Cobalt-Lukather

Chapter 3 “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.†https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q&feature=kp --------2 days later, Cobalt’s POV-------- There was banging on the door. I knew the concept of knocking, but this was a little much. I sat up groggily from my sleep as the lights automatically lit up, just enough to light the room without blinding me. “I’m coming, I’m coming. Jeez…†I stepped closer to the door, and then it suddenly burst open, smacking my arm with enough force to send me back a foot. “OW! I was going to get the door for you-!†the person who kindly broke down my door tackled me and I felt a prick in my arm and felt more tired than I already was. Adrenaline was beginning to course through my veins and I did my best to stay conscious. Things blurred and I heard shouting accompanied by a decent amount of swearing, though it all felt underwater. I was being dragged through the hallway by my arm now, and I tried blinking to see things clearly, but I couldn’t move anything. And I was getting quite a case of road rash the base of my tail, thank you person. I saw all the rooms, and everything I knew was broken into and torn apart. I saw bodies lying on the floor. Three familiar humans. I couldn’t tell if they were dead or unconscious, and I tried to hope for the best… …but in my heart, I could only feel the worst. I blacked out. -------- I woke up in a way different room. This one was bright, but not because of the perpetual light gray paint, but because of thousands of giant monitors lined up against a single wall lighting up the massive blue-gray room. There was a coat of arms on each of the three other walls, and people milling about in the distance, separated by aisles of huge computers controlling and monitoring what seemed to be the entire world. “Welcome to the Special Weapons And Tactics team, AKA S.W.A.T.†A man stood up a few feet away and stood at attention, addressing me. I then saw that I was in a very large and clean glass box, with a few holes on the side and on the top. I got up, feeling sore, and walked over to him “The S.W.A.T. team? What is that?†the man stiffened a little, probably shocked both that I spoke English as well as I did and that I’ve never heard of what is apparently a huge operation…thing. “The S.W.A.T. are specialized soldiers that aid the wimpier police forces in whatever ways are necessary. We protect the world from anyone abusing their rights or breaking the laws in ways the normal police are not prepared for and in places the military cannot get to in time.†I looked down at me in the reflection of the glass. My fur was messed up and there were a few bandages on my arm and tail, and once again, I was in my birthday suit. “What did you do with me? And where are my friends?†the man looked at me with a smile and pointed to a box about 40 feet away, towards the other end of the room, where a familiar black figure sat in similar condition to me. “Right there. He woke up a few hours ago and has been on edge ever since.†I shook my head. “That’s Yurei…where is Jon? And Coach Rigaldo?†the man took a step back and looked down. “Jon Everett and Sarah Rigaldo both tried to use force to stop us from taking over the facility. You do know what the situation was?†I sat down and bit my lip. My eyes watered up and the world stopped for me. I cried, with little bits sounding like a howl. The man just stood there. He didn’t try to comfort me or tell me anything more. These guys shot the only friends I had… “Why? What did they do that was so wrong? Why did you have to take over and kill everyone?†my voice sounded broken and didn’t work right. The man stood there. “The lead scientist, Dr. Rothguard, had violated several human rights with a number of projects, including yours.†A flash memory appeared right before my eyes. I was driving a small truck of some sort in a suburban area, going very fast around a corner, and there was a giant military truck, a Lenco BearCat, and I crashed into it…was this my life? Was that what Mr. Lab Coat said about possibly having shared memories with…the human I was based on… “I was dead…and he brought me back to life.†The man stood there. “I am sorry to hear that you had the…unfortunate experience of losing someone who saved your life, but he was a criminal. He had lied to and tortured many volunteers in past experiments. He tried to kill us as well.†“You attacked him…but…†I stood up, and looked at him square in the eye. “Swear to me that this is the truth. That he did those things.†The man looked at me flatly. “He has. We have numerous records of his experiments, now updated and backed up by his own journal logs. He was an inhumane and possibly demented person, though he never allowed anyone to test him.†I looked away from him. I didn’t want to believe it…but he was like that. He was a distant person…and science was he only thing he pursued. He didn’t really care about us personally. Only what we could accomplish. I sat down, and stayed there for a while. “What’s your name?†“Jack. I am your “handlerâ€, as you can call it. I will take responsibility for your actions while helping you try to fit in with the military and society. †I didn’t look up at him. “Thank you.†I stayed there for a while, just trying to accept it, mourning my loss. It must’ve been an hour until I finally spoke again. “Can you move me over by Yurei?†--------An Hour Later-------- We were moved next to each other. I sat at the wall closest to his box. He was sitting as far away as possible, with his back turned on me. I tried saying hi, but I could hardly speak loud enough to hear myself. We sat forever. Then my stomach spoke up for me. I punched it to try to make it stop gurgling, but it had its mind made up and kept gurgling for another 20 seconds straight. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten… I heard a soft chuckle. “Yurei?†the black wolf didn’t move. I could tell he was hungry, too. “…wanna see if we’ll get some food?†I asked quietly. His body heaved slightly with a silent sigh. “Yeah...†I got up quietly and went to a hole in the glass “Hello? Can we get some food please?†a man in a white lab coat stopped while walking past us. “What was the name of the person that is supposed to take care of you?†I gulped as memories of the man in the lab coat spun. “Jack. That was his name.†he stepped away in though and then nodded “I will pass it on and see if you can get fed.†He went along his way and soon enough we were served food that I didn’t even take the time to look at. It tasted funny, but it was good enough and helped fill me up. Yurei’s food was gone almost as soon as mine was. I tried talking to him again. “Yurei?†he didn’t answer me. “Are we the good guys or the bad guys?†his ear twitched, but he didn’t respond. I whimpered and curled into a ball on the glass floor of the box. I wish we could be friends. ---------------- “Well, what are we going to do with these two?†Jack sat at a table with a range of varied heads of the S.W.A.T. and other military branches and trusted scientists, with the Supreme Director of the S.W.A.T. standing at the head of the table. A monitor behind him showed video feed of the two AnTHRROS. “These beings are fully conscious and have intelligent thought, and are quite possibly neurologically the same as us humans. I know full well that our science intelligence group wants to experiment on them and they will be allowed to do so. But before they do that, we have to figure out what are the limits. I don’t want Humanities coming and firing everyone because we did a test that the Geneva Convention didn’t like. So I decided to open it up to you. What do you decide for these men?†Jack stood up first, with a commanding stare over the others. “I have spoken to both. It appears that they were humans before the madman turned them into their present state, so I stand firmly on the act that we should treat them that way. They seem to hold emotional attachment to the doctor, and as one put it, ‘he brought him back to life.’ Now what the clear meaning of that is in the data we’ve recovered from the lab, which we are decoding right now. But we must consider that these beings are definitely people, and likely as human as any of us, despite their outward appearance. What I say we need to do is to follow the standard procedure for human testing and play it safe until we find out more about these men.†He looked around the board. Some muttered agreement. Others were thoughtful, and some were shaking their head no. Jack sat down and settled in for another longer-than-necessary debate. This decision, however, has two irreplaceable lives at stake. If done correctly, these two could change the world. --------Cobalt’s POV-------- We sat there for hours. I have no idea what’s going on, except that I needed to pee badly. As in leg shaking bad. A guard had been posted at our glass boxes and I carefully got up to go to him “Excuse me, sir, but can I please use the bathroom? My bladder is going to explode if I don’t.†he stiffened at the word ‘explode’ and called a few guards over and they unlocked a very large lock on the corner of the glass box, and the entire glass wall slid to make an opening wide enough for me to walk through. The two men had their hands on their guns as they commanded me out. I got a very stringent escort to the bathrooms, which seemed to last an eternity as my bladder nearly popped. I thought they were going to shoot me if I bounced around too much, which led to me nearly turning the hallway into a yellow river. When I got back, I tried to make Yurei feel a little better with a joke about the escort to the bathroom, but he didn’t budge. Typical Yurei… it kinda ticked me off that he didn’t like me. I just let it pass as usual, even as boredom set in. in an hour, we were called out of the boxes and ordered to follow the dozen or so guards that were our escort. We followed them down a different hallway into a large room with about two dozen people sitting at a giant table in a giant, official looking room. I saw Jack in one of the chairs and he stood up. “I present to you the men in question. I cannot exaggerate how much these two think and act like every other human, and there is a very good reason for that. I have been notified that our computer team has found the encryption codes to the scientific data and have found out that these men were designed around not just a human brain, but an entire human body. These men look different because of the scientific enhancements but make no mistake that these MEN are as human as you and me.†Jack sat down and another man I have never seen before stood up. “Let us see how human these men are. Black wolf, can you speak?†“Yes, sir.†Yurei spoke quickly and lowly, and I got the sense that most people didn’t hear him well. “Silver wolf, can you speak?†I smirked and spoke loudly with a touch of sarcasm. “I can speak fluent English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Hebrew, and Norwegian. Take your pick.†The men around the table were slightly shocked at my voice and my tone. The man standing cleared his throat “and do you have a name?†“I do indeed. My friend named me Cobalt Lukather. My…colleague’s name is Yurei Sakoor. Our friend was Jon.†Yurei shot me a look, but I ignored him. Let’s see how he likes being ignored too. The man was slightly shaken by my casual, snippy tone, but he continued his questions. “And do you consider yourself a human?†I stood quietly for a second, piercing the men with a stare and smirk that Jon called ‘soul-threatening.’ “Well, let’s see. I remember dying in a rather bad motorcycle crash, a human making a human mistake, and waking up in a lab covered in fur and wagging a tail. Would you consider yourself to be a human had you been me?†the man stood back and looked down, biting his lip. “You are, as we see, a completely different species. Not applicable to human rights.†“Can I get a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ please?†I stared at him until he looked at me again. “I am the negro child from the 1940s begging for equal rights, aren’t I? I consider myself look a bit different, but under the surface, I am as human as the guy holding the gun at my tail.†I said, jerking a thumb at my escort behind me. The man stood down. I saw that he was thinking of ways to twist my words, but I know that my tone spoke for itself. I was quite human in that presentation, and I knew it by the tension in the air as half of the guards escorted me back to the glass box. Yurei was told to stay put, and the other half dozen of guards stayed with him. I guess they wanted a model that wasn’t as snappy as I was. I sat in my box, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw three man walk up with a large carrying cart walk to Yurei’s box, and they loaded it onto it and carried it away. “Where’s Yurei going to..?†I asked silently. Yurei came back half an hour later but his box hadn’t. I was partially shocked when they opened my box and ordered Yurei to go in. He hesitated for quite a bit, and I just sat wondering if he’d enter or rather be shot than to be in the same box as me. A gun to the back shoved him in and the door slid shut behind him and was locked. He just stood there, making sure he was in the opposite corner of me. He eventually sat on the glass floor and I tried being friendly again. “Well… Hi?†Yurei’s ears twitched and he growled out a reply. “Hi.†I scooted closer to him, head low. “Yurei? Why do you hate me?†his ears twitched again and he turned his entire body away from me, showing me only his backside. All the frustration from every time he ignored me were creeping up in me “Yurei, please tell me why you ignore me all the time? Why can’t we be friends?†I scooted close enough to him to almost touch him. He glared at me from the corner of his eye, daring me to come closer. “Yurei..?†the hate coming off him was crushing. I leaned in closer. And Yurei finally moved. Very fast. I was blown back before I even felt the pain of his fist in my forehead. I brought up my arms quickly, only just blocking a follow up attack to my chest, and then rolled sideways and up to my feet, and he was on my back before I even saw him move. I jumped forward, dragging him with me as he put me in a hold, and I rolled forward with him on my back, hitting his head on the floor and slamming his legs into the wall. I was stronger than him, but he was much faster and moved with a coordination that seemed physically impossible, even for me. The pain from his first hit dulled quickly as he clawed me, and the pain and the frustration mixed into an adrenaline that made me fight harder. He clawed at my stomach as I pried my body weight against his legs, pinning him to the wall, and then I spun, shoving an elbow into his sides as he twisted around and pounced onto me again. Guards were yelling at us throughout the whole fight, but we didn’t stop until an AK was fired, and the bullet embedded itself in the bulletproof glass inside the box, inches away from us. I saw Jack pointing the assault rifle through a hole in the box, his expression stony and demanding respect. I gulped hard and tried to escape Yurei’s grip, but he didn’t let go of me. Jack was the first to speak. “Alright, what is going on here?†I tried speaking, but Yurei growled and tossed me to the ground as I loosened up. “I am made to fight. I cannot be contained with others.†I huffed. “Such pride. All I wanted was a half decent conversation if any talking at all.†Jack stared at us. “You boys need to learn to get along with each other.†He stepped into the glass box confidently, and sat down, the AK-74 locked and loaded across his lap. The conversation that followed is noted personally as my second most awkward conversation yet.

