Ryan had seen Lucas lunge for someone before. Back then the big wolf had been little more than a blur speeding across his vision. A fuzzy missile launched from vaguely-humanoid legs.

Now it looked almost as if his friend was moving in bullet time. Like someone had slowed the entire world down or maybe replaced the editor’s eyes with high-shutter cameras. He saw the moment Lucas’s hind-legs tensed and the very instant they pushed off the ground. He even saw the wolf man’s fur coat shove away shards of glass from the window as he flew through it, sending them spinning almost lazily into the air on either side.

So it was a strange realization for Ryan as however-many-pounds of fanged fury came at him - claws outstretched for his blood - to find that he could still move.

It wasn’t a decision he hesitated to make. Sidestepping quickly out of the landing zone and putting a destroyed dining table between them, Ryan kept a careful watch on his friend. It wasn't the impact or being hit the editor was worried about. Meatfist had just gotten through teaching him - quite emphatically - that Ryan could take an otherwise spine-shattering hit right now and walk away mostly intact. It was the paralytic-tipped ends of Lucas’s fur that had him worried.

So long as I don’t touch his fur, and his fur doesn’t touch me, I can clear that statu-- woah!

Ryan dodged a heavily muscled arm that burst through the table between the pair like it was made of hollywood-style exploding glass. It was followed by a powerful upward swipe as the werewolf tried to open him like a pinata, thankfully missing by inches as Ryan retreated.

During both attacks Ryan swept his eyes over his friend even as he moved around, trying to locate a spot he could reach out and jab without hitting fur. Unfortunately, the only spots he could see that were undefended were either the palms… or his friend’s eyes.

Getting into position to reach the only viable target he actually had in this situation forced Ryan to dodge and dance all over the debris-filled room. It would have been a thrilling test of his new upgrade if not for the potential lethality of ducking angry werewolf claws every few seconds.

As the fight dragged on, Ryan found himself steadily growing more and more frustrated. He was already livid that the Mayor had somehow managed to capture and brainwash his friend, but the implications of what that meant were weighing his conscience down. If Lucas had been caught, then how many others had been taken as well?

The thought pricked at him every backward step Ryan took.

He needed to not be wasting any more time here. He needed to be saving the people who needed him instead of trying to eye-jab one of his staunchest allies. He needed--

I need to take the gloves off and put Marcus’s arrogant, manicured head on a pike. Sorry Lucas, but we don’t have a lot of time to waste right now.

Lucas exploded through a serving counter and Ryan readied himself instead of retreating. Just as he was gearing up to poke his friend’s eye out however, Ryan thought he heard a voice come from the other side of the rubble. A low, gurgling moan followed.

“Uh… Lucas?” Ryan called out warily. “You alright over there? Didn’t… jump into one of the pipes did you?”

There was no response. Ryan waited a breath before deciding to risk it, unwilling to let his friend die in some sort of final destination-style plumbing accident.

On the other end of the counter, laying in a pile of sharp sticks and fallen roofing tiles, was Lucas. In human form… and about as covered cloth-wise as Meatfist had been. The formerly aggressive wolf-man put a hand to his head and groaned in pain, sitting up.

Ryan checked his friend’s status, finding the ‘Under Influence’ condition had vanished.

He fought it off. He fought it off!

“Hell yeah, Lucas!” Ryan whooped, coming quickly over to help the big man up.

Lucas’s eyes were having trouble focusing, but the wolfman grinned all the same. “Sorry about--” he began, before Ryan abruptly cut him off.

“Don’t worry about it, you couldn’t even hit me anyway.”

“Wasn’t… trying.” Lucas muttered as Ryan led him over to a chair that had miraculously survived everything else around it today.

The editor frowned at his friend. “What do you mean?”

Lucas shook his head as if trying to clear it. A moment or two passed before he finally responded. “At first it was like watching deer through a blind, only my body was the deer. Then it was like… I don’t know. Like I got a hand on the steering wheel, but I didn’t have the key. All I could do was… swerve a bit.”

