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Chapter II: Close Quarters

Caleb sat stiffly, gazing forward mechanically and not truly seeing either Ben or Lars who sat in front of him. Beside him, Mary was quietly eating her lunch, completely ignoring the three boys who were quite possibly frozen in time. That is, until, Ben broke the silence.

"What's wrong with him?"

Lars, not looking at Ben, said, "I think the shock of realising his best friend is dating a notorious criminal is finally setting in."

Ben whirled around to face the much bigger Doberman. "Or that his 'best friend' betrayed him by not telling him he's gay and is seriously considering turning himself into a werewolf just a few nights ago."

The Doberman bared his fangs at the smaller young man. "Really? We're back to the werewolf thing again?"

"You got a better explanation, stubby!?"

Lars hated being called 'stubby' on the account of his tail. "Why you little -"

"He's in shock because his brother kissed him last night," Mary said loudly.

Both Lars and Ben stopped within inches of strangling each other and spun back towards Caleb, the stunned look still on the young wolf's face and his blue eyes gazing off into the distance somewhere.

"As in one of the twins?" Lars asked. "The Double L's? Super big, super macho, brimming with muscles and popping veins?"

"Oh that's hot," muttered Ben, causing a flash of distain from Lars.

Mary shrugged and pushed some olives away from her salad. She didn't like olives. "Yup. Last night, your little Caleb got a birthday surprise from his big brother, Lance. His first boyfriend!"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"Caleb screamed.

The other students in the cafeteria turned briefly towards him before shrugging and looking away again. Some eyes lingered but as Caleb folded his ears back and ducked his head, they too lost interest.

"He's not..." the wolf muttered softly. "Is he...?"

"It's just one kiss, Cale," Lars said. "Isn't nothing serious. I mean, maybe he was going for your forehead and missed."

"Like how you were going to punch me that one time, 'tripped' and fell on my cock?" Ben said with a vicious grin.

"You shut it!"

"That was pretty kinky, you know. You had to replace your suit after I punctured a hole right through it. Must've been chaffing on the front though."

"That's it!" Lars leapt to his feet.

"Sit down," commanded Mary.

"Okay." And he sat back down, still glaring at Ben but a little more complacent.

"We're focusing on Caleb," Mary continued, gesturing with a fork elegantly at the wolf. "We must be comforting to our friend in his forbidden relationship with his older brother."

Caleb's fur bristled out. "It's not a relationship! He... It was dark... and he... he must've missed!"

"Uh huh..." Mary plucked out her phone. "I would like to present to the court, exhibit A." She handed it to Ben who just regarded it with a puzzled look on his face. "It is the text message he sent to me last night shortly after we dropped him off. It reads, 'Help, my brother just kissed me. Not an innocent peck either. With tongue.' This is followed by an unintelligible series of letters that I can only assume translates to this..."

Mary then wrapped her arms around a ghostly figure, closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue like she was seriously French Kissing someone. Along with this, she made lewd - slightly ridiculous - noises. It sounded like someone was asking her to say 'ah' but she was desperately trying to kiss that someone at the same time!

Ben shook his head. "No... It sounds more like this..." He began kissing an imaginary Lance, making long sucking noises and opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Like you'd know," grunted Lars, swiping the phone from him. "He has a canine muzzle. Lance is canine too. They wouldn't be doing that. It'd be more like this!" Lars started making slobbery, half-lick, half-kissing noises and lashing out his tongue continuously.

Caleb just scowled at them all. "You're all enjoying this way too much."

The three of them burst into laughter as the phone was handed back to Mary. Caleb swiped it in transit, deleted the message and then shoved it into Mary's waiting palm.

"Sorry bro," Lars snickered. "You know we've got to give you shit about this stuff."

"Uh-huh. Aren't you a superhero? Aren't you supposed to be upholding the virtues and justice of our fair state? Isn't incest illegal?"

"Only if I report you," Lars answered with a grin. "And why the hell would I want to report this when I'm having so much fun with it?"

"You know what else_is illegal?" he growled. "How Firebrand, the brilliant new star of the Elemental Alliance, idol to children _all over the US is dating and indeed getting fucked by a member of the Alpha Pack!"

Lars' face fell. "Not cool, dude."

Ben turned to Lars, an accusing stare in his eyes. "You know what I don't get? You were perfectly fine when we were doing it in secret and you didn't know my true identity. But suddenly, when you realise that the hot, sexy, muscular foot-long cock you've been sucking every week is nerdy, bespectacled Benjamin Connors, you're turned off! What is up with that?"

"It's less about the fact that you're a nerdy wuss in real life and more about the fact that you wanted to turn Caleb and me into werewolves!" growled Lars.

"You wanted to become one a few nights ago!"

They went right back to arguing but in softer, hushed tones than before. Caleb let them be and just stared at his mashed potatoes glumly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mary regarding him.

"What should I do?" he asked softly.

She shrugged absently. "You need to talk."

He blinked, coming to a realisation. "You're absolutely right! I do need to talk! I'll talk to my mom!"

Mary gave him an 'are-you-serious?' look. "Your mother. Your_assistant to a senator_ mother? You want to talk to your assistant to a senator mother about your incestuous relationship with your older brother?"

"Okay fine..." His eyes sparked up again. "My dad!"

"Your dad. Your gung-ho for sports, aspiring author of a father who has been pushing you to take up professional football. You want to talk to that dad about how his sons could very well be making sweet, sweet, forbidden love under his roof and possibly ruin any prospect of _either_of them becoming professional sportsmen?"

"My -"

Mary jabbed a fork into his side, not puncturing the skin but giving him a second to wince. "You're not going to talk to your Aunty May the clinical psychologist, you're not going to ask your Uncle Sandy and his boyfriends, Mark and Kyle, and you certainly_not going to ask your grandmamma unless you want her to go to an early grave!" She jabbed him again. "You are going to talk to _Lance."

"But -"

"Do it or I get the wooden spoon!" She lifted the fork threateningly.

"Okay! Okay!" he cried, holding his paws up in surrender. "I'll talk to Lance! Geez..."

"Good." Mary turned back to her salad, back straight and a gentle smile on her face. "I'm glad you came to your senses before I got the frying pan again."

Caleb shuddered at the thought and the memory of on ill-conceived mission where he had been forced to use a nearby frying pan to defend himself. It was... amusing when frying pans appeared over everyone's heads and struck them. Not so amusing when Mary set one on fire and chased him around for getting grease in her hair.

'Waiting for You' began ringing and he let out a sigh of relief. It was Bren. That ringtone was just for Bren. "Oh thank God, a crisis." He turned away from the table as Ben and Lars continued to argue, pressing the phone to his ear and extending the microphone to suit his long muzzle. "'Sup?"

"I'm here for the stuff."

He blinked a couple of times and regarded his phone at arm's length. Mary rolled her eyes and went back to eating so he was probably missing something.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You know," Bren replied, "I'm here to pick up the potentially apocalyptic array of mismatched weapons that you have stored in your room for safe disposal? You remember the last time one of your little cousins picked one of them up and decided to play 'let's see what I can set on fire next'?"

"Oh yeah..."

Once every month, Bren came over to pick up any weapons that Caleb may have picked up. Usually, any excesses would have been disposed by him just after the mission but since dealing with the Gene Stealers, they had learned to keep themselves armed at all times. The Stealers were adept at espionage and more than once had attempted to attack another location while they were driving home. Having to adapt again to the new situation presented a steep learning curve so using weapons that he already knew what they would do was handy. Caleb found himself having to quickly improvise and though they survived, they vowed that Caleb would keep whatever weapons he had for at least a month before having them safely disposed of.

"I'm at school right now..." he murmured. "But it's lunch. Give me ten minutes and I'll be over there."

"Okay. Don't take too long. Black vans are mean to be inconspicuous but in West California... not so much."

"I thought you guys used ice cream trucks these days."

