Chapter 33- The Mad Scientist Couple

Dubs sliced his way through the vegetation, swiftly cutting down shrubs and bushes. The landscape gradually shifted from a thick forest to a tropical rain-forest. Above Dubs spanned a canopy of leaves, and various fruits and berries dotted the scene.

Dubs increased his traveling speed so that he was sprinting at around 30 miles/hour. Passing upon tree after tree, Alt snickered.

"Heh heh, it looks like we have trouble here. Should I take it out, or do you want to have a go?", Alt retorted.

Dubs paused for a moment and considered. "I should probably test things out on my own, to compare my power to the creatures on the surface.", he responded.

Alt looked disappointed, but agreed. "Alriiiight. I understand. Let me know if you need anything else."

Dubs moved forward silently, and began to sense out his surroundings. Concentrating, he began to sense some earth radiation, slightly to the left of where he was headed.

Feeling out the energy, a shape took form in his mind, and it formed a large plant like body. The bottom of the plant was round, with vines spiraling out in all directions, and it was connected to a number of large petals where its head would be.

Dubs began to sprint towards the enemy, and when it came into sight he saw a green pool of acidic fluid surrounding the plant.

The petals that made up its head were a bright pink, and they were lined with sharp fangs. If they closed up on unsuspecting prey, they would keep a tight grip.

Inside the petals, it looked like Dubs was staring down someones throat. A mucus layer covered the sides of the fleshy walls, leading down into the acidic pit that was the stomach.

On the outside, the vines rooted the plant into the external pool of acid, tangled like roots that dug deep into the ground.

The plant began to throb and turned itself towards Dubs when he got close. "I suppose it can sense my presence.", Dubs thought.

The plant spit a ball of acidic mucus at Dubs, and he narrowly dodged out of the way. The ball flew at an extremely high speed, much higher than even a leaping cheetah.

The acid grazed Dubs arm, and the cloth began to sizzle as it corroded away. Dubs skin remained perfectly intact, as he was completely resistant to any form of attack, aside from physical.

"AH! Look at what you've done! My perfectly good shirt is now torn because of you. Don't expect to get out of this alive!", Dubs shouted.

Alt began to laugh from the sky. "Getting mad at a plant, Dubs? Are you gonna be alright?"

Dubs waved at Alt to be quiet and whipped out his dagger.

Dubs jumped off a tree and changed his direction multiple times before leaping in towards the plant. After he came within a few meters, the plant began to lift its vines, shooting them towards Dubs like spears.

Dubs dodged the slower vines with ease as he rushed up towards the plant. Jumping over the pool of acid, he stood on top of the mess of roots and stuck his dagger into the body of the plant.

Dubs dragged his dagger through the plant in a circular motion, until he had rotated a full 360 degrees about the plant. Acidic juices spurted from the crevice Dubs had made, and the entire plant began to slide off the body.

Falling into the pool of acid below, the plant began to squirm and wreath in pain. The red petals turned a yellow color before being dissolved, and Dubs whipped out a small test tube.

Scooping up a sample of the acidic juices, Dubs looked at the sample and smiled. "We can use this for later experiments."

Alt looked at Dubs with excitement, and the two continued to make their way through the forest.

Upon exiting the forest, Dubs entered the swamp that Reagan resided in. Humidity filled the atmosphere, and Dubs began to form a layer of ice particles that rotated about him to keep himself cooled off.

"Looks like we should be arriving soon.", Dubs stated.

Alt continuously flew about, scouting in his shadow form. After some time had passed, Dubs began to see the outline of the manor.

"Haha! Looks like I can see the manor now without having to wear those glasses.", Dubs exclaimed, feeling accomplished.

Alt rolled his eyes. "If you had awakened to even a tiny bit of magical ability then you would have been able to see it before.", he remarked.

Dubs ignored Alt's comment and rushed over to the entrance. "I wonder what traps Reagan has prepared for us.... should we go in the front door? Perhaps find another way around?"

