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Chapter IX: Healthy as a Horse

The Cornucopia was a buzz with activity. Everyone was rushing all over the place desperately searching for signs of Trojan AKA Lieutenant Argon Matlock. Caleb never knew there were so many people on the starship before but he somehow managed to push through them all to get to the containment block located deep within the ship.

The huge containment chamber was far more advanced than anything he had ever seen before. With the blessing of Athena and Jacob’s abilities, each ‘cell’ was actually phased out of time and space slightly. That meant that escape was virtually impossible as those trapped within the large, cube-like chambers would be incapable of interacting let alone piercing the energy barriers erected around the cell.

To see his brother locked in one such cell though…

“What happened?” he demanded.

Arsenal was gathered in front of the containment cell including members of the Hale family. Amongst them were Jacob and Nathan Rage. A powerfully built, black horse with a white crest on his chest and lower muzzle raged and on the other side of the translucent barrier of blue light. There were pools of cum splattered everywhere and when the horse wasn’t banging his head against the walls, he was seizing his enormous dick and spraying his seed everywhere.

“We got a call from Leon…” Lillian Hale whimpered. She looked like she had been crying all night. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were soaked with tears. Beside her was her husband, David. The superhero-slash-werewolf was looking better than ever. In fact, he looked even bigger than he ever did before, a true titan amongst wolves. “He said… he said…”

“He fucked up,” David growled, his eyes burning red with anger.

“David!”

“That’s what he said. He fucked up. Could barely stammer where he was before he changed. Told us that Matlock was Trojan, said where he was and that he was infected. Lucky there was practically no one in the Academy at that point. He didn’t infect anyone.”

Caleb looked into the cell remembering the first time he had been injected with an Original Serum and just how badly he wanted to cum and fuck. “Leon…” His eyes darted back towards his dad. “What was he doing at the Academy? How’d he get infected?”

“We don’t know.”

Then Leon’s words came crashing back to him. “Oh fuck…” All eyes switched towards him. “He said… He told me before we left that he suspected Reggie was working for Trojan or was Trojan. Reggie was the one that led me to the Horsepower Gym and I gave him my phone number… I told him not to do anything about it…”

“This is Leon we’re talking about,” Lance grunted. “If you tell him not to do something, he’ll go right ahead and do it anyway.” He looked worriedly at the chamber. “Fuck bro… What the hell…?”

“So is he a Gen 2? A Gen 3?” Caleb demanded.

“Neither,” David answered grimly. “We found a syringe embedded into his neck. We can only surmise that it’s an Original Serum.”

Caleb’s eyes widened in terror. “Original? No! Leon’s not an Outsider or a super! The serum is going to tear him apart from the inside!” He slammed his fists into the barrier. “We need to find a cure for him, now! Do you have any of the serum left?”

David took a deep breath… and let it out slowly. Something was wrong and with the way Lillian was gripping her husband tightly… it was a secret David didn’t want revealed.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

Feral Steel’s eyes were cold, determined and unwavering, the eyes that had once been cast on Caleb when they were at odds against one another. “Leon isn’t an Original… He’s a Gen 4.”

Everyone stared at Feral Steel with wide-eyed shock.

“A Gen 4?” Lars asked. “Like me? But that would mean he –”

“Is a super…” Caleb finished. “But… When? How?”

David shook his head grimly and regarded the raging nine foot equine in the cell. “Leon’s power is to remain unnoticed. People will outright ignore him even if he’s standing right in front of them. It’s probably why he’s always been such a troublemaker. He craved attention because his powers made people purposefully ignore him. I’ve known for a long time about his abilities but I’ve always kept them hidden both from him and everyone but my wife.” He gripped Lillian’s paw tightly. “Leon just wasn’t ready to be a super. He’s irresponsible, impulsive, reckless and bull-headed. Not to mention he worships supers and craves their attention. That’s not the right attitude to have when becoming a super. He wants to save people for glory not because it’s the right thing… Well, that was how he was until he joined the police force…”

David sighed and ran a paw down his face. “I would’ve told him sooner but I guess with everything happening and the fact I was still pissed off at him for joining the academy without consulting me…”

Caleb’s heart relaxed a little though his mind was swarming with countless questions. “But… shouldn’t anyone have noticed his baseline superpowers? Or at least he should’ve been identified as a super during the annual tests?”

“I sabotaged them,” David confessed. “Lillian and I have also always brushed aside any signs of Leon’s powers as his natural athleticism. We agreed that we’d tell him once he matured more and when he finally did… This happened…” He gestured at Leon bellowing loudly in the cell as he came all over the rear wall.

“If that’s the case,” Caleb said, “let’s strap Thunder Wire on him and fix him!”

“Caleb…” Elliot began. “We’re not even exactly sure how you changed Lars back that one time. For all intents and purposes, it was a complete fluke. You used your powers on him. There’s still a 50/50 chance that instead of curing Leon, you turn him into an inanimate weapon instead of helping him.”

“Then what are we supposed to do!?” Caleb bellowed.

Jacob lifted his paws, beckoning them all to remain calm. “Everyone, calm down. Leon isn’t going anywhere. I would also say that a simple syringe isn’t enough to determine whether or not Leon was infected with an Original Serum. Our priority should be to find Trojan and get the truth out of him. Leon isn’t going anywhere and so long as he doesn’t injure himself too much, his compounding baseline superpowers won’t cause him to become an overbearing blob of muscled flesh.”

Caleb whimpered, pressing a paw against the barrier. “I just can’t leave him like this… If I had just listened to him instead of going on that fucking holiday…”

“No one could’ve predicted this would happen.”

He pulled away from the cell as Leon charged straight at the barrier. There was no sound that came from the impact though Leon kept pounding away at the shield, desperate to get out.

“Alright…” he sighed, turning to the rest of the team. “What do we do then?”

Nathan Rage stepped forward, hands folded behind his back. “Trojan hasn’t made any demands as of yet nor has he made an effort to contact us. We don’t know what he wants now given that he has everything he wants. We can only assume that Leon drew far too close and he was just a loose end.”

“That doesn’t make sense though,” Elliot chimed in. “Why use an Original Serum on him? Why not just capture him and hold him ransom. I mean, we only have a little bit of the Original Serum but with it, we have a chance to make a cure globally. It’s like they were handing us the solution to the Trojan problem.”

A lightbulb sprang up in Caleb’s mind. “Unless… They want something else.”

He was once again the centre of attention and Caleb reached for the compartment of his uniform resting on his thigh. There, he pulled out a familiar syringe that had lain forgotten for what seemed like forever.

“The Original Serum…” David gawked. “Of course!”

“It must be what they want,” Caleb concluded. “They jabbed Leon with a Trojan Strain but this might be something else. It might be the same but in our hands, it’s more than we’ve ever hand before. We could not only use this as a means to cure Leon but with all this serum, we might even fight a way to cure all future strains, right?” He was looking to Elliot in particular.

“I don’t know, Muscles,” the orca said with a shrug. “Each strain is unique. It’s configured in a very peculiar way. It’s not scientific. It’s a superpower. Chimera’s superpower. We might not be able to easily reconfigure it… But I could give it a try…”

“Thanks Elliot.” Caleb closed his paw around the syringe. “But I’m going to hang onto this for a little while longer. I have a feeling I know exactly where Matlock is.”

“Really?” Nate Rage asked. “Where?”

******

The coffee store was completely empty. Even the normal baristas and serving staff were gone. For all intents and purposes, To Percolate and Serve was closed. The two horses that sat in the booth, however, spoke of the contrary. Both were enormous with the brown stallion being the bigger of the two. Both looked up as the door slid open and Weapons Master strode in, alone.

Caleb stood by the booth. There was really nowhere for him to sit given the size of the two equines. Not that the wanted to sit beside them.

“Good morning, Caleb,” Matlock said, idly sipping his coffee. “How’s Leon?”

“Healthy as a horse,” he answered dryly.

The Gene Stealer Original gagged into his coffee and began letting out a short laugh. He snickered a couple of times and had to use a napkin to wipe his muzzle. “You know, I had pictured this conversation between us many times since last night and I never imagined you pulling that line on me. Well done.”

“I’m full of surprises.” Caleb pulled the syringe from his pocket and set it down firmly on the table. “You want this, don’t you?”

Matlock smiled and gave him a slight nod. “Yes, yes we do. But more specifically, we want you to use it.”

