"Another," the lady called out. Once she got her next drink, she raised it up to her snout and poured it down her throat. "Ahhh. Another."
The bartender put his elbow on the counter, resting his chin in his palm, "No offense, ma'am, but I think you've had enough."
"I said another," the lady literally growled. When the bartender shook his head, she threw her hands up, "Fine! Whatever! I'll just get drunk somewhere else!"
"Don't you mean 'drunk-er?'" one of the other patrons pointed out.
"Shut up, Herman!" the woman yelled as she stormed out. As she struggled to stay on her feet, she soon realized that anyone and everyone nearby was staring at her.
"A werewolf!"
"It's Stephanie!" she corrected. Her mind cleared up a bit as she realized the situation, "Shit." Knowing what to do, she immediately bolted for the woods. There, it was easy enough to hide from anyone searching for her. "Thank you, Norway, for having so much nature to hide in."
Once she was sure the humans had left, she emerged from her hiding spot under some bushes.
"What was that about?"
Stephanie turned around to see a fellow werewolf with smooth, pale pink fur. He wore dark brown dress pants, and a dark green, collared shirt. "Don't tell me you wandered out in broad daylight."
"How'd you know?" Stephanie asked, standing up.
"I smell a lot of alcohol on your breath. It's not hard to guess," the male wolf said as he held out a hand, "Denzel Smith."
"Stephanie Howler," the woman introduced herself, "And don't you dare make a joke about it."
Denzel chuckled, "No need. I'm sure everyone you've ever met already beat me to it."
"They did," Stephanie growled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go look for another wolf bar."
As she began walking away, Denzel followed her, "Why so much drinking? You have some sorrows you want to drown?"
"…Yes."
That answer made Denzel get serious, "I see."
"Check this out!" a blond preteen bragged as he did an ollie.
The brown-haired boy with him grinned, "You think that was impressive? Watch this!"
"Psst."
Both boys looked over to a shadowy alley where the unseen voice had come from.
"You two like skateboarding?" When the boys nodded, the voice continued, "Have you ever seen a werewolf ride a skateboard?"
"What?" the blond boy asked. He looked up at the sky, "But it's the afternoon."
A figure emerged from the alley, revealing a werewolf with dark, evergreen fur. The tight black T-shirt and blue jeans.
The looks on the boys' faces showed that they'd clearly thought this was a joke and seeing a real werewolf. The blond boy calmed down a bit as the wolf girl pulled out a skateboard from behind her back, but the brown-haired boy still panicked and ran away.
"Crud, I need to leave," the girl said as she got to skating back into the alley. As she rolled away, she did a kickflip, leaving the boy wide-eyed. "Just gotta hide until-"
"Hey, up here!" A voice called from above.
Not bothering to question it, the girl got off her skateboard and sank her claws into the wall and climbed up in no time. "Phew," she wiped her brow and spotted who'd called to her.
He was a werewolf wearing a baggy, pale blue, long-sleeve shirt and beige cargo shorts. The last thing of note was his dull yellow fur. He looked at her curiously, "What happened with you? Did some humans spot you?...Also, I'm Lupe. Who are you?"
"Yeah, I approached a couple kids and one of them got scared, so I ran before anyone else could show up," the green werewolf sighed.
"Really? That's a relief," Lupe smiled, "For a second, I thought you might have revealed yourself to a whole crowd at once!"
"Do I look like I was born yesterday?" the female wolf asked. She perked up as she remembered his other question, "I'm Selene, by the way." After peering over the edge of the roof, she turned back to Lupe, "What are you even doing on a roof anyway?"
Lupe shrugged, "I was napping. Up here, there's no humans, no potential lynch mobs. Just me and the nice, warm sun."
As he lied back down on the ground, Selene nodded in agreement with his logic, "That sounds nice, but I've got too much energy to nap. It's why I love skateboarding."
"Skateboarding, huh?" Lupe smiled, "Do you like going fast?"
"It doesn't matter if I'm fast or slow as long as I get to do some tricks," Selene answered, smiling as she pictured her moves.
"That must be nice, but I preferred to save my energy for when I was on the track," Lupe mused.
