The walk back to the truck was mostly silent, save for the brief conversation with the female AI inside of the wagon. Wally was exhausted from the work day, while Gary stirred his muscles, moving his appendages back and forth.
He was tired, but not exhausted. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he hadn't grown up in these precarious conditions, and that he has had experience with manual labour before he actually reached the grade of Sergeant.
He conversed with the Sole Survivor, dedicating some time to craft cringe jokes. At least they induced a decent result from the young man, who either cuckled or outright snickered.
Bullet had taken shelter beneath the shadow cast by the empty skeleton of a vehicle. Once he saw his masters had returned, the bastard rubbed his flank against the two humans' thighs, properly marking them with his scent.
Wally kept his chin facing downwards, lumbering the ramp with his BnL bag and shovel secured around his right shoulder. Gary stuck to him close, carrying the twin shovel.
It was there that it happened...
Gary had been the first to notice it, as he had taken the liberty of scanning their surroundings for when it would have inevitably transpired. And since Wally was still ignoring him, he nudged the young man's shoulder with an elbow.
"Hey, Wally. What is that?" He rhetorically asked, lifting a finger in the red dot's general direction.
The Sole Survivor stopped dead in his tracks, turning his head to scrutinize the red dot. He slowly approached the laser, kneeling with an opened palm. Perhaps he was assuming the dot could be another object to add to his ever-growing collection?
Suddenly, the laser flickered away, about ten meters from the ramp. Wally put his bag and shovel down, bolting for the red dot while Gary smiled at the playful skip in his steps.
Again, the Sole Survivor failed at catching the bright light, which zoomed away, far into the outskirts.
Wally beckoned Gary. "Come on!" He exclaimed. "It could be our greatest catch yet!"
Ah, he didn't fail to notice the 'our.' It looked like Wally was actually considering him an integral part of his life.
So, Gary sprinted after the chuckling young man. His eyes roamed over the buldings, the roofs, the vehicles, and even one of New York's rivers as they passed through the abandoned streets. Soon enough, hundreds if not thousands of red dots were shined onto the city, converging upon the single laser being chased by the Sole Survivor.
Wally wasn't paying attention to this, mind settled over retrieving another relic for his childish anticts. But Gary? He was aware of what would transpire, and he was mentally preparing for the consequences of highly-advanced technology visiting this dead ball of grime they both resided onto.
Sweat coated his forehead. Gary wheezed air through gritted canines, relying upon his military training to endure the fatigue. It had been a while since his last exercise outside of combat areas: his legs trembled, his muscles worked hard, and his heart's beating rapidly escalated.
And how was Wally capable of running this fast? The excitement of another possible addition to his collection surely couldn't gift the young man this much energy, right?
Regrettably, as they found themselves into a familiar and open desert-like environment, Gary realized he had underestimated the hyper-active Sole Survivor.
Wally reached out to finally seize his prize-
"Uh?"
-but nothing solid grazed his skin.
"Oh, it's just a light..." The young man murmured. "Guess we'll go back home empty-handed."
Gary took a moment to recuperate from the marathon across the blocks, pointing a finger at the ground. "Y-you should probably check that out."
Other lights finished triangulating the position, forming a geometric shape with the previously chased dot. A loud roar, mechanical in nature, reverberated from above the duo's heads, and already a good chunk of sand was aimlessly hurled across the bay. The noise was very different from canonical wind...
They looked up.
The Sergeant's eyelids half closed in annoyance.
Well, shit.
The spaceship's wall of fire split into three different balls, raining Hell itself on Earth. A scorching heat was continuously hammering certain rectangular portions of dirt, while even rocks filled the air as they were being launched.
Gary forcefully clutched onto Wally's hand and yanked him away before a smaller column of fire could hit their location. He guided them both towards safety as Wally fearfully screamed his head off.
The Sergeant couldn't blame the Sole Survivor for this humane reaction.
One last shockwave sent the two flying. Gary waved his arms for a few seconds before the cold touch of the ground greeted him. He coughed and spat a mix of saliva and blood, patting his sides in search for his friend.
"W-Wally?" He croaked out.
The raised dust rendered his goggles fogged. He coughed some more, bringing them down. And while the glasses were quickly tarnished by the mist, his eyes remained unscarred.
