Mark's expression darkened as he tried to walk past Matthias to the transporter room. Matthias stepped into his path to stop him, questioning him bluntly. "What was that about?" Mark lifted his chin, looking Matthias in the eyes as he stated out coldly. "It was nothing. He was worried. I comforted him. That's it." Matthew joined them the second his own Pet was through the gates before asking them both curiously. "What's going on, guys?" Matthias kept glaring at Mark, answering seriously. "Help me convince Mark to get rid of that Mutt. He's becoming a security risk." Matthew glanced between them looking confused, while Mark snapped out. "You're overthinking it. Which is surprising... Since you don't think much..." Matthias raised a hand to strike Mark, but Matthew slipped in to push them apart quickly. Taking a deep breath, Matthew carefully interjected. "Can we please do this somewhere else? Preferably were the Nobles won't see two fully grown Elite's beating each other senseless. We are supposed to be a united front. Remember?"

Matthias huffed, telling Mark darkly. "Wait until Mother hears what you've been doing with that fleabag. He's infected you with his disease!" Mark rolled his eyes, sneering back in a blunt whisper. "As if you would know anything about diseases. You're security... You barely have the brains to learn languages without losing your fucking mind!" Matthias tensed his shoulders, but Matthew shoved him toward the back room. Matthias finally whirled around to storm toward the room. Scanning his hand, the wall opened to reveal a teleporter and Matthias rushed through it. The door slammed shut for Matthew to scan his hand, giving Matthew time to tell him over his shoulder. "Do you have to instigate him? You know he's under just as much pressure as you." Mark rolled his eyes, muttering out. "Blame genetics. That's something you should know well. I'm fun and he's no fun at all." Matthew groaned then stepped inside. The second the door shut, Mark turned around to see the other Nobles dropping off their Pets and entering other public teleports to go to work.

He envied the way they all seemed to live much more peaceful lives. Taking a deep breath, Mark scanned his hand and stepped into the teleporter. Instantly, he stepped out into a large sphere room made of windows that showed off the galaxy. In the center of the sphere room was a large circular meeting table. The table was designed to be three booths with little glass windows that acted like computer monitors of old. In the very center of the table, Mother stood in her holographic glory. She overlooked them with a worried face, while Matthias regaled to her all he had seen of Mark's behavior. Mark could only roll his eyes. She was literally everywhere in Valhalla. Everything ran off her main server. There was nothing she didn't already know, but Matthias always did like to hear himself talk. Mark guessed because it made him sound smarter. Matthew turned on his booth monitors, taking the time to ask Mark more casually in the meantime. "Your Mutt. Has he shown the signs of his genetics?"

Mark moved closer to Matthew, answering honestly. "Certainly. His violent behavior isn't unbearable though. I believe it could be a conditioned reflex. He only gets violent when I do certain things to him. Restricting him from things or forcing him to do things." Matthew dropped into his chair and began to type things into one of his many ongoing study files. After a minute, Matthew told him. "My team and I have actually confirmed this in studies of our own. It seems that the progression of the genetics becomes more active when in stressful environments. You'll need to be careful. What of his illness? Any change with the antidote?" Mark reluctantly muffled out. "Yes. It worked as you said. It just needed more time than I gave it. I'm sorry." Matthew grinned, sweetly replying. "Apology accepted. I told you that I know what I'm doing. Which speaking of which... Have you thought about... countering his genes? With a simple surgery, I can genetically alter him so that-" Mark raised a hand to stop him, seriously retorting. "No. I don't want to change anything about him. He's pure human and I want him to stay that way."

Matthew shrugged, mumbling out. "It's always an option. How did he feel about the Milking Expo? Or have you not told him?" Mark leaned on the glass booth wall, chuckling out. "He agreed. So, you don't have to worry. You'll get your DNA to study." Matthew bounced in his chair excitedly, practically squealing out. "I know. I can't wait. I'm really glad you're not altering him. It's so hard to study Slum Dogs as a pure strain... The few that have come through Valhalla have all been altered... Such a disappointment... but I understand why they do it. Humans born with those genes are... toxic to society." Mark grabbed his chair, pulling it closer to ask Matthew curiously. "I've been thinking about that. He doesn't look... infected. So, this genetic issue... Run me through it again?" Matthew smirked with pride. Mark couldn't help smiling back at his glee. Matthew loved talking about his fascination with genetics. He was probably smarter than both him and Matthias together... but limited to his field of sciences.

