Chapter 1: Begin Again

The current year is 2010. On the imperial calendar, the USA (at least that’s what it was called) is being invaded by the Holy Empire of Obsidian. They have advanced technology like none we’ve ever seen, called the Obsidian Knights from the empire, who are sleek and more agile than any tank or helicopter can react. One knight can wipe out an entire battalion of soldiers.

Defeat was inevitable; our home was ripped from us, and even the name United States of America changed to District 14. Americans' names were changed to fourteeners, and everything that we had built was taken.

Now the year is 2017, as Killian walks through the City these black neon signs illuminate even the darkest skies, you can see them reflecting from puddles as Killian walks up a flight of stairs to his high school the bustle of students immediately fills his ears he finds his first period class the clock ticks then the bell rings for their free period Killian walks to study hall his friend Simon walks up behind him and places his hand on Killian’s shoulder, see Killian has been friends with Simon since they were in middle school Simon askes “hows ya doin Killian?” Killian then replies, “Doing fine, Simon.” Simon looks at him. “Killian, I know what’s on ya mind?” Killian replies, “I’m fine, I swear.” Simon nods, “Alright, I guess. Anyway, wanna get something to eat? I’m starving.” Killian replies, “Yeah, sounds good.” As they exit, they get on Simon's bike and ride through the city. In the school, two kids watch the TV in the gym. On the TV, it plays, “Breaking news: terrorists hijack a truck with experimental weapons in it heading down I-95.” One of the girls says, “I hope Simon and Killian aren’t taking that highway.” The highway sign reads I-95 as Killian and Simon ride on Killian’s bike with a sidecar; Killian rides in the sidecar. The sound of Linkin Park’s One Step Closer plays loudly over the radio as they ride. Simon switches lanes; then, all of a sudden, the bike flips, metal, rubber, and glass flying everywhere.

Killian spins, flying out of the sidecar. Simon falls the other way. Killian is swept under the truck. He manages to put his knees up and crouch, just so he doesn’t get run over by the truck, which swerves, slamming into one of the barriers. As Killian regains his thoughts, he slowly rises. Metal parts are scattered over the highway. Blood drips from his head into his eyes, then, out of nowhere, the truck explodes, killing the ones inside, sending Killian flying back into the other side of the barrier. The sound of a helicopter and sirens is the last thing Killian hears before his vision fades to black. At the school, it is shown on the TV that Killian was in an accident caused by a terrorist who hijacked a convoy carrying experimental weapons.

The heart monitor beeps, and Killian, waking up, opens his eyes, adjusting to the light. The bandages on his head and the white walls are uncomfortable, making him feel like he is in an office. As he sits up, he looks around to see the flowers on the side table. Then he sees a nurse walk in and imminently walks out and about ten to fifteen minutes a doctor walks in and says to Killian “you’re lucky to be alive” Killian tries to sit up but winces in pain as he looks down and moves his hand on his stomach he feels bandages then the doctor says “you where point blank when the truck exploded I’d recommend taking it easy before doing anything”, the doctor then adds, “I’ll leave you alone anyway let me know if you need anything” the doctor leaves Killian swings his feet off the bed dangling over the floor he stands in pain he winces holding his chest he falls back in bed. After about 3 hours of lying with a cast on his arm, Simon walks in and says, “Ay, Killian, I honestly thought ya was dead Killian says, “Ah ha, a,h ha, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Killian then adds, “I’m like a cockroach; I always find a way to survive.” Simon replies, “Fair enough. I talked to one of the nurses; you’ll be good to go tomorrow.” “Alright, sounds good,” replies Killian.

As the next day comes, Killian’s bandages are removed from his limbs, and he sees a metal arm, and he nearly freaks out. The nurse removing it says, “We had to remove your arm; it was full of 3rd degree burns, and we couldn’t save it.” Killian calms down after hearing that, and he is then discharged. Simon comes to take him home.

Killian goes inside to his room and starts tinkering with his metal arm. As he tinkers away, his arm starts to morph, and it morphs into a sharp sword, and then morphs back.

Killian looks at his arm and says, “This is what I’m talking about.” As he finishes, he heads downstairs. He sees his sister, who is in a wheelchair. “Hey, Charlie,” Killian says. Charlie replies, “Oh, hey, Killian.” Killian asks, “Did you eat yet?” in a soft tone. “No, not yet. I couldn’t reach the cereal,” Charlie says, gesturing to her wheelchair.

Killian reaches up for the cereal on the shelf and pours it into a bowl. Killian then asks, " Do you want milk or not?” Charlie replies, “Not today.” Then Killian hands her the cereal in the bowl and says, “One day I'll build you new legs and a new way to walk.” Charlie places her hand on Killian’s face and says, “Oh, don’t worry about that.”

Killian replies, “I know, but I will. I promise you that you don’t deserve to be in that chair.” Charlie smiles, “I can get around just fine; don’t worry about it, I swear.” Killian says, “Alright, alright.” he sighs.

