The Freakish Family: Part 2

Aside from the constant threat of Hyrak who served as Lam, Carlene, Varney, the monster and Sycina's greatest adversary during this time. The Freakish Family battled a wide range of other monsters, creatures and strange enemies and went on many incredible adventures together.

Among their deadliest foes was Miss Havisham, a witch who sought to trap our world in eternal darkness. Havisham's turn to darkness was caused by the possession of her fiance by a demon. On the night before their wedding a demon took over the man she was to marries body and jilted her at the alter, breaking Havisham's heart. The demon then went on to commit many gruesome murders in his body, making him the most wanted man in London. Havisham became a recluse not just out of heartbreak that the sweet, kind, wonderful man she loved more than anything had become a monster, but also because people started blaming her (including his family) for turning him. Havisham's family had a history of witchcraft, and though neither she nor her mother had ever used magic at that point, sadly the stigma still continued. Many today believe the demon actually did target her fiance as revenge for something her family had done to it in the past.

The demon later abandoned Havisham's fiance after 20 years, leaving him a withered out husk in an alleyway. He nevertheless survived through both his love of Havisham and hatred of the demon and afterwards tracked down Havisham, being able to convince her of what happened. Havisham then turned to her families magics to get her revenge on the demon. Though she was able to exorcise it, sadly her fiance was killed in the process, whilst saving her from the demon's last attempts at lashing out before its banishment.

Driven mad from the grief of the man she loved suffering to such an extent, the decades she'd wasted hiding from the public who blamed her, and hating him when it was not his fault. Havisham vowed to make the entire world pay, and delved deeper into her families magics to do that.

Through her own families secrets as well as those of numerous other sorcerers she was able to reach through her resources. Havisham discovered an ancient spell which could force victims to live out their worst fears forever. She planned to amplify it using all of the magics of her family to spread out across the world, making everyone suffer.

In order to make the spell work however, Havisham would have to get the tears of 12 broken hearted innocent boys. She groomed her young niece Estella to help her get what she wanted, making her as bitter, twisted and wicked as she was. Estella then seduced several young men and broke their hearts. The latest young man Estella tricked and hurt however, Pip was an associate of a demon named Abel.

Years ago Abel was on the run from the mob in London, and after being wounded in a graveyard, the young Pip. Having no idea what a demon even was helped him escape. This act moved Abel to the point where he went out of his way to help others, gradually overcoming his demonic nature. As a result of this he came into contact with Carlene, with the two developing something of a friendship.

Abel meanwhile knew what Havisham was like, having stopped her from stealing a magical artefact a few months prior. As soon as he found out Estella was linked with her, he summoned Carlene and the others. Together along with Pip, they confronted Havisham at her mansion as she was preparing to cast her spell.(As a final act of the spell, Estella had to be consumed by firey magics too.)

Havisham summoned the tormented spirits of hell to try and fight off Carlene and the others. In the ensuing fight Estella was rescued by Pip, whilst Abel was killed sacrificing himself to save them both from a vengeful Havisham, who was finally consumed by her own firey magics.

The five also came into conflict with the infamous Jack the Ripper. The serial killer whose identity was not known to the general public for centuries was in fact one of Peter Pan's legendary Lost Boys.

Peter Pan was the adopted son of the legendary Greek god of the same name. During the god's battle with the dragons, Pan's actions indirectly led to the death of a boy. Whilst they may have come over as callous, the gods, at least at that point in their history tried to avoid civilian casualties as much as they could. However Pan hid an important weapon in a small village, thinking it was the perfect hiding place as the dragons didn't want to harm humanity any more than they did. Sadly however, Pan didn't count on a renegade dragon being willing to attack the village to get it. One of the boys of the village, wanting to protect his family, stole the weapon and fled, being killed by the dragon in the process.

