1 Chapter 1

(might have a slow start, idk, but it picks up, I promise let me know what you think, please)

*How are you supposed to know which side to join, if they both look like they are doing the right thing?*

Large sparks shoot up in his face.

"Agh! Frick man."

He rubs the soft pain out of his face. He sighs and sets down his blow torch.

He lifts the blade, closes his eyes and takes a breath and concentrates. When he opens them again he jumps and cheers.

"Yeaaa-ha-haaa!"

The thick blue line on the sharp end of the sword has turned red. He walks over to a dummy made of scrap metal and touches the red to the dummy.

He wait maybe 3 seconds, the scrap metal begins to heat up and bend. The man pulls the sword away and grins ear to ear. He's been trying to make this for so long.

He used to work at a lab, hence why he has the nanite technology, but when he got cancer, FutureTech company threw him to the curb with enough money to barely get by. If that's what you want to call it, barely getting by. It was supposed to last until the doctor said he was going to die, 1 year, but instead of living awfully, he finished the project he had started. Cognitively powered and activated, elemental technology.

He watches the red line turn blue, for basic, no element effect. He sheaths the sword and places it next to his throwing knives which are also elemental based.

"We did it Atlas." he says looking at the hung up suit, behind the weapons,

It was supposed to be his alterego, but he's got maybe three months left, he's getting very weak and unstable. The reason he took so long to finish, was he didn't want any mistakes. But it was so worth it. It's all complete.

If he had a little more time he could have found someone to pilot the suit, that could protect people. But he's tired and weary, the worst of it, tomorrow is his twenty third birthday, and the anniversary of his family's death.

He sighs happily, he walks out from under the the makeshift part of a room he built in an alley.

He groans as he sits down on the floor. He leans against the building wall and lets out a long yawn. He stares up at dark sky, trying to find the stars, but the city around him is so bright that they are practically non-existent.

He can barely find the dots, but it doesn't stop him from imagining what they look like and their beauty. He forces himself to stay awake for hours. Finally he falls asleep from exhaustion and sleeps most of the next morning and part of the afternoon away.

When he wakes, he walks out of the alleyway and goes to the street and begs for money for food. At the end of the day around nine, he takes his few dollars that he's been given and walks into the Margie's Vurgers a mile down the road.

Hes always wondered what a vegan burger tastes like. It's always busy. He orders and sits at a table, everyone gives disgusted looks as he walks past and sits.

One of the workers brings the tray with three burgers on it and sets it in front of him and walks away without looking him in the eye or even grunting.

He doesn't mind, he's used to that. He unwraps the first vegan burger and takes a bite. Wow it's been a long time since he had something this good!

He scarfs them down and thanks the people at the front for the food and walks out. He walks back to the wooden picket fence in the alleyway. He pushes a board, tilting the board to reveal a hole behind the board.

He crawls through and walking into his metal half home. He jolts and stops, staring at a man that leans against the metal wall, staring back.

"Hey."

The man doesn't answer. He looks about his age. "I'd give you some food but I ate it all three and a half minutes ago." he laughs,

The man narrows his eyes, "What's your name?"

He thinks for a moment and smiles, "Atlas Grey, yours?"

"It's better if you don't know."

"You a criminal?"

"No...but people want me dead. Please they-"

"Cool." Atlas says smiling,

The man narrows his eyes, "Yeah...definitely, look-"

"Eh, stay as long as you want. I won't give you up."

The man's eyes widen, "W-what?"

"Yeah, I got terminal cancer, you don't seem like a bad guy, if you were you'd have killed me or run, or at least tried, by now."

The man stares aghast. "You are pretty trusting."

Atlas sits down opposite him, "Eh not really, you are desparate and on the run, no doubt you're skilled, but even still you won't think as clearly, your more true colors and reactions come out. Therefore, you would have fought or run, most likely."

The man snorts, "My apologies, that's pretty good, well...how long do you have?"

"Few months."

"Well...ugh...looks like we are both screwed."

Atlas frowns, "What happened?"

The man looks at him, Atlas can see the gears spinning fast and hard in the man's head.

"Atlas?" the man finally asks,

"Yeah?"

"What if I could give you another chance?"

Atlas scoffs, "That'd be a dream." he says rolling his eyes,

"Atlas, I'm serious."

Atlas frowns, "Yeah right, how? You can't cure cancer...yet."

"Yes I can."

Atlas stares at him, wondering if it's true. Wondering what he is talking about.

The man seeing this pulls a small vile of glowing yellow liquid out of his pocket, wincing as he does.

"Atlas, this has my genetic code mixed in with a serum."

Three prongs shoot out, making Atlas jump. "If you inject this in you, you take everything positive from my genetics and the serum, which...gives you slightly enhanced speed and strength and slightly improves how much and how easily you can retain and learn. It'll heal you. Along with some other things."

"Come on man, if that's the case, why didn't you take it?"

"I can't, it has my genetics in it. The serum is designed to transfer the effects of the serum but also one person's genetics to another. It won't work if I just inject it in myself, this is why people want me dead."

Atlas stares at the serum for a few seconds, then at the man. "So people will try to kill me? I don't even know your name-why won't it work like that?-Why are they trying to kill you?-who's they?!"

The man groans and sits up straight. "They are looking for me now, no doubt. But they won't find you, they have no way of tracking the serum, that I know of, they won't know it's you. It won't work cause they serum knows my genetics now and neutralized itself, short answer it will know it's being put in my body again and will not work...agreed, not my finest moment. Just call me DJ, they want me dead because they wanted it to steal the positives from people's genetics, killing them in the process. People they are torturing. Ym Modgink company. They are a technology and military tech company...they hurt a lot of people to get results. I refused to give this to them when I found out what they were doing. And I ran, ugh...but they poisoned me...poison bullet...I can't go on...Atlas, take this, I think you know how to use those weapons. Don't waste this."

"H-hold on, I mean...this is a lot to process!"

DJ nods, like he's drowsy. "Atlas...you...need to take it, You don't have to die."

"We can get you to a hospital!" Atlas says quickly,

He is freaking out, "Don't...waste.....it."

DJ sighs and his head hangs, Atlas's stomach drops, he jumps up and drops to DJ's side and shakes him.

"Hey-Hey-Hey, no-no, c-come on! Don't do that. D-don't do..."

Atlas hangs his head, tears drops down onto the ground, he didn't realize that tears streamed his cheeks. He sighs and sniffles. What does he do?

He looks at DJ and looks at the vile that rolled out of DJ's hand. Atlas sighs and groans, he sits next to DJ and cries into his hands for half an hour, occasionally muttering apologies to DJ.

He wishes he could have saved DJ. If he really was telling the truth, he didn't deserve to die like this.

What if he is lying? He's gone, but...what if...well, what is Atlas worried about, if it kills him, so what? Still, he looks at DJ again, he feels so helpless.

Atlas takes a deep breath and exhales shakily. Atlas picks up the vile with the syringe prongs out. He takes a breath and shoves the needles into his thigh.

He shrieks and moans loud at the pain, the yellow liquid empties from the tube, when empty, Atlas shakes like crazy, but manages to pull it out.

His head spins fast, he can't even see straight. He teeters back and forth and finally falls to his side. His eyes roll back and he groans.

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