The Wolf
"Viper... what'd you do to the newbloods?"
It was hard not to notice the nervous glances Swallow was throwing his twin's way, and the half murderous, half apologetic stare Stormcrow adopted whenever looking at Viper.
"I may have gone a little too far during practice. Though I don't see the problem with a cut-"
"The wound is not the problem. It's the attitude you took with every mistake."
Greyhound took another sip from his drink. They had all finished eating, and that meant Greyhound had gone digging for whatever drinks he could find. Phil had tried to hide the alcohol at first, but after half a day of that not working, he'd given up and instead resolved to just add it to Swordpoint's bill.
"They've gone through enough disapproval from the lab workers, especially the girl."
Wolf had to admit that he agreed with Greyhound.
"We need to build their confidence a little. They can't perform if they keep second guessing themselves. Go talk to them, now without worrying about me. You've seen that I'm okay, now make sure everyone else is."
He knew all that, of course. Wolf wasn't telling his brother anything new, but he knew putting it into words often helped Viper turn his thoughts into actions.
"Fine, I'll get going."
As he got up, Greyhound shrugged.
"I told you they listen to you."
He only half registered what his old mentor was saying, his attention instead focussed on several other things going on in the bar.
"So you did..."
"And the weather is great tonight."
"So it is..."
Greyhound looked out of the window, sighing as he stared out into the pouring rain.
"Something on your mind?"
Wolf considered whether or not to speak, before deciding against talking out loud.
You see that?
He half indicated towards one of the tables. Caracal and Aurora were speaking in such a hushed voice that even the two Warslaves couldn't make out what they were saying. Though Wolf could probably guess if he really tried.
"What of it? You made friends too."
He nodded towards another table, where Harkon was entertaining Rose and Sam with some glowing runestones that changed colours depending on how loud they spoke to them.
Keep it silent. You notice nothing off?
Why would I?
Listen.
Greyhound shook his head.
Nothing. Though compared to you I'm a little hard of hearing.
Accelerated heartbeats. Caracal and Aurora are both preparing for a fight.
Now Greyhound just turned around, looking for a moment, before shaking his head again, smiling.
"They're not gonna fight."
Then what-... "Oh... Wait, is that even possible?"
Shush, you're being impolite. And... It seems that way, yes.
Wolf shook his head now.
Children... They grow up so fast.
I don't know, you're still a little childish. Scratch that, you're still very childish.
"I can blame that on you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go be childish for a second."
"What are you-"
Wolf was already calling everyone to attention.
"Alright, before everyone goes and does their own thing, planning."
Everyone turned to him quickly, and Wolf smirked.
"Caracal, how long did the higher ups think this mission was gonna last?"
"Until it's safe for the politician to give his speech."
"Timeframe?"
"Two weeks, give or take."
"So... Everyone here's cleared up their schedule for Saturday, right?"
Everyone nodded, with some affirming grunts.
"Good. Means if we finish this tomorrow, everyone has the weekend off."
It was Aurora that lost her nerves first.
"Is there a point to all this?"
He knew he had the same shit eating grin on his face as when he closed in for a kill.
"Well, given that the two of you have been making eyes at each other for at least several hours now, you two are going on a date this saturday."
"Are you-"
"Because this is painful to watch. Seriously. And I have no patience."
"You can't just catch a supervillain in a day-"
"Yes I can. We have two locations. Greyhound and the newbloods will be on guard duty, you and Caracal clear one location and Viper and I the other. If Firmin isn't there, someone'll know where he is.
It made more sense to the Warslaves than it did to her, but as she saw each of them nod, she decided it was better for them to experience how tough the job could be, rather than saying it.
Caracal had other considerations though.
"Like the higher ups would let me-"
"I'll make them."
"How would you-?"
"Violence."
That was the end of that. Wolf never made threats he couldn't deliver on, or promises he couldn't keep. And oftentimes, the two went hand in hand.
"Ahad, tell your friends that you'll be making your speech in two days. We'll see to the rest."
The politician seemed a little nervous about that.
"I can't just-"
"They've been raring to go for weeks now, they can throw this all together in a matter of minutes if they have to. Get them to do it by Thursday, we'll fix the issue of security tomorrow."
