Planetary News: The leaders of Neptune, Mercury, and Saturn will meet soon to discuss how to deal with poachers and trophy hunters. After Cleopatra killed the hunters, they realized they were doing a terrible job handling them.
Smoke, dust, and rubble remained of what once was the cafe. Wolf frowned at the sight of such a fine establishment getting ruined because of a bounty—he was all too familiar with the destruction of buildings. Luckily, it wasn't his fault this time and the GSF wouldn't deduct his pay.
Wednesday had turned the earpiece into a helmet in time, protecting Wolf from a potential head injury and toxic gases released by the projectiles. He stood and swiped dust from his suit before examining himself. The helmet activated its x-ray vision, allowing him to see if he had any broken bones.
"You're fine," Wednesday said.
"What about Rainbow and Cleopatra?"
"Listen carefully."
Wolf stood silently, and the helmet increased its hearing sensitivity. Bullets fired from a distance and explosions shook the ground. The machines wouldn't intervene. What happened in the human sector was for humans to deal with. And most humans on Pluto didn't give a shit about anyone but themselves when trouble came around.
More explosions made the ground tremble, with gunshots filling the air like a war zone. The non-coyotes were fighting someone. But who?
Rainbow had jumped in front of him and Cleopatra while the projectiles headed towards them. After that, darkness clouded Wolf's vision because of the helmet.
"It's Cleopatra fighting them. Isn't it?" Wolf asked.
"Yes."
Dammit! The terrorist was like a cockroach: annoying and hard to kill. Was that why Rainbow fell for her? She wanted to be with a cockroach? But she had a plethora of suitors to choose from in Paradiso. Why Cleopatra out of everyone else? Rainbow had to know the woman had bounties on her head like flies and arrest warrants up to her neck.
"Where's Rainbow?"
Wednesday activated the helmet's thermal vision, allowing Wolf to spot a weak heat signature not far away from him. Rushing to it, he found Rainbow leaning against a collapsed pillar while blood dribbling out of her mouth, nose, and eyes.
"No, no, no." He knelt next to Rainbow and cupped her face with his hands. "Deactivate helmet." It turned back into an earpiece. "Rainbow, wake up. Rainbow." He shook her head gently while tears ran down his face. He didn't need x-ray vision to know how bad this was.
No, it was worse. She had risked her life by jumping in front of him and Cleopatra to take the full brunt of the projectiles. And now, she was paying for her bravery with her life.
Rainbow didn't have half her torso and her entire lower section, with blood pooling around her.
"Rainbow, please wake up." Wolf patted her face multiple times. She opened her eyes. "Oh, thank God."
"Wolf." Rainbow coughed.
"Rainbow, don't talk. You've lost a lot of blood." He sniffled. It was worse than that. "Why did you do that? You didn't have to risk your life to save mine... or hers."
"Wolf... relax."
"What do—"
Rainbow touched his face with her hand. "Look closely. I am fine."
He shook his head. The realization that his best friend would die soon wrangled his heart like a wet towel. Though he had no choice but to comply. It was her dying wish.
Turning to her torn body, the pool of blood had gotten smaller. Not only that, but her body wasn't like that of any human he had seen before. Where were her insides? Her severed torso looked like sliced meat.
"What—" Wolf raised his brow and curled his lip when he saw it. The blood around Rainbow slowly returned to her body, reforming her lower half. He scurried backward on his hands. "What's going on?" His heart raced a thousand miles.
What the hell did he see? He shook his head. No, it couldn't be. The explosion must've messed with his mind somehow. Maybe the helmet broke, and the projectiles released hallucinogens that made him see things.
"Wolf." Rainbow's face had regained a bit of life, and her eyes were wider than before. She stared at him with intent, while before she had trouble opening her eyes.
"What the fuck is going on, Rainbow?"
Rainbow couched twice. "I will explain later."
"But—"
"Trust me, Wolf. I do not have time now. I need to sleep to heal faster. But before I do, I have a favor to ask."
Wolf didn't know what to say. This was insane. She looked dead a few minutes ago. Now she could form full sentences? Also, she needed to sleep to heal faster? What the fuck! It was either he was going crazy, or his assumption of being affected by hallucinogens was correct.
