Risa Williams loved teaching. She’d loved it ever since she tutored her classmates back in primary school, and what started as a hobby had quickly grown into a career for the woman. There was only one problem. She really, really hated her students.
It wasn’t that she was a sociopath; Risa loved people. She had even worked in customer relations to pay her way through college, so she was used to the worst humanity had to offer. Anger, selfishness, plain stupidity—Risa could take it all in stride.
Or so she’d thought.
The young blond had been introduced to class 5F at Luther Community College, and she had soon realized that they were the worst little ingrates in the world—even worse than the worst horror stories that Risa had seen on TV.
It had all started with a firecracker under her chair, which was both something she didn’t realize people did and something she didn’t expect to become a daily event in her life. And since then, things hadn’t really improved in the slightest.
It had continued with more ‘pranks’ that were actually felonies; an unending barrage that drove Risa to relieved and manic laughter every time she returned home. All she wanted to do was treat her students with respect, and be treated with respect in turn.
But common decency wasn’t something known among young twentysomethings, and every time she responded to torture with a courteous “Please don’t do that again” she dug herself deeper into a hole from which there seemed to be no escape.
Of course the pranks were all made worse with Venn Machines, and Risa had begun to suspect it might be safer to come to school in a Venned body, just in case. But she wanted to offer her students the benefit of the doubt, and she had the scars to prove it.
And a quiet file in her desk that she fully intended to turn over to the police the second the last straw fell upon her back. It was the only good part of her life, and while she knew it somewhat failed her teacher’s creed, it was the only thing that let her sleep at night without devolving into a hate-sobbing mess.
Risa smiled to herself as she thought of this file, retreating to her happy place while her class continued to revolt in every sense of the word. It was a bright little house, full of neat filing cabinets full of all of the times she'd been wronged... And with a backyard chock full of the wrongdoers' graves. You’re all going to rot in prison, you miserable little ingrates.
“Hey yo, Risa!” Marty Thompson called, his hand surprisingly raised for once.
“It’s Ms. Williams.” She corrected him, a forced smile on her face as she counted down the time until summer. One hundred twenty days, twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes, and three seconds… One hundred twenty days, twenty-three hours, fifty-five minutes, and fifty-nine seconds…
“Yeah, whatever bitch!” He called back, to uproarious laughter. “How about we take one of those education field trips, like to learn about animals and stuff?”
Who knows, maybe some of you will get eaten. “Only if you don't have any other classes today!” She smiled at the class, wondering where they could possibly want to go. Still, if it kills the time until I can go home, maybe I’ll be able to actually enjoy the day. Better to hand out participation grades than demerits today—and it's not like I could do anything to discipline them if I tried.
Of course she should have known better. A short drive had revealed that her students had taken hers to the town's 'Monster Wars' coliseum, leaving her to stand in boredom while her students had fun fighting one another.
She grit her teeth angrily and scowled, thinking about how they'd technically made today a class activity, so she couldn't hurt their grades for misleading her. To think that she'd felt guilty about thinking ill of them!
I'm doubling their homework. Not that they'll do it. Risa pursed her lips tightly as she looked at the blood-stained field before her, watching them wheel out the scattered remains of a giant crab that had once been Joe Cornish.
She sighed, drumming her fingers idly. The kid was no match for the ankylosaur that used to be Amy Cabernash, an outcome that even Risa had seen coming. And the next victim on Amy's plate would be a Tiana Reynolds.
Tiana was one of the few reasons Risa still tried to teach her class; the sweetest girl at the school who always tried to make sure Risa had a good day. She even stood up for Risa from time to time, being a friend when nobody else would.
Unfortunately, this kindness couldn't possibly pan out well. The weak ones always were the first ones to die in Monster Wars. Poor Tiana... The sweet girl won't even know what hit her.
Risa hardened her heart as she watched Tiana's gate open, wondering what the girl would become. Probably something feline, given her love for cats... A wet and throaty screech interrupted Risa's musings, and she paused in shock. Or... Not?
