A Werewolf In Under-Town

Shaggy stretched as he walked down the sun dabbled streets. The road and the sidewalks were still empty save a few cars, but Shaggy was sure he spotted a shape ducking into various buildings. He could see shapes moving behind window blinds and smoke raising from some buildings. The neighborhood was still inhabited, but it seemed its denizens were keeping their heads down.

Of course, the random sounds of laser and gun fire probably had a lot to do with it. Not to mention the crashing sounds of mutants, aliens, and magic users throwing their power around. The gangs of the neighborhood were putting up staunch resistance to the HLO shadow troopers. Even as he lowered his arms from his stretch, Shaggy spotted several armored people moving along the rooftops.

Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be focused on him. But the sounds of a battle of few streets over perked his inner wolf up a bit. Shaggy shoved the beast back down and kept walking. He’d been on his feet for almost an hour, starting his walk up near a derelict public building near Brentwood. From there, he headed south, checking all the streets and alleys for any sign of traffic. A few cars cut through the area, but nothing in the way of construction trucks. He was reaching the edge of Triangle State and Rosedale when he spotted the first bit of traffic congestion he’d seen all day.

Some of the white armored thugs were in the middle of the four-way, directing traffic. Judging by the way the alien soldier was waving, Shaggy guessed they were shunting people away from the neighborhood. The light at the intersection feebly blinked red, but no one seemed to pay it any mind as cars zoomed around each other. A large eighteen wheeler truck was sitting in the middle of the intersection and Shaggy groaned when he spotted it. It had Frank’s construction company logo on the side.

Shaggy jogged closer, noting the eight other armored troopers around the intersection. A few had already clocked him as he approached the truck in the center of the intersection. But no one was stopping him. A very tall green woman in white armor was speaking to the driver as Shaggy moved closer. But a hand on his shoulder pulled him up short. Surprisingly, the strength of his assailant pulled Shaggy up short.

Turning, he saw a grey and black ogre in the HLO’s armor glaring down at him.

“You don’t belong here.” The ogre rumbled.

Shaggy bit back his sarcastic remark and jerked his shoulder out of the alien’s meaty grip. “Yeah? Well, who belongs anywhere?”

The ogre seemed to go cross-eyed as he thought about what Shaggy said. So used the few seconds of confusion to dart around the big alien and approach the truck again. Soldiers all around seemed to all talk into their personal comms at once as Shaggy moved around the truck.

“Sir, again. No construction is ongoing in the neighborhood. We need you to move along.” The alien woman was saying.

Shaggy gave the truck’s driver a wave as he got closer. Surprisingly, it was Frank himself. “I don’t know about that. Our Deli, a few blocks over, actually requested this truck a while ago. Now why would you lot be stopping traffic like this?”

The seven-foot woman whirled and glared down at him. She was the same species as the Professor’s friend Claire. The Super-Strong alien with the accent. Except this one had a chubbier face and seemed younger somehow. She sneered down at him as she loomed above.

“That is none of your business, Mutt. I suggest you get out of here before we call the police.”

Shaggy smile got larger. “Oh yes, let’s call them. I wonder how they are going to react to you unlawfully stopping traffic? Hey, Frank! How about you call them for us, huh?”

“I think they are going to care more about a wanted fugitive casually walking the streets.”

Shaggy held a hand to his chest, pretending to be wounded. “Me!? A fugitive? How dare you, madam. I assure you I am a law-abiding citizen of Austin. I’m sure the police can straighten all of this out. Should we wait for them?”

The alien woman seemed ready to argue the point. But with a sudden jerk of her head, she backed up a few steps. Covering her mouth and turning her head, she held a conversation through her helmet mic as Shaggy moved toward the truck’s driver-side door.

“Having fun, Frank?”

The sweaty-looking Frank glared down at him. His pudgy arms and head sticking through the window, he whispered angrily at Shaggy. “What the fuck are you playing at?”

Shaggy waved the man off as he looked around. Multiple cars were jammed up behind Frank’s truck. Their drivers glaring at the troopers. The HLO’s thugs were meandering around the intersection, weapons out for everyone to see. A few cars swerved around Frank’s truck, but mostly, people were waiting.

When the alien woman stood up straight again and turned back to Shaggy, she wore a face full of hatred. Her green skin was a darker shade from the clear anger on her face. Through clenched teeth, she spat.

“Take your truck and get out of here.”

Shaggy blinked for a few precious seconds before he put on a neutral expression. Glancing up at Frank, Shaggy waved for the truck to pull forward. The troopers scattered as Shaggy leapt onto the side of the truck and they drove through the intersection. Behind them, the sounds of screeching cars and honking horns grew louder. Shaggy turned to see other cars trying to fly past the stoplight. The soldiers were having a rough time keeping all the cars in check and it almost became a multi-car pileup.

Hanging off the driver-side door, Shaggy glanced up at Frank.

