To thine own self, be true

Crisis-2 was being hunted.

He'd survived the swarm, though his face would never be the same. A glance in anything even slightly reflective proved that clearly enough. He could still feel their mangled teeth pulling away long strips of flesh, scraping at his skull, trying to suck out the tender marrow within. His eye was gone and his armor in tatters, but that wasn't their fault, no that he could blame on the Invader's little air show. He dove into the sewers to escape the heat, only to find that there was no way out. And so now here he was, slowly creeping through the ancient filth, long since transmuted to soil, though nothing grew here anyway. He could hear them in the distance. Not the little pale bastards. Their daddies, big brothers and uncles. Adolescents, unless his luck was bad. The Scaleskins couldn't keep from killing each other, and he'd never even seen a so-called Purebred. He froze. Ears strained to catch the slightest whisper of flesh on metal or stone.

Typhons liked to hunt from above, drop down on their prey. If they had been sleeping here since the Catastrophe, they'd have thirty years of hunger built up and he must look awfully tasty. He'd be damned if he went down like a bitch. Crisis-Leader was nobodies 'snack'.

He still had his pistol, and Carter's revolver, if it came to that. He flicked open the cylinder and gave the wheel a spin. five of the oversized bullets had skulls printed on the back, the other three, were hearts. Custom bullets. Interesting.

Above you. The Voice cautioned.

Crisis-2 could feel its eyes on him. The hatred was almost a physical **** pushing into the top of his head. The Typhon was out there, but not ready to attack just yet. So be it. Time was on his side, anyway. Crisis-2 kept picking his way through the half collapsed tunnels. Sooner or later, he'd find an entrance hatch with a ladder or an old elevator shaft. The rest of the team couldn't leave even if they wanted to. Even if they were still alive. He wondered if he'd still get the chance to kill Crisis-4, he hoped so. He'd been so very patient.

"Come on buddy." He called out to his invisible companion overhead. "Let's go for a walk."

---

Cindi was being hunted.

She had first noticed it after leaving the cockpit. They'd only just escaped the Dead Worlds and into Confederation space in the last few hours. She'd stayed awake for two days straight after Ya Fen. By then, she was shaking so badly, Adam didn't so much pry her hands off the flight controls as he did gently lift them. Even then she'd hadn't slept, certain that they'd be attacked again the moment she let her guard down. She tried to dose herself with stims again. The ancient piece of crap on her arm refused. 'Safety limits exceeded'. Such bullshit.

She thought she caught a glimpse of her trailing shadow as she turned the corner into the mess. She hadn't slept, but she had passed out for at least an hour in the chair before jerking awake with her heart hammering. She was exhausted. Strung out. But there was no end in sight. The bad guys knew how to find them and the good guys didn't particularly care. Where were they going to run or hide? How long before the next fight, or the next one? How long until their luck ran out?

She poured herself some Beet-o's. When you hadn't slept in a week, eating wasn't a pleasure or a need, it was just a way to kill time. She looked down at her watch, it was swimming in her vision, but she squinted until the numbers made sense. Adam had just finished a shift at the helm, if she hurried, she could make it to the cockpit, maybe seal the doors and sit in the chair, just for a few hours.

Cindi peeked her head out the hall. Coast was clear. Her pursuer must have wandered off. Good. Aunt Kat would be on her way to the cockpit soon, she was probably down below with her... specimen. Cindi had a limited window. She tip toed past the living quarters. Had her hunter finally given up and went to bed herself? She couldn't resist a peek. Sam liked to burrow into her covers like a tick, but Cindi could still make out her curves in the dark room. She crept as quietly as possible to down the hall. She just had to get around the corner and she'd be home free to run to the bridge. Three steps. Two. One.

She bumped into Sam just around the corner, very much not asleep in her room and wearing a look of exasperated contempt. Guess it had been a little too easy. Still....

"Pillows in your bed, Sam? What are you twelve?"