Dubs looked like a kid at an ice cream shop trying to decide which flavor to get.

"Ah lets go in through the top!", Dubs shouted as he jumped over the fence.

A swirling set of clouds quickly formed above Dubs, and a tornado-like formation began to spin about Dubs. Like the eye of a hurricane, none of the wind came near Dubs, as the magical energy was all rejected by his resistive body.

Dubs landed from his jump in the front yard, and the winds began to slow themselves to a stop.

The door bursted open, and Reagan came out. Her crimson hair was as messy as always, and her eyes looked just as insane as ever.

Dubs saw multiple crows perched on top of the trees and laughed. "I guess she saw me coming."

"Duuuubs! My sweet little test subject has returned to me!" Reagan ran out towards Dubs. Her leather coat shone as she made her way towards him.

Putting her arms around him, they hugged awkwardly and both began to chuckle. Dubs eyes became bloodshot and he began to spout off insanity.

"I do hope we can get along quite well my dearest Reagan... what do you say we begin to discuss our future here?", Dubs forcefully asked.

"Of course! Let us go inside then...", Reagan responded.

The two of them walked inside, both twitching with excitement.

Alt slowly followed. "Is it just me, or am I the only sane one here?"

Dubs and Reagan sat at the table drinking some tea, and quietly stared at each other. They were both so filled with excitement that they were twitching and could hardly hold up their own teacups properly.

"I have been looking forward to this day, Reagan. I wish to begin my studies here in your lab."

Reagan beamed with delight at hearing this. "It has been soooo lonely here my dearest Dubs. I have counted the days until you arrive, waiting for a partner to run experiments with."

The two silently cracked up, and finished their tea, after spilling a large amount of it.

Somewhat coming to his senses, Dubs sat up straight. "Have you been able to fix the damages I caused the last time I was here? I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused."

Reagan nodded. "Do not worry a bit about that. Everything has been returned to normal. And your condition? Are you able to control the other self of yours that appears at night?", she questioned.

Dubs grinned. "Oh, much more than simply controlling him. We have been working together for the past few weeks, to the point where we have been merging into a single personality. Soon enough, he will be the sane one out of the two of us! AHA!"

"Even more so than that, he can now control his magic, and is powerful beyond imagination. He has been working to train me to become as strong as he is."

Reagan enthusiastically squealed at this. "Ehe! Shall we give your abilities a test soon then? I have been preparing a new lab facility underground... let me show it to you."

Dubs nodded in agreement, and the two walked down the stairwell into the basement.

Upon arriving down the stairs, Dubs saw all the machinery that was fit for a full laboratory. A chemical set of test tubes and distillation devices, various batteries and other electrical-looking gadgets, a table that curved inward spherically to refract energy on a central point, and many other tools.

And of course, there was a room to the side that was reinforced by a strong aura. "This room! The magical reinforcement is much stronger than that of the resistance training rooms I was once confined to. How did you create such a strong barrier!?", Dubs questioned.

"In due time, my dearest lab partner, in due time you will understand the complicated science behind all this. For now, let us test your abilities."

The two entered the room and Reagan began waving her arms and chanting a spell. A flaming figure of energy appeared before the two, and Reagan looked at Dubs.

"This is a fire elemental. Fire resistance for this elemental is estimated around 95%. Hit the elemental with a fire attack, so we can see just how much power you can concentrate."

Dubs formed a whirling sphere of flame in his hand and sent it forwards, rupturing through the body of the flame elemental. The small sphere dug through the elemental like it was air, and the elemental shrieked in pain as the ball of concentrated fire overwhelmed it and tore it to pieces.

Reagan smiled lovingly as she waved goodbye to the elemental. Her eyes then looked over to Dubs, and she looked at him with amazement and kindness.

"Dubs?", she asked.

Dubs looked over at her with arrogant eyes. "Yes?", he responded.

"Never leave me.", she demanded, as her face twisted with pleasure.