A large and scaled form scuttled onto the field, eight sets of large claws clacking menacingly as it swiveled its three heads to face Amy's ankylosaur. Behind it, a long and spiked tail unfolded from its back, soon joined by four more. Its three heads gazed at the shell-backed beast with antipathy, and it let out another loud roar.
Risa gawped openly at the dragon... Bug... Thing that served as Tiana's new body, watching with wide eyes as it severed the ankylosaur's front legs with ease, turning it on its back and hammering into its underbelly savagely with all of its tails. The onslaught continued until its belly looked more like a pulped fruit than its former shell.
Jesus, Tiana... You'd never have guessed from her volunteer work... Risa found herself swept into a round of raucous applause, happily cheering on her student as the girl scuttled form the field, apparently sated with retiring with just one win.
Unfortunately, the next two students to come out were hardly as interesting. Jennifer Hawley and Kayla Summers were the two 'it'-girls, and they'd chosen the forms of flashy giant tigresses.
While once this would have been news, after the performance that had just dazzled the crowd, tigresses were somewhat clichéd. Risa groaned and looked away, wondering if there would be anything more interesting to come in the next few rounds.
To her complete surprise, one of the Monster Wars' staffmembers had somehow read her mind, because he slipped in beside her and yawned loudly. “God, I bet you just wish that there was a real fight on to watch... Why don't you consider getting in the ring?”
The man sidled up next to her, smirking with a conspiratorial wink. “The name's Rick, and I can tell that you've got the markings of a real winner.”
Risa blushed in surprise, stammering out a denial that she couldn't quite manage. What is he saying? I can't Venn into a monster! Hell, I could barely Venn into a pony for my neice's birthday party!
“Aw, I'm sure you're just nervous, right? Well don't worry about it. You Venn into something that I make up, and you'll be a winner for sure.” He grinned, nodding towards the spectator stands.
There was a slight commotion from the crowd, and Risa looked to see as the big monster that used to be Tiana tried to delicately make her way onto the stands, her claws clacking loudly against the metal seats and her vicious claws raised mollifyingly as though in apology.
Risa hadn't expected that; it seemed like Tiana had chosen to remain in her monstrous form. Why would... The answer came a moment later as Tiane began cooing and churring, an employee from the stadium holding her close like they were lovers at the theater. The woman smiled and pet Tiana's head gently, as though she were an oversized cat.
Even more surprising to Risa was the fact that Tiana seemed to love this, her oversized heads all vying for the attention of the woman's hand—though one of her heads was always fixated on the fight, no matter how pampered the other two were.
You know, I've always believed that love can overcome all appearances, but this is a little extreme for that, no? Oh God, what if they see me looking at them like this? Risa realized she was staring and blushed quietly, turning back to the employee beside her.
On the bright side, he hadn't noticed her lapse; as Rick had been staring himself. The man chuckled and looked back to the teacher, nodding towards Tiana's gigantic beastly form.
“That monster of hers? I call it the Scuttleclaw. It's a Rick Hannety original... And I got one I've been dying to try out.” He flashed her a smile. “That is... If you're willing to be on the reins. This one's named the Starwasp.” Rick accentuated the last word as though he was trying to sell it to her.
Risa blushed and waved him off with a chuckle, seeing Jennifer tear out Kayla's throat with a triumphant roar. The fight hadn't been too different from their catfights throughout the day; both girls throwing themselves at one another and trying to claw out each other's eyes.
That said, the ending was a little bit new, with Jennifer sinking her teeth deep around Kayla's neck, biting hard and tearing out her larynx with a gout of hot blood. Just like usual, though with a little more blood... The teacher mused with a chuckle, hoping that was enough to get Rick to leave her alone.
Below them, Jennifer roared loudly and bared her bloodstained teeth, seemingly heedless of the fact that her friend was bleeding to death beneath her feet. That was one of the odd idiosyncrasies of Venn Machines; people tended to be far less shaken up by death than they would normally have been. It was an impressive display, and Risa hoped that it would be enough to sate Rick and cool him down a little.
Unfortunately, he didn't; instead leaning a little closer. “Hey. Hey. Watch this.” He gestured down to the ring with a smile as a large dinosaur rumbled onto the field. It let out a piercing roar and unfurled its claws with a flourish, and Risa recognized it from the newest Jurassic Park movie.
