Jack and Mr Hawk went to the address indicated on the data storage device. It was an alleyway in the western part of town. The alleyway was empty, save for some dumpsters and trash cans. In their eyes, they hit a dead end.
"Well, Mr Hawk, what do you propose we do now?" Jack asked in hopes of getting any insight from the investigator.
Mr Hawk looked around but found nothing of interest. "We may need to consider other leads. These sorts of things happen often in my line of work."
"Dam!" In frustration, Jack punches one of the dumpsters with his mechanical arm. The dumpster bends inwards.
From inside the dumpster, a frail voice can be heard. "Please don't hurt me, I don't taste good."
Jack opens the dumpster lid, finding a man inside hiding among the trash. "Come on out, no one is going to hurt you."
The man came out. He was covered in trash, and a pungent odor came from over his body. "I'm sorry, I thought you were the men with sunglasses."
Hearing this, the two men looked at each other. Jack decided to talk to the man. "What's your name?" He asked the man while helping him out of the dumpster. Mr Hawk let the burly man take the lead in this situation.
"My name is Walt." Jack used the mechanical hand to clear some of the trash from the man. But the odor did not improve. "I hid when I saw the sky-car land. I thought you were them."
"We are actually looking for them; they took my niece's kid." Jack looked at the expression on the man's face. His face, the parts that were not covered by hair and dirt, showed anxiety.
"They took all my friends, I was only safe because when they came, I was looking for food inside a dumpster, their sunglasses can not see inside the dumpsters." Walt felt a small relief when he was finally able to tell what had happened.
"Do you know anything about them, Walt?" Jack put his hand over Walt's shoulder; he was trying to provide a bit of comfort.
"My friend Carla said that they came from the old factory. I did not believe her, but that night they came for her. They made her into pet food. They made them all into pet food." Walt started crying over his dead friends.
Jack tapped the crying man's shoulder. "Look, Walt, go to the shelter on Lancer Street. It's not far from here. Do you know the place?"
Walt nodded. "I know the place, I go there when it gets too cold." The man dries his eyes with the filthy sleeve of the coat he was wearing.
"Tell them Jack Hammer sent you. They are friends of mine. They will keep you safe." After the man left, Jack looked at Mr Hawk. What now? ...Do we go back to Riggan's Point?
Mr. Hawk's mind was analyzing Walt's words. "No, I want to go to the abandoned industrial complex near here. It's a few blocks away."
Jack looked at him with skepticism. "Do you believe that poor man?"
Mr Hawk put his doubts to rest. "His friend said that the men with the sunglasses came from the old factory. That's the abandoned industrial complex. Right across the street, you can find The Berant's Mercy Hospital."
Jack looks at the man with newfound respect. "You are good."
On the black site, Mark had just come out of his design run. His mental exhaustion started to show. This time, he was in for thirty hours, adding the time of the previous run, the time spent in the design space was nearing 50 hours. The young man was able to create two original designs. With the intention to add some more TP, he decided to let go of his pride and submit the engine redesign as well.
Design Name: Warren Sweeper.
Technology Type: Utility Maintenance (Cleaning Droid).
Original Component: 100% TP Awarded: 10,000.
Modified component: 0% TP awarded: 0TP
Technology Impact: D. First Use Bonus: 100TP/ Bonus added daily.
Special notes: The simplest sweeping Droid.
This design was simple but reliable. Mark only spent 4 hours designing this droid. Mark had no real intentions of selling this device, but the TP will help him. His second design took him most of the time.
Design Name: Warren Training Rifle.
Technology Type: Weapon, Mech. (Bellicose Technology).
Original Component: 100% TP Awarded: 10,000TP.
Modified Component: 0% TP Awarded 0TP.
Technology Impact: B First Use Bonus: 100TP/Bonus added daily.
Special Notes: Customizable smoke color. Perfect for parties
The sarcasm at the end made Mark chuckle a bit. He needed that. While he got inspiration from the I.M.S. Reaper custom to design it, Mark took the time to change and test all of the components. One of the new things he added was a mode selector. Now people will be able to change between single shots and burst mode.
The young man takes a deep breath and finally presents the Improved engine design. While he used his last two hours to tweak the design a little more, he did not expect much.
Design Name: R.P.M.[1] Potentius engine Overhaul.
Technology Type: Engine, Mech (Technology Upgrade).
Original Component: 25%. TP Awarded: 2,500 TP.
Modified Component: 75% TP Awarded: 750 TP.
Technology Impact: C. First Use Bonus: 31 TP/Bonus added daily.