The wolfman gave Ryan a wan, apologetic smile. “I tried to swerve away from you, if that helps.”

“It does.” Ryan conceded. “Though you’re one heck of a big, bad wolf if that was you trying not to hurt me.”

Lucas snorted, and Ryan gave a small chuckle. A dozen or so yards away, another piece of the roof caved in.

Clapping his friend on the shoulder and deliberately not looking down at him, Ryan softened his tone before asking. “Seriously, man. You alright? I haven’t heard of anyone fighting off his control before. My power says you’re good, but...” He trailed off, leaving the question hanging.

The wolfman nodded. “I don’t feel… him… in the driver’s seat any more. I’m not sure what happened, but I was fighting for control again and then all of a sudden I just… had it.”

Did Marcus run out of energy? Ryan wondered. Or did Lucas actually fight him off? And more importantly…

“Lucas. How did they catch you? Where are the others?” Ryan asked quietly. “Did he get everyone?”

Mercifully, the wolfman shook his head. “No, I… I was jumped before I could get on board. Back at the hospital. Told Carrie to leave, take the kids and I’d…”

Lucas fell silent, his eyes growing distant as he focused on what appeared to be a still-hazy memory. The aftermath of mind control didn’t seem to fade as quickly as some other powers had.

A few seconds later the werewolf’s eyes snapped open like he’d been struck by lightning. He bolted upright, looking ready to bound off through the window again.

“Woah, woah man.” Ryan cautioned. “Talk to me here. What happened?”

Lucas’s expression was stricken as he faced Ryan. His tone was urgent. Desperate.

“They had people tailing the bus when it left. I heard them talking about it after they took me, Marcus was sending people after them! Carrie and the others-- they don’t know!” Lucas headed for the doorway that was now permanently open for business. “Come on, we have to go, now!”

Ryan’s heart sank deep within his chest at that, but he tried to keep it off his face as he followed Lucas outside. His mind already racing ahead.

Marcus wasn’t stalling for reinforcements. He was stalling to keep me busy while his people went after everyone we’d just pulled from the hospital. Which means…

Ryan stopped dead on the sidewalk, calling after his friend. “Hey, do you think you can take whoever he sent if Marcus isn’t with them? Or if he’s… dead?”

Lucas paused, turning back towards his friend. “... What?”

Ryan stepped off to the side, pointing at the ruin of rubble next door to the place they’d just walked out of. It was, notably, still on fire.

“I just blew up a building on that bastard, with him and all his cronies inside.”

A half-amused, half-disbelieving expression made its way onto the wolf man’s face. “You did what now? So then the mayor’s--”

“If Marcus isn’t dead, he’s the next best thing to it. Now I’ve seen how his power works. He can’t heal himself and none of the men he had with him could heal either.”

“So you’re going after him. Back to the hospital.” It wasn’t really a question, but Ryan could hear Lucas’s disapproval weighing heavily in the statement.

“I’m…” Ryan gritted his teeth. “This could be our chance, Lucas! If we can get to him before he can find a healer, then this could all be over tonight!”

The wolfman was silent for a long moment, his face inscrutable. “My family is on that bus, Ryan. The people we saved are on that bus. There are people counting on us where it’s headed. We can’t just leave them to their fates in order to kill one man.”

“Even if that one man is responsible for all of this?” Ryan gestured vaguely at the destruction this street had faced, at the abandoned cars, and at the town itself. Then he sighed.

Lucas was right, and Ryan knew it.

“Killing the mayor may not stop his control over everyone.” Lucas pointed out, watching him. “And even if it does, one of his men might step in. Or could even have a similar power.”

“Yeah well, once our people are safe I’m going to find out if it does. And if any of his men try to step up after, I’ll dust them, too.” Ryan was a little surprised to find he meant that, too. Killing the bad guys had grown easier for him to tolerate lately. It felt right. Maybe a little too right.

