The Werewolf’s opinion was that Kai seemed to be overly cautious about the Underdog’s resurgence. Gary was sure that with Kirk now gone, as long as they could get rid of Damion, it would naturally spell the end of the Underdogs.

And to that end, there was one thing Kai didn’t know. Gary knew EXACTLY where Damion was!

What’s more, due to the Forced Bond he had placed on him, he would be able to find him, most likely until the end of his life.

‘There’s nowhere you can hide from me, Damion. I don’t want to be afraid of you any longer. From now on, I’m the one that will become your hunter.’ The high schooler thought to himself in satisfaction,

before he heard the sound of an approaching car. He ignored it as many cars had already passed him by. However, this car seemed to slow down, before it came to a halt, only a few metres from him.

“Come with me for a ride, there are some things we need to talk about, wolfie.” Jayden suggested with a friendly smile.

Although the White Tiger Altered wasn’t his enemy, Gary couldn’t exactly call him an ally either. Nevertheless, he was one of the people that the green haired teenager respected wholeheartedly, and not only due to his career as an Altered fighter.

He had seen Jayden get his way when demanding things from the Grey Elephants. A single person had made an entire gang cower in front of him. If that wasn’t badass, the high schooler didn’t know what was.

‘Now that I have improved stats, just how far behind do I lag compared to him?’ Gary wondered. Ultimately, he decided to enter the car. For one, Gary didn’t want to cause trouble, and he also wanted to maintain a good relationship with Xin’s brother.

Inside the car, the two of them drove for a while, Gary had taken the passenger seat as requested by Jayden, as to where they were going he wasn’t quite sure.

“Let me be frank, it wasn’t completely a coincidence that I found you here today. Xin didn’t want to hand over your number, and I didn’t want to drag her into this mess, so I’ve already been driving up and down yesterday evening. I’m actually glad that I’ve found you today.” Jayden revealed. “With that out of the way, I wanted to talk to you since I saw you on that news channel. You really gave it your all against the cat dude.”

Suddenly, Gary’s eyes widened. Using the wolf mask, he was sure that his real identity would be safe, because no one but the Howlers should be aware who was underneath the mask. Unfortunately, he had completely forgotten that that wasn’t true at all. The person right next to him had seen him use that same mask when he had come to rescue Xin.

“I have to tell you something, Gary.” Jayden said, as he parked the car in a supermarket car park. They were at the very back towards a hill. “I hate gangs.”

Saying these words, there was a fierce change in his voice. Gary immediately opened the door on his side, afraid he was going to be attacked, and rolled out from the car. He soon stood up in a fighting stance and looked towards the car, but Jayden was no longer in it.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing? You’re aware that we’re not in an action movie, right?” Jayden asked from behind, as he walked over towards the hill and sat down on the grass.

“I told you that there are things we need to talk about, and I meant using our words, not fists. Gary, I know that you must feel powerful given what you are, but you’re just a teenager, practically still a kid. I know that Slough isn’t the safest, but did you really have to join a gang? I decided to at least hear you out, since I owe you at least that much for trying to save Xin.“

Hearing this, it made Gary think that Jayden had chosen his words carefully. After all, he had merely promised to give him a chance to explain himself, but what if he didn’t like the answer? Would he outright attack him? Unfortunately, now seemed like a bad time to ask the adult his reason for hating gangs.

‘It… it should be okay… I have an ace up my sleeve. If it comes down to it, I’m sure Jayden doesn’t know about his father’s involvement with those small-time gangs.’ Gary calmed himself down. He cautiously came over and sat down, though he did so a good two metres away, just in case anything happened.

Seeing this, Jayden couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the high schooler’s antics, but he understood why Gary had decided to do something like this.

“Well, I’m all ears. How exactly did you get caught up in all this mess? How did someone like you become an Altered, and just what was that attack on Slough?” Jayden asked.

Before answering, Gary let out a big sigh, wondering how much he should tell the Altered. Just enough to make sense, or the whole truth involving Kai and the others?

In the end, the Werewolf opted to concentrate mostly on his own situation. However, for once, rather than covering up a bunch of lies like he would do with others, he confessed almost everything. Perhaps it was easier with Jayden, since he still felt a bit like a stranger.

Gary began by sharing his family’s financial situation, which had led to him joining the Underdogs in the first place. Then he proceeded how he had become ‘an Altered’ and his journey from then on to protect his family from the gang, leaving him no choice but to create his own.

“I see, so I guess what happened the other day was just between the Grey Elephants and the Underdogs. You just saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the Underdogs?” Jayden repeated, making sure he got everything correct.

Gary nodded, though he didn’t share the part that they had gotten involved through Innu’s request to save the orphans.

Finally, Jayden was the one that let out a big sigh of relief now.

“You know, I was worried about Slough, seeing as my old man has no intentions of moving out. Then again, he is the mayor of this town, so I do understand how it would be the end of his career if he did something like that.” Jayden revealed. “I went to Chavley and got rid of the Crazed Altered there, and it just made me worry whether everyone will be okay. You see, I’m leaving this town soon. I need to get back to the AFC, and without me, I was worried what this place might become.

“However, wolfie, there was someone who has managed to change so much already. I believe what you’ve told me, but I do have to warn you. If you do change your ways, or become just as bad as the guys that were running the place before your Howlers, I might have to get involved and teach you another lesson.” Jayden smiled and made a fist.

Although it sounded like he was saying these words in a joking manner, Gary was sure that he meant exactly what he said. Thankfully, though, it looked like Jayden wouldn’t become an enemy.

Since things had turned out well, Gary decided to keep his little meeting with the Mayor a secret for now. In the end, they had never made a move during the fight like they had planned anyway. So there was no need to stir up the pot.

“I’ve told you everything, so I hope you can answer a question of mine now.” Gary finally said. “Unlike me, you’ve had your powers for far longer, and I’m sure what you showed me that day was just a glimpse of it.

“Your presence alone was enough to stop the Grey Elephants from attacking us, so with all your strength, how come you don’t stop those gangs. Why not just get rid of the Underdogs altogether?”

It was a question that had been on Gary’s mind for a long time. Since Jayden talked about getting rid of his gang if they were to become bullies, why not the current group? He was stronger than Kirk and Damion.

“I… Am not a leader.” Jayden answered. “I’m a single individual. I can’t rally people around me, or ask people to fight me. Simply put, I’m more of a loner. On top of that, there are a few other reasons.

“Even if I take down the heads of this place, then there will just be someone else to replace them. Unless I decided to stay in charge or run the place, things just wouldn’t work out. I’m kinda… what do they call it, a free bird.”

There was a smile on his face as he spoke about this, but the smile soon faded.

“Actually, I’m probably not as free of a bird as I would like to think. In fact, just like you Gary, my hands are also tied, but by a far bigger force than just the Underdogs. Remember, I wasn’t born into this world with a golden spoon, nor as an Altered.

“Even then I got lucky in the end and have accidentally become a significant someone. Unfortunately, there is a limit to what I can do. I just took an interest in this town because of my family.”

Gary understood, because even the AFC was under a large, powerful organisation and possibly behind them was another. The set-up and structure in the higher tier cities Gary could only guess, as it felt like different worlds to his and those around them.

Finally, Jayden stood up from the ground and wiped the back of his trousers. Instead of walking towards his car, he headed towards the woods.

“Why don’t we have one final fight before I leave?” Jayden asked. “If you win, you’ll still get my autograph, or if you prefer, you can raid my fridge once more? Only this time I would like both of us to go all out, fully use our Altered forms. ”

******

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