Jenny
Jenny Waters opened her big brown eyes as she woke up from a nice dream to your usual Monday. She was having a pretty nice dream: she was back in Florida, her hometown. She abandoned it about 16 years ago now, and she never had a lot of memories of that place. She only knew that she came from there as an orphan in 2028, at 3 years of age, and later learned, that the place was in ruins, and still is to this day. She was later told that the place was beautiful, and that her parents were filthy rich, so she often imagined the place as a wonderland where she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
But all dreams must end at some point. When our bodies decide to give in to a habit, or are well-rested, they will stop sleeping and strip us of this wonderful state. Sometimes wonderful, that is. There are also nightmares, yes... but hopefully, for most people, few and far in between. As Jenny was leaving this wonderland she thought she was in for many hours herself, she looked up at the ceiling above her for 2 more minutes, recapping all that she saw. By the end, she found herself forgetting it all. She sighed in dissapointment towards the real world, as she thought about the destroyed city one last time before getting out of bed.
As she was sat on the bed, her curly, blonde hairstring swung in front of her tired eyes. She looked at the door of her room, opposite to her current postion on the bed. She let out a final sigh of sorrow and yawningly stood up. She took off her pajamas and got dressed into some torn-ended shorts, a sleevless shirt, a black beanie, and put a white facemask on to cover her mouth. She picked up her light school bag by her creaking, old bed, and walked out of her little base.
She didn't put any socks over her prostethic legs. She remembers the day they were amputated due to an accident about 5 years ago now. She was in shock. In a month, however, she got these for her birthday, and never had to change them. They were equipped with a self-rebuilding system that could heal the limbs if they got damaged, and even adjust the size of it with a miniature titanium forge in the core of it. She was very fond of her new parts, taking very good care of them, and even collecting whatever titanium she could find in alleyways and such to make up for the growth of them. It was actually a pretty common material, used for many devices to make lives and jobs easier.
-Morning... -she said quietly to herself as she stepped out into a hallway that lead two ways. No one could hear her, but she knew that very well and just did it to sort of get her day started. She turned right, towards the elevator, and walked for a few seconds, followed by the metal clanking of her feet, before she was bombarded with a running started hug from behind. Jenny fell over and felt like she had just been hit by a truck carrying 10 tons of bricks.
-MORNING, JENNY! -the no longer charging girl yelled, as she got up and excitedly looked at her friend.
-I can feel myself dying... -Jenny whispered as she struggled to breathe normally. She genuinely tried her hardest to inhale oxygen normally, and exhale carbon-dioxide that way too, but she felt like she had just been shot in the chest a few times. QUITE a few times.
-Come onnn, it was nothing! -laughed the girl, as Jenny was restoring her basic human functions. She slowly got up, then turned around at the speed of sound with her whole body to slap the girl with an all-powerful hit. Guess that's the reason why she loved her legs so much.
-It was something! And that something was a running tackle that could kill a freaking person! Why weren't you in our room to begin with?! -Jenny yelled with a very upset tone. And that was the last straw. At that second, a newly awoken, 18 year old teenager walked out to the hall, and stood right behind the 2 of them. Though taller, he was a year younger and was about to make a very big mistake.
-Keep it down, babe! -he said with a lot of self-confidence. Jenny sighed with annoyance, as she turned around and pushed the young man back and put her leg out behind him to trip him.
It worked, and the guy fell over with a loud *BANG*. She walked over behind him and looked at him with the eyes of a demon.
-Listen kid! Don't talk to random girls like they're your bitches, especially not, if they're older, smarter, and I cannot stress this enough: STRONGER THAN YOU! -she kicked his head lightly, but really, it hurt. Her leg was made of 100% titanium after all. She walked back to her friend and got her up, only now getting a clear look at her. The american girl was dressed similar to Jenny, though wearing jeans and actual shoes over socks, and a shorter haistyle, with a blue dye.
-Let's just go to class, Jane! -Jenny said as she was dragging the green-eyed girl by her right arm who was mumbling some apology to the student that just fell over. After a a few seconds, Jane remarked:
-That was the first time I heard you saying you wanted to go to class. I thought you'd go running again...
