Doctor Fossil Read online

  ‘At least we know where he came from,’ murmured Matt. ‘Aha! Here we go … it says here that Fossil’s amber heart gives him the ability to reanimate dead creatures …’

  ‘And we’re talking long dead!’ put in Roxie.

  ‘… and that his unique cyber-glove has the power to fire blasts of explosive energy and exert superhuman force.’

  ‘Sounds familiar,’ said Gomez, rubbing his chest.

  ‘Anything about how to take him down?’ asked Roxie.

  ‘Nope, ’fraid not.’ Matt slammed the Chronicles shut. His Multivision Specs deactivated. ‘My guess is we need to put that amber heart of his out of operation.’

  ‘So, Matt,’ smirked Roxie. ‘Think you can be a heartbreaker as well as a Hatter Hero?’

  ‘You bet!’ replied Matt, slipping the Chronicles back into his pack. He fired up the dune buggy again, and took a determined hold on the steering wheel. ‘Let’s go Fossil hunting …’

  17

  Marlon’s Plan

  ‘Matthew Ha-tter!’

  Mrs Crumpepper’s search for her reluctant student had brought her to his lair – Matt’s bedroom, on the Coronet’s top floor. As she sang out his name, her beady eyes roamed the turret room for signs of life.

  Marlon, meanwhile, was doing his very best to throw Mrs Crumpepper off the scent. The little Tasmanian devil was on the floor below, in the family bathroom, where he was struggling to put a cunning diversion plan into practice.

  The first setback had been his discovery that the toilet bowl was impossible to climb. Its smooth overhanging sides offered no grip for his tiny paws. After several failed attempts, Marlon had come up with an alternative strategy. Using the bathroom scales as a springboard, he had managed to trampoline on to the top of the bowl. Things had nearly taken a nasty turn when an awkward landing on the toilet seat almost sent him toppling into the bowl. He had regained his balance just in time.

  Now, having inched his way around the slippery plastic seat and bravely scaled the cistern pipe, he was within reach of his goal – the dangling handle of the flush chain. Marlon took a deep breath. It was quite a leap for a little rodent, particularly one with a tummy full of worksheets. But he wasn’t about to let Matt down.

  He launched himself at the chain-pull, and wrapped his furry arms around it. Clinging on bravely, he jiggled about, trying to maximize the tug of his slight weight. He gave a triumphant chitter as, at last, the chain-pull began to descend.

  The fwwwooooooshhh of the toilet flushing carried to the bedroom above. As she heard the telltale sound, Mrs Crumpepper’s eyes lit up.

  ‘Aha!’ she cried. ‘Got you!’

  She hurried for the stairs, planning to lie in wait for her prey outside the bathroom door.

  18

  The Battle of the Gorge

  Doctor Fossil was confident that he had seen the last of Matt Hatter. He was free now to resume his mission for Lord Tenoroc – to find and reanimate the ultimate demon beast. Then, once Tenoroc was satisfied, he could return to his own research. The Sultan’s stolen riches would provide generous funds to support his scientific quest for unlimited power. With an army of resurrected dinosaurs at his command, he would rule the world of chaos that Tenoroc was so determined to create …

  The crazed palaeontologist cast his eyes eagerly over part of Relic Gorge’s high rock wall.

  ‘Oh, the thrill of exploration …’

  He raised his gloved right hand and pointed it at the rock face, grinning.

  ‘… and blowing things up!’

  Streams of energy shot from the cyber-glove’s bulging fingertips. As they struck, the rock exploded. Doctor Fossil’s wild laughter was drowned out by the crash of falling rubble.

  Then, as the dust cloud from the rockfall slowly cleared, Fossil saw something that wiped the grin from his face.

  ‘YOU!’

  Matt, Roxie and Gomez stood only metres away. Roxie had her staff in hand. All three were poised to attack.

  ‘That’s right!’ growled Matt. ‘Tenoroc’s traps can’t stop us!’

  Fossil glared back, livid. ‘This time, Hatter, I’ll teach you a real lesson!’

  ‘Actually, Doc, I’m here to school you,’ replied Matt coolly. He exchanged looks with Roxie and Gomez. ‘Or, should I say, we are.’

  Even Gomez was ready for a fight. Not many things got the timid Keeper fired up enough to take someone on. But he had trusted Fossil as a fellow lover of science. ‘Dirty, stinkin’ villain!’ he muttered, giving Fossil his meanest stare.