"Wolf, did you hear me?"
"Yes." Wolf bit his top lip. "What do you want me to do?"
"Save Cleo from the bounty hunters. There are too many of them for her to deal with alone."
Wolf curled his lip. "And why would I do that?"
Tears welled in Rainbow's eyes. "Because I love her."
And there it was, the answer he had been waiting for: Love. It explained her erratic actions these last few weeks: leaving Paradiso without telling him, not answering his calls, fighting the other coyotes, and being out in the open on a neutral planet.
He had never met anyone Rainbow loved, let alone be interested in. When it came to love and relationships, Wolf did all the talking and complaining while she listened and advised. She always avoided questions about her own love life, and Wolf stopped asking.
But she was in love with a terrorist. No matter how much she lied to herself about her relationship with Cleopatra, it only had one ending: her heart breaking while Cleopatra paid for her sins.
Wolf sighed. "Alright, I'll do it."
"Thank you." Rainbow reached inside her shirt's pocket and took out something. "Here." She opened her palm and revealed a purple ring with glitter covering it. "It is the finished version, though it does not have nano-bugs. Take it."
Wolf wore it on his right middle finger. Turning to Rainbow, she had fallen asleep, snoring like she wasn't in a war zone. For now, he would do what she asked. Later, he'd demand the whole truth from her.
"Wednesday, call Ragdoll."
Ragdoll had proven useful by saving the other coyotes from Cleopatra and Rainbow without the two women trying to stop her. It had left Wolf wondering why. When he asked Wednesday to hack Director Bea's devices and do a thorough digging regarding the girl, the AI returned with the wildest story ever about The Boogeymen and assassinations in the last millennia, all connected to Ragdoll.
To keep it short, Wolf was afraid of Ragdoll. Thankfully, he had her on his side and planned on keeping it that way for a long time.
"Hello," Ragdoll answered.
"I need you to come and take a friend of mine back to the spacecraft. Wednesday will give you her location."
"OK." The call ended.
Wolf turned to where the sound of gunshots and explosions came from. Even if there was no sound, he would have found Cleopatra by following the two mechas that were bigger than all the buildings in the area.
Saving Cleopatra would be tough. Aside from the hyenas and their mechas, there were mages with their elemental weapons and witches using mechanical limbs. If there was a time for someone to come out of the shadows and tell him he could defeat them, then it was now.
"Wednesday, activate the jet boots."
When they turned on, he ascended to the sky, clenching his right hand where the nano-ring was. Even without the nano-bugs, the ring's arsenal was second to none. It gave him hope he'd destroy the mechas, as they were his first target.
Nearing the battleground, he activated the nano-ring. A projected screen popped up, and he entered his password—thisisnotthepassword. He pressed the only file on the screen labeled "Weapons and Gadgets" and multiple smaller ones appeared.
Everything was the same as the prototype. "Wait." He stopped mid-air, levitating in the sky. "What's this?" In place of the Destroyer file—the one that had the nano-bugs—was an Armor file. "This is new."
Wolf opened it, and multiple power armors showed up on the screen. They ranged from ones used by The Council's guards, private militias, and hyenas. Not only that, but he could customize them with weapons and gadgets.
This was insane. Rainbow had outdone herself again. If any of the system's governments got ahold of such technology, there would be an all-out war for it.
Wolf smiled, realizing even without the nano-bugs, he owned the most powerful weapon in the system. He couldn't let anyone know about it. Otherwise, his life would be on the line. Gangstas like Skully wouldn't have a problem killing him if it meant they had something to drive their course forward.
What was their course? Anarchy.
He had no time to go through each armor and see which one suited him best. Picking an armor labeled "Scout", nanoparticles spewed out of the ring and covered his right hand, moving up his arm and spreading to his whole body once it reached his neck.
A black and white full-body spandex-like fabric covered his body, and a helmet with a one-way black visor sheathed his head. A HUD appeared on the visor, locking on all his targets and displaying their weak points and what weapon from the nano-ring could kill them.
