“How did you get out of prison, anyway?” Kaleb asked as they drove down the dark tunnel.

Shaggy just smiled wide as he answered. “It wasn’t hard. We just had to wait for our chance and then we made a break for it.”

“And what was your chance?” Kaleb asked cracking the window to let out Daivor’s pipe smoke.

“You know how it is. Sometimes you have to make your own luck.” Shaggy said evasively.

Kaleb was about to ask the werewolf to elaborate when Vlad spoke up from his spot behind the wheel. “Another villain attacked the prison looking for minions. Ve chose not to be slaves to someone else.”

Shaggy shot Vlad an annoyed look as Kaleb nodded in understanding. So the four of them had been in jail when someone else came and freed them. Was that a random event or a something the game planned for when the jail got too full? Kaleb wondered as he asked the pair of players another question.

“So no Supers tried to stop them? I mean, you were in a prison designed for supers, right? You would think they’d have a couple of power-houses on standby.”

Vlad snorted as Shaggy scratched his cheek. “Uhh, kind of. You see, they put you in cell block according to how powerful they think you are. But there is no real way for them to measure that. So they judge your abilities based several factors.”

“One of vich is vho brought you in.” Vlad interrupted. “A low-level speedster caught me after I had just finished feeding. I vas vulnerable. So they put me in the low ability block.”

Kaleb shook his head as he understood what they were saying. “And I caught Shaggy and I am Mundane. So that probably meant they also put you in the same block?”

Shaggy nodded. “Yep, they assumed that, while I am a werewolf, I didn’t have full control of my abilities.”

“You still don’t.” Vlad interrupted again.

“SO!” Shaggy said taking back the conversation. “When the Villain came a-calling they responded with a force of equivalent strength to the Block being broken into. A Super still showed up to deal with the big bad, but Vlad, Slink and I only had to deal with low-powered cops.”

“So how did you meet Ren?” Kaleb asked.

Shaggy shrugged. “He was wandering downtown looking for some secret underground city. I told him and the others what you had said about Under-Town. The rest is history.”

Daivor patted Kaleb shoulder as the tunnel they were in curved to the left. The bright lights of the dumpster truck they were in lit the dirt tunnel up. The way ahead showed another long empty stretch of tunnel followed by a sharp turn right. Kaleb searched his memory for the route to the dump site, trying to remember the video he and Daivor watched.

“It’s coming up here.” Daivor whispered in his ear.

“Kill the lights.” Kaleb said to Vlad. “We are getting close and we have to deal with the gate guard. Best not to alert him.”

Vlad slowed the dumpster truck somewhat and hugged the right side of the tunnel as he switched off the lights. It left them in almost complete darkness. The only sources of light were from Daivor’s hover chariot and soft white glow coming from the corner ahead. Vlad stopped the truck just before the turn, but left it hovering and turned to the others.

“So, vho is handling the guard?” Vlad asked.

Shaggy looked to Kaleb, but Kaleb just shrugged and pointed back to Shaggy. “You all are more familiar with your abilities than I am. Which one of you guys can take a guard quick and quiet?”

Shaggy seemed to think about it for a few seconds before he responded. “Vlad, it’s you or Slink. But I think with Slink they might have time to yell out.”

Vlad seemed to agree and opened his door, preparing to jump out of the truck. “Yet another pup vho doesn’t have control over his abilities.” Vlad said haughtily as he left.

Kaleb saw Shaggy roll his eyes as he moved over to the driver's seat. “His a bit much, huh?”

Shaggy chuckled. “A bit much was when he wanted me to play the part of his werewolf guardian. Wanted me to watch over him when he slept. Now, he is just a kid overacting in a game. I’m sure you’ve seen them before. Damn RPer’s took over a whole server in Wondrous.”

Kaleb shook his head. “Not really. I haven’t played a full immersion game in a while. I was bored of all the medieval knights and magic settings. Tried Luminaries Dark and Twilight game for a while, but that one was boring. Hours on a virtual spaceship doing nothing.”

