The Runners
Note-Contains many similarities to the game “Mirror’s Edge” as well as references to games such as “Final Fantasy” and mangas such as “Death Note”
Back-story: The city has gone under the control of a dictator. Crime is abundant. Wealthy businessmen, afraid to come out into the open, hire people called ‘Runners’, people who are masters of the art of Free Running, to deliver documents from one place to another. Each Runner has a partner called a ‘Spotter’ whose job is to look ahead of the Runner and to warn them of any dangers using a remote control ‘Heli-Orb’. They are given little information, but in a city full of crime and corruption, it’s better than anything else.
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Prologue: Night of Fright
In the seediest part of downtown, a runner is cornered by cops. Bang! The echo of the shot rang throughout the crimson stained alleyway, the sound funneled through like a loud speaker. And yet, the runner seemed to be avoiding the bullets effortlessly, as though they were moving through slime, all the while scaling the red brick walls.
“C’mon men! Don’t let her get away!” said the warden.
Despite all their efforts, the runner was already above the garbage filled alley and began running, ducking, and jumping on the gray rooftops, illuminated only by the moon’s faint light.
“Careful Hazel, they’ve brought out the choppers and SWAT. There appears to be a cable line over to your left. Seems like the safest way to go.”
“Got it Sparky.”
The warden appeared in the door of the SWAT chopper, bullhorn in hand. Turning it on, a deafening screech that sounded of nails on a chalkboard immediately came out.
“Uhh, chief, the button on the back turns the bullhorn on.”
“Oh, thanks deputy. OK men, she’s considered a threat now, so don’t hold back, no matter what happens.”
“RIGHT!”
Almost immediately, missiles fired from the choppers, screeching across the sky and creating a blackened, boulder sized hole on contact with the roof.
“Yea! We got her boys!”
“Not quite.”
Surprised, the warden turned around.
“Oh my god, how did you survive that blast!?”
“Reflexes, intuition, anything of the sort. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a package to deliver.”
In an instant, she leaped off the helicopter, silent.
“Damn it Hazel, do you have an idea what you just did! The odds of you getting captured just then were practically 100%!”
“C’mon, let me have a little fun once in a while. It’s not every day we get to deliver something all the way across town.”
“Grr, fine. Just don’t try another stunt like that again. Do you have any idea what the consequences would be if you got caught on a mission like this?”
“Isn’t it like, being demoted up to 3 Levels?”
“Or worse if the council is having a bad day!”
“OK, I’ll play it safe.”
All throughout the conversation, the police were still running after her. And yet, she was completely zoned out, focusing only on what is forward. Just as the moon was turning full, there was a sound coming from the rooftops ahead. There was a shadow running across the opposite buildings.
“Looks like she’s here. Just keep going forward and make the exchange. Once you’re done, make a left and there should be a pipe that runs along the entire height of the building. There’s also a fire escape that you can jump to from there.”
Somewhat annoyed with all that Sparky was saying, Hazel turned off her headset and just began running forward. By the time the exchange had happened, the police were far behind, and Hazel was incredibly tired. So instead of going onto the pole, she decided to just jump into a nearby tree, letting the braches be her bed frame and falling asleep within the lush, green leaves.
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Run 1: Messages, Masters, and Shoes
The sun shining on her face, Hazel awoke, full of memories of what had happened the night before. Turning on her headset, she was immediately welcomed by,
“YOU HAVE 4 NEW MESSAGES FROM: ‘Sparky’”
Curious (and annoyed), she decided to listen to them. It turned it that they were all Sparky telling her to wake up and wondering why she didn’t go back to the base.
“Yo, Sparky, why did you try to wake me up? I was having a great nap.”
“I’m not sure you noticed, but you went to sleep at 1 A.M. It’s 3 in the afternoon!”
“Wow, I must have been really pooped after that Run.”
“Ah well, not much of it matters at this point. Just get back to The Rooftop! We need to get the analysis for our mission last night.”
“Got it.”
Not usually one for running during the day, Hazel decided to stretch her limbs after 15 hours sleeping in a tree. On the way, she decided to stop by the local Subway, wanting to curb her insane hunger.
“… that’ll be 9.76 Z, would you like anything else?”
“No thanks. But is there a bathroom in here? I’d be nice if I could wash my hands.”
“Yes there is. It’s right across the hall over there to your left.”
“Thanks.”
Stepping into the bathroom, she instantly looked into the mirror, and began picking leaves out of her snow-white hair. There were dark rings around her hazel eyes, and she was covered with a layer of dirt. As she washed her face, her vigor slowly came back to her, although it would came back more once her stomach stopped rumbling like an airplane engine.
Walking out of the restroom, the PA said,
“Customer 123, your order is ready at Subway Stop 3.”
“Oh yay, it’ll feel good to get some food in this belly.”
Remembering that she still had to get back to The Rooftop, she devoured her sandwich quickly. Once done, she put a tip on the table, stepped into a back alley, and began gliding across the rooftops once more.
“Dang it Hazel, where are you,” said a very annoyed Sparky, staring at his watch atop The Rooftop. Sparky is Hazel’s friend and partner. They’ve been partners for 5 years already, so it’s not often he will make a mistake in telling Hazel where to go. He has a lot of patience and intelligence, thus keeping him from pulling out his carrot-orange hair every time Hazel does something insane on a Run. “You’re already 15 minutes late.”
After 5 more minutes of waiting, Hazel finally showed up, with a grin on her face.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a bite to eat. Plus I took the long way here. It just feels so good running again after that tree nap.”
