A man wearing a purple robe enters a room full of people sitting in rows. As soon as he enters the noise went silent as if they were expecting his arrival. The chamber is dimly lit and its only source of light is the curtain-covered windows. At the center is a wooden platform slightly raised by its cement support. The man steps on its puny staircase to reach the center. Artificial lights made of cylindrical panels went on to shine the man's features.
He is old. His face has suffered aging. Nonetheless, he wears his scholarly robes with pride and wisdom. He enters the room to educate. "Now... Let's continue yesterday's lecture." the old man in robes said.
An assistant pulls down a silver sheet-like screen then another one from the crowd started to operate a mechanical box that projects an image onto the screen. It coughs out some few steam as it should for it is powered by it. The assistants nod at each other.
The screen shows an image of an oil painting depicting armored-clad knights with photon rifles bigger than them bowing to a golden-clad flying galley, on its roof, is a figure posing with a sword that beams bright magenta. The audience, mandated or not, shed a tear.
"Since the Powercalyptic Era began, the proliferation of a very powerful product from the mines of Highpeak became the source of biological and mechanical power throughout the continent. They call it many names, but in the undercities, it is known as Gangsta Powder—a chemical substance mysteriously produced and secretly procured."
The old man coughs pitifully. The audience stayed silent. The projector suffers minor feed loss whenever his coughs reach an intense volume. "Apologies..." he uses his sleeves to wipe off the mucus.
"Gangsta Powder is a crystalline substance that radiates a bright magenta-colored light, pulsating like a beating heart. In some cases, its individual particles float when they come in contact with warm blood, though the reason for this phenomenon remains unknown, although it is quite a spectacle. Odorless and tasteless, it is claimed to be highly addictive due to its physical, mental, and emotional effects on the user."
From the rows, a scene is happening. They are passing notes. Giggling and chortling. "Excuse me...?" the presenter pauses. The commotion went quiet. He clears his throat and resumes.
"The powder can be ingested, injected, or snorted. However, it cannot be smoked due to the risk of severe wildfires. When used properly, it grants users biological enhancements, resulting in inhuman abilities. Individuals gain immense strength, superior durability, and heightened intellectual capacities. These enhancements enable users to endure pain and develop immunity from cancerous byproducts of biomechanical installations that veteran users affiliated in gangs often experience."
From the back rows, a person cautiously and politely moves closer to the speaker, scooching between two others in the front row. The old presenter did not mind but waited for them to get comfortable. When the person finally sat tight, he mouthed thanks. The speaker continues.
"But according to testimonials from users, the real benefit that Gangsta Powder is the ability for users to channel the powers of the...?" the people from the rows avoided eye contact and glances away from the speaker's gaze, "You, there. Beanbottom." he points at a listener eagerly raising his hands.
Minimally audible giggles can be heard.
"Gangsta God." the eager listener answered.
"Gods," the speaker corrects, "Plural. A thousand Gods for a thousand gangs," he adds, squints his eyes, and pauses. He points his fingers toward the back where the noise is coming from, "I'm sorry, but are we interrupting?"
The giggles cease. Then the old speaker continues.
"Gangsta Gods. Divine beings of violence. Some say the strongest of these gangs are avatars of such jokes. Alas, criminal folktales are nothing but encouragement for the juveniles and their illegal fantasies." the old presenter smirks and inspects the crowd, which looks rather entertained. "As the 299th class of recruits for Lostandos Inter-City Police, it is your duty to arrest these blessed sociopaths, if you can somehow manage to take down a God!"
The audience laughs and cheers, clapping their hands for the presenter. Then they stop as the old man resumes.
"However, mastering and enduring the side effects of both Gangsta Powder and biomechanical installations is necessary to fully utilize these powers. Studies and investigative account state that this ascension to near Godhood is just an informal term for...?" the speaker searches once again for someone in the crowd to answer. He finally points at the row where the giggles earlier were heard.
A tall person stands, their facial features hidden in the shadows of the dim room. "Insanity...?"
"Insanity!" the old man smiles and the audience can be heard chuckling, "Before you can arrest a Gangsta Powdered lunatic he would've met his Gangsta Gods first!" the chuckles became roaring laughter as some even gave the lecturer a standing ovation.
The crowd nodded in approval. A few giggles can be heard once again but it will fade.
"For these reasons, city governments made the production and distribution of the product illegal. However, a controlled amount of so-called Gangsta Powder can be legally traced in legitimate medicines. It is also used by armed military forces to enhance their own soldiers. Even the Inter-city Police."
