Luna charged into Rei, pushing her away from the creature's path. "Look out! Dumbie!"

The catgirls landed on the seat, and Luna leaped off Rei. Before she turned around, long black tentacles grabbed her arms and yanked her toward the giant black blob.

“Luna!” Rei scrambled to her feet and aimed her E-gun at the blob. She shot an electric bolt, zapping the monster before it swallowed Luna.

Luna and the monster screamed as the bolts shocked them both. The monster tossed the panther girl to the floor as it melted into a puddle.

Luna rose and spat the goo out. "You dumbass! You shot me!"

Rei shook her hands up. "Joesonghabnida! Joesonghabnida! But I didn't have a choice!"

Luna rubbed her forehead. Her head spun, although the shocking sensation faded from her body. Either Rei's tazer blast wasn't strong enough, or Luna's cybernetic parts were stronger as an armored tank.

As she spun around, the blob rose into a mount, stretching out his arms. Damn, the shock wasn't enough to disable the creature from moving.

Luna aimed her gun. "Stand back!"

She blasted a fireball, blowing the blob into pieces as the flash coated her vision. The force pushed her into Rei, and they landed on the floor.

They coughed until the smoke cleared, revealing a black spot near a fracture opening hole through the subway window. Only wires and metal scalpels laid around the burned area.

"Crap! It got away!" Luna shouted.

"Look!" Rei pointed her finger at the floor.

A black goo crawled toward the opening. It has to be the piece from the blob, attempting to escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" After she placed her gun away, Luna leaped toward the goo.

Her chest hit the floor as she grabbed the organism with both hands. It wriggled within her palms like an eel, but it couldn't escape from her firm grip.

"Got yeah!" Luna rose to her feet. "Quick! I need a jar!"

Rei looked around, only finding an open lunch box on the floor near spilled food contents. She picked the plastic container up and brought it to Luna. "Here!"

Luna dropped the slime into the box and closed it. "There! I guess we found our monster."

Rei gave off a sigh. "I knew I wasn't seeing things! I totally saw that thing before!"

Luna held onto the container as it rattled. "Yup, no shit. But next time, don't hesitate! You almost got yourself killed, dumbie."

"Joesonghabnida!" Rei turned her gaze toward the wrecked area. "Should we go after that thing?"

Luna held up the box, staring closely at it. "Nah! We're heading back to the forensic lab. I want to know what we are dealing with here."

Rei smirked. "Good idea."

*****

Rei had never been to the forensic lab yet. Although the lab steered her curiosity, she never thought she needed to go there as a bounty hunter. Most detectives and scientists go there to study evidence to track the suspects down. Bounty hunters usually track people outside and bring them in no matter what. But maybe that wasn't the case. Since Luna was a professional, she knew more on what she was doing than Rei.

The catgirls strolled down a dark stairway toward a metal door with one small window. Luna pushed the door open as cold fruity air escaped. "Remember, touch nothing. Skye handles the equipment in here. She'll cut off your hands if you piss her off."

Rei’s ears raised. "Mwo?"

Luna giggled. "I'm just pulling your tail." She entered first, carrying the lunch box with her.

Since they took the container, nobody didn't claim it after they left the subway. Whoever left the lunch box must have forgotten about it. But the people always left trash around in the city.

The forensic lab didn’t look too typical to Rei’s eyes. It was a black room with white tables, computers, and scientific equipment. Blue neon lights glowed through every crack across the ceiling, and the floor looked smooth like a gray marble.

Luna approached a computer desk and glanced over it. "Skye?"

Rei checked the computer and gazed around. "Who is Skye?"

"A former meth lab chemist. I busted her to stop a gang from trafficking drugs in the Underbelly. Apparently, she wanted out because her boss was a dick. Since the MCPD found her skills useful, Fiona gave her a job here. Skye knows science more than cooking dope in a pot."

"Eolmana heungmiloun."

Luna checked under the desk. "Skye!"

"What!" Through the back door, a mouse girl in a white lab stepped out from a storage room, holding a bag of cheese puff chips.

This was the first time Rei has seen a Humanimal rodent. Instead of being short, the mouse girl has the same size as Rei, probably young as her too. She has short red hair, tied into a bladed bun behind her head. Big round ears, a long tooth sticking out beneath her upper lip, and she wore glasses. Her long pink tail wiggled behind her tight dark shorts, which couldn't cover her entire thick large hips. With glasses, they enhanced her cuteness.

