The entire Cresta City PD building was always quiet at night, save for the footsteps of guards walking up and down the hallways.
Cresta City's bad apples lay fast asleep in their holding cells, perhaps dreaming of a freedom they once had.
The paint-chipped walls of every cell had graffiti etched into them: insignias left by previous inmates, derogatory drawings of the warden and tallies of kills achieved during incarceration.
One cell in particular housed the most notorious gangster to ever grace the Cresta City criminal underworld - Rico Patelli.
Three sets of four armed guards stood watch over the evidence room in eight-hour shifts.
They always wore masks, in case of weaponized gas attacks, and bulletproof armor.
All the weapons, drugs, counterfeits and evidence behind the steel vault door could never fall into the wrong hands, and these men were prepared to do anything to prevent that from happening.
The second shift was nearly over, and the team posted on the door waited patiently for their replacements, but they never came.
Officer Seymour, one of the men on post, looked at his watch and decided to pass the time with idle conversation.
"Did you guys hear about Patelli? Detective Wallace brought him in a few hours ago.
" "What!" said Chalmers, the leader of the four-man squad, "All by herself? That woman's pretty ffut.
" "Ffut?" asked Burrows, another officer on duty, chiming in "What's that?" "You know...
Ffut.
It's like saying 'tough', but in reverse.
" replied Chalmers.
"Somebody's been spending too much time with their kids...
" said Fuller, the last of the four.
"It's not my fault.
I spend the night with you guys, which gives me more time to just llich and eat doof with my kids during the day.
" "Okay, now you're just doing it on purpose.
" said Fuller.
"Indeed I am, my friend.
" "Guys, you're both looc.
" said Seymour, "Hear me out.
There's more to the story.
The guy who brought in Patelli's guns said she reported seeing some huge freak in a mask, possibly a splicer.
Apparently he took down most of Rico's crew and stopped a damn train with his bare hands.
" "Sounds like Wallace finally got herself a new partner.
" said Chalmers.
Just then, the sound of shattered glass echoed through the hallways; it bounced off of the walls and startled the squad, who promptly raised their firearms in unison.
Next, they heard a scream and what sounded like an animal growling.
"What was that?" said Fuller.
"Burrows.
Seymour.
Go and check it out.
We'll cover you from the door.
" said Chalmers.
Two gas canisters clanked along the floor towards Burrows and Seymore as they spewed white smoke.
The two froze in place as they heard a second growl, even louder than before.
A body in full uniform nearly hits the two as it is flung through the smoke.
They both dodge it and point their guns towards him as he fell with a thud.
The armor had bloodied claw marks and the body lay lifeless.
Chalmers and Fuller joined the other two with their guns pointed straight ahead, ignoring their fallen comrade.
"Activate thermal vision.
" said Chalmers, as the lights went out and smoke obstructed their line of sight.
They each tapped a button on the side of their masks and advanced slowly.
A terrible snarling noise came from behind them.
When they turned around, they found their supposedly dead colleague's body standing up with the mask removed.
The creature's eyes glowed blue and yellow in the darkness.
The emergency backup generator kicked in, revealing the impossible.
The matted fur on the body of the creature was split down the middle: the left half was a grizzled grey, and the other was dark black.
Its face had elongated to form a snout and it had wolf ears on either side.
Each clawed hand's long fingers burst through the Kevlar gloves, and the beast hunched over as it grew an extra two feet in height, tearing its disguise in the process.
Before the squad could open fire, four extra pairs of clawed hands pulled them into the smoke.
Their muffled screams were short-lived as the other lycanthropes made quick work of them.
The chimeric werewolf motioned for them to open the evidence vault as he made his way towards the holding cells.
The once silent corridors were filled with screams of terror as Chimera walked past.
His footsteps made an eerie scratching sound as his claws scraped the metal floor.
He looked straight ahead, ignoring all of the inmates staring and yelling at him.
"We don't want your kind here freak!" said one foolish inmate as he flung a rock at it.
The creature caught the small rock and jammed it into the prisoner's forehead with an open palm, in one swift motion.
The impact sent him soaring back and hitting the wall behind him.
His forehead now had a bloody indentation the shape of the rock.
Chimera growled at him upon seeing he was still alive and continued down the hallway.
He stopped at Rico Patelli's cell; the man was not surprised by the sight of his guest, but was amazed and frightened at the same time.
"You're...
so magnificent.
" he said, as he tried to reach out through the metal bars to touch it with his trembling right hand.
Chimera remained still, looking at the scientist with his dichotomous eyes as he touched his snout.
He then pulled the cell door open and walked inside.
Rico leaned in and tilted his head back, exposing his neck.
"Do what you must.
" he said.