Chapter I: Welcome Back

Caleb Hale was not your average lupine teenager.

At eighteen years of age and a thirty-first century fur, he lived in a world filled with artificial intelligences, superheroes, magic, interplanetary and interdimensional travel and general madness that would have been considered an impossibility a millennium ago. However, even by these standards, he was far from normal.

The reason...? Well...

"So what's got him all locked up now?" Benjamin Connors asked. The short, scrawny, bespectacled human sat down opposite to the towering, seven-foot wolf. He was wearing a T-shirt that said 'Science is my bitch. Deal.'

"It's because Lance is finally coming back home after three weeks of being poked and prodded by the Alliance," answered Lars McCloud. The bigger Doberman was poking his stack of steaks absently, ears flicking towards Caleb. "He's been frozen like this for most of the day."

"Only until you asked if Lance was coming back," added Alex Connery, an athletic human gymnast. Alex leaned against the lunch room table beside Ben, sipping a carton of apple juice and with an icepack on his crotch. "He was doing fine before lunch."

"Stupid Stubby," sighed Ben, shaking his head sadly, a mocking smirk on his face. "Didn't we say we were going to avoid the topic until Lance got home?"

That brought Caleb out of his frozen revere and stared at his friends. "You all agreed on that?" he rumbled.

To his right, Mary Brightwood spun her fork absently between her fingers while munching on her salad. She pushed back a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and politely dabbed her rosy lips with her napkin before replying. "Cale, babe, you locked yourself in your room the week Lance stopped replying to your texts and emails. Since he's been gone, you have his rancid sock hidden underneath your bed which you sniff every night to get yourself to sleep."

His blue eyes snapped towards her, fiercely staring daggers at her. There was no use denying the accusation. As an empath, Mary could read minds and hearts. As an Outsider, her powers were generally limited to those she knew well though she could generally scratch the surface of others if she truly focused. And she knew no one better than Caleb Hale.

"I'm worried," he admitted, folding his large, triangular ears back. The tufts of brown fur at their tips flicked absently with the movement. "We've been talking every day since he left with Dad but since last week he stopped being online. I'm afraid that something terrible has happened." He turned to Lars. "Are you sure you can't tell me anything?"

The Doberman was a member of the Elemental Alliance, his identity as the fire-flinging superhero Firebrand known to all on the table. Sadly, he shook his head to Caleb's question and said, "Sorry. I'm pretty new to the Alliance too, remember? I don't have that kind of access."

Alex snorted softly and spoke in a soft whisper. "What could possibly have happened that could be worse than learning that your older brother is a super and that your entire family learned you two were fucking behind their backs?"

"In his defence, he was adopted so it's not really incest," Ben said, raising a finger.

"I consider bonds of family to be based on relationships not blood. You should know that better than anyone."

"Exactly. That is why I think that Caleb would be happier if he was a -"

WHACK!

A large leaf of lettuce slapped into Ben's face.

"Let us keep things simple and keep the entire 'conversion into a werewolf' topic off the table, shall we?" Mary asked politely. "Get out your kits everyone."

Caleb flinched and glanced around the table as each of his friends reached into their respective bags. Each of them retrieved boxes of varying sizes and set it on the table. "Kits?" he asked.

"The Caleb Hale Freeze Up Kit," Lars announced proudly, opening his box up. "In the case of your mental freak outs where you freeze and stare absently into space, we all decided to make these kits that will help you break out of it." Lars grinned at him. "It was my idea."

He raised an eyebrow in puzzlement before turning to Mary and Ben. "You told him about the Lars McCloud Intoxication Kit, didn't you?"

Ben shrugged apologetically. "It kind of slipped."

The Doberman growled as he fished out an object from his kit. "I don't appreciate the stomach pump, by the way. Or the three week women's retreat."

Caleb rolled his eyes absently, recalling the last time Lars got absolutely smashed. Ben, Mary and himself had decided the day after that in a similar event, they were to come prepared. Thus, they prepared the LMIK. They all put one item into the kit that they thought would help Lars either _never_touch a drop of alcohol again or at least get him to a degree of civility again. Caleb had contributed the stomach pump while Ben offered the women's retreat. Mary, ever being sensible and equally frightening placed a simple, black envelope. No one knew what was in it and neither Caleb nor Ben wanted to know.

It was a black envelope!

No doubt his friends had taken inspiration from the LMIK to create their own kits for him. The gesture was appreciated... if a little disconcerting that they each had a kit.

"We all had different ideas on how to snap you out of a freeze up," Ben said, reaching into his kit and pulling out a Taser. "You can freeze up about anything. So we all created our own since there were so many things that could help."

Caleb eyes his werewolf friend sourly. "And you think a Taser will do that?"

"Oh this? Nah, this is just to knock you out. The real treat is inside." He angled the kit towards Caleb.

"Gah!" Caleb cried, practically leaping out of his seat.

Inside was a motorised dildo.

"Do you ever think with anything but your cock?" growled Lars, reaching into his kit. There, he retrieved two tickets, waving it in front of Caleb's muzzle. "Check it out, bro. Unmarked tickets to Carl Pyro's magic show on the mainland!"

Caleb frowned at the tickets. "This is in New York."

"Yeah!" Lars gave Caleb a light one-two punch on the shoulder. "They come with a two-night stay at this sweet-ass hotel! Whatdya say? Little bro's night?"

Alex scoffed loudly. "Bro's night with magic? Don't bro's night usually consist of guys getting drunk off their ass, going to strip clubs and a day of regrets afterwards?"

"Lars isn't allowed to get drunk anymore," Caleb answered, pushing the tickets away. "And Lance is coming back home today, man. I can't take these."

With a hint of pride in his presentation, Alex reached into his kit and picked up a signed football from his kit. "I got this for you, Cale."

A signed football was a sweet gesture and Caleb was about to mention that he was more than just the star receiver for the West California Raptors when he noticed the signature. His heart seized up, his stomach went into knots and his ears folded back. Curious, Ben and Lars regarded the signature... before turning accusing stares at a befuddled Alex.

The signature read 'To my best bro, Lance Hale'

"I... Uh... I sent it to him two weeks ago and I got it back last week...?" Alex offered meekly. "I thought it'd cheer him up."

A knife suddenly came out of nowhere and jabbed the football, slicing deep and cutting through the fabric. All eyes went to Mary who spun the murder weapon deftly.

"Amateurs," she said, rolling her eyes. With the knife in hand, she pointed it at each of the other boys accusingly. "You just want to get Cale in bed," she said to Ben before turning the knife to Lars and Alex respectively. "You're the one into magic and just want to hide your jealousy of Lance's rapid advancement in the Alliance and you just sent Caleb back down a spiral of depression."

Lars' eyes flashed and he growled. "Oh yeah? What have you got then?"

Caleb was barely listening. His eyes were fixated on the signature. He missed his older brother. He didn't even get to spend a day with Lance after he had ended that horrible experience of becoming a hyper-sexed hyena, as Lance awaked his superpowers the very same night he returned. Ordinarily, he would've been happy but this only posed an even bigger wedge between himself and his brother. Lance was being inducted into the Elemental Alliance, led by the extremely anti-Outsider Feral Steel who just happened to be David Hale, Caleb's father.

In truth, he was less worried about Lance's return as he was about whether or not his brother had told their father that the Outsider Weapons Master was, in fact, Caleb. The week of silence only caused his fears to mount exponentially as neither his father nor Lance had been at home since Lance was taken away. No one outside of his team and close friends knew about his identity as an Outsider and that made the assurances from his mother all the emptier. Leon was no help as he just kept worshiping his father while secretly being jealous of Lance, his twin. Abby, as always, was rather self-centred and constantly complained how her life was now infinitely more complex that she had a superhero brother and father.

But today... Today all that came to a head...

What would Lance say when he stepped through that door?

