{"sf1_id":588295,"sf2_id":"pnGkAVny","title":"The Agency II","author":"TyVulpintaur","words":6746,"posted_at":"2013-09-11T00:43:00.000Z","tags":["Dragon","Echidna","Emily","Fox","Foxtaur","Kangaroo","Lizard","Macro","Size changing","Taur","Ty","Tyvulpine","Vixen","flyer","roo"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/588295-the-agency-ii","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/pnGkAVny","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/27/63/2763a078-f94b-4254-bc43-675c6b85b9c2","description":"A sequel to \"The Agency\" which covered Ty and Emily's transformation into their fox (taur for Ty) forms. Now, General Salt is back for revenge, along with some new friends for Ty, Emily and Tren. Can Ty and his friends rescue Emily from Salt, or will they become guinea pigs for the mad General again?","content":"A follow-up to \"The Agency\" ( [http://shifti.org/wiki/The\\_Agency](http://shifti.org/wiki/The_Agency) )  \n  \n# 1. #  \n  \nTy tried not to whimper as he stomped on the mansion. He kept telling   \nhimself that tearing old buildings down was a part of the construction   \nprocess, but it was a shame to see this one go since it was still in   \ngood shape. Some baseball star here in Florida had bought three   \nbeachfront lots so that he could build one super-mega-mansion. So, the   \nguy had done the logical thing: call in a fifty-foot-tall foxtaur to   \ncrush the existing houses, and let a filmmaker pay him to record it.  \n  \n\"More shouting!\" said the man by the camera. So Ty gave his best   \nGodzilla roar and punched his way through a bedroom. He was going to   \nenjoy helping to build the replacement house more than this, and didn't   \nreally want the monster reputation, but Emily had insisted they needed   \nthe extra cash. Ty rampaged his way slowly through the mansion, took a   \nbreak, then started in on the other one while actors shot at him with   \nprop guns.  \n  \nTy winced, hurting his fist on a gratuitous brick chimney. He'd only   \nbeen free for a few months and still wasn't used to having a real job,   \nlet alone such a strange one. He concentrated and tried to shrink a few   \nfeet so that he could get in there and pull out some pipes better.   \nAlmost there...\n\n\u0026nbsp;Something in the mansion snapped loose. At the same moment the actors   \noutside shouted something. The distraction broke his concentration and   \nhe found himself shrinking too much, from fifty feet high to forty,   \ntwenty. He stumbled forward and the chimney came down on him, exactly   \nlike a ton of bricks. The edges thudded against his long back and made   \nhim yelp in pain. Too many came down on his head, too. He was flat on   \nhis face inside the half-broken building just as the rest of it crashed   \ninward onto him. It was suddenly dark.  \n  \n# 2. #  \n  \nTy groaned. The light made his head throb. He heard someone distantly   \nsaying, \"Mister Vulpine? Glad to see you're awake.\"  \n  \nHe was in a hospital with buzzing bulbs overhead. \"What happened?\"  \n  \nThe doctor frowned at him over a clipboard. \"The house always wins.   \nYou're lucky to have that extra durability in your bones. Meant to be   \nbulletproof as well as able to handle you stomping around while fifty   \nfeet tall, right?\"  \n  \nTy nodded, which just made the headache worse. \"Is everyone else okay?\"  \n  \nThe doctor pointed to a vase of flowers and a card signed by his   \nco-workers. Ty grinned. Emily had kept even her signature hidden in a   \ncorner, by the construction crew's and the architect's. \"We should have   \nyou out of here within a few days.\" A cough. \"I'll have the nurses bring   \nyou the insurance form.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty groaned. Ever since he and Emily had escaped from the Agency that had   \nraised them -- after it made them orphans! -- the two of them had   \nsuddenly had to deal with real-world stuff. It turned out that being   \ntrained as some kind of super-soldiers didn't automatically mean good   \npay as a civilian. Not in the Free States, anyway. They'd fled south   \nfrom the US proper to the part that had recently broken away, and gotten   \nasylum. But neither of them had been eager to fight \"terrorists\" after   \nall, they'd decided, which meant no government jobs.  \n  \n\"I'll deal with it later,\" Ty said, and slept.  \n  \nDays later, he was troubled. He still hadn't had more visitors. He   \ncalled up Emily but got no answer, twice. The construction crew didn't   \nknow where she'd gone either. What really got Ty's fur on end (and   \nnearly made him lose control and grow too big for the hospital bed) was   \nthe report that his bill had just been paid without explanation.  \n  \nThe nice thing about his past was that he knew Tren. Ty called up the   \n\"dragon\" -- really a lizard who'd gotten wings as part of the same kind   \nof experiments that made Ty a taur -- through a couple of layers of   \nsecurity.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Your sister's missing?\" said Tren. He cursed. \"And you've heard nothing   \nfrom her, encrypted or otherwise? Well, she didn't take me up on my   \noffer.