6th Gear... Some people may never understand. [Video/Broadcast Mind]
[The broadcast begins in darkness with the rustling of cloth against the Forge's microphone. Possible the device is inside someone's pocket, being jostled a bit by walking or a shift in the owner's position. As the seconds pass, however, silence fills the feed. Whoever has the Forge has stopped moving.]
[Then, slowly, a scene begins to fade in from out of the darkness.]
The setting is a suburban neighborhood, one that's seen a recent battle. Smoke rises from a couple of overturned vehicles. There are cracks and large potholes in the asphalt. People stand in two groups on the street. On one side is a man in a green suit and sunglasses. Beside him is a familiar teenager in a red jacket, amber lens goggles, a two tone t-shirt and black pants. Across from them is a rather relieved looking handful of people, probably the owners of the nearby houses. Before them is a tall, muscular fellow wearing body armor, a red mask and carrying a large, very formidable looking firearm.
Rex steps forward, obviously angry. "What's your damage, man?! I was this close to curing that thing!"
One gets the immediate impression that said "thing" is now the charred bits and ashes scattered over the street at their feet.
"Didn't look that way to me." The man gets in Rex's face after pulling off the mask. "Filthy EVO."
Rex's eyes widen. "'Filthy EVO'?!"
Suddenly the muzzle of the weapon is a mere few inches from Rex's face. The man's finger hovers threateningly over the trigger. "Gimme a reason. Just one."
It is then the Rex's companion interferes, stepping up and pushing the barrel aside with one hand. His voice is stern when he speaks. "Lower your weapon." Clearly, this is not just a suggestion.
The weapon goes down, but the big guy holds his ground. "I know my rights. The law says we can defend ourselves again EVO scum!"
"In case you didn't notice, that's exactly what we were doing!" Rex retorts. "It's our job!"
The man's eyes narrow, free hand sweeping back as he gestures to the neighborhood. "Really? Look around! These are our homes...what's left of 'em. Your 'job' is makin' our lives worse! These people have had enough."
The group behind him responds with angry shouts of agreement, pointing accusingly at Rex and his companion.
"What are you talking about!?" Rex demands. "We're here to help!"
"Do these people look like they want your kind of help? People know what's going on." The man turns as a news van arrives, a reporter and her cameraman getting out to start filming immediately. He turns to them both, raising his voice so he can be heard above the sound of the air transport that's also arrived overhead for the two agents on the ground. "Providence claims they're here to cure the world! But now they got one of those sickos working for them? It makes you wonder who's side they're really on!"
The crowd is making noise again, fists in the air. Rex's jaw drops. The memory is accompanied by the onset of a sickened sensation. It's sudden, rearing its ugly head before the youth can stamp it down again, joined by indignant anger. He starts forward with fists clenched, but his companion stops him.
"Come on, Rex. Let it go."
Reluctantly, Rex turns away, walking for the Jump Jet that's landed nearby. The man in green follows, a buffer between the crowd at their backs and his young charge.
The memory is brushed aside. Various scenes play out after, some slightly out of focus and fragmented. Being assaulted by a mob of people on an outdoor basketball court as they throw rocks and trash. Confronting the man in the mask at a diner alongside a friend to try and reason with him, only to fail and having to walk out on the argument. Being lured into a trap with clone EVOs, chased through rows of huge crates on a dock while being fired upon. Rex and the masked man clash, engaging in an all out brawl. Eventually, Rex slams him through the side of a crate and uses one Smackhand to jack him up against the foot of a crane tower.
"...you're done. I just wanna know why."
"You push hope when there isn't any!" comes the growled response. "There's no saving EVOs, there can't be! You're a sickness...and you need to be DESTROYED!"
The memory flashes invade quickly, now. Images of several ferocious creatures, chasing humans down streets, tearing their way through buildings, attacking construction workers, overturning cars... dozens of different scenarios, one after another. There's an associated feeling of needing to stop all that. To get in there and help.
The game of memory roulette then stops on one scene: people fleeing through a cave toward the exit, screaming... The voice of a woman cuts in over the sounds of panic.
"It's a fact of nature that our kinds should not mix. Everyone here is guilty of a terrible crime."
Overhead on some scaffolding, an EVO attacks the walls near the exit, triggering a cave-in.
"...and now comes the punishment."
Debris fall as the interior of the rock wall explodes. Further down the way, Rex turns from trying to control another crazed EVO and launches himself at the exit, propelled by the Boogie Pack. The Smackhands extend to shelter the humans in the path of the cave-in as Rex reaches them. Rocks crash down...
