At first the light was so intense, contrasted by the dark tunnels that it was blinding, blinding for a few seconds in fact, for all that could be seen is white.

The roar of the engine also instantly silences with only a whimper, and in those moments was pure silence and blindingness. But after adapting to the new source and being able to see through the dissipating blinds, a new image crystalizes in view, an image of an incredible phenomenon, one that upon first glance is one of amazement.

That image is of a colossal craggy cavern, and within that colossal craggy cavern is a considerable compact city. A cave many miles in length so much so that the walls are but a brown haze, a cave so tall that it was as if the city had its own sky, albeit still finite with a rocky ceiling lined with stalactites that stare down over the urban center with umpteen masses of buildings, some stacked many stories tall although nothing even near the height of a skyscraper.

Emerging from an aperture rather high up in the cave, the city below felt smaller, and from a birds eye view it’s clear that the city has a compact design with tight streets and neighborhoods. Of course the city’s size was no simple feat, yet it was making the most out of it in a desperate fashion, one that foregone the commodious neat style of many other cities, of standardized blocks and wide streets.

While not many details of the buildings can be made out from so high up, what can be determined is the simplistic geometry of most of them, build as rectangular prisms with no flashy curves like Versepolis’s towers, and differentiated from those silver skyscrapers the buildings also had a brown texture resembling the dirt rocks composing the cave’s walls, noticeably different in its brighter tone which nearly gives it a dirty gold finish, but still similar.

While at the front of the leisurely cruising pod Meditat and Dana both remain seated still, Meditat’s face stern without wavering and Dana’s startled but stable, both Ekitai and Kokei nearly fall towards into the seats ahead, barely catching themselves as both of them release a synchronized albeit not harmonious shriek.

Kokei begins rapidly muttering to herself as she recollects herself and tugs her own body while Ekitai on the other hand swiftly recovers, leaning back and glancing over at the window beside him in intrigue whilst wiping the purple stain and drool off his face.

Through the window Ekitai gazes over the underground city after lowering his arm, with such vast land ahead as they had emerged from one of the borders, giving sights of the edge.

With his yellow eyes he specifically focuses further down where the streets are, a strangely concerned expression worn.

Down by the surface of the cavern, streets floored the same as the city as rocky and rough can be seen in between collages of buildings stacked on each other, and in the streets are masses of humanoids who were interacting with one another in such a way of a marketplace.

The people are predominately wearing brownish gray clothing with similar skin, and while some of them chat amongst themselves and walk up and down the streets, an expansive sample of them stare right back up entranced both in awe yet some sort of hesitancy, some of them staggering backwards and whispering to each other.

Several even turn around and begin walking away, trying to depart the area from the notice alone, while others step in through doorways of the market buildings to which the doorways are closed off, although peculiarly not by the materialization of a door but rather the activation of a red energy barrier. Such a design contrasted against the rest of the building’s design, one of the many reasons why one would usually not use this convention amongst others of general friendliness, for the only true purpose of an energy-based door is to most affordably prevent unwanted entry which standard materials of a physical door may not as effectively do.

Observing the reaction to the entrance, Ekitai affirms his own predictions with a sigh before then facing the driver and querying, “Wait so just to make sure, you do understand full well that, well, we’re not going to be liked here just by being here. I mean maybe on other Earths we had some bad luck but here, it’d be more than lucky if we weren’t scoffed at everywhere. I don’t know, you really should have used my list, I have the experience.”

On the other side of the driver’s seat returns a response, one that was presented as a question itself: “Were you planning on making friends?”

Groaning by the dodgy answer, Ekitai glances at Kokei, only to find her face nearly pressed against the window, eagerly staring out into the city below.

He then leans towards Kokei, hogging most of the space on the seat to reach her ear where he whispers, “Oy, stay near me okay?”

Also regarding the underground city they graze from above as notably the only pod in the skies in sight, Dana too has an apprehensive face, her eyes still gold but this time to best analyze the environment, the golden rings in her iris expanding and shrinking continuously like camera shutters to target and enhance.

While making her survey, she questions too: “So you already sorted out the place for us to stay at? You rented another SpaceFnF with an Arrow, maybe for a few weeks, made sure to research the neighborhood and local business centers so we have close reach to resources?”

She then suddenly stammers awkwardly, “Not that I’m doubting you of course, I just want to know for sure…I didn’t mean to make it sound doubtful…sorry if it came off that way….”

Without moving his head, Meditat’s right eye draws to Dana before returning ahead, and he answers calmly, “SpaceFnF doesn’t work here, I had to use other means of acquisition. But don’t worry, I sorted it out, yes. On that note, we’re nearing the location.”

Dana then glances over at him and opens her mouth to speak, but not before the pod suddenly takes a dip, causing her to freeze up in startlement.