"Says the girl staying up sixty hours past her bedtime."

"I slept yesterday!" Actually after Adam had thrown her out of the cockpit, she'd passed out in the mess and nearly drowned in some Beet-os. But she was **** for nearly an hour. That had to count for something.

Sam picked her up like a sack of grain and hefted her over one shoulder. Cindi wanted to rage and scream, but honestly, she was so tired she couldn't summon anything past a grunt. They were in her quarters with the door sealed shut moments later.

Ugh, she hated when people came in without notice. It was not like her to be this messy. She just had been so busy for....ok, maybe she was messy, but still a little advance warning so she could tuck things under the mattress and shove stuff in the closet was only polite. Sam lifted a dirty thong off her lamp with one finger, cocked eyebrow asking the obvious question.

"Don't you ever just fling your clothes off?" Cindi demanded.

"Yeah. Into my hamper, before I wash them." Sam dropped her hand, but not the panties Cindi noted. Her cousin was studying the room, taking in every messy detail. Cindi tried ignore the sensation of being raked over sharp glass. "I like your room."

"Don't be a bitch." Cindi's legs gave out and she plopped on the bed.

Sam sat down beside her. "I wasn't making fun of you. This place is nice." She pointed to a splotch of blue and yellow streaks on the wall. "What's that?"

"I tried to paint a sunset."

"Blue?"

"It's supposed to be the ocean!" Cindi bit the words out.

Sam grimaced. "What about those?" She pointed to a handful of loose panels in the corner.

"I'm fabricating new stealth plates."

"I see." Sam put a finger on Cindi's pad. Her gaze questioning. "I figured you'd have something a little more state of the art."

"Look, can you just stop?" Cindi demanded. "I get it. I can't fly the ship until I get some sleep. I understand. Message received. Only I can't sleep if I don't feel safe and that only happens if I'm flying. So how does it help to drag me off the stick and **** me to just walk around like a zombie?"

"It doesn't." Sam agreed.

"Great. So we're stuck." Cindi wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. But more than anything she wanted to sleep. "How about you tell Adam and my mom to go back to ignoring me, and you can join them instead of following me around the damn ship?"

"No."

Cindi screamed. "What do you want from me! I already said I won't go back to the cockpit!"

"I'm not here to ground my pilot. I'm here for my cousin."

"What?"

"I want you to talk to me." Sam stumbled over the words. "I'm doing what you do. Trying anyway."

Cindi just starred at her. "You're doing a terrible job."

Sam laughed. And pretty soon so was Cindi. They laughed until their sides hurt and their bellies ached. Cindi felt the tiniest part of the tension she'd been carrying for days leave her.

"How do you do it?"

"I like to be on top, but I'm flexible." Sam cocked an eyebrow.

"Not that." Cindi rolled her eyes. "How do you sleep when you know any second you could get attacked? Every time I close my eyes, I see those Crisis freaks. Or Typhons. Or think about you or Adam or my mom getting hurt. I can't even breathe I'm so scared. And the only time I feel like I can do anything at all is when I'm-

"In control." Sam finished.

"I was gonna say 'in the cockpit', but yeah. Control." Cindi mused. "It makes me feel safe."

"Do you feel safe now?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. I guess I do." Cindi admitted.

"But you know I could kill you with one hand behind my back right?" Sam pressed. "You're not in control here."

"Should I be worried?"

"You're a soldier now Cindi. You might not fight with your fists, but you're gonna be in danger from now, until this is over."

"So I just never sleep, again?"

Sam shook her head. "You need to learn to let go. You can be safe, without being in control. Trust yourself, trust your squad. That's me. And Adam and my mom. We've got your back and you've got ours."

"It's not that simple, Sam. You're just telling me to relax, but that doesn't make me more relaxed, it actually makes me more nervous, cause now I have to worry about why I can't relax!"