\" Tren had been lying low in Occupied Mexico and trying not to get   \nany Hellfire missiles delivered to his door. He'd suggested that Emily   \nspend some time doing \"odd jobs\" with him. Ty suspected he liked her.  \n  \n\"Then what do I do? It's not like her to be this sneaky. And somebody   \njust paid my hospital bill.\"  \n  \n\"Sounds like your sister got another job. Now, who'd want to pay some   \nminor celebrity a lot of money up front on short notice, in a way that'd   \nmake her vanish without talking to you first, when she'd normally at   \nleast leave a note?\"  \n  \nTy thought about it, and didn't like the idea he was getting. He found   \nhimself arguing against it. \"You don't seriously think she's in trouble,   \ndo you? We're \\_done\\_ with the Agency and all that. We reached an   \nunderstanding.\"  \n  \n\"Might not be them, necessarily. There's some neat technology in the   \nthree of us. Worth studying.\"  \n  \n\"Then who?\"  \n  \n\"That, I don't know. Let me do some digging. Try not to worry yourself   \ntoo much. Your sister can take care of herself.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty wished he were sure of that.  \n  \n# 3. #  \n  \nTy and Emily lived in a cheap apartment not just out of poverty, but for   \nexactly the reason that Ty met KC. The construction company had gotten a   \nweird call to come out someplace on short notice to do a \"damage   \nassessment\", not normally in their line of work. Seemed urgent though,   \nand Ty's boss said the customer had insisted on hiring him specifically.  \n  \nIt became pretty obvious why, right away. Police had cordoned off the   \nneighborhood. Ty saw a giant blue foot sticking out of a collapsed house   \ndown the street. Ty got out of the truck, showed an officer his ID, and   \ngrew a few inches taller by way of explanation. \"I have some experience   \nin this kind of thing.\" The cop blinked a couple of times and let the   \ncrew through.  \n  \nThe foot belonged to a giant with blue dreadlocks... no, spines. \"Ooh,   \nan echidna!\" said one of the younger guys on the truck. Ty and the   \nothers looked at him strangely. \"What?\"  \n  \nTy approached. \"Ty Vulpine here! What the heck happened to you?\" He   \ncould see the giant laying in the rubble of half of the house, afraid to   \nmove without bringing the rest of it down on him. His arm was stuck   \nthrough a second-floor bathroom wall. A shower was raining on his   \nshoulder, and threatening to fall from the pipes that held it up.   \nConsidering the bits of shredded clothing on him, Ty added, \"I'm   \nguessing you weren't planning to redecorate like this. How'd this happen?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Just get me out of here! I don't want to lose the bedroom, man.\" An   \nexpensive four-poster bed up on the third floor dangled over the man's   \nhead. A seagull perched on it, looking dubious. \"Don't want to do more   \ndamage than I already did.\"  \n  \nTy conferred with his co-workers. \"Sorry, but that place is pretty much   \ntotaled. You kicked out half the structural support and the attic is   \nmainly held up by your spine. Why do you even \\_have\\_ an attic in this   \nclimate?\" The customer glared at him. \"Okay, never mind. But your house   \nis already split, so you're not going to escape if you're afraid of the   \nrest coming down.\"  \n  \nThe giant echidna swore. \"Can you at least get the bed and the stereo?\"  \n  \nTy nodded, stepped away from everyone, and unbuttoned his already tight   \nshirt. He'd more or less given up on pants since becoming a taur, and   \nfew people complained. He kicked off two pairs of sneakers (one   \ncustom-made for his more digitigrade hindlegs) and willed himself to   \ngrow. It was a power he'd never fully learned to control, hence his own   \ncheap taste in housing and furniture. He could sympathize with the blue   \nguy. He gradually felt massive and powerful, seeing the world from the   \nheight of the roofs around him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty now had hands big enough to grab the entire bed that perched on the   \nbroken upper floor, then the fancy stereo system, and set them down by   \nthe truck. He had to snap some wires off the stereo, but those should be   \nfixable, he figured. \"Okay. So, let me just hold up this bit of the   \nceiling so it doesn't bean you, and --\"  \n  \nThe echidna lunged up from the rubble. \"You jerk! I'm out half a million   \ndollars!\" He came up swinging a fist that must've weighed as much as a   \nrefrigerator. It caught Ty in the side of his lower torso and made him   \nstagger. Ow, those knuckles! The building crumbled around him and   \ncrashed in a pile of dust and jagged lumber.  \n  \nTy raised his arms in defense. \"What are you talking about?\"  \n  \nThe blue giant grabbed some cinder blocks and chucked them at Ty,   \nsaying, \"This is all your fault!\"  \n  \nTy's fur bristled. Years of combat training kicked in. He swatted aside   \nthe blocks, yanked the echidna's arm, and swung him around to slam him   \nface-first into his own broken house. His former boss would've approved;   \nno extra property damage. \"No.\" Ty put a heavy forefoot down on his back   \nand said, \"Whatever crazy ideas you've got about me, take our your   \nfrustration someplace where we won't kill anybody! Are you done for now?