Gears
Harbinger of War, Chaos, and Poptarts
The Street in front of the North Side bank was empty, like everything else in the area. The Northside was a dead zone, home to one of the largest outbreaks following the war, also being the site of the final Cleansing by Inferno, where their legions gathered all who had fallen prey to the lethal virus, giving their “Cure”, in the shape of lead and Flames, the majority ending the massacre by eliminating the remaining carriers- themselves.
Few dared go here, Spirit-Seers could hear the wails of agony of burning spirits, rumors of contamination keeping the public away, while some ignored these myths- Like Eddie. Eddie wasn’t a Spirit Seer, and he had studied the virus extensively to know it didn’t last without a host. Eddie was presently sitting on the rooftop of the adjacent building, a former office building, now barren, picked apart by the most daring or desperate of scavengers. Scavs had long since abandoned the area- looking for any leftovers in the cleared mines, specifically looking for trace amounts of Zarrelium, or even Adamant. Eddie reached to his side, lifting his baton and swinging the weapon in his hand, back and forth- a few discarded ration packs around him- this was taking far longer than he had planned. Eddie reached into his bag, finding it- his journal. Eddie flipped past his blueprints for weaponry, either stolen from Security Agency R&D Facilities, or designed by him. Eddie found his entry on the Petty Thief “Phantom”. A minor Vanisher, able to turn invisible for the amount of time he didn’t breath- a useful ability but with a major hindrance.
Eddie himself had a few major hindrances with his repertoire of abilities, primarily the weakness to any form of water, even the artificial rain that dropped from the dome that mimicked a real world sky- courtesy of the benevolent overlord Evelynn. She was probably watching him now- the city was packed with cameras she had access to, but she didn’t often report to Security Agency Lines so he should be safe. Eddie raised a bottle of Lime-O as he leaned back, noticing something in the condensation. Eddie stumbled as he raised the glass to his eye, staring through it onto the street, where a man that wasn’t there before had appeared. Through his now Green tinged vision, Eddie could see a man in the usual attire Phantom was spotted in, along with a respirator- genius, few managed to find work arounds with an Enhanced Hinderance, but Phantom had found a way to stay out of sight as long as that tank was full. Eddie watched as he walked behind a small family, likely there to beg for money, invisible to all but Eddie.
Eddie put his mask on, before picking up his extra protective lens, carefully pouring the liquid between it and the first layer of glass, mimicking the effect of the glass, before jotting down the new discoveries. Eddie shoved the roof's entrance open, not needing to struggle with the rusted frame- most enhanced had excellent strength. Eddie walked deeper into the heart of the decrypted building until he was bathed in darkness, his goggles leaving a red glow in the room as he Faded.
Eddie was immediately in a somehow darker copy of the building, quickly scanning the room after placing a night vision lens over his helmet, satisfied that nothing awaited him in this place- he was lucky today, usually he had to expect a few minutes of combat, or at least evading- depending on what monstrosity waited for him in the Void. Eddie jumped through a shattered window, the low gravity allowing him to safely hit the ground as he ran for an alleyway, barely escaping the rays of a sun that seemed to give off cold instead of heat, still burning any who risked its rays. Eddie looked at his watch, he had enough time to break in and expect any conflict- he was especially lucky today. Eddie froze as he saw it, The Thing. It wore tattered black clothing, its flesh gray and decaying, its entire left arm rotted to the bone, but the eyes- they stared at him with pure hate, glowing red in the eternal night of this cursed land. Eddie watched as it began its usual routine, staggering toward him, but it never got close before Eddie evaded it. Eddie simply walked across the street, careful not to stumble on any of the debris that filled the area, before he reached the doors, broken down with skeletons filling the room. Eddie didn;t know where they came from, but they didn’t threaten him in any way, in that he was thankful. Eddie walked through the vault doors until he saw it, a red glow in a corner of the vault- a way in.
Eddie turned around after stepping into the glow, the room slowly fading as the creature stumbled into the room, its face twisting into a malevolent smile- Eddie knew this thing would kill him if it had the chance- but he wouldn’t give it one.
Eddie was immediately met by two Security Agents- Shit, intel had said they would be in between shift changes. Eddie quickly pulled his baton from his side, a loud crack sounding in the room as he struck the first enemy, raising his pistol and firing at the second one, each shot precise and calculated- he never missed. Eddie lowered the gun as he mentally counted the expounded ammo- Two Bullets, Five Credits- he was short on both. Eddie quickly scanned the vault until he found it, a deposit box, its purchase anonymous, but Eddie had his suspicions. Eddie heard alarms as he opened the panel and began to get past the electronic lock, ignoring them until he heard a click- grabbing its contents as he ran for the door, met by an airship, Security Agents already repelling from it- Ashes and Lead- how had they gotten here so fast.