"What…track?" Selene trailed off as she heard a commotion down below. She, along with Lupe, took another look to see a navy-blue werewolf fighting a…werecat?
"Our scout encountered resistance already?" an anthropomorphic, grey-furred cat man asked.
"That's correct, sir," a Smilodon next to him saluted.
"Pull up a visual," the grey cat took the hood off his cloak. When he saw what was going on, he pulled back his cloak, "I don't believe it. More wolves." He chuckled maliciously, "Maybe he's here too."
An anthro snow leopard raised an eyebrow, "Who exactly?"
"If this all goes the way I'm hoping, then I'll let you know," the grey cat said. "We'd better take the initiative before anyone from back home spoils things. Send some more of our men down there."
"Yes, sir," the crew obeyed.
The blue werewolf threw a one-two punch, landing clean hits on the werecats face. When it tried slashing in retaliation, he weaved under it and hit it with a left hook. The cat then tried to tackle him; he got it in a clinch.
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire was heard. The two were-beasts grunted as they a felt a few bullets enter their torsos. The wolf sent a glare to the policeman who'd fired the shots. With some effort, he spun and held the cat in front of him, "Shoot him! Not me!" he shouted. When the cop hesitated, the blue wolf rolled his eyes and threw the cat in a direction with no civilians.
Before he could pursue his foe, more cat monsters arrived on the scene. "You all look like cheetahs," the werewolf commented, starting to sound nervous. "You're all not super-fast, are you?"
"Fortunately, they're not. But you should be more worried about me."
The cheetah minions parted to reveal another cat monster. This one was a tiger wearing armor resembling a gladiator, carrying a battle-ax in one hand.
"You look like you might be in charge here," the navy-blue werewolf guessed. "What are you guys, The Cat Empire? Because I've got news for you. A human band already took that name."
"We're Ragnafur." The ax-wielding tiger growled as the werewolf chuckled, "And this planet is ours now."
"I'm sorry to tell you but, when cats fight dogs," the blue wolf cracked his knuckles and took a fighting stance, "The dogs usually win."
"Mind if we help out?"
The two fighters turned to the side to see Lupe and Selene approach, "With this many enemies, you might need some help," Selene shrugged.
The blue werewolf looked confused, "You don't even know me. I'm surprised you're not just watching from afar."
Lupe rubbed the back of his head, "I guess we're just nice."
The three werewolves brandished their claws and charged into the fray.
"Let's finish this now!" Stephanie shouted, "Who knows how long we have before the authorities show up!"
"You don't need to tell me!" Denzel replied as he slashed the werecat. The two werewolves wound up and threw tandem punches. This launched the werecat upward. To their surprise, it exploded when it hit the ground. "…Did we do that?"
"Forget that. Do you hear that?" Stephanie asked as her ears twitched.
Denzel put a hand to his ear, grinning at what he was hearing, "I hear it. Maybe it'll be as much fun as what we just dealt with."
"What? Are you out of your mind?" the red werewolf asked. Seeing her new acquaintance walk toward the noise anyway, she sighed and followed him.
The blue werewolf frowned as he backed off. It turned out that, while the cheetahs lacked running speed, they made up for it with striking speed, being able to throw dozens of claw swipes in just a few seconds.
Getting an idea, the blue wolf sidestepped the final cheetah and jabbed in the ribs before knocking it out with a cross. "That's what you get when you challenge Rodrigo Clawzter!" he boasted.
"Don't act like you've already won!" the tiger shouted. Swinging his ax, he launched a wide, crescent-shaped blade of energy at the werewolves. The blade struck them in their chests, sending them all flying.
"Ugh, what kind of attack was that? I feel like I'm healing slower than usual," Lupe rasped as he and the others writhed on the ground.
The tiger propped his ax over his shoulder, "Hmm, I want to take my time killing you, but you did wipe out my men. Maybe I should make this quick just to be safe." He perked up as Stephanie and Denzel arrived on the scene. "Well, look at that. I must be popular."
The two new arrivals tensed as the tiger prepped his ax.
