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Chapter 3: A Bone to Pick

AEGIS was on full alert. Everyone was in overdrive. The men and women in black and blue uniforms were darting everywhere, running up and down the floors of the Cornucopia. Many were physically handing reports to Director Rage because it was the only way they could get their report seen by the Director without it getting buried in the emails that others were sending. Through it all, Caleb languished in an observation room above the holding cells. The cells were specially designed so that the only way in or out of them was through the ceiling which was sealed by some sort of force field like high-tech, horizontal honeycombs. Each cell was at least fifty feet deep. Even if the shields went down, the occupants had to make it up steep walls and the entire cell block could be jettisoned from the Cornucopia at a moment’s notice. He didn’t want to even think about dropping the elephants into the middle of West California Island. It would be like bombing the island with chemical weapons.

Far below him, bathed in anti-super fields, Lars raged. His boyfriend - now a huge elephant with a cock to match - was furiously masturbating and painting the already white walls with his seed. He was all too familiar with the sexual craze that came with being transformed but this was something on a different level. As Lars reached orgasm for what must have been the hundredth time, the transformed doberman’s features were twisted in a look caught between pleasure and agony. The thick, leathery, grey flesh gave way to black and brown fur, the long, serpentine trunk wrapped around his mammoth dick as an extra pair of hands retreated into a familiar muzzle and the huge bulging muscles shrank back into a compact frame. Lars - his Lars - fell to his knees, panting and covered in sweat and cum.

“Oh shit… oh fuck…”

Caleb, like the other times this had happened before, reached out in vain towards his boyfriend. Lars managed to look up this time and even reach back, his eyes filled with pleading.

Then the change hit again.

The super’s form burst and the insatiable lust filled his soft, brown eyes once more. His cock - never having gone soft - erupted with pre-seminal juices and the raging elephant was back. The entire ordeal exhausted even the powerful doberman’s reserves of energy and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. That had to be the most tormenting part of the entire scene; watching his loved ones turn back for a brief moment of lucidity between orgasms before they were ripped back into Tibia’s sick curse. The moment Lars woke up in perhaps an hour or so, he would be at it again, beating his meat until he orgasmed and before once again falling asleep from exhaustion.

Behind him, Jacob and Rage were speaking with David and Elliot as more and more reports came in. They deduced that Tibia could somehow control the debilitating sex-craze that he inflicted upon his victims. The civilians had a diluted version, enough that they would attack wildly and maybe even fuck anything that moved but when threatened, they would resort to their superpowers and even evolve those superpowers to their own abilities and personalities. For the members of Arsenal, however, it was so powerful and cruel. Same basic concept, though. If the former security team of Callista Heights Mall orgasmed, they would switch back to their former selves before ‘the beast’ took over again. A short distance away, Mary’s orgasmic screams were only broken by hear tears as she fought hard to maintain her sanity. Madman was laughing hysterically, perhaps some desperate attempt to maintain his hyena form but every time he beat his massive dick, he would only revert into the huge, muscular, furry form he was used to for a few seconds before the elephant took over again. Ben’s cell was completely filled with blood, blocking all visibility but there were assurances that Blood Wolf was still alive in there.

“There’s some severe risk of psychological damage,” Elliot warned. “We’ve still got Bren connected through the network that monitors his current clone’s status so we can get a good gauge through that but it’s no hard science. The fact that their brains are constantly releasing endorphins and changing shape along with their bodies still can’t be good.”

“You have to wonder how much strain it’s putting on their cells to constantly change like that,” Jacob agreed. “Why not just kill the Bren clone and get him to a new body?”

“Because, Roman,” replied the orca, using his nickname for Legion, “we’re not sure what else Tibia’s infection can do. He could just be waiting for us to do just that and then boom! Thousands of elephants rampaging all over the island.”

“Fair point. That means we need to act fast and find a cure.”

“Easier said than done.”

Caleb, crouching at the end of the observation deck that peered down into the cells, hugged his knees up to his chin. In the moment while Lars was out of commission, he perked his ears and tried to listen to what the group was saying; looking for some hope.

“Tibia’s dropship went through a portal,” Elliot continued. “That sort of technology is reserved for huge starships out in space. The amount of power needed to open a portal and keep it stable is enormous. That’s why most commercial portals are grounded and connected to the power grid. Mobile portals for something as small as that dropship is just impossible.”

“That dropship was a little bigger than the last one…” Jacob murmured.

“Not the point. It should still be impossible.”

Legion let out a thoughtful noise. “Of course it is.”

Elliot must have rolled his eyes as he heard a rather exasperated sigh. “Don’t give me that patronising crap. I know what I’m talking about.”

“And I’m agreeing with you.”

“Then why do you have this smug look on your face like you’ve figured it all out?”

“Because portals are inherently two-way, right?”

“You’re just stating facts now. What of it?”

“What if someone on the ground opened a portal at the exact coordinates that Tibia needed them?”

There was a long pause and then a hard, wet slap. Caleb glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Elliot drag a bunch of papers down his face.

“Of course!” exclaimed the orca. “Why didn’t I think of it before! Someone opens a portal on the ground while Tibia’s dropship transmits its coordinates. The other end of the portal opens in front of Tibia and he just slips in! He wasn’t opening it from his end! He was just passing through! Urgh!”

It was a start and perhaps a spark of hope but Caleb was haunted by Tibia’s words. They had been completely overwhelmed. Right from the beginning, Tibia had them on the run.

“It’s definitely a lead,” Rage grunted. “Elliot, think you can track down the portal emissions and potentially its location? Portals need a lot of energy and usually, it’s shared between the gateways on both locations. If they managed to create a stable portal from their base without one on our side, it must have used even more power.”

“Hell yeah!” exclaimed the brainy, overweight orca. “Give me a couple of hours and I can even tell you the moment when Tibia shit himself the moment Roman made that entrance of his.”

David, arms folded, grunted loudly. “I’ll say that was excessively flashy. Did you really need to do it that way?”

“Your son was in danger,” Jacob answered. “I didn’t have time to restrain myself. All I thought was that Caleb was surrounded and I needed to land with enough of a splash to wipe out any oppressors before he got converted as well.”

“Right but the collateral damage not to mention all the attention that garnered… The media was all over us. I didn’t tell them anything about what happened to the team but you can bet they’ll start to speculate.”

Caleb shut his eyes as Lars whimpered down below him. He wondered if that there was anything of his boyfriend remaining in there, if Lars was fighting against the beast for his mistake.

“There’s a lot of speculation going on right now,” Rage said. “Based on these reports, the power of all the former-Arsenal members are off the charts. Snachez was already a Gen 1 before and now he’s way stronger. He’s gained the mass he lost from Trojan and then some. He could kill a man just by swatting at them. McLeod and Connors are even worse. Since they were already supers previously, this mutation compounded on their existing powers. Thankfully, it seems stable and it doesn’t look like they’ll be overloading like with what happened with Zig-Zag Zapper.”

“I’m more concerned about Mary and Rhiannon,” Jacob admitted. “Mary’s psychic powers were slowly developing but were still relatively unstable. If her mental health degrades, coupled with her powers, it could be devastating. Let’s also not forget that the Hound of Destruction got turned into a Gene Stealer too. Admittedly Rhia is mortal right now for all intents and purposes but there’s still something to be said about the Gene Stealers infecting the divine.”

“Basically the A-Team of Arsenal has been reduced to nothing,” Rage grunted.

Nothing. That was exactly how Caleb felt. He was nothing. He couldn’t save his boyfriend let alone his friends. Rhiannon had to sacrifice herself for him and he was reduced to a whimpering pup in the corner. What kind of hero was that?

Pain erupted from his left ear and he was forcibly dragged to his feet by the pulling sensation.

Gwen scowled at him, her short black hair cut into a tomboyish cut and pale lips firm. Her blazing, purple eyes froze him in place.

“Come with me,” she huffed.

“But -”

She seized his crotch in her vice-like grip, making him yelp. “That was not a request.”

He nodded, trying hard not to piss himself. “O - O - okay.”

She led the way, still with his balls in her hand, and dragging him away from the containment level. The elevator ride up was extremely awkward but they emerged onto the training deck where she led him into one of the training rooms. The walls, ceiling and floor were covered in a plastic-looking white film, a sort of regenerating coating that would heal itself over time despite all the powers, explosions and impacts that were inflicted against it. Only then did Gwen release him and storm a few feet forward.

“You can’t wallow in your mistakes forever,” she said firmly.

“I know…” Caleb sighed. “I’ve been here before. When I killed those people during the Ursa Strain -”

“I’m not done and I didn’t ask for the script to the drama that is your life!” she snapped, making him flinch. “You’re going to tell me that you just need time. Your friends do not have time.” She whirled around, bringing her fists up. “We fight now. Cry later.”

He stared at her incredulously. “Fight? I really don’t feel like fighting right now.”

WHAM!

Though he had been hit many times in the shins, he had never been hit before by a No One and that really hurt. He gasped and fell to one knee. “Ow! What the hell!?” A gasp left his lips as Gwen seized his brown hair and forced him to look straight into her eyes.

“You’ve got two problems right now.”

“Just two?” he grunted sarcastically.

The faintest smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Then that smile turned into a scowl and she rammed her forehead into his. Stars flashed in front of his vision but he managed to remain standing.

“One,” she said firmly, “the situation with your friends. You feel helpless. You weren’t strong enough to save them. Either it’s because you’re afraid of being controlled by Trojan through Live Wire or some other psychological trauma, I don’t know and I don’t care. We’re not going to deal with the deeper issues. We will deal with your feeling of impotence.”

Grimacing, he slowly rose to his feet. “Yeah? How?”

She held up two fingers at him. “By solving the second problem. This ‘good boy’ image that your father has spun around you and which you despise.”

“Uh… How?”

The No One of Life placed her hands on her hips. “By teaching you how to fight.”

That stunned him. “Wait… what? I know how to fight.”

She stormed over to him until there was just an inch separating their faces. “No. You know how to play at a game where you and a bad guy square off against one another and dance around one another while flailing about for the media. You might as well have health bars over your heads and take turns hitting one another until your HP drops to zero! That is not fighting. That’s pretending.”

Her words stung; more so because he knew it was true.

“The reason you resent this goody-goody persona that the public knows you as is because you feel that isn’t you but at the same time, deep down, you know that is exactly who you are. You play football like how you fight. Within the rules. To the letter. You’re a good sportsman. You get good grades. You’re the big, dumb jock that’s too nice to hate. You were fine with that image until it was being paraded in front of everyone by someone who wasn’t you.”

Glancing away, he had to admit that she did have a point. Sure there were some times that he didn’t exactly play nice but he always played according to the rules. Never did he get any penalties and he certainly never break any rules. Maybe there were moments when he bent some rules - like his frequent bathroom breaks to masturbate. It was a squeaky-clean image that he was proud to have. Until his dad started showing the world what a ‘boy scout’ he was.

“So what? You want me to change so that I’m not such a golden boy anymore? That’s a terrible lesson.”

“No.” She jabbed her finger at him, poking his pectorals. “I want you to realise that deep down, you’re a rebel.”

He folded his ears back and gave her a puzzled look. “What? That’s exactly the opposite of what you just told me I was.”

“Really?” She folded her arms at him. “You were the pop-culture nerd that had a second puberty, shot up an extra foot and packed on a hundred and fifty pounds of muscle. You broke the barriers between intellectually and physically exceptional. You’re the jock that doesn’t need a free pass on his grades because he can make the grades himself. Somehow, you can squeeze in school work, a social life, football practice and moonlighting as an Outsider. Then let’s look at the fact that you often went out of your way to subvert your father’s authority. Instead of being a good boy and admitting to him who you were the first instance you got, you hid yourself from him until he unmasked you. Even now after your father is trying to paint you as this perfect representative of all Outsiders and whom all Outsiders should aim to emulate, you hate the idea because it’s a portrait you aren’t painting. Your problem isn’t about being the golden boy. It’s about being controlled.”

Caleb’s jaw dropped open slightly in shock.

“You fought against being controlled by social norms, even pursuing a semi-incestuous relationship with your brother,” Gwen continued. “You resisted being labelled as a super or the conventions of the world of supers by fighting as an Outsider despite all the warnings and lack of baseline superpowers. You stood your ground even as your father tried to shape you into the superhero he wanted you to be. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Be. Controlled.”

He frowned and felt a little… insignificant after being psychoanalysed like that. “I… I just want things to be simple again.”

“Simple? Or in your control?”

Caleb lowered his gaze. “I don’t know.”

“Life cannot be controlled,” Gwen said fiercely. “Those that do try to control it will find themselves dead. And the reason life cannot be controlled is because the only thing you can control is your life. No one else’s. The sadder fate does not belong to those who try to control the lives of others but by those who fail to realise that they are just letting others control their lives.”

“So what should I do?”

WHAM!

Pain erupted from Caleb’s balls and he immediately fell to his knees, cupping his injured sack.

“Learn to fight outside the box,” answered Gwen sharply. “You are being bound again by the norms of conventional fighting. You face an opponent with exactly the same weapon as you? Throw your weapon at them and then maul them with your fangs! Someone comes at you with a gun and all you have is a knife? Stab yourself, pretend you’re dead and then stab him in the femoral artery!” She seized the sides of his head, making him stare at her fiery eyes again. “Tibia turns your friends and family into elephants? Nuke his fucking face!”

Caleb’s ears perked up. “Is that really an option?”

She threw him to the floor with a scowl. “Anything is an option. Everything is within the realms of possibility. Now get up. I’ll show you exactly what I mean.”

Though the shadow of what happened to Lars and the rest of Arsenal still hung over him, he was forced to fear for his life against the powerful No One. Thus far, Gwen’s superpower in this world was unknown if she was even interfering as an inhabitant of the world like Jacob. In the few training sessions he had with her, she had always been rather restrained; a harsh teacher but a fair one. All he knew is that she was unnaturally strong and durable even for an Outsider and she wielded a weapon known as Diplomacy; a weapon that was undefinable as it was invisible. Forcing her to wait would not be the wisest course of action so he staggered to his feet -

WHAM!

… and felt the full force of a swift kick to his throat. He fell back to his knees, gasping and struggling to breathe.

“Weren’t ready?” Gwen asked spitefully. “Your enemy isn’t going to wait for you to bring up your defences. You shouldn’t either.”

She seized the sides of his head and before he could brace himself, her knee came slamming up against his chin. It was a good thing that he didn’t have his tongue out because he could have easily bitten it off as his muzzle was forces shut. He could taste and smell blood.

Gwen stormed behind him and seized his tail, making him yelp. “You’ve got a norm where only the big bad is the real challenge. The henchmen are just there to slow you down. What do you do when every single soldier is a well-trained, superpowered individual equivalent to those idiots flying around in tights?”

Pain erupted from the base of his tail as she pulled him by his tail with ease. He was lifted off the ground like a rag doll. Caleb scrambled to keep himself on the ground, his claws scratching at the self-recovering plates of the floor. The inertia got to him, however, and he quickly became dizzy as she flung him around and hurled him straight towards the wall. There was only a single second before impact and he did all he could to brace for impact. Still, there was nothing that could’ve prepared him for the painful burst of agony as his spine slammed hard into the wall. Compounded on his other injuries and he felt like every bone in his body was broken, ever blood vessel ruptures and every organ waving a white flag of surrender.

SLAM!

She didn’t even let him slide to the floor. Gwen was suddenly right in front of him, his muzzle in her hand and pressing it against the wall. Her lips were inches from his ear. How she managed to lift herself up to his height was a mystery but there was too much blood rushing out of his wounds for him to wonder.

“Your enemies will try every trick to get the better of you. They will threaten your loved ones. They will twist your arm. They will threaten, coerce, toy and tug at your heartstrings. They will make you fall in love with them. They will leave you bleeding. They will destroy the entire world…” Her lips peeled back in a scowl. “… just because they can.”

Only then did she release him, forcing him to drop to the ground, gagging and coughing up blood.

“Law, order, justice, it all described the currently accepted status quo.”

BAM!

Her foot dug deep into his stomach, pushing out what little breath he had in his lungs.

“If the world had been built entirely around public executions, that would be the accepted norm. If incest was not taboo and a fact of life, no one would blink an eye if brother laid with sister. If it was common practice to kill the weak and infirm, even you wouldn’t hesitate to do it as it was part of life. In this world, everyone is pigeonholed into their roles based on what powers they have. People praise those with what they consider ‘useful’ powers but denigrate those that have abilities that they assume are useless or have no powers at all. And you wonder why there are often more villains than heroes!”

BAM!

Another kick and it was all Caleb could do to curl up into a ball in a desperate attempt to protect himself.

“You don’t want to be controlled?” Gwen shouted. “Then fight the norm! Don’t wait for your villain to monologue! Attack! And keep attacking! Take your destiny into your own paws! Mortal fate shall and always be in mortal hands but do not let another mortal force your hand!”

BAM!

She kicked his gut again and even though his arms were blocking the way, the force was still enough for him to gag and feel the blow.

“Attack!” she demanded.

BAM!

“Attack!”

BAM!

“Attack!”