“Call the police, Frank. Tell them something weird is happening at the 45th Street.”

“Doesn’t work!” Frank called through the open window. “They’ve been doing it for a while now. The cops just say that they are private security for the Mayor and that CEO slimeball.”

Shaggy fell into thought as the truck continued down the road. “How about news outlets? You contact any of them?”

“Of course not. Most of them are off following the same people.”

“Good. Contact every news agent you can and tell them how disruptive Ozarious’ security is being to the neighborhood.”

Frank gave Shaggy a glare through the window. His hands were still on the truck’s steering wheel. With a sigh, the pudgy man smacked something on his center console. Frank followed Shaggy’s instructions. Placing several calls while they traveled the short distance to the deli. Most of the outlets seemed like they had better things to do, but a few were biting. The news that the HLO was blocking off an entire block would get a couple of more fringe journalists.

Shaggy didn’t care. Word of mouth was good enough. They needed as many eyes on the neighborhood as possible. Not just because that’s what the troopers didn't want. But because more eyes meant more people. The curious and the aspiring gangs would see a territory not currently being patrolled by the HLO. Then they would come running.

Frank was placing his fifth call on the truck’s comm system when the giant eighteen wheeler swerved violently. Shaggy gripped his handhold tighter as his feet left the slim truck step. When Frank got control of the truck again, Shaggy glanced down the things’ length. A black scorch mark marred the truck’s white side. Another blast of red laser fire slammed into the side of the truck and sent them swerving. Shaggy was surprised to see a blue flash of a shield flare into life as the blast hit them. The laser still scorched their side, but thankfully nothing else was damaged.

“Where are they!?” Frank yelled as he wrestled with the wheel.

Shaggy glanced around until he spotted two white-armored troops on a roof. The pair were rapidly venting a large shoulder-mounted laser weapon. Growling, Shaggy spun back to Frank.

“You know where you’re going?”

“Yeah…?”

As soon as he got the answer, Shaggy flung himself from the truck and rolled onto the street. He sent a general SOS to his pack, not knowing who would receive it. But he gave them as much info as he could while he slid to a stop in the street. His pants and shirt were shredded from the road, but Shaggy ignored it as he spotted the two soldiers aiming down the street at Frank again. Dashing across the street and to the building, Shaggy launched himself at its side, claws out.

Another blast of red laser fire careened down the street. But Shaggy didn’t even look to see if Frank was okay. Instead, he pounced his way up the building, using his claws to catch himself. He didn’t hear any crashing, so he figured the construction worker was safe. With a final pounce, Shaggy cleared the edge of the roof and landed, crouched and ready to fight.

But the two soldiers were running south. The pair pulled side-arms and fired at him as they jumped over to the next building. Shaggy growled as the green lasers pelted him. His inner wolf roared at their prey, getting away. Agreeing, Shaggy bolted after the pair. It had been awhile since he had killed something and this prey seemed to stubbornly want to stick around. Shaggy gave chase, knowing that the pair were probably leading him somewhere.

Running to the southern edge of the building, Shaggy pounced across and skidded to a stop. He ducked as much of the green laser blasts as he could. But for the most part, his shirt was being burnt to ashes by the lasers. Half-naked yet again, Shaggy followed them across multiple rooftops. With their full-body white armor, Shaggy couldn't tell if they were human or aliens. But with the way the pair cleared the gaps between buildings, Shaggy guessed they were at least powered.

But Shaggy was gaining on them. With judicious use of his Pounce Ability, Shaggy cleared sizeable gaps across the roofs. With each jump, Shaggy got closer and closer to the pair of troopers. Unfortunately, the soldiers saw it too. They kept up a steady stream of laser fire when they had first started running. But now the pair were focused solely on running away. When Shaggy cleared the next gap between buildings, one of the two turned to look back and tripped.

With savage glee, Shaggy targeted the armored bastard and pounced. Instead of getting to their feet, the trooper blocked the gaps in their armor with their arms. Shaggy’s claws hit the soldiers’ arm guards and slid across them. Leaving large claws marks across the gauntlet’s white finish.

“Mark!” the second trooper yelled.

Shaggy did his best to wrench the man’s arms out of the way. Once he did, the tan-skinned Mark gave a shout to his compatriot.

“RUN! Get to the- URK!”

Shaggy’s long claws found the man’s chin, and he jammed them up and through. With an almighty pull, Shaggy ripped the front of Mark’s face off. Standing and turning, Shaggy saw the second trooper fleeing across the rooftops. His inner wolf partially sated for now, Shaggy thought about where the bastards were leading him. They had cleared two streets and multiple buildings before Shaggy finally nabbed one of the bastards. They were getting deeper into Rosedale, and the houses and streets were getting louder. A shiver went up Shaggy’s spine and he listened to his senses, even as his wolf roared its disagreement.