Pan was so overcome by grief that he brought the boy back using magic. Unfortunately however Pan's magics were so clumsy (given that he didn't put as much practice in as the other gods, preferring to indulge in his own pleasures.) The boy was rendered an immortal. In fact he even developed certain god like powers, as Pan had used his own blood in the spell, in order to ensure its success. Sadly none of the other gods could undo what Pan had done afterwards, as if they removed his blood then it would be in danger of destroying the boys soul completely.

The boy whose real name has been lost to history lived with his family for years until he eventually outlived them, after which Pan took a more direct role in his upbringing. He tended to spoil the boy out of guilt and even gave him his own island constructed entirely through magic called Neverland. Pan also regularly played with the boy, that he came to refer to as simply "Pan Jr." However after the war with Ares broke out. Pan naturally had less time to spend with the child and instead placed other strange creatures there to keep the boy company.

After Ares defeat when the gods planned to flee the earth, Pan offered to let the boy come with him, but ironically Pan Jr in the years his adopted father spent away, had actually grown to enjoy being the king of his kingdom of Neverland.

Pan allowed the boy to stay, but cast a spell to keep Neverland hidden from the rest of the world, with even Pan Jr only being allowed to travel outside of it every now and again. He also couldn't spend too long outside of the island. Pan Jr however agreed to this as he loved Neverland, which due to its magical nature could constantly change and keep the boy entertained.

In time however even Pan Jr grew bored of the monsters and fairies of the island and began to abduct children to play with him for a short while before sending them home. These children were referred to as the Lost Boys by Pan Jr. Reportedly the first of them, who Pan Jr always regarded as being the brother he never had, was called Peter. In tribute to his friend. Pan Jr later became known as Peter Pan.

Peter Pan's greatest enemy meanwhile was the renegade Pirate, Captain Hook, who had originally arrived on Neverland in the hopes of utilising the gods magic to destroy an ancient sea beast known as the Kraken that was attacking his home town. Hook had left decades ago to explore the ocean and slay the supernatural menace that lived beneath its waves. (His home village being a sea side village made it vulnerable to attack from horrors of the deep such as the vampiric Dragurs.)

Whilst Hook was a great hero for many years whose knowledge of magics was so great that he was able to overcome Pan's defenses. Peter Pan still refused to let him have any of the magics in Neverland. Having been sworn to protect them from his adopted father above all else.

Sadly Hooks home village was destroyed by the vengeful Kraken, which caused the Pirate to swear revenge on Peter Pan. For the next few centuries Hook was a constant thorn in Peter Pan as well as generations of Lost Boys sides, though as time went on, Hook became more obsessed with stealing the magics than his revenge, believing he could change the world with them for the better. His past exploits had gone to his head, with Hook genuinely believing that he was the best man to wield the gods magics and that it was his destiny to do so. He kept himself eternally young through other spells he had picked up on his journeys.

In spite of the very real danger Hook represented, Peter came to enjoy the challenge of fighting him and allowed the pirate to continue existing. Whilst Peter had started out as a good natured child who was willing to sacrifice himself to save his family. Sadly in the centuries he had been indulged, Peter Pan had become corrupted and callous in his treatment of others, particularly his own Lost Boys. Still now and again flashes of his old heroic nature did sometimes resurface.

The man who became Jack the Ripper meanwhile, was always a tear away. Living on the streets after his parents caught him attempting to strangle his sister. The young Jack was selected by Peter due to his seemingly rebellious nature in the mid 17th century, with Peter having no idea of the true extent of his crime. Despite being several thousand years old, Peter was still incredibly naive.

Jack soon became one of Peter's favourite Lost Boys and stayed with him for longer than a human lifespan. Peter was so amused by his antics, that he turned a blind eye to the horrific abuse Jack often inflicted on the other, supposedly weaker lost boys. However Jack's truly psychotic nature was eventually exposed to Peter when he started murdering some of Hooks men. Jack did this simply because he had become bored of the pirates, whilst Peter still wanted to play with Hook.