  As one, the friends pounced. Together, they managed to pin the villainous scientist to the ground.

  ‘You got me, kids!’ wailed Fossil. ‘You’ve really got me …’ His red eyes flashed, ‘… ANGRY!’

  Using the power of his energized glove, Fossil effortlessly threw off all three of his attackers. As Matt, Roxie and Gomez went flying, he sprang back to his feet, laughing once more.

  The friends picked themselves up, and bravely confronted their enemy again. ‘Give up, Fossil!’ demanded Matt. ‘It’s three to one.’

  ‘True,’ Doctor Fossil smiled his sweetest smile. ‘But as I recall, only one of us has an amber heart!’

  Without warning, he unleashed another blast from his cyber-glove. Matt dived out of its path – just in time. A boulder right next to him exploded, showering him with debris.

  Doctor Fossil let loose another blast, and then another. As crackling bolts of energy came fizzing their way, Matt, Roxie and Gomez did everything they could to dodge them.

  ‘Bravo!’ cried Fossil, as a series of near misses sent the three friends scurrying desperately back and forth. ‘I love your sporty spirit …’

  He fired his cyber-glove again.

  This time, the blast caused a large section of cliff to collapse. As an avalanche of boulders came rumbling down over Matt, Roxie and Gomez, Fossil’s laughter grew ever wilder.

  ‘So much fun!’

  Then, suddenly, he fell silent. His eyes widened, and his gloved hand fell to his side. He stared at the rock face that his last blast had exposed.

  ‘It … it can’t be …’ he whispered in awe. ‘I’ve … I’ve found it … I’ve FOUND IT!’ His voice rose to a jubilant cry. ‘Oh, AMAZING!’

  Matt, Gomez and Roxie had all somehow survived the rockfall. They scrambled to the top of the pile of rubble, hoping to get out of harm’s way. From there, Matt followed Doctor Fossil’s gaze, to see what it was that had mesmerized the scientist.

  ‘What is that?’

  A huge fossilized dinosaur skeleton, many times the size of the excavated Eoraptor, was visible in the face of the cliff.

  ‘It’s a … it’s a …’ Gomez began – then admitted defeat. ‘I have no idea!’

  Doctor Fossil, however, knew exactly what he had found.

  ‘It’s the ultimate demon beast!’ he cried ecstatically. ‘A complete fossil of Terrorsaurus Rexus Rex!’ His red eyes met Matt’s, and flashed with triumph. ‘Too late, young Hatter …’

  Fossil’s amber heart began to glow more brightly – and Matt realized, with horror, what he was about to do.

  ‘NO! Stop!’

  But Doctor Fossil was right. Matt was too late.

  19

  The Demon Beast

  Streams of white-hot energy burst from Doctor Fossil’s amber heart to strike the giant dinosaur skeleton. Before Matt’s horrified gaze, the fossilized bones transformed into a living beast. It tore itself from the rock face and stomped down to the floor of the gorge, making the ground tremble. Opening its awesome jaws, it let out a mighty roar.

  Several of Matt’s favourite movies featured a good old T-Rex or two. They were pretty big and scary. But Terrorsaurus Rexus Rex was in a different league – bigger and scarier by far. And what made this one scarier still was that it was under the control of Doctor Fossil.

  ‘Go, my prehistoric friend!’ cried Fossil. He lifted and thrust forward his cyber-gloved hand.

  As the giant dinosaur came
straight for him, Matt snatched up a piece of wooden scaffold from among the rubble. The Terrorsaurus lunged. Matt leapt from the rubble pile and thrust the thick wooden strut into its gaping mouth.

  ‘Chew on that, Dino-breath!’

  Matt landed close to one of the beast’s massive clawed feet. He looked up in satisfaction at his handiwork. The furious dinosaur was struggling to close its jaws, wedged open by the wooden strut.

  A moment later, however, Matt’s smile faded. The strut had given way. With another roar, the Terrorsaurus attacked again. Its jaws snapped shut over the space Matt had occupied only a split second earlier.

  Matt sprinted away across the gorge. His giant foe, urged on by Doctor Fossil, lumbered after him. The chase was on.

