The Masked Hero (Beta story/ Director's Cut)

Chapter 2: Central Hub

    As he headed towards the building, Trey looks upon its details. It's base resembled that of the Eiffel tower, as it was a tower itself. Windows wrapped around like ribbons, sectioning out the many layers of the building. The front doors were large glass panes, swinging open and closed on their own when approached. The whole outside was a dull grey, yet at night, it lit up like a bonfire fuelled on Christmas trees.

    Walking in, he was first hit by a cool wave of air, then assaulted with an array of scents, ranging from the citrus smell of floor cleaner to the burning smell of hot circuits. The inside was bustling with life, both sentient and robotic. The tower was mainly used as a mail transportation hub, moving mail to and from space, distributing it across the galaxy, but was also home to many other jobs.

    Stepping up to the front desk, Trey was greeted by a young female, the receptionist.

Receptionist: How may I help you today?

Trey: I'm looking for Dr. Yuko. She requested I'd come to help her with something. I'm Trey.

Receptionist: So you're the Trey everyone's been talking about. Your a lot...... taller than I expected.

Trey: Well that's a first.

Receptionist: One moment please.

    She types on a keyboard, then proceeds to talk to someone on an earpiece. After she stops talking, she turns to Trey.

Receptionist: Dr. Yuko will now see you in room A15.

Trey: Thanks.

    Leaving the woman, he proceeds to walk down a long hallway. After strenuous hallway to staircase to hallway walking, he finally reached the door labeled A15. It was an old wooden door with a metal frame, still in pristine condition. Grasping the cold copper door handle and twisting it, he pushed it in, revealing a woman in her 30's working on some machine. She turned when she heard the door open.

Yuko: Trey! You came!

    Getting up revealed more of her stature. Though she was working in this village, she did not wear the normal attire, as she did not live there. Instead she wore what used to be a white labcoat, but was now stained yellow and had splotches of color from chemical stains, as well as multiple amounts of small holes in random spots. She had on a small black dress underneath, and wore old sneakers, the pair she wore when experimenting, which contradicted her outfit. She had on small glasses over a small, young face with black hair in a ponytail.

Trey: Well, you did need me, right?

Yuko: Well, of course! What did you expect?

    She gasped as she saw Trey's wings, then, as she began to get excited, ran over to him and got a "closer look".

Yuko: Wow! This is amazing! I've never seen a transformation like this before! You underexagerated when you told me this! Canyoufly!Doesithurt!Shouldyou....

Trey: Uh, wasn't the experiment about finding out why this happened?

Yuko: Oh! Sorry, I got carried away. Let's get back on track.

     She walks over to a table.

Yuko: I want you to go over to the platform on the ground on the other side of the table and stand in the middle.

He obeyed her request.

Yuko: Now,....

    She pulls down a board with a large circle, a smaller circle inside it, and a dot in the middle.

...focus on the dot and nothing else until I say so. Alright?

     Trey, looking directly at the center dot, says "Ok". Yuko walks over to a panel on the wall, and comes back with a small box. She opens it and takes out a small syringe, but puts it aside as she looks for other stuff. She stops suddenly and looks a Trey.

Yuko: Alright, what you're going to do is, as much as possible, do NOT lose focus of that dot. There will be other distractions around you, but focus all attention on only the dot. You got that?

Trey: Um, ok.

     She pulls out a stick with a button.

Yuko: You ready

Trey: I..... guess.

     She presses the button. Suddenly, his ears are assaulted by a myriad of noises, and his eyes are almost blinded by a large assortment of lights.

Trey: What the-!

Yuko: Just stay focused!

     Having no idea what is going on he tries to focus on the dot. At time he loses focus, but he never looks away. After what seemed like an eternity, the noises finally stopped.

Trey: What...... was that?

Yuko: Just a distraction to draw the ether rich blood from you body. You see, I could have used normal blood, but if I had a weird and big enough distraction, it would concentrate your magica into your bloodstream. So, it worked out. Now I just have to test it.

Trey: Well, I never want to do that aga-

     He paused.

Yuko: Huh? What'd you say.

     He quickly darts out of the room, not acknowledging her.

Yuko: Trey?! Where are you going?!

     Ignoring everything around him, he ran for the front entrance. He knew what waited outside, as while he could not hear it, he could sense it. There, in the woods, charging into the village, armed to the teeth, was the Capital.