Jack was very discreet at first. He hoped that if more of Hooks men died, rather than try and replace them so soon Peter would just give up, as he was very lazy. However the latest mother of Pan's lost boys soon rumbled Jack's plan. Peter Pan always chose one young girl, usually slightly older than the Lost Boys (who were younger than Pan) to help look after the Lost Boys.

As a punishment, Peter Pan cast Jack out of Neverland. Normally whenever someone left Neverland, they would undergo a specific process which allowed their body to adjust to normal air outside of Neverland. With Jack however, Peter was so angry he simply tossed him out.

As a result of this Jack began to age at an accelerated rate a few years after arriving back in our world due to having lived far longer than any normal human could in Neverland. In order to regain his former youth, Jack began killing people to harvest their blood for a ritual to make himself younger. He chose as his victims prostitutes, both because he believed that nobody would miss them when they were gone, and his pathological hatred of women. As evidenced by his attack on his sister, he always found girls repulsive and disgusting, but the fact that it had been one of Peter's mothers that got him kicked out of Neverland, only strengthened his sick hatred.

The Freakish Family unmasked Jack's identity with help of Peter's former mother who had him exiled in the first place. (The authorities had been unable to, as the criminal used magics to both conceal his appearance and cover his tracks.) The former mother of Neverland was named Marina and had left the island on her own violation, due to what had happened with Jack. (Peter despite being ruthless and callous in many areas, such as his dealings with Hook at least always respected his Lost Boys and mothers wishes to go home.)

She was 23 when Jack began his killing spree and as soon as she realised that he was responsible, she went to Carlene's agency for help. Even then however it was not an easy task.

Nevertheless the five did eventually track the sick killer down to his lair which was guarded by deformed clones of the Crocodile from Neverland. Jack had a run in with the beast where he managed to steal one of its teeth, which he kept after being exiled from Neverland. He hoped that he could use it to harvest Neverland magic, but when it became obvious that he couldn't, instead Jack tried to create several clones of the Crocodile, all horrific and crude, but all still dangerous and loyal to Jack. Finally Jack had also stolen Hooks famous Hook hand, after a confrontation with the pirate, which was the very weapon he used to slice up his victims.

Still Lam, Carlene, Varney, the monster and Sycina all managed to fight their way through these beasts, with Sycina finally being the one to slay Jack by ripping his head off with her bare hands.

Another major incident the five were involved in was the alleged Great Moon Hoax

Though this is how the authorities and the media referred to it. The truth of the matter was in the late 19th century, our moon became a temporary base for one of the most evil creatures in the galaxy. The last of the Vespertilio Homo, named Dasquela.

The Vespertilio were a race of bat like humanoids who relied on magic rather than science. Dasquela was their strongest and most skilled wizard. He wanted to elevate his people to being among the greatest forces in the galaxy, believing their mastery over magic could allow them to build an empire.

He was overruled by the other members of the high council of the wizards which led to a civil war on the planet. Eventually after centuries of infighting which permanently damaged the surface of their world. Dasquela sought to rebuild his people, but felt in order to do so he had to literally start from scratch.

He constructed a powerful magical weapon with the aid of his followers, that not only blitzed the surface of his planet, but also contained its essence within a small magical orb afterwards. This could allow Dasquela to not only bring the planets inhabitants and even its landscape back on another world, but also rewrite them at the same time to be loyal to him, and in other ways that would suit Dasquela.

Furthermore the orb could be used to create a seemingly infinite amount of copies of his planet too, allowing Dasquela to effectively create millions of copies of his people on uninhabited planets around the universe and rally them together as an army to conquer the galaxy.

His first few attempts to rebuild his world on other uninhabited worlds however (which he chose to do so rather than his own world as it was too contaminated) didn't go as planned. He was only able to make the copies of his people last for a few days before fading again.