BA -

Caleb grabbed her foot before it could impact with his stomach. Desperate, eyes covered in blood, he did the only thing he could and lunged at her calf. His fangs dug into her flesh. It was a dirty move and a desperate one but it stopped him from feeling the agonising pain of another painful blow. Gwen immediately retreated, grazing her flesh against his fangs.

“Better,” she stated. “I hope next time it won’t take you so long to break the mould.”

Gasping and bleeding, Caleb could only lay there on his side, one eye shut as blood had seeped into it.

“Your enemies aren’t going to play fair, Caleb,” she lectured firmly.

“Doesn’t mean…” he breathed heavily. “Doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t either.”

Gwen approached him and he winced, lifting his paw in a vain attempt to protect himself. Her hands gently gripped his wrist, tilting his paw away. She gently cupped his cheeks and stared deep into his eyes. “I never said you should play dirty. All I wanted was for you to fight to survive. Do not compromise your own sense of morality for a single fight and similarly, don’t shape your entire future on the outcome of one battle. There will always be other fights. Just recognise that you are capable of challenging the standard. Everyone is. Break the mould but keep your heart.”

The door to the training room burst open with a loud hiss. David was the first to charge in and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of the broken and bloodied Caleb.

“What the hell is going on here!?” demanded the big wolf.

Gwen rose, unashamed of what she had done. “Just training.”

“Training!?” He stormed over to her, towering above her and his paws formed into fists. “More like murdering!”

Caleb grasped his father’s ankle weakly. “Dad… It’s okay. I’m fine… really.” He grimaced and propped himself up on his paws. “I… I learned a lot.”

David shot Gwen one last foul stare before reaching down and helping his son to his feet. “Come on. We’ve got a plan to go on but we’ve still got a lot to discuss.”

“Really?” he asked hopefully. “What’re we going to do?”

For a moment, Feral Steel was silent as he half-carried, half-dragged his son towards the door. “We’re going to need to make a few calls.”

“To whom?”

“The Alpha Pack for one,” answered the proud hero with venom in his voice. “… and the Elemental Alliance.”

******

The Alpha Pack did not want to meet anywhere on Alliance territory and naturally, the Elemental Alliance was absolutely against sharing any meals with criminal werewolves. Though both sides expressed interest in meeting at the headquarters of Arsenal and AEGIS, Rage was completely against it. So the only solution was to meet on neutral ground. The only place anyone could think of was at Hero Taco, the establishment of former Gene Stealer Ursa, otherwise known as Gabriel Ramos. While Gabe was still in a coma, his sons - Miguel and Ignacio - kept the place running with great success. They were apparently thinking of expanding to a franchise since they were getting so much customers lately. Reformed victims of the Gene Stealers and endorsements from Arsenal helped business.

Caleb, bearing a few bandages and bruises, sat with his father to his right and Jacob to his left. On Jacob’s side of the table were other members of AEGIS including Elliot and Nathan Rage. Past them was Samson and Martha Connors of the Alpha Pack, both in their lupine shapes. On David’s side was Shockstorm and Siren. It seemed like a sort of even distribution of representatives from the factions. Still, he could feel the animosity in the air though most of it came from Siren and his own dad even if they were directed at different targets. David was staring daggers at Samson who, despite in his bestial form, was dressed in a business suit and appeared calm and collected. Siren’s ire was directed straight at Jacob. No one had touched the tacos that were set before them.

“Why don’t we start with what we know?” Rage began. “Salazar Shin -”

“Is a D-list villain that somehow overcame Arsenal and this mysterious organisation that you claim to be, Shield, was it?” scowled Siren.

“The Allied Extreme Global Intelligence Service. AEGIS.”

“Whatever,” she said, waving a paw in his direction. “You failed and got Flare Blue as well as some others infected. As far as I can tell, you don’t have a solution. It is time for the Elemental Alliance to take over.”

Samson lifted his head ever so slightly so he was looking down upon the superhero. “I think you’ll find that I will not allow that.”

“Allow?” repeated the water-based super. “Just what makes you think you have the power to allow me to do anything?”

A savage grin crossed Samson’s muzzle. “I’d be more than happy to educate you in the matter.”

Rage slammed a fist into the table. “Enough! We’ve got about two-dozen people at risk of permanent psychological and potentially cellular damage here and the longer we argue, the greater the risk that they’ll be left as little more than husks. So…” He turned directly towards Siren. “… shut the fuck up.” Then he turned towards Samson. “… and just fucking shut up.”

Both representatives looked about ready to assault Rage. Thankfully, they had counterparts that calmed them. Martha gently seized Samson’s arm while Shockstorm placed a paw on his wife’s shoulder, stopping her from standing.

“Good,” the Director of AEGIS said. “So we know that Salazar Shin has been mutated into a Gene Stealer, a perfect Generation 4 as he claims. He attacked Callista Heights Mall, infected the security team and the majority of Arsenal. Then he left through a localised portal.” Shockstorm looked about to protest but Rage held up a hand to silence the lightning-charged doberman that looked so much like Lars except for his blonde hair. “Before you start saying that’s impossible… Elliot?”

The orca nervously stood up and laid handed tablets out for everyone. Caleb brought it up. There were technical schematics there and formulae that he couldn’t understand. Flicking ahead instead, his eyes settled on a map of the globe where a big, red spot was pointing at a particular location - an island off the coast of southern Africa - Madagascar.

“Portal technology has always had the ability to instantaneously bridge the gap between two locations and allow safe passage between the two locations,” Elliot explained. “The first explorers into deep space used portals to get from space stations to their intended destinations. They didn’t have another gate on their side to get back but because portals are inherently two-way devices, they just had to wait until the guys on our side opened the portal again for them to return home. So that’s what happened with Tibia. Someone opened a portal in his home base and he slipped back through.”

“Let’s not forget that Dragon Knight has the power over portals,” Samson grunted. “Could’ve been him too.”

“Unlikely,” Elliot said, being strangely polite. “All portals leave a residual energy trance that, while difficult, can be tracked. Given that this portal was opened from one side, it was relatively easy to detect. I managed to triangulate the position of the source all the way to Madagascar.”

Eyes went towards their tablets. Caleb noticed that some were using the ‘zoom’ gesture to get a closer look at the location. With his thumb and forefinger, he made zoomed in on the location. The red dot was pointing at a location hidden within the forests of the island just a little south-east of a large collection of old shacks.

“What’s this place?” he asked.

Rage answered his question. “A quarantine zone. Back during the zombie epidemic before furs arrived, the humans tried to quarantine those that were infected in isolated locations like these to be studied. Those shacks are what remains of them. No one ever bothered to clean them up. There are some out there that argue that it should be a historical site.”

It made sense. There were several similar sites all over the US and debates over them had run along the same stream. People argued that they should protect the locations as they were a part of Earth’s history. Given their size and the bitter memories, many wanted them torn down. It was usually a hot topic amongst politicians. Luckily, West California Island didn’t have such a location since it was built after the zombie plague. Hiding out in a such a location was brilliant. Few tourists would go into such a remote location and politicians would be constantly locked in debate over how to deal with it.

“So we know where he is,” the hot-blooded Siren declared. “We can get an Alliance team scrambling. We’ll have him in custody within twenty-four hours.”

“Bad idea,” Martha Connors said grimly and with a shake of her head. “I can see that going terribly. Tibia is expecting you. He will have plans to infect you all.”

“And how do you know that, exactly?”

“I have the power of premonition amongst other things,” answered the female werewolf curtly. “Besides, you should remember that when Tibia attacked Callista Heights Mall, he plainly stated that he was either expecting Arsenal or the Elemental Alliance. Given that he’s crippled Arsenal, he will be pooling all his resources to preparing for your arrival.”

“Then there’s the political hurdles you’ll have to cross,” Rage added. “The United African Nations has their own superhero teams. As an official team yourself, you’ll have to submit paperwork that could take weeks to process before you can even fly there. There’s also no guarantee that the UAN won’t send their own superhero teams that could potentially get infected. Remember, supers are no longer immune to the Gene Stealer’s infections.”

Siren grit her fangs together, paws tightening into fists as she was left paralysed.

“I have contacts there,” Samson said. “Packs that would be more than willing to lend their aid for my favour. We could have a strike team ready.”

And just like that, Siren was up and flared up again. “I will not allow such a weapon and potentially dangerous super to fall into your hands!”

“And there we go talking about who can allow whom,” sighed Samson. The head werewolf glanced towards Rage, lazily ignoring Siren. “I assume that you actually have a plan, Rage?”

Nathan Rage turned towards Jacob and Siren’s blood boiled all the more.

“We do, in fact,” Jacob said calmly, rising from his seat. “Everyone has their part to play.” He set his tablet on the table and pressed a claw against the shore of the African mainland. “Samson, we’d like to use the Alpha Pack’s contacts to get us passage through the portal network to the nearest portal-port to this location. From there, we need you to charter a ship to get us to Madagascar. Then we’ll advance on Tibia on foot.”

“Why don’t you just use that starship of yours?” Samson asked.

David’s fur stood on end and he growled, his hackles rising.

“Starship?” Shockstorm repeated. “AEGIS has a starship? Where?”

Samson gave Jacob the faintest of smiles, expecting a reaction from Legion. “Oh… was that not public knowledge? Apologies.”

For his part, Jacob just rolled his eyes. “As much as I’d love to spar with you, Samson, I don’t really give a crap.” He turned towards the two supers from the Alliance. “Yes, AEGIS currently has a very advanced carrier-class starship hovering over this island. Cloaked. And no, we aren’t going to be taking the Cornucopia because I want it to be there to stop Tibia if he were to escape by air.”

Impressed by Jacob’s reaction, Samson lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“If we attack by ground, Tibia will see us. There’s no doubt that Shin and perhaps the Gene Stealers have got tabs on us. The only places they can’t really reach us are on the Cornucopia and this place thanks to protective wards put up from all sides. They don’t know about the starship yet or that it’s capable of cloaking.”

Shockstorm gasped. “You’re going to be the bait.”

“Yes and no.” Jacob poked the tablet again. “Tibia has at least four squads of twenty henchmen. Each of them extremely well trained and charged with his strain of the Gene Stealer infection. Since transforming, he’s become highly intelligent. We’re purposefully taking a route that has multiple ambush sites because I want Tibia to focus his efforts on us. I’ll be taking a small strike team likely consisting of myself and a few other high-priority targets. Tibia will send his troops to either infect or capture us. We’ll power through them while the Cornucopia moves into position. If we fall, AEGIS troops as well as anyone else from your teams who want to join will strike down from above. If we manage to make it to Tibia without turning into raging pachyderms, he might take one of two exits.”

“That dropship of his or the portal,” Shockstorm concluded. “And that’s why the Cornucopia will remain cloaked. He doesn’t know it exists and he won’t know it’s there. So if he tries to go by air, your carrier will intercept it.”

Caleb was honestly impressed by Lars’ father. Far less antagonistic than Siren and actually very intelligent. He could see where Lars got his often mellow attitude but at the same time he could see that the doberman inherited his passion from his mother. Seeing the two of them made him want to reunite the family all the more even if it was only on a shallow level.

“How will you deal with the portal?” Martha asked.

“That’s going to be a little harder,” Jacob admitted. “He could use that portal to go anywhere but I’m hoping he won’t have the time to program it to go anywhere else but this island. That’s why I’d like members from both the Alpha Pack and the Elemental Alliance to track any and all anomalous singularities occurring across the island while we’re raiding Tibia’s fortress.”

“You’re relegating us to patrol duty!?” Siren bellowed. “Unacceptable! I demand to be on the assault team!”

“And risk infection?” Samson laughed. “You are bold. So much easier for us to take over once you’re gone.”

Caleb shot to his feet, slamming his paws against the table and immediately forcing a hush to fall on those in the meeting. “First of all, Samson, helping or hurting?” he demanded. “Secondly, Siren, I understand your desire to be out there attacking Tibia with the rest of us but you can’t put your best foot forward. If me, Jacob or even my dad get converted, we’re going to need an even stronger force to defend West California Island than those we’re sending to attack. Think about it.” He gestured towards the tablets before them. “The members of Arsenal that were infected and even the citizens that were changed all can use their powers on a primal level, like they were born with it and it’s inbuilt into their instincts. Imagine me going around converting everything I touch into a weapon. Imagine Jacob as an elephant with everything in his armoury. Imagine my dad wild and crazy with metal flying everywhere especially here of all places.”

As one of the heads of the Elemental Alliance, Siren had a responsibility to the Island and though she seemed arrogant and self-centred, she was still a hero. That was undeniable as she sat back down and sighed heavily. “Fine. You make a point. What else, Legion?”

Relieved to have defused the bomb for the moment, Caleb sat back down and let Jacob continue.

“Thanks Weapons Master,” said the broad-shouldered wolf. “To clarify, the entire purpose of going there with a small team is to make it seem to Tibia that Arsenal is going at him with everything it’s got. The bottom of the barrel. The reserves. From the reports on the battle, Tibia mocked us by saying that there was no hope for a cure because previously, the Original Serums were handed to Weapons Master. He said there was no chance he would give it over.”

“Judging by his tone, it sounds like he has a spare lying about,” Shockstorm said.

“I suspect that was just bait. He probably doesn’t. Knowing how this cliche would play out, we’d charge up to him where he would reveal there was never a cure in the first place and just taunt us for thinking there was.”

“What?” Martha breathed. “Is there no hope for a cure?”

“I never said that,” Jacob said, with a cruel smile on his muzzle. “We have a supergenius here.” He gestured at Elliot. “I suspect if we grind up Tibia into a fine paste, he’d be able to synthesise some sort of antidote.”

Though Jacob had explained his plan well beforehand, Caleb still got that chilling sensation running down his spine when he said that he was willing to kill Tibia for the cure - though at the time, the suggestion had been for vivisection. It was an example of what Gwen had been trying to hammer into Caleb’s head. Throw aside the conventions, the norms and standards. His enemies were not going to wait for him to attack. Still, he could not be rid of his morals.

“You can’t be serious!” Siren bellowed.

Samson grinned toothily, showing his enlarged canines despite being human. “How ruthless. I like it. You sure I can’t interest you in being a werewolf.”

“I’ve been a werewolf, thanks,” Jacob answered. “Multiple times. I got better.” That statement made Samson’s features fall since - as far as he was aware - there was no cure to lycanthropy. “And Siren, I promise that will be the last resort. Maybe I’ll cut off his legs to make the serum. Wouldn’t that be deliciously ironic?”

“No!” cried the hero. “That’s horrible.”

“Fine. Just below the knee then. You know? His shins.”

Before Siren could protest anymore, Shockstorm pulled her back down into her seat. She was doing so much jumping up and down one could think she was an overly excited dog yapping after her master.

“Really, what are your plans for a cure, Legion?” asked the electric hero.

“Apprehend Tibia or at least get a decent sample from him. I’m confident we can come up with a cure somehow.”

Shockstorm nodded. “We’ll participate on the condition that you allow Alliance doctors and resources to assist. More people couldn’t hurt, right?”

That was unexpected. It had been their hope that AEGIS scientists would be sufficient to creating a cure. Everyone on the secret paramilitary group knew that Caleb’s DNA was the key to unravelling Gene Stealer infections. Jacob probably had a weapon out there as well that would be able to do exactly the same thing. If Alliance members got involved, it would likely expose some of their most well-kept secrets. This was a test of whether or not Jacob or Nathan Rage were willing to compromise the secrecy of AEGIS to cure the citizenry.

“Not a bad idea,” Jacob answered. “Probably something you can do as well while we attack. Prepare a lab. Probably get something with powerful anti-super fields if we bring in Tibia.”

“Jacob - ” Rage began.

The blonde wolf silenced him with a stare. “The people come first, Nathan. Plus I’ll trust you to make the necessary precautions that AEGIS isn’t compromised as part of this collaboration.”

The Director of AEGIS nodded and sat back, satisfied with the answer.

“Are there any other questions?” Jacob asked.

“Who else is going on the assault?” Martha asked worriedly. “Yourself, Weapons Master, Feral Steel. Who else?”

“Elliot.”

The orca bolted upright and stared at Legion in horror. “W - What!? We never discussed this!”

Jacob gave him a smirk. “What if I told you that there’d be a sweet powersuit in it for you?”

Elliot’s eyes shone behind his glasses. “Do I get to keep it afterwards?”

“No because I don’t fancy having to wash the thing free of your cum stains.”

Pursing his lips, Elliot sighed and shrugged. “I suppose if we’re supposed to appear like we’re desperate, I need to go on this as well.”

“Just you four?” Martha asked. “Will it be enough?”

“I plan to ask my other son,” David admitted. “Feral Fang would be an asset in terms of strength. We’ve got Weapon Master’s versatility, my experience and power, Jacob’s…” He grimaced like he was forcing the words from his lips. “… skills, Elliot’s intelligence and of Fang’s raw strength.”

“Perhaps you should take one of the Alpha Pack with you?”

Samson raised his hand. “I’ll go.”

Siren scowled and Caleb braced himself for another tirade.

“So someone from the Alpha Pack gets to accompany the assault team and the Alliance doesn’t? What kind of conspiracy is this!?”

