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Chapter I: Weapons Master

Brrring! Brrring!

An unintelligible growl emerged a large pile of dirty clothes, rumpled quilts and fluffed pillows.

Brrring! Brring!

A dusty grey flicked in annoyance, poking out from the edge of the little burial grounds.

Brrring! Brrring!

An infuriated, bleary-eyed wolf jerked up from deep within the folds of his own little Fortress of Solitude and tossed aside a pillow. "Confound it! Someone pick up that damn phone!"

"That's not the phone, honey," came a patient, feminine voice from just outside the door. "That's your alarm."

Caleb Hale gazed at the vibrated display sitting on his bedside table and flashed his fangs at it. "I hate you with a vengeance."

"You're talking to the alarm, right honey?"

Caleb folded his ears back, light flush filling them. "Yeah, mom. Sorry."

"Good. Now get up. It's time for school."

The seventeen year old wolf rolled his eyes and with a monumental groan, he rolled off the side of his bed. The floor came up to meet him with a heavy thump. The pain was enough to wake him. The cold of his wooden floorboards more than enough to make him curl up into a ball and shiver. It took an immense effort on his part to prise his seven foot three frame out off the ground especially as he was still incredibly sore from yesterday's football practice. Coach told him that if he kept up the good work, he could hit a college team just like his older brothers.

That made him wince and tempted him to throw the first game of the season purpose. But there was no denying that he had his father's frame. Little shorter than Leon and Lance but he was definitely as muscular. He shuffled his naked form to the nearby mirror and regarded his lean, muscled frame in his bedroom mirror. Heavy bags were under his eyes from cramming for the test today and then furiously masturbating at two o'clock in the morning to get the sleeping pill effect of afterglow to knock himself out. Evidence of his activities marked the hard, six-pack abs below his plump pecs. He was grateful for his all-white belly fur that was framed by slate grey that ran across his arms, the outsides of his legs and most of his head. His lower jaw was white and so were the insides of his thighs. His paws and feet were likewise colours. The only other hint of colour to break away from the monochrome were light brown tips on his ears and the tufts of brown fur between them.

A yawn sprang of his muzzle and he lazily shuffled over to his closet where he pulled a tank top, a pair of shorts, some underwear and his football jersey. Not at all caring that he was completely in the nude, he padded out of his room and passed two open doors until he reached the bathroom. He was pretty sure his college fratboy brothers hooted and said something while his sister rolled her eyes and slammed the door at him.

He didn't really care and was just grateful for the warm, soothing touch of the shower. With such a big family, his mother - assistant to Californa's senator - had insisted that the shower not be so... isolated. Instead, it resembled the showers in the gym back at school. Three shower heads allowed for all three boys to shower simultaneous to prevent overcrowding and the women could shower as well without having to listen to the boys banging on the door for them to hurry up. She was smart like that.

Caleb liked his showers quick and simple. A lot of people called him impatient as he couldn't sit in one spot for long and that extended to many aspects of his life - showers included. Not to mention sitting down for haircuts. More than once, he'd had to go to school with a crew cut because he fidgeted or twisted the wrong way while getting a haircut.

Once he was clean, he stepped into the fur dryer, essentially a large cylindrical hair dryer. As he did so, he forgot to use shampoo and fur conditioner on himself. Grumbling, he padded back into the shower, kicked up the water again and lathered every part of his body in manly, musky shampoo. It only took another five minutes but by then, Abby was already banging on the door demanding he hurry up.

"Why do you even have to hurry?" he barked. "You don't have class today!"

"Arthur is picking me up in an hour!" she snapped back. "Hurry up, runt!"

It was funny. He was a late bloomer when it came to puberty and for a long time, his older siblings had called him a 'runt'. But recently, he had sprouted like a weed. He was clumsy at first but when Mary insisted he start working out, he started regaining his balance again. Still, that didn't stop his older sibling referring to him as 'runt'. It made his mother proud when he got that last foot and the muscle, though. Said he looked just like his father. Dad was pretty proud too. He started attending the school games again just to see his son, the star receiver, be at the right place, at the right time and score those touchdowns.

Just thinking of his father made Caleb both smile and frown. People said he just looked confused when he did that. Nevertheless, it was for good reason.

Once his fur was silky and smooth, he stepped into the fur dryer and let it do its thing. He combed down his fur once he was done and slipped on his clothes bar his jacket. He stepped out of the bathroom to Abigail's rolling eyes.

"Finally. Must take hours to get the stink of football out of your fur."

She didn't wait for his reply and just slipped through the door, slamming it shut behind her. She began singing Catherine Spear's latest hit as she no doubt began setting up all her various products to get ready for her date with Arthur, her boyfriend in law school.

Despite her attitude, Caleb just smiled and knocked on the door.

"What, runt!?" she snapped.

"Don't forget to use hot water. The dye on the tip of your tail needs to come off."

There was a pause.

"Right... thanks, Caleb."

He smiled softly. "No probs, sis." He turned, quietly amusing himself with the memory of his big sister accidently spilling fur dye on her tail on her last date with Arthur. Leon and Lance spent the whole night on the floor laughing while Caleb tried really hard not to join them. Dad had stern words with them afterwards.

Caleb padded down the stairs, his bare paws feeling incredibly odd on the floorboards.

"I hear claws!" shouted his mother. "Where are those sandals!?"

That's why his bare paws felt weird on the floorboards.

Caleb's fur fluffed out and he bolted back up the stairs. "Sorry! Sorry!" His mother hated bare paws on the floorboards. They messed with the polish. He threw on a pair of green sandals and quickly made his way back downstairs, the rubber flapping against his padded heels.

Dad was already in the kitchen, sipping very strong coffee with a newsfeed in his paws. The glistening book-sized device in his paws had a thin but near-indestructible metal frame and a holographic display made completely out of solid light danced between the frames showing the latest news feed. From all appearances, it looked like some high-end football scouts were making their way to California West High.

His father's bright green eyes glistened when Caleb stepped in and sat around the large, circular table.

"There's my champ," David Hale said, hoisting his mug of coffee in a mild toast. "Ready for the big game?"

"Dad, that's in two weeks."

"But you got to keep your head in the game. Let one day slip you by and it could be the end of your season before you know it."

Caleb knew better than to protest. His dad was a stay-at-home father who was aspiring to be an author. So far, he was really just a sports journalist for the local newsfeed. That didn't mean he was any less successful or persuasive. He was the one that got Caleb's testosterone boiling when they watched football games together and the one that got him the gym membership.

"Yeah dad, I will."

"Oh stop pestering him with that silly game," Lillian Hale said, stepping up to them both and setting down a heaping pile of pancakes and bacon. Caleb's stomach growled as he watched the slice of butter melt into the maple syrup. "He still has his studies to keep up with, college applications and his birthday."

Caleb's ears perked and he straightened. "My... Birthday...?"

His parents each gave him a curious look.

"July 4th. Your birthday."

"You're turning nineteen this year, remember son?" his father asked.

He knew that look. Six months ago, he was confused and scared, puzzled at the simplest things and seemingly slow to pick up the most simple matters. Both parents had seriously considered getting him professional help but Mary had assured them he was just having a bad day. After that, they seemed relieved that their youngest was pretty much the same as always. That day, though, did leave their memories.

"Oh... Uh..." Caleb rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "I guess I forgot... Been focused on football... I forgot to send invitations... Wait, we are having a party, right?"

A big, rough paw seized his hair and ruffled it, making him growl and push his ears back in annoyance.

"You betcha, runt!" Leon laughed while Lance caught Caleb in a suffocating headlock. "And we're gonna get you wasted! Oh wait! You can't drink yet!"

The twins laughed and disengaged when their parents gave the two a foul look. Leon and Lance Hale seated themselves beside one another on the table, the chairs creaking heavily beneath their seven and a half foot height and enormous, muscular frames. Both were on the verge of becoming professional bodybuilders. Their plan is life was to go into personal training and hit the professional bodybuilding circuit in their spare time. Dad said it was a waste of a potential football career and thus projected his desires to have a professional football player in the family onto Caleb. Their mother was worried they'd get injured or start taking steroids.

