This is the first chapter of my submission for the NaNoWriMo competition, and I'm writing a story set in a slightly modified CoH/V universe, which means some content in future chapters won't be strictly canon.
The Long Drive Home.
Click-click-click-click-click.
The complicated-looking machinery whirred and clicked as it made its calculations, analysing every piece of data from every possible scientific perspective it had uploaded into its vast array of data-banks. Differing vectors and possible trajectories were calculated in fractions of a second, numerous theses were scanned, and rejected, in the blink of an eye.
And in that blink of an eye, Ethan Mortimer knew that yet, again, the results would be printed from the machine, and yet again, those results would be negative. Years of research, and yet still, very little in the way of actual progress.
Ethan straightened himself out from his hunched position over the computer terminal, stretching his arms up and over his head, before slowly lowering them back down, feeling the muscles in his back tensing, then relaxing. He sighed heavily, and took off his glasses with his left hand, and produced a yellow cloth from his lab coat pocket with his right. He tilted the glasses to begin cleaning, and caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection from the lenses.
A male, in his late twenties, a gaunt look on the pale white skin of his face, black hair trimmed in a centre parting, cold blue eyes, and the stubble present on a man who had clearly not been home for days.
Whir-whir-whir-whir-whir-whir.
Pages and pages of notes started to be ejected from the computer terminal's printer, landing neatly in a tray just below. Ethan walked over to the tray, picked up the first pages, and began to scan through them nonchalantly. He read through the differing mathematical calculations, and scientific formulae, when suddenly, his eyes widened. It...it can't be! he exclaimed, quickly picking up the other pieces of paper as they were printed out.
Ethan quickly read through the rest of the printout, and rushed over to a black telephone hanging from the wall opposite the computer terminal. He picked up the receiver, punched in a three-digit number, hung up, and picked up the receiver again, cursing himself for forgetting the new dialling code for inside the company in amidst all the haste. Ethan held the receiver close to his ear, and waited as the droning of the ringing was finally replaced by that of a woman. Hello? This is AusTech Industries, how can I help you?
Rose, it's Ethan, from Gravitonics, I need to speak to Mr Austin right away. There was an over-emphasised sigh from the other end. Mr Austin is in a very important...business..meeting right now. Ethan rolled his eyes, and placed the receiver on the hook. He picked up the newly-printed research notes, and headed for the door to the stairs from his laboratory.
The sound of Ethan's heavy footsteps echoed up the grey stone stairwell as he ran up them as fast as he could, before flinging open a dark wooden door, and emerging in the reception area of AusTech Industries. The reception was notable for having its front wall made entirely of panelled glass, letting in the bright sunlight from outside, which illuminated the polished marble floor, and creamy-white walls, causing Ethan to squint slightly as he grew accustomed to the sudden change in light levels.
He bounded over to the entrance to the lifts, adjacent to the receptionist's desk, opposite the main entrance, where Rose was sorting through a number of files, and placing them in the correct order. She was a pretty woman, just turned twenty-two, with flowing red hair, and delicate facial features, her body toned to the near-ideal degree, with all the curves in all the right places. Ethan couldn't help but take at least a quick glance as he rushed into the now-open lift, and hammered on the button for the top floor.
The elevator carriage started to ascend, and gentle music started playing from a speaker in the back corner. Ethan gritted his teeth at the irritating sound, and was more than happy to depart from the elevator carriage after the ping sound indicated he had arrived at the top floor. He emerged in a small mini-reception area, where nobody appeared to be around. The door opposite him to Mr Austin's office was slightly ajar, so he swung open the door and exclaimed loudly; We've done it! We've found the rules of gravitational stasis!
Evelyn, the secretary who should have been outside, promptly got off from sitting on Mr Austin's desk, and started buttoning up her open blouse as she made her way hastily to the door, avoiding any eye-contact with Ethan as she coldly passed him by. That's great news Ethan. Perhaps it could have been timed more...appropriately, but no matter. This means AusTech is finally at the forefront of gravitational technology! No longer will we have to rely on the aptly super-powered members of Paragon City, for with our technology, any person can safely use gravitational forces in their own home, isn't that right Ethan?