Walking away, he says, “If you need me, I’ll be in my room,” heading to his room. His room is fairly small, not cramped; granted, they share an apartment. His walls are lined with posters of various bands and artists. He has a desk on one side and a workbench on the other. His laptop is open. Still, the screen is off; the city’s neon light bleeds into his room through the curtains as he walks past his journal, open on the desk to a blank page. Killian sits down and writes mostly about things that happened during the day, little details about the day, and things he noticed. He ends with the line “I am going to rebuild Charlie back to the way she was before the 'Incident' 10 years ago.”

Killian then starts tinkering with a pair of wings that’ll grant anyone wearing them the power of flight and, most importantly, the ability to walk again. “With this contraption, Charlie will walk again. She’ll be better than before. She’ll walk again; I just gotta finish this,” he thinks. Ever since Charlie was hurt when their mother died, Killian got obsessed with engineering and robotics to rebuild his sister; he calls it that.

Though deep down inside, Killian knows it’ll never be the same; he can’t resurrect people from the dead, he can’t rebuild what was once lost, but he can do what’s right; he can give his 14-year-old sister something to help her out, something to hope for. Even though it’s not a lot, it’s something; it’s hope.

As Killian tinkers away, his TV plays a video of the emperor, the leader of the world, a man Killian has unrelenting hate towards. His sister, in the other room, sits listening to the message; it’s all the same crap. He talks about how they are closing in on the rebels and almost have them.

As the Emperor sits on his throne, the cameraman says, “Annnndddd cut, Your Majesty, you were perfect.” He emphasizes the word “perfect.” The Emperor replies, “Good. Those fools need to believe in me, rely on me, serve me, not those utter trash rebels. I need to crush them fast; if I don’t, who knows what could happen.” In the rebel base, the TV plays the message about them. Eventually, the leader stands up, throwing the remote at the TV, breaking it. He shouts, “THAT FRAUD, you're such a damn fraud,” he says, grumbling as he heads off.

Back in Killian’s apartment, Killian still tinkers away. Killian sits there staring at the new exoskeleton he made for his sister as it turns on with a soft beep. A green light turns on Killian picks the suit up shoves it in a duffle bag and goes out of his room he says to Charlie “I’ll be right back” he walks over kisses Charlie on the head and walks out of the door to the stairs as he climbs he reaches the roof the sky is dark with clouds he straps the exo skeleton onto his legs and arms he clicks the button and the jetpack turns on lifting himself then, it burns out and drops, him he lands and takes it off “its not good enough” he says, throwing the exo skeleton on the desk turning the tv on.

The tv plays the same message from the emperor the one about crushing the rebels that triggers something in Killian he has a flash back to when he was a child being held in his mothers arms he hears her say “Oh Killian, my sweet baby boy how could you be so clumsy” he then snaps to reality standing up in a fury he throws his notebook across the room shutting the tv off he sits on his bed Charlie rolls into his room a plate in her lap she sets it on his side table she says “You okay Killian” says, “I’m fine” Killian says “Thank you, I would’ve gotten the plate by myself you didn’t have to bring it to me” he adds, “its fine I wanted to” she adds. As Killian sits there, he feels useless in his mind.

A tyrant is ruling the world, and he can't do anything to stop him, but just maybe, he looks at his metal arm. Maybe he can upgrade himself even further, and maybe this arm, which he first hated, could be his lucky break. He starts designing items: boots that increase speed, a pair of eyes that can hack anything, and gloves that can partially manipulate fire, but each has caveats. The boots can't fully use super speed, the eyes aren’t fully able to hack, and he needs better tech, not just stuff he bought from hardware stores.

“Hm, I wonder”, Killian thinks to himself. “I wonder if any of the tech in that truck was salvaged.” Killian then gets up and walks into the living room. All the lights are off. He leaves the apartment quietly and walks down the stairs leading to the side of the mega building he lives in. He then steps on the concrete barrier to get around the piles of trash. He steps down to continue walking to the elevator, and he pushes a button, taking him to the ground floor. He steps out of the elevator, starting to walk onto the street, heading to the garbage dump, then to the highway. He climbs up onto the civilian access to it, climbs down to the garbage dump, and searches and rummages through the public dump where the truck was thrown, or at least he assumes. He searches for about an hour, then thinks, “Maybe it's at the one on the other side of town,” as he thinks the one on the other side of town is a privately owned dump for the stuff the city deems important to be kept from the general public. As he climbs back up to the highway, he heads to his apartment, sneaking in through the front door. He takes his shoes off and goes to bed. He lies in bed thinking before he drifts off to sleep. In the morning, Killian wakes up and heads out of the apartment. He takes the train to the side where the private dump is. When he arrives, he encounters a problem with the fence. He spots a pile of crates; he runs, climbs onto them, and clears the barbed-wire fence.

