More ferals sprinted through the broken door inside Rei and Luna's suite. Rei's heart hammered in her chest as she instinctively rolled off the plush sofa, narrowly avoiding the creature's razor-sharp claws.
"Luna!" Rei shouted, her eyes darting frantically around the room for her sister.
A blur of electric blue hair flashed in Rei's peripheral vision as Luna vaulted over an overturned coffee table. "I'm here!" Luna called back, her voice tight with tension.
The feral hybrid snarled, its grotesquely mutated features twisted in a mask of primal rage. Saliva dripped from its elongated fangs as it crouched, ready to spring.
Rei's mind raced, assessing their options. The suite's opulent furnishings, once a symbol of their pop star success, now served as obstacles in a deadly arena. She edged towards the kitchenette, her fingers closing around the handle of a heavy frying pan.
"Luna, left!" Rei barked, hefting the makeshift weapon.
Luna didn't hesitate. She darted left, drawing the hybrid's attention. The creature lunged, its powerful muscles coiling and releasing like springs.
Rei swung the pan with all her might, connecting with a sickening crunch against the hybrid's skull. The impact reverberated up her arms, nearly jarring the pan from her grip.
The hybrid staggered but didn't fall. It whirled to face Rei, its eyes blazing with inhuman fury.
"Shit," Rei muttered, backpedaling rapidly.
Luna seized the moment, snatching up a floor lamp and swinging it like a baseball bat. The lampshade flew off as it connected with the hybrid's spine, eliciting a howl of pain and rage.
The sisters locked eyes for a split second, a lifetime of shared experiences condensed into a single glance. They nodded in unison, a silent agreement passing between them.
Rei feinted right, drawing the hybrid's attention. As it turned to follow her movement, Luna struck again, driving the base of the lamp into its ribcage with a sickening crack.
The hybrid wheeled, its claws raking across Luna's arm. She cried out in pain, stumbling backward.
"Luna!" Rei's voice cracked with fear and fury. She hurled the frying pan at the hybrid's head, buying Luna precious seconds to retreat.
Blood trickled down Luna's arm, staining her designer top. "I'm okay," she grunted, though her face was pale beneath her makeup.
A low growl rumbled from the hallway outside their suite. Rei's blood ran cold as she realized the truth – this wasn't just a single attacker. They were under siege.
"Weapons," Luna panted, her eyes darting to their hidden cache.
Rei nodded, inching towards the false panel in the wall that concealed their bounty hunting gear. The irony wasn't lost on her – the very tools they used to hunt others might be their only hope for survival.
The first hybrid charged again, its powerful legs propelling it across the room with terrifying speed. Rei dove, rolling beneath its leap and coming up next to the hidden panel. Her fingers scrabbled at the edge, popping it open.
Luna let out a battle cry, drawing the creature's attention as Rei reached into the cache. Her hand closed around the familiar grip of her pistol, a surge of confidence flowing through her.
"Duck!" Rei shouted, bringing the weapon to bear.
Luna dropped to the floor as Rei squeezed the trigger. The pulsed bullet lanced across the room, catching the hybrid mid-lunge. The creature's momentum carried it forward, its smoking body crashing into an antique vase.
"Nice shot," Luna grinned, pushing herself to her feet and retrieving her own weapon from the cache.
Rei allowed herself a small smile, but it faded quickly as more growls echoed from the hallway. "We're not out of this yet."
The sisters took up defensive positions, their backs to the wall as they faced the suite's entrance. Rei's mind raced, cataloging escape routes and potential improvised weapons.
"How many do you think?" Luna whispered, her finger tense on the trigger of her pistol.
Rei shook her head. "Too many. We need to–"
The door exploded inward, torn from its hinges by the sheer force of the hybrid pack's assault. A writhing mass of twisted flesh and feral fury poured into the room.
Rei's training took over, her body moving on autopilot as she squeezed off shot after shot. The air filled with the acrid scent of ozone and burning flesh as her plasma bolts found their marks.
Luna's aim was just as true, her shots dropping hybrids with surgical precision. But for every creature that fell, two more seemed to take its place.
"We can't stay here!" Luna shouted over the din of snarls and energy discharges.
Rei nodded grimly. "Balcony! On three!"
They counted down silently, their eyes locked. On "three," they broke from cover, laying down suppressing fire as they sprinted for the balcony doors.
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Glass shattered as Rei shoulder-checked through the doors, tumbling onto the balcony with Luna hot on her heels. The cool night air hit her like a slap, heavy with the scent of smoke and chaos from the city below.
Luna slammed the remains of the door shut behind them, but it was a futile gesture. The hybrids threw themselves against the barrier, their inhuman strength splintering wood and warping metal.
