“Hup…huff... huff... ho!”

“What is he doing?”

“up... puff... huff… ep!”

“I think he thinks he is being stealthy.”

Shaggy ignored the regular peanut gallery as he rolled into cover behind a trashcan. He came up onto his knees and peeked over the rim. The street was dark and empty save for a few cars, but you could never be too careful. Cekrass’ voice broke into Rita and Levy’s conversation behind him.

“Should we be rolling around on the ground as well?”

Rita sighed. “No. Boss is just being an idiot because we said he wasn’t stealthy.”

Shaggy leapt from behind the trashcan and ran. He aimed for a small grey hover-car just ahead, but a light coming on in a nearby building sent him scrambling. He noticed a decorative tree just in front of the building and jumped up. Shaggy scrambled onto the branches just as the building’s door swung open and a cat was let out. Below the tree, Levy waved at the home’s occupant.

“Evening.”

Shaggy watched his traitorous wife pet the small orange cat before he jumped out of the tree and hit the ground with a roll. Popping up, he reoriented himself. Finding the hover-car again, he dashed toward its bumper and crouched. He exhaled as he peeked around the edge of the car. In his peripheral vision, he saw his pack and wife still walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world. He snorted as he left the safety of his cover and dashed around them, finding another trash bin and sliding into place behind it. Levy strolled past and slapped his head as he peered around looking for his next spot.

“Will you stop? We have serious work tonight.”

Shaggy rubbed the back of his head on reflex. “What? I’m being stealthy.”

“You’re being an asshole boss.” Vick rumbled.

Shaggy glared at Vick before turning his attention back to his wife.

“You know I blame you for this. My pack was never so uppity until you showed up. Now they just say whatever they want to their boss’s face.”

“Pfft. We just got used to your shit. When we all first met, you were a tough and mysterious mutant with some deadly claws. Now you’re…” Rita drifted off as she tried to find the correct words.

“Goofy.” Cekrass, the big lizard-man, nodded along as they continued down the darkened street.

“That’s it! You’re goofy. You’re still a tough bastard and we got nothing but respect for ya, boss. But you are also a goofy-ass bastard.”

Shaggy looked around at his wife, Vick, Tom, and Sybil. Seeing them all nod in agreement, he huffed, annoyed, and pointed up at his wife as they walked.

“All your fault.”

Levy pushed his finger away and kissed his cheek before wrapping an arm around his waist. Shaggy grumbled, but said nothing more.

Night had truly settled on Austin and the streetlamps lit the street with a creepy glow. Off in the distance, the sounds of cars or fighting supers echoed off the brick buildings. Shaggy had been surprised that they hadn’t encountered more spontaneous events or mobs as they walked. But it occurred to him that maybe THEY were the roaming mob. They had been stopped by two different patrolling Supes. But Levy talked her way around them and they ran off looking for their next target.

The cops were even more infrequent. In fact, since leaving the apartment complex a little over an hour ago, they had only seen one. But it was heading out of downtown Austin and into the suburbs. Shaggy guessed that the HLO patrolled the more expensive businesses and personal homes. While the cops were regulated to the more densely populated area.

Shaggy was walking comfortably with his wife when Tom spoke up behind them.

“Boss, we sure about doing this now? We had like two weeks, right? So why do we need to rush?”

Shaggy sighed and removed himself from Levy’s waist. “Because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next two weeks. The Wild Boys are out looking for us. The cops could burst in at any moment and we still haven’t heard from Under-Town. We need to get this done and then shift everyone underground again.”

“I had just gotten used to the sun.” Sybil sighed.

“Least we’ll be closer to the top than Under-Town is.” Vick comforted.

Shaggy saw his wife grin as she turned to his pack and waved her arms excitedly. “Besides, we get to build our own little home. Isn’t that exciting?”

Shaggy’s pack stopped as they all looked at Levy. Rita sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Not really? We had a suitable spot in Under-Town, you know?”

