Beneath the dark veil over the night sky showered rain, the rain which bounced off the tops and ran down the sides of the towers whose silver walls exhibited gentle white light. Many of the towers were not made with simple geometry either, rather many had creatively curved shapes with some afar tall in a thin base but sprouting more around the top like a flower, though in the distant there was one notable tower that stood tallest amongst all, one which had the most simple shape of a solid rectangle.

Though that tower could be seen from great distances when at high altitudes, the density of the buildings populating the metropolis disallowed such sight from a more reasonable height, for lower down there was a field of white rods many of which were not only lit with simple white tones but rather had large screens along their side which were colored vibrantly. One such screen was rectangular in shape and had an image of a young woman with flowing blonde hair and bright red lips, hovering one hand over her right ear which was shown to have a small white earbud inside it, white like the background of the image as it had an overall clean aesthetic. Above the woman was the bold black text: ‘Every world with you at once’ with a logo of what had the shape of the letter C but with a wireframe aesthetic similar to an internet logo.

Lower down the rain was overwhelmed by roars and hums of racing vehicles that zoomed from to and fro in the air, exhibiting blue lights off their bodies such that the traffic had the appearance of a river which branched off into different blocks composed of groupings of the silver towers. There wasn’t only that surface though, but depth as well for there were several layers of these hovering vehicles racing below, each separated by around fifteen feet and each moving in a harmonious flow.

Below all of the streams were still more visible billboards as not all were so high up, and all the way down on the ground was the street were dense traffic of people walked back and forth on different sides of the main road, though they also walked on said road for there weren’t many vehicles other than the occasional which either rose up towards the traffic or descended from it to land by the road. Still, the density was overwhelmingly composed of people, many of them protected with translucent blue disks above their heads functioning as umbrellas, allowing them to still be dressed as they pleased as they remained dry though some were dressed in hoodies and jackets regardless; they all contributed to the noise of chatter over the rainfall. While the full population was already rather tight, there were defined personal clusters with families moving together signified by a pair of adults alongside their children, as well as couples of teenagers or adults who’d hold each other’s hands under one larger disk.

Amongst the crowd was one man in a black hoodie, though despite the disk above him protecting his body anyways he had that hood up which partially obscured his head. His movements were noticeably irritated though as he glanced from side to side in skepticism before hurrying not in the direction of the network’s flow but rather diverging normal from the rest and instead moving between two buildings, though buildings of the same block.

They were both separated but not by a great deal, having a slim alley in between and one unpopulated simply by a lack of needing to enter for most other citizens. Thus only the man in the black hoodie and samely colored pants walked down, alone by the center, his hands stuffed in his pocket as he periodically glanced back behind himself.

Inside the alley, the sound of the city was slightly subdued, the chattering of the people same as the roaring of the pods more distant due to the walls, although the rain still reached the alley and thus wasn’t much quieter. The man, who upon a better look was actually not too old but instead perhaps in truth a teenager or at the most a young adult, glanced again back before scurrying onwards to about the center of the alley which lacked any visible litter or other devices, but was instead mostly open.

While the silver walls between him were mostly smooth and appeared as solid blocks with no distinct components, along the walls were several thin curved rectangular frames each to hold a door distinguished by its darker gray shade. The man passed a few of them, noting that on each of the frames were identification signs lit white composed of several letters and numbers, with a few reading: ‘XFS-23784’ and ‘TFW-12372.’

With jittering turns of the head, the man eventually noticed one of the doors had the tag ‘ABS-22673’ which initially triggered a jog but one he immediately stopped, clenching his teeth and again glancing back in paranoia.

More naturally the man paced up to the door, his hands still in his pockets. Upon reaching the door he stopped and pivoted, raising his head up to the sign and staring at it for several seconds with an anxious frown.

He turned his head to the end of the alley from where he came, watching the crowds walk back and forth without any of them taking notice of the lone man, and after confirming such he returned his focus to the door and took in a deep breath in preparation.