To her surprise, Sam didn't let out a disappointed sigh or an exasperated huff, or tell her to suck it up. She put an arm around her shoulders instead. "When you were a kid, did you ever scrape your knee?"

"Yeah."

"You cry?"

Cindi shot her a rather disgusted look, they both knew she had cried every single time. "Yes, Sam. I cried. Happy?"

"The point, dork, is that if you scraped your knee tomorrow, you wouldn't cry right?"

"So I toughened up?"

"No. You grew up. And you're growing up right now. You think you could have held it together like this, a year ago?"

Cindi considered Sam's point. "You know this whole speech would sound a lot more convincing if you weren't basically the same age as me."

"Shut up and take it from a girl who didn't close her eyes for a week after she graduated basic." Sam smiled down at her cousin. "Don't be tough. Don't try to stay in control or do it all yourself, don't just assume being human makes you weak. It takes time, but you can grow. You can be better than you are now."

"That is good advice Sam, but I still can't sleep tonight."

"Are you your brother now? Adam doesn't let anyone help him. He's stupid like that." She patted the bed beside her. "Come on."

Sam stripped off her pants and crawled into the bed behind Cindi, she pulled her smaller cousin in to lay back on her chest. Her, thick arms wound around Cindi like a suit of protective armor. "It's gonna be okay. You're safe."

Cindi was too weak to fight back, but this was stupid.

"Shhhhh. It's gonna be okay."

'Here comes another long stint of staring at the ceiling.' She rolled her eyes. They felt so heavy now.

"You're safe. Just close your eyes and relax." Her cousin was whispering in her ear now. Cindi wanted to tell her to stop, it tickled, but her mouth worked wordlessly instead. At least Sam's arm's felt nice.

Cindi did appreciate her trying. It was nice that someone cared about her enough to- to- to-

"Just relax and let go." Sam whispered.

Cindi tried to fight off a yawn. She was deliciously warm and cozy inside her bed. Even if she couldn't sleep.

"I'll be here when you wake up."

'This was nice,' was Cindi's last thought before she fell asleep in her cousin's arms.

---

It had felt like a lifetime since Crisis-2 felt fear. In truth, he didn't feel much at all. And most of the time what he did feel was guided by his last dose of serum. Still, he was appropriately wary, of his traveling companion. He dosed again. The Doctor had given him a massive supply, no limit really. It was all he could do not to scream in bliss as he walked. Why the fuck couldn't Crisis-Leader -NO! Crisis-1. HE was Crisis-Leader now. And Crisis-1 was worm food.

He knew the Typhon was still following him, he'd fallen back though. Maybe as much as a kilometer. Which meant, Crisis-2 was no where near an exit. It was a Scaleskin, he was sure of that now. How much territory did it claim, he wondered? This must have been its hive, once. Adolescents would sometimes burrow together, at least until they got a hive of their own. And if they stayed out of the big boys homes, usually they didn't get eaten either. Unless there were women to fight over. Then it all went to hell. He laughed. Just like the rest of us.

The world was swimming in front of him. Too fast. Too slow. "Too high? Too low?" He laughed.

You're going to die down here. Bleeding and starving. The Voice explained. But he didn't care. Pain. Hunger. All of it was at the edge of his being. At the center, he was hot, burning with the serum's power. How had Adam gotten so strong on the station? He'd never gotten to squeeze the truth out of the Doctor Murphy.

He was on the ground, he realized. He'd fallen a while ago, and hadn't even noticed. Thoughts, his own thoughts, floated from some deeper, more reptilian part of his brain. The serum had always made them hungrier, and he'd been OD'ing on it for days now. When was the last time he ate? Back on the ship? The station? He started laughing. He had more serum than he had bullets, but not even a single ration packed. He laughed until his sides hurt, facedown in the dirt and half dead. He wasn't sure when he fell ****, only that when awoke, he wasn't alone.