Matthew brought up his research on the screens. The one screen showed the scans of the two different human brains, while the others had rolling data of their different DNA strands. Matthew pointed to one brain scan, informing him like a teacher. "You see this subject's brain? This is from a human Noble here in Valhalla. You see how it has got all this green and blue coloring? That means this brain is running normally. It is perfectly healthy." Mark nodded absently. He'd have to take Matthews word on that. Matthew then pointed to the other one, continuing on more grimly. "Now this is the brain of a human that came from the Slums. You see the drastic difference? There are only patches of green in the frontal lobes and the rest is practically black with tinges of yellow. Now when we looked at the code of their DNA... We learned why this happened." Matthew slid the DNA strands to the center screen to show them side by side. It meant nothing to Mark.

However, Matthew showed him the differences as he said. "Right here. CDH13 and MAOA. These make up the 'Warrior' gene. Now, together... These are known as the 'Serial Killer' genes. It's found only in Males. These are responsible for making someone, like your dog, VERY violent. They can become amazing fighters, but they tend to kill without any real need of a reason. They are as primal as primal gets. Driven by basic needs and instinctual drives." Mark sat back in his chair, asking very softly. "Are you sure he has it?" Matthew sat back in his own chair too, before nodding grimly. Reaching out, he pulled up the Slum data base with Sean's file. Pointing to the brain scan, he told him grimly. "He was treated for a possible concussion after his first race. They scanned him and this came up. Using his medical records from the Slums, I traced his DNA back to birth. Same result. They scanned him when he was born. He had the genes. So, they took him from his mother and sent him to the orphanage in the Slum. As is our protocol. People like him... They are dangerous. Do you see now? You'll have to get rid of him before too long."

Mark leaned forward, telling Matthew distractedly. "I want everything you've got on him. Where are his parents?" Matthew sighed, but leaned forward to check. After a minute, he answered him coolly. "Looks like it was a single pairing... The Mother is off world... somewhere in the Florence galaxy. Father... is... unknown." Matthew blinked confused, mumbling out. "That's not right... That has to be an error." Matthew tried to search again. Only this time, the info refused to come up. Instead, Mother turned away from Matthias to tell Mark seriously. "The information you wish to find has been erased from the server." Mark stood up, asking curiously. "How is that possible, Mother? Everything on your server is protected and stored. When did this happen?" Mother locked eyes with him, answering in a firm motherly tone. "The pairing you seek were exiled. They violated the laws of Valhalla. The male was dealt with. The female was sent away. That is all you need to know."

Mark moved around the table to face Matthias's smug face, snapping out bitterly. "What did you do?! You can't pass judgement without the approval of all three Elites! I sure as hell didn't approve the judgment on my Pet's Sire!" Matthias shrugged, answering dismissively. "Like you correcting the winning streaks in the Slum racings with no one else's approval? Don't bitch to me. Mother approved that each of us would have more control over our departments. Dealing with the violation of laws in Valhalla is MY job. I don't need your damn approval." Mark shook his head, asking him with obvious disgust. "What did you do to the male? Rehome him?" Matthias didn't flinch, when he uttered out coldly. "No. He couldn't be. I had him fixed and then put down. It was done nice and quiet. No one has even cared to bring it up... except you." Mark turned to head back to his booth, when Mother told him seriously. "I have to agree with Matthias... I believe this Slum Dog is bad for you. You are getting to emotionally attached to it."

