A Werewolf In Under-Town

"Still nothing, boss."

"Just keep an eye on it, Jazz. The manager should be by soon." Ren said, his grip tight on his new weapon.

The hammer was across his lap, taking up a not inconsiderable amount of space. But none of his boys complained. They were all stuffed into a large flatbed wagon truck with a tarp system to keep them from view. Fifteen of his biggest and best were itching to hit the bank that they had chosen. All they needed was the key.

The truck shifted slightly as a few of his guys shuffled anxiously. The drive up here hadn't been comfortable, and the waiting was even worse. But a few sharp glares from Ren's lieutenants kept the Lackeys in Line. Ren enjoyed having an actual Loyalty meter to watch. It made thinning out the assholes easier.

"Boss, are you sure we want to hit this bank?" said a Logitian alien at Ren's side.

He had gotten pretty good at telling the rock-type aliens apart over the course of the game. Logitians were people made of shifting green and red plates of rock. They were tough as nails but had surprisingly high voices for being so big. A seven-foot armadillo alien named Roller snorted before Ren could answer.

"Pfft! Of course we're sure. This bank has one of the largest vaults in the greater Texas area."

"Yeah! But doesn't that mean they are gonna be guarded it extra special-like?"

"So what!? Between all of us, we got enough muscle to trounce anything the Supes throw at us," argued Roller.

Ren still wasn't sure if the Narthran was actually named Roller or if that was just an affectation based on his alien species. The NPC was pretty much a walking, talking armadillo. But who was Ren to talk? He was a giant rhino-man. Plus, Roller was a capable left hand, even if he was a bit rambunctious.

"Not really true, Roller." Ren interjected. "We don't want to slug it out in the early morning with the Supes. Even if we could break them into pieces. No, this operation relies on shock and awe. We grab the bank manager, make him open the vault, and then load as much swag as we can before we book it."

Roller nodded, but Ren could see the alien wasn't happy. Keeping the pugnacious armadillo busy was usually Jazz's job. But the Phacoian was currently watching the streets from up front. The eight-foot humanoid warthog was the calmer of the two and served as Ren's right-hand man. Initially, the fool had tried to challenge Ren for his leadership position. One short beat-down later, and the massive alien was carrying out Ren's will with extreme prejudice. Ren had been afraid that Jazz was merely biding his time, but the loyalty scores showed that the alien warthog was now completely loyal and one of Ren's first Henchmen.

A thump echoed through the bed of the truck as Jazz's voice called over. "He's here! He is almost at the door."

Ren leapt to his feet and swung his new hammer up to his shoulder. "Okay people, we're moving as soon as we are inside. Get the truck in place. Roller! You and your team are making us a hole while the rest of us hit the vault! MOVE!"

Ren didn't wait for any comments. Although he knew there wouldn't be any. His people were good at their jobs. Whatever it was. They were efficient, tough and resourceful. But that didn't mean he was going to take this lightly. He leapt from the back of the truck as Jazz pointed in the direction of the bank. A short, stocky human was reaching into his pocket for a key to unlock the front door. Ren shared a nod with Jazz before he activated his charge ability.

The power surged through him and he kicked up bits of concrete as he thudded across the street toward the bank manager. The noise made the man turn, and Ren could see the fear in the bank manager's eyes. He ignored it as he took in the rest of the human, trying to find any weapons or defenses. Ren found none as he reached out with his left hand while charge. It took effort to cut his charge off, but he managed it. Which meant he only battered the poor human against the door instead of smearing him through the glass. Behind him, Ren could hear his people following.

"Open it!" Ren ordered, slamming the bank manager against the glass door again.

The stuttering man got his hands into his pockets and shakily put the keycard into its reader. Ren barely waited for the door to beep before he rushed through and shoulder charged through the next set of doors. Speed was the name of the game here. He kept a firm grip on the bank manager as he charged forth. But the sound of a machine whirring to life gave him pause.

"Th- ack! The… Defenses!" The bank manager sputtered.

Ren followed the sound to the ceiling and spotted two large turrets flipping into view. Their barrels whirred to life and zeroed in on him. Ren growled and tossed the bank manager toward the line of teller desks. Hefting his hammer off his shoulder, Ren aimed the head up at one of the turrets.

"Now Randa said it was the switch, then the trigger, or was it the trigger, then the switch?" Ren thought as he chose the first option.

His hammer hummed dangerously before a large blue energy ball went sailing up to its target. The ball of energy hit the turret and electricity exploded everywhere. The turrets whirring, growing silent. But the second one was still about to fire.

"Jazz." Ren said.

"On it."

The giant warthog rushed around Ren and leapt to the ceiling with the grace of a ballerina. His massive hands gripped the still moving turret's barrel and Jazz lifted himself up further. Once his shoulders were even with the turret's barrel, Jazz flipped upside down and placed his feet against the ceiling and tugged with all of his considerable might. Ren turned away as the squeal of metal filled the room. Soon it was joined by the sound of the ceiling caving in. Jazz and the turret hit the bank floor just as Ren found the bank manager again.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The human had tried to crawl away but barely got to the line of desks before Ren grabbed him again. He cried out in pain, but Ren ignored it as he marched the short human toward the back of the room. All the data they had on the bank, which admittedly wasn't much, said that the vault was embedded in the back wall.

Thudding footsteps signaled the coming of the rest of Ren's crew as he glared at the ornate symbol on the back wall of the lobby. Normally, one would have to go around the front desks, into the back offices, and then around the hallways to the vault. But Ren wasn't that patient.

