Marvel Monsters Unleashed: The Gruesome Gorgilla!

by Steve Behling

  “It really is kind of awesome,” Courtney said, kicking a rock as she walked.

  “Mmm-hmmm,” Amrita replied.

  “And when we get home, we really are kind of dead.”

  “Mmm-hmmm.”

  It was about five minutes later when the girls reached Courtney’s house. The lights were on outside. Her mom was standing on the porch, arms crossed. Courtney took a big gulp. “See you tomorrow at school, Am,” Courtney said as she walked toward the house. “If they let me out of prison.”

  Amrita gave a nervous laugh and waved at Courtney’s mom. She returned the wave with a frown.

  Starting down the road toward her house, Amrita couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. What exactly was going on in her small town? Who were those strange people in the white suits? They weren’t the police, that was for sure. Government, maybe? Something else? Real live bad guys? What were they doing back there in the woods? This was such a big story, and she needed answers to her questions.

  Several minutes passed, and Amrita saw her house. Her dad was standing outside with the lights on, just like Courtney’s mom had been waiting for her. Amrita took a deep breath, ready for the confrontation with her dad.

  But honestly, she wasn’t really worried. More than anything else, she was excited! She couldn’t wait to run up to her room and check Tales to Astonish. Maybe Kid Kaiju had already seen her post. He could probably answer Amrita’s questions. She was all set to write the biggest story of her newspaper career!

  THE NIGHT HAD COME and gone, and miraculously, Amrita had survived. Her dad was angry as anything, of course, but only because he had no idea where his daughter was. Amrita was usually so good about calling whenever she might be late. After her mom went missing, Amrita’s once fun and laid-back dad was now constantly worried about her. Amrita apologized up and down, and told him that she and Courtney had been working on a project for school, and had totally lost track of time. She must have accidentally turned off her cell phone, and that’s why she didn’t get any of his calls.

  Aside from the cell phone part, the story was totally true as far as Amrita was concerned. She and Courtney had most definitely been working on a school project—Amrita’s big news story for the school paper! And truthfully, they did lose track of time. That’s what happens when you’re wandering around the woods and giant creatures and weird people in white suits are chasing after you.

  Still, it felt wrong. Amrita didn’t like keeping things from her dad. They had been through too much together. The two of them had never had any secrets between them before. Amrita resolved that as soon as she broke her big story, she would tell her dad everything. But would he believe her? Would anyone believe what she and Courtney had experienced?

  The class bell rang, and Amrita snapped out of her daydream. It was 9:00 a.m., and the first class of the day was Literature. Amrita liked it because, well, she loved to read and write. But Ms. Malloy was her Literature teacher, too. That made the class more fun. She got Ms. Malloy, and Ms. Malloy got Amrita.

  “All right, everyone, quiet down,” Ms. Malloy said. “No doubt you’re all talking about seeing that new Super Hero, Falcon, who was spotted just a few towns over. Check that out on your own time. You’re on Malloy time now.”

  “The Falcon?” Amrita asked in a voice that was way too loud, causing all eyes in the room to fall on her. She shrank back in her seat, but only a little. “You mean like, guy-with-wings-under-his-arms-who’s-also-an-Avenger Falcon? That Falcon? Where was he? What happened? What did I miss?”

  “Relax, Scoop,” said one of the students. Everyone laughed. The other kids knew how much Amrita wanted to be a reporter. Sometimes they teased her because of it. It didn’t really bother Amrita much. It was more annoying than anything else.

  “That’s enough,” Ms. Malloy said, firmly. She looked at Amrita. “You know how it is, heroes are popping up all over all the time. Apparently Falcon went soaring through our area last night on his way to save some lives. Something to do with ‘the Night People,’ whoever they might be.”

  Amrita was disappointed. True, she was working on her own big story, the biggest of her life. But man, a chance to see Falcon? To find out what he was up to? To investigate the Night People, whoever they were? To write that story? Now more than ever, Amrita was sure that she was destined to be a reporter. Perhaps the story she was working on would be her ticket to a job at the Daily Bugle! She could see it now—J. Jonah Jameson himself assigning her to cover a big story. Maybe Peter Parker would be her photographer!