“Never tried that one.” Shaggy said. “But, yeah the RPer’s were all ov-”

*BANG!*

A loud metallic noise came from Shaggy’s door causing the werewolf to jump in shock. Kaleb also jolted in surprise before he reached for his gun. Shaggy growled and swore in irritation before he rolled down his window and stuck his head out.

“What!?”

Kaleb heard Slink’s voice ask. “What the hell are we doing? Why are we just stopped in this dark tunnel?”

“We are waiting for Vlad to take care of the guard before we move forward.” Shaggy said still sounding annoyed.

“Well, how long is that going to take?” Slink asked getting annoyed himself.

Shaggy growled again through clenched teeth. “Why don’t you go find out.”

“Why don’t YOU go fucking find out.” Slink replied.

“Because you're already out of the truck. Just go to the corner and see, okay?”

“Fine!” Slink said petulantly tubular protrusion on his face and neck pulsating angrily.

Shaggy rolled the window back up and watched the young teen dash away from the truck. Kaleb watched the young man run off, so he asked Shaggy a question about the teenager.

“Is that thing under his skin a…?”

“A snake? Yeah, kinda obvious with a name like Slink, right? But he insists that it is not a snake. Apparently his race in the game form mental links with an alien animal that look similar to earth snakes. The stronger they are the more snakes they can control or they can control one powerful snake. Slink opted to control one powerful snake and two little ones. He uses the little ones for scouting.” Shaggy explained as they peered into the dark in front of the truck.

“That seems gross. How do they come out?” Kaleb asked shuddering somewhat.

“Ha! They come from small holes in his forearms. They skin around there is more elastic, so it stretches to let the snake out. But, if you think that is creepy wait until he brings one out.” Shaggy said smiling.

Kaleb almost asked why but he saw Slink running back to the truck. The young man ran back to Shaggy’s window as the werewolf lowered it. Panting Slink let them know what he saw.

“There’s just a guard shack. I didn’t see a guard or Vlad. Maybe he’s feeding?”

Shaggy nodded and looked over to Kaleb. Deciding to take the risk Kaleb nodded and waved for Shaggy to pull the truck forward. Slink ran around to Kaleb’s side and hopped in as Shaggy pulled the truck away slowly. They turned the corner and were immediately lit up from the bright lights by the gate. They pulled closer to the slim yellow arm blocking entrance into the dump site.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

As they pulled up level with the guard shack Kaleb could see the back of Vlad’s cape as he crouched over the guard. His black cape shook this way and that as Vlad’s head twisted near the man’s neck. Kaleb could see a pool of blood forming on the white-tiled floor of the guard shack. Ignoring the gruesome scene of Vlad messily drinking the guard’s blood, Shaggy leaned out of his window and hissed.

“Vlad! Damn it, dude, there’s no time for that now. Raise the gate!”

Vlad seemed to stop for a few seconds, but soon went back to nosily slurping on the dead man’s neck. Shaggy sighed loudly and turned to Slink who looked annoyed. The young man just shook his head and shot the werewolf the finger. His sigh turning to a growl, Shaggy got out of the truck and moved to the mutant vampire. Shaggy first flicked the switch for the automatic gate then went to grab his companion.

Shaggy had to pry Vlad off of the dead man. Vlad, blood drunk, struggled a bit before he settled down, allowing the werewolf to drag him off. Shaggy disappeared behind the truck for a few seconds then came back without Vlad. Shaggy moved the truck into the dump site and turned to Kaleb.

“Where are we going?”

Kaleb glanced around the well-lit dump site before responding. “Not too far in and position the truck for a fast getaway. Here’s good.”

Shaggy found a place to turn the large truck around then stopped the car. Kaleb waved for Slink to leave cab as Shaggy did the same on his side. They all gathered around the front of the truck. Including a swaying Vlad with blood dripping down the front of his shirt.