Caleb was just happy he wouldn't have to deal with his brothers for very long... even if they were colossal dicks.

He ate his pancakes in a hurry and was done before the twins or Abby could come down to torment him. He kissed his parents goodbye, grabbed his backpack and was heading out the door.

"Need a ride, son?" asked Dad.

"Nah, I'm meeting Mary."

"Fuck dude!" Leon laughed. "Ain't you a little young to get married."

"Bite me. I'm taking Ballistic."

"Don't forget your helmet!" his mother cried. Caleb smiled and gave her one extra kiss on the cheek before seizing his jet-black, bike helmet before heading straight to the garage. There, he swiped his black riding jacket off the rack. The garage door opened upon his command. The hot California sun blazed down on him, giving him time to appreciate every inch of his jet-black and gold, sleek, motorcycle, Ballistic.

It was the one thing that made his brothers jealous and shut up Abigail.

No one knew how he got the money to get it but Mary assured them it wasn't drugs. They all knew he had gotten a job at some government agency; something menial to do with accounting. They were surprised that it paid well enough to get him a motorcycle licence and to buy him a customised ride.

A loud honk made him turn down the road filled with double storey houses and tropical palm trees. A black, shiny convertible road up. The sizzling hot girl wearing bright pink clothing pulled down her sunglasses and gave him a smirk, her ruby lips twisting upwards as she set her sunglasses on top of her head, long, golden hair like liquid gold.

"Felt like rubbing something in your brother's muzzles again?" Mary asked.

"Nah. I just don't like taking the bus."

"I could always drive you."

"What? And be caught being driven to school by a girl? Get real."

Caleb slipped on his helmet, mounted Ballistic and kick started the powerful tinium engines. The clean energy source brought to them by the superhero Nucleus emitted a faint, orange light out of the exhaust ports as the motorcycle rolled out of the driveway and then burst down the road. Not too far behind him, Mary drove her convertible.

In the silence of his helmet, her voice came across from the single frequency communicator.

"So are you doing okay?"

He smiled softly. "You've asked me that every day for the past six months. I'm fine. In fact, I apparently have a birthday next week."

"Oh right. You were born on Independence Day. You're lucky. You get fireworks on your birthday."

"Yay."

"You don't sound too excited."

"It's a birthday party, Mary. Last time I had a birthday, I'm pretty sure I wasn't keeping a colossal secret from my family. Neither were you."

"Oh come on. You can't deny you love the secret. Weren't you always wishing to be a superhero?"

Caleb sighed softly. "I suppose. This isn't what I imagined though." He paused a moment as they rode down East Beach. Across the vast ocean was the California mainland. A bridge spanned gap between the artificial island and continental United States.

"That's because we're not superheroes."

"I suppose." He gave that some thought... and nodded. "Okay. You're right." Then he grinned even though Mary could not see it. "Hey, did you see the new iMe 10?"

"You mean that bizarre floating orb from Apple? Yes?"

"It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Caleb, is that your subtle way of telling me you want an iMe 10 for your birthday?"

"In case you didn't know, I'm giving you the puppy dog pout right now."

"You're seven foot three, weight three hundred pounds of solid muscle and have veins popping out of your biceps. You cannot pull of a puppy dog pout."

"Curse my masculine attractiveness!"

They shared a laugh and rolled into California West High School. Despite the world build mostly out of glass, metal and a cornucopia of solid light highways, CW High was build out of traditional brick and had a rather rustic feel to it. Caleb drove up to his private parking space reserved for starters on the football team while Mary had to park a little ways away. As he pulled off his helmet, Caleb took a moment the marvel at the simplicity of the building; its building blocks, its materials and just how well it stood out compared to the rest of the metallic jungle around it.

His reverie was interrupted by a heavy paw on his shoulder and big mound of brown and black happiness.

"Hey Cale!" Lars McCloud, quarterback and Doberman hunk gave him a light punch. "Awesome catch last night at practice! I never got to say that to you! You were out pretty darn fast!"

Caleb shrugged. "Couldn't take the stink. Your passes suck, bro! At least if you raise your arm, you'll knock out the other team with your funky BO! Just warn us next time, 'kay?"

Lars' face twisted into a mocking scowl. "You take that back, cocksucker!"

He shocked Lars back playfully, also scowling semi-seriously. "Suck my dick like the fag you are and I'll consider it!"

"Fuck you man!"

They grabbled, bumping chests and getting each other into headlocks to make sure that the other could compare biceps. There were a few punches thrown but their abdominals muscles were pretty much like armour and it had little effect. After Lars pinned him to the ground, Caleb declared surrender and the quarterback stood up, huffing loudly.

"See you on the field, fag!" He winked at Caleb and gave him a thumbs up. A little lighter and much more jovially, he said, "Keep that arm strong! Oh and hey, am I invited to your party this weekend?"

Caleb had to fight the frown on his muzzle. "Yeah, sure."

"You inviting Ben?"

"Of course! Why the fuck wouldn't I?"

"I dunno. I was just thinking you didn't want to be seen with your _boyfriend_in public!"

"Get out of here, asshole!" Caleb laughed and Lars was bolting away, laughing his head off. Rolling his eyes, Caleb stood up and became aware of another pair of eyes staring at him. He turned to find Mary a short distance away, arms crossed. "What? I'm a guy. I'm built. Testosterone has poisoned my blood. It's instinct to fill every sentence with 'fuck' and participate in homoerotic wrestling while remaining perfectly straight."

"Uh-huh," she responded, angling her head to the side. "And Ben? Is he really your boyfriend?"

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Mary, you've known me for most of my life. Do you really_think I'm ready for _any sort of committed relationship?"

She nodded absently. "You're right. You're too damaged for that. Besides, I'm sure all the plumbing has gone rusty by now."

He bounded up beside her as they headed towards their first class. "I'll have you know, I have been healthily masturbating three times a day since that fateful night. My plumbing is just fine."

"Three times? How in the world do you manage to do that?"

"Well... you know those bathroom breaks I take..."

"Oh... eew..."

*****

Benjamin Connors had never been very interested in social studies except perhaps in the study of social creatures like perhaps Lars McCloud or Caleb Hale, the two hunky canines in his class. He quietly licked his lips as he watched the two sharing answers while the teacher's back was turned.

See, Ben had a secret.

He was a werewolf.

Not just any werewolf, a member of the Alpha Pack. Werewolves, like normal wolves, formed packs but the Alpha Pack was special. They were all Alphas, the highest order of werewolves who had formed a quiet, criminal organisation that was geared towards spreading the werewolf curse. Clichéd yes but Ben absolutely loved it especially since he got to rule_other_ werewolves.

He had become an Alpha on his sixteenth birthday and joined the Alpha Pack when it was revealed his father was part of it already. What was he doing at a high school? Recruiting, of course! And his eyes were poised at Caleb and Lars. He was sure they would absolutely love being werewolves.

Not only because of the raw power, the strength, muscle structure but probably also because of the sex. Werewolves didn't care of the social standards of 'civilised' life and just fucked because they could. Girls, guys, blow up dolls, that didn't matter. Hell, most of the girls in the Alpha Pack were far hornier than Ben.

He glanced from Caleb and Lars as their teacher turned. Both straightened immediately and looked like they were trying not to laugh. The best friends were prime candidates for the Alphas. Both were strong, not dumb either and they both showed exceptional team work. Ben had seen them on the field and that was what attracted him to them in the first place. At first, it was just Lars. Being a quarterback required a lot of leadership, coordination and an aura of command. That was what one needed in an Alpha. Then, Ben had caught Caleb masturbating in the toilets when he thought he was alone. The scent he got off the wolf... God, it just _screamed_Alpha.

He was drooling just thinking about them.