“What does that achieve?” Caleb snarled, fangs bared. “Exactly how will me using whatever is in that fucking thing help you in whatever crazy scheme you’ve got cooked up?”

“Now, now. Take it easy.” Matlock nodded towards Reggie who stood up, towering over Caleb. The black stallion gave Caleb a wink and strode towards the door, blocking it. “I’m sure you didn’t come alone. Reggie is still implementing a little illusion to keep any bystanders from seeing us and immediately rushing into the café or posting something online about why Weapons Master is meeting with a big horse in an abandoned café.”

“Reggie can do that?”

“His codename is ‘Draft Horse’. He has the power to make very powerful optical illusions. So far, he hasn’t really had any reason to use his powers but then again, you wouldn’t know, would you?” He nodded to the seat opposite to himself. “Why don’t you sit down, Caleb? We have much to discuss.”

Paws tightened into fists, Caleb sat down as instructed. “You know you won’t get away with this, right?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Matlock shrugged absently as he drank his coffee. “I’m sure you have many questions.”

Caleb didn’t wait for the monolog. “Why Leon? Why the hell did you turn him? Was it because he found you out?”

“You’re a fan of the Tower Thirteen series, aren’t you, Caleb?”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“What was it that Harm Chronos always said about war? ‘War is a juggling act. In one hand a sword, in the other a shield…’”

“In a third your people’s hearts and a fourth, your enemies balls,” Caleb finished. “So?”

“I’ve been all too aware about your true identity and Leon’s for that matter as a super. How you may ask? Chimera told me. You see, Chimera has this device, the Geneheart. It’s an incredible machine. I don’t actually understand its full potential but from what I can gather, it can detect the powers of everyone in the world and provides detailed information about them. Not only that, but it predicts the powers of those who have yet to come of age. It can effectively see into the future.”

Such a powerful device… He wasn’t so surprised about the ‘detecting powers’ thing since the FBI and most super organisations had such machines but being able to do that on a global, maybe even on an interplanetary level was still very impressive. What really surprised him, however, was the ability to predict people’s powers.

“So?” he growled.

“So,” Matlock said, “Chimera’s ultimate goal is to create Gen 5s. Tell me what you know about the current Generations.”

“What is this, an examination?”

“Humour me, Caleb. Gen 0s are…?”

Snarling, Caleb said, “Thralls, carbon copies of the Original. They share exactly the same mindset but with severely weakened powers and abilities.” It took all of Caleb’s self-control not to pounce at Matlock and throttle him where he sat. “Gen 1s are capable of retaining their own personalities albeit they are kind of feral. They have abilities bordering on baseline superpowers. Gen 2s develop their own unique powers and are on par with most supers. Gen 3s have a unique shared ability amongst those that they create and are slightly above average when it comes to baseline superpowers. They also have one more unique power. And Gen 4s are well above the average super but are completely incapable of infecting others.”

“Good. You’ve done your homework. Care to venture a guess what a Gen 5 will be?”

“I don’t know,” Caleb growled impatiently. “Like a Gen 4 but infectious?”

Matlock chuckled softly. “Oh my dear boy, you’re focusing on the wrong thing here. The infectiousness, the spread of the Gene Stealer gift is just a means of distribution. Remember, Chimera has the power to create Originals right off the bat but they are only stable with Outsiders. With supers, their baseline powers plus the ones granted by Chimera stack on one another and their bodies overcompensate. With those that have no powers, their bodies tear themselves apart as the concept of a power is just alien to their forms.”

“Then what? What’s a Gen 5?”

The equine leaned back in his seat with a smile on his face. “Complete and utter control over one’s form and powers.”

Caleb frowned at the stallion. “What?”

“Becoming a Gene Stealer involves the unlocking of the barriers between the conscious and subconscious minds, Caleb. Supers tend to have more control over their subconscious to the point where their bodies are capable of great feats. Even those that are granted powers from other means such as magic, divine blessings of extreme training need to have some control over their subconscious to be able to pull off these feats. Outsiders have a degree of control over the subconscious as well but they’re far more… instinctive than supers.

“But think of what were to happen if you were able to completely and utterly control your subconscious to the point where you have perfect control over every aspect of your body down to its very genetics. Imagine being able to change shape at will and through that, generate your own superpowers at will.”

Caleb’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s… That’s a Gen 5?”

“That is a Gen 5,” agreed Matlock. “That is Chimera. Chimera is the first ever Gen 5 and he wishes to elevate everyone to his state. In fact, those who have already been turned into a Gene Stealer have the potential to become a Gen 5 if you hadn’t been so crass as to cure them.” The stallion shrugged his massive shoulders. “But as it turns out, you’re key to making Gen 5s. We just need to find a way to mechanically replicate your powers and then we will be able to turn Gen 3s into Gen 4s and from then on, Gen 4s can become Gen 5s.”

“Pegasus told Flare Blue that Gen 3s can become Gen 4s eventually…”

“Of course they can given enough time and emotional stress. But we do not have time.”

“Because the end is coming,” Caleb finished. “I was told that as well. What end? What’s coming? If you just tell me what’s around the corner, maybe we can help each other out!”

Matlock threw his head back and Reggie shared in his mirth.

“You’re a real hero, Hale,” Reggie snickered. “Trying to negotiate peace with us.”

“If you’re trying to save the world, why can’t we work together?” Caleb asked.

The big, brown equine sighed and took another sip from his coffee. “Because of the Genesians.”

“Huh?”

“Look at it this way, Caleb. Do you remember how the Gene Wars started?”

Caleb shrugged. “A bunch of people made an artificial country in the middle of the ocean and threatened to bomb everyone with a biohazard that would scramble their genes.”

Matlock shook his head. “No, my boy. That is history taught from the side of the winners. Thelkosia was founded by a group of people who openly welcomed genetic modification. They were a collection of people all over the world who agreed in the free alteration of one’s genes. They didn’t belong to any one government or any country.” He leaned forward and pointed straight at Caleb with a meaty finger. “Now ask yourself. If the nations of the world knew exactly what the Thelkosians were doing and the weapons they were building, why didn’t they attack sooner? Wars have been started over suspicion of weapons before but here, they waited until an attack was launched at Germany before striking back. Doesn’t that sound odd?”

As he processed the information, Caleb thought back to conflicts in the past. History was rife with wars started over far less and started ‘pre-emptively’. Critics of the USA blamed the government for being warmongers as they raided nations over suspicion of WMDs only to later find no such weapons to have existed. Now that he processed this information, the attack of Thelkosia seemed… odd.

“I see you’re starting to understand,” Matlock said, lowering his hand. “The truth is the governments hated the idea that people were flocking to this new ideal of free genetics. It was stealing followers from them, from their countries and their power. Above all, nations still have a certain identity when it comes to genetics. Even if you are a wolf, wolves vary in colour, size and fur density depending on where they are born and raised. Imagine being able to alter your very genetics to look like someone else. What Thelkosia represented to the world was the complete and utter breakdown of national barriers and national identity. We would be a single planet and no politician was willing to give up their seat and position for such a concept or at least those that were found their voices drowned out by the majority.”

Caleb just sat in silence, drinking this all in. He had an inkling where this was leading and found himself thinking of Price. The arrogant son of a bitch touted anti-fur sentiment over and over again but when he became one himself, he switched his ideals so easily. If people could just change themselves and obtain new identities so easily, where was the definition of the individual?

“So the governments of the world faked a strike?” Caleb asked.

“They snuck into Thelkosia,” agreed Matlock, “and stole some of the agent they used to scramble their genetics. Added a few touches to it and then launched it at their own people. Thelkosia never had any ICBMs capable of devastating a country with their biological weapon. That’s why only that one warhead was ever launched and Thelkosia never fired another. Think about it. It doesn’t make sense in any way. Why fire just one warhead fully knowing the consequences it would bring? If you were to bombard every major city in the world, you’d send the world into disarray.” Matlock shook his head. “No, in reality they only had their orbital weapon and that was in no way related to their supposed ‘bio weapon’.”

It made sense.

The governments of the world feared what Thelkosia represented so they made them an enemy. A peace-loving city state was turned on its head and suddenly had the entire world vying for its blood… all for having an ideal that made the politicians of the world uncomfortable.

