WannabeAlien
Trigger warning for discrimination (for social class and race/looks) and a rather violent reaction to it in the later parts of the chapter.
Messing around with my clothes for quite a bit got me something that I actually kind of like, and the one that got the most of it is my jacket; First, the hole at the back got covered up in exchange for a bit of fabric on the other parts and as a result, the sleeves now have foot-long slits that go from the wrist to just below my elbow, the hood is now thinner but longer, while the mouth got a bit wider.
The coloring changed too, it went from a dull black to a clean white with vibrant orange lines on the chest and down the hem. The cargo pants followed the theme- well, motif, and just like the jacket, my pants now have grey lines that go from top to bottom. It's still brown, both because I like the color and because no gang is associated with brown pants around here.
The shoes are the same and the only thing that changed is their color, going from a light-sky blue to a bright purple. A color that matched my newly minted hair.
'Looks like a good disguise as any,' I ruffled my hair. No flakes. Usually, rainbow dye takes a while to dry and assimilate when someone uses it to change their hair. And that's when they're properly taking care of the proper procedures while also doing it in the right environment. Mainly, a Hair Salon.
Dumping an entire can of dye and getting it to stick is as miraculous as it sounds even when Techie Tech is involved. Especially since that type of Tech is still grounded in (stretchable) laws of physics.
I looked away from the puddle of water and back out to the wider channel, I recognized some of the places that I've passed now, and with familiarity comes the sense of being able to know that just beyond this dried up river and up those flat, concrete walls; is life. Shitty and disastrous sure, but life regardless.
There's another one of the Hydroelectric plants a few meters out to my right, this one is actually used and functioning, with wires that crawled up the walls and going further beyond. Even with the bright sun, I can see the bright neon coming from the top, flashing and moving. 'It's either a day sign or it comes from a show-light.'
Moving on, I made my way further down the channel, it went wider and wider as I continued, walking until I reached a massive dam the size of a small city.
And "Broker's Dam" is exactly that; a small city- I can see the little metal buildings and wooden staircases even from here. And the dam is littered with things like these, taking up the entire visible wall and forming this sideways city that a lot of people call their home. Unlike lower Gloria or even the slums, this place is actually quite wealthy and everyone that comes here for the first time- me included,- always gets tricked by the haphazard look that the buildings of the city have.
I think the house closest to me is a great example of that; it looks like it wouldn't even belong to the slums, with the walls being made out of random parts placed here and there. In one place it's made out of plastic, and in the other it's metal. The only thing that the parts have in common is the red, vein-like glow they have on their surface, pulsing every few seconds or so like it had a life of its own.
From my experience, the outside only looks ugly but the inside actually is actually pretty comfortable. And chances are, there's furniture and everything a slum dweller would want inside of that house.
Because as scrappy as their designs can be, the materials that they're made out of are durable and for the people of Broker's damn, it's also pretty cheap. Owing only to a few lives every few months or so.
The source of these materials, wealth, and economy of Broker's Dam comes from the world beyond the Dam: It's common knowledge to everyone inside Gloria by now that even the most uneducated of slum dwellers know what's outside the walls of the city- An infection, created by a cabal of Super Geniuses with the capital S.
Known only as The Five, these geniuses created a virus that infected the entire world, attacking both organic and inorganic things and mixing them up into these... monsters that created more of themselves by killing and eating everything they see. Right as long as you aren't a piece of rock (and even then, there's some eccentric creature out there that just loves to turn soft rock into armor for themselves,) you're gonna get infected and turned into one of them.
It was only because of Precinct's already boosted defenses as well as Peerless' predecessor that allowed it to survive the creatures and turn into Gloria.
And now it's the only city left in the world. If there's another one out there, then they haven't contacted us either because they're interfering or because they don't exist at all. The last one feels like a more likely and reasonable outcome.
The pulsing on the walls got stronger when I walked near it, I ignored it and moved to an elevator. There were already people inside, a Midget and a Tusk standing side by side, both were guys and both had the worse case of resting bitch face I've ever seen, with their sharp eyes and lips in a permanent scowl. The Tusk's tusks made him look even worse.
Even then, I smiled and waved at the two of them, "Sup!" I smiled. I mean really did. It feels like it's been so long since I've talked to someone. "How are you guys doing? Is the Dam treating you well?" Typical, general topics like that usually mean that people are willing to reply and when I say something like that, it means that I'm basically desperate for conversations.