mmmm...i like my steak medium to medium-rare

can't wait to read more and see this take shape

last part of Chapter one and all of Chapter two Two litters of pups were born from Sasha, breeder number 6. The strongest males from each litter were taken: a pure wolf with black and dark grey fur, strong and tough, and a gray and white wolf dog, nearly as strong and a little larger. Cells were taken from each organ in the pups and combined with the human DNA from our two freshest bodies. Two young men from a motorcycle crash in the town nearby. Tragic, but with no identification and no room in the morgue, they were donated to science. They were very battered but in usable shape. The process was nearly complete; probability suggests one or two more adjustments. The cells took the better part of a day to accept and mix the human DNA, but it finally worked. After years and years of endless research and trial and error he had finally gotten his mutant code. Now for the adaptive chemicals, once implanted, they would help the new mutant cells use the current humans’ bodies as structures for the new code to develop over. They were injected and were carefully monitored as the mild gamma radiation helped the cells develop correctly. Electricity was jolted through the bodies every hour. At first, nothing. Then muscles started moving. Each time, the reaction was more visible, and more living cells came to be each hour, making functionable tissue and, eventually, organs. The two bodies were taking it almost exactly the same. Good progress. Heart monitors. It wouldn’t be long now. The radiation was shut off hours ago, and the electricity was now enough to start their new hearts and were being fired every few minutes now that their bodies were fully developed. The silver one had a situation with his bones aligning correctly, especially with his broken legs. I had, however, machined a solution. Carbon-fiber reinforcements on his bones would keep their shape and protect him from potential damage and entropy in the bones. They were carefully and surgically placed mid-development. The inserts, thankfully, were exact enough to avoid having to cut off major muscles while offering incredible protection. The bones in his feet began reparation as they mutated into a canine-like shape. The other one had a unique problem with his hair, where it would grow but instantly shed. With added metamaterial woven into the follicles and strands, not only was it fixed, an added usefulness was given to his new black thick hair. Oddly enough, his feet did not adapt the same way the silver one has. Good progress. Both were currently flat-lined but it could work. It was complete success for the bodies. Now could they be restarted? To surpass probability by coming this far, it would be a disappointment if they didn’t. Chapter 2: “No, you’re not dead, no, not quite yet. This is your time, how far will you take it?†(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyKVHQbJXhU&feature=kp) Heartbeat. Two hearts. They were alive. Blood is pumping. Monitors up, everything looks like its working. Mental activity. They truly are alive. These two were given advancements outside the normal parameters. --------Cobalt’s POV-------- There was a bright light as I woke up, shining directly in my eyes. I groaned, feeling like I had gone to bed for days and still not have had enough sleep. I was too groggy to think about anything, so I simply curled up on my side, and I felt odd tugging at points in my arm, I felt them and I remembered the less-than comfortable feeling of IVs. Hang on a second. Why are my arms so hairy? Why am I in a hospital? I jerked open my eyes, instantly blind in the brightness of the room. At first everything looked was just a heavy glare, far too much exposure, but my sight came to me at last. And I freaked out. I was covered in fur. I mean that in the most literal way possible. My body hair was so thick it was fur, all over my body. My sight felt off, and my legs felt distorted. I looked down and saw a muzzle sticking out past my face. I felt it, and then I saw my hands, which had blue-ish black pads on them and claws on each finger. I started hyperventilating, one of the machines began beeping faster with my heartrate. A thousand senses came crashing into me as my adrenaline rushed into my head. I don’t even remember who I am. Just that I wasn’t like this. I screamed and threw myself back into the bed, nearly tearing out my IVs. I became lightheaded and collapsed only seconds after. I woke up still feeling half dead, except now I was starving. The IVs were out, and I could smell meat. My stomach dragged me up and pushed my sight towards a very generous hunk of meat on a hospital tray right next to my bed. I didn’t think until it was gone. Had I even used silverware? My hands were slightly bloody and I didn’t see any silverware around, so I guess not. I looked at myself. I was entirely naked, except for my new coat of hair all over my body, covering even my bits between my legs. I’ll need a wax job when I get out. Then I spotted the tail. “HOLIE FAP I HAVE A TAIL!†Then I remembered my face. I tried speaking again: “what the hail is going on?†once it got out it sounded more like “whurf fa rail hir grring ron?†then I felt my ears on top of my head adjusting themselves. They were not the ears I remember. They sat near the top of my head and pointed up as a dog’s. This is going to be a long day. -------A scientist------- I smiled. The new subjects have now woken. Working through three days without sleep, I can now rest easy. The slow-acting drugs in their foods are making my two creations fall steadily sleep. Tomorrow I’ll call in the speech therapist. Military man, mainly worked with the injured, highly recommended. “These two have a purpose. They may no longer be human, but they are key to saving our race in time.†I down wrote in my journal, and tucked it away. --------one day later, Cobalt’s POV-------- I dug my head out from under the blankets. There weren’t any mirrors in here, just a hospital style bed and the table with a water bottle in it. I didn’t dare touch it because the meat was drugged and made me fall asleep for who-knows-how-long, forming suspicions that the water may contain more of the same. No drawers or anything to explore. Heck, there didn’t even seem to be a door. I wasn’t just freaking out over being part dog, if I’m correctly remembering what a dog is, but also being trapped in a perfectly white square room without an apparent entrance or exit. I suppressed the panic and tried to relax. ‘Keep cool. Find out as much as yourself as you can’ I told myself. Slowly, I had calmed myself and went back to exploring myself and anything I could remember. I took the metal tray off the table and used the shiny underside as a mirror. I remembered lots of stuff, but some of its missing. I know stuff, but I don’t remember the actual memories. The tray revealed my silver and white fur on my face and all over my body, with longer white ‘hair’ on top of my head. And I had blue eyes, which were striking even in the dull reflection. I remembered vaguely a face, a human face. Was it mine? If the face I remember was mine, then I should be furless, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. My eye shape and cheeks sort of did match up to what I remembered, but the muzzle made everything look weird and different. White streaks created ‘eyebrows’ where my old dark brown ones used to be. I looked down my body and saw lots of white fur up front on my chest, and lots of gray fur on my back. My arms were gray, as well as my legs, but from my shins down to my paw-like feet, as well as my forearms and hands, dipped back into white. Also, I had a black spiral on my shoulder, a bit like a tattoo, but the fur itself was black. My tail was half gray and half white, as if the gray on my back poured down onto it. It was creepy, but fascinating to me. I looked down at my legs and feet. I had an odd-looking…thing covering what I knew was my manhood. It was completely furred over and sheathed away. Onto my legs, from the knees up they looked normal, but the white shins were crooked back oddly like dog’s legs, and my feet had become like