"Very well. Just make sure I make it out alive."
Wolf shrugged.
"Well then, debrief on Friday and we'll be done. That's our schedule. Viper, finish up with the newbloods, then report back to me."
He sat back down across from Greyhound, who had a hard time containing his laughter.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Caracal's a nervous wreck and Aurora is... how do I put it... too good. They'd be making eyes for years before anything happens if I didn't give em a shove. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, then at least it's over with."
"Right. So you put yourself on an impossible schedule-"
"For them? Only in part. I need to repay a favour too, and this would give me the time to do it."
"The higher ups won't like it though."
"Does this look like the face of someone who gives a shit?"
Greyhound rolled his eyes.
"I thought I taught you to be a little more considerate?"
"Ashley did, but we took after you."
"Ouch. Either way, you'll need to call in a few favours-"
"Favours? I was thinking explosives."
"You can't blow up the higher ups to get Caracal a date... It'd draw too much unwanted attention to us."
"That's your only issue with it all?"
"Well... you got it from me, didn't you?"
Viper sat back down with them after a few minutes.
"So, what was all that about? When'd Caracal and Aurora-"
Wolf cut him off.
"Past few days, probably, given that they've only known each other that long."
"I didn't see them-"
"They have lives when we're not around. Telepathic communication."
Copy that. Secrets, or what?
Well, it's also a cheap excuse to ditch the moralising dogooder. We can cut loose on our end, and Caracal has better self-control than us.
Ah, clever.
"That being said, it is also because I don't have the patience to make this whole operation last much longer."
"... Yeah, that seems more like you alright."
They'd conducted operations in daylight before, but usually when they were sent to strike at a specific target, they waited for nightfall. Mostly to avoid needless interference from passersby or other people that wouldn't be there at night.
But thanks to Wolf's imposed time limit, the twins were unwilling to wait. They had discussed their plan, and decided that the direct approach was the fastest. They didn't need to kill everyone, after all. Just find someone that could tell them where Firmin was.
To that end, Viper went around to block exits with ice and rubble, while Wolf quite literally knocked on the front door of the warehouse.
It was a dreary building, clearly never properly finished. The metal plates that stood in for walls were rusty, and the roof seemed like it could collapse if Wolf gave it a good shove.
The people working there didn't seem any better. Many looked dishevelled, and it was obvious Firmin didn't hire people who'd struck gold when it came to luck in their lives.
Wolf held up his hands in mock surrender as they trained weapons on him. It was a poor showing, but some of them had a few interesting toys to play with. He even allowed the pilots of the two mech suits against the far wall to get in the cockpits of their machines.
"Right. You lot get one chance to tell me what I want to know."
It was the easiest way to identify someone with authority. They were always the ones to speak up.
"Or you what?"
"I am so happy you asked."
They didn't see him tear the first mech apart. All they heard was the screaming of the pilot as Wolf dragged him out of the cockpit by the throat.
"I'll do something like this."
He squeezed, claws digging through the man's flesh and decapitating the man in a fountain of blood, staining the grey of Wolf's gear red.
"So, who's up for a friendly conversation?"
The other mech was dismantled before it could open fire. Viper's spear lanced through the cockpit, killing the pilot instantly, before drilling into the fuel cells, which caught fire thanks to the speed the thrown weapon was moving at. The explosion was impressive, killing another three people, before Wolf took notice of a superhuman that blocked the explosion from moving further, by absorbing it into his body.
As he did, he grew visibly, leading Wolf to conclude that the man absorbed the energy for his own use. Not that it helped, of course. He was slow, moving at a leisure pace even for a human.
Wolf's sword cut clean through his neck, and he took the severed head in his hand.
"Really, there's no need for all this. We'll get what we want. You can make it easier for us, or harder for yourselves."
Their leader motioned his men to stand down.
"No need for my guys to get themselves killed. What do you want?"
The man actually caring for his subordinates was a welcome bonus. It meant less work for the twins. Viper appeared behind the man, looking down to meet his gaze as the man turned to look at him.
"Firmin, where is he?"
"I-... I can't tell."
