The echoes of heywoods bustling atmosphere was a welcome change to the duo , As they walked down the sidewall aimlessly .
Here and there , along the streets of the Glen, Valentino gang members could occasionally be seen , Mingling to their own while mean mugging anyone that walked by .
Eyeing them slightly as he passed , Sebastian's glasses sat over his face as Victoria gently rubbed arm as they walked.
" Let's go to el piche " Sebastian gestured to the Valentino bar , Looking towards the two story building and nodding in its direction , His date looking up at him with nothing but adoration , Nodding at his suggestion.
" Come on then " She wound her fingers around his own , Dragging him away , Through the street towards the double doors that lead into the bar .
Walking inside , Sebastian already felt the eyes of several individuals planted on them , As they made their way through the bar to a booth , With Victoria sliding in and dragging Sebastian in with her. Planting them beside eachother as she once more leant her head against his shoulder , Humming in delight .
Picking up a menu , Sebastian began to peruse the contents with a keen eye , Already picking out several things of interest .
" Can I get that one " Victoria pointed to a cheesy burrito .
" You can get whatever you want " Sebastian replied as he spied someone now standing infront of their booth , A waiter by the looks of it.
" What can I get for you today " The Latino asked with that fake cheerfulness only someone accustomed to customer service could pull off .
" Large nacho meal with side of fries , extra sour cream and cheese with a cola and guac ... we'll also take a large cheesy burrito ... with fried in a large meal also cola " Sebastian fired off his order as the waiter jotted everything down .
" Shouldn't be more than five minutes " Sebastian sent the eddies , The transaction complete before the waiter left .
" Take your time " Sebastian replied as he turned his attention back to Victoria. Seeing her smile up at him with half lidded eyes .
" What " Sebastian asked with a raised eyebrow .
" Oh ... nothing " Victoria shrugged as another patrons passed by .
" Hm " He huffed slightly, lips Curling up as he studied the features of the girl who had wormed her way into his mind .
Leaning her elbow on the table , Victoria leant her head onto her hand , Puckering her lips at the man she adored.
" You know I've been thinking " Sebastian began , looking over the woman beside him.
" About " She chewed her lips , continuing to smile slightly.
" Many things ,some more important than other. Ontop of that list ... right now is you " Sebastian wound his hand around her waist and pulled her to his side .
" I want to know more about you ... other than what I can simply find online , I want to know you ... how you think , what you do in the morning even how you perceive the world ... I want to know everything about you "
And so at his prompting , she spoke. At great length about her life . How her parents , while they loved her , were overbearing enough to limit anything and everything she did. Being 21 she couldn't even go outside without her parents worrying and attempting to have someone tail her.
After that , When their food arrived. Victoria spoke about her times at the 4 schools she went to . Excluded from one , moving to night city with her mum during the beginning of highschool after her father secured a beneficial job with benefits that allowed them to live a relatively lush life in the city centre.
She spoke about her love for long haired cats , strawberry ice cream and the love for thrills.
As they ate and she spoke , Sebastian filed everything she said to memory, Creating a file for her alone that housed every little thing he knew about her .
He simply smiled at her , As she went on further getting to her insecurities , Her biggest fears and her dreams for the future .
They ate and left , With Sebastian sharing some if his own beliefs and desires, With them walking through the Glen as the sun began to set in the distance.
" Speaking of ... My ... parents come back on Saturday so I'll have to go back for abit ... " Victoria sagged as they leant on a railing overlooking the river .
" I see ... that Is. .. unforntunate " Sebastian pulled the woman into his arms , Wrapping his arms around her Torso as she wound her own around his back , Drawing him into a tight embrace.
" what them saturday do they get back " Sebastian whispered , gently massaging the back of her head as she tightened her embrace slightly .
" Six pm " She responded, Shuddering slightly.
" Well ... it looks like we have a good 48 hours to enjoy ourselves don't we " Sebastian leant back , Lifting her chin so she was looking up at him " Let's go "
" Okay " Victoria slowly released Sebastian, Gingerly taking his hand in her own before they departed on a 2 day bender .
..
SATURDAY EVENING
..
" Back in the clinic today huh boss , Come to grace us with your presence " Pilar joked as he strode into the clinic, joking as he dragged the not so pleased Rebecca alongside him " Little Missy not here to keep you company I bet "
Pilar , according to both Maine and Rebecca, had been absolutely insufferable after he public announced he was the founder and CEO of new hope , Attempting to pressure the crew into trying to gain some benefit from the company Sebastian owned , As such why he had strode down now .
