Greg returned to the safe zone as the sun rose. The tiny woman hadn't been the best guide, as her idea of a really bad guy ranged from prolific serial killers to someone she thought was particularly ugly, and Greg simply could not teach her the difference. He spent a lot of the night running around only to find one more feral who was particularly evil before he had to return. She ended up following him back to the safe zone, and Greg had to help her sneak over the wall and past the guards, which was harder than it should have been for a tiny, six inch person. Security was tight around here.

"Wow, is this where you live?" The tiny woman asked in wonder as she flew around the apartment.

"Well, sort of. It's my friend Victor's place, but he's letting me stay here." Greg explained.

"Where do you sleep?" She asked.

"I don't sleep." Greg answered sitting on the couch.

"Wow, what's that like?!?" The tiny woman exclaimed.

"Rather boring if I don't stay active." Greg sighed.

"I wish I didn't sleep. I'd have so much more time for activities!" She chirped, ignoring Greg's response. She then began to flit around the apartment, oohing and aahing at every new thing she found, pestering Greg with questions.

Greg was rubbing his temples as a small headache began to build from the tiny woman's incessant questions, when he heard a knock at the door. "Tessa?" Greg asked as he opened the door to see her standing there.

"Good morning. Since you're joining the team, you should start training your combat skills." Tessa began immediately stepping into the apartment. She suddenly paused as a tiny, winged woman flew directly into her face, studying her intently. She tilted her head, giving Greg a look. "Who, is this?" Tessa asked in a tone that made Greg feel like something dangerous was inching closer to him.

"Uh, well, I think of her as 'tiny woman'…" Greg responded.

"Of course you do." Tessa frowned. "Where, may I ask, did this 'tiny woman' come from?"

"Well, I killed an asshole last night who was keeping a bunch of women captive and she was one of them." Greg explained.

"And why is she naked?" Tessa asked in a sharp tone.

Greg paused. "I don't have tiny clothes?"

Tessa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Greg, you have smoke."

Greg frowned, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Right!" He smacked himself in the head, sending a small cloud of smoke at the tiny woman, which changed into a small copy of one of his outfits.

Tessa shook her head in exasperation, before leveling a stern gaze at him. "Now, where are the rest of these women?"

"Still there… I gave them a thing so that they could warn me if they were in danger, though. Just in case." Greg explained.

"Ah, I assume they were very grateful for that." Tessa nodded, still maintaining that intense stare of hers.

"Th-they were, but… I didn't really stick around long enough for them to express it." Greg explained, feeling somehow guilty.

"I'm sure. Tell me Greg, are you collecting these women?" Tessa asked in a casual tone that belied the intense scrutiny in her gaze.

"No! Wh-what do you mean by that?!? How- how would I be collecting them?" Greg stammered, confused but knowing he had to deny this accusation.

"It just seems funny to me. Every time I leave you alone, it seems you return with another woman, usually having 'saved' her, making her immensely grateful to you." Tessa commented, eyes boring into his skull. "It's a bit of an interesting coincidence, isn't it? If it is a coincidence at all."

"I- I don't- I can't decide who needs to be saved!" Greg exclaimed in a panicked tone. "If they were guys, I'd save them just as well! I-I just happen to keep running into girls…"

"Mhmm, I see." Tessa nodded, maintaining her gaze for a few more moments. "Well, then, good. Let's begin your training." She finally said, turning and walking out the door.

Greg breathed a sigh of relief before following, shaking his head. "She's scary." The tiny woman commented in a low tone as she landed on his shoulder, and Greg just nodded.

*

Tessa took Greg to the central building, then down into a large, underground complex underneath the building. Greg looked around curiously. "What's all this?"

"Training rooms. Supers are too strong, so they either train down here or in an empty field." Tessa explained.

Greg frowned for a moment, thinking Victor or even Tessa wouldn't have a problem training in a normal building, but then he remembered Casey and he decided that yes, supers should train away from the flammable areas. Tessa led him towards one of the empty rooms, closing the door behind them and locking it.

"Now, to start, we will focus on hand to hand combat, training your fundamentals, before moving on to how to incorporate the extra features of your other forms in." Tessa explained. "We'll begin with the basics of how to punch."

Tessa spent the morning drilling Greg on the fundamentals of combat, teaching him the correct way to punch and kick, how to hold a defensive stance, how to move without breaking the stance, and so on. Thankfully, Greg was a quick learner, so it didn't take him long to get the basics down before they moved on to the next move.