"Can't upper management decision. Too much like a paedophile. Bad for the FBI's image."

Caleb had to agree to that. He quickly told Mary his plans and grabbed his two burgers while Lars and Ben were still arguing. As he was just heading out of the door, he bumped into someone. A fox with a big, bushy tail and curly, reddish-brown hair. She stared up at him with wide, green eyes through thick glasses. She beamed and blushed heavily through her bright red fur.

"Oh my god! You're Caleb Hale, aren't you? You're the star receiver for the team!" She didn't give him a chance to respond as she eyed him up and down. "You're so big!"

She was only a foot shorter than him and some of the other guys on the team were bigger. Lars was definitely bigger.

"Um... Thanks," he mumbled through a muzzle-full of burgers.

"I'm Shelly Winters!" she exclaimed giddily. "I know you'd probably never got out with a girl like me but... did you maybe want to hit a movie sometime? My treat?"

That just sounded all kinds of odd. A girl asking the guy out to a movie? It felt odd. Besides, Shelly wasn't his type. Did he even have a type? Maybe if they were tall, muscular, had delicious pecs, huge biceps and a cock... and generally the same genetic makeup...

That just made him all sorts of sick.

"I'm flattered Sherry," he muttered.

"Shelly."

"Right, Shelly. But I've got to be somewhere and I don't want to start dating until I'm in college. Too much stress in high school. Hope you understand."

That was the worst excuse anyone could ever give but on Caleb's part, it was true. He had seen his brothers date multiple girls throughout their high school careers and not only did it disrupt the household but it also made for some embarrassing grilling on the parts of the rest of the family. Abby had met Arthur in high school and though they were seriously considering marriage, it was far from a smooth ride especially as they were graduating. Then, looking at Lars and Ben... Yeah, he wanted to stay clear of that.

He brushed past Shelly with that thought in mind, realising that Lance could not possibly be gay. He had dated girls! He had screwed them! Loudly. In fact, just three weeks ago he had stumbled in drunk with some bimbo he had picked up at a bar! Their mother had kicked them out but from what Caleb heard, those two had a wild night in the backyard.

So Lance could not be gay and be into his brother.

Maybe he was just drunk.

Yeah, drunk.

"He was so drunk," laughed Caleb, more to himself than anyone else. He jumped on Ballistic, zipped up his riding jacket, jammed on his helmet and revved the engine. He was back at home in seven minutes with Bren's black van just outside.

"About time," the tiger said, striding up to the door. "I could've died ten times in the time it took you to get here."

"It just took ten minutes!"

"And I could have died ten times," Bren responded.

The sad thing was, it was very true. Once, the Gene Stealers attacked a location close to one of the Bren bunkers. Bren died sixty times that day. Thankfully he just kept coming at them. The mound of similarly appearing tigers was a little hard to explain but thankfully, the FBI had perfected a memory wiping device in the shape of a camera. That was how the coaches didn't remember being attacked by a spider-monster-thing. Plus, the FBI worked fast. The school's eastern building was purged of all webbing and the pipes cut off. It still looked like all hell went down but it was attributed to some superhero fighting another supervillain that no one reported on the news.

Caleb led Bren up to his room where he plucked some of the weapons off the shelves. The Gene Stealers had increased the number of attacks recently leading to more and more weapons piling up on Caleb's shelf. It worried him, Mary, Bren and the rest of the FBI that they were no closer to finding the true sources of the Gene Stealers or their plans even after months of investigation. The FBI was seriously considering calling in the Elemental Alliance but they feared that would just antagonise the Gene Stealers and make them transform more people.

Not to mention it would take away from the precious time of the Alliance against criminals like Doctor Nobody, Mind Master and the dreaded Allusion. The Gene Stealers were not big news, not yet. Compared to the other villains who led to hundreds of deaths, the Stealers were surprisingly... light.

Caleb was pretty sure his fragile mentality couldn't take more if he was forced to kill dozens of people under the employ of a villain even if they were monstrous clones of some twisted psycho.

Speaking of which... He picked up the spider gauntlet he had obtained the previous night and frowned at it.

"Mind if I keep this one?" he asked. "I only got to use it a couple of times."

"Sure. Just make sure your little cousins don't get to it," Bren answered.

Slam!

Caleb jerked towards his bedroom door. Someone was home. They _shouldn't_be home! No one should be home! Mom was out at work and Dad was covering some sports event at a local tennis court. The twins were at college and so was Abby! No one should be here!

"Anyone home?" came the shout from downstairs. "Cale? You here? I saw Ballistic."

"Crap! That's Lance!" Caleb exclaimed.

"How can you tell?" Bren responded with a frown. "Aren't he and Leon twins?"

"Lance's voice is deeper and he's a little bigger. Plus, he's got tufts of white fur jutting out of his ears while Leon doesn't. Oh and Lance has a birthmark on his left paw shaped kind of like a crescent moon. His right eye is green and his left is blue while with Leon, it's left eye green and right eye blue." Bren gave him a suspicious look. "I had to learn to tell them apart when I was younger!"

"Cale?" came the shout again.

Caleb panicked. "Crap! Crap! You got to get out of here!" he hissed at Bren.

"Okay, just let me get out the window -"

"No time!" Caleb shoved the spider gauntlet on and pointed it at Bren. "Sorry in advance."

Bren's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

Squirt!

Bren had enough sense of clamp his jaws shut as the acid splashed all over him and began to dissolve his frame. It was a good thing that he didn't have any pain receptors. It was somewhat of a problem but in times like this, Caleb was glad for them. He didn't want Bren to be screaming in agony. The only problem was that he left a sickly, green puddle on his floor and the garbage back full of potentially deadly weapons.

A knock came to his door and Caleb instantly shoved his spider gauntlet behind his back, standing rather stiffly as Lance poked his head in.

"Hey..." murmured the black and white wolf. His eyes fell on the bubbling puddle by Caleb's feet. "What is that?"

A thousand excuses came into Caleb's head. He just had a _really_big load after last night? No, stupid, stupid! Run off from the garbage? Then what if he looked inside?

Oh!

"One of collectibles broke," he said casually. "Limited edition Sir Slime action figurine with real-life sliming abilities."

Lance frowned at the puddle. "That's a lot of slime for a little action figure."

"They built that stuff to last!"

"Right..." Lance's eyes turned back to his brother. "Hey... Um... Can we talk?"

"Sure." Fearful of the bag of deadly weapons, Caleb said, "Wanna go elsewhere? This stuff stinks." It didn't really but he needed to make sure Lance didn't take a peek inside the bag and test one of them out.

"Sure. My room?"

"Okay."

He tossed his spider gauntlet into the bag and hurried after Lance and practically pushed his brother into the adjacent room. The moment he stepped across the threshold, he paused. This was actually the first time he had been in the twin's bedroom. Being three years older than him and being very... alpha male, the twins had forbidden the young pup from ever entering their room. He had stolen glances here and there but he had never been inside.

They had intruded into his room many times so this was a momentous occasion.

Two single beds stood on opposite ends of the room. On side was a clear blue motif with a picture of the West California Sea Wolves dominating the entire wall as well as multiple images of muscular football players making game-changing catches or throws. On the other, everything was dominated by red with images of superheroes and even a poster of Firebrand hanging near the headrest of the bed. In between them was some weight training equipment.

Caleb made for the red side of the room.

"Whoa! Don't sit on Leon's side!"

He froze and slowly turned towards Lance in surprise. "Wait... So he's the one into superheroes and you're the football buff?"

Lance regarded him suspiciously. "Yeah... Why is that so odd?"

Maybe because football usually belied a violent nature while superhero worship instilled a strong sense of justice and righteousness? Maybe because Leon was usually the one that started pranks and tormented Caleb while Lance generally tagged along?

