FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sirens blaring down the street slowly began to fade as they drove away from the alley that the shapeshifter wolf had been hiding in, his breath still coming in pants as he continued to stay in the shadows until the sounds that had been chasing him had passed. Between the security guards, the secret alarm, and the drones this mission had been far more difficult than Thomas had anticipated, and more than once he had wondered about his somewhat rash decision to go on this mission solo like the Mr. Johnson had wanted. But even after having to leap past a fire trap he had gotten what they wanted, looking over the chip that contained the corp data that he had been instructed to steal before putting it in his pocket and moving on.

Once he was absolutely sure he gotten rid of all the tails except for the fluffy one behind him he began to walk his way back up through Manhattan, getting out of the D-sector area that he had taken refuge in and into the relatively safer C-sector while he contacted the Mr. Johnson. The last thing he needed was getting rolled by a bunch of gangers after he had gone through all that trouble, especially since he was need of a street doc after everything was said and done. As he passed by the makeshift walls that separated the two zones he heard his commlink buzz and looked down to see that he had gotten a message telling him to take the data down to a warehouse by the docks in order to make the exchange. It was the light at the end of the tunnel and though there was always the potential for a trap he hoped that he was going to get what the Mr. Johnson had offered him.

Ever since Thomas had first come in contact with the Lycanthrope strain of HMHVV; it was a significantly altered version of Loup-Garou that turned its infected into hideous beasts, he had been trying to find a way to make it more stable and also have temporary effects. All the usual contacts that he would reach out to wouldn’t even give him the time of day and even when he reached out to actual HMHVV labs he couldn’t get anyone to analyze and work out the kinks in the sample that he had managed to distill. He began to think that as the months wore on that he was going to have to set up his own lab to try and get something done, at least until he got a mission from a biotech corporation that wanted him to steal data on the servers of one of their competitors and in exchange had their own data to help him out. That had been more than enough motivation for him to go, and even though the Mr. Johnson he had met had told him to do the mission alone the lack of nuyen reward would have probably not swayed a lot of other runner’s attentions anyway.

Even though the warehouse wasn’t too far from his location it still took a while for him to get there, choosing to remain on foot as he pressed a medkit patch against the bullet hole in his side he had caught when escaping. Even though it still hurt he wasn’t in any danger of bleeding out, and with the time table that he was on he couldn’t afford to make a detour for a street doc. Plus with it being as late in the night as it was he didn’t exactly stand out, even with his weapons on him he looked like every other metahuman that walked the C-sector streets of New York. Eventually he got to the warehouses on the dock that he was told to go, and when he got close he saw another message on his commlink telling him to use the west gate since the guard was on patrol.

Thomas groaned slightly as he went through the bushes and trees near the fence before he arrived at his destination, crawling into the guard tower window before hoping back up and looking around. “Happy Birthday Larry,” the wolf shapeshifter read out loud as he happened upon a half-eaten chocolate cake, his eyes glancing around before taking a slice for himself. “I mean, it is meant to be shared after all…”

A few minutes and an empty paper plate later Thomas arrived just outside the warehouse in questiondd, the door slightly ajar and the camera that normally monitored the entrance off-line as evidenced from the lack of blinking light. After taking a second to pat his pocket and make sure that the data stick is still in his pocket he walked into the dark space, his bionic eye trying to pierce the darkness to see what was waiting for him. It wasn’t the first time he had to drop of data at a clandestine location and half expected to see someone in a trench coat come out holding a silver briefcase. What happened instead as he got to the pool of light in the middle of the space was the door closing behind him and everything going bright, which revealed six people in black armored bodysuits holding rifles aimed straight at him once his eyes adjusted.

Harbringers… even as Thomas put his hands up in the air he still noticed the distinctive symbol emblazoned on their uniform. “I think you know quite well enough that trying to move will end poorly for you,” a voice said from the catwalk above, his eyes looking up to see a human woman dressed like a southern belle at a ball standing there. “Thank you for coming here Mr. Reddingfield, I would offer you a cold beverage but I’m afraid the business that we’re dealing with does not afford us the usual amenities.”

“If it isn’t Lady Charolette,” Thomas said as he continued to remain still while he watched her slowly come down the stairs. “What’s the game going to be this time, touch football? Maybe play a few rounds of laser tag? I see that you got an entire team down here.”

“Oh, these soldiers are merely a formality for my own safety,” Lady Charolette replied with a light giggle as she got to the basement floor, her huge dress practically floating above the floor. “I really don’t need them, not when I have my dear guardian angel ready to blow that pretty little head of yours all over this warehouse. I do hope that you will cooperate though since blood is so hard to get out of fine silk.”

The mention of a guardian angel prompted Thomas to look further up, his eyes scanning the entire warehouse until he saw a familiar face perched in the rooftop rafter with a sniper rifle pointed straight at him. “Hey Dameon,” Thomas said as he tried not to grit his teeth, though being in the blue-furred SURGE wolf’s sights was something he never wanted.

“Hey buddy,” Dameon replied with a fanged grin, his eye never leaving the scope. “Long time no see. Listen, if you don’t get yourself killed here maybe you want to go grab a drink later?”

“Sounds good Dameon,” Thomas said as he slowly gave a thumbs-up, knowing better than to agitate the known psychopath, before looking back at Lady Charolette. “Look, I have the data, and clearly I know that you guys probably have what I’m looking for when it comes to the HMHVV strain. Let’s just make the exchange and then go our separate ways, alright?”

