12:13 p.m AFT ( Allied Federation Time )

Rotterway Gaming Plaza, East Midtown

Redemption City, Allied Federation

Shortly after Nikolai had left his residence, Riddick quickly cleaned himself up and changed clothes before leaving as well.

After a 25 minute journey using the often crowded but efficient missile train from Lowtown’s John Mckain station, Riddick arrived at East Midtown’s Carling Station.

From there, he only needed to walk for 10 minutes before reaching the Rotterway Gaming Plaza.

Ever since the boom in the early 2100s, the gaming industry has become a major part of human culture.

The advancements technology brought about made it possible for games to become so realistic that some considered them second worlds.

The Rotterway gaming plaza was just one of many plazas located all over the world where people could immerse themselves in the world of gaming.

Arriving at the location, Riddick couldn’t help but glance around at the many game stores and virtual arcades present.

The plaza was full of colorful nights from flashy advertisements and many individuals roamed around in strange attires showcasing their favorite game characters.

With E-sports now among the top 5 most watched sports disciplines in the world, it wasn’t strange at all to see people cosplay.

It was now just as normal as a person wearing the jersey of their favorite football team, albeit more flashy.

As Riddick calmly walked through the lively plaza at a pace that was neither too slow or fast, he was plagued by numerous energetic girls in cosplay, offering up promotions from the various establishments.

Riddick ignored them as he continued on his way, largely because many of the girls before him were just worker droids with unreal personalities and body proportions.

As technology progressed, so did marketing schemes.

After walking a few meters more in the north east direction, Riddick entered a narrow passageway beside a virtual gaming arcade.

The passageway had small worker droids, just about 2 feet in height and the shape of toy. They were moving various things to and from the building nearby and they ignored Riddick’s presence altogether.

Riddick followed one of the droids as it carried what looked to be a large headset into a small metallic building just opposite the larger virtual arcade to his back right hand-side.

The small building had no windows but possessed two doors, one for the droids and one for people.

Riddick walked through the larger door and found himself in a bright gadget filled room.

His eyes however settled on the center of the room, where a lone female figure could be seen standing in front of a workstation.

The woman was busy at work sorting through the many gadgets all around her. She effortlessly tinkered with the tech before her in a fashion most would find hard to believe.

But not Riddick.

“Still busy Specs?” Riddick casually called out to the woman, who upon removing the protective operation mask she had on, revealed herself to be rather young.

She had a small cute face with bright yellow eyes, slightly messy black hair and a fair complexion. However, like most young girls in the current age, she had some lip gloss on her thin but full lips and some eyeshadow of the same color.

Hearing her name being mentioned, she quickly turned to Riddick and showed a large grin.

“You’re late. Did you stop by the arcade to try the new Selene V4 or something?”

Spec’s soft, energetic childish voice didn’t match the mature look she and many other girls her age were trying to go for.

Riddick, who was seeing this look of hers for the first time quickly took notice of it but chose to reply to her odd question first.

“Selene V4?”

“You seriously don’t know?” Specs reached for a remote on the corner of her workstation and pointed it at the monitor in the wall behind Riddick.

The monitor quickly flashed to life and showed a pristine high-quality video of what looked to be a gorgeous foreign woman.

Riddick turned to look at this but didn’t seem surprised. He only gave it a few seconds of his time before turning his gaze back to Specs as he realized what she was on about.

“A sex droid? You really think I’d stand in line to have intercourse with a machine?” Riddick was quick to come at his own defense but Specs looked unconvinced.

“Hmm, that does seem like a stretch for you. But from what you’re saying, if you didn’t have to stand in line, would you do it?” Specs leaned over her workstation slightly and showed keen interest in hearing Riddick’s reply.

Much to her disappointment though, Riddick chose to evade giving a definitive answer.

“Who knows,” he shrugged lightly, causing Specs grin to change into a disappointed frown.

*Tsk* “I knew you’d say that. What’s wrong? Afraid to speak your mind in front of Zoe?”

Riddick shook his head at the playful accusations and lifted his hand to show Specs his damaged watch.

“I’ve left her in standby mode since my smartwatch got ruined earlier today. I did manage to upgrade her to a fully functional A.I thanks to parameters you gave me though.” Riddick summarized.

Specs no longer looked interested in teasing and diverted her attention to the watch.

“Lemme see. Is the carrier chip still in here?” Specs stretched out her hand to receive the watch and Riddick didn’t protest, handing it over to her in the next moment while nodding.

“Yea, I left it in just in case. I also wanted you to see to check Zoe’s core digimatics for anything unusual.” He added, choosing to lean on a broken human sized droid just near Specs’s workstation.

“Of course something will be unsual, it’s a custom build. I still don’t get why you ever wiped Zoe in the first place. From what I can tell from her design, she’s something only big money corporations can afford.”

