With everyone awake, they all packed up and headed out again, using the same system as last time. As Victor had said, they were used to this journey, and with no surprises, they soon arrived at the Downtown Clan safe zone. The first thing Greg saw was a massive stone wall rising before them, the area in front of it completely cleared, while groups of people patrolled up above, equipped with guns and even spotlights.
"How in the world did you guys do this in just two years?!?" Greg asked in wonder as he took everything in. Just building a wall like this would be a massive undertaking, especially without large construction vehicles. How could they have time to do that, plus whatever they'd built inside?
"Abilities, dude. They're fucking bullshit." Carlos replied, patting him on the shoulder.
Greg looked them all over with a skeptical look. "I haven't seen anything from you guys that would suggest this is possible."
"That's because we're all low to mid level supers." Victor explained. "Once you get to the high level supers, you start to see some real bullshit. The main force behind all this was Jack, or if you'd like, the Earth Bender. His ability lets him just straight up control rocks, shaping them as he'd like, like from Avatar. He built those walls in like a week. Dude's crazy."
Greg was stunned. All this was the work of one guy?!? No wonder the ferals hadn't over run everything yet. With guys like that around, even the most physically powerful feral wouldn't stand a chance! Even if this dude couldn't kill him, Greg didn't think he could fight him. He'd just crush him under a mountain of stone and leave him there. Of course, he could always turn into smoke and escape… still, not much else he could do.
The group approached the wall, heading towards a small, solid steel door as the men on the wall watched them. Jake walked up to the door, pounding hard on it, before a small panel was pulled aside. "Who's there?" A grouchy voice came from the other side.
Jake rolled his eyes. "It's us Bob. We have two- er, three, new residents with us."
"Don't know 'us'. What's your identification?" Bob pressed, a hint of amusement creeping into his tone.
"Bob, come on, you know who we are." Jake groaned.
"I'm gonna need a squad name." Bob insisted.
Jake let out a heavy sigh. "It's- it's Unicorn Squad."
"Oh, it's the Unicorns! Guys, the Unicorns are back!" Bob exclaimed, the sounds of chuckling emanating from behind the door as it opened. "Come on in Unicorns, let's see what you brought us."
"I fucking hate all of you." Jake grumbled, stomping through the door.
The rest of them went to file inside, Sarah trying to slip behind Greg's back to hide, before being booted to the side by Jennifer, who shot her a dirty look as she pressed herself against Greg's back. Sarah's eyes widened in shock, before narrowing as she prepared to knock the cat girl back, when Tessa grabbed her, rolling her eyes as she dragged her behind her own back.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is this Unicorn?!?" Bob exclaimed as Greg stepped through the door with Jennifer, placing his hand on his gun. "Is that a fucking feral?!?"
"Actually, she's an unferal feral." Greg corrected him.
Bob frowned. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, she was a feral, but at some point she mutated enough to regain her sentience, becoming unferal, though still not remembering much of her past life. But you know, she can talk and learn and shit. Right Jen?" Greg explained before turning to Jennifer, who froze, not knowing what to do. "Say something Jen."
"What should I say?" Jennifer asked nervously.
"What you just said." Greg replied, satisfied.
"What you just said." Jennifer repeated.
"No, that- you weren't supposed to say that." Greg frowned.
"What was I supposed to say then?" Jennifer asked, confused.
"You already said it!" Greg exclaimed.
"You already said it." Jennifer repeated.
"No! You don't have to say anything!" Greg groaned in frustration.
"Then why did you tell me to say something?!?" Jennifer huffed, crossing her arms.
"Because- Okay, look, all you were supposed to do was talk, and when you asked the question, you talked, so that's all you were supposed to say, okay?" Greg explained, a bit of frustration creeping into his voice.
"Oh… why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Jennifer asked.
"I did!" Greg exclaimed in frustration, throwing his hands up.
Bob snorted, relaxing. "Fuck it, she's funny. She can come in."
The rest of them filed into a small room with several barriers set up, allowing defenders to easily find cover. A few guards sat at a table off to the side, playing cards, glancing over at the new arrivals every now and then, especially once Sarah came in. As usual, men had trouble keeping their eyes off of her. Greg was beginning to wonder if they should cover her in a burqa or something, see if that helped.
"Bob. Bob!" Jake snapped his fingers, drawing Bob's gaze away from Sarah. "The paperwork?"
"Huh? O-oh, right, uh…" He went to a nearby desk, rummaging through it. "Here we go, new arrivals." He muttered, pulling out a folder and taking a few pieces of paper out of it. "We- uh, we'll start with you." He pointed at Sarah. "Name?"