Mark dropped into his seat, telling her in a calmer and collected voice. "My apologies, Mother. I know I'm a bit emotional at present... but you did this without telling us. When did these rules change? Why did they change? I'm the oldest. I should have been informed." Mother sank down to her knees, giving him a motherly smile as she comfortingly told him. "I put those burdens on you in the beginning... but I created your siblings to remove those burdens. This was always my plan. You are right. I should have told you. I'll disregard your current frustrations... but this Slum Dog. Your interactions with him. This must stop. As an Elite, you know that you must be unclouded. No families. No attachments. Your Pets are merely a comfort to the public. A show that you have some semblance of emotion. Nothing more." Mark turned on his booth monitors, answering in a guarded tone of voice. "I know. My interactions with him are simply to gather the research that Matthew requires on Slum Dogs. You have nothing to worry about, Mother. At this very moment, he is socializing with other Pets."

From the second Sean passed through the gate, he was the center of every Pet's attention. Building his mental defenses back up after Mark's kiss, he changed his attitude. Just like in the Slums, he couldn't show fear. The first thing he noticed about these Pets were just how spoiled they were. They were all dressed in the finest silks and pelts that revealed A LOT of skin. Some Pets were even covered from head to toe in glittering jewelry. Pets of all races and species were here and mingling like this was some fancy costume party. This top floor of the resort had a big pool of crystal-clear water and was brightly lit up. Pets lounged naked by the large windows getting sun tans or along the edges of the pool. Sean almost smirked at the sight of the Valkyries stationed around the floor. Out of everyone, he stood out in his dark colors. The Pets avoided him like the plague. He could clearly hear them talking about him as he passed by them though.

At every floor, he'd find a corner and observe the Pets for a bit. He liked seeing how everything worked. It was in his nature to know the ins and outs of his territory. Upon descending the steps to the 'Gym' floor, he clipped shoulders with a young man. Sean whirled around, his muscles tense for a fight. The man jumped away from him with a panicked expression and apologized like a coward. He would be dead in the Slums for cowering like that. Sean slowly turned away, when someone kicked him in the back. Sean staggered down to the main floor, then turned around with a heated glare. Another man who had been walking with the coward, puffed himself up to snap out bitterly. "You don't belong here, gutter trash!" Sean heard the women around them giggle and chuckle out. "Oh my god, George! You touched him! Now you'll have to bathe!" Sean rolled his shoulders, ignoring the women to tell the man icily. "Kick me again and I'll break it, Lad."

The men all pushed George forward and he took up the challenge. George removed his tank top to show off his muscular body, causing Sean to roll his eyes. He had muscles but that didn't mean that he could fight. George walked up to shake his hand and Sean raised his eyebrow, before snatching his wrist and yanking him forward into his punch. The women all gasped and the guys winced in horror as Sean twisted George's arm behind his back and broke it. Shoving George away, Sean whirled around as another man charged in. Sean waited until he got close, then ducked and flipped the man over his back to the floor, kicking him hard enough to probably break a few ribs. A male Pet with ram horns charged in with his friend, both slamming into Sean's chest and crashing him into a glass divider wall. The women cheered, while Sean kicked one of the creatures in the balls. As the one fell off him to bellow in pain, Sean rolled over and took the goat man by the horns, manhandling him into a set of gym equipment.

The goat man hit the iron weights headfirst and fell unconscious. Sean whirled around to the sound of clambering hooves on tile and braced himself to grab the second one. The second goat man never reached him though, because from the side a man leapt into the fray. The man got his legs wrapped around the goat man's neck, flipping him to the ground and gracefully rolling up to his knees. Sean froze with amazement. The unknown man had been so agile and appeared to be far more skilled then these pampered Pets had been. The man perked his head up as the Valkyries started to run toward the scene, revealing a silky set of black cat ears. The women chuckled waving to the cat man with blushing smiles. He touched a finger to his lips, making them giggled, before he shot to his feet and grabbed Sean's arm. Sean started to protest, but the man yanked him along to get far from the scene. The man led him through a set of doors to an outdoor track, releasing him to hop over a safety railing.