"I... just would never have guessed," Caleb responded, wandering over to the blue side. He sat down on Lance's bed, still a little unsure what he was going to say or if Bren was going to come back and clean up the puddle of his former body left in the other room. He was pretty sure the tiger muttered 'I'll get you for this' before dissolving completely.

Lance sat beside him, his weight evening out the bed. They sat in silence for a long time broken only when Caleb coughed softly.

"About last night..." Lance began.

Caleb thought he should nip this in the bud before things got even more awkward. "It was dark, you meant to go for my forehead, you were drunk and... you kissed me."

Lance bit his lower lip. "No. I wasn't drunk. It wasn't that dark. And I had no intention of going for your forehead."

Caleb began to edge away from Lance much to his older brother's whimpering. "Lance... what are you saying...?"

Lance curled his tail around his leg and wrung his paws nervously. "Caleb... I'm gay."

...

"And I've got superpowers."

Lance growled at him. "I'm being serious, Cale! I'm getting a hard-on just having you beside me! Fuck! When I was in high school, I had to wear an extra-sized cup and jockstrap to keep my boners hidden! And now that I'm in college, I thought I could escape all the temptation but then you shoot up and... aaaaargh!"

Caleb frowned at his brother. "Wait... What about Leon? He's bigger than me and -"

"A total ass!" Lance shouted, throwing his paws up into the air in frustration. "Yeah, he's got the body but Wolf Christ! Some days I just want to punch him!"

Still utterly puzzled, Caleb said, "But you've been a pain in my ass too! Just yesterday you..." He played that scene in his head again when Leon knocked a ladder out from underneath him and Lance caught him. Seeing his realisation, Lance whimpered. Caleb let out a soft 'eep' and edged even further away. "Lance... Level with me... What's really going on?"

The big wolf whimpered, grimacing as he turned his head away and ducked his head in shame, ears folded back. "Six years, Cale, six years I've been trying to keep myself straight. I've fucked girls and gotten my rocks off but it's all just lies! I have more fun with guys than girls and when I tried to really connect with Leon, he's just an ass about it!" He gave Caleb a look from the corner of his eye. "You're my brother, Cale, and always will be. I'm sorry for all those times I've been an asshole to you but you've got to know I was just following Leon's lead. It doesn't excuse what I did but... I guess... I never really meant any of it.

"You're sweet, considerate, kind and then when you grew... Fuck! You're such a turn on right now I'm trying hard not to just pounce on you and lick your abs!"

Caleb wrapped his arms over his abdomen protectively. "We're brothers!"

"I know!" Lance whined. "And that's what makes it so freakin' hot!" He gave a shout of frustration and clutched his head. "I mean, it's crazy! Being gay is fine! I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't care! Hell, since the we had that super straight dictator in 2344 where he forbade gay couplings and had orgies of opposite-sexed people until he was deposed, even religion had finally opened up and said it's okay to be gay! I read up on this stuff when I was jacking off!"

"You were reading up on ancient history while jacking off? Should I be worried?"

"Fuck!" Lance growled. "I'm being serious, Caleb! It's okay to be gay!"

"So you keep telling me like you're trying to convert me."

"I'm not! I really am not! It's just..." Lance grumbled and jumped to his feet, storming around angrily. "Okay, it's like this... You know when you're a kid and you're done playing with a toy? Then another kid comes along to play with it and you want to play with it again?"

"No. You and Leon always stole my toys before I even had a chance to play with it. I was stuck with Legos and making imaginary cities that you two broke."

"I know... I know." Lance looked really apologetic. "It's just... being gay is the norm now. Hell, did you know dad kissed a guy at a Christmas party once and mom took pictures? If you go through their photo albums, you'd be horrified at what they do."

"Are we talking about the one entitled 'Boudoir - kids, don't look into this one unless you want your eyes permanently burned and your souls scarred by seeing my - what are your writing there, dear?'"

Lance shook his head. "No. The one entitled 'XXX - only when you're older and you understand, boys. Abby, feel free.'"

Caleb inclined his head to the side. "Is it any wonder Abby wants to get out of here as soon as possible?"

"Honestly, I'm more surprised they managed to get a professional photographer to print that on albums," Lance admitted. He shook his head. "We're getting side tracked."

"That's good! Let's keep going down that side track! I like the side track! It's fun! Afterwards, let's go get ice cream! Oh, you want to know something cool about ice cream? Get it? 'cool' because it's -"

"Caleb!" roared Lance. "I'm trying to tell you that since being gay is normal... I... I sort of want something... _not_normal..."

Caleb shrank back. "Like fucking your brother...?"

Lance whimpered. "I know... I know! God, I know! I'm terrible!" He turned away and began banging his head lightly against the wall. "I'm sorry! I really am! It's just... I've been keeping myself pent up for six goddamn years! I get my junk off but do you have any idea how hard it is to hide the gay stuff when Leon is around? Plus when he has girls over... Aaaargh!"

He wasn't entirely sure he understood but Caleb was at least sympathetic. Hiding a secret like that from the rest of the family must have been agony. Constantly disappearing to save the city from Gene Stealers certainly was on a similar level. At least that had some sort of reward in it but for Lance, it must've been so unrewarding unable to tell anyone or find anyone.

"Are you sure this isn't just a phase...?" The look that Lance shot him derailed him for a moment but he quickly recovered and said, "Not the gay bit. I'm fine with that. Just the... lusting over your brother thing. I'm sure you'll find a great guy someday but I really don't think you're going to find that guy in me."

Lance's ears flattened but he gave Caleb a relieved smile. "So you're okay with me liking cock and wanting to be penetrated?"

"Of course!" Caleb stood up and spread his arms. "Look, the way I figure it, you can like whoever you want. You're your own wolf. I'll still love you as a brother but I really can't promise that, one day, you and I are going to tie the knot together, get married and adopt a pup."

"See?" Lance exclaimed, pointing at him. "This is what I'm talking about! We give you so much shit but in the end, you always just come out of it smiling and accepting! How the hell do you do that!? I'd honestly be talking shit right now and throwing stuff around if I were in your position! Fuck, I'd get mom's old crucifix out and start calling a pastor!"

Caleb wished he had an answer but he really didn't. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing the world for what it really was after his harrowing experience a few months back. Because when it came down to it, everything was just very simple. People made it complex. People made the connections from one thing to another. Sometimes, those connections were not always evident but as he looked at Lance right now, he understood the connection between them was as brothers. Lance wanted something more but he just could not give that.

"I guess the best way I can put it is that there's just a whole lot of messed up shit in the world what with superheroes, supervillains, evil deities and alternate dimensions." He shrugged. "I like to keep things simple. We're brothers. That's all that matters."

"So you're okay with me kissing you?"

Caleb smiled and offered another dismissive shrug. "Hey, if you didn't notice, a little back there I started kissing back." He grinned and gestured for his brother to come in for a big hug. "Come here!"

Lance awkwardly stepped forward and accepted the tender embrace. Caleb decided not to mention the significant, hard bump he felt against his high especially since Lance was trying to angle himself away. It was adorable.

"You realise this means I now have blackmail material against you, right?" Caleb said, trying not to grin.

Lance pulled away. "You wouldn't!"

"Pull back on the pranks or I'll tell mom and dad you kissed me."

"That's not fair."

"You're right." He seized the back of Lance's head and pulled his brother forward into a big, slobbery kiss. Lance's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he dove in for the whole canine tongue treatment. All the while, Caleb tried to look as shocked and horrified as possible as he pulled out his phone, held the camera towards them and -

Click!

Lance's eyes boggled as Caleb pulled away and grinned. "Now _that_wasn't fair!"

"Gimme that!" Lance shouted, swiping at his paw. Caleb laughed and ducked beneath his brother's wide reach. He bolted out the door, swishing his tail tauntingly as he shot straight towards his room. Lance's heavy footsteps were right behind him. He tried to shut his door and lock it but Lance was suddenly there. He leapt back, holding the phone over his head and away from his growling brother's reach. Lance made for another pounce and he leapt back.