-I don't feel up to it right now -Jenny said as she slowed down and let go of her friend's arm. She actually went out running almost every day.
Though I guess it was a lot more than just running. She went to a more rundown part of the Industrial district, where she would jump around some close-together rooftops and such. No wonder. She was obsessed with the Underground Union, and wanted to be a part of it, no matter what she had to do in order to get in. Based on what the public knew about them, this was the most obvious first step: train. She had been doing so for 3 years, ever since the group first showed up in the news. But no one actually knew how to join them. But Jenny was persistent, and would give up anything to join the rebellious bunch.
Her reasons for this aren't very complicated: after her orphanage, the place she called home was blown up due to a misfunction in the programming of a few RT-34 type robots a few years ago, she grew a pretty big hate for the laws and regulations of the city. She was by no means a criminal, she was just, deep down in her soul, very eager to take revenge. And besides, she wanted to have fun, something that couldn't be said about her school. Through more than 4 years now she has managed to make but 1 friend, that being Jane. Everyone else just dismissed her as a socially awkward and sometimes violent midget, at 5'6.
And having a job you enjoy as well as working with like-minded individuals is a recipe for some great times.
Who knew that some day, her hopes of joining the Union, would come to her, tumbling through a window.
A few hours later, the two girls were just past their 2nd lesson that day. As the school bell rang, Jenny yawned and leaned back in her seat. "How much longer.... ugh, I forgot already. School has just started...". Even though that was the case, she was already waiting for the year to end. She made it her number 1 priority to join the union after school ended. It's not like it was a challange to get through it all, she aced almost all tests. It was just very boring for her. She wasn't having fun at all.
-Imma go eat something -said Jane after standing up - be right back, Jenny! -she finished her scentence as she was leaving for the cafeteria.
-Alright, bye... -Jenny said as she stood up. She walked out the door and through the halls she made her way to the courtyard. There were some younger students playing football on a small field. Jenny suddenly thought about how hard she, of all people, could kick that ball. It'd probably go flying for miles!
But she wasn't really into football. Not only because she didn't like ball sports at all, prothetic limbs were banned in sports leagues, so there was no point of putting in time. Ever since fast-functioning prostethic limbs were perfected about 7 years back, they were considered a straight upgrade to normal ones. The person using them wouldn't feel any pain, and they had an energy supply way bigger than the exhaustion limit of a normal limb. And so, a ban for them was put in place in sports. A shame, but understandable.
Jenny put her slim hands in her backpockets and started walking around the courtyard. The whole building was made for schools only, from elementary school, all the way to the top 4 floors (20-24) being universities. The high school was on the 16th to the 17th floors, and, surprisingly, the only one featuring an actual outside area, that being the courtyard. Jenny lived in a neighbouring building where she moved in to Jane's room. Many of the school building's students ived here, as the rent was cheap and it was close, while still being a well-functioning apartment complex.
Jenny was walking around quietly, not really paying any attention to anything, but the sky and the other massive buildings. She like this place. The only part of the school she liked, basically. She could be alone, or with Jane here and just think about all kinds of things. Most often, she thought about her hometown, like it happened in her dream last night. She would come out here to eat lunch too, as she thought the cafeteria was a bit too crowded for her. Funny, considering that, even if she were to sit inside, everyone would just sit far away. She did have a little bit of infamy in the school, after getting suspended many times for starting fights and such.
Suddenly, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the next lesson in a few minutes. Jenny woke up from her daydream-like state and hurried back inside, after everyone else left, of course. This way she wouldn't get pushed around or anything like that. She saw Jane coming back from the cafeteria, but Jane didn't see her. She had a quick thought about paying back her friend for what happend in the morning, but decided that she isn't feeling up for a suspension just 4 short days after school has started, so she just walked straight back to her classroom on the 17th floor.
She sat down to her desk, right besides Jane's. She was looking straight ahead of herself. Still spacing out, she was just waiting for the day to end already. She was bored out of her mind. After about 30 seconds, the teacher also arrived and moved to her desk. She picked up a paper and started checking people's attendance. Jenny heard everyone's name being said, her and Jane being the last 2.
