"Was that a good choice?"
That question repeated inside my head.
Atop the under-construction building, I watch as dusk covered the city below. People going by their day, going to their homes or to their work – perhaps simply going out. It's funny watching this mundane routine, knowing what the future have instore for this world.
It's been a couple hours since I stopped that robbery, and I still contemplate whether that was a wise decision. That place has cameras, and obviously people who witness me use the Sandevistan, and people will spread words throughout – it's only a matter of time for the GDA to find out and grow curious. Not to mention the surveillance.
Was that really a smart thing to do?
I did a good act, but it compromised the 'low-key' plan I have going on…
I shook my head, finishing the sandwich, "You know what, why am I even questioning this? When did doing something decent become something to doubt? That was the right thing to do, and the GDA could do jack to find me!"
And, at the end of the day, I didn't came out empty handed.
[GACHA SYSTEM ONLINE]- ] Analyzing Host…
- Detecting contemplation…
- Rewarding Roll for compromising prior plans…
[Would you like to roll?]
The gacha… this has been the reason why I am bothering with it all. The conflicts in the near future, and the deaths of many weigh down in my mind. I shouldn't care really, this ain't my world or my people. With all rationality, I shouldn't bother. But, think of it like this, If you knew someone was going to die and did nothing, could you live with that?… My conundrum is like that, but more intense and heavy. I mean, it is concerning the world.
To be honest, if I didn't have the gacha I wouldn't bother at all. I'll be content just to live for sometime till the end comes. But the prospect of power is in my hand, and that gnawing since of action in my brain threatens to eat me mentally if I don't care.
But, for now, I'm doing this for power.
"Yes," I said, standing straight.
[You have received: Mystic of Death Perception(Tsukihime)]
A sensation crawled under my eyes, and wriggled in my brain. As if something is being engraved into the fabric of my cognition, something that I couldn't surmise to be powerful or weak… I don't know what these eyes do.
"That sounds powerful… is it from fate?" Wait, Tsukihime… It's a different show but is made by the same creator.
But knowing how absurd Fate is, the possibility of these eyes being my most powerful asset or my most dangerous detriment is 100/100. Either of the two could be both.
How does is work though?
I tried to use it with no specific mental triggers, I just uttered its name.
It worked.
A bit too well.
The world in my perception is suddenly bathed in twilight, and what I saw made me drop my jaw a tad bit. Rising from the bottom, countless strands of ethereal blue reaches for the sky. These strands are many, and maybe infinite, swayed by some unseen force. And, when I focused below trying to see where they originated from, people. The strands are growing out from people.
"That's… what is that?" I murmured.
I stopped, and when I did my eyes stung for a minute.
"What did I just get?"
…
..
.
General POV
"I'll get straight to the point, a dangerous fugitive is out on the city."
A gray-haired man with a scar on the left said of his jaw, bluntly delivered to a team of colorful people.
Said team of color people consist of a guy in a red and yellow track suit, a girl in a pink tight suit, a literal bronze robot, and another woman in a tight suit, this time purple. This is teen team, the young brigade of heroes that work and are supervised under the GDA's maintenance.
"A fugitive?" Atom Eve, "What kind? The murderous type, or Mauler Twins type?"
Cecil pressed the remote's button, and on the screen a criminal profile was shown. Teen Team saw a picture of a guy with a gaunt face, dark hair, and a scar that ran across both ends of his mouth. Their eyes strayed towards the profile describing him. A villain that operates in New York, who committed crimes of Anarchy. Creating chaos, and destroying public property. They saw his abilities, and it read simple…
"Cybernetic Spine?" Rex uttered, face not amused. The young hero thinks of this guy as small-game, not worth their time, "And it's says its malfunctioning, how the fuck did this clown escape? And why are you telling us about him?"
"Rex…" Dupli-Kate elbowed the dude, and he flinched.
"That's the thing," Cecil grumbled, changing the screen into a surveillance feed, "Split Jaw's augmentation provides a capability of enhanced speed, however his cybernetic is two-rate at best. An imperfect imitation of Red-Rush speedster ability…"
"It should be impossible for him to escape," Donald continued, as Cecil played the surveillance. Teen Team watched in interest, especially Robot, "Yet…"
They watched with curiosity then shocked, when this Split Jaw guy played dead and speed blitzed two guards who went to check up on him. They saw him dodged a plasma shot point blank, and they watched him run like lightning in the hallways towards the exit. Eve watches in shock, and a bit of disgust, as this fugitive begin to destroy the exit door with his bare hands – injuring himself in the process.
