The inky blackness of night shrouded the city, but Huntar's sharp eyes pierced through the shadows with feline intensity. His powerful frame moved with the silent grace of a predator as he led Zena and Torag toward the besieged bank on the roof.

Huntar narrowed his eyes down at the bank. This mission felt different. This time, he wasn't fighting for coin or conquest, but for something far more precious: loyalty to a dear friend.

Zena's striped form slipped past him, her movements liquid and purposeful. She caught his gaze, offering a curt nod—a silent acknowledgment of the gravity of their task. Huntar knew she understood the stakes as well as he did. Jenny's life was in danger, and failure was not an option.

Torag lumbered behind them, his bulk belying a surprising agility. The rhino-man's small eyes gleamed with determination, and his rough snout twisted into a grim scowl. Though limited in speech, Torag's actions spoke volumes of his unwavering devotion.

After climbing down from the roof, they neared the bank's rear entrance, Huntar raised a clenched fist, signaling his companions to halt. He strained his ears, listening for any sign of movement within. Only the faint whirring of the security cameras reached his sensitive hearing.

A soft vibration in his pocket drew his attention. Huntar retrieved the sleek, flat device Eddie had given him—a "cell phone," he'd called it. A message from the young human flickered across the screen: "Cameras looped. You're clear."

Huntar grinned wolfishly. With Eddie's expertise guiding them from the shadows, their infiltration would be undetected. He motioned for Zena to take the point, her lithe form ideally suited for bypassing any remaining security measures.

The zebra warrior moved with practiced precision, her deft hands working silently as she picked the lock. Within moments, the door clicked open, granting them entry to the darkened interior of the bank.

They advanced with cautious steps, senses heightened for any potential ambush. The stale air reeked of fear and desperation—the unmistakable scent of captives huddled somewhere nearby.

A muffled sob reached Huntar's ears, drawing him towards the main lobby. He peered around the corner, his stomach knotting at the sight before him.

Dozens of terrified humans cowered on the floor, their hands bound behind their backs. Masked figures paced among them, brandishing wicked-looking firearms as they barked orders at the hostages.

Huntar's gaze swept across the room, searching for that familiar flash of golden hair. Relief washed over him as he spotted Jenny slumped against the far wall, her head lolling to the side—alive, but unconscious.

A low growl rumbled in his throat as rage simmered beneath his stoic exterior. These fools had dared to harm one of his own—a transgression that would not go unpunished.

Zena's hand reached for his arm, her touch anchoring him. Her dark fierce eyes shone intensity, silently conveying a shared thirst for vengeance.

Huntar nodded curtly, his mind already formulating a strategy. With a series of hand signals, he outlined his plan of attack to his companions.

Zena tensed like a coiled serpent, cracking her knuckles. Torag pawed at the ground, his immense muscles rippling beneath his thick hide.

In a blur of motion, Huntar launched himself into the fray, his claws cleaving through the air with a feral roar. The robbers whirled in shock, their weapons discharging wildly as the lion warrior descended.

Zena materialized at his side, a whirlwind of strikes and evasive maneuvers that left her adversaries reeling. Her kicks cracked against the bone with sickening force, each blow delivered with lethal precision.

Torag barreled into the melee, his bulk slamming into the robbers like an unstoppable juggernaut. Bones shattered beneath his powerful fists, and bodies crumpled in his wake.

The hostages scrambled for cover, their cries of terror mingling with the chaos of battle. Huntar fought with a brutal elegance, his claws extending his body as he cut through his enemies with savage grace.

Within moments, the robbers' ranks had thinned, their weapons clattering to the ground in surrender. The others fled in abject terror, their bravado shattered by the ferocity of the Beastmen's assault.

Huntar whirled, surveying the fallen enemies. Bodies littered the floor, groaning in pain or lying ominously still. The stench of blood and gunsmoke hung heavy in the air, a grim testament to the violence that had unfolded.

After he shook some blood off his claws, his gaze found Jenny's motionless form and a pang of fear lanced through his heart. He rushed to her side, cradling her head in his massive hands.

"Jenny?" he rumbled, his voice a ragged growl. "Can you hear me?"

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Her eyelids fluttered, and she let out a soft moan. Relief washed over Huntar as those brilliant blue eyes blinked open, clarity slowly returning to her gaze.

"Huntar?" she murmured, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What...how did you..."

He silenced her with a gentle shush, his calloused thumb brushing away a trickle of blood from her split lip. "You're safe now," he assured her, his gruff tone tinged with a tenderness seldom heard. "We're getting you out of here."

Zena knelt beside them, her expression a mix of concern and grim satisfaction. "The captives are free," she reported, gesturing towards the huddle of hostages.

Huntar's jaw tightened as he scooped Jenny into his powerful arms, cradling her against his broad chest. "Then let's move. This isn't over yet."

They made their way towards the bank's rear exit, the former hostages trailing in their wake like a bedraggled flock. Huntar could feel their fear; their eyes were locked on the Beastmen, reflecting a blend of thankfulness and unease.

As they emerged onto the deserted back alley, the wail of distant sirens reached Huntar's ears. The authorities would be swarming the area soon, their arrival heralded by the flashing lights already visible in the distance.

"This way," Zena hissed, gesturing towards a nearby fire escape that clung to the side of an adjacent building.

Huntar nodded, his grip on Jenny tightening as he followed his zebra companion up the rickety steps. Torag lumbered behind, his bulk causing the metal to groan in protest.

They ascended to the rooftop, the cool night air whipping at their faces as they gained their vantage point above the city streets. From here, they could monitor the situation below while remaining safely out of sight.

