The doctor nodded. “Just as I thought. The thief probably used gloves to keep his prints and his scent off of it.”
Bark shook his head. “If the thief had it close to him, then I could still smell him. Just because he wears gloves doesn’t mean it protects from his odor. This thief was smart enough to realize that they had to keep themselves from any detection whatsoever.”
Snow asked the obvious question. “Can’t you scan the station with your thoughts and find the thief? I doubt any ships have left since yesterday.”
“I have tried several times. One of the items stolen can block telepathy. The thief was smart enough to realize that much as well. But, we do have some evidence. That scrambler will hopefully provide something.”
“Check Green Scream,” Bark immediately stated.
Josiah frowned. “What?”
Snow took Bark’s arm and warned, “Now, don’t start pointing fingers just because you don’t like the guy.”
Bark shook his head. “I'm not just being mean. This is logic. I haven’t seen him much today, and he seemed more than interested in a few of the devices when our class went to the museum yesterday.”
Josiah thought for a moment, then made a note on his pad, “Okay. I'll follow up on that. I doubt any students would be involved with something as terrible as this. But, it would be better to get his alibi just in case.”
Snow asked, “Will we all have to provide an alibi?”
Josiah smirked at them. “Yes. But, at the time this happened, I distinctly recall seeing the two of you sitting in the arboretum.”
Snow blushed. “Oh, you saw us?”
Josiah nodded. “Yup. The windows around that place aren’t covered, and I could see a tail wagging, even two stories up.”
Bark smiled nervously. “Well, at least you have our alibi.”
Dr. Stone teased, “Does the voice box keep talking while you two neck like that? Could be interesting.”
Bark almost answered, but Snow beat him to it. “Yes. And sometimes it picks up rather dirty thoughts.”
“Snow!” Bark exclaimed.
A security bot approached Dr. Stone with another computer pad for him to take a look at. He accepted it as he waved at the couple to leave. “Go have a nice lunch. Remember, Bark, plenty of protein for you. And don’t be late this evening for your final mental scan.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He and Snow left the doctor and the other instructors to their investigation. It made both of them nervous to think that there was someone on the station capable and willing to do such a thing. And the fact that he or she was in possession of very dangerous weapons was no comfort at all.
***
Snow and Bark sat at a table in the mess hall. Snow calmly munched on a nice big salad, while Bark scarfed a plate load of ribs smothered in sauce and three sides of fries, hush puppies, and baked beans. Bark didn't eat like an animal, but he certainly enjoyed his food with gusto.
“How can you eat like that? That has to be ten thousand calories sitting in front of you.” Snow frowned at her boyfriend.
Bark stuffed a few French fries in his mouth while his collar answered, “Dr. Stone said that my metabolism was enhanced too and that I need to eat much more than the average person. Trust me, he keeps track of my nutrition.”
“So, he said this kind of stuff's okay?”
Bark nodded while swilling a big drink of the cola he ordered. “Yup. In fact, the last time we were talking about my food he said I might need to up the amount of fat I eat to keep up with my body.”
Snow wanted to slap Bark right then; it just wasn't fair. She worked so hard on her figure and denied herself so many kinds of tasty but unhealthy foods. Watching him gorge on all that food annoyed her to no end.
Bark finished the mound of barbequed beef and followed it with a loud burp, just about the only other sound out of his mouth besides the occasional bark or whimper. He saw a strange look on her face and carefully wiped his muzzle with a cloth napkin. “I'm sorry if I embarrass you with the way I eat. I guess I was a little too hungry today and ate too fast.”
She tossed her fork into the empty salad bowl. “It's okay. No one else seems to care how you eat around here. In fact, I think Spark has been working on his belching recently.”
Bark stuck one eyebrow up. “Why?”
“Oh, you know that overgrown teenager. He has heard you and knows you're louder than him and he wants to practice so he can challenge you to some juvenile contest.”
Bark coyly looked around with only his eyes. “Uh, I didn't know that. That would be so juvenile.”
