[FILE 029: SURVEILLANCE LOG - SHIBUYA UNDERGROUND]
Location: Club "Static" (Illegal Basement Level)
Time: 14:00 PM (34 Hours Remaining)
THE PLAN
"You want to hire a psychopath?" Elena asked. She was driving a beat-up van through the rain-slicked streets of Tokyo.
Kazuki sat in the passenger seat, cradling his black cast. The painkillers were making his head swim, but his eyes were focused.
"I can't punch, Elena. My arm is dead. If I go out there against Malvorn's army, I'm useless."
"So you want Maya," Elena sighed, turning a sharp corner. "She's not a soldier, Kazuki. She's a thief. She uses her power to rob banks. She makes the guards think the vault is empty while she walks right past them."
"Does her power work on Helix soldiers?"
"It works on anything with a brain stem," Elena said. "But she's expensive. And she hates heroes."
THE ENCOUNTER
They parked in an alleyway behind a neon-lit club in Shibuya. The bass from the music inside shook the puddles on the ground.
They walked down a graffiti-covered staircase.
The bouncer—a massive guy with cybernetic eyes—stepped forward to stop them.
Kazuki prepared to use his speed (even though it would hurt).
Elena put a hand on his chest. "Watch."
A girl walked out of the shadows.
She was small, maybe 19 years old. She wore a purple hoodie and ripped jeans. She popped a bubble of pink gum. Haze.
She didn't look at the bouncer. She just walked toward him.
The bouncer raised his hand. "No entry—"
Haze snapped her fingers. A subtle, low-frequency hum vibrated the air.
The bouncer froze. His eyes went wide.
He suddenly grabbed his own throat. He started gagging, clawing at his neck as if he were choking.
"Water!" he gasped. "I'm drowning! I'm drowning!"
He fell to his knees, gasping for air in a dry hallway, convinced his lungs were full of water.
Haze stepped over him, bored.
"Idiot," she muttered. She looked at Kazuki and Elena. "You brought a cripple to my club, Doc?"
THE HALLUCINATION
"We need your help, Maya," Elena said. " The invasion."
"Pass," Maya said, turning around. "Aliens are bad for business. I'm packing my bags. Going to Osaka until it blows over."
"I can pay you," Kazuki said.
Maya stopped. She turned, looking at Kazuki's expensive (broken) suit. Her eyes flashed with mischief.
"Prove it."
She looked at Kazuki.
"Let's see what you fear, Hero."
She blew a puff of pink smoke (pheromones) toward him.
Kazuki didn't hold his breath in time. He inhaled the sweet, chemical scent.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEURO-TOXIN DETECTED.]
[VISUAL CORTEX: COMPROMISED.]
The hallway vanished.
Suddenly, Kazuki wasn't in a club.
He was back on the bridge.
But it wasn't raining water. It was raining blood.
He looked down. He wasn't holding his broken arm. He was holding Renji's severed head.
"No..." Kazuki stepped back, his heart rate spiking to 200 BPM. "Renji?"
Renji's eyes opened. They were black pits.
"You were too slow, kid," the head whispered. "You let us all die."
Then, Titus Kaine appeared. But he was fifty feet tall. A giant made of burning rock. He raised a foot to crush Kazuki.
"Run!" Kazuki screamed, trying to activate his thrusters. But his legs wouldn't move. They had turned to stone.
The giant foot came down.
Kazuki squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death.
POP.
The sound of a gum bubble bursting.
Kazuki opened his eyes.
He was back in the hallway. He was sweating, shaking, terrified.
Maya was standing two feet away, smirking.
"Your brain is messy," Maya laughed. "Lot of trauma in there. I could have made you stay in that nightmare for a week. To you, it would feel like years."
Kazuki slumped against the wall, breathing hard. The hallucinations were gone, but the fear lingered. It was visceral. Real.
"Join us," Kazuki gasped, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Use that on them. Make the Helix soldiers see their worst nightmares. Make them fight each other."
Maya tilted her head. She looked at his broken arm, then at the determination in his eyes.
"Make the aliens trip out?" She grinned. "Okay. That sounds kinda fun. But I want 50% of whatever tech we salvage."
"Deal," Kazuki said.
[To Be Continued...]
Status Report:
New Ally: Haze (The Illusionist).
The Strategy: Kazuki provides the Speed. Haze provides the Distraction.
The Team: The Broken Speedster, The Rogue Doctor, and The Hallucination Girl.
Ready for Chapter 30? (The 48 hours are up. The Battle begins).