What would his David Hale say?

Would Caleb get kicked out for moonlighting as a pseudo-super? How would his family react to the knowledge that he had been putting himself at risk _constantly_day in and day out or that he could turn anything he touched into a catastrophic weapon?

All that, however, was brushed away when a white case with golden writing was dangled in front of his muzzle.

His eyes went wide.

"Remember that videogame that was going to come out in December?" Mary asked tauntingly, her eyes half-closed with expectation. She was resting her chin on the back of her hand, leaning forward and with a knowing smirk on her lips. "That videogame rendition of that movie series you are absolutely obsessed about?"

"No... way!" Caleb exclaimed, gripping the case eagerly. He ran his thumb over the glistening golden writing depicting the words 'Tower Thirteen: Incendius - ATE.' His ears perked, his tail wagged and all his worries about Lance's return were instantly erased. "This... How did... Mary...?"

Mary smirked and leaned back, arms crossed behind her head and a bright grin on her face. "Let's just say my dad knows people. We managed to get this imported from Luna where it's already been released. Thank god the Playstation Infinity doesn't have planetary region locking anymore."

"Holy crap!" Caleb shouted, practically bouncing in his seat. He spun the package around, eyes greedily soaking up the details while his other friends regarded him with confusion.

"A videogame?" Alex asked, puzzled. "After a Taser, werewolf sex, a signed football from his brother and a five grand two night stay in New York with a five course dinner, he gets over Lance with a videogame?"

Caleb shot Lars big grin, shoving the cartridge into the Doberman's face. Lars' eyes were equally wide. "This isn't just any videogame! This is Incendius - Another Time Edition! It has all the content of the original Tower Thirteen: Incendius plus tonnes of new content including new bosses, new areas, all three Chronomancer Chronicles episodes in the Incendius group and the coveted Another Time storyline where you actually get to play as Harm Chronos!" Caleb let out a little squeal and held the case close to his thick, muscled chest. He spun and gave Mary a big, tight hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Mary, smug as ever, peered over the wolf's enormous shoulders at the other as if to say, 'that is how you unfreeze Caleb Hale.'

"Empaths," growled Ben.

Sufficiently knocked free of his mental paralysis, Caleb apologised to each of his friends for his reaction to some old news. He knew Lance's return would bring some news with it, good or bad and he had braced himself for it for the entire week. The uncertainty of it all is what frightened him the most.

Lars swiped the case from Caleb's paws and regarded it, wide-eyed. "Holy shit! This is the whole Another Time storyline for Incendius isn't it? The one where Harm -"

"Yep!" Caleb exclaimed with a grin.

"And Skye, Rayne and Wood?"

"Them too!"

"Hey," said Lars said as he read the cover, "what do you say we all go to Ben's place and plug this into his massive TV? I heard that there's actually multiplayer on this thing!"

Ben was halfway out of his seat. "What? Hey! Why are we going to _my_place?"

"Because you're rich as fuck."

"You're the -" Ben reigned himself in before he said something incriminating and sat back down. "Okay, my place then. I still don't see what's so good about this videogame, though. And I'm the nerd."

As Caleb watched Lars explained the intricacies about the _Tower Thirteen_series to Ben while a bored Alex looked on, he marvelled at his cacophony of friends. Despite Ben being their official 'nerd', Caleb shared a very nerdy fascination with Lars on top of football. Still, it was only with Ben and Alex he got to spend DnD nights. Mary was no fun on those nights because she could always read people's minds and she made for a poor dungeon master. They made a strange combination but one that he was grateful for having.

Thinking back, he realised just how self-centred he had been for the past three weeks as he moped about Lance's awakening and his departure. Come what may, he was sure that he would at least have his friends no matter what.

The lunch bell rang and they all stood to head back to classes with the promise to meet up at Ben's place after school for some good old gaming until six as Lance was due to return at seven. As they left, however, Mary clutched his arm and pulled him back from the others.

"Something up?" he asked.

She just smiled at him. "Just wanted to remind you that life goes on no matter what happens tonight. You've still got that appointment with Arcturus and Bren tomorrow, remember?"

Caleb sighed and rolled his eyes, a small smile on his features. "Yeah, I know, I know. Yours is today, right?"

She nodded, her smile fading slightly. Her eyes followed the rest of the group slowly disappearing into the rest of the crowd. "We've all got a lot on our plates and a lot on our minds. We don't know what's coming next but at the very least, we can be prepared." She turned and poked Caleb's forehead lightly. "Just don't let all that muscle go to your head, Muscles."

He groaned loudly. "Not you too."

"You know you love it."

*****

A thousand years ago, Lars McCloud would have been living the fantasy life of the average human kid. He was a teenaged superhero, Firebrand, the star quarterback of a high school football team and had a close knit network of friends that he wouldn't trade for the world. Barring weekly episodes where he ran into some sort of drama in his life that was somehow resolved by a revelation that came about defeating a supervillain and that he forgot the next week, he was living a pretty good life.

Except for one thing.

He was in love with his best friend.

He sat in the middle of the room in his economics class right next to Caleb, watching the wolf from the corner of his eyes. Every breath he took, he got a fresh whiff of Caleb's heavenly scent. Their desks were pressed up right next to each other as they always were and just a few inches away, Caleb's thick forearm cradled his tablet. Just a few inches away from touching his best friend and the guy of his dreams...

Caleb was kind, honest, fun to be around and extremely considerate. More than that, he was a fighter and a true hero. No matter how bad things got, Caleb would always fight and that was something Lars truly admired. Despite being the one who was an official superhero and the one with near immortality, Lars was a coward. Caleb rushed headlong into danger despite not having a super's regeneration all while risking life and limb for others. Lars always had that security but Caleb didn't...

Over the past three weeks since Lance's awakening, Lars had wondered every day how he would come out to Caleb, professing his feelings. He had taken his best friend to the beach, various movies and spent days after football practice at Terry's Diner just hanging out. They worked out together, played videogames together, stayed up late just talking about random stuff and one weekend, they even had a sleepover at Caleb's place.

A sleepover.

He thought he had grown closer to Caleb in that time and he was sure he had. But the moment he had mentioned Lance, Caleb's focus went back to his brother. He knew that if he just said something, told Caleb how he felt he'd at least be in the running. But he couldn't even do that.

After three weeks, Lars was still a coward.

But steps were being taken.

When the bell rang, heralding the end of the school day, he swapped notes with Caleb as they always did and headed out into the hallways.

"Coming over to Ben's to run through I-ATE?" Caleb asked, tail wagging excitedly. The pup sure loved his Tower Thirteen and Lars had to admit, he had gotten hooked on it too. In their group, he and Caleb were the biggest nerds when it came to that series. Even Ben couldn't understand it.

"Can't," answered Lars, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. "Well, not immediately anyway. Mary and I have our session with Bren and Arcturus."

Caleb's ears perked. "Oh, right. How's that going for you?"

"Amazing." Caleb leaned against the locker beside Lars' looking like the expectant jock picking up his girlfriend. He looked so damn cute in his blue and gold letterman jacket that perfectly framed his white underbelly fur that stretched to his lower jaw and, of course, the black fur that covered the rest of his body. Lars typed in his locker number and opened his locker. Within the secrecy of his locker, he opened his paw. A blue flame danced between his fingers. "Getting really awesome control over it and it's ridiculously precise now. Almost laser-like. It's funny that the government has better techniques to train guys like me compared to the actual... well... guys like me."

"Bren says it's the fresh perspective," Caleb answered. "Your family train in specific ways and my guys train in our ways. Learning both will really benefit us all." Caleb's smile faded slightly. "Is it hard keeping this stuff from your side?"

Lars closed his paw over the flame, dousing it. "Sort of, yeah. My instructors at the Tower told my parents that I may have hit my peak."

"How're your parents taking it?"

"Like they always do."

