Shaggy watched the Austin skyline grow closer from the backseat of their stolen Hummer. The enormous beast of a car trundled down the road like a fast-moving turtle. The ride had been fairly uneventful. Their only fun had been going through the racist SOB's boxes and throwing shit out. But that quickly ended, seeing as how most of the stuff was actually pretty helpful. Food, guns, and random survival knickknacks. Levy and Maya had gone through most of the stuff already and cataloged everything. So now all they needed to do was get to Under-Town.

Unfortunately, that meant they had to drive into the city proper. That meant drones, which meant the possibility of being spotted. Not the best situation when driving a stolen car. But there was a chance no one would know. The previous owner was dead. They just needed to get to the nearest Under-Town entrance and head into the tunnels. From there, they could drop off Maya and Vlad, then be back in their own cave by midnight.

The sun was low in the sky and the city's lights were coming on slowly as they drove along the highway. A good portion of the traffic was in the skylanes, though. The ground-based vehicles had a free rein of a multi-lane thoroughfare that was even more empty as evening came. Something about the night view of the city and the quiet ride down a massive highway set Shaggy's teeth on edge.

"Would you relax? We're almost home. This is the point that we can celebrate." Vlad said.

"Or the point where we get jumped. It's when you feel safest that shit goes wrong." Shaggy argued.

The vampire scowled at him before rolling his eyes. "What could go wrong? None of the other groups have reported problems, right? They all made it back safely?"

"To be fair, none of the others had a run in with K-Tech." Maya interjected.

"What run-in? We trashed some bots. I seriously doubt they care about some minor experiment or field test or whatever it was."

"They killed civvies, Vlad. Just to test some damn robots. You think they want anyone knowing that?"

"Oh, the big bad corporation has a dark side. Who knew? I'm telling you, we're a damn insect next to them. You don't swat a fly unless it's buzzing about in your face."

Levy pointed a well-manicured nail out the front window. "Austin is where they are headquartered. If that's not in their face, I don't know what is."

Vlad looked between all three of them before throwing up his hands and sitting back angrily.

"You are all paranoid. Can't you see? We got away with it. Levy got her books, we got to knock some heads, and nobody is coming after us."

Shaggy tensed momentarily as Vlad finished speaking. Usually when people said shit like that was when something would pop out and attack. But nothing happened. The road remained quiet, and the evening grew darker. It well and truly looked like they were in the clear. So why were his Gamer Senses tingling? Something was up. He just didn't know what.

Thankfully, Maya and Levy were on his side. Both women remained vigilant as they approached the outskirts of Austin. Traffic was slowly picking up as they approached downtown. Even at night, the center of the city was bustling with people and super moving about. Sirens and Super fights echoed all around them as they entered downtown proper.

"I think there's an entrance in around Hyde Park." Cekrass said from behind the car's wheel.

The big lizard had happily kept his position as driver throughout the trip. Something about driving the over-sized hummer resonated with the alien. He happily took them off the highway and into the streets of Austin. Humming all the while. Stanley was seated next to the big guy, tapping his fingers against his leg and watching the city fly by the window.

Shaggy was still linked to his Pack members. So when Stanley spotted something strange outside the window, he took notice of the kid's mood. Even if the boy himself almost missed it. Frankly, it wasn't that odd. Just a low-flying drone that seemed to be lazily drifting their way. But of course, Shaggy's paranoia wouldn't let it go.

"Hey, boss. Don't you think…"

"That drone is too low? Yes." Shaggy finished as he watched the drone out the front window.

Everyone else in the middle seat leaned forward or toward their own windows as Cekrass immediately turned them down another street. Maya and Levy found the drone and kept an eye on it as Vlad scoffed.

"It's probably avoiding that Supe fight going on up the street. Some colorful flying bastard is duking it out with someone else."

Shaggy's eyes momentarily darted up, but the car was already moving away from the Super fight. The battles were such a common occurrence that he'd kind of tuned them out. Players and even normal NPCs were rushing around and fighting all the time in the city. It was a constant thing. As were the giant construction trucks working for companies that repaired the damage from Super fights.

When his thoughts drifted to said trucks, Shaggy noticed a fair number of them on the road ahead of them. Apparently, some big super fight had just happened. Their street was directed into another side road as a detour, and Shaggy clenched his jaw. Another drone was floating low over the cars. Levy and Maya tensed up now. The drone had the same coloration as the other one they had seen. In fact, Shaggy suspected they were the same variant.