“As evidenced by your dirty gloves, sweaty forehead, and mustard stain on your cheek. Ah well, let’s go! The council has been expecting you for the past 10 minutes.”
“Yea, yea, I’m coming. Sides, they’ve already waited 10 minutes. They can wait a little longer right?”
As Hazel walked into the entrance with Sparky, she noticed that The Rooftop was strangely devoid of other Runners practicing. The Rooftop is the meeting place for all the runners in Edge City. It’s where they can train, socialize, and learn new techniques. It is also where the Council of Masters resides. They give runners their missions, evaluate them, and promote or demote them. There are four members that make up the council, each representing a necessary trait of being a Runner: Speed (Master Mach), Stealth (Master Ninja), Accuracy (Master Snipe), and Judgment (Master Libra). Only the Masters themselves know each other’s real names.
“… turning off your headset, revealing yourself willingly to the police captain, and sleeping overnight in a tree nonetheless!? Do you have any ideas how many rules you broke in that last Run alone?”
“Ok… so I guess they were getting a little frustrated waiting,” Hazel quietly said to Sparky.
“Oh ya think!”
“Hazel! Are you even paying attention to us!?”
“Of course I am. You were talking about rules being broken right…?”
“Gyahhh… Listen Hazel, you’re one of the best Runners in the city, but you’re reckless. You’ve got to learn to focus on the mission first. If you don’t, there’s a chance that you will eventually get blown up or shot at.”
“I know. It’s just that in a Run, you’re just so pumped that you don’t want to stop. Sides, you ever messed around with the cops’ heads while on a mission? It’s pretty fun.”
“We understand where you’re coming from. After all, we do have the scars to prove it.”
Pulling down his sleeve, he revealed many scratches, cuts, scars, and scrapes, all from his life as one of Edge City’s first Runners. The worse battle scar though, was on Master Libra’s face. His sister had been captured by a fellow Runner, and he had to rescue her, but not without a serious fight.”
“Nyuuugh. Please, show those to me less often if you can. Now, I can tell by the look on your faces that I have another mission, what is it?”
“Ahh, you are correct. Your next assignment is as follows: Tomorrow night at 11:35, there will be a Runner from Midgar that you can meet on the roof of the Shinra building. He will have a document with him, but he will only give it to you if you answer his question correctly.”
“But what if I don’t know the answer?”
“Then just ask Sparky. It’s a question about the rules of being a Runner, so you should be fine. Moving on, once he gives you the document, you are to take it to the top of the Mirror building in the center of the city. At 12 midnight, a helicopter will fly near the building, ready to pick you up. It will then take you to the edge of the city where you will have until 1 A.M to run it to the edge of our neighboring city, Viridian. When you are done with that, come back to the helicopter and it will fly back here to The Rooftop.”
“So why does a simple sounding mission like this need me?”
“Because, the document is apparently a peace treaty between Edge, Midgar, and Viridian. There will be police, rebel forces, and mercenaries from Midgar all trying to stop you.”
“Ohhhh my, now it sounds fun.”
“Please don’t mess up this mission Hazel. If this peace treaty is signed, then we will join with our neighboring cities all of our resources, including all of the Runners.”
“You mean that if this treaty is done correctly, we’ll basically merge with Midgar and Viridian?”
“That is correct.”
“Whoa.”
“Indeed, whoa.”
“Hmmm, so cops, a long run across town, and a chance to meet other Runners? I’m in!”
“Very good.”
“Well if you’re all done here, I have to go to Glum Slum and get some new equipment.”
Walking out of the Council Chamber, Hazel asked Sparky,
“Hey, why aren’t there that many other Runners here today?”
“I think it’s cuz they’re either all on missions or they have been captured.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, captured!?”
“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you, some of the other Spotters have been reporting in through the Com-Link that in some of their most recent missions, there has been a black helicopter that flew in front of their Runners. These men in white coats with guns suddenly came out and actually managed to capture the Runners. And boy did they move fast! The only time they actually managed to see the men was when they came out of the chopper and when they were walking back in. They did manage to notice one common feature: all their coats had a big, red “K” on the back.”
“You think they’ll show up tomorrow night and try to catch me?”
“Maybe. It seems that all the Runners these “K Men” have been capturing are all Level 1 and they’ve all been carrying important documents. Since you’re carrying a peace treaty between three cities, I’d say the chances would be at least 75%.”
“Aw man, you better not fail me now Sparky.”
“Don’t worry. With these odds, I’ll give it 110%!”
“Good. Ah well, I gotta go to Glum Slum and get me some new shoes.”
“You’re still going there? Didn’t you try out the place I told you about?”
“You mean Grand Slam? Yea I did. It’s basically all generic, factory copy stuff. With Glum Slum, you pick out the pieces, they put it together.”
“Ah well, it’s your Zenny.”
“Ha ha, very funny. Ah well, store’s gonna close soon, so see ya later.”
By the time the conversation had ended, the sun had already begun dipping underneath the horizon and the river. Saying good bye to Sparky, Hazel jumped onto the nearest rooftop and began leaping towards Glum Slum.
Glum Slum is, for some strange reason, despite being one of the best Runner Equipment stores in Edge City, is all the way across town from The Rooftop. The parts are expensive, but it’s the best place to go for custom equipment.
Rushed for time, Hazel began to use a secret technique, known as Runner Vision, something only taught to Level 1 Runners, as it uses up a Runner’s stamina extremely quickly. Their eyes begin to glow, they begin seeing only the things that can be used to reach their destination, and they begin to move so quickly that they appear to be just a flash.