From above as the sole entity even that high up or off the surface for that matter in all that can be seen in the caverns, the matte black pod dives down with a loudening hum of the engine, calm as it’s still at a much soother pace.

Away from the stalactites ceiling and down into the dirt streets, the matte pod approaches a region consisting of long blocks in rows, with distinct yet narrow streets in between every row.

Reaching down in only seconds by the relatively slow yet still generally quick speeds of the vehicle, the sleek pod pulls back up normal to the surface, where it then drifts over the long rows, rows that are now distinguished as long stretches similar to townhouses in that they appear to be a collection of residencies each marked by ridges in the imperfect rough walls which upon closer proximity appear to be made of a dirt-like composite, but what further separates each residency is their own red energy doors. Every block consists of five homes based on the door count, separated with space for a street although its width is more fitting of an alley.

There are not only doors along the surface of the cave however, for it appears there are multiple homes stacked on each other, each of them offset further back to provide space on the roof to walk to the doors, as there also are physical stairs built along some of the walls every several doors to provide simple entry up.The backs of the rows are filled completely for simplistic structural integrity, although the design of the multiple stories is rather strange in that it utilizes roofs as floors with neither being specially designed for either function whereas in other cities floors would be carpeted and roofs would be curved.

Below the coasting pod, in the alleys between residential blocks along the walls are various machines and devices, some shaped similarly to old dumpsters with samely green bodies. There are also groupings of people with raggy clothing and pale skin lounging by the walls, and while some of the attire dawn hoods and differ in size and coverage, there isn’t vastly diverse fashion between them all.

In fact, as the pod soars overhead, every alley has a similar scene of the same dumpsters and samely people hanging around, many of whom glance up at the pod upon its passing with intrigue to the alien vessel.

In one of the alleys are four people loitering together, two men and two women, and one of the men glances up with interest as he leans against the wall.

Past the matte shell, Meditat’s gaze keenly contracts and shifts down to the right, and upon taking a glimpse he nods his head to himself and the pod suddenly begins to turn on command.

Across two of the long rows the pod shifts, able to make adjustments unbothered due to the lack of traffic as opposed to the bustling activity on the last Earth.

After making the slide over the street perfectly centered, the pod then gradually begins its descendance, its hum remaining passive as it lands from its long flight.

Down on the unsmoothed surface, pebbles and rocks begin to quake and tremble from the rumbling above, the quaking intensifying with the hum until the matte pod descends just a few feet from the ground where it then remains afloat and simply glides forward, cruising through the neighborhood lined with red illuminated walls.

While the neighborhood certainly is not empty by any means as there are people lingering around corners, the street the pod traverses itself is rather barren, the only entity moving down the quiet region.

There is indeed lighting in the caves, softly emitted by various generators to keep the city from being truly dark, however there are no flashy colors and it’s still far darker than what a world basked in sunlight would be.

At a meandering float, Meditat examines the houses between him, none of them having visible identifiers like an address, almost as if they weren’t homes to begin with or at least not well defined as one.

However, despite no visual signifiers, Meditat distinguishes one of the homes to the right, as he leans the pod towards the right of the street. Dana faces the same house that Meditat had focused on, and while she reads into it the pod gradually slows down.

At long last, the humming pod draws into a full stop, completing its journey across the Superverse from Earth 3 to 99, all the way from the core to the very edge in a severe and yet perfectly necessary action.

While remaining levitated, the engine’s hum is silenced completely, the engine and subsequently the pod being put to sleep. A few seconds later, all four of the pod’s doors dematerialize simultaneously with a synchronized whoosh, the cloud of nanites vanishing together.

For several more seconds however, there is no movement from the pod, for it simply remains still and open.

Then from the left side emerges the man in the leather jacket both grayed, stepping out from the pod and being the first to touch ground. He stands up straight, a soft gust of breeze blowing his four white locks as he glances around curiously with a stern glare. He meticulously surveys the neighborhood, observing from left to right, and upon doing so he nods.

He then begins to walk around the pod, and as he does the second aged man steps out of the vehicle, eyeing his surroundings with his right hand by his overcoat’s pocket in prime, cautiously following the driver out.

Next steps out the mature woman, who straightens her blazer after the long trip, her amber bangs being caught in the breeze as she makes her own reconnaissance before finally relinquishing the gold eyes, reverting them green before following.

After the third departure, it seems at first that all had left due to an extended pause, the other three already following towards the buildings as the pod is left alone.

However, that is then when one hand with pink nails grabs onto the edge of the door, using the stability to unmount the pod while frantically monitoring the streets through pink eyes in between her long vibrant hair strands, dressed in her bright white hoodie with bright colors green, blue, purple, and pink dotted over it as she stands in the gray and brown world, her body almost an anomaly.

