these... manacles to block my strength!” he said getting more frustrated by the second.

The P.A. system went from commercials to the doctor again, “Will all staff please report to the operating room! Surgery shall commence shortly! Hercules... I hope you are ready!” the radio kicked back on, “Arggghhhhhhooooooo!!!!! You trick-or-treaters! Here we go with the first classic spoooooky hit! It’s the mash!”

The good doctor accompanied by two of his ‘nurses’ started to saunter down the hallway from his office. “I do love this song!”

Rex had been in many life-or-death situations. They were part of the job as a firefighter. You were trained extensively and prepared for the moment so when it came, you didn’t stand there like an idiot, mouth hanging open, frozen in fear or confusion. You acted.

The firefighter took a moment to take stock of the situation. Hercules was a mess. His clothes barely covered him and the ample skin they revealed showed the familiar glowing tattoos, their light turning the blood on him a ghastly black. The faint illumination displayed many cuts and slashes, or what looked like scars, even. Rex’s EMT training began kicking in as well. He knew Hercules could survive gunshots, poisoned metal shards, and was strong enough to crush a feared metal warlord in his bare hands.

Seeing him hanging from a wall like this meant something was terribly, terribly wrong.

The joke flew over his head and Rex never ever heard it passing. Instead he blinked twice, nodded once, and then marched over to the man, even before the man had finished speaking.

Their previous encounter hadn’t ended well. The man claimed to be a god and was very into magic and other blasphemies. He wanted Rex to join him on some kind of crusade against the Welldrinkers. Rex wanted nothing to do with any of that, now or then. However, Hercules had shown nothing but incredible resolve and upstanding valor, throwing himself into the line of fire repeatedly, even intercepting attacks meant for Rex himself. Rex would never have been able to free those hostages without the giant. Regardless of what Rex thought about Hercules’s beliefs, and regardless of what the man had said, Hercules’s actions had spoken louder than anything.

If there was something Rex could respect, it was a man who didn’t waste time talking when action was required.

“Let’s get you off this wall,” he said firmly and laid his hands on the chain that remained attached to the wall. An intercom went off and REx only then realized there had been a music station playing. Now a man’s voice was threatening surgery. “It’s time to get out of here.”

For some reason Hercules couldn’t free himself, at least not completely. The one broken chain was evidence of both, but Rex hadn’t missed the crusted blood around both of Hercules’s wrists. How long had he been there to have already been through surgeries or attacks or whatever?

He shook off those thoughts. They didn’t matter right then. He needed to get Hercules free. At the very least, Rex would feel better with the brute by his side. “Pull together on three,” he commanded, kicking a foot onto the wall by the chain and centering his balance. He wasn’t on the level of Hercules’s strength, not by any means, but Rex spent a lot of time in the gym. He was used to lifting deadweight, fallen beams, shoving furniture, running in full gear, charging up stairwells, and busting down doors and even walls.

It would have to be enough.

“One. Two. THREE!” Rex shoved off from the wall and pulled on the chain as hard as he could.

”Hurry! His abominations look formidable. Unless you plan on burning the building and everyone in it.... you should do that actually!” the god said as Rex rushed to his aid and helped him pull. ”Yes!” the god never started at three he had been pulling with all his might the second Rex was nearby. Pulling was easy, pulling with all the god’s strength when he was cut off from William’s power wasn’t.

The bolts were no match for the two of them. With the sound of chains rattling and two men grunting the wall of concrete or least the anchors holding the god to the wall were little match for him. ”Ha Ha Yes!” the prince of power boomed in victory. His voice was hoarse from yelling and not being able to heal properly but it didn’t matter. The god often pushed himself to his limits. Even the limits of his Masters. Poor William.

The P.A. system started blaring a catchy tune one the Son of Zeus would have to ask Rex of the Inferno about later. The ‘good doctor’ was tapping his toes and singing along as he walked down the hallway and then descended some stairs as a group of his ‘nurses’ trailed off after him each one more grotesque then the last. Human’s and mutants all had scares littered on their person from multiple unlicensed surgeries. “I was working in the lab, late one night. When my eyes beheld an eerie sight, for the monster from his slab, began to rise and suddenly to my surprise....” The door was open now and the ‘good doctor’ stopped as the chorus kept going. “You aren’t supposed to be here!”

