“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HELL YEAH!”
“Dude. Seriously. Calm down.” Shaggy muttered.
“Calm on, dude. This is epic.”
Shaggy could picture Dave’s smile beyond the flat blue mask that covered the player’s face. His voice came out surprisingly clear through the metal-like material. Although Shaggy thought Dave’s armored form seemed bulkier than the last time he saw it. Also, Dave had two new protrusions sticking out of his forehead now. Shaggy guessed they were tiny horns. Though he couldn’t guess at their purpose.
Dave slammed his armored fist into another Bunch Thug and the guy went flying across the street. Slamming into a mass of bodies. More thugs filled the hole quickly, and Dave returned to ducking and dodging as he cackled happily. Shaggy let a wild haymaker slam into his chin so he could grab the arm. He spun, lifting the offending fist and its owner into a whirling spin. Shaggy heard loud grunts as the body slammed into other various thugs. But a ripping sound made him slow to a stop. As he did, Shaggy realized that his improvised cudgel was now significantly lighter.
“Dude… Do you have to maim everyone?”
Shaggy threw the severed arm into another thug’s face as he shrugged. “Not my fault these people are so squishy. You’d think with their animal characteristics they’d be more durable.”
Dave merely laughed as he thrust a heavy blue boot into a slim snake-looking woman’s chest. The blow sent the woman tumbling away. The mass of bodies around them backed away slightly and Shaggy could see several apartment buildings off in the distance. Some were on fire, but others seemed okay.
When he and Dave had reached the deli, they’d immediately dealt with the guards surrounding the place. However, that wasn’t even the beginning. The streets were filled with Animal-hybrids. All howling and yowling into the night sky. Buildings were on fire, fighting was going on in the street, sirens wailed all around. Shaggy and Dave loved it. The pair dove into the mass of bodies with gusto. They punched, kicked and flung around the grunts of the Wild Bunch gang like they were the strongest kids on the playground.
Shaggy thought he saw a few other supers flying overhead and maybe a few more in the streets. But he never could get close enough to tell. The streets were jammed packed and Dave had thrown himself into the fight with such enthusiasm that it was all Shaggy could do just to keep up. The happy-go-lucky player didn’t appear to be reveling in any bloodlust, he just genuinely enjoyed fighting. Although the way the nearby thugs flailed about could hardly be called fighting.
The crowd around the two of them seemed ready to smash inward again, and Shaggy tried to get as much information about where they were as he could. They had fought their way away from the dinner, clearly. But he really had no frame of reference for where they were. The buildings all looked the same. The street signs were smashed up, and any distinguishing landmarks were behind the mass of idiots throwing themselves at them.
Shaggy cracked his knuckles as he glared around. “Why the hell do they keep charging us? You’d think they’d learn by now.”
“Herd mentality, dude. Put enough people together in a heightened situation and critical thinking goes out the window.”
“Okay, but there has to be a limit, right? I mean I haven’t been keeping complete track. But I know I’ve decked at least fifty guys already.”
Dave gave an uproarious laugh, clutching his armored stomach. Several slowly approaching thugs backed off at the sudden noise.
“Dude, you’re at sixty-three and I’m up to sixty-six. It’s been a close race, my guy. When we started out, you were using your claws, which sped up your kill count, like a bunch. Why’d you stop that?”
Shaggy groaned. He had already forgotten about their little bet for bragging rights. He honestly hadn’t expected a full-blown riot on the damn streets. Shaggy pointed a finger up as he answered Dave’s question.
“The drones, Dave. Haven’t you noticed the drones? I mean, I haven’t seen much of a police presence so far. But they have to be watching things unfold. Last thing I need is them recording me slicing people to hell.”
“But it’s okay to rip a guy’s arm off?”
“Total accident.”
“Also, aren’t you already in their system? Why bother hiding?”
“Never give them more information than they already have. I don’t know about you guys, but my Evo Points have been going out of control. I don’t need the cops knowing how strong I’m getting.”
“Fair.” Dave said, looking around.
The circle of thugs seemed to weigh up their options. Apparently, the few minutes of a break they got seemed to lessen the adrenaline in their systems. Of course, that’s when a Perinadon charged in from outside the encirclement. Their head was down and their horn was aimed straight at Shaggy. He sighed and the circle of thugs roared in triumph as Shaggy let the rhino slam into his stomach. He gave Dave an annoyed look as the thugs rushed in from all around. The Perinadon wrenched it’s head back and forth, trying to get it’s horn into Shaggy’s stomach. But all he did was tickle Shaggy’s abdomen. The pair of them slammed into the ring of thugs and Shaggy was briefly buried beneath a cascade of bodies.