His foot landed on a slick, slippery surface and for a moment, he wondered what could have possibly been on the floor. Then he remembered Bren's remains.

"Oh fuck!" he cried

Wham!

He landed on his bed just as -

Whump!

Lance landed on top of him. "Gotcha!" He seized Caleb's phone and triumphantly deleted the photograph. He tossed the phone aside and jabbed a finger at Caleb's nose. "Don't ever do that again, got it, runt!?"

Caleb wasn't really paying attention. His eyes were fixated on the _very_pronounced bulge springing from his brother's shorts and how warm it felt against his own crotch. The warmth encouraged blood flow and he was slowly starting to feel his own erection coming into being. Lance's anger began to fade and a blush coloured his cheeks.

"Erm... Uh... Ah... This is... awkward..."

"Yeah..." Caleb murmured. "Um... Listen... I'm due for my noon jerk off session... would you mind...?"

"You time your jerk off sessions?"

"Sort of. I get really pent up during the day. I need to jack off at least three times a day to stay sane."

"How do you manage that?"

"Once in the morning while everyone is still asleep. Once at school and, if I can manage it, back here when no one is around. Then again after dinner."

"Huh... that explains your spontaneous ten minute-long bathroom breaks..."

Caleb grinned sheepishly and blushed. "So... You mind?"

Lance gulped loudly. "Erm... Sort of... Would you..." He took a deep breath. "I know you're going to say 'no' but... what the hell... Mind if I joined you?"

For a second, Caleb considered the ramifications. Then realised there really weren't any. It's just him and his brother jacking off together. What was so odd about that, right? In other families, he heard fathers taught their sons how to masturbate so he guessed it was sort of baton passed onto the next male in the family by the eldest. Admittedly, he discovered the other use of his dick from the ever-so-useful Internet but...

"Sure," he responded with a smile. "We're brothers, right? Nothing weird about that. We've seen each other naked before."

Lance nodded shakily and he shuffled away from Caleb, letting his younger brother straighten and peel off the West California High football jacket to reveal the tight, black tank top that hugged his lean physique so well. His mouth practically watered as Caleb peeled off the last layer to reveal his white chest that was accentuated by the darker fur that framed him. He looked more like a husky in colouration but his features and tail were definitely lupine.

Showing that brilliant, carefree attitude of his, Caleb just began pulling off his jeans and kicking them off. Lance's eyes boggled at his brother's nine inch cock barely contained in the jockstrap. His left paw was inching forward to tear that strap off but his right quickly lashed out and pulled it back. Caleb's beautiful, fully erect nine inch member throbbed like a volcano about to explode. His knot was already well and formed. He was so horny!

Lance could see how easy it would be to take advantage of his little brother. Just a few words, maybe a gentle paw on Caleb's cock, easing him gently with the contact but letting the heat of the moment drive its way into his brain and take over. It wouldn't be long after that before Lance could kneel down in front of his brother and take that monster into his muzzle.

But they were brothers...

If he did that, Caleb would never forgive him and he was sure he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Lance gulped down his fantasies and peeled off his shorts. His own nine inch member was a little darker shade of red than Caleb's but if one were to compare them from their dicks alone, it would almost be like looking at twins. Lance couldn't take his eyes off his brother as Caleb began to shamelessly stroke himself with one paw and the other moved towards his knot, pressing lightly upon it.

Caleb let out a soft half-moan, half-whimper, biting his lower lip as a squirt of precum dribbled from the tip of his pointed puppy maker. Lance fought hard not go down and lick it all up. It was the ultimate temptation. Just a foot away from him was his super-hot, super-horny younger brother And it wouldn't even be illegal now! Caleb was no longer a minor!

Lance gripped his own cock, trying to keep his paws busy but his eyes just constantly roved Caleb's chiselled body. God, how he wished he had a body like that. Yes he was big but his fur made it had to see his muscles and he was ashamed to admit that there was a layer of fat that prevented him from being as vascular as Caleb. There were veins popping out of Caleb's forearms with every flex and the ones bulging against his thighs were just _so_delectable!

And those rock hard abs!

Caleb let out a loud moan and arched his head back. He had to use one paw to steady himself while the other rode up his slick, red cock with an increasing pace. Lance couldn't help himself. He reached out and gently ran his fingers across those mounds of muscle that made his belly look like a Hershey's white chocolate bar! Caleb began to pant, his tongue rolling off the side of his muzzle. Taking that as a sign, Lance gleefully ran his paw over Caleb's immense pecs all the while squeezing more and more precum out of his own dick.

God Caleb was so hot...

His brother winced softly and straightened. His arm was getting tired from pumping his cock and he was going to shift to the other paw. Lance felt the cloud of lust wash over his common sense and suddenly, he was gripping two cocks, one in each paw. Caleb moaned softly broken only by a series of heavy pants. The heat radiating from Caleb's throbbing member travelled down Lance's paw, making his heart race.

He was panting himself. When exhaustion began creeping up his arm, he grunted. He did not want to let go of his own erection or relinquish his grip on Caleb's cock! But he was starting to feel his endurance reaching its end on three fronts; his two arms and his restraint from not blowing his load there and then.

The solution came as a surprise.

Caleb reached around Lance's meaty arm, gripping his older brother's throbbing member. Lance let out a whine, folding his ears back at the touch of another's paw on his sensitive flesh. It took every ounce of willpower in him not to blow his load there and then. He had to take his sticky paw and press it against his forehead, digging his claws into the fur to try to keep himself focused. When Caleb began running his strong paw across his length though, the task became infinitely harder.

"Fffuck... Cale... I'm gonna... aw fffuck..." Whatever words he had been saving for this moment faded away when a second pair of lips pressed up against his own. A long, flexible tongue pushed into his stunned muzzle, a breath shared between the two brothers.

Lance's paw squeezed tightly on Caleb's cock and he felt his own spasm madly in return. Their hips bucked in unison, a rush of ecstasy flooding straight from where their lips met, travelling down as a shiver down his spine, causing every rippling muscle on his huge, muscular form to quake and shiver until it all ended at the tip of his eager member. Hot streams of sticky, white, wolf seed sprayed from the tips of their cocks, coating their abdomens. Their balls churned, eager to pump more and more out.

Thick wads of cum seeped into their fur, flooding the valleys their abs made until it dripped off the sides and slid down their sharp, angled flanks. Lance, feeling warm and incredibly content, collapsed backwards into his brother's bed, pulling a panting Caleb over his body and sighing contently. He didn't want the kiss to end because he knew once their lips pulled apart, they would be forced to deal with the fact that they had just pleasured one another _and_they had kissed. It was not a simple kiss either.

But Caleb broke the contact.

Lance was afraid to look into his brother's eyes but he knew he had to eventually... He opened one eye... then the next... and found Caleb smiling at him brightly. It was the smile he reserved for Mary whenever she did something that just seemed to brighten his day. Like yesterday at the party when she gave him that strange crystal globe. That brilliant, room-brightening smile.

The older wolf's heart skipped a beat.

"Um..."

"The way a figure it," Caleb said softly, "I was still hung up over what happened on my birthday. I needed to relieve some stress. You were being a good big brother and helped me. And you...?"

"Had a shitty day at school and needed to relax..." Lance gulped loudly. "Does that mean you're...?"

His younger brother frowned a little. "Not sure. Maybe. Never been with anyone else before except for a few dates Lars set me up with that never turned out well. Tell me, did you think I was straight because I hung around with Mary a lot?"

"Honestly?" Lance replied with a sheepish smile. He felt the light-headedness of afterglow start to seep into his veins and he was started to drift off into sleep. "We all thought you two would get married in the end..."

"Huh... Yeah, me too. Go figure."

Realising that perhaps fuck-buddies was the best he was going to get, Lance said, "Don't you have to go back to school?"