“And that’s why Chimera is going about it this way, isn’t he?” Caleb concluded. “He didn’t come out and announce a reform in a peaceful manner because it would end exactly in the same way the Gene Wars ended. Maybe worse because they’ll think he’s a religious nut for spouting shit about the end of the world.”

Matlock grinned at him and tapped his muzzle lightly. “Exactly. In fact, look how well it’s working. People have flocked to his underground movement. There are hundreds all over the world like Dalton who have seen his vision and agree to work with him in secret. Even more are clamouring to find us; supers, villains, Outsiders and those without powers alike. If we came out to the world, they’d think we were insane. This way, they come to their own conclusions and crave what we have. They don’t know entirely what we want and it is that not knowing that draws them in.”

“What’s stopping me from just telling the world after this?”

“Because you don’t want to seem crazy and a hypocrite,” answered the stallion with a sly smile. “Anything you say will just sound like the desperate whining of a pup trying to make excuses for his own incompetence. You won’t be able to save face especially when you use our serums and our technology to transform into different forms yourself. Not to mention what will happen should your boyfriend be outed as one of our Gen 4s.”

Caleb fell silent. Deep down in his heart, he knew what Chimera was doing was wrong but… at the same time, he couldn’t help but admit there was a sense of… nobility in what the Gene Stealers were doing. They were trying to save the world but they were forced to use underhanded methods because of the global anti-gene modification ban and the general attitude towards genetic modifications brought on by the fall of Thelkosia. As much as he wanted them stopped, he couldn’t without risking his loved ones.

“You’re beginning to see, aren’t you?” Matlock said with a smile. He gently pushed the serum across the table towards Caleb. “It’s hard to believe, I know. Took me a while to convince Reggie but he understood what was at stake here.”

“Is that why you turned Leon? You hoped he’d join you?”

Matlock shut his eyes and sighed. “Ah Leon… Just an ambitious soul but a little… dense.” When he opened his eyes, he looked upon Caleb with pity. “I’ll be honest, Caleb. When the first Genesian attacked, we had hoped you’d use the serum given to you by Shark Tamer. That would have made things so much simpler. Everything we did was an attempt to get you to show off your powers one more time so we could fully analyse it. You would have used the serum, gone wild and then we’d send guys like Smokestack, Unicorn, Pegasus and Sleipnir to you to bargain for a piece of their DNA for you to change into a weapon so you could shift back. In exchange, we would have been able to study your abilities and then paved the way for Gen 5s.”

The titanic stallion shrugged his shoulders. “But sadly, that Legion intervened and suddenly, our plans were set awry.”

Legion… Jacob. He somehow messed with Chimera’s plans… Somehow, Caleb just knew Chimera and Matlock knew nothing about the Cornucopia or AEGIS.

“So… What now?”

“Now?” Matlock lifted his head and gestured towards the serum. “Now we get back on track. You have two choices here, Caleb. We’re sure you can cure Leon eventually. I’ll even give you a free hint. Slap Thunder Wire on him, channel your powers through it and he’ll be back to his old self. That’s how it works.” Matlock gave him a dark smile. “But we know where you live. We know who your family members are. You can continue to fight us and we can infect them one by one and then you’d have to go through the heartbreak of watching everyone from your sister, her fiancé, your brother, mother or father all changing into Gene Stealers at our whim. You never suspected Dalton was one of us. Who knows who else you know could be a Gene Stealer?”

Caleb tried not to look nervous. He didn’t want to have to constantly be looking over his shoulder and fearing for his life or the life of his family and friends.

“Or…?”

“Or, you take this serum,” Matlock said, inching the syringe closer to Caleb. “You already have the weapon you need to change yourself back. All that we ask is that you change back in public. We analyse exactly how your powers work, we get what we want and in return, we solemnly swear not to go hunting for your family and friends and change them into Gene Stealers.”

“So what? Leon was just a demonstration? A warning?”

Matlock laughed softly and nodded. “Just a taste of what is to come if you don’t cooperate.”

Caleb shut his eyes.

The decision lay with him.

And only him.

His paw closed around the syringe…

He could see the faces of all his family and friends flashing in front of him. Lars, Mary, Ben, Ashton, Alex, his mother, father, sister and brothers and even Rhiannon. More recently, even Jacob.

Then his eyes snapped open.

Jacob.

Matlock said that when Jacob intervened at the Genesian attack, their plans sent into disarray.

“I have one demand,” he said.

“And what is that?”

“You stay out of the Facility’s systems. You never break in again and stay out of our place.”

Trojan shrugged and nodded. “Alright. We’ll keep out of your base of operations. Here…” He reached up and took out his phone. “I’m deleting your number right now. Reggie…”

The black stallion made a show of deleting Caleb’s number.

“Do we have a deal?”

Caleb pulled the syringe towards himself. “Yeah but…” His voice trailed off.

“The rest of your team can’t know you’ve made this deal, is that right?” Matlock chuckled. He reached forward and patted Caleb’s arm comfortingly. “Trust me. I was an undercover cop before all this. I pretended to be in a wheelchair for years until my time was right. I know what you’re going through.” He leaned back and nodded. “I’ll set up a time and place. You inject yourself with the serum either there or before then then come and face us. We’ll make a show of it. But just remember, you need to change yourself back in front of us. Got that?”

Caleb nodded firmly. “Yeah. I got it.”

******

“I don’t like it,” David growled, his eyes literally red with rage. “He’s setting you up. I know it.”

Arsenal sat in a broad conference room on the Cornucopia. The broad, metallic chamber had a long, white table at its centre with a holographic display at its centre showing the Horsepower Gym, Trojan’s choice of arena for their confrontation.

“Of course he’s setting Caleb up,” Lars exclaimed. “Look at everything he’s done up to this point! It’s been all based on lies! He tricked us with his identity, he led Caleb to the Horsepower Gym just so he could blow up the Facility and now he’s cornered us with Leon’s situation! We can’t trust him!”

“No,” Caleb murmured. “Matlock genuinely believes what he’s doing is right and I’m pretty sure he’ll keep his word. He’s only had to lie as part of his beliefs but if it puts his honour into question, I don’t think he’ll lie. In this instance, we can trust him.”

“So what?” Ben demanded. “He expects us to go up to him at the gym, Caleb transforms then we force Thunder Wire on him so he changes back? Just so he can see it happen? That sounds like bull to me.”

“I agree with Benjamin,” David rumbled. “I say we infect Caleb first, develop the cure here and now, cure Leon and then capture Trojan tomorrow at the showdown.”

“I gave my word dad,” Caleb said. “I’m not going to back down on it.” He grabbed the syringe which was resting in front of him. “I’m going to take this. But not in front of him. I want the rest of the day to bring myself under control so I can change back at the gym. If I go wild out there, I might hurt you guys or worse.”

“Cale, you’re taking a huge gamble here,” Lars pleaded.

“No he’s not,” Mary said, her eyes narrowed. “Well… he is but he isn’t gambling on himself.” Her eyes shifted to where Jacob sat, feet on the table and lounging back idly. “He’s relying on you, Legion.”

The blonde-haired wolf sat up in surprise. “Wait, what? Huh? Me? Why?”

“Matlock said that when you intervened with the Genesian attacks, you dislodged their plans,” Caleb explained. “I don’t know but the way that he explained it, it seemed like Chimera could tell the future. When he explained the Geneheart, it also seemed to lead to that. For some reason, you screwed up their plans.”

“Well, I am outside of time and space…”

“Right. And when I told Matlock to swear not to hit the Facility again, he called it our ‘home base’. I don’t think he has any idea that we’re now working with AEGIS or on the Cornucopia. Hell, I think he still thinks we’re working off there.”

Jacob’s features grew still. “I see…”

“Whatever else, I think Chimera isn’t counting on you or at least can’t see you in the future,” Caleb continued. “He said so himself when he nearly killed you that one time.”

“So you’re putting all your trust in him instead?” David growled.

“Jacob has been nothing but friendly and helpful, dad. Stop being an ass.”

The new lycanthropic Feral Steel growled and turned away, grabbing his forehead with a paw. He struggled for a bit and when he pulled his paw down, his eyes were back to their normal blue. “Sorry son. Just got a lot of… aggression in me.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ben said with an apologetic smile. “Werewolves are naturally aggressive.”

