Henry's eyes slowly opened, groggily taking in his surroundings. He was on a small bed, in a large room. Medical equipment beeped softly around him. A figure stood beside his bed, checking the machines.
"Henry, welcome back," Agent Rachel said, smiling warmly. "How are you feeling?"
Henry tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse. Rachel handed him a glass of water, helping him sit up.
"What...what happened?" Henry asked, sipping the water.
"You passed out during the preparation for the procedure," Rachel replied. "Don't worry, you're okay now, and we can proceed."
Henry's memories flooded back, and his eyes widened in alarm.
"Miley! what the fuck did you do?" he whispered mentally.
[That doesn't matter, just stay calm for now.] She replied
Henry nodded slightly, pretending to relax.
Rachel's eyes narrowed. "Henry, are you okay? Do you need more rest?"
Henry shook his head, trying to appear calm. "No, I'm fine. Just...need a little more time to get my head straight. You know" he said, signaling to the door
Rachel smiled, she clearly understood what he meant. "Get some rest then. We'll continue later."
As Rachel left, Henry's mind raced.
"Miley, what now?"
[Well, I've done my part for you hen, figure it out on your own, you've already bought a bit of time] She replied, dismissively
"Ah, you're right, gotta find a way out of here," he said
[Henry, be at ease, you're been monitored]
"Oh," he glanced around the room, which was quite large and empty, containing only the bed and the equipment near him
Taking a deep breath and laying on the bed, he maintained a calm expression, one that looked unsuspecting
"So, this is just great, i have no abilities or skills that can help me out of this, heck i might even be the slowest person in the building, i really should have signed that agreement," henry thought, feeling regret
[Yes, that is quite sad, you have achieved nothing. If you get out of this alive, it's best you find ways to become stronger and faster. This is how the world works, only the strong survives, while the weak suffers] Miley stated
"Yeah, i think I'm seeing that now, after this, no more playing around, i will get stronger and never feel this useless and pathetic ever again," he said, clenching his fist. He hated that he was helpless and that he was about to have his brain melted by the same people he thought were the good guys
"So you really can't help me out?" he asked once again, with a pleading tone
But he got no reply from miley, she ignored him
"You know if i die, they'll find out about you anyway. This is mostly kind of your fault for not giving me enough skills, i could...wait, skills, you're practically a skill shop system," henry said with realization
There where lots of skills in the system, ones that even acted as abilities, but they were all expensive
"Hey miley, can you find any ability that can help me in this situation?"
He was replied this time as a screen appeared
[Searching...]
[Skills found]
Henry browsed through various skills, some were a bit...too overwhelming, and some were too expensive, not that he had any shop points, but he finally found one suitable enough
Quantum Dash(one-time): Using a quantum technique of tunneling, it activates a super blink which enables the user to travel directly a mile from the initial position at light speed, host would be intangible to any kind of barrier in the way. (one-time: it can only be used once, but can be purchased once again)
[5000 SP]
"This would be a perfect skill, i shouldn't even be surprised at this scheme you call one-time." henry said, quoting the last words with his fingers
[You can't afford this] Miley retorted
"You didn't let me finish, i can trade something for shop points, yes?"
[Correct, but it...]
"Has to be valuable, i know, which is why I'll be trading the 5 extra stat points," he replied with excitement
[Hmm, not bad. I'll begin the process now]
"Please hurry," he thought, laying still on the bed.
He was already getting anxious, he knew the agents could come for him at any moment
In a dark room, where the only source of light was from a large screen placed on the wall, agent hills was watching henry through this screen, wondering what henry was up to
"Is he asleep?" he thought, when his bracelet suddenly beeped, he was getting a transmission
"Yes, leader," he said.