"S-Sarah." Sarah answered, half hiding behind Tessa.
"Er- full name." Bob repeated.
"S-Sarah Rebecca Hooper." Sarah repeated.
Bob nodded, writing it down. "Age?"
"F-Fourteen."
"Sex, hair color, eye color…" Bob muttered, not even bothering with an answer as he just looked at her before writing the answers down. For her height and weight, he had her stand against a few markings on the wall, then on a scale, before the final question. "Any superpowers?" He asked.
"I- I-" Sarah stammered.
"She has an ability that makes her irresistibly attractive to the opposite sex." Greg explained for her.
"No shit, really?" Bob raised an eyebrow in wonder. "No wonder I've been sportin' half a chub this entire time! Didn't think I was no pedophile." He turned to Sarah, looking her over, for a bit too long before he caught himself and flushed, before turning to Greg. "Alright, your turn then. Name?"
"Gregory Obadiah Halver." Greg replied.
"Age?"
"Eight- wait… shit, no, I'd be twenty now, huh?" Greg answered.
Bob quickly went through the rest of the details, before getting to the last question. "Any superpowers?"
"Uh… yes." Greg replied, pausing as he thought through how to explain it.
Bob waited for a moment before pressing him. "Well?" He asked impatiently.
"I'm thinking!" Greg responded in frustration. "Basically- Okay, so, I have this bonkers level healing factor, I don't sleep, I don't seem to have any sort of bodily functions, I can transform into a bunch of crap, and it's all because of this smoke." Greg explained, taking a cloud of it out of his body, turning it into some dirt, then back into smoke. He then turned one arm into a clawed, feral arm and chopped the other off, watching it poof into smoke and return, before turning the other arm back to normal. "See?"
"Right… I'm just gonna put down Healing Factor/Shapeshifting." Bob replied blandly.
Greg sighed. "I suppose that works."
Bod finished his form, before turning to Jennifer. "Alright, you. Name?"
"Jennifer." She answered.
"Full name." Bob sighed.
"That is all the name they gave me." Jennifer explained.
Bob frowned. "I'm going to at least need some sort of last name."
Victor opened his mouth to give a reply, before Casey glared at him. "Don't you dare." She growled.
Greg shook his head. "Just give her my last name. Halver."
Bob shrugged. "Works for me. Age?"
They all turned to Jennifer, genuinely curious. Jennifer looked back, confused. "I-I do not know… can we say I am twenty, like Greg again?"
"Fuck it, close enough." Bob grunted. "Sex… hair col-" Bob paused in his usual rhythm, frowning as he looked up at Jennifer.
"What?" Jennifer asked, shrinking back slightly.
"I- do I go with the head hair color or the body hair color?" Bob asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Both?" Greg offered.
Bob paused, before shrugging again. "Fuck it." He agreed, breezing through the rest. Jennifer didn't have an ability, which almost struck Greg as weird seeing as literally everyone he had met up to this point seemed to, before he remembered that was because he was outside the safe zone. Of course everyone out there would have an ability. Except the ferals who had to live out there, anyone without an ability would be in a safe zone to stay, well, safe.
"Alright, that's my job done." Bob finished, gathering up the forms, and filing them away. "Give it a day or so for your information to be put in the system, then you can head to the big building in the center to look for jobs and whatnot."
"Thank you." Greg nodded.
Bob glanced at Sarah, before leaning in to whisper to Greg. "Keep that little one out of trouble, you hear? Power like that is more of a curse than a blessing. I'd hate to see her suffer."
Greg gave Bob a weird look, before shooting him a light smile. "I will, don't worry."
*
After they finished with Bob, the group stepped into the safe zone and Greg's eyes immediately widened. Fields of wheat, corn, and other crops surrounded a group of skyscrapers in the center. He could see people working the fields everywhere he looked. It was almost like he'd entered a different world, from the city to the country in a single step. If he couldn't see the buildings over the walls in the distance, he'd think he'd teleported.
Victor nudged him slightly, knocking him out of his daze. "Huh? Oh, right, sorry." Greg moved, getting out of the way so the others could get in as well. He took another look around, studying the safe zone. The buildings were all in the center, closely grouped together, all at least ten stories or higher, with a massive, twenty story tower in the middle. The fields themselves weren't all that large, but strangely, each one seemed to be in a different stage of growth. He could see wheat that had obviously just been planted right next to a field that was ready to be reaped. "What's up with the crops? Why are they all at different stages?" Greg turned to Victor, asking curiously.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Well, you know how we don't need to eat and if we don't, we mutate? Well, plants have a similar thing going. As long as you put them in the ground, they grow like crazy. You can go from seed to full crop in about two weeks. You don't even need to water them! So the moment you harvest, you replant. That's why they're all at different stages." Victor explained.