Shaggy brought his hands up to guard his face as his would-be impaler slowed. Punches thudded against his body as the Perinadon finished it’s charge and held on to Shaggy’s hips. He grinned as he felt their fists slam into his armor and do nothing. He even heard a few yelps in surprise at how tough his body actually was. It was exhilarating. There was nothing these peons could do. Until somebody got the bright idea to smack him with a steel pole.
Shaggy felt his head rock from the impact as the pole slammed into the side of his head. Thankfully, he also felt the slim bit of metal bend slightly, But Shaggy would not risk another hit. Time to go on the offensive again. He started punching the Perinadon at his waist in the head until they wised up and let go. As he did, he had to suffer more punches and even a few more smacks with various metal objects. Some wise guy even got the bright idea of trying to jam a knife into Shaggy’s eye. A quick bite, a loud scream, a squirt of blood later, and no one tried that again.
The large alien at his waist wasn’t letting go, figuring out that Shaggy was virtually stuck in place as he tried to wriggle the big rhino-alien off him. Surprisingly, the large bastard was stuck tight. Sighing, Shaggy grew the claws of his right hand out and jammed them into the top of the bastard’s head. There was a gasp of alarm and the body at his waist went limp, finally releasing him. Shaggy grinned at the stunned looks of his attackers. Several other thugs were pushing and shoving and the mass of bodies swayed in the street. But Shaggy ignored that as he shifted his hand back to normal and went back to work.
It was monotonous work. Punching his way back to Dave. But his fellow player was still having the time of his life. Punching and weaving between their attackers. Shaggy was about to call a retreat when a god-awful sound arose from in front of them. The mass of thugs froze and backed away again. All of them searching the streets for the origins of the sound.
“KRIIII~”
The keening cry carried over the tumult of the world around Shaggy and he tried to zero in on the noise. But it seemed to echo everywhere. The buzzing of the drones traveling up and down the roads were drowned out as the noise went up again. Soon the ground shook and Shaggy got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Overhead, several flying supers rushed eastward. Meanwhile, some of the Bunch thugs pushed in the opposite direction.
“Duu~uude. It’s a boss fight! I feeeeeeel it!” Dave skipped around as more and more thugs started running past them.
Shaggy was about to share his thoughts about what was coming when a gigantic green mass crawled over a building. It’s thick scaly hands gripped the edge of the building as it pulled itself over a three-story building. Its yellowish scales glinted in the fires of nearby buildings. Shaggy raised an eyebrow as the four-legged behemoth scurried up and over the building into the street. As it went, it snapped at several flying drones. A long enormous tongue snapped out at a speed Shaggy couldn’t catch as the thing caught a drone and munched away at the metal thing.
Dave had stopped dancing as the monster crunched away at it’s meal. He turned to look at Shaggy, then turned back to the beast, then to Shaggy again. Shaggy couldn’t see it, but he could almost imagine the look of confusion on Dave’s face.
“Is that a giant gecko? Who the hell made a giant gecko? WHY make a giant gecko?!”
“Bwahahahahahaha!” Shaggy guffawed at his friend’s confusion. It took him a bit to reel himself in. But once he did, he answered Dave. “It’s the Wild Bunch, Dave. They love to experiment with animals and apparently giantification is one of their hobbies.”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Dave glared at the yellow-green gecko as it’s tiny teeth worked through another drone. A super in a red suit with a white cape flew over the creature’s head. Blasts of orange energy came from the super's hand, but they did little more than annoy the gecko. Nearby, more and more drones were showing up to douse the ongoing fires. Dave finally dropped his armored transformation and waved a hand at the gecko.
“How do I punch that?”
Shaggy shrugged. “Really hard?”
When Dave gave him an annoyed look, Shaggy fell back into peals of laughter. More and more people were fleeing through the streets and another Supe showed up to help. But it appeared that all this new hero could do was blow these weird multicolored bubbles. The gecko snapped at the things, bursting a few. The bubbles would explode into various strange things. Some seemed to turn into a gum-like substance that trapped the gecko. Others would explode into a cascade of light. Then some would just pop ineffectually.
“Dude, seriously, what do we do?”
Shaggy waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing, the heroes got it. Let’s get back to the deli and check the damage. What do you bet some of the Bunch hit our home?”
Dave gave a fleeting look at the rampaging gecko before he shrugged his shoulders. They both turned northward and hurried up the streets. Bunch thugs were still roaming around several neighborhoods. Robbing and looting. Dave stopped a few here and there, but Shaggy just kept moving. They didn’t need to stop for the cannon fodder, as fun as it had been.
“Eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six.” Dave’s foot dropped onto the head of a furry humanoid as he happily kept counting.
“You’re still doing that?!”
“Of course I am. It’s a bet.”
Shaggy swore as he tried to remember his count. But nothing was coming to him. He was about to ask Dave when a whirling dervish of fire spun through a building. The large apartment complex tumbled over. Cries of alarm and horror went up from the suddenly collapsing building. But they were quickly silenced as they were crushed. The enormous beast made of fire stopped spinning and rolled to a stop in the street.
Dave’s armor immediately came back up and Shaggy stared in horror. It was just as large as the damn gecko. But apparently, making things bigger wasn’t the only thing the fucking Wild Bunch did. Shaggy caught movement out of the side of his eye and thought for a second more Supes were showing up. But nope. Surprisingly, it was more of the Wild bunch. But these had weapons. High-tech-looking, silver, melee and ranged weapons. Both of which pulsed with blue light. Shaggy saw a wolf-looking thug in hide armor playfully twirl a blue baton made of pure energy.
Shaggy groaned as every Bunch gangster on the street turned to the pair of them. This was all an elaborate trap, or they had taken the worst turn in history. While Shaggy doubted the bunch were smart enough to orchestrate all of this. He wouldn’t be surprised if his own devil’s luck hadn’t played a hand in everything.
“The giant fire-wolverine is only worth one point.” Dave said as he hopped from foot to foot.
Shaggy grew his claws out and snorted. “Bullshit! Also, I think it’s a Tasmanian devil, actually. It’s not big enough to be a wolverine.”
“You going to be okay with no armor?”
“I’m covered.”
As soon as the words left Shaggy’s mouth, Dave was off. His blue-armored form kicked up gravel as he rushed forward. Shaggy groaned as blue energy blasts crisscrossed the streets. Some aiming at Dave, but most whizzing by Shaggy’s head. Shaggy found a decent target and launched into a pounce. A hunched over mousy-looking hybrid took the full brunt of Shaggy’s move and crumpled under his claws. He ripped his claws loose and then spun to find his next target.
But a silver sword, shining with blue light, chopped into his side. The side of the blade thunked against Shaggy’s armour and he quickly sliced the swordsman’s hands off. He flung the blade away and ducked another swing from a shiny staff. He jammed his claws forward and ripped them upward, side-stepping to avoid the blood. But his side twinged in pain as he moved. He tried to look down, but another attack was incoming. A silver dagger flashed into his face and Shaggy had to fling himself backward.
He crashed into a few Bunch thugs that were encircling him. But he waved a claw around and felt it slice through a few people. He didn’t check who, as he was staring down at his wounded side. The cut from the sword was still there, glowing with a slightly blue light. He wasn’t hungry and his healing had been working fine before. Several energy blasts smacked into him, but they didn’t burn as he idly waved his claws around at the approaching thugs. Their blue weapons seemed to be more sinister than before.
They had found a way around his healing. Was it magic? Some kind of alien tech? Shaggy’s questions were interrupted as the whirling mass of fire and fur came barreling at all of them. The stupid giant animal didn’t seem to recognize friend from foe as it rolled over everyone in its path. Which included Shaggy.
He felt the fire burn his flesh and his healing slowly repaired the damage. But he was stuck in the damn thing’s fur, along with several others. The rolling devil took them all along for the ride as it spun up the street a long way before hitting another building. Shaggy ignored the screams and the pain in his side as he chopped away at the thing’s fiery fur. He was shaken loose as the Tasmanian devil shook its body, sending small fireballs cascading into the street. Shaggy growled as he rushed forward and started drawing his claws through the thing’s skin. Beneath the layer of fire was an actual physical body that bleed just like most everything. Shaggy’s claws dug deep and blood flowed over his hands.
The devil gave a cry of alarm and snapped out with a kick that took Shaggy by surprise with its speed. It caught him full in the chest and he went careening across the street. The front of his body caught fire as he tumbled. He slammed into a glass bus stop and came to a sudden and painful stop. Shaggy was just getting his bearings when a flash of silver made him move. A blue-glowing spear pulled away as Shaggy swung wildly at its wielder.
The bird-like thug back away. Feathers ruffling as Shaggy tried to slice its weapon in two. More thugs were arriving and blasts of energy were already peppering the surrounding ground. He looked around to find Dave and found the excitable guy further up the street. He was dealing with some other thugs and seemed to have no problem with their glowing weapons. Apparently, it was a trick designed just for Shaggy. He would’ve been honored. If his damn side wasn’t still fucking bleeding.
Another energy blast rushed by Shaggy’s head and he dove toward the nearest building. Several gang members rushed out of his way as he came up, claws first. One of the bastards got lucky, ripping a line in Shaggy’s shin as he crashed through the window of a shutdown laundromat. Shaggy slid on the tile floor and winced as he got back to his feet. The Bunch thugs were crowding the entrance trying to get to him and he took the precious seconds to catch his breath and check his side.