“Hell of a time to get anger management issues,” David rumbled. He turned to Jacob with a frown. “I am really appreciative of you taking the effort to bring AEGIS into the fold and for everything you’ve done to help out Arsenal. I mean the Cornucopia alone… Wow…” He took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. “If working with you somehow derails Chimera’s plans, then I’m all for it.”

“I’d hope we’d be working together for more than just because I’m useful,” Jacob responded with a smile. “But let’s park that conversation on the side for now.” His eyes went to Caleb. “I take it you want me there for the confrontation?”

“Yes,” Caleb said firmly. “I don’t know what Chimera is thinking right now but I think he honestly believes that he’s trying to save the world or he’s at least got his cronies believing he is.” He pressed his knuckled against the table, looking out the window that showed the expanse of West California Island with a fierce look. “Let’s take today to prepare ourselves. The meeting is at eight in the evening tomorrow at the Horsepower Gym.” He turned towards the rotund orca sitting near the back of the conference room. “Elliot, I’m going to need your help to contain me as I take this serum. Everyone else, suit up and prepare yourselves. Trojan is a hell of a tactician and I’m not sure if this is ultimately his end game. But he swore to leave the rest of you guys out of being infected so I’m going to take that chance.”

The conference ended and the team began filtering out of the room. Lars gave Caleb a longing look and the wolf quickly mouthed that he’d be following after the Doberman shortly. First, he wanted to discuss something with Jacob. As if sensing his desire for a private chat, Jacob remained while Nathan Rage left.

When they were alone, Caleb approached his fellow wolf.

“You know more about Chimera than anyone else, don’t you?” he accused.

“Bits and pieces,” Jacob responded. “Chimera is just a pawn in a much bigger plot. He may seem like the big bad right now but this ‘end’ that he’s so concerned about is what I’m more concerned about. I’d like very much to know exactly what Chimera is preparing this world for.”

“Do you think it’s within your power to stop?”

Jacob shrugged absently. “That really depends on where this end is coming from. If it’s the gods deciding they want to wipe out all existence, then I can definitely step in. But if the Creator of this world decides to bring an end to all existence, I really can’t do much about it but possibly extract the souls from this multiverse and build a new world for them under my or another’s jurisdiction. Without knowing where the problem is coming from, I can only guess.”

“Does it have to do anything with…” Caleb tapped the side of his head, trying to remember the name. “I can’t remember. You mentioned it the first time we had a one-on-one chat…?”

“The Ring?”

“That’s the one. Is it them?”

Jacob took a deep breath and held it for a good long moment. “Thing is, I don’t quite know what the Ring is. I don’t know if it’s an organisation, some secret conspiracy or some cosmic force. All I know is that it underpins the very fabric of this multiverse.”

“But it’s bad?”

Jacob could only shrug. “Unfortunately, I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out. Whether or not it’s related to Chimera’s Apocalypse Prophecy, I can’t be sure. I do know they are somehow related. Whether Chimera is just a pawn of the Ring or perhaps he knows about the Ring. Perhaps the Ring is a good thing and Chimera’s little attempt to ‘evolve’ the world will be what’ll bring on its rebirth or something thing else along those lines. Could be as inconspicuous and literal as a golden ring that turns you invisible when you wear it but houses an utterly malevolent force that can only be destroyed in a fiery volcano watched by an enormous, fiery eye that can’t see shit.” Jacob reached out and gipped Caleb’s shoulder reassuringly. “But I’ll figure it out.”

“Why?” Caleb asked. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

The blonde-haired wolf crossed his arms for a moment, lost in thought. “I’m not the most powerful entity in all existence, Caleb. Neither is my mate, EX. We’re just arguably the most powerful you can see. Think of us as layers of one way windows stacked on top of one another. You can look down and see everything else the mirrors beneath you reveal but when you look up, you can only see your own reflection. You’re aware of the mirror but can’t understand it. That mirror is your gods or perhaps the upper echelons of your universe. We No Ones are a couple of layers above that but even we have someone over us.” He pointed upwards. “One of those guys informed me of the Ring but left me to do with the information as I saw fit. Rhiannon asked me to help with Gabe, yes, and the gods asked me to step in but I knew about the Ring from that guy. Your gods have no idea about it. Whatever it is.”

“So how can you even be sure it exists?”

“There are signs,” Jacob answered with a shrug. “The Outsiders for instance.”

“Outsiders? What do we have to do with the Ring?”

“Because the Ring created the Outsiders.”

Caleb’s jaw dropped. “W – Wait… What?”

“For a long time it was just supers and those without powers. But suddenly, these guys with powers without baseline superpowers started popping up for no apparent reason. It isn’t caused by interbreeding or anything. They just started popping up for some reason. That’s the doing of the Ring.”

“How can you be sure?”

Jacob shrugged again. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I’ve just been at this for a long time to know that something that big doesn’t just pop up for no reason and I’m pinning it on the Ring.”

It sounded flimsy to him but the No One was more experienced on the cosmic level than he was. “Do you have any leads?”

“One.”

“Chimera?”

Jacob shook his head. “No. The Stranger.”

******

Madman grunted loudly, hefting the enormous weight with ease. It took a whole week of therapy and supplements but he finally managed to get back to his original size and weight. AEGIS was truly a fascinating organisation and they were very well resourced. Apparently, though Trojan’s powers could sap the mass from his body, it didn’t stop his genetics from building him a certain way. With enough food and a lot of supplements, AEGIS was able to trigger a ‘second puberty’ in the hyena and he was back to his old self.

At least… that’s what he thought.

“Fuck!” he growled, slamming the dumbbell into the ground. He was furious. At Trojan and at himself. What the horse had told him about his powers had really gotten to him. Lewis Sanchez had been Madman of Arsenal for months now and he was still at the same level he had been since he transformed.

He could become stronger.

He could become a Gen 2 or Gen 3.

But for some reason, he just couldn’t grow stronger! He couldn’t evolve!

“Fuck!” he roared again, slamming a foot angrily into the ground. The metal didn’t budge beneath his mighty feet. “What the fuck do I have to do?”

“You need purpose.”

Angry, burning yellow eyes spun towards the black wolf standing not too far away, ethereal blue-white wings springing from his back and dressed in that long, billowing, black coat of his.

“You!” Madman snarled at Arcturus. “You told me that if I didn’t join Arsenal, I would die alone! But a week ago, I was going to fucking die anyway when Trojan drained all my muscle and bone from me!”

“No you would not have. It was not your time to die.”

“How the fuck can you say that when you can’t even predict the future anymore!?” Madman snarled and grabbed another dumbbell, squeezing it so tightly that the metal began to bend in his paws. “You tricked me, Hound! I should’ve seen it sooner. Anyone affected by the Gene Stealers can’t be seen by the gods and I’m a fucking Gen 1!”

“You are correct,” Arcturus replied in his ever calm, slightly chilling tone. “I am incapable of seeing the future of those who are affected by the Gene Stealers. But I can clearly see the world being affected by your choices. I can see the path you take, the footprints you leave in the sands of time, even if I cannot see you directly. Even then, as the Hound of Death and my foresight, I can see you dying alone had you chosen not to join Arsenal.”

“Oh yeah? What makes you so sure, smart guy?” Madman snarled. He kept his back to the Hound as he continued to lift the weights. “What makes you think that no one could end up loving me, huh?”

“Consider who you were back then, Madman. Imagine the path you would have taken. With Reaper here, the Gene Stealers are doomed to be destroyed. One way or the other, they will be stopped, and had you remained loyal to them, you would have been shipped off to a containment facility where Vernon Washington would have recruited you and used you for his Genesians. You would have been nothing more than a lab rat and eventually, when the Genesians and Washington fall, you will have been destroyed alongside them never knowing love.”

“You sure about that?” He glanced over his shoulder at Arcturus. “Can you honestly say that some lab guy might not have taken pity on me, we’d start a fling and shit would’ve started?”

“Again, consider who you were back then. You were obsessed with spreading your infection. You would have been a villain, Madman. You would have made every attempt to escape and you know it. But here, you have no intention of leaving Arsenal despite what you now know. You are amongst friends and in friends, you have softened your heart. Only when your heart is open and can bleed will you be able to find love.”

Madman threw the dumbbells to the ground with a loud whump. “And what do you know about love?” He turned back towards the Hound, arms crossed firmly against his chest. “You’re the fucking Hound of Death. You break up couples, you don’t bring them together.”