“No conspiracy,” answered the leader of the Pack. “It’s well known that Blood Wolf is part of the Pack. It would seem ridiculous if someone from the Pack doesn’t join the assault team if we’re to appear like a desperate last-ditch effort to bring a cure back. To the public, there’s still animosity between Arsenal and the Elemental Alliance. If we were to show them and indeed the Gene Stealers that we’re cooperating, they’ll redouble their efforts to bring chaos to the Island. It only makes sense.”

Siren growled and sat back down for what must have been the millionth time.

“You sure about this, Samson?” David asked. “You could get infected.”

“As could you,” answered the elder werewolf perhaps revealing a fraction of his true plot.

Jacob clapped his paws together, bringing the meeting to an end. “Then it’s settled. We’ve got our assignments and our jobs to do. Get some rest. We head out tomorrow. But first…” He reached down and picked up one of the soft tacos. “Let’s eat. This’ll all go to waste otherwise.”

Caleb was never happier to have people’s muzzled full of food. At least then they would be too busy eating to argue with one another.

Dinner finished in a short hour thankfully with no more fire spat between the factions. At the same time, nothing was actually said. Whether it was out of respectful silence or just a desire not to speak to one another, the reason for the quiet was left unsaid. Throughout the entire ordeal, Caleb found himself uncharacteristically without an appetite. David had no issue shoving taco after taco down his muzzle and both Samson and Martha displayed the same. Jacob only ate off-handedly while playing Angry Birds 3000 on his tablet. Shockstorm and Siren mercifully remained peaceful as they ate their fill but not any more. Everything they brought to their plate they sniffed suspiciously and they eyed bot Migs and Izzy whenever the duo came to check up on how things were going.

When the early lunch was finally over, Migs was able to open the upper floor which they were occupying. They all had to leave through the rear-exit to avoid being seen. Caleb wondered if he would have to head off to school given everything that had happened. He also wondered how he would explain to his teachers that his friends were absent. There would be no reason for him or anyone else to have been at Callista Heights Mall that early in the morning so explaining that they had been turned into elephants would risk being exposed.

As he was leaving the restaurant, a paw fell on his shoulder and he turned to find that it was Shockstorm.

“Thinking about the operation tomorrow?” asked the Doberman. There were some crinkles around his eyes showing a level of exhaustion that would not be apparently obvious unless viewed from up close. If that was either from having such a loud, domineering wife or the stresses of being a professional super, Shockstorm hid it well. A good thing none of Arsenal ever hoped to go pro. Except perhaps for Ben. He was a professional… a professional criminal.

“Thinking about what excuse I’ll be giving the teachers at school for my absence,” he laughed softly but the sound came out weakly and died before he could finish it.

“You’re a good kid, Weapons Master.”

He could feel the ‘but’ inching closer and he braced for the stern lecture that children should not be out playing hero. It was the same spiel his father had given him when they were against one another as Feral Steel and Weapons Master.

“I know I don’t have the right to ask this of you after everything that’s happened between us,” Shockstorm said, his paw tightening around Caleb’s shoulder. “But please… please, save my son.”

Caleb might as well have been struck with a large, ancient gong because with those words, he was stunned and the words echoed over and over in his ears. “Uh… Y - Yeah. Of course.”

“Thank you,” was all Shockstorm said before turning and leaving with his wife.

That one request made him realise that beneath all those flashy colours and incredible powers, even superheroes were normal people. Maybe the professionals were a little farther from ‘normal’ than anyone else but they had hearts beneath all that spandex.

******

“Are you fucking kidding me!?”

It happened about the same instant that Leon got home from his work as a police officer - well, a trainee at the very least. He had yet to graduate. Given that he was a super, he had to undertake another set of training to be officially graduate from police academy. Apparently, the academy was putting him through detective training. But that did not mean he was apart from the Hale family and someone - likely Abby or Lance - told him about the assault. Caleb had been up in his room, resting and drinking the green liquid that Gwen had given him for his injuries. The ‘potion’ for that was all he thought it was, helped his recovery. The process was slow but he was fairly sure he would be back up and running come the morning and after a good night’s sleep.

Then Leon came home and the peace of the evening shattered.

And when Leon started yelling, he was sure to get an equally loud barrage from David.

“What did you expect!? We’re desperate!”

Caleb grimaced and pulled himself from his bed. He hobbled out of his room and peered down the banister to the first floor. From where he stood, he could make out David and Leon facing one another in the lounge. Lance stood off to the side, looking awkward despite being a hulking wolf with four arms.

“So you take my brother with you just like you plan on fucking him later for the sake of werewolves!?” Leon shouted. “You’re taking him on a suicide mission!”

“We’ve got AEGIS backing us up as well as the Alliance and the Alpha Pack,” David snarled. “We can do this.”

“Oh yeah? Who have you got going on the mission?” Leon held up his palm, all fingers raised. “Caleb,” he stated, folding back his thumb. “Lance,” he continued, lowering his pinkie. “Samson.” Down when his index finger.” Caleb could already see where this was going and winced. “Elliot.” And down went his forefinger, leaving the middle facing David. “You.” For extra effect, he didn’t lower that last finger. “Numbers-wise, you’re not even making up what you lost.”

“What are you talking about? You’re forgetting Jacob.”

“Right. The guy that could wipe the floor with all of you. I saw that entrance he made at Callista Heights. Though it looked really destructive, he was really accurate. Apart from a shattered garden and a lot of broken windows, he didn’t destroy anything else. That level of control is way beyond even you.”

Caleb hadn’t noticed it before. No other collateral damage had been inflicted to the mall by Jacob despite the supposedly explosive entrance. It gave him a new level of appreciation and awe of the hero.

When David didn’t respond to Leon’s taunt, the elder of the twins pressed his assault. “You’re down five people. You’re going up against Tibia again with the same number of people you hit him with last time. You think that’ll work?”

“You of all people should know that it isn’t about numbers but experience,” David scowled. It was a direct and piercing jab at the main reason David had always avoided bringing Leon into the fold as a super; experience. For all his life, Caleb knew his older brother to look upon all superheroes with starry eyes and rose-tinted glasses. Leon worshipped all supers and when he had learned Lance was a super and he was the son of a super, he had desperately hoped he would become one too. But that was not the case… except the truth was that David had kept Leon in the dark about his own powers because he adored all supers. According to his own argument, Leon only saw the fame and fortune of being a super, not the grit beneath it all, the tragedy or the weight of responsibility that came with it. He simply was not experienced enough.

“You need me on that team!” Leon bellowed. “You’ve got Caleb whose versatile and fast. Lance is your physical powerhouse. Elliot has smarts. Then you, Jacob and Samson probably are the superpowered ones. You need someone who can sneak in and be stealthy! I can do that!”

David rolled his eyes and indicated a negative. “I saw through your attempt the second you started yelling, Leon. You’re not going.”

“How can I gain experience if you won’t let me on missions like these!?” Leon pleaded. “How am I supposed to grow if you keep getting in my way!?”

“I don’t want this life for you.”

Gwen’s words came back to Caleb. He padded down the stairs, glad that his family’s shouting dulled the noise of his bare paws scratching the floorboards of the stairway. “Let him come, dad.”

David started at the sight of his youngest son. “Caleb…”

“Let him come along,” he repeated. “Let Leon decide if he wants this or not. He was in the middle of the Trojan outbreak and he obviously wants more. He can take it, dad.”

“That’s not -”

“Dad,” Caleb interrupted firmly. “It’s really not your decision. It’s Leon’s. Besides, this is an AEGIS operation. I’ll bet if you asked Jake, he’d be willing to bring Leon along and even equip him with some gear to keep him from getting hurt.” Putting on his best pleading look, he said, “Come on, dad. We can’t pull any punches here. The Gene Stealers know about Leon, right? Trojan escaped and they know about him. He’s a Gen 4 so they’ll be keeping tabs on him. They’ll think there’s something up if he’s not coming with us.”

It was flimsy logic and he dearly hoped Mary was around to tell him what to say but that was the best he could come up with. Thankfully, it worked. David grimaced and ran a paw down his face.

“Fine. I’ll call Jacob.”

Leon beamed at his youngest brother. “Thanks, man!”

He gave his brother a weak smile. “Don’t thank me yet,” Caleb answered weakly. “Like you said, this is a suicide mission.”

******

It was well before the sun rose that they left for the portal-port that Samson had arranged. Quiet goodbyes were said with David and Lillian sharing a long, passionate kiss. Abby gave her brothers a hug and made them promise that they would make it back for the wedding. The trip to the port was silent. Leon was going over the mission details on a tablet. David was naturally driving while Lance was lounging in the back of the family van, seemingly relaxed but by the way he was constantly clawing at the seat, he was nervous as anyone. Caleb watched the lights of the pre-morning city fly by. He wondered if this would be the last time he’d see the city. It was the first time he had ever travelled outside of the United States of America and it left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. There were so many things he had yet to see in this country and now he was leaving it for foreign lands without any assurances that he would be returning. Gwen’s words came back and he refused to led such maudlin thoughts control him.

He will come back. He will save Lars and the others.

West California Island wasn’t a major hub by any means with the biggest portal-port being on the mainland - LAX. Still, thanks to Samson’s connections, port-staff would be on standby to let them into a gate privately that would be re-calibrated to send them to a city in Mozambique. From there, the plan was to take a bus for a couple of hours to an abandoned port city - a holdover from the Unification Wars that had seen the individual African nations ultimately unite under the banner of the United African Nations.

Then it was the ship to Madagascar and then on to Tibia’s fortress, dubbed the ‘Graveyard’ by the more military-minded in AEGIS. Caleb had spent most of the previous night tossing and turning, memorising the parts of the plan like it was just another play on the football field. It turned his stomach that there were three points of ambush between when they got to Africa and to Tibia; the port town, the boat and the old quarantine zone.

But that was the plan, after all.

Tibia was going to try and stop them at each of those locations because a full-on brawl between his henchmen and the assault team would favour the attacking heroes. Tibia may have the home field advantage but Jacob and David had wide-ranging, area-of-effect abilities and they could wipe out swathes of boneheads before they could strike. It was one of the reasons why Caleb had opted to take Funny Bone with him. Jacob and his dad could focus on taking down large numbers of targets or providing suppression fire while Caleb and Lance could focus on singular targets. Leon and Elliot would be geared towards infiltration while Samson was the backup.

It would be too much to hope that everything would go according to plan but they were as prepared as they could be.

Samson, Elliot and Jacob met them at the port.

Unlike every other time he had seen the werewolf patriarch, Samson was not dressed in a cleanly pressed suit. A black sleeveless shirt was wrapped around his impressive torso, showing off his thick, impressive pectorals and washboard abs. A thick cloak seemingly made of a wolf’s pelt was wrapped around his shoulders with the skinned wolf’s head forming a sort of clasp that sat perfectly against his collarbone. Silver lines ran along his Apollo’s belt and outlined his V-shape perfectly. A white utility belt was wrapped around his waist with a wolf’s head buckle sitting at its centre. His legs were covered in the same black material as his shirt and had the same silver lines running down its sides. Multiple pockets lined his thighs giving it a more militaristic look despite its dark colour. His feet were covered in large steel-toed boots with the very caps shaped like vicious lupine paws. The cleanly styled black hair was now left in a wild disarray giving him a more casual but at the same time, intimidating appearance.

In contrast, Jacob was dressed in his usual uniform of a blue, floor-length cloak, a white shirt beneath and black pants. Three bands connected one side of the cloak to the other but they were connected to different buttons, criss-crossing one another in a confusing manner. The collar of the coat was popped up and a thick, silver chain hung around his neck with a single, golden key hanging from it.

Elliot was dressed in a rather ill-fitting white shirt and shorts that almost disappeared beneath his protruding belly.

“Hardly subtle,” grumbled David.

Samson shrugged dismissively. “I told you that no one would observe us from here. If you chose to come in civilian clothes and instead get changed halfway across the world, that’s your prerogative.”

David sneered and shot a baleful stare towards Jacob. “And you? Did you expect this?”

“Nope,” answered Jacob, grinning broadly. “I’m out to the world, remember? Doesn’t matter if I go out like this or in my underpants. Everyone knows who I am.”

Caleb let out one chuckle before David’s ire was briefly shot towards him. He ducked his head, folding his ears back but could not help but think that it must be nice to have no - or at least few - secrets that the public could use to hurt him.

“Fine,” spat David. “Let’s get going.”

“One more thing.” Jacob reached into one of the pockets of his coat and tossed David a small device. It looked like a large, circular, metallic badge with a glass disk at the centre. It was about as big as David’s paw.

“What’s this?”

“A compact personal kinetic shield. It’ll protect you from all sorts of projectiles and even some hazards. It’s powered through kinetic motion as well. So unlike those videogames where all you have to do is duck behind chest-high walls for your shield to recover, this barrier will only recharge the more you move.” He tossed each of them one such device. “I figured that since Tibia’s troops tend to use raged attacks and have ranged weapons, we need to get a leg-up ourselves.”

His blue eyes switched to Leon and Lance. “Leon, given that you’ll effectively be our infiltrator, I’ve taken the liberty of adding some optical jamming to your shield as well. You’ll be rendered invisible when you activate its secondary function. Thing is, the power required to split the cloaking and kinetic barrier into different would’ve made that thing too big to be a portable shield and would’ve made it ungainly. So it’s either you’re invisible or your vulnerable.”

Leon grinned. “No fucking way! Thanks Jacob!”

“Lance, I’ve added some extra hardening to yours. It’ll unfortunately feel like you’re lugging about a tonne of steel around your body but for a super that focuses on strength, that should be nothing to you.”

“As long as it keeps from being jabbed by bones and turning into an elephant,” Lance slapped the device onto his chest. “I’m cool with it.”

“How did you get this kind of technology?” David asked, gawking at the small device. “Only starships of cruiser-class and bigger has any sort of shields. Anything else is too small to carry the reactors to keep them moving and provide a shield!”

Elliot huffed loudly. “I asked him exactly the same thing. What I wouldn’t give to be able to make something like that myself… But sadly, Roman, has been enigmatic about his sources.” He shot Jacob a fiery stare.

The blonde wolf shrugged with a cocky smirk on his muzzle. “The more secrets I have out in the open, the deeper the ones that are kept in the closet. Let’s leave it at that.” He flicked at ear towards Samson. “Mr. Connors?”

Samson handed each of the Hales a passport. “Your altered passports. They’ll let you pass security once we reach Mozambique.”

“This is so illegal…” David muttered. “But I suppose it’s a necessary evil.”

For once, Leon didn’t pounce at his dad’s often fluctuating hypocrisy. Now equipped, they turned and headed towards the gate. With most of the port empty due to the time of day, they had the run of the place. Security was lax. Whether it was because of Samson’s influence or not remained a mystery. One would think that the guy dressed like a werewolf king would be stopped especially if he was in the company of Legion. But the TSA officers just waved them through and didn’t even blink as they passed. The security cameras seemed to be angled away from them as they passed through the metal detectors and again as they swept past the super-testing machines. No alarms blared for any of them.

Samson must have pulled out all the stops because they were led to Gate 1 where the enormous, heptagonal portal gate was already prepared for them. The shimmering energies sat beneath a big, red, digital sign that stated the gate was meant for Houston. The attendants couldn’t meet the werewolf’s gaze or even look in his general direction. Taking the lead, Samson stepped effortlessly through the shimmering portal followed closely by David. Leon followed after with Lance and Elliot coming in next. Caleb was just about to step through when he realised that Jacob was well behind him. He turned, surprised that his friend was standing near the entrance of the Gate 1, eyes closed.

“Jake? Is something wrong?”

The No One lifted his gaze and offered a faint smile. “You know how anyone touched by the Gene Stealers falls outside of the remit of the Gods, right?”

“Yeah… That’s why you were initially asked to take care of Gabe. Why?”

Jacob lowered his gaze. “Tibia. I can’t help but wonder what will happen to him. Whether he dies here or for some other reason, no god will accept him into their afterlife. Even were he to succeed, somewhere down the line, he’s going to grow old and die. Who will catch him when he falls into oblivion? Who will pray for him when he’s gone? Will he be remember for more than just a footnote in Arsenal or the Alpha Pack’s biography if at all?” Legion shook his head fiercely. “This is why I can’t lose.” He stormed forward, his eyes focused like dark blue lasers with an intensity that Caleb had never seen before. “If I die here, I won’t get another chance to catch these poor souls who chose a path with consequences that they could never have fathomed. I can’t and won’t let that happen.”

Fighting for others and not himself. Perhaps it was because he had the luxury of not having any ties to this world that Jacob could afford to be so selfless. One day, Caleb hoped to have that kind of freedom.

“I’m sure we’ll make it through,” he said, clasping Jacob’s shoulder firmly. “We can do this.”

Together, they stepped through the portal.

The unnerving feeling of dangling in midair made his gut twist for a moment before solid ground found his feet once again. The portal-port of Kalgazor City was only meant to be a domestic port but thanks to Samson’s machinations, had been modified to allow international travel. The time difference was rather glaring as well. While he had left West California Island before dawn, it was already afternoon with the blazing hot sun shining through the tall glass windows. Even given the time, the port was mostly empty and no one batted an eye at the seven travellers that were coming from another portal.