Finally, the man raised his hand to the door, and without even needing to make physical contact the door combusted into a cloud of gray smoke which then faded away, dissipating out of thin air. In the vanishing of the door left an opening to an ominously dark hallway only dimly lit, one that clearly unnerved the man as he took yet again another glance not just the way he came but the other way.

Though ultimately the man refocused back on the open door, and as the crowds of the city walked in conversation, smiles underneath the blue umbrella disks, the man stepped inside and vanished from the outdoors.

Inside the building, the man began walking forwards as behind him reappeared the gray cloud from the frame of the door, which covered the frame before materializing the solid metal barrier which prompted the man to shiver, only now able to see with the dim lighting of the walls around him. He glanced around to check the corridor walls beside him before again walking forwards but at a more cautious pace, the blue disk above him vanishing but his hood staying on.

From the man’s point of view, the corridor slowly consumed him as he walked with heavy steps, every step pronounced on the floor same as every breath made. His eyes fluttered nervously as he walked down the hall which had several open doorways alongside it, with the end of the hallway having another closed door but one that was about forty feet ahead.

All of the rooms through the side doorways were also dimly lit, though not much could be seen from just walking down the corridor. They did appear to be some sort of offices though given the cabinets along the walls and the desks at the far end accompanied on the other side with an empty office chair cushioned black.

In fact, in one of the rooms to the left that the man was approaching to pass was a desk accompanied with a chair occupied by a being in a formal suit composed of a black blazer and buttoned up white shirt facing the door.

Instantly the man’s eyes expanded in terror and he stumbled back, muttering: “Shit!” to himself and preparing to race the other way given his second step back and overall change in stance, though before he could run he heard a female voice call out, “Hey, you’re the buyer right? Ribo?”

Immediately next the man froze in place, still terrified by the width of his eyes, but his retreat halted. His stance did remain prepared to run though as he stammered back, “Y-you’re the seller…right?”

In front of the man, the being inside the room let out a sigh before confirming calmly, “I’m assuming you’re not here for groceries, so yeah sure. Now you going to stay out there?”

Embarrassed by his anxious state, the man changed his stance upright and nodded his head with the stammer: “Ye-yeah coming.” He then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, lowering his heart rate which just before was near escape velocity.

A second later he opened his eyes, and while he was shivering noticeably he was able to more calmly walk inside the room through the open doorway.

Stepping through the open door, the man entered the enclosed office space, designed generically with the file cabinets along the wall but the primarily open space in the middle leading to the metal desk which hovered off the ground without needing legs, the desk itself a block though one pretty slim with perhaps space for only an additional compartment. Behind it the accompanying chair also lacked legs and instead levitated on its own, the woman sitting in that chair with her legs crossed, her green eyes glimmering in the dim light underneath bangs of amber hair that reached down to her shoulders.

She had an authoritative presence yet didn’t seem to be much beyond a young adult, about the same age as the man inside the room, yet the choice of outfit and her overall demeanor still instilled her superior position as the man approached the table hesitantly while assuring, “I wasn’t followed, I swear!”

Though to that assurance the woman simply shrugged her shoulders and assured back, “I know.”

Stopping in place a few feet from the table, the man blinked twice before asking fretfully, “Wait, you were watching me??”

Sighing to the man’s insistent paranoia, the woman shook her head and muttered, “Yeah he’s definitely new…,” before then raising her head back up to meet the man before nudging her shoulder forward and asking impatiently, “You have the credits? And they’re coins, right?”

At first frozen in perplexion, the man sprung back to action with hasty nods as he pulled his left hand out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a single golden coin inside. He began to extend it towards the woman before quickly jerking his arm back and in a voice still reluctant though all the sudden more bold he demanded, “Wait no, where’s the product?!”

Taking a deep breath from irritation, the woman clicked her tongue and remarked, “Whoever led you to me really didn’t say much huh?”