With a shrug, a dismissive wave and then a turn of the back as with whatever else they did. The superheroes Shockstorm and Siren were the coldest parents in the known universe. They were full-time superheroes, no alternate egos or menial jobs to disguise their identities. Lars was a 'drunken night of debauchery and unprotected sex' to them that they used to just further their own standing in the world. Apparently, their cold attitude to the world gave a negative image to the Alliance. Having a kid and acting like a family on camera sort of broke their icy image... at least to the public. What 'love' they gave was purely out of responsibility and for the cameras.

"Ouch man..." Caleb murmured. "I wish there was something I could do..."

Lars gave his best friend - and secret crush - a smile. "Nah, you've already done all you can, bro." He fetched his bag from his locker and slung it over his shoulder. "Thanks for letting me into the programme."

He meant that. Lars never thought he truly belonged in the Elemental Alliance. He was a superhero with control over fire but the Alliance felt cold and too professional to him. Not a family. But with the Outsiders, he felt more a home in the three weeks since he had joined them as the 'Outsider' Flare Blue. They had treated him like he was one of them despite being utterly different.

"Anytime man, anytime." Caleb grinned and slapped his best friend's shoulder. "Hey, if you can make it to Ben's before six, maybe we can play a few rounds of multiplayer?"

"Sounds like fun. Check ya later!"

Turning away from Caleb was painful. Almost as painful as when Mary sidled up to him from the rushing crowd, that accusing stare on her face.

"Bckaw!" she cried, imitating a chicken as best as she could.

"Shut it," he growled.

"Three weeks, Lars. Three weeks. This was your last chance to really_make it with Caleb and you've blown it. You realise once Lance gets back, Caleb will be all too occupied with him to really pay attention to _you."

He rolled his eyes as they emerged into the cooling embracing of the West California Island air. Fall was on its way. The leaves had yet to change colour but the worst of summer was over and temperatures were going to start plummeting soon. He could already see the massive biodome frames starting to be erected all over the island. Once winter officially hit, the fully-functioning biodome would start generating the cloud cover and perpetuating winter for the residents of the enormous, artificial island. Snow would fall, trees would lose their leaves and it would be the perfect time to cuddle up with someone special in front of a fire with some hot chocolate in paw.

Mary stuck out her tongue. "Do you listen to yourself? You're a romantic at heart but you don't even have the balls to tell Caleb how you feel. I'm half-tempted to just let it 'slip'."

He whirled around to her, eyes flashing. "Don't you dare!"

"I swore I wouldn't," she responded, holding up her hands. Her features softened. "But seriously Lars, you've got to do something about this. It's better to say something and get utterly rejected, have your heart torn out of your chest and then burned at the stake than to be left here pining and not knowing. Plus at least if you commit suicide, we can bring you back as a zombie."

That was in reference to their newest ally, Arcturus the Hound of Death. The mysterious demigod who presided over delivering the souls of dead furs - and only furs, no humans - to the afterlife to be judged had been hanging around the Outsider Facility chatting with Bren quite often. As Lars jumped into Mary's jet-black convertible, his thoughts went to when they were first introduced to Arcturus.

The Hound explained that while he had his duties all over the world, as a demigod he had some degree of omnipresence and vowed to aid each of the Outsiders on developing their powers. He was the source of Lars' newfound ability to create hotter, more concentrated blue flames instead of his 'cooler' red ones as Firebrand. Each of the Outsiders had improved their abilities with the exception of Ben who refused the offer. The Alpha Pack still considered themselves separate and apparently, it was somewhat insulting that the FBI offer training to the proud group when no one offered to join the Pack in return.

Mary drove through the busy streets of West California Island, the massive compartmentalised artificial island created centuries ago on the west coast of the United States of America. The metallic city filled with solid light roads hundreds of feet in the air and silent tinium powered vehicles was the place Lars considered home. Just watching the towering structures fly by reminded him of his responsibilities not just to himself but to the world at large.

"You know the Alliance is actually considering calling superhero teams from other states?" he said, glancing over at Mary. "Someone did their research and found similar Gene Stealer-like phenomenon all over the world."

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Mary with a shrug. "The Gene Stealers are a worldwide organisation. Not sure why they've focused their attention on our island recently but I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that we foiled one of their major plots."

Lars fell quiet. Over the past three weeks, Gene Stealer activity had been reduced to a minimum with just a few Generation Zero Thralls popping up here and there. Nothing overly interesting or major like the Gnoll Outbreak or, as the team had come to know it, 'Gnoll's Last Laugh'. It had been a great opportunity for Lars to officially come out as a new Outsider but it worried him that after just an enormous offensive, the Gene Stealers hadn't sought out some sort of major retaliation.

"I thought Feral Steel was one of those supers that was extremely territorial?" Mary asked, breaking the silence. She drove up to the parking lot two blocks away from the FBI main building.

"He is but I'm thinking the fact that his son got changed by the Gene Stealers has something to do with his reconsideration."

Mary jumped out of her car, followed by Lars. "He makes concessions to other supers but not to the Outsiders that have been dealing with them for months. I'm seeing a whole new side to Caleb's dad."

He eyes Mary warily. "You never suspected that David Hale was Feral Steel?"

She shook her head sadly. "He has some pretty darn strong mental defences. Very subtle too. I always thought his scatterbrained thoughts were just junk. I mean, he does act kind of spacey in public. I never thought it was all just a smokescreen." She inclined her head slightly. "Why don't you have that sort of mental defence?"

Lars blushed beneath his dark fur and turned towards the storage closet that would lead them to the Facility. "One of the things my instructors keep telling me I'm lacking. Can't quite come up with enough strength to keep up the defences and fight someone at the same time."

"Maybe something Arcturus can help with."

"Maybe."

They accessed the trap-laden hallway from the storage closet to the massive, metal doors leading into the Outsider Facility. After some initial identity checks, they passed into the Facility, the base of operations for the Outsider Initiative West California Island Branch. The massive FBI insignia was emblazoned on the floor in the atrium with five tunnels leading into the five different sections of the Facility.

Originally, there had only been three; one for the super-genius Elliot, another for Caleb and the third of Mary. However, since Lars had joined, a fourth had been added. The last had been reserved for Lance should he decide to join the Outsiders as well.

Two furs were waiting for them. One was the relatively short, athletic tiger known simply as 'Bren'. The second was the tall, intimidating black wolf with twin, glowing wings jutting from his back; Arcturus the Hound of Death.

"You're early," Bren noted. "Good. We've got a lot to go through. You two ready?"

Lars nodded and set his bag down. A jet of sharp, blue fire erupted from his palm.

"Hell yeah!"

*****

Ben's house was simply massive and Caleb couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as he waved goodbye to his friend and left. The enormous mansion was ill-gotten as it belonged to the criminal organisation known as the Alpha Pack; a mobster-style group of werewolves that extorted, robbed and manipulated others to give them money. However, the Pack were allies of the Outsiders when dealing with the Gene Stealers.

And Ben was Caleb's friend.

He wasn't sure what would happen once the Gene Stealers were dealt with but Caleb was confident that would be a long while yet.

As Caleb strode down the steps of the massive mansion, his videogame in paw, he heard a feminine voice call out to him. Turning, he found Ben's adoptive mother, Martha Connors quickly but elegantly gliding down the steps to him. She was carrying his letterman jacket.

"You forgot this, dear," she said sweetly, handing it to him. She had stark, raven hair and sharp angular features that were statuesque. Very move-star quality.

"Thanks Mrs. Connors," he replied, taking the jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. "Coach would kill me if I forgot this."

"I can imagine." The matron of the Connors household gave Caleb a strange look, like she was analysing him. "Caleb, dear, what are your thoughts on the future?"

He winced loudly as his black and gold motorcycle was rolled up to him by a valet. "Mrs. Connors, I appreciate the gesture but as I've told Ben many times before, I'm not interested in joining the Alpha Pack. I hope you understand."