The Midget huffed, "As well as it can treats Scrappers'." he replied with a tone of voice that was way too high-pitched. It makes sense because of his small stature and what his species is but his face honestly made me expect something else. "What about ya? I'm guessin' you come from the slums? What're ya doin ere'?"
"What else is he supposed to be doing here Gub? Course he's gonna go work here." The Tusk's gravelly voice rang around the elevator, "That right?"
I nodded, "Sort of." I'm actually here for the Doctor but an opportunity is an opportunity, "And say, if I'm new- What would you think is the perfect job for me here?"
"Loadin' if yer a regular ass guy and Fightin' if yer a Mutant. If you're just some dumbass that needs money, then guard. Everyone can use guns, just make sur' that you don't run away fasta than yer boss." replies the Midget and the Tusk nodded alongside him.
"Cool, cool. Thanks." I nodded with pursed lips while hesitating. I eventually gave in- "Can I have your names?" I asked while looking at the blinking numbers on the control panel of the elevator. We're currently on the 8th floor of the Dam's 219.
The two guys eyed each other before the Tusk shrugged, "It don't hurt I think?" He said before pointing at his friend, "That right there is Gub," he pointed at himself, "I'm Tero."
I smiled, "I'm Tyler," they both nodded simultaneously. "By the way, not to be an asshole or anything but I've met a few of you guys before and I haven't seen them talk like you do," I said to Gub and he only eyed me with a glare in response. Seconds passed in silence before I chuckled awkwardly and tried to wave off the tension, "Right, sorry. A bit insensitive there."
"Its cuz of me," Answers Tero.
I gave out a faltering grin. "Good to know."
Things turned awkward and I eyed the control panel for a while until the button for the 56th floor beeped. I almost sighed in relief when I realized that more people are gonna be joining us soon. I waited impatiently and resisted the urge to start tapping while the numbers on the control panel slowly lit up one by one.
While waiting, I decided to shift the dye in my body to turn into makeshift makeup while using my reflection on the bronze door of the elevator as a guide. I ended up with my usual clown makeup; a porcelain white face with red nose and lips.
"So yer a Mutant?" I nodded at Gub, "Lotsa work for ya then'."
"Thanks, I'll see if I can any." Not really. I don't wanna risk my life against virus controlled monsters of metal and flesh.
A ding came and the doors opened, several teenagers came in and from their looks, I can already tell that they come from Gloria's upper parts. Maybe lower middle. Five teenagers in total came in, 3 guys and two girls. The guys looked modified, buff, while the girls were lithe and pretty. 'Typical.'
With the way they are, the three guys barely looked different from each other and only one of them had a feature that I can at least distinguish- the one at the right, holding one of the girls' hand had a scar on his bicep, a thin line that ran out of his sleeve.
And since he looked at me funny, likely thinking that I'd somehow steal his girlfriend, I decided that didn't want to call him scar so I just tuned him out as Girlfriend Guy or G-G in my mind. Fuck him.
Their talk came to a complete stop when the elevators fully opened. One of the girls rolled her eyes, "Great- We're gonna have to ride with a literal band of circus freaks,"
Somewhere to my side, Tero growled. I stayed silent and just shot them a glare. Gub, meanwhile, didn't like what we- them, clearly,- were called, "Really now? Mi'sy?" he grinned and flashed a predatory mouth full of sharp teeth, "Ya think wer' freaks ey?"
I eyed the three guys, and not one of them tried to even scold the girl. Because clearly, we're just low class pieces of shit with no real power and influence. I scoffed at the thought and all eyes turned to me, "Not gonna apologize?"
I pat Gub in the shoulder and walked past him in long strides. The Theikos around me getting more excited with each step, "You all know where you are, right?"
One of the guys scoffed. Loudly. "And what the fuck are you supposed to be? A clown?" The piece of shit that thought loud sounds is a competition said. I kept walking. "What? Too scared to talk now that-"
I punched him straight in the face and time slowed down in the next moment.
Okay, I don't know why I did that- probably the stress of everything after last night- but I just needed an outlet. I'm not one for anger issues or anything, but these fucks just seemed arrogant enough that maybe, maybe punching them even when they live in the upper parts of Gloria is a good idea. And that's what I did, I took the opportunity and broke one of the guy's nose.
I can see that the girls' had widened eyes in the time stopped state while the guys got ready to punch me back. I don't know what's going on with the two behind me but I assume they probably want to punch these dickbags for being racist too. Well, the girl was being racist, but they let her be so they're now a part of it.