By the time Hazel had reached Glum Slum, she was basically a lifeless rag doll, as the Runner Vision had quickly drained all her strength.
Panting for air, she said, “I will never understand why such a risky move was developed.”
“Hey look who it is, Hazel.”
“Hey Mr. Yagami. Mind helping me to the bench? I think that Runner Vision drained me more than I expected.”
Mr. Yagami and his son, Ikki, have been running Glum Slum basically ever since The Runners were founded, almost 20 years ago. Ikki grew up around Runners and their equipment, basically giving him the ability to put together parts with his eyes closed. Mr. Yagami, once a Runner himself, decided to open up Glum Slum after noticing that there were no good parts for Runners in the city.
“So what are you in the market for today Hazel?”
“Just a new set of shoes. My Run last night basically destroyed this pair,” revealing the underside of her shoes which were blackened and partially melted due to rocket explosion.
“My god, that is some bad damage. Ah well, we should be able to find the parts to make you a new pair. So anything you are asking for specifically in your new shoes?”
“Hmm… probably just good traction, comfortable feel, and a really sturdy design.”
“I think we should be able to find that.”
Walking inside the store, Hazel quickly noticed something different.
“Whoa, what happened to all the clutter in here? Aren’t these parts usually strewn all over the floor by this time of day?”
“Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened in a while. It seems most of our best customers have stopped coming for one reason or another.”
“Well at least I’m still here.”
“Yes, we’re quite lucky. Now than, shall we begin picking out your equipment?”
“Yes please. I have to get back home and prepare for my Run tomorrow night.”
Walking around the store, Hazel and Mr.Yagami turned bins over, around, and upside down to find good parts. When they were done, Mr. Yagami called to Ikki from the backroom. When he appeared, Mr. Yagami began whispering something into his hear, so silent that not every Hazel could hear it. When he was done, he gave the parts to Ikki to let him do his magic. He merely laid down all the parts on the long front counter in constructive order, grabbed the super glue, and took a deep breath. In what seemed to be an instant, there was a shoe on top of the counter instead of a mish-mash of parts. The construction was so fast that Hazel could barely see it herself.
“Well now, what do you think?”
“Light, plenty of grip, and pretty cool looking as well. Excellent job as usual Ikki.”
Ikki, always the quiet one, merely bowed and went into the backroom and continued eating his ramen.
“So, how much is this pair old man?”
“Nah, it’s fine. You don’t have to pay me.”
“You sure?”
“Yea, don’t worry.”
“Ok than.”
Walking to the front door, she noticed that the moon had already begun to rise above the city, and that all the subtle noises had begun noticeable.
Parting with Mr. Yagami with a wave and a grin, Hazel said as she leaped off the roof,” I owe you one!”
Waving good-bye, Mr. Yagami began walking back into Glum Slum, turning around the OPEN sign one his way in.
Leaping between the roofs as though she were a creature of the night, Hazel quickly made it back to her apartment. Walking into her living room, turned on the TV, and the first thing that came on was the evening news.
“Reports today have shown that the explosion last night was caused by a helicopter after it fired a rocket during pursuit after a Runner. We interviewed the police chief, and he had this to say,’ She was incredibly quick, so fast we could barely catch her even with our best men. I managed to catch that she had white hair right before she leaped off the ledge of the helicopter.’”
“Woops, seems I stayed a little too long on that ledge.”
“In other news, we have been receiving reports of another Runner, currently running to the south end of the city… We have breaking news, there appears to be a helicopter, a jet black helicopter with a “K” on the side, flying towards the runner. From our video feed from that right now, it seems that the helicopter has touched down and three men have come out. The Runner seems to be turning back. He begins moving, but it seems the strange men have captured him! Now one of them is taking out a gun, pointing at our camera… and it seems we have lost the feed. We can just assume that he shot out the lens of our camera. We will try and update you as soon as we can.”
Turning up the volume, the anchorwoman said,” As secondary news, it seems that the helicopters we just told you about have actually been seen around the city. The have been shown carrying”
Static. The TV went black and white as the antenna fell off.
“Note to self: Get cable TV ASAP”
Annoyed with the TV, Hazel walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with nice, cold milk. Quickly gulping down her milk (and leaving a milk mustache behind), she walked into the bathroom to take a bath. As the bath filled, there was a loud knocking on the front door.
“Whaddya want! I’m about to take a bath!”
“Hazel! You haven’t paid your rent in two weeks, and I need it NOW!”
“Is there any chance I can talk to you later? I’m butt-naked and the bath’s nearly overflowing.”
“Grr, fine. Just talk to me tomorrow morning.”
“Phew, at least I can finally start with my bath.”
Stepping into the tub, it turned out that she had actually filled the tub a little too much, as the water immediately sloshed onto the floor. “Heh, woops.”
Despite looking incredibly relaxed on the outside, thoughts were clashing within her mind.
“Aw man, what’s gonna happen if those ‘K Men’ show up on my Run? Will they kidnap me and take me as hostage? Steal my document and get rid of me? Either way, I can’t let them catch me. Too much is hanging in the balance. I guess I’ll just take this over with Sparky in the morning. In the meanwhile, I think I’ll just lie here…”
Hazel practically dozed off right there in the tub, just letting all her thoughts and worries drift away…
Run 2: New Information… At A Price
The next morning, Hazel remembered that she had to have a little chat with the landlord. Getting out of bed, she went into the living room and turned on the TV, hoping that the reception had come back since her incident last night.