“And you’re dying to compete.”
Bark smirked. “What? Me? In a belching contest? I would never.”
Snow laughed. “It's alright. It's a male thing, I guess. Just don't do it when I'm around.”
“Hey, what's a male thing?” Spark arrived just then.
“Nothing, just various bodily noises,” Snow answered.
“Oh, my specialty,” Spark smiled.
Bark was already getting up. “Is it time to get to the swimming tests?”
“Yes, but we have to talk for a moment.” Spark took a seat at their table.
Bark nervously asked, “What about?”
Spark sighed hard, fighting to say what he had to say. “The general had a long talk with me about you two.”
“Us,” Snow asked.
“Yeah. He's still uneasy with students being so close.”
Bark sat down and asked, “Um, he's not going to...uh...” He couldn't even say it.
“No,” Spark understood Bark’s concern and worked to calm his nerves. “He isn't asking you two to break up or anything. Just wanted me to assure him that you two were keeping it at the necking teenager stage. No handsy stuff. You know, pawing her too much.” He didn't want to get too gross talking about intimacy.
Snow laughed. “No. We keep it at the lip stage. We know our boundaries.”
“Oh, good,” Spark happily announced. “You don't know how embarrassing it was to talk about you guys and if you'd been getting busy. I mean, seriously, does he think I have nothing better to do than spy on you two while you lip wrestle?”
“Be sure you don't. Tell him that we are keeping it at a respectable level,” Snow said. “Besides, with those claws of his, if he did start pawing, I might need medical attention.”
Spark smirked and Bark became afraid, because usually that meant he was going to be the butt of another joke. Spark cocked his head at Snow, “Those claws do have a pretty useful function around here.”
Bark asked, “What would that be?” He knew something was coming.
Spark stood up and motioned for Bark to stand up. “Here, give me your hand.” Spark took Bark’s hand and positioned his arm so that it was up and his claws were pointing forward. “Okay, now hold that just like that.” Spark turned around, pressed his back up to Bark’s hand, and started rubbing up and down against the claws. “Oooh, yeah, now that's the stuff.”
Bark just stood there with a less-than-amused look on his face. Snow was doing her best not to bust out laughing. Bark finally had enough and asked, “Don't we have an exam to get to?”
Spark kept rubbing up and down with an over-animated attitude. “Just give me a few more minutes, I can't ever seem to reach this spot.”
Bark took his hand away and nearly stomped off toward the exit heading down the arena hallway.
Spark jogged along after him yelling, “Hey, wait up, my butt itches too!”
Snow sipped some of her iced tea as she thought to herself, “I gave up a high profile celebrity life for these goofballs? Yeah, it was worth it.”
***
Bark walked through the sports area of the UCH station. He was on the opposite side of the dome from the soccer field. On this side there were weight rooms with weights that challenged even some of the super strong. There was a large pool that was often used after hours for rec
reational swimming. During the day, it was used to train heroes in how to rescue and fight in deep water conditions.
Today, Coach Thrasher was running some of the new students through basic swimming courses. He wanted to see what they knew and where they might need help before heading into the difficult stuff.
Bark and Spark had gone to the locker room to change. While Bark was the one being tested, Spark went ahead and changed out of his full body suit into a set of swimming briefs.
“I don’t see why you don’t just wear your regular outfit in the pool,” Spark teased.
Bark had just gotten to the small locker he used in the men’s locker room. “This suit might be fine in the water, but I have to wear it all day. If I get it soaking wet, then I'll be sitting in a wet suit until it has time to dry out.” Bark opened his locker and frowned. He couldn’t find the skin tight shorts he was provided.
Spark shrugged and sat on the bench. “Well, you'll have to practice wearing that thing wet someday. What if you have to do a water rescue, or you meet up with some kind of swamp monster? You can’t make them wait while you change.”
