A Werewolf In Under-Town

Shaggy was beginning to understand why The Professor was so certain he wouldn’t get into trouble with their little quest. They had been driving for over an hour. They had skirted around the southern edge of downtown and continued west. Their cop car hummed along as Shaggy kept trying to guess what kind of Magic school they’d be going to and how that would help them.

The Professor had explained that while there was a college in the middle of downtown. He didn’t think Shaggy would make it very far. Drone cover was always an issue and for two guys trying to break into a college, they needed somewhere out in the sticks. So Prof explained that he had looked up various schools and in the region that could help them. Including one way out north of San Antonio.

Shaggy sighed for the umpteenth time as The Professor sipped at his coffee mug. He still had a pocket full of protein bars, but that stash was dwindling. Shaggy didn’t know what the rule was for stops on this brief road trip, but for the most part, they had spent the trip in silence. Occasionally discussing random bits of game facts they had learned. Although Shaggy latest sigh seemed to make the lizard tense up.

“What are you always sighing for? We are on our way to do a job that may get us some Super Serum. How can that be boring or sigh-worthy?”

“I just don’t get how a School of Magic is going to help us with chemistry. I mean, shouldn’t we find a technical school or something? Isn’t there a school for Mad Scientists?”

“K-Tech University. It’s a stone’s throw north of Downtown Austin and we do NOT want to go there. They probably have to report everything that goes through their systems right to K-Tech. Nobody wants that.”

Shaggy grunted, but he agreed. “Okay. But how does a magic school help us then?”

“A magic school is going to have the same facilities to help us analyze whatever is in that vial. Also, hitting one so far away from home will insulate us from any blowback we might get. The HLO is still out this way, but their grip is a little looser.”

“You mean any blowback YOU might get? I’m a villain, remember?” Shaggy said as he looked out his window.

Off in the distance, he spotted a green speedster chasing a train as several other Supes flew around. Shaggy was about to say something, but the Professor spoke over him.

“Hey, you don’t want anymore shit either, right? I mean, you’re still listed as a bounty with the HLO. So if anyone spots or scans you, we’d be in deep shit.”

Shaggy turned away from the high-speed train chase and back to his lizard friend. “Fine. Point taken. But a magic school means magic defenses. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really a pick a magic lock kind of person. In fact, I don’t normally pick regular locks. Mostly I charge my way through, grab what I want and then run away.”

The Professor snickered. “Let’s call that plan M and we can circle around to it when all else fails.”

“Then what is Plan A?”

“Plan A is we check the school’s security and we see what we can do. For all we know, we can just walk our way in and use the Magical Analyzes Lab and be done with it.”

“So… we wing it?”

“No. We study and confirm which actions can get us in quietly and quickly. Daivor said that the analysis should go quickly. We just have to know how we get the information. It can be transplanted into our minds, written out on runes, or even just printed out. Depends on how deep this school is into its magical theming.”

“Wait. So I could have some weird Super formula jammed into my head?” Shaggy sat up as he asked.

The Professor took another sip from his mug. “Yeah. Honestly, that would be the quickest way. Although retention could be tricky.”

“Tricky how?”

“Well, you might not be able to keep it for very long.”

“So it’s fucking useless for me?”

“Naw, at worst you can quickly write down the formula while it’s in your mind. I could do it too, if you’re not fast enough.”

“Joy.” Shaggy muttered before falling into silence.

He looked out the window again to see the speeding train was now on fire. The green speedster was running around frantically trying to put out the blaze. Meanwhile, in the air, multiple Supes were fighting off a few people. Shaggy tried to peer closer and see what the villains were stealing, but it was too far. He spotted their getaway truck, though. It was facing down the track and idling as the Supes flew overhead. Shaggy pointed a thumb out the window.

“What do you think that’s about?”

The Professor looked around Shaggy before shrugging. “No idea. Train heist probably. Could be K-Tech, the HLO, or any number of other companies out here. I’d bet the Supes are players, though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Any other Supe team would’ve sent out for more help by now. Players are a little more cagey about someone taking their credit.”

“Is that why you haven’t helped?”

The Professor snorted. “Please. I’m Persona non grata with the HLO right now. They wouldn’t want my help, even if they were on fire. Especially now that I’ve set up my own Super-Group in their backyard.”

“Not big on sharing?” Shaggy chuckled.