Greg nodded along. "Gotcha. Neat." He replied, looking around a bit more. He noticed that off to the side, there was a group of women waiting, seeming almost expectant as they watched the group enter the safe zone, posing themselves alluringly, obviously trying to catch their attention. "What's up with them?"
Victor chuckled. "Those are the super groupies. Women who are looking to attach themselves to a super in exchange for food, clothes, a nicer place to stay, all that crap. Think of it as if the supers are celebrities, and you'll get it. Even us B and C listers are valuable around here."
Greg frowned, glancing over at the group of women, before sighing and shaking his head. The group made its way to the building area, winding their way through until they reached a certain, rather nice building, climbing a few sets of stairs before they arrived at an apartment. Jake stepped forward to open the door, leading them all inside. Inside was a nice, open living room with a few couches arranged around a coffee table.
Greg found a seat on an empty couch, which immediately became crowded as both Jennifer and Sarah tried to sit next to him, pushing at each other, and Victor plopped into his lap for good measure. "Dude!" Greg exclaimed, pushing his snickering friend to the floor.
"Oh, how cruel, how utterly machiavellian! How could you reject me, your best friend, so heartlessly!" Victor moaned in mock sorrow as he laid on the ground, his act ruined by the fact he couldn't stop laughing as he did so.
Greg scoffed and plopped his feet on Victor's stomach. "There, happy?"
"Very." Victor wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he caressed Greg's bare feet.
"Okay, I know you're joking, but that is just wrong." Carlos muttered, shaking his head.
"Right, knock it off you two." Jake rolled his eyes at them. "We have business to discuss. First, the salvage." He gestured to the backpacks they'd gotten from Mark and his team "I've gone over it, and we should get about two hundred for all of it. There are nine of us, so I say we each take twenty and leave the other twenty for team expenses. Any objections?" Jake asked.
"Uh, not an objection, but… what is this money worth anyways?" Greg asked, raising his hand.
"One coin is equal to one can of food." Tessa explained. "It extrapolates from there."
"So… I'd essentially be getting twenty meals from this?" Greg muttered, nodding slightly. Based on what he'd observed from the rest, everyone seemed to only need to eat once a day to keep from mutating, so essentially, one coin was one more day of food.
Without any other objections, Jake nodded. "Good. We'll go and exchange the salvage after this and split the money. Now then, the next thing we need to discuss is Greg's place in our Squad, whether he even has or wants one, and if so, what it would be."
"Whadya say, Greg? Wanna be a Unicorn?" Victor asked with a snicker, tickling Greg's feet.
"Knock it off!" Greg grumbled, kicking him, before turning to the rest. "But, uh, yeah, sure, I guess? I mean, if you want me to. I was kind of considering working on figuring out what's up with the ferals around here, see if I can get them organized and behaving or something, but… I don't think that'd really conflict with working with you guys."
Everyone, even Victor, looked up at him, stunned. "You want to organize the ferals?!? Really?" Casey asked incredulously.
"Well… yeah? I mean, they're starting to gain intelligence again, so they can be reasoned with. There's a few assholes out there for sure, but I think the majority just want to survive. If we can get them organized, we can all sit down and talk, and maybe we can make everything safer." Greg explained.
"Wait, wait, hold on." Jake interjected. "You're telling us that all the ferals are getting more intelligent? It isn't just her?"
"Well, yeah? At least half the ferals I've met can talk. They're not necessarily very bright, but they can be reasoned with." Greg replied.
"So you're what, just going to walk out the gate and try and find a friendly feral to talk to?" Casey asked.
"Essentially. I mean, that's how I met Jennifer. Just walked outside and found a random feral. Though… I was looking to fight at the time… still, it worked out." Greg responded with a shrug. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? I can't die, remember? Worst case scenario, they try to fight me and I escape."
"What if you meet a feral with a high level superpower that counters your healing factor, huh?" Casey retorted. "Then you're dead!"
Greg frowned. "What kind of ability would counter my healing factor?"
"A laser beam that disintegrates you immediately?" Victor offered.
"A super effective acid?" Carlos added.
"They don't even need to kill you. An ability that would simply send you far, far away would be bad enough." Tessa interjected.
"Like portals." Brittany nodded.
"Or someone strong enough to just chuck him into outer space." Carlos replied.
"Maybe they could have some sort of psychic ability that just shuts your brain down or controls you." Casey commented.
