TRANSYLVANIA, 1981
Count Dracula watched from the window of his castle as the mob got closer. He could see the line of lit torches in the moonless night, like a long, glowing snake, slithering ever closer to the stronghold of the Dracula family.
"We must go, Vlad," Countess Elizabeth Bathory Dracula told her husband. "If we are caught here, all is lost!"
"Ves..." The Count snapped out of his thoughts and gave the final orders to his minions. "Take our coffins to our private plane! We will follow shortly!"
"Yes, my lord," the men replied. The tweleve large men left the room for the crypt to fetch the two caskets of stone.
Nearby was a brown-skinned woman in leather and feathers. In her arms was a baby girl with black hair. By her side were ten other women, dressed as she was.
"Queen Nabila, I entruzt the infant Draka to vou and your tribe. Hopefully, zhe vill one day meet hor twin brother again."
The woman nodded. Then she and the other Amazons left with Draka.
Three nursemaids stood nearby. Each held a small, infant, all boys. Helga, a blond woman with blue eyes, held a brown-haired baby that was somewhat larger than most infants. Oriana, red-haired and greeneyed, held another brown-haired boy, this one, normal-sized. Luna, a frost-haired girl with purple eyes, held the black-haired child.
"Iz ewerythink packed?" Dracula asked the three women.
"Yes, master," Luna replied.
"Theen get on board the plane ond keep cloze watch on the cheeldren."
"Yes, master," Oriana answered. The three women --carring their sleeping charges-- left the room. Soon, after taking one last look at the home they were leaveing, perhaps forever, Count and Countess Dracula followed.
On board the plane, Dracula and his Countess slipped into their coffins and closed the lids. While his wife closed hers easily enough, the Count had a slight problem. He closed the lid of the elaborate stone coffin on his fingers.
"OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!" he moaned, pulling his mashed fingers inside.
The flight to America went smoothly. There was a little problem getting through customs --caskets are not normal cargo-- but with the explaination that the coffins held the remains of the black-haired baby's uncle and aunt, being brought over to America for final internment in the family's private cemetary in America, the coffins were allowed to pass.
"This is it," Elizabeth sighed. "Our home for the next several years."
"It may be forever, Betha," Dracula reminded her.
"True," she replied. She gazed up at the bat that decorated the frame above the door. The bat had its wings spread wide, as if to welcome its new masters. There was a simular bat on the door, itself.
Count Dracula inserted the skull-headed key into the lock and unlocked the door. Carefully, they stepped inside their new home.
Count Dracula's home in America was a three-story mansion left over from the Civil War. It had seen better days, but was still livable. Just outside was a private cemetary, where quite a few of the count's American relatives had been buried. It was a house the local humans claimed to be haunted.
"Quickly!" Dracula instructed his men. "Take our coffinz to the crypt!"
"Yes, Master," the men replied. They carried the heavy stone coffins into the house and down into the underground crypt.
"Take the leetle ones to their rooms," the Countess commanded. "It will soon be daylight and the Count and I must sleep soon. You must care for them in the daytime."
"Yes, Mistress," Luna answered. She and the other two nurses carried the babies upstairs, where rooms were waiting for them.
When they were alone, Count and Countess Dracula entered the long, dark stairwell that led to the old family crypt. The stone steps were cracked with age, covered with dust that had accumulated after years of disuse. Spider webs hung from the ceiling and lined the stairs like a gossamer curtains.
Soon, they reached the bottom and stepped into a huge cavern-like room. The crypt was windowless, to protect the vampires from the sun. Along the walls were the coffins of other, non-vampire relatives. In a corner was a working refridgerater. Betha went over, openned the door, and peeked inside. She turned toward her husband.
"Ve vill need zome vay to eat vithout preying on humans," Dracula said, by way of explaination. He smiled at his wife.
He was right, of course. Even though they have changed from evil to good, the Count and Countess Dracula were still vampires, creatures who needed to feed on blood. Carefully, Betha closed the refridgerater door. Then, she joined her husband and slipped into her coffin.,/p>
"Goodnight, dear," she smiled.
"Goodnight, my love," he answered. Together, they laid down and closed the lids of the coffins.
"OOOOWWWW!!!!!!!!!" Dracula screeched as, once again, he closed the lid on his fingers. From her own casket, Betha sighed and shook her head.