Caleb pulled away... but just by an inch and just so that he could pull the blanket out from underneath Lance and drape it over them both. The young wolf then curled one arm around Lance, draping a leg over his older brother's with his thigh just lightly brushing Lance's eager balls.

"Nah. I had a bad day, remember?"

That really made Lance happy.

*****

Lars was not very happy. His parents, the superhero couple Shockstorm and Siren, noticed but decided to leave their son alone as they always did. They were great parents in terms of finances and schooling but when it came down to being actual parents they weren't very good. They were not very subtle in telling Lars that he was an accident and that their marriage was based entirely out of saving face and convenience. The fact that Lars developed superpowers did little to warm either of them over.

In fact, Lars' room in the Elemental Tower - the base of the Elemental Alliance - was at the bottom floor where it was closest to the Earth's core and hottest. He didn't mind. It was where he felt the strongest - where there was a lot of heat. He slumped into his big, king-sized bed and pulled a pillow to himself, huffing loudly.

His feud with Ben - Blood Wolf - was starting to wear on him but he was just so_mad! He couldn't believe that the strong, proud, _honourable Blood Wolf had been lying to him this entire time! Blood Wolf was nice... well, at least as nice as a villain could be. Just the other night, he refused to turn Lars because he wasn't ready and then at Caleb's party, he was ready to turn both boys because he was goddamn horny!

It made him sick!

Then learning that Caleb and Mary were secret agents for a government initiative to ease the stress on superheroes... He grumbled and buried his muzzle beneath the pillow. Seeing Caleb's powers made him a little jealous. It was unstable but incredibly powerful at the same time. Plus, he killed that poor girl without a second thought. Admittedly, she had killed one of Bren's bodies but was that worth her death?

There were some philosophical questions floating around there. Bren wasn't really dead but that girl wasn't really alive either. Was it still right? Shouldn't they have captured her and tried to cure her? Then again, she _did_intend to rape them and then devour them...

On some level, Lars wanted that kind of freedom. Being part of the Elemental Alliance just wasn't what he had imagined. He had grown up as one of those kids that acknowledged superheroes but didn't really worship them like Caleb did before he grew into the muscle hunk that he was now. Then when he started developing powers, he saw the heroes in a new light and thought it would be _great_being one of them.

Then, juggling school life, a social life and his superhero life not to mention mixed with all the media appearances and publicity stunts... He was glad he had an agent for that but it was the same agent his parents used and Lars hated spending time with his parents. They were just so... cold.

A soft ringing hit his ears and he reached across his bedside table made completely out of basalt. He pulled the phone to his ear. "Yeah?"

"Firebrand, baby!" came Rothwell's voice - the agent. "Are you free tonight?"

Of course he was free. Rothwell knew his patrol schedule. "Maybe. What?"

"Your parents are going to make an appearance at Madison Square Garden in an hour. Can you make it?"

Lars sat up staring at his phone incredulously. "That's on the other side of the fucking country!"

"Can you make it or not?"

Before he could reply, there was another call. "Hang on. Another call." He regarded the number and frowned. It was Mary's number. How could she have possibly known this number? It was his private superhero-only-business phone. Tentatively, he accepted the call and held it to his ear. "Mary...?"

"You're Caleb's best friend, right?" she asked.

"I thought that was your job."

"Only when he isn't thinking with his cock. He slept with Lance!"

Lars remembered Lance. Moreover, he remembered Caleb's twin brothers. God they were hot. He shifted a little to adjust his growing erection. "You're kidding."

"Well... Not so much as 'slept together'. They jacked each other off. Five times so I'm counting that as 'sleeping'. Can you please talk to him and tell him how this is a terrible idea?"

"You mean having a homosexual incestuous relationship?"

"No! I mean to all the pies he's going to be making! I do not want to be listening to 'cream pie' jokes all through the night."

Lars held his phone out at arm's length and glared at it. When he brought it up back to his ear, he said, "You're not being serious, are you?"

"Ben was right. You're a little slow. No, I'm just gossiping."_Mary's tone turned very light. _"I'm actually watching a rerun of some TV shows right now eating popcorn. I'm bored and decided that I should spread the word around that Caleb touched his brother's dick and had Lance's cum all over his chest. They didn't shower together yet but I'm giving it until tomorrow morning. Caleb thinks that they're fuck buddies. Lance got the wrong impression and wants to get penetrated bad_."_

"Big bad Lance is a sub?"

"Yup! Kind of makes sense. Leon has always been the initiator. Oh the fantasies that pup has! You know he's already starting to plan getting Leon drunk and then having him and Caleb 'pleasure him'?"

Lars frowned again. "Wait... How do you know all of this exactly?"

"I'm an empath remember? Okay, maybe I can read minds if I'm attuned to the people and I've been around the Hale family for ages_. They're basically a second family! I know them inside and out. For example, Leon is thinking about that girl he titty-fucked the other day. Abby is wondering when Arthur is going to propose. Mrs. Hale is wondering what she should make for next week's dinner with my family. You should come to it. Her roasts are_ amazing_. Oh and Mr. Hale is wondering if he can fuck his son."_

Lars yelped and practically dropped his phone. "Are you serious!?"

"Of course not. I'm just testing to see if you've been paying attention." He heard the tell-tale crunch of Mary eating some popcorn. "He's actually hoping to talk to Leon and Lance to get them off Caleb's back so he can focus on the game this coming weekend. He knows it's just a test match for preliminary rankings but he takes football very seriously."

Lars snickered. "Yeah... I know, I know..." He rubbed the back of his neck absently. "So... Do you constantly spy on the Hales?"

"It's not spying if they're practically shouting their thoughts. More like inadvertent eavesdropping. Caleb found ways to hide his thoughts though. When he doesn't want me listening, he starts reciting The Star-Spangled Banner in Latin."

"He knows Latin?"

"He's had to hide his thoughts from me a lot, remember? He's gotten quite proficient." Then she let out a soft 'huh'. "Hang on, Lars, got another call."

He waited patiently, unwilling to talk to Rothwell. He hoped that his agent would just bored and hang up. A soft beep told him Mary was back.

"Got an issue. It looks like a bakery nearby is being attacked by a werewolf pack. But Bren thinks it's not that. Werewolves don't attack small time places like that. He thinks its Wendigo."

Lars leapt off his bed. "I'll be right there."

"Cool. I'll mess with Caleb for a few minutes before I tell him. Ciao!"

*****

Dinner at the Hale household that evening was interesting to say the least. Arthur was back and the otter was amongst six wolves, all with voracious appetites. The poor guy probably thought he was going to get eaten if Lillian Hale hadn't prepared enough food. He was sitting unnaturally close to Abby. As wolves, everyone on the table noticed. Predatory instinct. They could _smell_his fear and it only made them hungrier.

Thankfully, such instincts distracted everyone else from how unusually close Caleb and Lance were sitting next to one another. Usually, the youngest sibling put his parents between him and the twins but, for some reason, he was now sitting quite comfortably beside Lance. Well, the reason was unknown to everyone but the two involved.

Truthfully, Caleb was feeling both apprehensive and a little giddy. There was something... exciting about his forbidden sexcapades with Lance. That was in plural because in the four hours before anyone else got home, he and Lance had been rather... busy. Needless to say, Caleb's crotch was feeling a little sore and he was afraid he might've given himself friction burn.

It was a good thing they did it Caleb's room too. Apparently, Lillian Hale made a habit of sniffing the twin's rooms for evidence of either sex or anti-scent spray. She never did that with Caleb. Though that could be seen both as an insult and a compliment.

It was fun and when compared to high school politics, football practice, having a best friend who is a superhero who is dating a notorious criminal and playing the role of a secret agent, he was quite happy that at least one secret was manageable. It still gave him no amount of stress just thinking about what his parents would do if they found out - or the rest of the world for that matter - but once all the fear from the cloak-and-dagger routine was over, the paw jobs were simply amazing.

