Volume 1 Chapter 9; Velocity drive,

Time slowed once more as I fell to the ground, my body bouncing against the concrete floor as my flesh was torn against the pavement, painting it a shallow shade of crimson.

Slowly, I tried to get up from the ground, my arms shaking from fatigue and cuts, my legs quivering under the weight of the pain, and my breathing long and huffed.

The bodies of the underground civilians littered the ground below me. My feet dug into the concrete floor as I got up, my eyes darting to bullets lingering by my chest, only to be shot out in a burst of speed out of nowhere.

Saliva spewed from my lips as I opened my mouth in a silent scream. My eyes dilated as I looked at the blue-haired guy, and my feet staggered as the warnings came to a stop.

[Velocity decrease....0%, shutting down]

I fell to the ground, my hands digging into my white jacket, desperately trying to take in as much air as possible, my pupils dilating in horror and fatigue. My heart threatened to break free from my chest in panic as he approached me.

'I can't,' I thought as he approached me, his footsteps ringing in my ear as I gritted my teeth, my eyes widening in fear.

'I can't do this!'

His eyes glowed in a horrific cyan tint, his face hidden from view, covered in shadows, and his fingers playing with the trigger of his gun as he slowly lifted it, using the tip to fix a loose strand that hung from his ear. 

"Honestly, did you really think you could escape with a simple velocity cybernetic?" He muttered to himself, reloading his gun as he looked down at me.

Neon lights flashed in my eyes, and my body was illuminated by its cyberpunk glow. As he kneeled near me, his gaze colder than the tip of his gun as it pressed against my cheek, he reached over for the box I once held so desperately.

"W-what.... was that?" I muttered, looking at him, my cheek pushed in by his gun. 

"That wasn't a cybernetic i-it couldn't be one." My question went through one ear and out the other as he placed the box between his arm and chest. 

"You'll be picked up by the C.C.C.An officer, wait there. Not that you can move anyway." He commented, his steps echoing, getting further and further as he walked. My mind went blank as I passed out. 

[Ethan's pov]

"Pitiful!" Max scoffed as he picked me up from the ground, my face battered and bruised. my jacket hardly hanging on to my torso, exposing my neck to the world. Desperately clinging to his other arm.

[Shield broken, regeneration commencing.]

The man turned me around like he was inspecting a doll, looking at the cybernetic latched to my neck. A smile broke free as he saw it—a small diamond latched to the back of my neck, hardware covered in an outer shell.

"I must admit, it works well for a knockoff," he commented, turning me back to face him, stroking his beard as he thought, a calming smile on his face as though he didn't beat the shit out of me a few minutes ago.

"Let me guess, this works with how your adrenaline works, doesn't it?" He asked, his fingers poking against my chest repeatedly, a look of genuine curiosity on his face, every touch leaving me grunting in agony. My lungs were on fire, the sparks flying inside of me, and I couldn't bear it any longer.

"I want to die.." I muttered under my breath, the line between thought and speech a blurred one covered in a bloody mess.

Max looked at me, letting out an exasperated sigh from his lips before dropping me to the floor. My body collided with the concrete like a rag doll as my head slowly turned to the side of me. Stepping away from me. 

"Careful what you wish for, kid the moment can easily make you forget what death is." He looked out at the buildings around us.

"You all can come out now," he called out, his gaze turning to me.

C.C.C.Agents came out of their hiding spots, guns armed at the ready, as they swarmed me, putting me in cuffs as my mind wandered in a misty state, trying to numb the pain inflicted on me.

"I see..." I muttered to myself, my eyes hazy and my mouth slightly agape. 

"I had no chance from the start...."

As I was taken away, I stumbled in my steps, my feet dragging against the floor until they had enough and carried me, my eyes soon drifting off into a deep slumber.

"You," Max called out to one of the guards, causing them to flinch in their step.

"Look for whoever gave them those cybernetics, he couldn't have gotten too far," he ordered, his hands nursing his wounded one, the lingering pain finally catching up to him.

"Yes, sir, right away!" The guard left, leaving Max to his thoughts.

He stumbled to the ground recklessly, his head leaning against the steel of the buildings in the underground, the neon lights from the buildings and billboards illuminating his figure.

"So they even deal with kids now?" he muttered, chuckling to himself and reaching into his pockets to pull out a cigarette and a matchbox.

"Sorry, Connor, I know I said I'd stop,but-" He muttered to himself trying to justify his cravings.

"This situation is too fucked up not to you know?" he placed the cigarette aside, placing the matchbox in his mouth, using it to light the match. 

"I hope you'll forgive me." Placing the cigarette in his mouth, he lit it with the match, taking a huge puff before he let out a relieved sigh, the smoke traveling into the air before it disappeared completely.

"It's times like these that make me question." He broke his sentence to take another puff of his cigarette.

"Where did the justice system go wrong, why are there so many people hurting," He muttered.

"The people that we're trying to protect are turning into the criminals they once feared."