The thin white steel door on the rooftop of a building slowly creaked open. And out of it, came an eighteen-year-old boy with remarkably brown hair and golden yellow eyes that showed a strong sense of sharpness and conviction. Reaching the rooftop, he walked towards the end of the roof which was kept up by a weak iron railing all around the perimeter.
He then proceeded to take a deep breath as he looked at the sight that was District 7. The area in front of him sprawled out like one of those adept mazes with streets somehow constantly filled and the main streets were already bustling as the boy was able to hear the sound of metal clanking along with the sound of street vendors trying to sell their products, be it food or products or services.
Staring at the crumbly building in front of him, a look of determination and expectation for the day ahead glimmered in his eyes and he took about a dozen steps back as he prepared to jump off the roof.
"Let's get this day started," the boy said to himself as a slight grin could be seen.
'One... Two... Th-'
Suddenly, a buzzing noise was on his lap, freezing him from shooting off. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and picked up the call.
"Yah-hoo," he answered with a smile on his face, "What's up ma-"
"Atlas Orin!" the voice of a woman rang out in a serious tone, "Why did you not finish your breakfast?"
"Oh!" Atlas feigned innocence as he answered, "I didn't know there was still more food on the plate. My eyes must be acting up, I should get them checked out at the local optician."
Of course, it wasn't that he actually didn't see the food, he had intentionally left them there so that his mom would be able to eat them instead.
"Bullshit!" his mom answered back, "You will come back and finish this now!"
Hearing this, Atlas immediately tried to find an excuse as he rambled, "I can't mom. I'm already on the main road. Terry told me that he was going to treat me to a skewer today in order to pay me back for helping him. I'll be fine."
Hearing this, silence permeated for the next few seconds. Atlas was all too familiar with this as he smiled and happily said, "Mom, it would be a shame to go and throw the food away now. You eat it, you'll need the energy to do all the house chores today."
Through a window about three floors down, a thin middle-aged woman with graceful long chestnut hair and warm brown eyes could be seen wearing a gentle smile as she heard what her son was saying through the phone.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" she commented as she stared up at the ceiling in defeat, smiling helplessly at how much her son cared for her.
"Haha! I know you're smiling helplessly ma," Atlas's voice sounded from the phone, causing her smile to grow even bigger.
"What's the goal for today then?" Elena asked as she stared at the food on the table.
"Go make some dough," Atlas's voice immediately answered and Elena began to hear Atlas starting to breathe a little differently.
"and remember?" Elena continued, awaiting a response as she got up from the dining chair made her way towards the worn-out window, and looked up towards the roof of the building next to them.
"True strength lies in the sacrifices we make for those we love. Love you ma! I'll see you later!" Atlas's answer rang out before the call cut out and in the next second, Elena saw Atlas's body jump across to the roof of the building that she was looking at.
"Go take on the day, my little conqueror. Show resilience," Elena spoke out softly as she smiled into the phone despite the call having ended.
The sun was at its peak at its highest position in the sky, and yet the pollution caused its golden light to look bland as it appeared paler the more it reached the ground. Nevertheless, it lit up all of the tops of buildings in the sprawling expanse of District 7.
The rooftops of District 7 were a microcosm of life in Neon Haven, bustling with activity. Children played on the flat surfaces with secure railings, and laundry lines hung between buildings, their contents fluttering like flags with the humid warm air from air conditioning fans and the city pollution.
This urban jungle was Atlas's playground. Growing up amidst the towering structures and rundown buildings, he had become an expert in navigating this complex terrain. Each rooftop, each ledge, each crumbling wall was more or less etched in his memory, forming a mental map that he could traverse with his eyes closed.
The gap between the roofs was significant, but Atlas didn't hesitate as this had become second nature to him. He pushed off the edge with all his strength, his body soaring through the air. For a moment, it felt like he was flying, the cityscape blurring beneath him. His years of practice made such daring maneuvers second nature to him.
Atlas darted around these obstacles with ease, his keen eyes always searching for the quickest route. Atlas stood at the edge of a dilapidated building, his eyes scanning the maze-like streets below. The soft breeze tousled his brown hair, and he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as he sprinted across the rooftop.
He landed in a crouch on an opposite roof, rolling to absorb the impact before springing back to his feet without losing momentum. His footsteps were light and precise, barely making a sound as he raced toward the next building. Upon reaching the next building, he walked to the edge of the roof and crouched down, staring at the bustling main street below.
