There were many times that she wished she could be out there, part of the crowd, enjoying the festivities. But as Axion, she couldn't. She was here to look out for trouble, and that's what she o focus on.
"Nope, just more people puking and shouting. Someohrew a bottle at a street performer." Axion watched as a man stumbled out of a bar, doubled over as he hurled his guts out. "Isn't the camera in my helmet enough? You see what I'm seeing nht? Why do you need me to report what's happening?"
There was a moment of silence as Edith yawned, muttering to herself.
"Sure, I guess." Axion leaned forward, resting her on her knee. She watched as a group of drunken revelers burst into hysterical ughter, doubling over and clutg their stomachs. "It's kinda b, though. Nobody's doing anything too bad, other than being obnoxious. Just a typiight in the slums." She sighed, gng around the area.
A woman shrieked in arm, and Axion jumped to her feet, peering over the ledge. A trio of thugs, sp matg blue bandanas and red sashes, had ered a lone woman, grabbing at her suggestively. A small crowd gathered around, cheering and whistling. The woman struggled and attempted to flee, but the men held her in pce.
Without hesitation, Axion unched herself over the side of the building, activating her gravitonic field midair to cushion her fall. She hit the ground running, sprinting toward the group. The crowd parted for her, startled by her sudden appearance.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" she shouted, her voice amplified by the helmet's audio processor.
The woman mao free herself from the men's grasp and scrambled to safety. Axion skidded to a stop, assuming a defeance as the gang members turheir attention to her. One of the men, sp a thick, bushy beard and wearing ach, stepped forward, sneering.
"Who da fuck're you s'pose to be?" he slurred, his breath reeking of alcohol.
The other two thugs, who seemed more sober, looked at each other uneasily. "Yo, man, is that the freak we've been hearing about?" one of them hissed. "The one who beat up that gang st week?"
"Dunno," the bearded thug growled. "Might be, but I ain't 'fraid of no damn freak!" He pulled a pistol from his waistband, taking aim at Axion's head.
"Are you stupid?! She's a fug Super, you dumbass!" the other thug yelped.
"Shut yer mouth!" Beardie snarled, spittle flying from his lips. "I said I ain't afraid'a no damn freak!" His fiightened origger as he fired off a round.
She had more than enough time to react. With a thought, she increased her gravity field, defleg the bullet's trajectory. It ricocheted harmlessly into the ground. Axion advahe gravitons swirling around her body.
Beardie kept firing wildly, the bullets all veering off-course. One of his rades shoved him aside and raised his pistol, aiming at Axion. "Fuck it! Let's take her out, boys!" he cried, cog the hammer back.
Before he could pull the trigger, her fist collided with the thug's cheek, sending him crashing into the ground. She spun around, delivering a powerful kick to the sed gangster's gut. He crumpled to the ground, wheezing in agony.
The crowd scattered, fleeing in terror. Beardie stood frozen, his gun cttering to the ground as he backed away from her, shaking visibly. Axion grabbed the colr of his jacket, lifting him into the air with ease.
"Listen up," she whispered, her voice low and cold. "I don't want to hurt you. Go bae, get some sleep, and try to do better with yourself. But if you e back here again and harass people, I won't show you mercy."
He nodded shakily, his legs dangling in the air. With a quick shove, Axion released her hold on him, sending the gaumbling to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, darting away, followed by his two aplices. The three gangsters disappeared into the shadows, their footsteps fading.
"That's better," Axion muttered, turning to the woman whom the thugs had accosted. "Are you alright?"
The woman stared back, wide-eyed, before nodding nervously. "Yeah...yes, I'm fine." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thank you."
"Just stay safe, alright?" Axion replied with a thumbs-up.
The woman nodded again, bag away hesitantly before turning and fleeing. The street performer, who'd been hiding behind a post, emerged and began appuding vigorously, startling Axion. The rest of the crowd, who'd been watg from a distance, gradually approached. Before long, everyone was cheering.
Axion raised her hand and waved sheepishly. She couldn't help but grin widely underh her helmet. The LED eyes on her visor narrowed into downturned crest moons, imitating her expression. While she disliked the attention, it felt good to know she reciated.
After a momeh's voice echoed through Axion's .
"Thanks," Axion mumbled, giving the crowd a quick wave before stepping into an alley. She sprinted down the narrow passageway, sg a -link feh ease. She flipped over the top and nded ly oher side.
She tihrough the alleys and passages, avoiding the main thhfares. After a while, Edith's voice chimed in through her helmet's .
"No, not really," Axion responded, her gaze sweeping over the desote streets. "It's beey quiet tely." She ducked under a low-hanging sign, dodging a pair of rats scampering across the pavement. "Other than those guys from earlier, nothing major."
Edith let out a weary sigh.
