District 3 — The Neon Highway — 11:00 PM
The city had changed in six months. The police were more militarized. The shadows felt deeper.
A high-speed chase was tearing through the upper highway. Three armored hover-vans, painted with the symbol of the Black Syndicate (a local gang scavenging Helix tech), were weaving through traffic at 150 mph. They were firing plasma rounds at the police drones trailing them.
"Dispatch, we can't hold them!" a police officer yelled over the radio. "They have military-grade engines!"
On top of a skyscraper overlooking the highway, a figure watched.
He didn't look like a scavenger anymore.
He wore the Mark II "Echo" Suit.
It wasn't bulky silver armor like the old one. It was a masterpiece of liquid nanotechnology. It was matte black with glowing veins that shifted color—from calm blue to warning orange. The helmet was sleek, faceless, with a V-shaped visor.
It didn't hum. It was silent.
"Aeva," Kazuki's voice was calm, filtered through the new helmet. "Three targets. heavy weapons. Intercept?"
"Green light, Echo," Aeva's voice came through, clear and crisp. She was back at the garage, running ops. "But watch your heat levels. The Mark II is still in beta."
"Understood."
Kazuki stepped off the ledge.
He didn't fall.
[AERODYNAMIC GLIDE: ENGAGED.]
Small, energetic fins extended from the suit's back. He caught the air and dove like a hawk.
He hit the highway instantly.
He didn't run on the road. He ran between the cars.
He was so fast he was invisible to the naked eye. Just a blur of wind that shattered windows as he passed.
He caught up to the rear van.
He didn't punch it.
He synced his speed with the van's rear tire. He reached out and touched the axle.
[PHASE DISRUPTION.]
The suit vibrated his hand. The axle snapped cleanly.
The van spun out, crashing into the guardrail and grinding to a halt.
"One down," Kazuki said.
The second van opened its back doors. A mercenary with a heavy chain-gun opened fire.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT.
Bullets sprayed the road.
Kazuki didn't dodge.
[KINETIC REDIRECTION.]
He held up his new weapon—not a staff, but Dual Batons that snapped together. He spun them, creating a kinetic shield. The bullets hit the shield and dissolved into energy, which the suit absorbed.
"Thanks for the ammo," Kazuki quipped.
He slammed the batons together. The stored energy released as a shockwave.
BOOM.
The shockwave hit the second van, lifting it into the air and flipping it upside down.
Only the lead van was left.
"Leader is getting away," Aeva warned. "He's heading for the tunnel. If he gets underground, we lose him."
"He's not getting away."
Kazuki tapped his chest.
[VELOCITY CORE: OVERDRIVE.]
The suit's veins turned bright White.
Kazuki vanished.
He appeared in front of the lead van, running backward, matching its speed at 160 mph.
The driver's eyes went wide. He saw a black-and-white demon running backward in front of his headlights.
Kazuki raised a hand. "Stop."
He planted his feet and punched the hood of the van.
He didn't crush it. He transferred all his forward momentum into the van's reverse vector.
[MOMENTUM HALT.]
The van went from 160 mph to 0 in one second.
The back of the van lifted up, and the whole vehicle somersaulted over Kazuki's head, crashing onto its roof behind him.
Kazuki stood still in the middle of the highway. Steam rose from his suit.
"Targets neutralized," Kazuki reported. "Zero casualties."
"Showoff," Aeva laughed in his ear. "Police are ten seconds out. Disappear."
Kazuki turned to run, but he stopped.
His sensors picked up something.
Not the police.
Something... familiar.
He looked up at the overpass above him.
Standing in the shadows was a figure.
It wasn't a Syndicate thug. It was a man in a long, tattered grey cloak. He wore a mask that looked like a porcelain doll's face, cracked down the middle.
The figure was holding something. A device that was beeping.
He dropped it off the bridge.
"Bomb!" Kazuki yelled.
He moved to catch it, but the device didn't explode.
It opened mid-air.
It wasn't a bomb. It was a Projector.
A hologram sparked to life in the middle of the highway.
It was a message. A symbol.
A red double-helix. The Crimson Helix.
But beneath the symbol, there were words written in ancient Japanese script:
"THE FALSE GOD BLEEDS."
The figure on the bridge saluted Kazuki—a mocking, slow salute—and then stepped backward into the shadows, vanishing completely.
"Aeva," Kazuki said, his voice cold. "Did you see that?"
"I saw it," Aeva said, her voice trembling. "That wasn't a standard Helix uniform. That was... something else."
"Run the symbol," Kazuki commanded. "I'm coming home."
[To Be Continued…]