“And I will help you.” Lucas offered, sincerely. “You’re not the only one tired of that puffed-up guttersnipe messing with everyone.”

That got a grin out of Ryan, despite the situation. “Guttersnipe? How old are you?”

Lucas shrugged, not responding. Then he clapped his hands together. “Now, what’s the plan? I know you have one.”

Ryan acknowledged the point with a magnanimous wave of his hand and headed towards a large, abandoned silver pickup at the end of the street.

“I’m going to build us another monster truck and we’re going to ram its front end up the rear end of anyone who gets in our way.”

“Perfect. You’re not putting on clothes for this?” Lucas asked.

Ryan glanced down. Somehow just now remembering that he had no pants on. I knew it was drafty in here.

The editor shook his head, not bothering to stop his stride. “If the universe wanted me to have pants on today, it wouldn’t have made it so hard to keep mine on.”

Lucas snorted. “You sound like my son.”

“He is wise beyond his years. You want some?”

“Yes.”

A few points later and the pair headed back towards the truck to see if it was worth supersizing. The building Ryan had blown up was still burning merrilly away, glass shards and debris spread liberally out in front of it. As they passed, the editor kept an eye out for the mayor or one of his leftover entourage.

“Think anyone else made it?” Lucas asked, watching Ryan peer into the place.

“Dunno. Going to check real quick before we go.”

Ryan leaned his head into the crumbling establishment as close as he dared with the flames. It was difficult to see through the smoke, burning furniture, and half-collapsed sections of ceiling, but he thought he saw a foot sticking out from under one of the tables. Activating his power, Ryan learned it belonged to Bridgette - the woman who had been mind controlled by Marcus earlier.

“See that one over there?” Ryan asked, pointing at his find. “Think you can get her out?”

“What, haven’t made yourself fireproof yet?” Lucas drawled, shifting quickly to his larger werewolf form and bounding inside. Flames licked at the wolf, but he moved around them, shielding his eyes from the heat as best he could.

“I only have so many points, man. Can’t do everything.” Ryan mumbled. He had actually checked the cost of doing that earlier. Absorbing both kinetic and thermal energy was comfortably out of his price range. For now.

Lifting the broken table as if it weighed no more than a picnic basket, Lucas scooped up the unconscious woman in one arm and held her to his chest. Carefully making his way back out of the fire while keeping her from any further burns.

Laying her gently on a section of sidewalk a short distance away from the debris-covered storefront, the big wolf began patting down the singed sections of his fur and shaking himself clean of the smoke.

“Is she one of the ones who attacked you?” Lucas asked after shifting back.

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, her name was Bridgette. She had a thing for the mayor, I think.”

“And you’re going to just… heal her up?” Lucas asked, his skepticism evident.

“I’d wager that ended when he took over her mind. But if it hasn’t, I suppose we’ll find out. She had a uh… paralysis, that was her power. Works by touch.”

“And you’re going to just--” Lucas began before Ryan interrupted.

“Oh no, we’re definitely tying this potential nutjob to a parked car before waking her up. She already got me once, not playing that game again... Here, let me go get some more points real quick and I’ll whip us up some handcuffs or something.”

“If we’re doing that, you should probably ‘whip you up’ some pants, too.” Lucas pointed out as Ryan headed back in. “Unless that’s the vibe you’re going for.”

“Ehh… good point. Pants it is.” Ryan conceded as he jogged back into the non-burning restaurant.

Lucas grunted acknowledgement, folding his arms and declining to comment further on the wisdom of his friend’s current actions. Ryan returned soon after with handcuffs in hand wearing pants, socks, shoes, and a ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ t-shirt… and fully replenished energy. It had taken most of the dining room to do it. Whatever cheap plywood the place had sourced for its furniture had been terribly inefficient.

Squatting down beside the unconscious woman, Ryan accessed his power. He found it would take nearly all of the 800 points he currently had left to both fix the stunning assortment of injuries she had and remove Marcus’ control.