She shook her head, her light pink lips pursed. "No dear, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about beyond high school."

Surprised by the question, Caleb avoided Martha Connor's dark brown eyes. "Um... well... I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I guess I'll head off to college. Which one, I'm not sure. My mom wants me to take up medicine or something equally complex and my dad just wants me to go into football... Then there's the fact that I'm employed by the government... Maybe I'll join the military and be a field medic or engineer. That might satisfy both my parents..."

Martha Connors straightened and ran a hand through her hair. "You know that everyone in the Alpha Pack is a super, correct?"

"Yup. Ben's constantly reminded me that if I were to become a werewolf, I'd get all the perks of being a werewolf and get to keep my Outsider powers. I'd basically be a super too."

"Our son is quite persistent in recruiting you, I'll admit," she chuckled. "But I mention this because I'd like to share with you my superpower. Clairvoyance."

Caleb blinked, one ear folding back while the other remaining erect. "You can see into the future?"

"Glance at it, yes. It aids with our business. If someone were to betray us or attempt to out-manoeuvre us, we will know ahead of time. But it is not something I can actively do. It comes in flashes and is just a possibility, not a certainty. My true power is shamanistic in nature."

"Oh... Okay..."

"I say this because recently, I have been having flashes of you." Her tone turned worrisome. "Have you considered travel?"

"Huh? Me?" Caleb shook his head. "No, not really. I really can't imagine leaving my family or this island."

"Strange..." She glanced away thoughtfully. "I've seen you other places outside of here. The UK, Australia, Japan, China... It was vague but you were amazingly happy. You were also holding someone's paw. I could not tell whose."

He inclined his head to the side. "You're saying I'll find my true love outside of West Cali?"

"As I said, this was just a possibility." Martha Connors smiled at him and gently pecking his cheek. "Don't let it worry you, dear. The future is an uncertain thing. What we do now, the choices we make and the decisions we reject will all forge our path. Nothing is set in stone."

Caleb smirked. "You'd think I'd know that after spending the past one and a half hours playing a game about time magic..." He smiled at Ben's mom. "Thanks Mrs. Connors. I appreciate it."

"Take care, Caleb. Oh and when you see your mother, tell her that her roast is done."

"Uh... okay."

Caleb jumped onto his custom made motorcycle, Ballistic; a vehicle he managed to obtain thanks to his salary working as an Outsider for the government. Mrs. Connor's words were the least of his worries as he drove back home with mounting apprehension. Every second brought him closer and closer to being reunited with Lance and whatever news he had.

He almost wanted to stop and turn around. Not knowing was killing him but at the same time, he was scared of knowing. Despite his apprehension, Caleb powered through it all and rode up the driveway to his family's two-storey home. The family van was already parked in the garage and it was six forty-five. His mom would have gone to pick up his father and Lance at about six thirty... so that meant that they were already back.

With a deep breath, Caleb shakily gripped the doorknob and pushed it open, entering his home.

The TV was on, spraying a perfectly three dimensional image into the centre of the lounge room. From where he stood, Caleb could see his father's thick arm draped across the back of the headrest of the couch. Dad poked his head over the couch, his blue eyes locked with Caleb's.

He froze.

In the back of his mind, he saw his father's features twisting in rage and that super speed kicking in. David Hale - aka Feral Steel - would bowl his son over, call him a 'fucking wannabe' and kick him out, throwing him right through the garage door.

Instead, his father's eyes exploded in joy, his features widening into a big, toothy grin. "Cale!"

With no reason to hide his super abilities in the household, David Hale zoomed across the house and collided with his son. Instead of a punishing blow that would have broken Caleb in a thousand places, his father caught him in a powerful, hug, lifting his son off the ground. David even kissed his son's forehead.

"Wolf Christ, Cale! I missed you the most!" Then Dad froze and turned an awkward grin to Caleb's right. Poking her head out from the kitchen, a wooden spoon in one paw and a foul look on her features was Lillian Hale. "Erm... second to you, of course dear."

"That's better," growled Caleb's mother and she ducked back into the kitchen.

David released his son, grinning brightly. "That's just for her, son. How's my superstar?"

"Compacted," Caleb replied, gasping for breath. "Dad, you gotta watch your strength..."

"You're doing better than Leon!" Dad exclaimed with a grin. "He's in his room resting. You sure you don't have any super in you?"

He froze. "Erm..."

"Ah, doesn't matter! I'm going to take you kids to get tested tomorrow!"

"Tested!?"

David Hale grinned from ear to ear. "Yup! One of my kids just got their super powers awakened and is turning out to be one of the best additions to the Elemental Alliance! I'm going to make sure that I haven't missed anything with the rest of you guys! Don't want to make you feel left out now, do I?"

Panic began flooding Caleb. Every year, the government tested its school children for any signs of superpowers. These tests, however, would detect _any_form of superpower from Outsider to full-blown super. However, as it was a government test, the FBI doctored the results to ensure that Caleb and Mary got off without being detected. Lars revealed that to maintain his secret identity, the Elemental Alliance did the same. Ben said that the Alpha Pack bribed people.

"Um... okay... Are you sure we've got powers? I mean, I'm sure the testing facility only opens in July and -"

"Bah! Those government idiots aren't worth our taxes," Dad said, waving a paw. "I mean, they let Outsiders slip beneath their radar and are actively working with them, putting them in danger. I'm getting you kids tests in the Alliance Facility."

"Oh... Okay, sweet. Erm... Tomorrow, you said? I've got school..."

"Special Alliance ruling," David said, puffing out his impressive chest. "I got you pulled out. It's only for half the day. You'll be back for football practice." He winked at Caleb, nudging him playfully. "Just between you and me, I think you're the one with the powers, son. Leon couldn't take a hug and Abby... well... she's Abby. Plus you're awesome on the field and you made it through after being turned into one of those hyenas! If that's not a killer origin story, I don't know what is!"

It took all of Caleb's effort to manage a cheery grin. "Cool. Can't wait, Dad. Would you excuse me for a second...?" He turned and started heading up the stairs.

Click-click...

"Caleb! Claws!" his mother cried from the kitchen.

He flinched and began grumbling. His mother absolutely hated bare paws on the floorboards. Of all the Hale kids, he forgot the most. "Thanks mom. By the way, the roast's done."

There was silence from the kitchen.

"Oh for the love of..." his mother cried. "David! We really need a new oven!"

Caleb flicked his ear at his dad. "What happened to the oven?"

His father winced loudly. "Lance still has to learn how to control his super strength and he was in earlier trying to help your mother with the roast. He tried setting the time and broke it." Then he eyed Caleb with a mix of curiosity and mounting joy. "How'd you know the roast was done?"

Realising that there was no possible way he could have known that without superpowers, Caleb panicked and just said, "Erm... I just smelled it, that's all. Gotta go!" He turned and bolted up the stairs, slippers on this time.

"Superpowers are nothing to be ashamed of, son!" shouted his father from downstairs.

Caleb slammed his door shut, panting heavily with his back against it.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" he cried. Panicking, he fumbled for his phone.

Clink.

His eyes went to his window. Across the lawn between his house and the neighbour's, Mary was standing at her bedroom window with two soup cans and a piece of string. Caleb rushed over, practically tearing his window off its hinges and caught her next volley.

"My dad thinks I've got superpowers and he's taking me to be tested tomorrow!" he squeaked.

"I heard," Mary responded calmly. "Cale, deep breaths. I've taken care of it. I've talked to Bren. They've got people in the Alliance who can sabotage the test. You'll come up negative."

His breathing calmed and he slowly slumped back against the window, sighing softly. "What am I going to do, Mary? I'm living under the roof of two supers. Both of whom I love and one of which I'm fucking."

"I say invite them into a threesome."