“Let’s see the data on your end,” Lady Charolette said, one of the Harbringer soldiers approaching the wolf shapeshifter with gun drawn as Thomas slowly reached in and brought out the data drive. The soldier grabbed it and brought it back to the woman, who after looking at it shrugged slightly and to the surprise of the shadowrunner tossed it aside where it landed in a puddle. “Oh, my dear wolfie, the mission wasn’t for you to get the data, it was just so that we could record your stealing it.”

As Thomas felt his jaw drop slightly another Harbringer took out a datapad and faced the screen to him, which showed him in action doing everything from stealing the data to his escape from the cops. “Oh, and I should also mention that this wasn’t just some biotech corp you stole from,” Lady Charolette continued as the Harbringer soldier put the tablet away. “Congratulations, you broke into a secure Aztechnology server… with a little help from us.”

Thomas felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of one of the big ten megacorps. Aztechnology was particularly ruthless when it came to shadowrunners and those found in their extraterritoriality often wound up dead in particularly horrific fashions. “But… why?” Thomas asked. “Why are you setting me up like this?”

“We’re here to give you what you want sweetheart,” Lady Charloette said as she snapped her fingers, one of the Harbringer soldiers produced a silver briefcase and opened it to reveal an autoinjector. “You seek to understand the Lycanthrope strain of HMHVV, and that is something that we can abide by and introduce you to personally. Of course we can’t understand why you would want to do something as silly as try to water down such a potent, powerful weapon, so we decided that we were going to give you the real deal in all its glory.”

As Lady Charolette took the autoinjector out of its case and handed it to the soldier that stood next to her as Thomas felt his blood run cold. He knew that ever since the specimen that had been infected with the Lycanthrope strain was busted out of a secure facility, which he had unknowingly been a part of, they were working on modifying it as long as he had. “Well I appreciate the offer but I’m already a wolf, so…” Thomas began to look for ways out, ones that wouldn’t involve him getting shot in the head… he had experienced enough of that already with his day job. “What happens if I refuse, you’ll just shoot me?”

“My dear Mr. Reddingfield, we would not have gone through all the trouble of creating this footage for you to be found on the floor with a bullet in your head,” Lady Charloette replied. “But if you refuse we would tell Aztechnology who you are and where you live, which means if you start running this second you might just be able to get out of the city before they start hunting you. Who knows, you might actually survive, I hear that Denver is lovely this time of year.”

“So I’ve heard,” Thomas replied, mentally weighing out his options as he saw the soldier prepping the autoinjector. It was unlikely that they had created anything that he could fight off, which meant that if they stuck whatever was in that tube into his body he was going to be infected, but on the other hand if he refused and they did send that data to the megacorp it was likely his life would end in a long, slow, very horrific death at the hands of the blood mages. “You really don’t leave a guy with a lot of good options.”

“But you do have options,” Lady Charloette pointed out. “I assure you though that if you take our deal we will take care of you, that much I can say. But in the end the choice is yours, so what will it be? The power you’ve been looking for, or a very probably short lifetime of looking over your shoulder that will end in a pool of your blood as they keep you alive for as long as physically possible with your insides on the outside.”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Thomas said with a sigh. “I suppose I’m going to take door number one then.”

“Good choice,” Lady Charolette said as he motioned for the soldier to go over. “Now you’re going to feel a little pressure on the injection site, followed by an experience I’ve been told is akin to being filled up like a balloon while being wrapped in a carpet, though I think you’ll be fine for the latter. You’re also going to immediately pass out afterwards, but after that you should be fine. We must be going however as while undergoing the change you will be a bit unpredictable, however I leave you in the loving hands of my dear brother who will see to your care.”

Thomas found himself at a loss for words, which was very rare for him as the soldier that had the autoinjector came up with him along with another one that asked him for his weapons and armor. “You’re going to want to give up anything not integrated into your body that you don’t want ruined, including that eye of yours that I’m sure you want to throw at me right now,” Lady Charolette instructed, Thomas popping the eye out and handing it to the guy along with his weapons. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep them in my possession until you are done, and don’t be modest either unless you want to walk home naked instead of just standing here in the buff for the moment.”

With the soldier’s arms already loaded down with his weapons and armor Thomas frowned slightly, then continued to strip down by taking off his shirt and pants and then finally his underwear until he stood there naked. Part of him was glad that he didn’t go through a studio for this mission as he imagined his bare backside plastered up on the electronic billboards at time square as they tossed him a towel that he wrapped around his waist. With everything on him now in the hands of the Harbringers the second soldier went up and pressed the autoinjector against his neck, and as his head was tilted to the side he could see all those still armed put their guns up in case he tried anything. As had been mentioned there was a slight pressure in his neck as he heard a click, then the two soldiers quickly backed up and formed a formation around Lady Charolette while Thomas rubbed the spot on his neck.

As Thomas waited for the infection to take hold he suddenly heard the flap of wings and turned around to see Dameon standing there, the sniper rifle he was holding gone as well as the armor he had been wearing. “Awfully bold of you to come down from your perch like that,” Thomas said, though he let out a slight gasp as he began to feel his body warming up. “Aren’t you afraid of what’s going to happen?”