giant paws. I remembered what they should look like but these were vastly different. They didn’t feel broken, and I tried standing on them I almost greeted the floor with my face, but I had caught myself with time to spare, 'standing' on all fours. I was fast, both my reaction time and my movement seemed to be on hyper-alert compared to what I was used to. I tried walking on all fours. It was weird, but not impossible. I stood up carefully. Incredible. I felt powerful like this, not confined to the bed any longer. I stomped the ground. My legs absorbed lots of shock and sprang back upwards a little bit. I tried walking. In seconds, I was moving forward with grace and ease. I figured out how to adjust my tail and use it to balance myself when I stretch out. I don’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like I had relearned how to move, and I was soon running as fast as the small space allowed. A hidden door opened suddenly as I ran, and I felt something prick my furry butt. I looked down and felt woozy, and looked back at the door. I saw a man standing with a…stick? No, it was a gun. I looked down at the dart-like object embedded into my butt. I remembered something about tranquilizers as my body slowly gave out on me. The man moved me into my bed as my vision grew slowly out of focus and my strength started leaving me. “Glad to see that you are healthy, but rest now. I want to talk to you for a bit.†His voice. It was straightforward and business-like, but somewhat friendly. It was nice to hear another voice and see a human again. “Who arrrr ou?†I flinched at my own voice, ears dropping, as I massacred my own language. “Don’t worry,†he said as he put the blanket over me, “I will help you speak, in time. Do you know what your name is?†Name? I tried remembering, but I couldn’t. The drugs weren’t helping me, either, so I shook my head ‘no’. “You are Charlie Lima. That is you.†My mind was getting woozy, and I shook my head yes before blacking out again. -------A scientist-------- ‘Both subjects are doing incredibly well. They are healthy and strong, as I can tell both by the data and face-to-face.’ I wrote into my computer. I looked toward my astrologic readings on a separate computer. I was not just an incredible biologist but also an outstanding astrologist. He passed the readings on his new equipment, showing a knot of tightly held mass in space steadily moving towards their solar system. They seemed like they would be black holes, but that couldn’t explain their energy and gravity signatures. ‘It would be years at this pace, but they will come, and their impact would be devastating. ‘And the human race’…the scientist looked at the two sleeping wolf men through his monitor from a hidden camera…‘all the races, will finally know that life does truly exist out there.’ --------the next day, Cobalt’s POV-------- Once I woke up again, there was a new person there, and he scared the living daylights out of me when I saw him sitting quietly in a chair near my bed. He smelled like warm foods, probably something to do with his slightly pudgy build, and hair gel. I settled down and sat up, using my blanket to conceal my lower half, and I suddenly realized this wasn’t even my room anymore. There was a sink and counter and mirror, just like in a hospital room. It was still white and about the same size as the old one though. There was also an open door leading to a solitary toilet. He had a duffel bag filled with cards, a dictionary and other things that I sorta knew what they were but couldn’t remember their names. “Hello Charlie. How are you feeling?†He smiled at me and I tried copying it, showing my teeth. His eyes grew wide with surprise and a little scent of fear came over him. I stopped smiling and whimpered, my ears falling instinctively, as if I had done something wrong. Then he laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. I was just surprised by your smile.†I relaxed but I made sure I didn’t smile again. “Srry…huhrm, whurt’s your nahme?†I stared at the top of my muzzle disapprovingly, going cross-eyed, hating how it didn’t talk how I wanted it to. The man said nothing for a bit, trying not to laugh at me. He pulled out a few cards from the duffel bag and looked at me in the eye with his smiling dark brown eyes. “My name is Jon. I want to help you speak better. More importantly I want to become your friend.†Friend? I remembered what that was, but I had just met him. I could trust him, right? He seemed nice, and there wasn’t anything really dangerous about him. By looking, hearing, and even smelling him, I could tell he was being honest. “Furends.†Jon laughed. “Friends. Try rolling your tongue less.†In a few hours, he helped me speak better by letting me talk about myself and making corrections with my pronunciations. I made him smirk a few times by making some jokes about random things. I had to go to the bathroom, and I pulled off the blanket with my tail wrapped around my waist, and Jon looked quite surprised at my oddly shaped legs. “Whoa.†I wrapped the blanket around them and tried to hide them in shame. “Oh, you aren’t comfortable with yourself. You are unusual physically, but that means nothing. Inside, I know that you’re as normal as I am.†He pet me on the nose with a warm smile. I enjoyed his casual and relaxed attitude. After I went to the bathroom, I was soon less self-conscious as he told me of his past working with other people who had damaged faces and broken bodies and assured me that I was far from the worst he’s dealt with. I eventually copied his smirk and he chuckled. “Heh. Oddly enough, you don’t look like a Charlie.†I looked in the mirror at the wolfdog-ish creature. I have no clue what a Charlie should look like but I guessed so. “I’m sure the boss wouldn’t mind if I gave you a nickname.†He pondered slightly and looked into my eyes. I looked at him, feeling a little shy. “Hmm…Cobalt. Your eyes are as blue as Cobalt.†I smiled and nodded, liking it much better than Charlie. “Sounds nice.†He looked at his watch and then petted behind my ears with a smile. I couldn’t help but to wag my tail, smiling wide with my eyes closed “I need to go for now. It was nice meeting you. You’re a good person and I will see you later.†He left me and I felt happy that I met him, but a little sad that he was gone. Then it hit me. I was acting like a dog. “…poop.†--------Later-------- The door opened again. Had it been a day already? Nope. Whoever came in doesn’t smell like Jon’s food-like smell, but rather like sweat and stress. I got to my hands and knees on my bed, my thin white blanket still draped over my head “whodat?†The voice that answered was female. “Charlie Lima. I would like you to stand up please.†I flipped the blanket off my head and saw a female human, shorter than Jon, but very muscular for her size. “My name is Ms. Rigaldo and I shall be your training coach. You may either call me Ms. Rigaldo or Coach and only those two.†I stood up carefully, draping my blanket around me. “Yes Ms. Rigaldo.†She seemed to command respect and obedience with every move and sound she made. Even after she tore my blanket away from my body. “I need to analyze you before I can put you through any physical training.†“Oh…so you’re my P.E. coach?†Ms. Rigaldo glared at me momentarily as she brought out the measuring tape and measured me, my arms, my legs, my waist, my torso, my head, my tail, and everything else she seemed to think of and write everything down in a yellow notepad. “Do not talk out of turn. Only speak when I ask you a question. I will be your personal trainer and I will be monitoring you to make sure you stay alive.†Well, that’s nice to know. She pocketed her measuring tape again and opened the door, a man in military armor and holding a large gun, an assault rifle, stood by. “If you would please follow me, I am going to take you to get a more thorough examination.†I cautiously stepped out of the room. The man with the assault rifle stood next to me and I tried giving him a friendly smile to cheer him up but he stayed perfectly serious. I shrugged and kept going once Ms. Rigaldo passed me and led me to a large room, an x-ray, CAT scan, and MRI took up nearly the whole room. Everything looked new and smelled like it was brought in from somewhere else. “Since you are among the first of a new breed, you are being tested as a base model for a new living specimen.