A Werewolf In Under-Town

"Ask for half." Chromia stage whispered into Leslie's ear.

Shaggy rolled his eyes as the taller woman in biker leathers grinned at him. He had, of course, found Leslie and her crew of ladies helping move Branka into her new home. The red-headed wall-crawler had picked one of the new units recently built by the builder teams. He doubted the young girl had even asked, but he wasn't going to complain. She was smart enough to move first. Which is why her unit already had electricity and water.

He tried not to think about how they were getting power down here. The magic crystal could only account for so much, right? Shaggy made a vow to check over the cave's power distribution menu and went back to his conversation with the girls.

"You are not getting half of the take from the bank heist."

"I don't know." Leslie said in a sing-song voice. "It doesn't seem like you can get in without me."

"Argh!" Shaggy gave a combined sigh-growl. "Your name was at the top of the list, Leslie. That's all. There's a Technopath down on the list that could help us. But I'm giving you the first right of refusal."

"Technopath?" Branka asked. "You mean Crocker?"

Shaggy checked the Lackey menu again and then nodded. Branka snorted and went back to moving boxes.

"That little shit can barely handle a TV remote, boss, and he is known for running from a fight."

"You think he'd try that with the boss on his shoulder?" Branka's Minotauress teammate asked.

The other two members of Leslie and Chromia's team were in the kitchen arranging things. They both seemed afraid of Shaggy for some reason. But apparently the female minotuar couldn't stifle her curiosity. Branka fell into thought as Shaggy gave the giant woman his best smile. She fled further into the kitchen at the sight.

"He probably wouldn't even take the job in the first place, Dory." Branka answered.

Shaggy rubbed his forehead. "Whatever. The point is the Legion is a big organization and growing. We have the people with the skills. It's just that Leslie has both the technical know-how and the power set to help us on this one."

"And how do you even know that?" Chromia sneered.

"Because the Legion keeps tabs on all our people, Chromia. Even you. We need to know what you're capable of and how best to make use of you."

"You are not going to be using me."

"It's a turn of phrase, metal-head. We are all working for the good of the Legion here."

"What do we get out of it?" Chromia demanded.

This time Leslie placed a hand on her metal friend's shoulder and looked worried. But Shaggy just sighed at the confrontational woman. She had always been a bit snippy and angry. He was at least happy she considered herself a part of the team. Instead of answering straight away, Shaggy checked Branka's Stats and looked everything over. The eighteen-year-old had already reached Henchman and her power had slightly upgraded.

"Catch!" Shaggy shouted, picking up a coaster from Branka's coffee table and throwing it.

He intentionally tossed the small square a few feet in front of the teenager. Branka made a quick yelp of indignation and reached a hand out. When she did, a slight suction noise could be heard coming from her hand. The coaster froze in mid-air and then shot into Branka's outstretched hand. Branka shot Shaggy a dirty look and placed the coaster down.

"Branka has a roof over her head, money to burn, and her powers are growing. Is that enough of an incentive?"

Chromia wavered a bit, but soon seemed to gather herself. "So what? Even my powers have grown. So have Leslie's."

"That was thanks to a stolen serum. But have either of you made progress since then?"

Leslie and Chromia both looked a little crestfallen at the memory of what Rashi did. But Leslie quickly shook her head.

"We've both gotten a greater grip on our powers. But it's like we've hit a wall since then."

Shaggy brought up the Lackey menu again and found both of them on it. Which was beyond weird. Both women were in the gang long before Branka. They'd had been fighting in Under-Town for a long time as well. Could it have been the serum? A momentary jump in power in exchange for a longer leveling time? He wanted to ponder that thought a bit longer. But he really didn't have the time. He'd make a note and send it to Slink later. Leslie's words did answer a question he had, though.

"That's why you've both been sticking to me like glue. You are looking for a greater challenge."

Chromia crossed her arms and said nothing as Leslie sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. Neither woman looked apologetic, just chagrined that they'd been caught. Although, in truth, Shaggy didn't give a shit. Their personal sniping aside, both women were future powerhouses. If they wanted to be tossed into the fire, he'd oblige them.

"That wasn't the only reason…" Leslie said, trailing off and looking extremely sad.

Shaggy blinked at the mood change and froze. He hadn't expected the vibe in the room to suddenly shift. Chromia unwrapped her arms from herself and gave the taller woman a side hug. She whispered something into Leslie's ear that Shaggy just barely caught.

"… worry about that bitch."

He assumed the memories of the sisters living in Under-Town were too much. But Branka quickly sidled up to him and proved him wrong.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Leslie broke up with her girlfriend recently. Something about Leslie being a criminal. Which is fucked cause… well, it's Under-Town, right? What the fuck did she think Leslie did?"

"Thank you for sharing her personal information, Braky!" Chromia scowled. But Leslie placed a hand on Chromia's and whispered for her to leave Branka alone.

The teenager merely shrugged before she went back to unpacking. Dory and the last member of Branka's team were sticking their heads out of the kitchen door again and watching everything. When they spotted Shaggy watching them, they ducked back inside. Shaggy waited for the awkward atmosphere to die down before he coughed and asked.

"So, are you in or out for tonight, Leslie? Like I said, we have alternatives. But you're the best of the bunch."

Leslie took a few seconds to collect herself before she looked around Branka's tiny apartment. "The team comes too."

Shaggy nodded. He'd been expecting that request and was more than willing to honor it. His pack was off completing their own missions, anyway. Not to mention he had a couple of new missions ready and waiting for them. Vick had finished his with surprising ease and his team was already off on another. Sybil was finishing hers, but a new one had popped up about Shaggy's plans for tonight. They just needed to wait for tonight.

