ABOVE THE SPARKLING SKYLINE OF DIAMOND CITY - 2099
Photonic bursts dance in the narrow chasms of towering edifices, bathed in the neon glow of the future. Objects flit about in this aerial ballet—hover cars. Of these multitudinous flying mechanisms, two are spotlighted, their perilous chase cutting through the urban air currents with audacious disregard.
Inside the pursuer, a strikingly youthful man guides the reins—Dirk Steele. His uniform: a midnight leather jacket, black denim, and gloves that cling to his hands like a second skin. Dark hair tumbles as he surveys his environment, eyes flickering rapidly like hummingbird wings, every nerve and sense strung taut.
With a deft pull on the throttle, he slips beneath a gargantuan hover bus, its belly just a whisper from his roof. The chasm between him and his quarry dwindles.
"Steeler?" His voice slices through the silence, triggering an intimate light show as his cockpit stirs to life.
"At your service, sir," the AI, Steeler, replies, its voice pulsing within the cabin, a visual symphony of circuitry and technology.
"Take control, maintain pursuit," Dirk commands, his voice steel-wrapped velvet.
"As you wish, sir," the AI dutifully responds.
Retreating from the driver's seat, Dirk reaches into the innards of his vehicle, extracting an attaché case harboring the disassembled skeleton of a sniper rifle.
"Steeler, open the crow's nest," Dirk orders.
Without a murmur, the AI conjures a snug compartment to his left. It swallows him as he shifts into a sniper's perch, assembling his weapon with the elegance of a dance.
"Sir, the longer this chase ensues—"
"Steeler, silent mode," Dirk snaps, cutting the AI off mid-warning.
Obediently, the AI silences, its voice evaporating into the humming of the engine.
Dirk's eyes narrow, his sight tunneled down the barrel of the gun, converging on his quarry amid a flurry of aerial traffic.
"Steady...steady," he mutters, willing his heartbeat to sync with the tremors of his vehicle.
The distance closes rapidly, target now in clear view.
With a gritted "Gotcha," he compresses the trigger, unleashing a blistering bolt of heat that severs the electromagnets on the pursued vehicle.
The target vehicle spirals into an uncontrollable nosedive, a panicked comet streaking downwards amidst a thick trail of smoke. Dirk retreats to his cockpit, reconfiguring his vehicle back to the chase.
Thrusting his vehicle into a reckless nosedive, he plunges into the maelstrom of traffic, a predator on the heels of his prey.
Matching speed with the spiraling vehicle, Dirk commands, "Steeler, now!"
Obeying, a claw bursts forth from his vehicle's side, plunging into the other vehicle.
"Extraction in progress, sir," Steeler acknowledges.
Once the extraction is complete, Dirk peels away in a breathtaking arc, mere breaths from the asphalt beneath as his quarry disintegrates in a spectacular shower of debris behind him.