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Description
Sex: Female

Species: Mutated alligator

Location of origin: Everglades, Florida

Date encountered: July 10th, 1978

Total height: 7 meters (22ft)

Total length: 22 meters (74ft)

Total weight: 601 metric tons

Threat level: Very High

Aggression level: Very high

Known mutations:

- Immense physical strength

- Very thick hide consisting of scutes and osteoderms

- Jaws can deliver a bite force of over 10,000 tons, utterly obliterating anything it clamps down on
.
- Mutated tail sports a second set of jaws. Secondary jaws are much weaker than the mutant's primary ones, but are still deadly and can be brought to bear in a pinch.

History:

Another product creatures feeding off the remains of mutants, this particular specimen began life as a normal alligator in the Florida Everglades when the carcass of a heavily mutated whale washed ashore. This female specimen had already claimed three human lives including a child, and was already of considerable size for an alligator. She, like many other scavengers in the area, were drawn to the putrid flesh and seized the opportunity for a free meal. It was highly unusual for alligators to be seen this close to the shoreline, but the whale's carcass brought in scavengers from all over for a grotesque banquet.

For many of these scavengers, it would be their last meal: the Nebranium-saturated flesh of the whale carcass would ensure that they would either die of radiation poisoning or unstable mutation. For this female however, neither of these fates would befall it; it was destined for greater and deadlier things. As time went by the reptile would increase in size, it's DNA being ravaged by the mutating effects of Nebranium until what resulted was an abomination of an animal sporting several atrophied limbs, an asymmetrical body and two sets of jaws: one normal pair and another growing from the end of it's tail.

Her brain chemistry was being radically altered as well, producing an influx of hormones that drastically increased rage and aggression. Now in a berserk state, the reptile left the confines of the swamp in the dead of night and followed the waterways out to sea. The first to bear the reptile's wrath was the beautiful town of Key Largo. The moon glistened on the reptile's hide as it swam towards shore, creating a massive wake in it's path that knocked around boats and sent some crashing into the pier. The beast opened it's jaws and clamped them down on one of the boats, obliterating it in a shower of plastic and wood splinters in a single bite.

The creature thrashed it's head, tearing apart the shattered remnants before tossing them into the churning water. A swipe of the creature's tail destroyed the supports of the pier and sending the wooden structure tumbling into the ocean. Making it's way ashore, the creature galloped through the sand and destroyed everything in it's path. The commotion awoke the sleeping residents of the town, immediately being sent into a panic upon seeing the enormous creature destroying the town. The fleeing humans quickly caught the mutant's attention, and now it directed it's bottomless rage at these feeling morsels. The reptile charged at the nearest group of fleeing people, plowing through a luxurious home in the process before snatching several bystanders in it's enormous maw.

Not even taking the time to swallow it's meal, the reptile immediately set off after the rest of the humans who were either fleeing on foot or attempting to start their vehicles. A swipe of it's head smashed aside several vehicles as through they were toys. The chaos caused several vehicles to crash into one another, and these disabled vehicles and their occupants made for easy prey for the reptile. A swipe of it's tail completely leveled an apartment complex, crushing several fleeing bystanders under tons of concrete. Moving on, the massive reptile plowed through metal fences and palm trees until it reached the other side of the of the narrow strech of land, disappearing beneath the dark waters and leaving a burning town in it's wake.

By morning, Key Largo was almost unrecognizable from the immense damage caused by the mutant. Over 100 people were killed in a single night, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage were inflicted. Eyewitness accounts were invaluable in determining the identity of the mutant attacker, and this information was quickly relayed to military authorities who were quick to dispatch a detachment to kill the creature. Based on the nature of the creature, anti-armor weapons were brought into play, including the Bratton Mk II rifle. However in the time it took for the military detachment to arrive, another town along the coast was hit by the creature: the city of Homestead. Like Key Largo, the city was razed to the ground and dozens of people were killed, most having been devoured by the reptile.

The hunt began for the mutant, but it's amphibious nature made it difficult to track. Drag marks and prints were found in the mud, only for them to vanish at the shoreline. The waters around the two ruined towns were patrolled via airplane and helicopter to no avail. It seemed that the creature was not at sea but somewhere inland, possibly within the treacherous swamps of the Everglades. The answer soon came when the creature was sighted near an electrical substation situated near a large river that fed directly into both the sea and the Everglades. With a specific area to search, the detachment quickly deployed along both ends of the river to cover as much ground as possible while also being supported by recon planes and helicopters. Hours went by and no sign of the creature turned up: intentionally or not, it seemed that the mutant had evaded them once again.

As day turned to evening and the orange sun set behind the silhouettes of the swamp trees, the task force continued their search for the mutant, utilizing a strobe light to see in the pitch black swamps. Aside from the mutant alligator, the task force would also have to be weary of normal alligators, snapping turtles, and poisonous snakes that resided within the swamps. The alligators were the main concern, as they were active at night and even though they weren't gigantic monsters, they were still more than capable of killing a grown man in the water. One of the soldiers paused to wipe sweat from his brow, his strobe light shining through a thick patch of underbrush that briefly revealed the eyeshine of an enormous eye surrounded by reptillian flesh. It was so quick that none of the soldiers were even aware that they were within extremely close proximity of their quarry.