“Assholes would be a better way to put it. But what the hell, I bucked the system and I’m still having fun.”

“All that matters.” Shaggy nodded as they continued on their journey.

The streets became darker and the lights of civilization dimmed in the distance. Shaggy yawned and tried to keep his eyes open as the car’s headlights lit their way. The road markers and hover-cars above them kept him awake with their reflections and bright lights. One jag-off even tried for a manual landing out in a field. The automated safety system brought his sleek hover-car down in a field where the cops were already waiting.

Shaggy had laughed at the sight, but kept his head down. He didn’t want a random drone to scan him. Even if they were outside of Austin. A few minutes after the flying nimrod, the Professor declared they were nearing their destination. Shaggy raised an eyebrow. There was nothing he could see for miles in either direction. When the Professor turned onto a dirt road, Shaggy got even more paranoid.

“Calm down, dude. Why the hell would I plan something all the way out here?”

Shaggy looked at the fields surrounding their car. The grass had become so overgrown he could barely see beyond it. His mind raced as he thought of a dozen reason someone would drag a body out here. But the Professor was right. Why drive all the way out here if he just wanted to kill Shaggy?

It was another few minutes down the dirt road before Shaggy saw the bright light and black roof of the building. He stifled a whistle as the large complex came into view. He glanced at the Professor and did nothing to hide his surprise. A question bubbled up from his chest.

“How the hell did you find this place?”

“Daivor and I were looking up places and we found this one. It’s a private school, so it’s bound to have the stuff we want. Its seclusion also makes it better for us if we have to go loud.”

“I thought the plan was to not go loud.”

“Always plan for the plan to go wrong, Shaggy.”

“Fair point. So what do we do?”

“Well, I’m going to go say hello.”

Shaggy barely got a word out before the Professor stepped on the gas. As they got closer to the school, a large wrought-iron gate came into view. A small guard shack was off to the side, lit from within. But Shaggy couldn’t make out a guard. He tensed as the car rolled to a stop a few feet away from the gate and the Prof stuck his head out his window.

“Excuse me! Anyone!? We’re lost! Can someone come out and explain how we get to Canyon Lake from here?”

“Canyon Lake?! You mean Canyon Crater?!”

A rough voice called back from the guard post and Shaggy sank deeper into his seat. He wasn’t sure these wizards could sense him. But he didn’t want to take any chances. A skinny looking man in long brown robes stuck his head from the shack and glanced their way. He gave an audible grunt and extricated himself from his guard shack and sauntered over. Shaggy pretended to be asleep as the wizard got right up to the Professor’s window.

“You’re a little too far south for the crater, boys. But it’s no trouble. You just have to back out and continue down the road going west, then turn north.”

The Professor laughed convincingly. “Hahaha! I thought I’d done that. What is this place, anyway? Looks like a mansion.”

The brown-robed wizard humphed before he responded. “It is the Pertree Shortop Private school of Wizardry. Where the rich and elite send their little ragamuffins.”

“A private school? All the way out here? What the hell? I thought all the Wizards went to the big colleges in Houston and Austin.”

“Oh sure, they send their first borne and the special cases. But the dregs get farmed out to these ELITE schools, y’know. Somewhere to hide the odd bastard or the daughter with only low talent. Don’t let that fool you, though. They are all a bunch of snobs.”

“HA!” The Professor slapped the wheel of his car before he backed up. “Well, we’ll let you get on with your night. We wanted to get to a campsite around the crater.”

“Understandable. All these new Supes have been rushing toward the place. Looking to mine some random bit of ore from the crater.”

The Professor slowed the car as he asked. “So you’ve had more visitors out this way?”

“Not so much visitors. But we had a few dumbasses run straight into the school’s barrier. Even had a damn flying car careen right into the thing. Dumb asshole, shut off his guiding computer.”

Their car sped up again as the Professor spun the around. “You have a good night, sir. Bye.”

“Drive safely!”

Shaggy cracked an eye and looked over at the Professor once he felt the car settle into a low hum. “So that was useful.”

“Just that last bit about the school’s barrier. But that shouldn’t be an issue.” The Professor nodded.

“So we doing this.”

“Oh yeah, hang out to your seat.”