“Aside from the fact that I’m mostly werewolf already my mutations have made me immune to HMHVV,” Dameon replied with a chuckle as he got closer while the wolf began panting from feeling an increase in heat. “You’re not the first werewolf I’ve wrestled either, and since I’m here to make sure you don’t run off and expose yourself I have to keep you close. Plus I find that werewolves are one of the few creatures that can… keep up with me.”

Before Thomas could say anything he suddenly found himself getting rushed, Dameon nearly picking him up by the wrists and sweeping him off of his feet. The towel fluttered to the ground at his feet, a loud bang echoed through the warehouse as he was slammed back against one of the nearby shipping containers which knocked the breath out of him before and caused him to gasp. His open mouth was quickly taken advantage of by the blue-furred wolf dragon, his muscular body kept the wolf pinned as the tongue of the mutant creature pushed into his mouth. Thomas wasn’t sure what to do, especially since he began to feel really strange as his shoulder and neck began to grow bloated.

Suddenly a surge of adrenaline hit the shapeshifter wolf and pushed Dameon in the chest, and to his surprise he found himself sliding down to his feet as the other creature took a step back and licked his lips. “Oh yeah, you’re going to be fun,” Dameon said with a big grin on his muzzle as he took the pants he had been wearing and ripped them off. “C’mon Thomas, show me what you got!”

As the blue wolf lunged forward again this time Thomas brought up his arms to catch him, and as he did he gasped from feeling his arms suddenly flex as muscle bulged up under his thickening fur that quickly began to spread down to his forearms. In the back of his mind he knew that Dameon was activating the virus, causing him to transform like he had seen so many others when they got especially angry. It appeared the Harbringer knew of another way to get him riled up though as the hybrid creature detached from his clawed hand and grabbed hold of his side, the rippling muscle pressing underneath as Thomas could start to feel his teeth lengthening. Though the shadowrunner was trying desperately to hold onto himself the combination of the virus raging through his system and the horny creature grappling his furry ass made it impossible to concentrate on anything else as a snarl escaped his lips.

The growing beast no longer wished to be pinned and his bones started to pop and lengthen from his new growth Thomas whipped his entire body around and threw Dameon off balance. That was the time to strike as the werewolf put one of his feet against the steel of the shipping container, his paw mutating and growing into a huge paw with claws that dented the metal as he pushed himself forward to bring them both toppling to the ground. Thomas looked down in triumph as his increasing weight and growing muscle had managed to pin this other creature, this predator, down to the ground. As he looked into the blue eyes of the other man though the initial desire to rip this creature’s throat out ebbed away, not only from the lust he was feeling but also from the familiar scent that came from this creature.

This time it was Dameon who was slightly surprised as Thomas returned the carnal kiss, pushing his tongue into the squirming creature beneath him. Even though there wasn’t any urge to kill him, the other werewolf-like being had attempted to dominate him, and that had caused Thomas to go into a frenzy. In his mind all he could think about was being the one on top, of making sure this other beast knew that he was the superior beast. Drool began to drip from Thomas’ maw as he broke the kiss, his back arching as his shoulders filled out with new muscle and strength that came with it, and Dameon took advantage of that to surprise the other werewolf by reaching down and squeezing the shaft of Thomas’ throbbing maleness.

Thomas let out a long howl as the surprise pleasure caused his entire body to freeze, his growing muscles all tensing at once as the unexpected and intense sensation passed through his entire body. Dameon quickly slid out from under the transforming werewolf and attempted to put him in an arm lock, only for Thomas to use his newfound strength to push the other creature aside and jump up onto his huge foot paws. The two beasts snarled at one another as both no longer were thinking, their minds solely focused on one thing and one thing only. For Thomas the HMHVV had completely infected his mind to the point where he didn’t even remember who he was, though the last thing the werewolf cared about was his identity as he flexed his muscles while the challenger did the same.

Once more the two creatures ran forward and grappled one another, Dameon almost lifting Thomas off of his feet before the werewolf responded by hooking his meaty arm under the blue-scaled thigh and pushing him forward. The two continued to wrestle against one another as the last of the shadowrunner disappeared in the thickening fur of the HMHVV infected werewolf that took his place, even his tail and muzzle lengthening as he snapped his sharp teeth at Dameon. The blue-furred creature had also bulked up slightly during his fight and if Thomas had any cognitive facilities left he would have guessed that he really was integrated with a werewolf, but at the moment as he brought his arm down on the winged back of the other man all he could think about was pushing his heavy, needy cock into the tailhole of the other creature.

Unfortunately for Thomas and his aspirations Dameon knew what he was doing, eventually getting the werewolf on his back with his knees pressed into the furry hips and hands digging into the shoulders of the snarling beast beneath him. After a few moments with the two panting at one another Thomas relaxed and Dameon leaned down and bared his teeth before lunging at his throat. As he teeth buried into the soft fur the tips pressed rather gently against the skin, a warning to the one beneath him that he was the dominant and to submit to him. Even with his primal, lust-fueled, virus-addled brain Thomas knew enough to stand down and felt the jaws retract, only to have them once more press against his muzzle as his hefty legs were tossed up into the air.