The former looked like... well, like she’d been 20 feet from the center of an explosion. The latter took less points than he’d figured it would, but still more than the editor would have liked. They didn’t owe this woman anything, and helping her might slow them down. She had also successfully kidnapped him and handed Ryan over to Marcus. Something the editor had previously killed people for even attempting.

But it still didn’t feel right to just… leave her here.

Lucas apparently agreed, seeming to read Ryan’s train of thought from his hesitance.

“It’s your call man, but I say: help now and see if we can get anything from her. If she wants to come with us, great. If not…” Lucas trailed off.

“Absorb the bitch and move on with our day?” Ryan asked, snapping the metal cuffs he’d made around one of her wrists and the open window of the car door they’d propped her up against.

“Think that’ll hold her?”

The big wolf shrugged. “Probably. Did you make a key?”

“Keys are for people who can’t disintegrate things.”

Lucas chuckled, then looked around, checking the cross streets at a nearby intersection. “I’ve a good idea where we are, there’s a small park nearby that should have some trees in it. We can use those as fuel for your new ‘monster truck’ whenever we’re done with this.”

“Sounds good. She’ll need a new name, though.” Ryan commented as he activated his power and stepped back from Bridgette.

“The woman?” Lucas asked, curiously. Ryan shook his head.

“No, our new ride. I’m thinking Bulldozer meets American Muscle for the new look. Maybe some stars and stripes for paint, but in a modern way, you know?”

Lucas nodded, seeming to take the question seriously. “Freedozer maybe?” He offered.

“Sounds a bit… stage-name-y.” Ryan responded as they both watched the woman’s injuries vanish or heal over. He’d spent a few extra to repair her clothes, figuring not doing so was both impolite and would send entirely the wrong message.

“The Excavator?” Lucas suggested.

Ryan grimaced. “A bit on the nose, don’t you think? Our base is underground and our new ride is ‘The Excavator’? Sheila will steal the keys the second we bring it back and then demand I add a… shovel to the front or something.”

Lucas ceded the point with a half-dip of his head. Just as Bridgette began to stir, the wolfman smashed a first into one hand. “I’ve got it.” He declared, then spread his hands out in front of him as if revealing a movie title. “Wolfenstein!”

“Oohh… Okay that one is definitely in the running.”

“Hngghh... Wha-” Bridgette mumbled as she pushed herself slowly off the sidewalk. Then she put one hand to her head as if to steady it while looking at the two men standing nearby.

Ryan gave her a friendly wave that didn’t make its way to his eyes. Lucas, wearing an overly-stretched pair of basketball shorts held loosely in place by string, was as implacable as ever.

She blinked. Then patted herself with her free hand where her wounds had been just moments ago. “What’s going on? Where’s Jessie? Marcus?” Her eyes narrowed first on her handcuffs, then on Ryan in accusation. “You! You… you blew us up! How did you even do that?! Let me go!”

Ryan arched an eyebrow at her. “Yeahhh… no.” He leaned in enough to make his point but not enough to be within swiping distance. “You tried to sell me to the mayor. After paralyzing me. So you’ll be answering our questions or I’ll be showing you how our fight from before would have gone if you hadn’t gotten that cheap shot in.”

Bridgette fidgeted a bit, not willing to push that point apparently. “I didn’t--” She paused, and then blinked as she looked down at herself, seeming to realize something. “... you fixed my clothes?”

“And your wounds. You’re welcome for that, by the way. Survive a lot of confined explosions in your line of work?” Ryan replied sarcastically.

“More than you’d think. Why save me?” She asked with rising suspicion.

“Technically, I saved you. Ryan healed you up after.” Lucas pointed out.

“Okay, but... why?” She looked warily from one man to the next, inching to her feet against a nearby car. “I’m not going to--”

Ryan held out his hands and interrupted where he figured she was going before it could take a turn down the wrong path. “Stop. We’re not here to… no. I said answer our questions, not be our plaything. That’s the mayor’s shtick, not mine.”

