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Chapter 5: To The City

Max reentered his suite for the first time all day, stepping out of the elevator and into the open living room. Vix greeted him with a nod, turning his head away from the television and smiling at his friend from a large couch. "What have you been up to, trash panda?"

The raccoon unraveled long bandages from his paws and set them on the counter. "Kari's been working my ass off. Lately I've been too exhausted to do anything but shower and sleep when I get back to my room. Know the feeling?"

Vix shook his head and smirked. "My enhancements seem to do all the work for me, so I can't say that I do. I'm sure Kari is working you real hard Max."

Max turned red and gave Vix a friendly punch in the shoulder. "Not like that, ass!"

Vix shivered at the punch and grinned mischievously. "Wanna try that again?"

Almost immediately, Max took the challenge and went in for another punch. Vix quickly palmed the fist away and grabbed the back of the raccoon's neck, pulling him in and giving him a playful tap on the forehead all from the comfort of his seat. "Countered. Go teach that one to your girlfriend, will you?"

Max smiled at the fox's speed and dexterity. "That was sick!" The two high-fived and collapsed side by side on the couch. The elevator sounded shorty afterward, and out stepped the third member of their trio. The massive wolf held a water bottle in one paw and a towel in the other, dripping with sweat and tracking paw prints onto the wooden floor. He wore the squad's iconic white shorts, slightly larger than before to accommodate his growth.

Both Max and Vix stared open-muzzled at Kuda's new form. "Holy shit Kuda you look...great! Is that what they did to you down in the labs?" The two jumped up and ran to the elevator to meet him. Kuda grinned from ear to ear and flexed his whole body.

"Don't scratch the paint boys, it's fresh." Vix ran a single claw along Kuda's chest, tracing the cryptic black markings similar to those on the wolves from Jasper's office.

"You look just like them now, but so much bigger!"

He relaxed his body and playfully put a large paw to Max's chest. "Got that right. If I wanted to I could snap you two in half!"

Max grabbed Kuda's large arm and used it for leverage, mounting himself above it and using the big dog's weight against him to flip him over his body and onto his back. Kuda looked up at the ceiling, wondering what had just happened. "Your size won't do you much good without the knowledge of how to use it."

He offered a paw to Kuda, who chuckled and accepted it gratefully. "Yeah, yeah. One step at a time trash panda. I'm sure you didn't have your muscle tissue ripped apart and rebuilt over and over again." Instead of rising to his feet, he used his strength to pull the raccoon off his paws and onto the ground, where he pinned the raccoon under a single arm.

"I let that happen, jerk."

"I'm sure you did." The sound of the elevator doors closing and descending to the ground floor distracted Kuda for a moment, allowing Max to rise to his feet and brush off his fur.

"Did someone just call the elevator?"

"I think so. Probably Jasper?"

"The three stared at the doors until they opened again. This time, Jasper stepped out alone and looked carefully between his subordinates. "Good afternoon. I see that you all have responded favorably to treatments, correct? Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

Vix and Max both shook their heads. Kuda made eye contact with Jasper, smiling mischievously after recalling their encounter. The lynx rolled his eyes. "I'll take that as a no. Anyways, I came up here to take you into the city. No tricks this time, I promise. Kari and I think you're ready to see the world for yourselves. What do you all say to a night out on the town?"

Vix shrugged. "It beats whatever you people show on television."

Max folded his arms. "It's about time. I'd still like to know exactly where we are. For all we know, there's no city at all. We're just experiments for your pleasure."

Jasper cocked his head to the side. "You think I would spend this much money on you three for my own pleasure? You are important, even if you think you're just prisoners."

Max turned his back and began walking towards his room. "Let me change out of my workout clothes. Give me a minute, alright?"

Jasper nodded. "Kuda, you should probably take a hint from Max."

"A body this beautiful needs to be seen by the world." He began to flex again, but was cut short by a large tank-top smacking him on the snout. "Just put this on and get in the elevator, you crazy conceited wolf."

Jasper led Max, Vix and Kuda back into the airplane hangar and into a hatch beneath the building. "Below this hangar rests a large capsule that transports members of the organization into the city. I'm going to need you all to sit down and buckle up, this capsule travels about as fast as your average bullet train in case of emergencies." The three took a seat without protest and fastened themselves in.

"You've still managed to keep a lot from us, Jasper. What's this big threat you're so worried about?" Max placed one leg over the other and made himself comfortable.

Jasper smiled, half-daydreaming as he sat down across from Max and next to Vix in the four-seat capsule. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Bullshit." Kuda spat, snarling at him.

"Would you believe me if I told you several days ago that you would be kidnapped, a small cat would kick your ass, and you'd be roughly the size of a car in under a week?" Kuda grew silent. "That's what I thought." He pressed a few buttons on a console attached to the door and closed the panel. "Take us to the red-light district."