The trip back to Nuc’s shop was uneventful. But Shaggy spent the time checking his Pack Link. Mostly, his pack was worried about his own recent fight. They all seemed fine and the few snippets he could get from Rita, Cekrass, and Ephemara were just bland reports about the boring neighborhood. Shaggy asked them to finish up and check on Levy as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Mell, Xiv, and Cutie were happily discussing the fight.
“No way, Xiv. Your new adrenaline pheromones kick ass. I felt like I could fry everything in that parking lot and still have more to take on Cutie’s soldiers.”
Cutie scrunched up her cherubic face. “I don’t think so. Their armor was pretty tough. I carry that handgun. But I think all I was doing was annoying them.”
“Yeah. How did you take care of them, anyway? Did you use that new ability of yours?”
“Yeah! I flew around and started dispensing fairy dust all over them. Their helmets didn’t have any mouth coverings, so they all inhaled it.”
“So, how did it work?” Mell asked excitedly.
“I don’t know. Some of them dropped immediately. But others just slowed down and started stumbling about like zombies. When I closed in to finish them, they all disappeared. It was so annoying!”
Shaggy snorted. “Sounds easier than going toe-to-toe with all of them. Their armor stopped my damn claws, and they were well-trained too.”
“Didn’t you kill most of them?”
“Mostly by surprise and by being faster. They let their guard down a little too much and got hammered for it. Now, though, when and if they come back, they’ll be ready.”
“Don’t you have a Crowd Control ability?” Cutie asked.
Shaggy shook his head. “Nope. My CC is limited to my pack. They got my back most times, but other than that, I’m pretty much a bruiser. But my high defense and healing make me a pretty good off-tank. Although I have yet to have a straight up fight with a super-strong Supe.”
“So why don’t you increase the strength of your claws?”
“I do. But we keep running into new shit that stops them. They are almost at a base level of twenty, same with their sharpness. But the game keeps throwing new armor at me.”
“Maybe for game balance?”
“Who cares about that? If the game keeps throwing better armor at you, that’s all the better for us. This stuff is gold.” Mell said, pushing up the pile of armor in her hands.
Shaggy eyed the white and blue armor with suspicion. He didn’t really know if the troopers had any tracker tech or magic in the things. But he sure as hell didn’t trust it. What he wanted to do was drag it back to Under-Town and have Roald and Randa look it over. But if there were any traps or tricks on the armor, that would put the Den at risk. Better to risk Nuc’s shop than the Viper’s den.
“ARGH!” SenSor shouted, dragging all of them out of their thoughts.
“Damn it! All that work for nothing!”
Shaggy and Xiv shared a looked before the red-head asked. “What’s up, Sense? Not getting anywhere?”
The big guy shook his head in annoyance before he answered. “I recreated the sense well enough. But when I focus on that area and listen in to the conversation, all I get is an automated voice.”
“So they were talking to a robot?” Shaggy asked.
“No. More like whoever was on the other end was deliberately disguising their voice with technology.”
“Wow. That’s a level of paranoia I have not encountered before.” Mell whistled.
“Is it still paranoia when it turns out to work? I mean, we were trying to listen in on them.” Cutie said.
The girls fell into quiet conversation again as Shaggy patted SenSor’s broad shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You did you best.”
“Yeah, I know. I just think this power was a terrible choice.”
“What about that super-strength you were tossing around back there?”
SenSor flexed his chest muscles and grinned. “This race is naturally strong. But it’s not their primary function. My main power-set is the enhanced senses and I can only raise those. I could probably get stronger with exercise, but I haven’t tried it. Super-strong races need specific training tools.”
Shaggy nodded. “Something for the future, then. I guess you can only work with what you got. Unless you were planning on re-rolling your character.”
SenSor sighed loudly. “Naw. I like it, it just doesn’t have the utility I thought it would. Also, it’s ALL my senses. You know what eating spicy food is like with enhanced taste buds? It’s a trip.”
Shaggy grinned as they engaged in small talk. It wasn’t a long way back to Nuc’s, but the empty streets made the walk pretty bleak. The neighborhood really needed a face-lift. Maybe with Kek’zar gone, that would be easier. But they also just lost one of the major draws of their little slice of Austin. Shaggy shook off the negative thoughts as Nuc’s Shop came into view.
