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The Methodology of Volpes

This piece from Marsel-Defender back in May of 2021 was the perfect compliment to a short story I had already intended to write for Volpes. I had already said in broad strokes that he manipulates people into drinking his potion, and once they do they’re brainwashed into working for him.

And yet, just saying that isn’t enough to set the imagination in motion. This story exists to detail Volpes’s usual MO with a strong example where it brought a new titan into his fold in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

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One single blow to his abdomen was all it took to knock him to the ground. The slender young, blue-eyed human cried out in pain, clutching his stomach with both hands as he lied there. His aggressors, a majority beast-kin group with a few humans accompanying them, began to surround him as he struggled to catch his breath. Though the shameful display occurred in full daylight, no one in the adjacent streets even looked in their direction. Here, in the far reaches of Crossroads where even the great Theorem Magistrum couldn’t claim a foothold, keeping one’s head down to make it to tomorrow was all one could manage.

The wolf was the first among them to speak. “What do you think this is? A charity? You can’t pay back, you get what’s coming to you.”

Tears began to well up in the young man’s eyes. “Please, I can barely afford to eat. I only had enough to pay my landlord, just plea-” Before he could finish, the chameleon among the group connected with a kick that left an audible thwack.

“No excuses. Miss another payment, and you can expect us to be even more ‘forthright’ than we’ve been today. Do you understand?”

It was all the man could do to keep himself on his hands and knees. “Y-y…” He could barely open his mouth.

“Do you understand!?”

Willing himself to push through his horror and pain, he shouted as firmly and clearly as we could. “Yes, sir!”

“Good. You’re lucky the dead can’t square up their debts.” And with that, the wolf and his enforcers turned out of the alley and walked straight into the city streets. Its populace kept their heads down. Once the group was out of sight, a collective breath was expelled.

Nonetheless, almost nobody moved to help the young man. Of course, a certain onlooker was anything but a nobody. Given his immense stature, blending in with the common folk was an impossible task, but he didn’t need to.

He effortlessly strolled into the alley, population taking a width berth of the large muscular anthro, cloaked in such a way that did nothing to hide his chiseled physique, avoiding all eye contact for fear that he was just another thug looking for trouble. In a sense, he was.

As the beast among men began to lean on the wall, the human had only just begun to recover from his earlier beating. Slowly, steadily, he began to pick himself up onto his feet before the new arrival spoke in a deep, commanding voice.

“I saw the way they tortured you, kid. With my help, you can even the odds.” His signature smirk began to show itself as he walked towards the young man, offering him a hand. Making no gestures towards the newcomer, the human merely finished picking himself off the ground before giving him a look over. His features hardened as he gazed into the wall of muscle before he looked underneath the hood of his cloak.

Two eyes, one blue and one green: Both giving off an eerie, unnatural glow.

“What? You going to help me fight them off so that they can retaliate and both of you can hound me until I die? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“I can assure you, such base behavior is the furthest thing from my
mind. I would never dream of forcing myself into your problems. No, all I
wish to do is offer you the power to take control.”

The young man instinctually began to chuckle, before another shot of pain halted his bemusement. “Control? What do you know about ‘control’? Why should I believe a single word you say?”

At that, the fox, for that’s what he was, suddenly grew serious. The young man began to panic, flinching away for fear of reprisal. Instead, his conversation partner merely knelt down to look upward at the fearful human.

“Because believe it or not, I know what it’s like. Being picked on,
tortured, used, and bullied senseless. It feels like no matter what you
do there’s no way out.” This caught his attention as the man began to
gaze back down at the titan. It was the hint of care and concern in the
vulpine’s bright glowing eyes that began to melt away his resistance.
And now that they were finally, truly seeing each other, the larger of
them continued. “I’ve made it my mission to make people like us in
charge. To put us on top of the pecking order.”

“And you can do that?”

“Yes. I was once as slight and scrawny as you are now. But I made a breakthrough, transforming myself into the force of nature you see before you.” As he curled his fist inward, his already massive bicep and tricep ballooned in front of the young man. “Work with me, and I can do the same to you. I can make you great, and make you a part of something great.”

Transfixed, in a mixture of awe and jealousy, the youth pressed down on the muscle as firmly as he was capable of, and yet it stood firm as stone. “This… this isn’t a trick or illusion is it?”

“No, young man. I am very real. And unlike the fools who use you and beat you into submission, I aim to create lasting change.”

His bruises flared up once more, a reminder of the weakness that brought him here. As he doubled over, his would-be benefactor caught him to make sure didn’t collapse, allowing the human to rest on his shoulder while the tears began to flow once more. Both sat in absolute silence, absolute stillness, for some time, before the young man came to a decision.

“What do I have to do?”

The titan took this opportunity to gently guide his new ally to lie against the alley wall, stretching his legs out. Crouched down beside the youth, he reached down to his belt to retrieve a vial that he carried around for just such an encounter.

“Drink the contents of this vial, and you’ll be transformed.”

Taking it in hand, the youth examined the glowing blue liquid within before gazing up at his savior’s glowing eyes. “Will my eyes glow like that as well?”

“Aye. It’s a side effect, but one I’ve grown to embrace. Join me, and you’ll never be able to hide who and what you are ever again, but nor will you ever need to.”

Inhaling deeply his last breath as a normal, everyday man, the youth uncorked his liquid salvation and downed the concoction in a single gulp. He felt a tinge of disappointment for a brief moment as there were no immediate effects, but as he looked into those glowing eyes, a smile plastered on the fox’s visage, he felt a warmth welling up from within. His metamorphosis was at hand.

His fragile form began to expand outward, taller and broader. His tunic grew tight along the chest and arms as they began to bulge larger and larger, his bulk filling out the once loose fabric until at last, it began to tear, forming a tattered vest while the shreds of his sleeves hung loosely onto his arms. There was a heaviness to his arms that had never known, and yet he found no difficulty moving them. If anything, he could move faster than before.

Spreading through the rest of his body, the effects began to accelerate. As his shoulders broaden out to match his now prestigious chest and rigidly defined stomach, the tunic at once ripped open at the front, exposing his chest to the elements. His earlier bruises had already faded, and the pain along with them.

And his legs were now eager to follow suit with the rest, growing tight as his calves began to poke out where once they were fully concealed by his breeches. Though his trousers stood firm against the developing musculature, it was clear that this relic of his past self would require replacement.

Reveling in his change, the man joined his friend… No, his Master, as they both beamed at the sight. As if to cement his ascension, his left eye gained a green pigmentation as it began to glow along with his other, naturally blue right eye. Nearly a perfect, yet human duplicate of his Master.

“I… I feel good. I feel strong. And I could never have felt this way without you. How could I ever repay you, Mr…”

Placing a hand on the newly minted titan, the fox explained, “I am called Volpes now. And like me, you are now free to discard the person you used to be, take up a new persona and become something new and superior. Together, we’ll change the world. No one need ever be a victim ever again.”

That touch was enough to bring utter bliss to the youth. At once, in his joy, he gave his Master a hug of genuine gratitude. “Yes, Master Volpes. As of today, my name is Luther.”

“A powerful name befitting a powerful young man.” Despite his new physique, Luther’s cheeks lit up a bright red in response to his master’s praise.

“In the stories my parents read to me before I lost them, ‘Luther’ was the name of a hero who did everything he could to keep the people he loved safe. Embarrassing as it might be, I want to be that kind of person.”

Volpes looked at the young man, with a gentle smile. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed by, Luther. Embody that strength, of body and character. Become the hero you want to be: The hero you were meant to be.”

In response, Luther could only say, “Where do we start?”