An arm snaked around his neck, the familiar beeping of his friend's pacemaker making him sigh. He was raised up... and Wally (with his goggles also down), hugged him. Gary happily reciprocated the gesture, using one hand to pat his back.
"W-what was that?"
The Sergeant frowned, shifting to look behind his shoulder.
"Let's find out, aye?"
The dust was thick, and Gary was sure their hair would turn a deep grey by the time they were done with this assignment. Still, their resolution only strengthened: side by side and hand in hand, they fearlessly pushed forward.
Gary winced at the area of the impact. The ground had been blackened, turned to molten glass. And now they both saw the object of interest: a highly-advanced spaceship, anchored to the abandoned surface of this planet.
The spacecraft possessed three elongated legs. This design reminded the Sergeant too much of the Tripods from War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise. Also, the canonical logo of BnL was embedded onto its metal side, flouriscent and vibrant, unlike most of the broken signs in New York. Hell, even its surface was immaculate! Clean from any speck of dirt that could taint it.
The Sergeant's training kicked in full force. He waved his index and middle finger forward, glancing at the Sole Survivor behind him.
Wally cocked his head, baffled by the motion.
Honestly, Gary wanted to facepalm.
"It's a code us soldiers use." He whispered harshly. "This means 'Advance!' And this..." He put up a closed fist. "...means 'Halt and wait!' Okay?"
Wally took a moment to digest the new information and nodded.
"Cool." Gary praised at him, choosing this moment to affectionately ruffle the Sole Survivor's hair. The young man blushed, and Gary merely turned around to advance.
They hid beneath one of the legs, scanning the spaceship for any sign of human activity.
Suddenly, a hatch opened wide from the rear. Gary pulled Wally down, diving behind their only hiding spot. The former slowly gambled his chances by peeking, making sure to reveal as little of his body as possible. Instinctively, his fingers twitched and directed themselves at his hip, but once they grasped thin air he huffed, remembering that he now held no weapon aside from a knife.
He lifted a fist, signaling the need to stand by.
Some sort of capsule was gently lowered onto the ground, six feet and three inches in length, and not that much in width. The surface appeared encased in a layer of ice, likely a product of the hibernation sequence forced upon the occupant. Also, the glass was too blurred by the drop in temperature that both Sole Survivor and Sergeant couldn't see shit.
When the arm did indeed punch a code into the small keypad, the front of the capsule released a cloud of steam, opening by itself. The mechanical arm retracted back into the spacecraft's inner sanctum, the lights shutting off in that specific compartment.
And once a good amount of steam had been cleared?
The duo spotted a silhouette, feminine in nature. It didn't take long before a proper analysis of the young woman sleeping inside could be conducted.
She breathed softly, clenching her fists as her eyes snapped open.
Hadn't Gary been a gentleman, he would have whistled from the sheer beauty radiating from the girl.
Damn! As a bot she already emanated an angelic aura. But now? Wow, she could run for those competitions!
Lomg white hair, blue eyes, skinny neck, soft lips, but also a narrow chin and a certain flexibility; this gal had to have endured physical training to present herself as an angel of both feminine beauty and deadly capabilities. Gary bet she could easily defeat three Bruce Lee(s) at once: a femme fatale to her core.
Thing was, as soon as the hatch had finished unlocking, a back-up protocol with a flashing red light was triggered. A transparent visor latched over her face, protecting her from the hazardous environment.
As Eve stirred her muscles and pushed herself off her holding station to count her equipment, Gary risked a glance to Wally.
Geez.
He was practically encapsulated from the girl's appearance: mouth almost dropping to the ground and sweat slithering down his cheeks. Wally was love-struck, no questions asked.
Eve had now collected some sort of pistol and had holstered it onto her hip. She walked a few steps, letting her white nanosuit adjust accordingly to the environment. She then brought an arm up, swiping her fingers over a datapad attached to it.
That's handy. Is it like a smart watch?
She started muttering incomprehensible sentences. Gary sharpened his hearing and concentrated his undivided attention on her lips.
"...dioxide seems reasonable... nitrogen... are stable..."
Ah, she was measuring the atmosphere's composition to ensure she could lower her visor!