" what can I help you with pilar " Sebastian spoke , the back of his hand open on the bench as he applied some tweaks to the nodes in his knuckles .
" Oh I was just perusing the new hope page and noticed there wasn't any kinds of care packages available to be purchased, was wandering if we needed to personally apply for one orrr ... " Pilar rubbed his chin as Rebecca leant over the bench , Staring into the insides of Sebastian's right hand , Her brow twisting as she didn't recognise any of the components in his hands .
' That's weird ... the knuckles are reminiscent of gorilla arms but the layout and components are completely different ... and what are those relays running between his fingers for ' There were more things she could partially see but for the life of her she couldn't understand what they were for .
The armouring itself that protected the inside of his hand also dree her attention , A series of interlocking maleable microscopic plates tougher than the armouring on AV,so yet interlocking in such a way they were practically the same as regular skin in its malleability.
" New hope doesn't do exclusive packages , we operate on the belief that everyone has the right to the best care we can provide , instead we acquire funding through other means instead " Sebastian spoke as he applied the final touches to the nodes in his knuckles , Placing down his tool whilst reaching for the armoured housing . Picking up the skin like material , He dropped it on his hand , and to Rebecca's amazement, The plating seemed to shift , stretching on its own and locking into place of its own volition , be Ming solid once again to the consistency of skin but much tougher as it shifted colours to the same as the tan colour as the rest of his body.
" Cool " Rebecca whispered as she failed to see and differences between his hands, The armoured plating completely hidden , Blending in like active camouflage.
" Isn't it " Sebastian replied with a small smile , Rising from his chair and turning to pilar .
" Ah I see " Pilar scratched the side of his head as Sebastian walked around towards the synthesiser , Powering it up as it began to print out its designated blueprint .
" Well I guess we'll just settle for some new chrome " Pilar slumped , Arms dangling at the side he turned to go wait in the fawyer.
" That's what I'd recommend, don't need any help if you don't get hurt " Sebastian pulled a freshly printed data node from the synthesiser, ready to be mounted and used in his next project.
" You too Rebecca, Go select something, I'll add it to your tab " Sebastian didn't look over his shoulder as Rebecca smiled and sauntered out of his surgery , as Ryan walked from the storage out the back while Rubbing his brow .
" Have a good time exploring " Sebastian asked , Settling back at his desk as Ryan adjusted his work attire , Ready to begin his first surgery for the day .
" It was far livelier than I expected father , they are a ... connundrum " Ryan tweaked his neck just like a real person would as he picked up a datapad , looking at the list of patients he had for the day.
" That they definitely are " Sebastian introduced the last component to the node he was creating , wires sticking out from its surface as a sort of pin stuck out its bottom " You'll learn many interesting and new things from them "
" I look forward to it " Ryan smiled before stepping out of the surgery doors and into the fawyer.
" Clarence " Ryan started , Sebastian rising from his chair as he walked into the fawyer after Ryan.
" I'll leave you to it, Enjoy yourself " Sebastian pet Ryan on the shoulder before leaving the clinic all together , Bidding tekeyoshi well as well as giving the boy a raise .
" HAVE A GREAT TIME BOSSMAN " Tekeyoshi yelled , Waving happily whilst sebastain chuckled , Stepping past the sixth street guarding the premises.
" Later boss " The gang nodded as he walked to the AV already waiting for him , Floating above the ground ready to transport him to his next venture.
Crouch , Sebastian leapt ten metres straight into the open hold of the AV , Stepping in and taking a seat as it immediately lifted off , closing the hatch and Tearing across the city towards NEW HOPE.
Flying over the city , Sebastian opened up his computer, Flying through the data of New Hope , Their deployments and local reviews among other things.
' New hope is performing to optimal standards , competing with trauma team and pharma companies is ... proving difficult ' Lately trauma team had come to heads with many of NEW HOPES operatives , Nothing major but they were becoming territorial over any situation that popped up .
' Maybe I need to approach trauma team and come to a non combat agreement with them for the meantime ' Sebastian mused , Fingering the base of his chin as he thought.