Ethan bit on his lip as Mr Austin spoke, and replied: Mr Austin, I'm not sure we're quite at the stage of personal home use yet...I'm not even sure I can manifest this data into a usable prototype for quite some time..and there's other uses for this technology, rather than as a home appliance, or a useful tool.
Of course Ethan, and I expect you to work on a wide variety of ideas for this new technology, but of course, the funding I'll be sending your way should really go to towards a more...practical use first. The other work can wait until afterwards.
Sure thing Mr Austin. Ethan started to walk towards the exit from the office. Oh, by the way Ethan, take the rest off the week off. I think you've earned it. Ethan smiled, and left the office. He walked towards the elevator door, turning and giving a small wave to Evelyn, who stared back with half-open eyes and pouted.
Ethan pressed the elevator button for the garage, and waited for the doors to slide shut. They did so, and the elevator carriage descended slowly, seeming slower than normal to him, as he anticipated getting home early. The doors opened, and Ethan left the elevator, entering into the cold dark interior of the underground car park. As he walked towards his car, Ethan heard a muffled sound, like that of someone shouting, but restricted as though something was covering their mouth.
He raised an eyebrow, and headed slowly in the direction of the muffled yelling. Turning a corner, he saw a 1930's saloon car, with the boot open, and three men dressed in sharp-looking suits and fedoras, two of them in matching purple pinstripe suit and hat, the other dressed in a black suit, with a white hat. The white-hatted man was looking around, whilst the other two were attempting to force a person with a brown sack over their head and rope-tied hands, into the open boot of the car.
Ethan yelled out Hey! What do you think you're doing!? The three men looked up suddenly, and without hesitation picked up Tommy-Guns from the boot of the car, and opened fire at Ethan. Quick! Get him in, and let's get out of here! the white-hatted man shouted over the bursts of gunfire.
Ethan dodged back behind the corner he had just turned around, and pressed his back to the wall as bullets ricocheted off the corner of the wall, causing sparks to appear, and a small cloud of smoke near Ethan. The firing suddenly stopped, followed by the loud clank of doors being slammed shut, and the revving of an engine. Peering round the edge of the corner, Ethan saw the car gain speed and race towards the car-park exit. He held his hand to his chest, and slumped down against the wall, catching his breath as his heartbeat started to settle down.
He reached into his lab-coat pocket for his phone, and cursed himself, remembering the fact he had accidentally left it at home. The police would have to wait, and by that time, those Marcone goons would be too far away to apprehend. He pushed himself up from the floor, and walked back towards his car. It was nothing special, simply a standard family estate car, coloured a deep, dark blue. Ethan sighed at the fact it was unlikely it would ever be a proper 'family' car, Elizabeth's treatment had made it next to impossible for her to have any hope of conceiving.
As he sat down in the car and pulled the door shut, Ethan rested his arms on the top of the steering wheel, and placed his head on them. Breathing deeply, he tried to mentally lower his anxiety level, to no avail. He sat up suddenly, and slammed his hand into the steering wheel in a show of anger and frustration, before inserting the keys into the ignition, and starting the car up.
He fumbled for his seatbelt, and slid it into the socket, before pressing on the accelerator and leaving the car-park. The sun was still shining in Steel Canyon, reflecting off of the numerous skyscrapers in the bustling financial and business areas, filled with people making quick-fire decisions that could affect the market for years to come. Other buildings were more down to earth, so to speak, as Ethan left the business area, and headed through the more residential area to the south of the district. He could remember the days when this district was simply a large shopping area when he was a kid, nowadays, the laughs of children replaced with the beeping of horns, and supersonic shouting of some heroes.
Hearing a loud whooshing sound over head, Ethan instinctively started to apply pressure to his brakes, but eased off as he saw a brightly coloured figure in a cape flying over. Ethan recognised this particular hero, his name was Mind Sweeper, a telekinetic with some sort of 'draining' abilities that could boost any nearby allies. Quite how this Mind Sweeper could make his ability differentiate between friend and foe, Ethan couldn't work out. The flying hero hovered in mid air, his purple and red costume fluttering slightly in the breeze, and red cape billowing, before shooting off towards some unseen crime.