”Rex! Duck!” ‘He did the mash!’ Hercules whipped one of the massive chains with all his might send the large iron chains whistling into the air at the door and the doctor who was quickly pulled back into the stairwell by a set of ‘unnatural’ hands. ”Burn through the chains on my feet so you don’t end up on the wall next to me!!!!” he shouted knowing he would be burned by the action but had little concern for his own well being.

‘He did the monster mash! The monster mash! It was a graveyard smash!’ The door burst open again and two wolf like humanoids with scars all over their shaved bodies ran in only to be hit by another swing of the other chain. The wolves were sent flying and the door was cut in half from the force. ‘They did the mash! It caught on in a flash! He did the mash! The monster mash!’

Music played, a jaunty, whimsical tune. The chain burst free from the wall and Rex staggered back at the force of the sudden release. He grunted with the sudden effort and quickly released the chain.

Several things happened then. The door banged open and a voice rang out. Rex whirled around and saw a man dressed in scrubs and wearing a blood-stained apron standing there. It had to have been the doctor.

Rex dropped and rolled as Hercules yelled and swung the chains still attached to his arm. There was no time left. They had to get Herc free now. Rex turned back to the chains and pulled himself to the ground as he studied the final bonds. Thuds and smashes and nightmarish howls described a skirmish he was glad he couldn’t see. Hercules yelled again to burn the chains, even if he had to burn Hercules himself.

The EMT looked once again at Hercules’s flesh, scar-riddled as it was. The man had to be at the end of his reserves. He’d seen Hercules heal instantly from gunshots, even severe burns from a metal man, in fact. Before, Rex wouldn’t have thought twice, no matter how many of his instincts it went against. Now, however, Rex wasn’t sure how well Hercules could survive, given the sheer amount of fire he summoned, not to mention how long it would take him to melt solid metal. Could he even do it?

Did he have a choice?

“From my laboratory in the castle east, to the master bedroom where the vampires feast,” sang the annoying DJ.

“Father, forgive me,” Rex breathed, closing his eyes for only a moment in prayer. Then they flashed open and he grabbed the chains as far from Hercules’s legs as he could and began reciting.

“Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day…”

“....The ghouls all came from their humble abodes….”

“...to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.”

“....To get a jolt from my electrodes!”

Rex felt the surging fire blaze inside of him and waited for it to burst forth into the volcanic whirlwind he was so horribly used to be now, but something was wrong. Ripples up heat poured forth instead, small flickers whipping around him in a phantom blaze, but now a swelling firewall formed. The power was still flowing through him though, just not into air but into…
“They did the monster mash! The monster mash!”

The light of the chains, formerly a dull glowing yellow, was now an incandescent white, flaring brighter and brighter. The metal started warming beneath his hands and the metal began buzzing and vibrating.

“It was a graveyard smash! They did the mash.”

Rex couldn’t have known what kind of restraints they were. He couldn’t have known they were designed to leech magical energy away from their victim. He could never have guessed they were already hitting their transfer limits by Hercules’s and William’s powers. So when a third mystic added the full force of his infernal wellspring directly to the chains…

“It caught on in a flash!”

The light seared into Rex’s eyes and he let go to instinctively cover his face with a gasp of surprise.

“They did the mash.”

The spell-scribed chain links binding Hercules to the floor exploded.

“They did the monster mash!”

Another swing of the chain and Hercules pinned another one of Dr. Cama’s former patients to the wall. It didn’t seem to be affected by it too much, it’s arm limp it struggled to move forward while their eyes danced with pain. They made no noise. The showed no fear. Poor creatures. By the end of this they would all be freed from their prisons.

”Don’t worry about your father! Worry about us!” he shouted exhaling loudly brandishing his weapons again. The rattling of chains rang out and with another heavy thrust of his arms the chain erupted outward into the hallway at another group of ‘nurses’ trying to enter. The one in front collapsed after it was knocked off it’s three legs and rose no more.

Felling the heat below him and seeing a bright light he opened his eyes again and witnessed a wall of fire before him followed by another light. One that made his legs sear out in pain. ”HA!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!” he ignored the pain, or rather he channeled it and exhaled loudly. His tattoo’s started to flicker as he could feel the spot where the manacles once were on his feet started to stitch up again, slowly removing any burnt flesh. His body ached, the god was exhausted but he had a promise to keep and if anything he was the god of strength. This pain was only temporary, his exhaustion would be reward later!