"Okay, okay! I get it! My healing factor doesn't make me as invincible as I thought! Jeez." Greg grumbled, raising his hands in surrender. "Still, I think it's worth it. Just because it could be dangerous doesn't mean it's okay to ignore a bad situation. Ferals and humans can coexist, I know it, so I'm going to do what I can to make it happen."
"Well, can't really argue with that." Victor shrugged.
"Stupid noble causes." Casey cursed under her breath.
"Right… Anyways, that's all well and good, but severely off topic." Jake interjected. "If you were to join our team, what role would you fill?"
"Uh… tank?" Greg offered. "I get big and strong and I can take a fuckton of damage. Seems like a good role for me."
"Plus he doesn't really know how to fight, so just being a damage soak is all he's good for." Tessa nodded.
"Hey! That's…" Greg began to protest, before Tessa glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, it's accurate, but still, rude." He finished with a grumble.
Jennifer frowned. "But I have seen Greg defeat many strong and powerful opponents… I do not think he is unable to fight."
"No, she's right." Greg sighed. "I only beat those guys cause when we trade hit for hit, I win. Plus, as I have been reminded, there are ferals with actual superpowers around here, not just little tricks…"
"Guys, we're getting off topic again." Jake groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What else can you offer, besides being a tank? We don't like to fight anyways."
Greg paused to think. "Well… my feral forms all come with various forms of enhanced senses… like, the scorpocroc has enhanced hearing, the sharkman can see heat, the cheetahman has enhanced smell… stuff like that. Great for tracking or scouting. Also, if you ever need to get through something, like a wall or a vault, my smoke seems to be able to dissolve pretty much anything when it transforms. Also, I can blend in with the ferals if that ever becomes necessary."
"Well, I'm convinced." Carlos commented.
"Carlos!" Jake turned to him with a glare.
"What? He's better at holding the front line than I am, he's better at dealing damage than you, Casey, or Tessa, he can get through stuff better than Tessa as well, and he can scout! Plus, he doesn't sleep, so we don't need to set up watches whenever he's around! That alone makes him worth having on the team in my opinion." Carlos explained.
"Honestly, he does seem like a useful guy to have around." Brittany nodded, agreeing with Carlos.
"Me and Casey are obviously for him joining." Victor commented while Casey nodded.
Jake sighed, turning to Tessa. "What about you? What do you think?"
Tessa shrugged. "Does it matter? More than half the squad already wants him to join. Just accept it."
Jake frowned at that, before turning to Greg. "Right, then Greg, welcome to- ugh, welcome to Unicorn Squad."
*
After the meeting, Jake and Carlos took the bags and went to exchange it all for salvage. Meanwhile, the rest began to discuss another serious topic: where would Greg, Sarah, and Jennifer be staying? "Well, Greg can stay at my place. I have an extra room." Victor offered.
"I can take Sarah and Jennifer." Tessa added simply.
"I will stay with Greg." Jennifer stated firmly, in a tone that suggested she would accept anything else.
"If she's staying with Greg, so am I!" Sarah exclaimed, glaring at the cat girl.
"You guys do realize I'm barely even going to be there, right?" Greg raised an eyebrow at the two. "I mean, I'm going to head out into the city at night, and I'll probably be hanging out with whoever is around during the day. All I really need is a place to put my stuff. Not that I have stuff at the moment, but, you know, in the future."
"Plus, I only have the one extra room." Victor pointed out.
"Right. You two should live with Tessa." Greg nodded.
"But-" Jennifer began.
"No buts! Until you start to earn your own way, you're dependent on others. That means, you take what you can get, and what you got is Tessa, alright? Don't worry, she's a good person. You'll be safe with her." Greg assured her.
Jennifer shot Tessa a wary look, before sighing and nodding her head in acceptance. Sarah knew Tessa, so she didn't have any issues living with her, so the living arrangements were settled. Greg would live with Victor, while Sarah and Jennifer would live with Tessa. They continued to chat while they waited for Jake and Carlos to return with the money, before everyone got up and headed their separate ways.
"Wait." Tessa suddenly stopped Greg as he was about to follow Victor to his place. "Come with us."
Greg frowned at her. "Why?"
She looked him up and down. "You need clothes."
Greg looked down at himself, realizing he was just wearing a tattered pair of jeans. "That… is a good point."