Wolf appeared in front of him, the look in his eyes causing everyone that met his gaze to tremble and quickly look away.
"You don't have to give me the whole 'he scares me more than you' crap. We both know who's the bigger threat right now."
The man held his ground, even as he could barely stand and his voice was trembling, he still held his ground.
"I... we all owe him. He gave us work, and he pays us a fair share. He's been good to us-"
Wolf looked at the man, taking the time to observe him for the first time. He was tall, for a human, and even now he was ready to spring into action. The dark skinned man had either been a soldier, or some other form of killer.
"What's your name?"
"I-... Elijah."
"Well, Elijah, I can keep you and your guys out of prison and alive. That's my offer. In return, you tell me where-"
"No can do. Most of them would starve in a few weeks."
"Well, good thing I have work for a group of ex-soldiers. I know a guy in need of bodyguards. At least for the coming two days, after that, you work for me."
He seemed to think it over.
"And you'll keep my crew alive?"
"And fed."
He weighed his loyalties to his men against his loyalty to Firmin for a moment, before agreeing.
"You need an address?"
"I just got an address from you. Now go home and hug your son. Someone'll contact you later."
Viper gave his brother a strange look as they were left alone.
"You cut them a deal? Really?"
"Picked it up from a... a friend, I guess. Besides, I need people that GenTech doesn't have eyes on. In case any of us have private matters to take care of."
"Clever. So, what has you so apprehensive?"
"The address for Firmin... it is in one of the gated communities."
"And...?"
"Nothing happens in those places without GenTech and Swordpoint knowing. They're in on it."
"And?"
"And nothing. We'll go do our jobs, permission or not. And take a mercury shot, I have a feeling."
"Trouble?"
"Always."
It was a lovely house, they both had to admit that. Spacious, a lush garden filled with several flowerbeds and a good distance to their closest neighbour, so that they wouldn't disturb each other. Still, the entire gated community seemed a little too homogenous to Wolf. All the houses seemed the same, and it was even hard to tell the people apart at times.
Viper seemed to have the same issue.
"It smells... off here."
"It's just the stench from the rest of the city missing. Or rather, it's a little further away. That's the house."
"Wanna ring the doorbell?"
"Heh, why not."
And he did just that. After a few minutes, the door opened.
"You Firmin?"
"No, who's asking?"
Wolf shared a look with his brother.
"The man has enough money for servants. Adorable. Step aside."
The man fully opened the door now, taking a look at the twins and observing their gear.
"You're earlier than expected."
"This is where you appeal to our sense of fairness, right? No need, honour's not our thing."
Viper nodded sagely, adding to his brother's words.
"Honour in combat is for fools and dead men."
The man shook his head.
"No, this is where I kill you."
A telekinetic blast threw them back, though Viper reacted quickly. He teleported to recover, and created a telekinetic field for his brother to jump off from. Wolf used it to launch at the man in the doorframe, lashing out with one of his swords...
Only to find his strike blocked by a sword eerily similar to his own. A second figure jumped in, as liquid metal covered the first man.
As Wolf stepped back to avoid the counterattack, he noted to his shock that their gear was identical to his own, barring a few details.
"So... there's a commercial model already?"
They were like him. Warslaves. And also not like him.
"Well, the higher ups thought going against you would be a good test run. Proof that we're better than the prototype."
Viper snarled at them.
"Better?! I'll show you better-"
Wolf cut him off.
"Firmin is getting away. Get him, I'll deal with these."
Viper took a second to calm down before nodding.
"Be careful."
"I will."
One of the strange Warslaves tried to follow his brother, but Wolf teleported and slammed his face into the ground before he could.
"Names. I'd have your names before I kill you."
The two of them exchanged eager looks. A brother and a sister, both looking strangely similar to Wolf, as if he was looking into a mirror that distorted his reflection. It was strange to look at, especially since the scars were missing. The clawmark was still somewhat new to Wolf, but the slash had become so normal to him that he couldn't even picture his face without it.
Viper had caused that one, back when they had first sparred with each other, and he had come to treasure it as a memento ever since. Tangible proof that even if they were apart, he had a brother. To see two faces just like that, but without the scar was wrong, even more so than the fact that GenTech had made the two more conventionally attractive.