The lecturer pauses and stares at every row, "This is why the superior intellect of Lostandos Inter-City Police Research Division selects and trains the elite Anti-Gangster Units." he pauses once more and steps closer to the audience, "Which reminds me. They will soon start assessing every one of you, the 299th class of recruits, whether you are eligible for their advanced training courses. If you fail, then serve the Inter-City Police with whatever you have to offer. But if you pass, then congratulations, you will be part of the city's honorable heroes."
The chamber went quiet. The audience looks at each other; smiling and nodding.
"Every city has its own underground criminal dwellings where the lowest of the low can be found. These areas, known as undercities, even have their own names and governments. Organized gangs perpetually battle each other in these undercities, and since the discovery of Gangsta Powder, turf wars have become far more violent and intense." the old lecturer raises his hand and points at the crowd, "It will be your duty to eliminate these pests. The kingdom is too busy to be dealing with petty criminal organizations. As proud members of society and of the Inter-City Police," he says while grinning, "Make yourselves useful," he adds.
The chamber erupts in applause. The audience stands, claps, and cheers. The roars echo and last for a minute. "I will now be answering questions from the crowd," he says. The people in the front row raise their hands, and the old lecturer points to one of them.
An eager female listener stood, "Sir Eury-"
"Please, just call me Eury." said the old man in a stern tone. The rest of the audience chuckled.
The woman smiled and nervously continues, "Eury, sir, uh- What can you say about the recent attacks here in the city by delinquent juveniles? What is the Inter-City Police's position?"
"Juvenile delinquents," Eury corrects her.
"Sir?" asked the woman. Giggling from the back rows resumes then fades once more.
"Juvenile delinquents are what you describe as pesky kids from the undercities doing petty criminal offenses, not delinquent juveniles," Eury replies, and the woman stands there dumbfounded. "But to answer your question, I do not see these recent harassments as something important. They've only bothered neighborhoods near the undercity. As long as the police force contains these acts, then I see no reason for the Inter-City Police to resort to drastic measures."
"But- But they've committed assault, arsons, and robberies!" hysterically, she pulls out newspaper pages from her satchel, "Recently, these would-be gangsters apparently do it for 'street creds', continuously harassing and robbing random people. Their first reported incident involves setting up a vehicle on fire! They are known to roam this part of the city because apparently, it is easier to build a reputation harassing neighborhoods bordering the undercity! Who knows what they will do next?"
"Lostandos Inter-City Police Academy sits between the main city and the undercity. Not to mention a detachment of the Anti-Gangster Unit has an office just across the street." the old lecturer fixes his robes, "No need to worry about some... kids."
"Even when they're using Gangsta-Powder?"
"I doubt they can even afford an ounce! And even if they got Gangsta Powder in their system, its effects only last for four days maximum. If, and only if, they really have it in their blood, then they're probably suffering symptoms of withdrawal as the effects wear out. Gangsta Powder is effective but its effects rely on continuous consumption, another reason why it is addictive. It is useless as the user who relies on it!" the audience laughed once again, Eury looks around, "Any more questions?"
The woman returns to her seat defeated. The chamber went quiet.
"Yeah!" a figure from the crowd in the front row stands up from his seat, "I got one, alright!" a familiar voice caused the back rows to start giggling in a joyful yet menacing correspondence. Eury raises an eyebrow.
The figure jumps onto the wooden platform. Eury steps back. The assistants rushed to help their aging speaker.
"My question is," the figure said as the artificial lights went off and the window curtains opened, "Why are you such a smartass!?" the lights revealed the figure to be Mako. His face looked agitated and sweaty, his eyes are red, his nose trickling with snot, and his mouth bubbling with red mucus.
Mako grabs the old man's face, "Who the fuck are you to talk shit about what's down there!?" he proceeds to strike Eury's face with his knee. The audience immediately rushes to the stage.
One of the assistants tries to get hold of Mako, but he elbows them in the face. From the back, Yami jumps and lands on the angry crowd. They beat him up too.
Bai runs to them and wrestles with the others. Like his friends, he gets beat up.
Eten is giggling as he still sits at the back. Some of the audience notices that he is not one of them, so he, too, gets a pounding.
On the platform, Mako wrestles with one of the remaining assistants, then grabs hold of their legs. Mako uses the assistant as a weapon, swinging them into the crowd like a ragdoll.
Eury, now crawling away from the platform, gets caught by Yami, who is dragging two people by the hair. "Where the fuck are you going, bitch?!"
But a dozen men tackled Yami down. Bai then shows up from a pile of other recruits and lifts them all up. "Need a hand?"
Yami punches Bai in the groin and jumps away. The pile falls on Bai. Mako continues to slam the already unconscious assistant onto his attackers, then he finally throws them at Eury, who is still trying to escape.
Eury goes down, and the assistant's body pins him to the ground. His face is bloody, his nose is broken, his teeth are missing, and his lips are busted. The area around his eyes is bruised and bleeding. Eury starts to plead.
