“Oh man, oh jeez, oh man oh jeez.” Bladeshift said nervously, watching the lightshow from the upper floor of the abandoned warehouse.

“The boss’s out.” Artillery said glumly. “No more money.”

“Forget the money! Don’t you see how much trouble we’re in?” 2-D snarled, nearly in tears. “They had cameras all over the place in there, and now the cops have the footage! I certainly didn’t wear my mask all the time, and neither did you! This’s so much worse than just knocking over a gas station!”

“Eh heh heh heh! Indeed!” Dr. Thunder cackled. He rubbed his hands together in nearly unrestrained glee. “It certainly seems Mr. Knightsbridge won’t be able to afford my employment anymore. Well gentlemen, I wish you luck but you’ll have to excuse me. I have contingencies I must take care of.” He hopped down from the barrel he used to watch through the broken window and pulled out a cell phone, texting furiously.

“H-Hey wait, that’s it? That’s all you got to say!?” Bladeshift exclaimed.

“What would you like me to do? Wave a magic wand and erase your criminal records?” He blinked. “Unfortunately, my data-erasing stick was lost in the move to the MetaTech lab. A shame, it would’ve been very helpful. But alas, adieu.” He hobbled down the stairs and out the door with surprising celerity despite his stature. “Farwell! If you get picked up by the cops don’t mention my name!” They stared at him, giggling as the door swung shut, out into the night.

“...you know, I know he was on our side, but I’m kinda really glad he’s gone.” 2-D said eventually, and the others just nodded.

“But now what though? I mean, if I go back home, my parents’ll kill me. And the cops’ll get me in no time.” Bladeshift siad.

“We left the Devils, too.” Artillery added.

“Man oh man.” 2-D sighed. They were really up the creek on this one. He wished Vic were here; they may not have always seen eye to eye, but he was his friend, adn always just naturally seemed to know what to do. “I dunno. I mean, I’d say we go try and find Vic, but the place’s swarming with-”

CLANG!

A sedimentious fist punched off the manhole cover to the tunnel, and Rock Solid climbed up with a grunt. His body wwas still cracked, but Bounced had helped by being tied around him like a bandage.

“Vic! Eddie!” Bladeshift exclaimed.

“You guys made it! How!?” 2-D cried in joy, the group rushing down to help them up.

“Wasn’t easy, but we had a guide. Managed to tell us where the tunnel was before he passed out.” Rock Solid rumbled, pulling up something else Bounce was tied to. The gang gasped.

“Is...is that…?” Bladeshift said.

“Yep. Found him in the gene recombination lab. It was all smashed up.” Bounce said grimly as Rock Solid laid his cargo gently down.

The suit was shredded, and the remains of a shoe were wrapped around an ankle. His green tie was hanging on by a thread, but it was still there. Without it, they may not have recognized him at all.

“Mmm...ugh. My head.” Ando moaned, blearily opening his eyes. He blinked at the gang surrounding him. “Boys?”

“Uh...h-hi, M-Mr. Ando.” Bounce said nervously.

“What’s wrong? Where are we? Did we get away?” Ando said, sitting up.

“Ah, you may not wanna do that just yet!” Bladeshift practically screeched.

“The hell? I gotta-” Ando paused. Something indeed didn’t feel right. He seemed...heavier. Thicker. Off-balance. “What’s going on?” He naturally pushed a fist on the ground and balanced on it to stand up. The motion felt so natural in fact, he didn’t realize he didn’t get out of it. The gang shrank back from him.

“Wait-that’s right! The lab-Dirge!” He grabbed his head,remembering. “He went deeper, and…” He pulled his hand from his head. His fingers didn’t used to be so soft. Or black. And his head certainly wasn’t as hairy. He pursed his lips in surprise, and was astonished to find he could see them.

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“What! Huh!?” He reeled back in surprise, and found himself towering over the gang. That barely registered though, as he stared at a piece of glass in a broken window. He felt his thick arms, his furry shoulders, his flattened nostrils. It was true, his eyes weren’t deceiving him. The chemicals, whatever was in them, had done this.

Ando had turned into a giant gorilla.

“I’m a monkey!” he howled, feeling an urge to beat his chest in frustration.

“A-Actually, you appear to be an adult male gorilla, of genus gorilla, also known as a silverback, but you’re obviously much larger as they don’t grow much bigger than five feet tall, it must’ve been a result of the mutation-” 2-D stammered, shutting up when Ando turned to glower at him.

“W-Well ah, M-Mr. Ando, I’m, I’m sorry this happened to ya, but...I'm glad you’re alive.” Vic said, taking off his mask.

“We all are.” Artillery said, and the gang nodded.

“So...what do we do now, Mr. Ando?” Vic asked. Ando sighed and covered his face in a leathery palm, just holding it there. This...this was a nightmare come true. He never thought he’d be one of Dr. Thunder’s freaks, he couldn’t change back like the others. He wanted to run straight to that maniac and get him to change him back. But…

“First thing’s first. We get out of here. It won’t take ‘em forever to find that tunnel, and they’ll sweep the whole area. I know some emergency bank accounts we can empty, doesn’t sound like the boss’ll be using them any time soon. That’ll keep us for a bit, but...I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere else to go either.” he said. The gang all shook their heads.

“Like you said before, Mr. Ando. This’s the big time, and we’re with you all the way.” Vic said confidently. Ando felt a pang in his chest.

“How old are you, Bounce?” he said suddenly. Vic was taken aback.

“How old? Uh, just turned sixteen last month. Why?” The pang grew deeper. Ando shook his head.

“Nevermind. I wasn’t much older than you before I started out, is all. We’ll hit it big. Just trust me.” Ando said, with a bravado he didn’t feel. It seemed to cheer the gang up though, and they all started smiling.

‘Crap.’ was Ando’s only thought as he stood up fully.

“All right, it’s dark. I know you’re tired, but the cops and capes are distracted. Let’s move.” He took a step with his hand-foot, and immediately stumbled off-balance. “Whoa! Huh?”

He was being held up by a grimacing Rock Solid, wincing as new cracks appeared in his epidermis. Bounce, 2-D, and the rest were beside him, shifting his weight until he was leaning on the rock man.

“Easy, Mr. Ando. You helped us get used to our powers, we’ll help you until you get used to your new body, you’ll see.” 2-D said. Ando gaped, taken aback by their sudden kindness.

“You okay, kid?” Ando asked the wincing Rock Solid.

“Yeah, I’m the toughest one here. Just lean on me, I can take it. Gang sticks together, after all.” he said with a grin.

“All...all right. Let’s go.” Ando said, shaking his head. The pang in his chest both grew, and diminished equally. These boys deserved something. A thought occurred to him.

“Hey, with everyone’s focus on the MetaTech building, I bet we could knock over a jewelry store real easy, make some petty cash. What do you say, boys?”

“Yeah!” Cheering, they limped Ando out of the warehouse and into the night.