“Welcome to the late morning news. I’m your morning news anchor, Ted Miniami, and we have developing news. It seems that the Runner who was captured last night has been released. We managed to get a short interview with him, and he had this to say:
‘I thought I was gonna die! When they got me in the chopper, they took out a gun, and pointed it at the back of my head. They said some things in a strange tongue, and then one guy grabbed me. They then searched around my pockets, apparently looking for the item I was carrying. I told them it wasn’t there, but they kept poking around anyway. Once they realized I didn’t have what they were looking for, they motioned the pilot to go higher up. When we were up about 100 more feet, they pushed me out the door! I thought I was about to die just than; left a splattered mess on the rooftop. Luckily I managed to grab onto a pole, but I was moving so fast that I broke my arm. I’m just glad that’s all I broke.’
“That’s all the information we have on this story for now. If we find anything new, we will inform you. This is Ted Minami, signing off for the morning.”
As Hazel turned off the TV, she mumbled to herself,
“Damn it! They were searching around for whatever he was carrying. That means if I’m caught, they’ll probably take the treaty. I just gotta hope that I can run fast enough… and that Sparky will do what he usually does.”
Going back into the room (with a donut in her hand as breakfast) she changed and then walked downstairs to the main lobby. There was someone in the landlord’s office, so Hazel sat on one of the folding chairs outside the door and messed with her gear to pass the time.
“… if I hear another complaint like that outta you again, you’re out on the streets!”
“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”
“Good! Now leave!”
The man getting screamed at was one of Hazel’s floor mates, and from the sound of it, he was getting scolded for something he said.
“Tch, he was probably drunk,” Hazel said to herself.
Leaning outside, the landlord said, “Ah, Hazel, there you are. Come in so we may take about your rent.”
The landlord’s office was a small, dimly lit room with green paint that was shaving off the walls. The air within the office had a menacing feel to it, partly due to the landlord’s harsh attitude.
“Ok Mr. Sacks, how much is my total rent for this past month and a half?”
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“Eh, I’ll take the bad news, that way the good news will seem even better.”
“Ok, fine. The total amount of money you owe is … 2750 Zenny!”
“Say WHAT!”
“Well you heard it right, you owe me 2750 Zenny.”
“What made me owe that much??”
“Well here, let me recap what you have done within the past 3 weeks. Last week you broke 3 windows… none of them being in your apartment. Then you played football with those youngsters across the hall from you… and made them all suffer injuries. And as of most recent, you asked for cable TV and you asked ME to pay for it.”
“Ok, ok, ok, I see your point.”
“Good. Now than, do you plan on paying that debt, cash or check?”
“Wait, I have to pay you know!?”
“Well of course! You’re already overdue two weeks, how many more do you plan on laying this off?”
“Please, just give me one more week Mr. Sacks. My job is sorta losing their business and their employees. At this point in time, I’m a little low on cash.”
“Fine. One Week! That’s as long as I will go.”
“Thank you Mr. Sacks. Believe me, I will get you that money. Now than, I have a place to be.”
Waving goodbye, Hazel walked outside Mr. Sacks’ office and out into the streets to have some lunch at Subway.
With Hazel out of the room, Mr. Sacks groaned and said,
“What am I going to do with you Hazel…”
Before Hazel entered Subway for some lunch, she first went into a back alley, made sure no one was around, and then screamed at the top of her lungs,
“HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET 2750 ZENNY IN A WEEK!!??”
With that out of her system, she walked into Subway and got herself some early afternoon lunch.
Run 3: Treaties and Turmoil
Hazel was standing atop the Shinra building, moon to her back and a shadowy view of the city in front of her, sliced in half due to the antenna.
“Zzzzzzzzzzz……”
“Sparky! Wake up!”
“Wah! Hah heh… I’m up, I’m up. Sorry, just a little low on my caffeine levels.”
“Fine fine, get your coffee, just come back in time to meet this other Runner, it’s already 11:30.”
“Yea yea.”
Hazel heard the faint sound of footsteps on cement, as Sparky walked away from his computer and went to the cafeteria. Worry was coming out of Hazel like sweat, as she hoped that the other Runner would ask a question that she actually knew the answer to. But she was even more worried whether or not the “K Men” would appear.
As Hazel’s watch beeped that it was 11:35, a shadowy figure appeared in the distance of the horizon. Tall, moving quickly, and silent as a piece of paper. The Runner, Hazel thought to herself.
“Hey Hazel, I’m back and I got my Wake-Up Juice.”
“Finally, and just in time. The other Runner’s here.”
Sparky, controlling his Heli-Orb, observed the other Runner’s patterns, belt, and, most importantly, their outfit.
“Uhhhhh, this is bad.”
“Why?”
“Run Hazel! It’s the K Men!”
“Oh crap!”
Observing even farther ahead, Sparky found out that they brought reinforcements (who themselves brought guns!) and they detained the other runner as well. They were searching him, and when they found what they were looking for (the document, thought Sparky) they knocked him in the back of the head, effectively knocking him out, and then pushed him off the roof, letting him fall to his doom!
“Hazel! If you can, run forward!”
“Heh!?? Are you insane? Weren’t you just telling me to run the other way??”
“I know it sounds idiotic and suicidal, but trust me! Maybe if you could help the other Runner, we could get the other Runners together and get rid of these K Losers.”
“Grrr, fine. But if I die, you’re not allowed at my funeral.”
Hazel, reluctantly agreeing with Sparky, turned on her Runner Vision, hoping she could dodge the K Men. As her eyes glowed, they cast an eerie pattern on the rooftops, as thought Hazel were a giant, human sized jack-o-lantern being possessed by the candle.