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I give! I give.\" Ty stepped off of him and let him awkwardly turn   \naround. He clutched at some nasty cuts on his muzzle. \"Not in the face,   \nman! So did you \\_not\\_ ask Alyssa to send me some kind of crazy   \nturn-you-huge potion? You broke my house!\"  \n  \n\"I did \\_not\\_,\" said Ty. \"And who's Alyssa?\"  \n  \nThe man sighed and sat up, making broken planks and a chair slide off of   \nhim. \"Name's KC. AM 970 WFLA, voice of the Rays?\" Ty blinked, not   \nrecognizing the face, but maybe the voice from local radio. KC said,   \n\"Whatever. Look, I got this weird package in the mail today with a note   \nfrom a friend. Let me grab it from my desk.\" He glanced back over his   \nshoulder.  \n  \n\"Under your left elbow,\" said Ty.  \n  \nKC rummaged and tried to grab a tiny slip of paper between his fingers,   \nbut just didn't have the coordination yet at this size. Ty caught it   \ncarefully and gave it to one of the construction guys to read. KC said,   \n\"She told me, 'Take care of this. It's a secret.' And to find you. I   \nfigured this was some stupid spy thing she'd gotten me mixed up in, and   \nthat you had put her up to it. And when the damn glass vial in the   \npackage leaked on me, I was all Alice In Wonderland with my house. I   \njust put in five thousand bucks worth of hardwood!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty's ears perked in surprise. \"I think we need to have a talk. Can you,   \nyou know, shrink? It's a mental trick. You have to calm down enough for it.\"  \n  \n\"Easy for you to say,\" KC groused. But after a few minutes of Ty talking   \nhim through it, the echnidna relaxed enough that he was able to control   \nhis own size, and slowly reverted to about six feet tall. He stared at   \nhis hands, then farther down. \"Oh, right. Think you can dig my dresser   \nout from the rubble?\"  \n  \n# 4. #  \n  \n\"If you've got the same kind of 'matter storage field' as I do, then   \nthat friend of yours has access to the same kind of tech.\" Ty stuffed   \nhimself with chicken as they lounged in a hotel room. He'd heard the   \nmedia rushing to the scene of KC's big problem, and figured that it'd be   \nbest not to head right home. Some reporter was probably already lurking   \nthere.  \n  \nKC leaned back in a chair. \"How are you eating that much?\"  \n  \nTy grinned. \"Taur body. Size shifting. You're lucky you didn't sprout   \nextra legs.\"  \n  \n\"Whatever.\" The echidna picked at the chicken and rice. \"Having this   \ndone to me feels like cheating. I \\_earned\\_ these muscles.\" He showed off   \nsome biceps.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Nowadays, ever since Ty and Emily escaped from the Agency, you could buy   \nones just as good. The official word from the US government was that the   \nAgency was a medical research lab, abused by a couple of rogue   \nscientists. To make the story stick, they'd had to release some of their   \ndiscoveries to the public. Super-steroids, basically, some   \nnanotech-based medical stuff, and weirder things. So, Ty and Emily   \nweren't the only taurs in the city, but they still certainly stood out.   \nAnd the technique for doing the size thing was still classified,   \nsupposedly only usable on very specific genomes. That one seemed to bend   \nphysics enough that even Ty didn't blame the government for being wary   \nabout explaining it. It could probably be used for making matter/energy   \nbombs or something.  \n  \nTy said, \"Tell me about this friend of yours. She sent you a nanite vial?\"  \n  \nKC looked around suspiciously. \"She was always traveling a lot. Wouldn't   \ntell me what it was all about, but from some hints I gathered it was spy   \nstuff, not just her 'business' across the border in the US and out in   \nAsia. Anyway, yeah, out of the blue I got that package. She wouldn't   \nhave done anything like that unless it was urgent. What's it all mean?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Hmm... If she was trying to get you to contact me, and it was about the   \nsize-shifting tech, then... Agency stuff. Where was it sent from?\"  \n  \nThe echidna had retrieved a scrap of paper with some nasty cologne on   \nit. \"China, but that doesn't really narrow it down.\"  \n  \n\"Why's it doused with that stuff?\" Ty's nose wrinkled but he sniffed   \nagain. \"Ugh.\"  \n  \nHis phone rang. Tren. \"Ty? Bad news. No word from your sister at all,   \nand there's some government chatter mentioning her. Can't read much of   \nit though.\"  \n  \nTy threatened to crush the phone. \"Any of it from China? And on a   \nrelated note, have you got some kind of chemical sniffer?\"\n\n# 5. #  \n  \nThey had more of a clue than \"China\". It took most of his savings, but   \nTy got two plane tickets (both for himself) to head that way. KC had the   \nthird seat in their part of the row, trying not to lean on Ty. \"So, what   \nhappens if this size stuff acts up on us in mid-flight?\"  \n  \nTy started to speak, then scribbled a note to him instead. \"Then the   \nplane shatters. Try to keep calm.