As Dameon quickly slid his cock between those furred cheeks and stretched the hole open Thomas began to feel darkness creeping into the edges of his vision, staved off by the otherworldly pleasure of their muscular furry bodies rubbing against one another and the throbbing tool that was increasingly buried inside of him. But even as a clawed hand reached down and began to stroke his own cock he could feel his consciousness ebbing, the infection and transformation drawing the last of the werewolf’s reserves before causing his brain to shut down. Even with him falling into unconsciousness he continued to buck his hips forwards, squeezing his inner walls against the thick flesh inside him before the beast finally passed out completely…

When Thomas woke up again he found himself naked, alone, and inside a closed shipping container. As he slowly got up it felt like he had fallen off a building with every muscle sore including ones that he didn’t even know he had, though as he looked down where he had been shot he saw that it had completely healed to the point where there wasn’t even a scar. “That could be useful,” Thomas said to himself as he looked around and found his clothes, armor, and weapons all sitting next to him along with a crude drawing of what looked like two hastily scribbled things in a very lewd position with the one on top being blue. “Thanks Dameon, like I don’t remember what happened.”

In reality as he got dressed the events after the Harbringer hunter had pinned him up against the wall were hazy; though he perfectly recalled everything it was like he was watching a movie that would randomly speed up and slow down as well as go out of focus. One thing he was acutely aware of was that he was infected with Lycanthrope HMHVV, which meant he needed to be extremely careful about his emotions. He wasn’t sure how much the Harbringers had tampered with the virus but if it was anything like the original then he needed to be careful as getting angry or overly emotional would cause him to transform again. Without Dameon there to wrangle him in he wasn’t sure what he would do, and if he shifted too many times there was the possibility he could never change back and would remain a slavering beast forever as the virus took complete control of him.

Feeling a bit like a ticking time-bomb Thomas went over to the door to see how he would possibly escape this shipping container, only to find that it was unlocked and opened easily. As he swung open the door he found himself in an auxiliary outdoor shipping storage area, the sun gleaming and causing him to shield his eyes as he hopped out onto the pavement. With no one around he quickly made his way out and back into the city, looking at everyone different as he passed by. It felt like everyone knew what he was now, not only as a shadowrunner but also infected and potentially dangerous, but he knew that most of it was just paranoia as he went to the nearest internet café to log onto the runner.net.

The first thing Thomas did after ordering nearly half the menu from the front was see if any information had been leaked about him robbing Aztechnology, breathing a sigh of relief when he found nothing. It appeared that the Harbringers had at least kept their word on not throwing him to the wolves, which he found morbidly humorous since he was one in multiple ways, and decided to try and see if there was any movement on the boards that would indicate their plans. Other than a few new missions that had been posted, one that was clearly from The Ringmaster as he rolled his eyes, he didn’t see anything that could point him in the direction of fixing this problem as he stuffed a danish into his hungering maw. As the hours passed by and the food dwindled he still didn’t find anything that would help with his cause, and though he wanted to go down to The Third Rail and possibly the portrait to ask for help he didn’t know if that was safe considering his condition.

“Looks like someone was hungry,” a voice commented, Thomas looking up with half of the sandwich he had recently ordered hanging slightly out of his muzzle and seeing an elven woman about his age smiling down at him. “Café is rather crowded right now, mind if I have a seat next to you?”

Thomas looked around and spotted multiple seats that were open in the place, including one that was right behind him, but just as he was about to inform the woman of that he noticed that her forearm was exposed and he saw a peculiar and familiar tattoo that was on her skin. “I see…” Thomas said as he gave the Harbringer a nod. “I guess I can spare a seat.”

“Glad to hear it,” the woman said as she sat down, rolling down her sleeve once more. “My name is Lyna by the way, I’m here to help you fulfill your destiny. I’m going to write down an address and I need you to meet me at it like a good boy with none of your usual weapons or armor, no questions asked.”

As Thomas continued to pretend to surf the runner net he watched as Lyna took out a pen and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, then showed it too him for a few seconds before dunking it into the half-drunk coffee that was sitting next to him. “Don’t keep me waiting stud,” Lyna said with a wink as she stood back up. “Oh, and Dameon says hi by the way, he looks forward to meeting you again.”

Though Thomas wanted to try and ask more questions about what was going on Lyna quickly got up from her chair with an almost unnatural fluid grace and walked out of the café, leaving him alone once more. The image of the place and time felt like they had been burned into his mind and he wondered if that was something they had included in the modification of the Lycanthrope strain as he got up from his seat. When he went over to pay his tab for all the food he had eaten he was told that some lady had come in and already took care of it for him, which Thomas had an inkling he knew who as he thanked the orc barista and left. His searching had taken up the entirety of the day and as he started to walk down the street he saw that the sun had already started to sink below the city skyline, which meant that soon he would be a part of whatever nefarious plan the Harbringers had in store for him.

When the hour came for Thomas to arrive at the address he found himself standing in front of Club Cerberus, an A-sector nightclub that featured all manner of exclusive clientele and required membership access just to get through the front door. He had a feeling that the plan wasn’t to go that way and as he started to approach the main entrance he heard the sound of someone trying to get his attention and looked over to see Lyna over in the nearby grass wearing a maintenance outfit. “I take it we’re not going to be on the dance floor,” Thomas said as he approached, getting one thrown in his face as well.

“Harbringers might be well-funded but we don’t have enough to splurge on passes to exclusive nightclubs,” Lyna commented as she watched him put on the coveralls. “Plus they put their clients into a database that can be hacked and we don’t need the business we’re about to do to be traced back to either one of us. Now be a good boy and follow me.”