He had greatly underestimated his own power and even Dasquela was horrified at the thought that he may have killed his people for nothing. He became more desperate and even tried to reshape inhabited planets in the hopes of draining the natives life forces to provide stability. All he accomplished was in either wiping out the native life forms, or transforming the natives into hideous abominations.

Eventually the alien wizard set his sights on earth. Intrigued by its strange, magical structure. The wizard didn't want to simply use the earth like the other planets however, as he was afraid that the combination of so many different kinds of the magical strains could have unintended side effects.

Instead he tried to turn the moon into a smaller copy of his former planet. Using just some of the magics from our earth that he could safely draw in isolation from our planet onto the moon. (Despite being smaller than Mars, magic could be drawn from the moon much more easily than on Mars because it was closer.) Dasquela hoped after stabilising the new version of his planet on the moon with certain isolated strains of earth magic, he could then use his new army to exterminate humanity. The earth magics that worked would then become a power base to stabilise billions of uninhabited planets to be turned into clones of his world, whose people would then function as an army to take the universe. By this stage Dasquela actually believed it was better to kill off all of the diverse life forms and replace them with copies of his own people. One race, under one king, in his mind would bring an end to wars and differences.

The insane wizards first attempt however still only lasted a few days, but during that time, the famed astronomer Sir John Herschel spotted the new terrain on the bright side of the moon facing earth through a telescope. (This was in fact the only part of the moon to be terrorformed as Dasquela did not want to face what was living on the dark side of the moon.) Herschel's reports were dismissed in the media as a hoax, but thankfully Lam suspected there may be some truth to it, and using his modified craft he and the others travelled to the moon. Lam had continued to work on the craft after its trip to another universe, though he was obviously more careful this time. At the very least it was capable of making small trips beyond the earth, though still not beyond the solar system.

The five arrived on the moon not long after Dasquela's second attempt. They were shocked to discover the moon filled with gigantic bat humanoid creatures, lakes, forests and strange animals. In the end however they were able to stop and finally put an end to Dasquela's insane attempts to conquer the universe and slayed the monster once and for all. Unfortunately however in order to stop the new race of Vespertilio from conquering the earth and slaughtering humanity, as Dasquela had programmed them too. Lam undid the spell and killed them all. He had no choice, and they weren't even really alive anyway, being nothing more than mindless automatons for Dasquela's cruel will.

Still the experience shook all five of them, and Lam afterwards kept the orb that could restart Dasquela's people for centuries until he was ready to explore the universe again in the early 21st century, after which he gave it to the federation of magic who finally restored the Vespertillion on another world. The orb was kept in Varney's mansion.

Not long after they returned from the moon however. The orb began to leak on the earth, causing several Vespertillio to escape from it. The reason for this was because it had unknown to Lam and the others become damaged when they destroyed Dasquela. Using left overs of Miss Havisham's magics (which Lam also stole after her defeat.) The family were able to place a magical band aid as it were around the orb stopping any more from escaping as well as trapping those who had already escaped back into the orb.

One of the Vespertillio however clung on and stabilised itself using any kind of magic it could from nearby, stopping it from being sucked back into the orb like the others. The magics also had another affect on the creature however and allowed it to think for itself rather than follow Dasquelas plan. This Vespertillio was not evil, but it had a mischievous sense of humour and enjoyed causing panic throughout the city of London. It earned the nickname Spring Heeled Jack from the natives, and whilst he caused a lot of trouble for the five heroes, at other points he also became an ally of theirs too, though they didn't quite became a team of six.

The five were also involved in stopping the great magical plague of 19th century London. This plague had been brought to the city by the legendary adventurer Sir Jason Praed. In his lifetime Praed helped uncover many lost treasures and old relics. His work proved essential in uncovering vital pieces of our history.

Sadly however the great adventurer got in over his head when he visited one of the remaining valleys the dragons used to breed dinosaurs during their war with the gods. (As Dragons are merely Dinosaurs that have been mutated via magic.)

