I haven't even been in Hexicon City for a full 24 hours and things are already going off the rails. I got in trouble with the police, which led to me stumbling upon a backpack containing a pocket dimension with weapons I've never even seen before. Now someone named Satori Yakuzawa wants it for herself. And all I wanted to do was return a wallet a cute girl dropped on the train! Damn it all…
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A little while earlier.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The sound of a clock on the wall.
Constant. Incessant. Unrelenting.
It's taunting her, she thinks.
It only interrupted the deliberate placing of rails upon the long-winding track of which Satori Yakuzawa's train of thought was so carefully perched atop. And that was something she couldn't afford right now. She had half a mind to tear the damn thing clean off the wall. But the other half reminded her that she worked here.
There was something…off about that boy. She couldn't tell just what, but she had a nagging feeling that whatever it was couldn't be solved by logic alone. There was an energy to him that she just could not truly put her finger on. She was appreciative of his gesture to help Soo-Jin, but she doubted he would have done so for no reason. He mentioned that she helped him out earlier, but was it really enough to warrant him leaving all his things on a train and missing his designated location?
And there she was again. Overthinking things. Analyzing and calculating the inner workings of a machine that had never been built. Questioning things where there was nothing to question. And a stupid thing to question, too. Soo-Jin helped him, so he returned the favor when she needed it. It wasn't that hard to understand. But for some reason Satori wasn't willing to accept that. For her, everything had to click. And when it came to him, things just…didn't.
But then she saw him again.
It was only for a few seconds, but as she was cleaning up, she caught a glimpse of him again. She recognized his dirty blonde hair and his vest near-instantly, but what she didn't see before was the open backpack he had slung over his shoulder. The backpack that had an inside which just so happened to be…glowing. She didn't care just how genius this city was. Backpacks weren't supposed to just glow like that. And from what she saw, it looked like he had pulled the thing out of a dumpster. There was no way it could have a working battery or generator or anything that could glow that strange, ethereal blue.
Satori was overthinking things. Analyzing and calculating the inner workings of a machine that had never been built. But the thing about her mind was that when it gave her a solution to a question she never asked, she had yet to find a reason to doubt it.
She had grown so used to Hexicon City, this utopia built on order and convention, with meticulously constructed frameworks and structures. Everything had a place, and everything had a purpose. Except Miles McHaley.
Her feet were already out the door before she even had a chance to think about what she was going to do next. As a confused Hunter watched on, he simply shrugged it off, rationalizing that she knew what she was doing. She did. She just didn't fully know the reasoning behind it. There had been a lot of things to grace her eyes over the years that screamed abnormal, even before her arrival in Hexicon. But it was this one that scrambled her mind the most. And she was determined to find out why.
She had a question. It was time to find out the answer.
Present day.
"I-...you-...WHAT?"
If Miles had a long list of things that he had expected Satori Yakuzawa to say during what was to be their second ever encounter, asking for the Quantum Backpack would've been at the tail end of it. But after a bit of thinking, from what he had gathered she clearly was smart enough to deduce what the backpack actually was, which was why she had come to retrieve it. But he had to know if he was right in that. So he made a decision.
"I said I'm going to need that backpack, Miles," she repeated sternly, sticking her arm out a tad further to emphasize her point. Miles had a feeling he was about to regret what he was going to say, but he had to do it. It was necessary to find out her true intentions. He took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and-
"W-what backpack?!"
MotherFUCKER! Miles thought, giving himself a well-deserved internal facepalm before quickly recovering to gauge Satori's reaction. Strangely enough, the Japanese girl seemed to have been completely unaffected by his blatant blunder.
"The backpack that's currently strapped to your back?" she answered. "That one," she pulled her arms back a little to outstretch them again. "I'm gonna need it."
Miles's eyebrows furrowed perplexedly as he watched Satori continue to extend herself, as he processed her strange interest regarding the backpack. Despite her staunch insistence that she needed it, he felt a sense of subtle hesitation in her movements, a brief flash of uncertainty in her eyes that he couldn't quite make much sense of. How she got to this location knowing he would be here was also something to question, and the boy wasn't very fond of someone like Satori knowing where he lived.
As he continued to examine her, Miles couldn't shake the feeling of being at a grave disadvantage, despite the fact that he was the one who found, and now owned, the Quantum Backpack. He may not have known Satori for very long but he was already fairly certain that she was far out of his league in terms of intelligence, and he was even more sure that she wasn't the only one. The worst part of just being a guy in this crazy world-
"Oi! Did you hear me?"