  “Open your books to chapter eighteen,” Ms. Malloy said, walking up to the whiteboard. “Today, we’re going to talk about fate.”

  There was too much excitement coursing through Amrita’s veins, and she found her mind wandering. All that talk of Falcon and thinking about the Avengers had distracted her for just a second. She had almost forgotten about her own mystery! When she left for school that morning, there had been no response yet from anyone on Tales to Astonish. So she logged back on and wrote all about the strange encounter in the woods, the bizarre finding of the dome in the middle of nowhere, the people in the white suits, the jeep getting smashed—all of it. Oh yeah, and the big furry hand, too. She made sure every detail was captured for Tales to Astonish readers. Especially Kid Kaiju.

  As Ms. Malloy spoke to the class about fate, Amrita looked out the classroom window. Her mind was wandering again. Across the street, she saw a plain, unmarked white van. Standing behind the white van on the curb were two people dressed in white suits.

  They were exactly the same suits that the people who threatened Amrita and Courtney were wearing last night.

  A jolt ran up Amrita’s spine. What were they doing here? Had they been following her? How? Did they know who she was? What were they going to do to her? Her breathing sped up, and Amrita could hear her own heartbeat thrumming in her ears. She thought she heard her name being called, but it seemed so distant, so far away.

  “Amrita!” Ms. Malloy called, looking a little annoyed. Amrita whipped her head to look at her and realized that her teacher must have been saying her name several times before she noticed.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Malloy, I was just—”

  That’s when she noticed a boy around her age standing in the door of the classroom. He had a big sketchbook tucked under one arm. He didn’t look familiar. Roz was a small school, and Amrita pretty much knew what everybody looked like.

  “Amrita, I’ve been calling you! This young man says the principal wants to see you. What’s your name again?” Ms. Malloy said, turning toward the boy in the doorway.

  “Um, Kei,” he said. “New kid.” He looked nervous, fidgety. Like he really wanted to be anywhere other than here. He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair.

  “Far be it from me to stand in the way of our fair principal,” Ms. Malloy said. “Come back when you’re finished, Amrita. Be prepared to answer some questions about fate.”

  Amrita got up from her seat and looked out the window once more.

  The white van and the people in white suits were gone. It was like they were never there.

  Maybe she had imagined the whole thing?

  Amrita exited the classroom, giving Ms. Malloy a weak smile, and started to walk down the hallway with Kei.

  Once the classroom door was closed, Kei grabbed Amrita’s arm and whispered, “Come with me if you want to save Gorgilla!”

  WHEN SOMEONE you’ve never seen before in your life tells you to go with them if you want to save a monster, should you go?

  That’s the thought that was buzzing through Amrita’s mind at that exact moment. Everything was happening so fast. Less than a minute ago, she was sitting in class, minding her own business. Now everything seemed to be falling apart.

  Who was this Kei person? How did he know about Gorgilla? Or Amrita, for that matter? How did he know where to find her? Did he have anything to do with those weirdos in white who disappeared just as quickly as they appeared?

/>   What exactly was going on?

  And that’s when she realized…

  “Kid Kaiju?” she said, looking at Kei. The boy with the messy black hair and orange hoodie looked at Amrita, smiled shyly, and gave his head a sharp nod.

  “Less talking, more running,” he said as he sped off down the hallway. Without missing a step, Amrita followed right behind him. Her feet pounded on the tiles beneath her.

  “Hey! You two! Stop right there!”

  Both Kid Kaiju and Amrita looked over their shoulders. Behind them, at the other end of the hallway, they saw the people in the white suits. They weren’t wearing their containment masks but had on dark sunglasses instead.

  “Really, run!” Kid Kaiju shouted as the people in white took off after them.

  Amrita took Kid Kaiju’s hand as she raced ahead, pulling him along with her. “That’s one way to get out of class!”

  Amrita flung open two doors marked EXIT that opened out into an alleyway behind the school. There was a large green dumpster full of trash, and several smaller blue recycling bins near it. She and Kei spilled out through the doors, and slammed them shut. He looked around for something to jam through the door handles.