After Thomas had zipped himself up completely he saw Lyna head towards the back door and almost immediately sprang forward in order to keep up. He watched her use a sequencer to bypass the lock and go inside, and when he followed her in he immediately saw what looked like a huge refrigeration unit that took up most of the room. At first he thought that they might be back near the kitchen, but as Lyna began to tamper with one of the outer coverings his eyes followed the vent and he realized that whatever it was creating was actually being pumped into the club itself. From the layer of frost on the metal he thought that it had to be something pretty substantial, but as he tried to figure it out he heard a loud clang and looked over in time to see Lyna ask him for help while pulling on a crowbar. He went over and together the two of them pulled back until the metal covering popped open, which caused the contents inside to spill out onto both of them.

“Snow?” Thomas said as several errant flakes floated around his head before they melted in the warm air, and as he brushed himself off he could see Lyna look into the large vent that they had just opened that still had ice-cold air blasting out of it. “Wait, we can’t climb up there, we’re going to freeze to death before we get inside.”

As Lyna continued to look inside she tossed something back to Thomas, which as he caught it immediately felt his entire body get toasty warm as he looked down to see the item was a glowing orange stone. “It’s a fragment of a fire elemental,” Lyna explained as she began to crawl inside. “It should keep the cold at bay until we get inside, but it’s not going to last too long in there so be a good boy and follow me up into the club.”

Be a good boy… the words seemed to echo in Thomas’ skull as he put a hand against his head, only to hear a loud bang from inside the vent as Lyna disappeared inside. He immediately clutched the Fire Elemental fragment and went up after her, and even with the aura of heat around him the wolf shapeshifter could feel a chill starting to set in. As they went uphill both of them started to slip slightly as the snow melted around them and turned to ice as soon as it touched the chilled surface, though Thomas found if he pressed his hand directly against the metal he could melt down to it and get enough grip to push his way up. Even though it was a short crawl to get to the area where the snow was being blown out of Thomas could feel the fragment in his hand starting to grow dim, his teeth chattering slightly as Lyna went up to the first vent and looked through it, then crawled to the second and did the same thing before opening it.

As Thomas looked out of the first vent while the Harbringer crawled into the next room and saw people in a hot tub with the snow falling around them, one of them a troll in a very tight thong that hopped out and flopped against the white fluff that took him aback slightly. He found himself still staring until he heard Lyna tell him to get over and get out of there, and as a freeze began to settle into him as he crawled he realized that he could no longer feel the fragment in his hand anymore. When he got to the opening he had to be pulled out by Lyna and as his entire body trembled she immediately brought him to the nearby hot tub and pushed him in before jumping in herself. The swirling hot water immediately brought feeling back into his body and as he moved his fingers to get feeling back into them.

“So what are we even doing here anyway?” Thomas asked as he watched Lyna strip out of the maintenance uniform, revealing a two-piece bikini underneath.

“There’s a deal going down in this club for an Atlantean artifact of some note,” Lyna explained while she buried the suit underneath a pile of snow before hoping back into the hot tub. “It’s going to be an auction and they’re doing it here because the buyers can be required to have on swimsuits only, which prevents anyone from trying to strong arm them without significant difficulty. Now the Harbringers weren’t invited to this auction and we have taken great offense to that, so we’re going to crash it, steal the item, and pretend that what they were actually trying to sell was the Lycanthrope strain of HMHVV before things got out of hand.”

“Before things… got out of hand,” Thomas said, his mouth opening in a gasp. “You’re going-“ his sentence was interrupted as Lyna flung a speedo that hit him right in the face, hearing the Harbringer tell him to put it on. “You’re going to start an HMHVV outbreak? Here?”

“I don’t know if outbreak would be the proper term for it,” Lyna replied with a slight smirk. “Probably going to lower the health rating of the club, but we already got someone ready to call CDC and Lone Star… once we make sure we send a message to all those with representatives inside that they know who they’re trying to mess with when it comes to Atlantean artifacts.”

Thomas found his mind swimming like the speedo floating on the top of the water as he tried to process what was about to happen. This wasn’t a matter of protecting Lyna or stealing the artifact, he was there because of the virus that was in his blood… the Harbringers had brought a bomb to this meeting, it just so happened to be him. “I… I can’t do this Lyna,” Thomas said. “Go ahead and send the files to Aztechnology, there’s no way I’m going to spread the thing that I’ve been trying-“

Before Thomas could finish his sentence he suddenly found himself staring face to face with Lyna, her intense amber eyes staring into his own as he felt her hands grip his head by the fur. “Now you listen to me,” Lyna said with an intensity that caused Thomas to shudder. “This is what’s going to happen; you’re going to be a GOOD BOY and do everything I say, you’ll use that silver tongue of yours to get me into the meeting, I’m going to get the artifact, and then we’re going to have this be on the news by the time we’re out of here, you got it?”

“Y-yes…” Thomas replied, feeling himself swallow hard. “I got it.”

“Good boy,” Lyna said as she suddenly relaxed, patting Thomas on his furred cheek. “Now put on the speedo and follow me, we don’t want to keep them waiting and I want to confirm the item is actually there.”

