The moon in the cloudy night sky radiated a warm silver glow that suffused the atmosphere with a soothing warmth. Below the sky, a beautiful city of lights sat in its brilliant beauty less than a few miles from the shores of the seemingly infinite ocean that stretched out into the dark horizon.
The skyline of the city was lined with magnificent skyscrapers and towers of various shapes and sizes, each with its own purpose and designation. Behind the city, a massive forest spread around the entire area like an encirclement of trees, most of which had pale-colored trunks that had earned the city its name.
The northern part of the city had the largest concentration of such buildings, impossibly massive structures that were outfitted with highly advanced technology and gave the entire district an unapproachable feeling. To the west sat the harbor that faced the waters of the ocean, the docks containing numerous vessels of varying sizes and purposes. The east section of the city was mainly residential with several sprawling estates built across the land that was dotted with several patches of forest that served both recreational and conservatory purposes.
With all the good things in the city already appropriated to other sections, that left the south with whatever remained from the litter. A mishmash of multi-purpose buildings existing in a lackluster state compared to the rest of the city. The underbelly of the whole, the south was a place where all manner of personas could be found, both savory and the opposite.
In one of the streets of the southern district, a platinum blonde young man ambled along the sidewalk with a causality that was not present in most of the other people making use of the same path. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked, his face practically expressionless as he surveyed the area around him with utmost discreetness. His sharp green eyes made sure to note every hidden corner and crook that he could find, adding each one to the mental map that was slowly coming into place within his mind.
Tonight made it the third night in a row he had gone out exploring in the city. Or at least a part of it. He had yet to venture beyond the areas that led into other sections of the city. From what he had seen, the south had a slightly lessened legal presence as there were far fewer police officers patrolling the streets in the day compared to other parts of the city. Nighttime was even worse. When the sun fell, the south practically turned into a gangland.
Subject 013 suddenly stopped for a moment as his superior hearing picked up a sound that had become all too familiar to him these past few days. The disgusting jeering laughter of unscrupulous individuals rent the air, filling it with an unpleasantness that hung around like a foul haze. His eyes fell closed as he sighed in a mixture of annoyance and exasperation.
"Again with this? Do these guys really not have anything better to do?"
Despite the resignation in his tone, he still found himself changing direction towards the dark alley where the sounds were originating from. Soon he had left the flickering light of the dying streetlight on the road for the darkness of the shadows in the space between two buildings that seemed to extend all the way to a brick wall at the end. A brick wall where a woman was currently being cornered by a group of men, none of whom looked like they had her best interests in mind.
As he approached the group silently, Subject 013 took a moment to observe the situation. The woman was a pretty blonde with a youthful face and an appealing figure that was still noticeable even through her loose cream-colored outfit. Her clothes, he noticed, were slightly ruffled and her purse was already in the hands of one of the men. There was a small spray can lying near the mouth of the alley where one of the men was furiously rubbing his eyes and cursing like a drunken sailor.
"So she put up a fight initially huh?" he deduced with a faint hum of approval, noting the pepper spray label on the can. One of the gangsters must have gotten too close for comfort then.
By the time he turned his attention back on the gang, they were less than two meters away from the woman. Sighing again, he reared his foot back and kicked the pepper spray can with enough strength to send it rocketing forward like a bullet to slam into the back of the head of the foremost gangster. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head immediately and he dropped to the ground like a sack of rocks.
The rest of the group instantly spun to face this newcomer with surprise and disbelief written all over their faces. Those emotions quickly turned to arrogant outrage as they sneered at what must have looked like fresh meat to them. One of them, a lean pale-skinned man with a military-style buzz cut, strode up to him, the rest of the group parting in front of him respectfully.
Once there was a little over two meters between them, the man stopped and leveled a mocking glare at Subject 013.
"Listen here brat," he began in a tone that was beyond irritating. "I don't suppose you have any relation to this nice lady over there. Hell, I'm pretty dmn sure you probably don't even know who the hell she is! Now I couldn't give two shits if you wanna be a goddamn hero. But you don't get to pull that sht on my turf, you got it? This is Black Dragon territory and if you don't want to end up with a few less pieces of you, I suggest you get the—Urk!"
Faster than any of them could have possibly seen, Subject 013 closed the distance between himself and the man and landed a roundabout kick on the latter's jaw with so much force that the man's head spun around to look back at the rest of the gang. They only had a few seconds to stare at his broken visage before the rest of his body crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
The men all raised their heads to stare at the person who had so easily killed the head of their group. Subject 013 lowered his leg to the ground slowly and turned to face them, the sheer frigidity in his cold green eyes reminiscent of a heartless predator that only sought to kill all that stood in its path.
"Is that all?"