The editor squatted down in front of her, and his face grew hard. “Now I helped because I was hoping you might help us. We have people I’m not willing to lose that are in a lot of trouble because of you. And people like you. You might notice you’re in control of yourself again - also me, by the way - but if your friend is still alive then the mayor still owns him, too.”

“Jessie. Did he...?”

“You were the only one left behind, miss.” Lucas offered. “The others ran off.”

“If you give us what we need, maybe we can save him when the time comes. Otherwise…”

Ryan let the threat hang in the air. A part of him felt for her situation, but not enough to weigh against the cost of getting answers he needed to help his friends.

Bridgette looked down at her feet, unable to hold his gaze.

“I… didn’t expect him to just… turn us. He promised us both a mansion for capturing you. Said we could take our pick of the town. Whatever we wanted. But then he just--” Her voice grew haunted as she spoke, withdrawing into herself.

“-- it was like watching a movie out of my own eyes. It was a nightmare. I couldn’t move… He could’ve told me to do anything, and I would’ve done it. Would’ve.. Had to do it…” She closed her eyes as if shutting a curtain against the memory.

Lucas’s expression turned into one of empathy. “It’s alright. He’s not here. And he doesn’t have control over you. Not any more.”

Ryan had never been under Marcus’s power himself. His people had told him stories and, honestly, those had been enough to make him risk death by dust-boom rather than give in to the man. So the editor wasn’t surprised to see tears in her eyes when Bridgette lifted her face to look up at the much taller Lucas.

“How could you possibly know what that’s like!?” She snapped angrily.

Bit haughty for someone who was just leading others to that same fate. Ryan thought, but he kept his words to himself. Adding to the fire wouldn’t help right now, no matter how much her hypocrisy might be deserving of getting checked.

Lucas stared down at her with compassion in his eyes. “Because earlier, he had me, too.”

The statement wasn’t delivered with heat, but it shut Bridgette up like a hard slap all the same.

“Ryan is a good man. A harsh one at times, and he can be merciless when he needs to be, but he’s not Marcus. If you want to leave when we’re done here, we won’t stop you from going.”

Lucas’s expression hardened, the compassion withdrawing from his features. “My wife and kids are at stake here. If it weren’t for Ryan checking, I would have let you burn and gone after them.”

Unable to meet the wolfman’s eyes any more than she’d met Ryan’s, Bridgette’s tone shifted to an almost apologetic one. “The ones on the bus.” She guessed, hesitantly.

Lucas’s attention sharpened on her, the pressure coming off him so heavy Ryan could feel it.

“Yes.” The wolfman said. “Now… no games. No lies. No bravado. What can you tell us?”

Bridgette didn’t respond right away, seeming to fight with something inside her. Eventually she looked over at Ryan.

“Is that all you want? I tell you two what I know and then we’re square?” She asked, clearly still not believing the way out.

Ryan glanced over at Lucas, who nodded. Information was what they needed right now. Trying to convince her to help would be more headache than either of them needed. The editor turned back to Bridgette. “Works for me. Once you’re done, we go our separate ways and you stay the hell out of ours.”

Bridgette grimaced, but nodded. “I can… yeah. I will. Here goes then.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out before continuing in a soft tone.

“Everyone. He sent… everyone. All the merc squads in the city. We were the only ones kept back.” She looked purposefully at Ryan. “To keep you from… well, from doing whatever it was you did back there.” Her eyes flicked over to the smoldering pile of rubble that was the restaurant they’d pulled her from.

“How many is ‘everyone’?” Ryan asked pointedly.

Bridgette told them, and Lucas whistled.

Ryan let out a long, tired sigh. Then he asked the question he didn’t want to, but had to. “I’m probably going to regret this, but… what kind of powers?”

Bridgette ran them through what she knew of the powers held by the small army chasing their friends. At the end of a way-too-extensive list, all Ryan could do was shake his head.

“Lucas, my friend.”

“Hmm?”

“I think you and I are going to need a bigger truck.”