Letting out the breath, she explained sternly: “First the credits, then the product. On the table. If you don’t want to, then fine, walk away, but it’s house rules,” as while her tone was stern, there was a slight sadism to her speech.

Clearly reluctant by the ultimatum, the man first turned his head back to the door curiously, but he then returned his gaze back to the woman, then to the door, and back. Huffing in defeat, he then strafed up to the desk and hastily dropped his coin on the surface before stepping back for distance, hasty movements as though afraid his hand would be bit.

Watching the erratic motions, the woman didn’t bother commenting but instead reached her hand to the coin, picking it up and bringing it in front of her face. She then keenly inspected it, slowly rotating to check every edge, studying it with a sharp glare as the man across from her stood awkwardly before trying to stammer out, “So uhm…I uh…there’s like a bunch of you everywhere right…? Heh like so do you have your own little points you always sell at or is it just a general region-.”

Still focused on the coin, the woman just quietly explained though with a disinterested tone, “Yeah sure whatever sounds the best, man I really wish I didn’t have to be out here doing this…why does everyone have to turn tail on me. I’m just hoping I don’t get blood over this suit if you try pulling something, I mean it’ll go in the laundry anyways but leaving is going to be a pain.”

She then nonchalantly placed the coin back on the table and sighed before nodding her head and verifying, “Okay, looks fine. Would be funny if you tried to bring a bomb, lord knows those competitors are feisty, but I guess they just know they couldn’t win in a fair game.”

She then reached her hand below the desk, slotting it inside that additional compartment.

Awkwardly the man stood back, gulping with his reluctance only growing after the calm threat, but he watched the woman pull out a small silver metal box about the size of a floss case which she then placed on the table before planting one finger on the top and using it to slide the box to the far end of the table away from her, keeping the coin on her side.

She retracted her hand back, and after a few moments of silence, the man slowly stepped forward before quickly snatching it off the desk and stepping back, still reluctant around the woman.

With the box now in hand, the man focused his gaze as he brought it to his eyes, his anxiety overwritten with intrigue as he examined it for a few moments, unsure of how to interact with it. He raised his other hand over the box with one finger sticking out, and curiously he tapped the top with his finger innocently before all the sudden the top of the box, the lid in fact, dematerialized before his eyes to reveal the inside which brought his eyes to widen in intrigue.

Under his shoulder, the man gazed upon the small open silver box in his hands to find a pill, one sized like any other capsule able to be tossed in a mouth, with a translucent blue body. He examined it for a few moments, stunned almost by the rather simplistic body, but his focus moved forward when the woman asked, “So that’s everything? One guy backed out so there’s a second up for grabs, but don’t even try to ask for a sale” to which he gazed up to watch her place the coin under the desk where the box initially was.

Gulping again, the man nodded his head and assured, “Ye-yeah, that’s all.”

Lowering his head back to the pill, he resumed his examination while asking curiously, “So…this should do it right? Like this itself? Like do I need multiple or like…I mean is this alone enough-.”

“Yes, just take one at a time else your brain will shut down,” answered the woman bluntly to which the man raised his head up with fretfully widened eyes, but they sobered as he returned focus to the pill.

Sighing, he then more nervously wondered, “So like…if I take this…I should be strong right? Like…not just enough to break into places and maybe fight off a few locals....but like…I should be able to do anything right?”

Raising an eyebrow in perplexity to the questioning, the woman answered with a bit of doubt, “Yeah…well I mean it amplifies the connection to your abilities, using them should be more natural and you can do crazier things with them, but I mean you won’t suddenly get other whole new abilities. I’m not sure what you’re asking….”

Shaking his head from the ambiguity of his question and the subsequent answer, the man clarified but still hesitantly, “No what I mean is like…if I take this…it should make me strong…like…strong enough to fight…you know…that ‘Comet’ guy.”