She peeks around the pod and over the roof, to which she then nods her head and begins running around to catch up with the rest of the group as the four doors all materialize shut, locking the pod.

Past Kokei’s shoulder, huddled around one of the closed red doors is the other three of the group, Meditat in particular standing right in front of it while the other two remain close. Kokei joins with the group too, shivering from the breeze and hugging herself for warmth, for while there was light in place for the sun, the warmth felt more lackluster.

Once Kokei stops beside Dana, who glances at her and gives a soft reassuring smile, Meditat’s eyes contract to which the barrier in front of him vanishes, the energy door being deactivated with a whimper.

All three of the group face the door upon the deactivation cue, and watch Meditat nonchalantly walk inside. All three of them step forwards, although not nearly as eager, for instead Kokei especially stares with apprehension, standing behind Dana.

Next is Ekitai’s turn as he strolls through the door, his hand remaining by his holster as his yellow glare seeks for any disturbances.

The next one in front of the door, Dana steps inside too, her footsteps slow and cautious with her hand in a tight fist, more uneasy about the place after the driver’s vague statement on the process of purchase if there was even any at all. Her teeth clench as she can’t help but feel familiar with the type of place, one she thought she had escaped far from, and yet one she was walking straight through the doors into.

Lastly, Kokei takes a deep breath, closing her eyes to try calming herself down.

Opening her eyes, she steps in through the open doorway, entering the dark interior dimly lit with distinct devices resembling lanterns placed along the floor, providing only directional light which fails to properly illuminate the whole space.

Inside, the interior walls are made of the same dirt-like composite as the outside walls, for it’s unclear if there are even multiple layers. The walls just like outside are coarse and rough, with intrusions and extrusions that show little attempt at refinement.

Walking around the house, the audible crunch calls for attention to the floor, which has no carpeting or boarding, instead just left uncovered, maintaining pebbles and dust everywhere with so much that attempting to dust the building would be absurdly futile.

Raising her head back up, focus is driven to the inner walls of the house, which there were definitely of, as at least the interior wasn’t an open space like a warehouse. Although even without many walls, every room feels claustrophobically limited, such as the first rooms right beside the entry, the right one maybe meaning to be a living room although lacks any furniture to be comfortable, and the room to the left having solid counters which creates a border to the main corridor as well as being along the walls all in a fashion resembling a kitchen although without any machinery.

There are shelves, flat extrusions of dirt along the walls, which is the only functioning storage visible. Ekitai is currently in that kitchen, examining the closest to furniture, feeling the bumpy surface of what functions as the countertops.

Down the corridor by the other end strolls Dana in exploration, the next area to follow. Walking down the corridor, more crunches of the rocks beneath the feet provide the sensation of hiking in the wilderness, a potentially calming experience although not one traditionally similar to exploring a house. By reaching Dana down the hall, which isn’t too long, attention is caught by doorways along the walls, one of which is fully honed in on and walked through.

Through the doorway is a petite room with more extrusions of shelves along one of the walls, although beyond that the room is entirely empty. Even by further exploring the room, examining every wall for potential hidden secrets, there appears to be little beyond the shelves.

Incoming footsteps from behind alert attention back to the door, which reveals the entrance of Meditat, who stops upon stepping inside to then scan the room in silence with a contemplative mask. He then nods his head, and discerns: “That makes these the bedrooms.”

Behind him, Dana follows inside to join him in exploring this next room, adding in: “I counted three of them and one bathroom, just across from this one.”

Immediately focus is placed through the open doorway and through the doorway across, which leads into a narrower room. While not even inside, all features of the room can be collected, a dirt table on the left side, and then what seems to be a hole dug into the ground on the right– not too deep as upon a few steps forward and lean provide a view of its bottom. It’s carved out like a bowl although in reality it is only a hole dug into the rocky dirt ground.

Obstructing the view of the toilet becomes Ekitai, who steps inside the same bedroom taking a swig from another flask, glancing around while remarking, “Wow, I feel like royalty” in a dryly sarcastic tone. He then faces straight on and swiftly shows concern with the lowering of his flask before inquiring receptively, “Kokei, you okay?”

Standing still with an exposed frown of anxiety and visibly spaced out with her pink irises trailing off into the walls, Kokei blinks twice and reshifts focus onto the one speaking to her, weakly smiling and assuring, “Huh, yeah I’m fine.”

With a hand placed on his lowered chin in a deeply meditative trance, Meditat hums softly with sharp eyes while Dana gazes at him patiently, momentarily taking glimpses at the room before then sighing again.

Finally Meditat drops his hand and raises his head to Dana’s returning gaze, and he resolves firmly, “Okay, you three take one of the bedrooms, I should keep watch anyways.”