Levy snorted. “Please. You lived under a bar with a bunch of other grunts. Don’t you want your own Wolves Den? Somewhere where your pack can grow.”

Shaggy saw the looks on his pack’s faces turn contemplative, but Sybil still had a problem.

“Does it have to be underground, though? I miss the sun. Even that shitty apartment was better than the false light of Under-Town.”

Shaggy scratched the back of his head and groaned loudly. “Argh! Look, I get it, being underground is a pain, but with a gang and the cops looking for us, we need to shift locations for now. Once we are better established topside, we can look at getting a new place. In the sun.”

Sybil still looked annoyed, but she nodded. “Fine. But once we go topside, I want large windows… and maybe a pool.”

“A shooting range would be nice.”

“And a gym.”

“A well-stocked bar and serving girls, too.”

Shaggy groaned again as his pack started listing different aspects of their future hideout that would probably cost a fortune. Levy smiled at him as she hugged his side again. Shaggy lost himself in her smile and ignored his pack as they walked down the street. Tippon’s place was only a few more blocks from them. But they would need to scout the place out quickly before they attempted any sort of robbery.

The large terraced homes on either side of the street told Shaggy that this was probably a wealthy neighborhood. Although apparently not wealthy enough to warrant a fence and a guard. So maybe not CEOs, but upper management. Shaggy and the others had tried to guess what Jerruza Tippon did for K-Tech. But with so little to go on, it was no more than a fun past-time. K-Tech focused on studying and rebuilding alien technologies. While also providing the tech for most, if not all, of the HLO.

Their group walked in relatively quiet conversations. Mostly, Shaggy’s pack continued to discuss what they wanted for future housing. While he and Levy talked about getting the raid together for Cog. The players in the forums still had no luck finding the old bastard. Tracking spells failed and technology led players astray in the sewers. The Supes registered with the HLO reported that the giant organization had teams of people trying to pin down the old Technopath. Villain players who worked with bigger Super-Villains in Austin said their bosses were not worried about the old man.

There was a group of woman on the forum, though, that was having a little more luck. According to Levy, it comprised both Supes and Villains, all of whom were dedicated to kill the “Racist, sexist, old bastard” as many times as they could. Shaggy’s old video of his meeting with Cog had ignited a fury in some members of the forums. But the Honey Badger League, as they were calling themselves, was out for blood. They were not only searching Austin, they had flyers out in other nearby cities, too. They even had a few of their magical types plane-hopping, trying to see if the old man had jumped into a pocket dimension.

“That’s my guess too.” Levy said after she finished explaining.

“What? You think Cog is in some pocket dimension? He’s a tech-based villain. Why would he switch to magic?”

“Because he was brought back to life with magic. For all we know, he’s a damn Lich now. So he might bide his time and get used to his new powers. Remember what I said about his meeting with Korrigan?”

Shaggy searched his memory, but wound up shaking his head. “No. Sorry, love. He went to Korrigan about a deal, right?”

Levy nodded. “He said that she ‘reneged’ on their deal. What if the spell didn’t do what he thought it did? A resurrection spell is complicated enough, but when you add in a deal with a Blood God, then complicated becomes fucked quick.”

“Cog had a deal with Xang?” Shaggy asked.

As he said the name out loud, Shaggy felt his skin tingling and his body warmed considerably. A shiver went down his spine and Shaggy felt like something heavy and ominous was right behind him. But as he turned, the feeling slowly left him and he turned back to Levy. His wife’s purple eyes were enormous, and she was staring at him. Shaggy realized that his entire pack had stopped talking and all of them were looking around, poised to attack. Another shiver went down Shaggy’s spine.

“You felt that?”

Levy nodded rapidly. “That was creepy as hell, Shags. Was that X… was that the Blood God?”

Shaggy nodded as he sent calming emotions to his pack. “I think when I said his name, he ‘looked’ at me.”