“I hope you know what you’re doing. If you overdo it, you’re screwed.”
“Yea yea yea, lemme deal with it.”
As Hazel ran forward, she felt her energy being drained out of her. Everything was merely a blur, as she was focusing only on rescuing the other Runner before they were merely a lifeless body in a splatter of blood on the pavement.
Getting desperate, Hazel decided to just jump off the roof, (hopefully) catch the Runner, and land on a ledge or grab a pole, all while not using up all her energy or getting shot by the K Men. She knew she only had one shot at this.
Mounting herself up on the top of the chimney, she took aim, and leaped for dear life. The K Men, both amazed and amused, looked up and saw her as a mere silhouette against the moon’s pale blue light. She looked liked a tigress leaping at her prey. It was as though when she leaped, all time had frozen (or at least slowed down) to her.
When she reached the opposite rooftop, she was barely within arm’s reach of the still paralyzed runner when gravity began having effect on her again.
“Damn it!” was what Hazel screamed as began what she thought as her final descent.
So this is really how I’m going to die, left a bloody mess next to another bloody mess, was what she thought.
Suddenly, Sparky came in with his Heli-Orb, and he appeared to be carrying a mat of some sort. It was maneuvered underneath Hazel, then they both began descending at the same speed.
“Sparky, you always decide to come in and help in freakiest times.”
“Yea, yea, just grab the other Runner so I can get you two out of here with your bodies intact.”
“Got’cha.”
Hazel grabbed the other Runner by the legs, placed him on the mat, and all three were flied back to The Rooftop, where Sparky was eagerly waiting their return so they could find out what the heck happened through his perspective.
Bang!
The shot rang throughout the immediate area, still a gun shot but as quiet as a mere pop. Hazel felt a sting at the back of her neck, but the next moment she was completely motionless, sedated, and she was falling backwards off the mat.
Sparky, in a desperate attempt to try to rescue both Hazel (again) and to keep the other Runner from falling off, tried to put his Heli-Orb into full speed, but something was wrong. He had no control at all, and the orb was shooting sparks everywhere.
One of the K Men’s black choppers came flying out of nowhere, unnaturally silent. The door opened, and a tall figure with a black cape and mask appeared in the doorway. To his back, were 4 other K Men, but they were different than the regular goons. They were all extremely muscular, and they all had a thin, black wing on the back of their left shoulder.
The masked person, with their arm outstretched over the gray concrete, said, “Get her, my pets. And don’t let there be a single scratch on her. As for you there, on the chimney, keep that Spotter’s signal jammed, we don’t want him to interfere.”
“Yes Master Hideki.”
The winged K Men immediately jumped out of the chopper, and their wings were surprisingly holding up their massive weight. They reached Hazel, and they carefully brought her back to the chopper as they noticed she was still partially conscious (she was moaning and drool was coming out of her mouth, but her pupils were the size of poppy seeds). Meanwhile, Sparky was busy trying to regain control of his Heli-Orb, but he was making no progress fast.
“Damn it! Who knows what’s happened already! Hazel’s probably already hit the ground, who knows, maybe so has the other Runner. There’s a chance I’ve probably even lost my Orb by this point. May as well keep trying though.”
Back in the chopper, the ‘Super K Men’ were laying Hazel on a table. Meanwhile, Hideki, taking off his mask, said, “Good, good, we will do many tests on this one. Perhaps we will be able to see how far the Runner Program has gone ever since I left the council.”
Leaning in closer, Hideki said, “It shall be good to see what has happened to my sister since I left six years ago.
Run 4: Strange Man, Stranger House
“Uhhhhhh, oh, my head. It feels like I just had a hangover while also banging my head on a wall.”
Hazel was half conscious, her head was pulsing, and she was lying down on a cold, metal table with tubes of multiple colors sticking out of its sides. She felt that she was being watched as a chill ran down her spine (plus the cameras in the room were whirring really loud).
“Gheeeeee, gheeeee.”
“Ah!”
Hazel leaped off the table, nearly stumbling as she was surprised to find a short, bald man standing behind here. He looked to be focusing on something, yet his eyes were completely free of iris or pupil. His breath came out in long, drawn out bursts, and his smile showed a row of blackened teeth. He was wearing a white lab coat that had a pin on it that said ‘H-LABS DR.RYUZAKI’ and he was carrying a clipboard that he was writing on without even looking.
“Glad to see that you are awake. You’ve been out for the past 16 hours. Seems that experimental drug we were using needs to be toned down a bit.”
Whoa, 16 hours I’ve been asleep? Hazel thought to herself. I wonder what’s happened at The Rooftop for all that time. Probably already pronounced me dead… I hope Sparky remembers he’s not invited to my funeral.
“I suppose you would like to know how you got here yes?”
“Well yea, that would be nice.” Hazel sniffed the air as he walked closer. “Oh my god! What is that horrible stench!? It smells like crap married skunk spray and they’re having a party with bacteria filled cheese and rotten eggs.”
“”It seems that cannot be avoided. What else would you expect out of a former smoker and current drinker?”
“Oh, that was you? I’m… sorry.”
“Don’t be, I get that from a lot of people. Now, shall we begin with the presentation?”
“Huh?”
He motioned his hand towards a chair that popped out of the floor, and Hazel sat on it eagerly. As she sat, a table dropped from the ceiling and began levitating about three feet off the ground with a blue glow. On it were several mounds of clay, but they all had circuitry running through them. The doctor, standing to the side, inserted a chip into the side of the table, and the clay immediately began bouncing around as blue and white “Data Blood” began coursing through their circuitry veins. At the same time a projection of an AI appeared at the opposite end of the table. Hazel was amazed to say the least, not even Sparky could come up something this advanced.