Nothing had changed in the time they’d been gone. Although Nuc was entertaining a few customers. They ran away as Shaggy and his crew approached and Nuc sighed loudly.
“Can you all not move in a giant pack that screams ‘We are criminals?’ I need the few customers I can get.”
“Sorry, Nuc. We have to move like this for safety. In fact, I’m surprised most civilians aren’t moving in groups.”
“What good would it do them? Most Civvies are Mundanes. They ain’t got no powers to speak off. Those that do are off in some gang trying to rule the world.”
Nuc looked Shaggy up and down pointedly. Shaggy merely shrugged off the accurate statement and gestured to Mell.
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“Kek’zar is gone. But he left us a few gifts.”
Nuc stood on her countertop and gestured her lanky orange arms at the armor. Mell hugged the metal to her chest and looked hesitant to hand it over. A glare from Xiv made the blue-haired woman sigh loudly and hurry over to dump the stuff on the counter. Nuc ran her orange hands across the armor idly as she whispered something to herself. Shaggy was trying to listen in when the small hybrid yelped loudly.
“OH! God damn it! Shaggy, what the hell have you brought me!?”
Nuc didn’t wait for his answer. Instead, she grabbed what she could of the armor and leapt from the counter. Mell followed quickly, yelling in surprise. Shaggy watched as Nuc headed to a back door in her shop, knocking down clothes racks and various other items.
“Bring the rest of it!” Nuc screamed as she lunged into the back room hurriedly, Mell on her heels.
Shaggy shrugged at the others and hurried to follow her commands. He and the others followed Mell and Nuc into the back room, taking a moment to gasp as they entered. The back room was the exact opposite of the front of the shop. Where the front was a hodgepodge of random items spread out everywhere. The back was a pristine metal workshop full of worktables, benches, and tools. At the center was a large cage that Nuc was currently standing in. She waved a hand at all of them, ushering them over.
They all crowded into the weird-looking cage and Nuc pressed a button on the lone desk in the cage. She sighed as Shaggy felt a weird shiver shoot through him. The air vibrated, and he was sure Nuc had activated some kind of magic or tech. When he gave the small hybrid a questioning look, she scowled at him.
“What kind of government shit have you brought into my store?!”
Shaggy’s interest went through the roof. “Government?”
Nuc kicked at the armor she had thrown to the floor. “This shit is tagged to hell and back. Who the fuck did you piss off?! You’ve been up here for less than a day!”
“Hey, don’t kick the merchandise!” Mell complained.
“Ha! Merchandise? Ain’t no one in hell buying that shit from you. It’s hotter than a Magmarian in summer. Don’t even think about wearing it, either. That shit probably has some kind of genetic ident system that’ll fry you the second you get it on.”
Shaggy pursed his lips in annoyance. “So it’s completely useless?”
Nuc nodded, but then stopped herself. “Maybe not. You could melt it down and forge your own armor, I guess. But that would take some heavy duty smelting.”
“Why not just get rid of the tracking shit or whatever?”
“Because, Sally-blue-hair! We don’t know what all is installed on these damn things! Maybe if you had a government sanctioned armorer or a talented alien with the right skill-set, you could get rid of the tracking. But I wouldn’t risk it.”
“I was just asking you jumped up Goblin! No need to jump down my throat.”
“If you are going to ask a stupid question, then be prepared to find out how stupid you are!” Nuc snapped back.
Shaggy was ready to jump between the two when a voice echoed from the front of the shop.
“Hello~? Anyone in?”
They all froze and, for some reason, everyone glanced at Shaggy. He balked under their stares and raised a questioning eyebrow. Nuc simply pointed at the door to the front of the shop, glaring at him angrily. The others merely shrugged their shoulders and waved him out. Sighing, Shaggy rolled his eyes and sauntered to the front of the store. For all they knew, it was a legitimate customer looking to grab some random item.
Shaggy opened the back door and walked into the store. Plastering a grin on his face, he navigated past a few short aisles before he got in view of the front of the store. An alien was standing there, dressed in an immaculately clean white suit. Combined with the alien’s own pale-white skin, Shaggy was almost blinded by the guy. His two coal-black eyes hovered in the vast sea of whiteness that was his skin. Shaggy saw the corners of the man’s mouth pull up in a grin as Shaggy came into view.