“Boss, might I recommend you don’t do that again?” Vick asked as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

The other members of his pack all nodded as Levy got them walking again. They traveled a full block in silence before the ominous air around them dissipated and Levy spoke again.

“Ahem, so, as I was saying. If he had to make and then break a deal with a god, then maybe the spell shifted his entire power set? You said he emptied his entire army into Under-Town, right?”

“Well, that’s what he said. At least the shittier variants of his bots. But as I understand it, downtown got a few of the newer models. So he is clearly still making bots.”

“Maybe.” Levy nodded. “But we can’t rule out the fact that he’s changed somehow.”

Shaggy nodded. “That’s fair. So have you contacted the Honey Badgers? Or any of the other groups? Shared information?”

Levy shrugged. “A little. Here and there. You’ve got a pretty firm following after posting the Cog vid and you featured in a few Under-Town vids too. So I just said I knew you and sent a few pics of us as proof and now I am the ringleader of this little raid.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What about me?” Shaggy felt his eyebrow rise.

Levy smirked. “You are the mysterious and deadly player that went toe-to-toe with Cog and died epically. Only to return and vow vengeance on your resurrected foe.”

Shaggy snorted and shook his head. It was better to leave all the forum stuff to Levy. She enjoyed talking to people. Players gave him a headache most of the time. But he was happy that a bunch of players were searching for the old man. He still had two months to find Cog, but with a couple hundred players all looking, he might get his quest done quickly. His thoughts shifted from Cog as they crossed the street and walked past another bunch of brown-brick terraced homes. They had finally reached Jerruza’s block.

“What’s the number again?”

“She’s up here.”

Sybil pointed ahead to a tall brick building flanked by similar looking homes. Cement stairs lead up to a glass outer door that opened to reveal a thick black-wood door with golden handles. They stopped at the foot of the stairs and Shaggy sent a mental command to Cekrass and Vick to move to scout out the ends of the blocks. His pack moved as Sybil and Rita converged on the door. Tom checked the other houses as Levy silently chanted something. Once she finished, her eyes glowed, and she scanned the building.

“Anything?” Shaggy asked.

“Give me a minute. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Shaggy nodded and waited. Rita and Sybil had pulled the outer glass door open and were taking in the wood door. But other than the gold handle, there didn’t appear to be any keyhole or code lock. They both turned to Shaggy for orders, but he had them wait for Levy. Tom, meanwhile, peered into the low windows of Jerruza’s neighbors. Once he was done, he shook his head and returned to Shaggy.

“Clear, boss.”

“Good. Now sweep around back and see if there’s a backdoor or something.”

Tom looked back at the large block of buildings. All the houses shared walls, so he would have to walk around the entire block to get behind them. He turned back to Shaggy to complain, but Shaggy’s glare sent the skinny man away grumbling. Cekrass and Vick sent their own mental all clear and Shaggy turned back to his wife.

Levy’s eyebrows were creased in concentration and she hummed, annoyed. “Well, that’s tricky.”

Shaggy waited, but when she didn’t explain, he huffed. “What’s tricky? Also, you know I hate when people do that.”

Levy grinned as her eyes lost their glow and she gazed down at him. “When people do what?”

“Make a random exclamation with the sole purpose of eliciting a response from someone. You knew I would ask ‘what was tricky.’ But instead of immediately answering the question, you waited for me to say something.”

“Why, honey, I would never presume to know what you would ask. I was just truly puzzled.”

Shaggy snorted and glared into his wife’s gleeful eyes. She knew what she was doing. But Shaggy would not bite. He waved a hand at the house and waited for an explanation. Levy’s eyes pinched close as she smiled widely and turned back to the house.

“The door is made of some kind of anti-magic material.”

Shaggy eyebrows rose in surprise as he turned back to the black-wood door. “How the hell is that a thing?”

Levy shrugged. “Hey, magic has been a thing here for years and years. So someone was going to create something to block it, eventually. Anti-magic materials are rare, but not unheard of. Hell, they have Anti-magic cuffs, dear.”