“The zombies were having fun, the party just begun”

Reaching down Hercules crouched and guided Rex upwards as an abomination erupted into flames as it walked through the wall of flames only to collapse seconds after it entered. It’s boney white skin reached up for the pair as it was met with the behemoths large bare foot. The beast was punted back into the flames. ”No time for the others ‘Rex of the Inferno’! Form a pact with me!” he reached out his hand that was manacled up still ignoring the other fiends as they poured into the room. He waited for a moment. This wasn’t how he wanted it to go. He would have preferred to talk to the man about it first. ‘Rex of the Inferno’ was a ‘hero’ after all and there was little the god adored less.

“The guests included Wolfman, Dracula, and his son the scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds”

A totem could wait he was close enough to siphon magical energy from the hero should he accept and if he didn’t want the burden of being a master the god could rescind his blessing later. If he wanted it, who was foolish enough to want to not be a master of a god such as he? Just the way things were he didn’t know if he could heal fast enough to maintain his power and fight all who entered.

“Igor on his chains backed by his baying hounds”

Hercules turned his head and with his other hand that wasn’t outstretched to ‘Rex of the Inferno’ caught another abomination with ease. Bones protruded from it’s body and his hands started to bleed as he hefted the creature back into the wall of flames. If he didn’t have his size and wasn’t fueled by rage and adrenaline it would have been impossible for him to accomplish such a thing.

“The coffin-bangers were about to arrive with their vocal group, ‘The Crypt-kicker"

Meanwhile, Dr. Cama hurried along followed by his closest assistants, “This won’t do... this won’t do at all... I was so close to the breakthrough... oh well, release the others. We shall gather all my notes and move to the next location. Call our benefactors and notify them what is happening.”

“They played the mash, the played the monster mash, the monster mash it was a graveyard smash. They played the mash it caught on in a flash”

Dr. Cama stopped at one of the last cells before his office, it was his favorite specimen. One even he couldn’t fully control it was massive and half rotted. The former body couldn’t handle all of the experiments even with his healing factor. It didn’t have much time left but that was fine. It serve another purpose. Some of the flesh was grafted on it from the god. The tattoo’s were decayed and hardly legible but it didn’t allow some power. “If you could escort the guests out I’ll free you from your chains!” he said fumbling with the keys then hurried off to his office.

“They played the mash, they played the monster mash”

Rex hissed as metal splinters sliced into his hands and face but by the grace of God none of them hit his eyes. As he was pulled upwards, he dropped the fire spell, and the last of the thermal energy dissipated, the flames vanishing immediately.

“Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring, Seems he was troubled by just one thing.”

Rex stepped back from the man. “What? No! There’s no time for pacts or agreements,we have to get the others out!” Rex stared resolutely into the taller man’s eyes, his own flecked with burning determination. “I’m not leaving here without them!”

The missing people weren’t exactly his people. Rex didn’t lay claim to the neighborhood. He still felt responsible though. It was clear this doctor was doing something to the vagrants, the unfortunate, the poor, the ones who wouldn’t be missed by anyone who mattered. Rex could not abandon someone to this kind of fate, a slow, torturous death. Not again.

Hercules smashed another assailant and then Rex gave a final command. “You will help me or you won’t. You will not get in my way.”

“He opened the lid and shook his fist and said ‘Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?’ “

Rex turned away from the outstretched hand and vaulted over one of the gaunt nurses, shoving a second one firmly into the wall before reaching the door. He yanked it open and stuck his head out. No need for stealth or subtlety now. He saw a tall man striding away in a lab coat, looking exactly like the person from the ads and news segments. A new idea struck Rex.

“It's now the monster mash. (The monster mash). And it's a graveyard smash.”

They could get more time if they caught Dr. Cama. Surely there was enough evidence around to get the man imprisoned. Then the authorities could handle the extraction and rehabilitation of all these unfortunates. That witch doctor could be locked away.

“(It's now the mash) It's caught on in a flash. (It's now the mash) It's now the monster mash.”

Rex raced down the hall toward the man with the keys.