Saavi slipped out of bed, standing still, listening. Lacking windows, the room was pitch-black, and the house silent. She opened the door and stalked out into the corridor, striding a few paces to Aarav’s room. She pressed her ear against the door. He was snoring.

Perfect.

If they hadn’t crunched the last couple of days, no doubt he would’ve been awake right now, ready to stop her in case she tried something stupid. They’d finished work on the suit, adjusted the energy output to something manageable. Aarav had told her to get some sleep. They’d run some trials tomorrow. But she couldn’t sleep and… that was a good enough excuse, right?

She placed her index finger on the wall and drew the pointed symbol. The wall shimmered, and the door appeared. She pulled it open just a crack - enough that she could slip through - and then closed it behind her.

The spotlight in the lab turned on immediately, making the silver suit glitter. She stepped up to the podium and ran her hands over it, remembering the days and nights she worked on each and every metal plate, the circuits and wires that ran below the surface. Aarav couldn’t seriously think she would wait until tomorrow, no… she’d done enough waiting.

And besides, she couldn’t sleep.

“Release,” she whispered, and various clasps opened up. The muscles on the arms and legs cracked open, while the torso split in two. She pushed her hands into the metal gloves and stepped into the shoes, feeling them tighten until they brushed against her skin. Then she spread her arms wide and stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, her back against the suit. It sensed the feel of her body, and the clasps began to close again, enclosing her in the suit’s metal shell.

She wriggled her fingers, moved her arms, jogged on the spot and threw a few punches. The suit whirred and hummed with every movement, running off of the secondary power-source for now. She raised the helmet with both hands, and then lowered it onto her head. It fit snugly, with her long, black hair coming out the back. She should’ve put on a hair net, or at least tied it up, but just this one night she’d leave it open.

She left the lab. The shoes clink-clinked against the tiled floor. She made a mental note to add some cushioning to the soles. But Aarav’s snoring continued, and she slinked out of the front door, up the stairs, and out into the bungalow. To really test the suit’s capabilities, she would need to head to the centre of the city. Good thing there was a train station nearby.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

*

She stayed out of sight until she reached the train station, still busy, even in the middle of the night. She waited until the train started to move, hovering over the tracks, and then began to chase after it, intending to climb onto the roof.

But the train was moving too fast. She sprinted after it, pumping her legs, but she knew there was no way she was catching up to it. Unless…

“Astraea!” she yelled, and the suit warmed up, humming violently. Energy burned through the lines between metal plates. The eyes began to glow… and with every step, Saavi got closer to the train. She leapt into the air, landing gracefully on the metal roof. She lay on her back, arms behind her head. “Power down,” she said, and the lights on the suit went out. She didn’t like the idea of keeping the energy source active for too long. It could potentially cause major damage to the suit.

She jumped off the train just as it began to slow down for a station. Glass skyscrapers dominated the landscape in all directions, many of them acting as screens displaying adverts. