Cog’s face shifted to a rictus of rage and suddenly Shaggy’s arms were encased in metal. Shaggy ripped his massive arms free as Cog’s metal suit closed back up. Metal plates shifted and the robot suit back off a few steps. Shaggy stomped forward, but stopped when he spotted Vlad and Dave rushing in.
Blurred blue lines trailed Dave as he ran and Vlad seemed to moving at a slower level of super speed. Shaggy tilted in his head in confusion as he watched the pair take Cog from either side. It wasn’t until he turned to regard Ren and Slink that Shaggy realized what he was seeing. Ren was moving in slow-motion as Slink had barely drawn his snakes back out. Shaggy turned back to Dave and Vlad.
The pair were battering Cog’s metal armor as the big robot swiped at them. If Shaggy had to guess, he was slower than Dave, but faster than Cog. If what his senses were telling him were true. With a gently push off the ground, Shaggy activated his pounce ability and aimed for the robot’s chest. Shaggy blasted forward, the pyramid roof cracking under his feet as he was launched. He had enough time to see Dave turn toward him, alarmed. A flash of black and Vlad tackled Dave out of the way as Shaggy slammed into Cog’s robot suit.
Shaggy was caught so off-guard that he didn’t get his arms up fast enough. Instead, he head-butted the robot’s metal plating and bounced back slightly. Cog, however, was blown backward and tumbled to his metal knees. Shaggy shook off the blow and looked down. His wolf-legs and clawed feet clacked against the black surface of the pyramid roof.
“Oh, that’s bullshit!” Vlad screamed from behind him. “You’re super-fast now too?! Broken! Your shit is fucking broken!”
Shaggy merely grinned as Dave gave a whoop of excitement. Behind the pair of speedsters, Ren and Slink were slowing to a stop as they watched the fight. Shaggy waved them both off as he turned back to Cog’s robot suit. They could get in their hits wherever they could, but he was going to rip the old man from the suit and rip him apart.
Shaggy rushed in again, careful to watch his speed. Raising both of his large clawed hands, Shaggy swiped them across the robot’s metal surface. He tore chunks of metal off the robot and sent bolts and metal strips flying. But just as fast, Cog would pull in more metal and rebuild his robot. Shaggy growled and pulled back for another bite with his jaws. But Cog punched him in the face. The brown blur of Cog’s fist smacked Shaggy in the nose and cracked it badly.
Shaggy howled in pain as he backed away. Blinking tears from his eyes as his nose healed, Shaggy saw Dave and Vlad rush in again. Vlad's jittery, speedy movements looked weird to Shaggy, while Dave was practically moving at normal speeds. But the two pounced on Cog’s metal body and started punching and clawing. Shaggy jumped in and stabbed both of his claws deep into the metal body of the robot.
Waiting for a cry of anguish from Cog, Shaggy missed the backhand as it swiped both him and Dave. Dave’s smaller armored form slammed into Shaggy’s side and squished them together under Cog’s fist. Shaggy acted on instinct and slashed his on claws at the arm. The pressure released, and Dave collapsed to the floor before rolling away. Shaggy wanted to check on Dave but the arm he had just cut was slowing building itself back up again. He growled and angrily started clawing at the robotic arm.
Behind him, he heard Vlad’s own tiny clawed finger pinging off the robot’s armor. Shaggy slashed and clawed the robot’s arm to pieces as Cog recoiled from the assault. They seemed to do a lot of damage. But Cog was rebuilding the robot just as fast as they were breaking it. Shaggy had his jaws wrapped around the metal shoulder joint of Cog’s robot, when Ren’s voice shouted over everything.
“Make a hole!”
With slow, thundering steps, Ren charged forward. Shaggy saw Dave and Vlad split away from the front of the Cog suit. So he did the same, moving to stand next to the cog bot as he continually sliced into its side. Ren took a running swing with his hammer and slammed it bodily into the robot’s chest. A metal gong echoed through the area, and Shaggy could see the plate deform from the blow. But it quickly formed back it. Shaggy huffed and went back to ripping the suit’s arm off again. But Ren’s voice repeated.
“Make a hole!”
Shaggy snorted. “Dude, you already took your shot!”
Shaggy wrenched his claws deeper into the suit’s side before he slashed them upward again. Cog recoiled and tried to throw a haymaker at Shaggy. But surprisingly, Ren and Vlad caught the Cog’s right arm and held on. Over his shoulder, Shaggy heard Slink’s voice.
“No, Shaggy. Make. A. Hole!”
It took a second for Shaggy to register the teen’s tone. But once he did, he quickly tore Cog’s left arm off and jammed both of his claws into the thing’s torso. Putting the backs of his hands together, Shaggy sliced his claws in either direction. Creating a large gash at the robot’s center. Shaggy could just barely see Cog in the robot again. But the gash was quickly healing back up.
Cog’s left arm was back again and Shaggy had to throw himself on top of it to stop it from hitting him. As he did, he spotted Slink rushing forward and throwing both his hands at Cog’s chest. Larry, Curly, and Moe shot forth from Slink’s arms and slammed into the robot’s chest. Larry and Curly almost immediately disappeared into the inner workings of the robot. Moe was having a rougher time of it. Shaggy let go of Cog’s arm and punched his claws into the metal chest again. Hoping to give the orange snake some room.
As his claws embedded in the metal, Cog’s left arm came up again and slapped Shaggy’s large hybrid wolf-form away. Shaggy stumbled into Ren and Vlad. The three of them falling to the pyramid roof. Shaggy quickly scrabbled to his clawed feet, but the sound of Cog’s scream made him slowed him.
Glancing at the large metal suit. Shaggy saw it flailing angrily and wildly as it kicked and punched at nothing. Slink was almost caught by a kick, but Dave’s armored body got in front of the slim teen. Shaggy saw pieces of Dave’s armor go flying as he stopped the blow. Inside the robot, Cog was screaming bloody murder. Shaggy couldn’t help but smile, but Slink gave a sudden cry of his own and fell to the ground, nose bleeding.
“Larry’s dead. Moe’s on Cog, but I can’t feel Curly.” Slink groaned. His head in his hands.
“Will that do it? Can they poison him to death?” Vlad asked.
Ren shook his head. “We don’t want that, anyway. Shaggy’s gotta kill the bastard.”
Shaggy flexed the large claws on both his hands. “Then let’s drag his ass out of there!”
Without waiting for the others, Shaggy dove onto Cog again and started digging into the robot’s metal body. His claws tore large gashes in the metal and Shaggy smiled as they were slow to heal. With renewed vigor, he battered Cog’s robot suit to pieces. Shaggy idly spotted a green snake slowly leaving the robot’s body, but he ignored it as he finally spotted flesh. Moe’s large orange body was wrapped tightly around Cog’s head and the technopath was clawing and punching at the enormous snake.
With glee, Shaggy reached down and unceremoniously yanked Cog from his robot. He was about to slam the thin man to the ground. But Moe’s hissing stopped him. Vlad and Ren were suddenly at Shaggy’s side, pushing the metal suit away from Cog’s human body. Shaggy gave Moe time to slip away. But as he did, Cog waved his black robotic arm in a weird gesture. A sinking feeling hit Shaggy, but he ignored it as he stared at his prize.
Cog’s face was purple and green. Pus oozed from several bite marks on his face, and Shaggy could tell that breathing was already uncomfortable for the man.
“Its… not… the… end.” Cog wheezed past lips too swollen to close.
Shaggy grinned down at the poisoned and was about to issue a one-liner. But the entire pyramid shook violently, interrupting him. Shaggy looked around. The purple dome surrounding the top of the pyramid was now gone. The sky was cracking into a cascade of various colors. Shouts and cries of robots and players fighting filled the air. Shaggy glanced at his friend in time to see Vlad dash over to the side of the roof.
“Shit! We’ve got a bunch of bot’s incoming. End it, Shaggy!”
“Wait. What about the crown thing?” Slink asked, looking even paler than usual.
“It’s got to be in the bot, right?” Dave said as he rushed over to the robot suit’s remains.
Shaggy glowered down at the puffy, venom riddled face of Cog. The bastard was smiling. It was crooked at swollen, but it was indeed a smile. Shaggy was about to interrogate the prick. But a sharp pinch on his side made him look around. Cog had stabbed him in the side with a small white dagger of some kind. As Shaggy moved, the dagger was pulled out and his blood rushed out. He waited for his healing to staunch the wound. But nothing happened.
Shaggy growled down at Cog as the man’s swollen face swirled and his vision darkened.
“What did you do?!” Shaggy slurred angrily.
“One last plan. One last great gamble from the world’s greatest mind.” Cog chuckled over swollen lips.
Shaggy tried to roar, but he was getting dizzy. So instead, he did the only thing he could think of. He bit Cog’s face. He had enough time to hear the crunch of Cog’s skull and feel the blood rush over his wolfish jaws. Then Shaggy’s world went black.
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“No. I’ve told you already, Carl. We are going with the more peaceful solution!” General Johns shouted.
“Damn it, Johns! Aliens are real! Don’t you see what problems that creates? We need to be prepared. Who knows what kind of… things they could be? Not only that, but they are obviously more advanced than us! They created a damn ark to run away from intergalactic war! What happens to us if that war follows them here?!”
General Johns glared across the table. “Believe me, we know that! This has been considered from all angles by people smarter than you, Coggins! Madam president believes that peace is the way forward with these new species. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have more pressing meetings to get attend.”
Carl Coggins sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why could no one else see it? The danger these aliens presented? Why was he the only one to understand that the human race was under attack?! This wasn’t about a bunch of aliens seeking asylum! This was an invasion! They needed to see. He needed to tell everyone! They all needed to be prepared for the changes this would bring!
Shaggy blinked rapidly as he came too. His vision was full of red and orange swirling colors and he felt like he was in a dream. A dream where he was absolutely weightless. A pressure at his temple made him raise a hand to brush the offending feeling away. As he raised his arm, he saw he was human again.
“Damn mutt! Just go back to sleep.” A familiar voice hissed.
Shaggy’s eyes snapped open, and he stared into Cog’s youthful face. The bastard’s face was back to normal. Free from the toxins that Slink’s snakes had injected him with. The old man’s cybernetic fingers were roughly pressed against Shaggy’s temple. He shook off the offending hand and growled as he tried to shift his hand into claws. But nothing happened.
“Don’t bother, you damn simpleton. We must remain pure as we pass to the next world.” Cog said.
Shaggy raised an eyebrow. “So we’re both dead, then?”
“Oh, look at that. It can make intelligent inferences. Yippee! Now, how about you close your eyes again and let a master work?”
Before Shaggy could do anything, Cog’s robot fingers were on his temple again. His vision swam and his eyes closed as Cog’s face loomed over him.
“… the school’s roof collapsed and trapped dozens of children under tons of rubble.”
“Tragic, Linda.”
“Absolutely, Don. No official word has been given for what caused the explosion. But as the video shows. It appears a young boy, with supernatural powers… exploded.”
“There’s no other word for it, Linda. One moment the boy was being bullied and the next…”
Coggins grumbled as he wired the battery to drone’s main board. The TV in his sparsely lit workshop went on and on about the horrible loss of life. The vapid news anchors continued to play dumb about what happened. He knew what was happening. So did everyone else. They just didn’t want to admit it. Those rotten aliens had done something to them. They had wrenched the human race right off the rightful path of evolution.
Coggins had spent weeks scanning for any signs that the earth’s atmosphere had been tampered with. Radiation, light waves, sounds waves, biological vector points, or anything else. He had devoted all of his time to trying to find out how the aliens had done it. But there was nothing, or at least not a trace, he could find. Not with his current equipment. But he refused to use the so-called ‘cleared tech’ that the government was using. That all was probably covered in whatever the aliens were using to change natural human DNA.
Carl shuddered as he thought about what was happening to his beloved human race. They were perversions now. Knocked off the righteous path set down by mother nature and science itself. There were even reports of people being able to control the various forms of energy in the world. One supposedly lived down the block from where he was squatting. Coggins had toyed with the idea of kidnapping the man. Maybe if he had a live sample, he’d be able to figure out what the aliens had done to them. But he dismissed the notion. He wasn’t that desperate yet.
“Proof.” Coggins said into the emptiness of his workshop. “All I need is proof. Then they’ll understand.”
Shaggy snapped his eyes open again and tried to brush off the foreign images in his head. Cog’s metal fingers dug into his flesh as the technopath huffed in annoyance.
“You are surprisingly resistant to this process.” Cog said idly. It was like he was talking about the weather.
Shaggy shook his head, trying to ge the images loose. It was like he had been in that ratty old basement himself. Like he was the one disgusted with the hated aliens. He tried to question Cog. But the young man punched Shaggy in the jaw. Pain flared in his face and Shaggy brought his arms up to defend his face.
“You know, I have never been one for brawling. But as it is how you operate. I probably should get used to it.”
Shaggy waited for the pain to fade from his jaw. But it was slow to do so. Either his healing didn’t work here either or he was tapped. Cog’s fist slammed into Shaggy’s defense, but Shaggy pivoted and countered. The knuckles of his left hand smacked Cog’s chin, and the villain growled in both pain and annoyance.
Shaggy didn’t give the technopath time to respond as he followed his hook with two jabs from his right fist. Cog weakly parried the first jab, but Shaggy pulled it back fast and delivered another. The second jab smacked Cog in the nose and Shaggy smiled as blood poured from the pale man’s face. Cog went to say something else, but Shaggy ignored him. If Cog could still be hurt here, then he was going to wreck the bastard.
Shaggy roughly shoved Cog’s metal arm away and tried to backpedal to get some space. But nothing happened. His feet flailed wildly as Shaggy tried to push against something that wasn’t there. He looked around and remembered that he and Cog were falling through a world of red and orange. The two colors blurred together as they both tumbled through the air. A heavy blow across his cheek brought Shaggy back to the fight. He felt his cheek crack and immense pain flared in his face again.
Shaggy choked back a cry of pain and threw up his left arm. Cog’s metal arm battered into Shaggy’s defenses as Shaggy tried to respond. The villain wasn’t that powerful, but a metal arm to the face would hurt anyone. Shaggy held his head back and let Cog take a wild swing. Overextending, Cog sent them both spinning through the air. Shaggy grabbed onto the other man’s shirt and landed two solid punches into Cog’s head. Each punch shook both of them and Shaggy whimpered from the pain in his cheek.
“Ha!” Cog cackled as they spun. “See! You are weak! Here in the Land Between, all are created equal!”
“Yeah, say that without your metal toys, asshole!” Shaggy slurred as he continued to punch any bit of Cog he could.
They spun and fell further down into nothingness. Shaggy was the superior fighter, but Cog’s metal arms and legs evened the fight. Especially when any blow either of them landed sent them both tumbling through the air. Shaggy held onto Cog’s lapel as Cog gripped Shaggy behind the head. The two of them punched, bit, and kicked each other as they continued to fall.
Occasionally, Cog would grip Shaggy’s forehead again and a flash of memory would hit Shaggy hard. The emergence of mutants and mages, the legislation to protect the new species, the Alien Rights Movement. Hundred of years worth of memories were shoving their way into Shaggy’s brain and he was starting to realize that was Cog’s plan.
