"Time travel."

"Well, I'm not sure I believe that," Sarge half chuckled. Noble jerked her head towards him.

"I'm right there with you. 'Cept, ah! Damn it! Fucker hurts. Anyhoo, there was this fellow, Arnaud DeFehrn, who accidentally built one, and I accidentally went through it."

DeFehrn? I remember him. He was a terrorist. Disappeared a few years ago, Ryan said, sounding interested.

"Died a few years ago is more like it," Noble informed him, grinning savagely. "Not that the bastard didn't deserve it. Mmm, I think that was the sweetest kill I've ever had."

"He wasn't human, I take it," Sarge said. Noble shook her head.

"Only in the technical sense. He was a Nazi scientist back in World War II. Did all sorts of experiments, which he continued on shifters after the war. Wanted to harness our abilities for himself, but remove the whole animal part. He almost succeeded," she said darkly.

"What do you mean?" asked Spoon fascinated. They were all looking at her with interest. Noble smiled, a dark evil looking grin.

"He captured my family. Had a little vendetta against Dad for disrupting his work on the Jews during the war. He…experimented on us, and in the end, stole my sister's traits. Her shifting abilities. He somehow managed to transfer them to himself, but was able to suppress the wolf to the point where it never emerged." Again she grinned. "Unless you pissed him off. He was pretty pissed when I finally caught up with him. In hindsight, though, I'm sorry it was I who killed him. My sister will never be normal because of it," she finished sadly.

"If she's not a shifter, isn't she just human then?" asked Cooper, concerned.

"I wish that were the case. When her 16th birthmoon came around, her body tried to change for the first time. But since she didn't have her traits, she instead tries to absorb them from whoever she comes in contact with, whether they are a shifter or not. If they're human, she drains their life force. If they have some ability, be it shifter or mutant, she absorbs that as well, but only for a short time. And she can't turn it off. She can never make skin contact with anybody, lest she risk killing them." Noble paused to let a wave of pain pass over her. "Though we think we may have found a way around that. But don't ask, because it has to do with the government organization I'm with now, so it's classified."

Which government?

"US. Been with this program, ah, four years now. Fascinating work. Really out of this world," she said, smiling at her secret joke before Sarge's wolf slammed her again. Thin blue scales began to appear around her eyes. Cooper was startled to see them form, almost like a mask, but he kept dabbing at her face. He noticed that her teeth had begun to sharpen as well.

Did they send you? Ryan asked, eyeing her from his corner.

"Nah, the shifter squad in your government contacted me," she told him, watching his reaction through half-lidded eyes.

We have werewolves in our government? Then why would they send me to capture one? Ryan asked, confused and somewhat distraught.

"Shifters, not werewolves. And that's what I have to find out. Probably some ultra secret group planning on doing some DeFone type experiments, something I will NOT allow," she growled. She was sweating profusely now.

"Alright, drink some water, Noble," Cooper said, holding the pot to her lips. She nodded and blinked, using the second set of transparent reptilian lids that had formed. Cooper had not been expecting this.

"Jesus!" he yelled, dropping the pot of water and scrambling back while Noble jumped at the cold water in her lap, banging her head on the counter.

"What, Cooper?" she groaned, rubbing her head. The sharp pain had driven back the constant onslaught from Sarge's wolf, if only temporarily. Cooper was breathing hard.

"Sorry, it's just…you blinked…sideways. It was…unexpected," he said, still standing and not making any moves toward her.

"What? Oh, heh, my bad. I hadn't even realized I was shifted," she told him as her features faded back to human.

Scared of a dog, Cooper? snarked Ryan. Cooper whirled on the sitting werewolf.

"Shut UP, Ryan!" he yelled, making the Spoon, Sarge, and Noble jump. Ryan simply tilted his head, predatorily eyeing Cooper. Noble arched an eyebrow.

"Please don't call me a dog, little one. Now, that much antagonism does not pop up in one night. Where have you two met?" Noble asked curiously, slamming her eyes shut as Sarge's wolf renewed its attacks. Ryan turned his gaze to the shifter for being called 'little one' at first, then because she had picked up on the history between him and Cooper. She didn't miss much. Of course, with nearly 200 years under her belt, it really wasn't that surprising.

Private Cooper attempted to join my team. He failed, Ryan told her, sounding superior. He turned his gaze back to Cooper.

"You wanted me to shoot a dog for no reason, you bastard," growled Cooper in reply. "And then you shot it anyway!"

"That doesn't sound very nice," Noble panted, viewing Ryan anew. Still, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Care to explain?" she asked as her eyes closed again. Ryan's eyes stayed on Cooper, willing him to understand.

The men under my command must be willing to follow my every order, even if they personally disagree with it. Cooper is incapable of that.

"Still, a rough way to test the chain of command, little one," Noble said kindly, another spasm passing through her.

My team can't always afford to play by the rules, he replied stiffly.

"Tough missions, eh?" Ryan nodded his big wolf head.

Tough missions, he said softly.

The group was silent for a time, broken only by Noble's vocal attempts to stave off the pain. Eventually Sarge took over caring for her, as Cooper was upset about her acceptance of Ryan's dog killing. He sat down next to Sam, petting the dog and thinking things over. Spoon, bored, gathered up the cards scattered around the room and began playing solitaire, sans a jack. Ryan sat in his corner and watched everybody, his eyes constantly returning to Cooper and Sam.

"Noble," began Sarge, holding the damp towel to her face.

"Yes, little one?" she breathed, sounding very weak. A corner of his mouth twitched at the name.

"Is that a shifter thing, 'little one'?" he asked, moving the cloth to her neck. She gave a weak nod.

"Jus' somethin' to call a youngster," she slurred. "What was your question?" Sarge hesitated, rewetting the towel and wringing it out, the claw Noble had given him snagging on it at one point.

"I've a wife," he began, pausing when he saw Noble's smile and nod before her body was wracked by another spasm. He braced her, then continued when her face had relaxed. "I don't want to leave Annie," he said softly, moving the towel down her arms.

"Don't have to. She can stay with you, if she likes," she began, voice still weak and eyes closed. "As a human or a shifter. Her call." She cracked one eye to see the relieved expression on Sarge's face. "Hope your gal is open-minded." Sarge simply nodded.

"Ryan, I swear to god, if you don't stop staring at me..." snapped Cooper, glaring at the wolf across the room. Ryan tilted his head. Sarge and Spoon watched cautiously, even Noble managing to open her eyes fully.

You'll what? he asked silkily. Cooper furrowed his brow.

"I'll run a sword through you, that's what," Cooper told him. Ryan stood, rising to his full height, eyes glittering dangerously.

I wouldn't advise that, Cooper, sneered Ryan, flexing his claws. Cooper stood, readying himself for a run to the sword.

"I seemed to do alright before," Cooper sneered back.