To everyone's surprise, though, a cloaked figure landed between the wolves and the tiger. The figure pulled out a bomb and threw it to the ground. Space warped around him and the werewolves, and before the tiger knew it, his enemies were gone.
The next thing any of the colorful lycanthropes knew, they were standing and/or sitting in a large, luxurious condo.
Rodrigo got to his feet and walked over to a window section built into the wall. "Is anyone besides me confused?"
Lupe took a look around, "I think we're in that fancy tower near the center of town." He quickly spotted the figure who'd brought them there. "What is all this?"
The figure removed his cloak's hood, revealing a bearded, grey wolf man, "Welcome to Nocturn Tower. My name is Clawthon. I'm sure you are all curious."
"Yeah, we are," Selene nodded.
"Very much," Stephanie agreed, crossing her arms.
"I created this lair many years ago," Clawthon explained, "Together with others of our kind, I fought and defeated a great threat. Sadly, I was the only one who survived."
Denzel held up a hand, "Wait a minute, if you're so strong, why don't you just take care of that monster yourself?"
"I fear this new threat may be too great for me to take on alone. That's why I brought you all here. I believe you have the potential to combat that monster and those that will come after it," Clawthon explained.
"Us? You don't even know us," Stephanie pointed out. "We don't even know each other for that matter."
Clawthon smiled, "I know enough. To demonstrate, allow me to state why each of you will join."
"Really? Why am I going to join?" Rodrigo challenged.
"You wish to get even for being defeated by that tiger," Clawthon stated.
Rodrigo stood silent for a second before shrugging, "Okay, you're right."
Next was Denzel. "You believe this will be an excellent way to relieve the boredom you've been feeling."
The pink werewolf smiled and shrugged.
Clawthon focused on Stephanie next, "You will want to join to properly guide the team's leader." Upon saying the word "leader," he turned his gaze to Selene, shocking both girls.
"Wait, me!?" Selene pointed to herself.
"I've led an actual team. Why are you making her the leader," Stephanie asked.
The bearded wolf smiled, "Sometimes the most unexpected piece is the one that completes the puzzle."
Selene looked uncertain, "Are you sure I can do this?"
"I believe you can," Clawthon nodded. "If you all feel you're ready to confront the tiger again, then take these." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a number of strange-looking gloves. Each one was black with a wolf's head on the back. As the new team took the gloves, he held out a small collection of what looked like marbles. The marbles matched their fur except they were in brighter hues. "These will grant you the power you need to fight."
Getting an idea of what to do, Denzel put on his glove first and tapped the head on his glove, making its mouth pop open. He then took the pink marble and placed in the mouth. After a brief flash of light, he looked down at himself to see he was now wearing a strange, pink suit. His boot cuffs were black, and he'd gained a black glove on his left hand to match the one on his right. On his chest was an image of a wolf's jaws and teeth while a crescent moon rested on the spot over his heart. Lastly, judging by the visor he was looking through, he'd been given a helmet to top it all off.
"Hey, what happened to your snout!?" Selene shouted, pointing at him.
"And your tail!" Lupe added.
Denzel felt his face and lower back, realizing they were right! He quickly turned around and glared at Clawthon.
"That is a result of the Morphing Grid, the source of this power," Clawthon explained, holding up a hand. "It's primarily used by humans, so it adjusted your body slightly. Do not be alarmed, though. You will return to normal once you power down."
"You still could've warned me, though," Denzel sighed.
"I'll go next!" Rodrigo declared. After morphing, he looked himself over, "Okay, this is weird, but at least it should be fun."
Denzel smiled under his helmet and nodded, "My thoughts exactly."
One by one, the rest of the werewolves donned their suits for the upcoming battle. Selene went last and tried to spice things up with a transformation phrase, "Let's rock and howl!"
"Um, Selene? You might want to work on that line," Lupe suggested.
Clawthon nodded, "I will return you to where the tiger is. I have every faith in you, Power Rangers: Wolf's Pride!"
The new Rangers were briefly disoriented as they found themselves back on the street they'd met the tiger beast on.
"Wolf's Pride?" Selene asked. "He had a name picked out for us?"
