I looked around the Nagi tavern. Many residents of New Sc11gg1$ in section B-12 of the Cyberverse liked to gather here after a long day of work. I didn't much like the place. Too many people. However, my friend liked to frequent here so I sucked it up. There were much more important things at stake.
"So seriously I:P, you're calling yourself Masquerena nowadays? whys that?"
"I don't know, it's just a fun title, makes me sound mysterious. It's better than yours."
"Hey Wizard of the Cyberese is a great title."
I looked at my friend up and down: his white robe clearly clashed with the green stripes. He looked the part at the very least.
"If you're thinking about my outfit," he took a swig of his beer "It's better than yours. Spandex is soooooo last season."
I huffed. He couldn't understand that black and yellow jumpsuits were in according to Ignister A.I Land Magazine
Wizard raised his hand for the waiter to bring him another drink as the waiter turned to leave, he quickly called the poor underpaid worker over again to order a Nagi Hotdog, "With everything."
I mouthed an apology to the waiter
Wizard leaned back in his chair, "So why did you call me here I:P?"
I pulled out my Datapad and opened a picture of what appeared to be a deck of cards. I had received some photos from a disgruntled employee at Cybertek. They didn't know anything about them except some rumors, but managed to sneak some photos while cleaning the lab.
"Can you tell me anything about these?"
He picked up the data pad and began to scroll for far too long for my liking. I wondered if I had cleared my browser history.
"Yeah, I've seen them."
"I asked if you knew anything about them, not if you'd seen them"
"Yes, and I know that I've seen them, and yes I do know a thing or two about them as well. These are experimental Duel cards that are being kept over at Cybertek industries. I helped provide some of the chips for them, supposedly they can connect the Cyberverse to other dimensions. Word is though they are one use only and they plan to use them soon.
The rumors were true. I felt my whole-body light up in excitement. Not just figuratively, but literally light up (A suit with glowing lights is so not last year). This was it; my chance had finally come. I slapped some credits on the table and thanked Wizard for his help. He too engrossed in his food to notice.
I walked out of the bright bar to my bike. It had begun to rain very lightly. My heels clacked against the hard black pavement as I maneuvered my way though the dim parking lot.
As I got on my bike, I felt a pair of eyes watching me. I turned back towards the soft white glow of the bar but saw no one. I heard only the clatter of dishes and the chatter of weary patrons doing their best to wind down for the day.
I revved my bike and steered myself onto the city roads. The bright neon yellow lights followed me as the wind pushed towards my face. I activated my visor to shield my eyes.
Cars drove by me, but traffic was not congested. The streets were abandoned, everyone was either home or sheltering from the rain which had suddenly picked up to a more rhythmic pace. Despite this I could not shake this uneasy feeling. I pulled off into an alleyway and jolted to a stop. I saw a strange figure upon the top of a building and fired a non-lethal shot from my pulse gun up towards it.
"Hey! Watch it." A familiar voice called from the shadows.
A few inches from where I shot emerged a girl with a black robe and red hair. She jumped (almost) gracefully from the rooftop she was standing on (those hover boots really saved her from breaking something. A klutz as usual). "Are you sure you want to do this I:P"