Samson led them towards the exit where they naturally had to pass through security. Since the port was only built for domestic travel, no one bothered to do any intense checks on them but they still had to scan their ‘passports’ to allow them to pass the threshold into the African landscape. Caleb had honestly expected rolling savannas, dry, yellowish grass and sweeping flat planes. But Kalgazor City appeared to be a bright, green metropolis with dazzling, metallic architecture and a distinct panther motif decorating a lot of their architecture. As he left through the sliding doors of the port, he was met with fresh air, the shade of a tree native to the land and the sounds of a lively city. Citizens of all races and species were milling about, dropping off and picking up their relatives while taxis waited patiently for their next customer.

“This way,” Samson urged.

The werewolf led them to a large, white truck complete with a long cargo container attached to the rear parked deep within the nearby parking structure.

“You’re kidding me, right?” David said, gesturing at the vehicle. “You really couldn’t have come up with something a little more subtle?”

“It’s the only thing big enough to fit Elliot’s powersuit,” Jacob answered, pulling open the container’s doors.

Elliot let out a loud, excited squeal. Ignoring the arms and armour hanging on the walls of the container or the benches to make their trip easier, the orca tried to scramble into the trailer. Unfortunately, he was a little too portly to be able to haul himself in. Jacob fought a smile and looked away while he gave Elliot a little lift so that the orca could scramble towards the very rear of the vehicle. Caleb could understand his excitement. Mounted on the rear wall just against the driver’s carriage was an enormous set of armour.

It stood at least at nine feet tall and came straight out of a science-fiction novel. Painted black and white, the armour had mechanised boots that was likely powerful enough to crush any enemies underfoot without losing any mobility. Every inch of its leg was heavily armoured with a big, muscled orca painted on the sides flexing its biceps at the viewer. Hydraulics were carefully hidden beneath the armour. The chest jutted out in front of everything else, likely containing the power source but it was also the most thickly armoured. Its arms were connected to big, rounded shoulders again with that muscled orca drawn on the pads. There was a long, metallic tail that could fit Elliot’s own fleshy tail and as the orca squeezed around the edges of the truck, he slipped his tail into it comfortably like it was made for him. The suit immediately sensed his presence and began to lift him up to fit into the compartment inside the machine itself. The hatch closed in behind him and the big, dome-like helmet closed in over his head. Two, elliptical eyes in the shake of a Killer Whale’s white spots - their ‘false eyes - lit up.

“Oh-Em-Gee! This is fucking awesome!” came Elliot’s voice with a metallic twinge to it. He lifted his - the suit’s arms - and flexed the fingers. “The response times are fantastic! I almost don’t feel it!”

“Just be careful with it,” Jacob warned, jumping into the trailer. “I had that suit built for the purposes of defence and being more like a mobile command centre than for offence.” He pulled a large, heavy-looking pistol from the wall and handed it to Elliot. “This is a hyper-velocity pistol complete with a matter-converter ammo-pack. You’ll get about twenty shots of continuous fire before it will have to take about a minute to refill the magazine. If you space out your shots, you could fire indefinitely.”

Leon gawked at the weapon. “Holy shit! That barrel is as big as my eye! How big are the rounds!?”

“Thirty millimetres in diameter,” answered Elliot. “But these are stasis rounds. The moment they hit, they’ll encase their targets in a stasis field.”

“You knew that?”

Elliot tapped the side of his helmet. “It’s all on this display! This thing is so awesome!” The orca jumped in the air and came slamming back down with enough force to make the entire trailer - and the truck it was connected to - groan.

“Watch it!” Jacob shouted. He gestured for everyone else to get into the truck. “Come on. Everyone in. Samson, you’re driving.”

“Wait! Why him?” David demanded.

“Because you still have to get changed.”

The point made, Caleb brought up the rear and shut the container doors. Lights flicked on for them so they were not in complete darkness. The truck rumbled to life and began pulling out of the parking lot. The Hales began to change. Samson was a fairly easy driver so it was fairly easy for Caleb to slip on the black sleeveless shirt with a band of black straps forming an ‘X’ across his chest and the double diamonds that marked him as Weapons Master emblazoned on his back. He pulled on his black pants along with the belt and slipped on his heavy boots as a final precaution. He retrieved Funny Bone from where it lay in his luggage and donned the cape and strapped the mace to his side. Then, he slapped on the shield Jacob had given him against his left pectoral, against his heart. The device latched onto his uniform and he felt a faint tingle run along his body. A reddish field wrapped around his flesh, shimmering like it was made of highly-compact stars. As the truck rumbled forward and began to shake, the field began to turn a brighter red, going into orange. He guessed that was it absorbing the kinetic energy from the bumps to recharge itself.

His dad donned his steely grey superhero costume, naturally figure-hugging to accentuate every defined muscle on his body with metallic bands wrapped around his shins and wrists. Sometime since he joined Arsenal, he had gotten rid of the billowing, silver cape which made Caleb smile. Beside David, Lance strapped on his own costume which consisted of tight, figure-hugging pants that had been designed to look like they had gashes from some enormous beast cutting at the thighs. He went shirtless and only had a pair of leather straps crossing his chest and leather gloves with reinforced knuckles so as not to hinder his mobility. Both Hales attaches their shields at the very centre of their chests.

Leon, however, had no such costume. At least until Jacob handed him a black suit with blue lines running through it.

It was a short-sleeved shirt with metallic blue lines tracing sharp lines all over its fabric accompanied by similarly designed pants that had a distinct military feeling to it with all the pockets and pouches attached to it. A pair of gloves as well as a metallic gauntlet where Leon could attach is shield. The moment Leon slapped on the gauntlet, a loud whirring came from somewhere behind Elliot. A drone shaped like steel eagle leapt into the sky, propellers whirling within its wings and immediately landed on Leon’s shoulder. Jacob handed his eldest brother a stasis rifle, much like the one Bren had held.

“I feel like some soldier from the future or something,” laughed Leon. “How is that AEGIS has all this stuff and hasn’t shared it with the rest of the world? The police force could really use non-lethal arms like these.” He cocked the stasis rifle, a low whining noise rising from it as it powered up.

“Some things are best left off the table for now,” answered Jacob, seating himself on one of the seats. “If you start bringing bigger guns into the battle, the bad guys will look for even bigger ones. Sometimes, it’s better to keep these toys to yourself because should the enemy ever get their hands on them, what was meant to be an advantage suddenly puts you on even ground.”

Leon sat down beside him. “Not everyone is made equal. Even if you give people the same weapons, there’s no guarantee they’ll even know how to use them. Some just have the talent for it or are just born differently from others.”

Caleb felt that was a jab at him or the rest of the Hales. His inherent power was quite versatile while David’s was incredibly vast and powerful. Though Lance’s was overly physical and little else, Leon must have felt that his brother’s was far superior to his own. There would be a lot of people out there who would consider Leon’s ability, at most, a C-list ability.

“Anything can be earned and developed given enough time and drive,” Jacob answered. “I think Tibia’s henchmen and his newly created… Thralls could be a testament to that. Each of those poor souls developed their bones into weapons that suited them. They were all given exactly the same weapon but turned it to their own advantage and ended up turning it against us. Better to leave the weapon off the table entirely than hand it to those that would try and use it for ‘self defence’.”

“You’re keeping technology to yourself because you don’t trust the people with it! What does that say about how much faith you have in earthlings as a whole!?”

Jacob gave him a faint smile. “I have every faith in the people of this universe and even if they are led astray, I will always do my best to catch them and get them back on their feet. This tech will become general knowledge eventually. But not now. Not with Vernon Washington breathing down our necks. I would rather the world not rush itself to an early grave because of something I did. Honestly, Leon, how would you feel if you gave the world the most destructive weapon mortals have ever seen and some poor misguided soul used it to wipe out civilisation as we know it?”

A frown crossed Leon’s face. “Pretty guilty, I guess.”

“Now imagine being the person that gave the world this weapon and living through the disaster. What if you were the sole survivor living amongst the graves of the people who died because of your discovery.” He glanced off to the side. “I imagine that’s what Robert Oppenheimer said when he quoted the Hindu script, ‘Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.’ Death…” he sighed softly. “… the one constant in the entire universe but also the most lonely.”

David scoffed loudly. “Interesting words from someone whose surname is ‘Reaper’.”

There, Jacob turned his sardonic smile towards the Hale patriarch. “In that, you’re right. I’m honestly jealous of you, David.” He slapped his knees and leaned back against the container’s walls. There was an air conditioning unit that whirled to life as the truck moved outside of the city and into the savanna of the African wilderness. “In the two of us, we have two different means of leaving a legacy. You can live on in the memories you form, in the blood and ideals you pass down onto your children. I can only live on in the literal sense, as someone who stands outside of time and space and thus cannot age. I do wonder which one of us will be remembered fondly or even remembered at all.”

The derision left David’s voice and he folded his ears back. “You can’t have kids?”

Jacob lifted his paw in response. “By choice. The line of father-son incestuous relationships ends with me, thank you.”

Everyone in the container jolted in shock and even Samson slid open the little port screen to peer into the trailer in shock.

“What?” David demanded.

Seemingly equally shocked, Jacob answered with, “What?”

Suddenly, a loud beeping came from Leon’s gauntlet. “Wait, what’s going on?” asked the eldest of the twins. “It says… ‘incoming missile attack’?” His features dropped. “Oh…”

David was instantly on his feet. “From which direction?”

“North!”

“Which way is north!?”

“I don’t know!” Leon bellowed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “All it says is ‘north’ and I don’t have a fucking compass!”

Jacob lifted a finger at him. “Actually, if you -”

BOOM!

******

Martha Connors jolted upright, letting out a soft cry of shock. Beside her, a worried and sleepless Lillian Hale grasped her hand. The rest of the Hale family had taken refuge in the Connors mansion. If they were to be safe anywhere, it would be with the Connors. Ironic given that they were seeking refuge amongst the Alpha Pack. Still, Lillian felt safer here than say the Elemental Tower and among the predatory elitists of the Elemental Alliance. They had been after her ever since she had announced her candidacy for mayor of West California Island. The Alliance didn’t trust General Vernon Washington either and in her, they saw a potential way to help sanctioned supers on the Island. It did not help that she had sired twin superheroes in Lance and Leon and raised a powerful Outsider in Caleb. There were rumours that some people amongst the Alliance tended to intermarry in an attempt to breed more and more powerful superheroes for the next generation.

That just disgusted her.

“What’s wrong, Martha?” she asked. “Did you see something?”

Martha creased her brow, placing a hand against her forehead. “Yes… I saw… I saw a truck. My Samson was driving it. Then there was an explosion.” She offered Lillian an encouraging smile. “But then I just saw Jacob’s eyes again.”

Ever since they had become acquainted at the Connors’ Christmas party, the two women had become rather close simply because of all the Alpha Pack, Martha seemed the least politically or criminally inclined. The werewolf queen was someone Lillian felt she could talk to about all the ridiculous super-related drama surrounding her life and get a sympathetic ear in return.

“You told me that whenever Jacob was involved, you couldn’t see past his eyes,” Lillian said. “How far did you look into the future?”

The werewolf in human guise sighed softly and picked up a teacup. It was filled with herbal tea to help calm her nerves. “Far enough to know that my husband and your boys are safe. At least for now.” She took a sip to calm her nerves. “The future when a No One is involved is a future of countless possibilities.”

Lillian knew better than to ask more but she could not help but feel concerned for her transforming husband. They had started sleeping in separate beds because David often thrashed in his sleep and they feared one accidental blow could shatter something important - like Lillian herself. Of course, the kids didn’t know about this.

“I know you can’t peer into the future of those involved with the Gene Stealers that well,” she said at length. “But I’d like to understand something…”

“I’ll try to answer if I can,” Martha said gently.

“Thank you.” Lillian put down her own cup of tea. “What does Tibia - uhm - Salazar Shin have against us?”

The dark-haired werewolf’s lips parted momentarily before she gave Lillian a gentle smile. “There are many just like Shin who had hopes and dreams about being a superhero. When you think about, there’s this sort of glass ceiling when it comes to making it as a superhero. If your power isn’t considered ‘powerful’ enough, no matter how hard you train or how well you do, someone, somewhere will always find an excuse to prevent you from progressing. It’s unfair and those that fall below this threshold either fall into obscurity, never using their powers for anything more than household tasks… or…”

“They fall into a life of crime,” finished the Hale. “Is that what happened with Salazar?”

Martha nodded grimly. “Poor Salazar Shin was laughed out of the Elemental Alliance because his power was considered D-list at best. Or at least he told himself that was reason.”

“There’s more?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, the Alliance does more than just recruit based on powers,” answered Martha with a bitter smile. “They scope out those that have the makings of villains as well and try to steer them in the direction of heroism regardless of their powers. Sadly, Shin was too dense and… frankly stupid, to realise this. No one ever actually laughed at him. They offered him classes in the Alliance but he had deluded himself to believing the rumours that these classes were for D-list heroes who would never amount to more than being a name in the registry or be assigned to some distant town where the most anyone will ever get arrested for is tipping a cow.”

“Now I know that’s not true,” Lillian said fiercely. “The Alliance doesn’t have any jurisdiction outside of West California Island and though transfers are possible, it has to be on the consent of the transferee.”

“Exactly but that’s often not something that’s common knowledge.” The seer and the ‘supervillain’ known as Moon Paw stared pensively at the coppery brew in her porcelain teacup. “There are cracks in our system. People will fall through and they will find themselves in the dark clutches of others that would seek to take advantage of their weakness and desire for prestige. No system is perfect but it is those that scavenge for those that have fallen and fill their minds with false hopes that are truly despicable.” She growled, her hand shaking and with it the teacup.

Lillian rested her paw gently on Martha’s hand. “It’ll be alright. If there’s anything I know about my sons and husband, it’s that they can and will turn this around. Who knows, Tibia might even become a powerful ally.”

The werewolf queen let out a soft giggle. “Your faith in your family is truly admirable. Were you werewolves, you would rival the Alpha Pack at least in your loyalty to one another.”

“Who knows. David does like to bite during sex.”

“That would mean he would need to have sex with his sons.”

“I know Caleb and Lance have already been at it so it’s not outside the realms of possibly.”

The two women giggled to one another, their spirits lifted for the moment as the golden rays of the sun began to rise from beyond the horizon.

******

Never before had Caleb been so glad for regenerating shielding. As the fire and concussion blast hurled him from the trailer, the shield he had strapped to his chest had only regenerated about halfway before the missile struck. Still, that was more than enough for the shards of shrapnel and debris from cutting his flesh. He saw a jagged edge as big as his arm bounce off harmlessly against his face with no effect while a field of shimmering orange indicated the point of impact. The concussion wave actually regenerated the shield a little as did the impact his body made against the ground. Fire wreathed him but the shield quickly provided no fuel for it to take hold of so it died momentarily. Though he ended up on his face, he didn’t suffer any injuries, just a faint dizziness from being hurled out of a flaming vehicle and crashing violently to the ground.

“Wow…” he gasped, propping himself up on his paws and knees. “These things really work!”

A loud, metallic crash landed beside him. Elliot’s power armour suit made a sizable dent in the hard-packed, dried earth. It seemed the orca genius was still not used to his suit as he landed soundly on his back. His shield shattered like glass around him, exhausted.

“Ow… that fucking hurt.”

“Maybe you should’ve done more jumping jacks,” Caleb taunted.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Muscles.” Elliot propped himself up. “Diagnostics show minimal damage. Nothing the self-repairing plates can’t fix.” He scanned their surroundings. “I’m reading that everyone else’s shields are still intact. No one’s dead.”

That was a relief to hear. He perked his ears at the sound of a faintly muffled scream and he found its source in a tightly wrapped, metal cocoon not too far away. “Elliot, help me with this.”

He hurried over and tugged at the metal. Elliot gently brushed him aside and easily tore the steel layer open, revealing Leon inside.

“Fucking asshole!” shouted the formerly-trapped wolf.

“That’s a fine way to say, thank you.”

“I meant my dad!” Leon sat up. “He ripped the metal from the container walls and wrapped me in it before the missile hit! What was he thinking!?”

“Probably that since you were stupid enough not to be able to tell that your gauntlet has a compass, you needed some extra protection, Scowl.”

“Scowl?”

“Yeah. You scowl a lot. That and it sounds a little like ‘howl’ because you do that a lot too.”

“My name is Leon, got that?” he barked. Based on how quickly he dropped the subject, however, it was clear he actually liked the nickname. “Where is everyone?”

Caleb cast his gaze across the horizon. It was easy to identify Lance’s four-armed figure rising from the wreckage. Being the bulkiest of them all, he wasn’t thrown as far away and he waded through most of the debris to get to them. David emerged from a similar cocoon as Leon though he had the benefit of controlling the metal around him to open it without assistance. Samson approached from the east, dusting off his coat. Jacob was standing on the top of the ruined truck’s hood, looking off to the north where the missile had come from. The black and gold wolf was clutching that enormous claymore of his, Sturmspalter.

“Alive,” Elliot responded.

Lance reached them first, rubbing the back of his neck as if trying to work out a kink. “I know I’ve been described as a tank but that’s the first time I’ve actually been hit by a missile and survived. Damn… With this shield, nothing can get past me!”