City, USA 1993
"Put it over the plate, Frankie!" twelve-year old Howler yelled. Howler was behind home plate, acting as catcher, his brown hair sticking out from under his blue baseball cap. He was skinny, his yellow T-shirt hanging loosely on his body.
At bat was Drak, his black hair feathering around his face. His red T-shirt fit his body well, neither tight nor loose. His ivory skin never tanned, but remained always pale, as if anemic, even though he was quite healthy and was as active as other boys his age.
Frankie, quite a bit taller than his two friends, stood on the pitcher's mound, ready to throw the ball. The big boy was smart, but slow in learning. Still, he was a loveable youth, not prone to anger. His green T-shirt fit him snugly, but without bursting at the seams. His own brown hair was short, blowing some in the wind.
"It's a comin', Howlie!" Frankie grinned as he answered. He wound up the pitch, then threw the ball as fast as he could.
Drak had a sixth-sence for things. He could close his eyes, and hear where the ball was. With a quick swing of the bat, Drak knocked the ball clear across the field. Immediantly, he dropped the bat and began running around the bases.
The ball landed in the grass. As their friend, Tony, ran to retrieve the ball, Drak touched first base. By the time Tony had picked up the ball, Drak was at second. In the time it took for the boy to throw the ball to Frankie, Drak had touched third. Frankie threw the ball to Howler. Drak slid on his way to home plate. Before Howler could catch the ball, Drak was touching home, safe.
"All right, Drak!" Tony called from center field. The game had been a friendly one, with no real compitition between the children. Jake, Amy, Mark, Kelly, Erin, Cody, Joni and the others gathered around the raven-haired boy, laughing and congradulating him on his home run.
Howler stood beside his life-long friend. Frankie squeezed in to stand on Drak's other side. Happy, the three raised their hands for their favorite gesture of friendship --a three-way high five. The other kids stood back to allow them the room.
It was then, that it happened.
As the three hands touched, a charge of electricity surged through them. It changed them, to the horror and shock of their friends.
Frankie grew taller, his skin changing to green and his hair to black. At his neck were a pair of metal bolts, each giving off electrical bolts of their own.
Howler hunched over a bit, growing brown fur all over his body. A bushy tail sprouted from his seat, while his face elongated into a wolf's muzzle. His ears grew into dog's ears and he let out a long, howl. His hands became a cross between human hands and dog paws.
Drak's skin changed from ivory to frost-white, making his raven-black hair seem even darker. Gray shadows appeared under his eyebrows. His lips became bright red, like fresh blood. When Drak openned his mouth, one could see that he had grown fangs. His clothes became elegant, formal wear, more befitting a weathly nobleman than a pre-teen boy.
"W...w...what's h...h...happened to y...y...you!" Cody stuttered in fear.
The three boys looked a themselves and one another. They were just as astonished and afraid as their friends. What had happened to them?
They had become monsters, like the ones in the movies!
"We need to talk to Uncle Vlad and Aunt Betha," Drak said, trying to keep as calm as he could. "There must be a reason this has happened."
Turning, Drak, Howler, and Frankie ran home, the ball game forgotten in their rush to find the answers to the strange thing that had happened to them.
"Zo, vou boyz have dizcovered vour povers," Count Dracula smiled. "That iz good. It meanz vou are readee to begin vour trainink."
"'Training'?" Drak asked. "For what?"
"To make up for all the bad things Frankenstein, Werewolf, and I did for centuries." When the boys only looked to one another in puzzlement, Betha smiled.
"Do you know who you are decended from?" she asked. The boys shook their heads. "You, Frankie, are the decendent of the Frankenstein creature, created by Dr. Victor Von Frankenstein. Howler, your anscestor is the Werewolf, the hunter of all things living. And you, Drak," she smiled as she turned to her nephew, "you are of the bloodline of the greatest of vampires --Count Dracula!"
"Uncle Vlad is...Count Dracula?" Drak asked. He looked over to his uncle. Drak had never really noticed before, but his uncle was very pale, with the same dark hair Drak himself had, though it was striped with gray. His thin lips were a deep red, and inside, shown whenever the old count openned his mouth, there was a pair of gleaming, ivory fangs!
"Your great-great-great --and so on-- uncle, to be exact."
"If I'm a vampire, why can I go outside in the sunlight? I thought sunlight destroyed vampires," Drak asked.
