Unit HAZE

Between the lines 2

Between the lines 2
Cerebra's wounds were currently in the process of healing. Wrapped around her torso was a thick steel cable. Since her regeneration ability had been worn out earlier, it took a while just to stop the bleeding.
But now, she was recovering steadily.
"Tsubachi Izuka................"
"My my, Cerebra. Looks like you got beaten up pretty badly." An unknown voice suddenly assaulted her ears. She was immediately on guard. "Well, I can't blame you. That other personality is a lunatic through and through."
".........who are you?" The person was clearly male, and they wore the usual suit used by the cleaners of the underground. Because of this, his face was covered, and so he could not be identified.
A strange pressure formed around Cerebra's chest. She felt uneasy about this person. The air around him was oddly.............familiar. But the man himself was a mystery.
"Anyway," he ignored her intimidating appearance and continued speaking in a friendly tone. "What were you thinking; hiding amongst the cleaners? And who was that man you were speaking to? Is he the one in charge of what just happened?"
"You've been.......watching me?" A hint of surprise was mixed in her words. Silently, she prepared to strike.
"Cerebra.........when did you become a trained dog for those who put you through so much pain?"
"I am nothing like what you just said. I'm working of my own free will."
Instantly, she erased the distance between them and tried to cut his neck.
Yet somehow, without breaking a sweat or even twitching, the man managed to move his head and avoid the attack that should have been faster than a human reaction would allow him to dodge.
"You know nothing about me." She swung her bloodly blades at him several more times, and each time he effortlessly avoided the deadly attacks. For half of the attacks, he had his eyes closed.
(How can he dodge so effectively?)
"I know a lot about you, Cerebra."
Her attacks suddenly stopped.
"Why do you call me 'Cerebra'?"
"Huh? That's because the project removed your past identity. You are known as 'Cerebra'; miss 'human evolution'."
"Shut up!"
Five consecutive swings, all too fast for the naked eye, were used to kill the man in front of her.
He effortlessly escaped without a scratch.
"You really don't remember my voice, do you?"
"Huh?"
The man removed his mask, revealing a handsome face with light blue eyes and slightly blonde hair.
"I am known as Ethereal. Thanks to the 'ethereal shift project', I became a being that could not harm or be harmed. Well, that was the plan anyway. All I have is what could be called 'subconscious precognition'." He fearlessly took multiple steps towards certain death.
These two were actually the same.
They both were born from the underground's experiments.
Cerebra was now working against the underground, and Ethereal hid amongst the many cleaners.
"So, why are you here?"
"? Clearly, I'm here to help you. Haruke is my enemy. He still has his memories, but we don't!" The man stomped on his cleaner mask as a sign of rebellion.
"I will help you, Cerebra." He extended his hand towards her.