A mouse in a room with two cats might seem odd, but Humanimals are more civilized than their animal counterparts. Rei would never eat a mouse as long as she lived.

The mouse wiped the cheese powder off her muzzle. "What do you want? I'm on snack break!"

Luna grinned. "Still eating those cheese puffs? Damn, I swore you are trying to make your ass bigger."

"Hahaha! How funny, Luna." The mouse popped one chip into her mouth and chewed on it. She directed her gaze to Rei. "Who is she?"

Luna shrugged. "New partner, nothing much. Her name is Rei Young." She turned to Rei. "Kitty, meet Skye Tanner. One of the best forensic lab mice here.”

Rei waved. "Annyeonghaseyo."

"Annyeonghaseyo! Hangug-eseo, wassjyo?"

Rei lowered her mouth. "Hangug-eul aseyo!?"

Skye screeched a giggle. "Yeogi ogi jeon-e hangug deulamaleul manh-i bwass-eoyo. Jamag-eul ilgneun geos-eun eongdeong-ie gotong-ibnida."

"Al-ayo? Yeong-eoleul baewoseo-"

"Hold up! Hold up!" Luna jumped between the girls, raising her hands up. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I told her I know Korean. Duh!" Skye answered, chewing on another chip. "So, she is your girlfriend?"

"Partner."

Skye glared. "I thought you don't take partners."

Luna rubbed the back of her head. "Long story, but we need your help."

The mouse finished her last chip. "My ears are open."

Obviously, Rei thought.

Luna held up the lunch box. "My partner and I encountered a strange life form on a subway train. We trapped a piece inside this."

Skye reached for the box, but Luna swung it back from her hands. “Careful! This sucker will escape like a worm through a crack.”

Skye just yanked the box from Luna’s hands. “I can handle it.”

The mouse escorted the box toward a table with a plastic container on top of a scanner pad, next to a monitor. She opened the lid on the container and dumped the black slug into it.

“Wow!” After she placed the box down, she watched the slime slide around inside the container. It bounced against the glass walls, trying to break out. Without the rest of its form, the ooze was weak as putty.

Skye stared closer at the organism as she wiggled her glasses. “Is that a slug? I've seen nothing like that before!”

“It’s from an oil monster,” Rei explained.

Skye turned around, raising an eyebrow at Rei. “An oil monster?”

“Yeah,” Luna stated, crossing her arms. “Some big ass blob creature, who attacked the subway. I blew it to bits, but I think it escaped like a pussy. I grabbed that sample before it slithered off.”

Skye stroked her tiny chin. “Hmmmmmm, interesting.”

She turned toward the monitor and typed on the keyboard. “I will do a quickie analysis on the specimen. It won’t take long.”

After typing for a minute, Skye watched the screen. "Okay….. Here we go."

The pad flashed beneath the slime, and letters appeared on the monitor.

Skye narrowed her eyes. "Um-hm….. Interesting."

Luna stepped toward the mouse's back, peeking at the screen over her shoulder. "What did you find?"

"The specimen is made of hydrocarbons. The same ingredients for crude oil. However….." She typed again. "It also has toxic molecules, protoplasm, and human DNA."

"Human DNA?" Rei asked.

"Yes. Somehow those genes fused with the petroleum substance, making it come to life. Similar to how the Chimera Virus mutated humans into Humanimals."

"So it is a Humanimal?" Luna asked.

Skye glanced at the container. The oil slug rolled into a ball and bounced around. "No, some kind of mutant. Something else mutated the poor sucker into an oil creature. And look at that thing, trying to escape. It could be a hive mind, returning to its full form by instinct."

"Gimyohan….." When Rei was little, she used to watch monster movies with her friends. The movies were so scary, Rei almost thought they were real. But her parents told her monsters weren't real. Too bad they were wrong now.

"Whatever it is, we have to kill it before it kills more people," said Luna.

Skye turned around, pushing her glasses up on her forehead. "Use fire. It will burn the thing alive quickly."

"We tried that already. Our new guns only blew it up."

"Then buy flamethrowers." Skye stared back at the slime. "I'll keep that thing here to study it more. It's very intriguing."

"Can you use its DNA to find its true identity?"

Skye clicked her tongue behind her long tooth. "It will take time, but I can do that."

"Good, call us when you do. Rei and I are heading to the sewer cleaning service HQ. The monster is attacking their workers."

"Then good luck." Skye waved to Rei. "Nice meeting you, Rei."

The lynx catgirl smirked. "You too."