†She spoke as I was being x-rayed “And what is my species then?†she shook her head. “That’s…still being discussed scientifically. And you’re talking out of turn again.†We walked to another room, there were simulators off all kinds mostly flying or shooting or both. Then I got to a driving simulator. First I was in a classic military Humvee, then into a Foxhound, and then into a HEMTT A4, and in each vehicle, in each mission, I drove the trucks to their limit, and though I jeopardized the mission sometimes, the way I drove the trucks was incredible, and Ms. Rigaldo was shocked at how quickly and efficiently I finished each mission. I liked the simulator a lot, and I played it until they practically dragged me out. A few hours had passed, no doubt to my ‘video game addiction’ Ms. Rigaldo chastised me for, but that was good, as now I can move on without being affected by the radiation I had received in the scans. Now I had to do a physical evaluation. I wasn’t too strong, but she assured me that my body would get stronger eventually. I tipped the scales at 164 pounds, which was pathetic for being 5’10â€, 6’ even at the ears, broad-shouldered, and covered in fur and with the added weight of a tail. She said that according to her calculations, that I would be about 151 pounds as a human- an anorexic weight for my size. I was given lunch to eat, which was another steak, but this time, with a number of fruits and vegetables on the side. I didn’t care, because as soon as I smelled that food I wiped the plate clean. After letting the food digest, Ms. Rigaldo gave me a ‘full physical examination.’ They hooked all sorts of wires between me and a few machines monitoring my heart rate, blood pressure, and other things. I ran the mile in 5 minutes and 54 seconds, which was fast enough on my under developed muscles. Then I headed over to the weights. I could bench press 130 with about 12 reps, and leg press 160 at about the same. The benchmark was set, and I was wiped out, covered in sweaty fur. I was sent to another room and was greeted by a pleasant sight: a shower. The water was colder than I would’ve liked it, but it was cool and refreshing enough to make me relax and once I was done, I was led to my room and I flopped onto the bed and fell asleep, no questions asked. --------3 months later-------- I can speak English, Spanish, German, French, and Russian fluently, and a number of others almost fluently, and I know proper etiquette when speaking and communicating to others. I knew human history in more detail than anyone else I met, and had a natural obsession with mechanics, cars and the car industry especially, which polished off my incredible driving talent of any vehicle. My fighting skills had been drilled into me until I was pretty good. I also had a slight rock and roll addiction. What this said about the world outside here I can only guess. I made friends with Jon, who I look up to as a father, I tried making friends with Mr. Coat, who is the person who designed me, but he seemed a little distant, though I still act friendly all the time I meet him. Ms. Rigaldo was a little less distant but still very professional. She still does constant tests on me to make sure that I am perfectly healthy and can defend myself in any situation. Now I’m going to meet someone new. They told me that he would be a lot like me and that we would get along well, just like how I made friends with Jon. They opened the door and I was let inside a white room with two chairs and another door on the other side of the room. It opened the same time as mine did, and I saw someone that I’ll never forget. A black wolf, almost just like me, stood at the other end of the room, and I immediately forgot every bit of etiquette I was ever taught. I ran over to him, tail wagging and smiling as large as physically possible. “Hi! Who are you? What’s your name? I like you, you’re incredible! You look a lot like me! I never thought I’d never see someone who isn’t a human, can we be friends?†I caught myself when I saw his surprised gaze at me, as if I was the strangest creature in the world. I straightened up and stuck my hand out. “I’m Charlie Lima, but you can call me Cobalt, and it’s a pleasure to meet you!†we stared at each other for a moment. He was a few inches taller but not as broad, and had weird red streaks in his fur, mostly on his tail and tips of his hair. He cautiously took my hand and said “Yankee Sierra. Yurei. Pleased to meet you as well.†he said coldly, eyes staring at me cynically, so I tried staying as calm and professional as possible. “So…†I desperately scrabbled in my mind for something to start a conversation with. “How are you?†I could feel my fur grow hot with embarrassment as the question suddenly sounded stupid in my ears. Yurei just shrugged “I guess I’ve been alright…†I sighed. This guy didn’t like talking very much. Then I got another idea for conversation. “So…you like The Styx?†-------- Well, that became the longest and most awkward conversation of my life. Almost as distant as Mr. Coat himself, Yurei did not like talking. And he probably hated me. Even though I really liked him. I’m a dork. --------‘Mr. Coat,’ 1 week later-------- “You may have occasionally wondered why you have been training, and what you are going to do once you are done.†Mr. Coat was giving us a speech in his work area, a circular room filled top to bottom with massive supercomputers, all calculating formulas and margins of error multiple times with slightly different numbers in a never-ending stream of information. At least that’s what it looked like before my attention was caught back to Mr. Coat’s rough face and stern glare. This was only the second time he’s ever called me up and I wanted to get a better look at every awe-inspiring thing in the room. “You two are going to work together as a special unit, and once more of you have been initiated, we will have an army that will save this planet.†I stifled a laugh. This sounded like something from an old sci-fi movie. Yes, I watched movies, thanks to Jon. I stayed stiff and silent however, Yurei standing beside me, obviously ignoring me. Then he showed me a few pictures. I was taught quite a bit about astrology, but I didn’t get the data he was showing me. They didn’t make any sense until he started explaining it. “This is a ‘black hole,’ as labeled by other scientists, that’s on the move, but it moves through the universe on a path that no one can explain. Course corrections, pieces of it falling and coming back together, it is something being controlled intelligently. And it’s searching for something.†“Other scientists have ignored this from other areas of the globe, but I strongly push that there is an alien race coming and searching for something. If it’s us, then we are in deep shi-†“Excuse me, sir, but I have a question.†I said, raising my paw. The man sighed. “Yes Charlie?†“You’re saying that there’s life on other planets due to a high density, small size structure that’s been racing through space for years, which is probably just a big, dense asteroid, but what does that have to do with us?†the man sighed “If you hadn’t stopped me I would have explained that. So far, you two are the only experiments based off Project AnTHRROS in 12 years.†I raised my paw again, but just kept my mouth shut. The scientist looked at me again. “Yes Charlie?†I let out a tiny sigh of relief before asking. “What’s anthros?†the scientist sighed and leaned against the corner of a supercomputer. “AnTHRROS stands for Anthropomorphic Trained Human Rescue & Reserve Operation Soldiers. Which is what you are, and you are the first successful creations of that project. You don’t need to know anything more about it. Now, save the questions for the end.†He continued talking about the suspected ‘alien ship’ and how we were meant to protect humans with greater speed and more efficiency than the humans could protect themselves. It’s then that I realized what’s happening. We’re going to go off and fight aliens and probably die. Hooray.