“They must have enhanced that guard. He was worth 5 points.” Vlad murmured loudly.

Kaleb ignored him as he gave orders to the Rhino-men and the others. “Slink, you said you could do surveillance?” When the teenager nodded Kaleb continued. “Okay, so why don’t you do that while Ren and his pals find metal. Doesn’t matter what kind, big, small or whatever. Just fill this truck. Daivor and I will look for specialized equipment.”

“What about me?” Shaggy asked when Kaleb didn’t give him a job.

“You are sticking with me in case I need something heavy moved.” Kaleb grinned.

The group all nodded at their assigned jobs and moved to get to work. Slink moved a short distance away and spread his arms out by his side. The rhino-men quickly started filling the truck with random stuff and Daivor floated off on his chariot. Kaleb and Shaggy were moving past Slink when Kaleb heard the young man let out a long pleasure-filled moan.

“Ohhhhhhh, fuck yeah!”

A soft thump followed the moan as something bright orange and slithering fell out of Slink’s shirt. Kaleb looked wide eyed at Shaggy as the young man moaned again. Shaggy was trying to keep himself from laughing as he continued to walk. Kaleb hurried after him as he tried to block out Slink’s moans.

“Are you fucking serious?” Kaleb asked once they were far enough away.

Shaggy shrugged. “Hey, a game company isn’t about to make that process hurt, right?”

“I suppose not. But it seems like they may have gone too far the other way with that one.”

“Agreed.”

Kaleb just shook his head and tried to expunge the image and noises from his mind. Working from memory, Kaleb lead Shaggy toward the pile of robot arms he and Daivor had discovered on their last visit. It took a little back tracking here and there, but eventually he found it and loaded up the werewolf’s arms with robot ones.

“Looking for spares?” Shaggy laughed.

Kaleb just shook his head. “Upgrades, actually. The synth muscles on some of these can make an arm way stronger.”

“Got to get your edge where you can find it, huh?”

“Yep.” Kaleb answered as he placed another arm on the pile in Shaggy’s arms.

Once he felt like he had enough Kaleb told Shaggy to head back to the truck. As Kaleb followed, he almost tripped on a silver colored object laying next to another pile of junk. Looking down at it, Kaleb saw it was a sliver helmet. He picked it up, surprised at how heavy it was. As he looked it over Kaleb found a spot for a power supply.

He couldn’t see a visor or anything on the helmet though. He put it on, finding it a snug fit, and he discovered that he had a near perfect field of view. The helmet didn’t obscure his vision at all. In fact, it seemed like the whole front of the helmet was some kind of see-through metal. Kaleb gave the front of the helmet a few taps before he shrugged his shoulders and followed Shaggy.

Shaggy glanced back at him a few times but otherwise the werewolf dutifully carried his load of arms to the truck. Once off-loaded the werewolf turned to Kaleb questioningly. Kaleb just shrugged and waved his arms around, gesturing to the massive piles of tech.

“Your turn.” Kaleb’s voice came out muffled from under the mask. “Find something interesting and we’ll load it up.”

Shaggy looked dubious as he walked off in a random direction. Kaleb followed closely behind and kept a lookout for the odd piece of tech he could fit in his pocket or the big on his thigh. He found a few power sockets and few bits of tech, but nothing too world changing. Shaggy moved at a brisk pace only glancing at a pile a few seconds before moving on. Every once in a while he would ask Kaleb a question.

“So can you make swords?”

“Made a few low grade ones early on. But don’t you have claws?” Kaleb answered.

“Yeah, if I ever get the damn transformation down.”

Kaleb picked up a what looked like a socket for a light bulb. “What’s the deal with that?”

“I don’t know. After the first full moon I figured the change would be easier.”

“You changed during the full moon?”

“Yep, can’t remember a damn thing about it though. Woke up in a field next to a dead cow in Bluff Springs.” Shaggy said dejectedly.