' However , Some of my AV's have sustained some damage from external sources ... maybe I need to purchase new vehicles , Maintenance teams and perhaps a fleet of ground vehicles... '
Opening a tab on the net , Sebastian had an idea , Opening up the sales interface , Sebastian found a set of ground vehicles that peaked his interest .
Dialing his phone , A chime answered with a pleasant voice quickly responding .
" Militech sales division what can I assist you with today " The sales rep answered in the customary pleasant sales persona.
" Greetings , I Am Sebastian markus , CEO of New Hope services, I would like to enquire a contract for four behemoth class vehicles... with the potential to purchase teams for vehicle maintenance and more vehicles in the future ... " Sebastian listed off his requests , requesting some other services with several other things they sold .
" I am more than happy to assist you with your request , One moment .... "
...
Landing atop the facility, Sebastian disembarked his armoured AV , The av turning and planting itself down in its designated spot in the hanger.
Approaching the hanger entrance , Sebastian spotted Benjamin standing ready to revieve him .
" We're one hundred and sisxty percent up on deployments , I've also revieved this via company email " Sebastian accepted the datapad offered to him .
" It appears sir that due to our ... benevolent.. actions , Night city appears to hold us in a positive light ... It seems we have a sponsor ... night Corp wishes to ... have words with you a personal face to face from what I've gathered " Sebastian wasn't surprised . Night Corp was founded and ran on the belief that they were in place to guide night city to a better future , protect it and save it from itself no matter what happened . Their whole purpose revolved around the prospect of saving and protecting said city. And so when New Hope started saving people without want and desire , and without any strings attached, night Corp was interested , In both the company and their desires as well as Sebastian himself , If he was as benevolent as he presented , then their may be the prospect of working with night Corp on the table . But that would he determined by the face to face meeting with their agents.
" Tell them I agree to their request , Inform them I'm available at three thirty tomorrow afternoon " Sebastian handed back the datapad after signing the proposal for funding offered by their potential sponsor .
' That gives us alittle leeway when allocating funds. But first things first ... '
Turning his head , Sebastian studied Benjamin intently .
" You're done well in your new position , Running both the hospital and New Hope is a monumental task , but you've taken to it like a fish to water . I would like to officially appoint you to appoint you to president of both companies , With the potential to become the COO down the line when we expand , Do you accept this proposal " Sebastian asked, Sending the contract directly to Benjamin's cyberware for him to review.
While being the president of the company offered great benefits , Sebastian was hesitant to give anything else . At the moment positions such as CFO , CTO , CMO and others were ... difficult to recruit for especially in night city where everyone looked out for themselves . If he hired the wrong person it would have vast and negative affects on New Hope amd branching companies . That was why he considered offering Benjamin with COO in the future when they expand , but he would have the man monitored heavily before even considering following through.
" Should the time come and I meet your standards , I would happily accept " Benjamin inclined his head after accepting the proposal to he the president of the company .
" I'm glad , Now ... don't you have duties to attend to " Sebastian shooed Benjamin away before he himself headed to the labority , Intent on adjusting his cyberware.
...
[ Link established ] The Red Key informed him as he stared at the seemingly regular rifle in his hand .
Reminiscent of the Giuseppe bufalo rifle , Sebastian integrated am artificial intelligence into the core of the weapon , Alongside a smart link for the red key to communicate and work alongside the guns systems .
Using modified 10 mm rounds , Each round link amd guided by the guns AI , these rounds could he guided on their path even after being fired , using advanced tracking algorithms, The bullets had the ability to twist and turn through the air end even rebound in pursuit of their target .
Within each bullets was a linking node that when striking a target , Would immediately open up their neural system and inject them with a previously determined quick hack, such as cyberpsychosis, suicide or simply opening up the target for remote hacking. With the ability to create a link between the target and himself , these bullets were essentially a breach protocol with Ninety nine percent efficiency.
The node was also programmed to self destruct regardless of their intended function . This would ensure that the bullet and casing was erased and couldn't be traced or replicated , Making each and every bullet released from the gun explosive in nature .
And whilst having specifically designed bullets to be used by the gun , making it somewhat difficult to acquire said ammo as they could only be produced in the lab or printed from the replicator , the gun also had the ability to fire regular 10 mm ammo .
Apart from the special ability to guide the bullets after being fired. The weapon had a predictive algorithm that could trace a target , Follow moving vehicles and determine a weakened point on the target to guide the bullets toward.
