2069, Pacifica, Night City
"Hello? Medics here! Anyone out there need help? Hello?" Gloria called out to the wasted streets that once were once junctions in Pacifica.
Chaos. Destruction. Blue otherworldly flames intermixed with gushes of red and white hot fires dotted the ground and surrounding buildings. Debris of fallen buildings covered the roads, forcing Gloria and Esteban to trek on foot. Gas masks and protective gloves firmly placed on their face and body respectively, they waded through the streets of north Pacifica, looking for any sign of life. Off in the distance, she could hear the sound of other medical services calling out for any other survivors.
" It's been fifteen minutes so far… and not a single soul has been found.'' Biting the inside of her lip, she trekked on, eyes peeled for any sign of life. " If it were my son buried under here… I'd spend an eternity looking…"
"We should split up. Cover more ground." her partner called out, a grim expression on his face.
"Ok. Call me if there's any trouble or if you need help, kay?" Gloria responded, and they both ventured in opposite directions.
"Hello? Anyone there?" Calling out again, she sighed and wiped off some debris that was sticking to her boots. A distant hum rang overhead, and she saw a white AV, with a cross sign plastered on the side. Recognizing them as the trauma team, she decided if anybody could find a body out here, it would be TT.
Spotting the TT AV after it landed, she quickly walked over to them but was stopped when one of the members raised his hand out.
"Halt, step no further. This is Trauma Team jurisdiction."
"...Can you at least tell me if you found anybody out here? We've been looking around for about a quarter of an hour." She asked, stopping a few feet away from the white armored medic. The TT medic straightened up, looking down at her with an imperious gaze, but soon faltered. His whole body seemed to sag as he lowered his hand and crossed his arms.
"...No. Gold member client flatlined immediately. Whatever happened here, it vaporized them to ashes. Nothing left. Further inspection of the area suggests the same for most bodies here." Giving a wordless nod, she continued her search, flashlight trained in front of her. Despite their clinical analysis of the situation, she decided to soldier on.
It turns out the radiation that was supposedly making everyone worry was a false positive. The Geiger counters still went haywire, but after a hazmat team first arrived with equipment to start cleaning, they found that whatever was causing the counters to go haywire, it definitely wasn't radiation. Still, it was an unknown form of energy or element present in high amounts, so skin contact was highly discouraged, and face coverings were recommended by the team on sight. Volunteers, NCPD, and medics alike now stalked the grounds, combing for any sign of life.
She passed by an NCPD patrol team, digging under some rubble, and decided to hide behind a collapsed apartment beam to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Fortunate that this land 'ere was mostly abandoned."
"For real? That's a relief. Imagine all the paperwork if it was a major population center." Gloria clenched her fist at the comment, then exhaled slowly. Knowing how Night City worked, it would be morbidly easy for on-duty police officers to quickly become desensitized to all the violence. With how old these officers looked, it could be assumed that they stopped viewing casualties as human beings and just another checkbox or section of a form to fill out.
"Yeah, I saw in the chief's dossier about this area of Pacifica. Apparently, some scavs paid some Corpo suits to evict all of the surrounding buildings of tenants. Bought the entire hospital too."
"What the fuck for?" The NCPD cop shrugged and stopped digging, wiping some sweat from his brow.
"Hell if I know what the scavs wanted here. Probably a drug nest or something."
"...We knew they were up to shady shit and we just let 'em?"
"Pacifica's too far away from the main Corpo and NCPD areas of work. In other words, if we don't see it, whatev."
"Yeah, and look what happened here! Massive explosion, mushroom cloud in the sky, blue fucking unquenchable flames, and mystery element we breathin' in right now? I'd say that's a big problem."
"Medics say breathing it in is harmless."
"Yeah, well if wake up tomorrow and have multiple limbs growin' out my ass, I know who to blame."
Gloria ducked as numerous AVs came flying in far overhead, all dotted with various corporation logos. One landed a few meters away from her, and people wearing lab coats walked out, with large boxes of equipment. Scanning the area, they began to collect readings and samples, with one of the scientists burning up his scanner from being too close to one of the fires. Shaking her head at his idiocy, she brushed the dust off of her yellow jacket and began her search again in another direction.
Continuing her search for another forty minutes, she decided that her muscles needed a break. Walking over broken rubble and scattered debris did not make for a pleasant experience for her feet. Sitting down on a piece of steel rebar that jutted out from the street, she dug her face into her hands. To find almost no sign of life after a little more than an hour…
"What on earth happened here? Dios…"
On the way to Pacifica, she had slowly seen signs of life deteriorate the further they approached ground zero. The explosion, even though localized only to a few blocks of Pacifica, had triggered a minor earthquake in the area, causing some property damage in the surrounding areas. Even though Night City had countermeasures in the event of an earthquake due to being near the San Andreas fault, parts like Santo Domingo and Heywood were still hit and shaken up. She had called home earlier to check up if her son was okay, and was greeted by a groggy David moaning about how he had school the next day.
