The next morning, Scott and his pack were having breakfast at the pack house.
Scott handed a copy of the Deadpool to Kira and said. "Give this to your mom, and ask her to pass it along to Satomi."
Kira took the list and replied. "I already told my mom yesterday, but I don't know if she's contacted Satomi yet."
Scott nodded. "Make sure she does. I don't want to see Satomi or her pack get killed. They're good people, and with all the crazy supernatural creatures we've faced, you all know how rare it is to find a peaceful pack like Satomi's."
"Don't worry." Kira said. "I'll tell her. Actually, I'll go right now and talk to her before school."
She grabbed a quick bite, waved to the pack, and ran off toward her home.
After that, Scott and the rest of the pack finished breakfast and went about their day.
---
Later that day, just as school was ending and the pack was preparing to leave, Kira's phone rang. She answered, listened for a moment, then handed the phone to Scott.
"It's my mom. She wants to talk to you."
Scott took the phone. "Hello? Mrs. Yukimura, what's going on?"
Noshiko's voice came through, urgent. "Scott, someone attacked Satomi's pack. Everyone who was with her today has been poisoned, except her."
Scott knew it was the assassin known as The Chemist, but he didn't tell her. He asked. "You didn't get close to Satomi or her pack, did you?"
"Unfortunately, I did." Noshiko replied.
Scott frowned. "Stay there. I'll bring Deaton, and we'll come to you."
"No." Noshiko interrupted. "Don't come yourself. Just send Deaton. Whatever this poison or disease is, it only targets shapeshifters, so don't come here. Don't risk exposure."
Scott said. "I'll be fine. I don't think this thing can affect me. Okay, I'm hanging up now. See you soon."
He handed the phone back to Kira and said. "Don't worry too much. Your mom will be okay."
Then he looked at Allison. "I heard you're going shopping with the girls. Go ahead. You don't need to come with me."
"Alright." Allison said softly. She kissed him on the cheek. "Be careful."
Allison and the rest of the girls left, leaving only the boys and Kira.
Scott turned to her. "You're not going with them?"
Kira shook her head. "No. I want to come with you. I need to make sure my mom's okay."
Scott nodded. They all drove to the animal clinic, where they found Deaton, Melissa, and Derek already waiting. After Scott explained the situation, the group headed to Satomi's place together.
When they arrived, Deaton and Melissa immediately began examining the infected members of Satomi's pack. Scott, Derek, and the others stood nearby with Satomi and Noshiko.
Deaton and Melissa found that the infected were losing control over their transformations and starting to bleed black fluid from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Some were barely able to see.
After the examination, Deaton and Melissa returned to the others.
"It's not poison." Deaton said grimly. "It's a virus."
Satomi asked. "What kind of virus?"
"It's a variant of canine distemper." Deaton explained. "A few years ago, an outbreak in Yellowstone killed forty percent of the wolf population."
Satomi looked horrified. "What's it going to do to my pack?"
"It's been modified to infect much faster." Deaton said.
"It's been weaponized?" Derek asked.
Deaton nodded. "Yes. It looks like we're dealing with an assassin who uses viruses as weapons."
Satomi said. "Is there anything you can do, old friend? Aside from the few members who were at work or school, everyone who was home is infected."
Deaton frowned. "Except you. That's the real question. Why weren't you infected? Are you immune?"
Satomi shook her head slowly. "I don't know. I was with them the entire time." She turned toward Noshiko. "Even Noshiko is infected... So maybe I am immune."
Melissa stepped forward. "Satomi, think carefully, do you do anything differently from your pack? Eat something they don't? Drink something regularly that they don't?"
Satomi shook her head. "I eat the same food my pack eats. I don't think I do anything differently."
Then, as if something occurred to her, she added. "Wait... there is one thing. I like to drink a special kind of tea."
Deaton raised an eyebrow. "What kind of tea?"
"Reishi. Wild purple reishi. It's very rare."
Derek nodded. "Oh, I remember that tea. You always brought it when you visited my mother, it smelled terrible."
Satomi said. "I brought it as a gift. Your mother loved it."
Deaton said. "It's not just a tea, Reishi mushrooms are a powerful remedy for illness. Satomi-san, do you still have any left?"
Satomi nodded. "I do, but not enough for the whole pack."
"Bring what you have." Deaton said. "If it works, I still have some at the clinic."
"I have some at home too." Noshiko added.
Satomi nodded and went into her house. She returned quickly, handing the Reishi mushrooms to Deaton. "Give some to Noshiko first. She got infected just by coming here to warn me about the Deadpool."
Deaton nodded and gave Noshiko the Reishi mushrooms. She ate it, and almost immediately, she was healed.
"It worked." She said, stunned. "I don't feel sick anymore."
"Great." Deaton said. "Scott, send me to the animal clinic, please."
Scott nodded and opened a shadow portal. Deaton walked through.
Satomi and Noshiko stared at the portal in shock. Noshiko turned to Scott. "New ability?"
Scott smirked. "Yeah."
A moment later, Deaton returned through the portal carrying more of the purple reishi. "Unfortunately, I don't have enough to heal everyone here."
"I still have enough for four or five people." Noshiko said. "Not much, but it'll help."
She looked at Scott. "Can you send me home?"
"Of course." Scott said, opening another shadow portal. Noshiko stepped through and returned shortly after with more purple reishi, which she gave to Deaton and Melissa. They quickly got to work treating the infected pack members.
"I think we have some in our family vault." Derek said suddenly.
He turned to Scott. "Open a portal to the school gate."
Stiles blinked. "Wait, why the school? You said vault, aren't you going to a bank?"
Derek shook his head. "You'll see when we get there."
---
Meanwhile, at the mall…
Allison and the girls were shopping when Lydia suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes going blank as she slipped into a banshee trance.
Cora noticed immediately. "Girls, wait. Lydia's having a vision."
They all stopped and waited silently until Lydia came back to her senses.
Erica stepped forward. "What did you see?"
Lydia looked at Malia and Cora. "Peter's in danger. I think he's about to die."
Malia stared at her, speechless. Peter might be her real father, but she barely knew him, and she didn't know how to feel about him.
Cora crossed her arms. "Do we have to save him?"
Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. I just told you what I saw. It's your choice."
Allison looked at Malia. "Malia, let's go save him. If he dies tonight and you could've stopped it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
Then she turned to Cora. "And you, Derek won't hate you, but he'll definitely be pissed."
Cora said. "Damn it. Fine. Let's go. But after we save him, I'm still kicking his ass for ruining our shopping trip."
Allison smiled. "Let's save him first, then you can do with him whatever you want. Let's go, before it's too late."
They left the mall, tossed their bags into their cars, and sprinted toward the school using their supernatural speed.
To be continued… 😊