“You. Can’t. Have. My. Body!” Shaggy yelled, each word punctuated by a heavy punch.
They were both spinning heavily now, and Cog was no longer trying to fight back. Instead, he kept trying to grab Shaggy head and force his memories into Shaggy’s brain.
“Oh, what are you using it for?! Some petty crimes and juvenile japes! I have actual work that needs doing. The world needs my protection! They need to understand that my way is the only way for the pure human to survive!”
Shaggy gut punched Cog and followed it with a knee to the man’s head. “You’re going to do that with my MUTANT body?”
“A minor quibble that I will rectify once I have control of your body,” Cog shouted back, hands reaching for Shaggy’s face.
Shaggy pulled away and grabbed both of Cog’s arms. Cog’s metal arm whirred dangerously and Shaggy had to focus his attention on that one as the other grabbed his face. More images flashed through his mind.
“WHY CAN’T ANY OF YOU UNDERSTAND!?” Coggins shouted at the assembled scientists.
He was disgusted that they had allowed the chancellors of the various alien conclaves into the symposium. But he was going to say his piece. The mutant and ‘magical’ threat were still looming. Indeed, Cog had begun to suspect that he, himself, was infected with whatever the aliens had done. His technology seemed to call to him whenever he was in the lab. It whispered about its own purity, how flesh faded and blood dried up. But metal was pure and there were more efficient forms of fuel out there. Coggins willed the thoughts away as he stared at his audience.
They were the supposed foremost minds of the age. Although most had stood up and were now leaving. Some were still seated though, small smiles on their faces as they filmed him. He could see the twinkles of those little alien camera-phones everyone was carrying nowadays. He could hear the whispers from them, too.
“I am serious! If we don’t do something soon, the pure human will be an endangered species. We must demand answers from these aliens!”
“Mr. Coggins. Our people have done nothing to this world. In fact, have we not given everything of ourselves to this world? Humans are living longer and better lives everyday thanks to our technology. We were just as surprised by the introduction of both Mutants and Magic as…”
“There’s no such thing as magic!” Coggins screamed. “We all know that you have infected us with some genome or creation that our science cannot identify! What is it! What have you done to humanity?!”
The disgusting multi-eyed alien quivered under Coggins’ question. He could see that the alien was about to break. The answer was there, hidden behind the gross-looking purple flesh of the alien. All he had to do was crack it open and find the answer. But it was not to be.
“I think we’ve heard enough. Carl Coggins, while I respect the advances you have made in robotics. I think I speak for everyone when I say that the scientific community does not agree with your hypothesis about the Mutant Event. Also, your complete disregard for the Magical community is outright worrying.”
“It is not magic! There is no such thing as magic!” Coggins screamed.
All he got back were pitying looks and the whispers from the alien technology in the room. It whispered that they believed him. They knew the truth and understood. They were the only truth left. Coggins was starting to agree with the whispers.
Shaggy snapped out of the memory and growled. With newfound strength, Shaggy let go of Cog’s robotic arm and grabbed the human one. It took some spinning, but with a forceful pull, Shaggy got onto Cog’s back and tried for a choke. Cog chuckled as he sucked in air.
“Ha… Ha! You idiot, we’re both dead! What are you going to do, kill me again?”
Shaggy growled as he squeezed Cog’s neck tighter. He didn’t know if he could kill someone twice, but he was going to try. Cog’s arms spun as he tried to get at Shaggy’s head again. Shaggy pulled away, sending them both into a backflip. They tumbled repeatedly until something new happened.
The air shifted, and a heavy metallic scent filled the air. Shaggy watched the world around them shift to red and the air grew heavy. Cog redoubled his struggling and Shaggy smiled. His face hurt, his arms hurt, and his powers were useless. But as the blood oceans and islands of flesh popped into existence around him, Shaggy couldn’t help but laugh. They were in the Blood God’s realm now.