Blinking twice, the woman’s eyebrows both curled sharp, the same as her glare as she spoke with a slower, sterner tone: “Well I mean, I guess that’s up to how you use it....”

Finally moving his focus to the woman away from the pill, the man began to insist, “Well yeah but from what I heard, that guy has been picking us Exhumans off the board one by one, I think nowadays multiple each day! And like…I mean it was just rumors I swear but…some people say some of the ones who got picked up were on your product! So like…is this actually going to make me strong and safe, because like-.”

“Well as I said, it strengthens your aptitude and overall intensity of your ability, if you were able to sometimes light sparks before you should be throwing fireballs with this,” interjected the woman before adding though with a more angered voice, “But at the end of the day you’re the one in control, so if you can’t use your own abilities right, then I can’t help you. I figured mind control chips weren’t a thing customers would be too keen on ya know?”

More hesitant now after that response, the man recoiled back, though his own attitude started to intensify in that his gaze turned to a glare and he exclaimed back with a sharper tone, “Wait so you mean even with this they might be able to get me?? Well then what’s the point-.”

All the sudden the woman rose up from her chair, raising both hands up which were exposed to be naked, her skin toned the same as her face; though both of those hands began to pulsate, that skin color beginning to morph into a different shade more akin to a light violet, the same occurring with her wrist and what of her arm was visible. The texture also changed from a skin’s texture into one dotted with darker violet spots somewhat similar to basketballs in its rubbery texture.

Both hands were slammed on the table’s edge, the violet texture embedding a streak of yellow-green light that drew from her arm down over the wrist where they ended at a sharp point over the back of the hand.

That sudden movement caused the man to stumble backwards again, his angered attitude completely collapsing to terror again.

With sharp eyes that were now emitting a yellow-green luminescence above violet patches forming eye bags which bordered with the rest of her skin in such way that it seemed she was a shapeshifting alien, the Armorer glared as she reprimanded boldly: “If you don’t want it, I’ll refund you and you can go buy yourself a personal sentry gun or whatnot.”

Stumbling back again from the harsh verbal slap, the man lowered his head in shame, frowning as he had allowed himself to get too confident without realizing who he was truly dealing with.

Returning his gaze to the pill, he tapped the bottom of the container box which caused the lid to materialize once again, covering the box and concealing the pill away. He then, still holding the box in his hand, drove both hands into his pockets, stashing the box with him as he stammered back, “I-I’m sorry, yeah I’ll keep it, thank you.”

He stepped back again before muttering, “I uh, pleasure doing business with you ma’am, I hope you’ll uh let me deal with you again in the future.”

Groaning from the attitudinal shifts of the man, the Armorer nodded her head though admitted in a calmer voice, “Next time you’ll probably get someone else, but that’s probably for your best. Now is there anything else you need?”

Shaking his head as his whole body does, the man confirmed hesitantly, “N-no I’m good, thank you so much!” before he then stepped back, swiveled, and hurried off out through the open door that he came from, strafing for the exit as his heavy footsteps gradually moved further away.

While the Armorer watched the doorway now empty, she heard the subtle whooshing of a door’s open flooding in the sound of showers from outside which nearly obscured the resumption of the footsteps before it’s all silenced after a second whoosh of the door’s close.

After a few moments of the silence’s return, the woman sighed exhausted, regressing back to her seat.

As the green streaks along her backhands dimmed, the violet material itself began to pulsate, again morphing but this time to her natural skin color, restoring her hand as the rubber texture was lost. The same occurred concurrently with her eye bags, regressing back to her skin, though in truth there were still bags beneath her eyes which lost their glint.

Returning to her chair, she let out a breath of relief and leaned her back against the cushion, reclining it slightly as her hands slipped back to her slide, the moment of aggression passing like a wave gone by.