Specs seemed a bit annoyed and confused as she said this but Riddick made no effort to explain himself.

To him, although Specs was trusted friend he had met during his stay in Redemption City, he didn’t reveal much about his past.

To put Specs’s confusion into perspective, Zoe was a highly advanced A.I just a few years ago.

But following the disposal order placed on Riddick, Nikolai had successfully wiped and reset Zoe using a techno whiz contact of his own.

Wiping A.I’s although possible, was something rarely anyone would do. It was akin to someone buying one of the worlds most expensive and rare cars, only to strip out every single component, leaving only the body.

It just didn’t make sense to do, even if you wanted to replace the parts with others, it was a very expensive and inefficient route to go.

But Riddick had little choice at the time. Rather than fully getting rid of an A.I that was once the most advanced in the world, he had it wiped so he could keep its potential for performance and capability.

To Riddick, it was the right choice. But to an outsider like Specs who adored everything to do with tech, it was beyond stupid.

“You ask me this every time and my answer hasn’t changed. Since I bought it through a black market transaction, I had to wipe it or else I wouldn’t feel safe having it near me.” Riddick lied.

Although a believable excuse, Specs was far too smart to buy it. She could only conclude it was something Riddick didn’t want to speak about.

She knew he possessed many secrets but she as well had things she kept from him so their dynamic didn’t change.

So as frustrating as it was to be in the dark over the origins of such a sophisticated A.I model, she didn’t push it.

“Fine… Keep your secrets.”

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Operating on an A.I was no easy task, even for someone as skilled as Specs, she still lacked the experience and expertise in the field.

Because of this, it took several hours for her to finish her work on Zoe and Riddick’s smart watch. During this time, Riddick chose to sit near a heap of busted gadgets and take a nap. Specs’s work was after all very delicate and required no distractions. With nothing more urgent to do, taking a nap seemed appropriate.

Specs didn’t mind either as she didn’t even look Riddick’s way as she worked energetically, clearly enjoying every moment of it, both the ups and downs. Riddick didn’t wake up until he heard a loud siren coming from outside, extremely familiar to those used in emergency warning systems.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

However, neither Riddick nor Specs looked particularly moved by it.

*Yawn* “It’s already gotten late?” Still a little groggy from his extended nap, Riddick stretched his hands while yawning as he posed this question toward Specs.

Specs looked a bit irritated and stopped her work entirely.

“Mhm. I would’ve continued working anyway if it wasn’t for the stupid curfew in this part of Midtown.” Specs unhappily revealed, quickly performing some final touches in front of a holographic monitor and keyboard.

Riddick stood from where he had napped and walked over toward the exit. He then just leaned by the wall next to it as he waited for Specs to finish.

After a few more methodical taps, Specs reached out for a an enclosed metallic cylinder gadget with illuminated circuit lines. Once her hand got close, the strange gadget opened on its own and revealed a tiny computer chip enclosed inside.

Specs took out this chip and held it in her hand with a proud look on her face.

She then moved from her workstation and also approached the exit. Upon reaching Riddick, she extended her hand to offer up the little black chip.

“Here you go, one fully functional and error free A.I with a little personal touch from yours truly.” Specs proudly added as she handed it over.

“Personal touch?” Riddick asked with a slightly narrowed eyes.

Specs however waved her hand in dismissal of whatever he was thinking.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t add anything. I couldn’t even if I wanted to if I’m being honest, Zoe is just so *argh* c’mon just sell it to me, I just wanna spend countless nights working on her.”

The frustration was clear on Specs’s cute face but Riddick didn’t hesitate to get back his chip.

“You said it once yourself, it’s unlikely there’s any model like Zoe out there. Even if they were, I’d still be reluctant to let it- I mean her go.” Riddick subtly corrected himself when referring to Zoe.

He had just remembered that Specs considered A.I to be alive. Specs had either not heard Riddick or just chosen to ignore his remark as she didn’t add on anything further on the matter.

“*Argh* Fine. They’d be many more like her if wasn’t for the stupid laws and strict regulations over A.I. Now only the stupid rich and powerful black markets have them. By the way your watch’s motherboard is fried beyond repair, so come through tomorrow and it’ll be as good as new..”

Specs showed mild anger as she spoke on the topic of A.I but quickly shifted to a smile as she turned to speak to the stoic Riddick.

Riddick tucked away the chip into his pocket and showed an odd expression upon hearing Specs’s words.

Specs immediately took notice and asked, “what’s wrong?”

“Well, there’s chance I may not be here anymore by tomorrow.”

Riddick’s reply left Specs momentarily confused but she quickly lit up into an even bigger smile.

“Wait, don’t tell you got accepted into an agency!? Riddick, this is huge, this is-.”