A spine-chilling hiss filled the air that made the soldiers quickly group together with their weapons raised, standing back to back. Their air was still, only the droning of mosquitos and chorus of swamp creatures could be heard. Suddenly the foilage erupted and the enormous mutant lunged from it's hiding spot with it's massive jaws agape. Fortunately, the soldiers were quick to respond and dove out of the way of the creature's jaws that slammed shut with a loud crunch. Gunfire immediately filled the air as the soldiers opened fire with their anti-tank weaponry, aiming for weak points such as the eyes and throat. The armor-piercing projectiles of the Bratton Mk II rifle proved very effective in punching through the softer parts of the alligator's armor and succeeded in drawing blood. The thicker armor on the sides and back were much harder to penetrate and thus the operatives opted to make the most of their ammo and aim for the softer parts instead.

The stinging projectiles did little other than irritate the massive reptile, but it was enough for the operatives to put some distance between themselves and their mutant foe. The loud crack of a bazooka filled the air, followed by the high pitched shreik of the explosive projectile soaring through the air. The explosive slammed into the side of the alligator and caused the creature to flinch and hiss in irritation. The blast left a large scorch mark on the creature's scaly armor but otherwise had little effect. The soldiers continued to fire upon the mutant, who seemed almost stunned by the fierce retaliation of it's prey. 3 Grenades bounced and rolled right below the creature's neck before exploding after a few moments. The force of the explosion forced the creature's head to look skyward, which exposed it's soft underside. This vulnerability was exploited immediately, and a total of 7 Bratton anti-armor projectiles found their mark and perforated the weak flesh of the mutant.

Streams of blood trickled from the wounds as the reptile began to turn tail and head further upstream, it's thrashing and galloping showering the soldiers in muddy fetid water. The humans quickly gave chase: it seemed as though they had wounded the creature enough to force it to retreat, or perhaps it was merely feigning a retreat in order to ambush them at a later point. This time the mutant proved much easier to track, as it's movement carved a wide trench in the river as well as leaving trails of blood in it's wake. The soldiers arrived at a fork in the river where the bank had been carved out and sloped, indicating that the creature had moved onto land and was now likely deeper in the swamp. Cautiously entering the swamps with their weapons at the ready, the humans scanned their surroundings for any trace of their quarry. Trails of blood still proved helpful in tracking the creature's movements.

Soon the sun began to rise, and the humans continued their search. After several hours of searching, the humans were becoming exhausted: drenched in sweat and swamp water, covered in insect bites and thirst, these trained operatives were reaching the upper limits of their endurance. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait for much longer: entering a clearing in the swamp, they found a large blood trail on the ground that lead into a large outcropping of thick foliage. Anticipating another ambush, the soldiers slowed their movement and aimed their weapons at the bushes where the trail stopped. The men began to sweat, their heart rates increasing as adrenaline filled their systems. They all knew that the creature was likely just beyond these bushes, and that any one of them might be killed at a moment's notice.

As if on cue, the reptile burst from the bushes with jaws agape once more. However it's hungry jaws were met with the unpalatable taste of hot led as the soldiers opened fire with everything at their disposal. The reptile slammed it's jaws shut and rotated it's body to swing it's powerful tail in a strike that launched several men off their feet, as well as rocks and large plants. Though no casualties were sustained, one man had gruesomely broken a leg upon landing on the ground from the blow and another suffered several cracked ribs after being launched into the side of a tree. The reptile charged again, galloping on all fours with it's jaws wide open. As it was about to clamp it's jaws shut around it's vulnerable prey, the ground began to shake violently. The nearby plant life suddenly took on a life of it's own and began to grab and lash at human and alligator alike. Slithering vines coiled around the soldier's weapons in an attempt to sequester them, but were shot to pieces.

The ground buckled and heaved as something massive began to rise up out of the ground, starting first with a massive armored head followed by several thick limbs: The Raxycodium had been awakened, and these intruders had interrupted it's slumber. The reptile had a moment of hesitation, sensing something akin to kinship with the creature that stood before it. It was as though she could sense her own kind within the creature, albeit it was mixed with a whole host of other things, some utterly alien even to the reptile. The creature however, had no interest in bonding over this minor species-relation and immediately attacked the reptile by lashing out with one of it's tentacle-like forelimbs and striking the alligator in the head.

The blow snapped the alligator out of her trance and spurred her to attack: it was clear that this creature was hostile and any possibility of a truce just went out the window. Quickly noting chemical disturbances in the air, the Raxycodium opened it's beak-like jaws and exposed the multi-hued inside of it's mouth that dripped with foul liquids. Once the alligator was close enough, the Raxycodium released a blast of orange pollen from the back of it's threat that engulfed the alligator entirely. The effects were immediate; the reptile's eyes and nostrils burned incessantly, it's lungs grew taxed as it inhaled large quantities of the pollen with each breath. The pollen made the creature's lungs burn and itch, sending the creature into a thrashing frenzy as it was unable to comprehend what was happening to it. Pressing it's advantage, the plant lashed out with it's forelimbs like a whip, striking the reptile in the side of the head and smashing it's face into the ground.

The plant attacked again, coiling it's fingers together and flushing fluids into it's forelimbs to increase it in size like a sponge absorbing water. With it's new club-like limb, the mutant brought the appendage down on the alligator right as it was lifting it's head out of the mud. The blow send the creature's face smashing into the mud once again, but now the creature was genuinely irritated by this attacker. Blinded and enraged, the alligator opened it's jaws and lunged at the plant as it attempted to strike again. The reptile's jaws found their mark and clamped down hard on the mutant's limb; so hard in fact, that the Raxycodium's limb utterly exploded from the sheer force of the bite. Pale green fluids showered the ground below as the Raxycodium recoiled from the loss of it's limb.