Bark slipped off his usual attire, while his eyes continued to scan the locker for his suit. “I still don’t understand why I have to wear this small suit all the time. I can handle a pair of regular shorts. It’s not like I'm fighting crime up here. And I can change whenever we do physical training and not just classwork.”
Spark laughed. “Hey, you think I like wearing the one-piece body stocking everywhere?”
Bark put his normal costume into the locker and pulled out what he had at first thought was a dusting rag or handkerchief. “Yeah, but you do run around using your powers here. That suit can handle the friction. It’s not like these briefs are designed to handle my powers or anything.”
Spark leaned back on his elbows. “Well, you heard the general during the first day orientation, just like everyone else. We have to keep our costumes on all the time. We will fight for our lives in them, and we have to be used to them. At least that is how he always says it.”
Bark turned and looked deep into his locker, as if getting an inch away from the shelf would make something appear. “How can I lose something that I got yesterday?”
Spark looked up at Bark’s head. “So, why did you get your hair cut short like that?”
Bark returned to examining the white cloth in his hands. “Snow asked me to get my hair cut. I like it short. Kind of makes me feel more human around here.”
Spark nodded. “Yeah, it does look more normal. Though the long hair gave you a Fabio appearance that seemed to attract a few of the more romantic girls. I can’t tell you how many of them I heard whispering about you when you first arrived. Though, most of them were put off a little by the tail and fur.” Spark watched Bark examine the strange little white cloth for a few minutes. "What is that?”
Bark had a sudden realization that what he was holding was a pair of men’s skimpy swimming bikinis. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked up. “Just wait until I get my claws on that green-headed jerk.”
“Huh,” Spark asked, not quite catching on.
Bark held out the strip of cloth that had replaced his bathing suit. “It’s a prank. Someone replaced my trunks with this.”
Spark attempted to contain his laughter. “Uh, well, try ’em on.”
Bark was about to tell Spark exactly what he thought of that idea when a huge, four armed man in a coach’s outfit stormed in. “BARK!! Get your furry butt out to the pool, ON THE DOUBLE!” Coach Thrasher was never an indirect man.
Bark held up the tiny briefs in his hand. “But, Coach, this isn’t my normal suit.”
The coach came up, his face seemingly painted red with the amount of yelling he did every day. “I DON’T CARE. I DON’T HAVE TIME TO PLAY PICK THE BATHING SUIT!! PUT IT ON AND GET OUT THERE…NOW!!!!!” Without another bellow, Thrasher left the locker room to take his place at the side of the pool.
Spark shrugged. “I guess you don’t have any options. Unless you want to wear your normal costume out there.”
Bark sneered at the suit in his hands. “I might as well go out there naked.”
Spark smiled and pretended to give Bark an examining look. “Well, I guess Snow wouldn’t mind. But I don’t think Thrasher would be pleased with the extra tail wagging around.”
Bark held the skimpy suit and thought about that. He had swam in his regular costume before. It really held water, and he had chafed in ways he thought a furry body couldn’t. So, against his personal choice of fashion, he slid on the swim suit. He felt like he was trying to hide golf balls in a rubber band.
Spark tried to be encouraging. “Uh, well, at least you won’t have to worry about the suit putting a drag on your swimming. That is if it doesn’t come off with the first dive in.”
Bark put his hands behind him, pulled the elastic of the briefs up slightly, and, with a little fidgeting, Bark pushed his tail through the small hole he had cut with his claw. If anything, this would at least keep them from sliding off.
Spark cocked his head and asked, “You feel almost naked in this, yet you don’t seem to mind walking around in hardly much more.”
Bark picked up his normal attire and tapped the hard inner lining against the metal locker door. “With this built in cup, and a natural fur coat, I really don’t feel that naked. In this tiny swimsuit, I'm showing –”
“Too much,” Spark finished, looking away.
Bark let out a sigh in disgust. “Maybe I should just take a bad grade for today and wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh, just get it over with. If any of the guys decide to make fun of you, they will have to deal with me. I am, after all, an instructor around here and have many means of punishment at my disposal.” Spark stood up and laughed with a friendly attitude. “Come on.”