"That boy… he could sleep through anything." Smiling at the thought, she was startled by a sudden thud and light erupting from the alley a quarter mile in front of her. Quickly taking her flashlight, she got up and undid the strap on the side of her thigh, flicking her Nue handgun's safety off. Approaching the glowing alley slowly, she called out.
"Hello? Medic here. Need assistance?" Eyes focusing after hearing no reply, she continued her pace forward, taking care not to trip up on any debris. Gritting her teeth, she began to notice the air around her became heavier, the mere act of walking becoming more labor intensive. Beads of sweat running down her face, she stopped a few feet away from the alleyway, and leaned against the wall for support. Every cell in her body was fatigued as if she had just run a few miles, mouth suddenly dry. Still, something urged her to continue onwards.
She stopped right at the corner, and heard a constant and vibrating humming sound, akin to a jet engine or fuel burner. Rounding the bend, her eyes bulged out, her shaking hand almost dropping the flashlight.
"Que…?"
At the end of the alleyway, there could only be what she could describe as an alien. No, a monster. Its color was a dark blue, with bright azure markings running down its form. Flames, similar to the ones she'd seen burning up parts of Pacifica, were fuming out of its arms and head, great horns like a goat twisting out in front of its gnarled visage. Two pairs of wings folded on its back, with a long reptilian-like tail waving lazily behind it. Leaning against the wall, its great scaled chest was heaving up and down, its blinding lights dimming as it exhaled.
" Haaaaah….Haaaaah…." Whatever it was, it was panting hard, visible smoke heating up the air around it. Gloria could do nothing but stand still like a deer in headlights, gripping her firearm by her side. The air filling her lungs felt so heavy at this point, she felt like she could no longer breathe.
"Could this be an angel? No …" she'd corrected, glancing at the claws on its feet and arms, and its great horns. " This can only be El Diablo." Eyes drinking in every detail, she had a moment of elation that her faith was suddenly real, suddenly tangible, before denial about the situation sunk in. " A real demon in front of her, like what madre used to tell me to go to bed early ?" It can't be. Must be some sort of secret Corpo project… Slowly, strength returned to her body, and she slowly moved away from the sight, and out of the alleyway.
Crrrcckkkk!
Her blood ran cold at that moment, and sweat immediately ran down her body. Looking down, she had just stepped on a piece of broken rubble that had scraped against the ground.
" ...?" Its head suddenly snapped up and glared directly at where she stood. Opening its mouth, it hissed, steam jetting out, now truly the very image of a demon. Lifting itself from the wall, it took a single step toward her. Gloria tried to move her body, any kind of movement, but to no avail. Other than the movement of her eyelids, she was in shock. She was too frozen in fear of the overwhelming pressure this monster was exerting. Her neural net began to static as the demon grew closer, warning signs of overheating pinging at her, but she could not act upon them.
All she could do was watch as this otherworldly being slowly stalked toward her, clawed feet leaving burning holes of pure energy behind its wake. The only thing she could do at this point was to close her eyes and hope her end came swiftly. The last thoughts circulating through her head were of her little boy, now forced to contend and live on the streets without her. She cursed the world she was born into, this sinful world that was so full of evil, it had apparently spawned a literal demon to walk upon it and punish it for its sins. And now she was about to be another victim.
"Oh, Mijo…Lo siento. May Dios watch over you."
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. And then a sound akin to a furnace being turned off, met her ears. She stayed static for at least a minute, her body numb and unmoving. After waiting another minute, she heard another sound, this time a dull thud. Taking deep breaths in and out, she slowly noticed the massive pressure lifting off of her like a blanket blown into the wind, and found the strength to open her eyes.
Instead of a blue and scaly demon looming over her, she found the alleyway deserted, with only another body other than her inhabiting the space.
A man was lying face down, silver hair blowing in the wind, the scattered debris already dirtying his hair and clothes…
"Is that real silk and leather?" She thought to herself, slowly approaching the downed man, then shook her head.
"Not the time for that, girl. Focus."
His clothes were highly decorated with intricate patterns, and were fashioned after what Gloria could only describe as Victorian.
" Still…" The image of that infernal visage was still fresh in her retinas, and so she approached with extreme caution. Was this person an actual demon from hell? Or a secret experiment made by some megacorp to sic on the world?
Nevertheless, she slowly walked up, her gun now fully drawn and aimed at the body. Scanning the body with her EMT brand optics, she was surprised to find out the man was not registered within any sort of organization in Night City, and lacked any sort of implants. The man did give off similar readings to an electrical generator, she wondered with a befuddled expression. As her flight or fight instincts slowly drew away as she investigated, her more inquisitive mind began to surface, now doubting her previous religiously fueled mindset. Her theory slowly drew away from the possibility this was an actual demon, and more to a grounded position that this person could perhaps be some sort of lab experiment gone awry.