Not letting it's opponent take a moment of rest, the alligator galloped forward and rammed into the plant creature and knocking it off it's feet and sending it crashing into the watery mud of the swamp. The reptile's immense weight prevented the Raxycodium from standing back up, flailing it's thorny limbs like whips at the creature in an attempt to get it off. The alligator's thick armor ensured that such feeble attempts would not deter it from it's assault; it tilted it's head at an angle and bit down on the Raxycodium's torso with a wet crunch that sprayed chlorophyll onto the ground. The plant's body held firm for now, allowing the creature to retaliate by launching numerous vines from pulsating holes in it's sides; each vine tipped with barbed points.

The pointed vines slithered through the air on their own accord, guided by the controlling intelligence of the Raxycodium itself as it sought out a soft spot in it's enemy's armor. The probing fingers became a balled fist as the tendrils found exposed, mutated tissue where the sharp barbs deeply imbedded themselves into the flesh and immediately began to drain vital fluids from it's enemy. The mutated reptile could feel it's life being sucked away from it, but it had surprises of it's own; the alligator lifted it's forked tail and the end split open to reveal another set of crocodilians jaws. With a flex of it's powerful tail, the mutant launched the appendage forward and the jaws bit down on the vampiric vines and snapped them off easily.

Changing it's target, the secondary jaws bit into the holes in the sides of the mutant plant, crunching into the soft flesh of it's enemy and pulling away a huge slab of tissue that dripped with ichor. The jaws continued to bite and tear into the reptile's plant-based foe. The Raxycodium understood that the fight was quickly turning against it, and it would need to quickly flee the area to recover and calculate it's next move. The Raxycodium spat out another stream of pollen at the alligator right as the beast was about to take another bite, filling it's mouth and lungs with the irritating pollen. The alligator immediately reacted to the burning substance, rolling off of the Raxycodium.

As the alligator thrashed around in the mud as it's eyes once again burned with the pollen, the Raxycodium pushed it's head into the mud and began to rotate it's body in a corkscrew fashion in order to quickly tunnel through the ground. The massive reptile recovered from the searing spores just in time to see the Raxycodium disappear underground. The beast lunged and snapped at the plant's thorny tail, severing it from the creature's body with spurts of ichor. The creature swallowed the appendage whole and dug at the hole created by it's enemy in an attempt to dig the creature out, but quickly loses interest and heading deeper into the swamp.

In a berserk state from being assaulted by the creature, the reptile went north on a warpath, destroying everything in her way. In the early morning hours of the next day, the behemoth had arrived in the waters off Miami, swimming just beneath the blue waters and casting an ominous shadow below the water. Approaching the Macarthur Bridge, the reptile rapidly increased her speed until she had built up tremendous momentum. With a mighty thrust, she leapt out of the water and clamped her jaws down on the side of the bridge, crushing and shattering concrete like glass. Thrashing her body, she tore a sizable chunk off of the bridge before falling back into the water below, tiny pieces of cementing falling into the water after her.

Again she lunged out of the water, her head slamming into the asphalt of the bridge and causing a massive vehicle pile up. With her hind legs she attempted to push her body up the side of the bridge in order to climb it, carving deep gashes in the cement with her claws as she went. After some effort, the mutant succeeded in scaling the bridge and positioned herself in the incoming traffic lane with her jaws agape. Some vehicles, unable to brake in time, drove right into her waiting jaws only to be crushed and consumed. The reptile thrashed her head and tail, launching cars and people off the bridge and into the murky water below.

The reptile turned her body 180 degrees towards the city, spotting a large crowd of fleeing people making a beeline for the metropolis. The reptile had identified her next target and galloped towards the crowd of fleeing humans who had no chance of outrunning her. As she went, she batted aside cars and buses as though they were but minor obstacles in her way to a sizable buffet. Angling her head and opening her jaws, she lunged at the crowd of humans and succeeded in devouring a majority of the crowd in a single bite. Those that survived either ducked or threw themselves off the bridge and into the water below. Swallowing her meal, the reptile headed towards the city with destructive intent.

The mutant's presence immediately caused a mass panic to spread throughout the city as the creature entered a frenzied state from the level of activity around her. She charged at the nearest structure and plowed straight through it, emerging from the other end of the building as the structure collapsed behind her. A swipe of her tail demolished several street lights and telephone poles as her sheer body mass leveled any structure in her way. Her rampage would not go unchallenged however, as half an hour into her destructive spree, the ground began to quake and tremble.

The ground below it began to crack and expand outward, geysers of dirt and dust spewing out into the air. The startled reptile hastily moved away from the buckling ground. Suddenly a huge armored head burst from the ground followed by two thick forelimbs covered in segmented bark plates. With one final heave, the Raxycodium pulled it's massive body out of the ground with a bellowing roar, to which the alligator responded with a threatening, guttural growl. The Raxycodium answered this challenge with a deafening growl of it's own as it firmly stood it's ground.