“Is than an Indominus Rex?” She asked, her eyes wide as she looked at it with pleasure. That's so cool, it looks just like it did in the movies! It looks like they even got the claws down right! She stared at its long arms, impressed at how big it was.
“How did you get it to be the right size?”She gawped, wondering how such a creature could fit in a Venn machine. There were a bunch of other questions too, but as a scientist this was the most pressing one.
“Well... I did a couple of pretty impressive modifications to traditional Venning techniques. You wouldn't believe how you can squish and mold a body once you're using a Venn machine.” He grinned. “Not to mention a couple of water-activated tricks I learned at Vennmura.” He smirked, casually dropping the Venn-centric university's name.
“Oh?” Risa looked at him, genuinely interested. “So you graduated from Vennmura only to work at a Monster Wars arena?”
“Yep.” He nodded, beaming. “Because I have the best and brightest monster ideas in the business. I made Skullcrusher and Diamondbane; got a nice and tidy sum for their championships. This is a retirement of sorts... Though most of your class would rather be boring than win.” Rick's smile soured, and he looked up to Risa with intrigue.
“So I figured that a well-educated teacher such as yourself would be a little more... Open minded.” He continued, his eyes twinkling.
“Oh!” Risa exclaimed, blushing. “Oh, no, I couldn't. I'm afraid that I wouldn't know what to do in the new body; I wouldn't be a very good Monster Warrior, or gladiator, or whatever you call them.” Even though it does seem a little interesting...
The man seemed undeterred, his enthusiasm only growing. “Hey, no worries. That's why my monsters are champs.” He leaned in close, lowering his voice. “You see, most people? They don't remember that they should amp up the instincts of their monster body. You keep the love for other people so they don't hurt their handlers; you amp up the lust to see everything else dead...”
“That sounds a little like mind control, actually.” Risa swallowed. “I'm not so sure I'm okay with it...” Even though... You know, this does sound a little fun. It could be nice, giving into your body's instincts and rolling with what you've been given... Risa's thoughts betrayed her words, and she struggled to keep them from showing, hiding behind flimsy denials.
“No, no!” Rick waved his hands with a grin. “Think of it more like putting someone behind the wheel of a car with a lot of horsepower; painted red for good measure. You know, they always drive like maniacs, right? Same principles.”
“I'm not entirely sure that they are...” Risa chuckled, looking back to the arena to see that the Indominus Rex had grabbed the tiger in its claws, biting down on it hard and tearing a chunk from its body.
A loud squealing filled the air as the tiger started to squeal in pain and fear, its strong legs kicking at the stronger hands that held it. It looked like Jennifer was starting to realize how outmatched she was, now only trying to escape rather than to attack.
“So who's the Rex?” Risa nodded to the stadium, trying to change the subject. I can't let him know how he's selling me on this; I just can't!
Rick crinkled his nose with a frown. “Marty something or other. You know, I offered to make him into something better, but that little punk was dead-set on becoming something from a movie.” He said the last word like it was something foul, looking to Risa with an exasperated sigh.
She was scowling herself, lost to her own thoughts. That was Marty? To think that I thought he was cool! She frowned deeper, her hands gripping at the railing as the Indominus Rex looked her in the eyes and roared challengingly. Though the language was inhuman, the message was clear: If you go down here, I'll kill you.
It was an impressive sight, especially with the dead tigress that was beneath him. It was no match for the Indominus Rex, and the Venntendants made to quickly scrape its cooling body from the floor in anticipation of the next match—one in which Risa was beginning to have an interest in joining.
“Honestly, there's such a world of change out there; why do kids always want to become the latest blockbuster badass?” Rick went on, apparently not noticing how Risa's blood was beginning to boil. “I kind of wish someone would teach him a lesson...”
“I'll do it.” Risa grit her teeth, glaring at the monster in the ring. He wants to challenge me? He wants to play with the grown-ups? Okay, let's see just how much he likes it when I'm a monster, too.