Special Note: The User has achieved an increase of over 200% performance with less than 30% of components changed. A special bonus of 5,000 TP has been awarded.
Mark was elated by this. He had not expected to get any bonuses. While the TP he accumulated was still not much, he felt a little better about the work he performed on the designs. With a bit of TP renovated, Mark waited for the system message before buying the upgrade for the map function.
"The system screen displayed the awaited screen. "Your new balance is 77,639 TP. Your Bank Balance is 0 TP."
The young man lost no time. He bought the third level of the Map Function. The changes were instant. The most notable change was that the dots changed into arrows. The map will project an estimated route, and the front of the arrow indicates the direction the being was facing.
Mark tapped on the cell he was in. The name of the facility came into view. Secure containment lab. A quick overview of the room followed, including information such as the dimensions and temperature. The young man wondered why the temperature was set at 17 degrees.
Mark shook his head. "Let's stay on topic." He started looking at the map for a control room. It took him a few minutes, but he found it. It was three levels down. Mark decided to move; for now, he will leave his grandfather there and come back later, after he releases the people around the laboratory levels.
The system message that displayed the balance after the upgrade purchase hung at the periphery of his sight. "Your new balance is 57,639 TP. Your bank balance is 0 TP."
While he moved, Mark searched for a way to go down using the Map Function. But the map looked smaller. Remembering that the map area had expanded. The young man saw that the area displayed by the map function was now about 360 meters in all directions from him.
Zooming in with a mental command, he found three different ways. The first was the main elevator, because of security reasons, it was probably guarded. The second one was a small lift that seemed to move only on the lab levels. And the third looked to be the least secure one.
Mark made a beeline for the third one. Reaching the area where he was supposed to find an entrance, he found a metallic panel. The young man took a few seconds to examine the area. As he pushed one of the corners of the panel, the entire thing swung open. "This Map Function is like having real-life cheats. I would have never imagined that there was a secret passage."
As he entered the area, he saw stairs going up and down. He made sure to close the secret panel behind him. The metallic staircase looked abandoned. The accumulation of dust and rust gave the impression that no one had provided maintenance for decades. He slowly started to move down. The structure seemed to be solid.
As he reached the level below him, He saw a red dot blinking. "A system request. ...Now?"
The red window appeared. "Anuviar Relic detected. System request: Collect the Anuviar relic. Reward: possible system function Repair."
Mark found the message a bit confusing. "Wait, What? ...The Anuviar were the creators of the Techno-Lord System. What is one of their relics doing here?"
As Mark takes a look at the map, a room on the second level starts flashing red. Mark had to make a detour or ignore the system request. A tug of war started in his head. Seeing that there were no red arrows on the level, only one white arrow, he decided to go get the relic first. The system repairs will be useful.
Back at Rachel's apartment, Rachel and Marcus were sitting on the kitchen table. Rachel was not able to sleep; her worried state kept her on the edge of her seat. Marcus decided to brew some tea and calm her nerves. A ring at the door distracted them both.
As Marcus opens the door, he sees a group of people. The group is led by a tall man. The man was elegantly dressed. His dark brown hair had every strand in place, and his blue and purple eyes seemed to have a mystical property.
Marcus recognized the man. Once he cut ties with his father, he sought Hans's help to provide for his dietary needs. Since Marcus was genetically enhanced, he needed a special formula of vitamins to keep his metabolism in check. Hans's company provided a range of different solutions. Hello Hans, what are you doing here?
"Marcus Parker, is that you?" The man asked, surprised to see the man before him. This is a surprise. I was expected to find the mother of my daughter's friend, Miss Rachel Warren.
Rachel walks up to the door. And sees the group of people. She recognizes the bodyguards and Alex wearing a different jacket. The tall man and the elegant woman beside him, she had never seen before. Please come on in.
The new arrivals Sat in the living room, except the bodyguards who posted themselves by the door.
"Miss Warrem, we are the Lamberts. My name is Hans, and this is my wife, Kara, and I believe you already know my daughter. Sorry to intrude. But our daughter, Alexandria, is very worried about your son's abduction. Would it be all right if we waited with you here and kept you in company?"
Rachel looked at them for a moment. Both of Alex's parents looked like they were taken out of a Victorian painting. "Marcus and I were about to prepare tea. Would you like some?"
The doorbell rang a second time, and Rachel went to answer the door while Marcus prepared the tea. This time, two teens, Steve and Livia, were standing outside.
Steve talked first. "Mrs Mark's Mom, sorry to be here at this time, but we were worried about Mark..."