Jenny shifted in Huntar's embrace, her gaze drawn to the mesmerizing lights and the colossal metal structures encircling them. "Where are we?" she whispered, her forehead creasing in confusion.

Before Huntar could respond, a thunderous rumble filled the air, and a massive shadow fell over the rooftop. He whirled, scratching his claws out, metal crafts descended from the inky sky with spinning blades on top.

Zena tensed, her ears flattening against her skull as she took a defensive stance. "What sorcery is this?" she hissed, her dark eyes narrowing.

The crafts hovered above them, their piercing spotlights bathing the rooftop in a blinding glare. Huntar shielded his eyes, his lip curling in a snarl as he prepared for another battle.

A hatch opened in the underbelly of the lead craft, and a dozen armored figures rappelled to the rooftop, their movements swift and precise. They formed a tight perimeter, their weapons trained on the Beastmen with unwavering focus.

"Stand down!" the armored leader barked again, the barrel of his weapon sweeping across the rooftop. "Surrender peacefully, and you will not be harmed."

Huntar tensed, his muscles coiled like a lion preparing to strike. His free claws were ready for blood as his piercing yellow eyes bore into the visor of the mercenary commander.

"We will not surrender," he rumbled, low and dangerous. "Not while we still draw breath."

Zena shifted her stance, twirling her staff in a display of readiness. "Try and take us," she taunted, her voice laced with bravado. "I dare you."

For a breathless moment, the standoff stretched taut, the mercenaries and Beastmen sizing each other up like warriors before a clash. Then, all hell broke loose.

With a primal roar, Huntar charged, his claws gleaming as he met the first wave of mercenaries head-on. Metal screeched against scratches, and the wail of slicing through the air reverberated over the rooftop as combatants engaged in battle.

Zena was a blur of motion, her lithe form weaving through the mercenary ranks as she laid about with her kicks. Bone crunched with sickening frequency, accompanied by cries of pain and surprise from their outmatched foes.

Torag barreled into the fray like an unstoppable juggernaut, his immense bulk scattering mercenaries like tenpins. His powerful fists hammered into armored chest plates, denting the metal with earth-shaking force.

Jenny clung to Huntar's back, her face a mask of fear and awe as the lion warrior knocked through their enemies. She could scarcely believe the savagery unfolding before her eyes—these were not the misguided rebels she had envisioned, but warriors born from the harshest of crucibles.

Amidst the chaos, a mercenary leveled his weapon at Jenny, his finger tightening on the trigger. Before he could fire, a blur of motion streaked across his vision—Eddie, having retrieved a length of pipe from the nearby ventilation shaft, swung it with desperate force.

The pipe cracked against the mercenary's helmet with a dull thud, sending him tumbling to the ground in a dazed heap. Eddie stood over him, chest heaving, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and exhilaration.

"Stay away from her!" he shouted, brandishing the pipe like a sword as he positioned himself between Jenny and the felled mercenary.

For a handful of heartbeats, the battle raged on the rooftop, the air thick with the tang of ozone and the staccato chatter of gunfire. Huntar and his companions fought with the ferocity of cornered beasts, their instincts honed by a lifetime of hardship in their war-torn homeland.

But the mercenaries' superior numbers and firepower slowly turned the tide. One by one, the Beastmen fell—first Torag, his bulk driven to its knees by a hail of stun rounds that crackled across his iron-gray hide. Then Zena, her whirling kick finally knocked from her grasp as her legs were swept out from under her.

Huntar fought on, his claws a deadly whirlwind that bought precious seconds—but even his considerable might was no match for the overwhelming force arrayed against him. A well-placed shot rang out, and agony lanced through his sword arm as the round found its mark.

With a guttural snarl, the lion warrior dropped to one knee. Within moments, he was swarmed by the remaining mercenaries, his arms wrenched behind his back as he was forced into submission.

"No!" Jenny cried out, her voice ringing with despair as she witnessed her friend's defeat. She made a move towards Huntar, but a mercenary caught her by the hair, wrenching her back with brutal force.

Eddie rushed forward, swinging his pipe in a wild arc—only to be met with the butt of a rifle cracking across his temple. He crumpled to the ground, dazed and bloodied, as the mercenaries secured their captives.

One by one, Huntar, Zena, Torag, Jenny, and Eddie were bound in heavy restraints, their struggles futile against the merciless efficiency of their captors. With the final mercenary fastening the binders on Huntar's wrists, the armored leader advanced, his helmet sliding back to unveil a face etched with weathered scars.

"You fought well," the grizzled commander growled, his voice thick with grudging respect. "But you never stood a chance against the might of Thunder Tech's elite forces."

Huntar met the man's gaze with smoldering defiance, his yellow eyes burning with the fires of a thousand battles yet to come. "This is not over," he rumbled, the words heavy with promise.

The commander offered a thin smile, devoid of mirth. "For you, perhaps. But for your kind..." He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air like a pall.

With a sharp nod to his troops, the mercenaries hoisted their captives to their feet, propelling them towards the waiting crafts with rough shoves and jabs. As Huntar was hauled across the rooftop, he stole one last glance at Jenny—her eyes were wide with fear, but that spark of determination still flickered deep within.

Come what may, the lion warrior vowed, they would not go quietly into the long night. This was far from over.

The armored craft's hatch yawned open, and Huntar was shoved unceremoniously inside, his head ringing from the impact against the metal floor. As the hatch slammed shut behind him, plunging the hold into darkness, he could only wonder at what cruel fate awaited them at the hands of their captors.

Thunder Tech held them now, enslaved within its cold, unfeeling grasp. But Huntar would not surrender, could not surrender—for in his heart burned the hope of a better world, one worth fighting for until his dying breath.

No matter what torments lay in store, the lion warrior would endure. He had come too far to falter now.