He noticed the wound was getting smaller. But at a much slower rate than usual. He briefly wondered if eating would speed things up a bit. But the sound of something being thrown made him glance back up. A dagger was flying its way toward him, and several thugs had pushed their way inside. Shaggy used his slide move to avoid the dagger and did his best to grab it out of the air. Its edge bit into his hand a little, but he got a hold of it and returned it to the overcrowded window. There was a cry of pain, but Shaggy ignored it as he back up. Several more assholes with spears were corralling him toward the back of the store. Shaggy spotted a backdoor to the laundry, but if he made a break for it he’d get stabbed again.
He was weighing the pros and cons of getting stabbed when someone shouted in alarm.
“It’s rolling this way!”
There was a mad scramble of bodies as everyone rushed to get out of the building. Shaggy took the opportunity to dive out the back door. As he flew, he waited for one of the more opportunistic thugs to stab him in the back. But all he felt on his back were the flames of the fire devil burning him.
The short building crumbled as Shaggy rolled into the alley. The fire devil squealed in annoyance and shook off the brickwork of the collapsed building. He briefly celebrated his escape until an energy blast hit the dirt near his feet. Sighing, Shaggy rushed northward, deeper into the alley. Blaster fire going off around him. A few of the bastards were on the roofs, shooting down at him. Shaggy made for the nearest fire escape and tried to climb. But the shooters concentrated fire on the escape and they melted the damn thing to slag.
“Fuck!” Shaggy swore as ran for the north exit out of the alley.
More thugs had moved around to cut him off. But Shaggy was done avoiding their freaky blue weapons. To the obvious surprise of his assailants, Shaggy threw himself at them. A spearman got his weapon up in time to catch Shaggy’s shoulder. But Shaggy’s own claws ripped through the man’s neck. He dodged a sword thrust and clipped the man’s wrist. But he took another dagger to the thigh.
Shaggy growled and sliced his claws in large arcs. Sending blood and limbs flying as he moved back toward Dave. With the way he was losing blood, he was going to need an assist to get home or at least someone to know he died. Along the way, Shaggy reached into his pocket and grabbed the first thing. A small stick of meat come up and Shaggy didn’t even unwrap it. He threw it into his maw as he rounded the corner back to the main road. Dave was happily punching away at a group of hybrids. Shaggy tried not to grumble as he watched several glowing weapons bounce off Dave’s armor.
It made sense. The weapons were made to combat Shaggy and probably Shaggy’s pack. But it was still annoying to see. Shaggy pounced onto the back of a thug that was trying to find a weak spot in Dave’s armor. They both fell to the street as Dave delivered a side kick to a weasel looking guy. Shaggy ripped his claws through the hybrid’s chest as he stood, wincing at the pain in his body.
“Dude! You’re bleeding!”
“Thanks Dave. Helpful as always.”
Dave grabbed a rabbit hybrid by his collar and shoulder tossed him. “I mean, like, why aren’t you healing?”
Shaggy shrugged, wincing again. “This blue shit. It seems to slow my healing powers.”
Shaggy lifted a greatsword to show Dave before he tossed it toward the nearest thug. He heard a satisfying thunk as he glanced at his body. His injuries were still pouring blood all over his clothes. He chanced a glance at his HP bar and winced.
HP: 217/497 (Multiple cuts, Bleeding)
It wasn’t terrible. But he needed to do something. Unfortunately, the streets’ newest, hottest attraction was rolling at them again. Dave shoved Shaggy away as he back-flipped to safety. Shaggy rolled up to his feet and sliced another dagger wielding thug. Dave’s armor form turned to regard the fire devil, but several energy blasts hit them and the pavement all around them.
“You deal with those damn shooters! I’ll take the fucking flaming pinwheel!” Shaggy shouted.
“You sure?” Dave asked.
Shaggy nodded. “Just take out as many of those damn weapons as you can. I can at least still heal from fire!”
Dave gave Shaggy a quick bow before he ran off. His armor making him a blue blur in the air. He bowled over a bunch of Hybrids as he moved and Shaggy was grateful as he turned to the Tasmanian devil. The giant beast was shaking it’s head from side to side. It looked around confused and Shaggy thought he saw a collar on the damn thing’s neck. It was somebody fucking pet?! Shaggy groaned as he readied his paws.
The devil seemed to pick up on Shaggy’s attitude as it pawed at the ground aggressively. It’s flaming feet leaving large pools of melted pavement. Shaggy gulped as he let his legs tense, and the devil ducked it’s head forward. Shaggy felt his feet leave the ground as the fire covered devil tucked itself into a ball. The wolf pounced, and the devil rolled.