Synesthesia

2 🐍

While most parts or Luminasia wouldnt be considered the safest, they paled in comparison to Mamba District. The central parts of the neon city were basically an amusement park versus the concentrated grit and shadows that made up the reptilian beings' territory with a crime rate so high, local authorities didn't even flag citizens for speeding through it.

Despite its unsavory reputation, there was always much entertainment to find there. Night clubs, illegal gambling spots, *ahem* nightly solicitors, drugs, cheap liqour, debauchery...

Aaaaand Trouble. Never a shortage of that.

Megan hadnt made it her business to spend much time around these parts in years, finding her fair share of all of those things and more. In the time that she did , however, she obtained a decent lay of the land. Which was useful to her when needing a stealthy way in and out on missions like this.

Her bike purred quietly as it came to a full stop in the grime-coated backstreet alley, and her view of the warehouse was centered several feet ahead of her.

Black and brown bricks soaked in the evening rain, the gaping windows and crumbling architecture gave the abandoned area it's ominous appeal. At some point, the building may have been used for mass manufacturing or packaging. But now it stood as a hiding place for the forsaken or rebellious teens looking for a spot to get high or do who knows what else. An extremely peculiar place for something as valuable as a synstone to be hiding.

"Ok Phor." Megan whispers, nudging the kickstand out before swinging her leg over the bike.

The moment her heels touch the moist pavement, a wave of panic rolls over her, sending goosebumps all over her body. Something about this place had that effect on her, whether it be for good or bad reasons. She doesnt show it in her agile stride though, walking with confidence while keeping to the shadows of the alley until she reached its end.

"Im here. What's it looking like?" She speaks lowly to her trusty pup in the chair, who was already working on scoping the scene.

"Uh give me a sec. Im hacking a PD drone with some infared as we speak."

Seconds later, a buzzing drone zips over Megan's head and she watches as it hovered over the baren warehouse. As it scanned it, greenscale images of the building's interior fill Phor's screens. He types quickly, shifting the filters until he manages to get an unobscured high-resolution view of several hulking figures surround one in the middle of the vast room.

"Oh shit." the canine utters. Megan's eyes widen cautiously.

"Whatchu mean, Oh shit? Who in there?" she whispered harshly. All the while, Phor's toe beans tap frantically.

"Oh just your favorite kind of distant planet natives. Most that were so hostile that the mayor of Lumin gave them their own little hidey hold of hell in the ugliest part of the city...hehehe.." Phor chuckles nervously, zooming in on the exact location where the synstone's signature was the strongest.

"I know aint shit funny over there, Pho. Show me what you see.."

Phor obediently sent a live feed view of what he was seeing to Megan's watch. It blinked with the notification and she lifts her wrist just as the hologram rectangular screen materialized.

"Oh shit..." Megan shared Phor's grim sentiment the moment sees what he's looking at.

A grainy image of the cleared space is pulled into view. Large dangling industial lights hum overhead ans in the center one of their beams was a huddle of tall, slender reptilian figures in dark tailored, their massive tails whipping against the dusted concrete floors.

The Vortarians were a unique group of individuals that made up most of Mamba's population. They were a nasty race that had humanoid bodies covered in thick, mosaic green scales that could shift to blend in with their environments. Their sharp-clawed hands and feet could easily gut a man with one swipe, and they had black beady eyes with gold pupils used for tracking their prey in any light. Not to mention their pharyngeal jaws that opened their mouths wide enough to engulf just about anything  in a bite riddled of razor-sharp fangs that leaked acidic flesh-melting venom.

They were quite intimidating to say the least.

But their presence wasn't even the main cause for Megan's shock. She actually expected some Vortarians to be there since this was their neck of the woods. By her count, there were at least 8 of them. Barrelling through them wouldnt be an issue with what she was packing.

It was was the man that seemed to be in their custody, seated at a table with his hands bound and his lips quirked up in an unphased smirk , that had her second guessing the entire mission.

"Of course its him." she grumbles, followed by Phor's hum of agreement.

"Mmhmm..I knew I detected a Bangtanian signature when I was tracking the stone but I had no clue it would be THEE Bangtanian himself. Sheesh. No wonder theres so many Vorts on him."

Megan was vaguely attuned to Phor's assessment, but her gaze fixed heavily on the dragon-eyed leader of one of the most elite squadrons to come from the Intergalactic Hybe Force, straight out of the mystical planet of Purpura's capital city of Bora.

Who he was to the world was slightly different from who he was to her, however.

And knowing he was most likely after the same synstone that she was, made everything a million times more complicated.