But both boys were hard to pin. Lars had this impression Ben was this nerd, comic-book obsessed loner - a guise that Ben gladly accepted - and Caleb always had to excuse himself every now and then. God the wolf was a horny kid. Ben _loved_it. The sad thing was, Caleb was far more friendly to Ben than Lars and that made Lars a friend of Ben by extension. The two had never really exchanged any meaningful words.

But Ben hoped that would all change this coming weekend with Caleb's birthday. He would get one hell of a birthday present.

Halfway through class, Caleb's phone rang. It was some song, 'Waiting for You'. Normally, their teacher would turn and scowl but whenever it was Caleb, she would just look worried. The wolf looked apologetic, got up and left the room. Ben wondered if he had just programmed his phone to give off that ringtone and given times.

Predictably, a few moments later, Caleb poked his head back in and claimed that he needed to be excused. Nothing else was given and their teacher just nodded and told him to take care. Then he was gone, probably for the rest of the day or maybe at football practice is he could manage not to fall asleep on the toilet after vigorously jacking off. Incidentally, that was how he and Ben had first become friends - he forgot to lock the door. Nothing particular happened. Just some awkward conversations.

When class ended, Ben approached Lars, taking in the big Doberman's manly scent and trying to fight the hard on that was swelling in his pants.

"Hey Lars, are you going to Caleb's birthday on the weekend?"

Lars grunted. "Yeah. Gonna get him iMe 10. Mary said that he wanted one."

Mary Brightwood. How Ben hated her. She was always around Caleb and she always made him give off this amazingly, handsome smile that would light up the room. Ben was not ashamed to admit that he was jealous of just how she could make the wolf smile. Plus, whenever she was around, she seemed to cock-block him. Whenever Ben suggested he and Caleb speak in private, there was Mary. Whenever Ben asked if Caleb would want to split a burger, there was Mary to pick off the fries. Whenever Ben suggested a sleepover, there was Mary right next door tossing Caleb an old tomato soup can with a string attached to make him laugh.

Mary.

"Damn," Ben muttered, running a hand through his dusty, red hair. "I was going to get him one too..." That was a lie. Ben wanted to give Caleb his 'gift' in private. "Hey! Did you want to split the cost?"

"And turn up to the part looking like I'm too cheap to buy my own gift?" said Lars. "I don't think so, bro."

Got he loved it when Lars said 'bro'. So fratboy.

"Okay, how about this?" Ben replied. "We both get a gift but we'll chip in on each others'?"

Lars looked confused as he bent one ear and scratched the other. "Wouldn't it be better if we just got a gift each?"

"Well either you turn down getting him the iMe 10, one I _already_pre-ordered or we end up giving him exactly the same gift."

The Doberman frowned. "You already pre-ordered it? Shit... Okay, I suck at thinking up gifts and I was relying on Mary spy for me... Um..." He turned away as they headed down the hallway. "What's your other idea?"

Ben grinned brightly. "How about stripper?"

Lars balked. "Dude!" he whispered harshly. "That's fucking illegal!"

"I said a stripper not a sex favour." Though in reality, that was what he meant.

"Maaaan..." Lars whimpered softly. "That'd be perfect for him... He needs to get _laid_but I can't get any of the cheerleaders to go out with him."

"Why not?" Ben asked, genuinely curious.

"Because he's too smart."

"Eh?"

Lars rolled his eyes. "Those girls want a football player to be dumb as a brick and just grunts and looks hot. Caleb... He ain't like that. This one time, I set him up with Connie Dandelion. Head cheerleader, you know?"

He knew. He definitely knew. She was actually a member of a rival werewolf pack. She hid it well and she had taken to bullying Ben here and there but only on his instruction. They needed to keep up Ben's meek, weak disguise for as long as possible. "Yeah. And?"

"He tried." Lars winced loudly as they reached their next class. The line gathering outside was quite large already. Caleb was nowhere to be seen. "He really tried to encourage her. I was with my date and we were double dating. He tried being cute, trying to feed her and he even made these awesome jokes that made everyone but Connie laugh. They weren't poop jokes either. They were intelligent stuff. Shit about physicists and shit. He had football jokes and even tried to show her some of his drawings. And you know what?"

"What?"

"She dumps him because he's 'just not that into football'! The bitch..."

More and more, Caleb sounded like he would make a great Alpha. Charming, intelligent and certainly strong.

Speaking of which.

"Did I miss something?" the wolf asked, bounding up to them. Ben smiled but it was greatly forced because he noticed the manila folder that Caleb was carrying. It wasn't the first time that the wolf had reappeared after a quick disappearance carrying one such folder. It always stank of chemicals and smelled... artificial. Some more sensitive furs would have noticed it but to Ben, it was particularly strong.

"Though you pulled another Houdini, bro!" Lars laughed, clasping Caleb's paw. They bumped shoulders. Just watching those muscles undulate and vibrate made Ben grin inwardly. If he didn't have his own boyfriend, he would have taken either of these two as his mates.

"Sorry." Caleb waved the folder. "Just some administrational stuff. There's a college scout coming here and apparently they're interested in a wide receiver."

"Whoa! Congrats bro! Think they'll need a quarterback!"

"Dunno. Maybe if you lift that stubby tail of yours they'll consider it!"

Ben smiled. It was always fun when those two shot homoerotic insults at each other. He had no doubt that once they became part of the Alpha Pack, they'd be at each other like... well... like wild wolves. It would be a sweet story to have their insults turn into actual feelings.

"Come on, guys!" he said. "Class awaits!"

They both stared at him.

Then, in unison, said, "Nerd!"

This was followed by a friendly arm around Ben's shoulders.

Yup, soon these two would be his.

*****

Lars McCloud had a secret.

And it wasn't just his secret identity as Firebrand, the newest superhero to join the Elemental Alliance; the United States' personal league of supers with the ability to control one of the fundamental elements of creation. Religious nuts hated them but then again, they hated all supers. No, as Firebrand soared through the skies leaving a trail of fire behind him, he was just finishing up his patrol to meet his other, more drastic secret.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted by a loud crash.

West California Island had originally been built as a nature preserve but eventually, modern expansion took place. Still the nature preserve was maintained at the centre of the island like central part in New York City. From where he flew, Firebrand could see some commotion occurring there and not the good kind.

There were flashes of light, a few explosions and unholy screams.

Duty called.

He checked his watch.

It was fifteen minutes to ten.

"Plenty of time," he told himself.

He shot straight down toward the preserve. The unfortunate thing about his powers was that he could not be subtle on approach. As he arrived, whoever had caused the commotion was long gone. It didn't look like anyone was hurt but there was blood on the grass. He frowned as he knelt down and regarded it.

It looked... off... almost... jelly like.

He called the police.

At five minutes to ten, the authorities arrived and he gave a brief statement. He was off a minute later.

At ten on the dot, he had crossed the California Straight and reached the mainland. He was five minutes late - five past ten - when he landed on a secluded section of a beach. There, waiting for him, was a big, burly, furry figure that gave off the most heavenly scent in the world.

His name was Blood Wolf, a member of the Alpha Pack of terrorist werewolves. He had the unnatural ability to control the blood flow of his victims, making him not only a werewolf but also a super. He was on the list of dangerous criminals the Elemental Alliance wanted to kill on sight.

But Firebrand couldn't do that to his boyfriend.

"You're late," growled Blood Wolf.

"Sorry. There was a big commotion at Central Preserve." Lars scratched his ear absently. "That's been the fifth one this month... You guys don't have anything to do with it... do you?"

The big werewolf stood up, his massive ten foot frame making Lars both scared and aroused. Despite being the big football player in high school _and_a powerful superhero, he was quite... submissive. And gay. Very much gay. More than once, he wished he could entice Caleb to experiment with him. Hell, their original plan was to get a dorm together in college and once they were away from judging eyes... maybe... sort of...

But that all changed when Lars met Blood Wolf.

Enemies at first and then... well...

"If we were behind them, you would know," grunted the Alpha Pack member. "Alphas do not run. And speaking of which..." The big werewolf loomed over Lars. "I need to punish you for being late."