“Well now, that's the spirit, isn't it?” Rick chuckled, standing up and dusting his knees off. “Come on, and I'll show you what a champion Venntendant can do!” He took her hand in his and they dashed off to the Venn machine.
Of course her students booed and jeered at her as she went—though those around Tiana remained timidly quiet for respect of the monster's high opinion of their teacher. But Risa didn't care about any of that; she was too in the moment to pay any real attention to their ridicule; saving that anger just as she always did and locking it away in her happy place, a happy place that she'd use to fuel this next fight.
Risa's heart raced all the while; it was like almost like a fairy tale—though one that would have a very bloody, very satisfying end. Oh, I can't wait to give that little punk what he deserves. I really hope this thing has the right mind to tear into him.
The teacher grinned savagely as she was led into the Venn machine, popping her knuckles and rolling her neck. She watched as Rick worked furiously at his terminal, no doubt fitting her to her new form.
“Ready to go when you—URRR!” Her voice became a loud growl as her form violently expanded, instantaneously filling the Venn Machine with alien muscle.
“Ready.” Rick smirked, jogging outside as the doors opened and coaxing Risa from her side of the booth.
Her mind raced as she slipped out, looking through black and beady sharklike eyes at a world in which she could see color and thermal signatures alike. Oh my God, he did it. I'm a monster. I... I have too many limbs to count.
For a moment, Risa began to panic; then Rick shoved a water hose into her mouth, clicking it on with the manic grin of a mad scientist.
Risa's body shuddered; then began to grow as she felt her dehydrated muscles begin to expand; her body swelling beneath her plates to reveal its full and deadly potential.
Three pairs of green insectoid legs unfurled from beneath a red carapace, and two smaller, almost vestigial forelimbs came in just above them. The large crest that served as her new head withdrew a pair of massive, wickedly sharp scythes; exposing small nostrils that could taste the air around her, smell the pride on Rick's body and the fear of the others in the room. Two more powerful arms flexed at her shoulders, their bony carapace thicker than anything else alon gher body.
It was good; it was perfect. I'm a killing machine. The thought passed through Risa's mind, and she opened her jaw to shriek confidently, extra mandibles parting around her layers of sharp teeth. She closed her mouth and they furled around her face like a football player's helmet, and Risa grinned savagely.
I'm built like a tank. A tank made of spikes and strength and killing intent. She swiped her scythes through the air experimentally, marveling at how light the felt despite their size and strength. The arms which marked the back of her skull and the front of her shoulders were strong; strong enough to let her feel like she could carve through metal with ease.
“Hey!” Rick snapped his fingers from below her, and Risa turned to look at him in surprise. “You ready for this?”
Oh! Risa blinked and nodded. She'd almost forgotten who she was... Not that Rick seemed to mind. He only grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, nodding with approval.
“That's the spirit! I need you to sink into that mindset when you take the field, okay? You're a winner; you're a champion; you're an apex predator. Got it?”
Risa nodded, a low growl coming from her throat as she turned towards the gate to the arena, slinking her form low and preparing to make her grand entrance. Her blood was up, and she needed to see blood spilled to quiet it.
Her students weren't helping that either, constantly jeering from behind the stands. No doubt they expected her to become something weak and pitiful, like a xenomorph or Tyrannosaurus—and to think that the body she was in now made them seem pitiful by comparison! A parody of a smile twisted across the alien face that Risa called her own, and she looked to the gatekeeper, nodding slowly.
The gate slid open with a loud creaking, and before the Venntendants could scoop up the fallen tigress, Risa scuttled past the first set of doors, planting her strong arms against the gate and shrieking at the top of her lungs, her body hidden from all save the dinosaur that was to become her first victim.
It had the desired effect; the Indominus Rex actually blinked, balking for a moment. Better yet, the insults and jeers died to mutters, a palpable wave of fear oozing from the stands. Risa could taste it, and she delighted in its rich flavor.
It even seeped from beneath the thick hide of the Indominus Rex, as he tried to act tough. The dinosaur opened his jaw and let out a roar of challenge back at her, stomping on his dead classmate's remains as he approached his teacher.