After a few hours, Tessa nodded. "Alright, continue to practice each move, one hundred times each day."

Greg frowned. "A hundred times? Isn't that a little… excessive?"

Tessa raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you not have the time?"

Greg paused. "Fair point."

"Exactly." Tessa nodded. "Now, come on. Let's go get lunch."

"Ooh, what's lunch!?!" The tiny woman asked excitedly, perking up and flying over from the corner she'd been napping in while Greg and Tessa trained.

"It's a meal. You know, food." Greg explained.

The tiny woman cocked her head. "What's food?"

"It's something you eat- wait, you don't eat… huh. So, essentially, people- er, the unformed, need to… put things in their mouths? And chew them, before swallowing… Though I suppose you don't always need to chew… anyways, the food goes down your throat and into your stomach where it's digested, giving you nutrients and energy so you can do stuff. Though, since the world changed, all it really does is keep people from mutating." Greg tried to explain as well as he could, not really sure how to explain the concept of food to someone who doesn't eat.

The tiny woman paused, trying to process what Greg was saying. "Can I do it?" She asked hesitantly after a while.

Greg shrugged. "Probably?"

"Yay! Let's go eat!" The tiny woman exclaimed.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The three of them headed to the same restaurant they'd been to the previous day, which Greg learned was the only restaurant, besides the strip club. They were just getting seated when Greg paused. "Wait, should we have gotten Sarah and Jennifer?"

Tessa shook her head. "Those two are staying at home today. They need some time to rest and relax without worrying about attracting any attention."

"Gotcha." Greg nodded, before pausing, shaking his head and sighing. "What are we going to do about those two?"

Tessa shook her head. "Jennifer isn't an issue. People who have mutated as much as she has are rare, but they're out there. People will look down on her, but that's pretty much it. Sarah though… I don't even know where to begin. Anywhere she goes, she's going to have problems."

"Yeah, but it isn't like we can just lock her up. We're going to need to figure something out." Greg pointed out.

Tessa frowned. "We can escort her around, try to avoid crowds, things like that, but… what if she catches the eye of someone powerful? Do you have the confidence to save her from someone like the Earth Bender? I don't."

Greg grimaced, before sighing bitterly. "Damn it! You're right. Shit, you're always right. It just… it isn't fair!"

Tessa shook her head. "Life is rarely fair. You just have to deal with it."

Greg grumbled incoherently, but didn't argue back, knowing she was right. The server came by not much later and they ordered their food, before Greg spoke up again. "So, tell me, what exactly do we do as a Squad? Like, I get that we go out into the city and collect salvage, but… is that it? I was talking to someone last night, and they seemed to imply there was more to it than that."

Tessa's gaze suddenly sharpened as she looked up at Greg, narrowing her eyes at him. "Who did you talk to?" She asked in a sharp tone.

Greg coughed, flushing as he avoided Tessa's gaze. "Is- is that really important?"

"Meredith!" Tessa growled, clenching her teeth, before sticking her finger in Greg's face. "You stay away from her! She's a two-faced bitch who only cares about herself!"

Greg shook his head. "Victor already filled me in on her deal, don't worry. I'm not interested in any of her offers… Well, maybe a bit, but… well, I won't." Tessa scoffed, taking her hand back and crossing her arms, looking away. "Er- anyway, I was just curious about the tasks and benefits she mentioned."

Tessa glanced back at him, before sighing and shaking her head. "Every squad gets… subsidized, by the safe zone, based on their rank. There are twenty squads-" Tessa paused, glancing at Greg. "Ahem, nineteen squads, in the safe zone, and the top squad gets two hundred coins every week, while the next gets a hundred and ninety, and so on, decreasing by ten as you go down. Our squad is only ranked thirteenth, which means we get eighty coins each week, split between six, now seven, people. Meredith's squad is ranked second, sometimes even first, which means they get at least one hundred and ninety coins every week, split between five people. Just based on that alone, you can see the disparity. Additionally, the top five squads all receive their own floor in the main building to use as their living quarters and base, free of charge. They also have access to various… services, also free of charge.

"Finally, the safe zone issues various tasks they need completed, with generous rewards attached, and the top squads get first dibs on any task, the lower ranked squads only getting a chance once the higher ranked squads pass on it. Most tasks are snatched up by another squad before they even get to us, and even if we do get one, it's usually either a low reward or high risk task, often both. Therefore, we have to depend on going out to search for salvage to make money." Tessa finished explaining.

Greg nodded along, before pausing, frowning. "Wait, doesn't that mean I make over ten coins a week now?"