“Quit rubbing it in,” Leon sneered. “What are we going to do now? Aren’t we still…” He glanced down at his gauntlet. “Fuck… we’re about ten miles from the port town.” The screech of an eagle brought attention to the metallic familiar that landed comfortably on the wolf’s shoulder.

“Doing the calculations and assuming we take an easy pace,” Elliot said, “it’ll take about three hours or so to get there.”

Caleb ran his fingers through his brown hair with a wince. “It’s scorching out here. Tell me we have some water or something.”

“There were all on the truck,” Samson answered grimly. “I can survive the trek easily.”

Elliot shoved a thumb against his armoured chest. “So can I. This thing has AC and it’s own hydration pack. You guys will likely get cooked out here.”

Leon elbowed Elliot’s flanks but instantly recoiled as he realised he was striking hardened metal. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. So you’re telling me we’re boned.”

David finally reached them. “Not necessarily. I could use some of the metal from the truck and form a rudimentary gurney or something. Maybe Elliot can push it along or I could use my powers to carry us to the village. It’ll still take us an hour or so to get there but we’ll be there sooner.”

“And put us out in the open not to mention exhausted from the trek,” countered Leon. “We’ve be walking right into Tibia’s hands.”

“I don’t see you coming up with any solutions!” David snapped.

A boom of thunder brought Caleb’s attention to the sky. A droplet of rain landed squarely between his eyes and he blinked. Dark thunderheads were forming right above his head, seemingly swirling outward from a central point. He turned back towards the destroyed truck. Jacob was now standing with Sturmspalter lifted straight into the air. Bolts of golden lightning were shooting up from the tip of the blade and straight into the sky where the thunderclouds were forming ominously.

“Jake! What are you doing!?” he demanded.

Jacob glanced over his shoulder with a smile. “Retaliating.”

Then he brought down his sword. A bolt of gold lightning erupted from the clouds above their head, arcing off into the horizon where it must have struck something explosive because a moment later, there was a distant boom and a black smoke cloud rising off in the distance. The clouds above their heads continued to brew however and rain began to fall.

“… and providing us with some shade and water.” Jacob leapt off the hood of the truck, the flames dying around him as the rain intensified. “Let’s gather up something to catch all this water in. Then let’s start walking. We’ll make camp just before we hit the town. Rest for the night, get over the timezone differences. Then we’ll hit Tibia in earnest.”

“Taking command now?” Samson taunted. “I appreciate you are the commander of AEGIS but no one orders me around.”

“Interesting choice of words given I am a No One,” Jacob answered snidely. “Still, Leon makes a good point. We’re in the middle of nowhere and it’s either we go back to the city or we continue on foot. No one will go to this port given that it’s abandoned so we can’t expect to hitch hike our way there. Going to Tibia exhausted and tired from sun exposure will only give him another advantage. We need to play this smart.”

“I never said your plan was a bad idea just I don’t quite like your tone.”

Jacob turned his back to Samson. “Put it in the suggestion box when we get back to West Cali. For now, let’s see if we can salvage anything from the truck and then let’s get moving. I don’t want to get to the port at night.”

“Why not?” Caleb asked. “It’s abandoned, right?”

“Abandoned and a perfect place to set up an ambush. I don’t know if any of our night-vision gear was lost in the truck but I’m banking on a ‘no’. Tibia’s henchmen likely do, however, and if I were that ivory idiot, I’d set up my snipers all over the town, ready to pick us off one by one.”

It made sense and likely the reason that Tibia had chosen to hit them at this exact spot. If they still had their truck, they would’ve arrived at the port within the hour. Stranded as they were, they would reach the town exhausted and be forced to rest. By the time they were active again, night would likely have fallen and Tibia’s snipers could pick them off. Even if they were meant to be the big distraction, they still had to try to get to Tibia but the psychotic pachyderm wasn’t making it easy for them.

“There’s still my suggestion of using my powers to make us a makeshift transport,” David suggested.

Elliot shook his head giving off a loud, metallic whirring as the servos in his suit moved with the gesture. “Then we’d be sapping one of our powerhouse attackers of strength. Besides, there’s no guarantee that Tibia doesn’t have more launchers out there. We could get picked off fairly easily.”

“No easier than if we were to go on foot.”

“On foot, we don’t have to take the road and don’t make such a big target. I vote for hoofing it.”

“Only because you’re in that suit which does the moving for you,” Caleb mumbled under his breath. Still, Jacob had a point. Tibia wanted to weaken them before throwing his henchmen at them. If they played along for now, they had a better chance of catching the crafty elephant off-guard. “Let’s make it look like that we’re down but determined,” he said aloud. “Make Tibia believe that he’s already got us beaten. I know time isn’t on our side but we won’t have any time if we don’t play this right.”

David couldn’t refuse him and resigned himself to agreeing. “Alright. Fine. Let’s start walking. But if any of you boys start getting tired, tell me. I’ll think of something.”

******

It was all going according to plan.

Tibia watched his screens from his throne of skulls - artificially created, of course - with amusement. Arsenal had somehow managed to scrape together a rag-tag group that consisted of a member of the Alpha Pack, Feral Steel and Feral Fang, Legion, Weapons Master and two others that he didn’t know. Either way, they had fallen for the trap that he had prepared. The missile had just been a distraction. Something to bring their attention to while they crossed over the land mines that had been set along the road. It would have been well within the capabilities of Feral Steel or perhaps even Legion to intercept the missile had they wanted. They likely would have detected the mines as well if they weren’t focused on the rockets.

“I wonder if I overestimated them,” he mused aloud.

Spider Queen’s sweetly acidic scent wafted into his sensitive nostrils. “I wouldn’t be so quick to claim victory,” she cooed. Arsenal was trekking on foot along the savanna. A thick storm shielded them from the sun and they had managed to scavenge some supplies from the wreckage but they weren’t taking the more obvious routes like using Feral Steel’s power to make some sort of craft to carry them the rest of the way or even call for help. “They know that should they drag others into this, you will likely intercept them. They’re purposefully taking the hard route because it’s the one you picked for them.”

“That makes no sense.”

Seraph, the true name of the Queen, gently brushed the back of her hand against his cheek. “When you think about it, it’s rather clever. You’ve set up contingencies for all other possibilities except for this one because it’s the hardest one with seemingly the most consequences. But…” She lifted a finger and tapped it against the base of his trunk. “… there is no hardship apart from the time lost and the trek there. No missiles to intercept them. No more mines to bar their path. No ambushes until they get to the port town. If they called for a ride, you’d just blow it up again. If they used Feral Steel’s power, you would do the same. But in this eventuality, you hoped they would just exhaust themselves in the process.”

Tibia’s hands curled around the skull-shaped armrests. “Interesting. I see your point. Maybe I should bombard them with missiles and see if they still think they’re being clever.”

Spider Queen pulled away and shook her head. “And risk injuring the rest of your troops? You saw what Legion did to the crew at that one launcher. You’re already down three men.”

“They’re recovering!”

“Perhaps but if you reveal the locations of the other launchers, he could destroy them all and deal much more damage.” She folded her arms and looked toward the screen with mirth. “Plus they’re now aware of that tactic. It would not be beyond Feral Steel to turn those rockets around or rip them to shreds before they even made impact. Easier to see or hear an incoming missile when not contained inside a truck.” With one, dark green nail, she hooked the bottom of her lip and smiled. “I wonder if they knew this or are just guessing…”

Tibia waved away her concerns. “No matter. I still have the upper hand. Let them think they’re being smart. The moment they reach town, they’re fucked.”

******

Despite their estimations, the party only approached the abandoned port town of Dead Horizon as the sun was setting. Caleb mentally blamed Elliot who was still getting used to his armour and slowed them down but he didn’t give voice to his irritation. The orca wasn’t a field agent so it was understandable that he still had to break in his new suit. As the day wore on, David broached the subject of making camp and for once, he and Samson agreed. So beneath one of the lonely trees in the vast savanna, they made a fire and sat down. David summoned a few crude shelters for them, pairing them up; Lance and Leon together, Jacob and Samson in another, Elliot and his armour in a third and Caleb with his dad. Using what rations they had salvaged from the truck, they had a quick meal.

“This seems an opportune time to bond as a team,” Samson declared, breaking the tense silence. “I think we all have some reservations about this entire mission. Why don’t we share them? Allow me to go first.”

David let out an approving hum.

“The Alpha Pack always considered the Gene Stealers a threat especially with young Benjamin’s reports on them as he worked with Arsenal,” continued the werewolf patriarch. “However, this recent threat truly worries us. This constant shifting between their mutated forms and originals displays an exceptional cruelty aimed at breaking the mind rather than just the body. I will admit that I have great concern for Ben but I know he is of a strong will and will survive. My greatest reservation, however, is the fact that I don’t think this is as simple as it seems.”

“This is simple?” scoffed Leon. “We’re trekking through the African grasslands to assault a Gen 4 Gene Stealer in the most convoluted way possible.”

Samson glared at him but it was not a stare of hostility; it was one of quiet agreement. “True but the plan is still sound. Tibia is still an inexperienced villain and thus he is prone to the same mistakes someone new to the game would make.” He pointed to the sky. “That preemptive strike, for instance. Rookie mistake.”

“Really?” Elliot asked. The orca had taken to polishing his armour even though the self-repairing metal didn’t really need it. “Seemed pretty good to me.”

“It’s right out of the handbook,” Leon answered. “You hit at your enemy this far out and you’re confirming that they’re on the right track. It’d be smarter to attack someone else. Throw a bunch of side quests at the heroes by imperiling others to keep them occupied while you consolidate your forces. Make it low-reward, high-risk quests too. That way, the heroes can’t get anything shiny from it or learn more about you while you get stronger.”

The supergenius orca lowered the rag he was using and gawked at Leon. “Wow… I never thought of it like that before.”

Samson chuckled, smiling down at Leon. “You’re absolutely correct.” His eyes switched to David. “Your boy is very smart.” But David didn’t reply save for a single grunt.

“I’ve been studying superheroes and supervillains almost all my life,” Leon said, his voice tinted by pride. “I’m pretty familiar with the common tactics and routines that happens in these kinds of scenarios.” He flicked a finger at Samson. “And I think I get what you’re thinking. The only reason a villain like Tibia should be sitting in his lair waiting for us like this is if he’s preparing something. A doomsday device.”

Lance flinched and gawked at his elder brother in surprise. “You’re serious?”

“You should know this. You’re the one training with the Alliance.” Leon crossed his arms gruffly, closing his eyes. “But I think we’re giving Tibia too much credit. He’s a noob. I honestly don’t think he’s preparing some devastating weapon or ultimatum. He kept going on and on about people laughing at him and it sounds like he just wants to be famous.”

“A flimsy reason if I ever heard one,” David muttered. “But I’ve heard flimsier.” He sighed softly. The way he was sitting with his legs and arms crossed, Caleb could not help but compare him to Leon. The two were seated in pretty much the same fashion and even wore the same expression; that of deep contemplation. If only the two of them could get past their animosity, they’d see that they were similar in many ways. “I’m concerned about the fact that Tibia wasn’t alone when he disappeared the first time.”

Samson jerked towards the super in surprise and even Leon and Lance looked stunned. Caleb remembered reading in that Tibia was being hauled to a minimum security prison alongside a few others when they had disappeared. He hadn’t even considered the fact that if Tibia had been transformed, there could be others.

“I had forgotten about that.” Samson rumbled. “It may be possible that the others are hiding with Tibia. Perhaps they’re one of his henchmen.”

David indicated a negative. “Doubt it. Each of them were low-level villains. The most dangerous might have arguably been the Scalpel but I wouldn’t think they’d be willing to be turned into elephants and serve an idiot like Tibia especially after that first showing. Still, they might be hiding out in Tibia’s lair to surprise us.”

Caleb glanced around the campfire. This talk of what could be and the threats that faced them seemed to unnerve everyone. The cold grip of uncertainty had its claws in his chest. Even Jacob who sat leaning against the tree, was gripping the handle of Sturmspalter tightly, his eyes focused on the fire with such intensity that he might as well have tried to win a staring contest with it. Caleb quietly rose from his seat as David began running through what he knew of the other escapees. He sat down beside Jacob and placed a paw on his friend’s shoulder.

“Are you alright there, Jake? It looks like you’re trying to shoot lasers from your eyes.”

The black-furred wolf gave him a soft smile. “I’m alright,” came the unconvincing answer. “Really.”

“You don’t look it. I’ve never seen you so tense.” He tilted his head forward. “Come on. What’s wrong? You can tell me.”

Jacob sighed and lifted his gaze. Everyone was staring at them both. “I doubt it’s anything any of you could understand.”

“Try me,” Caleb pressed. “I’m a good listener.”

“Listening and understanding is something entirely different,” answered the athletic wolf evasively.

“We’ve shared our concerns, Reaper,” Samson pressed. “Surely you can at least share yours.”

Jacob said nothing at length, his blue eyes like lasers and staring off into the darkness. “Fine. If you insist.” His eyes switched back towards the group. “I packed a cake for this trip and it all went up in flames when we were attacked.”

Caleb took a whole second to process these words.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Lance asked bluntly. “You’re sitting there looking all broody and tense and it’s all over a cake?”

“I baked that cake,” Jacob whined. “It had nice frosting on it as well. It was angel food cake with lemon custard between the layers, strawberries and a light, fluffy basil-cream. Raspberry sherbet meringue on top with a passion fruit jelly and crisp peanut butter praline for that crunchy element.”

Caleb’s stomach growled at him just imagining that tasty cake. Then he realised something was a little off by that statement. If Jacob had prepared the cake beforehand, it must have meant that he planned to serve it sometime during what should have been a mission that would take only a few hours at most. “When were you going to pull out this cake?”

“About when we reached the port town. I was fairly confident Tibia would have an ambush ready for us so I was going to pull that out and slam it into the face of the first henchman I met. I had a cool ‘whipped cream’ quip ready as well. Had ‘if life gives you lemons, make lemon cake’ as backup.”

A laugh rippled through the group as Jacob’s antics lightened the mood.

“I’d give that a C+ at most,” David said. “I’ve heard much better.”

Leon raised his paw into the air like an eager student to be picked by the teacher. “Should’ve gone with something like short and memorable like…” He lowered his voice so that it was deep and gravelly. “Make a wish.” Then his features brightened. “And then hit the guy in the face with the cake.”

“That’s good!” Samson laughed, slapping his knee in amusement. “Maybe give the man a quick blowjob and mention ‘blowing out the candle’.”

“Why do you have to make everything sexual?” David sighed, his mood too good to be soured by Samson.

The conversation became noticeably lighter as the topic shifted to one about who could make the best cake or lemon-related quips. Caleb smiled, glad to see that the tension had lifted somewhat. Lance’s heavy footsteps were hard to miss but he still managed to avoid interrupting the conversation. The huge, four-armed wolf sat himself down on Jacob’s other side, smiling faintly.

“That cake thing wasn’t really what you were worried about, was it?” asked the hulk of a lupine.

“Lance…” Caleb hissed quietly.

“No, he’s right,” Jacob answered. He didn’t lower his voice and if the others heard him, they chose to ignore him as the conversation had become far too animated to be interrupted now. “There was a lemon cream cake. I did plan to smack someone’s face with it. I was going to do this whole thing where I’d carry it out of the truck and protect it throughout our entire trip from the port, the ship, the quarantine zone and finally Tibia’s lair until we were right in front of the big elephant himself. During the entire journey, everyone would be yelling at me to abandon the cake and I’d make a big deal about protecting it. Then we’d all laugh when I chucked it at Tibia’s face to prove I had a reason for it all.” He snickered to himself. “It’d be the world’s weirdest escort mission. Escort the cake.”

Then Jacob’s mirth faded leaving his features distant with a faint smile on his lips.

“Guys…” he said softly. “Can I ask you a favour?”

“Sure Jake,” Caleb answered. “After all you’ve done for us, it’s the least we could do.”

A flash of irritation crossed the blonde-haired wolf’s features. “Okay… Two favours then. First, stop calling me ‘Jake’. It’s Jacob.”

“Pass. Next question.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Just… Promise me you won’t kill any henchmen.”

Lance looked puzzled at the request. “That shouldn’t even be an option but… why specifically ask?”

“Anyone touched by the Gene Stealers cannot be seen by the gods,” came the sombre answer. “If and when they die, there’s no afterlife waiting for them. My ability to interfere with this world is greatly limited. I might be able to prevent them from slipping completely into oblivion but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Caleb exchanged glances with his big brother and former lover.

“Can’t Arty do something about them?” Lance asked.

“If they were furs to begin with and maybe if he can keep Shin-Lazar from finding out but Arty is still only a demigod. There’s a huge gap of power between god and demigod. I might be able to come up with some way to negotiate for the souls of those that were impacted by the Gene Stealers but I don’t like my chances. The gods don’t like any sorts of exceptions to their precious rules. I’ve already got Gwen trying to broker the deal.”

A realisation hit Caleb. “Is that why she was so pissed yesterday?”

Jacob chuckled and gave him an apologetic smile. “Yeah. Sorry about the beating she gave you. She doesn’t like dealing with the pretentious, inflexible deities as much as I do.”

“We’ll try our best, Jacob,” Lance assured, placing a paw on Jacob’s other shoulder. “That’s a promise.”