\"  \n  \nTren had met them in Seattle, with some scientific equipment and an   \nalarming number of computers. Turned out that that nasty cologne came   \nfrom a factory in the middle of nowhere, in western China. Worth   \nchecking out even though it meant an even longer trip. Would've been too   \nmuch of a wild goose chase even for KC's heftier bank account, but for a   \nbit more information Tren had been able to dig up.\n\n\u0026nbsp;He sat there now in the seat across the aisle, wearing a heavy   \ntrenchcoat to hide his wings. The airport security people had certainly   \nnoticed something odd about him, but took him for some rich eccentric   \nwho'd bought some of the Agency's released body-mod technology. He had a   \ncouple of his computers out and looked intent on something. \"Hey, Ty?   \nDid you look this city up before you left?\"  \n  \n\"A bit. Sounded like a ghost town besides a chemical plant and the   \nperfume place.\"  \n  \n\"Worse.\" Tren handed Ty a tablet showing empty streets, empty buildings.   \n\"Practically nobody lives there but a few Party members, some Muslims   \nthe Chinese are trying to wipe out, and some factory workers. The thing   \nis, the chem plant isn't really interesting. I'd rather go shopping.\"  \n  \nTren wouldn't explain, but grinned wider as he continued whatever   \nsearching and analysis he had going through his satellite link. Ty felt   \noutclassed on the computer front; he'd learned about the Agency's crimes   \nbasically because somebody there used bad database security. By the time   \nthey'd all slept and landed, Tren was ready to lay out more of a plan.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;# 6. #  \n  \nThere was a model of it just outside the airport restaurant. \"Shenyu   \nGlory Mall?\" said Ty, eyeing the dollhouse-sized building complex.  \n  \nTren said, \"Biggest mall in the world. Occupancy hit two percent in its   \nheyday. And that was before the Crash. So, basically a giant shell   \nthat's slowly falling apart.\"  \n  \nKC was peering through the window at it. \"Is that a rollercoaster?\"  \n  \nTy was still skeptical. \"Cool, but what proof have we got about Emily?   \nOr this Alyssa lady?\"  \n  \n\"Because,\" said Tren with a look of triumph, \"whoever's there didn't do   \nmuch to hide the fact that they were getting shipments of \\_something\\_   \nfrom the factory despite having no reason for it. Something that Alyssa   \nwanted to lead you to.\"  \n  \nDespite trying to dress like businessmen, the three of them stood out   \nwhen they left the airport. Not a lot of people in town at all, and   \nexactly one taur. Ty stared at highways with hardly a car on them,   \napartment buildings with barely a sign of life. The air shimmered with   \nhazy heat.  \n  \nIn the distance, Ty could see glass towers similar to the model. \"Well,   \nlet's check it out.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Tren was still busy thumbing through info on a phone, so he didn't see   \nTy removing his shirt. \"I'll get us a taxi or -- wha!\"  \n  \nTy was already fifteen feet tall when he grabbed the dragon, grinning.   \nHe felt Tren getting lighter and lighter in his one-handed grip. As   \nusual, the ground seemed to fall away, frightening him for a moment as   \nthough he'd been launched into the air. The changing perspective started   \nto feel more familiar. Ty said, \"Want a ride, KC, or will you go 'kaiju'   \ntoo?\"  \n  \nThe echidna looked down at himself. \"Haven't really practiced. I'll   \nride.\" Ty grabbed him and ran off.  \n  \nThe mega-mall looked like a city unto itself. Except for the emptiness!   \nTy jogged along a vacant highway and some wind-blown sandlots until he   \nreached an empty parking lot for thousands of cars, with a train   \nterminal. Heat rippled up from the pavement and made him pant just to   \nsee it.  \n  \nHe felt his fur bristle. There, unlit, was a neon sign showing that   \n\"Hello Foxie\" cartoon character. Ill-maintained as it was, it seemed to   \nhave broken teeth. \"I feel welcomed.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Not going to crash on in, are you?\" said KC.  \n  \n\"Probably a bad idea.\" Ty set the others down and began shrinking again.   \nThe doors weren't locked. Inside, the place looked like pretty much any   \nother shopping mall, but with cheerful music playing to no one. The   \nhalls were plenty big for Ty at any size. \"What exactly are we looking   \nfor, if this is someplace Alyssa thought was worth investigating?\"  \n  \nTren walked. \"You know how China's pollution laws make the Free States   \nlook strict? Turns out that the whole country's been willing to turn a   \nblind eye to a lot of things so long as the right Party members get   \nbribed or show 'growth' for the areas they control. I think what with   \nsomeone offering your sister a job, and --\"  \n  \nGunfire split the air. Ty made himself a big target, quickly doubling in   \nsize to pounce KC and get him away. They rolled to one side of the hall,   \nhearing echoes of more shots. Tren leaped into the air. His coat fell   \naway and his leathery wings unfurled. Ty tried to shelter KC while the   \ndragon-man sighted an automated turret perched in an \"under   \nconstruction\" display overhead. He smashed the thing with one clawed   \nhand, then landed, much bigger than he'd been.