Predictably, the alligator made the first move and galloped towards her armored foe with jaws wide open and ready to taste Raxycodium flesh once more. The plant had anticipated this move however, and lashed out with one of it's armored forelimbs, striking the alligator in the side of the head and sending her off course. The huge reptile smashed head first into a glass office building, shattering the elegant structure in a shower of shards. The Raxycodium followed up this attack with a stream of thick resin sap that hardened instantly on contact with the Alligator's skin, locking her left hindlimb in place in shackles of glittering resin.

Again the Raxycodium attacked, charging forward and plowing into the reptile, demolishing the rest of the glass building and pushing her into the next street. The sheer weight of these creatures carved enormous trenches in the asphalt as they collided with one another. The alligator finally retaliated by biting down on one of the Raxycodium's forelimbs; small splinters and chunks of bark were thrown into the air from the bite, however aside from this superficial damage the armor held firm. The Raxycodium retaliated with a bite of it's own, opening it's beaked mouth and clamping down on the alligator's neck with enough force to break through her armored hide and send rivers of blood trickling from the wound. The alligator bellowed in pain as the plant bit down harder, flesh and osteoderms crunching under the pressure the mutant's jaws were exerting.

The reptile thrashed wildly, snapping her jaws at any part of the Raxycodium she could reach until finally, she bit down on a large wooden protrusion on the Raxycodium's left flank. With a twist of her neck, the beast broke the protrusion off along with a chunk of armor on the Raxycodium. However in doing so, her made the Raxycodium's beak tear an even deeper gash into her neck. The reptile lashed out with her tail and used it's secondary jaws to clamp down on the plant-beast's hind limb, which she then used to pull the leg out from under the plant and knock it off balance. The plant finally let go as the alligator charged in as her enemy fell, knocking aside vehicles and traffic lights. The Raxycodium blasted the beast with a cloud of pollen that stopped the reptile in her tracks.

The plant opened it's jaws once again and unraveled several thick vines ending in snapping jaws that struck like serpents, as though they had minds of their own. These hideous extensions of the Raxycodium bit down into the gash on the reptile's neck and began ripping away more and more flesh from the weeping wound. The alligator whined in pain before using her secondary set of jaws to bite down on these pseudo-tongues and pulping them in a single bite. The jaw pulled away and tore them away from the Raxycodium as bright orange blood sprayed out from the plant's jaws and showered the pavement below. The alligator blindly galloped towards the rising Raxycodium, her eyes barely recovering and only able to perceive her enemy as a blurry silhouette.

The two beasts collided with enough force to create a shockwave that made glass shatter and cars jump in the air. The mutant beasts tumbled across the ground before crashing into a massive apartment building and coming to a stop. The beasts bit and struck at one another, causing heavy damage to the apartment building they fought in front of. At last the foundations gave way and the building came crashing down onto the two mutants with a metallic groan. The beasts shrieked as the thousands of tons of steel and concrete buried them alive. No sooner had the building collapsed did the rubble already stir with violent activity. Within moments both creatures erupted from the rubble: the Raxycodium with it's jaws wide open for a bite and the alligator with her tail poised to strike. With a flex of her powerful tail muscles, the beast hit the incoming Raxycodium with enough raw force to crack the creature's bark beak and fling it's body into the next apartment block in the complex.

The Raxycodium collided with the apartment building with enough force to carve an immense hole in the side of the building. Right as it was about to get up, it's chemical sensor detected it's enemy right on top of it, but it was far too late: the alligator mustered all her strength into a devastating bite to the Raxycodium's midsection. No amount of armor could protect this vulnerable point as the alligator entered a death roll, carving a huge trench in the concrete and asphalt as the Raxycodium was flung wildly by the maneuver. The plant attempted to us it's finger-like vines to try and stop the attack by grabbing onto the ground or buildings, but was unsuccessful. There was a sickening wet crunch followed by the tearing of flesh as the alligator literally ripped the Raxycodium in half at the waist.

In a spastic reflex, the bisected mutant lashed out with one it's thick forelimbs like a morning star, landing a crippling blow to the alligator's jaw that fractured bone and dislocated it. Pale green ichor flooded the streets from the Raxycodium's severed lower half and upper half. The plant's regenerative properties kicked in and quickly began to seal the wound with transparent tissue that turned an opaque green. The alligator weakly attempted to open her now limp, crooked jaws to hiss but found it barely responsive. Both creatures were heavily injured, but neither was willing to back down even as their bodies were wracked with oozing wounds.

The Raxycodium released a blast of pollen at the alligator, who turned her head to the side and closed her eyes to avoid getting the irritating substance in them. With it's enemy looking away, the plant discharged it's draining tendrils that poked into wounds and exposed flesh on the reptile. The vines began sapping the already exhausted creature of more energy, fat and muscle reserves quickly draining away as the reptile writhed in agony. She made one last ditch attempt to use her secondary jaws to try and sever the vines, but even this act required more energy than the alligator had at her disposal. Second by second the reptile began to look more and more skeletal and her movements gradually ceased. The beast's heart rate slowed and slowed until finally, it beat one last time before going silent.

After days of rampaging that caused immense levels of death and destruction, the mutant alligator had finally been slain at the hands of another mutant. Hours after the alligator had expired, her corpse and the severed lower half of the Raxycodium were removed from the city and taken several miles to a secluded location and dumped into a large pit that was excavated. The bodies of both creatures were then doused in napalm and incinerated, ensuring that no other creature could be spawned from their remains...