Caleb nodded in agreement… though he had his own doubts if that was at all possible.

Those henchmen were out to kill or infect. They were willing to use advanced tactics and were likely ready to play dirty. If they couldn’t kill them, they had to come up with some other way to deal subdue them.

******

The port town of Dead Horizon had a rather morbid past. Centuries ago during the zombie outbreak that almost wiped out all humans on Earth, the country of Mozambique was hit particularly hard. Due to being one of the poorest countries in the world at the time despite vast natural resources, it had no way to curb the outbreak.

In an attempt to save its citizens from turning into the roving undead with a craving for flesh, the government had created a rather brutal screening process in an attempt find anyone that was infected. Dead Horizon was considered an asylum of sorts for those hundreds of thousands who were awaiting the results of their tests. If they were considered ‘clean’, they were let go. If not, they were pushed into one of the cargo ships and hauled off into the quarantine zone on Madagascar. Of course, just getting thrown into the settlement was considered a death sentence. Even if they weren’t infected when they passed through the ominous, black gates with a skull theme, they would be after the months or so it took to get their results.

Ironic that such measured did nothing to hold off the zombies that took over most of the world.

There was a chill in the air. Night had fallen and the stars were out to play. David had been against going into the town in the middle of the night as their visibility would be severely limited but time was not on their side. After their meal and an hour’s rest, they headed in through the dark gates, bracing themselves for an attack from Tibia. If the Ivory Lord - as Caleb liked to think of him - was to attack them, this would be one of the places he would do it.

“Everyone stay alert,” David instructed, taking the lead right beside Samson. “There’s no telling where snipers could be hiding.”

“The highest vantage points if they were smart,” Samson rumbled. “If they were even smarter, they’d do away with that cliche and hide amongst these shacks.”

Dead Horizon was far from just ‘shacks’. Concrete building that looked like it had been ripped out of a horror movie stood around them like dark, grey monoliths of a bygone era. Most were two to three storeys high with the only building even remotely taller being the church with its towering steeple. A broad open courtyard overgrown with weeds and with brick paths shattered from years of neglect under the hot sun led them down a path towards the port. It seemed a rather clear path to the ocean with only an old, dried out fountain resting between them and the docks. Flanked by these towering buildings with no way of seeing into any of them left Caleb with the terrible dread of being watched.

A loud clanking suddenly erupted from ahead of them and it certainly wasn’t Elliot’s armour.

The ground several feet ahead of them exploded, throwing bricks and hard-packed dirt into the air. A machine sporting to large barrels came to life, lights blinking at its flanks and one red laser sight angled directly at them.

“Oh shit!” Lance exclaimed.

The turret suddenly whirled to life, spitting bullets straight at them. Caleb instinctively dove to his right - his dominant side - and charged for cover. David was right beside him. Lance and Samson dashed in the opposite direction. Elliot screamed in terror as the bullets bounced off his shields and he panicked, glancing left and right trying to figure out which way to go despite being peppered from the automated turret. Jacob grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the gate - the longest path between him and the nearest source of cover and the most exposed.

“What are you doing!?” Elliot screamed. “Why are we going this way!?”

“Because you’re in a suit of power armour coupled with shielding! You can take the hits while the others can’t as much!”

“Oh… Oh right.”

That was his plan. Elliot and Lance probably had the most powerful shields of them all and since Elliot also had the plating of his armour, he was probably the most armoured of them all. Jacob was purposefully leading him that way to draw attention from everyone else. But that only drew the attention of the turret. Caleb purposeful began a serpentine dash, swerving left and right unpredictably while making a beeline for one of the shorter buildings. Bullets slammed into the ground next to his feet though upon closer inspection, he realised that they weren’t bullets at all but large ivory spikes.

The henchmen were trying to infect them!

He dove boldly through a shattered window, rolling into some old shattered glass and the smell of dust and mold. David was a step behind him, bursting through the large, wooden doors that were emblazoned by the words, ‘Deus requiescere possit animae quae in has terreas ambulant’. Both wolves pressed their backs against the wall, keeping their heads low.

“We’re sitting ducks out here!” Samson shouted, his voice coming from Caleb’s ear. The young, brawny wolf had fought for so long while relying on Mary’s telepathic communications that he had forgotten what it was like to use old-fashioned ear-mounted communicators.

“What do we do?” Lance asked. “We’ve got snipers taking pot shots at us and that damn turret will mow us down if we step out in the open!”

David suddenly went rigid. “Wait. Where’s Leon?” His eyes were wide in horror. “Leon! Leon! Where are you!?”

No response. Caleb’s own heart began to freeze in terror.

“Leon!”

A growl emerged from the communicator followed by a harsh whisper. “Shut the fuck up, dad_. I’m hunting.”_

A sigh of relief left Caleb’s muzzle but it was cut short when a bullet just grazed the windowsill above his head. Leon’s ability to go unnoticed really was helping. He probably activated his cloaking as well to avoid visual detection. More than ever he was glad to have his eldest brother with him.

“Alright,” Leon said. “I’m on the top floor of one of the buildings. Not the tallest but I’m sending out Zeus.”

“Zeus?” Caleb repeated. “Who is Zeus?”

“My eagle drone. I’ve got to give him a name, right?”

For some reason, despite being peppered by bullets, the idea that Leon found the time to name his pet eagle-shaped drone was just hilarious.

“I’ve scanned the area,” Leon reported. “I’ve got seven snipers on the rooftops. They’re keeping you pinned.”

Elliot, through ragged breaths, said, “That’s seven of them accounted for. Last I checked, Tibia had twenty goons per squad and that’s assuming that there’s only one squad here. Where are the others?”

“Maybe in the buildings themselves. I can’t get Zeus to scan through solid concrete.” Leon inhaled sharply. “Wait… I just spotted someone. Got it! There’s two guys flanking you from behind. They’re setting up turrets behind you!”

There had to be at least several rooms and several feet of concrete between him and the rear of the building. He couldn’t see any point in setting up a turret there unless…

“They’re going to pin us down in here,” he concluded. “The bastards are going to block off the exits with their turrets and then come charging in or something! If we try to leave, we’ll get gunned down by the turrets!”

“Look at the brains on Muscles!” Elliot mocked. “Makes me glad I’m out here with a suitable escape route.”

Caleb groaned. “Jacob, you haven’t said anything. Got anything in up your sleeves?”

“I’m honestly just wondering if a lemon cream cake could jam such crude turrets.”

Someone slapped their face. He was fairly sure it was Lance or Samson because he could see his dad, Leon was trying to remain silent and if Elliot did it, he’d end up slapping his own face with a very heavy mechanised glove.

“Will so shut up about that damn cake!?” Samson snarled. “I’ve got an idea. I’m going to rush the turret in the courtyard. I’ll draw the fire of the snipers to me. Everyone else go after the turrets they’re setting up behind you. Disable the boneheads if you can.”

“Don’t be stupid, Samson!” David shouted. “You could get infected!”

“Then I’m putting my faith this shield Legion gave me.”

“Samson!” A bone bullet slammed broke through the wooden doors, forcing David to duck instinctively. The snipers weren’t trying to hit them. These were suppression tactics!

Despite this, Samson Connors let out a ferocious roar from his thick, human neck and jumped out from where he was hiding within the opposite building. The snipers immediately angled their shots at him. Their shots were frightening accurate and struck the charging werewolf. However, the bones bounced harmlessly off the bright blue shield that was wrapped around the werewolf. The turret whirled around and began firing directly at Samson, forcing the werewolf patriarch to cross his arms in front of his face just so he could see where he was charging. His shield faded from blue into a bright green. Caleb imagined it would soon shift to yellow, then orange and finally to the dangerously low red.

“Come on,” Caleb urged, despite not knowing exactly what Samson was capable of. “You can do it!”

“Holy shit…” David breathed. “Kinetic absorption.”

A brilliant red aura began emanating from Samson, enshrouding him on top of his rapidly depleting shields. The lower his shields became, the stronger the aura. His steps grew more powerful, feet slamming hard into the ground and cracking the weakened bricks with each step. The werewolf uncrossed his arms, his eyes flashing red. He snarled, baring his enlarged canines. The nails on his hands had grown into sharpened claws and he kept his body low like a charging wolf. Caleb’s heart pounded in his chest and he could not help but cheer for Ben’s dad, at least mentally. Samson let out another ear-splitting roar and swung his right arm at the double-barreled turret. In one, powerful blow, he wrenched the machine right off the ground and sent it sailing high into the air. There was almost a romantic moment when the shattered turret flew right in front of the big, bright, full moon.

BAM!

The henchmen were not so easily stunned however and they kept up their assault on Samson, wearing down his shields. He began to retreat but his shields had already turned yellow. He would not make it back to his hiding spot. Then a huge, dark figure came launching itself at Samson. The dark-haired werewolf gawked as Lance landed atop of him, taking the fire against his much more powerful shields.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Samson roared. “I told you to attack the turret being build behind us!”

“Since when do heroes listen to villains?” Lance mocked. He swept Samson up in his lower arms like a baby, holding the large man against his chest and charging back towards the building.

“Yes!” Caleb cried. Energised by the display, he spun and bolted for the rear of the building. His dad, grinning from ear to ear, followed him. They burst through the rear doors into a walled off courtyard that looked more like a prison outdoor recreation area complete with a running track, basketball court and high, concrete and spiked fence to keep anyone from getting out. At the centre line of the court, one of the bulky elephants was hastily setting up another double-barrelled turret. The man immediately noticed them and quickly spun around, doing a full 360 while whipping out a handgun that was embedded with several pieces of ivory.

The gun discharged but David quickly countered by swinging his paws. Plates of metal came flying in front thin air, hovering in front of the two charging wolves and blocking the bone bullets. One or two shots got through but their shields rendered them harmless. With every step, the shields also began to recharge. Caleb pulled out Funny Bone’s mace. Ghostly hyenas sprung up beside him, charging at the lone henchman and ahead of both him and Feral Steel.

‘What do you do when every single soldier is a well-trained, superpowered individual equivalent to those idiots flying around in tights?’

Gwen’s words flashed before his eyes.

The bonehead held out his free hand to his side. Ivory wrapped around his forearm and jutted out from the back of his hand in the shape of a serrated, wrist-mounted blade. The ethereal hyenas launched themselves at him. As ungainly as his bulky elephantine figure wrapped in the bone-themed armour was, he was surprisingly nimble. He ducked a hyena striking at him from above and stabbed upwards with his blade. He was able to split his focus between two targets and fired his pistol at another charging hyena, forcing the ghost to dissipate as it made contact with the bullet. Even as two more charged at him, the henchman leapt into the air, spinning skill fully and firing shots from his pistol in their direction. One was forced to evaporate and the other was driven back. His landing placed him on the other side of the turret where he tapped a few, quick commands on the console.

“Damn! He’s good!” David shouted. “He’s fending off your summons while still building that turret! I’ve got to stop this!”

Feral Steel hurled his paws forward. The metal plates flung forward, powered by David’s control over them. The bonehead saw them approaching and immediately ducked behind the turret at the same time fending off another two hyenas. Exactly as David had planned as he controlled the turret itself and forced it to swing around. The long barrels of the weapon slammed hard into the henchman’s face, forcing the male to the ground, momentarily stunned. The metal plates swung through the air and slammed hard into the elephant’s wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground.

“Ha!” Caleb exclaimed, his hyenas surrounding the henchman. One finger pressed against his ear, he declared. “We’re done here!”

A bolt of golden lightning arched upwards into the clear, night sky.

“Same here,” Jacob answered. “Their tusks make for surprisingly efficient lightning rods.”

Two down but still those seven snipers and the remaining eleven unaccounted for.

Metal groaned in front of him. The bonehead was still fighting against the metal and trying to break free! David shook his head and waved a paw dismissively at the male. The turret that the bonehead had desperately tried to set up twisted and unraveled, the metal shifting almost like it was liquid. Strands of steel wrapped around the henchman, diving into the ground and weaving itself into tight cords that kept the man firmly planted into the ground.

“That should hold you,” announced Feral Steel. “Samson, how’re you doing?”

“Shield needs to recharge but otherwise unharmed. I suppose thanks to your son.”

With no one else to see them, David grinned proudly. “Don’t think about trying to convert him. He’s in my pack.” He winked at Caleb before glancing towards the rooftops. “Leon, can you see what the other hostiles are doing?”

“Yeah,” answered the eldest of the Hale siblings. “Four of the snipers are holding position while the other three are retreating. I think they’re heading towards the church.”

“That’s the highest vantage point in this whole place,” Elliot warned. “If they get up there, there’s no way we can get past them without suffering a few hits.”

“Why do we have to take them down at all?” a_sked Lance. _“Our goal is to get to the boat, right? Let’s just breeze past them and get out of here.”

David grinned broadly. “That’s my boy,” he whispered softly.

“No,” Caleb said, surprising his father. “We can’t leave them behind us. Tibia was smart enough to put snipers here. Even if we make it to the boat, they can snipe us from the shore and there won’t be any place to hide on a boat. We have to take them all out.”

For a second, David was surprised at his analysis. Gwen’s lecture about thinking outside the box was starting to seep through Caleb’s thick skull. He wasn’t just thinking like a hero. He was thinking like a villain as well. He was thinking outside of the cliches that their world had as their foundation.

“Muscles has a point,” sighed Elliot. “But we don’t know where the other troops are and those snipers are going to pick us off if we step into the central courtyard.”

“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Caleb announced. “Our shields regenerate with every step we take. If we form a barrier with our bodies, we can protect half of our group while the other half regenerates their shields as we run. When the shields get low, we switch out.”

“Wow. I’m impressed, Muscles. That’s actually a decent strategy! Okay, let’s meet up at the centre!”

“Alright. Near the gates. Sniper range will be less accurate there.”

“Good idea! Let’s go!”

He exchanged nods with David and they both turned and dashed back towards the building. The moment they passed through the doors, however, he seized his dad’s arm and pulled him to the right towards the stairs leading up.

“What are you doing?” David demanded. “The others -”

“Dad,” he said firmly, “guys, the bonehead we took down was still conscious and probably had his communicator still on and probably heard every word we said.” He felt his dad tense. “Everyone, you need to head to the entrance as planned. Draw their fire. Dad and I are going to take out those snipers on the rooftops.”

A short laugh came from Samson. “Now I am impressed.”

“I can take the guys on this side of the courtyard,” Leon said. “They still don’t know I’m here. You two take care of the ones on your side.”

“Be careful,” Caleb pressed.

“Don’t worry about me. Just stay safe, Cale.”

The thunder-like cracks of sniper rifles split through the air. The communicators were abuzz with Elliot’s curses and the dull gong-like sounds of bullets striking the shields. He had to hurry because the moment the snipers realised that he and David were missing was the moment their advantage was gone. Two flights of stairs later, he was charging back into the night sky through a thick, metal door. One building over, one of the elephantine snipers noticed him and gawked for all of a second. Then he whipped up his rifle towards them. The metal door erupted from its hinges and launched straight towards the man. The sniper rolled out of the way but that was a moment where Caleb was out of sight.

It was all the moment he needed.

Weapons Master charged at the man. Bones erupted from the ground beneath his feet, carrying him effortlessly over the gap between the buildings and straight towards the man. The henchman got off one shot before he dodged backwards. David leapt past his son, swinging his paws up and summoning metal around him as he aiming for the remaining sniper one more building over. Caleb focused on his current foe. The bonehead was from the Beta Group. He could tell by the warpaint drawn on the man’s forehead. The pachyderm tossed aside his rifle and lifted his paws. Ivory erupted from his palms, forming two, long, thin blades. A dual wielder.

Caleb reminded himself to think outside the box.

He reversed his grip on Funny Bone and lifted it over his shoulder. White bones began erupted from around Caleb’s feet, quickly forming a curling barricade with the fangs pointing towards him to form a half-dome. Before his target dropped behind the barrier, he hurled his weapon boldly at the elephant who was momentarily stunned by the audacious move. A grin crossed the heavily muscled henchman’s features as he swatted the mace aside with a simple swing of his blades. Then he dashed forward and leapt into the air, letting out a trumpeting cry as he vaulted over Caleb’s quick barrier. The moment he landed he spun around and jabbed his blades…

… at thin air.

Then Caleb emerged from the front of the barrier, his fist colliding with the elephant’s face. There was just one instant when the henchman didn’t know where Caleb was and assumed he was hiding behind curving barrier. It was enough time for Caleb to scramble around the barrier and avoid the bonehead’s attack while launching his own surprise move. His fist collided with the brawny pachyderm’s face. It was like punching hard steel but it was enough to momentarily daze the elephant.

‘You don’t want to be controlled?’ Gwen shouted in the back of his mind.

He seized the elephant’s long trunk and gave it a hard tug. The male’s face slammed hard into the bone barrier, shattering the individual white stakes and burying shards into his face. A pained scream ripped from his throat as blood began dripping from the ragged wounds.

‘Then fight the norm! Take your destiny into your own paws!’

Caleb slipped beside the elephant in one, smooth movement. He grabbed the man’s right wrist and drove it right into the elephant’s own left shoulder.

‘Mortal fate shall and always be in mortal hands but do not let another mortal control force your hand!’

He slipped behind the man and kicked the crook of the stunned and bleeding henchman’s knees.