Rei's eyes darted frantically, searching for an escape route. The adjacent balcony was tantalizingly close, but the gap seemed to yawn like a chasm in the pale moonlight.
"We have to jump," Rei said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Luna's eyes widened, but she nodded. There was no time for fear or hesitation.
They backed up as far as the balcony would allow, their heels brushing against the railing. The hybrids redoubled their efforts, sensing their prey's desperation.
"Together," Luna said, reaching out to squeeze Rei's hand.
Rei nodded, squeezing back. "Together."
They sprinted forward as one, years of dance training and bounty hunting exploits fueling their movements. As they reached the edge of the balcony, they pushed off with all their might.
For a heart-stopping moment, they were airborne, the unforgiving pavement far below. Rei's stomach lurched as gravity reasserted its hold, pulling them downward.
They hit the adjacent balcony hard, rolling to absorb the impact. Rei felt something in her shoulder give way with a sickening pop, but adrenaline dulled the pain to a distant throb.
Luna scrambled to her feet, hauling Rei up by her good arm. "Come on!"
They burst through the door into an empty apartment, the sounds of pursuit fading behind them. Rei's mind raced, formulating their next move.
"We need to get to the garage," she panted as they jogged down the hallway. "If we can reach the Thunderbolt, we might have a chance."
Luna nodded, her face set in grim determination. "Let's hope Hiro's upgrades are as good as he claims."
They reached the emergency stairwell, catching their breath and assess their situation. Rei winced as she tried to move her injured arm, the pain finally breaking through the adrenaline haze.
"How bad?" Luna asked, her eyes full of concern.
Rei gritted her teeth. "I'll live. We've got bigger problems."
As if on cue, a distant howl echoed up the stairwell, followed by the sound of claws scrabbling against concrete.
"Damn it," Luna muttered. "They're persistent, I'll give them that."
Rei managed a weak smile. "Guess all those years of devoted fans were good practice."
They descended the stairs as quickly as they dared, every shadow and sound setting their nerves on edge. The garage level loomed below, a beacon of hope in their desperate flight.
As they burst through the stairwell door into the garage, Rei's eyes locked onto their salvation–the sleek, yellow form of the Thunderbolt. Their new custom-built air car was a masterpiece of engineering, as much a weapon as it was a vehicle. Although Hiro’s cost to modify it was huge, his engineering skills never disappointed them.
They sprinted across the garage, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. Rei's fingers fumbled with the biometric lock, her heart pounding as she willed the system to recognize her print.
A growl from behind froze the blood in her veins.
Rei turned slowly, coming face to face with a hulking hybrid. Its muscles rippled beneath patchy fur, saliva dripping from yellowed fangs.
"Luna," Rei said softly, "get in the car."
"Like hell," Luna shot back, raising her pistol.
The hybrid tensed, ready to spring. Time seemed to slow as Rei weighed their options, each heartbeat stretching into eternity.
The creature launched itself forward, a blur of claws and fury. Rei and Luna fired in unison, their plasma bolts converging on the hybrid's chest.
It crashed to the ground mere inches from their feet, momentum carrying its smoldering corpse forward in a grisly slide.
The Thunderbolt's locks disengaged with a soft chime, the doors lifting with a pneumatic hiss. Rei and Luna scrambled inside, sealing themselves in the vehicle's armored cocoon.
"Come on, come on," Rei muttered as she started the startup sequence. The air car's fusion drive hummed to life, repulsor fields shimmering as it lifted off the garage floor.
Luna's fingers flew over the weapons console, bringing the Thunderbolt's defensive systems online. "We've got company!"
A pack of hybrids poured into the garage, their howls sending chills down Rei's spine. She gunned the throttle; the Thunderbolt surging forward with neck-snapping acceleration.
"Hang on!" Rei shouted as she aimed for the garage's exit ramp. The hybrids scattered as the air car barreled towards them, those too slow to dodge bouncing off the reinforced hull with sickening thuds.
They burst out of the garage into the chaos-filled streets of Moreau City. Pillars of smoke rose into the night sky, casting an apocalyptic pall over the once-gleaming metropolis. The distant wail of sirens mixed with screams and inhuman howls to create a hellish cacophony.
Rei's hands tightened on the controls as she wove through abandoned vehicles and debris. "We need somewhere safe to regroup," she said, her voice tight with tension.
Luna nodded, her eyes scanning their surroundings for threats. "The HUB. It should be safe from the ferals in the sewer.”
A bone-jarring impact rocked the Thunderbolt as a feral hybrid landed on the hood, its claws scrabbling for purchase on the smooth surface. Luna swore, her fingers dancing over the weapons controls.
"Not inside the city!" Rei shouted, reading her sister's intentions. "Too much collateral damage!"