Description
Sex: Female

Species: Mutated alligator

Location of origin: Everglades, Florida

Date encountered: July 10th, 1978

Total height: 7 meters (22ft)

Total length: 22 meters (74ft)

Total weight: 601 metric tons

Threat level: Very High

Aggression level: Very high

Known mutations:

- Immense physical strength

- Very thick hide consisting of scutes and osteoderms

- Jaws can deliver a bite force of over 10,000 tons, utterly obliterating anything it clamps down on
.
- Mutated tail sports a second set of jaws. Secondary jaws are much weaker than the mutant's primary ones, but are still deadly and can be brought to bear in a pinch.

History:

Another product creatures feeding off the remains of mutants, this particular specimen began life as a normal alligator in the Florida Everglades when the carcass of a heavily mutated whale washed ashore. This female specimen had already claimed three human lives including a child, and was already of considerable size for an alligator. She, like many other scavengers in the area, were drawn to the putrid flesh and seized the opportunity for a free meal. It was highly unusual for alligators to be seen this close to the shoreline, but the whale's carcass brought in scavengers from all over for a grotesque banquet.

For many of these scavengers, it would be their last meal: the Nebranium-saturated flesh of the whale carcass would ensure that they would either die of radiation poisoning or unstable mutation. For this female however, neither of these fates would befall it; it was destined for greater and deadlier things. As time went by the reptile would increase in size, it's DNA being ravaged by the mutating effects of Nebranium until what resulted was an abomination of an animal sporting several atrophied limbs, an asymmetrical body and two sets of jaws: one normal pair and another growing from the end of it's tail.

Her brain chemistry was being radically altered as well, producing an influx of hormones that drastically increased rage and aggression. Now in a berserk state, the reptile left the confines of the swamp in the dead of night and followed the waterways out to sea. The first to bear the reptile's wrath was the beautiful town of Key Largo. The moon glistened on the reptile's hide as it swam towards shore, creating a massive wake in it's path that knocked around boats and sent some crashing into the pier. The beast opened it's jaws and clamped them down on one of the boats, obliterating it in a shower of plastic and wood splinters in a single bite.

The creature thrashed it's head, tearing apart the shattered remnants before tossing them into the churning water. A swipe of the creature's tail destroyed the supports of the pier and sending the wooden structure tumbling into the ocean. Making it's way ashore, the creature galloped through the sand and destroyed everything in it's path. The commotion awoke the sleeping residents of the town, immediately being sent into a panic upon seeing the enormous creature destroying the town. The fleeing humans quickly caught the mutant's attention, and now it directed it's bottomless rage at these feeling morsels. The reptile charged at the nearest group of fleeing people, plowing through a luxurious home in the process before snatching several bystanders in it's enormous maw.

Not even taking the time to swallow it's meal, the reptile immediately set off after the rest of the humans who were either fleeing on foot or attempting to start their vehicles. A swipe of it's head smashed aside several vehicles as through they were toys. The chaos caused several vehicles to crash into one another, and these disabled vehicles and their occupants made for easy prey for the reptile. A swipe of it's tail completely leveled an apartment complex, crushing several fleeing bystanders under tons of concrete. Moving on, the massive reptile plowed through metal fences and palm trees until it reached the other side of the of the narrow strech of land, disappearing beneath the dark waters and leaving a burning town in it's wake.

By morning, Key Largo was almost unrecognizable from the immense damage caused by the mutant. Over 100 people were killed in a single night, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage were inflicted. Eyewitness accounts were invaluable in determining the identity of the mutant attacker, and this information was quickly relayed to military authorities who were quick to dispatch a detachment to kill the creature. Based on the nature of the creature, anti-armor weapons were brought into play, including the Bratton Mk II rifle. However in the time it took for the military detachment to arrive, another town along the coast was hit by the creature: the city of Homestead. Like Key Largo, the city was razed to the ground and dozens of people were killed, most having been devoured by the reptile.

The hunt began for the mutant, but it's amphibious nature made it difficult to track. Drag marks and prints were found in the mud, only for them to vanish at the shoreline. The waters around the two ruined towns were patrolled via airplane and helicopter to no avail. It seemed that the creature was not at sea but somewhere inland, possibly within the treacherous swamps of the Everglades. The answer soon came when the creature was sighted near an electrical substation situated near a large river that fed directly into both the sea and the Everglades. With a specific area to search, the detachment quickly deployed along both ends of the river to cover as much ground as possible while also being supported by recon planes and helicopters. Hours went by and no sign of the creature turned up: intentionally or not, it seemed that the mutant had evaded them once again.

As day turned to evening and the orange sun set behind the silhouettes of the swamp trees, the task force continued their search for the mutant, utilizing a strobe light to see in the pitch black swamps. Aside from the mutant alligator, the task force would also have to be weary of normal alligators, snapping turtles, and poisonous snakes that resided within the swamps. The alligators were the main concern, as they were active at night and even though they weren't gigantic monsters, they were still more than capable of killing a grown man in the water. One of the soldiers paused to wipe sweat from his brow, his strobe light shining through a thick patch of underbrush that briefly revealed the eyeshine of an enormous eye surrounded by reptillian flesh. It was so quick that none of the soldiers were even aware that they were within extremely close proximity of their quarry.