For a long moment, Arcturus said nothing. Then, the ethereal wings bursting from his back faded and his pure-white eyes faded to reveal his sky blue irises. “Believe it or not, Madman, love has touched my heart. Many times before and even more so recently. I will be honest and say that my interference against the Genesians and indeed my willingness to adopt Rhiannon’s portfolio was an attempt to distance myself from this particular individual.”

“Is it Caleb?”

“Pardon?”

“Is it Weapons Master? You got charmed by the sparkly thing he does with his powers and the amount of death and destruction it can cause but like how he controls himself?”

Arcturus laughed softly, pressing a finger against his lip slightly. “No, Madman. It is not Caleb but between you and I… it is amongst the Hale Family.”

Madman snorted loudly and stomped over to the bench press. “Great. Have fun with that. Doesn’t solve the fact that I’m fucking useless. I’m not even the strongest Gene Stealer in the team anymore. Lars has the honour of being the first and only Gen 4.”

The Hound was suddenly behind him, looming over the bar. “And what do you think is stopping you?”

Madman seized the bar and its tonne of weight with some effort. “I don’t know…”

“Yes you do. Trojan all but spilled it out for you.”

He grunted and rolled his eyes. “Fine. It’s because I don’t have a fucking clue what I’m after. I don’t have any… real goal.”

“And why do you think that is?”

The hyena rolled his eyes. The psychoanalysis was getting tired but he humoured the Hound for the moment. “I dunno… Maybe because I’m content with how things are? I’m bigger than I ever was. I’ve got a fucking huge cock and all things considered, my life is pretty fucking awesome. I get to live in a kickass starship, get everything handed to me and I get to beat up bad guys as a job.”

“But?”

It was his turn to fall silent. Even as he hefted the mighty weight over and over again, he was mostly quiet.

“But it’s all part of my job. It’s not something I really wanted. Well, it is. I want to fight the Gene Stealers but that’s because it’s out of loyalty to Arsenal, to my buds. But everything else… I just never pursued it. Too much shit going on.”

“Do you think it’s time you pursued your own goals?”

“For what? Love? Fuck, if I find someone I care about, they’ll just get hurt for this shit. Didn’t you hear what Caleb said? Chimera thinks the fucking end of the world is coming! Why the fuck should I find someone to love if I won’t get to spend the rest of my life with them?”

Arcturus let out a derisive snort as Madman racked the bar. “I ask myself the same question. Why pursue this person who has my heart when I will live on for eternity and they will die once their mortal lifespan is over? But then I notice the way they smile, the way they smell, walk, talk and even simply breathe and I cannot help but wonder what those few years might be regardless.” He looked down to Madman with sorrowful eyes. “Is not a brief moment in time worth it?”

Madman got up and huffed. “Heavy shit, Arcturus…”

“It all relates to your lack of progress with your powers. You have yet to reach that heightened emotional state. There are only a handful of powerful emotions that could drive a super to develop new powers and love is one of them.” Arcturus rested a paw on Madman’s shoulder. “You’ve gone through other emotions already. Hate, desperation, joy and hope. But not love. Not yet. Perhaps that is what is lacking in your live and if you were to change that.”

“Great.”

“And I will help you.”

“Fucking great. Dating advice from the Hound of Death. Or is this a hook up from the guy destined to toss my soul into the void because I don’t belong to either the furry or human pantheons anymore.”

Arcturus laughed softly and patted Madman’s back. “By now you should know that is no longer an option. You have met Jacob. A No One. He takes care of those who fall beyond the realms of the gods’ understand just as he does with Gabe. Ask him and I am sure that you will find the assistance you need. And speaking of which…”

The door to the large gymnasium sprang open and Jacob stepped inside.

“Okay Arty, what’s up?” declared the blonde-haired wolf. “Why did you want me here? I was just about to check up on Leon, see if I could bring some sense into him with Mary’s help.”

Arcturus nudged Madman towards the wolf.

“I… Uh…” began Madman. “Jake –”

“Jacob, please.”

“Right… Well… see, I’ve been having a bit of a crisis.”

“Who isn’t these days?” answered the wolf dryly. “What’s yours?”

Madman glanced towards Arcturus who gave him a short nod. “I’ve been having trouble with my powers… I mean, I’ve been a Gen 1 for ages now. Or what seems like it. I just haven’t developed as far as I should. Arty suggested it’s because I haven’t had enough emotional stress…”

“Alright. And?”

“He suggested it was because I needed to find love. Have someone to really fight for or drive me, you know? I was hoping you could help with that.”

Jacob shrugged absently. “Not sure how much help I can be. The only person’s story who I’m allowed to really help write is Gabe’s since I brought his book with me. But if it helps, I’ll try and help you work through this.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “But I’m a little busy right now. If you want, come help me restrain Leon while Mary and I try to bring out the sense in him. Then we can talk afterwards.”

“Restrain him? Why?”

“Slight design flaw in the containment procedures,” the wolf grumbled softly. “Since the occupant is phased out of reality, most superpowers won’t affect them. Elliot theorised that Leon is still in there somewhere just buried beneath primal instinct. If we can bring him out, we might be able to bring him under control to tell us what else he knows. Plus it’ll stop him from injuring himself and potentially becoming a bloated ball of muscle.”

It made sense. When Madman first transformed, he was just all instinct and wanted to fuck like crazy. He ploughed into Gnoll for the entire night, smearing his office full of his cum. It was the following morning when he gained some of his senses but even then, he was still a wild animal. After weeks and divine intervention from Arcturus, he eventually became a working member of society again… albeit a heavily mutated one.

“So you’re going to drop the barrier and need someone to hold him down, huh?” Madman said, rising to his feet. “Alright, I’m in.”

“Glad to hear it. Let’s go.”

Madman followed Jacob to the containment cell, Arcturus staying behind. As they walked, there was something that Madman noticed about the wolf. He hadn’t noticed it until then but…

“You don’t have a tail.”

“Huh?” Jacob glanced over his shoulder. “Oh right. I keep forgetting to add one.”

“Are you even really a wolf? Or are you really some sort of godly entity that only took the shape of a wolf because it’s convenient.”

That made the No One laugh. “Nah. I’m a wolf. I can take many shapes but I was born a wolf.”

“A wolf without a tail?”

“No. I had one. I lost it.”

“You… Lost your tail? What? Did you drop it on the bus or something?”

Jacob snickered. “No. Went up against this royal bitch who was obsessed with destroying the world. She believed that in destruction, she would return all existence to primordial Chaos. She was vindictive. When I beat her, she wouldn’t just accept it and tore my tail off. Hurt like hell for weeks and even after that, I felt a little empty without it, like I’d lost a limb. But after a couple of centuries, I got used to it. I just forget every now and then to add a tail when necessary. Besides, sometimes not having a tail is handy. It’s easier to put on armour.”

Madman inclined his head to the side slightly. “Shit… You’ve had it bad, haven’t you? Nearly as bad as us. We’ve had our bodies twisted and changed into other shapes… You’ve had yours mutilated and mangled.”

Jacob shrugged absently “War scars. It happens. Each one is a lesson. I wear mine proudly.” He let out a sarcastic snort as they turned into an elevator. “You should see when I’m not restrained. I’ve got these skeletal wings made entire out of chains fused with my spine. And my eyes? My pupils are shaped like eight pointed stars and the points cut into my irises.”

“If you can change your shape like that, why do you keep those things? They sound… uncomfortable.”

“Well, they serve a function. No one can grab my tail and no one can really tell what I’m thinking without my tail. It disorients people. My eyes were shaped like that after a particular event awakened my ability to see through to all possibilities of existence. The wings were grafted into my spine by a sadistic bastard who wanted everyone to know that I was his slave. Little did he know that I eventually warped reality to the point where I could actually control them and I can actually use them as weapons even going so far as to grab people with them.” Jacob laughed darkly. “Asshole actually strung me up by my wings in front a whole arena, listening to me whimper and watching me bleed as the wings and gravity wanted me parted from my spine. I’m not ashamed to admit killing him was fun.”

Madman grunted softly. “You’re a hell of a super if you enjoy killing.”

“Funny. The term is ‘super’ not ‘super_hero_’. Think about that.”

The hyena let out a short laugh of his own. “So what? Are we meant to trust you and you’ll turn on us at the very last moment?”