“But wood?”

Levy shrugged again and whispered to Sybil and Rita. “I’d be careful. It doesn’t look like there’s anything magical. But this woman does work for K-Tech. So something Tech-based is a possibility.”

Rita and Sybil both nodded in acknowledgment before they returned to the door. Shaggy joined them and hovered over Sybil’s shoulder as she judged the rim of the door. She traced a finger along its edge until she came to the right side. She tapped a finger on the door and waved for Rita to go ahead. Shaggy watched as the older woman stuck her sword between the door and the jamb, right where Sybil had pointed. Shaggy grimaced as a loud crunch resounded from the door and they all froze. When nothing happened, Rita wrenched her sword upward and a loud metallic snap filled the air.

“Was that really the best choice? What if there’s a silent alarm?”

Sybil shrugged. “We wouldn’t know about it either way. We just have to be quick.”

Shaggy rolled his eyes but called Vick and Cekrass back from their posts. Tom was still making his way around back. Levy swept past him as he waited for the lizard and sharpshooter. Once they were in sight, he joined the women inside.

To his left was a fancy living room, complete with dusty, rarely used bookshelves. On the right was a pair of brown double doors. Ahead, Levy and Rita were climbing a seat of mahogany stairs while Sybil followed the hallway next to the stairs further back. Shaggy grimaced as he whispered their orders again.

“Remember, we are looking for any electronic storage devices. Grab the computer and laptop if she has one.”

The three ladies nodded as Vick and Cekrass came through the front door. Shaggy gave them both a curt nod before he turned right and opened the double-doors. He heard Vick or Cekrass rush into the living room as he gazed upon a large ornate dining room. A large, oblong dining table sat empty. Frilly place mats shifted slightly from where people had picked up their plates and not fixed the mat. Glancing up, Shaggy had to snort.

“What the hell is with rich people and giant chandeliers?”

He shook his head and avoided the windows looking out into the street. They were covered, but he didn’t want to risk it. He made his way to the door on the left side of the room, expecting it to be a kitchen or something. He kept his eyes moving, looking for any sort of camera system or security. But he was disappointed. The trip had been uneventful thus far, and he had expected a K-Tech employee to have better security. He shook his head as he pushed through the brown swinging door.

His guess proved correct as he entered the kitchen and glanced around. Hanging cutlery filled the space as a large preparation table sat in the middle of the room. On the left-hand side was a series of stoves, while the right was filled with cabinets. A large grey counter circled from the right wall all the way around, stopping at the door Shaggy just passed through. On the opposite side, Shaggy saw Sybil's slim form crouched in front of the open refrigerator and sighed. His annoyance reverberated down the pack link and Sybil jerked noticeably. The blonde woman turned slowly, arms full of food.

“That’s not an electronic storage device.”

Sybil grinned as packages of processed meat shifted in her arms. “What’s wrong with making a quick sandwich or something, boss?”

Shaggy rubbed a hand down his face and was about to berate his pack member when the sound of someone knocking on glass resounded. Shaggy ducked to the floor as Sybil dropped everything she was carrying and looked around. The knocking stopped and Shaggy heard a muffled, ‘Hey!’

Cautiously, Shaggy stuck his head up over the prep table and looked toward the knocking. Sybil grumbled as she stood up and followed his stare. Outside the kitchen window was Tom waving rapidly and mouthing for them to open the window. Shaggy groaned audibly and pointed a finger at Sybil.

“Let him in and then put this crap back. We’re on a job!”

Sybil got a petulant look on her face before she walked back out into the hallway, grumbling. Shaggy thought he heard her say that Levy would let them have a snack. He pinched the bridge of his nose and returned to the dining area before he joined Cekrass and Vick in the living room. While Vick was reading the cover of a thick leather-bound book, the big lizard was attempting to shift the bookcases.

“Anything interesting?” Shaggy asked as he heard the back door open.