“HELLO MASTER,” the AI said. ”WHICH DATA FILE WOULD YOU LIKE PLAYED TODAY?”
“Oh, just play the added most recently. Now than Hazel, sit back and enjoy the show.”
At first curious on how the doctor knew her name, Hazel decided to just sit back and watch the show as the doctor ordered. After all the, the doctor knows best, despite how mentally insane they appear.
As Hazel watched the mounds on the table, they immediately began molding themselves into figures she recognized from the night a day and a half ago. She saw herself, three inches tall and molded in clay, and she realized how insane she was that night. The models replayed the night’s events exactly; Hazel herself was shocked at how well they got all the details.
When the presentation had finished, Hazel began her bombardment of questions.
“So than, you serious that I’ve been out for 16 hours straight?”
“Give or take a few minutes, but yes.”
“And everything I just saw… all that really happened last night?”
“Yes. Even down to the last fall.”
“So than tell me Doc, what happened to the other runner and my partner’s Heli-Orb? The presentation here didn’t really show it that well.”
“You mean the dirty ruffian and piece of obsolete technology? I believe he fell down into an alleyway; he’s safe thought as he landed on a pile of trash. As for the camera, we picked it up off of one of the rooftops. It’s over there on the table behind you.”
Looking behind her, she saw what remained of Sparky’s precious machine, a mere scrap heap. The propeller was bent, the camera was smashed, the main chassis was in pieces, and sparks were still flying out of it.
Feeling into her ear, she noticed that her ear piece was missing.
“Hey, has my Spotter been contacting me at all?”
“Oh yes, he has. While you were unconscious, he left message after message. He left one approximately every 15 minutes or so.”
“Did he stop?”
“He stopped around 1 A.M earlier today.”
“And the time now is?”
Looking up at the wall clock, Dr.Ryuzaki said,” The time right now is 15:00, or 3 P.M”
“Oh yes, one more thing. Your spotter, in the last message he left, said he would try calling again around this time. Seems you woke up with perfect timing.”
Dr. Ryuzaki handed her the ear piece, and she preceded to listen to the 50 or 60 messages Sparky left her. When she was done, Hazel immediately had more questions to ask.
“Hey Doc…”
“Please please, no more of the Doc, call me M.”
“But your name tag?…”
“Pfft, merely an alias. I have about five of them, for my own safety.”
“OK than ‘M’, can you tell me where the heck I am?”
“You are in my lab, where I conduct genetic experiments on Hideki’s henchmen. My lab itself is contained in my mansion which is on my private island.”
Hideki… where have I heard that name before?
“Would Hideki be your master?”
“Oh please no, he’s too much of an idiot to be able to control me. I am merely conducting experiments on his henchmen, he captures more people, and I can do more experiments. All these people he captures, I believe they are known as Runners. Since you were captured, I assume you are a Runner?”
“Yup. Hazel’s the name, being free’s my game.”
“Bah, let us leave the formal introductions for some other time. Would you like to take a tour of my house?”
“Ummmm… sure.”
Getting up from the chair, M showed Hazel the door, which was tall, cold, and metal. Stepping out into the hallway, Hazel was shocked at how quick a transition appeared; despite all the metal, lifeless objects within the lab, the hallway was bright, had tables with plants on them, and had a homey feel to it.
As Hazel explored M’s mansion, she was appalled by how many rooms there were. First from the lab there was a kitchen, (well stocked and being worked by robots) an indoor pool, a green house, (which was filled with plants of all sorts and colors and had a very pleasant yet funky smell to it) and even a room full of mirrors. As Hazel got her first good look at herself in a while, she noticed something… different. Her hair was longer, there were streaks of blue within it, and her face was bruised, leaving purple spots all over it. As she saw her arms, she saw that there her hands were covered in blood, her nails had grown to a point, and there was a mark on the back of her right palm of an eye. Upon closer inspection, she saw that where the pupil would be, there was a crooked V’ the base came up as usual, but about half way up the ‘stalks’, they flattened out a bit, not all the way but relatively flatter compared to the rest of the shape.
Concerned, Hazel made her way back to the lab.
“Hey, Prof. M…”
He was gone, but there was a note on the table. It read,
‘Dear Hazel, probably by this time, you have noticed all the changes that we did on you while you were unconscious. I suppose you want an explanation now don’t you? Well I won’t give it to you straight. First we must test your abilities, just to make sure you were worth all that we did. I am hidden somewhere within my house. You will find me through a series of clues that I have placed one after the other. Here is the first clue:
The smell will make you growl, and the helpers will make you scowl.
These challenges have been planned so that you will learn to adapt to your new abilities, possibly even so they will be proven useful to you. I wish you the best of luck Hazel. Don’t fail us now.’
Us??? I wonder who else is listening. He believes these… mutations will prove useful to me? Ah well, may as well fine him and figure this out.
Staring straight into the lens of the wall camera, Hazel said,”
“I know you’re watching M! I’m gonna find you, and you better have a really good explanation for this!”
Walking through the door, Hazel began pondering this clue.
Hmmm… what are my main clues? Probably ‘Growling smell’ and ‘helpers and scowling’. How should I approach this? Hmmm… ah well, I’ll just storm through all the rooms like a mad woman!
As she was pacing in the hallway, her stomach began to growl with the ferocity of a lion.
“Grrr, need food.”