Dana nods her head understandably, accepting: “Got it, but you’re always welcome to swap with me if you’re feeling tired.”

Stretching backwards with a loud grunt, Ekitai straightens his back before then ranting, “God I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk even tomorrow if I have to sleep on this, I mean like I’ve slept in some wacky places back in the day but I can’t just abuse my poor, silky smooth back like that, it needs it’s pampering too.”

He then faces Dana with the raise of an eyebrow before remarking in a half-joking voice, “I’m surprised a CEO would be fine settling with this, I can’t be the only one. Even my adventures in Earth 79 had better bedding than this, and that place is a geographical hell, I mean it really the contour maps really are an abstract art piece.”

After being called out, Dana shoots a distasteful glare at Ekitai before vaguely mentioning, “I’m pretty used to this.”

Stretching his arms in exercise Ekitai then followingly jabs back, “Oh wait, I forgot, you’re part robot anyways, I’m not sure if you can even feel discomfort. Dang y’all lucky, either you got powers or other enhancements, I got none of that, I’m just an old guy. You know, I really should just bite the bolt and do cybernetic surgery, it just doesn’t sit right with me not being in my own skin though, you know? Although…there are some pretty impressive cybernetic ‘jackhammers’ out there if you know what I mea-,”

“It’s fine, Meditat can just make us beds anyways, Ekitai. I mean he’s brothers with the most infamous Exhuman terrorist known in the hundred worlds, sure he might’ve missed out on some of the nice aging genes but I’m sure he can make a little cushion for your stick spine,” hastily interjects Kokei after catching onto Ekitai’s tangent and blocking it with two shots.

Whereas Ekitai lets out a light chuckle from the soft insult hurtled by his long-time best friend whom he’s casually joked around with for as long as he could remember, Meditat frowns and lowers his head upon the sudden scorching stab to the chest which had been raking up minor wounds but wasn’t prepared for such a piercing blow.

In a gentle, almost delicate voice, Meditat awkwardly murmurs, “Oh…I could try to get that set up, sure…yeah I’ll have that by nightfall or, wait no, I mean I guess when you all want to rest….”

The voice spoken so softly wasn’t even picked up by either Ekitai nor Kokei, although it was by the one who was standing by him, who raises her head with a troubled gaze to Meditat before then shooting a peculiar glare at Kokei, who was focused on Ekitai anyways.

Ekitai’s yellow eyes suddenly expand with a sharp inhale of terror, and he instantly faces Meditat before strangely interrogating with a completely sincere tone, “Wait Meditat, the pod, did you just leave it outside?!”

Mediat’s head jumps back up and his posture reorders itself into one striking his usual cool confidence. He faces Ekitai with a raised eyebrow before assuring in an unconcerned tone, “Yes, but that is no call for concern, the pod is locked with a custom encryption that has bested the most skilled hackers in the Superverse, it is more than safe outside.”

Ekitai gasps in a sudden spike of fear, and he throws his hands forwards holding the flask which spills purple drops as he desperately lectures, “Wait what?! No, what, Meditat you can’t do that, that’s not enough! You just left it out in the open for anyone to take!!”

Groaning in irritation to what seems to be a case of naivety preventing total comprehension of a calm situation, Meditat shakes his head with his hands by his side before clarifying, “Ekitai, you do not understand, I have designed my own custom encryption wall for anyone attempting to access the pod’s security systems or the pod’s remote controls. Nobody will be able to remotely hack the pod, and if anyone so as to boot up the pod’s engine, I guarantee I will be alerted, and will be able to deal with the problem efficiently. I have been using this pod on reconnaissance missions for years now, do you think I do not have this figured ou-.”

That is when Meditat suddenly freezes up, his forehead scrunches, and he lowers his head and places his hand over it as though trying to recall.

After the sudden pause, Ekitai just stands awkwardly, throwing his hands again waiting for the continuation, his expression becoming more disturbed with every passing second of silence from a man who so confidently boasted about his security.

Staring at the floor, Meditat’s eyes begin to expand as the hand gripping his forehead tenses up, so much so his nails begin digging into his head as the specifications of his point begin to run through his mind.

Slowly and quietly to himself, Meditat begins to murmur in a less confident tone, “I always stayed right by the pod in those missions…and I specifically avoided bringing it to the assaults themselves…because if I’m too far away and someone manages to breach into the pod and do a skip launch…. This isn’t one of those missions…we didn’t use the network to get here…we drove here…and before, we either parked in passive worlds or secluded areas…but I did neither…I didn’t follow those contingencies. This isn’t one of my missions…this isn’t even a world I’ve been to…why am I getting sloppy now…?”

Struck by the revelation and now diverting actions to remedy the mistake caused by his own naivety, Meditat lowers his hand and raises his head, rearticulating his face to be as calm and visibly collected as possible despite the pain of realizing his own fallacies midway through his lecture.