A spine-chilling hiss filled the air that made the soldiers quickly group together with their weapons raised, standing back to back. Their air was still, only the droning of mosquitos and chorus of swamp creatures could be heard. Suddenly the foilage erupted and the enormous mutant lunged from it's hiding spot with it's massive jaws agape. Fortunately, the soldiers were quick to respond and dove out of the way of the creature's jaws that slammed shut with a loud crunch. Gunfire immediately filled the air as the soldiers opened fire with their anti-tank weaponry, aiming for weak points such as the eyes and throat. The armor-piercing projectiles of the Bratton Mk II rifle proved very effective in punching through the softer parts of the alligator's armor and succeeded in drawing blood. The thicker armor on the sides and back were much harder to penetrate and thus the operatives opted to make the most of their ammo and aim for the softer parts instead.

The stinging projectiles did little other than irritate the massive reptile, but it was enough for the operatives to put some distance between themselves and their mutant foe. The loud crack of a bazooka filled the air, followed by the high pitched shreik of the explosive projectile soaring through the air. The explosive slammed into the side of the alligator and caused the creature to flinch and hiss in irritation. The blast left a large scorch mark on the creature's scaly armor but otherwise had little effect. The soldiers continued to fire upon the mutant, who seemed almost stunned by the fierce retaliation of it's prey. 3 Grenades bounced and rolled right below the creature's neck before exploding after a few moments. The force of the explosion forced the creature's head to look skyward, which exposed it's soft underside. This vulnerability was exploited immediately, and a total of 7 Bratton anti-armor projectiles found their mark and perforated the weak flesh of the mutant.

Streams of blood trickled from the wounds as the reptile began to turn tail and head further upstream, it's thrashing and galloping showering the soldiers in muddy fetid water. The humans quickly gave chase: it seemed as though they had wounded the creature enough to force it to retreat, or perhaps it was merely feigning a retreat in order to ambush them at a later point. This time the mutant proved much easier to track, as it's movement carved a wide trench in the river as well as leaving trails of blood in it's wake. The soldiers arrived at a fork in the river where the bank had been carved out and sloped, indicating that the creature had moved onto land and was now likely deeper in the swamp. Cautiously entering the swamps with their weapons at the ready, the humans scanned their surroundings for any trace of their quarry. Trails of blood still proved helpful in tracking the creature's movements.

Soon the sun began to rise, and the humans continued their search. After several hours of searching, the humans were becoming exhausted: drenched in sweat and swamp water, covered in insect bites and thirst, these trained operatives were reaching the upper limits of their endurance. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait for much longer: entering a clearing in the swamp, they found a large blood trail on the ground that lead into a large outcropping of thick foliage. Anticipating another ambush, the soldiers slowed their movement and aimed their weapons at the bushes where the trail stopped. The men began to sweat, their heart rates increasing as adrenaline filled their systems. They all knew that the creature was likely just beyond these bushes, and that any one of them might be killed at a moment's notice.

As if on cue, the reptile burst from the bushes with jaws agape once more. However it's hungry jaws were met with the unpalatable taste of hot led as the soldiers opened fire with everything at their disposal. The reptile slammed it's jaws shut and rotated it's body to swing it's powerful tail in a strike that launched several men off their feet, as well as rocks and large plants. Though no casualties were sustained, one man had gruesomely broken a leg upon landing on the ground from the blow and another suffered several cracked ribs after being launched into the side of a tree. The reptile charged again, galloping on all fours with it's jaws wide open. As it was about to clamp it's jaws shut around it's vulnerable prey, the ground began to shake violently. The nearby plant life suddenly took on a life of it's own and began to grab and lash at human and alligator alike. Slithering vines coiled around the soldier's weapons in an attempt to sequester them, but were shot to pieces.

The ground buckled and heaved as something massive began to rise up out of the ground, starting first with a massive armored head followed by several thick limbs: The Raxycodium had been awakened, and these intruders had interrupted it's slumber. The reptile had a moment of hesitation, sensing something akin to kinship with the creature that stood before it. It was as though she could sense her own kind within the creature, albeit it was mixed with a whole host of other things, some utterly alien even to the reptile. The creature however, had no interest in bonding over this minor species-relation and immediately attacked the reptile by lashing out with one of it's tentacle-like forelimbs and striking the alligator in the head.

The blow snapped the alligator out of her trance and spurred her to attack: it was clear that this creature was hostile and any possibility of a truce just went out the window. Quickly noting chemical disturbances in the air, the Raxycodium opened it's beak-like jaws and exposed the multi-hued inside of it's mouth that dripped with foul liquids. Once the alligator was close enough, the Raxycodium released a blast of orange pollen from the back of it's threat that engulfed the alligator entirely. The effects were immediate; the reptile's eyes and nostrils burned incessantly, it's lungs grew taxed as it inhaled large quantities of the pollen with each breath. The pollen made the creature's lungs burn and itch, sending the creature into a thrashing frenzy as it was unable to comprehend what was happening to it. Pressing it's advantage, the plant lashed out with it's forelimbs like a whip, striking the reptile in the side of the head and smashing it's face into the ground.

The plant attacked again, coiling it's fingers together and flushing fluids into it's forelimbs to increase it in size like a sponge absorbing water. With it's new club-like limb, the mutant brought the appendage down on the alligator right as it was lifting it's head out of the mud. The blow send the creature's face smashing into the mud once again, but now the creature was genuinely irritated by this attacker. Blinded and enraged, the alligator opened it's jaws and lunged at the plant as it attempted to strike again. The reptile's jaws found their mark and clamped down hard on the mutant's limb; so hard in fact, that the Raxycodium's limb utterly exploded from the sheer force of the bite. Pale green fluids showered the ground below as the Raxycodium recoiled from the loss of it's limb.