Eten rams through the remaining crowd. An alarm can be heard from the hallways. Mako jumps in front of Eury, the old man is crying. Bai then punches his way to Eury.
"Please, why are you doing this?" mumbled Eury who is bloodied and exhausted.
Mako crouches and grabs Eury's face once again. Then, he stands up while lifting the old man, "Cuz we gangsta, bitch!" His friends surround the old man and take turns pounding him. Mako kicks him one last time, and Eury's body lands in the doorway where he had entered, coincidentally a group of five men armed with mechanical gloves is already preparing to storm them.
"Ha! Imagine if we got Installations, we'd cooked these fools!" stubbornly, Yami rushed the gloved men not realizing they were Academy Security.
"Yami, you stupid fuck, don't!" Bai shouted as he tries to stop his friend. One of the gloved men effortlessly grabs hold of Yami's arm.
"Alright, get Yami and let's dip!" Mako grabs a wooden plank from the floor. Apparently, he is still feeling the rush.
The gloved Security Academy personnel pulls Yami's arm and rips it off his body. Their friend screams and they stood there shocked. Blood gushes out of the ripped-off area of Yami's body. It sprays on the security personnel's mask.
Behind their mask, the gloved security personnel can be heard chuckling and stepping closer to Mako, "What's the matter? First time seeing blood?"
Still surprised, Mako and the rest stayed in their position, "Fuck you!" Yami spits blood at the personnel's mask hoping to obscure their vision. He wiggles his way out of the hold, then the rest of the security personnel rushes in to help.
Finally finding their opening, Mako jumps in front of the personnel to release Yami by releasing consecutive punches. The other two, Bai and Eten, manage to pull Yami out of the personnel's grasp.
The rest of the security tries to tackle them. Mako sees this and jumps out of the way, he turns around and sees his friends cornered. Furious, he wraps his arms around the distracted personnel who removes his bloodied helmet.
"What the fuck?" the annoyed personnel tries to get rid of Mako by pulling his hair. Mako cried in pain but persists in grabbing something on their waists.
Yami, Bai, and Eten are surrounded by three gloved men. "Nowhere to run you gangtard!" said one of them.
They heard a loud thud, possibly by a rather large body. They turned around to see. It was the person who removed his helmet. Stabbed in the back by their own issued combat knife. Mako is seen holding it with his two hands.
"Holy fuck!" said one of the remaining security team, "Get him!" he added.
Eten then jumps and knees the personnel on the spine, they screamed in pain.
"These assholes got Gangsta Powder in their system!" one of the two remaining security people said as he is quickly stabbed in the eyes. The knife penetrated the mask. Mako stumbles on his landing.
The last gloved person desperately pins Mako down, stepping on his stomach. "You motherfucker, I won't let you get me!" he raises his glove and it electrifies as it prepares to bash Mako's head.
It connected, damaging Mako's nose. But before he could continue, Eten and Bai tackled the personnel. Mako struggled to stand up, dazed and bloody, he approaches the downed opponent. "You better remember this, alright?"
The man screamed, Bai and Eten holds him down. Mako pierced his heart with the knife. The screaming stops with a puke of blood and a whimpering sound of air rushing out.
"Fuck!" Mako said as he falls down.
Bai rushes to carry Mako and then proceeds to go to Yami who is still bleeding by the corner, "I- I didn't know this shit can get messy real quick!"
Eten motions with his hands. There are supposed to be five security personnel.
"What?" Bai asked as he grunts carrying two of his friends, "We better get out now!"
Eten stops Bai and points behind him.
"Huh?" Bai turns around and sees a fine-built woman wearing two mechanical gauntlets but it is twice as big as him. The weapon is apparently connected to her eyes. There are three small pipes on her forehead where the steam coughs out.
Bai turns to his friend, "Eten, go fucking run!" he shouted but the woman electrocutes him. He fell down along with Yami and Mako.
Eten pissed himself. At this moment, their Gangsta Powder rush is gone.
"Poor little wannabe." the woman then power up her gauntlet and it starts to release green electricity on her finger and on her eyes at the same time.
Eten covers his head with his arms, crying while doing so. Mako weakly tries to scratch the woman on her metal-covered boot. "Eten... fucking run, already... alright?"
"Shut it." The woman stomps on Mako's face. Then again. And again. He still tries to wheeze out some words. So the woman stomps him until he drops unconscious.
Mako's face is beyond unrecognizable and bloody. Yami is still bleeding from his lost limb. Bai is also looking fried and burnt.
Eten passed out but this didn't stop the woman from approaching and electrifying him. She sighs, "The boss wanna see you now."