As he shovelled a ham into his muzzle, he felt a bear paw lightly brush against his own. He glanced at Lance who was likewise stuffing his face, seemingly innocent. Caleb ran his toes against the owner's calf and Lance's lips turned up ever so slightly in a smile.

Definitely him.

Maybe he sent the wrong message? They weren't a couple. If Caleb needed to vent, Lance was welcome to help and if Lance wanted some extra company while jacking off, Caleb was more than happy to help. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Wasn't it...?

His phone buzzed which usually meant it was a message from Mary. He peered at it.

'What is wrong with you!? Why did you sleep with your brother!?'

With a muzzle full of mashed potatoes, Caleb half-spluttered, half-coughed at the message and quickly excused himself. He just set foot on the bottom stair when -

"Claws!" he mother shouted.

"Sorry!"

He quickly bolted back to the table, grabbed his sandals, put them on and scurried back up the stairs. He shut the door behind him, the smell of his and Lance's activity just a few hours ago still permeating the air. It stirred his sheath just thinking about it but he was pretty sure his 'gas tank' was empty. Unlike normal supers, he didn't possess some innate heightened regeneration, enhanced strength or enhanced speed. Everything came from whatever items he could turn into weapons. Sometimes they gave him regeneration, strength or speed but it was never assured.

Quickly, he called Mary and put the phone to his ear.

"I did not sleep with Lance!" he growled.

"Oh come on. You were unconscious in his arms, weren't you? There was semen between you? Doesn't that count as a definition of the word?"

"I didn't and you know it! Stop eavesdropping on our thoughts!"

"Oh Caleb, don't try to change me." Her tone turned somewhat serious. "By the way, Bren thinks we've got a Wendigo sighting. I'm texting you the address."

"I'm having dinner with my family!"

"Caleb, you're a wolf. You've eaten enough dinner for feed a normal family. Now get going."

"But I'm not full yet."

"If I were to set a feral cow in front of you, you'd pick it clean and still be hungry. I don't know what it is about wolves and their voracious appetites. Now come on_! This is Wendigo we're talking about."_

Wendigo was probably one of the more... horrifying of the Gene Stealers. His genes acted slowly instead of the rapid, horrible mutations of the others. Spider Queen's genes tended to lay dormant before erupting suddenly and rapidly, often breaking the host's mind in the process. Dragon Knight's wormed their way into the recipient's mind, slowly offering them strength, speed and power until the host became a willing pawn to the Knight, seeking him out for the final transformation. Shark Tamer was more subtle. Apparently, he was a doctor and he would infect organs on transplant lists. The transformation would make it seem like the host was obtaining shark-like traits and Shark would personally greet them, offering them an explanation that the foolhardy would willingly accept to become his 'apprentice.

But Wendigo... Wendigo was sick. He bit people personally or even a scratch from him would be enough. The infection would spread not as a pus-filled mass or ugly welts but rather as a craving for living flesh. It would start out as just wanting raw meat... and then, soon, one would start yearning for the flesh of other living people. Once a Wendigo-clone ate a species of a similar genetic makeup, they would actively seek out Wendigo. From what reports stated, Wendigo would let part of him get eaten to complete the transformation.

Utterly horrifying.

Chimera still remained a mystery, though.

He hung up and got a text from Mary a moment later telling him exactly where to go. It was a bakery in the city. Now came the hard part; thinking up an excuse to leave the dinner and not arouse suspicion.

Then he got another text from Mary.

"That'll do."

He bolted down the steps.

"Who was that, dear?" asked his mother.

"Just Mary. Hey, did you know Leon thinks he got a girl pregnant? He broke the condom."

Leon - who had been drinking soda at the time - sprayed it all over Arthur and Abby. Both parents stared at their son aghast while Lance let out a long, sympathetic 'duuuuuude'. The dinner table instantly erupted into an argument. In the confusion, Caleb snuck towards the garage, took Ballistic and was off.

He tapped the side of his helmet and immediately picked up on Mary's secure channel.

"Was that true?"

"Is it true that your oldest brother was afraid he had gotten a girl pregnant? Yes. Is it true that he broke a condom? No. He just didn't use one. As to whether or not she is pregnant, I can't tell."

"You realise I'm going to cop hell for this when I get back, right?"

"Don't worry. You've got the slightly bigger, horny, gay twin to defend you."

"You're evil."

"I know and that's why you love me."

It took him twenty minutes to get to the city and another five to reach Mama Blackbird's Patisseries. Bren and Mary were already waiting outside but to his surprise, there were two other figures there as well, his two teammates standing between them. Blood Wolf had his fangs bared and across from him Firebrand's paws were alight.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, leaping off Ballistic.

"Mary decided it would be handy to have these two around," Bren replied, pushing Firebrand back. "Like I needed more ways to be killed. You still owe me for melting me with acid, by the way."

"My next pay check is yours." He turned to Mary. "Seriously? These two?"

"What's wrong with us - I mean me?" Lars demanded. "I'm a superhero! I've been trained for this kind of shit!"

"Trained?" Blood Wolf scoffed. "You were weak as a pup when we last fought and you loved it when I was on top of you."

"Will you two can it?" Caleb growled. "This is an FBI operation. The Alpha Pack and the Elemental Alliance have nothing to do with this. Both of you get the fuck out of here!"

Blood Wolf snorted and stood his ground despite Mary's withering stare. "I'm not moving. I'll show you that being a werewolf is infinitely better than joining the Elemental Alliance or even being the government's lackey."

"Does being a werewolf get you a hundred thousand in cash every mission coming in increments of five grand every week?" countered Mary. "And no, sex does _not_count or the 'brotherly love' you cherish so dearly. Caleb already has that with Lance."

Caleb's jaw dropped. "Mary!"

"Don't be such a baby. I was bored. I gossiped. Sue me."

"I just might! That's inappropriate workplace behaviour!"

"So is sleeping with your brother."

"I'm not doing that while on the job!"

"Didn't you sleep with him while Bren was supposed to be doing a clean-up of the hazardous weapons sitting on your shelf?"

Caleb slapped his forehead. He should have known better than to argue with Mary. She knew him far too well. At least it shut up Blood Wolf even if it was only because the big werewolf was trying to hide his erection in those torn, black pants of his.

"Why won't you let us help you guys?" Lars asked. "I mean, we want the safety of this city like the rest of you. I don't see why we can't just work together."

Bren sighed again. "The Gene Stealers are like a gang, Firebrand. Super powered, yes, but they're still a gang. That is the jurisdiction of the government. You supers are meant to take care of the big time villains. That was the agreement between the supers and the governments. It's called the -"

"Ulysses Agreement," Lars finished. "I know, I know. But, come on! These guys are turning other people into them!"

The tiger shook his head. "Do you have any idea how many other cases like this don't reach you supers' ears? In New York, someone found some books about vampires and werewolves by an S. Meyer and made a pact with some demon to turn them into those vampires and werewolves. FBI troops and other supers like Caleb and Mary went in to put an end to it before we ended with a town full of moody semi-eternal teenagers. Down in Texas, dormant aliens started kidnapping geriatric citizens and replaced them so they could study us. Another team set up diplomatic relationships with them, helped them rebuild their ship and set them on their way in exchange for some tech. That's why Microsoft is leading the gaming console industry this generation."

Bren waved a paw at the bakery. "No offence, Lars, but until you guys put away the big guys, you can't be spending time on wannabes and small time - by comparison - issues like this." He clamped a paw on Lars' shoulder. "So why don't you just fly on home, kid? There's nothing for you here."

Crash!

A girl's scream cut through the air.

"Screw that!" Lars shouted. "I know a cry for help when I hear one and I'm _still_a superhero!" He turned. "Coming, Miss!"

"Bet you never thought you'd say that, eh, Lars?" grunted Blood Wolf, causing the hero to freeze.