"Yes please..." Lars half-whimpered, half-begged.

Blood Wolf took Lars in his big, muscular arms and bounded away, soaring over buildings in titanic jumps made only possible by his werewolf heritage. He was strong, stronger than Lars could have ever imagined. He snuggled up close to the big werewolf's chest, enjoying the musk rolling off the thick, blood-red fur and the feeling of iron-hard muscles beneath.

When they came to a stop, they were on their favourite spot; on top of the Westview One building, a news corporation that was a bane to both the Pack and Alliance alike. They hated superheroes. They hated religion. They hated anyone that was popular. There was some degree of sick pleasure that he drew from making passionate love to a werewolf on top of their big '1'.

"Hey... before we get busy..." Lars said softly. "What... What's it like, to turn into one of you guys?"

"You considering joining?" grunted Blood Wolf.

"I dunno... Maybe..." Lars had to fight back his sheepish smile. "I mean, I like you a lot and... I know you can't just switch off being a werewolf. And really, I just joined the Alliance. Everyone gives me shit. I guess when you're around other guys that are just as special as you, it doesn't feel like you're special anymore. I was just thinking..."

Blood Wolf grunted and wrapped an arm around him. "It isn't an easy decision. But all it will take is a bite." As if to emphasise his point, Blood lowered his sharp fangs just over Lars' shoulder. The spandex-covered Doberman shuddered. Part of him wanted it, the other part didn't. "You're not ready."

Naturally, Lars protested. "I am! Turn me! I want to be with you!"

Blood shook his head. "No you're not. I can smell it on you." He gently pressed his lips against Lars'. It was just a gentle peck but one that made Lars shiver all over. "But when you are, when you're absolutely sure that you want nothing else, come to me. I'll turn you."

Lars smiled. This wasn't the first time their conversation had led to this and he was fairly sure it would not be the last. Regardless, he leaned against his boyfriend and sighed softly. "Thanks, Blood... Thanks..."

*****

Caleb Hale was a little anxious. He had thrown aside a tuxedo, his football uniform and an old school uniform trying to get ready. For a brief moment, he considered going in the nude as it would technically be a 'birthday suit' but he dismissed it and decided to be as casual as he could. Unfortunately, as he thought about it, his extended family was going to be here including his grandmother so he couldn't be too outlandish.

So he picked out a nice collared shirt, covering it with a loose, woollen jumper and some jeans.

He was on his way down the steps...

"Claws!" his mother shouted.

"Damnit! Sorry! I'm going, I'm going!"

Once again, he was down the steps with a pair of sandals when he spied Mary helping his mother set out the table.

"Oh you are not going to the party like that," Mary said much to his mother's amusement.

"Why not? It's mature, sophisticated and appropriate. I _am_growing up, right?"

"But you're turning eighteen not thirty-nine! Come on, I'll help you change." Mary began pushing him back up the stairs.

"But -"

"Listen to your girlfriend, honey," shouted his mother. "She knows best."

Mary slammed the door shut behind her as she pushed him to his bed and began rifling through his closet. "Honestly, Caleb, all you need is a tie and some glasses and you'll look like your father."

He regarded himself in the mirror. "Shit... you're right..." He turned back towards Mary. "Help! Call the fashion police!"

"You want to be thrown in jail?" she countered, throwing him a shirt and some shorts. He regarded the shirt. It was white but had the emblem of a wolf on it. He shrugged and switched it out for his current ensemble. He saw Mary frown when she eyed a strange device sitting on a shelf on his wall. It was looked like a small, grey clawed paw with unnaturally long claws.

She held it up. "Don't your parents ever question you on where all this junk comes from?"

Caleb shrugged absently. "They just think it's remnants from my old nerdy days. They're glad I'm not losing touch with who I was and really love it when I spend half the night staying up playing videogames and they have to come in and tell me to go to bed."

"But you're really masturbating, aren't you?"

"Praise whoever invented the Alt-Tab shortcut."

She patted his shoulder. "That's my wolf. Now come on. Help me and your mom set up the rest of the party."

It took the majority of the afternoon to get all the food cooked and the party favours set up. There were some kids attending the party from extended family so the old 'pin the tail on the donkey' board was up. Lance and Leon were of little help. They were out in the back playing a game of basketball with Dad. Abby was out with Arthur and would be back soon.

His mother announced she would be out to pick up the cake and was off.

Caleb hung up some decorations when the ladder beneath his feet was suddenly knocked clean off.

"Whoa!"

Strong arms suddenly caught him followed by the riotous laughter of Leon. "If you were a couple of inches taller like us, you wouldn't need a stool!"

"Yeah," snickered Lance. He let Caleb drop to the ground. "Runt!"

"Boys! That was dangerous!" Dad shouted, barging in. "Take a shower, both of you! Go on! Get out of here!"

The twins rolled their eyes and shuffled off but their black-tipped tails were up and waving. When they thought Dad wasn't looking, they gave each other a high-five though Lance threw a glance over his shoulder perhaps a little worriedly.

Caleb growled at them and got up, rubbing his rump. "That was a dick move... On my birthday too..."

"Forget them, son," Dad said, patting his shoulder lightly. "This is your night! Just like next week will be!" He punched Caleb's shoulder lightly. "Live it up, son!" He gave Caleb another pat before quickly searching for some beer.

Mary sauntered up to Caleb, smiling wanly. "Your father is really pushing you for football, isn't he?"

"Bizarre..." Caleb admitted softly. "You'd think most parents wouldn't want their son to follow such a terrible career choice. It just used to be something he and I did together. He always worked out with the Double Ls but he just watched football with me. Those two never liked football even if they did it in high school." He gave Mary his con-puzzled frown. "What changed?"

She shrugged absently. "You did."

The first of the guests arrived within the hour. Caleb and Mary were there to welcome them. As with all the Hale gatherings, it was big. Very big. The average family had six members, two parents and at least four cubs. Aunty and Uncle Sunny had eight pups, all a year apart from one another. They were running around and the older ones were asking Caleb to lift them up on his biceps. The youngest was in Aunty Dawn's arms, bubbling softly.

"Happy Birthday!" came the shout from both Lars and Ben. Caleb lifted an eyebrow at the one gift they held.

"Thanks guys," he said, taking the suspicious package. "You both got a gift for me?"

"Sort of," Ben replied slyly. "Your other gift is coming up later."

"I do not want to know."

He spent the majority of the time getting to know friends and relatives all over again. Aunty Belinda came from Siberia - where his family tree originally originated but had migrated to the US centuries ago - and she spoke with a thick Siberian accent. Uncle Sandy was gay and his two boyfriends, Mark and Kyle both got him a lifelong subscription to a motorcyclist magazine and a bodybuilding magazine. Mary warned him that she was fairly sure they were trying to convert him as she caught Sandy talking to his boyfriends about his fantasies. Uncle Owen was a priest but he was open minded and even joked about sprinkling 'holy water' on the gay trio by unzipping his fly to the howls of the other wolves. Little Samantha and Maximus were scared because they were two lion-wolf cubs in a sea of wolves but Caleb lifted them up and swung them around a few times, making them giggle and forget their anxiety.

All in all, it was great to have family again.

Then the cake arrived.

"I think I'm going to die tonight," he admitted, staring at the five tiered pure chocolate cake. There was no frosting, there were no colourful decorations. Just pure chocolate. By the way his mother was carrying it, it was also a very thick chocolate cake.

"Come on, everyone!" his mother shouted, after sticking nineteen candles on the cake. "Time to greet the birthday boy a happy birthday!"

And thus came the time-old tradition of singing Happy Birthday to You. Caleb just stood there, listening and basking in the soft warmth of the candles. For some reason, it felt like the best moment to come across with a post traumatic episode from his episode a few months back but he realised that there was nothing to be stressed about. That was behind him. This was his life now. Not so complicated but complex enough to keep him entertained.

"Make a wish!" someone shouted.

He made one and blew out the candles.