Time went back to normal and I grinned when the guy's head pulled back while dripping blood, "Surprise!" I made a show of shaking both my hands, "How's that for a show? Fuckwit?" Someone spat at me and I turned my head just in time to see him get decked by Tero. I wiped the spit off of my face and looked at the two retreating girls, circular elevator is wide enough to fit us three times over and they advantage of that space and are now standing a few meters away from us.
One of them is holding up a phone with shaky hands, recording the video of the fight and the other is calling a number.
Before I could move closer to them, I felt a hit to my temple and I staggered back. I boosted myself with Theikos just as the guy said- "That was it?" He laughed, "Fuck me I thought you were stronger than that!"
I huffed and tackled him with my boosted strength, pinning him to the ground with my weight. I raised a hand, getting ready for a punch when the scene reminded me of what happened with Lioness. I stared at him, and he stared back. He tried to punch me but I grabbed it before twisting his wrist and breaking it. He screamed and an idea popped in my head.
Raising my hand again, I stared at his elbows and punched. The crack sounded satisfying. I did it again to his other elbow, raise, punch, crack. He yelled, "F-" I slapped his face and cut him off.
I leaned closer to his face, "You know where we are?" I asked, he nodded with a whimper, "I don't care if you're rich or whatever, you're down here after all. And here? People like you get robbed." They're just another victim, that's what I'm trying to reason. People who were stupid enough to provoke us and I admit, I'm partially guilty too because I suddenly went straight to violence but- yeah, there's no reasoning out of that one. I wanted an outlet and I used them.
I'm a piece of shit. I'll admit to it.
I stood away from the guy and watched him back away from me with his legs. He stopped just below his friends, crying. Save for the girls, all of them looked worse for wear.
Looking back, I saw that Gub actually had purple splotches on his skin, 'Guess one of them has mods then.' Not surprising.
They left on the next floor and we watched them leave.
I turned to the other two, "Are you guys gonna be fine?" I asked. The people at the top usually don't take kindly to this sort of thing and their parents are definitely gonna send in a lawyer or two down here to get "justice" for what happened. And lawyers are very effective against those in the lower rung.
Gub nodded with a grunt, "We have a union 'round her', we'r' gonna be fine. You?"
Good. "I can always change my disguise." And I'm gonna do it the moment that I'm out of this elevator.
WannabeAlien
Trigger warning for discrimination (for social class and race/looks) and a rather violent reaction to it in the later parts of the chapter.
Messing around with my clothes for quite a bit got me something that I actually kind of like, and the one that got the most of it is my jacket; First, the hole at the back got covered up in exchange for a bit of fabric on the other parts and as a result, the sleeves now have foot-long slits that go from the wrist to just below my elbow, the hood is now thinner but longer, while the mouth got a bit wider.
The coloring changed too, it went from a dull black to a clean white with vibrant orange lines on the chest and down the hem. The cargo pants followed the theme- well, motif, and just like the jacket, my pants now have grey lines that go from top to bottom. It's still brown, both because I like the color and because no gang is associated with brown pants around here.
The shoes are the same and the only thing that changed is their color, going from a light-sky blue to a bright purple. A color that matched my newly minted hair.
'Looks like a good disguise as any,' I ruffled my hair. No flakes. Usually, rainbow dye takes a while to dry and assimilate when someone uses it to change their hair. And that's when they're properly taking care of the proper procedures while also doing it in the right environment. Mainly, a Hair Salon.
Dumping an entire can of dye and getting it to stick is as miraculous as it sounds even when Techie Tech is involved. Especially since that type of Tech is still grounded in (stretchable) laws of physics.
I looked away from the puddle of water and back out to the wider channel, I recognized some of the places that I've passed now, and with familiarity comes the sense of being able to know that just beyond this dried up river and up those flat, concrete walls; is life. Shitty and disastrous sure, but life regardless.
There's another one of the Hydroelectric plants a few meters out to my right, this one is actually used and functioning, with wires that crawled up the walls and going further beyond. Even with the bright sun, I can see the bright neon coming from the top, flashing and moving. 'It's either a day sign or it comes from a show-light.'
Moving on, I made my way further down the channel, it went wider and wider as I continued, walking until I reached a massive dam the size of a small city.
And "Broker's Dam" is exactly that; a small city- I can see the little metal buildings and wooden staircases even from here. And the dam is littered with things like these, taking up the entire visible wall and forming this sideways city that a lot of people call their home. Unlike lower Gloria or even the slums, this place is actually quite wealthy and everyone that comes here for the first time- me included,- always gets tricked by the haphazard look that the buildings of the city have.