"Love, that might be the same drone."

Shaggy squinted as they drove closer to the thing. But he couldn't make out any discernible details. Beside him, Vlad scoffed again.

"Pfft! Seriously? Come on! This is nothing!"

"Y'know," Maya started. "The more you say that, the more nervous I get. Although at least we can rule out K-Tech."

"Why's that?" Shaggy asked as he had Cekrass turn them back the way they came.

"K-Tech drones are black. HLO drones are usually white, and city police drones are silver and blue."

Shaggy nodded as they turned down a narrow street leading back to the city center. The fact that they weren't the only ones on that street allayed some of his fears. The road was two lanes with tall buildings bracketing either side of them. A perfect spot for an ambush if he'd been planning things. All they would need to do is block the front and back, place a few guys on the roofs, and the strike. Fast and hard.

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"What about silver and red?" Levy asked Maya.

"What?"

"The drone back there was mostly silver. But it had a little red stripe around its middle."

Shaggy turned back to look at Maya's face as the woman went quiet. She had a surprised look on her face that quickly soured. As she opened her mouth to tell them about the drone, an ear-piercing screech echoed through the car. Shaggy grabbed his head and roared in pain as the noise seemed to shake his skull loose. He could hear the others shouting as the car rocked slightly. Cekrass and Stanley were in similar pain as the noise seemed to increase in volume.

A slight shifting to his right made Shaggy look at Levy. Through blurry eyes, he could see his wife's worried features. For some reason, she seemed unaffected by the noise. In fact, Maya and Vlad seemed okay as well. His wife took one look at his face and summoned her staff. The black wooden staff was too big to fit in the back seat. But Levy didn't care as she angrily tapped the bottom of her staff against the car floor.

With a surge of power, the noise receded and a purple bubble engulfed the car. Shaggy blinked away the pain in his eyes and ears as sound came back to him. Outside, the road was completely different now. The cars in front and behind them had stopped and big men and women had got out of them. They were all wearing tactical gear with SPPD written large across their chests and back in yellow letters.

"Silver and Red signifies the Super Powered Police Division." Maya said as she looked outside her window. "They're on the buildings on the side."

"This side too." Vlad added. "Shit! Cops?! Are you fucking serious?!"

"Powered cops."

"Hun, are you okay?"

Shaggy nodded as Levy rubbed his back. The noise was still echoing in his head. But focusing on his connection with Cekrass and Stanley helped. Both of his pack members were barely doing any better than him. Whatever hit them was designed for werewolves. Which had some pain in the ass implications. He was still shaking off the effects of the attack when a stern voice echoed through the alley.

"To the members of The Legion in the bright yellow hummer! This is the police. You are surrounded. Give yourselves up immediately and submit to tagging and processing. You have one minute to comply."

Shaggy growled as he looked around. There were fifteen cops ahead of them, all with their weapons trained on Cekrass and Stanley. Behind them was an equal amount of cops. Drones were everywhere now. They had fallen from the sky like a pack of fucking bees. Normally, thirty men wouldn't have been a problem. But Shaggy was pretty sure that once he left Levy's bubble, the noise would hit him again.

"Ideas?" Shaggy asked.

"Is surrender an option? Cause I'd prefer not to deal with the skill loss and equipment damage. Not to mention Deathville." Maya said.

"Fuck that! We can take these assholes."

"With three of us down? My protection bubble can cover this car. But if they leave to fight, our werewolves are going to get hit again." Levy explained.

"Anyone know what the fuck that was or were it's at?"

"There's a machine on the roof over here. I can't make out all of it, but I don't think it belongs to the building."

"Good, so we hit that first and then make a run for it. Simple."

"No more plans from you, Vlad."

"Wha-?"

"Levy, can you do something about it from here?"

"Not without them noticing."

"What if I caused a distraction?"

Immediately, Cekrass and Stanley looked back at him. The move made the cops at the front of the car tighten their grips on their weapons. But neither werewolf appeared to give a damn. They were making their displeasure at his plan known. He understood their points. But they didn't have any better options.

"You're not talking about a normal distraction, are you?" Levy asked. "Your going to rile them up."

"Leaving you enough time to fuck up that machine. Not to mention any others they might have."

"Stupid idea, dude."