For a second, he shut his eyes, expecting the world to end.

When it didn't and cheers just met him, he grinned and pumped a fist into the air.

Dinner was a wonderful spread and the cake... well... He was almost placed into a choco-coma. It was so rich and thick. Being a wolf, he eagerly took an enormous slice for himself. Being a family of mostly wolves, everyone took large slices. Ten minutes later, everyone was groaning with half-finished cake slices between them. Of course that all ended when his mother - manipulative as always, took the slices, heated them up in the microwave and then offered them a choice of pure cream or whipped.

Hot melted chocolate cake with cream? Sold.

Problem solved.

Everyone was far too full to do more than grunt and wave when Lillian Hale offered them coffee or tea. After about an hour of lounging out, it was time to open the presents. The new iMe 10 from Lars and Ben was greatly appreciated amongst the slew of clothes, money and gift vouchers. There was a signed football from his dad and - surprisingly - the twins had gotten him a different present each. Leon handed him a generic voucher for the iStore while Lance gave him a book from an author he had been reading lately.

"Got a buddy working with the author. Got an advance copy for ya."

"That's... That's really sweet," Caleb said, utterly surprised. He was tempted to ask 'what's the catch' when he decided against it.

Mary's gift outshone them all.

It was a small segment of moon rock encased in a crystal sphere. He laughed when he saw it and then gave her a hug much to the confusion of others.

As the party began to wind down, Ben suddenly took Caleb's paw and pulled him up the stairs. "Come on, Caleb. I've got to give you my present."

"But you already did," he responded, confused. "You and Lars..."

"We chipped in on that one. Lars! You come too! The second phase of the plan is about to begin!"

The Doberman grinned and bounded up the stairs with them, pushing Caleb straight into the bedroom and shutting the door.

"What's going on?"

"We got you a stripper!" Lars exclaimed. "She should be here right now. Ben set it up. She'll make her way up the side of the house, to your room and -" Lars suddenly frowned, looking past Caleb. "Ben... What're you doing...?"

Caleb turned and his tail bushed out when he saw Ben throw off his pants and reveal his impressive package. "Holy hell!"

"I said a stripper," Ben said, lifting his arms.

"Not you, dude!" cried Lars, shielding his eyes. "For fuck's sake!"

"You'll want to see this."

Caleb's jaw dropped when the muscles beneath Ben's body began to flex and undulate. Wiry muscle bulged, thick veins pumping new mass into each fibre. Ben let out a lusty moan as blood began to pump into his cock, pressing it firmly against his abdomen. Blood red fur began to seep out from his red fuzz and crept all over the length of his member, forming a very definitive sheath.

Lars peaked at that moment and like Caleb, his jaw dropped. Ben's entire form ballooned out, his shoulders broadened even more than either footballer could imagine. His arms were like hams, brimming with juicy muscle that were cleanly wrapped by thick, blood-red fur. Ben's face elongated, his muzzle extending forward as yellow, feral eyes flashed. His ears migrated to the top of his head, becoming pointed and covered in fur. His hulking mass had to duck a little as his head brushed against the ceiling, forcing him to fall on all fours and give the two teenagers a toothy grin.

"I'm -" Ben rumbled.

"Blood Wolf!" Lars cried. "Fuck! You're the guy I've been dating!?"

Blood wolf froze. "What...?"

"Ben! I'm Firebrand!"

"What!?"

Suddenly, Caleb's life grew all the more complicated but he was glad when his phone rang with the 'Waiting for You' song. Quietly, he snuck out from his room, leaving the villain and the superhero to argue while he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Am I glad to hear from you," he murmured. "What is it?"

"Big problem. Meet me at California West High School."

"What?" he asked, with rising panic.

"Hostage situation, kid. Hurry."

Caleb flicked the phone and bolted down the stairs. The guests all stared at him and he slammed the garage door behind him, jumped on Ballistic and was out onto the streets faster than anyone could cry for him to stop.

*****

Lars was still shouting when -

CLANG! CLANG!

Both he and Blood Wolf gave a cry of pain and shock, clutching their heads. Mary stood between them, idly twisting the frying pan in her hands.

"You two are both colossal idiots," she accused. First, she looked at Lars. "Seriously, you've been in love with a werewolf and even considered becoming one. Yet now, when it turns out one of your friends is that very same werewolf, you're here shouting at him and tearing up because he didn't tell you?" She then whirled around to face Blood Wolf. "And you, you could smell Lars and Firebrand and never thought to connect them? And seriously? Trying to convert them both into werewolves tonight of all nights!? What has gotten into you!"

Blood wolf rose and growled. "You do not get to talk to me like that, human."

"I'll talk to you two however I please!" she snapped. "Because of you, Caleb has run off."

Both boys started in surprise and exchanged glances. They immediately turned away from each other, focusing instead on Mary.

"Where did he go?" Lars asked.

"To the high school." Mary rubbed her temple. "To be fair, he didn't run off because of you two. Rather, he was called there on a mission. I just told everyone else downstairs that you both have been seeing each other behind his back and he felt left out and alienated, not to mention horrified when you both offered to give him a special birthday blow job."

"What!?" Blood Wolf roared.

"You want to tell his entire family down there that you're a notorious criminal?"

He whimpered and fell back. "No, ma'am."

"Good. Now change back. You're coming with me to catch up with Caleb."

"I am not -"

"Yes you are!" She waved the pan dangerously at his face. "And I'll explain why as we're going there."

Blood Wolf changed back to old Ben Connors, slipping on his clothes with great trepidation. Lars said nothing as they quickly - and stiffly - strode out of Caleb's house with the stares of Caleb's entire family at their backs. They jumped into the back of Mary's convertible and rode off towards the high school.

"For months, Caleb, Bren and I have been tracking this supervillain who has had a penchant for cocooning her foes and then injecting them with some sort of digestive fluid." Mary took a sharp turn, throwing Lars against Ben. They stared at one another for a second before pushing away from one another.

"What happens next," Mary continued, unperturbed, "is that the poor guys, and I can't emphasise enough that they're guys, end up being digested from the inside out. We've noticed puncture holes in the sides of the victim's that indicate something or some_one_has been sucking out their digested innards. Opening them up has been less than... appealing. Caleb lost his dinner one day."

"What do you mean you've been tracking this guy?" Lars asked. "And who is Bren?"

"Bren is out handler. He's an FBI agent."

Lars and Ben instantly went rigid.

"FBI? You two work for the government?"

"Yup," Mary responded, flashing a grin back over her shoulder. "Where do you think Caleb got the money for Ballistic and me for Kitty here?" For emphasis, she ran her hand over the dashboard of her car. "Since six months ago, we've both been working for the FBI on special undisclosed cases that not even the Elemental Alliance or ARM knows about."

"The government has been keeping cases from us?" Lars growled. "Why?"

"Because usually, you guys are way too busy kicking some phenomenal supervillain's ass to deal with the small things that matter." Mary began slowing her car. Ahead, her headlights showed two figures standing at the entrance of California West High, both beside a motorcycle and huddled over a data pad. "You guys can keep the established supervillains in check but we stop the new and budding bastards. Oh and we get vacation time. Caleb and I are going to go to Japan next year."

Lars was still in shock. His best friend and his _second_best friend were actually secret agents! As Mary got out of the car, he did so but slammed the door shut behind him, grinning with satisfaction as he slammed it on Ben's nose.

"How do you fight supers?"

"I'm an empath," answered Mary. "I can sense people and what they feel so I sort of act like the scout of the group. Bren gives us equipment to fight our mark."

"And Cale?"

"You'll see," she responded cryptically.

Caleb and Bren looked up, ears perked. Bren was a tiger and it was surprising to find a tiger that was smaller than a wolf since, historically speaking, tigers were bigger than wolves. But Bren was a foot shorter, _much_skinnier and regarded them all with curious green eyes. Caleb's blue eyes had that con-puzzled look again.

"Um... What are they doing here?" he asked, pointing at Lars and Ben.