Tessa frowned. "Yes?"

"Then why are you paying for everything!" Greg threw up his hands in exasperation. "You made me think I'd need to live off that twenty coins until we went out next! Hell, I'll have savings!"

Tessa blinked at him. "Every month, squad ranks are adjusted based on the amount of coins they've made, including salvage sold, and tasks completed, encouraging squads to stay active. Tasks don't usually make it past the tenth rank, so as long as you can help us bring in more salvage, we can raise our rank." She continued, ignoring his question.

Greg sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stubborn little- okay, so we just have to bring in more salvage, right? Canned food, metals, electronics, all that good stuff. That shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean, the hardest part is locating the salvage. I can search during the night, locating any stashes, then, we can all head out and pick it up, easy peasy. Hell, I can probably get some ferals to help search as well. It'd be a good way to start getting them organized."

Tessa snorted, rolling her eyes. "Right, good luck convincing Jake to go anywhere downtown. He won't let us search anywhere with a building more than three stories tall. Hell, he won't even let us fight! The moment we run into anything out there, it's immediately, run and scatter! Half our trips end with us coming home empty handed, because we ended up meeting a feral and had to ditch everything. I spend more of my time out there alone than I do with the squad. The only reason we can maintain our rank is because when we do get something, we get a lot, because our squad is larger than normal. Most squads only have three to five members."

Greg frowned. "You guys don't fight at all?" He asked incredulously.

Tessa shook her head. "Jake says it's too dangerous. We'll make too much noise, attract more ferals, get bogged down, trapped, and then we'll all fucking die. At least, that's what Jake thinks, despite the fact that the higher ranked squads literally get tasked to hunt down dangerous ferals and don't seem to have any issue with it."

"So he's just completely risk averse, huh?" Greg commented, raising an eyebrow.

"To the extreme. If he sees even a chance of failure, he quits. If it weren't for the fact that he's a super, and we're essentially forced to leave, I don't think he'd ever set foot outside the safe zone." Tessa grumbled, before sighing. "It's not all bad though. We do stay safe, safer than any other squad. Plus, our rank isn't terrible, and we make enough money to live comfortably. It's just… we could be doing so much better! We have Victor, the best scout in the safe zone. Carlos, the best defense outside the high-tiers. Casey can deal damage at long range. Jake is highly adept at control, stalling and distracting the opponents so the rest of us have time to deal with them. Same with Brittany. Meanwhile, I can deal damage on the front lines. All we were really lacking was a big bruiser to draw attention and take damage, and now we have you! We practically have the perfect team composition, yet… we're stuck at the thirteenth rank, because Jake can't take any risks."

Greg nodded along. "I can see that being frustrating."

"Well, you're in the same boat as the rest of us now." Tessa smirked. "We'll see how you handle it."

Greg paused, taking on a considering look. "Maybe I should consider Meredith's offer more…"

"Don't you dare." Tessa growled, waving a sharpened finger threateningly.

Greg chuckled, shaking his head. "What's up with her anyways? I mean, if she's as much of a bitch as you guys say she is, why is her squad so high ranked? Hell, why does she even have a squad?"

"Because of her ability." Tessa spat. "She has the only healing ability in the safe zone. Even if her squad mates hate her, once they've experienced the assurance of having a dedicated healer at their backs, they can't go back. She's like heroin. It feels good at first, but that feeling fades, until you're stuck in a situation you hate, but you can't bear to leave."

"Insidious. But, you know, not particularly useful against me." Greg shrugged.

Tessa paused, her eyebrows raising as she looked at Greg, before letting out a short, sharp laugh. "Ha! Right! What use would you have for a healer? Even if she did manage to snatch you, she'd actually have to put out if she wanted to keep you!"

Greg raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

Tessa's attitude immediately shifted. "Don't even think about it. I will castrate you."

Greg snorted. "Uh huh. How many times? Not to mention, I have this new tentacle form-"

"Oh, god, please, no. I do not need that image in my head." Tessa shuddered.

"Yeah, it's gross." The tiny woman nodded, finally having something to contribute to the conversation. She'd just been sitting off to the side, listening half heartedly this entire time.

Tessa turned to her with a frown, before looking back at Greg raising an eyebrow. "The feral I saved her from was the tentacle guy." Greg explained quickly.

"Yeah! Greg's the best!" The tiny woman confirmed excitedly. "He let me explore the city, he brought me to see all these new things, he's letting me eat food, it's exciting! All that mean man did was put me in a cage and look at me all the time. So boring."