She rewarded him by clacking her way past the gate herself, her talons making deep furrows in the ground as she gazed forward at her prey; at the one that she'd soon devour.
Risa watched him come with growing anticipation. Yeah, that's right bitch. It's time to make Marty pay for... Wait, that's Marty; what am I thinking? Can I kill someone I know?
Risa faltered, dipping away from the dinosaur's first lunge with a hiss, her scuttling body just narrowly avoiding a grab by the beast. Her heart hammered, and she realized what a mistake she made. What am I doing? I'm a lover, not a fighter!
“Oi!” A shout pierced her thoughts, and she looked over to find Rick waving at her.
It was enough to collect herself, and Risa took a deep breath, bracing herself and letting out a collected hiss. But I'm a monster now. I'm a monster. I'm a monster. She closed her eyes for a moment, hearing the Indominus Rex beginning to charge. I'm a monster. And this is my prey.
When she opened her eyes, they were the dead and merciless black of a killer. The dinosaur noticed it a fraction of a second too late, and Marty carried his charge through, no doubt hoping Risa would be shaken again.
But she had succumbed to her killer instincts, and she shrieked loudly, digging her six legs into the ground to brace herself as her stronger arms speared forward, grabbing the dinosaur by the ridges along either side of its head.
Its momentum hit her with the force of a wave, and she responded with the strength of a mountain. Risa slid back a few feet, but kept her balance. And Marty realized his mistake, trying to pull away from her.
I am the Starwasp and you are my prey. Risa repeated to herself, holding fast onto the sides of his skull. She dug her talons in, her soulless eyes meeting his; her nostrils tasting the reek of fear that began to ooze from his scaly skin.
I am the Starwasp and you are my prey. She twisted her arms savagely and was rewarded with a crack and a howl of pain, the dinosaur's muzzle snapping painfully. She threw him to the ground with ease, falling upon him and holding his jaw down with her shoulder-arms; her chest-arms breaking Marty's dinosaur elbows.
I am the Starwasp! She roared, her scythes flashing as they stabbed into his neck. A thick gout of blood sprayed into the air as she tugged her talon loose, and Risa bathed in a swelter of crimson gore. The hot blood on her skin was such a good feeling, Risa stabbed into the dinosaur again and again, pulping his neck with savage strokes from her scythes.
And you are my prey! With that, she cut Marty's head from his body, her huge jaws dipping down to crush his skull; to fill her muzzle with his brains. They were delicious; far finer than anything she'd eaten before. This meat was earned; this meat is mine! More!
Risa's fangs crushed his skull like an egg, gray matter filling her throat and making her drool with pleasure. It was all too savory, and she relished in how the dinosaur's leg kicked feebly beneath her, a final shudder running through his body before it slipped into the stillness of death.
Risa glared up to her other students, another shriek filling the air as she challenged them, just as the Rex had. A few of them remained seated, but most of them jogged downstairs, filling Risa with a delighted anticipation.
Their scorn filled the air, a mixture of jabs and jeers letting her know who was in line to fight her. Her nostrils could even pick up the scent of who was currently being Venned, letting her identify them as easily as if she had seen them.
Good! Prey! She hissed, turning towards the gates as a pack of giant wolves bounded out, some club or squad within her class. No, that wasn't right... There was only one person in the Venn machine; John Higgins.
Clever, how he became a full appetizer course for me. Risa thought with delight, charging towards them and unfurling the mandibles around her mouth so she could screech louder than before, practically unhinging her insectoid jaw.
The wolves stumbled in their charge, looking back to the gates to find them closed. Their bodies were uncoordinated; no doubt John had issues with controlling this many forms at once. They whimpered and looked forward only to find that Risa was upon them, and then they died—though no two met a similar end.
Risa speared one with her horned head; bisected another with a scythe. The third she grabbed with her right claw and smashed into a paste; and the fourth was introduced to her left claw; then the wall with a bone-breaking snap.
The fifth and final wolf met the most gruesome end of all, as Risa pinned it to the ground with one of her talon-tipped feet, digging into its belly with delight. Then she gripped each of its legs in each of her arms and tore them from it with a howl of delight, tossing the gibbed bits to the side as she awaited her next challengers. More, yes, prey, more!