The Professor whipped their car off the road and into the tall grass. He turned off his lights and slowed to a crawl as he spun the car around and headed back to school. Shaggy checked his pockets for his protein bars and readied himself. Once the top of the school came back into view, The Professor stopped the car completely and shut it off. Shaggy looked over and saw the lizard-man checking his own pockets and robotic arm.

They exited the car after making sure they were ready and crouched low. The duck-walked their way closer, the Professor in the lead. Shaggy noted that the other player had his real hand out, feeling the air as they moved. Shaggy guessed that the Prof was looking for magic traps. A thought that proved true when the Professor stopped suddenly and waved his hand up and down. Shaggy held his breath as he heard the Professor swear.

“Is it a trap?”

“What? No. It’s a spider-web. I just stuck my hand in it. There shouldn’t be any traps until we reach the fence.”

“They want the hell do you have your hand out for?”

“So I don’t bump into anything! It’s dark as fuck out here.”

Shaggy sighed and clamped his mouth shut. His fault for assuming. He needed to get his head in the game and carry on. They continued silently until the large fence surrounding the school came into view. It was a large wrought-iron gate that spanned the length of the school grounds. But the bars were far enough apart that Shaggy bet he could squeeze through if he wanted. Although he doubted it would be that easy.

The Professor slowed again and Shaggy could see the lizard’s face scanning up and down the fence. An orange glow suffused the player’s eyes and Shaggy had to stop himself from asking. Soon the glow dissipated, and the Professor turned to Shaggy.

“Talk about ‘lit up like a Christmas tree.’ There’s a shit ton of protection around the fence.”

“So we’re fucked?”

“Huh? Oh no, not at all. I just mean, it’s freaking crazy how far some people will go to protect themselves. I mean, some of these are redundant spells placed to over each other. It’s ridiculous.”

“But you can get us in right.”

The Professor simply nodded as he reached down to his robotic arm. There was a small hiss, and a panel opened on the player’s arm. Shaggy saw the Professor reach in and grab something before closing the panel again. The Professor held up a rail spike and grinned as Shaggy winced. He’d been on the receiving end of one of those things. Although he didn’t think the thing would even pierce his skin now.

The professor ignored Shaggy as he studied the spike for a few seconds. Shaggy looked at the black spike as well, but other than a few scratches on its surface, he couldn’t see anything. The Professor spun the thing in his hands before he whispered a few words. Rushing forward, the Professor jammed the spike into the ground near the fence and quickly backed off. There was an audible snap-hiss in the air before things went quiet again. The Professor’s eyes glowed orange again, and he nodded.

“We’re good. Go fast!” The Professor whispered.

Shaggy followed as they squeezed themselves through the sizeable gaps in the fence. Shaggy was tense as he waited for a loud alarm to go off. But nothing happened as they pushed their way through. Soon enough, they were through and hugging the nearest building wall. The Professor was crouched down, checking his wrist. So Shaggy joined him and noticed that the Lizard was looking at a small holographic map. Shaggy just made out a red dot, before the Professor leapt into motion.

“Incoming.” He whispered

Shaggy looked down at either end of the building as the Professor fished in his pockets. A flashlight appeared at the western edge of the wall and Shaggy rushed to intercept the incoming guard. The flashlight got brighter and brighter than its owner approached and Shaggy hugged the wall, waiting. An arm appeared before a large alien guard turned the corner. But before Shaggy could strike, a yellow oblong slapped into the guard’s chest. There was an electric hum and the smell of ozone filled Shaggy’s nose. The Professor rushed forward as the guard froze up and tilted forward.

Between the two of them, they caught the large guard and set him down. The Professor decked the guard in the head to make sure he stayed out as Shaggy examined the body. There were multiple slim wires hanging off the wrapped around the body at odd angles. The Professor moved past the body and collected the yellow thing he had thrown. Shaggy raised an eyebrow, but no answer came. Instead, the Professor dragged the large guard out of sight and started going through his pockets.

“Geez, Prof. You’re weirdly good at this.”

The Professor shrugged his shoulders as he pulled a grey keycard out of the guard’s pant pocket. “We all have skills, Shaggy. I’m sure you’ll show off your own later.”

“Funny. You think that card will get us inside?”

“Yes, but we also need to find the Analysis Lab.”

Shaggy grinned. “Well, lead the way, Professor. It’s your show.”

The Professor grinned back. “Follow along, Shaggy. You might learn something.”