a little less dandy, a little more take this spike to my heart

ii

"Nice job, Geoff." Awsten drones as the trio walks into the lab. After their meeting with the Sixteen Candles Agency, they all decided ("Because we should probably make stupid decisions together ." Otto directed to Geoff.) they should consult the lab guys for some help. Personally, Awsten lowkey hates coming here because the all white interior kind of freaks him out even if he knows the humans here are cool. "We have to become a part of a shady church on Friday the Thirteenth, which is tomorrow, with no clue what it is and it's right before a full moon. Oh, not to mention, the Sixteen Candles guys know about our top secret weapon."

"Pete's been talking about developing clones for a while, I know 'cuz Travis rants about having him at the Clandestine and resistances summits. Jawn just had to make clones first, I guess. We know it has to do with us somehow at least. Besides, you need some extra support with that clone of yours. We can't fight off hundreds of vamp gangs if it doesn't work." Geoff argues, walking backwards in front of Awsten. He supposes all that could be true, but he still had doubts about the lab.

The Clandestine Industries labs was the place smart (and willing) enough humans were able to develop weapons and tech to fight against vampire gangs. Supposedly, it's funded by reward money from the mayor for turning in gang leaders, but Awsten thinks that's it's blood money. But shady dealings or not, they make some pretty useful shit for them.

"His name's Felony Steve apparently." Awsten notes. He regrets his agreement with Clandestine to act as their lab rat for weapons. As good as their weapons come, there's still chance for mistakes and Felony Steve is proof of that. He's supposed to have enhanced werewolf traits, but also create illusion clones like vampires. On the contrary, all he actually does is say bullshit and attack anything that comes near him, but Awsten thinks it could be worse. "And it's fine , really. He's under control because of Jawn and Travis."

Otto's eyes narrow into slits. "I thought he punched Jawn and clawed Travis after they tried turning him into a wolf on command."

"Exactly, he's doing a lot better considering he's on all those lab drugs. So fuck you, Geoff. You still suck for getting us into this."

Geoff rolls his eyes and walks in between Awsten and Otto to interlock all of their fingers and swing their arms back and forth. "Whatever, you guys still love me." He even presses a quick peck to Awsten's temple and Otto's cheek for emphasis.

Maybe a little more than both of you think, Awsten thinks hearing him, pointedly ignoring the stupid bubbly feeling floating up inside him.

"Doesn't mean we still hate you." Awsten replies instead, dropping Geoff's hand from his grip. That sounds about right. "Oh, we're here."

They stand in front of a large doorway sliding open with a muted hiss. Inside, Travis waves to them while Jawn tries to have a conversation with Felony Steve, who's enraptured in a box shaped forcefield.

"Can you please stop mumbling in third person?" Jawn asks, clearly frustrated with him.

"Fel'ny Steve don' care a fuuuuuuck." Felony Steve smugly slurs.

Jawn turns to Travis and whispers. "Next time, we should focus on IQ points instead of strength."

"Got it, but you should probably focus on who came in right now." Travis replies, gesturing towards the trio.

"How could I forget." Jawn sighs, walking towards them. "What's wrong this time?"

"Geoff's a fuckin' dumbass," Awsten announces to them. "He got us into some Sixteen Candles mystery shit with this flyer for some underground church because they say if we find info, we'll get some help with Felony right there."

"Hate to break it to you, but Geoff's not that much of a dumbass. We may be the ones with the clone, but they have the wits, effective weapons, and knowledge to help us." As Jawn speaks, Felony Steve flips him off, much to the entertainment of everyone else. "But the flyer, what do you mean by mystery shit?"

Geoff frees his hand from Otto's and takes the paper from his pocket.

"The snake turns into a wolf once it's in moonlight," Otto adds.

Then it's handed to Travis and Jawn, who start eagerly analyzing it.

"Interesting." Travis notes. "Any notable scent to it?"

"Alcohol and metal. But now that I think of it," Awsten inhales the air, focusing on the paper and not the plastic scent of the room. "the metal part of it could be blood."

Jawn takes the paper with both hands and holds it close to his face. "Right. We can analyze this for any clues, but it's probably gonna take a little while. And for the other parts of this, you're gonna have to find that out for yourselves."

"Thanks in advance." Awsten says before turning to Geoff and Otto. "Who's ready to make conspiracy theories?"