Speaking at an audible volume with a passive tone, Meditat assures peacefully, “Do not worry, I’ll have that minor inconvenience handled swiftly. I should easily be able to find a safe zone to keep it hidden for now, especially since we won’t need it until we depart this world, and in the meantime I will make sure to keep it monitored. We just arrived so there is no reason to panic now, you can get situated and if my presence is not needed here I can begin the relocation process-,”

That is when out of nowhere the familiar British male voice alerts directly into Meditat’s head, “Sir, I have just registered an activation of the pod’s engine without documented entry, as well as four unregistered passengers, is this you-,” before, to the listener’s perspective, the voice abruptly cuts off.

However, not only does the internal voice cut off, but to Meditat’s perspective, Dana, Ekitai, and Kokei all suddenly freeze in position as though they were iced in an instant simultaneously.

All three of them are frozen staring directly at Meditat, Kokei’s and Dana’s expressions both of innocent perplexion as to his quiet panic attack, Ekitai’s in greater agitation with his hands still out, all three of them focused straight on one man, not a single one of them with a clue as to what had just happened.

In the center of attention of the three frozen companions, Meditat’s eyes expand out in immediate dread, and he turns his head towards the exit of the bedroom, his body moving normally to his own perspective.

Facing the exit doorway, Meditat springs forward, sprinting towards the doorway swinging his arms back and forth. With every step made, a mirage of his own body is left behind, like a clone although entirely illusionary, and emitting from the back of his true body are blue residual streaks propelling him forth. They were not physical nor independent, rather they were afterimages produced as he escapes the room into the hallway.

Stopping in place, Meditat gazes down the central corridor of the home, all the way to the other end where the red energy door stands active, its body opaque, although Meditat more than understood what was beyond the door.

Remaining in place, he glances back at the bedroom, where the three of his companions remain perfectly in place, still staring at where he was initially, their expressions unchanged as Ekitai’s hands remain thrown forward. None of them knew what was happening, and in this moment of terrible hubris, it was up to him to remedy his mistake.

Meditat returns his gaze to the house’s red exit, and he takes off again in a sprint, leaving afterimages with every step within the residual trail, every afterimage left in once pose of the run where they remain.

Running through the frozen house, the blue light emitting off the streaks overpowers the mediocre lighting of the home, causing the corridor he passes to glow blue instead, the light spreading over the dirt walls he races past, over the pebbles he steps off of.

Reaching the front of the house with the kitchen and living room, Meditat begins to take a slight turn towards the living room, away from the energy door which would take too long to deactivate, at least too long for what was needed.

Instead, inside the living room which glistens blue from the runner’s trail, Meditat sprints to the dirt wall right beside the door, and with his right arm swung back in motion, he thrusts his fist forwards as it flares blue as indication of strengthening, right before that blue fist contacts the wall, to which the dirt composite by the point of impact visibly fractures, and the further the fist is driven into it, the more it cracks before finally shattering into multifarious fragments, some of them with defined rocky elements which provide its rigidity, others smooth dirt particles which hold it together similar to cement.

Forcing the explosion process in imperceivable time, Meditat rams straight into the fragments with his arm over his face, shoving the particles away from him which to his perspective simply drift in the air as though they were in space.

By thrusting through the ruptured wall, Meditat reaches out of the house, right next to the red energy door once again although this time no longer within the walls but rather outside, albeit not truly outside for the cave’s oppressive ceiling looms over.

What the breach through the wall does provide however is a clear view of the dreadful scene that came to mind the moment he heard the alarm, for in front of him is his own sleek matte black pod, however rather than being by the house hardly levitating, instead it’s facing directly away from the door and angled upwards already multiple stories high with a trajectory to propel itself far from the neighborhood, with no obstructive traffic to slow it down. The pod however to Meditat’s perspective is also not moving, but rather it’s nearly entirely still, for it’s clear that it was not the companions who were frozen but rather him who was moving at such immense speeds that the world was still to him. If it were only another moment later that he had begun his run, that pod currently still within range may have been far out of reach.

Yet in not even the nick of time but rather the very time itself, Meditat obtains a full view of his vehicle in escape. Standing right before the pod frozen, aim both hands at the back of his pod, and from both he projects a blue cable, and they do in fact emerge out of his hands, yet ironically they emerge out frozen in place too.

For while Meditat was incredibly lucky that he was able to reach the pod while it was still visible, he was too late to catch it on the ground, for his hubris allowed it to become airborne where his speed would no longer carry him. This was as far as he could reach, as much as he could do in this one instant, for now he had to fight a battle with reactive opponents.