Axion shrugged. "I'm doing okay. Still feels kind of weird only needing a few hours of sleep a night. 't pin, though. More time to patrol and help people."
Edith hummed in agreement.
With that, the li silent, leaving Axion alone once more. She let out a long exhale, her shoulders slumping.
She wasn't tired, not physically. She did feel draihough, and she couldn't tell if it was because of the monotony of her patrols or the emotional toll they took on her. She hadn't really sidered it until now, but she'd seen a lot of terrible things throughout her life, but dealing with them as Axio a more sting impact.
Maybe it was because she couldn't i with people normally anymore, not when she was dressed like a viginte and carrying a lot of firepower. When she wasn't wearing her helmet, she was just another slum dweller trying to get by, and when she was on patrol, she wasn't a person—she was a symbol, something rger than herself.
At least, that's what Virgil kept telling her. As frustrating as his training had been, she did appreciate his efforts to drill some seo her. He had told her to—what was the wain?—partmentalize; to separate the girl from the hero. In one partment, she was Fii, and iher, she was Axion.
Holy, she hadn't really grasped what he meant by that yet. Maybe it would be clearer in time, but right now, she had to foaking sure nobody got killed in front of her. While the slums might have their problems, there were a lot of good people trying to survive. But the reality eople often had to fend for themselves.
That's where she came in.
She just hoped she wouldn't let anybody down.
After a few hours of patrolling, Axion finally stopped to rest on a fire escape, letting her feet dangle over the edge. It wasly the most fortable seat in the world, but she wasn't pnning to stay long, anyway. The wind ruffled her jacket as she sat silently, gazing over the slums.
The streets below were retively quiet now, the crowds and noise mostly dissipating. Occasionally, she caught glimpses of ures moving through the alleys and side streets, either returning home for the night or looking for trouble. A few stragglers lingered, likely hoping to snare a mark for the evening, but most of the ne'er-do-wells had already scuttled back to their hidey-holes.
Axion rubbed the back of her neck wearily, trying to release the tension that had accumuted in her muscles. As she stretched, her stomach grumbled loudly, remindihat she'd skipped dinner in order to get to her patrol faster.
"I should have packed some snacks..." she murmured, her mouth watering as she imagihe savory taste of some fried synth-chi.
A sound caught her attention, and she peered over the edge—a scuffling in the alley below. A man wearing a dirty shirt and torn jeans stumbled through the shadows, his eyes gssy and unfocused. His skin was deathly pale, and his movements were jerky and unnatural.
The man bumped into a trash, toppling it and spilling its tents across the ground. He staggered back, growling ily, waving his arms at the fallen garbage. A pair of rats scurried out, squeaking and hissing as they retreated.
Axion watched as the man's behavirew increasingly erratic, his face twitg and t. He lu the rats, g at the air with his fingers curled into cws. After a moment, he slumped to the ground, groaning and babbling nonsensically.
She climbed down from her perding lightly in the alleyway. The man didn't appear to notice her approach, his gaze fixed on the wall. She crouched beside him, gently prodding him with her fiips.
Just another drug addict, looks like.
"Hey, you alright? You need any help?"
The man flinched away from her touch, his eyes darting to meet hers. He mumbled a few unintelligible sylbles, drool spilling from his lips. She tried again, reag out and gripping his shoulder.
Suddenly, he swung wildly, his fingers scraping against the smooth surface of her helmet.
"Woah!" Axion excimed, easily defleg the attack. "Easy there, buddy!" She pinned his wrist to the ground and pnted her knee on his midse, effectively restraining him. "Seriously, you o chill out—"
Her words were cut off as the man opened his mouth and tried to bite her forearm. She jerked her arm baarrowly avoiding his jaws. He thrashed under her grip, spittle flying from his lips as he shrieked furiously.
What the hell? Was he actually trying to—?
She didn't get to finish her thought as the man suddenly vulsed and vomited, quivering untrolbly. He let out a ragged gasp, foamy, yellow-tinged fluid dripping from his mouth. His entire body twitched, and his eyes rolled bato his skull before he went limp, colpsing against the crete.
Axion released her hold and stood, staring down at the prone figure. She removed her glove and held her palm close to his nose, cheg for any sign of breathing.
Whew...still breathing.
She pressed two fingers against the side of the man's throat, feeling for a pulse. It was weak and rapid, thumping unevenly.
Overdose? Could be.
She gnced around, noting the spilled garbage, discarded syringes, and broken gss littering the alley. She spotted a used needle and examihe tip, noting a small amount of murky liquid residue inside.
Yep. Definitely overdose. Though, his reas didn't seem normal for a typical drug addict...
She had witnessed a bunch of overdoses in the slums, and while none had ever attacked people, the effects had been the same. The afflicted individuals were usually docile and subdued, not violent and aggressive.