“No. Caleb and I are friends and we’ll stay friends. I can’t spoil much else but I’ll assure you now that I’m on your side.” His features grew dark and he was silent for a few moments. “If I can be honest with you, though, I am worried. Of Caleb in particular.”

“Why? He seems to be handling things well. Little stupid when it comes to the media but he’s pretty good.”

“It’s not that. I’m more concerned about his powers. He once described it to me as ‘seeing everything for what it is’ and that he somehow ‘sets it right’ or ‘makes adjustments’ and that’s what turns things into weapons. It’s like he’s seeing the very fundamental building blocks of the universe and can somehow change them towards his specifications.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“Well… His powers sound a lot like another fundamental force that I’m chasing.”

The elevator dinged and they stepped out into the containment cell. David and Mary were already gathered in front of Leon’s cell. It looked like the enormous black and white equine had exhausted himself for the moment and lay in a puddle of his own cum in the corner. Madman wanted to pursue the issue about Caleb but he felt it wasn’t really his place to ask, yet. He came up next to David who just gave him a nod.

The newly made werewolf’s eyes remained a sparkling blue, brighter than they ever had been. Above all else, David seemed much more… striking than he ever did. Bigger definitely but it was like his presence was just so awe-inspiring that it was almost paralysing. He didn’t get the same impression from Ben and the only people he had ever felt it from was from Samson the few times he met him and Jacob on very rare occasions. All three of them exuded a particular power to them. David inspired courage and heroism, he was an idol. Samson struck fear in people’s heart and drew out ambition in others. Jacob bred a myriad of emotions; sometimes friendliness, joviality and relaxation but other times confusion, distrust and terror.

“Are you ready?” Jacob asked, swinging a paw idly through the air. There was a blizzard of light and a silver gauntlet appeared around his paw. Madman had seen it before in the few times he had caught Mary practicing her psychic abilities. That was the only moment that he noticed there was an eye embedded into the palm of the garment.

“Yes,” Mary said, lifting her head high. “You pave the way for me and since I know Leon better than you, I’ll try to bring him out.” She glanced towards David and then Madman. “You two keep him off us. But don’t try to injure him. His baseline powers are still wild so if he gets injured, he might regenerate out of control.”

“So subdue him,” Madman grunted, massaging his knuckles. “Got it.”

“On three,” David growled, resting a paw against the panel. “One…”

Mary wrapped her fingers around Jacob’s gauntlet. “…Two…”

“Three!” Madman cried.

David pressed a button on the panel and the shimmering barrier instantaneously dropped. Leon jumped away, perhaps some of the canine in him still buried deep within the enormous, equine form. Seeing his bid for freedom, the trapped Hale sprang to his feet and let out a monstrous bellow.

“Leon! Get a grip!” David shouted. Thick, metal chains erupted from the walls, wrapping around Leon’s wrists and ankles and pulling him back. But Leon was an enhanced super, basically a Gen 4 and even with David’s recent power up, the horse managed to pull at the chains and lunge forward.

Madman instantly ducked beneath Leon’s thick arms and slipped behind him. He wrapped his own arms around the equine’s dense neck in a tight chokehold. “Come on, boy!” he growled. “Easy!”

But Leon had the strength of a super and more. He railed against the chains and even with Madman’s forearm pressing down on his windpipe, he continued to breathe normally and thrash.

“Fuck! He’s strong!” the burly hyena growled, made all too aware of his own weakness. “How are you guys doing in there!?”

Jacob and Mary had both closed their eyes.

“Getting closer but we’d thank you not to interrupt us!” Jacob snarled.

Sweat was starting to appear on Madman’s brow, soaking into his brown fur.

“Can’t you stop time or something!?”

“I stop time, Leon’s consciousness is frozen as well. We’re helping him fight the beast controlling his body. So shut up and let us work!” His brow furrowed. “Mary…” he whispered softly.

“I know,” she answered. “Ready.”

Jacob let out a feral snarl and Leon suddenly went rigid, blinking a few times.

“Sh – sh – shit…” growled the wolf-turned-horse.

“Leon!” David exclaimed.

Suddenly, the raving, bucking wild horse was back and he lashed backwards with his mighty leg. Madman grimaced as that hard-as-diamond hoof collided with his knee. It felt like something had shattered but he kept his ground, holding Leon back.

“Listen here, buddy,” Madman snarled, desperately trying to keep Leon in place. “I know what it’s like. I know you feel horny, powerful and just want to throw your limbs around like you don’t care. You feel like you can take on the world, do whatever you want and it won’t matter.”

“What are you doing, Sanchez!?” David snarled, tightening the chains around Leon’s wrists.

“No! He’s doing the right thing!” Mary shouted, her eyes firmly shut. “Madman, keep talking to him! You’re like his physical guide! We’re his mental one!”

Nodding, Madman said, “It feels good, right? To just cum whenever you want, to spray your seed over and over again. Feels fucking awesome every time you get that hit of sex. I know it feels even better when you’ve actually got someone to fuck. Their bodies against yours, cock inside of them. Yeah, I know how it feels.”

He let out a soft sigh which was cut short by another of Leon’s ear splitting roars. “But listen to me, okay? And stay with me on this one. It’s all fucking empty. All that sex. Meaningless. Sooner or later, you’re going to get sick of it. I know that sounds impossible but it’s true. You can’t live your life on sex alone. I know bugs that, the moment they get out of their cocoon, they don’t even have fucking mouths and all they’re built for is to fuck and make more of themselves. But you’re not a bug, Leon. You hear me? You’re not a bug. You’re more. You’re a Hale! You’re just like your dad and your brothers. You’re a hero and you’re going to fight this thing, be more than a bug and find purpose in your fucking life!”

Leon suddenly gagged and his body relaxed. Jacob and Mary let out a breath and their eyes snapped open. For Mary, it was only for a brief moment before she went limp and Jacob had to catch her quickly.

“Shit…” Leon gagged. “Fucking hell… Someone get me some water… I’m so thirsty…”

Jacob gave him a wry smile and waved his spare paw through the air. A blue shield with dolphin motif appeared against his arm. A globe of water appeared above Leon and the equine arched his neck towards it. Madman let him go and the horse drank eagerly.

“That’s what happens when you cum non-stop,” grunted the hyena. “You get really thirsty afterwards. But you can’t tell because you’re obsessed with cumming so much.”

Leon gave him a wry smile, his features just looking wrong as a horse. Though he had never met him in person, Leon had no concept on how to use his face. Not that he was ugly, just when he smiled, he showed too much teeth and it looked incredibly creepy. “Thanks for the advice… I’ll keep in in mind.”

The chains around the equine’s arms loosened and Leon was at last free.

“Leon,” David breathed with relief. “I’m so glad you’re back. I –”

Suddenly Leon’s eyes flared up. “You!”

******

Caleb was in the midst of preparing for his own transition into whatever was in the serum when a loud alarm began blaring. He, Elliot and Lars all looked up, exchanged glances and then bolted straight for the source of the noise. Still clutching the syringe in one paw, Caleb charged through the Cornucopia. AEGIS troops were scrambling in the opposite direction and the closer they got to the source, they started to hear crashes and bangs amongst the alarms.

Through the crowd, he saw Madman with Mary in his arms and Jacob right behind them.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

Madman stopped in front of them, looking panicked. “Reaper and BB decided to bring Leon back to his senses with some psychic mumbo jumbo.”

“Did it work?” Caleb asked although he was afraid of the answer.

“Like a charm.”

“So what’s with the crashing?” Lars asked. “Did he break loose again, go beast mode and is now rampaging through out brand new starship?”

“No…” Jacob murmured, pushing Madman further down the hall. “David was with us. Leon took offense to the fact that he was a super and David kept it from him for years, apparently. Now they’re having a nice father-son chat.”

BOOM!

The ship shook.

Elliot clapped Caleb’s shoulder. “They’re your family, Muscles. This one is all you.”

Lars did the same. “Good luck bud.”

“What!?” Caleb cried as the entire hallway became bathed in red light. “You’re my boyfriend! You’re supposed to support me!”

“Yeah but I’m not your husband. I’m not a Hale yet so…” Lars began hopping backwards with the retreating Jacob. “… come back soon, hun! Love you!”