-Jane Mitchell? -the teacher said.
-Present!
-And lastly... -she took a second long pause- Waters? -she wasn't very proud to be Jenny's headmaster, and used her last name, to signify her dissapointment, though teh girl was used to it after 3 years, since she became their headmaster.
-Present as ever... -Jenny said while half-asleep. The teacher sat down in her chair and started talking about what they will be learning that day, something about geometry. Jenny wasn't paying much attention, neither was Jane, though the latter was at least fully-awake. But not J.W., not by a longshot. She was staring out the window, fantasizing about her home, some books she read not too long ago, and most importantly: the Underground Union. She thought about how she was going to join them, and she kept thinking for many minutes.
And then, it happened. At about 20 minutes, a teacher came running, barging through the door.
-EVERYONE, EVACUATE! -he shouted, while he was clearly stressed. He was also very exhausted from running through the two floors of this high-school part. Before anyone could ask why, he ran up to the teacher to tell her quietly, while he instructed the students to leave. And just as they all stood up, 2 people came crashing through the window in the back of the classroom.
Most people screamed out in shock, some even took a few steps away from their desk, towards the blackboard and the teachers. As Jenny looked to the back with wide-open eyes, it became clear what was going on. It wasn't actually 2 people, it was a robot and a guy her age, basically beating each other up, pretty violently.
-WOULD. YOU. JUST. STOP. MOVING. -Valentine added after each hit. Jenny just now realized that it was, indeed, Val. She knew about him, because he was all over the unit with police posters, and often in the news.
Jenny looked on the ground before her to see a gun laying there. She slightly kicked it towards the battling ones, hoping to help the Union's member out. She returned to her seat, just as the robot stopped moving and Val got up to get his pistol. He cocked it and gave off 3 shots into the robot's head with a bleeding nose. He looked around, pretty surprised at where he was. He giggled a little as he looked over at Jenny. The girl's eyes opened wide as the figher bowed and left the room. In a millisecond, she looked over at Jane.
Her friend knew about Jenny's intentions with the Union and gave off a smile that yelled "Well, here's your biggest chance yet". Jenny nodded and looked at her with eyes saying "Farewell for now", then got up, and started running towards the door. In the last second she spent in the room, she heard Jane's voice:
-You better become a great runner! -she yelled without anyone else hearing. This gave Jenny a drive, and she ran out of the room, not hearing the teachers running out to the halls after her, yelling at her to stop and that she's in trouble now. She didn't care. She just followed in the sound of Val's loud footseps.
They took a right, one after the other. Jenny was continuously looking at Val's back as they were running through the halls. They passed by some open classrooms, storage rooms, and even a younger year, lining up in front of the class for one reason or another. But neither of them paid any attention. Val was thinking about escaping, while Jenny was determined to follow him anywhere he may go. She didn't yell at him to stop or anything, as it was obvious that he was running away from something and wouldn't budge.
After a minute of running through the wide building, Val took an unexpected right turn. He was headed towards a dead end. Jenny wa s thinking: "Yes! Maybe I can catch up to him here!". But right as he reached the end of the hallway, he just ran into the classroom to their right, sprinted through it and jumped straight out the open window on the other side of it. Jenny was almost reluctant to jump, but as she got a quick look at where the runner went, she immediately jumped after him.
She landed after him onto a roof after a good 4 metre height drop. She landed and started running again with great speed and even greater determination to reach Val. Val reached the end of the roof and jumped to the next one, landing after another 4 metre fall, but when Jenny landed, the thin floor of the construction site crumbled beneath her as she fell to the floor below. She knew she had to take a new route and started heading down a nearby stairwell.
-Thanks Mike! -yelled Valentine, while leaping to another roof and crusing a second capsule in front of his face during the fall. He landed and kept running.
-RT-s are cathing up! Choppers and ground units! -said Mike in a hurry while gathering information from local cams. The building Val landed on was wide and very far from others, so he had to move downstairs at this point.