She walked to the kitchen, but she noticed something was different without even going in. The door was electrified!
“Hmm… so it seems I have to work for my lunch, do I? Have at ye then door!”
Her adrenaline was so high and her hunger was controlling her so much that she actually did a jump kick STRAIGHT at the door! It didn’t work (obviously).
“…ow.”
With almost a ‘Duh!’ like feeling, she finally realized that she had to turn the electricity OFF before she opened the door. Looking up, she saw a switch-like shape within a chandelier. Following her instincts, she leaped up, stuck her feet on the walls, reached up to turn the switch and… got shocked again.
“Gahhh!!! You’re messed up M!”
Seeing as the insane route and the clever route were already taken, she had only one option left: The Way too Obvious Route.
“Ummm… Open Sesame?”
The door opened and the beams of blue electricity between the floor and the roof of the door disappeared.
“Wow, I’m surprised that worked.”
She walked in, and the scene was very different from when she walked in earlier.
All the robots had their backs to the walls, in a position of what seemed to be military attention. There was a straight path to what Hazel was searching for the most at this current moment: Food! One the table straight ahead, there was an entire buffet of bread, cheese, meat, and everything else delicious you could think of. She knew she had to get it, but she didn’t know why it seemed so… simple.
“Hmmm…”
“As she walked towards the table, she looked towards the robots who were still lifeless against the walls. But when she was five steps from the table, she activated a trip wire, a trip wire so small and invisible that not even she could see it. The wire toppled a column, on top of which was a bowling ball. The bowling ball rolled down a ramp (conveniently made of French baguettes) and hit the light switch. The room was dark, and the only thing Hazel could make out were noises that the robots were turning on (her stomach made out that the food would be well worth it).
“BZZZZZT! PROTOCOL UNIT K-1 REACTIVATED! K-2! K-3!”
In the darkness, the eyes lit up red, and rows of them appeared along the sides of the room.
When the lights came back on, all the robots were glowing with anger, and they all seemed to be carrying MP40’s which they had gotten out of nowhere.
“Ohhhhhh crap.”
Out of ideas, Hazel decided to just run straight as fast as she could. But she knew that the robots would just end up shooting all the food. So she did the only thing she could do: Hide. There was a pillar conveniently located to her left, so she decided to crouch behind that.
Gah! How am I going to get myself out of this situation!? I could always just jump over them, but I’m too hunger to do that. Sides that wouldn’t do anything in the way of stopping them. I could make them shoot each other… but they’re super thin and I’d end up getting shot as well. What am I going to do…
“Ahhhhh!”
Hazel felt herself getting weaker yet stronger at the same time. She looked at the back of her hand, and the V was glowing. She could feel power rush into her hands, but she also knew it wouldn’t last long. Having no idea what it did yet, she decided to just stand out in front of the robots and stick her arms out.
Please let this do something! I want these robots gone, and fast!
As she opened her eyes after jumping out, she saw that the V icon on her hand was releasing red V shaped rays through the palm of her hand. They were flying through the air like birds, yet you could see through them like glass. When they hit a robot, they not only left a giant V mark on their chassis, but it also made their heads explode!
Panting heavily, Hazel said to herself, “O…M…G… Hey, the food!”
Behind her, all the food was still relatively whole, except for the cheese. It was the fastest a Swiss cheese wheel had been created.
As Hazel devoured the food, the cameras that M were controlling zoomed in on her.
“She certainly is quite an… unorthodox specimen isn’t she men?”
“Agreed M. It seems you really aren’t as batty as we thought you were.”
“Hmph, well isn’t everything batty until you can prove it,”
Hazel was so busy eating, she didn’t notice the next clue until RIGHT before she was about to stuff it in her mouth.
“Num, num, num… ew! That’s some nasty tasting ham. Hey wait… it’s my next clue!”
Don’t you think you should wait 30 minutes first before heading to this room?
“30 minutes? C’mon, I barely have anytime as it is. Hmmm… I’m eating right now so that would mean… the indoor pool! I think I should finish my food first.”
After eating just about everything on that table except the table itself, Hazel decided to move on to the indoor pool.
Hm, if that test was supposed to teach me about my ‘V Hand’, I wonder what the pool will teach me.
As Hazel walked into the indoor pool room, she was immediately greeted by a squirt of water to the face.
“Tee-hee!”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me, he’s got a giant sea monkey living in his pool???”
As Hazel said this, guess who popped to the surface of the pool; more sea monkeys!
“Oh, excuse me, a family of giant sea monkeys.”
Wondering what it looked like down there, Hazel decided to stick her head down there and see if it was visible… it wasn’t.
“Pffft! Ew, yuck. I think I tasted sea monkey pee.”
Deciding to try something else, Hazel looked at the far end of the pool and saw some really big lockers. They said DANGER on them in big read letters, but to a Runner, the word danger just means something people are too afraid of to try. Opening the locker, Hazel saw some giant, metal canisters that Hazel assumed were filled with oxygen. Opening the valve and inhaling some, she said, in a squeaky voice,
“Boy that’s some nasty tasting… oh that’s what it is. Helium!”
Instantly having an idea she thought even Wil E. Coyote would be interested by, she grabbed five of the canisters, stuck their hoses into the water, turned on the valve, and hoped something good would happen. When the sea monkeys popped to the surface, it turned out the water had absorbed the helium and made their voices high and squeaky as well (but still, their voices were super squeaky to begin with).
“Grrrr.”