The male answered first.
"C-1 and C-2."
"Boring... pod grown, right?"
"For faster production."
"Does your sister speak?"
She replied to that, at least.
"I do, and I'm no sister of his. The superior model doesn't need a partner to function. Now call yours back, I wanna fight the real deal, not a cripple."
He couldn't help but feel that was an insult aimed at his robotic limbs.
"You'll find they function better than yours."
She was confused for a moment, until she seemed to remember something.
"Not... Not what I meant. I wanna fight more than half a Warslave."
"... I am not following."
"You prototypes need a partner to function at capacity."
"Oh. Heh, whatever you need to tell yourself to get this over with."
Wolf felt the adrenaline running through his system,mixing with the mercury shot in his blood. Anticipation filled him, as he took a low guard.
"Let the old guard teach you some tricks then. Class is in session."
He caught her blade on his left arm, while kicking his into the ground with his right leg, before kicking him in the face. He learned quite quickly from that, and so did they: physically, he was stronger than both of them.
She was more aggressive, following up quickly with three more cuts, none of which connected, while he deflected the counter attacks Wolf threw her way. Their teamwork was good, he had to admit that, but he was used to better. Unlike the prototypes, they had to exchange gestures and glances before trying something more intricate. It gave him time to react.
He added insult to injury when he decided to sheathe his sword.
"You two will have to do better than that. Better than the prototype my ass."
She attacked again, missing Wolf as he stepped back and countered with a kick. He was waiting for the other one to step in, and sure enough, he did. Wolf quickly grabbed the wrist of his sword arm, and ripped the hand off with a quick movement of his claws.
He used the blood from the wound to push the other one away with a swarm of sharp crystals, while his claw found its way to the man's neck.
"You're dead. Now stay down."
The man struck out with his remaining claws. Wolf had known he would, had known when he started how this would end. Still, he'd hoped he could have resolved it differently.
He'd developed a distaste for killing his own kind, as soon as GenTech had decided to give the Warslaves emotions. Before that, he'd had no issue with it, he'd even done it on several occasions.
Now, he was reminded of that, a bitter taste in his mouth as he ripped the other Warslave's throat out. The woman stopped, shock clearly painted on her face.
Wolf used the second in which she was staring at her ally's body to recompose himself.
"You're going to make me do it again, aren't you"
She readied herself again, snapped out of her trance by his words.
"I can still kill you."
He knew what he had to do. Knew he wasn't good enough to kill another one of his own kind without giving in. They had been correct after all, his design was flawed.
He made a mental note that whoever was responsible for having these two be here to fight him, he would find them and kill them himself.
And then he lost himself in the Bloodlust.
She immediately noticed a change as the sword was drawn again. Wolf moved faster, more precise, the playfulness in his movements gone completely.
He wasn't trying to get her to give up any longer, and it made her realise immediately how little of a chance they had actually stood.
Since C-1 and C-2 had first opened their eyes, they had been told they had to live up to Wolf's abilities. It had bred resentment in them, as every time they failed to do so, they had been punished. They hated him for it, had wanted to kill him for it.
That had been a mistake, that she now realised as Bloodlust radiated off the Wolf with an intensity that burned her telepathic sense.
It would have been contagious, if there was room in her mind for anything but fear. She blocked his first cut, but found his other hand clawing at her side, opening four gashes that spouted blood, which moved to cut at her neck.
She teleported away, only to find a metal fist lashing into her face, grabbing her head, and slamming it into the ground, before throwing her at one of the houses.
As she tried to get up, a telekinetic blast smashed into her, breaking several ribs and collapsing the house on her. She teleported out of the mess, only to be stopped by the Wolf again as he threw another cut as soon as she appeared.
He was too fast. Too well trained.
Too much.
She threw everything she had at him, trying to stay alive, but the longer it went on, the stronger he got. His blows were already reverberating through her broken ribs and her shoulder. The force it took for that to happen to a Warslave was enough to shatter the glass of the nearby windows and shake the ground.
As panic rose in her, she realised that if this kept going, Wolf might sink the entire island. Three more cuts came in. Two of them connected as she began tiring and her injuries took their toll. The first took her arm from the elbow, the second cut into her first heart.