Still, even her voice was melodic, soft and inviting. He swore he had heard Wally release a sigh of contentment from this additional discovery. A small smile adorned his face as he inspected Eve's form further.
Yeah. I kinda envy you, buddy.
Eve's visor unlatched in a single motion, and the girl took deep breaths in. How old was she, anyway? She couldn't be older than Gary or Wally!
A rough estimation put her in her late twenties.
If Gary had to analyze her height, he would say she was about five feet and ten inches. The Sergeant himself was six feet and two inches, while Wally was six feet tall. And even then, Gary had a clear idea of what would happen if he and Eve were to square off.
Tons of broken bones and bruises on his part, for starters. It was difficulty to theorize if he could even hold a candle against her. It made sense to consider the young woman enhanced by technology, both mechanical and biological.
Was it like the video game Halo? Were women like her chosen from birth through a specific genetic make-up? And then progressively augmented as they grew?
Wait... what the fuck?!
Entering another code into the keypad, Eve seemingly induced her giant capsule in folding into a small-sized cylinder. She also attached this on another compartment onto her hip, this time higher than where the pistol resided.
Vibrations spread from the spaceship's metal onto the Sergeant's skin. He and the Sole Survivor recognized the sound immediately, and bolted for the nearest rock as fast as their legs could carry them. But they had been blown away again! Gary comically hit the ground multiple times before a layer of incinerated dirt and trash covered him.
He peeked through the cover, coughing and watching the spaceship soar high in the sky, piercing through the polluted clouds.
Could have warned your departure with an alarm, you know?
Wally's head and torso soon emerged from the wreckage, about ten meters away from Gary. Despite the smoke and dust darkening his skin, Wally smiled toothily and waved at the Sergeant, who awkwardly reciprocated.
Gary padded his eyes across the field, searching for Eve. The Sergeant found her glancing one last time at the departed spacecraft before handling some sort of device. It emitted a bright blue light, shifting up and down a nearby rock. And once the light turned into a red shade, the young woman bobbed her head in satisfaction.
Was she testing a scanner?
BEEP!
Unexpectedly, smaller LEDs flickered on beneath her boots. She then flew in the air, soaring above their heads like an experienced eagle hunting for prey. Eve was smirking, clearly enjoying this meaningless activity in the grand scheme of her mission.
"Woah!" Wally whistled, captured by the spectacle.
"Yeah. She's good, uh?" Gary added, passing the back of his fingers onto his lips, noticing a bit of drawn blood. He didn't know the gravity of the cut, so he would be forced to wait 'till they were back into the truck.
Wally quickly latched onto his hand and yanked him from his resting position. "Come on!" He barked. "Let's not lose her."
The Sole Survivor's genius idea was to guide them behind a big bolder. Wally peeked from the left side, while Gary kept contact with Eve from the right. The latter gripped the bolder's formation, frowning at the elegant display from the young woman.
She appears too sure of herself. Unless this means she lets her guard down all the time-
A terrible feeling in his gust almost made him regurgitate his intestine. He looked back at Wally, noticing how his shoulder was grazing a rock detached from the rest of the formation.
He bolted for the young man, yanking him by the neck just in time as the rock hit the ground.
KIUUUUUUM!
Gary shut his eyes, bringing Wally closer to his chest, as if he was a mother cradling her child. The smell of cooked organic material was sharp, resonating well with the rest of the junk around them. A quick inspection of the boulder revealed a smoking hole drilled into its surface, edges still burning hot from the precise blast.
He felt Wally squirming beneath him, but he was unrelenting, and chose to keep his hand clamped over the worker's mouth. He did not cover his nose too, obviously. He wasn't that careless.
Once distant footsteps were not hearable anymore, Gary relaxed his stance and rested his head against the concrete, releasing the young man beneath him.
However, a soft sound alerted him, and he cracked an eye open to properly check the cause.
Wally... was sobbing.
Author's note:
Here comes the first deconstructive piece of the story: Wally's time-frame to react to the blast.
If we imagine Eve's augmented reflexes as true, then it is madness to assume Wally could act as his robotic counterpart and avoid the plasma shot.
Only someone who knew what was going to happen could save him from certain death.
Sure, we have a back-up mechanism like when our hands get scorched, but that's AFTER our brain registers the pain.
Capiche?
:D