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty shouted, \"Any more?\" He was starting to feel the sting of several   \nshots that'd thudded into his tough hide.  \n  \n\"That's all I see,\" said Tren. He crouched on all fours, the size of a   \ntruck. His wings barely brushed against the empty storefronts to either   \nside. It was suddenly quiet again.  \n  \nKC stepped away from Ty and stared at the turret wreckage. \"What the   \nhell? Is someone trying to kill us specifically, or just anyone who   \nwalks in the door?\"  \n  \nTy looked around for more danger and saw none. He examined the scrap   \nmetal and the wooden housing that'd hidden it. \"I see a camera in there.   \nSomeone probably knows we're here even if they didn't hear that, and   \nthey'd kept the gun disguised in that box. So... yeah, probably us   \nspecifically.\" He glanced over to KC. \"Tren and I are more bulletproof   \nthan you. Experimental military dermal armor. It might be a good idea   \nfor you to wait outside.\"  \n  \nKC scowled. \"I came this far with you. Besides, there's probably someone   \nwaiting to pick me off outside if I leave you. How about if I'm bigger?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"It'd mean any hits would knock relatively small holes in you, but still...\"  \n  \nKC seemed not to care. He beat his chest and grew, giving a King Kong   \nroar. He grabbed a tattered red banner and wound it around his waist.   \n\"Come on, then!\"  \n  \nThe three of them marched through the deserted mall: KC as a spiky   \ngiant, Ty padding along on four feet, and Tren stalking along on all   \nfours as a dragon.  \n  \nCheerful Chinese music boomed from the mall's long-silent PA system.   \nTy's ears perked and he looked around, finding only a dark store full of   \nmannequins in creepy poses. Then came the voice. \"Good work, Agent.\"  \n  \nThe three of them froze. Ty recognized it in three words, and answered   \nthrough gritted teeth: \"Colonel Salt. How nice to hear from you again.\"   \nHis tail bristled.  \n  \n\"And thanks for dropping in. Sorry for the rude greeting; just wanted to   \nsee if you were on your toes. I assume you're here about your sister?\"  \n  \n\"What have you done with her?\"  \n  \n\"Use your imagination, boy! I can collect all sorts of interesting data   \non you while you romp around. The echidna is a nice bonus. How would you   \nlike to volunteer for closer study, sir? I can make it worth your while.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty grabbed a bench in one hand, raising a dust cloud. \"Show yourself.\"  \n  \n\"Where's the fun in that? Relax; we practically have the whole place to   \nourselves. How have you been, out in the cold, cruel world? It's been   \ntough for me ever since you ruined my research and threw away your new   \nfamily.\"  \n  \nTren put a wing over Ty's lower back to stop him from pointlessly   \ncharging at the nearest speaker. Ty fumed but said nothing to the voice   \n-- to his former boss. To the man responsible for making him an orphan.   \nHe looked to the dragon and said, \"Help me find him.\"  \n  \nTren nodded. \"Can't use most of my gear at this size,\" he said. \"Keep an   \neye out for recent construction of any kind. Move!\" He dashed ahead, and   \nTy and KC hurried after him.  \n  \nSigns advertising store brands flashed by. Ty recognized some, and had   \nto duck under a fast-food logo, but a lot of it was Chinese stuff he'd   \nnever seen before, and that customers apparently never saw either. His   \nfeet kicked up dust all the way down the huge storefront-lined hall.   \nWhat a huge waste of resources this place was! He stared at the   \nrollercoaster in the distance.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Tren ran into the trap first. Potted fake plants hid the black boxes of   \nmachinery on either side.  \n  \nTren tripped and crashed forward, impressive for a quadruped. Ty skidded   \nand only knocked him farther into the sudden crackle of energy between   \nthe hidden gadgets. The blast's edge caught him too, leaving him dizzy   \nand lying on a patch of carpet. Everything looked bigger... Ty cursed   \nand got up, finding he'd lost a few feet of height. He tried to get back   \nto his full, giant size, and felt as though something were squeezing him   \nback down instead.  \n  \nTren hissed. \"KC, stop!\" But the echidna had already leaped over   \nwhatever it was that hit them, and was pointing at the ceiling. Tren   \nsaid, \"Yes, I know; something's blocking my size shift.\" He was   \nobviously smaller now, though still on all fours and accidentally   \nwhapping Ty with a wing as he recovered his balance.  \n  \nKC yanked at one of Ty's forepaws. \"Move, quick!\" Ty's ears rang and he   \ncould hardly hear. But there was a sound like something breaking...  \n  \nTy glanced up and went wide-eyed. The whole section of ceiling overhead   \nwas falling in, with the contents of a car dealership on top of it. He   \nshoved KC along with him in a rolling dive to the left. Tons of metal   \ncrashed from at least five stories up. Fine -- there was a little room   \nto spare -- but Tren was about to win a brand new car to the face! Ty   \ncame up and swatted the thing with both hands on its way down. Trucks   \nand cars rained down and crashed onto linoleum and carpet, making a   \nhorrible metal-rending shriek. When it was over, Ty found he'd been   \ngashed along one side by a fender, Tren had a broken wing, and KC   \nsomehow hadn't even mussed his spiky hair. Tren glared at him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Who \\_is\\_ this guy?\" said KC. He stared at the expensive pile of scrap   \nmetal.  \n  \nTy winced at the cut. It wasn't deep, anyway. \"He's probably listening.   \nKeep your voice down. Sounds like he got kicked out of the US so they   \ncould claim he was acting on his own -- and now he's either playing mad   \nscientist by himself, or the Chinese have him.\" Like an old German   \nrocket scientist or \"doctor\" working for the US, actually.  \n  \nThe echidna stared right back at Tren. \"The guy said 'Well done, Agent.'   \nLike someone had led us here.\"  \n  \nTren hissed. \"If you're accusing me of anything, feel free to walk away!\"  \n  \n\"Quit it,\" said Ty, getting between them. \"The Agency liked to mess with   \npeople's heads, and Salt was behind it all. Besides, Tren was the one   \nwho helped me get away in the first place. Tren, how hurt are you?\"  \n  \n\"Can't glide with my wing like this. And I can't seem to get back to   \nfull size; can you?\" Ty tried it and shook his head; he was stuck a bit   \nshorter than his usual maximum. Tren said, \"The Colonel's got some kind   \nof draining tech, then. Let's have a look at those black boxes -- after   \nwe find him.\" There wasn't much of the trap left to see, anyway, after   \nseveral tons of automotive damage. The dragon shrank back to human-size   \nand went to work with a computer tablet.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty explored farther ahead, more careful this time. Tren tapped his tail   \nand pointed to another turret, this one larger, mounted on an upper   \nwalkway. Then, KC spotted a less obvious second one behind a dark glass   \nstorefront. Ty scowled. The hidden one would be the more dangerous,   \ngiven how this trip was going. Ty gave a mighty hindleg kick through a   \nmetal chain door, and then Tren hopped in to sneak up behind the turret   \nand help himself to the gun it held. Tren came back checking the ammo.   \n\"Nasty; he put armor-piercing rounds in this one just for our hides.   \nFigure he's done playing.\"  \n  \nTy looked up at the more obvious turret. \"Yeah. Now this one...\"  \n  \nHe gave a giant foxy pounce that tore a chunk out of the upper walkway   \nand yanked the trap down with him. A few shots went off and shattered a   \nwindow somewhere. Ty saw the motors twitching and sparking, so he   \nstepped on the thing and snapped it. \"Want the gun, KC? Might have to   \nshrink to use it as more than a toothpick.\"  \n  \n\"Nah. I'd rather have the size advantage.\"  \n  \nThey came to one of the mall's great plazas. It towered fifteen levels   \nhigh with empty walls of windows where a hotel should have been, and a   \nminiature theme park. Cheerful, actually, with the skylight ceilings. Ty   \nstomped warily past the rollercoaster. His foot stomped a sign showing a   \ncheerful panda and the words, \"You Must Be At Least This Tall To Ride\".  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"That's far enough!\" said an amplified voice. Salt again.  \n  \n# 7. #  \n  \n\"Watch out! He can --\" A woman tried to make herself heard over the   \nspeaker, but there was a sound of a scuffle and she went quiet.  \n  \nKC started forward. \"Alyssa?\"  \n  \nTy held him back. \"Now what?\"  \n  \n\"That's her! Where are they?\"  \n  \nTy looked around for more threats. The closest thing to an open store   \nhere was the anchor-store slot. It had no sign, no open windows, but the   \nbarbed wire and sandbags made it pretty obvious it wasn't just a men's   \nclothing store opening next month. A couple of terrified-looking men in   \nlab coats crouched behind riot shields, holding rifles. He shouted, \"You   \nguys down there! You don't look like soldiers. I figure your boss has   \ntold you he's got secret weapons for beating me, but I've got friends   \nalong and I've gotten this far. I just want --\"  \n  \nShots rang out and gunfire stabbed along his long body from a   \nthird-floor railing. He winced. That one hurt! He tried not to show it.   \n\"Tren, go!\" Ty ducked behind the rollercoaster while KC took cover and   \nTren got into a duel with the man overhead. One of the little fort's   \nscientist-guards took potshots at Ty, but not with enough aim or   \nfirepower to make it count.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty pulled the rollercoaster's cars off of their track and held them up.   \nHe pointed behind himself with the other hand. \"You can't win.\" He got   \ninterrupted by the man on the upper balcony falling off of it with a   \nscream, into a swimming pool. \"See? Get out of here while you can!\" He   \ngave his best angry yip/growl/roar. (No one had even come up with a good   \nway to transcribe what it sounded like. It was a fox thing.)  \n  \nThe scientists fled their barricade, shouting in English and Chinese. Ty   \ngrinned and waved to them as they ran the other way past him down one of   \nthe mall's other huge halls. Then he called out, \"There go your friends,   \nColonel! How about you, now? KC here is looking for Alyssa, and I know   \nyou've got Emily in there. You can walk away from this too.\"  \n  \nThe speakers behind the sandbags boomed. \"I'm a reasonable man, kid.   \nI'll return my guests, once I'm done with them. Or you can come on in   \nafter me, but you'll have to shrink unless you're looking to bring down   \nthe building on poor, non-bulletproof Alyssa. I don't think even Emily   \ncan withstand having the place fall on her, in her condition.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Tren hissed in surprise as he picked through the abandoned fort in front   \nof the department store. \"Ty, this isn't just Chinese stuff he's   \noutfitted with. I see US military markings on some of this gear.\"  \n  \nKC came back into view. \"What's that mean? He's still working for the   \nAgency?\"  \n  \n\"Some version of it, apparently, even though the official one's gone   \nwhite-hat.\" Louder, Tren said, \"I bet the local authorities would like   \nto know what you're doing here.\"  \n  \nThe Colonel scoffed. \"Please. They helped fund this place. The chemical   \nplant next door, remember? It's a joint research project. Hang around   \nlong enough and you'll get to meet them. Careful; they might mistake you   \nfor terrorists, smashing up their mall and everything.\"  \n  \nTy and Tren exchanged a look. Salt was right that they'd probably   \nalready attracted some bad attention. But that just meant it was time to   \nsettle the matter, before any reinforcements came. Ty pointed to Tren's   \nbags and whispered, \"Record everything.\"  \n  \n\"Already doing it,\" said Tren. Ty tilted his head, then recalled that   \nthe dragon had some minor cyber-ware in with his other upgrades. \"What now?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"We go in.\" Ty shrank, down to nearly normal size. \"KC, you're in back.\"   \nHe took a moment to whisper a bit more to the others.  \n  \nThe department store slot wasn't empty inside, after all. Behind the   \nbarricade and the locked doors (one good dragon punch did those in), Ty   \nfound a dingy concrete lab three stories high. Lots of card tables with   \ncomputers, lots of electrical cables snaking across the floor, and at   \nthe far end of what was meant to be the shoe department, an armed   \nColonel Salt with two prisoners strapped to examining tables.  \n  \n\"That's close enough,\" Salt said.  \n  \n\"A hostage situation?\" said Tren. \"If you thought that'd actually work,   \nyou'd be heading for the door with one of them right now. We might even   \nlet you get away with it, right Ty?\" He got an uncertain nod from the   \nfoxtaur.  \n  \nKC said, \"Alyssa! I came all the way here to visit! You have terrible   \ntaste in perfume.\" The woman was a kangaroo, bound and gagged and   \nglaring daggers at Salt.  \n  \nThe Colonel gestured to another pair of the devices that'd zapped Tren   \nand Ty earlier. \"Did you know that back then, we tried to give your   \nsister the same matter-storage field as you, but it just didn't take? I   \nnever did figure out the whole technique, even from doing a little   \ntesting on her. Some of my own researchers kept things from me. Luckily,   \nI've had an ally bring me a better test subject. Tren, how about if --\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Yeah, we're not buying that one,\" said Ty. And he pounced. Salt   \nnaturally swung his gun up to go after Ty, but that left him not paying   \nattention to his hostages, or to Tren's own weapon.  \n  \nThe move was perfect. Ty used his own unusual body weight to flip around   \nand change direction in mid-leap, dodging Salt's shots. He landed,   \ngrabbed the man's leg, and kept his head down while Tren took a single   \ncareful shot. Ty felt his former boss shudder from a hit to the chest.   \nTy said, \"I've been practicing those fighting moves your guys taught me   \nonce!\"  \n  \nSalt's hands dug into Ty's fur like vices. Ty found himself tumbling   \nthrough the air into an escalator, with a crash. \"As I was saying,\" said   \nthe mad scientist, suddenly ten feet tall and growing, \"My research   \ndidn't pay off completely, but it had some benefits!\"  \n  \nKC, Tren and Ty stared up at him. \"There's more room in here than you   \nlet on,\" said Ty. He scrambled to his feet. He'd just pull the same trick...  \n  \n\"No,\" said Salt, moving to stomp him before Ty could match his size. Too   \nlate, though! Ty grabbed his foot and slammed him over his backs,   \nface-first into the concrete. Both of them were growing, now, and a   \nsecond later Salt was up again despite his gunshot and plowing into Ty   \nwith wild fists.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I've got this!\" said Ty. \"Help Emily and Alyssa!