He had planned out today already. His target was a vendor that he had been observing for cheating the desperate residents of District 7 out of their hard-earned cash. Today, Atlas intended to teach the man a lesson. He skilfully made his way down the fire exit steps before disappearing obliviously into the crowd.
"Come in! Come in! Best value for their buck cyber implants!" a gruff voice of a middle-aged man in his thirties shouted as he tried to attract the attention of the many people walking by his street stall.
"You there! Man with the cap!" he shouted as he pointed at a man with a large figure who didn't look like he was from District 7. This was due to the man's attire as he was wearing a flat cap and a long black cloak.
Meanwhile, the man seemed distracted as his attention seemed to have been fixed on something else among the crowd, it was only when the vendor called out his cap, that he realized that he was talking to him. Slowly, he turned towards the vendor and made his way to him.
As he reached the vendor, the vendor could not help but take a short pause to admire the figure of the man. He had a huge muscular frame as if he was a weightlifter with piercing green eyes with greying hair seen on the sides of his face and yet there was a stoic expression on his face.
"Do you want to see my products? You look like someone who could benefit from this new knuckle attachment that I got from SpectraCore Enterprises. Why don't you try it? From your looks, you have definitely fought before. This easily allows you to knock out your enemy or even kill them in one hit!" the vendor advertised.
Meanwhile, Atlas was silently but quickly approaching his target, he noticed that the vendor was mid-transaction with the large man, a sly grin plastered on his face as he handed a subpar piece of tech to the man, hoping that he would buy it. The vendor was clearly too engrossed in his deception as he had taken a step outside his stall to help the man put on the knuckles, thus failing to notice the young man lurking in the shadows.
Atlas took advantage of the vendor's distraction as he snuck past and hid behind the small. Immediately, his fingers deftly began working as he snatched a handful of Lumins along with as many trinkets as he could take from the shelf under the counter. His touch was feather-light, and the vendor remained oblivious to the theft as Atlas continued to stuff his carry-on bag full of trinkets. His lips curled into a mischievous smile as he enjoyed the thrill of outsmarting those who preyed on the vulnerable. The whole operation took about a minute.
As he pocketed his loot, Atlas couldn't resist adding a little flourish to his heist. With a swift, practiced movement, he loosened the bolts securing the vendor's prized display that attracted most of his customers - a shiny, overpriced cybernetic skeletal implant that was way past its prime designed to lure in unsuspecting buyers.
Hearing that the large man was not going to buy the knuckles, the vendor couldn't do anything as he sadly began to walk back toward his stall but just as he did so...
Clank! Crash!
The display teetered and fell, crashing to the ground. Confusion initially struck the vendor as he hurriedly picked up and scrambled to pick up his merchandise, not seeing Atlas who was observing him a distance away already. Having picked the gadget up, the man turned towards his shelf below the counter and realized that the majority of his merchandise was missing.
As realization struck him, the vendor's face turned beet red with fury and embarrassment as he let out an angry shout of frustration.
Meanwhile, walking away, Atlas's grin widened as he made his way back to the rooftops. Once again making it up the roof, he took a seat on the edge as he celebrated the success of the heist by enjoying the city's landscape as he could see the UpTown district skyscrapers in the distance. The city continued to buzz with life beneath him, but he felt untouchable up here, above the chaos.
"I should go get some food before selling all of this," he mumbled to himself as he laid down, taking a second to admire the clouds, before immediately kicking himself back up and dashing across the rooftops with extreme ease.
'I wish I was a cloud,' he thought blankly before he felt another buzzing sensation on his leg. He picked up the phone and put it to his ear.
"Yo Dweck. What's up?" Atlas asked as he continued jumping across the rooftops.
"Atlas," a gruff voice crackled through the device, "your father told me to call you to the box. His next fight is coming up soon and he said you wanted to watch."
"Wait, that's today?" Atlas asked in slight surprise.
"You'd better get here quickly if you want to see it," Dweck commented in a slightly pushy tone.
"I'm already on my way! I've just got to head up to Kevin's stall real quick first," said Atlas.
"Another successful heist?" Dweck asked but he did not let Atlas answer as he quickly added, "You have got the best success rate out of all thieves I've ever seen in my life in District 7."
"Haha! Thanks for the compliment tubby," Atlas replied with a light laugh as he landed on a rooftop and did a front roll, "Delaying ringing that bell a little longer for me."
Meanwhile, as Atlas expertly traversed the rooftops, his agile movements seemed to have caught the attention of someone. On a distant rooftop, smoking a cigarette was the same man who the vendor had tried to cheat. His eyes were sharply observing Atlas with piqued interest.