Handing the bank manager off to a Lackey, Ren spared a glance at Roller and his team at the eastern wall. They were getting ready to break the sonofabitch down. Just like he was going to do. He hefted his hammer and got his hands into a batter's grip. He took a few practice swings, using the bank's symbol as a guide. Once he was happy with his swing, Ren put all his strength into one and pressed the little button near his right hand's thumb.

A tiny device, that Randa had called a repulsor, flared to life on the back end of Ren's hammer and added a whole other level to his swing. His hammer bit into the concrete wall like it was made out of butter and tore the bank's symbol in two. Ren didn't slow down, though. He rolled his shoulders and used his momentum to pull the hammer back and do it again. Randa had said that he shouldn't use the repulsor too many times in a row, though. So Ren settled for every third swing.

While Ren worked on his wall, Roller and Jazz worked on theirs. With the combined might of the two Henchmen and the Lackeys, they were done far quicker.

"Go help the boss." Jazz ordered as he and Roller looked over the giant hole in the wall they'd made.

Immediately, their view was obstructed by the back end of the crew's truck. One of the lackeys had taken down the tarp and now the bed was open for all to see. It backed into the lobby of the bank with reckless abandon, and Jazz and Roller shouted at the driver as they had to dash out of the way. Through all of this, Ren swung his hammer, ignoring the whimpering manager and the squabbling Lackeys. Through the hole in the wall, he had gotten his first glimpse of the hallway and the vault beyond. There were two metal gates between them and their prize, but the sight of his goal made Ren swing his hammer all the harder. He and the Lackeys had just finished up when a voice on the wind cackled.

"Ooh-hoo-hoo! What do we have here?! Some naughty people doing something… naughty? How fun!"

Ren turned slowly toward the noise and spotted a short man in a green jacket. He was seated on the back of their truck and watching them with a big smile on his face. Ren ignored the man as he ordered his Lackeys into the back hall. But then the man blurred and appeared next to Ren.

"Oh! So I see you're the big bad boss then. Which means all the rest of the guys are your evil minions, right?"

Ren grunted. Mostly in annoyance. Speedsters were like flies to strongmen like Ren's crew. They could flit around, but not do much damage. So again, he ignored the dude.

"Hey! You know it's rude to not engage!"

Ren grinned at that as he looked over the speedster's shoulder. "I'm the boss. It's not my place to engage. Roller."

Green jacket cackled happily. "HAHA! I see, so first I have to defeat the sub-boss, huh? Well, don't come crying to me when I've cubed your NPCs."

The speedster vanished again, and Ren rolled his eyes. He figured the cocky speedster who showed up alone was a player. Stupid move.

Behind him, Roller cracked his neck and flexed his fingers. Green Jacket's blurred body zipped around the room, probably angling for an attack. Jazz stayed back near the truck as Roller bounced on the spot a few times before folding into himself. Green jacket choose that moment to attack as Roller's armored back stretched over his entire body. The speedster rammed into Roller's defensive form with a comedic BOING.

The fight raged on behind him as Ren ripped the two metal gates out of their moorings, his Lackeys watching anxiously. The bank managers were held between two rock aliens as they frog-marched him along. Ren got to the vault door and smiled up at it. It was easily thirteen feet high and visibly went back ten feet. He could see the biometric, pin, and tumbler locks all from where he stood. All he needed was the key.

Spinning to look at the bank manager, Ren saw the man try to curl into himself. He sighed. This was never the fun part of the job. But if you wanted money. You had to do it.

"So!" Ren said loudly, clapping his hands. "We need to get inside, Mr. Manager. It's just a matter of time until we do."

"I can't!" The manager wailed.

"Oh yes, you can. You just put your palm on that scanner, enter the code, and flip the tumbler to the right number. In fact, my boys can do the last two parts for you. So really, all you need to do is put your hand on that scanner."

"Th-the heroes will stop you!"

Ren rolled his eyes and reached out and grabbed the manager by his shoulder. His massive hand eclipsed the man's body entirely. But Ren was gently as he bent down to look the manager in the eye.

"Last chance before this gets ugly and if you try to screw us, you'll die slow."

The manager whimpered again, but still looked somewhat defiant. That's when Green Jacket came sailing through the open hole in the wall. His back hit the floor and slid halfway toward them. Roller's ball-form came bounding after the Supe. The brown ball paused to acquire its target again and then Roller bounced over and slammed himself into the speedster. The player was smashed into the floor two more times before his body became cubes of light and vanished completely.

The bank manager watched the whole thing in horror. His eyes never leaving the spot where the player had been killed. Ren knew that the NPCs registered the death of a player-character on some level. So whatever the poor man had seen was probably still there. He snapped his massive fingers in the manager's face. The manager looked up at him, his will broken, and nodded his head.

"Great!" Ren said with false cheer.

He directed the Lackeys to watch the manager as Ren looked to Roller. The armadillo alien was uncurling from his ball form and cracking his back.

"Well, that was some nice exercise. When do the actual heroes come in?"

"That's what we're going to do." Ren said. "You, me, and Jazz are on Hero watch. Everyone else, once that vault is open, start loading us up!"

"YES, SIR!" came the reply from his crew.

Ren grinned to himself as he listened to the bank manager opening his vault. This was a bold play, and he was sure Slink or even Vlad would be able to outshine him. But with the contents of the giant vault behind him, he was sure to at least get second place. Jazz's raised voice broke Ren from his reverie.

"Boss! Incoming!"

Roller cackled happily as Ren hefted his hammer again. Second place, if he could get away from the damn Supes buzzing around.