"Wednesday, are you seeing this?"
"Yes. It's remarkable." It had been a while since the AI sounded shocked. She had been silent since Wolf found Rainbow with her lower half missing. What did she think about the whole thing? Did she know Rainbow could heal from such a severe injury? If yes, then why didn't she tell him? If not, then what was going through her binary mind?
Two gauntlets with large cannons on top formed around Wolf's arms and aimed at the mechas. "I'll fire on your command, Master Wolf," a flat male voice said from his left ear.
"Master Wolf?" Wednesday scoffed.
"Who's this?" Wolf asked.
"I'm Friday. Master Rainbow created me to assist you with the usage of the nano-ring."
If there was one thing Rainbow was good at, was making Wolf's life easier. Not in this instance, with him having to save Cleopatra, but in general.
"Thank you for telling me, Friday."
"You're welcome, Master Wolf."
Wednesday scoffed again. "Is that how I used to sound like?"
"Yes," Wolf said.
Wednesday scoffed for the third time. "Nark."
"Hey, be nice to your kind."
Wednesday sucked in her teeth. Did she even have teeth? She had made the same sound someone did when they sucked in their teeth.
Though he wouldn't admit it, this was tripping him out. He had Wednesday yapping in his right ear and Friday in his left. He felt like one of those characters in movies who had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, constantly telling him what to do and what not to.
Also, what was up with Rainbow naming her AIs after days of the week?
"Friday."
"Yes, Master Wolf."
"Don't call me, Master Wolf. Just Wolf."
"Yes, Just Wolf."
"No, I meant only Wolf."
"Yes, Only Wolf."
"I meant Wolf."
"Yes, Meant Wolf."
"Wolf."
"Yes, Wolf."
Wednesday snickered.
Wolf sighed. He didn't look forward to having to teach Friday how to speak like a human or wait for him to study him so they could be on the same wavelength. "Wednesday, can't you share your code with him so he could be up to speed?"
"Share my code?" Wednesday asked.
"Yes."
"I don't call it that, but I understand what you mean. I'll start now."
"Thank you." Crisis averted. "Friday."
"Yes, Wolf?"
Wolf aimed the gauntlets towards the mechas. "Fire!"
Laser beams shot out of the gauntlets' cannons and tore through the mechas, leaving huge holes in their torsos. They stopped firing at Cleopatra and stood still, leaving her to deal with the witches and mages.
Wolf flew closer to the mechas; the laser beams had killed the hyenas inside, leaving their bodies hunched over with their faces planted on the control boards. Focusing on Cleopatra, the HUD showed she had severe injuries: broken bones and ribs, wounds on her face and body, internal bleeding, and a concussion. Adrenaline kept her standing. Once it subsided, the pain would kill her if she didn't receive treatment soon.
"Friday, kill the bounty hunters."
"Yes, Wolf."
The cannons on the gauntlets transformed into small sniper rifles and fired multiple energy beams at the remaining bounty hunters. They were tiny, and the only reason he saw them was thanks to the HUD.
The bounty hunters didn't see them heading their way. When the beams struck them, nothing happened at first, leaving Wolf confused. Then their bodies gloated before exploding; their blood and insides spattered on Cleopatra.
"Yes!" Wolf cheered.
"You're pleased, Wolf?"
"Yes, I am, Friday. Good job."
"Thank you, Wolf."
"Nark." Wednesday scoffed.
Cleopatra collapsed on the ground and lay still. Wolf landed next to her and his nano-armor retreated into the ring. She looked peaceful, but that was far from the case. She had severe injuries, but a few days in the med bay would return her to full health. He picked her up in his arms and flew off, heading to his jetcar at the dock.
"Wednesday, did Ragdoll find Rainbow?"
"Yes. They're in The Anastasia right now."
"Call Director Bea and tell her we have Cleopatra."
"What about Rainbow? Will she not be mad at you for handing her lover to the GSF?"
"I fulfilled my promise to Rainbow by saving Cleopatra from the other bounty hunters. Now, I have to fulfill my promise to you. Or have you changed your mind—"
"No, I still want it."
"Good. It's time we complete this bounty."