Greg and Tessa returned to Sarah and Jennifer's apartment, rejoining the game. "That was quick." Victor commented as they walked in.

"I mentioned protecting ferals and he didn't want to talk to me anymore." Greg explained with a shrug.

"Ah. What a dick." Victor replied.

"Dude, that's Tessa's dad." Greg scolded him.

Victor blinked at him before turning to Tessa. "Your dad's a dick."

"I'm aware." Tessa replied blandly.

"See? No big deal." Victor commented, turning back to Greg.

Greg rolled his eyes. "Just give me my cards."

"Is that really all you talked about? Protecting ferals?" Casey asked.

"No, there was some stuff about my ability, he asked about where I'm from, my family and friends, stuff like that. We only got to the ferals when he asked what I wanted." Greg explained.

"Ah, the 'you're useful so let us pimp out the rest of our people to keep you happy' talk." Victor nodded in understanding. "I should have known."

"Yeah, I'm the dumbass who thought he was actually looking for what I wanted." Greg replied.

"You're not very smart, are you?" Victor replied with a grin.

"Apparently not." Greg grinned back.

"At least he was in a position to get the speech." Casey retorted, nudging Victor with her elbow. "You aren't even on Fredrick's radar."

"What can I say? I'm easily overlooked." Victor sighed, causing Greg to chuckle and Tessa and Casey to roll their eyes.

Jennifer frowned. "I don't get it."

"It's a pun." Victor explained. "My ability is to be unnoticeable, and being overlooked is another way to say I wasn't noticed, you see?"

"Oh…" Jennifer nodded along, before pausing and shaking her head. "No."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't funny anyways." Casey replied.

"Who does get the talk then?" Greg asked.

"Mostly teenagers going through puberty." Victor replied.

"Quit it!" Casey growled at him.

"You see, it's all about the birds and the bees." Victor began.

"I will burn you." Casey threatened, holding up a finger with a flame flickering above it.

"People who have proved they are invaluable to the safe zone." Tessa answered Greg's question, ignoring the other two. "Anyone with a high-tier ability, people like Meredith, high level engineers and scientists, and so on."

Greg frowned. "Then why did I get the talk? I'm pretty sure I'm not at that level yet."

"Don't underestimate the value of information." Tessa replied. "The biggest fear my dad has is that somehow the ferals will organize and group up to attack the safe zone. They have enough powerful supers on their side that they could easily overwhelm our defenses if they worked together. With you out there, we might at least get some prior warning, letting us prepare as much as possible."

Greg paused. "So… he probably wouldn't want to hear that one of my plans is to try and organize the ferals, would he?"

"No. No he would not." Tessa nodded in agreement.

"Man, he is just destined to not like me." Greg sighed.

"Maybe if you'd stop doing weird things all the time." Sarah grumbled from the side.

"You're a very close minded little girl, you know that?" Greg retorted. Sarah just stuck her tongue out at him, before looking back at her cards. Greg chuckled, shaking his head, when suddenly, he felt something snap and his gaze hardened. His head snapped in the direction of the apartment building with all the feral girls. "I have to go." He growled, instantly turning into a cloud of smoke and shooting out of the apartment, heading over the walls and into the city.

The table was slightly stunned by his sudden flight. "Little bit of an extreme reaction for a bathroom break, don't you think?" Victor commented, causing everyone to groan.

"D-don't come any closer!" The bird girl yelled from in front of the huddled mass of women as they huddled against the wall, staring at the large wolf man standing before them.

"Listen! I'm not trying to hurt you!" He growled. "I have somewhere safe for you to live!"

"Go away!" She cried.

The wolf man snarled in frustration, stepping forward to grab her by the arm, pulling her after him. "Just come with me and see! I promise, you'll be well taken care of!"

"No! Let me go!" The bird girl panicked, struggling as she attempted to pull out of his grip. The other girls huddled in fear, too scared to oppose him.

The wolf man had just managed to get the bird girl outside, when a cloud of smoke descended from the sky, transforming into a scorpocroc as it did, landing with a thud. A pincer lashed out, gripping the wolf man by the throat and lifting him into the air. "Let her go." Greg growled, glaring at the wolf man who instantly complied, recognizing that any resistance would mean instant death from a foe like this. "Are you alright?" Greg asked the bird girl.

"Mighty one!" The bird girl exclaimed, leaping forward to latch onto him, tears streaming down her face as she cried. "He- he tried to take me away!"

Greg turned back to the wolf man. "Where were you taking her?!? What were you planning to do to her!?! Speak!" The wolf man let out a few choking sounds, patting at Greg's pincer. "Uh, oh, right, sorry." Greg murmured as he released the claw, letting the wolf man fall as he gasped for air.

"I-I wasn't going to hurt her I swear!" The wolf man explained in a panic after he recovered his breath. "I-I didn't realize these were your women! I-I apologize!"

"My women? Do you know me?" Greg asked, cocking his head as he noticed the strange way the wolf man emphasized his relation to the women.