---

Adam looked down at his new pad. Honestly it was a huge upgrade from the one Cindi stole. He fought down the urge to send a text message to Sam asking for an update. Instead he busied himself with the galaxy map. It would be a day or so before they reached Constantine. In some ways he was dreading it. Until the Typhons and murderous commandos showed up, it had been a relief to spend time with Sam and Kat and Cindi. Like coming home. Once they reached Constantine, things would change. Decisions would have to be made. Sacrifices made. The future was rushing towards him; dark and uncertain. And even though things weren't perfect here, they had a nasty habit of getting worse and worse.

SHE'S OUT LIKE A LIGHT. Sam finally messaged him.

They'd agree to a brief detente to take care of their shipmates. Kat and his little sister hadn't been coping well these past few days. Actually none of them were. Sam spent every waking hour training these days. She was already on edge, Adam knew better than to ask Sam to try and have a heart to heart with her mom, which meant he spent most of his free time making sure Kat didn't get lost inside that head of hers. It would have been easier if she wasn't obsessed with 'the prisoner'. Kat got a funny, hateful look in her eye when she talked about them. He hadn't forgotten what she'd told him in the lair. Kat was carrying decades worth of pain, and she finally had an acceptable target to unleash it on. The tests she ran were not....kind.

Sam meanwhile, had apparently had a much easier time corralling his sister. Adam studied the picture again. It was nice to see Cindi's face relaxed and not contorted with effort or cringing in fear. Maybe they could all spend some time together once they landed. Constantine wasn't like Earth-home, there were still quiet areas, untouched forests, lonely mountains and the like. Maybe they could find a quiet beach, a place to relax a few days before the next pants-wetting leg of their journey began. Adam studied the photo again. Why was Cindi unclothed and upside down anyway? Was Sam....Probably, her realized. More and more since that fateful almost threesome, Adam had noticed the hungry looks Sam gave his sister. Looks that Cindi hardly seemed to mind, judging by the way she unconsciously writhed under Sam's gaze.

HEY. YOU SHOULD PROBABLY LET HER REST.

FOCUS ON FLYING THE SHIP, ADAM. I'LL TAKE CARE OF OUR GIRL.

Our girl. She was, Adam realized. He didn't have any right to feel weird or mad about it. Cindi belonged to both of them now, just like Adam did, and Sam as well. It was a difficult concept to wrap his head around. And how his aunt fit into all this? One thing was certain, they were light years past normal at this point. But maybe they could still find their way to a happy ending for everyone involved. He hoped so.

'Our girl.' The more Adam repeated the words, they became less a problem and more of a promise.

---

It wasn't the Scaleskin who had been following him. Instead a pack of Adolescents hovered just beyond his reach. They were smaller, more human, none of the fur crests and scales that marked the purer strains. Probably grown up Rabies Babies, just on the far side of their transformation. Still, they were Typhons. And that meant they were killing machines at any age.

Crisis-2 rose slowly. The Typhons were like him. They could sense weakness. Fear. But he'd lost the latter years ago, and if they wanted to test him on the former....

The closest Typhon stared up at him, its face screwed up in curiosity. This wasn't a creature that was used to being uncertain, but it clearly couldn't understand what it was seeing.

"You think I'm one of you." Crisis-2 laughed with delight. **** overdoses and blood loss, always a good combination. "Do you think I'm your big brother?"

The creature pulled back, startled by audible words coming from his mouth. It's afraid of you. The Voice whispered.

"Not your big bro. Daddy, then." Crisis-2 watched as the creature tried to mimic his words. "I better give you a name. Butch." He added after a moment's consideration. "Daddy's hungry, Butch."

The Typhon pack stared at him uncomprehending.

"Right." Crisis-2 opened his mouth and pointed inside. He mimed chewing. The pack dashed backwards, out of his reach. "Well, I didn't mean you." He considered. Except for what was on the ship, they were the only food left on the whole planet. "Unless you're offering. Butch, honey, come over and sit on Daddy's lap." He patted his leg. Butch just stared at him. Little shit.