Her voice snapped at his senses, bringing him back to the unfortunate reality in front of him. Quickly, he tried to recollect his scrambled thoughts to formulate a response that could buy him some time. "Erm…yeah, don't worry." he muttered, inwardly cursing himself again for his inability to come up with anything better. "It's just that…well…"
"Well what?"
"I…I have a lot of shit in here, okay? I'm kinda going through a big…life-change, life-shift, whatever you wanna call it, I only just got here! All I want to do is unpack my things and settle down and just chill and adjust! You'd know if you've ever been forced to leave your home behind…and…erm…"
Miles was slightly unsure where his sudden burst of anger came from, but he could tell it didn't help. If anything, it made things worse. He had noticed Satori's eyes had widened; maybe by just a smidge, but still widened, when he finished. Her face had tensed up a little. Uh oh.
He watched with foreboding as his uninvited guest reached into one of the small pockets on her uniform to unveil a tiny metal ball resting in between her index and middle finger. She then set the ball into position on top of her thumb, her middle finger coiled back and ready to flick the ball in Miles' direction. She raised her head to look at him with an expression of slight pity. Confused, Miles squinted to see if he was missing anything.
"Uh…why do you have a tiny metal ball?" he asked her, trying to make sense of the strange sight before him. His mind began to careen all around the insides of his skull, bouncing off random ideas.
A…metal ball? What's that thing gonna do to me? It's smaller than a Lego piece! Though knowing this place it'll transform into a giant robot or something…maybe she's insanely good at flicking and it'll go so fast it kills me like a wire?
Before he could surmise any further, he was snapped out of his musings when Satori let out a deep sigh.
"Arakajime gomen nasai-'' she said monotonically, holding the "ai" sound at the end. So much for clarity. Answers were supposed to give you a solution, not make you more perplexed then when you started. He didn't understand a lick of Japanese so that was certainly an added bonus. At this point he was willing to just give the damned sack to her and write this whole thing off as a momentary lapse in judgme-
BAM!
Before Miles could produce any more thoughts, a foot's sole made contact with his stomach, forcibly sending him hurtling across the balcony. He skidded across the ground before finally stopping dead, the Quantum Backpack being the only thing keeping his back from making contact with the cold metal floor.
In pain but in even more confusion, he lurched his head upwards to see Satori rechambering a sidekick as she stood right in front of where he once was. A small glint caught his eye and his sight darted past Satori from where she stood presently to where she once was. His eyes widened to see the small ball falling onto the spot where Satori was and then slowly roll away through the bars of the guardrail onto the outside world below.
It wasn't enough of a distraction to take away from the sharp sting in his chest, though.
"Christ, lady…what did you do that for?!" he yelled in indignation before re-examining the situation and suddenly remembering the way in which he met the ground. "Actually, no, fuck that, how did you even do…whatever you just did?!" He scowled in anger as his gaze was met with a nonchalant one from the Japanese girl, her hand bobbing up and down as she tossed another tiny metal sphere into the air only for it to fall right back into her grasp.
Miles quickly made peace with the fact that she most likely wasn't going to answer him; it only made sense, after all, to ensure that your current opponent is left in the dark about how your powers work. He steeled himself and watched as she began to approach again. While that kick hurt, he was far from being down for the count.
"I stand by what I said, Satori!" Miles proclaimed, now back on his feet. "We could have talked this backpack sitch out as much as you liked but since you want a fight so bad-"
The breeze created from the pure force of the round kick interrupted his words. He weaved his upper body back up and quickly locked his hand to the back of his neck, and as a result his elbow was the one thing that stood firmly in between Satori's other foot and a world of pain. She gave a slight "hm" of acknowledgement before quickly going at him again. As Miles ducked and dodged her precise attacks, his brain was racing even more than his body. He had to figure out how to create some distance between the two. He could feel his body getting weaker.
Until an idea miraculously appeared in his brain, as if a divine force from the heavens was silently placing them in there.
As Satori went for another kick, Miles leaned back to dodge, then stretched his arms back, allowing the Quantum Backpack to slide down his arms. He grabbed the right strap and swung it at Satori, forcing her to lunge back. He used his free arm to plunge his arm deep into the backpack, searching for a weapon. As Satori regained her footing and closed the distance quickly, Miles continued to rummage frantically before he felt something that felt like a small trigger. He wrapped his fingers around it and began to pull his hand out.