Vick and Cekrass tensed up at the noise, but Shaggy waved them off and looked down at the book Vick was holding. It was written in a flowing cursive script that made it hard to read In the dark. But Shaggy thought the cover read. “The Science of Inter-planar tunnels.” Vick raised the book up and asked.

“Doesn’t this woman work for K-Tech? Why is she studying magic? As far as I know, K-Tech doesn’t have a vast market for magical goods.”

“Maybe they’re branching out?” Shaggy shrugged. “Did either of you find any data storage stuff?”

Vick shook his head as Cekrass stopped trying to shift a bookcase and turned around.

“No, boss, there’s nothing here but a load of books. Although there’s a small drinks cart full of snacks and liquor.” Cekrass grinned as he pointed out the cart.

Shaggy shook his head as he turned back to the hallway. “Why is my damn crew so hungry suddenly?”

No one answered him as he prepared to climb the stairs up to the second floor. But Tom was suddenly rushing down the hallway. Shaggy stopped with a foot on the stairs and watched the out-of-breath Tom slide to a stop before him.

“Boss, this place has its own power generator out back. It’s huge too. Like half the size of this building?”

Shaggy quirked an eyebrow. All the houses on this block were three stories high. Which meant that the generator was indeed huge. But he didn’t know what that meant. For all he knew, it was the generator for all the homes on this block. Seeing that Tom was still standing there, Shaggy asked.

“Ok, so what does that mean? Is it powering something in here? Are there wires going to the other homes? Or do the wires go elsewhere?”

Tom gulped as he listened and he shrugged noncommittally. Shaggy sighed and waved a hand back down the hallway Tom had come from.

“Well, go find out. Also, tell Sybil to stop making a sandwich. I can smell it from here.”

From down the hallway, Sybil’s voice echoed. “Oh man! Come on, boss!”

Shaggy just shook his head and continued up the stairs. Noise filled the second floor as ruffling papers and books were thrown through an open door. Two of the three doors on this floor were already open. Small piles of books, papers, and even clothes were tossed out onto the second floor landing. Once the noise stopped, Rita stepped out, carrying a small tablet and wearing a new backpack. Shaggy was about to admonish the older woman for stealing something they didn’t need. But then he figured she earned it by at least trying to find what they were looking for. Noticing his gaze, Rita raised her prize and whispered.

“Office computer is in my backpack. Levy moved up to the third floor while I tossed these rooms. Anything downstairs?”

“A pack of hungry adults eyeing the drink cart and kitchen. Don’t I feed you bunch of rascals?”

Rita grinned as she adjusted the straps on her backpack. “Not nearly enough, boss. I’ll go over what they’ve found.”

Shaggy shook his head and exhaled, but let Rita pass him on the stairs without saying anything. Rounding the stairs, he bounded up to the third floor, where there was another landing and an open door at the end of a short hall. Shaggy could make out a short set of wooden steps as he got closer. He stepped through the door and up, coming to a small room with wooden floors and a small window overlooking the backyard. His wife was near the corner of the room facing the wall and he could tell from her posture that she was either angry or scared.

“Lev? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Shaggy crept closer and shifted his left hand into its clawed form. He saw his wife’s shoulders shudder as he got closer and, with a whirl of her hair, she spun and Shaggy could see that his wife was angry. Her purple eyes were glowing with magic and her long hair almost floated in a mass behind her. Shaggy tried to find out what was wrong, but all he could see was his wife’s cupped hands held out in front of her. Fearing that she had touched something she shouldn’t have, he dove forward. But once he saw what she was holding, he stopped.

A small family of fairies or pixies rested in her hands. The mother and father fairies were clearly dead. Their bodies were emaciated and starved to almost nothing. Meanwhile, the children, a boy and a girl, were so weak they could barely move. Shaggy grimaced as he took in the family that was clearly tortured. Glancing up at his wife’s face, Shaggy could only ask.

“Why?”

Levy jerked at the question before her magical power relaxed. “I don’t know. But these kids need food. Then I am going to burn this bitch’s house down.”