Few dared go here, Spirit-Seers could hear the wails of agony of burning spirits, rumors of contamination keeping the public away, while some ignored these myths- Like Eddie. Eddie wasn’t a Spirit Seer, and he had studied the virus extensively to know it didn’t last without a host. Eddie was presently sitting on the rooftop of the adjacent building, a former office building, now barren, picked apart by the most daring or desperate of scavengers. Scavs had long since abandoned the area- looking for any leftovers in the cleared mines, specifically looking for trace amounts of Zarrelium, or even Adamant. Eddie reached to his side, lifting his baton and swinging the weapon in his hand, back and forth- a few discarded ration packs around him- this was taking far longer than he had planned. Eddie reached into his bag, finding it- his journal. Eddie flipped past his blueprints for weaponry, either stolen from Security Agency R&D Facilities, or designed by him. Eddie found his entry on the Petty Thief “Phantom”. A minor Vanisher, able to turn invisible for the amount of time he didn’t breath- a useful ability but with a major hindrance.
Eddie himself had a few major hindrances with his repertoire of abilities, primarily the weakness to any form of water, even the artificial rain that dropped from the dome that mimicked a real world sky- courtesy of the benevolent overlord Evelynn. She was probably watching him now- the city was packed with cameras she had access to, but she didn’t often report to Security Agency Lines so he should be safe. Eddie raised a bottle of Lime-O as he leaned back, noticing something in the condensation. Eddie stumbled as he raised the glass to his eye, staring through it onto the street, where a man that wasn’t there before had appeared. Through his now Green tinged vision, Eddie could see a man in the usual attire Phantom was spotted in, along with a respirator- genius, few managed to find work arounds with an Enhanced Hinderance, but Phantom had found a way to stay out of sight as long as that tank was full. Eddie watched as he walked behind a small family, likely there to beg for money, invisible to all but Eddie.
Eddie put his mask on, before picking up his extra protective lens, carefully pouring the liquid between it and the first layer of glass, mimicking the effect of the glass, before jotting down the new discoveries. Eddie shoved the roof's entrance open, not needing to struggle with the rusted frame- most enhanced had excellent strength. Eddie walked deeper into the heart of the decrypted building until he was bathed in darkness, his goggles leaving a red glow in the room as he Faded.
Eddie was immediately in a somehow darker copy of the building, quickly scanning the room after placing a night vision lens over his helmet, satisfied that nothing awaited him in this place- he was lucky today, usually he had to expect a few minutes of combat, or at least evading- depending on what monstrosity waited for him in the Void. Eddie jumped through a shattered window, the low gravity allowing him to safely hit the ground as he ran for an alleyway, barely escaping the rays of a sun that seemed to give off cold instead of heat, still burning any who risked its rays. Eddie looked at his watch, he had enough time to break in and expect any conflict- he was especially lucky today. Eddie froze as he saw it, The Thing. It wore tattered black clothing, its flesh gray and decaying, its entire left arm rotted to the bone, but the eyes- they stared at him with pure hate, glowing red in the eternal night of this cursed land. Eddie watched as it began its usual routine, staggering toward him, but it never got close before Eddie evaded it. Eddie simply walked across the street, careful not to stumble on any of the debris that filled the area, before he reached the doors, broken down with skeletons filling the room. Eddie didn;t know where they came from, but they didn’t threaten him in any way, in that he was thankful. Eddie walked through the vault doors until he saw it, a red glow in a corner of the vault- a way in.
Eddie turned around after stepping into the glow, the room slowly fading as the creature stumbled into the room, its face twisting into a malevolent smile- Eddie knew this thing would kill him if it had the chance- but he wouldn’t give it one.
Eddie was immediately met by two Security Agents- Shit, intel had said they would be in between shift changes. Eddie quickly pulled his baton from his side, a loud crack sounding in the room as he struck the first enemy, raising his pistol and firing at the second one, each shot precise and calculated- he never missed. Eddie lowered the gun as he mentally counted the expounded ammo- Two Bullets, Five Credits- he was short on both. Eddie quickly scanned the vault until he found it, a deposit box, its purchase anonymous, but Eddie had his suspicions. Eddie heard alarms as he opened the panel and began to get past the electronic lock, ignoring them until he heard a click- grabbing its contents as he ran for the door, met by an airship, Security Agents already repelling from it- Ashes and Lead- how had they gotten here so fast.