The alien removed his white fedora, revealing two short red horns. The skinny alien bowed slightly and spoke, revealing a mouthful of sharp, pointy teeth.
“Ahhh, Mr. Robertson. I was hoping it would be you. Proceedings can move much faster when we have the local leadership involved.”
Shaggy felt his skin crawl as the man’s black eyes scanned him. But he put up a brave front. “You have me at a disadvantage, mister…”
The alien’s eyes turned into slits as his smile widened. “You can call me Mr. White. I represent certain interests in this neighborhood.”
“Lot of vagueness there, Mr. White. Would you care to clean some of those up or will you be sticking with the man of mystery routine?”
Mr. White simply smiled again and tapped a finger against his hat. Shaggy could see a black sharpened fingernail attached to the finger. The two stared at each other, waiting for one of them to speak first. When Shaggy leaned against Nuc’s counter and settled in to wait, Mr. White sighed dramatically.
“I see you are as stubborn as reports suggest.”
“It is one of my best qualities.”
“Quite.”
Mr. White moved closer and as he moved, he seemed to glide over the random bit of junk on the floor. Shaggy could see the alien’s feet contacting the floor, but the way the tall alien moved combined with how quiet he was unnerved Shaggy. Mr. White sat his hat down on the counter and stood next to Shaggy.
Shaggy glanced up at the taller man and fought back a frown. Damn tall aliens. Mr. White was around seven foot-tall and his horns added a few inches to that. Tensing himself for an attack, Shaggy kept his eyes on the dark pools that were Mr. White’s eyes. Eventually, the taller alien huffed in annoyance.
“The people I represent have plans for this neighborhood, you see. They don’t include a band of small-time hoods traipsing around the place. We have gone through a lot of trouble seeding certain elements into the area. This is the only warning you shall get. Move on, Shaggy.”
Shaggy bristled. “Yeah, considering it was my small-time crew that helped remove certain elements from the area. I think we have equal claim to the neighborhood.”
“HAHAHAHA!” Mr. White howled with laughter. “Oh, Mr. Robertson. You have absolutely no claim to the neighborhood at all. It is already bought and paid for. The people I represent would rather not have to remove a rather bothersome tick in the process. That is all.”
“The people you represent. You keep using that phrase. Do your owners not want to be known that badly? I mean, I love a good mystery, but come on. Talk about pretentious.”
Shaggy delighted as Mr. White seemed to bristle at the word ‘owners.’ It was a petty jab, but one that Shaggy was not above using. Mr. White sighed as he adjusted his white tie and twirled his hat on the counter.
“Ah yes, your little games. You villains do seem fond of needling your betters.”
Shaggy snorted. “The last guy to call himself my better is currently rotting in a place worse than hell.”
“Ah, that would be Master Coggins, wouldn’t it? I apologize. That was a slip of the tongue. Your little slight seems to have gotten the better of me. I didn’t come to trade barbs, merely inform. Your people have three days to vacate the neighborhood.”
Mr. White stood with such swiftness that Shaggy thought the man had left an afterimage. When his eyes caught up with the tall alien, he was at the entrance of the shop.
“What happens after three days?” Shaggy asked.
Mr. White stood in the sunlight of the shop’s open entrance and put on his white hat. He leaned back and smiled a fang-filled smile at Shaggy before he answered.
“Terror, Mr. Robertson. Terror you are not prepared for in the slightest.”
Then, with a puff of air, Mr. white was gone. In his place were a few swirls of air and the slow rocking of magazine racks. Shaggy blew out a breath and leaned back against the counter. Every instinct in him had told him to crack Mr. White’s head against the counter and be done with him. But that was only a stopgap measure. Whoever was behind the tall alien would just send more.
Shaggy rubbed at his messy hair and groaned. He had left Under-Town to get away from all this cloak and dagger shit. Now he was fully in it. He was thinking up the pros and cons of the situation when Xiv stuck her head out of the back door.
“Hey, boss? Are you done? Because I think Mell and the little goblin woman are going to tear into each other soon.”
Shaggy rolled his eyes as he got up. He sent a recall message to his pack, calling all of them back to the cave. Mell was going to have to leave her prize here and be happy about it. They needed to regroup and figure out what the fuck was going on. But one thing was for sure, Shaggy would not give up the neighborhood without a fight.