Though only after a few moments of that peace, her right backhand again pulsated and morphed to the violet rubbery material to her surprise before a point then projected a green holographic screen in front of her, thought it was rather slender as it was a long rounded bubble with the shape of a speech bubble given the stem on the bottom which raised her gaze.

On her side of the screen, that green bubble had text in two parts, a header on the top in a bolder font which simply read the Sender name: “Argus,” and below was the longer message above a small icon resembling a paper clip reading: “Got this like ten minutes ago when I was scouting, looks like the Comet’s on another sweep. He was out yesterday too, but not with all these lights. That cape didn’t even start appearing until just recently, even government projects don’t evolve this fast.”

That paper clip below then suddenly lit up blue, and beneath it appeared a whole second holographic screen, this one substantially larger and in the shape of a square about a foot in width. That square was the canvas for a photograph, one of a humanoid soaring through the dark night sky with silver towers scattered around, distant vibrant billboards visible from just glimpses. Though the main focus was that humanoid, who was dressed in a strange metal armor fully covering the body, made with differently colored components as the chest and arms were made with a dark azure metal though over the shoulders and neck was a golden piece that also laid over the top of the upper arms, and the back of the forearms had black panels with white trims bordering it from the blue base.

The abdomen had stripes of black and white panels separated for each ab, the top layer with black stripes, then white, then black, then white, and beneath that was a golden belt piece above legs with a similar pattern but with white and the dark azure, first that azure and then the white so on to the knees which had large boots with black shins and scaled golden calves which had four parallelogram strips on each.

Furthermore there were bright azure streaks all across the body, for on that chest was an emblem lit up in a obelisk shape, resembling a simplified pencil, angled with the tip facing down as from that emblem permeated four different strips of that same luminescence: one that rose up to beneath the golden pauldron, two that each ran up the blue base of the arms along the white of the forearm, and one that ran down the right side of the abdomen into the golden belt where it splintered into two strips, one down the center of each leg.

There were other lights too, with three smaller obelisks along the top three abdomen plates on the left side, and a small obelisk in the center of the belt between two small curved streaks.

Waving behind the body was a black cape made of some large chainmail material such that there were small gaps between the individual links, and that cape was attached to a hood that sat over the head of the being whose face was concealed behind a white metal mask with two goggles lit up the same azure, shaped as parallelograms each of which had strips that rose from the inner vertices up the mask where they aligned with the hood who had wider strips that ran over the hood itself. There were a few more strips on the mask, with three small obelisks along the left cheek, and one long bent streak on the right side somewhat resembling a headset microphone.

Examining the photograph, the woman’s eyes expanded with the first sign of genuine concern, her mouth frowning as she placed her other hand beneath her chin. Her focus was diverted when a second speech bubble appeared, this one underneath that image which she lowered her gaze to read.

That second bubble had that same sender name, but this message read: “I think I’m going to talk to the boys about figuring some kind of assault, he’s only getting stronger by the day and he’s scaring off everyone,” which was then followed next by a third bubble, though this one was much shorter than the others, for it simply read: “Might want to lay low a bit, stay safe” with no immediate follow up.

Clenching her teeth from those final messages, Dana let out a huff, for now she was beginning to get consumed by anxiety, as her previous customer had just freaked out over this exact person minutes ago and now she had an image right before her.

She returned her focus to that image, fixated, for she even slightly leaned for a better examination.

Even though the entire body of the being was made of metal with visible separations of the plates, a composition that should be heavy, the being’s pose was rather flexible as its legs were dangling freely and it had one hand extended out with the other back. The cape, while clearly not made of soft material, still flowed in the wind same as the hood, majestically even, like an angel.

Getting a better inspection of the image, Dana just stared in silence with a frown, her carefree and sadistic personality at the wayside as she just coldly observed her potential greatest adversary yet, not in terms of rivaling her business, but opposing it directly.

That rival stared through azure parallelogram goggles which secreted streaks up through the black hood, the face clad in white like a ghost.

Like a specter.

Like a spirit.