Mary and Caleb bolted past him while he continued to glare at the werewolf. The duo burst through the revolving doors, greeted by a red and white chequered floor with tables and booths artistically shaped like pies just without the distinctive curve to them. Another crash came from the kitchen just behind the stylised counter draped with a warm, tan covering with a woven texture that made it look rustic the homey.

Caleb vaulted over the counter and bolted right into the kitchen, pushing open the metal door.

What he saw horrified him.

A goat lay on the ground, large chunks of flesh missing and part of his face torn off leaving ragged scars. Blood pooled around him and slowly seeped into the drain pipe at the centre of the polished, pristine white floors. At the far end of the long kitchen filled with pies was a ram. Long strands of strange, white fur sprouted from his shoulders and ran down his back, overlapping his natural dusty, brown. His frame looked horribly malnourished with his flesh clinging to his bones. Two, smaller arms jutted out from his abdomen possessing only two claws and constantly scraping at the air towards a cowering ewe.

"Gary! Gary! It's me! Please!" she cried.

Caleb seized a nearby knife and threw it straight at the ram.

Thwack!

The ram let loose an ungodly roar, throwing its head back as the knife embedded itself into his left thigh. The man turned around, showing blood-shot red eyes sunken so deep into his sockets that they almost looked like two, dying coals amidst a sea of darkness. His face was so gaunt that Caleb thought he was looking at a demon come right out of Hell.

"He's not fully transformed yet," Mary said. "But he's on the second last stage! All he can think about is how hungry he is! He's gone, Cale! I'll get the girl! Keep him busy!"

Caleb nodded. "Right. I'll -"

"Never fear, citizen! Firebrand is here!"

The wolf's shoulders slackened in both shock and embarrassment at the over-the-top shout. Lars came shooting out from behind him, leaving a trail of fire. The Doberman, clad in red and white spandex, slammed hard into the would-be Wendigo, crashing through the wall. They burst into the nearby alleyway where the dreaded howl of the Alpha Pack erupted. A huge, hulking figure shot past Caleb's vision, disappearing into the hole that Lars had just made.

"Was that Firebrand working beside Blood Wolf!?" cried the girl.

"No dear," Mary responded bitterly. "They're just fighting over who can beat your boyfriend first."

Caleb shook his head and seized one of the nearby pies. He dipped a claw in it and pulled it out, licking the red sauce.

"It's cherry," he announced.

"I'll get Bren to stand clear," Mary responded. "Are you going to blow those two up?"

Caleb watched as Blood Wolf was thrown back by a burst of fire only to leap back up and charge. Firebrand shot by the hole next, growling. "Tempted..."

Carrying the pie in one paw he stepped out into the warm California air and watched the two supers fight over the Wendigo. It wasn't so much about stopping the cannibalistic beast as it was trying to beat one another. The Wendigo, confused, scared but still infinitely hungry turned the battle into a three-way free for all. Firebrand chucked a fireball at Blood Wolf and the Wendigo would tackle him to the ground. Blood Wolf dodged the ball, wrenched the Wendigo off Firebrand before kicking the Doberman's head. The Wendigo then came back and sank his shark teeth into Blood Wolf's flanks.

Caleb shook his head sadly.

"Hey guys! I've got pie!"

Firebrand stared at him incredulously. "So!?"

"What are my powers again?" he said, tossing the pie absently into the air. He caught it again just as it began glowing and emitting white feathers.

"Oh shit!" Blood Wolf cried. He swiftly kicked the Wendigo in the stomach, sending the howling ram-monster into a brick wall. Both supers bolted past Caleb just as the wolf threw the pie.

BOOM!

The fiery explosion rocked the alleyway. It took a fraction of a second for the shockwave to his Caleb and throw him back. The explosion was so strong that a dumpster was sent sailing straight up into the air like a rocket but certainly not strong enough the shatter the hard walls of the nearby buildings. Caleb crashed into the asphalt beside two other heavy thumps. He immediately spun in place and eyed the flames warily.

"How the hell does a pie explode like that!?" Blood Wolf cried.

"It was cherry," Caleb responded dismissively.

"That doesn't make any sense!"

The young wolf rose to his feet, dusting himself off. "I dunno. Tell that to my random powers. Cherries. Cherry bombs. Maybe?"

Lars grinned cockily at Blood Wolf. "I guessed that."

The werewolf snarled back at him. "It doesn't count if you don't say it out loud!"

"Does so!"

Caleb rolled his eyes and left the two to keep arguing while he strode over to where Bren was chatting with the girl. It looked like he had already used his memory-wiping camera on her. She had the blank stare of someone who was confused and currently having their story rewritten.

"... now you should head home," Bren continued. "You just heard about the tragedy and were on your way here. If anyone asks, you were on your way because your boyfriend was working late."

The ewe nodded, giving a dull 'uh-huh' before stiffly walking off. Sirens were already sounding off into the distance.

"That was a surprisingly easy mission," Bren commented.

Mary got that smug look on her face like she had planned this. "Could it possibly have something to do with the quarrelling supers a few feet away who added super strength, speed and endurance to our rag-tag band?"

Bren rolled his eyes, ending them with a look at Caleb who just shrugged helplessly. "Fine. I admit it. Those two are useful. I still wouldn't want to distract Firebrand from his duties and I'm uncomfortable with having a werewolf of the Alpha Pack hanging around us." He ran a paw over his short, blonde hair. "At least I didn't die this time around..."

CRASH!

Both Caleb and Mary jumped back in horror when the previously airborne dumpster slammed down on top of Bren. They exchanged glances and then turned back to the bloodied, smoking mess in front of them.

"I think he has a superpower too..." Caleb muttered. "Really bad luck."

"I second that," Mary supplied. "Come on. I'll take his van. Let's get out of here. You okay to go with Ballistic?"

"Sure." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. "Let me go get the kids."

*****

After dropping off Lars at his house - Blood Wolf wouldn't fit on Ballistic - Caleb rode back home. He had only been gone an hour and he was somewhat surprised that the family was still shouting and yelling. He could hear their voices from the garage as he rolled in. He hung up his jacket, picked up the can of Scent-B-Gone that he always had in the garage and applied it in copious amounts. In a family of wolves, they'd be able to smell the scent of burning flesh, pies and whatever else he had picked up if he wasn't careful.

Slowly, he pushed open the door -

CRASH!

Just as a mug slammed into the doorframe, making his yelp and retreat.

"... believe you did that!? What were you thinking!?" his mother screamed.

"I love her! Besides, I'm twenty-freakin'-one! I can do whatever the fuck I like!" Leon countered.

"So long as you live under my house_, you follow_ my rules!"

Caleb made another attempt to sneak by but the garage door had an awful creak to it. He winced softly but it looked like his parents and Leon were still in the dining room, shouting. How the mug managed to sail at him was beyond him.

"Yeah," snorted the oldest brother, "I bet that just reflects really_badly on the senator seeing as you're his assistant, huh? Senator's assistant's kid gets a girl pregnant. You must_ really be scared of those headlines!"

"I am not thinking about the headlines, mister!"

His father spoke, his voice calm and even. "Now, now, you two. The fact is, Leon did not get anyone pregnant. It was a risk. A stupid risk but we were all young. Come on. Lilly, it's okay, right? Leon, you're sorry you almost gave us a heart attack, right?"

"Sorry!?" roared Leon. "The only person that's going to be 'sorry' is Caleb for telling on me!"

Caleb froze, wondering if he had applied enough Scent-B-Gone to mask his scent entirely. He was going to be murdered in the morning. Or at least in his sleep. It was a good thing he had life insurance - part of the things he had to sign when he started working for the group.

"Your brother did the right thing!" growled their mother. "I swear, I've got half a mind to staple a condom permanently to your junk!"

"That'd make going to the toilet rather hard, wouldn't it honey?" asked his father, attempting to add humour to the conversation. By the sudden silence, he guessed they had both given him frightening stares. Despite being bigger than their mother, she still had the laser-like stare that would wilt him.