"Y-you are the mighty shifting cloud, yes? Y-you have killed many powerful ones and come out unscathed." The wolf man stammered.

Greg frowned. "Yeah? But not around here I haven't. I've only been active in this area one night. How do you know about me?"

"I-I-I-I-I…" The wolf man stammered, eyes widening in fear as he was unable to answer Greg's question.

Greg's eyes narrowed. "You have some sort of information network, don't you? Which means you have some sort of organization… where were you taking her?"

"Nowhere!" The wolf man exclaimed. "I-I simply desired her and wished to take her back to my lair to mate! Yes, I wanted to mate with her! Please, I did not know she was yours! Please spare me!" The wolf man fell to his knees, bowing before Greg, shivering in fear.

Greg considered the wolf man thoughtfully for a moment, before sending a wisp of smoke into him. "Fine, you may go." He declared dismissively, before heading back into the apartment, trying to ignore the bird girl who was squirming against him in a very stimulating manner, so as to not give away the act. The wolf man watched him go in disbelief, before dashing away as quickly as possible.

"Would you knock it off!" Greg chastised the bird girl the moment he noticed the wolf man was out of range, pulling her off of himself.

The bird girl cooed in disappointment. "Why will you not accept my appreciation, mighty one?" She pouted. "Am I not attractive enough for you?"

Greg unconsciously looked her up and down, noticing her various 'features' before quickly looking away in shame. "N-no! I-I mean that isn't the point! Sleeping with someone just because they protect you isn't right!" Greg exclaimed in frustration, wondering why on earth he kept getting into this kind of shit. He fixed up the piece of glass for her, quickly leaving before things could devolve again. *Everyone in the apocalypse is a damn degenerate.* He grumbled to himself as he went.

Since he was already out in the city, Greg decided to just stay out until morning. He shifted into his sharkman form, looking for tracks, deciding to find another feral who knew the area to guide him around. He was beginning to realize how lucky he was to meet Jennifer on his first night out. All she did was guide him around and keep him company, no sexual advances or vendettas that she pushed him to deal with for her! Unfortunately, even if he brought her out here, she didn't know the area, so there wouldn't be much point to it. Plus, he preferred she stay safe in the safe zone.

Greg soon came upon what looked like a spider girl, sneaking through the alleys carefully. Her skin was full of chitinous plates, she had four arms, and two sets of eyes. Unlike most ferals he met, this one was wearing what looked like clothes, though they were made out of webs and very crude so he couldn't be sure. He hesitated upon seeing it was a woman, but quickly got over it. This one was surviving on her own out here. She probably wouldn't be too quick to jump into bed with some random dude.

Greg shifted into his scorpocroc form, stepping forward. "Hell-"

"Ah!" The spider girl jumped with a shriek, whirling on Greg as she threw her hands out, shooting a burst of webbing at him, covering him in a pile of sticky threads before booking it in the opposite direction.

Greg sighed, turning into smoke to slip through the threads before chasing after her in his cheetahman form. He caught up to her in no time, before she even reached the end of the alley. He grabbed her by the shoulder, but her momentum spun her around, causing her to trip and fall on her butt in front of him. "Sorry!" Greg exclaimed, lunging forward to help her back up.

"No!" The spider girl exclaimed, covering her eyes with one set of arms while the other thrust out to defend her against Greg's lunge. However, her panic subsided as she found herself gently lifted up and placed on her feet, a careful hand brushing some debris out of her hair. She carefully peeked out from between her fingers to see Greg stepping away slightly, giving her some space.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to knock you over like that. Uh, I'm just hoping you could tell me about this area, like who the dangerous people are, where their lairs are, stuff like that." Greg explained.

The spider girl sized him up suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him. "That is all you wish from me?"

"Well, if you could guide me around a little, I wouldn't complain, but I'm not going to force you to do that." Greg answered with a shrug.

The spider girl stayed on her guard, but quickly told him about the various ferals in the area. Much like where Jennifer used to live, there were several strong ferals who made everyone else's life a living hell. The spider girl had some detailed information too, explaining exactly what each feral's particular habits were, whether they just liked to play with their prey before releasing them, or if they preferred to do darker, more sadistic acts that most would not survive. She also noted their general level of strength. Thanks to her information, Greg quickly made a list of people to visit that night.

"Thank you. Uh, have a nice night." Greg thanked the spider girl with a grin, before heading off towards his first target. The spider girl watched him go with a frown, seeming to consider something for a moment, before stalking after him.

Greg sighed in satisfaction as he finished dealing with his fifth target of the night, dissolving a hole in its chest as a finisher. One of the perks of this area, as opposed to where Jennifer was, was that everything was much closer together, so he was much more efficient. It'd only been a few hours and he'd already taken care of as many as he'd done in an entire night back there.