"What in the world is going on here? Is he some kind of… human generator?"
Standing only a few meters from the mystery man, she drew near, only to dart back when a stray bolt of electricity jumped from the man's body to the space in front of her, kicking up dust. Hyperventilating, she leaned against a piece of rubble and collected herself, before using her optics once more to double-check if the person in front of her really was chromeless. When the same result came back to her, she shook her head and cursed. "Whatever happened earlier with that…thing must've damaged some of my implants. Gotta get that checked later." She reasoned with herself. Taking a piece of rubble from the ground, she threw it near the man, only for a jolt of electricity to collide with it mid-air. Cursing in disbelief, she holstered her gun, and considered the situation before her.
" ...Careful girl, let's not get flatlined by some experimental tech." Tongue out, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, she threw more debris near him, testing out the many ways the electricity arced from him and seemed to form a dome of protection.
Minutes passed, and finally, she noticed whatever electrical field was around the man was beginning to wane. The jolts were becoming less powerful over time, and the ground around the man was beginning to fill up with shattered debris. A couple more minutes and the jolts stopped outright, completely spent. Throwing one last rock at the man, it sailed into the air before harmlessly bouncing off the mans shoulder.
Walking towards him once more, she reached out with her hand, slowly making contact with his shoulder.
"..."
"Hello?" she whispered, shaking him slightly
"..." He was out completely. Frowning, she slowly pushed him to his side, then to his back. Eyes scanning his body, she paused on his face, a distinctly European, handsome, and what could she almost describe as an aristocratic expression written upon it. The dirt caked all over his features did nothing to hide his almost supermodel-like qualities. Taking her flashlight and opening his right eyelid, she saw his pupils restrict. No brain damage then.
"... Hmmmm, not so scary at all when you're like this?…Not so bad looking either…" Slapping the side of her face, she decided she was to go right to bed after the long day she had. Once again focusing on her new patient, she reached for his gloved hand and searched for a pulse. After a few seconds of silence, she nodded in affirmation, feeling a faint but present beat. Taking off her first aid pouch from her back, she pulled out a maxdoc mk.3, and a bounceback mk.3. Injecting both into his arm, she was puzzled when neither of them worked to kick the man out of his comatose state.
"He must be really out of it to resist both kinds of resuscitation."
Standing up, she walked over to a slab of rock and sat back down a few meters away from the comatose man, considering the situation and laying out the facts.
One, whether this person was a victim or perpetrator of whatever happened in Pacifica, he was still linked to in one way or another, considering he was the only person she'd found alive at the epicenter of the action. Two, he was carrying some sort of experimental tech, considering that …drastic transformation and active field of power that was protecting him even when knocked out. Three, affluent clothing…"real silk and leather! Not the synth kind! " unregistered in night city…European facial characteristics…could only point to a wealthy foreigner. Eyes now sparkling, she'd just realized she hit the jackpot! Getting up, she paced back and forth, a plan formulating in her head to maximize the gain out of the situation.
She'd take care of him, quietly put him into a hospital or clinic in secret…and when he'd wake up, he'd be forever grateful for somebody taking care of him and would hand over an obscene amount of eddies. No one that powerful or connected with a Corpo or wearing such rich clothing would be eddieless!
…Or the Megacorp he'd belong to would come to her for compensation. Or they would just flatline her for even being near their experimental tech and disappear into the night. Hell, they would probably flatline her anyway for even laying eyes on this person, let alone touching him…
Nodding to herself that the first option was the better one, she grabbed him and threw the man on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A part of her balked at her plan, gnawing at her fraying morality. Going forward with this plan would be taking advantage of a (now) defenseless man, for a large sum of eddies. Bowing her head, she told herself that it was Night City's price to pay. Everyone's gotta do something that would hurt and taint their soul, and she was no different. It's how you live here, in the so called city of dreams.
"It's at least better than the shady stuff you do to scrape by…" She reasoned with the moral part of her. Taking implants from corpses was always unpleasant business, but it paid lucratively enough that she could afford an apartment in a mega building, and send David to a mediocre middle school. Still, it was definitely skirting the border to immorality, with her digging through and desecrating a corpse for eddies on the side. Not to mention selling them off to mercs, so they can further spread death and destruction.
"David's getting close to graduating though, and there's only one high school I have in mind for him…"
Fist clenched, face in grim determination, heart ablaze with hope, she had finally decided. This was her beginning, her key, and one-way ticket to leave the hellhole that was Night City. Her dream of giving David a good life was right here, held in her arms! She and David would struggle no longer!
Smiling at the sky, she gave her thanks to God and his angels for the opportunity of a lifetime.
"I knew you were watching over us! Gracias!"
Things were finally looking up for the Martinez family.