"You are a dhampir --half-vampire, half-human. Your father was a vampire, and your mother, a human woman. Frankie and Howler, as well, had monster fathers and human mothers. This gives you all the powers of your monster parent, with none of the weaknesses."
"But why?" Howler asked. "Why are we the ones that has to make up for your bad stuff?"
"I am wery old. Too old to do vhat must be done."
"Let me explain, dearest," Betha said. "Long ago, the monsters of the world were very evil, destroying and terrorizing the mortal humans with which they shared the world. There was little to stop them, so powerful were they.
"One day, your Uncle Dracula had a dream about three boys, fighting against evil, instead of for evil. The dream told him that the boys would be decended from the three most famous monsters of all time --Frankenstien, Werewolf, and himself, Count Dracula. The dream was a warning: Stop his evil and change to good before the monster race destroyed themselves.
"To be sure, when Count Dracula announced this to the other monsters, many thought he had gone insane. Only the younger monsters followed him, knowing that the count was right. Among these young monsters were your fathers, and, of course, myself.
"Eventually, your respective fathers found human females and fell in love with them. They married, and, soon after, the three of you were born. Drak even has a twin sister alive somewhere, although, at this time, I cannot tell you where to look for her. Like you and your parents, she is in hiding."
"'Hidin'?'" Frankie asked. "Why?"
"The people where we lived wasn't ready to accept monsters as being good. They came after all of us. Your parents thought to distract the mobs and tried to get the people to come after them. Either the deversion didn't work, your parants escaped, or..." Countess Dracula did not care to finish the frightening thought.
"Anyway," she continued, "the mob came for us. Your parents put you in our charge. In turn, we put Drak's sister, Draka, in the care of an Amazon queen. We brought you three to America, to raise you as American children. But we knew that someday, your powers would appear. When they did, we had to be ready to train you in their use, to become what you were meant to become."
"Superheros?" Howler put in excitedly.
"Yes," Betha smiled at him. "I think that's what the word is."
"Wow!" he responded, grinning.
"What are we going to tell the gang?" Drak asked. "We changed right in front of them!"
"Tell them the truth," Betha advised him. "That's the best thing."
Drak looked to Howler and Frankie, unsure if that was the answer they wanted to hear.
The next day, Drak, Howler, and Frankie arrived at school. Betha had told them that the high-five they had gave each other had triggered the transformation, and could return them to normal. She also told them that the change would only work if all three of them did it. They had used what they were already calling the "Drak Whack" to return to their human forms.
Their classmates watched fearfully as Drak, Howler, and Frankie passed by. How would they explain what happened? And would their classmates believe it? They barely did, themselves. Would the others believe that the three boys were destined to become real-life superheros?
They were stopped by the school principal. He stood taller than the students, with a severe look on his face. Dirk Johnson was a man of about fourty-five, with a balding head of brown hair, staring dark eyes, over which was a pair of horned-rim glasses. He always wore brown pants, a white, button-down shirt, and a dark tie.
"I keep hearing strange rumors about you three," he said, glaring down at them. "Rumors about you turning into monsters during a baseball game..."
"No rumor, Mr. Johnson," Drak said. Of the three, Drak was the most outspoken one. "It's true. You have witnesses to that."
"Really? And would you care to show us the truth in these rumors?"
"You really want us to?" Drak countered.
"If you please..."
"Okay. But promice to hear us out before you do anything."
"Very well. Just get on with it!"
"Okay...don't say we didn't warn you." Drak, Howler, and Frankie stood apart from the others.
"Ready?" he asked them.
"Yeah," they answered.
"DRAK PACK, WHACKO!" Drak cried, as the three of them performed their high-five. Just as it happened the day before, they changed into their monster forms.
Drak approached the principal. The students parted to allow their transformed classmates pass.
"There's a reason for this," the young dhampir told them. "It's a long story..." Drak began the tale his aunt had told them the night before.
"'Superheros'?" Jake repeated. Drak nodded.
"That's cool!" Cody grinned.
"Your uncle is Count Dracula?" Joni asked.
"Yeah," Drak answered her. He noticed she had paled and was shaking. "What's wrong?"
"Have you ever heard of Jonathan and Mina Harker?"
"Yeah. They were old enimies of Uncle Dracula. Why?"
"My name is Joni Harker..."