"Probably a hand-me-down from his old team," Denzel pointed out.
Rodrigo put a hand on Selene's shoulder, "Alright, 'pack leader,' what's our next move?"
Feeling pressure from the looks the rest of the team, Selene sniffed the air, quickly picking up a feline scent. "This way!" Guiding the group, they found the ax-wielding tiger on the next block over. "Hey!" she called out.
The tiger ceased chasing the fleeing civilians and turned around to see his new foes, "What is this? Fighting threats in funny costumes? Is that something humans do?"
Selene thought for a second about how to answer before responding. "We're the Power Rangers-" she slashed the air and took a fighting stance, small claws appearing on her fingertips, "-Wolf's Pride!"
The tiger shrugged, sighing, "You didn't even attack me, but that was still painful."
Stephanie shook her head, "Here's some advice: when you're about to start fighting, don't bother posturing." She stepped to the front of the group, "Everyone, move in!"
That was all the team needed to hear as they rushed at their enemy.
Denzel moved in first. He ducked under a slash and tried to tackle the tiger, only for the tiger to slam his ax's handle down on his back.
Taking a different approach, Stephanie snuck up behind the tiger beast and got him in a headlock. This distracted him long enough for her teammates to start landing hits.
Rodrigo lashed out, hitting their foe with a one-two-three punch. Lupe followed up on his blue teammate's attack by jumping up and dropkicking the tiger.
The tiger growled as he stumbled back. "Alright, no more playing around!" He slashed with his ax, launching another crescent and flooring most of the Rangers. To deal with Stephanie, he raised his ax and bashed her over the head with its flat side.
"Ugh," Lupe groaned, "I have even been in that many fights, and now I have to fight without using teeth and claws?" He perked up as he started hearing a voice.
"You are more than just an ordinary werewolf. Don't listen only to your instincts. Listen to the Morphing Grid and let it be your guide."
Lupe's eyes widened as he got up, "Guys, I can hear Clawthon's voice in my head."
"What? He's not in your head, he's right over there," Selene pointed, showing that Clawthon was indeed present, standing behind them at the street corner.
"Just listen? Okay, I'll try it," Rodrigo shrugged. He took a deep breath and settled into a fighting stance. Next thing he knew, a blue gauntlet and vambrace appeared on his right arm.
Following his example, the other Rangers focused and summoned weapons of their own.Stephanie got a stylized, red-and-black pistol with a wolf on either side of the barrel; Denzel got a saber with a black blade, a pink handle, and a silver wolf head at the top of the handle, making it look like the blade was coming from its mouth; Lupe got…an L-shaped black-and-yellow tire iron.
"This…This is perfect," Selene muttered as she held her weapon in her hands. It was a black skateboard with green wheels and a picture of a green wolf howling on the board's deck.
The a-wielding tiger scanned over the Rangers' new armaments, "Well, this doesn't look serious but, better safe than sorry." He snapped his fingers, causing more cheetah soldiers to get beamed down onto the scene.
"Let's go, everyone," Selene instructed, setting her board on the ground. To the others' shock, as she started skating, a neon green track formed in front of her, allowing her to skate through the air. Skating along at high speeds, the Green Ranger proceeded to over one cheetah after another.
Denzel charged in a began slashing up his enemies while Stephanie just casually strolled forward, firing her gun.
Lupe swung his tire iron a bit before looking at it in disappointment, "So, is there something special about this, or-"
"You simply want to support your new friends."
Remembering Clawthon's words, the Yellow Ranger got an idea. He ran over to Denzel and jabbed the short end of his iron into his back.
Denzel stiffened up, "What are you-"
"Don't worry, I've got an idea," Lupe assured. He wrenched the iron several times before stepping back, watching in delight as Denzel began slashing so fast his arms were literally a blur. "I can't believe that worked.
As the suited-up werewolves continued their battle, one by one, more humans began gathering around to observe the fight.
The tiger growled as his forces were whittled down. Hoping to regain the advantage, he launched another energy crescent while the Rangers were distracted.