"The initial calculation of Split Jaw speed is 233 mph, "Donald begins, " Almost the speed of a race-car. This is possible if Split Jaw really tried to push his augmentation to its limit, but even then it is just a 9 point difference in speed…"
"But from this feed, this man is moving at mach 1 speed,"Robot deduced, and Donald nodded. The others shifted in surprised.
"Really?" Dupli-kate uttered, "How did he do that tho? His implant was supposed to be second-rate, right?"
"If his cybernetics are malfunctioning, there is a possibility they are misfiring in a way that bypasses their original safety limitations." Robot offered his piece.
Atom Eve raised his eyebrow, "That seems unlikely. The augmentation is on his spine, and if it is misfiring I would say his movement should be more sluggish, don't you think so?"
Robot nodded slightly, considering Eve's point. "That is true. A misfire in the neural synchronization should cause severe motor dysfunction, not an improvement in speed."
Cecil interjected, his tone gruff. "Then that means there's something we're missing. Either his implant wasn't as second-rate as we thought, or something changed during his time in containment."
Donald pulled up additional files on Split Jaw's cybernetic history. "His spinal augmentation was originally designed to enhance reaction time and speed, but the flaw was always in how it interfaced with his nervous system. The implant forces the body to keep up, but it doesn't naturally integrate. That's why we believed he had a hard cap at 233 mph. His body simply couldn't handle more."
Rex leaned back, arms crossed. "Okay, but dude just booked it at Mach 1. That's a hell of a hard cap to break."
Dupli-Kate frowned. "Are we sure it wasn't adrenaline? Like, some crazy 'life-or-death' moment where his body just pushed past its limits?"
Robot dismissed that notion. "Adrenaline does not allow a human body to process movement at supersonic speeds. There is no biological precedent for such a leap. Which means—"
"There's another factor at play," Cecil finished, rubbing his temple. "Maybe an external one."
Eve narrowed her eyes at the footage of Split Jaw breaking through the reinforced exit. His movements had changed—not just faster, but sharper. More refined. There was no hesitation, no loss of coordination, no sign that his body was struggling to keep up with his newfound speed.
"If he really was malfunctioning," Eve said slowly, "then why does he move like someone who's finally figured out how to control his power?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out for now, but enough of that, " Cecil put down the remote on the table, and focused his gaze on the team, "You're here because I want you to deal with this guy. Supposedly, he is not your problem, but the Guardians are too busy nowadays and you're available for the time being, am I right?"
Rex was about to protest, but Eve nodded and said, "You're right."
"Then, it is no problem for you to be assigned to this job," Cecil said, "Don't worry, Split Jaw is not one to kill directly. His past records says of him as an agent of chaos, or whatever delusion that man has, but he never showed signs of murderous intent. Capturing him without killing shouldn't be a problem for you guys. "
Rex clicked his tongue but didn't argue further. Instead, he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, his expression unimpressed. "So, what? We just track him down, kick his ass, and throw him back in a cell?"
"That would be ideal," Cecil said flatly.
Eve wasn't entirely convinced. "If he's as unpredictable as you say, how do we know he won't escalate if he feels cornered? Just because he hasn't killed before doesn't mean he won't if he's desperate."
Robot nodded in agreement. "His behavioral patterns indicate he thrives on disorder. If his current state is a result of something we don't yet understand, then assuming he will follow his past tendencies could be a dangerous miscalculation."
Cecil exhaled sharply. "I get it. You're worried. So am I. But what choice do we have? This guy broke out of a secure GDA facility, doubled his top speed, and is running loose in the city. If we don't stop him now, who's to say what he'll do next?"
Kate looked at the footage again, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Do we have any leads on where he's headed?"
Donald pulled up a new screen. A heatmap of Split Jaw's past locations flared to life, outlining the places he had hit before his capture. "We've mapped out his previous activity patterns. He typically gravitates toward areas with high population density but avoids direct engagements with authorities unless provoked. If his behavior remains consistent, he'll likely seek out one of these locations."
The map highlighted several key areas—abandoned buildings, back-alley black markets, and underground fight clubs.
Eve sighed. "Great. So we're dealing with a wildcard."
Cecil smirked. "That's the job, sweetheart."
Rex stood up and stretched. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."
Robot, however, remained still. "One last question," he said. "If we do capture him… what exactly does the GDA plan to do with him? Because if he's evolving—if his abilities are advancing beyond what we previously understood—simply locking him up again may not be a viable long-term solution."
Cecil's expression darkened, but he gave a simple, practiced answer. "That's not your concern."
Robot's optical sensors flickered for a brief moment, but he didn't press further.
Eve shared a glance with Kate before standing as well. "Alright, then. Let's move."
…
..
.