He wasn't in any shape to chase one down. But as he stared down at them, a half formed idea rose into his mind, something like a memory from lifetimes past. "Can you boys keep a secret?" Crisis-2 held up the still loaded auto injector. He gave himself another dose. Was that five or fifty? He didn't even feel it anymore. Didn't matter, he still couldn't rip a man's head clean off his neck. Focus! The Voice in his head commanded.

Butch was the bravest. His sweet little boy trotted forward to study the auto injector with interest. Crisis-2 let him get close, close enough to touch, then he latched on as quick as he could. Not to bite, no, not yet. Instead he shoved the injector into Butch's arm and gave his baby a dose. Butch ran again, shrill barks and whimpers chasing him into the dark.

"Pussy." Crisis-2 laughed. Looks like he'd be dying on this rock after all.

But then, a funny thing happened. One by one, the others slowly shuffled forward, arms outstretched, waiting for their turn with Daddy. He gave each one a dose, laughing at their startled cries and their frenzied highs after. The first time always hurt a little. Just take it. But soon, his first born was back. Greedy little shit wanted more.

This time he stuck his arm out willingly and waited. Crisis-2 took Butch's arm, softly at first, then hard. His other hand found the smooth grip he was looking for.

"Sorry, Butch. But Daddy's got to eat." And with that, he shoved his pistol into his son's mouth and blew the top of his head off.

Consume. The voice commanded.

Crisis-2 chortled, mouth already lapping up the blood. Like he needed to be told.

---

Cindi woke up wrapped up in sheets and arms. Sam's sleep gunked eyes lazily traced Cindi's face. "Morning." She said before planting a peck on Cindi's lips.

Cindi flushed. The sleep deprived haze of the last few days lifted from her mind. She'd fallen asleep half naked, in her cousin, her female cousin- the distinction seemed important -arms. And now Sam was kissing her again. Cindi broke free and shimmied into her leggings.

"Feeling better?" Sam called after her, her eyes burning into Cindi's flesh like a brand.

"Much." Cindi said without looking back. And with clarity came her old friend embarrassment.

"We're not even gonna cuddle after?" Sam said innocently.

Cindi whirled around. She didn't. They hadn't...right? No. Cindi read her cousin's smirk, she was just torturing her again. As if this wasn't messy enough. And since when was Sam this flirty!

"I-uhhhhhh. Igottogettothebridge!" Cindi stammered. She fished around for a shirt and had just pulled it over her head as Sam threw the covers off. Cindi was relieved to see her cousin wasn't naked either. She knew they didn't hook up. Knew it, knew it, knew it, knew it! Sam had that one eyebrow cocked, hungry smirk on her face as she looked Cindi up and down. Cindi fought the urge to push her chest forward.

"I talked to Adam. Got your next shift covered." Sam's smirk turned downright predatory. "Which means for today, you're all mine."

"I don't....don't....understand..." Cindi lied. Her traitorous body shivered, nipples already hardening under that stare.

"You know Adam's right. You do have really pretty eyes." Sam told her matter of factly as she stalked forward; right up into Cindi's face to peer into each eye, before leaning in close to whisper. "But its your voice that really does it for me. I can't WAIT to hear you screaming my name."

Cindi felt like she was outside her body, floating on autopilot as her cousin led her back to the bed, peeled her out of her clothes and played her like a flute. Kissing....grinding....just appetizers while they clothes came off, once Cindi was striped bare, Sam began to feast. First she gave her the lightest of touches in places Cindi hadn't even known were erogenous zones. Trails of goosepimples followed Sam's fingertips as traced Cindi's body. She started just inside Cindi's armpit, sliding down around her ribs to dance along the bottom of her breasts, before reversing to trace the faint lines of her stomach. Planting butterfly kisses along the way. Every gentle touch only made Cindi more sensitive, and the second it moved away, the ache was nearly as sweet as the caress itself. It was perhaps the most erotic thing Cindi had ever experienced and they hadn't even gone farther than some kisses and a massage! Her brain was spinning. Cindi felt like she had to say something, say anything!