\"  \n  \nTy didn't have it. Salt was just frenzied at first, but at twenty feet   \ntall he still had plenty of strength, and was going for a wrestling hold   \nhe couldn't quite get, yet. Ty couldn't beat him through sheer size in   \nhere with the lower ceiling. He got knocked into a support column,   \nwinced, then decided to take this outside. He hurled a couple of   \ncomputers at Salt's face, then body-slammed the man out through the   \nfront entrance, onto the barbed wire. Salt snagged it around Ty's   \nforelegs, making both of them stagger together into the rollercoaster.   \nTy yelped and tried to grow more, to get big enough that the falling   \nbeams wouldn't hurt him or small enough to wriggle out of the way, but   \nit was all coming down on him too hard! He tried to at least cover his   \nhead and neck...  \n  \nSomebody leaped over him in a haze of rusty fur. Ty yipped as the   \nheaviest of the girders and rails splashed to either side of him,   \nblocked by... \"Emily?!\" She had her arms out, at least twenty feet long   \nfrom claws to shoulder.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;She grinned down at him. \"Like he said, the research wasn't a total   \nfailure. The quick red foxtaur jumps over the lazy dog!\"  \n  \nSalt was under a pile of beams, hurt even worse then before. \"Enough! I   \ngive up! I can't feel my tail...\"  \n  \nThe drone of helicopters approaching overhead helped settle the matter, too.  \n  \n# 8. #  \n  \nIn the end, cover stories helped just as much as they had before. So did   \ntransparency: Tren managed to get a satellite link and upload video of   \nthe fight to a \"dead drop\" server before the Chinese military could say   \nhello. It turned out to be a good bargaining chip. After all, Colonel   \nSalt had been just a rogue United States spy conducting illicit   \nexperiments in China, and definitely not someone the Chinese knew about   \nand subsidized for their own purposes, right?  \n  \n\"They're probably still listening,\" said Tren. He leaned against a wall   \nin the battered shopping mall plaza, where everything but a snowcone hut   \nhad been crushed. The soldiers had left everyone alone for now. Tren was   \nthe only one not busy fussing over someone: Ty with Emily, KC with   \nAlyssa. \"Watch what you say until we're out of here.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Ty broke out of a giant hug with Emily, relieved even so. He'd kept up   \nhis huge size the whole time they negotiated. \"It's going to be fun   \nshowing you the macro life! You can do construction stuff with me. And   \nKC, I guess, if he wants.\"  \n  \n\"No way,\" said KC. \"No adventuring for me. I just want to go back to the   \nway things were.\" He took the roo-lady's hand. \"With maybe one change in   \nmy relationship status.\"  \n  \nAlyssa smiled at him. \"Sorry for putting you in harm's way. I guess it's   \ntoo late to hide exactly what I do for a living, and the nice soldiers   \nhere know who I am now, so it's time to find a different job.\"  \n  \nTy shrank back down to a convenient travel size -- or tried to. He  \nseemed to be stuck at nearly the size he'd been while fighting Salt,   \nabout thirty-five feet. \"Um. I seem to be stuck.\" He stepped back and   \nfiddled with his own shifting ability, hoping to max out again and then   \nhope he could sort of reset himself. Back up to fifty feet, fifty-five,   \nsixty... Wait, what?  \n  \nTren stared at him. \"What in Katamari's name are you doing now, Ty?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I can't get down!\"  \n  \n\"Too much white fur,\" said KC.  \n  \nAlyssa peered way up at him. \"Salt was doing all kinds of research with   \nthe follow-up to his work at the Agency. He had some kind of trap set up   \nfor you to sap your matter storage field.\"  \n  \nTren said, \"We ran into it. Seemed to knock a few feet off my upper size   \nlimit. But it seems to have affected Ty differently. What's your upper   \nlimit, then?\"  \n  \nTy experimented, stepping even farther back until he was perched on the   \nrollercoaster rubble. He was level with the eighth floor, then felt his   \nears brushing against the glass skylights up above the twelfth.   \n\"How...?\" He calmed himself down before he risked breaking through even   \nthat.  \n  \nEmily grinned and poked him on the foreleg. \"I guess you're still my big   \nbrother.\"  \n  \nTy worriedly braced himself against the mall's wall and slowly shrank   \nback down as much as he could, finding he couldn't get much below   \nthirty-five feet. \"I can't fly like this! Or even take a train, maybe!\"  \n  \nTren and KC looked at him. Tren said, \"We need to get Alyssa and Emily   \nback to the Free States before there's too much of a scandal here.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"And I've got a job to go back to, I hope...\" The echidna seemed   \ndoubtful about that and his home insurance policy.  \n  \nTy gaped. \"I have to \\_hike across China\\_ to get home, now? And then get   \non a cargo ship!?\"  \n  \n\"At least it'll be faster for you than most people,\" said Emily. \"Once   \nthe reporting dies down in a week or so, I'll fly back to visit you if I   \ncan. And hey, maybe you can do some side jobs along the way!\" She   \ngrinned up at him. \"Also, you don't get to criticize me now for agreeing   \nto go on a long foreign job.\"  \n  \nTy's ears drooped. Everybody was more or less safe now, but this was   \ngoing to be a long hike.  \n  \n  \n\n"}