"You got a better one, Vlad? Once our minute is up, they are going to rush us. They came prepared for werewolves, so their weapons are probably able to fuck us up. Our best bet is if we get the element of surprise and then bolt."

"I say again, surrender is also valid. We could just wait it out in a jail cell until the next Jail Break scenario kicks off."

"If I get arrested, I'm not going to the standard jail, Maya. They're going to toss me into a super-max. That means the time between Jail Breaks is longer. I'd be out of the game for a while."

"Thirty seconds!" The stern voice said again.

Growling, Shaggy turned to Vlad and waved at his door. "Come on, Vlad. Let's go."

"Why me!?"

"You're the fastest. We'll hit the biggest targets we can find as soon as Levy deals with that fucking sound machine."

"Is that what that was?" Levy asked, a grin appearing on her face. "Wait, did they hit you with a dog whistle?"

Shaggy didn't answer as he looked toward Cekrass and Stanley. In truth, both of the NPCs were the most in danger. They were both tough bastards. But if they got killed, then that was it for them. He gave them both strict orders to run at the first chance they got. They weren't happy about it, but signaled their agreement through the link.

Vlad was still complaining as Shaggy shoved him out the back door and into the purple light of Levy's spell. The sound of thirty cops clenching their hands around their weapons hit Shaggy's ears, and the wolf scoffed. It took all of two seconds to spot the alien in charge. The giant Perinadon was standing with his helmet under his arm, glaring at them and the hummer. When no one else exited the vehicle, the cop raised a hand.

The hum of energy weapons grew louder and Shaggy grit his teeth at the escalation. Vlad hissed next to him. Either at the cops or at Shaggy's prodding. Probably both. They made their way closer to the alien in charge and stopped just before Levy's bubble ended. The large rhino-alien scowled at them as Shaggy tried for his best confused face.

"Officer? What seems to be the trouble here?"

The rhino-face cop scoffed at Shaggy's tone as a silver drone lowered over them. Shaggy felt a tingle go up his spine before a robotic voice echoed in the narrow streets.

"Confirmed. Subject: Shaggy Robertson. Wanted for multiple acts of villainy. Most Recent: multiple counts of bank robbery."

As the small drone turned and scanned Vlad, the vampire turned to Shaggy and whispered. "Multiple bank robberies?"

Shaggy maintained his confused face as he shrugged. But the cop growled an answer.

"The Legion has been identified as a C-Tier villainous organization. All counts of criminal conduct are shared within your little group."

"So if I litter, Shaggy here is going to get hit with the same charge? That hardly seems fair."

"You are criminals. Who the fuck cares about fair?! Now you have three seconds to get your compatriots out of that car before we light it up."

"You're going to kill a group of unarmed people in the middle of the day?!" Shaggy almost shouted, playing it up. "Who's the real villain here?"

The Perinadon slightly turned his head to the drone nearby. "Control. Please note that the subjects were uncooperative."

"Hey! We are being perfectly cooperative. These charges are bullshit! We are both law-abiding citizens being accosted by a bunch of jack-booted thugs!" Vlad said, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

Shaggy waggled his head back. "Yeah… mostly. Where's your proof of our supposed misdeeds? This kangaroo court has to at least let us present evidence, right?!"

The Perinadon raised a massive gloved hand, completely ignoring them. "Prepare to fire!"

"Wow, he's really not going for it."

"Yeah, big stick in the mud."

"Only one thing for it, then."

"If we die, I just want you to know that I hate you."

"Me too, Vlad. Me too."

The Perinadon lowered, chopped his gloved hand through the air as Vlad and Shaggy rushed forward. Shaggy had enough time to watch his friend shift into a black mist before his own body went through its changes. His clawed hands hit the big cop in his chest and sent him skidding back as Vlad started in on the nearby cops. Shaggy's strikes had left two large impact points on the cop's armor. But otherwise, the guy was fine. The Perinadon was getting ready to retaliate when Levy's purple bubble burst.

The magical explosion shot outward, repelling multiple shots from the cop's energy weapons. The cops that had fired on Shaggy and Vlad ducked behind cover. Behind him, Shaggy heard the hummer's doors open and close again. He didn't need to turn around to see that Levy and his Pack mate had left the car. So had Maya. Although the gunslinger was covering her face with a red bandana now. Probably smart.

The two sides glared at each other for a few long seconds before the Perinadon growled and charged.

"Take them alive, boys!"

There was a massive roar from the cops as the streets erupted into a massive Super fight.

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