So the names are the same. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Jonathan and Mina Harker are my ansestors, Drak! Our families are enemies!"
"That doesn't mean a thing! We can still be friends, no matter how our families feel about each other!"
"How can you be so sure they'll let us be friends?"
"They will!"
"Will they?" She stared at him, hoping that he was right, but not so sure.
The next day, they found out that her family had moved out of town. It would be a long time before the two would see each other again.
The training of the Drak Pack was long and hard. Each had incrediable powers to hone. For Drak, it was the ability to fly, change into animals and objects, turn to mist, and telekinesis --the ability to move objects by his will alone. Howler had enhanced senses, including more powerful hearing and scent. He could create great winds, from a breeze to a tornado. His howl could shatter most substances. Frankie had super-strength and could shoot electricity from the bolts in his neck, with which, with a little practice, he could aim anywhere he wished.
They studied weaponry, and both armed and unarmed combat. They learned the lore of their monster ancestors, their mystic past, and every little detail they could. They also studied the lore of other monsters, as well, learning what made these monsters so powerful, and the monsters' weaknesses. They would face many challenges in their new carrer, and they had to be ready.
Time passed, and they grew. They finished school, graduating high school with top honors. Not long after graduation, Drak, Howler, and Frankie began their carrers as the Drak Pack. The old mansion became the Drak Pack Headquarters, with Count Dracula as their official leader. In the field, it was Drak that led the Drak Pack. Drak invented the Drakster, a car that could travel on land, in the air, or on --or under-- the water.
It took a while for the public to accept the Drak Pack. Much of what the public knew about monsters was that they were not good. This new generation of monsters --monsters that fought evil-- was something new. The public did not know what to think of these teenaged monsters that only did good deeds.
CITY, USA 1999
The Drak Pack's powers and resoursefullness was put to the test, one day. A new threat emerged, in the form of a gang of monsters called, O.G.R.E. --the Organization of Generally Rotten Enterprises. The world found out about O.G.R.E. the day its leader, a scientific genius named Dr. Dred, interupped television broadcasts around the world.
"Citizens of the World!" he had announced. "I am Dr. Dred, leader of O.G.R.E., the Organization of Generally Rotten Enterprises. Begining today, I and my criminal gang of monsters will loot the world of all its treasures. And there is nothing anyone can do to stop us!"
The Drak Pack watched their own T.V. as Dr. Dred continued. Dr. Dred had light blue skin, black hair, and a long, thin black mustache. There was a large blue hat with a broad pink band on his head. He wore a green labratory coat and green pants, a blue cape with a collar, high blue boots, and long, pink labratory gloves.
"Now," Dr. Dred continued. "Meet O.G.R.E. First up is Vampira." A vampire woman appeared on the screen. She had frost-white skin --like Drak had-- long, black hair, and blood-red lips. A long, sleeveless red dress clung to an unhealthy thin body and a long pink cape flowed behind her.
"Next is Toad." Now, a small, green creature appeared, who looked like a cross between a human and a frog. Toad was incrediably short, standing about three feet tall.
"Now, for Fly." Fly was half-fly, half-human. He was hunched over and covered with black hair from head to toe. On his back were thin, insect wings. His huge eyes --one black, the other, yellow-- darted about as he grinned evilly.
"Last, is Mummy Man." Now, a huge humanoid creature was seen on the screen. Mummy Man was covered from head to toe in bandages, his tiny eyes peeking out from under one wide piece of gauze. He mumbled a "Hello".
"O.G.R.E. will rule! We are invinicible!" Dr. Dred announced.
"And we can't be stopped, either! Heeheeheee!" added Toad, who chackled insanely.
"That's what 'invincible' means, you clod!" Dr. Dred snarled. He swatted at Toad with a flyswatter.
"Bad Toad! Bad Toad!" Toad cried, cringing from Dr. Dred and the flyswatter.
The T.V. screens went blank.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Frankie asked.
"Show Dr. Dred and O.G.R.E. how wrong they are," Drak answered, determination in his voice.
"Drak Pack time?" Howler asked, his eyes sparkling. Drak nodded. They got into position.
"DRAK PACK, WHACKO!" Drak commanded. They high-fived. In a flash of lighting, the boys changed into their monster forms. Without missing a beat, they raced to the Drakster. Buckling their seatbelts, the Drak Pack took off to confront O.G.R.E. Drak turned the dial to "AIR", and the red and purple car transformed into a small jet. They would soon be at the scene of the crime.