Thomas felt himself shaking slightly as he did what he was told, and he didn’t want to he found himself almost mechanically taking off the jumpsuit and putting the speedo on while Lyna went over to the door. Despite the nefarious plan he actually found himself wanting to make sure he pleased her, doing what she asked of him despite knowing what it was going to entail. All he could think about was wanting to be a good boy for her, a good boy… as Thomas put up the stretchy fabric around his waist he began to see a common thread, hearing those same words as he thought back to anytime Lyna interacted with him. They hadn’t just infected him with a mutagenic virus, they had somehow brainwashed him as well! But how, what could they have done that would allow for that level of reprogramming that would take hours of exposure to do?

His bionic eye.

As Thomas went up to remove it though he stopped, knowing that if he did so he might tip the Harbringer off that he was on to what was going on. If he waited until they got to the deal however, then when she attempted to set him off he could just cover his ears so he won’t hear the command. While he wasn’t sure if that would actually work if it did then he might be able to talk his way out of the room while Lyna would likely be either captured, arrested, or killed. The Habringers might think it was just a mission failure and if he could avoid them until the next time they want to activate him then he could perhaps get rid of whatever they had done with his eye and break free of their hypnotic hold at least.

As Lyna was about to tell him to come over Thomas immediately jumped forward, keeping her from having to issue the command as he looked out at the waterpark-like room outside. He knew he had to do everything in his power to keep her from using that command since it felt harder to shake off each time she did, and if he was going to circumvent it at the key time he had to have all his faculties about him. Lyna led him over towards another area of the Cerberus club until they reached a grotto complete with swim-in cave that was guarded by two very large trolls, both of which had suit coats on top and swimming trunks on the bottom while holding automatic rifles. Definitely a private party, Thomas thought to himself before he felt a push against his back, looking back to see Lyna motioning for him to go forward and get them in.

Thomas decided to go for the straightforward approach, walking into the pool and heading towards the underwater cave entrance. As expected he suddenly found himself with two guns drawn and pointed straight at him before he could even get waist deep as he felt Lyna stop a few feet behind him. “This is a private party,” one of the two trolls said. “Show your invitation or leave immediately.”

“Invitation?” Thomas asked, trying to sound as indignant as possible as he gestured back towards Lyna. “Do you know who this is? Well, clearly you don’t if you’re going to shoot her servant like that, of course I would imagine that anyone who knows about Atlantis could recognize who she is.”

Round one goes to him, Thomas said as he clearly knocked the two off-guard with the comment, seeing them shift uncomfortably as their gun barrels wavered slightly. “I don’t know who you are,” the first troll said. “But we were told that no one gets in without an invitation, that’s what we were ordered.”

“Listen, my mistress’s time is extremely valuable here,” Thomas said once more. “Now apparently someone has called the authenticity of your Atlantean item in question and she is here to authenticate it!” As the wolf raised his voice he could see their nervousness increase, which was reasonable considering anyone caught with an Atlantean artifact that isn’t authorized is typically put to death, and doubled down by raising his voice. “Now if this authorized Atlantean priestess isn’t allowed access to see the artifact, then we still need to be compensated-“

“Keep it down!” the second troll hissed, suddenly stepping forward as the first one looked at him angrily. “Listen, just prove that you are what you say you are and you can go inside, alright?”

“How demeaning, but I guess,” Thomas said before going over to Lyna and whispering out of the corner of his mouth to her. “You can do something like Dameon right? I kind of banked everything on that.”

Lyna scowled slightly at Thomas but looked towards the two guards and concentrated, and as she closed her eyes the skin of her mouth started to turn yellow as her lips hardened. She raised her hands in the air all of them watched in rapt interest as tawny fur spread over her palms and her fingernails lengthened into sharp black claws. Her hair turned to feathers and her new beak continued to push out until she had the head of an eagle, and as more fur spread over her body she leapt forward with a speed that made it seem like she was teleporting before one of the trolls suddenly found her at his back with her finger at his throat, then dashed back. Almost immediately after she went back to her normal state and the two trolls quickly apologized before putting their guns away and ushering them towards the underwater tunnel.

“My servant, huh?” Lyna whispered as they got ready to dive down. “I could get used to that.” Thomas just dived down and swam through the short tunnel to get to the other side, emerging from the pool and shaking the water out of his fur. It was a rather ingenious idea, the wolf thought as Lyna came up a few seconds later, making people swim through the water like that prevented most electronics from working and kept the meeting secret as they went into a small simulated cove where a number of metahumans already stood.

As the two walked over Thomas noticed an intricately designed sword completely encased in glass that sat on the stone table in front of everyone, but before they could get close they were suddenly stopped by a large lion shapeshifter in a speedo that went over towards them. “Excuse me!” the man said angrily as he looked at them. “I don’t know who you are, but everyone we invited to this auction is already here!”

“Then you should have put us on the list,” Lyna replied with a smirk. “That’s the Slayer of the Dragon King, very rare. If you had just invited the Harbringers we probably would have made a decent offer on it.”

The mention of the group caused a stir in the crowd and even the rather imposing man took a step back. “The Harbringers,” The lion shapeshifter said. “If we wanted your kind around here we would have just sent a letter to the MIU for your invite. No one in their right mind wants to deal with your terrorist organization, not after your failed siege of Galacia!”