  “Hand me that mop!” he said to Amrita. She grabbed a mop that was standing near the door and tossed it to Kid Kaiju. He shoved the mop through the door handles. Anyone on the inside trying to push out would have a hard time opening the doors now.

  “Keep running and don’t look back,” Kid Kaiju said, and Amrita did exactly that.

  “Who ARE those guys?” Amrita asked as they ran out of the alley and through the school parking lot. “First I see them in the woods, and now they show up at my school? Who let them in? Did anyone try to stop them? What are they, above the law?! What is going on?”

  “They’re part of the mystery,” Kid Kaiju said. “I don’t know who they are or who they’re working for. But I know they have something to do with Gorgilla. Despite what you might think, he’s really not a monster. He needs our help.”

  The kids ran through the parking lot, barely managing to avoid smacking right into the parked cars. They skidded to a stop on the gravel surface as they hit a tall wire fence. Kid Kaiju glanced over his shoulder to see if they were still being followed.

  He saw the people in white suits run out from the alley. The mop had slowed them down, but only a little.

  Kid Kaiju turned back to Amrita and said, “You better cl—”

  Before Kid Kaiju could even finish, he saw that Amrita had already climbed up the fence; she was now on the other side, and dropping to the ground. She hit the dirt on all fours, like a cat.

  “Well?” she said, staring at Kid Kaiju. “What are you waiting for? Are we gonna save Gorgilla or not? Come on!”

  Without another word, Kid Kaiju got to the top of the fence, and then jumped off. Or maybe he fell off. It was somewhere in between a jump and a fall. It was decidedly ungraceful, is what it was. He quickly got up off the dirt as Amrita grabbed his arm, pulling him.

  “If you came here to help me, why is it that I’m the one helping you?” Amrita asked.

  “Well, I mean, I—” Kid Kaiju stammered.

  “I’m kidding,” Amrita said with a smile.

  They ran off down the street as the people in white hit the fence.

  “Get the van!” one of them shouted. “Don’t let them get away!”

  AMRITA AND KID KAIJU were running through someone’s backyard, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the people in white as possible.

  “Where are we heading?” Amrita asked as she jumped over a lawn chair. They ran past the house and onto the front lawn.

  Kid Kaiju took quick, shallow breaths as he ran. “I think you know where we need to go,” he said.

  “The woods,” Amrita replied.

  “The woods,” Kid Kaiju said.

  They left the front yard and ran across the street. That’s when Amrita saw it.

  The white van.

  It rounded a corner and sped up after them. If they stayed on the streets, Amrita thought, then they were as good as caught. There was no way they could outrun a van. But if they could stick to the backyards, places the van couldn’t go, maybe they would have a prayer of getting through town. Maybe, just maybe, they could make it to the woods without getting caught.

  Where’s the Falcon when you need him? Amrita thought.

  They bolted from the street and into another yard. The white van pulled up just as the kids raced behind a gray house.

  “Unit Five to Unit Six,” said a voice Amrita could hear from behind them. “They’re coming your way.”

  Wait, she thought. Coming WHOSE way? What does THAT mean?

  Amrita didn’t have much time to think about it before a pair of powerful hands grabbed her.

  “Let go of me!” Amrita shouted.

  She looked up and saw two people in white suits standing in front of her, while another held her from behind. Amrita struggled, but the person holding her had an iron grip. No matter how much she squirmed, or stomped on his feet, it was clear she wasn’t going anywhere.

  “You’re coming with us for questioning,” said one of the white suits.

  “For questioning? I should be asking the questions!” Amrita shot back. “Like, what are you doing kidnapping a kid, for starters?”

  “You’re not being kidnapped,” said the white suit. “We’re taking you in for questioning. We’ve already notified your parents. You’ll be able to talk with them soon.”

  Amrita knew that was a lie. There was no way her dad would have let that happen.

  As she continued to struggle, the people in white suits started pulling her backward, taking her back across the front lawn and toward the white van parked in the street out front. While they were pulling her, Amrita noticed something else.