‘Fight!’

Caleb clasped both his paws over his head and brought it slamming down hard on the back of the man’s head. The elephant crashed to the ground. If the blow from lean, grey-furred wolf hadn’t been enough to knock him out, the impact from hitting the floor was. The well-trained soldier slumped, bleeding but still alive. One building over, David had wrapped his target in a cocoon of steel, immobilising him. Across the courtyard, the remaining snipers were encased in blue, shimmering auras; frozen in stasis fields.

For now… it was over.

******

“What the fuck just happened!?” Tibia shouted.

Six of his well-trained men had just been defeated! Despite having the advantage of knowing the area and having set up a few traps ahead of time, they had still been defeated! His men, the men he had bestowed his powers upon, had fallen! Moreover, he was stunned at Weapon Master’s brutal efficiency. In the one-on-one fight with his far more experienced soldier, a kid had managed to beat him down using some rather underhanded tactics.

“Well…” giggled Spider Queen. “It seems our little wolf has finally started to open his eyes. I wonder if we pushed a few buttons by targeting his friend.”

The lord of elephants scowled. “I take no comfort in what psychological damage I may have done to him if it means that we will ultimately be defeated.”

“Take comfort. You still have the rest of Group Beta there fortifying the church. That’s still fourteen more elephants for them to deal with.”

He narrowed his gaze at the screens before him. “Yes. I suppose I do. They won’t have it so easy next time.” Then his features split into a dark grin. “My men won’t go down so easily.”

Spider Queen let out a soft laugh. “Your men,” she whispered sarcastically to herself.

******

There was a risk that had to be addressed. The henchmen had only been knocked unconscious or temporarily placed into stasis. If these were the progeny of a Gen 4, they would eventually heal and imprisoning them would only give them the opportunity to escape and rejoin their forces later. Having another team of crack warriors on the level of a SEAL team coming at them from behind was undesirable especially if they were facing off against someone as dangerous as Tibia and remaining henchmen.

So the problem was, what could they do to subdue these well-trained men so that they would not be a problem later on?

Gathered in a one of the buildings, they had their foes tied up using metal cords that David had summoned. The same metal cords had been wrapped around their tusks and muzzles to keep them from speaking. Jacob had patched up the bloodied and injured. For now, the elephants glared at them with fierce eyes, defiant to the last. There was no doubt that the moment they were allowed free, they would retaliate. With no telling where the rest of the Beta Team were, there was also the possibility that just one elephant could come rescue these boneheads and return them to the battle. It wasn’t an issue of them losing their guns either. As demonstrated through their fights, these men were capable of using their powers to summon ivory to fit their individual fighting styles.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Caleb asked.

Jacob shuffled towards one of Tibia’s men, leaning casually against a meaty, melon-sized shoulder. “I have a variety of weapons that could take them out of the fight until I say so.” He propped his elbow against the meaty shoulder, using the connecting paw to rest his cheek while his other paw ‘walked’ his fingers up the elephant’s arm. “Maybe I should trap them in a labyrinth of madness and eldritch horrors. Or maybe regress them in age until their infants again. Baby elephants are cute, right?”

Caleb groaned. “Something less horrifying, please?”

“Fine.” Jacob grinned at the elephant before him, causing the man to inch away nervously. “Level with me. Would you have found it funny if smacked a lemon cream cake into your face before electrifying you?”

“Will you stop with the cake, already?” Samson demanded. “This is serious.”

The blue-clad wolf shrugged and pulled away from their prisoners.

“We cannot leave them unconscious and given their skill in battle, we can’t risk them attacking us from behind,” continued the werewolf.

“Giggity,” Jacob commented.

“What can we do?” Elliot asked, still in his suit. “We can’t call AEGIS. That’d put them in danger as well and I’d honestly not have highly trained super-secret agents with high-tech power armour like mine coming at us.”

David scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I could easily summon up a metal prison to keep them contained. Not just any prison. I could encase their bodies except their heads in titanium to keep them from moving. Bury it into the ground so it would be very difficult to remove them. They’d be locked down and there wouldn’t be a way to free them until we return.”

“Yeah but then how are they supposed to piss and shit if it comes to that?” Leon asked. “Plus have you seen the rats around here? You pin them to the ground, those suckers are going to come out and start eating their eyeballs.” The stealthy wolf shook his head. “No. I’m against that.”

“And we can’t leave someone to guard them either,” Lance said. “We needed everyone to take these six down and there’s way more waiting for us up ahead.”

“The greatest threat is the fact that they’re still conscious and intelligent,” Elliot added. “Their powers have evolved rapidly and they’re really clever. No matter how we trap them, they’ll probably come up with some way to break out of it so long as they’re capable of rational thought. Even a huge block of steel like you suggested, Steel, could still be navigated if they… I dunno… used their combined powers to create some sort of moving bone spider to carry them around.”

Everyone gave Elliot a strange look.

Jacob slowly lifted his paw. “I have a suggestion.”

“No cake!” came the unanimous declaration.

“No cake, I promise,” answered Legion with a little chuckle. He approached the prisoners once more, bending down a little with his paws on his knees. “From what I can remember, the main issue with the Gen 4 progeny is that when you force them to orgasm, they will invariably change back to their original forms. What’s more, they get caught in a loop where they shift back to their elephantine forms. The orgasm leaves them exhausted and unconscious but the moment they wake up, they’re at it again. Now, I’m fairly sure I know what’s keeping these guys from going down the path of our fair friends.” He gently poked the forehead of one of the boneheads.

“What?” Caleb demanded.

“Sheer willpower. They were trained for this. They knew what was coming and likely prepared themselves adequately for it. Remember, the only thing separating the security team that was infected with Tibia’s strain and the rest of Arsenal was that our guys were his targets. Some of the civilians were even minor-supers themselves. Yet they all suffered exactly the same symptoms or at least similar. That leads me to believe that what Tibia infected them with was similar and perhaps even the same as what was inflicted upon his henchmen. Powerful enough to go crazy but not enough to be stuck in the same loop as our friends.

“Yet these guys are able to function optimally likely because they were prepared for it. I can imagine the Gene Stealers would have had a rather sizable pick of potential henchmen particularly if they have been operating for as long as they have been. Training like that wouldn’t have occurred in a few weeks either. It took years to develop that kind of resolve.”

Samson growled fiercely. “You’re right. We werewolves are constantly at war with our own inner beasts and what separates the Alpha Pack from the rest of the rabble is that we’re fully in control while being one with the beast within us. These men must have been training for a long time to control their urges and in that time, more would likely have been recruited.” His eyes widened in surprise, a realisation striking him. “So logically there should’ve been more of them! Certainly more than just the eighty or so under Tibia’s command! Yet there aren’t!”

“Exactly.” Jacob straightened, his paws on his hips. “Which leads me to believe that these guys are the only ones that passed some unknown criteria to be transformed. Likely the bar that would allow them to maintain their forms and not be driven insane by the constant desire that must be gnawing at them. Case in point…” He reached down towards the nearest elephant, aiming right for the man’s nipple. He gave it a twist and the restrained pachyderm shut his eyes, whimpering even as his monster of a cock began to fill out his pants like a third leg parallelling his left thigh. “I wonder. Did you fine gentlemen get transformed and manage to rein in your inner beast or were you forcibly subdued? Maybe prevented from touching yourselves so that that part of you that was still sane could fight back against the beast? Similarly… I wonder what would happen if I let out that beast and locked you six in a room by yourselves without supervision?”

“That’s sick!” David bellowed. “You’re subjecting them to the same torture that Tibia inflicted to his victims!”

Caleb grit his fangs together. “They deserve it.” He felt the eyes of everyone in the room switch to him. A blinding rage built inside of him as he kept flashing back to the tortured Lars unable to control himself and cumming himself to unconsciousness. What made the experience all the more painful was the brief moments of lucidity before the beast took over again. “After what they did to my team… These bastards deserve this and worse!”

“Weapons Master…” his dad whispered mournfully. “There’s a fine line between being a hero and a villain. We can’t let ourselves stoop down to their level.”

“What level!?” he shouted back. “D-list? B-list? A-list? Are those the levels you’re talking about, dad!? Because the way I see it, no matter what we do, people are still going to get hurt! The only thing separating us from the ‘villains’ is that fucked up sense of ‘morality’. But what’s worse, dad? Turning people into sex-crazed beasts or letting people get turned because we’re too scared of being branded a villain to go on the offensive for once!?”

David advanced upon him, seizing his collar and lifting him partially off the ground. “You can’t think that, son! We have honour, justice and our ideals!”

“Justice?” Caleb sneered. “Justice is about administering a fair judgement, isn’t it? Well what’s fair, dad? Don’t you think it’s pretty even to turn these assholes into sex-crazed beasts after what they did to all those people!? Isn’t that fair?” He knocked David’s paws away from his shirt. “In fact, what about all the people that got turned before now? What about those that were turned into Thralls? They lost themselves into the personality of an Original! They died, dad! Are you saying we should just let those responsible rot in jail forever because we shouldn’t bloody our own paws?”

“There will be no blood on your paws! I won’t let you!”

“You’re not letting me, dad,” Caleb scowled, turning towards the captured henchmen. “No one is letting me doing anything. In fact…” He reached for the zipper of his pants.

“No…” David breathed.

There was a black paw pressed up against his chest.

“You don’t have to stick your dick into them, Caleb,” advised Legion. “I’ve got some tools of my own that are more than sufficient to stop them from being a threat.”

“No. Maybe but no,” growled Caleb. “I want to.” He shot Jacob a piercing stare. “You can either join me or get out of my way.”

Jacob, a soft smile on his lips, removed his paw. “You know I can’t or else I’ll have some rather embarrassing pictures that I’m compelled to take on top of some rather awkward conversations when I get back home.” He glanced off to the side with a lewd smile on his lips. “Followed by a rather steamy threesome. More if others are involved.”

Caleb shoved past him. “This is for Lars.”

David suddenly seized his shoulder.

“Dad, don’t try and stop me,” he growled, refusing to turn around.

“No son. I can tell that you’re not going to budge from this. I can’t imagine how you feel but the least I could do is bear this burden with you.”

He tensed. “What?”

“I won’t pretend that I haven’t had these thoughts myself from time to time. The world is unfair. It really is. But if you feel that this will give you some sense of justice… even if I don’t agree with it… I’m going to support you.” He shrugged his broad shoulders helplessly. “I’m still your father. I’d be doing a bad job if I didn’t at least try and help you when you’re hurting.”

Caleb shut his eyes, unsure if he should be glad for the support or guilt for pulling his dad down with him. “Dad…”

“Besides, there’s six guys here. As a Hale, I know you’ve got the stamina to squeeze out at least three shots but you’ll need help with the other three.”

“Dad!” Lance exclaimed in horror. “You can’t be serious! This goes everything that the Alliance stands for!”

“Good thing I’m not in the Alliance then.” David took a deep breath and let it out softly. “I don’t know. I’ve been a superhero for so long doing the same thing over and over again and then Tibia shows up and upsets the balance. Well-trained henchmen. Infecting supers. The Gene Stealers have shattered the very foundations of the world. Hell, look at me. I’m formerly of the Elemental Alliance, managing an Outsider group and becoming a werewolf, part of the Alpha Pack. You can’t tell me that after all this, everything is just going to go back to the way it once was.” His free paw closed into a fist. “If the Gene Stealers are all about evolution, then we need to evolve faster and I think it’s time to get rid of antiquated ideals.”

A slow, sarcastic clap came from Samson. “You certainly have the heroic speeches down, Feral Steel.”

“Like my son said. Either join us or stand aside.”

Samson licked his lips as he unbuckled the wolf-skin cloak over his shoulders. “I have every intention of joining you. I’m just very impressed by your development. You’re starting to see that the world is far from black and white.” He pointed at the biggest of the henchmen, the guy that Caleb and David had beaten down. “I just wanted to call dibs on the biggest one.”

Leon rushed in front of the prisoners, his arms stretched out wide and barring their path. “This is immoral! You can’t just fuck these people so that they’ll be driven to madness! That’s rape! No! That’s worse than rape!”

“It’s mind-rape?” Jacob offered.

“Yes! Exactly!”

It was true. Deep in his heart, Caleb knew that this was exactly the same as rape. Yes these men deserved it and on some primal level, he knew he’d get some pleasure out of it. Still, it was rape. That logic and conscience was burned away by the hatred and bitter memory of Lars being tortured within his own body. “Get out of my way, Leon!”

“It isn’t rape if it’s willing,” Jacob said suddenly, approaching one of the prisoners. He reached down and tugged at the metal rope gag around the elephant’s mouth. “So tell me, Mr. Henchman, do you want these big bad wolves to fuck you?”

Caleb’s fists were shaking. No matter the answer, he was going to have that pachyderm’s ass. Then he noticed the look in Jacob’s eyes; that laser-like focus. Somehow, that burned away the flames of rage within him.

“Or are you going to use your trump card?” finished Legion.

Samson jerked back and even David froze where he was standing.

“You know what I’m talking about,” continued Jacob, a dark smile on his muzzle. “Your sheer willpower is holding back the primal beast inside but at the same time, it’s also keeping that explosive evolution and power in check.” With his free paw, Jacob tugged at the elephant’s ear, leaning all the way down until his muzzle was levelled directly into the henchman’s ear canals. “So tell me, how would you rather go out? Bound, gagged and helpless and fucked up the ass until you’re locked in a state of eternal bliss with brief moments of lucidity to realise you had failed or…”

If Legion could’ve grown devil horns there and then, he could have.

“… go out fighting by letting loose?”

Elliot in his power armour suddenly seized Caleb and David’s shoulders, pulling them back forcefully. “Get back!”

The elephant threw his head back and let out an ear-splitting roar. His eyes, formerly a deep brown, turned a milky white with only his highly dilated pupils showing - just like the eyes of Lars and the rest of the victims back on the Cornucopia. The muscles all over the henchman’s body tensed, veins popping all over his form as his cock rocketed to attention and erupted from his pants, spraying precum everywhere. Froth was gathering in the corners of his lips just. Spit flew everywhere as he thrashed wildly, struggling against the metal ropes holding him to the ground. The strain of the inflating elephant was accompanied by the groan of metal and the crack of concrete. The steel cables snapped and the bonehead sprang to his feet. His feet erupted from his steel-capped boots and he stomped one foot into the ground to shake off the remnants of the garment. The impact sent his leg halfway into the concrete floor.

The henchman Jacob had taunted launched himself at the blonde wolf, slamming Jacob into the floor.

All the while, Legion was smiling.

“I thought so,” whispered the No One. Then he used the momentum of the wild, raging elephant and hurled him over him. Caleb was yanked to the side by Elliot to avoid being crushed by the flying elephant.

“What have you done!?” Samson roared. “Why did you provoke them!?”

Jacob sprang to his feet nimbly. He seized Sturmspalter which was resting beside him. “Would you rather unleash this while you were fucking them? When your necks are within reach and they could’ve snapped your skulls while you were too busy trying to pull your knot from their asses?”

A dark movie played in Caleb’s mind. There he was, venting his frustration at having watched Lars transform and losing his boyfriend to the pure, unbridled lust of an elephant and then the henchman unleashed their trump card. Before he could react, the huge bonehead was spinning around, grabbing his head and catching him literally with his pants down. Then it would end there. He would be dead. Tibia would have won. Lars would be permanently trapped in that state and there would be no saving any of them.

“Oh my god…” he breathed, staggering back in terror. “I… I almost…”

David caught him, hugging him tightly from behind partially to comfort him and partially to keep him from falling back. “It’s okay, son. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Emerging from the rubble, the raging elephant rose and immediately and blindly charged at the nearest target - Elliot. The orca in armour was ready however. The two of them collided, hands intertwined and locked in a fight of physical might, one trying to push the other to the ground.

“God-fucking-damnit! Is this all part of your mind games, Reaper!?”

“Yes and no,” answered Jacob striding forward confidently, Sturmspalter draped over his shoulder. “It’s a demonstration.” Lifting his free paw, he showed golden bolts of lightning crackling between his fingers. He turned his head ever so slightly at the still restrained bonehead. “Before you boys decide ‘unleash the beast’ and attack, allow me to show you exactly what I meant when I said I have a variety of ways to disable you. See, every movement in your body is dictated by electrical charges from your brain.” A dark grin crossed his features. “And Sturmspalter really has got some charge to it.”

Jacob held up his paw and seized the face of the surprised yet raging henchman. “Ready for some shock therapy?”

Lightning erupted from the contact between the super and the Gen 4 elephant. Another trumpeting roar escaped the pachyderm and Elliot was forced to retreat as the massive male’s form began convulsing to the crackling of lightning. Caleb had to avert his eyes for a second since the flashing was too bright for him. Only a second later, the elephant fell to his knees, eyes gazing off into the distance. Somehow, he remained kneeling even though the rest of his body was limp.

One of Tibia’s boneheads had managed to wiggle out of his mouth gag. “What did you do to him, you bastard!?”