And everything goes dark.
[The feed shuts off.]
[Then, slowly, a scene begins to fade in from out of the darkness.]
The setting is a suburban neighborhood, one that's seen a recent battle. Smoke rises from a couple of overturned vehicles. There are cracks and large potholes in the asphalt. People stand in two groups on the street. On one side is a man in a green suit and sunglasses. Beside him is a familiar teenager in a red jacket, amber lens goggles, a two tone t-shirt and black pants. Across from them is a rather relieved looking handful of people, probably the owners of the nearby houses. Before them is a tall, muscular fellow wearing body armor, a red mask and carrying a large, very formidable looking firearm.
Rex steps forward, obviously angry. "What's your damage, man?! I was this close to curing that thing!"
One gets the immediate impression that said "thing" is now the charred bits and ashes scattered over the street at their feet.
"Didn't look that way to me." The man gets in Rex's face after pulling off the mask. "Filthy EVO."
Rex's eyes widen. "'Filthy EVO'?!"
Suddenly the muzzle of the weapon is a mere few inches from Rex's face. The man's finger hovers threateningly over the trigger. "Gimme a reason. Just one."
It is then the Rex's companion interferes, stepping up and pushing the barrel aside with one hand. His voice is stern when he speaks. "Lower your weapon." Clearly, this is not just a suggestion.
The weapon goes down, but the big guy holds his ground. "I know my rights. The law says we can defend ourselves again EVO scum!"
"In case you didn't notice, that's exactly what we were doing!" Rex retorts. "It's our job!"
The man's eyes narrow, free hand sweeping back as he gestures to the neighborhood. "Really? Look around! These are our homes...what's left of 'em. Your 'job' is makin' our lives worse! These people have had enough."
The group behind him responds with angry shouts of agreement, pointing accusingly at Rex and his companion.
"What are you talking about!?" Rex demands. "We're here to help!"
"Do these people look like they want your kind of help? People know what's going on." The man turns as a news van arrives, a reporter and her cameraman getting out to start filming immediately. He turns to them both, raising his voice so he can be heard above the sound of the air transport that's also arrived overhead for the two agents on the ground. "Providence claims they're here to cure the world! But now they got one of those sickos working for them? It makes you wonder who's side they're really on!"
The crowd is making noise again, fists in the air. Rex's jaw drops. The memory is accompanied by the onset of a sickened sensation. It's sudden, rearing its ugly head before the youth can stamp it down again, joined by indignant anger. He starts forward with fists clenched, but his companion stops him.
"Come on, Rex. Let it go."
Reluctantly, Rex turns away, walking for the Jump Jet that's landed nearby. The man in green follows, a buffer between the crowd at their backs and his young charge.
The memory is brushed aside. Various scenes play out after, some slightly out of focus and fragmented. Being assaulted by a mob of people on an outdoor basketball court as they throw rocks and trash. Confronting the man in the mask at a diner alongside a friend to try and reason with him, only to fail and having to walk out on the argument. Being lured into a trap with clone EVOs, chased through rows of huge crates on a dock while being fired upon. Rex and the masked man clash, engaging in an all out brawl. Eventually, Rex slams him through the side of a crate and uses one Smackhand to jack him up against the foot of a crane tower.
"...you're done. I just wanna know why."
"You push hope when there isn't any!" comes the growled response. "There's no saving EVOs, there can't be! You're a sickness...and you need to be DESTROYED!"
The memory flashes invade quickly, now. Images of several ferocious creatures, chasing humans down streets, tearing their way through buildings, attacking construction workers, overturning cars... dozens of different scenarios, one after another. There's an associated feeling of needing to stop all that. To get in there and help.
The game of memory roulette then stops on one scene: people fleeing through a cave toward the exit, screaming... The voice of a woman cuts in over the sounds of panic.
"It's a fact of nature that our kinds should not mix. Everyone here is guilty of a terrible crime."
Overhead on some scaffolding, an EVO attacks the walls near the exit, triggering a cave-in.
"...and now comes the punishment."
Debris fall as the interior of the rock wall explodes. Further down the way, Rex turns from trying to control another crazed EVO and launches himself at the exit, propelled by the Boogie Pack. The Smackhands extend to shelter the humans in the path of the cave-in as Rex reaches them. Rocks crash down...
And everything goes dark.
[The feed shuts off.]