Livia interrupts the teen. "It's not Mrs Marks' Mom, her name is Rachel." The girl gave the teen a light karate chop on the head.
Their playful banter made Rachel chuckle. "Come on in, kids, we can wait for news together." Rachel, let them in.
They all sat around the small living room waiting for news and drinking tea. To pass the time, they started sharing stories about Mark. They all found solace in each other's company.
Back at the black site, Mark checked for cameras on the lab level he was walking into. Strangely enough, there was none. A nagging feeling tugged at his mind. With every step the young man took, this feeling grew stronger. Was this a Trap?
Mark suddenly remembered the white arrow on the floor. He paused and focused on the map function. He decided to tap on the white arrow. A name and some basic information appeared.
Name: Melinda (Subject M).
Status: Awake, movement hindered.
Alignment: Unknown.
Mark was a bit puzzled by the information. "Movement hindered. ...What does it mean? Anyway, let's get this Relic and get out. This place is creeping me out."
The sensation that something was wrong kept growing with every step. Unexpectedly, he heard a voice that came from nowhere. "Go Away! I don't want you near me!"
As the feminine voice talks, the feeling intensifies. At the end of his wits, Mark turned to the system. "System, what is this? This feeling is not normal. Can you help?
The screen projected an explanation. "The user is being targeted by a psionic ability. Suggested feat: Feat, Mental Fortitude. Suggested actions: Obtain Mental Defences ability."
Mark had never even heard the term psionic in his life before. But he decided to take the system suggestions. Since he had to conserve his TP, he opted to buy the feat for now.
He spent 2,000 points buying the feat from the feats tab. The negative feeling stopped. But the voice persisted. Mark decided to see this Melinda with his own eyes. Her voice sounded desperate.
As Mark walked towards Melinda's room, her voice filled with terror. "Don't come near me, I don't want my blood taken again."
Mark felt the desperation in her voice. He decided to talk back to the voice. "I'm not one of the researchers, I'm a patient who has escaped. I'm looking for something here. I don't want to harm you." The voice stopped.
Mark got to the door where Melinda was held. As he was about to use the system to hack the door, it slid open. The sight inside upsets the young man. He saw a prepubescent girl suspended by wires and tubes. Some of the tubes gave her nutrients, and other tubes were meant to take her bodily waste away.
Her thin arms and legs reminded him of his former self. Her body was covered by two thin fabrics. One on the front, another on the back, the fabrics were held in place by thin metallic wires. A black helmet-like device covered her head.
Mark looked for ways to bring her down. Searching around, he found a lab console named patient care. The young man clicked his tongue. "Pst, like this could be called care." On it, Mark found the release lever to take down the patient.
Hissing sounds came from the pipes attached to the girl. Soon after, she started to fall. Using his inhuman speed, the young man catches the girl before she falls to the floor.
While in his arms, the black helmet fell apart, revealing her unkempt white hair and Golden eyes. The girl's sunken cheeks gave her a sickly look. Her golden eyes glowed with a neon hue. She looked at Mark's face with a hopeful look.
Mark looked at her, forcing a smile. "Do you want to get out of here?
Her mouth did not move, but he heard her voice. "Yes!"
Mark looked at her state again. Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?
Melinda's voice was heard again. "I think I'm too weak."
"Well, let your big brother carry you." Mark decided to carry her on his back. The girl weighed practically nothing to him. He had one more stop before leaving this level.
Without much effort, Mark reached the door to the room with the relic. As he was about to hack the door with the system, the door suddenly opened by itself. Mark was startled by the door opening. Melinda giggled behind him.
Mark decided to ask. "Did you do that, Melly?
Yes, I did, doors are not a problem for me. Why do you call me Melly? The girl asked using her ability.
It's a nickname, do you like it? Mark asked the girl.
"Yes." She answered. Mark could feel her happiness because of the nickname.
As they entered the lab, the lights turned on. Mark observed the room. The collection of dust and spider webs led him to believe this room had been closed for ages.
Mark saw an emergency treatment station to one side and decided to check. The only thing useful he found was some blankets. He used the blankets to improvise a harness for Melly. Both his hands were free now.
After that, he moved to the back part of the room where there was a cylindrical object placed on a sensor terminal. As he grabbed the cylindrical object. Letters on a language he did not understand started to glow.
A blue mist came out of the object and entered Mark's nostrils. Mark starts to cough. The young man feels lightheaded for a few moments and crashes to the floor unconscious. Melly desperately tries to wake him. Her attempts are failing.
[1] Rapal Premium Motors