“I didn’t get accepted.” Riddick cut Specs’s moment of excitement short with his direct words.

Specs now showed a look of mild confusion and stood even closer to Riddick, making the large difference in height very apparent.

“Then what do you mean? Are you going out of town do some work or training?” With much of Riddick’s life not to clear to Specs, she couldn’t help but wonder what it was that would make Riddick leave Redemption City.

In her mind, the two were very similar, especially in background.

Riddick had after all explained that he had come to Redemption City after his unnamed superhuman mother was arrested, a similar case for Specs’s father.

This cover had been chosen by Riddick as it was fairly common for young people around Redemption City, hence it’s name.

If one were to look at statistics, many young residents were related to or associated with superhuman criminals.

As for why these young people stayed, other cities in the Allied Federation were extremely strict when it came to whom they allowed residency.

The argument surrounding this was simply that the people related to criminals may hold grudges against the government or even try to follow in the footsteps of their guardians.

One may think such a reason wouldn’t be enough to discriminate an entire group but it was.

Riddick could understand the confusion Specs likely felt but he wasn’t about to make her view of the situation any clearer.

“I can’t really say for certain.”

Although Specs was used to not seeing Riddick often, something felt different about todays goodbye, despite his tone remaining largely the same.

“Why does it sound like you won’t be coming back?” Specs asked worryingly, the concern now visible on her face.

Riddick met her gaze and just replied honestly, “i can’t say it’s not a possibility.”

To Riddick, Specs was a good friend, one he’d prefer not to lie to if he didn’t see it as necessary.

But with so many uncertainties currently plaguing his mind, he really didn’t know where he’d be come the next few days.

And to Specs, although Riddick was older by two years and they barely had anything in common, she considered him her only real human friend.

For someone as introverted and engrossed in her work as her, she rarely interacted with others. It was only through Riddick’s constant visits to her workshop that the two began to talk. Even then, the duo rarely spent time together outside the workshop.

“I see, well, you’ll at least keep in touch right?” Specs was clearly struggling with the news but it was only to the extent of normal feelings of sadness.

Before Riddick could say anything else, Specs suddenly turned around and rushed back to her workstation. “Wait here, don’t move!”

Riddick watched her tiny figure run toward the workstation before she returned just as quickly but with a cube shaped case in hand.

Upon reaching Riddick, she immediately offered it to him. “Here…”

“What’s this?” Riddick looked poised to open the case but Specs quickly stopped him by placing her small hands atop of his.

“Don’t!” She yelled. “Promise me you’ll only open it when you leave the city. And if you don’t leave the city, you’ll give it back.”

Riddick entertained Specs’s wishes and didn’t open the case. “Okay, but what’s this for?”

Specs looked a bit flustered when asked this but she still kept her head high as she answered, “a gift.”

“A gift?” Riddick repeated with a curious expression.

“Yes well since you know, you once said you don’t remember your birthday and all so I thought I’d just give you a gift on the anniversary of the day we met… so-so if you leave… think of it as a farewell gift instead.” Specs avoided meeting Riddick’s gaze as she said this.

But had she chosen to look, she would have a flicker of gratitude in Riddick’s cold gray eyes.

A small smile appeared on his face as he gave Specs an understanding nod.

“Thank you Specs.”

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Their awkward goodbyes over, Riddick and Specs went their separate ways after leaving the Rotterway gaming plaza.

Not much could be said from either side given how strange their friendship was.

They rarely hang out, they rarely spoke but yet both considered one another to be friends.

It wasn’t uncommon for someone to have atleast one person like this during their lifetime but they often fade away so quickly that you never even remember them.

Riddick played with the case Specs had given him as he quietly made sat in a lone compartment of the missile train heading back to Lowtown.

Given the hour, it wasn’t strange to see so few people in transit. Those who stayed in secure areas of Redemption City often had curfews on weekdays to avoid crimes.

Despite public security coming a long way, the emergence of superhumans brought with it factors one could never account for.

The amount of money and resources needed to ensure all cities and areas were safe from superhuman disasters was something the government just wasn’t willing to spend on.

Because of this, agencies flourished. All it took was the right hero under their brand to gain influence in their given city.

But business was always about profits, not people. So numerous cities around the globe are left without protection, all because most heroes flock to where they can make the most profits.

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Riddick got off the train at just a little over 10pm and began making his way toward his apartment.

He walked at a casual and steady pace despite all the noise that filled Lowtown.

From the sound of plasma pistols being fired to prostitutes hollering at possible clients in many streets. This was the norm the Lowtown and Riddick had grown used to it.

As he arrived near his unit, Riddick noticed his neighbor leaving hers.

She was an older woman of average looks, roughly in her forties with short blonde hair and hazel eyes.