Thus as Meditat stands his ground, both of the cables just barely protruding from his hands, aimed at the matte pod facing away yet unmoved to him while particles of dirt and shattered rock drift behind him yet to be affected by the force of its own burst, he stops moving.

With that, all of the afterimages behind him vanish instantaneously, the residual trail lingering for just a little longer, the dirt and rocks bursting forward bouncing right off him, the two cables attaching onto the matte pod’s tailgate, and that pod thrusting forwards at immense launch speeds just as predicted.

Like a dam crumbling and releasing all built up behind it in one intense flood, all the sounds of the world strike simultaneously, the sound of the engine’s deep hum, the whooshes of the cable’s attaching, the boom of the explosion in the dirt wall, and the British male voice finishing, “-or should I take defensive action?”

In an instant Meditat’s body is flung off the ground by the pod which races up in its unchanged trajectory, for it was indeed on the move before he reached it. Even churning such a discrete hum the pod bolts scarily fast, its speed not at all affected by Meditat’s weight.

Over Meditat’s back, covered by the grayed leather jacket, blue dots flash everywhere between both shoulders from the nape to the waist, to which a multitudinous salvo of blue cables fire out, all of them at unique but generally outward angles.

All of those cables, firing not towards the flying pod but opposite from it, all project into the neighborhood below like a rain of arrows covering the walls of the houses behind on multiple stories all spread out randomly yet intently amongst all five columns.

In not even a second after anchoring, all of the cables are suspended to their tensile limit, which subsequently suspends Meditat in the air too, halting his flight that would’ve landed him straight into the hard metal shell. He instead freezes in the air, his hands still held forward maintaining the two cables with his back projecting countless more all across the block.

Only an instant next the soaring pod jolts and suspends, also dragged into the system albeit harshly as its body nearly staggers back. Its humming begins to louden, and it visibly shakes as it tries to drive out of the hold, to which Meditat’s body is slowly pulled towards it.

Gritting his teeth intensely, Meditat tightens his biceps and pulls on the cables holding the pod back while also projecting more from his back, moreso covering the buildings behind to increase stability against the powerful vehicle trying to fly away.

In fact, the hail of suspended cables is reminiscent of a spider’s web, countless strings gripping onto a surface all converging into a singular central point, weak individually but amalgamated strong.

With all those cables, despite the pod’s persistence to escape as its hum continues to intensify, more power put into the engine, causing Meditat to still gradually be tugged the other way as it’s one man against a vehicle with the power to fly between planets in minutes.

In the air caught last second, the pod’s four windows dematerialize in synchronization.

Taken aback by the conscious unconcealment, Meditat lightly gasps and his eyes expand, anticipating the reveal of whomever sought to steal his vehicle. He maintains his grip, trying his best to keep the pod from gaining another inch, although in between the wires his body was being painfully strained.

Up above where the pod’s engine growls, its hum becoming more intense to not quiet a roar but reaching so, a head pops out from the driver’s window, the head of an adult man with gray rough skin dawning a black rag functioning as a bandana as well as a heavy leather bomber jacket with a bright azure base highlighted in golden yellow stripings and a collar fattened with fur. Around his neck is also a large metal collar with several green dots illuminated around the ring.

The man faces down with a curious expression which immediately morphs into one of agitation, and he immediately shouts, “It someone aigh! Any more kick and it crash the ceiling. Tryin to push it myself!”

He then extends his arm out of the window, aiming towards the man.

Unable to easily maneuver around due to the strain he’s already in, Meditat can only glare ragefully as he’s aimed straight ahead by the driver, the pod stuck and noticeably no longer accelerating.

To Meditat’s surprise, the man shifts his aim not precisely onto him but rather simply opposite to their trajectory. Even more peculiar is what happens next: emerging from the man’s fingers is a barrage of rays of magenta energy, reddish purple rays thin like wire but in such density that they compact into a collective frame of a stream, a stream projected backwards with its own hum resembling an electromagnet, although the stream only reaches just beyond the pod before naturally dissipating. The rays too throb outward like a pulse, like a congested hose moving up the stream until the dissipation.

Almost immediately Meditat’s body jolts forwards as the pod starts to accelerate again, not by its own engine but rather the supernatural abilities propelling it.

Shown to be combating an Exhuman, Meditat tsks and clenches his fist more tightly as if trying to better hold the two cables from his hands.

Also from the bottom of the wrist, two more blue cables project out in flashes, both reinforcing the two as each of them grab hold of the pod’s tail, which once again causes it to jolt back and suspend in place despite the additional propulsion, for the tenacity nearly doubled.

Again tugged into a stalemate, the Exhuman at the driver’s seat grits his teeth in strain and exclaims, “What his problem?!”

Just then from the other side of the pod, another head pops out from the front passenger seat, although this one a female dressed in a dark sleeveless hoodie covering her head. She faces Meditat and sharpens her glare before then shouting back, “Gottem! Ask for help sometimes Mavrik,” before aiming her own hand at Meditat, this time maintaining the aim.