Victor decided to return to his place, giving Greg the address, before Tessa led him, Sarah, and Jennifer off to get clothes. The bottom floor of one of the towers had been turned into some sort of bazaar, full of stalls offering various items and services to the passing shoppers. Tessa led the to the area selling clothes, sending Jennifer and Sarah off to the women's area to get theirs, giving Jennifer strict instructions to not let anyone harass Sarah, which caused the catgirl to roll her eyes, before quickly nodding in agreement when Tessa fixed her with one of her sharp glares. Tessa then dragged Greg to the men's section to help him pick out his clothes.
"What do you think of this one?" Tessa asked, lifting up a shirt for him to see.
"It's a little small, isn't it?" Greg asked, giving the shirt a look.
"Can't you just make it fit once you turn it to smoke, like your pants?" Tessa asked, confused.
Greg frowned. "My pants fit before I dissolved them though."
"Yes, but they fit better after." Tessa rolled her eyes.
Greg paused. "Do they? How can you tell?"
"They don't slip down your waist as often." Tessa explained. "It's rather obvious."
Greg frowned again. "How often are you looking at my pants?"
"Enough. Now seriously, what do you think of this shirt?" Tessa pressed, brushing his question aside.
Greg shook his head. "It's fine. I'm not really particular about fashion."
"Mhmm." Tessa gave him a look, before holding the shirt up against him. "This will look good on you. We'll get it." She decided. She proceeded to pick out a few more shirts, two pairs of pants, one pair of socks and underwear each, an additional pair of dress socks, a nice belt, a tie, a suit jacket, and a whopping four pairs of shoes.
"Hold on, why in the world would I ever need more than one pair of shoes, even if I couldn't dissolve them?" Greg asked incredulously as she placed them on the pile he was carrying.
Tessa gave him a look. "These are for the city, these are casual wear, these are for dates, and these are for formal events." She explained, pointing out each pair.
Greg frowned. "We have formal events? Wait, I need different shoes just for dates?!? Why!?!"
"Proper dress for a date is business casual. You want to make a good impression, yes?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I guess? But wouldn't it be better to be myself? Wouldn't all this kinda be like lying about who I really am?" Greg asked tentatively.
Tessa shook her head. "Not at all. This clothing represents your personality better. Responsible, without being arrogant. Wearing casual clothes to a date just comes off as lazy and dismissive, as if the girl isn't important to you."
Greg frowned. "But… isn't it just practical? Why would you have clothes that you almost never wear?"
"So you can wear them for someone special." Tessa explained shortly.
Greg's frown evolved into a grimace. "So… the way I tell a girl she's special to me… is with clothes."
"Exactly." Tessa nodded.
"And if I don't, I'm telling her she's not special." Greg added.
"Mhmm." Tessa agreed.
Greg paused. "That's dumb."
"Excuse me?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, look, you see, the mere fact that a guy has taken the time to ask you out means you're special, right? He is choosing to not do something else in order to do stuff with you. Why would he do that if you weren't special?" Greg asked.
""Sex."" They both answered at the same time.
"Yeah, I realized that the moment I asked… but still, the clothes thing doesn't make any sense! What if a guy knows that the clothes matter, so even if you aren't special, he dresses up?" Greg continued.
"That is a risk, but if the guy puts in absolutely zero effort, how is that a good sign?" Tessa replied.
"I suppose that's fair… but if he's just wearing his normal clothes, is that zero effort? What if that's just all the clothes he has?" Greg responded.
"If you want a girl to feel more comfortable taking a chance on you, you'll need the clothes." Tessa explained. "Otherwise, prepare to put in a lot more effort to prove you're worth it."
Greg frowned, before sighing and shaking his head. "I guess… still feels wrong though."
Tessa rolled her eyes, dragging him along to the counter to buy the clothes. "Just accept it. It's the way the world works."
"That'll be thirteen coins." The stall owner said after looking through all the clothes. Greg fumbled with his pouch, but before he could get it out, Tessa had already counted out the right amount of coins and handed them over. "Thank you, have a nice day!"
Greg was slightly stunned for a bit. "Why did you pay?" He asked, turning to Tessa.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I- kinda? They're my clothes… I should pay for them, right?" Greg replied.
"Hm. Well, I already did." Tessa shrugged, before walking off.
"You- wait!" Greg fumbled with the pile of clothes, rushing after her. "I can pay you back!" He declared as he caught up with her.
"I won't accept." Tessa responded simply.
"You won't- but why?!?" Greg asked, confused.
"Why should I? I already spent the money. I don't need your money. There's no reason to accept it." Tessa shrugged.
"But you didn't need to spend it in the first place!" Greg exclaimed.
"Why should that matter?" Tessa replied, grinning slightly.
"Because- gah! Fuck it! It's your own damn money!" Greg grumbled in frustration.