Bloodlust was a monster. It was the only explanation her mind could arrive at as his mask flowed back and his fangs flashed out.
He bit into the left side of her face, taking her eye and a chunk of her flesh. Wolf's smirk was now painted with blood as he spit the flesh out. He swallowed a mouthful of her blood though, which only seemed to make him more ferocious.
Her vision began to blur as the next strike she blocked broke her right arm. She tried to shake her head to clear her vision, when she realised there were tears in the way. Pain and fear both took a toll on her mind, which had not been conditioned the same way the prototypes had been.
Another pang of pain in her chest ended the pain for good, as Wolf's sword stabbed through her other heart before her first heart could heal.
As she fell, Wolf's mind cleared. Looking around was a mistake. There were more than two bodies buried in the rubble of the gated community, but the two dead Warslaves felt... different. He didn't like looking at their bodies.
It wasn't guilt, he wasn't even sure he could feel that, but it gave him the unpleasant realisation that he might one day have to kill one of his own.
And on top of all that, as he looked at their blood, it didn't sit well with him that the exact same blood ran in his own veins. They were like him, and that was all that mattered.
Viper, how far along are you?
The Viper
When the ground started shaking, Viper already had Firmin in sight.
He threw his spear to cut the man off from getting in his car. He recoiled and tapped a button under his sleeve. Viper had anticipated the exoskeleton the man was wearing, but it was faster than he had thought. Not fast enough though.
He grabbed one of the new shortswords and activated it, making the blade spring from the hilt. A swift motion saw him duck under Firmin's punch, before he grabbed the arm and cut it off.
He stowed the weapon away again and hovered his free hand over Firmin's face, letting flames dance around his fingers.
"You're nor the smartest, are you? The Warslaves out front, where did you get them?"
Firmin sighed, taking a look at the car, before talking.
"If I talk, will you let them go?"
Viper hadn't even noticed the woman and two children sitting in the car. He'd been too focussed on Firmin and whatever Wolf was doing.
"I'm here for you. They can go."
A building collapsed nearby.
"Though... it's safer to stay here for a bit. Answer my questions and they'll live."
"GenTech offered me the first commercial models for a testrun. In exchange, I'd relay their performance to them."
"Well, they're dead, so fat lot of good it did you."
"I know. Just finish your job-"
Viper looked at the car again, then he dropped Firmin.
"I just did. Disappear, and never show up again."
"I can't just-"
"Why not?"
He seemed to hesitate.
"The people working for me, they've nowhere else to go. No one would hire them, ex-criminals and veterans looking for a way to feed their families. I make sure they-"
Viper's eyes flared up.
"Don't try that with me. You're still a criminal, murderer and arms smuggler. Plenty of people die because of you, so moralising will do you no good."
"And you're not? How many people die because of you-"
"Plenty. Don't add yourself to the pile. Disappear. Start over, before I decide what little sympathy I have for your children is a nuisance."
Viper, how far along are you?
Done.
He gestured at the man again. Firmin nodded, before entering the car. They left soon after.
Viper picked up the severed arm and turned around, scorching the ground.
As Wolf joined him, he seemed lost in thought.
"Firmin?"
Viper held up the arm.
"All that's left, sorry."
"Don't lie to me."
"Wolf-"
"I know, I won't tell if you won't."
There was a brusqueness in his brother's voice, usually reserved for others. I pained Viper to hear it addressed to him.
"Are you alright?"
"What? Oh, sure. Just two more kills, nothing special."
"Don't lie to me either."
"Just tell the others that we're done. Caracal and Aurora can ignore their warehouse if they haven't gone in yet. I need a moment alone."
Viper glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye, before nodding.
"You'll catch up, right?"
"Yes."
When he got back to the bar, Ahad was ecstatic. He had retreated to plan his appearance and to work out what to say.
Viper sat down in front of Greyhound. The older Warslave immediately knew.
"What happened?"
Viper explained about the two dead Warslaves, and Wolf's reaction. Greyhound silently nodded, waiting for the younger Warslave to finish, before talking.