Whereas the Exhuman driver named Mavrik has rough, almost rocky skin, this woman’s skin is unnaturally shiny, almost metallic, and has visible ridges in her face and arms. From those ridges on the forearm all the sudden then extend upwards a cannon built into her body, a rusty metal cannon which then from the back of the barrel gleams scarlet, for she may not be Exhuman although she herself is not fully human either, rather partially cybernetic.

That cannon then fires a volley of loud scarlet bolts, each of them causing brief recoil to her arm, although she keeps her aim steady nonetheless.

Stuck by all of the wires coming out of him in both directions, Meditat has no choice but to endure the barrage, groaning upon the first several shots, although beyond the minor impact force of the shots they hardly damage him for the heat energy of the bolts are absorbed.

In fact, only after the first few shots does he loosen up and stop reacting to the shots, keeping his ground despite being constantly fired on, still able to keep the pod stuck.

From the back left side of the pod shouts a new adult male voice, “Move yo hand,” to which Mavrik obliges by shifting his hand more to his right, although strangely it doesn’t change the trajectory of the ray streams as instead the streams bend to keep the same direction.

What does change is the amount of heads out of the pod, as another emerges from the window behind the driver, a man dressed in a dark gray fiber-woven suit in fact rather similar to those used by the Watchdogs albeit with extra metal padding on the shoulders and breasts. Also different from those suits was that his gray face is exposed, but the top of his head is covered by a gus hat of the same fiber material.

He pulls his left arm out, which has a metal embed over the wrist which flashes before projecting a light over his hand, materializing itself into a heavy pistol with a separate handle as he isn’t wearing any gloves.

Taking aim, the man then slyly remarks, “Need helping hand Laiysa? Ya would be damned without me!”

Even without the properly complete suit however, the man begins firing rounds of orange bolts straight at the same target, semi automatically but still rapid with quick fingers.

Now faced with two shooters, Meditat endures both red and orange bolts one after the other, his body again being pushed back initially, the pod slipping just a few inches forward.

Yet again he then adapts to the second line of fire, jerking his arms back no longer reacting to the gunfire, and once again prohibiting any more movement from the pod.

While he is able to hold on, his lack of mobility coupled by the increasing amount of surprises one after the other doesn’t spill a clear victory, and he tsks in understanding that he couldn’t so easily take control of the pod regardless of the hold he has now.

Without many other options but those more drastic, Meditat while keeping grip commands, “I need you to lock the Pod at level 5, now!” seemingly to nobody.

Although in his head, the British male voice responds albeit hesitantly, “Uhm, sir are you certain? That will terminate the engine’s functionality and only provide scarce resources such as tracking and shields. You will not be able to operate the vehicle if I do thi-,”

“Yes, yes, do it! At least let me recover it first before it’s operable!” Meditat doubles down with a fiery resolve.

Below the firing from both the gunslinger and cyborg, the engine’s hum oddly whimpers into silence, to which all three of those in the pod become shocked and glance back into the vehicle’s dashboard, terrified from the invisible strike, pausing their shooting in a brief moment of clear desperation.

In front of Meditat, the matte pod once again begins to move on its own, although rather than its old trajectory away it instead begins to plummet straight down by his command.

Inside the pod, all three of the passengers freak out and frantically glance around, but in the heated moment Mavrik returns his gaze to the tail of the pod, and pulls both of his hands out towards the same direction as prior, projecting ray streams from all of his fingers now.

At first the pod’s descent slows down, although with staggers and jitters, for while the repulsive streams manage to help keep the pod slightly afloat it’s by shaky arms. For in the first few seconds the pod suspends again, but it then gradually jitters downwards, its drop delayed but not terminated, for it doesn’t even manage to move forwards.

Trying to propel the pod without the aid of the engine, Mavrik’s teeth clench in heavy strain as he exclaims, “Not…enough! Got to take a hit!”

On the other side of the pod, Laiysa’s eyes widen petrified, and she faces Mavrik desperately, beseeching earnestly, “Wait no! Me and Haige goteh! You don’t gotta-,”

“Got no excuse Lai. Going for one,” determines Mavrik, and with a fiery glare he keeps his gaze forwards as the lights around his collar flash bright red before a loud yet familiar hissing sound comes from within the collar. At the same time, Mavrik groans in pain as his pupils flicker red, squeezing his jaw and thrashing his head to the side in pain as if a knife were plunged into him.

By the abrupt turn of his head however, he reveals his nape, specifically the back of his collar which is exposed to not be metallic like the front of the collar but rather a transparent casing that contains a radiating teal gel-like substance.