Caleb gave the Doberman a sour stare before turned towards the rampaging battle. With a shake of his head, he charged forward through the alarms and the violent shakes. Thankfully, fire had yet to start as the Cornucopia’s internal systems were built to take damage and repair itself. In fact, as a large, metal spear flew from ahead and jabbed into a nearby wall, Caleb saw the walls absorb the metal, turning it into goo and reconstituting it elsewhere. The ship’s technology truly was remarkable.

Once he reached the containment cell, it was actually hard to tell if there was an actual battle at all. Despite the red light bathing the entire area, there was next to no damage and any damage was quickly being closed up. In the centre of the long hallway filled with containment cells, David Hale stood, fangs bared and his eyes bright red with fury. His fur stood on end and he looked more wild, ferocious. Caleb wondered if that was his dad’s new werewolf form. Opposite to him, was Leon. The huge black and white equine was equally baring his teeth but in his equine form, he looked ridiculous. Caleb tried not to laugh given the gravity of the situation.

Faster than he could blink, Leon was suddenly a black and white blur. David stumbled onto a knee before the blur quickly zipped back to where he was standing.

“I’m faster than you, dad!” Leon bellowed. “How’s that for a superpower, huh? Hell, I think I’ll call myself Racehorse!”

“Your power isn’t incredible speed,” David snarled. “Your power is to remain unnoticed. That’s what it’s always been not this artificial bullshit the Gene Stealers gave you!”

“I was already a super. The Gene Stealers don’t give you new powers, dad. They just compound on what powers you already have! And you know what they say about supers developing powers in situations of great stress!”

WHAM!

David was sent staggering back a step as Leon slammed a fist into his chin and retreated all in the same half second.

“Stress!?” David growled. “What the hell do you have to be stressed about!? We can cure you!”

“Cure me!? Why would I want to be cured of this!?” Leon demanded, holding up his arms. “I’m fucking amazing! Hell, if it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have gone from merely going unnoticed to having speed that even you, a member of the Alpha Pack can’t keep up with!”

Leon’s powers evolved that quickly? Then again, he had his powers for a while apparently. Maybe he was due for a power boost. Caleb took a step forward but then tall, metal bars erupted from the ground and barred his bath. His dad had sensed him.

“Stay out of this, son!” David snarled.

“Yeah Caleb,” Leon growled. “This is between me and dad!”

Caleb began to say something but David began shouting again.

“I was trying to protect you, Leon! I still am. You’re not mentally ready for the world of supers!”

“Mentally ready!? Wolf Christ, dad! I’ve looked up to heroes like you my whole life! I know what it takes to be a super!”

“Being a super is one thing but being a hero is another!” David swung his paws upwards and a large, metal wall erupted from the ground in front of him. A dull, metallic thud rang from the barrier and a sizeable dent appeared towards him. “What you see is what the public is meant to see. You don’t know the inner turmoil, the responsibility, the stress of what it means to be a real hero.”

“Like what!? Fucking your adopted little brother, getting caught and then spontaneously hulking out with another pair of arms and an extra dick!?”

Caleb was shocked. Was Leon actually jealous of Lance. He always assumed Leon was jealous of him; he thought it was the reason Leon got motorcycle lessons.

“Not only that, Leon,” David growled. Leon pounded at the metal wall, increasing the dent further and further. “Lance had to go through watching Caleb turn into a hyena. He had to hide his sexuality from you and everyone else. He didn’t idolise supers and try to make every waking moment of his a step to becoming a super! He didn’t put himself in needless danger just to prove he could be someone!”

Leon’s fist suddenly burst through the metal barrier and his mighty hands began ripping it apart. David grunted and the metal began closing, trying to keep Leon from breaking through.

“I was someone!” Leon snarled. “But you just kept me from being that someone because of some twisted idea that I don’t have what it takes to be a super! Why didn’t you send me to the Alliance when you learned I had powers? Why didn’t you just train me in secret!? Why did you have to keep this from me!?”

“Because you were never good at following instructions!” David roared. His fury mounted and a huge, metal beam came shooting out of the ground and shot through Leon’s breach in the wall. There was a loud, metallic clang and Caleb could hear Leon hitting the ground. The wall and the beam began shrinking back into the ground.

Leon grunted from where he lay, his muscles already vibrating as his body began to overcompensate from the hit. Already large as it was, his form began to grow even bigger. Caleb glanced towards his dad, fearing the werewolf had lost his control and was about to drive Leon insane by hitting him too many times and triggering his regenerative response.

“No matter what I tell you to do, you always do the opposite!” David growled. “I tell you not to tease your brother, you do it anyway. I tell you not to go out with that girl, you go ahead and sleep with her. I tell you not to join the police force because it’ll put you in danger, you sign up the next fucking hour! Caleb tells you not to push the Reggie issue until he gets back and you still do it anyway! He wasn’t even telling you not to do it entirely but just to wait but you’re just so headstrong, bull-headed and think you’re always right that you put yourself and others in needless danger!

“It’s that kind of attitude that’ll keep you from ever being a real superhero!”

Leon roared and suddenly sprang to his feet. He was another blur and rammed straight into David. Caleb leapt out of the way as his brother and father slammed into a containment cell past him. The energy barrier managed to hold the impact.

“At least you could have told me!” Leon roared.

Caleb edged towards the two. He could see the panel right beside them that would open the containment cell, cause the two to tumble in and then he could lock them inside. He imagined they would rage and rant at him for a moment before eventually having to settle down and come to some sort of agreement because they weren’t going anywhere.

Then he remembered that even contained within the cell, Leon was huge and David was still a werewolf. Were werewolves restricted by the anti-super field of the cells? They could still do a lot of harm to one another and in an enclosed space, that could be a lot of harm.

“Told you what!?” David snarled. Thick, elastic, metal bands came shooting out of the ground, wrapping around Leon’s limbs. The raging stallion was hauled back and David dropped to the ground. “‘Hey son, you’re a super but you don’t have the heart or the mentality to be one so forget all your dreams of flying around in spandex and saving people because it isn’t going to happen.’ Is that what you wanted to hear? You’d have gone out and tried saving people anyway and worried me and your mother sick!”

“Caleb did it! He ran out all the time and fought the Gene Stealers!”

Caleb winced. Now he was being dragged into this. The conflict had to end. But how?

“Caleb has the heart of a hero!” David snapped back. “He doesn’t fight the Gene Stealers because he wants to. He fights them because he has to. He’s fighting for others and their safety not for his own glorification! He feels a responsibility to the people to use his powers to help them not so that he can be their idol and be worshiped like a god!”

“That’s what I want too!” Leon roared, pulling himself free of the restraints.

“Bullshit!”

This was getting out of control. Caleb had to stop them if only to prevent further chaos on the Cornucopia. They just got the new base of operations. Destroying it now would put them on AEGIS’s permanent bad side.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

With the syringe still in his own paw, he pulled the stopper off the tip and jammed it right into his forearm. The stinging sensation wasn’t as bad as the fear of not knowing exactly what he’d turn into. He tried to calm his heartbeat knowing full well that if he panicked, the serum would spread throughout his body further. It really didn’t help. He could already feel a strange prickling sensation all over his arm like his limb had gone numb.

“H – H – Hey guys!” he exclaimed.

“Stay out of this, Caleb!” David roared.

“Yeah!” Leon chimed in. “I owe you too much already. I’m not letting you save my ass!”

“Then save mine!” Caleb shouted.

They both spun. All the hostility in their eyes faded when they caught sight of the syringe embedded into his arm.

“Caleb!” Leon cried.

“What did you do!?” David shouted, immediately dropping the metal bar keeping them apart. He immediately bolted towards his son but Leon was faster and immediately caught Caleb as the young wolf’s entire body began shaking.

A wave of heat suddenly passed through Caleb, coursing through his veins before all pooling towards his crotch. He fell to his knees, Leon catching him. A lusty moan left his lips as he felt his cock starting to harden, rising out of his sheath and causing a sizeable tent in his pants.

“Shit! What do we do!?” Leon exclaimed. “What do we do!?”

Whether he admitted it or not, David was just as stubborn as Leon. “See? You expect to be a hero when you lose your cool like this?”

“Dad!” Caleb snapped. “Not now!” He groaned, lurching forward. The arm with the syringe in it began to emit loud gurgling noises. The veins that popped up from his all his workouts, football games and training thickened, pressing up against his fur like thick, blue rivers. His forearms swelled, each muscle group so clearly defined that he might as well have been the perfect anatomical specimen. All his fur turned to a midnight black. His winter coat faded into a short, figure-hugging pelt that accentuated every part of his body all the more. The white crest on his chest surprisingly thickened, transforming into a thick bush that rested over his building pectorals.