"He doesn't know how to feel. Neither would you. This'll bother him for a while, because what both of you are missing as of yet, is guilt."
"Great. Fantastic. Guilt, right, how the fuck are we gonna get that?"
"I... wait, you're right."
Greyhound could beat himself up for his blindness.
"Guilt is exactly what Wolf and you need. The missing link we've been looking for."
Viper raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not following. Either way, getting us to feel that is... yeah. We're not exactly mirroring it off someone else, or we would have ages ago, and if there was a trigger, or careers of murder and mayhem would have run into that ages ago."
"You don't have to concern yourself with that. It's just a thought anyways, something for myself. Forget I said it."
"Fine."
"Wolf hasn't caught up yet, has he?"
Viper shook his head. He wasn't leaning into his mental link, to give his brother some privacy, but he knew enough.
"He's not in any danger."
"Do you know where he is?"
"I'll keep that to myself."
The Wolf
A fucking nobody.
He'd found the trail of who had placed the Warslaves in his path in a single question to the right person. Turned out to be someone Wolf hadn't even heard of.
But it was at least someone. And that was enough.
Wolf had come into his house, dragged him out of his bed and torn his leg off. That was when he took a moment to observe his surroundings. Not to see where he was, that didn't matter, but to see if there was anyone the man cared about. He found a wife and elderly father, which he both tore to pieces in front of the screaming man's eyes, before splattering him across the wall while he was still screaming.
That had calmed him down. He found a chair and sat down on it for a moment, letting his thoughts slow down. He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to talk to someone.
He'd never really had that before. In fact, he often labelled conversation as pointless if it didn't serve a specific purpose.
Now he just wanted to talk about nothing.
Not that he would, of course. There was no point in doing that. He'd just have to drown the feeling, preferably in alcohol.
He got up and raided the man's cellar, finding a few wine bottles he liked the smell of and a... well, he'd be able to tell what it was if he was able to read... and now he had to admit to himself that he couldn't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese.
"I'll have to learn that later..."
He took a small vial filled with a dark blue liquid from a pouch on his belt, and drank the contents. It hurt for a second as it shut down his detox, but at least now the alcohol would do something. At least for a few minutes. An hour if he was lucky.
He took the strange bottle and took a swig, finding that he quite liked the taste and the burning feeling of it.
"Now I definitely have to learn the language."
He took another swig, only to find that it didn't help with that strange urge. Instead, he felt like talking to someone even more now. He sighed as he dropped the wine bottles. He considered doing the same with the other bottle, before shrugging and holding on to it.
"Now I just gotta check if I know anyone that I can talk to without everyone listening in..."
The first people he thought of were all either at Phil's bar, or otherwise unavailable. As he went through the list, he even arrived at Spider, before realising that one would make for a terrible conversation partner. He was the one person Wolf could name that was more murderous than he himself was... and he was also not on the island.
Something about GenTechs lead scientist working on the project being kidnapped, that was all they had told Wolf.
Caracal was a terrible option to begin with. As much as he saw her as a little sister, she was an asshole. At least, to everyone she thought of as better than herself.
"Which is flattering, but unhelpful."
He considered Firmin's ex-henchman, the man that had called himself Elijah, before he had to scrap that option as well.
"Probably at Phil's bar right now..."
The thought occurred that he might just be in desperate need of friends. He knew that it was his Limiter acting up after he let his Core run free, rather than a thought he had of his own. Still, he couldn't quite shake it, especially since it reminded him of the conversation he'd had with Iph, just the night before.
"Not human enough to make friends, huh? Yeah, sounds about right."
He took another swig, before getting up.
"Why's that even bothering me?"
He teleported onto the roof, facing the setting sun as he took another swig, finding that the bottle was getting far too empty for his liking.
"Why's that always happen with the good stuff?"
He got up again, before he realised he did know one person. She'd probably be running around the hospital now that Max had repaired her cloaking device. He considered dropping in, but just shrugged. It would be weird for someone you'd only known for a day to drop in at your place of work.
Not to say just plain creepy. Wolf had stalked prey before, but he wasn't about to do it to someone he didn't intend to kill or extract information from. Besides, there was a significant overlap between the latter and the former anyways, and he didn't quite want to kill someone who saved his life.