"I'm not gay, Sam."

"Neither am I, Cinderella." Sam smiled down at her and brushed her hair back from Cindi's burning face before swooping in for a tender kiss. This wasn't at all what Cindi had imagined Sam of all people would be like in bed. Not that she'd spent much time imagining it. Hardly any at all.

"Do you want me to stop?" Sam asked after they pulled back. Cindi wasn't sure what she wanted, but she was definitely outside her comfort zone. She'd experimented a little with Bianca back at school, but it hadn't gone farther than kissing and a little heavy petting. Grade school stuff. This was the big leagues.

"Yes. No. I dunno." Cindi whispered. She squinted her eyes shut, certain Sam was going to laugh at her, but instead Sam just gave her a peck on the forehead.

"You're so cute when you're flustered." Sam replied warmly. Her kisses didn't stop there, she cut a trail down Cindi's naked body to her breasts, laving Cindi's nipples with her hot tongue only to withdraw and blow cool streams of air just across the tips. Did Cindi think her nipples were hard before? They were positively aching with stiffness now. Little diamonds for Sam to capture one at a time with her mouth or gently tease with a thumb, as she made her way down Cindi's body.

Sam paused as she nipped at the sensitive skin above Cindi's public bone. "I like the way you taste, Cinderella." Cindi flushed. It wasn't a bad thing, right? She wanted Sam to enjoy the way she ...tasted. Cindi hadn't minded when Adam had given her her first taste of her nectar weeks ago. Adam. She nearly came thinking about the three of them....together. And this time they didn't stop after an interrupted blowjob. She shuddered and pushed him out of her mind.

Cindi was achingly wet. This was nothing like her own pathetic attempts to get herself off. Different too, from the **** of nature that was Adam. This was military precision. Every sensitive area targeted and destroyed with exactly the right amount of pressure. And she hadn't even gotten to her vaj yet!

"I can't, I can't. Oh God. Oh Sam!"

Sam shushed her. "See, boys don't really know what they're doing. Take it from someone who swings both ways; to really please a woman, you've got to BE a woman."

Cindi felt the first delicious lick through her whole body. Sam's tongue was the perfect combination or rough and smooth. Soft, but strong and so perfectly wet. Cindi shuddered, she was on the cusp now.

“Just tell me to stop, Cinderella.” Sam taunted her. Mouth dripping with Cindi's juices.

“Don't. Stop.” Cindi gasped and cupped either side of her cousin's face. “Don't you fucking dare stop!”

After three more licks, Cindi exploded. Arched back and screaming; she clenched around Sam's tongue, thrust so deep inside her.

She barely had time to catch her breath before Sam growled. "Time for you to pay me back cousin." And with a quick tug and switch, Sam pulled Cindi around and drove her facefirst into Sam's hot, wet mound. Cindi wasn't as practiced as Sam, but she was eager to repay her. She tried to mimic what Sam and Adam had done to her as much as she could, licking, biting even grinding her face against Sam's wet snatch. Sam shouted encouragement as she went.

"Riiiiiiiiight there, Lil' Cin." Sam called out. "That's it, baby. God you're so fucking hot."

Sam wound her hand through Cindi's hair, eyes hot and demanding. "Deeper, you little slut. I want to feel you in my eyeballs."

Cindi blushed and redoubled her efforts between her cousin's legs, determined to bring her off this time. She gripped her cousin tight and absolutely attacked Sam's tight pussy.

"Right there. Yes!" Sam screamed. "Keep going! I'm gonna fuck your brains out after this!"

And with that, Sam came, first gushing into Cindi's open mouth, then squirting a thin stream down her throat. Cindi nearly pulled back with shock, but Sam's firm hand ground Cindi's mouth deeper into her cousin's sex.