"What!?"

"Hey, if your dad gets depressed over you not being a super, maybe he can get over it by putting some super in you."

He shot her a foul stare. "How long have you been keeping that in your back pocket?"

"All week. I've got a list. Want to hear them?"

"No."

He saw Mary reaching for a piece of paper and he just stood there, soup can to his ear as he watched her. "You know Leon is jealous right? Maybe you should sleep with him and that might awaken his powers."

"That's terrible."

"And yet it's a possibility right?"

"I hate you so much right now."

"And yet you can't stop!" giggled Mary with glee. "Oh! Oh! This one's a good one. Since you or Leon aren't supers and Lance has two cocks, maybe you should -"

"I've heard enough," he growled, tossing the soup can away. As he shut his window, his phone buzzed. Despite knowing he really shouldn't answer it, he still did.

He was glad he did though.

He swung his window back open and caught Mary's soup can the instant she tossed it.

"My mom is pregnant!?"

Mary shrugged absently. "It's in her thoughts. When your dad came home they did the nasty pretty loudly. They used to do it all the time before they had kids and using his superpowers during sex is a major turn on for her. Your mom is into some kinky stuff. You know she likes to chain up your dad and dominate him."

Caleb winced and rubbed his temples. "I've seen the photo albums... Mary, the pregnancy?"

"Oh right. Well, like I said, they did it multiple times, no condom and... well..."

"Great... just great. Bad enough that my dad and brother are supers but now my mom could have another pup. What were they thinking?"

She shrugged absently. "Your dad got a lot of kudos from bringing a son into the Alliance and he got sort of swept up in it. It's sort of his way of insuring that he can keep pumping out the supers, you know? If none of his other kids turn out to be supers, maybe he can make another one."

"Urgh... I'm going to go drown myself in the toilet. That's cleaner than what's up here."

"Don't you want to know where Lance is?"

He froze, recalling how his dad mentioned that Lance had been in the house earlier. That suggested he wasn't there anymore.

At that moment, his phone began playing the tune 'Waiting for You'. He grumbled angrily and picked it up, pressing it against his other ear.

"Not a good time, Bren," he muttered.

"Lance is here."

*****

There were two surprises for Caleb when he stepped into the Facility with Mary by his side. The first was that Arcturus was still there. Normally, the Hound of Death could only spend the two hours he slotted with each of the team members every day to train them. Today had been Mary and Lars' turn. That he was still here was certainly a surprise.

Second was Lance.

His brother, looking as handsome as ever with his differently coloured eyes and herculean build looked... normal. Last time he had seen Lance, he had a towel draped over his two, very erect cocks and was desperately trying to hide his second pair of arms springing from his back just behind his shoulders. That and his gargantuan 10 foot plus height. Now, Lance just stood there in a white wife beater and khakis, back to his seven foot seven height and grinning at his brother broadly. That silver necklace Caleb had given him on the night of the transformation remained firmly around his thick, corded neck but accompanying it was a golden pendant similar to the one Lars hid beneath his shirt.

"Cale!"

Lance crossed the distance between them like lightning, sweeping Caleb off his feet and spinning him around wildly. Their lips collided in midair, the touch melting Caleb into Lance's arms. Memories of those weeks when they had spent together, in each other's arms and in a loving embrace came flooding back, temporarily overwhelming the worried thoughts and questions that flooded his mind.

It was only when Arcturus cleared his throat did Caleb snap out of his revere and break the contact.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, unable to keep himself from grinning.

"I wanted to see you," answered Lance, returning the grin. "When you weren't home, I guessed you were here. So I came here. Turns out you were playing videogames at Ben's house."

"Heh, sorry..." He rubbed the back of his neck absently. "Mary sort of got me a videogame I was really looking forward to getting."

Mary leaned casually against Caleb's arm. "He was in a bad place, Lance. A really bad place. He sulked the day you were gone and has this sock of yours that he keeps under his bed."

"Mary!"

Lance chuckled and hugged his brother tightly, though that must have been 'lightly' for a super like him. "I missed you, Cale."

Caleb let himself melt into his brother's embrace. "I missed you too."

Arcturus cleared his throat again and all those present turned to him. Beside the Hound of Death stood Bren and next to him was Lars. "If we're all doing with the reunion," the Hound said. "Lance and I have been introduced and he's been caught up on most of what has happened since his absence."

Grinning Lance, hugged his younger brother's shoulders tightly. "Yeah! I heard you got some new skills! You too Mary." His eyes turned to Lars with a smile. "And I can't believe you're hiding your powers from the Alliance, Lars! You know how proud your parents would be?"

"Not proud at all?" came Lars' bitter reply making Lance's grin falter.

"I haven't given him all the details yet," Arcturus said, "as unfortunately, Lance has decided not to join the Outsider Initiative."

"What?" Caleb exclaimed, spinning to face his brother.

Holding his paws up in surrender, Lance said, "Look, I think it'll just betray Dad's trust if I went behind his back and moonlighted as an Outsider especially after all he's done for me. He's pretty adamant on his stance but I can be the middleman. Give me some time and I'm sure I can ease him to not being so... tight assed."

Caleb could see the merit in that argument. What would it say about the Outsiders if they lied to their own parents for the sake of lying? How could he advocate simplicity and honesty when he asked his own brother to lie about being an Outsider for no other reason than the two of them fighting villains together?

"I hope that time comes soon, Lance," Bren said. "You are still welcome in the Facility on the condition that we can trust you on its location and secrecy."

"You can count on me."

That made Caleb glad. There was a pretty good avenue for him now to slowly reveal his identity to his dad. He had to admit that he was stuck about that particular secret but if Lance was on his side, there was certainly a future there. Whatever Mrs. Connors said about him finding love and a bright future outside of West Cali was just a glimpse, a possibility. He was perfectly happy here. Well... once the Gene Stealers and all his secrets were dealt with.

"So," Lance exclaimed, grinning at his brother. "Show me these new powers of yours. I heard Lars can cut through solid metal with his flames now and Mary is training up to use weaponry instead of just her fists. What can you do?"

Caleb blushed deeply. "Erm... Well... Uh..."

"Come on, Cale! Tell me!" Lance was bouncing happily on the balls of his feet. "What's wrong?"

"Well... It's sort of embarrassing and... um... unconventional..."

"Bro, your powers are unconventional. Come on! My origin story is that my little brother fucked me and I obtained my powers. How much more embarrassing can you get than that?"

He flicked Lance a curious stare. "That's right. What is the public being told about you?"

Before Lance could get into any specifics, a loud huffing and puffing could be heard in the vast atrium. They turned towards the left most hallway were a pudgy orca with no pants and a foot-long flaccid cock waddled in. Sweat was rolling off his black and white flesh.

"Never make me run this way ever again," Elliot panted.

"What's wrong?" Bren asked, brow furrowed.

"Gene Stealer attack," the orca wheezed. "Looks like Spider Queen. Southaven Sewerage Treatment Plant..." With those last few words, Elliot collapsed to the ground, face first.

Bren turned to the team. "You heard the man. Let's go."

Lance cracked his knuckles ominously. "Awesome. First real skirmish after training!"

"You sure you're up for this?" Lars asked, pulling out his pendant with the Elemental Alliance insignia; a device he used to instantly change his clothing to his Firebrand uniform. "It took me a bit to get used to fighting after I got inducted."

"I'm pumped!" shouted Lance, pumping a fist into the air. "Come on! Let's go kick some Gene Stealer ass!"

*****

Lance had been looking forward to this day since he had learned how to shift back to a more normal shape. For two weeks, he was perpetually scared that he could never live a normal life, never live alongside Caleb again as he was a 10 foot - 10 foot seven to be exact - four-armed and twin-cocked beast. However, after two weeks of training, he was able to discern that his superpower was to shift between his two forms, his normal shape and what has been called his 'Feral Form'.