Shaggy nodded and waved his hand back toward the stairs. “Why don’t you get to the kitchen and I’ll search the rest of up here. Sybil probably has another sandwich already made.”

Levy nodded slowly before she practically flew out of the room. Shaggy inhaled sharply as he tried to think of a reason to starve a family of fairies. You’d have to summon them first. Which meant you had already bound them to you. So why the torture?

Shaggy moved over to the corner Levy was in and winced as he saw the golden cage. It was the large birdcage the fairy family was clearly held in. Four small piles of newspaper were shunted to one side of the cage, clearly the family’s beds. Outside of the cage, on the small desk that the cage sat on, was a small operating table. It was covered in purple blood and other fluids Shaggy didn’t want to guess at. Whatever Jerruza was doing to the family was done in full view of the other family members. Shaggy swallowed his revulsion and looked around the rest of the room, but save for the cage, the table and another small desk, it was completely empty.

He was about to search the other desk when a loud crash came from below, followed by shouting. Shaggy swore and dashed to the stairs. But as he got to the top of the stairs, the entire house shook and Shaggy had to catch his footing.

“What the fuck?” Shaggy grumbled as he jumped down the stairs and rushed around the second floor landing. He was climbing down the second set of stairs when Cekrass barreled into them. The large alien was clearly thrown and, with how deep he went into the staircase, pretty hard. Shaggy jumped over the lizard-man and came face to face with a large humanoid robot. Nearby, Vick was crumbled over the living room couch.

Shaggy growled and dashed at the eight-foot robot’s legs. The massive robot’s blocky metal arms reached out and tried to grab him. But Shaggy dropped to a slide and swiped his claws into the thing’s legs. But a sound Shaggy hadn’t heard in a while filled his ears and he gulped.

CLINK

Shaggy felt his arms snap backwards as his claws rebounded off the side of the robot’s legs. He hadn’t even chipped the metal of the robot. From down the hallway, he heard more shouting as Rita and Tom were thrown out of the kitchen and into the hall. He could hear his wife’s spells going off in the kitchen, but his robot kicked out, and he had to roll away. The sounds wood clattering to the floor sounded and Shaggy stood from his roll and saw Cekrass pull himself from the stairs.

In the living room, Vick groaned and uncurled from the top of the couch. His pack was tough, but he didn’t know if they had the firepower to wreck the bots quietly. Behind him, he heard something crash through the kitchen wall into the dining room. Another eight-foot silver robot was pulling itself from the rumble of the kitchen table as Levy came floating after it. Remembering that his wife was going to burn the whole house down anyway, Shaggy shrugged and shouted.

“Pack! You are weapons free! Don’t worry about the noise! Fuck’em up!”

A general cry of ascent rose from his pack. Although it was a little more muted than he was used to. But Shaggy went with it and launched himself up toward the robot’s body. He felt Cekrass join him as Vick pulled a pistol from his waistband. Shaggy was sure his pack was going to miss their larger caliber weapons, but this was supposed to be a stealth mission. Shaggy slammed into the thing’s body and scrambled for purchase with his claws as Cekrass went low and grabbed the thing’s legs.

Cekrass gave a grunt as he tried to lift the robot off its feet. Shaggy felt the wind leave him as a large metal fist punched him in the side. He wrapped his legs around the thing’s waist and continued to try to puncture its chest plate. With only slim success, his claws were leaving minor scratches on the silver metal, but nothing else. Shaggy shifted his hands back to normal and tried for a punch, but a large metal hand clamped around his body and ripped him away.

He was flung away from the robot as Cekrass finally got the thing off its feet. Vick’s pistol popped repeatedly and small sparks rose from the robot’s body. That was the last thing Shaggy saw as his back collided with something, then went through it. A loud crunching filled his ears and his back screamed with pain before suddenly stopping and Shaggy grunted as he hit the ground. Darkness filled his eyes and noise filled ears as he waited for the notification that he was dead.