Merle: "Search everywhere!!!!"



The spy was quicker than they had thought! Cherrie took her responsibilities as a new mother very seriously; but she was also very serious about her loyalty to Duke Arfaas.

If she found the culprit, would she have mercy knowing the culprit was, like her, new to the idea of motherhood?



Merle, more willing to try every invasive technique he could to find the culprit, quickly barged into the bathroom! His ears proved the most reliable...but he still wasn't quick enough!



Arfaas: "What have you found?"

Merle: "Our culprit took the ceiling route!"

Adam: "That's not impossible!"

Merle: "Not if we have a Centhuen Prototype on the loose! And from the looks of things...this one is sloppy!"



Arfaas could have sworn that nearly all the registered prototypes had been eliminated! Was this one the Gifted Flippo? The story he'd been given stated that the Gifted Flippo was destroyed in a blast by Gunner! Who then, was this mysterious being spying on him?

Arfaas: "An unidentifiable Centhuen Prototype? That does it! It's Musaran or nothing! Denny Levens dies...tonight!!! And when we're finished with him...we're going to hunt down that spy! This...is...unacceptable!!!"



In her panic, Candi had found herself in what could have been the most difficult situation so far...she had nowhere to go but up! And Denny wasn't there to catch her! She felt her powers slowly returning to her...but would they be enough to ensure her a safe landing?



Candi: "Come on now, Angie! Do this for your momma, please!!!"

Panic was setting in! She knew that Angie, ready to leave the womb any minute, had to stay inside long enough for Candi to make an escape!

It would be a balancing act: labor pain would make Candi stronger, but ruin her focus! Backing away from labor demands would give Candi her focus back, but make her other powers weaker!



Success! Candi wasn't certain how, but that didn't matter! Amidst the incredible pain involved in getting her powers to work, rescuing Denny was now her top priority!



Alas, she would never have been able to run, drive, or even fly fast enough! Musaran was already on the prowl in the area; and a quick call-in to his helmet was all that was necessary.

Arfaas: (hysterical) "Make quick work of him!!! And find that spy!!!"

Musaran: "They will DIIEEEE!!!!!"



SMASH!!!

Musaran wasted no time at all trashing the front door! He was not content to simply use the entrance—when he could make one!!!



Denny: "What in the???"

The smashing instantly awoke him! He knew Candi would be out late because of lab work; but he didn't count on hearing that loud a noise when she returned! He knew, right away, that the noise was not his wife.



The air was quiet again. Still, he wasn't about to take any chances! Denny knew that he had one too many enemies. It was enough that they had lied about him in horrible ways!

It was enough that he and his wife had been harassed by the police when they were the victims! It was enough that Candi's past consisted of warding off hideous monsters! But now...a break-in!



His breath hastened, and he could feel the cold sweat as he nervously held the pistol in his hand. He knew that whatever was on the other side of that door, it could be the final showdown for one or both of them...



SMACK!!!

He never saw it coming! With the gun grabbed from him effortlessly, he found himself thrown forcefully back into the room by the intruder, whose intentions couldn't have been clearer!



Denny: "You leave me...and my wife...ALONE!!!!"



Musaran: "DIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"



Denny leaped quickly to evade the first assault, but it wasn't enough! The monster quickly overpowered him!

Denny: "Put me down!!!"

Musaran: "Not till you diiiiiieeeeee!!!!"

THUD!!!

The neck! The back of his head! The creature continued its trail of abuse, as Denny found himself the rag doll in a one-sided match!



It soon dawned on Denny that the beast before him was not finished until every ounce of life was bled out!

Denny: "God!!! Keep Candi from this...somehow!!!"



Denny: (choking on the words, begging) "No! Please!!!"

Musaran: "DIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!"



Denny: "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

SPLAT!

Just like that, one crushed and mutilated trachea later, the world would never hear from Denny Levens again.