Fortunately for the team, Denzel noticed the attack just in time and blocked it with his saber. He grunted from the effort, but Lupe stepped behind him to brace, helping him deflect the blade.
Before the tiger could try again, Selene swooped in from above, "You're mine!" The green werewolf advanced several times but the tiger blocked her attempts to run him over with his ax.
Changing tactics, Selene landed on the ground and tried using her skateboard as a bludgeon. She swung again and again, but even with the morphing grid boosting her skills, the tiger was still countering her, even landing a counterattack here and there.
"Alright. Try blocking this!" Leaping back to gain some distance, Selene threw her skateboard and hopped on and rolled through the air back toward him. Once she got close enough, she did a kickflip, and when her feet touched the board again, she used her momentum to send herself at the tiger, hitting him with a dropkick.
The tiger tried to block it with his ax, but it wasn't enough this time. His ax shattered and he took the attack dead-on, making him explode.
Selene sighed, relieved that the battle was over. She perked up as she heard cheers.
All the Rangers looked around to see the human audience they'd attracted.
"That was incredible!" "You said you were the Power Rangers?" "Who are you?"
The team was quickly surrounded. "I'm getting claustrophobic. What do we do?" Rodrigo asked nervously.
Sensing something incoming, Denzel held up a hand and caught something. Seeing it was one the bombs Clawthon had used to transport them earlier, he looked around, this time spotting Clawthon watching them from a rooftop. Knowing what to do, he addressed the crowd, "Those are good questions. And they all have one answer…Goodbye!" The Pink Ranger threw the bomb to the ground, taking the team back to the tower.
Seeing they were out of sight from the public, all the werewolves deactivated their powers.
"That was…stressful," Stephanie sighed.
"But we did," Lupe smiled. "We just saved the day!"
"Indeed, you did," Clawthon said, walking up to the group. "I am pleased to see I was right about all of you." The bearded werewolf looked out the window of the penthouse, "It's getting late. You are free to stay here if you'd like."
Rodrigo stretched and began walking off to find a bedroom, "Sounds perfect. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not nocturnal."
As the other wolves walked away as well, Stephanie kept her gaze on Clawthon, "Alright, but I some more questions for you in the morning."
"Fair enough," Clawthon nodded.
"Looks like the coast is clear." Now sure that no one would see him come in, the figure sprinted across the street through the doors of Nocturn Tower. Once inside, he was immediately confronted by several robots resembling mannequins.
"You are trespassing. Please exit immediately," one of them droned.
"I'm afraid that won't do," the figure said, pulling his hood further down to obscure his face. He jumped up and used the robots' shoulders as stepstools to get by. Not stopping there, he found the staircase leading to the next floor. From there, he maneuvered around more robots in various ways such as jumping to opposite sides of the stairwell to climbing up the walls with his claws. Finally detecting the scent he was looking for, he made his way through a door and slammed it shut behind him.
The hooded figure took a second to catch his breath, only to see the tower's host was standing in front of him. "Before anything else happens, may I at least introduce myself?" he asked. Taking Clawthon's silence as a "yes," he removed his hood, revealing his burgundy-furred head. "Still don't recognize me?" More silence, so he reached into his cloak and pulled out a golden crown, "What about now?"
Clawthon's eyes widened, "Prince Kevin?"
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Sensei," Kevin smiled.
Despite the familiarity, Clawthon remained tense, "Did you come all the way here to take me in yourself?"
Kevin waved his hand shaking his head, "Not at all. Laws may be important, but they don't always determine what's right and wrong."
"Then why did you come here?" Clawthon asked, tilting his head.
"Merely to observe," Kevin answered as he turned around to leave.
Clawthon escorted the younger wolf, holding up a hand to signal the robots to stand down.
"Hehe, you must've had a lot of free time if you were able to build all of those things," Kevin smiled.
"Staying on topic, I'd ask you not to interfere with my new team," Clawthon requested.
"No need to worry. I know that they still need to grow, and my assistance would hamper that," Kevin answered as they reached the lobby, "It was nice seeing you again, Sensei. I wish your new team luck."
As his friend walked out through the exit, Clawthon sighed, "They may need it."