Caleb made his way up the stairs...

Click-click-click...

"Caleb! I hear claws!"

"Damnit," he muttered softly. "How'd she know it was me?" Slowly, he made his way back to the garage, plucked his sandals and went back upstairs noisily. He sighed as the argument started anew.

Truthfully, he wasn't that worried. This wasn't the first time one of the twins didn't use protection. It was worse one night when one of Lance's then-girlfriends came up to their door in the middle of the night with a positive pregnancy test. Their mother threw a fit and it was only after a second and third test was taken that the panic eased. Lance - despite being seventeen at the time - was grounded for three months.

"Jesus Wolf Christ, Leon!" shouted their mother.

The religion card. Usually there were three levels to an argument. First was the initial explosion which led to things being thrown and tempers flaring. Then was the religion stage. Mom would starting spouting out 'What Would Jesus Do' scenarios despite being a very liberal person. Sometimes she would use Buddha if she was feeling particularly Buddhist or if she had hit one of her 'vegetarian' phases again and forced the entire family to eat nothing but substitute meat and greens. Their father usually took them all out for McDonald's afterwards. The third level was either when arguments were settled or carried over to the next day.

If they were arguing against their father, a physical fight would break out as their father - who still practiced martial arts in his spare time - got all alpha male on everyone's asses. He one took down all three boys by himself. Admittedly, Caleb had been quite small back then but it was still a frightening achievement.

If it was amongst the siblings, there would be the crushing silence as all of them retreated to their respective rooms, slammed the doors and just didn't speak to one another. The following day, their father would make some funny quip that would make them all smile or laugh, thus breaking down the barriers of their argument and things would go to normal.

If Mom was involved, she'd ground someone.

As he stood on the top of the stairwell, Caleb knew this argument would blow over. His father was involved and it wasn't a fresh topic either. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he came out and told his parents - indeed his whole family - that he was working for an unnamed team of government agents geared towards easing the burden on the major superheroes of the continental United States. Hell, what would they think if he told him anything he touched would turn into a potential weapon of mass destruction?

Mom would probably put plastic wrap over everything and forbid him to ever set the table with the fine China.

He decided he'd tell them... eventually.

Like when they were old, senile and would interpret 'I'm a secret agent and have superpowers' as 'I am an erect armament and have tall towers.'

He turned back towards his room and pushed it open.

There, he froze.

Lance was just setting out his sleeping bag on the floor. Caleb felt his con-puzzled look creeping onto his face.

"Um... Having a sleepover?"

"Leon is going to be homicidal for the rest of the night," Lance answered with a shrug. "Thought you might want a bodyguard."

"I can handle Leon."

He got a doubtful look for that. "Uh-huh."

"I've got a big game coming up. Dad won't let him touch me!"

"Running to daddy now?"

Caleb growled and stormed past him. "Look, I'll be fine, okay? I don't need you babysitting me."

Lance's big, strong arms wrapped around his waist. "Aww, come on little bro. We're fuck buddies now, right? I got to keep my 'other paw' safe, right?"

That made him wince and he pulled away from Lance. "Thanks. I appreciate it, really. But this better not be one of those things where you constantly bring up how you 'protected me'" - he use air quotes - "and convince me into having sex with you."

"I don't need to blackmail you to get sex."

For some reason, Caleb found Lance's confidence extremely sexy. "You know those girls who just swooned over you whenever you gave them that grin?"

"Yeah?" Lance replied, showing off his fangs. They were perfectly white and he had a charming grin where he only showed off his fangs on his left side.

"I totally get it now." Caleb spun around, predominantly to hide his growing erection. "But, I'm not a girl. So stow the hormones. I'm tried, threatened and if you even suggest jacking off, I'm going to tell mom you're gay."

"You are too."

"Am not!" he snapped back. "I'm just helping my brother who is gay."

Lance's grin faltered slightly but then it was back a moment later. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night." He then began taking off his shirt. "You sleep in the nude?"

"What? No!"

"Too bad. I do."

*****

Wendigo roared and slammed his massive fist into the massive console in front of him. Sparks and bolts of electricity burst from the dent he had made.

"Nyah! Nyah! Can't get me! Nyah! Nyah!"

"Cocky fucker!" he scowled.

The massive screen of the Gene Stealer's lair was completely consumed by a bright red image with the horribly pixelated, cartoony caricature of a donkey sticking his tongue out at them. The words 'I made an ass out of you' flashed just beneath the image as it constantly flashed at him, reminding him of the mockery.

He roared a second time, seizing the seat and hurling it straight into the screen.

CRASH!

Shards of glass scattered all over him, slicing his flesh. He sneered at the pain. He seized an arm of some victim he had stored and tore a large chunk out of it. Nice and muscular. More meat. It gave him more strength and a greater capacity to heal up. Already, the pain was fading and the wounds healing.

"I really wish you hadn't done that."

He spun around, snarling as Shark Tamer came bounding over, dressed in his deceptive, baggy lab coat. Despite appearing to have a horrible hunch and with his coat hiding much of his physique, Shark was a very strong specimen both physically and mentally. He was Chimera's second in command after all. It made Wendigo's mouth water just looking at the scientist.

"Now I'll have to retrieve all the data you destroyed, go to the backup console and start again." Shark sighed and lifted one thick, muscular forearm. There was a wristband filled with buttons there. He tapped it and there was a soft chiming sound. "There. Done." His black, unreadable eyes turned back to Wendigo. "Let me guess. The Ass got you again."

"Whoever the fuck he is, he keeps messing with all our surveillance equipment and prevents us from seeing whoever keeps killing our thralls!"

Shark shrugged absently. "The thralls are just smokescreens, you know that. The fact is, we're now ready to take the next step in our plans. Those fools have been distracted by our attacks and they have been left to believe we plan to dominate the world with thralls. Let them. They have no idea what we plan."

A loud, exasperated sigh escaped from somewhere above them. "Oh why are you wasting your breath on him, Sullivan? He is just a dumb, cannibal. We only need him because of his genetics." A large creature came sliding down a thin, gossamer thread. Her eight, arachnid legs pulled the thread out of the back of her thorax while her voluptuous human upper torso was dressed in tight-fitting, white, silk. As she lowered herself between the two, her form began to shift. The thorax, and legs melted back away as supple, shining legs took their place.

Spider Queen took on her bipedal form, brushing back her long, white hair with a sigh.

"We have all contributed to the Gene Stealers," answered Shark sagely. "Wendigo for his physical traits, you for your transformative abilities, Dragon Knight for his infectiousness, myself for my genius. We are all here to contribute to the greater cause. For Chimera."

"For Chimera," the other two chimed in respectfully.

"The first batch is ready," Queen said. "Who do we get to infect first? Shall we start out with a brilliant aerial drop? I heard there was a football game occurring at West California High School. Lots of people gathered."

Shark shook his head. "This is still a test batch. As it stands, while we face the Outsiders, we have not yet attracted the full attention of the true supers." He flexed one of his webbed hands. "We are undetected so far. We do not have to deal with rival villains or the heroes. If we start attacking large groups, both sides and the government will realise we are a threat and attack us. We are not prepared for that."

"We have thousands of thralls," grunted Wendigo. "We can take them!"

"I have done the math. We cannot." Shark straightened - at least as much as he could. "No. We must choose a target. We must do so carefully. One will be enough. We gather information on them, on their performance and once the transformation is complete, we finish up and proceed with the next phase of testing."

Wendigo snarled. "Boring!"

Shark tapped his wrist and a hologram popped up. "If it is any comfort, Chimera has given us all permission to continue our thrall raids. In the meantime, he is a very suitable candidate."

Queen licked her lips. "Oooh... He's a big one, isn't he? I like him already. May I do the honours?"

"My dear," Shark laughed softly, "I would be disappointed if you hadn't offered."