-There's also someone else chasing you... -said Mike, very surprised. -she appears to be someone from the school! -Val suddenly stopped in confusion.
-Wait, WHAT?! -he yelled as he was looking around for Jenny and maybe some RT-s.
-I repeat, a high-schooler followed you through the last few buildings, but she disappeared in the last.
-Ok, I'll see when I get back to base! -said Val as he started running down the stairs again -She must be damn good at jumping and running if she can keep up with me...
Jenny went 3 floors down the stairs, before jumping to the building Val was in. She saw that his building was way too far from any others, and that she could cut him off, if she went a few floors below and then jumped to it from hers. And what an opportunity the crashing floor created, giving her a 1-floor advantage. She immidiately ran to the stairway and stopped to listen. She heard footsteps from above her. And so she stopped and waited for the runner to arrive. In just a few seconds, he did.
When Val arrived to her floor, Jenny put out a leg and tripped him over. The runner fell over and stumbled into a sort of maze of a floor under renovation. There were paper mashe walls everywhere. He gave out a loud "OUCH" as he tried getting up. Jenny approached him, but was greeted with a grapple and was instantly thrown against a wall. She broke through it and lied on the ground in peace for a single second, before Val leaped onto her and wound his left arm up for a massive punch. She thought she was about to die, but at the last second, Val stopped.
-Mike... I found the student. - he said as he laid back against a wall.
-The girl? -asked Mike -Ask her what the hell she's doing and keep going! The police is getting closer! -just as Mike finished, Jenny stood up and was right beside Val in an instant, while locking her aems around his right one.
-Oh my god! You're Valentine from the Underground Union! And FOUND me?! You were looking for me?! -Jenny kept rambling on. Her eyes were ecstatic.
Val was very surprised, and after about 5 seconds, he cut her off:
-Uhh, listen I don't really have the time right now... -and he was cut off yet again.
-Can I join?! What do I have to do to join?! -asked Jenny. She was as excited as ever and was ready for anything... or so she thought. Just as Val was about to reply and tell her to go home, a loud explosion noise was heard, and a squad of 4 robots breached into the room.
-Oh, for f-- said Val, getting cut off again. This time by an RT.
-2 TARGETS IDENTIFIED. LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED. OPEN FIRE! -said the robot that was painted yellow, presumably the squadron's leader. They all opened fire at Jenny first, as their "minds" were synced. Jenny became pale in that moment. "I'm about to die. I should have just stayed", she thought. But in that moment's notice, Val dashed in front of her and blocked all 4 shots with his left arm, then pulled out his gun with the right and swithed it to auto fire.
In the blink of an eye, the four robots fell as empty shells, all with holes in their heads. Val grabbed Jenny's left arm and dragged her for 2 seconds down the hallway they were just in. He then let go and crushed his last 2 capsules, 1 of them in front of Jenny's face.
-Breathe this in and do not stop until I tell you to! -he yelled as they ran down the halls of this building. Jenny did both of those and followed him to yet another hall that looked like a dead-end.
Val stopped right by the window at the end of the hallway. He stepped to Jenny, grabbed her arm and yanked her out the glassless frame with him. Jenny's life flashed before her own eyes. The thought that she was about to die struck her again as she screamed in terror at the sight of the massive drop below them, still about 90 feet. She pulled herself to Val and locked her arms around him while closing her eyes. But Valentine wasn't going to let them die.
In another quick manouver, he grabbed something off of his backpack. It seemed like a subway ratchet at first, but as he swung it out, it opened and attached to a thick telephone cable nearby. He grabbed onto Jenny and held her up, as they glided away from the building, holding onto the device with his left hand.
-GET A GOOD LOOK, GIRL! -he yelled, to overpower the sound of the wind. -THIS ISN'T SOMETHING MANY PEOPLE SEE EVERY DAY!
Jenny opened her eyes to witness the industry district's massive landscape from above, while attached to her "savior" and all the while flying across the Unit., The sight was strangely beautiful.
Truly, this was a sight, that not all people would see each day...