Deciding to check out the other lockers, Hazel found some at the side of the room right next to the edge of the pool. Opening it, she was immediately greeted by a bonking on the head by a canister. Almost as thought they knew this would happen, one of the sea monkeys appeared and squirted water at Hazel’s feet, making her fall backwards into the pool. In the water, Hazel tried swimming back to the surface, but she couldn’t. One of the monkeys was grabbing at her feet, pulling her down. She tried kicking and punching at it, but the sea monkey had the advantage in its natural environment. She tried sticking her feet to the walls, but at no avail. The wall seemed to be covered in a slimy, green goop that Hazel assumed the sea monkeys had made.
Wow, this is how it’s going to end for me, being pulled into the murky depths by a mutant freak. Weird, I feel like I’ve said this before… Ah well, seems like there’s no way outta this. May as well go without a fight…
At that moment, Hazel closed her eyes, completely unaware of the next of her new powers that was occurring. The blue marks within her hair began to spread through out her hair, blending in with the water. After her hair was fully consumed by blue, it began glowing, then wrapping around Hazel’s face. It began solidifying, turned transparent, until it became a ‘Hair Helmet’. On the back of her chin, the hair poked itself into Hazel’s skin, connecting to her spinal cord.
Regaining consciousness, Hazel said, “Ok, this is freaky.”
The helmet supported Hazel with air, helped her see, and showed her her vital signs.
“So then, this is what I’m supposed to master through in this test? Very well than.”
The sea monkey, realizing it was about to beaten very badly, started diving towards the bottom of the pool. Hazel followed, amazed at how deep the pool was. She estimated it to be at least 50 feet deep.
At the bottom of the pool, the rest of the sea monkey family was waiting, armed with spears, tridents, and everything else you might expect Aqua Man to use as a weapon.
Hazel tried fighting back, but the water impaired her movement and barely let her do anything. She tried everything from jump kicks to roundhouses, but she barely moved in water. Embracing the tried and true method of ‘Run and Hide’, she tried to kick her legs as fast as she can, but she realized that the sea monkeys were creating a sideways whirlpool using their spears.
Realizing Hazel was in need of trouble, her ‘hair helm’ decided to create propellers at the back of her helmet, effectively helping her out of the whirlpool as well as countering it by spinning in the reverse direction.
“Oh, so now you decide to kick into action? Anyways, got an ideas helmet?”
No response.
“Fine, be that way.”
Deciding to use her head for once, Hazel tried to find the drain hole of the pool. It was a pool after all, no matter how messed up its inhabitants were. She tried the far corners of the pool, the sides, even the walls since she was out of ideas, but the drain wasn’t there. Then Hazel realized she had just one place left to look: the sea monkey hut. Propelling back to the hut, she found the monkeys still there, angry as ever. She circled around them, her body creating a whirlpool and her ‘hair propellers’ were creating a sideways motion to send the whirlpool flying. Surprisingly, it worked without a hitch, sending the sea monkeys gliding unhappily through the water.
With them out of the way, Hazel decided to check out the interior of the hut. She was surprised to find out that it actually looked like a real home in a way; there were pictures all around the walls on little shelves of the family and M, in the living room was a TV that was somehow working with a W-Box 360 on the floor next to it (in it was the game BioZap); a kitchen that was stocked with fish food and tridents (forks); and conveniently, she found the drain plug in the bathroom of all places.
She pulled the plug off, and the drain immediately started sucking the water down. It was both good and bad, for there was a cover on top of the drain, keeping her from getting sucked, but it also meant that she had to actually fight the sea monkeys again, but this time on her turf.
The sea monkeys were swimming back to the hut at the same time the water was being drained, so by the time they go there, all the water was gone and they had begun walking and relying on their tridents much more. With the water gone, Hazel’s helm of hair receded, going into its original position as hair, surprisingly dry.
“ Ha! You gotta fight me on dry land now! You ain’t gonna stand a chance.”
“That’ssss what you think!”
The sea monkey who appeared to be the elder said some words, thrust his trident forward, and a blue beam was fired from the tip of the center spike. Hazel jumped to avoid it, but it seemed it had an auxiliary effect: it froze the floor of the pool. Hazel, insane as she was, decided to just run and try to punch the sea monkey in the face. She ran, she lunged, and she flipped and fell flat on her butt. It was so hilarious, even she couldn’t resist breaking out into a fit of laughter. The sea monkeys joined in as well, and Hazel noticed something odd; as they laughed, their skin dried out at an incredible pace, giving Hazel an idea. As much as she hated it, she had to slip up more and more to defeat this freak of an enemy. She kept doing her run-and-slip technique, but that got old, so then she tried jumping at the wall, jumping off, then landing face first onto the ice. It worked pretty good as well, but she knew she had to finish it soon before she made herself red all over. She ran to the far end of the pool then began running back. When she reached full speed, she tripped, and started rolling all the way to the other end of the pool, Tom and Jerry style. The resounding THUMP when she hit the other wall was so funny, that the sea monkeys basically laughed them self to suffocation.
With that task out of the way, Hazel checked the hut again to see if her next clue was in there. When she walked in, she noticed that the W-Box was actually on, something she hadn’t noticed earlier in the murkiness. The game was on the pause screen and, curious, Hazel decided to un-pause the game. The character was holding a piece of paper, and upon closer inspection using the bag menu, it was actually Hazel’s next clue.
The key lies within your own image.
Hey, an easy clue! Wasn’t expecting that. Since it says ‘my own image’, it obviously means the mirror room.
Walking out of the hut, Hazel found the ladder at one of the corners of the pool. She climbed up and out into the hall way, but not first without slipping one more time with an echoing “Ow!” at the end.
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