The first thing that Gary did, before even lifting his head off the ground, was to check whether his mask was still firmly on his face. Fortunately, everything seemed to be still in order in that department. At the same time, he noticed that none of the Grey Elephant members had attacked him, even though he was only a foot away from them.

‘They must really be loyal to their leader, huh.’ Gary thought.

It was then that he heard the voice speak.

“I'm sorry, I'm late, Boss.”

Gary did wonder who could have possibly come out of nowhere and attack him from behind. He might have been too focused on attacking Damion, but still, the high schooler was sure he should have been able to notice if anyone came to interfere.

‘Damn it!’ Gary thought, clenching his fist. ‘I should have known that he would come as well.’

Turning his head and looking up through the mask, he could see Kirk. Not only that, but his skin was yellow with black spots showing that he had somewhat transformed already. Now it all made sense.

One of the reportedly fastest Altered was looking right at the Werewolf, yet it was obvious that he didn't recognise the latter.

‘You were the only one from the Underdogs I didn’t want to fight, Kirk. Why did you have to come now…why is someone like you protecting that bastard?’

Memories of his time as a Transporter started flashing in front of the teenager’s eyes. When he had first joined, he had naturally been frightened and felt lost, yet Kirk had seemingly noticed it. The adult had come over and just slapped him on the back, telling him he had to do a good job.

It had been a rather strange encounter, especially since Gary had stuttered out Kirk’s name when he had recognised one of his idols. The teenager never knew why, but for whatever reason the Altered hadn’t seemed to mind spending some of his free time talking to him, something the high schooler had never seen him do with other Transporters.

The two of them had been able to build up quite a bond because of it. Even before meeting him, Gary had watched some of his fights, and his admiration for Kirk as a supporter as well as a friend had just grown more from there.

The last time he had seen him, Kirk had taught Gary how to throw a punch, something which might have very well saved his life from the gangsters that fateful day.

Getting himself up from the ground, Gary looked towards Damion. Right now Kirk was standing in front of him and the rest of the Cheetah Squad had also caught up. Their body language was telling him that if he wanted to get to their boss, he would have to get through them first.

‘Shit. I… I need to finish him off here. They already know what school I go to, and I know they will do whatever it takes to find that package. I'm sorry Kirk, but if you stand in the way… then I will have to deal with you as well. You were someone I looked up to, someone I looked forward to getting every day and talking to, you were like a… to me… but I have a real family I need to protect.’

Gary clenched his fist. The Howlers might have started out as a way for Kai and Gary to cut ties with the Underdogs, but part of him had always known that in the Underworld it would be impossible to have a peaceful separation.

The Werewolf had been hoping to take care of Damion without Kirk around. That might have been the only way to avoid that confrontation. Alas, it was too late now.

The masked teenager sprinted back to Damion, though three of the Cheetah Squads attempted to intercept him with a kick, two of them up high. Immediately, Gary covered his head and blocked the two kicks.

However, the third one had gotten through, hitting him right in the stomach, and it wasn’t a soft blow either.

-4 HP

48

/100 HP

Getting hit by Damion’s axe attacks, as well as suffering Kirk’s surprise attack, Gary was now down to less than half his Health. What’s more, the kicks of the Underdog elite group were as strong as they were fast.

‘They might not be Altered, but each one of them is strong. Figures, since their job is to support Kirk without slowing him down. How am I supposed to get to Damion? Should I just grab a bite and recover my Health? … maybe I should keep that a secret unless necessary and use Claw Drain instead?’

While thinking about what to do, it looked like the Cheetah Squad wasn’t going to mess around, surrounding the masked foe, ready to attack. However, Kirk himself had yet to move, perhaps because of all the Grey Elephant members around that could go for their boss at any second.

When the first one got close, though, a strong force whacked him in the stomach, sending one of the elite gang members hurling towards the ground.

“And here I thought you were some type of invincible monster.” A voice came from behind him. At the same time, the Grey Elephant members were being roughed up and beaten. No longer were they just patiently waiting off to the side as they turned to see what was happening. The next second they were fighting once again, defending themselves.

Kate, seeing the chaos from above, understood everything clearly. Everything had changed when that woman had arrived. She along with her people were changing the balance, and along with the other black and gold members, they were able to push through becoming a strong force to deal with the other Grey Elephant members.

The whip in her hands was a force to be reckoned with, just as much as Damion with his axes.

Now, coming through the fallen, seemingly untouched and unhurt, was Olivia Pearl.

“Why don't you just pull the same crap as you did with me?” She asked the Alpha Werewolf with a smile.

It hadn’t been long since her arrival, yet all the Grey Elephant members on one side of the streets had been defeated by the Pincers, the Howlers, and the help they had received from the Altered Hunter. Given their reinforcement, Blake was starting to wonder whether his involvement now was too much. It had been necessary when Gary’s friends had been on their own, but now he was wondering whether he should stay any longer.

‘I wish it was that easy. She really has no idea how close I came to death with Last Stand.’ Gary thought, not giving her an answer.

Seeing what was happening, Damion had a smile on his face, and immediately turned the other way, throwing his axe down at the Grey Elephant member, killing him on the spot.

“Haha, Kirk, you take care of these guys, I'm going after that big fat lump!” Damion ordered.

The next second, and the chaos shifted.

Those of the Pincer gang had already clashed with the remaining Grey Elephant members. Gary was losing sight of Damion, who seemed to be running somewhere. Fortunately, he had Marked him earlier, allowing him to see that he was heading towards another Mark.

‘Is Damion chasing after the Grey Elephant leader?’ Gary wondered. ‘Does he want to fight him, or is he going to flee? I can't tell.’

Either way, Kirk was standing between them.

“You're not going to let me pass unless I beat you, are you?” Gary asked, while Olivia had already started dealing with five from the Cheetah Squad.

“Seeing that you want my boss dead, no way.” Kirk replied, transforming further.

‘It looks like that man from before was right… there really are others in Slough.’

——

At the same time, that very man that Kirk was thinking about, had cleared all the Altered in the Chavley area. Just in case there was more to deal with, he decided to check the news over his phone.

That was when his eyes laid on the fight that was about to take place.

‘Kudos to you, streaker boy, protecting the neighbourhood… but is it really wise for you to do it so publicly?’ Jayden immediately recognised the mask from the day the two of them fought. It was without a doubt, Gary.

However, there was also another familiar face on screen.

‘Dammit, just what did you do to provoke that cat dude?’

*****

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