The valley in question was in the middle of the Mongolian dessert, and like all dragon valleys, shielded by magic. Praed however knew about the supernatural. He had many dealings with it during his adventures and had even pocketed some other objects from the gods, and with a little time and effort he broke through the valley's defenses.

The valley was a primeval jungle filled with dinosaurs, pterosaurs, synapsids, and human followers of the dragons who were left to rot after the war. There were also several species of prehistoric demons too who had made their way here for safety during Gengis Khan's war.

Very few of Praed's initial expedition to this lost valley made it out alive, but the adventurer himself was able to make away with a rare gold statue of a dragon. Ironically he was disappointed to only be going away with that as obviously he wanted to bring back one of the dinosaurs. Little did Praed know however, the statue contained an ancient weapon that the dragons had wanted to unleash against the gods followers, in order to force them to surrender in exchange for the cure. In the later years of the war, both sides eventually forsook their old rule of not allowing humans to be part of their war.

Ultimately however the dragons didn't release the weapon as they felt the loss of life would have simply been too great. Still they didn't destroy it just in case and it was subsequently left in the valley.

The statue had a self defense mechanism wherein the plague would spread if anyone tried to steal it who wasn't one of the dragons servants.

The five, who were among the few people immune to the plague, soon approached Jason, who again using the magics he had stolen from all over the earth had been able to postpone his sickness for as long as he could, though he knew that it only gave him a few extra days at best and then when the virus returned it would kill him instantly.

Carlene meanwhile knew the statue belonged to the dragons, due to her dealings with them in her own time and that the virus was most likely to be linked too it. She also knew that given how much the dragons wanted to guide humanity, there is no way they wouldn't have created a cure. Jason who had also learned about the dragons on his journey, agreed with her, and despite his selfishness and callousness to his previous team mates. Deep down he did feel guilt for what had happened and agreed to personally help Carlene and the others travel to his lost world in Lam's craft.

They had trouble finding the cure however, not just due to how elusive it was, but opposition from the demons, who knowing what it was wanted the plague to spread. The cure was held within a temple in the valley. Only those who completed the dragons tests within the temple were allowed access to the cure. The dragons didn't just simply leave the cure and the plague side by side, where anyone could get both. In order to get the cure, you needed to be worthy. Lam, Jason and Sycina were the ones to undergo the gruelling tests, and in the end, Jason sacrificed himself to help the other two get the cure, which Lam then deposited into the air using his craft to cure London.

The fives adventure in the dragon valley also led to them gaining a new ally in the form of a large male Tyrannosaurus Rex that Carlene christened, Abraham.

This Tyrannosaur had initially attacked Lam when he stumbled into its nest. Abraham and his mate continued to chase Lam seeing him as a threat. However when the Freakish Family were overrun by the demons pursuing them who wanted to destroy the cure. The Tyrannosaurs also became caught up in the fight. The mighty dinosaurs killed dozens and dozens of demons (who normally wouldn't dare approach the Tyrannosaur territory, but again they were desperate to let the plague spread.)

The female Tyrannosaur was eventually overwhelmed and slain, whilst the male escaped only thanks to the intervention of Carlene (who had also become separated by the demons from the others.)

Carlene helped the Tyrannosaur back to health and the creature soon developed something of a bond with the vampire. Tyrannosaurs were not just ferociously powerful, but incredibly intelligent animals too and the great reptile subsequently accompanied Carlene, who even rode on its back, and helped her rescue her friends. The dinosaur proved essential overall in stopping the demons and gaining the cure.

Carlene continued to visit the Tyrannosaurus many times in Lam's saucer and even enlisted its help in a few instances. Most notably against the giant alien robot, Dathamir who was actually an old enemy of Lam and the federation he used to serve. Dathamir who was also a Zeta had abducted life forms from all over the universe in an effort to combine useful traits from different species into his own body to become a super being. He planned to make himself the first of a new race of super predators that could conquer and assimilate the entire federation.