Luna gritted her teeth in frustration but nodded. "Fine. Guess we do this the old-fashioned way."
She popped the canopy; the wind whipping her electric-blue hair into a frenzy. With practiced ease, Luna lined up her shot and squeezed the trigger. The hybrid tumbled from the hood, its body disappearing into the darkness below.
Rei banked hard, weaving between the towering skyscrapers as she plotted a course for the HUB. The madness seemed to spread fast, and pretty soon there won't be any haven to hide.
Luna landed on her seat and closed the canopy. “We gotta find the Acolyte fast before this entire city turns into a wasteland.”
Rei nodded grimly. "Agreed. And I know just who can help us.”
On the controls, Rei dialed Hiro's contact number on the holo com. After a few minutes, Hiro's holographic face appeared over the dashboard.
“Girls! Are you okay?” He asked through the static. “The city is going crazy!”
“We know and we are fine,” said Rei. “We are on our way to your shop now, but we need your help.”
“We are hunting for a guy called the Acolyte,” Luna explained. “The commissioner said he is responsible for the mutated feral outbreak here.”
“Can you find any intel on his possible whereabouts until we arrive?”
Hiro nodded. “I'll do my best. Fly safely.”
After his face flickered away, Rei steered the air car to a nearby canal, which should take them directly to the sewer. If the ferals infested the sewers, the ride will be rough.
*****
The Thunderbolt zoomed through the sewer tunnel, reaching the HUB inside the giant underground chamber. Rei breathed a sigh of relief as she guided the Thunderbolt towards the landing pad on the GearHead shop.
As they touched down, the shop's defense turrets activated to life and scanned their vehicle. Perhaps the nerdy Normie mechanic prepared himself for any attack from the chaotic surface.
Hiro's anxious face greeted them as they descended from the Thunderbolt, his usual easy going demeanor replaced by tightly wound tension.
"Thank God you made it," he said, ushering them inside. "I've been monitoring the city's emergency channels. It's a madhouse out there."
Rei winced as she rotated her injured shoulder. "Tell us something we don't know, Hiro. Did you find the Acolyte?”
Hiro nodded, leading them to his nerve center–a room filled with banks of monitors and humming servers. He slid into his chair, his fingers flying over holographic keyboards.
"I've been trying to track down info on this 'Acolyte' character," Hiro said, his eyes never leaving the screens. "Whoever he is, he's got some serious backing. His network is buried deep in Moreau's underworld."
Luna leaned against a console, her face grim. "How deep are we talking?"
Hiro shook his head. "Deep enough that even I'm having trouble cracking it. We're gonna need boots on the ground for this one."
Rei's stomach twisted into knots. She knew what Hiro was suggesting, and she didn't like it one bit. "The criminal district," she said flatly.
Hiro nodded. "There's an underground club down there–The Neon Crystal Club. If anyone's got intel on the Acolyte, that's where we'll find it."
Rei's eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam. "Sounds like my kind of place."
Luna shot her sister a warning look. "This isn't a game, Rei. We'll be walking into a nest of vipers."
"Better than a pack of rabid hybrids," Rei countered with a grin.
Luna sighed, knowing there was no talking her sister out of it once she had that look in her eye. "Fine. But we go in smart. No unnecessary risks."
Hiro cleared his throat. "There's, uh, one more thing you should know."
The sisters turned to face him, tension radiating from every line of their bodies.
Hiro's fingers danced over the keyboard, bringing up a new screen. Rei's blood ran cold as she read the information displayed there.
"Is this for real?" Luna whispered, her earlier bravado evaporating.
Hiro nodded grimly. "Afraid so. Someone's put a bounty out on both of you. A big one."
Rei's mind reeled as she stared at the staggering sum attached to their names. It was enough to tempt even the most principled hunter.
"Who?" she choked out.
Hiro shook his head. "Anonymous. Whoever it is, they want you off the grid for a big price.”
“But why? And who the hell would wanna catch us?” Rei complained. “We're famous and people know we are innocent!”
Hiro shook his head. “Your fans might believe you, but there are corrupted bounty hunters out there who won't care. To them, it is all about the chase and the money. And with the chaos happening up there, nobody will have time to prove you are innocent. All I can say is… Be careful.”
Rei's laugh was hollow, devoid of any genuine humor. "Well, sis, looks like we're about to find out what it's like on the other side of the hunt."
Luna nodded, her jaw set in grim determination. They had started this night as Moreau City's top bounty hunters. Now, they were the prey.
As they prepared to venture into the criminal heart of their besieged city, Rei couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. But with the fate of Moreau hanging in the balance, they had no choice.
The hunt was on, and this time, they were the ones with targets on their backs.