01

The roar of a siren woke me.

"Come on Titan! Get up before Father comes in!" Aries says punching my chest.

This is my normal wake up call. 0400 a siren and one of my crew being a jerk.

"Leave me alone Aries I'm getting up!" I yell at him.

I stand at attention at the foot of my cot. Aries beside me. Anhur across from me with Odin next to him. Yes those are their real names. It goes to show you can't let a bunch of warriors and scientists name a group of kids.

"You boys sleep well?" Father asks as he walks the path between us.

"Yes sir!" We respond in unison

"Good. Today you will complete your first solo mission." He tells us.

I look at Aries out of the corner of my eye. We have been waiting for this. After 8 years of training we finally get to do a solo mission! I can tell he is as pumped as I am.

"Meet me in the conference room at 0530 for mission briefing." With that he turns and leaves.

"Holy Crap!" Anhur says grinning at me.

"We better get ready." I tell him and head to the shower. When I return the guys are all getting dressed pulling clothing out of their footlocker.

"What do you think the mission will be?" Odin asks as he laces his boot.

"No idea." I tell him.

"Come on Titan you are our leader. If father was going to tell anyone it would be you!" Anhur argues.

One thing you should probably know is father is not our father and we aren't related to each other. Not by blood at least. Aries is a 6'1" guy dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes. Anhur is a 5'11" red head with freckles, green eyes and a goofy grin. Odin is quiet, a tanned guy with black hair and blue eyes about 6'2". Me I'm the best looking, strongest, and all around greatest of all of us... well that's how father treats me at least. I am the leader. A 6' dark brown haired kid expected to be a leader. It's comical honestly all we have done since they took us in is train. Aries is stronger than me, Anhur is faster, Odin is the brain trust, but somehow they decided I should be in charge of them.

Father is our commanding officer but considering we have been here since we were 10 he decided we should call him father. He takes care of us, trains us, and knocks us around when we need it... that's a father right?

I wouldn't know. None of us remember anything before we were brought here at 10. We were in an orphanage that burned down. Odin still has burn scars down his back from it. When they found us we were nearly dead. The scientists did an experiment on us infusing us with wolf DNA in an attempt to strengthen us and alow us to heal. Unfortunately it had a side effect. After we woke up we all figured out we could turn into wolves.

We were deemed too dangerous to be allowed out in the world so father convinced the military we could be useful. He got them to let him train us for use by the government. He saved our lives and I am grateful.

"Let's go." I say standing up. My team follows suit and we make our way to the conference room.

We sit in chairs around a long table. Aries sits arms crossed waiting. Odin keeps anxiously looking at the door. While Anhur spins in his chair. They are all so different.

"Anhur! Knock it off!" I order him as he starts kicking off the wall to gain speed.

"Chill Tight wad Father isn't here yet so why be all tense?" He still holds that stupid grin.

"You are a soldier! Act like it! This is our first mission try and be somewhat professional." I scold him. He just rolls his eyes and leans back staring at the ceiling.

"Alright Dog Boys! Your first mission." Father says as he enters. That's what they call us Dog Boys. It started as a joke but it stuck and became our team name. We all started hooting and pounding the table. We are so ready for this!

"It seems the drugs that created you boys have been being used illegally." Father continues tossing us each a file. We all quiet down and begin reading.

"It's genetic!" Odin says.

"What?" Anhur asks.

"The children born from adults with the drug have the same abilities." Odin says.

"Cool more people like us!" Anhur shrugs his shoulders in a 'no big deal' way.

"Not cool." I say looking at some photos. I sware that kid isn't even reading the file. "They are murderers." I toss the photos on the table. "It was a soft target! Women! Children! Scientists!"

"They are terrorists." Father says nodding. "This is a small camp... there are more but we thought this was a good starter mission for you boys."

"They are monsters... how could someone do this?" Odin asks looking at the photos of dead bodies.

"Your mission is total extermination. The entire camp is to be destroyed." Father says.

"But... they have kids." Odin says looking broken. He is too kind for this.

"They are dog men too... we can't change that. They will grow up and be a threat to our country. They are already being trained to fight. They are dangerous." Father explains.

"You could take them in. Teach them what is right. Like you did us. You could help them." Odin argues.

"I can't." Father says looking away. "Higher ups are questioning the value of you boys... I pulled all the strings I have to keep this team up and running. It's all I can do to keep them from terminating this project. I can't start up another one."

Terminate the project. Us... they want to kill us unless we prove ourselves useful. This is more than a mission. This determines our future.

"We won't let you down father." I say looking to my men.

"We'll take care of it." Odin adds looking at the photos.

"I'm proud of you boys. Don't forget your medication." Father says standing.

"Yes father." Anhur says in a mocking tone. We take meds every day to keep us stable so the animal side doesn't take over. Have every day since they saved us it's not something we're likely to forget.

"Let's go!" I stand and leave with my boys behind me.