Chromia glanced around the room real quick before making her own request. "We also want a bigger room. One that fits all of us!"

"You can buy extensions from the mages, Chromia. As well as additions. If Branka wants to share, that's her choice. But don't go forcing yourself into her life."

"It's fine, boss. The ladies already asked, and I said I was fine with it. But I didn't know about being able to change the layout of our houses."

Shaggy shrugged. "It's a new thing. Levy's going to talk to her people about it. But the idea is to reward the more proactive members of the Legion. You work hard, make the credits, you get the benefits."

"All spent within your own ecosystem." Chromia said, sounding surprised. "That's kind of smart."

"Thank you."

"I bet it was Levy's idea."

"Shudup."

Shaggy ignored the room full of grinning women and turned toward the door. They were still in the planning stages of their little heists. But things were moving quickly. Maybe he'd tap Seth to come along as well. The kid needed the experience and a bit of toughening up, anyway. Not to mention, Shaggy was about to head out with a team full of women. Which didn't bother him too unduly. But he could already hear Levy's teasing.

He heard the room turn into a flurry of motion as he left the small apartment. Clearly, all five women were excited. The noise they made drew the eye of other Lackey's nearby, but Shaggy put his head down and kept walking. Already the area near the newly built apartments was filling up with prospective tenants. Word was going around fast that the houses were on a first come, first served basis. Shaggy suspected that when it got out how cheap the places were, there would be an even bigger rush. The same would happen when the Lackeys and Henchman started customizing their places. All of which meant more credits for the Legion.

Shaggy spotted a few happy-looking Mages seated on earthen chairs counting credits in their laps. Their semi-sweaty appearance told him that someone had made use of the Mage's services already. But the number of Mages to normal Lackeys was small. Meaning that soon all the magic-users the Legion employed were about to be overworked. He was thinking about how to recruit more when a giggling purple and black missile hit his shoulder.

Levy snuggled into his shoulder for a few seconds before standing up straight. "So, how did the talk go? I take it they are coming?"

"Yes, dear. The ladies have agreed to join us for tonight. IF Tom can find us a suitable target and scope it out quick."

"Bah! He'll be fine. What else do we need? Vans? Weapons? Gadgets?"

Shaggy glanced around the cave before responding. "Mages. Words getting out about the houses and were going to need larger teams of the suckers to handle everything."

"Oh, ye of little faith. I have people already on that."

Shaggy raised an eyebrow, making his wife give an indignant huff.

"What?! I have people and they are hard workers, too."

"Whatever you say, love. In that case, I think we're just in a holding pattern until tonight."

"So we get to relax and survey our domain until then?"

Shaggy smiled before remembering something. "Sure. Although I do want to figure out what our energy output and input are. How are we generating enough power to handle everything?"

Levy scoffed and pointed at the pink crystal in the air at the center of the cave. "That handles a lot of it, dear. The rest is picked up by a few stolen or bought generators. I haven't checked the terminal numbers. But we seem to be okay."

"Still, I'd like to check these things."

"Fine. You play management sim while I go help with my tower. It should be finished before tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Love you."

"Love you more!"

Levy gave his cheek a quick kiss before running off again. Shaggy froze as he realized he hadn't asked what she had been up to. A shiver went down his spine and he looked around as his mind raced. He got the sneaking suspicion that she was up to something. But he couldn't be sure.

Sighing to himself, Shaggy pinged Seth over the pack link and had the kid meet him at his cabin. Shaggy made himself comfortable before looking over the numbers for his cave. Everything was laid out before him and if he had been a more patient man, he'd have dug through everything. But what he wanted to know was the exact power usage of the cave. Surprisingly and thankfully, he had severally underestimated the power produced by the magic crystal. The thing more than made up for the majority of their power supply. It even seemed to amp up the efficacy of the generators they were using. For now, their power needs were being met and he could rest easy. But the thought of them hitting the limit eventually made him think about future-proofing their power lines.

He was in the middle of devising plans when Seth knocked on his door. Without a word, Shaggy invited the boy in and explained the night's plans. The link made things quick and easy, but Shaggy always preferred a face-to-face conversation. Once Seth digested the plan, he sank into Shaggy's couch and started rubbing his chin.

That was when Shaggy noticed that the boy looked a little disheveled. His hair was mussed up, and his hands were scuffed. The scent of grease and strange oils hung on him, and Shaggy was sure Seth's pockets were bulging with bits and bobs. The mental image of a certain professor flashed through Shaggy's mind and Seth smiled at him.

"I've been working with Corvi on a few ideas. They're nothing spectacular, like the things Roald and Randa make. But Corvi had a few design blueprints that were fun to practice on." Seth explained.

"Weapons?"

"Nope. Even better, boss. Gadgets."

Shaggy tried to stifle a snort of derision. They were werewolves. Why would they need gadgets? But then he thought of tonight's little escapade. He masked his feelings as best he could and nodded at Seth.

"You think you can whip something up for tonight?"

Seth waggled his head. "I think… maybe. With my speed right now, I could probably build a few things. But nothing for the group."

Shaggy couldn't stop the laugh this time. "Ha! Don't worry about the group, boy. I meant you! Can you build some stuff for you to take for tonight? I want you kitted out with the best you can manage in the time we have. Is that clear?"

Seth nodded as Shaggy felt the young pup's mind whir into overdrive. The speedster was losing hold of his mental mouth and thoughts and images were flashing along the link. The others of the pack filtered out the boy's ramblings. But Shaggy shoved it to the back of his mind as Seth quickly got up and raced out of the cabin.

Shaggy shook his head and grinned as he got up to close the door behind his excitable pack mate. Tonight had all the makings of being exciting and dangerous. Shaggy settled back into his planning as he wondered how successful they would be overall.