And with the specially designed barrel that would make use of supercharged guiding rails to further enhance the speed a bullet would exit the gun at , Turning each round fired into a rail gun like projectile capable of shooting over kilometres and through concrete and steel alike. There was no defence that could withhold a sustained burst of the guns bullets .
[ Weapon designation AH 130 ready for use. ] Also called Apollo's hammer , The gun was intended to be used for and by Sebastian solely , No mass producing needed .
" Make sure to print out ten thousand rounds of ammo " Sebastian slung the weapon around his back by the belt , Turning to a bench at the edge of the lab that housed his helmet and sword , Said helmet currently staring at him , Unblinking as the red glow of the lenses illuminated the mask even in the dark .
" Time for a field test "
...
" We got the goods " Brick yelled out as he and his gang departed the convoy deop off , Hoisting a crate over his shoulder as he began to march with his goons to the maelstrom factory " Round em up , Let's get this shit ready to go"
Waltzing back into the maelstrom factory , Brick made his way through , Passing by the members of his gang , Whom were going about their regular day , As he made his way through to a large dimly lot storage room where his people were placing the cargo they had collected.
" Get out , I have stuff to go over " Brick ordered , the skulking maelstrom leaving the dimly lit room whilst he placed down the crate containing what he saught , Chuckling to himself as he opened it.
" Another convey collected " Opening the crate , Brick stared down at the military grade cyberware within .
" Let's see what we ... " Brick became aware of another presence in the room , Not by noticing but rather from a sudden voice that came from the other side of the room.
" Greetings " Brick froze as he attended to the case infront of him , Head Snapping in the direction of an unlit portion of the warehouse , the lights having long since been broken when they first moved into the building.
Suddenly, Before his eyes , two red glowing orbs appeared within the darkness , A headache forming in his skull the longer he stated at those unblinking red orbs in the shadows .
Appearing from the back of the warehouse , where there was no doorway no entrance , Apollo , wearing his signature helmet and robes simply passed over the metallic grounds below , Gliding over the ground like a phantom , Not even his footsteps made any noise as he passed over the ground .
" I don't think I've made your acquaintance... brick " Sword clipped to his waist , Appollo looked up and around the warehouse , Seeing the leader of maelstrom appear to shiver slightly under the barrage of a thousand voices that seemed to rip from the voice modulator within Apollo's helm .
" My apologise for that , I have been " Apollo marched and came to a stop ten metres infront if the maelstrom leader " rather preoccupied as of late ... what with jotaro needing my attention and all . I didn't intend to keep you waiting "
Bricks vision blurred , Eyes flaring as his temple pulsed the more Apollo's voice was crammed into his head , whispers clinging to his senses , He felt the migraine intensifying the longer apollo spoke .
" Apollo , One would think you'd be keeping your head down for alittle longer. Since militech and pretty much every major faction in the city is hunting you " Brick didn't show any fear. Rather he openly sized Apollo up , Eyes scanning the man with deep scrutiny .
" Be that as it may ... declan ... " Brick froze partially as his real name slipped out of Apollo's mask " I am here now ... "
" And I have matters to discuss with you " Apollo spread his hands partially, The lights above flickering slightly.
" And what would that be " Brick fumbled his trusty double barrel shotgun Lowe, Hand running over it as he rounded the crate he was on , Wandering if he could signal the rest of his men not too far away before he was killed.
" Its simple really " Apollo began , Gesturing to Brick for a moment " The activities of maelstrom have ... annoyed me as of late ... during my ... hibernation... your men took the chance to attempt to re-establish some of their more ... Disgusting. .. practices "
" So .. and what would you have me do " Brick shrugged appearing nonchalant as Apollo shrugged , Waving his hand slightly.
" A simple warning . I recommend ... steering your gang away from said practices... before I intervene in a more permanent fashion. You strike me as an intelligent man declan " Apollo suddenly glitched before bricks Eyes, Vanishing in a blur of pixels before he felt a hot breath on the back of his neck " It would be a shame to have to remove you from power ... but I am not above making ... final ... decisions . This is your last warning. Steer them properly ... or die . In three days ... I will be acting. Reign them in ...or lose them "
Shivering slightly , Brick gulped , Not turning back as the hot breath on his back rasped , the hairs on his neck standing on end " I'll see what I can do "
" Of course you will " The thousand voices collided with his ears , Tumbling into his ears for a moment longer before silence reigned.
