Page 115 of Monster in Disguise

Once the newly built bottomless skull is done, I attach it to the enlarged neck. There's still hair and scalp on the outside, which betrays the seamless transitions I'd worked so hard on, but alas, I did not have any flesh-eating beetles on hand.

When the pieces are connected, I put the brain inside, crowding it towards the narrow part of the funnel to make sure it won't collapse. Then, I reach inside the chest cavity and with some difficulty I connect the intestines to the neck and then staple it to the brain matter.

Done, but....

This masterpiece will require an audience before it's complete.

"We need to move this carefully. Can you manage that? And I'll meet you at the warehouse in an hour?"

Vlad sighs, exasperated, but I know that for all his immature display, he is very meticulous in his work. So much so that I know the exhibit will be untouched at the destination.

"Fine. Where are you going?"

"I need the last piece. It needs to be an interactive exhibit," I explain.

Greed.

They'll see greed.

One hour later, and I'm at the warehouse, a bag full of furred friends, and not of the domestic variety.

Vlad is on the other end, standing next to the exhibit, his expression clearly annoyed.

"You're late," he notes when he sees me, raising his hand to show me his watch.

"Two minutes," I groan.

"Two minutes too late. Let's do this. I have things to do," he says in a clipped manner. Yeah, I doubt he has anything to do. Much like myself, Vlad is a loner. Even more than I, no one would willingly associate with him. With his volatile nature, you never know when he'll snap.

I give him a look before unveiling the top part of the artwork. Reaching inside my bag, I grab the rats I'd brought – New York rats – and I drop them on top of the brains. When they start eating away at the organic matter, I give Vlad a nod, and we take the entire sheet off it.

People from both the Bratva and the Famiglia are inside the warehouse, together with workers and other essential staff. And they are all present to witness.

Greed.

It doesn't even require an introduction, as people stop to stare, some getting ill, others fainting.

The rats make excellent work of the brain matter before reaching the intestines, and then, like Hansel & Gretel, theymake their way through the organ maze. Everything is visible from the outside.

"What would you call this?" Vlad suddenly asks.

"This? I don't know. Art?" I joke, but he's not even cracking a smile.

"You know, if I'm Berserker, then you should have your own name too. Let's see..."

"Frankenstein?" I chuckle at the thought.

"No." His expression is serious. "Too man-made. We need something more powerful. Mythical."

"Hmm," I muse, but I don't exactly take him seriously.

"Chimera," he suddenly says.

"Chimera?"

"A creature of amalgamations. Not whole, but not lacking. And most of all – terrifying." Vlad turns to me, awaiting my reply.

"Chimera," I repeat, testing the name. In Greek mythology, it was a fire-breathing animal hybrid that instilled fear in people.

---