  The Terrorsaurus had the advantage that it could cover more ground in one earth-shaking stride than Matt could in ten. But Matt had a few tricks up his sleeve. In the Multiverse, the way gravity worked meant that Matt’s strength, speed and agility were all greatly enhanced. He could do things as Hatter Hero that he couldn’t dream of as a schoolboy. Springing, leaping and tumbling around the dig site like an acrobat, he narrowly managed to avoid being gobbled up.

  Then, finally, it seemed lie his number was up. He found himself backed against a stack of large boulders, with the Terrorsaurus looming over him. Doctor Fossil, laughing wildly, made the giant beast rear its head, ready for a final attack …

  ‘Whoa!’

  Matt let out a cry of surprise as someone grabbed his ankles from behind. His legs were whipped from under him. Before the dinosaur could strike, he was dragged backwards through a small gap in the rocks.

  The someone was Roxie. She and Gomez had found a tiny cave-like shelter among the boulders. Matt had no time to thank her for saving him before the Terrorsaurus’s massive head came crashing against the rock pile. Doctor Fossil, it seemed, was going to dig them out.

  The three friends looked out miserably through the gap in the rocks at the Terrorsaurus’s huge, drooling jaws.

  ‘You still like dinosaurs, Gomez?’ asked Roxie.

  ‘Not so much,’ replied Gomez feebly.

  The Terrorsaurus’s head withdrew, then came crashing in once more.

  Roxie anxiously watched the boulders around her shake and shift. ‘This isn’t exactly how I pictured our day ending …’

  Matt, meanwhile, was thinking hard. Unless they could come up with a plan – and fast – there was a very real chance that Trackers, Keepers and Hatter Heroes were all about to go extinct.

  20

  Gomez to the Rescue

  Doctor Fossil was delighted with the way things were turning out.

  ‘How pleased Tenoroc will be!’ he crowed. ‘Matt Hatter, destroyed by his dark lordship’s own demon beast!’ With a thrust of his cyber-glove, he made the Terrorsaurus ram the boulder pile again. ‘That’s it! Dance to the power of my amber heart!’

  Matt, crouching under the rocks, had finally had an idea.

  ‘A landslide unleashed this monster,’ he muttered to himself. ‘Maybe a landslide can stop it …’

  He looked at Roxie and Gomez, his eyes shining with new hope. ‘You guys – divert Slobberchops!’

  Seeing Matt’s look, Roxie perked up. ‘OK,’ she said, ‘I’ll try!’ She moved to the opening and unsheathed her staff. Yelling out at the Terrorsaurus, she flung the staff right past it.

  ‘Go fetch!’

  For a moment, the dinosaur’s instincts overrode Fossil’s control. It turned its massive head to follow the flight of Roxie’s staff. By the time it turned back, Matt had slipped away.

  Roxie, too, broke cover. She was determined to keep the Terrorsaurus occupied while Matt did whatever it was he was planning to do. Before the dinosaur could react, she had sprung on to the back of its neck, and grabbed hold of one of its long rigid spines.

  ‘Gotcha!’

  Doctor Fossil watched, furious. ‘Stupid girl!’ he cried. ‘Off! Shoo!’

  He began throwing his gloved hand up, down, back and forth. The Terrorsaurus thrashed around like a bucking bronco. Roxie, wailing, clung on for dear life.

  ‘Waaaaaahhhh!’

  Gomez, meanwhile, had yet to leave the shelter of the boulder pile.

  ‘I’ll … er … stay here,’ he told no one in particular. ‘And look after …’ he looked around his hiding place sheepishly, ‘… erm … me!’

  Roxie’s dinosaur rodeo ride suddenly took a turn for the worse. As the Terrorsaurus shook its head violently, she lost her grip. She went sailing through the air, landed heavily and lay still. Doctor Fossil, laughing wildly, sent the Terrorsaurus lumbering her way.

  ‘Ha-ha, it’s stomping time!’

  Despite his instinct for self-preservation, Gomez was not about to watch his best friend get squashed. He burst from his hiding place and sprinted to her aid.

  ‘Roxie!’

  The young Keeper’s heroics only increased Fossil’s delight. He made the Terrorsaurus lift one of its massive feet. ‘Two ants, crushed in one stroke!’ he cried gleefully. ‘So efficient!’

  But at that moment, a voice called out from behind him.

  ‘Hey! Fossil Face! Over here!’

  Fossil turned. ‘Matt Hatter!’ he shrieked, eyes blazing. He thrust his gloved hand in Matt’s direction. ‘Get him!’