The legless wolf was still whimpering, wriggling about like a bloody worm on the ground as its cries for mercy filled the air. But Risa didn't care for such trivialities as pity or mercy-killings. If John had truly wanted her to be merciful, he should have chosen a form that would be worth a quick end.
As that pitiful pack of wolves... Well, he'd brought it upon himself; a painful death fitting of something that was more plaything than it was predator. Risa hissed contentedly, hearing the wolf's cries grow quieter and quieter as she awaited her next challenger.
The fool in question was a cross between a frog and a gorilla, bounding towards her with the intent to tear her arms from her sockets. Risa would have loved to pit her strength against its own, but instead she opted to eviscerate it as it drew close, relishing in the confused whimper the monster made as it tried to scoop up its spilled entrails in confusion. More!
A cerberus lunged out after that, formerly Lucy Raffling. This form was perfect for the girl, who’d always had a passion for mythology and multitasking alike. In a way, it was funny: she’d already gone to school with two heads; the third must have felt natural for her. Lucy’s three heads snapped and growled menacingly, and the beast dug her paws into the ground, charging towards her teacher with a growl.
Risa met Lucy’s charge with one of her own, but when the cerberus drew close the Starwasp threw her body to one side, gripping Lucy firmly in her bony arms and holding her aloft. The dog's growls turned to whimpers as she kicked fruitlessly in the air, and Risa hissed with delight.
The monstrous woman speared Lucy’s back with both of her scythes, pulling them apart and slicing through the beast's body to split her in half down the middle. The monster whimpered pitifully as she died, its entrails spilling down upon Risa's gore-stained horns.
She looked down to Lucy with a smirk on her face, watching the girl’s death throes. The middle head was very clearly dead, but the other two seemed to still be alive, though not for long. Risa wondered if their controller had become two different people during this time, though they had been one when they'd entered the machine. Perhaps this had actually split her two multitasking personalities, letting them see one another for the first time.
Indeed, the two heads were even looking at one another in confusion, as though they couldn't believe that they were no longer a part of the same body. Or perhaps the girl was simply confused that she'd been dispatched with such ease.
Then the giant dog's struggles ebbed to that same boring stillness, and Risa felt an emptiness in her stomach that could only be sated by blood and death. She looked back to the gates and snarled impatiently, her scythes scraping against one another to clear some of the viscera. I demand more!
Risa's wish was granted as a shell-backed snake slid out, its jaws clacking menacingly for the two seconds it had before Risa simply gripped the beast's mouth and tore it in half down the middle, snarling with frustration. Where was the challenge in that? Such a form would be good against lesser beings, but against a Starwasp? Well, if I'm not entertained from fighting it, I might as well be entertained by killing it.
It was like pulling apart wet cardboard that screamed in agony and spilled its entrails upon the ground. Risa bit deep into the falling entrails, making this murder a delight for all five of her senses. The richness of the blood's stink; the flavor of the fresh meat; the sight, the sound, the feel of it! Perfect, perfect, perfect!
A lumbering scorpion followed that, formerly a pesky student named Katherine Zadol. The oversized insect clacked its claws menacingly, tail raised as though she was ready to strike; ready to spear Risa with a sharp talon. And yet despite this, it remained completely silent, quiet all save for a clacking of its monstrous mandibles.
Funny, how such a sharp-tongued girl chose to be mute. Risa remembered each and every snide comment the girl had made as she severed the scorpion's ‘threatening’ claws and tail one at a time, making Katherine silently scream for the mercy of death with loudly clacking mandibles. Her chitin slapped against chitin time and time again, a constant and loud clicking that filled the air in lieu of any audible scream or shriek.
Risa plucked another leg for the sport of it, as a child would pull petals from a flower. She half-expected to hear as sound, any sound, from that but Katherine remained just as silent as she'd been before—though her remaining limbs flailed all the harder, her struggles spurred to new heights by pain.