From her attire, one could easily tell that she was an escort and was now likely on her way to meet a client.

Seeing Riddick, the woman’s face lit up. “Oh, Riddick, I haven’t seen you the whole day, I had come by a little earlier to drop off some dinner, silly old me cooked too much again. Just wait there I’ll get it.”

Without waiting for a response from Riddick, the woman rushed back into her unit and returned with a rectangular bowl wrapped in tinfoil.

She quickly handed it over to Riddick with a wide smile marking her face, but as she was doing so, Riddick noticed something and held onto her wrist.

This was because, just under her arm, one could notice a subtle swelling and bruising.

“Riddick? What are you-…”

Upon seeing where Riddick was looking, the woman didn’t finish her words and instead showed a weak smile. “It’s nothing, just work and-.”

“Was it Lenny?” Once again, Riddick cut her off as she asked this in a calm tone, though his gaze suggested he was feeling something else.

The woman lowered her head, unable to meet Riddick’s gaze. Lenny was the woman’s husband and business partner, owning part of the property Riddick lived on so he knew him well.

His abusive habits and gambling problems were the reason his own wife needed to work as an escort just to keep them afloat.

Before, Riddick had chosen to mind his own business and not interfere. Why, because in his mind, the woman was an adult who could make her own decisions.

As far as he knew the pairing didn’t have any children so it wasn’t a matter of anything keeping her, yet she stayed.

But something about what Nikolai had told him earlier resonated deeply within Riddick.

So he asked plainly as he let the woman’s hand go. “Why are you still with him?”

The woman showed Riddick a gentle and warm smile before answering, “Love. Believe it or not, Lenny was once the sweetest person I’d ever met. Without him, I’d have probably been somewhere far worse than this. When you grow older, you’ll understand that love can make you endure incredibly tough situations Riddick.”

As the woman said this, something in her purse buzzed and led her to showing a look of urgency. “Oh dear me, I have to go. But thank you for caring for this old lady, it’s nice knowing the next generation will have decent young men.”

Saying nothing else, the woman closed her door and hurriedly left while waving at Riddick.

Riddick watched her leave with a pitying gaze before entering into his unit.

He casually tossed aside the meal he had been given onto the kitchen counter before approaching the Holo tv and inserting the computer chip into a slot at its base.

The holo tv immediately projected on and showcased a large female face made of binary.

“Zoe, can you check on the status of my application toward Leviathan agencies?”

Following Riddick’s question, Zoe replied promptly.

“Checking. I’m sorry Riddick, it seems as though-.”

“It’s fine, I get it.” Riddick wasn’t surprised, how could be? This was already over the 40th time he’d tried applying.

And yet the profound sense of rejection was something he still felt deeply inside.

As sat in contemplation, a loud bang coming from the hallway outside caught his attention.

Already feeling sour, he wasn’t in the mood for whatever fuckery was happening.

But as he went out to check, he found a drunken thin man with short brown hair and eyes, struggling to open a door.

“Lenny?” Riddick called out in a flat tone.

The drunken man fumbled as he turned around to look at Riddick with a grin, “oh *hic* it’s you kid. What’d ya want? That bitch Melissa is already getting to work so bother her when she comes back. She better not to tossing you freebies or else I’ll really teach her a-.”

*Bam!*

Without warning, Lenny felt a violent blunt force hit him right on the face.

He fell to the ground in confusion as blood leaked from his nose. As he raised his head feeling dizzy, he could see Riddick standing over him with one of his fists dripping blood.

Although drunk, Lenny felt an immediate sense of danger. “W-wait kid, I was just pulling your chain alright? Don’t do anything you’ll regret, I own this place remember?”

As Lenny tried to negotiate in a desperate tone, he frantically began to to inch away from Riddick, who followed him step by step.

Seeing Riddick’s deathly look, Lenny’s worry grew. “S-seriously kid stay back. Okay what do you want? The bitch right? I’ll tell her do anything you want when she’s back. A-and I’ll cut your rent in half for one- no two months? How’s that sound?”

Lenny had never seen Riddick as anything more than a quiet imposing kid.

He’d always spoken brashly and nothing had ever happened, which made him think he had a sort of power over those in his building.

Little did Lenny realize that the one thing that had been keeping Riddick from acting on emotion was now gone.

He no longer needed the cover the place provided, nor did he need to worry about the consequences of his actions, after all, he’d soon be gone.

Riddick looked at Lenny with contempt and shook his head as he continued to approach.

“Did you know Lenny? A person is kind when they can do harm but chose not to, and they are harmless, when they can’t cause damage.”

“W-what?” Lenny eyes grew wide in confusion at the words of Riddick, but Riddick ignored his reaction.

“It’s clear that I’ve been far too tolerant of you.”