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Five minutes later, a different beast was carefully hunting the streets. A perfect mix of canine and human characteristics played across its face and body.
The werewolf sniffed the air, following the scent of its prey, when a new smell became apparent. It seemed metallic at first, but the scent of flesh intertwined with it. The creature looked around, attempting to determine where the smell was coming from, and as it turned to search, a whisper of "aw crap" came from the seemingly empty air before it.
The wolf swung a punch at the voice, but missed a tangible target. Instead, a phantom fist connected with its own head. The beast growled but was hit again before it could move. It heard something clatter to the ground, and as a second invisible fist joined in the punching, the wolf noticed a tranquilizer gun appear on the floor right out of thin air.
The wolf threw its arms up as a desperate attempt to protect itself and luckily managed to grab both of its attacker's fists. Using an incredible strength, the wolf held the invisible force at bay. With a human voice, it cried, "Cut it out!"
From the empty air, a male voice yelled out, "Hey Wolf-man, you started it."
"I don't care who started it, Inviso-boy. I'm ending it."
Both opponents stopped with a shock and instantly let go as they recognized each other's voices.
"Tommy?" The air sounded surprised.
"Darien?"
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To any casual observer, the current scene would probably look like a beast staring at thin air. However, in a split second, the werewolf seemed to shake off his animalistic features, becoming the completely human-looking teenager. And from the thin air, a silvered form of a man appeared, and then the silver seemed to flake off, revealing the wild-haired government agent.
"You can turn invisible?" Tommy asked, amazed.
"You're not exactly normal yourself," Darien stated, looking over the boy from head to toe. "I take it that the wolf this town is going to war over is really you, huh?"
"Yeah, they don't like me much. I can't count how many close calls I've had." He inquisitively touched Darien's shoulder but jerked back quickly as if burned. "How do you do that? Go all see-through and stuff?"
Darien sighed. Here we go with the explaining again. "Government experiment. They put a gland in my brain. Kicks in when my adrenaline levels go up. This metallic liquid stuff called quicksilver coats my body and bends light around me, making me invisible." He paused. "What about you?"
"Got bit."
"Oh."
A low grumbling noise caught both of their attention. Darien gulped. "I know that sound. That is not a happy sound." Both of them turned from where they were standing face to face and saw the dragon staring right at them.
Darien and Tommy both gasped and slowly started backing away from the fire-breathing beast. Darien heard a growl beside him and looked in time to see Tommy become wolf-like once again.
Two more steps backward, and the men found themselves trapped against a dead end. The dragon began to take a deep breath, and Darien knew that there was only one way to save both of them. Grabbing Tommy, he quickly triggered the gland. "The quicksilver will stop the fire from burning us," he quickly exclaimed as the fresh flames headed straight at them.
Despite what Darien had just said, Tommy still screamed as he feared burning to death. But he felt no heat as the flames contacted with them. He only felt cold. Looking at Darien for explanation, Tommy was shocked to notice that his entire field of vision had turned black and white. Except for Darien, who was highlighted in bright glowing orange.
"Just hold tight," Darien whispered. "Maybe it will go away."