Cindi laid back, exhausted. Her entire body was trembling. That was incredible. Unlike anything she'd ever done before. Her new lover settled in beside her, planting gentle kisses in the crown of her head and whispering how sexy and wonderful she was. It was different from what she had from Adam, and weird- she really wasn't gay -but she thought she might come to enjoy it. Decision made, Cindi turned her head and planted a full kiss on her new girlfriend.

"You're really good at that." Cindi said.

"You're no slouch yourself, beautiful." Sam replied, eyes full of mirth.

Cindi rose to get her clothes back on. She was halfway into her shirt, when Sam plucked it out of her hands. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Sorry. We'll cuddle later, I promise." Cindi apologized. "I really should relieve Adam, though."

"First of all, cuddling after is mandatory, not optional. Secondly Adam can wait. I've got you for the rest of the day, remember?" Sam growled, one hand wrapped around Cindi's hips possessively. "Besides, I've still got to fuck your brains out!"

'What was all that they just did then!' Cindi barely had time to think before she was thrown back into her bed. Moments later, Sam showed her exactly what she meant.

It was one of the longest, most pleasurable nights of Cindi's young life. By the time Sam had wrung the final torturous orgasm out of her, Cindi couldn't even walk back to her quarters. She collapsed on the bed giggling and happy, though exhausted; wrapped up in the loving arms of her cousin, friend and lover.

---

They forgave quickly enough, his little pack of monsters, so long as he kept the juice flowing. After he'd finished with Butch, they'd feasted on what was left of their brother. He was almost proud of them.

He was close to the exit now. Turns out he'd been walking the wrong way, but his boys solved that. He could practically taste the fresh air, the sun's light, it was close, maybe just around the corner when his children scattered. The Scaleskin was back. Damn. So close. At least he'd go down swinging.

"Finally got your hunger on, huh buddy?" Crisis-2 pulled Adam's revolver, his other pistol was empty. "Don't keep me waiting." He gazed up into the shadows above him, wondering which one **** was hiding inside.

Can you sense it? The Voice asked.

"Come on!" Crisis-2 roared. "Come to Daddy!"

Can you sense it? The Voice repeated.

And then it hit him like a thunderbolt.

"You're afraid." Crisis-2 realized. And he wasn't the only one. His boys had been steadily slinking back into the room. Their shrieks painfully hungry.

The Scaleskin Typhon dropped into view. Roaring and beating its chest. It tried to stare down the approaching pack. Tried to cow them into submission. It failed. His boys were high on serum. They were powerful. And fear was for prey.

They charged the Scaleskin like it wasn't even twice their size, clawing and biting. The first to reach it were smashed to paste. No matter, they'd be food for the others later. One of his boys tried jumping on the monster's back, it was slashed to ribbons for its trouble. The other's fell back again, circling, waiting for an opening.

Crisis-2 looked to the way out, it was a clear path now. But he couldn't take it. Not yet. He leveled his stolen revolver at the Scaleskin and squeezed off a round. The Typhon twitched at the last second and took the bullet in the arm. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, like a silvery cancer, nanites began to devour the limb. The Scakeskin looked at its melting arm in shock, before slashing itself in the shoulder, amputating the treacherous limb before the silvery rot could consume its body. The Adolescents tackled their weakened foe and bore him to the ground, tearing at every part they could reach.

Crisis-2 stared down at the pistol, he shoved it back in his pants and pulled out his deadened electro-blade. As he stalked closer to the dying Scaleskin, now blinded and bleeding, his children stepped back, awaiting his judgement. With a roar, Crisis-2 caved the Typhons head in. He tore a piece of its skull free and devoured it, to their approving shrieks. And still they waited. A good pack. Strong, but obedient. Only when he stepped back, did they race in to devour their fallen brothers and the prey they had brought low.

Crisis-2 left them there, eating and shrieking in the dark tunnels. But they didn't leave his thoughts.