that's good to hear ^^

this is the first chapter in a loooooooooong story i've been writing that is still unfinished. Chapter 1: “No rest, no time, no fear in the way they die. Last dance in the dead of night, a steel horse is what the Henchmen Ride.†(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9SUpSgv6NQ&feature=kp ) The Zone 8 gang. Detroit’s strongest gang. The kids in this gang aren’t just kids anymore. They were disciplined. These kids weren’t just rebellious. There were smart ones. There were cunning ones. There were strong ones. They were forced to work together and punished harshly for any mistakes. And after a month of surveillance, a single undetected heist stole weapons and ammo from over 30 houses, all military and former military houses, an infiltration so low and precise, and a heist so strong and cunning, the Zone 8 gang would stay known as Motown’s most powerful gang for years to come. The weapons were stolen while the families were out of their houses, naturally. A military dining event provided the perfect opportunity, and had them out of the house for hours. An investment was made on a Russian hacking machine to switch the alarms on and off. Two houses had dogs, one far more dangerous than the other. The Chihuahua only needed a kick the yap to shut up. The kids that broke into the one with the German Shepherd were less lucky. They had to tackle the dog and pin him for a long while, as they couldn’t leave any obvious traces. When one found a dog whistle, the Shepherd was whistled at until he finally calmed down and locked him in a closet. They were late but they left no damage, the strictest order they were given. They held that order well. Outside the missing ammo, there was nothing left to tie them to the robberies. Not even a fingerprint. It was very good. The next move was immediate, before the dinner was over and the weapons and ammo were found missing. ar for small arms fire. A camera was hidden in a rust hole just above the reinforced rear bumper. Feed went to a phone strapped to the van’s steering wheel. The old cargo van was parked, its rear end facing the target building from the opposite side of the six lane street. Suddenly dirt bikes burst out from the alleyways on all four corners of the road and blocked traffic. All the riders were in heavy winter coats and ski masks. No one looked any different than the other. Bullets from pistols and rifles of all types were fired at cars, disabling some, and gridlocking traffic. A split second later, the guns converged on the building’s doors. Security fell quickly and those who weren’t taken down were pinned down behind pillars. The van had a clear run to the doors, smashing through the bullet-riddled reinforced glass at over 30 miles an hour. The building was called the Qube. And it was the richest bank in Detroit. The boy in the passenger seat had three guns strapped to him, all pistols. His cargo pants were sagging with ammo and a small computer. He fired out the window and, without wasting a bullet, took down three very surprised security guards. The van stayed straight and true. It crashed through the security check-in without slowing down. A j-turn was made on the slippery, waxed tiles, and the passenger of the van dove out behind a garbage can. Using 2 full clips, he took down every security guard. He was a prodigy marksman. Many people were running out of the building, and cars were trying to turn away, gridlocking traffic in a hefty panic. Police hadn’t even had the chance to show up yet. The van made its way up a wide staircase, going up to the second floor with ease, and then up to the third. The stairs narrowed here and it was in as secure a spot as possible. An air horn blew out from within the building and the gang converged on the building, riding their dirt bikes into the building. Five well-trained kids were set up as snipers while over 40 kids stormed inside. The driver jogged up the stairs, assault rifle in one hand, a diamond-bladed chainsaw in the other, and a backpack slung on his back. They ran up the evacuating building and while a few robbed the tellers, the marksman took to hacking the ATM machines. In just a single minute, they were spewing money into large garbage bags. The security on the top floor was ready for an attack. But they saw none. Instead, from around the corner, four flaming molotovs were thrown at them and caught fire to the entire hallway. After a minute, in the same amount of time it took to rob the teller and empty the ATM's, armed kids charged forward. Fire extinguishers sprayed through the rampaging fire and bullets were fired on sight to make sure anyone in the hallway, other than them, were not going to get up. The safe was on the end of the once-heavily-guarded hallway. The smoke made it hard to see, but the kids were busy at work. They were very quick and very efficient. A C4 bomb, their biggest investment, was put to use against the massive safe. It made a massive dent but didn’t free the safe completely. The driver from the van took the chainsaw and ran it into the dent full blast, sawing through the metal. On the other end of the hallway, the hacker that emptied the ATM had thrown his money into the van. He jammed the elevator between the second and third floor and opened the third floor and top floor doors. He then ran to the van and backed it right up to the elevator. Climbing through the back, he opened the cargo doors and waited. Police had come and made up a border around the building but couldn’t move in on the building despite half the force being there. SWAT vehicles were called in. The safe had finally been broken into, and kids were taking the gold bullion and stuffing it into bags until they could barely carry them. They dragged them to the open elevator doors, and dropped the bags down the elevator shaft. The hacker began stacking the bags. The driver, a fair bit stronger than the hacker was, had run down to help him stack it up until it was nearly full. Three short blasts of an air horn sounded. Everyone scrambled to their bikes, backpacks filled with the gold they could carry, doubling as bulletproof protection. The hacker and the driver got back into the van and they raced down the two staircases, rear suspension compressed under the weight of the gold, they charged out as SWAT came around the corner of the road. The bikers headed down several alleyways, firing at police with weapons on full auto. The van followed suit down the widest alleyway, still