“All brain signals are merely electrical signals,” answered Jacob, lowered his paw. “With Sturmspalter, I basically disabled his brain’s ability for higher cognitive functions. Automatic functions like breathing, blood flow and…” His eyes went towards the elephant’s cock. “… other primal functions still function but he’s basically unconscious. That is until such a time I remove the blocks.” Legion turned around, facing the remaining henchmen. His paw was outstretched, lightning crackling between his fingers. “I think this is a far more elegant solution to being raped, don’t you think?”

Part of Caleb raged that he wouldn’t get to hear the screams of mercy from these villains as he took their asses but at the same time, he was also horrified at Jacob’s brutality. Thus far, he had seen Jacob almost like idol he desperately needed in the superhero world. But this power… this ability to shut off someone’s brain permanently was… it was horrifying. He couldn’t muster the strength to protest or even beg the athletic, blue-clad wolf to stop as he approached the helpless prisoners.

“No! Please! Stop!” the freed elephant pleaded.

Jacob was just a foot away. “Sorry. There’s not guaranteeing that you won’t turn on us and you’re far too dangerous to just let free. Don’t worry. Once this is all over, I’ll wake you up. It’ll be like waking up from an admittedly long, painful nap. That is, of course, unless I lose then the chances of you ever waking up are next to nothing. But hey…” Jacob leaned down, the smile on his features dark and cruel. “… I like my chances.”

“I’ll give you anything!”

Jacob’s features suddenly contorted into a fierce snarl. “Then tell me where the other members of Beta Team are!”

Just like that, a lightning rod struck Caleb and everyone else in the room. This had been what he had been after the entire time. The display of power, the taunting… it had all been some form of psychological torture to get the positions of the other elephants!

“They’re at the church!” screamed the man.

Jacob seized the face of the elephant right next to the speaking man. Lightning blasted out of his paw and the elephant screamed in terror as the comrade right next to him screamed silently behind his gag before slumping forward, eyes fully open but unseeing.

“That’s a lie!” roared the electrically-charged wolf. “I know three of the remaining snipers are at the church. Where are the others!?”

“They’re at the church! Waiting inside to ambush you if you try to make it to the steeple to intercept the snipers!”

He grabbed the face of another and administered his own form of shock therapy. The spokesman for the prisoners was now openly weeping.

“All eleven of them stuck in that one church? Try again! And you better try harder because…” Jacob embedded Sturmspalter hard into the ground beside him and then seized the faces of the two remaining, bound elephants aside from the speaker. “… I’m honestly running out of patience.”

“Okay! Okay!” shouted the man. “There’s only four guys inside the church itself! The other six are waiting in the outlying buildings! The moment you get into the church, they’re going to start charging in and sandwich you between them and the team inside the church itself!”

Jacob released the faces of the two elephants before bringing both of them to squeezed down on the cheeks of the speaker.

Then his features brightened like he was addressing an old friend. “There, that wasn’t so hard was it?” He sprang to his feet and Caleb could swear there were stars flashing around him. “Now don’t you go freeing yourself from those restraints by going beast mode on us okay?” he warned, waggling a finger and speaking in a cutesy, sing-song voice. “If you do, you can be sure I’ll do something much worse to you!”

Caleb briefly glanced around the room. Though he couldn’t see Elliot’s face, just by the orca’s stance, he was sure that the same sentiment was being shared by everyone in the room. ‘There was something worse than having your brain fried’? He was actually finding it hard to remain standing on his two feet. Somehow, he managed to shuffle out of the room alongside the rest of the team. Jacob led the way, his sword slung over his shoulder and with a sizable distance between him any anyone else. When they shut the door, David manipulated the metal so that it basically fused with the walls itself to make it harder for anyone to get in or out.

“That was what you were after the entire time, wasn’t it?” Samson accused. “You never intended to let Weapons Master or anyone rape those men and drive them to madness. You needed to show the remaining henchmen that even should they unleash their trump card, you could still take them down with a fate worse than death.”

Jacob kept his back to them and didn’t say a word.

“Couldn’t you have let us in on the whole thing?” Lance whined, rubbing the back of his head. “Man… for a second there, you had me thinking we were actually going to fuck those guys in there.”

“Admit it, you were actually excited about the idea,” Leon snickered, elbowing his brother. “You’ve always been into those ‘forbidden acts’.”

“I didn’t intend for the conversation to turn dark like that,” Jacob interrupted. Only then did he turn, his eyes locked with Caleb’s; they were sharp, laser-like and accusing. “Clearly you all have some issues to work out. Had none of you interrupted me, I would’ve seamlessly went from my point about how they were holding themselves back from becoming slavering animals through sheer willpower alone to that being their last resort, their Hail Mary Pass, so to speak and then scaring the truth out of them.”

The accusation was accurate. David and Caleb had interrupted Jacob’s mind-games with their own personal drama and nearly ruined the entire act. Hell, Jacob had even tried to stop him. What sickened him all the more was that what he had said was true. Miserably true. There was still a part of him that wanted to make those bastards in there pay. Seeing some of them scared out of their wits and being given the electrical equivalent to a lobotomy was somewhat satisfying but the darkness in him also hoped that he had been the one to inflict it. His thoughts went back to Live Wire and that gave him an even more bitter taste on his tongue.

“You are a very scary individual, Jacob Reaper,” Samson said. “You didn’t hesitate to hide your intentions from your own team. You didn’t even hesitate to use what many would call inhumane tactics to get what you wanted.” The werewolf tilted his head slightly as he reattached the wolf-skin cape. “I’ll call it for what it was. You tortured those men in there. No hero would ever willingly resort to such tactics.”

“You’d be surprised,” David sighed heavily. “When the fate of the world is at risk, some heroes become less heroic… Still, I don’t know if I feel like your tactics were justified.”

Sturmspalter bit into the ground. “No. It wasn’t,” Jacob answered. “But there was no time to get to know each of them, befriend them and help them through the reasons for having joined the Gene Stealers and sold their bodies and minds to effectively become experiments. The lives of others are already at stake here.”

“So you tormented them because it was easy?” Elliot accused.

“No. The easiest route would have been to just kill them, call Arcturus and then squeeze the secrets out of them. Dead men have no reason - or capacity - to hide secrets and then they’ll just go off into oblivion anyway. I’m taking a big risk hoping that their fear of what I just did will keep them in there.” Jacob pressed a paw against his chest. “And I made a promise to repair their brains when this is all over. I’ll make it up to them by working through their issues together but for now…”

He snatched his claymore from the ground again and swung it through the air.

“… we’ve got a boat to catch.”

******

In theory it was a perfect trap. The snipers would force the rag-tag team of heroes to try and rush to church. The one place the bone rifles couldn’t reach was directly underneath them in the church itself. Of course, there were four members of Group Beta in there that would occupy them. Then, the remaining five members would come out of the buildings and start attacking. The would-be rescuers would be pinned between a rock and a hard place. The presence of three snipers also provided a 360 degree view of their surroundings meaning that even if the team decided to attack from any other angle, they wouldn’t be able to escape the watchful eye of the eagle-eyed elephants.

It was the perfect trap… in theory.

The cornerstone and weakness of this tactic came from the snipers. They provided an all-round vertical view of their surroundings. They had one enormous blind spot however - directly above them.

“I’m really not comfortable with this!” Elliot shouted.

“It’s your plan!” David grunted. Both he and Elliot were high in the air, farther than any of the snipers could see. He was hovering on a platform made of steel, keeping low so as to avoid detection while at the same time, he was using his powers to lift the power armour with him.

“Why couldn’t you have done this yourself!?”

“Because your shields are harder than mine and you’ve got extra armour! Plus you’re heavier.”

“Wow. Low blow, dude. I know I’m not ripped like you, and yeah, I’m a little doughy but -”

“I meant you’re wearing about two tonnes of metal armour.”

“Oh… right.”

David peered over his platform. Directly beneath them was the steeple of the church where the snipers were poised. Somewhere in Dead Horizon, the rest of his team was ready to spring their own trap.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I can be given I’m about to be dropped from five thousand fucking feet!”

“Think of it this way,” he said with a grin. “You’re about to make one hell of an entrance.”

Then he released Elliot from the grip. The orca screamed the entire way down. It made for a rather loud, high-pitched keening noise that confused the snipers positioned in the steeple. Probably the only thing that saved them was that they moved to the edges of the steeple to look around for the source of the noise. When one of them looked up and pointed, it was already too late.

CRASH!

Elliot smashed right into the pointed structure, his power armour taking the blow without so much as a dent with the shields holding above green level. The huge, armoured orca shattered the steeple and smashed right into the front of the church, practically cleaving the entire structure in two. The three sniper elephants were hurled from their hiding spot and crashed to the ground. David saw one land painfully on his arm, likely shattering it. That would be one less foe to deal with at least until the guy’s regeneration kicked in. If there was anything that Jacob had demonstrated just half an hour ago, they had to be ruthless and he couldn’t let any of the elephants get back on their feet.

Hard divides appeared across the platform he lay on. It instantly shattered into evenly cut slices and he plummeted to the ground. Pinning his arms to his side, he angled himself directly towards the back of the church. Elliot was just regaining his bearings but Tibia’s men were already starting to retaliate, peppering him with bone bullets. Elliot’s shield was holding for the moment but against the four henchmen, he would be at a disadvantage.

That was when David smashed through the roof of the church and shattered the altar into a thousand splinters. He landed in the typical hero landing. It was one of the first thing he had learned when training as a professional super. Another thing was timing and he lifted his head just as the boneheads turned to see who their aggressor was. That was when the metal plates rained down through the remnants of the ceiling. He could see them now so he aimed the plates directly at them. They struck arms, legs and shoulders hard, forcing the heavily muscled pachyderms to the ground and pinning them there. Three of them he managed to catch with the surprise attack but the fourth was quicker than the rest and dove behind one of the pews. Elliot quickly followed up by lifting his stasis pistol and firing it at the downed henchmen. Bubbles of shimmering blue encased the boneheads, temporarily freezing them in place.

Gunfire erupted from behind Elliot and his shield dropped to the yellow zone as bullets sparked off his back.

Behind him, the reserve team of five henchmen were charging straight at them to provide support, guns raised and thick legs pumping. Bright yellow lightning cut a sharp line across the ground between Elliot and the party of five, kicking up dust into the air. The night winds blew aside the cloud of dust to reveal Jacob Reaper standing with Sturmspalter by his side. Tibia’s men flicked their guns up again.

“You know that pincer maneuver you guys were thinking about throwing at us?” Reaper asked. He made a circular gesture with a finger. “You might want to turn around.”

The five men turned and -

WHAM!

Immediately got caught in a double lariat from a charging Lance. The hulking wolf managed to catch two of the towering elephants and drag them all the way towards Jacob where he held up one of his upper paws. Jacob slapped the outstretched paw in a solid high-five before Lance hit the brakes and sent the henchmen he was hauling crashing along the ground towards Elliot’s feet. There, the orca hit them at point-blank range and caught them in stasis fields.

The three remaining spun back towards Jacob.

BAM!

And the one on the left immediately got caught in another stasis field.

High up in one of the buildings, Leon took aim and fired another round from his rifle. The elephants were fast, however, and immediately dashed towards the very same building that Leon was occupying. Just like they initial tactic had predicted, the one place a sniper can’t fire at is directly beneath them. They burst through the doors and ground to a halt, shock on their features.

Samson cracked his knuckles ominously.

“Let me show you why they call me ‘Alpha’.”

Their screams echoed into the night.

The one elephant still active stood cornered in the church. He was screaming for statuses of his teammates but they had all been put out of commission. With is rifle in one hand and a shield of ivory in the other, he pressed his back against a stained glass window of the Virgin Mary. Panic was in his eyes. Despite all their training, they were still mortal men. Even the most hardened soldiers could suffer from a bit of trauma. It got worse when two, big, grey, furry arms erupted from the glass behind him and seized his trunks. The man was hauled through the shattered glass, cutting his flesh and thrown roughly to the ground. Caleb leapt into the air and slammed is elbow hard into the man’s chest.

“That’s for Flare Blue!” he roared.

Funny Bone in his paw, he brought it crashing down against the elephant’s face. A tusk shattered and flew into the air.

“That’s for Blade Babe!”

The henchman lifted his shield to protect his face but it was a desperate move. It left his lower body exposed. Caleb brought his mace crashing down at the man’s over-developed crotch. For a second, he felt his own cock and balls retreat into him from the sound the blow made. But that was replaced by the red hot flames of vengeance.

“That was for Blood Wolf!”

Instinctively, the elephant covered his injured crotch with his hands, leaving his face exposed once more. Caleb swung at the remaining tusk, shattering it and making the man scream out in pain.

“That was for Bren!”

He brought up his mace one more time -

… but couldn’t bring it back down. Not for a lack of trying. His father’s strong paw held the weapon back.

“That’s enough, Weapons Master,” urged Feral Steel. “He’s done.”

Caleb swallowed the fury inside of him. Nodding, he rose to his feet, sheathing Funny Bone once more.

Then kicked the henchman’s flanks.

“That was for Madman.”

******

“What the hell was that!?” Tibia screamed. “They’re meant to be well-trained henchmen! How did they fall so easily!?”

To his left, Spider Queen looked infinitely amused, perhaps even a little aroused. “I wouldn’t define that as ‘easy’. It was certainly well coordinated and very well-planned. The moment their plan was exposed, they were done. They were so confident in their plans that they hadn’t bothered to organise a contingency. Then again, retreating to the church had been their contingency plan. Pity. I liked those men.”

“You trained them, damnit!” he roared, pointing an accusing finger at her. “This is your fault!”

“I thought they were your men?” she taunted.

He scowled at her and turned furiously back towards the screens. The interlopers were dragging the rest of Group Beta into that room where the first bunch had been kept. No doubt so that the frightened traitors could warn them about how Legion could fry their brains if they put up any form of resistance. Though the first sortie had ended in the favour of Arsenal, Tibia had learned a lot about their abilities and indeed their personalities.

Feral Steel would clearly do anything for his sons and had a strained relationship with the fourth, mysterious wolf that seemed to have the power of invisibility. Even if Weapons Master was willing to sate his need for vengeance by raping his henchmen, Feral Steel was willing to support him in that decision if only so that he would not bear that burden by himself. However, the boys seemed to have conflicting interests with Feral Fang being more moderate and rather timid despite his size, the invisible wolf quite hostile and Weapons Master filled with rage. Speaking of which, the front-man of Arsenal clearly held a lot of resentment towards Tibia. That could be used to turn the tables.

Samson Connors, otherwise known as the supervillain Alpha Drive, served as a foil to Feral Steel’s righteousness but was not above compromise. There were flashes of selflessness especially when he put himself at risk to give the others the opening they needed to intercept the members of Beta who were building flanking turrets. Clearly he had little to no authority amongst the rest of Arsenal but they valued his counsel nonetheless. There was also some ambition behind his action, a hidden agenda none of them had realised yet and Tibia had a feeling he knew exactly what it was.

Then there was that huge suit of armour. Tibia had no idea who was inside it if at all but it was clearly inexperienced and ungainly. If anything it served as a giant meat shield to absorb damage. Whether it was an AI or being remotely controlled, the intelligence behind it was keen, a little vulgar, but nevertheless very cunning in its own way. However, its reaction speed was poor and once the guns started firing, it might as well be a walking bullet magnet. Again, that could be used to his advantage.

Lastly, there was Legion.

Him, Tibia was most worried about. The blonde and black wolf seemed to play jump rope with the line of morality and his powers seemed limitless particularly given how he could employ them creatively. Even he couldn’t have imagined using electricity to somehow disrupt the neural pathways that drove conscious thinking. To this very point, Legion entered the room with the prisoners by himself and demonstrated his powers rather excessively to subdue the members of Group Beta.

“I know you all made the conscious choice to join the Gene Stealers,” said the lupine with the dark-blue eyes. “That’s a decision that you’ll have to live with. You’re going to suffer the consequences of it. But I promise I’ll try and help you through it. You’re not alone. But first…” He grinned brightly, almost genuinely innocently while lightning crackled between his fingers. “… who wants to black out and wake up a little later having skipped the part where you’re left here, conscious and with fear constantly gnawing at your mind? Any takers? I promise it won’t hurt. Much.”

Was he a master of the mortal psyche or genuinely insane? Legion was the hardest to figure out but Tibia had already formulated a plan to defeat him. Even the seemingly psychotic wolf had his own rules that he seemed rather keen to obey.

That was his weakness.

“I can tell by your face that you’ve already come up with a plan,” Spider Queen observed. “Are you going to send a team to attack them while they make their way here?”

Tibia gave it some thought before closing his eyes. “No.” Leaning back into his seat, his trunk twisting in the air, he pressed the button to make an announcement. “Group Delta. Set up mines and turrets in the quarantine zone. Group Alpha, man the Graveyard’s defences. Group Gamma, prepare the Shinbone II.”

“You’re going to run away?” The emerald queen sighed. “I must say I’m disappointed.”

“I’m not running away,” he answered, rising from his throne. “I’m going to make those bitches scream and beg for mercy and then I’m going to watch as they burn along with this entire damn island!”

“Oooh…” she whined. “You’re going to destroy this entire base that I built just for you? Not even a week in it and already you’re going to sink it? Where’s the appreciation?”

“I’ll show it by giving you Arsenal’s charred corpses!”

Spider Queen grinned sadistically. “That’ll be acceptable.”