Dr. Dred and O.G.R.E. had already began to collect the wealth of the city --money, jewels, bank records, etc.-- while the citizens stood watching helplessly. The police, the National Guard, the Army --none of them could stop the villians. Everytime someone would attack, Mummy Man would wrap them up in his bandages, or Fly would trap them in huge sheets of flypaper.
The populance looked up when they heard the engine of the approaching Drakster. They watched as the strange vehicle landed and the Drak Pack got out. The people had seen the boys often enough, and was begining to accept them as the team fought crime and evil monsters.
"Who are you, boy?" Dr. Dred asked.
"I am Drak Dracula, Jr," Drak said. "Frankie," he nodded toward the big, green youth. "And Howler," Drak indecated the teen werewolf.
"We are the Drak Pack," Drak finished. "And we are here to stop you."
"Really?" Dr. Dred sneered. "O.G.R.E. --ATTACK!"
O.G.R.E. charged at the Drak Pack. Quickly, the boys paired off against the monster gang.
Frankie took on Mummy Man. Mummy Man got in the first attack, wrapping Frankie up in his mummy wrappings. With a huge burst of strength, Frankie broke the bandages. Then, he took the torn linen strips and made a lasso with them. He used this to tie Mummy Man up with his own bandages.
"That wraps you up, tough guy!" Frankie grinned.
Meanwhile, Howler fought off Fly, who buzzed his head. A gust of super-breath from Howler sent Fly flying back into Mummy Man. Frankie wrapped Fly up as well.
"That Fly is swatted!" Howler quipped.
In a pink mist, Vampira transformed into a long, red and pink snake with eyelashes. She leapt at Drak, wrapping him up in her crimson coils.
"My, but you're handsome!" she hissed as he struggled in her grasp.
"Sorry..you're not my type!" he answered. He, too, --in pink mist-- transformed into an animal. A bat, the symbol of the Dracula family. As a bat, he easily escaped her coils. Vampira slithered away, to change back into a vampiress and stand beside Dr. Dred.
"You can't defeat us, Clack Pack!" Dr. Dred declared angerly. Toad hid fearfully behind Dr. Dred's legs.
"That's 'Drak'!" Drak snapped.
"Whatever!" Dr. Dred answered. "O.G.R.E. --RETREAT!" One-by-one, the defeated monster gang boarded a huge derigable. Last of all was Dr. Dred. He turned to face the Drak Pack.
"We'll meet again, Dark Pack!" he declared. "You haven't heard the last of Dr. Dred and O.G.R.E.! We will return!" With that, Dr. Dred boarded the huge blimp. The blimp rose into the air and flew out of sight.
"That's 'Drak'!" Drak yelled after them. He turned to the others. "Well, we foiled Dr. Dred and O.G.R.E. this time. But he's right. They will return."
"And we'll be ready for 'em!" Frankie grinned.
"You bet we will!" Howler added.
The people surrounded them, cheering. Some soldiers lifted the boys on their shoulders as the citizens of the city continued to cheer the Drak Pack's first victory over O.G.R.E.
"Let's hear it for the Drak Pack!" someone cried. "Our new heros!" Everyone cheered louder. The Drak Pack was finally accepted by the people as their protectors, their superheros.
They finally trusted three teenaged super monsters.
Drak, who sat on someone's shoulder between Howler and Frankie, took their hands --one in each of his-- and raised them above their heads in a gesture of team victory, a sign of a promice. Whatever Dr. Dred and O.G.R.E. threw their way, whatever the threat to law-abiding citizens everywhere, the Drak Pack would be there, to fight for right.
"From the monsters of the past comes a new generation, dedicated to reversing the evil image of their forefathers.
Under the leadership of none other than Count Dracula --known as "Big D"-- three teenagers form the do-gooder group, named, "The Drak Pack".
With special powers, they can transform into super, mighty monsters and use their skills against all evil-ders, especially the diabolical Dr. Dred, and his renagade rascalians: Toad; Fly; Mummy Man; and Vampira. A group known as O.G.R.E. --the Organization of Generally Rotten Enterprises
It's right verses wrong; good over greed; niceness against naughtiness.
That's the dedication of the terrific trio --Frankie, Howler, and Drak, Jr.
The Drak Pack!"
The Begining...