scraping both mirrors. Choppers tried to track down the bikers but they kept splitting up and diving in and out of visibility. The gridlocked traffic kept ground units from being able to spot them. The only one still under surveillance was the van, moving quickly out of the city limit. Inside the van, the driver had made sure that they could very well escape. The van was from a scrapyard, a 4WD scrap-bound rustbox, but the engine was from a corvette, also scrapped from a crash. After a month of work, with a nitrous kit and all the high-performance parts they could salvage from the yard, the van was ready. And it was doing its work well, carrying its load very quickly where even the helicopters had trouble keeping up. The van raced into a trucking yard, and none too soon as smoke began streaming out the back. The souped up power was made with expendability in mind. The rear differential broke apart, and the 4WD truck was now just front wheel drive. The van raced into the storage building, disappearing from sight for less than a minute. It raced out again in under a minute and headed off-road where it crashed soon. The helicopter caught movement but soon lost it under the thick tree cover. Police later came to the van and found it empty. --------Terrell’s POV-------- I saw the box truck pull up to the meeting place right on time. Not even half an hour since the first bullet was fired. The swap had gone perfectly, thanks to practice and discipline. Those key elements unlock success in everything. The van had no title and nothing to connect it to Zone 8. The work done to it could not be traced. The big truck pulled right up to me. 4 big black cars were behind me. Hell if I knew what they’re called. That’s our driver’s thing. Not mine. The truck opened its doors quickly and our two drivers got out. All the gold bags were strapped to a pallet. That’s how we moved it out so fast, our best driver and our hacker had moved them into the truck and stowed away there. Another rider had thrown his bike into the van and rode off before anyone on the ground could see him or even get close. The bags were unstrapped now and the two began carrying bags down to me and my second-in-command. We loaded the cars up as quickly as possible. The box truck was emptied and the door slammed shut. The hacker handed him a single gold bullion. 20K in American dollars and won’t ever lose value. “You kids did good. Now I must apologize for what I am about to do.†My second and I raised our guns and, seconds later, fired. The kids expected it and dove behind a dumpster. they quickly fired back before running out to the street. I know the two were good. I also knew they weren’t disciplined. I saw it in their eyes and how they acted when they got the job. They were going to cross me. I know that look. But what surprised me is that they saw that I was going to cross them first. --------Driver’s POV-------- “Dammit! What the hell man!?†I ran as I yelled behind me. I was expecting it, but not at that moment in time. My friend ran ahead of me and raced around the lot. “Shut up and run!†was all he had to say. The ATM money was stuffed in our trenchcoats but we had small change as compared to what he had. We heard the cars start up and their engines move in closer. We ran full tilt. Our bikes were placed a quarter mile away just in case, my friend’s suggestion. I saw the car behind us and I lit and threw my last Molotov at it. The driver swerved and braked as it hit the road ahead of him. He drove around the fire and came after us again but we dove down an alley. Behind a dumpster was my friend’s bike. He began starting it as I ran to get my bike, but the other driver came to a stop and aimed his gun at me. I turned and ran behind a second dumpster and fired back. I couldn’t get to my bike with him there. The driver yelled in pain and drove off as the other car came up behind us. Hacker came behind me and I jumped onto the back of his bike, firing back. I was a better rider and he was a better shot but there was no time to change position now. The cars followed us for a few blocks and I soon ran out of ammo. My friend had emptied his guns during our escape. We needed to lose them. The cars saw that we stopped firing and came in close. Hacker stopped the bike on a dime and they raced forward and skidded to a stop as we ran off the other way. They turned and came after us, soaring through red lights. The traffic was lighter in this area at this time of night than it would be, but there were still a considerable amount of traffic. A narrow escape here, a near hit there. “on your 9-!†I yelled as we got to a busier intersection, but I wasn’t able to finish my sentence. T-boned by a semi. My feet were crushed under the tires, but my friend's were not. I was clinging to my friend, but the force of the crash was instantaneous death. The rest of our bodies had escaped the tires, but it did no good to us. We were still dead as I held onto him. Terrell stopped before the semi-truck did. He cleaned out the money we had on us, and our IDs. The driver of the big rig hopped out of his truck. Terrell’s second pulled out a gun to stop the trucker from taking another step towards us as Terrell himself took our weapons, money, and identification, stripping us clean of everything. Terrell and his second went back to their cars and drove off. The trucker called the cops. Our bodies were taken away. The morgue, filled to the brim thanks to the night’s earlier events, wrote a paper to donate us two to a government scientific testing foundation. We had no ID and no one had claimed us, nor would ever claim us.

i've been loving this song for a long time, so why not? i'll post the audio when i get a good enough run on my guitar

sounds bad on your riders, but i'm sure Chaparral will let you borrow their 2J if you ask real nicely! (the 2J was a race car that was banned for using vacuums to suck air out from under the car to grip the road more in the corners ) hope all your mechanical gremlins are kicked clean out and you can resume as normal ^^

do not fear death. For God lets His children who follow him join Him in His house, clothing them in glory and filling them with love, for an eternity in perfection beyond imagination, where no tears shall fall and no pain shall be found.

hello! i'm a wolfmutt! i'm a car geek who is learning more about computers as i go ^^; i also have a cross necklace (based on one i had in real life but i lost it on a boat DX)

JOSIAH!