  The Terrorsaurus obediently turned and stomped off towards where Matt stood, at the foot of the gorge wall. Gomez grabbed his chance to grab Roxie. He quickly dragged her to safety.

  Matt, meanwhile – now that he had Fossil’s attention – was hurriedly scaling the gorge wall, using every bit of his Multiverse-boosted agility. He swung and leapt from one narrow ledge to another, like a monkey, until he was dangling from an overhang at roughly the Terrorsaurus’s head height. He hung there, completely vulnerable, tempting the dinosaur to attack.

  ‘C’mon …’

  Doctor Fossil thrust his cyber-glove forward. The Terrorsaurus butted its armoured head against the rock face with ferocious force. Matt swung clear just in time.

  As the dinosaur drew back, Matt could see – and hear – that thin cracks were spreading across the rock face. His plan was working. He swung back to dangle from the overhang once more.

  ‘C’mon …’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Give me one more!’

  Doctor Fossil was too desperate to crush Matt to realize what was about to happen. He commanded the Terrorsaurus to ram the cliff again. Matt, once more, swung clear at the last moment. He settled on a high ledge, out of harm’s way.

  This time, the impact of the dinosaur’s charge brought the entire overhang crashing down. The Terrorsaurus was buried under an avalanche of falling rock. The crushing force was too much even for a monster of its size and strength to endure.

  Doctor Fossil let out a wail of anguish as the giant body of his beloved Terrorsaurus Rexus Rex flickered holographic blue, then vanished.

  21

  A Broken Heart

  Up on the high ledge, Matt had avoided being caught in the overhang’s collapse. It was the same ledge, in fact, on which part of the front end of Roxie’s wrecked sand-surfer had ended up, after the crash. Seeing it now, with its skid still intact, gave Matt an idea.

  ‘One last ride for the surfer!’ he cried, jumping into what remained of the little craft’s prow. As he urged it forward, off the ledge, his Multivision Specs activated – vzzz-tk!

  Doctor Fossil watched in astonishment and dismay as Matt, in his makeshift ride, came hurtling down the slope of rubble created by the rockfall, straight towards him.

  ‘And, to quote Roxie,’ yelled Matt cheerily, ‘mind the boom!’

  As he shot past Fossil, Matt swung out the surviving part of the sand-surfer’s sturdy boom. It caught the stunned villain squarely across the chest – a direct hit on his glowing amber heart. With a violent discharge of energy, the gemstone split right across its centre. The blow sent Fossil sprawling backwards, wailing, red eyes wide with shock. He landed flat on his back in the Eoraptor pit.
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br />   Matt sprang from the surfer to finish the job. He quickly slipped the Chronicles from his backpack, and reached for his Cell Blaster, slung beneath it.

  ‘Argghh!’ yowled Doctor Fossil, clutching at his cracked amber heart. Its steady glow had become a weak flicker. ‘Arrggggghhhh!’ Now Fossil’s entire body began to flicker, appearing solid one moment, then translucent blue the next.

  ‘Going hologram won’t help you, Fossil!’ cried Matt. He grasped the Cell Blaster’s grip, and felt its DNA-lock kick in. The Blaster fired up, thrumming and glowing with amber light. Matt pointed its hexagonal end at Doctor Fossil, and hit the trigger.

  ‘NOOOOOOO!’

  Fossil let out a desperate cry as a writhing stream of dazzling energy burst from the Cell Blaster and latched on to him. Matt fought to keep the bucking Blaster steady as its purple-white beam lifted Fossil from the ground. Slowly but steadily, it reeled in the struggling, wailing Super Villain. His holographic form shrank ever smaller as it neared the Blaster – then was swallowed completely. The beam cut out.

  As his Multivision Specs wiped off, Matt docked the Cell Blaster’s hexagonal face with the Chronicles’ cover jewel, to inject his captive into it. He detached the Blaster and watched Fossil’s image, trapped in a Life Cell, sink slowly into the depths of the jewel.

  ‘A broken heart …’ said Matt with satisfaction, ‘… and a one way ticket to the Villain Vault!’

  As Matt stowed both book and Blaster, Gomez came hurrying up. Roxie, too, was back on her feet.

  ‘We did it!’ Matt grinned at them.

  Roxie looked mightily relieved. ‘Only just!’ she said. ‘I was in real trouble …’ She put an arm around Gomez, and gave him a squeeze. ‘But my hero saved me.’