Dathamir had developed this mindset after witnessing many civil wars break out in the federation. Sadly despite the propaganda, the federation was not quite the pillar of virtue that it claimed to be. Many of the smaller species were still exploited to some extent, as we've seen from our own experiences, many of the aliens were unprepared for the new species they encountered and not all old rivalries between certain species were completely forgotten. Whilst Dathamir may have started out as loyal to the federation, the death, corruption and infighting convinced him that it was a universal way of life and that in order to survive he needed to be a super being to overcome all other potential rivals.

Fortunately his experiments were discovered by another Zeta, the future leader of the group of monitors that Lam was a part of in fact. After several years living a desperate existence on the run. Dathamir later tracked down the commander of Lam's monitors on earth and managed to kill him, though in the process he was also vaporized by Lam. He was the first life form that Lam ever killed, and he was so haunted by it, he never killed natural creatures again in combat for years. This happened early in Lam's time on earth.

Sadly however Dathamir was not quite dead yet. His spirit was sent into a robot within his ship (a safety measure he had always taken.) Unfortunately for Dathamir however, his ship had been damaged arriving on the earth and his robot body was therefore weak and broken down.

Over the next several years, Dathamir cannabalized the technology in his ship along with whatever resources he could on earth to construct a new, steam punk robot body for himself that stood over twenty feet tall. With this body he also captured several humans, and forced them to build a machine that could allow him to brainwash the Zeta Reticulans on earth into being his servants whose technology he could then use to conquer other planets and restart his plan to construct a new, perfect body.

After one of his experiments went wrong however and produced a psychic backlash that nearly killed the Zeta Reticulans on earth. Lam was drawn into Dathamirs plans, though he had to be careful as the other Zetas were also drawn in too.

Lam underestimated his old enemy however and was captured by Dathamir who planned to use him as a test subject for his plan, but fortunately Carlene fetched Abraham. The Tyrannosaur easily fought its way through Dathamirs servants (the other mutants he had created) and battled his gigantic robot body in a one on one fight, which took them to the streets of Victorian London.

Whilst the two giants fought, Lam and the others destroyed the last of Dathamirs technology and weaponry. The Tyrannosaurus meanwhile eventually won out and destroyed Dathamirs body, whilst his mind was captured by Lam before it could escape again. Lam subsequently kept the would be conqueror prisoner for many years afterwards in Varney's mansion.

The Zetas who arrived not long after erased the event of the Tyrannosaur/robot fight from everyone's minds, though Lam was also forced to keep a low profile afterwards too to avoid being seen by the Zetas who investigated the strange occurrences, before eventually returning back to America. (Their presence also made it harder for Abraham to be transported home too.)

The Freakish Family were also responsible for rescuing the time travelling spirit known as Marley, who came from the 23rd century. Marley in the future had discovered the left overs of the gods time travel experiments (the very same magics that had given Herne and others their powers.) and gained even greater psychic abilities than possibly any individual who has ever lived, but an unintended side effect of his powers was that after his death. Marley's spirit rather than simply going to the great beyond, floated through time itself. Eventually he came to stabilise in the 19th century, where using his psychic powers Marley guided people and demons to fulfil their true destinies. The ghost soon earned a reputation around London as it helped some of the worst scoundrels change their lives for the better. Though Marley could offer psychic projections of possible futures, he also wasn't above playing tricks on people either. Sadly however the ghosts reputation drew in the attention of a particularly vicious vandal named Maxon. Having once been one of leaders of the vandal empire in Europe, Maxon was one of the few to escape the Cushing and the vampires slaughter of the leaders.

He had been forced to lay low for centuries, and whilst in the end, unlike almost all the other vandal leaders he escaped with his life. It wasn't much of a life, as Maxon was forced to live in the stinking sewers, feeding on the homeless.