Upon sight of the substance, Meditat’s eyes shoot wide and he sharply inhales, once again tripped by another surprise.

Furthermore, the surplus more magenta rays reinforce the stream thicker, the stream which starts to slither as their hums louden. The rays thrash in a way more organically like an arm, somewhat uncontrollably with a stronger pulse that’s somewhat disturbing, but once Mavrik controls himself and faces forward as the red lights revert green, he thrusts his arms to which all of the streams become straightened albeit for the one curve he initially had.

All the sudden the pod’s drop is halted, and instead it gradually begins to rise once more, propelled back to its normal trajectory with no engine aid. The hum in fact becomes nearly as loud as the former engine’s volume, the visibly thicker rays helping to push it farther until it returns to its original position, and additionally it even begins to climb forward, inching ahead despite all of the cables holding it down.

Keeping the pod held back, Meditat groans as cables project from his fists and arms, more and more attaching to the pod’s tail in a desperate attempt to retain it, for even by depowering his vehicle it still was crawling away.

Again both the gunslinger, named Haige, along with Laiysa reshift their focus back on the one man holding them back, and they reopen fire, both from the pistol as well as the cybernetic cannon, lighting up Meditat’s chest with flares orange and red, yet making not even a push against him, for despite all against him he still persists unmoved.

He remains stationary and steady, that is until his eyes light up and he instinctively recoils before erupting in a flurry of intense hawking coughs, and those fiery eruptions burst a crimson flow that is just barely caught by his arm placed right up against his mouth to prevent it from being noticeable.

For multiple seconds he coughs, each more violent than the last, no longer focused on the action notwithstanding all of the gunfire and cannonfire orange and red blasting against him still. While he does not physically show damage to the gunfire, which was the key indicator that would report if they were having any effect at all, the sudden intensity of this conflict had whiplashed into his face, leading to a deadly negligence.

As Haige and Laiysa hold fire, from the window behind the cyborg bounces out yet another passenger, a woman although with the same gray rough skin and a more petite body, styled in a red varsity-style jacket with white sleeves matched with rich long white hair. She peers with exaggerated expressions, slotting her head over her eyes while mocking, “This guy?! You joking Haige! He old! Look at him! Cun steal from a gran?!”

On the other side of the vehicle, still rapidly firing shots with not one of them making impact, Haige moans before wrangling back, “Screw off Bari! Ain’t no normal. Guess crazy to come here. Got some locks loose. Dun short sight.”

Referred to as Bari, the petite woman puffs and snides, “Talking like you some. You jokes. Watch one!”

She then brings one arm out of the window, and aims it directly at Meditat, her hand relaxed and loose.

After the splurt blood on the sleeve vaporizes to clean his jacket, Meditat raises his head and prepares himself for another set of barrages after being met by the fourth thief. Still recovering from the hefty cough however, his body remains coiled, his cables almost tangled and his form vulnerable. Yet against all odds, he still primes himself for more fire, his gaze reverting to a daring glare which flares in his eyes.

Instead of being shot at however, ominous emerald electrical arcs begin to crawl out of Meditat’s body from his chest, all of them crawling up towards the pod. He glances down upon noticing, not feeling anything by the bolts themselves, but perturbed by their sudden presence. Without wanting to let go, all he can do is remain in place whilst absorbing the red and orange shots, watching the emerald bolts emerge from his body.

Those emerald bolts trail all the way up to the pod, specifically the right side, tightening and centering together into one compact cluster. The cluster then continues to writhe all the way to Bari’s open hands, and they make contact, jolting into her small body.

All the sudden, Meditat clenches his teeth and thrashes backwards, feeling a violent surge of fatigue consume his body. He yelps through gritted teeth, his entire body suddenly flashing blue in various spots.

What becomes more worrying however is that all of the blue cables emitting from his body flicker simultaneously before completely vanishing, dropping him to the ground.

In an instant the matte pod launches into the air, over the houses across the street immediately exiting the entire area and curving its trajectory to soar through the city, away from sight in seconds.

Shortly after falls Meditat from above, crashing into the ground on his feet as parts of his body continue to stutter blue. He struggles to stand up as if his body is being weighed down, but alas the flickering concludes, and he stands tall once more.

Regardless though, the pod is no longer in sight, leaving him to simply stare up above where the cave’s ceiling is, defeated thoroughly.

Behind Meditat, who gazes up with complete consternation at where his personal vehicle once was, races out Ekitai from the gaping hole in their house as the red energy door deactivates, allowing Dana and then Kokei to rush through too.

All three of them are quick to glance at where the pod was initially parked, and then follow Meditat’s gaze to the void, the story becoming immediately clear to each and every one of them.

In fact, Ekitai so charitably voices his revelation by aggressively objurgating, “YOU LOST THE POD?!?!?!”