Come on…anything, give me ANYTHING that can help me…
As his hand emerged from the backpack, Miles quickly assumed a look of dumbfoundedness when the revelation hit that a small blue pistol that barely looked longer than a Nerf gun was attached to it. He knew not what it did, nor how it really worked, but hey, it was a gun, and guns were meant to be shot, right? But before he could even aim properly, Satori ducked under his shooting arm, bent over, and planted her hands firmly on the ground before flipping backwards and kicking the gun straight up without even looking at it. A shocked Miles felt the slight sensation of a trigger being accidentally pulled course through his finger before watching the gun tumble throughout the air, and the barrel beginning to produce a strange blue. Until it didn't, and Miles once again felt a slight sensation course through him - but this time it was engulfing his entire body for the tiniest modicum of a second before his body was right back to normal again.
Before he could devote much of anything to figuring out what had just happened to him, Satori was on the offense once again. The faint gust of air generated from the force of every punch and kick dodged was already worrying Miles, he couldn't imagine what would happen should he allow himself to be fully hit by one. The girl was attacking him with a determination that did nothing but terrify him. If only he hadn't opened his stupid mouth…
Satori's eyes darted in a million different directions faster than Miles could even watch her using his own. She quickly unhooked the small pouch on her left hip and slipped two more of the tiny metal balls into her fingers, before flinging them with stunning precision against one of the guard rails, both of them ricocheting behind Miles. It was now a game of chance for the current holder of the Quantum Backpack. He had already surmised the purpose of the tiny balls - they were conduits for her ability. But how exactly did it work?
Were they markers for where she was going to warp? Maybe it's not just about moving from one point to another. Maybe there's more to it than that…maybe she's creating some sort of alternate shortcut? She seems to end up in the exact location the ball is at the moment…so if both balls are behind me, she's probably thinking of teleporting behind me. Maybe she's trying to snag the backpack right off my back!
Thinking quickly, he winds up a punch and turns right around to meet her. Satori, who had already shifted and was clearly anticipating the punch, raised up both her arms to block. She had expected the attack.
What she (or he, for that matter), didn't expect was the punch emitting a blue concussive shockwave the moment it made contact with her crossed arms, sending her into the wall, and knocking her unconscious.
"FUCK!" Miles yelled, head frantically moving back and forth in a display of sheer disbelief, his bewildered eyes constantly switching from his still clenched hand to his now-incapacitated opponent. "Fuck, fuck, shit, shit, did I kill her? Oh God, please tell me I didn't-"
He lifted up Satori's crumpled body and quickly slid his fingers into the groove between her Adam's Apple and the tendons on the left side of her neck. A tidal wave of relief washed over him when he felt a rhythmic throbbing on the tips of his fingers, only for it to quickly dry out as she started to move again. There wasn't much time until she was going to wake up. She may be down for the count at the moment, but Miles wasn't just going to sit there and wait for her to come to.
He mentally crossed out the stairs (too slow, Satori can warp to the bottom and catch him that way) and the elevator (she crashed in front of it for god's sake)...only to realize those were basically the only two options he had. He had to think fast. His eyes turned to the straps of the Backpack he was still wearing. It had been the key to his success earlier - there had to be an answer within it somehow.
Miles was damn near about to rummage through it for some sort of grappling hook, but he was swiftly reminded of the very tight timetable he was on when Satori began to slightly move again. There had to be something in the Backpack that could get him down there fast…"
In the Backpack…
"I'm gonna regret this…" he mumbled before climbing over the balcony and diving off it. As he free-fell through the air, he practically spun as he scrambled to get the Backpack off of his back.
He grabbed the sides and forced himself headfirst into the gaping maw of the Backpack just as it hit the ground. The sound of his own rapid heartbeat fills the canals of his ears once again as he floats aimlessly in the blank dimension, before grasping the Backpack's jaws and hoisting himself up and out, only to find himself on the ground. He takes one final brief glance up at the balcony that he had just jumped out of, and with that, Miles ran.
He didn't know where to, though.
"Ok, let's run down the options. There isn't much time until she wakes up, and she knows what I look like so there's no way I can hide myself. However while I may not be able to avoid her completely I can at least buy myself enough time to get all my things out of here and explain the whole sitch to her…after apologizing for knocking her clean on her ass. Maybe I should go somewhere crowded, that way she'd either have to scout or plow through a bunch of people to get to me…I should also find out how it is that I did that, because there was no WAY I'm that strong…maybe that gun that I had accidentally shot myself with earlier had to do with that?" Miles strategized to himself, ignoring the looks of confusion and befuddlement that befell those that passed him by. They were in no place to judge him for what he was doing - they did it every day, albeit silently.