Maxon first learned about the ghost of Marley when feeding on a beggar who had once been a cruel, wicked mill owner. Marley had attempted to warn him to stop what he was doing, but he arrogantly refused and even tried to exorcise the spirit, which led to Marley instead approaching others within his company that helped bring the tycoon down.

The vandal had his own grudge against the former mill owner, who tried to buy his life by telling him about the ghost. Of course the vandal killed him anyway and devoured his spirit, but after learning about the ghost Maxon decided to hunt it down. Not to feed on it, but instead gain access to its knowledge. He hoped he could use the ghost to shape his future to restore the vandals power around Europe.

Marley however was well protected, and the vandal was forced to turn to psychics to help lure it out. Though Marley was captured and tortured by the vandal, fortunately he was able to warn Lam in time, with the alien himself having been guided by the spirit of Marley at one point.

Carlene fittingly slew the last of the vandal leaders herself.

Possibly the most important incident the five were involved in however was the demon invasion of London in the year 1870.

The invasion had been planned for centuries by Satan. He knew that a gigantic portal between his reality and our world would prove too unstable, so instead he and his demons worked on creating multiple small portals that could allow millions of his demons to enter our world.

The first portal was created in London due to it being the centre of the empire, at that point the largest super power on earth.

The portals spread like a disease, with there being over two dozen within the first week. The more there were however, the easier it became for them to multiply until they'd eventually spread around the world.

Each portal formed in an enclosed space. Large enough for a demon to fit through, but generally small and insignificant, again to avoid detection. Spaces like cupboards, closets, carriages, under beds, even pendulum clocks were all ideal places for portals.

London was soon infested with hundreds and hundreds of demons, and though the Freakish Family were able to discover the original portal and seal it, stopping millions from opening up over the earth. Not only did they still have to deal with the powerful demons that had escaped from hell. More portals to hell would still open up in enclosed spaces for the next several hundred years. In fact the most recent case was only a few weeks before writing this. A child who was very nearly dragged into a hell dimension that opened up under his bed, before his mother saved him. In spite of the Freakish Family's best efforts there was a permanent damage to the fabric of our reality by Satan's efforts. Whilst he could never send through his army as planned. Now and again portals to his hell dimension could still pop up at random.

Furthermore the whilst shutting down the centre of Satan's portals, Lam ended up being sucked into Satan's hell dimension. The others were forced to travel through one of the remaining portals to get him, (with Carlene fetching Abraham to help.) It was a perilous journey through the worst hell dimension, but in the end with the aid of their pet Tyrannosaurus, the Freakish Family managed to rescue Lam.

Sadly however, Satan was aware of who had foiled his plan and punished Varney by releasing his vile son Varsces from hell through one of the portals, with Satan also transforming Varsces into a powerful demon. The reborn former king proved to be the five's most dangerous and recurring enemy after Hyrak. In fact whilst Hyrak was always the bigger threat, Varsces was a far more personal enemy, having no aims whatsoever other than to destroy his fathers life.

In spite of these other threats and battles however. Hyrak did remain the groups most persistent enemy. They'd spend over a decade bringing down his vast empire of vampires, criminals and demons. Towards the end of their fight with the former vampire emperor, Hyrak exposed Lam's survival to the other Zeta Reticulans living on the earth. New monitors had since been chosen who weren't as forgiving to Lam.

Still in spite of this, Lam was nevertheless able to help the team finally destroy Hyrak in a final confrontation in an underground village in Edinburgh, with it being Lam himself that personally killed the vampire.

Following the death of their archenemy, Lam was forced to go on the run from the other Zetas. Varney accompanied Lam, believing that someone had to look out for him and another person look after London. Carlene was ultimately chosen to stay behind. Even though she had known Lam longer, Varney had some unfinished business on the continent of Europe to deal with, and Lam agreed to help him finally face it. They both promised they wouldn't be gone long, but sadly from Carlene's point of view she would never see either of them again.

This marked the end of the Family and in the next chapter we shall explore what became of them after.