Not letting it's opponent take a moment of rest, the alligator galloped forward and rammed into the plant creature and knocking it off it's feet and sending it crashing into the watery mud of the swamp. The reptile's immense weight prevented the Raxycodium from standing back up, flailing it's thorny limbs like whips at the creature in an attempt to get it off. The alligator's thick armor ensured that such feeble attempts would not deter it from it's assault; it tilted it's head at an angle and bit down on the Raxycodium's torso with a wet crunch that sprayed chlorophyll onto the ground. The plant's body held firm for now, allowing the creature to retaliate by launching numerous vines from pulsating holes in it's sides; each vine tipped with barbed points.

The pointed vines slithered through the air on their own accord, guided by the controlling intelligence of the Raxycodium itself as it sought out a soft spot in it's enemy's armor. The probing fingers became a balled fist as the tendrils found exposed, mutated tissue where the sharp barbs deeply imbedded themselves into the flesh and immediately began to drain vital fluids from it's enemy. The mutated reptile could feel it's life being sucked away from it, but it had surprises of it's own; the alligator lifted it's forked tail and the end split open to reveal another set of crocodilians jaws. With a flex of it's powerful tail, the mutant launched the appendage forward and the jaws bit down on the vampiric vines and snapped them off easily.

Changing it's target, the secondary jaws bit into the holes in the sides of the mutant plant, crunching into the soft flesh of it's enemy and pulling away a huge slab of tissue that dripped with ichor. The jaws continued to bite and tear into the reptile's plant-based foe. The Raxycodium understood that the fight was quickly turning against it, and it would need to quickly flee the area to recover and calculate it's next move. The Raxycodium spat out another stream of pollen at the alligator right as the beast was about to take another bite, filling it's mouth and lungs with the irritating pollen. The alligator immediately reacted to the burning substance, rolling off of the Raxycodium.

As the alligator thrashed around in the mud as it's eyes once again burned with the pollen, the Raxycodium pushed it's head into the mud and began to rotate it's body in a corkscrew fashion in order to quickly tunnel through the ground. The massive reptile recovered from the searing spores just in time to see the Raxycodium disappear underground. The beast lunged and snapped at the plant's thorny tail, severing it from the creature's body with spurts of ichor. The creature swallowed the appendage whole and dug at the hole created by it's enemy in an attempt to dig the creature out, but quickly loses interest and heading deeper into the swamp.

In a berserk state from being assaulted by the creature, the reptile went north on a warpath, destroying everything in her way. In the early morning hours of the next day, the behemoth had arrived in the waters off Miami, swimming just beneath the blue waters and casting an ominous shadow below the water. Approaching the Macarthur Bridge, the reptile rapidly increased her speed until she had built up tremendous momentum. With a mighty thrust, she leapt out of the water and clamped her jaws down on the side of the bridge, crushing and shattering concrete like glass. Thrashing her body, she tore a sizable chunk off of the bridge before falling back into the water below, tiny pieces of cementing falling into the water after her.

Again she lunged out of the water, her head slamming into the asphalt of the bridge and causing a massive vehicle pile up. With her hind legs she attempted to push her body up the side of the bridge in order to climb it, carving deep gashes in the cement with her claws as she went. After some effort, the mutant succeeded in scaling the bridge and positioned herself in the incoming traffic lane with her jaws agape. Some vehicles, unable to brake in time, drove right into her waiting jaws only to be crushed and consumed. The reptile thrashed her head and tail, launching cars and people off the bridge and into the murky water below.

The reptile turned her body 180 degrees towards the city, spotting a large crowd of fleeing people making a beeline for the metropolis. The reptile had identified her next target and galloped towards the crowd of fleeing humans who had no chance of outrunning her. As she went, she batted aside cars and buses as though they were but minor obstacles in her way to a sizable buffet. Angling her head and opening her jaws, she lunged at the crowd of humans and succeeded in devouring a majority of the crowd in a single bite. Those that survived either ducked or threw themselves off the bridge and into the water below. Swallowing her meal, the reptile headed towards the city with destructive intent.

The mutant's presence immediately caused a mass panic to spread throughout the city as the creature entered a frenzied state from the level of activity around her. She charged at the nearest structure and plowed straight through it, emerging from the other end of the building as the structure collapsed behind her. A swipe of her tail demolished several street lights and telephone poles as her sheer body mass leveled any structure in her way. Her rampage would not go unchallenged however, as half an hour into her destructive spree, the ground began to quake and tremble.

The ground below it began to crack and expand outward, geysers of dirt and dust spewing out into the air. The startled reptile hastily moved away from the buckling ground. Suddenly a huge armored head burst from the ground followed by two thick forelimbs covered in segmented bark plates. With one final heave, the Raxycodium pulled it's massive body out of the ground with a bellowing roar, to which the alligator responded with a threatening, guttural growl. The Raxycodium answered this challenge with a deafening growl of it's own as it firmly stood it's ground.