“The containment cell!” David exclaimed. “Get him to the containment cell!”

“What!? I’m not throwing my own brother in there!”

“Do it!” Caleb roared, his voice rapidly dropping an octave. His neck thickened and it felt like it was about to consume his head. As Leon hurried him into one of the cells, he watched as his claws broadened and thickened, consuming the tips of his fingers like hard, black caps. The leathery paw pads on his palms grew thinner and spread all over his palms, looking a little more human. He noticed Leon’s hands were exactly the same and realised exactly what he was turning into.

Another groan left his muzzle. His biceps surged violently. Had he been wearing anything but his sleeveless Weapons Master costume, he would’ve torn through the fabric. Thankfully, the enchanted garment stretched with his growing form and even when he bypassed his seven foot height to a tremendous nine feet, the attire clung to his form stubbornly. Every inch of him wanted to tear the clothes off but he fought to keep himself sane, fought to keep himself in control.

It was a losing battle. By the time Leon hauled him into the containment cell, he was bucking his hips madly, eyes off in the distance as waves upon waves of lust crashed upon his consciousness. The brush of his cock against his stretching pants proved only further stimulation. It was like a limit he desperately wanted to break. His pointed canine cock pushed up against the fabric and like it was being shaped by it, he could feel his dick flattening out; the tip flaring out into a dick type he had seen so any times in the past couple of weeks alone. He couldn’t help but seize his thickening member, a loud nickering noise rising from his throat as his fingers wrapped around the sizzling, hot rod.

Caleb toppled forward, groaning with effort as his back ballooned out, large muscles paving the way for his shoulders to broaden to gargantuan proportions. His tail lost its muscle structure, becoming thin and wispy. At the same time, his already shapely ass blossomed into a pair of well-rounded buns that was so welcoming and shapely against his pans. What little fat he gained from his holiday and the winter season melted away, fuelling the growth in his thighs. For a moment, he thought his magical pants would actually tear when his quads doubled in size but they managed to hold. His calves quickly followed suit, transforming into two shapely hearts pressed up against his shins. The heat and vibrations flooded into his feet and he lost all feeling in his toes. He could only assume that they had fused together to form his hooves.

He threw his head back, letting out a bellowing whinny. His already enormous chest thundered into two massive plateaus that matched his enormous back. The rigid set of abdominals grew into a stacked eight pack that was so painfully maintained that they pressed up against his uniform. The gaps between each muscle became so tight they could’ve crushed diamonds.

The hair between his head became a stark white, scrambling down the back of his neck to become a long, luscious, alabaster mane. Caleb threw his head back from side to side, desperately trying to keep the transformation from completely consuming his head out of instinct. But as he tried, the pressure from his cock head grew bigger and bigger and he could feel his balls about ready to burst. The constant distraction of lust was all too familiar and pleasurable/painful reminder of his lusty need allowed the transformation to inch further and further into his brain.

His jaws jut forward, losing their pointed canine tip to become a long, square equine muzzle. Fangs flattened out and his nostrils flared out. Large triangular ears shrunk and flicked back and forth madly atop his head. Caleb squeezed his eyes shut as –

“FUCK!” he roared.

His hips bucked madly as cum came shooting out of his dick and soaking straight into his pants. Wave after wave of pleasure blasted out of him. His thick arms gave way from underneath him as the crashing pressure sent him toppling and quivering in delight, a goofy smile on his face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he gave himself completely into the change, arching his back and lips parted open in unbridled lust.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he repeated over and over again, seizing his dick with both hands and squeezing every drop of cum out of his firehose of a member.

“Oh FUCK!”

The biggest blast by far came rocketing out of his cock, causing his entire body to go completely rigid as if frozen in place save for the tremendous flood of seed that soaked his pants entirely. His garment became so saturated with his cum that it leaked around him in a big, white puddle.

One last blast came shooting out of his dick, a testament to his new equine shape. His muscles relaxed and he collapsed onto the ground, panting hard. His eyelids fluttered as he rode the soothing currents of afterglow. There was a little buzzing fly that kept him from slumbering however and he swatted at his ear to try and silence it.

The noise only became more insistent. Then he realised, for some reason, the fly was shouting his name.

“Caleb! Caleb, can you hear me?”

He blinked his eyes a couple of times.

“Stay with me, bro,” Leon pleaded. “Please!”

“L – Leon…?” he mumbled.

“Caleb!” his equine brother exclaimed and he threw his arms around Caleb’s thick neck. “Fuck! You’re one crazy son of a bitch! Why the hell did you inject yourself like that!?”

Caleb took a second to process the question. His mind felt thick and fuzzy but he managed to sift through it. “I… Uh… I just wanted you two to stop fighting. I thought… a unified problem would knock you two back to your senses.”

“Well it worked,” Leon said. He shot David a piercing stare. “For now, at least.”

“Maybe,” grunted David. “But we have a problem.” He frowned at his newly transformed son. “Caleb… You should be crazy. The other times you changed, you were mad and sex crazed… but now…”

His dad was right. He was in control…

And that wasn’t right.

******

They had little time to discern why Caleb was miraculously in control of his Trojan form. Needless to say, Lars was overjoyed though Elliot was suspicious. He insisted on running tests but the results would take time to analyse. Time they didn’t have. Trojan’s meeting was fast approaching and now, Caleb was a horse.

Arsenal had cordoned off the area around the Horsepower Gym and needless to say, media teams were scrambling to get the scoop. When Caleb came riding in on Ballistic as a horse and wearing Thunder Wire, they instantly went wild and fired off questions like a machine gun. He ignored them all and strode straight into the gym with the rest of his team.

Trojan was there as was Reggie AKA Draft Horse.

“Ah Weapons Master,” Trojan began, his eyes glimmering. They were well out of media range. “And Leon, too. How do you like your new form? Hard to be ignored now, eh?”

“Fuck you, Matlock,” Leon growled.

“Maybe one day,” chuckled the equine.

“Cut the bullshit, Trojan,” Caleb growled. “I’ve done as you asked. I took the Original Serum and now I’m here to change back in front of you so you can get your fucking data. After this, you agree to leave my family out of this. You and all the Gene Stealers are to leave my family alone. Got that!?”

Trojan was silent for a moment.

Then he began to laugh.

“Oh Caleb… You were just too easy to manipulate.”

Hearts began to sink with every little chortle Matlock let out.

“I knew we couldn’t trust him,” Lars snarled, stepping forward. “I’ve never barbequed horses before but I’m willing to give it a try!”

The Gene Stealer held up his hands with a laugh. “Before you do that…” He beckoned at Caleb with a finger. “Come here, Caleb.”

Eyes narrowed, Caleb took a few steps forward. “What do you want?”

“By now I’m sure you know that the Genesians are ultimately controlled by a device in their armour that makes them submissive to suggestion by their commander, correct? Their minds may rail and rebel against the idea but they are forced to obey.”

“Yeah? What of it?”

Trojan grinned broadly. “That technology came from Chimera. In fact, he’s known about the Genesians for a long time and the project Vernon Washington was working on. Chimera knew that one day, someone would try to control his Gene Stealers in such a way and perhaps even in other ways. He developed the technology a long time ago, analysed it and left it for Washington to ‘discover’ on his own. Many of the scientist and staff working with Washington are Gene Stealers just like your former mayor. They’ve been feeding Washington exactly what he needed. It’s really a variation of the system that Originals use to create their thralls. You know, making thralls basically clones of their Original.”

“What’s your point!?” Caleb growled.

Matlock smirked. “Turn around Caleb.”

Caleb snarled at him and began to turn… and saw the horrified looks on his friend’s faces. It took him a second to realise exactly why they were staring at him in abject terror.

“When you took that Original Serum, Caleb Hale, you injected yourself with a substance that would make you highly suggestive to my commands. You think we wanted you to just change back in front of us? Please. We cornered you. We threatened you with your family. All so we could have you.”

“N – N – No…” Caleb stammered. “You can’t!”

“Oh but I can,” Trojan snickered, a mad grin on his face. “And to prove it… Caleb Hale…”

Caleb tensed his entire body, trying to keep himself from moving, from doing anything.

“Attack.”