"Is it done?" orion asked
"No sir, he requested for a little time to rest, before we proceed," hills replied
"What! he asked for a little more time, and you gave it to him, have you all lost it!" orion yelled through the device
"I can assure you sir, he's with us, I'm watching him closely. He just seems to be laying down on the bed, apparently asleep," hills explained, his gaze still focused on henry
"And you believe that, as if suddenly losing consciousness wasn't enough, he asked for time!" orion yelled, getting more annoyed
"Sir...you don't think he knows our plan, do you?"
"I'm not a goddamn mind reader, just get him back to the lab, and do the thing," orion retorted angrily
"Ok sir, right away," hills said, cutting the transmission
He immediately tapped his ear comms, contacting the team of agents standing guard at the from of the unit henry was placed in.
"Get the suspect to the lab now," he commanded, as he took a sit
He didn't want to be there for the procedure anymore, he felt a little bit of guilt, there was nothing he could do about it, he didn't know the kid, so why risk his job for him. Not now that things were a bit tough in the nation
He drank a glass of water, waiting for the day to be over, when his earcomms beeped
"What!" he asked
"Sir, the suspect...he's gone," a voice replied him
"What!" he yelled, shifting his gaze back to the screen, and alas, henry wasn't in the room, he was even in the building anymore
"How'd this happen, search the entire building put an APB out to all patrol agents in the city. He couldn't have gone far," hills quickly ordered
"How did he do it, i only took my eyes off the screen for a split second," he thought with a dumbfounded expression
"Hills! what's the situation?" Orion's voice suddenly came from his comms
"Sir, the kid...he escaped," He replied.
Meanwhile, A few minutes ago;
[System trade feature active]
[Calculating item exchange value]
[5 stat points = 5000 shop points]
Henry was overjoyed, he didn't think stat points would get him that much SP, he had even planned to trade his health for shop points, if the stat points weren't enough
*Trade details*
[5 stat points > 5000 Shop points]
"Confirm," he approved
[Congratulations you have gained quantum dash]
"Okay, let's do this," henry said, standing up from the bed
[Hurry, i sense someone approaching] Miley warned
"Huh? crap," he said, as he could indeed hear footsteps coming from behind the door. Someone was about to enter the room
"Activate quantum dash," he said inwardly
[Quantum dash activated] The system screen popped up, and the door opened, but before anyone could enter the room, henry vanished.
"Huh?" the agent who entered the room had a confused expression, he had felt a slight breeze swiftly pass by him as he walk in, but saw nothing, absolutely nothing.
Henry reappeared a mile away, totally astonished
He didn't see or hear anything, just that a second ago he was in the CIU, and now he was here, in the actual blink of an eye.
"Woah, that was really fast, it felt like teleportation. Was it? he asked, checking his new environment
He was far away from Triad's base already, he found himself admist bustling streets, the sun reflecting the sleek buildings,
People passed by, oblivious to his sudden arrival, to them it was a normal thing
[No, that was quantum tunneling, it is as fast as the speed of light] Miley replied
"Oh okay," he replied, not understand a single word she said apart from 'speed of light'
"One day, i hope I'll be just as fast," he thought
"Man, it really brought me to the middle of nowhere," he said still glancing around the many shops and business centers, this was his first time in the city afterall
[Correct, as long as it's a mile]
"What if it was an ocean that was a mile from there?"
[You would have met your wet doom]
She said nonchalantly
Henry:"..."
"Atleast I'm safe for now," he said, forgetting he was talking to himself in the middle of the streets
[A mile is far, but not that far. Triad forces would be after you as we speak, start moving, or find a place to hide]
"To where exactly, i don't know anywhere in this city, except for...pegasus guild, i can try contacting someone from there, a big organization like them should have a public line," henry said with realization
[There's no time for that, i suggest you find a place to hide] Miley emphasized
"I know, but i can't hide forever, and with their insane tech and abilities, i doubt if i could even stay hidden. Better to get help first, then hide," he explained
"Just need to find someone to help," he thought, scanning the shops and centers one after the other
"Ok, let's try him," he said, as he walked towards a man who owned a large open kiosk, filled with various futuristic items.