I just assumed while looking around at the forums

Silly foxcat. If you're going to nyap all over the place, go to the role play section ;p

nice art and welcome! I'm sure if you look, you'll find a nice group of christians to have church with. Church is not a building, it is a group of God's children gathered in His name. Yes, even this is church.

wooohoo! #allboutthatnooblife

I just started a college class today, Engineering 115: Intro to Computing for Engineers, and it will be covering coding in C#. Is anyone here willing to help me when I run into trouble? I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to computers...

*pats Turag's ears* yes, you are silly you crazy lil foxcat. thanks Norzman

hello there ^^ i'm new to this site here, but not in the fandom. i'm a car geek as well as a decent enough swordsman of scripture, so if you need biblical advice, i'm open ^^ i'm not always right, but God always is! so i guess i'm the resident noob?

hello all! *hugs my brother Zvoc and shakes paws with Joshua Reynard* yes Kail, i'm only now doing this because a certain silly foxcat convinced me i wasn't busy enough already heh ^^; yes, i drew those pictures, thank you Joshua and Spirit ^^

the name's Lukather, Cobalt Lukather. i'm just a simple wolfmutt as you see here x3 i draw furs and race cars and i'm dedicated to praising God throughout everything in my life. i'm a bit of a slacker but i do my best deliver my best! no one is perfect but i strive to be the best example of Christ i can be. more on my fursona: AnTHRROS government experiment: carbon fiber reinforced bones to make a durable, long-lasting soldier. project terminated due to humanitarian reasons. subject freed after failure of termination. now employed as a car mechanic/tuner. reserve soldier on call. Smart, witty, cheerful, and free-spirited, Cobalt Lukather is a spontaneous and bright character, and enjoys talks, walks, and cuddles nearly as much as his mechanical obsession and genius for automotive performance. racing vehicles of all types is my favorite hobby. i have so many car's i would love to get my hands on, though some of them are nothing but wishful thinking, half of them are reasonably attainable. my dream garage (vehicles i use in rp) include: an off road VW Bug (170hp from the original air cooled engine, new suspension, brakes, and knobby tires. mild difference from stock) 1987 Peterbilt 359 (crazy fast semi truck here: http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Black-Betty-425424599) MAZ 543 (missile truck converted to camper vehicle with a 3,000hp Cummins QSK23 engine) 1984 M1010 Ambulance (a 730hp 8v92TA Detroit Diesel makes this thing haul real fine! ambulance converted to mini-camper) 1978 Holden Kingswood Ute (an off road thrill ride i drew here: http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Holden-HZ-Ute-514687819) 1972 Brubaker Box (with 325hp from a Pontiac Grand Prix GXP V8 engine crammed onto the rear axle of this VW bug-based van, and revised suspension, this van looks as slick as it goes) 1983 Dodge Ram Van (1300hp Cummins diesel with 4WD, lowered on wide tires, painted a beautiful metallic gray, and a decent amount of luxury inside, while out-accelerating hundreds of fast sports cars) Lamborghini Espada (beautiful bright red paint, a detuned, smooth running Countach V12 up front, and a beautiful interior for a wonderful sunday cruiser) 1999 Åœhelby Series 1 (completely stock except for newer, more comfortable race seats, and slick grippy tires for a beautiful track day car) 1956 Jaguar D-type short-nose replica (420hp Jaguar engine and grippy tires makes this tiny, light single-seat vehicle a rocketship around the track) 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner: (tuned-up big block on wide tires and low, sporting suspension give the big car a distinct muscle car character while still being fairly good around corners as muscle cars usually aren't.) 1989 IROC-Z (370hp Chevy 5.7 TPI torque monster of an engine makes this car an everyday cruiser/commuter and fairly good performance vehicle. oozes with muscle and confidence expected of a muscle car) PACE Polaris RZR 1000 (270hp v-twin turbo, making this UTV wicked fast) Superformance GT40 MKII replica (550hp big block Ford and massive tires front and rear make this modern rendition of a classic racecar faster than ever) 1987 Buick GNX Clone. (500hp turbocharged V6 in the heart of a completely blacked out Buick Grand National with suspension and tires bred for racing) 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat (707 horsepower in a stripped-down Challenger, painted after the special edition Yellow Jacket, makes this vehicle the highly capable car Cobalt uses in his line of duty when his motorcycle is unavailable) 2010 Ford Fusion (900hp Mustang V8 crammed in with the All Wheel Drive system of the Ford Fusion makes for a crazy fast but unsuspecting vehicle.) 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT. (505hp V8, magnetic suspension, and extensive chassis work from a brand new Camaro Z/28 makes this Fiero a real rocket and an outstandingly fast car on the track.) 1999 Dodge Viper ACR (modified 700hp V10, race-tuned suspension, slick tires, stripped down and stylish, this Viper can take a bit out of any full blown race car's ego) 1988 Audi Quattro (630hp supercharged and turbocharged engine in a stripped quattro with rally-bred suspension and tires makes for a hot dang fast rally car!) TVR Cerbera Speed 12 replica: (1,600hp in a full carbon fiber super-light racecar, capable of nearly 300mph. a brutal beast faster than all but a handful of the fastest street cars on earth) 1973 Ford XB Falcon (660hp supercharged small block Ford V8 with a massive rear axle and even more massive tires, tuned for street circuit racing and doing the most immense burnouts you can imagine) 2015 Falcon F7 (stock. it is perfect from the factory just the way it is. and that is a very rare thing.) 1985 Ford Ranger single cab (with so much work done to it, you wouldn't recognize it: http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Pheonix-Rat-496386530) Shadow Hawk Street Hawk (http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Street-Hawk-453657126) custom made Dakar rally truck (http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Dakar-Warrior-081-527951652) Cerberus: (custom made attack vehicle designed by Cobalt: http://kieth-wolfe.deviantart.com/art/Cerberus-562088618) Ducati 1199 Panigale R (bare bones street fighter with a custom turbocharged engine producing 390hp, the bike has the same number in pounds of weight, making an impossibly fast vehicle, one of the fastest in the world. This is Cobalt's best handiwork and fastest vehicle, as well as the motorcycle used mostly in his line of work, even more so than the Hellcat.)