"They wanted to apologise to you for ruining your birthday party," Mary replied.

"I have nothing to apologise for!" Lars exclaimed, pointing at Ben. "He's the bloody werewolf that can turn a man inside out! I'm the freakin' superhero!"

Mary glanced over her shoulder pointedly at him. "You mean you're not going to say anything about the fact that you kept your identity a secret to your best friend and that you're gay, had homoerotic fantasies about him, secretly hoped you could 'experiment' with him in college and your boyfriend is a 'bloody werewolf that can turn a man inside out'?"

Lars frowned, wide-eyed and sank back. "Um..."

Ben snorted. Mary shot him a challenging look and he just whimpered and shrank back.

"You guys have nothing to apologise for," Caleb said, smiling softly. "I mean, I didn't tell either of you that I'm a secret agent or that all my disappearances are because I'm out shooting and getting shot at."

"You've stopped using guns," Bren said. "Too dangerous."

"I always knew you couldn't shoot straight," Lars teased. It was an instinctive response on his part. Being so close to Caleb made sure any opening was something he would pounce upon. "It's why you're a receiver!"

Caleb looked con-puzzled again. "Now that I know you're gay... I have no idea if that was a sexual innuendo or not."

Lars shared that same look. "Huh... Neither do I, actually."

Bren waved a paw in front of Caleb's face. "Cale, focus. You've got two hostages in there. Both of them coaches. Just our perp's MO. Last time we busted one of her lairs, the place was covered in webs. She's definitely got a whole 'spider' thing going and if I remember, spiders can sense your movements if we wander into her web. So either destroy the web or confuse her. I want you to get up on the roof and destroy her web. Mary and I will make our way to the hostages."

"What about me?" Lars said.

They all gave the hero a stunned look.

"Why don't you just sit here and look pretty, champ?" asked Bren with a patronising smile. "We can handle this."

"You're dealing with a super!" exclaimed the Doberman. "You can't possibly think three normal guys can take him on. Okay, so you've got agency training, you're an empath and you..." He pointed from Bren, Mary and then to Caleb. "I still have no idea what you can do. Come on, I've got superhero training! I can take this girl and -"

A loud howl cut through their conversation. Blood Wolf leapt over the school gates and was bounding towards the building.

"Son of a bitch!" shouted Lars. He flicked on his power crest hidden on a pendant he wore around his neck. In a flash of showy, red fire, he was suddenly clad in spandex complete with a mask to hide his features. "You three stay back! I'll take care of them!"

He leapt into the air, shooting flames from his feet and throwing himself over the wall right after Blood Wolf.

*****

Caleb watched them go, blinking in confusion.

"Who here wants to just let them duke it out and go back to the party?" he suggested. He got sour looks from both Mary and Bren on that one. "You can come too if you want, Bren." Their expressions only got more and more sour.

"Fine," he sighed. He strode up to the school gates and pushed them open. "Don't see why those two had to go leaping over the wall. The gates were wide open."

He strode up to one of the walls of the school and dug into pocket of his leather riding jacket. A silvery grappling gun glimmered in the faint light that he angled towards the roof. He fired it, the cables unspooling as it did so. He felt the cable go taut and he pulled the trigger again. It began to pull him up the side of the building. He planted his feet against the wall and began running up the red bricks.

A minute later, he was pulling himself onto the roof of the school building.

There, he saw Firebrand growling at Blood Wolf, both of them ready to tear each other apart.

"Supers," he muttered softly. He didn't hate supers. It just so happens that sometimes, they just got in the way. He strode right between them, waving his grappling absently in front of him. "I've got a job to do guys. If you don't mind not destroying the school while I'm in there, I'd really appreciate it."

The growling stopped as he opened the roof door. He winced and shuddered.

"Crap... Spiders. Why did it have to be spiders?"

"You didn't tell me you had a fear of spiders," Lars said, clearly trying to buddy up to him again.

"He doesn't," growled Blood Wolf. "He just hates things that are in excess. Too much tentacles. Too much water. Hell, too much _rice_freaks him out." Blood stuck his tongue out at Lars. "I knew that. And you didn't."

"Yeah? Well I know he masturbates like crazy. That's in excess, isn't it?"

Caleb found himself pulling away from his phobia of excess and turning around slowly at the two supers who were arguing about his personal habits.

"Three times is not in excess! Hell, if I don't fuck five times a night, I think it's a poor night. He'd fit right in with the Pack!"

"Oh yeah?" Lars countered. "As what? Your bitch?"

"You were my bitch. Three of those five times were you."

Caleb turned back around, brow furrowed and _extremely_uncomfortable. Slowly, he stepped down the stairwell absolutely covered in spider webs. His shoes stuck to the surface but not by much, sort of like if someone spilled grape juice on the floor and left it to dry. He hoped Lars and Blood Wolf wouldn't notice he was gone buy they followed him right down the steps, still arguing.

"And that's what you wanted our relationship to be? You fucking me whenever you felt like it and then jumping the bones of another wolf that tickled your fancy!?"

"If I recall, you wanted to be a wolf! You wanted me to bite you and turn you!"

"That was before I realised you were lying to me!"

"You were lying to me as well!"

It was one of those bizarre moments where Caleb did _not_want to keep listening but for some reason, he just could not stop. He reached the top floor door and glanced to the right. There was a pipe used for something jutting out of the wall and would connect to something. Probably something to do with drains or sewerage. He wasn't sure. Whatever the case, he gripped it and kicked it off. It came out thankfully without any spillage.

Now somewhat armed, he pushed open the door to the top floor of the eastern building.

What met him was a scene right out of a horror movie.

The school's hallways were absolutely covered in webbing and cocoons hung from the ceilings. They squirmed and twisted and emitted faint chittering that made his flesh crawl.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Caleb murmured.

"Take deep breaths," Lars advised. "Just breathe."

"Bullshit," grown Blood. "Let it out. Only way you'll get stronger."

Suddenly, he was feeling a lot more sick with their constant arguing than the squirming bugs that riddled the hallways. Remembering that he was basically a distraction, he moved forward, keeping one paw on his stomach. Navigating through the forest of twisting cocoons made him wish he hadn't eaten so much.

Crrrrack!

"Oh crap..." he murmured.

One of the cocoons slowly burst open, thin, frail legs poking out. A large, spherical thorax sprang out followed by a significantly smaller abdomen and a puny head with eight eyes. Those tiny, green eyes stared at Caleb directly. Mandibles clicked and echoing clicks rippled from the rest of the cocoons.

"Stand back!" Lars shouted, stepping in front of him. His paws were suddenly engulfed in fire. "Let Firebrand take care of this!"

"No!" Caleb shouted, pulling back his friend. "If you set anything on fire, it could spread! Look at the webbing around you!"

One spark could cause the flames to spread and set fire to the entire school. It would be ridiculously easy. The sprinklers looked clogged too.

"Crap..."

Blood Wolf cracked his knuckled and chortled heartily. "That's why you need me here. Stand back, kids. I'll take care of this."

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Long, silky strands of web suddenly sprang out from somewhere from behind the werewolf. It splattered across Blood Wolf's back and arms. A dozen spiders the size of small dogs pulled at the webs, yanking Blood Wolf to the ground in surprise. They suddenly scurried over the werewolf, dancing over his muscular form and leaving webs where they passed. Blood Wolf shouted until a spider wrapped his muzzle tight.

"Ha!" Lars laughed. "I think I like you like this!"

Then, a sultry but far from sexy voice spoke. "Oh so do I, dearie. But I prefer to listen to their screams when I listen to their screams as my venom digests them from the inside."

Both canines looked to the stairwell. Creature the likes of which neither of them had ever seen began scurrying across the wall. Her upper torso was that of a cougar but her lower was that of an enlarged spider. Dozens of jelly, green eggs hung from her underside, squirming with baby spiders. Her glistening, golden eyes darted from all three boys and she licked her lips.

"Oh... You three will be quite delicious... Yes, yes, yes! I shall enjoy having my way with you..."