Such a name earned him the superhero name 'Feral Fang'. As he told the others in Bren's van, the official announcement would be made next Monday to confirm the media's suspicions that a new member had joined the Elemental Alliance and was none other than Feral Steel's son. His stat cards were already in print and merchandise was already ready to go on sale. Apparently, in his Feral Form, he had higher durability than even the oldest of supers, capable of holding his breath for longer than six minutes underwater, run miles without getting tired and, best of all, his skin fur became a strange organic metal that had the flexibility and texture of fur but was as hard as steel. It effectively gave him a suit of light-weight armour. With his four arms and added mass, he was also much stronger than the average super.

"So no actual superpowers except for shifting," Lars stated.

Lance detected a hint of jealousy from the Doberman and it made him slightly uncomfortable. He had hoped to be friends with the guy as Lars was fairly new to the Alliance as well. Working together would have been preferable but when he suggested it, many of the instructors - including Lars' own mother - suggested against it as Lars was described as 'subpar'. Realising that Lars was hiding powers developed under Arcturus' tuition made that seem all the more hurtful.

"Not really," he admitted. He was already dressed in his superhero outfit which consisted of a flexible sleeveless singlet that would stretch with his shape and long, figure-hugging pants of the same material. Where Feral Steel's getup was themed purely silver, Lance's was silver and saffron. Apparently, saffron symbolised virility which suited him well. He could be Feral Fang one moment, or good old Lance Hale the next. Of course, he had the face mask that was pretty standard for all supers that had mild optic jammers to conceal the colour of his eyes, making them appear perpetually white.

Across from him, Mary was dressed in her long, black coat of an Outsider and even Lars had a his own Outsider outfit consisting of an ensemble that made him look like a fireman only coloured black and blue and a jet-black fireman's helmet that hid his features entirely. Caleb had his own similarly coloured hoodie and pants but on top of it all was the strange white, bone armour that wrapped around his arms and was joined by a cape made of spotted hyena fur.

"You're wearing that thing?" asked Lance, pointing at the armour and in a desperate ploy to push conversation away from him. "Why?"

"Well... Funny Bone is sort of -"

Lars interrupted. "Whoa, whoa! I thought we were going with 'Killer Spot'?"

Mary waved her hands through the air. "We agreed that could be interpreted as something against leopards. Plus, 'Killer Spot'? You're making Caleb sound like he's a trained dog called 'Spot' who's a killer." She folded her arms. "Besides, I still think 'Banshee'would've been better."

"Hey!" Caleb growled. "It's my weapon and my body. I get to name it what I want, okay?"

Lance winced loudly. "Yeah... but... 'Funny Bone'? I'm going to agree with the others, Cale. That's... pretty lame."

The van came to an abrupt halt, almost throwing all of them against one another.

"That's not good..." Bren said.

Still feeling pumped and excited for his first real engagement, Lance leapt out of the back of the van and turned to the sewerage treatment plant. The plant had been abandoned a long time ago when the matter conversion technology had come into being. Any waste and rubbish was instantly broken down into basic atoms and went into manufacturing or agriculture for rearrangement. However, the plant had become as museum in the time since. A sort of educational centrepiece for young kids on the merits of matter conversion recycling and how disgusting the world had been centuries ago.

However, today the museum took a different light.

It was simply covered in webbing. The towering smokestacks, squat, square buildings and enormous vats were simply covered in it, making it look like an extract straight out of a nightmare.

A chill ran down Lance's spine.

"Keep away from the places where there are lots of cocoons," Lars advised. "The little 'babies' that Spider Queen's Thralls like spewing have the nasty habit of popping out spontaneously and binding you down."

"Speaking from personal experience?"

"Wish I didn't, but yeah."

Bren stepped out of the van and regarded the facility. "From Elliot's analysis, there aren't any hostages this time around. It looks like they're just setting up a nest or something. Get in there and get rid of them."

"Wait," Lance said, "them?"

The clank of armour made him turn to Caleb who had his game face on... if he could see his face. That black hood veiled Caleb's features entirely in darkness thanks to the optic jammers installed into the clothing. "Recently, the Gene Stealers have been deploying their Thralls in groups. Used to be that it was just one Thrall here and there but in the past few weeks, we've been encountering them in groups."

"Shouldn't the Alliance know about this?"

"We tried to tell them but we're still considered wannabes. No one will listen to us."

More and more, Lance was learning just how desperately he needed to get his dad to listen to the Outsiders and drop the bigoted 'wannabe super' stance. Not only for his relationship with his brother but also because the Outsiders were the only ones with experience against the Gene Stealers.

When Mary stepped out of the van, Lance detected the clink of metal. When he turned, he noticed that she was wearing two swords on her thighs, bound by black hilts. He never considered her a sword sort of person but obviously a lot had changed in the past few weeks.

"Is Ben coming?" he asked.

"Not this night," answered Mary. "He's got a pack to reign in on the north side." Somehow, despite the optic jammers in her hood, he could tell she was grinning at him. "Really, he just hates dealing with Spider Queen. First time, he got wrapped up like a burrito and was utterly helpless."

Bren instructed them to cut the chatter and to hurry into the facility to eliminate the targets. He remained in the van, a tablet in his paws. The tiger would instruct them from the safety of the van lest he die... again.

The group of four strode towards the sickly, web-covered gates. Lars stepped up and held out his paws. A thin, blue flame erupted from the tips of his fingers and sliced cleanly through the webbing. Lance had to admit that the Doberman had obtained a frightening amount of control over his powers. Historically, Lars only really threw flames randomly and in big gushes. He learned from his instructors that Firebrand was a little reckless that way. But the super he was looking at now was far different to the impression that the instructors had.

When the webbing had dissipated, they strode into the parking lot.

"Well what do we have here?"

Lance spun though the others remained perfectly still. "Who said that?" he barked. Caleb gripped his paw tightly, gently calming him.

A high-pitched cackle was his reply. "Oooh... They're so big, sis... I think that's a super there. A member of the Elemental Alliance."

A strange hissing noise filled the air. "Yes... tastes like the Alliance. But he's so... fresh. He must be the new guy all those gossips have been talking about."

The first voice came back, hissing softly. "I call dibs."

A soft chittering noise filled the air like mandibles clicking together. Lance felt a burst of panic flood him as the noise was coming from all directions. He glanced to his right just as someone giggled and then to his left as another let out a high-pitched laugh.

"Stay cool," Lars warned.

Heart pounding in his chest, Lance felt the need to transform quickly flooding him. Every breath he took felt like it was filling his lungs a little more than the last. A soft groan echoed from his throat. His cock was starting to stir in its sheath. It was one of the problems with his transformation; it was cripplingly pleasurable. Transforming in front of his instructors and creaming them had been embarrassing but changing back was like falling into the warmth of afterglow after a powerful orgasm; he was always left weary, tired and almost unconscious.

There was a soft, metallic hissing noise and he watched as Mary retrieved her twin blades, spinning them expertly in her hands. She held both swords in a reverse grip.

"They're armed..." said the second voice.

The third giggled. "These are the Outsiders... The ones we've been warned about..."

"They're not Thralls..." Caleb murmured darkly. "These are Gens!"

"Gens?" asked Lance as the team suddenly pressed their backs against his, forming a perfect defensive circle.

"Our slang for Generation-type Gene Stealers," answered Mary. "They're borderline supers. Regeneration, speed, strength, endurance, the works. Everything but an actual superpower. They can infect others too."

WHAM!

Lance leapt back, pushing the others out of their defensive line just as a body fell at his feet. "Holy crap!"

Bren's mangled form lay before him, eyes wide in shock and blood everywhere. When he looked up from the body, his jaw dropped as a frightening, half-lizard, half-spider creature crawled towards them, her long, spikey legs making that chittering noise.