I think the house closest to me is a great example of that; it looks like it wouldn't even belong to the slums, with the walls being made out of random parts placed here and there. In one place it's made out of plastic, and in the other it's metal. The only thing that the parts have in common is the red, vein-like glow they have on their surface, pulsing every few seconds or so like it had a life of its own.
From my experience, the outside only looks ugly but the inside actually is actually pretty comfortable. And chances are, there's furniture and everything a slum dweller would want inside of that house.
Because as scrappy as their designs can be, the materials that they're made out of are durable and for the people of Broker's damn, it's also pretty cheap. Owing only to a few lives every few months or so.
The source of these materials, wealth, and economy of Broker's Dam comes from the world beyond the Dam: It's common knowledge to everyone inside Gloria by now that even the most uneducated of slum dwellers know what's outside the walls of the city- An infection, created by a cabal of Super Geniuses with the capital S.
Known only as The Five, these geniuses created a virus that infected the entire world, attacking both organic and inorganic things and mixing them up into these... monsters that created more of themselves by killing and eating everything they see. Right as long as you aren't a piece of rock (and even then, there's some eccentric creature out there that just loves to turn soft rock into armor for themselves,) you're gonna get infected and turned into one of them.
It was only because of Precinct's already boosted defenses as well as Peerless' predecessor that allowed it to survive the creatures and turn into Gloria.
And now it's the only city left in the world. If there's another one out there, then they haven't contacted us either because they're interfering or because they don't exist at all. The last one feels like a more likely and reasonable outcome.
The pulsing on the walls got stronger when I walked near it, I ignored it and moved to an elevator. There were already people inside, a Midget and a Tusk standing side by side, both were guys and both had the worse case of resting bitch face I've ever seen, with their sharp eyes and lips in a permanent scowl. The Tusk's tusks made him look even worse.
Even then, I smiled and waved at the two of them, "Sup!" I smiled. I mean really did. It feels like it's been so long since I've talked to someone. "How are you guys doing? Is the Dam treating you well?" Typical, general topics like that usually mean that people are willing to reply and when I say something like that, it means that I'm basically desperate for conversations.
The Midget huffed, "As well as it can treats Scrappers'." he replied with a tone of voice that was way too high-pitched. It makes sense because of his small stature and what his species is but his face honestly made me expect something else. "What about ya? I'm guessin' you come from the slums? What're ya doin ere'?"
"What else is he supposed to be doing here Gub? Course he's gonna go work here." The Tusk's gravelly voice rang around the elevator, "That right?"
I nodded, "Sort of." I'm actually here for the Doctor but an opportunity is an opportunity, "And say, if I'm new- What would you think is the perfect job for me here?"
"Loadin' if yer a regular ass guy and Fightin' if yer a Mutant. If you're just some dumbass that needs money, then guard. Everyone can use guns, just make sur' that you don't run away fasta than yer boss." replies the Midget and the Tusk nodded alongside him.
"Cool, cool. Thanks." I nodded with pursed lips while hesitating. I eventually gave in- "Can I have your names?" I asked while looking at the blinking numbers on the control panel of the elevator. We're currently on the 8th floor of the Dam's 219.
The two guys eyed each other before the Tusk shrugged, "It don't hurt I think?" He said before pointing at his friend, "That right there is Gub," he pointed at himself, "I'm Tero."
I smiled, "I'm Tyler," they both nodded simultaneously. "By the way, not to be an asshole or anything but I've met a few of you guys before and I haven't seen them talk like you do," I said to Gub and he only eyed me with a glare in response. Seconds passed in silence before I chuckled awkwardly and tried to wave off the tension, "Right, sorry. A bit insensitive there."
"Its cuz of me," Answers Tero.
I gave out a faltering grin. "Good to know."
Things turned awkward and I eyed the control panel for a while until the button for the 56th floor beeped. I almost sighed in relief when I realized that more people are gonna be joining us soon. I waited impatiently and resisted the urge to start tapping while the numbers on the control panel slowly lit up one by one.
While waiting, I decided to shift the dye in my body to turn into makeshift makeup while using my reflection on the bronze door of the elevator as a guide. I ended up with my usual clown makeup; a porcelain white face with red nose and lips.
"So yer a Mutant?" I nodded at Gub, "Lotsa work for ya then'."
"Thanks, I'll see if I can any." Not really. I don't wanna risk my life against virus controlled monsters of metal and flesh.