Predictably, the alligator made the first move and galloped towards her armored foe with jaws wide open and ready to taste Raxycodium flesh once more. The plant had anticipated this move however, and lashed out with one of it's armored forelimbs, striking the alligator in the side of the head and sending her off course. The huge reptile smashed head first into a glass office building, shattering the elegant structure in a shower of shards. The Raxycodium followed up this attack with a stream of thick resin sap that hardened instantly on contact with the Alligator's skin, locking her left hindlimb in place in shackles of glittering resin.

Again the Raxycodium attacked, charging forward and plowing into the reptile, demolishing the rest of the glass building and pushing her into the next street. The sheer weight of these creatures carved enormous trenches in the asphalt as they collided with one another. The alligator finally retaliated by biting down on one of the Raxycodium's forelimbs; small splinters and chunks of bark were thrown into the air from the bite, however aside from this superficial damage the armor held firm. The Raxycodium retaliated with a bite of it's own, opening it's beaked mouth and clamping down on the alligator's neck with enough force to break through her armored hide and send rivers of blood trickling from the wound. The alligator bellowed in pain as the plant bit down harder, flesh and osteoderms crunching under the pressure the mutant's jaws were exerting.

The reptile thrashed wildly, snapping her jaws at any part of the Raxycodium she could reach until finally, she bit down on a large wooden protrusion on the Raxycodium's left flank. With a twist of her neck, the beast broke the protrusion off along with a chunk of armor on the Raxycodium. However in doing so, her made the Raxycodium's beak tear an even deeper gash into her neck. The reptile lashed out with her tail and used it's secondary jaws to clamp down on the plant-beast's hind limb, which she then used to pull the leg out from under the plant and knock it off balance. The plant finally let go as the alligator charged in as her enemy fell, knocking aside vehicles and traffic lights. The Raxycodium blasted the beast with a cloud of pollen that stopped the reptile in her tracks.

The plant opened it's jaws once again and unraveled several thick vines ending in snapping jaws that struck like serpents, as though they had minds of their own. These hideous extensions of the Raxycodium bit down into the gash on the reptile's neck and began ripping away more and more flesh from the weeping wound. The alligator whined in pain before using her secondary set of jaws to bite down on these pseudo-tongues and pulping them in a single bite. The jaw pulled away and tore them away from the Raxycodium as bright orange blood sprayed out from the plant's jaws and showered the pavement below. The alligator blindly galloped towards the rising Raxycodium, her eyes barely recovering and only able to perceive her enemy as a blurry silhouette.

The two beasts collided with enough force to create a shockwave that made glass shatter and cars jump in the air. The mutant beasts tumbled across the ground before crashing into a massive apartment building and coming to a stop. The beasts bit and struck at one another, causing heavy damage to the apartment building they fought in front of. At last the foundations gave way and the building came crashing down onto the two mutants with a metallic groan. The beasts shrieked as the thousands of tons of steel and concrete buried them alive. No sooner had the building collapsed did the rubble already stir with violent activity. Within moments both creatures erupted from the rubble: the Raxycodium with it's jaws wide open for a bite and the alligator with her tail poised to strike. With a flex of her powerful tail muscles, the beast hit the incoming Raxycodium with enough raw force to crack the creature's bark beak and fling it's body into the next apartment block in the complex.

The Raxycodium collided with the apartment building with enough force to carve an immense hole in the side of the building. Right as it was about to get up, it's chemical sensor detected it's enemy right on top of it, but it was far too late: the alligator mustered all her strength into a devastating bite to the Raxycodium's midsection. No amount of armor could protect this vulnerable point as the alligator entered a death roll, carving a huge trench in the concrete and asphalt as the Raxycodium was flung wildly by the maneuver. The plant attempted to us it's finger-like vines to try and stop the attack by grabbing onto the ground or buildings, but was unsuccessful. There was a sickening wet crunch followed by the tearing of flesh as the alligator literally ripped the Raxycodium in half at the waist.

In a spastic reflex, the bisected mutant lashed out with one it's thick forelimbs like a morning star, landing a crippling blow to the alligator's jaw that fractured bone and dislocated it. Pale green ichor flooded the streets from the Raxycodium's severed lower half and upper half. The plant's regenerative properties kicked in and quickly began to seal the wound with transparent tissue that turned an opaque green. The alligator weakly attempted to open her now limp, crooked jaws to hiss but found it barely responsive. Both creatures were heavily injured, but neither was willing to back down even as their bodies were wracked with oozing wounds.

The Raxycodium released a blast of pollen at the alligator, who turned her head to the side and closed her eyes to avoid getting the irritating substance in them. With it's enemy looking away, the plant discharged it's draining tendrils that poked into wounds and exposed flesh on the reptile. The vines began sapping the already exhausted creature of more energy, fat and muscle reserves quickly draining away as the reptile writhed in agony. She made one last ditch attempt to use her secondary jaws to try and sever the vines, but even this act required more energy than the alligator had at her disposal. Second by second the reptile began to look more and more skeletal and her movements gradually ceased. The beast's heart rate slowed and slowed until finally, it beat one last time before going silent.

After days of rampaging that caused immense levels of death and destruction, the mutant alligator had finally been slain at the hands of another mutant. Hours after the alligator had expired, her corpse and the severed lower half of the Raxycodium were removed from the city and taken several miles to a secluded location and dumped into a large pit that was excavated. The bodies of both creatures were then doused in napalm and incinerated, ensuring that no other creature could be spawned from their remains...