In the rebel base, 2 hours before Killian breaks into the dump, the boss-like figure says, “We needed that truck.” Another person says, “You don’t think I know that, Conor? What do you suppose we do about it?” Conor then replies. “Yes, yes, Eden, that’s exactly what I wanna do,” Eden replies. “Do you have a plan?” Conor replies, “No, well, half of a plan: we go to the dump and assess if we can climb over; if we can, if not, we cut the fence.” Eden says, “Well, that’s a great plan, an amazingly foolproof plan.” Conor says, “You know my saying: make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan.” he says this while grabbing a rope. “Let's go find a truck, shall we?” Eden says, “Your plans are as bad as your hitting.” Conor says, “So not that bad?” Eden says, “Horrible,” walking past him and grabbing wire cutters. “Now,” Conor says, “let's break into a dump.” *10 mins before* As Conor and Eden slip into the dump, they search for about 5 minutes and find the truck destroyed, with 2 burnt corpses still inside. Eden puts her hands over her mouth, looking on. Conor pats her back and says, “We will avenge them, I swear.” Eden, fighting back tears, says, “Let’s get what we came for and go.” As she says that, they hear someone has jumped the fence.

Killian walks deeper into the dump, searching for the van. As Killian goes closer to the van, Conor steps out and says, “And just who the hell are you?” Killian replies, “What’s it to you?” Conor says, “Well, as you're trespassing, the way I see it is you’re desperate.” Killian adds, “That's rich coming from a rebel.” Conor says with a snarl, “And how do you know that?” Killian says, “Your patch is a dead giveaway; it literally says ‘rebel’ on it. For someone underground, you're awful at hiding the fact that you're widely considered a terrorist organization.” Conor adds with somewhat of a smirk, “So why the hell do you want this van anyway? A lot of illegal stuff in it, not something the average citizen would need,” Killian adds. “What's it to ya?” Conor replies, “Well, you can either tell me, and we come to an agreement on it, or I can beat you up here and now.” Killian replies, “Need better tech, not the stuff you can buy from Home Depot if you catch my drift.” Conor says, “Well, seeing as how having this shit can get you thrown in prison for life or executed, pick your poison. You’ll need a place to ‘tinker’ unbothered no cops, no one breaking your door down at 3 am I suggest a deal: you help fix my stuff, and I'll split what we find 70/30 in my favor, and you get first pick. How does that sound?” Killian says, “60/40 and you got a deal,” reaching his metal arm out to shake Conor's hand. Conor says, “Deal. What's a good name I can call you by?” Killian says, “Call me Glitch.” Conor replies, “Good to have ya, Glitch. " Name's Raze.” Conor leads Killian to where Eden is. She says, “Ahem, Raze, who’s this? Conor replies, “Jinx, meet Glitch. Glitch, Jinx.” Eden adds, “Nice to meet ya, Glitch.” Reaching out her hand to shake his, Killian replies, " Likewise. Eden asks, “So what’s your 'talent'?” Killian replies, “I’m tech-smart, and with the right tools I can build almost anything.” Eden replies, “Hm, we could use a tech guy; we've got a lot of broken stuff that needs repair.” “If I'm given the right tools, there's nothing I can't fix,” Eden says. “I like this kid,” Eden says, looking at Connor.

Connor says, “Yeah, I’m never wrong,” putting a crowbar into the crack between the two metal doors. Eden scoffs and walks over to Connor and says, “Move.” Connor moves, and Eden picks the lock. Killian thinks to himself, “A brute and a thief, hm, I can use their ‘skills’ to my advantage.” Then he says, “So what all do you need me to do?” Connor says “Repair stuff, its self-explanatory” Killian replies rolling his eyes “I mean what stuff” Connor adds “ohhh makes sense” he gets the door off the hinge “weapons gadgets cars the full nine yards” Killian says “ok, makes sense” he climbs into the truck and starts taking some of the stuff out he says “its probably all damaged but I can repair it with the right tools” Conor says “yeah well no shit sherlock, this stuff was in a fire it literally got blown up” Killian replies raises one finger puts his hand down and says “ok ok fair, but” he then fully opens his mouth quickly puts his hand down and says “I got nothin” Conor scoffs and says “are you gonna stand there or help me unload?” Killian says
“Yeah, I can help you.” The unloading takes around 20 minutes to get everything unloaded. Killian takes out some of the tech, looks at it, and says, “I can most likely fix it with the right equipment.” Conor replies, “Alright, we should have everything you need; if we don’t have it, we can get it.” Killian says, “Got it. Some of this may be unsalvageable and unrepairable, but I'll try to salvage as much as possible.” Conor replies, “Salvage whatever you can; we need better tech.” Killian nods; they carry loot in backpacks and duffel bags to get as much tech as possible to the base. They enter the base, a warehouse that’s 2 stories. There's a bar, a mechanic shop, and in a secluded corner there's a workbench. Killian asks, “People work at the bar and the mechanic shop; why does no one work there?” pointing at the workbench Conor says, “Our last gear guy died” Killian expression changes from curious to sad and simply says “oh” Conor says “its where you will be working from now on get familiarized with where everything is” Killian nods and says “alright I can do that” he then walks over, pulls the chair out starts going through the drawers moving stuff, rearranging stuff to familiarize himself with everything as he finishes getting used to everything he starts tinkering with the gear removing, adding, and fixing parts he tinkers for around 5-7 hours when on a tv beside him he sees the news playing a apartment burning his apartment.

Killian says, “I gotta go,” standing up and leaving.