"What!?" Lars cried, his voice rising to an almost girlish scream.

The spider woman dropped from the ceiling, spinning in midair with uncanny agility and landing softly on the web-covered floor. "It is so simply, dearie. I want many, many children. I find nice, virile men, have them impregnate me and then give birth to our offspring. But the sad thing is..." She licked her lips again, sickly, green saliva slipping down her lips. "I get so hungry once I've lain my eggs... I wish I didn't have to kill the men who have given me my children but I need nourishment."

"I am so glad I'm gay..." Lars murmured, setting his paws on fire again.

The woman snickered. "You should listen to your friend, boy. One fire and you kill yourself and those delicious hostages below us." She lifted a paw to him, gesturing for him to come closer. "Now, why don't you just come over here and take off that silly outfit. Momma needs some sugar."

Caleb stepped in front of Lars, swinging his pipe. "Sorry. You're sweet enough as is."

...

"That sucked," Blood Wolf commented.

"So sue me! I didn't go to Super School!" He spun the pipe in the air, holding it in front of him and pointing it down. "But if you wanted to get penetrated..." He let go of the pipe. As it fell, an ethereal, blue-white glow cloaked it. Glistening, white feathers began to spew from it, making Lars tilt his head to the side in fascination and Blood Wolf's eyes widen.

The moment the pipe hit the web-covered ground -

BOOOOOM!

Huge, jagged pieces of metal pipes exploded from the ground, walls and ceiling, crisscrossing each other in a wild, twisting mess of deadly spears. Green blood splattered everywhere as the smaller spiders were speared brutally and even the mother spider roared in agony as she was forced to retreat.

Caleb swiped the pipe off the ground and set it on top of Blood Wolf's chest. He gripped the werewolf's feet. "Come on! Help me with him!"

Lars hesitated then grabbed Blood wolf's shoulders and the two quickly lifted him, hurrying down the hallway away from the murderous spider. The sound of metal clanking and shattering hit their ears as the mother spider cut down the wall of metal with the same super strength all supers possessed.

"What the hell did you do!?" Lars shouted at him as they hurried down the interior flight of stairs. Several other spiders came bursting out of their cocoons, darting after them like a sea of chittering, black, green-eyed rats.

"Remember that day I was sort of out of it and was freaked out by everything any anything?" Caleb shouted as they made it down to the second floor.

BOOM!

The mother spider burst from the ceiling landing a short few feet from them. Caleb quickly seized the pipe again. Blue light wrapped the makeshift weapon and he swung it upwards. A burst of strange, greenish energy burst from the ground in the shape of wave. It swept the mother spider's feet right out from underneath her, sending her crashing to the ground. Caleb slammed the pipe into a nearby locker.

BOOOOOM!

More pipes came shooting out of the walls, blocking her path.

"It's because I saw things!" he shouted, grabbing Blood Wolf again and bolting down to the first floor.

Blood Wolf mumbled something and he could only guess it was along the lines of 'What things?'

"How the world works. What it's made of. How things fit together and how... I dunno how to explain it but suffice to say that because of this, I can turn anything into a weapon."

"Are you telling me that that pipe -" Lars began.

"I can't turn it into a nuclear bomb if that's what you're asking. It sort of has to be... related. I don't know. It's... it's like..." His eyes lit up as they hit the ground floor. "You know those videogames where the heroes get weapons and they learn techniques off those weapons?"

Lars gave him a puzzled 'huh' and Blood Wolf nodded and gave a loud, muffled 'ah'.

"Yeah! That!"

CRASH!

The mother spider burst from the ceiling landing right in front of them. The crash sent all three boys to the ground with the pipe skittering away from Caleb's paws.

"You have killed my children!" she screamed.

BANG!

A bullet hole emerged from her left shoulder. She spun around angrily. Bren stood at the exit to the school, Mary leading the two dazed and recently freed coaches away.

"FBI!" Bren shouted, holding up his badge. "Freeze!"

The mother spider grinned. "Oh, I always did love a man in uniform!"

"Bren!" Caleb shouted. "Run!"

He was too late, however. Bren emptied his magazine into the mother spider but she crashed into him, sending them both through the doors of the school hallway and out into the parking lot. Caleb leapt for his broken pipe but froze when a smaller spider hissed at him.

"Yeah, hiss-hiss-fuck-fuck to you too, asshole," he growled, seizing the spider by this massive thorax. A brilliant, blue light erupted from the contact and suddenly, the spider lost organic shape. It clamped its eight claws around his forearm, its metallic frame much sleeker in design but no less intimidating. He swept up his pipe just as multiple other spiders came rushing towards him. He raised his arm-mounted gauntlet and pulled a trigger. Acid sprayed out of the spider's mouth, dousing its former siblings and sending this chittering in pain.

Caleb bolted down the hallway right after the mother spider but he was too late.

She raised her head in a hissing roar as her lips were covered in blood and Bren's throat lay open on the ground before her.

"You bitch!" Caleb roared, sweeping his pipe straight at her. Another ground-hugging wave shot at her. She was anticipating it this time and leapt into the air. She landed a short distance away, grinning wildly.

"He was delicious. But you shall be my main course!" Then her eyes settled on the gauntlet Caleb wore and her eyes went wide in horror. "What have you done to my child!?"

Caleb snarled and readied himself. "I gave him a job."

The mother spider screamed and shot forward, charging straight at him recklessly. Caleb spun and threw his pipe behind him. It began to glow. He then ducked rolled to his right just as the mother spider swept over him. Her eyes widened when the pipe embedded itself into the side of the school and all the pipes within the structure came shooting out after her as jagged, metal lances. She screamed and dodged to the left, away from Caleb.

She managed to only get a few scratches on her arm but Caleb was already moving. He snapped a pipe off the newly formed mess in front of him and lunged at her. His gauntlet sprayed acid straight into her eyes, blinding her and sending her screaming. He jabbed his pipe into the ground right beneath her before scrambling away.

WHOOOOSH!

Pipe suddenly burst from the ground.

She never got to scream.

Her body was simply skewered, lifted ten feet into the air like some dark monument to a deadly spider queen.

Caleb collapsed on his rump, panting heavily.

He struggled to his feet a moment later. Lars helped him up while a shocked - and freed - Blood Wolf watched sickly, green blood drip down the network of metal pipes that jutted out of the ground.

"The more you use a particular ability, the stronger it becomes..." Blood Wolf murmured. "The first few times you used that pipe attack, you were using the pipes in the school. But that last one... the pipes sprang out of nowhere..." He gazed at Caleb thoughtfully. "Isn't that right?"

Caleb shook his head. "I don't know but... as a general rule of thumb... yeah. I don't know how it works. It just does."

Lars pointed at the gauntlet on his arm. "That was a spider... a living thing. And you turned it into that. You can turn people into weapons?"

"Never tried," he admitted. "I don't want to."

Lars, looking sympathetic pulled Caleb into a sudden hug. "Shit... I'm sorry Cale... I... I'm sorry about this shit. I didn't know you had so much shit to deal with... and then I dump this on you... And then Bren dies..."

Caleb blinked. "Oh, you don't have to worry about Bren. He's -"

"Back!"

Lars and Blood Wolf both yelped at the familiar tiger's voice. Bren emerged from another black van and scurried over. The formerly captive coaches looked horrified as the tiger in a pristine, black suit looked up at the monument and let out a low whistle.

"Damn Cale... did you really have to do that to her?"

"She killed you, Caleb answered meekly.

"Right and you know how long that lasts."

Blood Wolf's left eye twitched in horror as he pointed at Bren's body still lying bloodied a few short feet away. "What? But... Huh!?"

Mary strode forward and patted Blood's shoulder comfortingly. "Bren is special. He's the amalgamation of the world's best spies, the FBI's best agents and a little bit of James Bond. His experiences are constantly uploaded to a central database thanks to a neural link build into his body. He's fully organic. It just so happens he's got thousands of bodies stores in select locations all across the world." She regarded Bren curiously. "What are we up to now? You're Bren-475 right?"