This was it, Thomas said to himself as he watched Lyna carefully, no doubt she was getting ready to activate him soon as she went over to make sure that the sword was actually an Atleantean artifact. He was ready on the first syllable to raise up his hands and plug his ears, hoping that someone could take her down before she likely attacked him to try and get him to hear. Perhaps if he dived into the water too… he might still hear it but it would be distorted enough that he wouldn’t. But before he could make his move he suddenly felt something grab his wrists and pull them behind his back, causing him to yelp as the troll security guard that had come up from the pool had taken him by surprise.

“Wait!” Thomas shouted as he tried to wiggle out of the grasp, only to find the troll was much stronger than him as he felt a piece of leather get wrapped around his forearms. “You don’t understand, you have to let me go! At least block my ears or something!”

The troll just scoffed as the second troll came up, the first one holding him as he motioned to go and grab Lyna as the guy brandished a monofilament knife. “Oh Thomas…” Lyna said, the wolf stopping his protests as his head slowly turned towards the smiling woman. “Be a good boy, release your primal form and infect. Them. All.”

Thomas suddenly felt a rush as it felt like someone had just stolen the breath out of his lungs, the combination of being detained and the command causing the virus within him to stir once more. As the first troll guard saw him start to shiver he quickly kicked out the shapeshifter wolf’s legs, bringing him to his knees and causing even more rage to build up inside him and kick the transformation into overdrive. His breathing grew heavy as he felt the arms behind his back begin to flex, and as they did the straps that had bound him started to creak. It was enough to warrant the attention of the other troll who turned and brandished his blade, threatening to slit the wolf’s throat even as he began to snarl. With his warnings ignored the security guard went forward to stab the growing creature, only to hear a loud snap as Thomas broke the bindings with a flex of his forearm and grabbed the troll’s wrist before biting down.

“Son of a bitch!” The troll guard said as he stepped back, dropping the knife as Thomas turned around and bit the other troll in the bicep. “Ah, what the hell… it’s like fire in my veins!” The members of the auction began to crowd back in horror as Thomas stood up, his body spasming occasionally as his body rapidly grew new muscle as the troll that had been first bit fell to his knees before the second one splashed back into the water. The security guard continued to clutch his hand but as he stared at it with wide eyes the trembling appendage quickly stopped bleeding, growing dark fur instead that spread across his green skin like wildfire as claws grew from his fingers.

With nowhere else to go all the others could do was continue to huddle in fear as the werewolf in fear, Thomas able to smell it as he approached. It smelled… rather good, and even though the virus was shutting down the rational thought in his mind it seemed to be opening up the primal aspects of his brain more. Any idea of potentially sparing these creatures went out the window as his pectorals ballooned out while the abs beneath grew more defined even while the fur on his chest thickened. Several people attempted to run by him and he darted out with his claws to scratch one on the arm while the second was pounced on by the rapidly transforming troll, biting them on the shoulder as the third dived into the water only to come up a few seconds later as the other changing security guard clamped down onto his leg with new sharp canines.

Screams echoed throughout the grotto but with no weapons and their security forces already infected there was nothing that the group could do but scatter. While Thomas had nibbled on a few of them there was one that he had his eye on ever since the virus took hold of his mind, that of the rather handsome lion shapeshifter. With only wearing a speedo those firm muscles were completely on display and the werewolf found himself enjoying the spreading, to the point where seeing the others that he or those he had infected initially starting to grow fur and claws started to get him extremely aroused. This one fancied himself the king of the beasts, the corrupted part of his mind said, and he was going to see that changed.

The werewolf grabbed onto the lion shapeshifter and held him close, growling into his ear in order to show he meant business as he looked down at the bulge that the other man had. Though the virus wanted him to spread the lack of others, everyone in the grotto infected with Lyna nowhere to be found, had focused the beast on something that he had only thoroughly enjoyed with one other. His long tongue slid up and down the cheek of the man and he watched as fur began to sprout immediately, which was a surprise for both men as he began to grow a muzzle. Had Thomas been in his right mind he might have guessed that since the Lycanthrope HMHVV strain originated from a shapeshifter it might affect other shapeshifter’s differently, but for the moment all he cared about was seeing more of this man change to something between human and animal.

As the virus began to take hold in the lion’s system the hair on his head began to grow, forming into a mane while still developing a very lupine muzzle that stretched from his quivering head. Thomas could smell the fear in the man turning to something else and his growls intensified as he squeezed the growing bulge in the speedo, the flesh within stirring as the werewolf began to use his maleness to pull down the other side of the material. As soon as his cheeks were exposed Thomas pushed in, a snarl escaping his mouth as his tainted fluids were immediately absorbed into the other man. The lion shapeshifter moaned and bucked his hips forward as the virus concentrated itself where the fluids had come from, watching the tip of the other man’s cock push out the speedo until it was straining and both could see the throbbing flesh turn from pink to red.

As Thomas pressed his muscular body against his conquest he could feel the fur growing over their body as they began to bloat with muscle as well, with a mainline coming in from the werewolf’s cock spreading open the cheeks of the other male the muscle growth intensified faster than the others. The sound of claws scraping against rock caused Thomas’ ears to twitch as the growing werewolf that he had pinned snarled and groaned, and as he pulled back he could see that the speedo had started to cut into his furry thighs and that his maleness had completely flopped out of them. He raised up his leg and used the claws of his feet to cut the garment loose, which joined the others that taken up what their progenitor had done and started a highly-infectious orgy.