His mind flicked to the piece of smoke he'd hidden in the wolf man, taking note of his position. *Still not going back to your base, huh?* Greg muttered internally. The wolf man had been running around the entire night, as if he was trying to make sure no one could track him. Obviously he'd noticed some weirdness in the way Greg had just dismissed him. He probably wouldn't be heading back to his organization's base any time soon.

Greg began to do his walkthrough of his latest target's lair, which was always the hardest part. If he was lucky, he'd find someone who'd only recently been captured, simply releasing them from whatever bonds the psychotic feral had placed them in and letting them run off after they thanked him profusely. If he wasn't lucky… the things people could go through and still survive were both incredible and heartbreaking. His only option was to put them out of their misery as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Thankfully, this time, he was lucky. He found a woman locked in a small room, terrified, but thankfully untouched. He quickly released her, smiling as he accepted her tearful gratitude, before sending her on her way. He sighed as he watched her run off into the distance, hoping she could stay safe for a while longer.

"Why are you doing this?" A curious voice came from behind him.

Greg turned in surprise to see the spider girl standing there with a confused look on her face. "Oh, it's you. Did you follow me?" Greg asked.

"I was curious about your intentions. Why look for people such as this?" She asked, nudging the corpse of the dead feral with her foot. "Why kill them? Why release those they have captured? Your actions seem to be contradictory. To the weak, you are kind and gentle, but to the strong you are vicious and cruel… why?"

Greg paused. "It isn't about being strong or weak… I'm vicious and cruel to people like him because they are vicious and cruel to others. I believe it's necessary to remove them in order to keep everyone else safe. It's really that simple."

The spider girl narrowed her eyes at him. "Yet you seem to take great pleasure in doing so… why is that?"

Greg coughed in embarrassment. "That, uh, that's a personal problem."

The spider girl gave him another evaluating look. "You are a strange person."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Greg shrugged. "What can you do?"

The spider girl frowned. "I can create threads to entangle my foes."

"That- I wasn't actually asking what you can do…" Greg explained. "I was saying I can't do much about being strange."

"Oh… can you not? I believe simply adjusting your behavior slightly would suffice." The spider girl replied, cocking her head.

"Well, sure, but that would go against my principles, you know?" Greg responded. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with the way I am, even if it is a little odd."

"I believe taking pleasure in other's demise is quite wrong." The spider girl retorted.

"If they deserve it, why shouldn't I enjoy it?" Greg countered.

"Hmm… you are very strange." The spider girl muttered again.

"So I've been told." Greg grinned back in response. "So, did you just come here to tell me I'm strange, or do you have something else to ask me about?"

The spider girl hesitated slightly. "I-I do not know why I have approached you… I could not help myself. Your actions are so… strange. I could not hold back my curiosity."

"Fair enough." Greg shrugged. He stood there waiting for the spider girl to continue, but all she did was stare back at him. "Uh… well, I'm going to continue with what I was doing then… nice talking to you, I guess?" Greg waved goodbye awkwardly, before heading off towards his next target, shaking his head at how weird some of these ferals could get.

The spider girl watched him go, with an inscrutable gaze before, slipping away towards an unknown location. "I must report this to the others." She muttered to herself.

Later that night, several strange figures gathered together in the dark, far from any prying eyes. "Have you heard the reports?" One of the figures asked, looking around at the rest.

"Of this 'Mighty Smoke Shifter' fellow? Yes. They seem contradictory." Another commented with a frown.

"A mix of ruthlessness and benevolence… What a strange individual. Even the mad ones are less confusing than this." Yet another added.

"Yet by all accounts, he is sane." The first figure replied.

"His methods do have a strange logic to them. Deeming certain individuals irredeemable… I do not like it, but I see the sense in it." A new voice interjected.

"The effect is evident as well. Even after leaving his previous territory, the amount of violence had decreased considerably. There have even been protectors rising among them, such as the ice and spine twins, inspired by his example." A fifth voice entered the conversation.

"But at what cost?" The third voice countered. "The amount of powerful individuals dead at his hands, those who could stand against the unformed and live… without their deterrence, the others will suffer even more at the hands of the unformed! He has simply traded a lesser evil for a greater one! We simply cannot support a policy which weakens our own kind so."

The fifth individual shook their head. "This unformed threat of yours is just that: unformed! You speak of how they will seek our destruction, yet every piece of evidence we see suggests they simply wish to avoid us as they gather their strange resources! Where are the hunters you so fear? Why have they not appeared to rain destruction upon us?"

"How dare you question their threat! Do you not remember why we hide? Why we no longer gather? I was there when our homes were raided! Every time our people manage to gather together, the unformed seek to destroy us!" The third voice growled in anger.

"Enough!" The first voice yelled, silencing the other two. "The threat of the unformed is clear." They announced, causing the fifth voice to huff in frustration. "However, these… assholes, as the mighty cloud shifter calls them, are no friends to us either. Their power does not help us when it is turned upon our own kind so indiscriminately. Maybe… maybe there is merit in their methods."