Bark removed his vocal collar and put it in the locker. Then they walked out of the locker room. Bark had a sour look on his face the whole time. Just as they turned the corner from the locker room to head to the pool, both were surprised with a flash of light.
Bark let out a woof and Spark was looking around at green dots. “What on earth?”
Both looked ahead expecting to see Green Scream, but instead found Snow. She was smiling and looking at the picture on her phone. “Wow, that’s nice.”
Bark frowned at her. He could not speak normally since his collar was back in the locker. “Woof!”
Snow shrugged and smiled. “Hey, Spark isn’t the only one who can pull good pranks around here. And, with this picture, I'll enjoy this one for a long, long time to come.”
Bark cracked a smile. He liked the way she admired his body; what man wouldn’t? At least Green Scream hadn’t done this. Before he could respond with any more dog noises, Thrasher bellowed from the poolside, “BARK!!! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE NOW, OR I’LL THROW YOU IN THE POOL BY THAT TAIL OF YOURS!!!!”
Spark was a little shaken. “Uh, better get a move on. His name isn’t Thrasher for nothing.”
Bark nodded and ran for the pool.
Snow stood next to Spark and watched her dog running away. “He sure has a cute butt.”
Spark frowned. “Not exactly something I look at.”
Snow was about to go and watch her scantily-dressed man swim around, but she paused and looked back at Spark. “Wait, all the swim tests today are for the new students. The only instructor at the poolside is Thrasher.”
Spark nodded. “Yeah. So?”
Snow noticed that Spark was almost as naked as Bark. “So, what are you planning? A photo shoot for a pin-up calendar?”
Spark smiled like the incorrigible flirt that he was. “Just giving the ladies something to admire while I get some color by the pool.” He sashayed off with a cock-of-the-walk attitude.
***
Marshal Dae’s face filled the communications screen at a secret base. He was speaking to a team of specialists who reported to him. “You have your orders. Get
your ship into position at the magnetic pole so they can’t detect you. When my contact on the UCH station sends you the signal, move in to apprehend the supernormals.”
A woman, and the most trusted captain under the marshal, asked, “How long are we to be waiting?”
Dae shook his head. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t be much longer. Whoever is doing this is ready to get his money.”
“Understood. We'll lift off in ten minutes.” She saluted her commanding officer and then led her small team out of the briefing room.
A man in a lab coat approached the screen. “Sir, I have been working on the power neutralizing inoculations. We have enough, but I am afraid that some of the heroes –”
“DON’T CALL THOSE ABOMINATIONS HEROES!”
“My apologies, sir. As I was saying, some of the supernormals are too powerful for the inoculations to work.”
Dae smiled. “I want you to lace a supply of the inoculations with a viral agent that will kill those particular individuals. Make sure it looks like a natural virus; I don’t want it to be investigated.”
“You want me to murder them,” the scientist asked hesitantly.
Dae’s gaze became cold and grim, “Murder is when one human kills another. These aren’t humans, doctor, they’re mistakes. We can’t control them, we can’t trust them, and frankly, I would just as soon order every inoculation laced with the viral agent. But, it would get suspicious. If you have any problems with this, I assure you, you can be replaced.”
The scientist knew perfectly well that if he were replaced, it would only be after he had a sudden and inexplicable deadly accident. So, he had no alternative but to agree. “I'll see to it that your orders are obeyed, sir.”
“Good. I have to speak with my informant now. Remember, no one, not even the other officers on that carrier, are to know anything about this plan. Dae out.” With that, the screen returned to the insignia of the World Alliance.
The scientist considered what he was going to do next. He was picked by Dae because he also believed that the supernormals were a blemish, not a blessing. But, a very small part of him questioned the pre-planned murder of them. He would have to ignore that and go forward.
Enemies and Allies Page 4