A ding came and the doors opened, several teenagers came in and from their looks, I can already tell that they come from Gloria's upper parts. Maybe lower middle. Five teenagers in total came in, 3 guys and two girls. The guys looked modified, buff, while the girls were lithe and pretty. 'Typical.'
With the way they are, the three guys barely looked different from each other and only one of them had a feature that I can at least distinguish- the one at the right, holding one of the girls' hand had a scar on his bicep, a thin line that ran out of his sleeve.
And since he looked at me funny, likely thinking that I'd somehow steal his girlfriend, I decided that didn't want to call him scar so I just tuned him out as Girlfriend Guy or G-G in my mind. Fuck him.
Their talk came to a complete stop when the elevators fully opened. One of the girls rolled her eyes, "Great- We're gonna have to ride with a literal band of circus freaks,"
Somewhere to my side, Tero growled. I stayed silent and just shot them a glare. Gub, meanwhile, didn't like what we- them, clearly,- were called, "Really now? Mi'sy?" he grinned and flashed a predatory mouth full of sharp teeth, "Ya think wer' freaks ey?"
I eyed the three guys, and not one of them tried to even scold the girl. Because clearly, we're just low class pieces of shit with no real power and influence. I scoffed at the thought and all eyes turned to me, "Not gonna apologize?"
I pat Gub in the shoulder and walked past him in long strides. The Theikos around me getting more excited with each step, "You all know where you are, right?"
One of the guys scoffed. Loudly. "And what the fuck are you supposed to be? A clown?" The piece of shit that thought loud sounds is a competition said. I kept walking. "What? Too scared to talk now that-"
I punched him straight in the face and time slowed down in the next moment.
Okay, I don't know why I did that- probably the stress of everything after last night- but I just needed an outlet. I'm not one for anger issues or anything, but these fucks just seemed arrogant enough that maybe, maybe punching them even when they live in the upper parts of Gloria is a good idea. And that's what I did, I took the opportunity and broke one of the guy's nose.
I can see that the girls' had widened eyes in the time stopped state while the guys got ready to punch me back. I don't know what's going on with the two behind me but I assume they probably want to punch these dickbags for being racist too. Well, the girl was being racist, but they let her be so they're now a part of it.
Time went back to normal and I grinned when the guy's head pulled back while dripping blood, "Surprise!" I made a show of shaking both my hands, "How's that for a show? Fuckwit?" Someone spat at me and I turned my head just in time to see him get decked by Tero. I wiped the spit off of my face and looked at the two retreating girls, circular elevator is wide enough to fit us three times over and they advantage of that space and are now standing a few meters away from us.
One of them is holding up a phone with shaky hands, recording the video of the fight and the other is calling a number.
Before I could move closer to them, I felt a hit to my temple and I staggered back. I boosted myself with Theikos just as the guy said- "That was it?" He laughed, "Fuck me I thought you were stronger than that!"
I huffed and tackled him with my boosted strength, pinning him to the ground with my weight. I raised a hand, getting ready for a punch when the scene reminded me of what happened with Lioness. I stared at him, and he stared back. He tried to punch me but I grabbed it before twisting his wrist and breaking it. He screamed and an idea popped in my head.
Raising my hand again, I stared at his elbows and punched. The crack sounded satisfying. I did it again to his other elbow, raise, punch, crack. He yelled, "F-" I slapped his face and cut him off.
I leaned closer to his face, "You know where we are?" I asked, he nodded with a whimper, "I don't care if you're rich or whatever, you're down here after all. And here? People like you get robbed." They're just another victim, that's what I'm trying to reason. People who were stupid enough to provoke us and I admit, I'm partially guilty too because I suddenly went straight to violence but- yeah, there's no reasoning out of that one. I wanted an outlet and I used them.
I'm a piece of shit. I'll admit to it.
I stood away from the guy and watched him back away from me with his legs. He stopped just below his friends, crying. Save for the girls, all of them looked worse for wear.
Looking back, I saw that Gub actually had purple splotches on his skin, 'Guess one of them has mods then.' Not surprising.
They left on the next floor and we watched them leave.
I turned to the other two, "Are you guys gonna be fine?" I asked. The people at the top usually don't take kindly to this sort of thing and their parents are definitely gonna send in a lawyer or two down here to get "justice" for what happened. And lawyers are very effective against those in the lower rung.
Gub nodded with a grunt, "We have a union 'round her', we'r' gonna be fine. You?"
Good. "I can always change my disguise." And I'm gonna do it the moment that I'm out of this elevator.