He started running north again and tossed himself off the roof. But he wasn’t thinking about staying on the roofs. Instead, he aimed for a window in a squat building and pounced. A buzzing filled the air as Shaggy’s body slammed into and through a window.

“Ahh!” A feminine scream filled the room.

Shaggy looked around to find himself in a small square room. At the room’s center, a table sat with a naked man laying on it. Next to the table was a reddish-purple alien woman with tentacles for arms. She had screamed when Shaggy came bursting through the window. Noting the suction marks on the naked man’s back and the towel across the man's waist, Shaggy asked.

“Massage?”

Both the human man and the alien woman nodded idly as the drone’s buzzing increased. Shaggy winced as the loud buzzing got louder. With a quick wave, Shaggy ran out of the room and into the long hallway. Following it, Shaggy found himself in the lobby and then outside. Ignoring the pedestrian’s looks, Shaggy slowed to a jog and continued northward. Hopefully, anyone who spotted him would think he was a half-naked jogger, out for a morning running.

But the drone’s buzzing persisted as he crossed the next block. Shaggy chanced a glance over his shoulder and he spotted the three silver HLO drones roaming the skies. Thinking quickly, Shaggy turned westward and headed into the residential area. A half-naked guy doing laps around people’s homes was more acceptable than a dude running through businesses.

Once Shaggy had crossed a few streets, he again turned northward. The buzzing drones were in the distance now, and he didn’t think they’d follow him into his neighborhood. The HLO didn’t want a recording of the state of the place. He wouldn’t be surprised if the city government and the HLO were suppressing the news coming out of the place, either. They wanted people blissfully unaware of the happenings in that area.

It was as he was crossing 45th again, the drones a distant memory, that something slammed into him. Shaggy felt his spine snap, and he went flying across the street. He crashed through the wall of an abandoned paper company and collapsed into a heap. His spine healed and Shaggy groaned as he rolled over. He tried to be quick, but the pain in his side flared, even as his healing repaired the damage.

Looking at the hole in the wall, Shaggy waited for his assailant to present themselves. But instead, all he heard was the wind and the distant sound of cars. With a grunt of effort, Shaggy pulled himself to his feet and waited. But nothing happened. Slowly, Shaggy reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. Senses poised, Shaggy quickly devoured the food and sighed as the chocolate filled his mouth. He turned to walk through the building, the feeling of eyes on him still making his hair stand on end. But Shaggy pretended to ignore it as he kept his muscles ready.

The next hit came with a flash of orange and an almost playful roar. Shaggy’s right side exploded in pain and he was flung out of the building. This time through the side wall. Shaggy crashed through the alley and into the opposite building. Standing, Shaggy grew his claws and looked around. Whoever was attacking him had a dangerous mix of speed and strength.

“I don’t know who you are. But I don’t have time for games. What do you say we just fight this out and be done with it?”

A deep chuckle filled the abandoned hall he was standing in. It looked like an old dance studio, with a large mirror filling both sides of the room. But even with the mirrors reflecting everything, Shaggy still couldn’t see his attacker.

“Ohhh, but I like games.” Said the almost booming voice. “Playing with my prey is such fun.”

Shaggy’s inner wolf practically raged at being called prey. Shaggy himself didn’t feel too hot about it either. Especially with his current position. Where he did, in fact, feel like prey. His wolf snorted even as Shaggy spun to find the voice. But the empty room echoed and Shaggy couldn’t pin the guy down. Taking a whiff of the air, Shaggy recoiled as a chemical stench hit his nostrils. He almost gagged as the booming voice laughed.

“HAHAHAHA! What’s a matter, little doggy? Catch a scent you didn’t like? Aww, poor puppy.”

Shaggy growled as he wiped his nose. He grew his claws and crouched low, waiting. The bastard was going to hit him again, for sure. Shaggy watched the mirrors and waited, trying to use his abilities to find the guy. But Enhanced Focus and Perception Manipulation only worked with the senses he was already using. If his eyes and nose couldn’t find the target, both abilities were almost useless. But once the guy moved, Shaggy zeroed in with everything he had.

A brown and orange blurred flashed in the mirror behind Shaggy. Using his Enhanced Focus to catch as much detail as possible, Shaggy spun and swiped his claws. He felt a tug on his left hand even as he was sent skidding across the dance studio floor. Shaggy rolled to his feet and checked his memory of the attack. But it was pointless, as his attacker had pulled to a stop after Shaggy had hit him.

The large tiger-man was grinning, even as a large gash in his cheek bled over his brown trench coat. The tiger humanoid wiped an orange and black-furred thumb over the wound. Shaggy saw the glint of the tiger-man’s claws as the slash on his back healed. But his eyes widened as the gash on the tiger-man’s face also slowly closed. The tiger licked the blood off his thumb and smiled at Shaggy.

“That was a good one, little doggy. But not good enough!”