Katherine looked to be trying to spasm hard enough to break her own body, but it seemed that she wasn't strong enough to end her life. Oh, I bet little Miss Mouthy wants the cool mercy of death, doesn't she? Risa smirked, exposing rows of serrated fangs. She stuck her right scythe into one of the scorpion's stumps, reveling in how it kicked desperately—though again only that unsatisfying clacking escaped its mandibles, despite her horrific injuries and clear distress and pain alike.
The bug's torment continued under Risa's watchful eye, only to end when she used the bug's carapace as a shield to block the sudden attack of a club-armed bipedal monster. Formerly Bob Gale, a football player, he had apparently thought it a smart idea to try and rush her while she was distracted. He only resulted in killing Katherine, the remaining stumps of her limbs twitching their last as he crushed her like the bug she’d become.
Risa took exceptional joy in killing him, her scythes pureeing him as though he were run over by a lawnmower. She drank deep of the blood of the fallen, contentedly turning to face the next challenger: a hydra. It was little John's girlfriend, Mary Perkins.
Risa thought it was a little cute how she'd tried to emulate her boyfriend's form by using multiple heads instead of multiple bodies. But it looked like the girl had no better control of her hydra heads than John had possessed over his wolves.
Risa analyzed all of this with a smile, flicking her tongue along her bloodstained fangs and mandibles. This is going to be fun... Risa hissed loudly, throwing herself into the hydra's form with delight.
The beast had enough time to look unsure of itself before she met its heads as a thresher would wheat. One, two, three... Risa counted to herself in a singsong voice, trembling inwardly with delight at how each stump fountained a small gush of blood as head fell from body.
The poor creature didn't so much as bite her before its nine heads were nothing but stumps, and before it could grow new ones Risa simply bisected the beast and ground its carcass underfoot. And nine means my fun is done, and it's time for the next one.
Student after student threw themselves at her, and all were met with the same cold kiss of death. It was an adrenaline rush like nothing Risa had ever experienced before, and she basked in it like a god among mortals.
Yes, yes! I am queen! I am the omega, the end of all who oppose me! I am an apex predator! Risa roared loudly, her carapace dripping with the blood of the fallen. She clacked her mandibles contentedly, turning to the stands to find only Tiana left, the girl still somehow finding a way to cuddle despite her nightmarish form.
Risa roared a challenge at the girl, her blood hot as she realized there was but one more victim for her to claim superiority. But to Risa's surprise, Tiana simply shook her three heads, lifting her foremost set of claws in a mollified shrug.
It was enough to sate Risa, who hissed with amusement, mentally cataloging the student as her underling; the first in what would become a great hive. Then something about those thoughts failed to mesh in her head. Wait, hive? Student? Those...
The disconnect in thoughts finally got through to Risa, and she was broken from her instinctual beast with a shudder. Oh my God. I've done it. I've killed my entire class! She flinched, looking to the fleshy chunks that she'd piled into a nest for herself. I really hope none of them complain to the school board about this...
These thoughts of worry filled her mind for the full hour it took to revert her students, even though the Venntendants assured her that they surely had a good time. It didn't help that the piles of bits had to be sloshed into the Venn Machine a section at a time, the parts too unrecognizable to sort through.
At least the bloodstains in their clothing would just Venn out after a few moments... Risa flushed as she watched the last of her students climb bedraggled from the booth, blinking and patting their body down.
“Now that you're all here... I would like you all to know that—”
“Ms. Williams, that was awesome!” Marty interrupted her as usual, though something about his sentence didn't quite register with Risa.
It took her a moment; then she blinked as she realized that he didn't call her by her first name. Her planned apology died in her head, and the confidence she'd felt as the Starwasp surging to the forefront of her brain.
“I would like you all to know that if any—any of you—want to pull a prank on me again, you should prepare to face your death in the ring!” She shouted, a manic smile spreading across her face as she punched her fist in the air. “Because I will send you straight past whatever god you worship into the cold void of hell!”
Much to her delight, she received a round of raucous applause for her words, and Risa basked in adoration. Finally, she was receiving the respect she so desired and deserved. That day was the first of the best days of her life, all thanks to Monster Wars.