This guy needs help, badly.
"Edith, you there? Just found this guy freaking out in the alley. He doesn't look good, and his body is twitg and everything..."
The in her helmet crackled to life.
Axion nodded, reag out and scooping the man into her arms, cradling his vulsing body tightly against her chest. She closed her eyes, fog on increasing the density of the gravitons surrounding them both. Then, with a leap, they shot upward, carried by an invisible force as they asded through the air.
The man's eyelids fluttered, and for a moment, Axion thought she saw reition in his gaze. But then it was gone, lost in another fit of vulsions.
"Hang in there!" Axion whispered as she leapt across the rooftops, rag towards the ic. "We're almost there!"
With every leap and bound, she applied her gravitonic abilities to boost her speed. Within mihey'd arrived, and Axion dashed through the back door, nearly barrelling intil. He stepped aside, steadying himself against the doorframe, his eyes widening in surprise. "What's wrong?!"
"Overdose. Got here as fast as I could. Is Edith ready?" Axion spoke rapidly, her voice strained as she carried the young man into the examination room.
"Nobody told me nothin' about this until you showed up." Virgil hurried over to assist her, gently taking the man from her arms and pg him on the medical bed. "Calm down, kid, let's see what the situation is."
Edith rushed over, Sheri following close behind. "Outta my way," Edith snapped, pushing past Virgil. She snatched up her ser from the ter, waving the device over the unsan's body. "Dammit. I don't reize these stimunts in his system...must be a new cocktail. Sheri, grab a dose of Naloxone. Now!"
Sheri hurried to fetch the drug, while Edith removed the man's clothing, applying a series of electrodes to his bare chest and abdomen. The heart monitor beeped frantically as the s dispyed jagged, irregur lines.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Axion asked anxiously. "What I do to help?"
"Keep his head to the side," Edith instructed, her voice steady as she prepared the IV line. "We don't want him choking if he vomits."
Sheri returned with the iion, passing it to Edith, who immediately administered it into his arm. "This should help stabilize him, but I don't know how effective it'll be. We'll o monitor him closely."
Axion stepped back, h anxiously as Sheri ah tinued w to stabilize the patient. Virgil, who'd been watg silently, pced a firm hand on her shoulder and motioned for her to follow him outside.
She relutly followed, allowing the ic doors to slide shut behind her.
"How'd you find him?" Virgil asked, his tone curt. "Where'd you find him?"
"In an alleyway. he interse between Halo Avenue and 4th Street." She shifted unfortably, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why?"
"Which gang's territory does that overp?"
Axion frowilting her head. "Um...he Neon Alley so...it'd be the Neon Vipers, or the Neon Knights. Both basically pete for the area."
Virgil rubbed his and furrowed his brow. "What did you see or hear beforehand?"
"I was taking a break when I heard him in the alley. Thought he was just another addict. But when I went to check, he went berserk on me and then started shaking and puking. I grabbed him and came straight here. Didn't get a ce to ask any questions or find out what he was doing."
"Did he have anything on him when yht him in?" Virgil questioned, keeping his gaze fixed on Axion. "Any belongings?"
"There's a syringe on the floor of the alley I came from. Might be a clue, I guess."
Virgil smacked Fii's helmet lightly. "It's not just a clue. It's evidence. Go grab it and bring it back here. Now."
Axion fli the light smack but nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back."
Axion quickly retrieved the small syringe from the alley auro the ic, handing it over til. "Here it is. Do you think the Neon Vipers are up to something?" she inquired.
Virgil took the vial and studied it carefully, his brows furrowing. "Too early to say. If it's narcotics, there are only a few gangs who distribute. Most of 'em hang around the Night Market and the Neon Alley. Gonna hafta iigate this further." He turo face her. "But you should get ba patrol. Edith's gonna take care of this kid for a bit. He ime to recover aox. Go finish your route and I'll update you tomorrow."
Axioated, uaiher tue. There was no point, and she k. Virgil was the detective, not her. Whatever was going on with the gangs, she doubted she could do muot yet, anyway.
"All right," she muttered, grudgingly agreeing. "If you find anything, will you let me know?"
Virgil cracked a rare smile. "Sure, kid. Now scram. We got work to do." He gestured towards the exit with his .
"Yes, sir." Axion nodded and trotted off, ung herself upwards and nding on the nearby rooftops.
As she tinued her patrol, her thoughts drifted back to the man she'd found in the alley. She hoped he would be okay, that the gangs weren't pushing some new super-drug out. Even the low-grade ones caused plenty of damage, and the slums didn't need anything worse.
Virgil said he would hahe iigation. But even if she couldn't help directly, she could keep a. Virgil may be experienced and tenacious, but she khe slums better than he did, and that was something.
There was a way to find out more information.