"He wasn't very tasty," the lizard hissed. "I hope you all will be more... delectable. Sisters!"

CRASH! BOOM! WHAM!

Three other Gens came crawling out of the shadows, making their own entrances. One smashed through a wall, flailing her arms and letting out a loud, hissing noise. Another slammed into a lamppost, sending it crashing to the ground. The land just slammed into the ground directly in front of Caleb, grinning broadly.

"Well hello, little boy," she hissed, her long, forked tongue lashing out.

"Cale -" Lance began.

"Bite me," growled Caleb. His younger brother immediately lashed out, seizing that forked tongue before it could slip back into the reptilian maw. An ethereal glow began seeping out of the point of contact, making the lizard's eyes grow wide in horror. Caleb swiped his other paw upwards. A blade-like pillar of bone lanced upwards, severing the lizard's tongue. In the same movement, Caleb spun around, the tongue in his paws extending outwards to become a long, sizzling whip dripping with sickly, green fluids. Where it touched, it burned like acid.

"Weapons Master!" screamed one of the other lizards.

The lizard's eyes suddenly went wide in horror as Mary was suddenly right next to her. "And I'm Blade Babe, bitch!" She swung her blades in a dizzying dance that made the lizard skitter back, unable to defend herself. Lance could only watch the expertise in which Mary swung her swords, not so much an extension of her arm as they were an extension of her will. In one, swift movement, Mary spun around and slammed her two swords together. Some hidden mechanism activated, combining the two blades into one, much larger, much longer sword.

The Gen Thrall she was against screamed as the blade cleaved a bloody path through her abdomen. Mary, merciless as ever, pressed some button within her massive bastard sword. Again, the weapon shifted, all the bladed parts travelling up to the very tip to form a sharp, cross-shaped blade. The weapon extended well past the normal reaches of a sword, becoming a spear.

Shhink!

The lizard-spider screamed as the spear punctured her lower, arachnid abdomen.

"Sister!" screamed a third Thrall. Like lightning, she came rushing across the web-covered asphalt, closing in on Mary. The empath tried to yank her spear from her foe but the lizard-spider gripped the blade, grinning wildly.

"Mary!" Lance tried to move towards her but his movements were slowed by the webbing. "Shit!"

Whoosh!

A wall of blue flames suddenly blocked the charging spider's path. Lars sprang from the flames, his paws and feet wreathed in burning, blue fire. The air sizzled with his movements and he hovered a foot off the ground, moving even faster than what he had been recorded back at the Elemental Tower. Lars, now Flare Blue, thrust his paws forward at the third of the lizard sisters. A thin, precise blade of sapphire flames shot from his palms, slicing right into the shoulders of the lizard. She screamed in agony and immediately spun around, exposing her arachnid rear to Lars. Thick, white webbing exploded from her ass, shooting straight towards Lars.

Flare Blue swung his paws to his sides. Tongues of blue fire exploded all around him in a tight circle. Lances of fire connected one tongue to the other, forming a perfect grid that burned the projectile webbing with ease.

"Whoa..." Lance murmured, awed by Lars' precision and control.

"Got you!"

He froze and spun as one of the lizard-spiders collided hard with him. He growled and let the transformation take over. The Thrall's eyes widened as her grip around his shoulder loosened as his muscles pushed her fingers apart. Every part of him felt like his heart was producing monumental amounts of blood and pumping it through his veins. His cock rubbed up against his pants, growing and growing in size will dripping precum down his leg. That moment of distraction was brushed aside when the ground hit him hard but not before the second pair of arms sprang from behind his shoulder blade.

His foe's eyes went wide as the huge arms seized her around the waist and flung her clear off him. Lance leapt to his feet, every growl that erupted from his throat growing deeper and deeper as he grew to his full ten foot seven height, brimming with muscles. His two cocks seeped cum into his uniform but there was too much adrenaline pumping through his system for him to really pay attention to it.

"Stop the big one!" the sister he was against cried. She immediately rolled onto her back, aiming her ass at him. Thick webbing slammed into his chest. Foolishly, he tried to rip it off but only got his paw stuck against his huge, muscular pecs.

"Crap!"

THWACK!

Somewhere behind him, another shot of webbing slammed into his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the lizard-spider that Lars had engaged flash a grin towards him before darting away from Lars' attacks.

TWHACK!

Mary's foe shot more webbing at him while they both struggled against one another. Fed up with the bizarre tug of war, Mary pressed something in her spear. The weapon collapsed upon itself, returning to its original two swords. The lizard-spider was shocked by the sudden transformation, her hands loosening around the weapons. Mary yanked the swords away and leapt back -

Wham!

Right into Lance...

"Uh-oh..." she said. She tried to move but only proceeded to unbalance Lance. They both slammed into the ground, back into more webbing.

"Crap!" Lance cried.

"Guys!" Lars shouted, leaping towards them. "Hang on! Hold still-"

Three shadows moved behind Lars.

"Look out!" both Lance and Mary shouted.

Lars had enough time to spin around before all three of the unattended lizard-spiders spewed webbing straight at him. He was thrown straight against Lars' big chest, bound there by thick webbing.

"Motherfucker!" Lars shouted. "I'll burn -"

The leading Thrall landed on Lars' chest, her many legs setting on his chest. But her eyes were not on him. "Let our sister go or your friends will have the pleasure of going through the rigours of childbirth!"

Lance's eyes widened when he saw a large stinger erupt from the same rear that housed the webbing on the spider. A vicious, green liquid dripped out from the tip, making him squirm. Desperate to turn away from the sight, he followed the woman's gaze to Caleb. His younger brother had the fourth and last lizard-spider encased in a tomb of spiky, sharp bones. Any move on her part would cause her to be speared.

"Cale!" he shouted, then realised how foolish it was to shout out _anyone's_name when in the presence of a supervillain.

Some superhero he turned out to be...

As he was thinking this, though, Caleb did the most un-superhero think possible.

He pulled down his hood.

"Oooh! He's a handsome pup!" squealed one of the lizards, licking her lips. "I'll enjoy his company."

"If I release her, you'll let my friends go?" Caleb growled, his blue eyes flashing.

"Of course..." chuckled the leading Thrall.

That was bullshit and everyone knew it. "Cale, don't -" Before Lance could finish, a thick slab of webbing slammed into his muzzle, keeping it tightly shut. He struggled but no matter how big his muscles were or how many limbs he had, the webbing was too strong!

"Fine," Caleb said slowly. "You win." Slowly, the white bones containing the last sister slipped back into the ground, releasing the Thrall. Heavily wounded and without her tongue, the woman skittered back towards her sisters.

The leading Thrall got a dark look in her eyes. "Of course... But now who will let you go."

Then something truly unexpected happened.

Caleb's eyes turned bright yellow.

"I was just thinking the same thing about you," he growled, voice dropping to a familiar rumble.

Lance's eyes went wide. The pieces of armour bound to Caleb's arms suddenly shifted, loosening themselves and realigning so that instead of clasping themselves against his muscles, they stuck up perpendicular. In response, his brother's arms bulged, growing to fill the mass that his armour had left. Thick legs built for running down the football field lengthened, growing so enormous that Caleb had to widen his stance. His chest barrelled out, his pecs pushing his shoulders wide which similarly blossomed with new size. Caleb's height reached an incredible ten feet tall, just like Lance but where Lance's changes stopped just at size and strength, Caleb undertook his own transformation.

His long, lupine muzzle grew shorter, squarer. The grey and white fur became a chocolate brown leading into tan down the back of his neck. The brown fur that topped his head scrambled down his spine, becoming a long, lush mane. Pointed, lupine ears rounded out, fitting the profile of... of...

"A hyena!?" Lance cried through the webbing.

A monstrous roar escaped Caleb, shaking the courage of all the lizard-spiders around him.