After several long seconds of simply staring ahead , Brick spoke up " Well ... isn't there .. anything ... "
He turned his head , finding the spit behind him to he simply empty , As if nobody had been there beforehand.
1 km away ..
Apollo appeared from a burst of speed, Shutting down his sandy , He appeared next to his bike , The bike thrumming in excitement at his arrival .
" Of course " He spoke , Swinging his leg over the bike as he saddled himself to its frame " Go "
With its destination already in mind , Apollo looked over his shoulder to the maelstrom warehouse , Squinting beneath his helmet as the bike suddenly licked up speed.
In all actuality . Maelstrom was on a ticking timer. Whether he removed them now or later didn't bother him . He however preferred to focus on the larger problems first then snuff out the secondary problem . But if maelstrom were going to ramp up activities again ... then his focus would once more shift to them .
But for now , His focus wasn't on Brick or the maelstrom , but another faction of night city.
Arriving at the city centre , Sebastian stood under the night sky , Spying the high rise his target was holed up in.
" Go ... " Sebastian adjusted the strap for AH , The rifle slung around the back of his robe as the sheeth of his sword glinted in the night light.
With a grunt , His bike tore off of the parking lot roof he was on , Turning a corner and Vanishing into the night a moment later .
A good forty metres separated the parking lot he was on and the building he wanted into . Yet entering at the building base was a no go due to the guards at the bottom .
But the MR made such needs naught. He reached forward , Making a Grasping gesture towards the building he saight to enter.
A thrum answered his thoughts as the dome prospected from the MR expanded exponentially to surround atleast the next kilometre , Mingling and urging with the natural magnetic field of the world around him .
' And ' He made a dragging gesture . To anyone watching, Sebastian simply erupted into spontaneous flight , Spearing across the gap between himself and his target before colliding with a window on the fifteenth floor , Breaking through and landing within the interior of the building.
What happened wasn't actual spontaneous flight. Rather warping the field projected from the MR and pushing it against the very earth itself.
It was akin to an attempt to push against a concrete wall with everything a person had , the small loses.
And so when pushing against the earth with the MR , The earth won , And the MR alogn with Sebastian were launched in the opposite direction the MR had tried to push the earth in , Which was directly where Sebastian wanted to go , Thus now occupying a random room on the fifteenth floor .
The heat generated from the MR shortening the magnetic waves around it , caused it to glow a bright light before it began to settle in it's housing in his chest , The air around him slowly beginning to cool after the colliding magnetic waves slowed down.
Squinting slightly Sebastian saw he had , Instead of breaking through the glass , Had instead burnt straight through its surface without any resistance due to the super compressed magnetic waves projected from his body creating a layer of compressed heat to momentarily exist around him as he flew at the building.
Standing , Apollo analysed the room he found himself in , A bed and simple drawers , no doubt he was in an unused apartment . Scanning through the walls , he detected no movement through the apartment.
Looking up , He pinged his senses off of all local cyberware , Seeing clearly every person and machine standing between himself and his target , said target currently taking residence in the sole rooftop apartment with av access .
' Will no doubt escape on the AV ... I need to make this quick '
' Rooftop snipers , Proximity sensors. They even have people with organic eyes to ensure they aren't disrupted by distortion ... the corpos are getting smarter '
With his ability to scale the building undetected essentially a no go , He was forced to brute force his way through to the target .
[ Target located , Home office , currently Scrolling through personal emails ] The key informed him as it locked onto its target.
" Let's go " Apollo grumbled , Marching to the apartment door , Tearing it open and stepping into the corridor beyond .
' Elevators are locked down , Need to take the stairwell ' Apollo walked to an unmarked door many wouldn't enter , Pushing it open and stepping into the stairwell beyond .
The door closed behind him with a click . He approached the stairwell railing , looking up towards the top floor where he spotted a lone person at the very top just fucking around rather than guarding the top door properly.
Bouncing up slightly, Sebastian's feet landed on the railing and with a hop , He ascended from the fifteen floor to the sixteenth in one bound, Before turning and bouncing up to the seventeenth right afterwards .
Bounding straight up the stairwell by jumling up strigut to the next level rather than Ascending the stairs themselves, he quickly arrived at the second to last floor within 10 seconds .
Landing below the second to last floor with silent steps , Sebastian lowered himself , Looking up through the concrete floor directly at the feet of the man above.