Instead he just went back to the bar, and tried to find another bottle to drink on the way there.
He was the last one to return to the bar. He remembered saying something about making the time limit, with several hours to spare, before grabbing another drink.
Greyhound had tried to talk to him, but Wolf honestly couldn't tell what he was saying. He also hadn't replied to either him or Viper, who'd tried to check in on him. It wasn't because he didn't want to talk to them, but because he was afraid he'd let something slip that he shouldn't.
Ashley didn't let him isolate himself though. She never did. She kept talking to him, asking questions and... and it wasn't the first time he'd ignored her. But there was something comfortable about having her drone on and on, even if he didn't feel like replying. It helped him calm down. Every second made him feel less like ripping everyone's throat out, which helped him organise his thoughts.
Aurora
It was strangely childlike to see a Warslave fall asleep during a conversation. Not even twenty four hours ago, she had seen Wolf torture a man. Her impression of him now was quite different from then, especially as Ashley put a blanket over him as carefully as she could.
It was hard to reconcile the two images, and a stark reminder again that the Warslaves weren't human, or anything approaching human.
"Weird..."
Ashley heard her, sitting down next to her while keeping an eye on the sleeping Warslave.
"Why? They get exhausted too."
"It's just... I don't know."
"Childish? Maybe a little. Growing up emotionally wasn't exactly GenTech's priority for them. I'm afraid that for all my effort, they never quite got to."
"You raised them, right?"
"The first four, and only in so far that their upbringing wasn't just training and preparing them for their job."
"It's a strange thought. I can't quite picture them as kids."
Ashley smiled, looking at Aurora for a moment.
"The twins were sweet kids, before the procedures started. Nothing like what they are now. Believe it or not, but they caught Wolf sneaking out trying to return a bird to its nest."
"Do you miss them?"
"They're right there."
"I mean do you miss who they were?"
She thought about that for a moment.
"In a way, I guess. Mostly, I'm sad about who they could have been. No one wants to see their child suffer, and I've seen far too much of that."
Aurora glanced at where Caracal was trying to get Phil to open up another bottle.
"Did they all suffer like that?"
"None of them got it as bad as the twins, as the first prototypes, but... yes, she's had it bad enough. And before you ask, no, you're not abusing her emotional vulnerability. Caracal's a big girl, she knows what she's doing. To an extent."
Aurora felt as if she'd been caught doing something illegal.
"I just thought-"
"Look, they're idiots, but I can say one thing." She pointed at the sleeping Warslave "Wolf wouldn't have told you to go out if he thought it would be bad for his little sister. He may be an ass about it, but he'll never do anything to hurt one of his... we call it his Pack."
"He's still an asshole about it."
"Absolutely, but that's mostly because he has no idea how to deal with it. And the mindset of 'so long as it works' is not helping. Also, I have to admit I never taught him to tactfully set people up together, but that is because I never thought it would ever happen."
Greyhound cut off their conversation there.
"None of us did. He's trying though, in his own way. I need to speak to Ashley, if you don't mind?"
"Secrets?"
"Afraid so."
She nodded, letting the two isolate themselves somewhere they could discuss things without being heard.
It left the bar strangely devoid of life. Several people had come in saying Wolf had told them to help with security, but none of them had sat down with them, and they were either keeping an eye on the politician, or watching the perimeter.
Viper was playing with a knife, glancing over at his brother from time to time, while the Warslaves they had labelled as newbloods were meditating. At least they didn't seem to be wary of Viper anymore, though what had happened and how it was resolved had flown over her head.
Max and Harkon were off doing... something involving runes and weapons, meaning they'd made sure Aurora couldn't even hear them.
It left Caracal and Phil arguing about booze as the only life in the bar, which felt strange. Everyone was so... on edge. It was honestly impressive how Wolf's mood seemed to dictate everyone's behaviour.
If the Bureau would ever have to fight them, this could give them a massive advantage. That said, she had a funny feeling it wouldn't. For one, because she had no idea how that would even work, but the Bureau had strategists for that. The main reason she thought that though, was a lot simpler than that.
She didn't feel like reporting it.