"476, actually," the tiger replied nonchalantly.

Lars ruffled his hair in frustration. "Okay, I'm the teenaged superhero whose boyfriend is a notorious werewolf criminal and you guys are the ones leaving the more fucked up lives. Seriously! I'd be lucky to fight a villain a week and I've seen you disappear at least twice a day!" He pointed at Caleb who just shrugged helplessly. "How do you have more work than I do!?"

Caleb just shrugged again. "In my defence, I _do_get Bren killed at least twice a week. You don't have any casualties."

"Three times if he's careless," Bren added. He sighed and plucked a strange camera from inside his suit. "Okay, time to clean this mess up. Hey folks," he said, waving to the two coaches. "Look here please."

Fwash!

*****

"So you guys are basically supers but work for the government?" Lars asked.

"Pretty much," replied Mary dismissively. "I was in it first. I could look into people's hearts and minds, tell if criminals were lying and all that jazz. Helps that my father is a lawyer and I can be slipped into court rooms without attracting too much suspicion. Caleb... well, when he had his freak out I approached him with a job."

Ben - back into his human shape - said, "Why didn't you join a superhero alliance or something?"

Caleb shook his head absently. "Eh, personally, I don't want the fame. I mean, I'm still considering where I'm going to go for College, I'm dealing with my bullies for brothers, my super-successful sister and my dad who wants me to play football professionally. Adding being a secret superhero to that just seemed... too much."

"Aren't you already one?"

"I'm a secret-secret-super. You guys didn't even know about me." Caleb leaned against the window of Bren's car. "Besides, Bren provided training and analysis of my powers. I can control them now. The reason I was freaked out before was because anything I touched transformed into a weapon of incredibly destruction. I turned a hairdryer into a flamethrower."

"We call him 'Weapons Master'," Bren provided. "He relies purely on instinct. He doesn't know what the effects of his powers will be _consciously_but his body does. He's described it as his mind and body separating and his body acting on its own while his mind is free to do think things through. It's almost Zen-like really."

Caleb regarded his paw absently and pressed it against the glass. As he did so, the window glimmered. It slipped around his paw, coating his arm in a later of glass. Then, three glass blade-like claws jutted out of the back of his paw.

"I can't control it. I can't tell what will happen. That's why I need Mary and Bren. I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Have you hurt anyone?" Lars asked warily.

"No. But I don't want to risk it."

"Killing that super counts, right?" Ben provided, making everyone spin towards him and grow, save for Caleb who was regarding the claw gauntlet in is paw and the spider gauntlet in the other. "She's not dead... Tell them, Bren."

The FBI agent sighed. "I am so going to cop shit for this... but you two might as well know." He glanced over his shoulder. "We've been chasing a group of supers that have somehow perfected the ability to implant their genes into others and transform those very same people into living clones of themselves. They call themselves the 'Gene Stealers'. That spider girl? My guess is that she was just a poor kid that was captured and then had the Gene Stealers implant her with what we've dubbed the 'Spider Queen's' DNA. The turned into a living vessel for Spider Queen, sharing her entire mentality and her abilities but to a lesser degree. She died a long time ago."

Lars and Blood both grimaced. The sound made them turn towards one another before they grunted and turned away from one another.

"As far as we can tell, there's a bunch of them," Mary said. "We've encountered the Spider Queen, the Wendigo, the Dragon Knight and the Shark Tamer. From what I've gleaned from the consciousness of the people we've dealt with, there's one more, their leader; the Chimera. Who they really are, where they really are, we can't tell. But... Well..." Mary shrugged. "The FBI is looking for them. We and the rest of the team are just here to learn and hopefully end it before anyone gets hurt."

"The team?" grunted Ben. "There's more of you?"

Mary flashed him a cheeky grin. "What, you didn't think we're the only secret-secret-supers, did you?"

Bren stopped the car in front of Caleb's house. The part looked like it had died down. Caleb sighed and muttered something about the excuses he would have to make this time. As he left, though, Bren turned to Lars and Ben.

"Look, you two have got your priorities and we may not always see eye to eye but you've both seen what a threat the Spider Queen is. I don't expect either of you to help but at the same time, I want you to both swear to me you will not impede us."

"You can't tell me what to do, kitty," growled Ben, his eyes flashing a brief yellow. He calmed and straightened. "But the Alpha Pack will not interfere."

"Well I'm going to help where I can," Lars announced. "I can get the Elemental Alliance to -"

"No!" Bren and Mary shouted at the same time.

"The Elemental Alliance cannot learn about us," Bren said. "You guys have enough on your plate with your supervillains and world-ending catastrophes. Hell, two years ago, you guys crossed into another dimension. Let us deal with these guys."

"But people are at risk!"

Bren held up a paw. "Okay, look at it this way, Lars, we'll always have your back. Never have a doubt about that. But, you would never interfere with another superhero team's jobs unless they asked or really needed it. We can handle this. Got it?"

Lars murmured his agreement.

Back with Caleb, the wolf poked his head through the door. The party had wound down hours ago and a quick check on the clock told him it was past midnight. He was glad Mary had called ahead and told his parents he was fine.

He padded upstairs, glad he was wearing shoes or his mom would have woken at the slightest sound of his claws on the stairs. He tossed off the glass claws and the spider gauntlet, setting them on his shelf with the other ornaments and weapons from other battles. He collapsed into his bed, sighing softly.

Spider Queen again... He had only been on active duty for the past four months and Mary and Bren had been chasing them for longer than that. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have DNA forced into him and to transform into a clone of something far more sinister.

He shuddered at the thought and shuffled underneath his sheets.

There he tried to close his eyes and sleep...

... But his door slowly opened.

He thought it was his mother or father come to comfort him. Instead, he caught the musky smell of one of the twins.

"Get out you two," he muttered. "I'm not in the mood."

"Jus' wanted to talk, Cale."

That was Lance...

He straightened and was surprised when his older brother sat beside him, one paw on his leg. "Lance..."

"Look, you're eighteen now," Lance said with a heavy sigh. "Leon can't stop looking down on you and teasing you but... We both have to grow up sometime and I thought... I thought I should start now." He stared right into Caleb's eyes. "I'm sorry for all the shit we've given you Cale... and you gotta know, we... or at least, I never meant any of it. I love you ma. You're my baby bro."

That was surprisingly... nice coming from his brother.

But, after years of torment, he had to ask, "Okay... Where are the cameras? What's the catch? Am I being punk'd?"

"No! No! No!" Lance exclaimed, shaking his head and paws vigorously. "I'm being serious, Cale! I... I really do mean it... I want to make it up to you... I..." Lance lowered his gaze and let out a heavy sigh. "Close your eyes, Cale."

"Oh come on. Do you think I was born yesterday?"

"Please Cale. As a sign of faith. Please?"

He knew it was a bad idea. Either he was going to get punched or some smelly jockstrap wrapped around his muzzle. Still, Lance seemed sincere. Caleb let out a sigh and one final warning of retribution if this was a prank.

Then he closed his eyes.

Waited...

... then found a pair of lips being pressed against his own. His eyes sprang open. In the dim light of the night, he could see Lance's own eyes shut, a light blush on his cheeks as he twisted his muzzle to the side, cupping Caleb's nape and pulling their muzzles together.

For a second, Caleb let himself get lost in the moment, panting softly as his tongue brushed against Lance's and his paws squeezed his bigger brother's firm arms.

Then he came to his senses.

He pushed Lance back, wide-eyed.

Lance whimpered, ears folded back. Then, he murmured a quick apology and bolted out of the room, his tail between his legs. He shut the door quietly behind him but Caleb could still hear him heavily pad to the room next door and collapse into his own bed.

Stunned... horrified... and at the same time aroused, Caleb spun to scrambled for his phone. He hastily texted Mary about what happened.

Her reply?

"Oh my god. Caleb Hale's first boyfriend... and it's his older brother."