' Release muscle strength to sixty percent ' Sebastian ordered , feeling the fibres in his arms tense , Becoming taunt as he prepared to strike.
' NOW'His open palm slammed up through the concrete , Digits Tearing through the concrete Bursting through the bottom of the top floor like a hot knife through butter.
" Huh " The man guarding looked down as he saw a hand having punctured through the ground , Wrapping around his foot.
' And ... goodbye ' Sebastian pulled , yanking the man through the small hole his fist had created , warping , The man was squeezed in an instant , Blood exploding outwards as bones and cyberware were funnelled through the hold ,his skeleton was forced , compressed through the top of his body , Organs pushed through and exploded outwards through where his head was , finally his head , brain and cyberware popped through his skull cap , Falling to the side where the rest of his organs burst through the top of his body.
Wincing. Sebastian held the now sagged body case , basically a skin suit emptied of its contents apart from the highly compressed leg that dangled with the rest of the now empty skin suit .
With a wet squelch , Apollo dropped the body of flesh , Refusing to look at it as he bounced up to the top floor , ignoring the oaths if blood organs and bone , Reaching for and opening the door.
However as he reached the door he noticed an alarm attached to it , No doubt the moment it was touched it would release a signal to the rest of the floor .
' I Was going to be discovered eventually anyway ' He could turn off the alarm but no doubt someone would notice its lack of functionality , He could also sned a false signal bit with cameras on the doorway anyway , They false signal wouldn't matter since they would see the door opening anyway , And with an organic standing on the other side , A false loop in the camera feed wouldn't matter if someone could obviously see the door opening , And so he was left with no choice but to blitz through the rest of the building .
' Very well then ' Sebastian grabbed his sword , Grabbing the door by the handle amd wrenching it open , Bursting forward before it was even fully open and rushing the nearest person.
" CONTAAA" A ganic with neural enhancers , Meant so speed up brain activity barely managed to cry out before exploding into a cloud of blood and chunks .
A hail of bullets reigned the next moment. Sebastian weaving and ducking each and every shot , Bouncing off the wall , side stepping through two near passing bullets before arriving at the next target .
His blade pierced through their chest , As he grabbed their body , Rounding and using them as a meat shield for the suspended turret that had rounded and was pummelling his position with as much fire it could blast out.
Pops of blood , Bullets peppered his meatshield as he advanced, Body parts and Limbs flying from the corpse as he reached the halfway point .
Risking a split moment , Sebastian leant to the side , head peaking out as he made direct eye contact with the roof turret.
[ OVERLOAD ] The turret suddenly shifted , Sparking violently before exploding apart and shredding the nearby humans taking cover under it .
With the oppressive turret shut down , Sebastian gripped the body and slung it to the left with as much strength he could manage for a quick moment, Flattening a gunman against the wall whilst he raised his sword .
Faced once more with a hail of bullets , Apollo arms began to blur , Sword swishing in a wall of black , Afterimages followed by sparks amd high pitch whines as bullets were sheered in half , the severed cases falling to the ground or being rebound and redirected.
As an impenetrable wall of interceptions , He walked forward , advancing towards the terrified gunmen towards the apartment door they were guarding.
Intercepting buckets before they could strike was terrifying for those watching , Such predictive ability was something they had scant seen apart from maybe during a movie. But to see it put to practice in real life. .. bordered on the supernatural .
Using tracking. Sebastian noticed his target rushing through the apartment , Likely about to flee before he could be taken down .
' This is taking too long ' And with a quick sweep of his eyes , Remotely shut down the cyberware of the gunmen , Watching the remaining five people simply crumble as the visible cyberware spaked momentarily.
' He's accessing the roof from his apartment ' He dared not waste any more time , Sandevistan activating as he appeared before the apartment door , Fingers pushing through the middle of the doors as he physically pried them apart with negligible ease , Eyes staring through the gap in the door at the stairs where one last gunman was already opening fire apon him .
Bullets slammed into his helmet , Flattened cases releasing a pang before their cases fell to the ground .
With one last heave , The doors finally gave way , Their motors breaking as they were wrenched from their rails , Being flung apart .
Already on the move before the doors even settled , Sebastian's hand simply punched the last gunman's head from his shoudlers , As he bounded up the stairs , breaking through the rooftop access doors where he spotted his target .