Kaleb grabbed more random tech and offered his own thoughts. “Maybe it’s tied to emotion?”

Shaggy shook his head as he scanned another pile. “Tried that. Trust me, I got pissed. Didn’t even grow hairy.”

“So how did you shift before your attempted mugging?”

“I wanted to look scary, I was almost there. But I got annoyed at that damn bitch for not letting go of her purse.”

Kaleb had a thought. “Have you tried trying to shift outside of combat? When your nice and calm?”

“What good would that be? I can only wolf out when I’m calm? That be a bitch in a fight.” Shaggy griped.

“Well, you tried emotions. Maybe it’s like a zen thing, you know? No emotions, just picture your hand as a claw.” Kaleb said.

Shaggy wobbled his head from side to side as he groaned. “I guess that makes sense. But I was looking for a more aggressive werewolf. Not some kinda zen-monk werewolf.”

Kaleb shrugged his shoulders and let the conversation drop. Shaggy kept moving between the mounds of junk. He would scan a mound and move on until finally he seemed to find something he was looking for. He bent over a large mound and reached for something slightly under the top layer of junk. Yanking hard, Shaggy pulled a small, short-nosed Bullpup rifle.

Kaleb gave the weapon a once over. Overall, it seemed to be in good shape. The barrel was slightly bent, and it didn’t have a magazine. But otherwise it looked serviceable. Kaleb glanced at Shaggy who seemed to beam happily at his prize. He caught eyes with Kaleb and raised the weapon happily.

“What do you think?”

“It will take some work.” Kaleb said honestly. “Are you looking for a ballistic rifle or would you be happy with a conversion to an energy weapon?”

“What’s the difference?” Shaggy asked.

“Ammo, mainly. I could convert it into an energy weapon but it might overheat and warp the gun. Or I can machine a magazine and you will just have to find somewhere to buy ammo.” Kaleb explained.

“Well, let’s stick to the second one for now. I know a guy who can get me some ammo. But do you think you can fix it up?”

Kaleb nodded. “Sure. Piece of cake.”

Shaggy smiled happily and walked back to the truck. Gun clutched in his hand. As they made their way back Kaleb reminded Shaggy to be on the lookout for more stuff. So they continued to scan the nearby mounds of junk. They were almost back to the truck when Daivor flew over a nearby mound and flew straight for them. The small Gnome looked annoyed as he came to a stop in front of Kaleb’s masked face.

“You will not believe who is back.”

Kaleb eyes widened as he asked. “The fucking cat lady?”

Daivor nodded. “Yep. Her and four guys are coming from the north. There’s a big elevator that travels the entire length of the cavern.”

“Who’s cat lady?” Shaggy asked.

“K-Tech security.” Kaleb explained as he walked faster. “She chased us out last time we were here. They must be checking on the missing gate guard. We need to get to the others and get out of here.”

“Why?” Shaggy asked, keeping up with Kaleb. “She sounds like fun. Let’s just kick their asses and keep looting.”

Kaleb smiled at the werewolf’s optimism. “We can’t, because then K-Tech will step up security in this dump site. We need to get out and get out fast.”

“Oh, come on! We can find you a new dump site. The boys would like a nice rumble, the mission is going too easy.” Shaggy whined.

Kaleb just shook his head as they moved closer to the truck. As they passed a mound and entered where they had parked, Slink ran up to them. The teen looked sweaty and panted like he had just run a marathon.

“Trouble.” Slink gasped out.

“We know.” Kaleb interjected. “Security from the north.”

Slink shake his head rapidly, looking confused. “North? No, I wanted to warn you about the group of Phreaks coming from the gate we came through. They must have a tracker on the truck man. There’s like thirty, man! We’re fucked!”

Kaleb turned to Shaggy. Seeing a wide smile on the werewolf’s face, Kaleb guessed that they were both thinking the same thing. Removing the silver helmet from his head, he showed Shaggy the same smile. They would not know what hit them.