"One of Gnoll's hyenas!?" exclaimed the leading Thrall.

"But - But that's impossible!" echoed another.

"We were never told about this!"

WHAM!

Caleb slammed into the closest lizard-spider, seizing her around the neck and throwing her boldly with one, massive paw into the rest. Only one managed to escape being bowled over by her sisters.

"It's a secret to everyone," growled the wolf-turned-hyena. He swiped his paw upwards. A cage of pure, white bones erupted from the ground, encasing the three spiders that he had just knocked unconscious. Ghostly, feral hyenas materialised around the three, preventing their escape.

The last spider screamed and bolted, trying to escape deeper into the facility.

Caleb closed his fists together and slammed them both straight into the ground. Huge pillars of sharp bones exploded from the ground like a shockwave racing straight towards the escaping Thrall. She sensed the attack and leapt to the left. Instead of chasing after her, the spikes formed a venerable wall of glistening, white bone, preventing her escape into the facility.

The lizard-spider spun, eyes wide in horror.

Caleb stepped over an awed Lance, face still but still distinctly Caleb Hale's.

"You're finished."

The woman's eyes went wide and she shook her head. "No... No... No! We were meant to take over this city! We... We... We were -" She suddenly held her head in her hands, letting out an ear-splitting scream. "Nooooooo!"

Without warning, bright green flames erupted all over her body, consuming her body. Her limbs flailed as he desperately tried to douse the fire but to no avail. The ghostly flames burned her legs right out from underneath her, forcing her body to collapse. Similar screams erupted from those caged by Caleb and they too erupted into flames.

All around them, the webbing burst into similar green flames, eating away at any trance of the Thralls ever being present. Lance was surprised when the flames didn't actually burn him.

His eyes couldn't leave Caleb's massive form. Unlike the hyenas from three weeks ago and indeed, the hyena that Caleb had become, this creature was regal, poised and simply... heroic. With that armour and that cape, he looked like a king amongst hyenas. Despite himself, Lance could not help but love Caleb's enormous, muscled form... and into the package barely contained by his tight-fitting pants.

"Damnit..." growled Lars, bringing Lance back from his lust. "They self-destructed again."

"Self-destructed?"

Mary dusted her handoff the charred remains of the sticky webbing and stood up, offering her hand to Lance. "The most recent iteration of Gen Thralls from Spider Queen to have this self-destruct code embedded into them. Whenever they so much as think that they can't possibly win for longer than a minute or if a certain jumble of words are arranged into their mind, they just burst into flames like you saw. It isn't so much as fire, really, as their DNA actually disintegrating."

"The hell...?"

"We think it's the way the Gene Stealers are preventing us from making a cure for the strains," answered Lars, grunting as he too stood up. "Remember, we can use Caleb's DNA to make a cure for any strain provided we have the Original serum. But what's to stop us from synthesising a cure for Thralls too?"

Lance got the picture. The Gene Stealers were covering their bases. A cure could be made and this 'self-destruct' code stopped anyone from making that cure. It would be hard to make a cure without a sample of the infection.

But his mind was taken temporarily away from such thoughts as he caught a whiff of Caleb's scent tainted with an exotic spice that his mind just registered as 'hyena'.

It surprised him that he still stood slightly taller than his brother.

"Um... So..." Caleb began, a blush on his cheeks. "This is my new power!"

*****

It wasn't so much a power, really, as a 'mutation'.

Since he had transformed into a hyena himself and since the cure was generated from his DNA, there was a slight mutation in his body that prevented him from ever being infected by the hyena strain again. However, Funny Bone was a weapon created from a Gene Stealer hyena. It somehow resonated with his powers and the mutation, allowing him to change his shape into a sort of hybrid hyena form. Anyone else with the same mutation would not be able to activate the transformation. Only Caleb benefitted from the strange combination.

In that form, he didn't have the hyena hunch and stood up straight. His tail remained long and fluffy like a wolf's as well though he benefitted from a hyena's powerful bite and another enhancements the form gave.

"I don't get regeneration or baseline superpowers though," Caleb admitted, back to his lupine form. He had removed Funny Bone and was carrying it back into the Armoury, his room in the Facility. Lance lumbered beside him, remaining in his Feral Form. "But the abilities of Funny Bone are enhanced tenfold. You saw how I could bring up that wall of bone."

Lance let out a thoughtful sound.

"I know it's a shock," Caleb said quickly, fearing his brother's reaction. "I mean, I know we thought we put the whole Gnoll thing behind us but like it or not, I sort of carry some part of him in me now and I thought we could use it to our advantage. Funny Bone is a hell of a weapon."

He glanced to his left where Lance had his head bowed as if he was watching his feet.

"I'm in full control and I can't turn people into hyenas," he said. "I'm a little stronger, yeah, but that comes with the increased muscle mass. I've been training on how to use that body a little better. I mean, being that big is a little ungainly and I'm not as fast as I am now..."

"Yeah... I know the feeling..."

Caleb winced and stepped in front of his brother, stunning the much taller wolf. "Look, something's bothering you. I can tell. Just... come out with it, alright? For the past three weeks, I've been fretting about what will happen when you get back and what will happen when you found out I can turn back into that hyena at will and have been doing so to get stronger. You've got to understand that it's so I can fight better! My downfall has always been inconsistency and the fact that I can take Funny Bone and be a hyena and keep some semblance of consistency is a _big_boost to the team!"

Lance said nothing for a long moment, his eyes still cast down. Caleb felt his heart starting to twist upon itself.

"Please say something..."

...

"How big does your cock get?"

...

"Huh?"

Lance turned away, blushing. "Your... erm... Your cock... When you change. How big does it get?"

Suddenly, Caleb became fully aware of the reason for Lance's pensiveness... and he blushed deeply. "Uh... We haven't really measured..."

"Cale..."

Grinning sheepishly, Caleb said, "Okay, so I measured it once. Sixteen inches and about ten around."

"Fuuuuuck..." growled Lance, lust in his eyes even though he was blushing deeply. "Is it bad that I so want you to fucking change and screw me right now?"

Caleb grinned and reached for his brother's groin, feeling the twin cocks very hard beneath the Alliance uniform he was given. "Yeah. I can tell. But we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Funny Bone still has its limits. It still regenerates but really slowly. Usually takes two or three days to get back to full power without using our recharger. I shouldn't overuse it. Oh and I need to be wearing it to change."

Lance let out a soft approving humming noise. "Honestly, I don't really mind." He pressed himself up against Caleb, those very hard, very big cocks radiating their heat of lust through the spandex. "The entire drive back here, I couldn't get the thought of you in your hyena form wearing nothing but that arm armour and that fucking, sexy cape..."

Caleb couldn't deny that he was getting hard just thinking about the two of them with their massive, muscular bodies colliding in the sweet, sweet passionate embrace of sex. "Getting a little bit of jungle fever there?"

"I was under constant surveillance for two weeks and then this last week, I was bunking with dad at the Tower. If I so much as touched my balls, someone knew."

Wincing in mocking sympathy, Caleb said, "We'll have to relieve you of some of that built up pressure then. Let me just get this fixed" - he indicated Funny Bone - "and then we can go back home and make up of for three weeks of supressed hormones."

There was a rather large wet spot appearing against Lance's trousers. "Can we make it quick? I'm about to cream myself right now just thinking about it and we still need to get over dinner and the family re-introduction."

Caleb laughed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses." He stepped up to one of the doors in the armoury and knocked. "Yo, you awake?"

He sensed Lance frown...

... and realised there was one last bit of information he forgot to mention.

"Oh... our recharger is -"

The door hissed open and a sleepy yawn was his greeting.

"Fuck little man... I was down for the night..." A broad grin appeared across enormous hyena features. "Well, who's this stud?"

Lance's eyes went wide. "You!"

Lewis 'Madman' Sachez frowned. "Do I know you?"