A kiroshi corpo named Noah Jones responsible for several ... classified missions which more often than not responded in mass civilian deaths . All covered up by local NCPD and higher ups .
Most notably , A series of small scale bombings in Santo Domingo to allow for kiroshi to buy up the destroyed lots , Where many families or and otherwise innocent people met their ends .
Normally these missions weren't a top priority for his interference, But when he recieved Intel that they were going to intensify their operations now that they were sure they wouldn't recieve backlash from other corporations for their actions , They drew his attention .
And so the plan was as follows .
[ Remove shot caller and corresponding parties through legal means , other wise full force necessary dependant on target actions.
Rewrite remove operations from kiroshi database in sanda domingo , Remove their interest in targeted lots , Point their attention somewhere else either through their own volition or coercion .
Above all else , end foreseeable operations, remove civilian casualties ]
And so , As he broke through the rooftop access , Seeing Noah already boarding the AV to evacuate.
Noah looked back at him with a smirk of victory as they began to lift off with him onboard .
Raising AH , a single shot left its chamber , Flying faster than many sandevistan users would even be able to react to , Noah was struck in the side , Falling back as more bullets flew from AH.
Doing their jobs , His guards stepped in the way , Even as the initial bullet fired exploded in his stomach , Tearing his left side apart , he stubbornly clung to life. Ordering the AV to take him to hospital.
His guards fell under the fire of AH , Their bodies exploding under the base effects of Apollo's gun.
" GET US OUT OF HERE "
Instead of waiting to fly upwards , Which would leave them open to attack from Apollo, The AV shifted away. Tipping and dropping off of the building, Immediately using its propulsion from his drop to accelerate , level out and begin flying away towards the nearest hospital .
The AV dropped as Sebastian tracked it. Activating his sandevistan, He tore across the rooftops in pursuit , his targets AV weaving and dodging through the high rise buildings.
' Trace trajectory , Predict flight path ' As he leapt across a gap between buildings , Landing with a thunderous crash before continuing to sprint.
Before his eyes , A digital map and x-ray display of the buildings infront of him layered over his vision. Visible through the x-ray was the AV he was sprinting after , Moving in slow motion yet steadily flying away , A dotted path visible infront of it as the red key tracked its path.
His eyes flickered after the AV , But between them was an large building rising over the others .
He wasn't concerned however , As the path of the AV would force it to wind around thus very building before him to get further into the city to its destination.
' MR , Orientation correction ' He leapt , A visible distortion occurring around him as he rotated in the air , Feet colliding with the side of the building.
A series of electrified buzzes sounded out as the MR kept him in place. Distorting the gravitational field around him so despite standing on a vertical surface it was the same as standing upright.
' Let's go ' With his sandy still active, He ran straight up the side of the building , The MR practically gluing him to its surface whilst his boots left indents in its surface.
In less than a couple of seconds , Sebastian leapt up from the side of the building , The MR curving his descent straight back down to the flat surface, where he landed with a crunch of metal underfoot .
' Cease function ' The warping of the magnetic field around him ceased as intended , All the while he watched through the building as the AV rounded , Flying by the building.
Crouching , Sebastian alighned himself , Left hand touching the building as he got into a sprinters position.
' Three ... two ... one ... ' His sandevistan activated just as the AV turned the final corner of the building , about to pass below.
' Now ' He tore forward , Metal blasting away from his feet from the strength used to push off.
He sprinted , Within a split second arriving at the buildings edge , Planting his foot on the skyscrapers ledge , And finally without hesitation , Simply stepped off at speed.
Thus began a nose dive , his robes billowing in the winds as the lights of the high rises flew past .
Adjusting his fall , Apollo stared unblinkingly down at the fast approaching AV , Completely ignorant to his impending impact .
And with one final adjustment to his path, The MR activated again , Inverting its influence as it dragged him straight down , His fall accelerating exponentially , Where he blitzed in the air and colloded directly with the front of the AV with the force of a kinetic strike .
Noah didn't even have time to react as the interior of the AV Crumbled under the increased mass of Sebastian, Folding in on itself as Noah died being crushed within his own AV.
To the view of all around , The AV's front exploded in the air , being torn from the skies as it was speared straight down into the road below , Exploding in a fireball as it rolled and tore up the ground before settling in the centre of a four way intersection in a crater of concrete and steel .