Ethan decelerated the car as he drove up to the west-side exit from Steel Canyon, towards Independence Port. As he entered the tunnel, the loud kaboom from behind him served as a reminding factor as to why you could insure your car against trainee superheroes in this city. After what always seemed like eternity, he exited the tunnel, and made a sharp left down the east side of Independence Port. Trying to keep his attention on the road, Ethan peered out of the right-hand side of his car to see if he could catch a glance of one of the giant octopuses that sometimes surfaced in the area. Today seemed to be an unlucky d...
*SMACK*
Ethan pressed hard on the brakes as the person slid off of the bonnet of his car, and into an unconscious heap on the floor. He wound down the window, and leaned out to see the damage done. Good work citizen! He would have gotten away if it wasn't for your vigilance there! Ethan looked to his side, and saw another superhero standing by his car, looking slightly out of breath. Oh...oh...no problem. I just...couldn't...stop..myself from apprehending him Ethan blurted back, going slightly red in the face. I'll take care of things from here citizen, carry on! The extremely large, well built woman replied, before picking up the thug, draping him over one shoulder, and running off at an incredible speed.
Pressing down slowly on the accelerator, and double-checking for anyone running in front of him randomly, Ethan continued his drive home down the side of Independence Port, watching the various heroes running, jumping and flying about, apprehending various criminals,who would be teleported away to the Ziggurat prison in Brickstown by passing police-drones. Ethan was glad he could afford to live somewhere slightly more upper-class than Brickstown. It certainly didn't seem safe to live in a district where prison breakouts where the norm, especially one master of escape, some young Outcast called Frostfire. Thankfully, the entrance was further south than he intended to go, and soon enough, he took the turning to Skyway City.
The drive home took Ethan along the main bridge-road in Skyway City, and for that, he was glad he didn't have a fear of heights. Spanning almost four hundred feet tall, and with no high-barriers to stop cars falling over the edge, it wasn't a drive for the faint-hearted. Especially if there were Trolls around causing a nuisance. Which, to go along with the rest of Ethan's luck for the day, there were.
Around a dozen Trolls and several of their bigger ilk were in a large group blocking the road over the bridge. Although they weren't causing any actual trouble, save for throwing large rocks at each other for fun, there was no way Ethan could get past them. He pressed on the horn and shouted out of the window; Hey! Get out of the way, I'm trying to get across here! As soon as Ethan had finished his sentence, he felt the car jolt and judder, before rising up in the air and jerkily moving forwards above the heads of the crowded Trolls. The car was lowered gently to the ground, and given a gentle push to get it going on its way again. As he drove off, Ethan saw the reflection of a tall, skinny man, who certainly didn't look like he could have lifted his car, suddenly emit a large ring of fire, and start taking on the Trolls who despite now being slightly aflame themselves, had decided to all attack the superhero at once.
Ethan carried on, and eventually, wound up at his home on the north side of the district. He positioned the car onto the driveway, turned off the ignition, and exited the car, fumbling for his door key as he did so. As he approached the door, he found the key, unlocked his front door, and was greeted with the smell of cooking steak and ale pie. He took large sniff of the aroma, and quietly shut the door behind him.
He crept through the hallway, putting his lab-coat on the coat-stand near the door, and approached the kitchen to find no-one there. As he wondered where Elizabeth was, he was suddenly grabbed from behind, and hugged tightly. Thought you could sneak up on me did you? Elizabeth said through a broad smile. Ethan turned around and kissed her, before replying; Apparently not, maybe you should be out there with the heroes if you can sneak like that Elizabeth grinned, gave him a kiss back, and went into the kitchen to continue preparing dinner.
Ethan smiled, and realised, it didn't matter about the crazy world outside his front door, he had a woman he could rely on to always be there for him, no matter what, and that no illness was going to tear them apart.
Of all the PvP zones why the most popular/used?