Everything else fell away from Thomas though as he licked his chops, savoring the feel of dominating another werewolf that he had created as he thrusted forward once more and hilted the lion-maned werewolf in front of him. After he was done breeding this one he would go for the bigger one near the pool that was stretching open the muzzle of the one he had captured and converted, then he would find another… and once they were done they would spread outwards and continue to infect more. The mere idea caused his cock to throb inside of the other male, but as right as he orgasmed and he let out a howl he felt something wrap around his neck and click tight.

“Time to go,” the voice said, and as Thomas turned and snarled at the one that was trying to pull him away from the other infected creatures he stopped immediately upon seeing the blue-furred creature standing there. Dameon had already managed to secure a collar around him and with his dominance over Thomas already cemented from their first encounter he found himself following the Harbringer without question, wading their way through the growling creatures before heading to the pool and diving down underneath it. As he was about to surface there was another tug on his leash and Dameon motioned for him to wait, and as they did they began to see other shadows in the water above them as the creatures in the grotto were no longer satisfied to be contained within its walls…

A few moments later both Dameon and the werewolf Thomas surfaced as well, hearing the screams of people as the others that had been created moved to pass the virus onto others. With the chaos going on it was hard to tell what was going on but the blue hybrid seemed to know where he was going and lead him around back of the grotto and towards an exit that was for maintenance personal only. Though he couldn’t understand what was going on Thomas looked out and saw that beyond the windows of the club that connected this section of Club Cerberus to the rest of the nightclub there had already been a barricade erected and various police and military agencies were standing ready while blockading the doors. While that kept those outside this wing from being infected all those that were inside weren’t so lucky as a dozen werewolves quickly turned into three times that as people bitten, licked, or otherwise engaged writhed and quivered as their muscles thickened, claws lengthened, and fur grew over their skin.

There was another sharp pull on the leash and Thomas was once more directed to go, this time going through the hallways and outside just as more vehicles were starting to pour into the parking lot and a perimeter was being set up. The two ran over a divider just as cars came up in their area and wound their way through several back alleys before reaching a small parking lot where an APC sat waiting for them. Both Dameon and Thomas jumped in the open doors of the back before they closed automatically and the vehicle began to move.

“Whose a good boy!” Dameon said as he scratched the head and ears of the werewolf, causing Thomas to fall to his side as he wiggled his entire body. “That’s right, you’re a good boy, causing a hotspot of Lycanthrope HMHVV at that club!” As Dameon looked over he saw Lyna sitting there in one of the seats holding onto the glass case that contained the sword. “Do you think that they would let me keep him?”

“You know that they have plans for that one,” Lyna said, causing Dameon to huff and sit back on one of the chairs for himself. “You have plenty of pets Dameon, I think that not having one more isn’t going to kill you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Dameon replied as he crossed his arms, looking out the window. “We’re still going to do the thing, right?” Lyna nodded and together the two rode in silence, and without any additional stimulation Thomas found himself transforming back to his wolf shapeshifter self as he laid there naked on the floor of the APC panting. The collar that had been tight around his neck was now loose and when he pulled himself up to his seat he found the soreness in his muscles already starting to ebb.

“I can’t believe it,” Thomas said as he put his hands against his head.

“What, that you just caused an outbreak?” Lyna asked as she examined the sword through the glass. “Or that you may have started to enjoy yourself? Now don’t deny it, at first you were just biting in order to satiate that need to spread the virus, but I saw you with that lion shapeshifter and it looked like you both were enjoying it much more.”

Thomas felt himself blushing slightly in embarrassment, not wanting to respond to the Harbringer. It was mostly because she was right, even when he still had some of his faculties intact he didn’t even bother to try and resist what he wanted. When he first bit that troll and watched him start to transform there was a powerful feeling attached to it, and as he continued to spread his infection it felt better and better each time. While he wished that he could just blame the virus itself, and maybe most of it was, even when he was no longer in his transformed state he still… kind of wanted to go out and create more like him. He could only wonder whether that was the original state of the Lycanthrope HMHVV or whatever the Harbringers had done to tamper with it, but he didn’t have much time to think about it as the APC stopped and Lyna said that this was their stop.

As Thomas walked out with Dameon right behind him he could feel the cool crisp air against his skin and realized he was still naked, but when he turned around to ask the other Harbringer for something to cover up with the doors closed and the vehicle drove off. “Um, Dameon,” Thomas asked as he looked around and saw the gleaming megacity that was New York off in the distance. “What are we doing in upstate New York?”

“This was my idea actually,” Dameon replied with a grin as he stretched his muscles, Thomas noting that at some point between the vehicle stopping and the two getting out that the Harbringer had managed to get naked as well. “This is a small resort village that is about fifty miles north of New York situated on a lake. There are maybe… twenty people that all live up here, composed entirely of rich socialites and their mistresses or possibly a place where they stash any sort of illegal contraband.”

“Or they could be out here enjoying the lake,” Thomas replied simply.

“Yeah, maybe,” Dameon stated with a shrug. “But I figure since we had to leave your little party so abruptly that we would keep it going up here. If you want we could just run around and have some fun as mythic beasts, or… there are definitely people around here, those that would probably keep their infection a secret should a couple of werewolves find them.” It was clear what the Harbringer wanted to do and as Thomas looked out over the woods he found a smile slowly crawling across his face before he was turned to see Dameon staring at him with a similar one on his own growing muzzle. “Let’s go be very, very bad boys…”