Silence reigned
.... 5 Minutes later ...
A maxtac AV circled overhead along with two news drones. Deploying it's crew as they touched down ten metres from the crash site .
They formed a perimeter, Guns aimed up at the flaming wreckage as sparks flew in all directions.
NCPD walled off the scene whilst alarms blared in the distance .
Civilians crowded beyond the NCPD barrier set up as the billowing flames of the crashed AV roared with intense ferocity.
" Any confirmation of target " The maxtac commander asked. As he and his team began to slowly approach the wreckage.
" Target designation " Their net runner began to cycle through feeds of the local cameras to try and piece together the scene , going silent for several long seconds as she accessed their local hubs and reviewed several feeds at once .
" it's... " Suddenly the netrunner froze , Just as a scraping sound was heard from the wreckage of the AV , Movement alerting them as the door to the AV flew up and away , A hand reached up from within the inside of the AV , pulling the owner up and out as a black shadow rose over the flaming inferno that was the crashed kiroshi AV . Standing on its burning shell as if unbothered by the surrounding heat .
Coming to stand over the wreckage. Black robes billowing in the raging winds , With the red eyes glowing under the hood of his helmet. The culprit stood , Sword in hand as he stared down the maxtac team .
" Its Apollo "
" Oh " The commander and the team froze as the news drones zeroed in on the looming figure .
" I feel like I should be hearing boss music right about now " McNeil , The maxtac gunner muttered , Gulping as a joke dropped from his mouth without his control, His nervousness felt by his team.
The crackling of flames assaulted their eardrums, Yet they ignored the blistering heat as they stated up at the rising legend .
" Call for backup " The commander hissed quietly, Raising his rifle and pointing it at Apollo's chest.
" Already on it "
" Prepare to engage " The commander hit the safety of his rifle , Sweat running down his face .
" We're really doing this ... shit " McNeil chuckled softly before ultimately raising his own rifle .
" FIRE " The commander cried and opened fire with everything he had , quickly followed by his team Reciprocating and doing the same.
Yet before their bullets reached their target , Apollo vanished. The flames of the crashed AV parting as he tore through them faster than the eye could track.
Even before the commander could react , Apollo appeared within arms length. Right hand extended as his fingers palmed the commanders face.
" I see " The commander closed his eyes accepting his fate .
Apollo focussed and manipulated the magnetic field of the MR , Centralising its influence to the centre of the commanders body before intensifying its repulsive effects .
Latching onto each and every piece of cyberware in the commanders body , Every organ even the iron in his blood , The MR imposed its will and began to expand, Pushing the internals of the mans body away from eachother.
And before their eyes , The commander exploded as his cyberware blew apart in his body , Sending blood and viscera spraying in all directions as his cyberware became makeshift shrapnel , peppering his team and surroundings with his own body.
As the body fell , Apollo lowered his hand , Regarding the smear of black blood on the ground , As Maxtac slowly comprehended the scene they had just witnessed. Seeing the growing legend simply explode a man. Especially one of maxtacs calibre, by simply touching him .
"YAAAAAAAA " McNeil cried in primal terror, Rounding his rifle and unloading into the unmoving Apollo, Only for Apollo to vanish before their eyes once more in a smear on the painting of the world , Only to appear beside McNeil, Deep breath escaping Apollo's mask , McNeil shaking violently as his eyes slowly turned to face the imposing figure simply standing at his side , Red lenses crouched staring directly into the side of his head with less than ten centimetres apart , Face leaning in as the hood of his robes gently fluttered in the winds.
" You're next " A thousand voices escaped the speaker on Apollo's helmet. And all McNeil could do was watch , Painfully aware as Apollo's hand rose , The same hand that had just blown his long time friend and commander apart at a simple touch. As it rose , the black glove expanding over his vision to encapsulate everything he knew.
His world faded to the blackened veil of oblivion.
" Forgive me ... mum "
....
Standing in NEW HOPE'S observation room , RN02 looked at the live feed of Apollo devastation , Squinting , Eyes hardening.
' They stand No chance ' RN02 surmised , Hands clenching as he observed .
" Prepare an AV for immediate deployment " RN 02 turned away , beginning a march towards the elevator, Intent on collecting some equipment from the lab to take to the field himself .
" And prepare me a fleet of combat drones "
" If nobody else will stand ... I will ... I look forward to engaging with you... apollo ...father "