Miles began walking aimlessly, shoving through crowds and going up stairs to places he didn't know. His steps lacked purpose as far as direction was concerned - all he needed at the moment was a way to keep his body occupied to allocate all of his time to thinking. His gaze, fixed to the sights ahead, saw nothing - to see his surroundings would be a betrayal to the ever-growing whirlwind of questions and subsequent answers being spun in the recesses of his mind.
He was eventually forced to come back to the waking world when his body felt a collision with an obstacle in his way that he did not see - he began to sheepishly apologize to passersby upon his realization that he had just walked right into a closed glass door. He wiped his eyes before realizing the door had writing on it.
Hexicon City Superplex
"Hexicon City Superplex?" Miles recited again, this time out loud. His eyes soon redirected themselves to beyond the door. He saw many a Hexicon citizen walking to and fro with bags galore, shops and escalators lining the walls.
A mall?
A mall! This was perfect! A crowded place that he could blend in with and somewhere no sane person would ever want to make a spectacle, especially if they had superpowers. Miles didn't know Satori very well, but he doubted someone like her would just call him out and start throwing hands with him in the middle of a public institution. This was his golden ticket.
He pushed through the door and was met with a blast of cold air. Finally breathing a large sigh of relief, he gazed around and noticed this mall was far unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was slick, clean, and everything in it seemed to have a purpose. Mallgoers walked amongst clear blue bridges bringing them across to the other side to check out the shops there. Cleaning and security robots patrolled the area, giving detailed directions to floors and places customers were having trouble looking for. He watched in amazement as excited visitors poked and prodded at interactive interfaces boasted by the storefronts, inviting patrons to sift their way through virtual catalogs and customize their purchases with a simple touch or gesture. Amidst the hustle and bustle, Miles was once again reminded of where he was. Hexicon City was truly incredible.
"Miles McHaley!"
Shit.
Miles threw back his head and let out a very exasperated, very annoyed groan. He couldn't help but feel a little good afterwards; he'd been holding that in all day. He turned around to be met with a man sporting disheveled hair and an oddly dark outfit - his cargo pants were jet black, and the drawstrings were completely untied. His hoodie looked to be yanked downwards despite it fitting him. Yet he was smiling. A sickly, sinister, smile.
"What? Jesus Christ Lord Above what?!" Miles snapped angrily. The stranger in front of him did not seem to be fazed by his anger - his smile only grew longer.
Before Miles could question who this guy was or how he knew his name, two security robots, similar to the one he had seen earlier but this time bearing 2 red marks, with their arms outstretched and now resembling a small machine gun, ran up and aimed directly at the evil enigma.
"Kaleb Dunn, by Hexicon Law regarding unlawful usage of Unsealant abilities for malicious intent, you are-" one of the robots began to rattle off its issue with Kaleb, but it didn't even get to finish its sentence before he outstretched his own hand. Small red lasers protruded from his fingertips at mach speed, shooting through the robots. The machines began to deconstruct themselves at the atomic level, slowly collapsing and morphing into each other until they became a throbbing cluster of pure quantum energy, constantly browsing through an extensive range of hues.
"Dude, what the fuck…okay, I don't even wanna know-"
"My Unsealant allows me to emit lasers from my fingers that remove energy from any atoms within the target area I choose. This cools the atoms down to a temperature near absolute zero, turning it into one quantum entity that's entirely under my control." He explained, as the strange, indescribable esse floated above the spot where the two security bots once stood.
Typical. "Look dude, I've already had enough trouble today when it comes to crazy superpeople wanting to take this Backpack! I've had it up to here with this crap! Is everyone in this city smart to the point of insanity?" he groaned loudly. Kaleb only shook his head and snickered, the pulsating entity hovering slightly above his hand still continuously shifting through a wide array of colors.
"Mr. McHaley, Hexicon may seem different at first glance, but at day's end…it's not some utopia. It's just another part of this crazy world."
Yup. It's official. I hate this place.
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What the hell is so damned special about this stupid backpack that every juiced up superfreak in the city wants it? It can't possibly just be because they want the extra storage space. Something's up, and I'm gonna find out what, but I have to shake off this Kaleb prick first. Maybe the backpack can help me again somehow?
Next time: Condenser. Weird, crazy, abnormal...just another day at S.I.N.K.