Sean slowed just in time to keep his hips from hitting the low safety railing. While in front of him, the man leaned forward to rest his arms on the rail, chuckling out. "Oh, boy... I thought I smelled a Slum Dog." The man shook his slender hips playfully, his long black tail rising up from behind him. Sean blinked staring at the hole in the back of the man's black jeans where his tail was sticking out from. Shaking his head a little weirded out, he asked him curiously. "You could smell me?" The man followed his eyes over his shoulder to his tail and chuckled out. "Oh... I'm sorry. I guess... You're seeing all this for the first time?" Sean didn't answer, letting the man straighten up to fill him in more gradually. "Oops... I forget that a lot of people aren't used to seeing 'Altered Pets." The man stuck out his hand with prominent sharp black nails , literally purring as he introduced himself. "My name's Ricky. I was the only Slum Dog... until you showed up." Sean raised an eyebrow, asking a little perplexed. "A Slum Dog...? But aren't you...?"

Ricky furrowed his brow confused for a second, then suddenly chuckled as he purred out. "Oh, it's the ears, isn't it? I was a Slum Dog... Now I guess, I'm more of a Slum Neko? My Master heard about our bad genes and had me genetically altered to fix the problem. All the new limbs and senses took a long time to get used to, but I like it." Sean was barely listening to him, because he was captivated by Ricky's bright golden yellow cat eyes. The longer he looked him over though, the more he saw some of the Slum traits on him. He had small silver hoop piercings along the rim of one cat ear. He wore a stubbed collar with a spiked bell. Plus, not only was he the only other Pet that he had seen wearing black clothing... but he was the only Pet with tattoos. Ricky wore clean black jeans with a black sleeveless crop top that clearly revealed his red sun tattoo around his belly button. While Ricky's upper arms had barbwire tattoo bands. These were the markings of a gang that his own gang had wiped out years ago. Ricky smirked, flashing him a look at his feline fangs, before chuckling out. "You ok, hound dog? My arm's getting tired." Sean flinched, feeling awkward as he finally accepted his hand to shake it, mumbling out softly. "Sorry. I'm Sean."

After shaking his hand, Ricky ran a fingerless gloved hand through his beautifully groomed straight black hair, answering him sweetly. "It's alright. I'm used to it by now. Do you wanna touch them?" Sean leaned away as Ricky tilted his head toward him. He didn't have the urge to touch them, but Ricky prodded him on lightly. "Go on. I know you're curious. Don't worry. I won't bite." Raising his hand, Sean nervously slid his fingers through Ricky's hair to feel out one of his ears. They were warm and so soft to the touch. He couldn't believe they were real, let alone that someone did that to him. Removing his hand a bit shakily, he watched Ricky straightened himself up and stuff his hands into the pockets of his pants. Ricky then leaned back against the nearest window with a content smile. Sean moved to lean against the railing across from him, feeling slightly anxious. He wasn't good at making friends. Even ones claiming to be from the Slums. At least, until Ricky said with a hopeful blush. "Hey, I actually promised some guys that I'd be their track rat. Care to join me? You're a racer yourself, aren't you? I think I recognize you from your last race."

Sean straightened up more confidently, grinning as he told Ricky. "Ya. I'll join you. I was trying to head there myself, before..." Ricky nodded, glancing over his shoulder to look inside the building. After a minute, Ricky looked back to tell him with a smirk. "Ya... Well, the guards usually let a small brawl here and there go. Bruises and some minor cuts will heal. But you broke bones... They'll be looking for you. Their Masters will make your Master pay for their medical bills." Sean shrugged carelessly, muttering out dryly. "So. Mine can afford it, I'm sure." Ricky raised an eyebrow, smugly sliding off the window to lead the way as he purred back over his shoulder. "That might be true... but can you deal with how your Master will make YOU pay HIM back for it. Making your Master look like they can't train you... Trust me. That only makes them want to find a way to make you listen." Sean bit his lower lip as the sudden thought made him wince.  Ricky chuckled with a smug knowing grin, his hips swaying seductively as he headed to a set of outdoor stairs. To Be Continued...