  Where was Kid Kaiju?

  Just a minute before he was there with Amrita, right next to her, as they were running through the yard. Now he had mysteriously disappeared. In fact, there was no sign of him at all! He got me into this mess, Amrita thought, and then he just up and leaves? How are we gonna save Gorgilla when we can’t even save ourselves?

  Out front, the people in white opened the back doors of the white van. Amrita tried to brace herself against the door, but she was shoved inside. Before she could jump out, the doors slammed shut. That was it. Game over. She had been caught by the bad guys. Now she was a prisoner of the weirdos in white.

  I’m still gonna report everything I see, Amrita said to herself, as she heard the people in white suits get inside the van. Talk about a big scoop—forget processed cheese food. This is gonna be the story that puts me on the map!

  The van drove off down the street. Amrita was scared, sure. And she was super angry at Kid Kaiju for running off on her like that. What was he thinking? But deep down, Amrita was a reporter. She was hungry for a story, and this was a doozy.

  The white van rumbled down the road, and

  BUMP!

  “Pothole,” Amrita said, shaking her head, as the van went down and bounced up sharply.

  Then there was another loud…

  BUMP!

  The van bounced on the pavement and went up in the air again.

  Amrita waited for another big bump as the van hit the ground again. And she kept waiting. The bump never came. It felt like the van was still going up. But how was that even possible?

  Suddenly, Amrita’s world seemed to go topsy-turvy, and the back doors of the van became the floor. Amrita slammed against them with a resounding thud. She looked out the tinted windows, only to see the street below her.

  They were in the air! Like, really in the air! They were hovering maybe five, ten feet above the street. What was holding them in the sky?

  The van started to shake violently as, without warning, Amrita found herself bouncing against the doors again and again, until the back doors at last popped open. Amrita slid right out of the van and landed on the pavement below with a smack.r />
  Dizzy, she looked up. Her mouth opened wide. She was transfixed.

  Amrita saw an enormous creature holding the van in its massive claws.

  “WHAT THE WHAT IS THAT?!” Amrita shouted as she picked herself up off the street. Standing before her was a huge, hulking tiger, standing upright on two legs. So, not a tiger. But it sure looked like one. It had a spiked tail, and it let out a mighty roar as it shook the van. Amrita could feel the creature’s hot breath. She should have been scared, but she wasn’t. Shocked, yes. Surprised, absolutely. But scared? Not a bit.

  From out of nowhere, Kid Kaiju appeared on the street. He was panting—he looked like he had just run a marathon.

  “That,” he said between deep breaths, “is Fireclaw!”

  Fireclaw let out another roar. Whatever he was, he was standing there in the middle of the road, big as life. His two claws were clutching the white van, holding it in the air with impossible ease. That thing…that thing must be stronger than Hulk and…a-a-and Falcon and Spider-Man! Put together! she thought.

  Inside the van, the people in white suits were yelling to one another, trying to escape. It was clear they hadn’t expected anything like this to happen. They were pounding on the doors and windows, but nothing happened. Fireclaw’s paws were keeping the doors shut tight. For good measure, the beast shook the van some more. It was almost like he was enjoying it!

  Amrita looked around to get her bearings. They were a few miles away from school now, on the road that headed out of town. The only buildings around were a gas station to the right, and next to it, a donut shop.

  “Better get rid of them, Fireclaw,” Kid Kaiju said.

  Amrita was still trying to take this all in. “Wait! Get rid of them? You can’t do that! That’s murder!” Amrita shouted. What had she gotten herself into?

  Kid Kaiju laughed. “No one’s gonna get hurt,” he said. “Fireclaw’s one of the good guys.” Then Amrita saw Fireclaw carry the white van in his muscled arms and deposit it on the roof of the donut shop. The giant monster gave the van a squeeze for good measure, crushing the metal so the doors wouldn’t open. The people in white suits were now trapped inside their own van. They pressed their faces against the windows, shouting. Amrita was glad she couldn’t hear what they were saying. It probably wasn’t very nice.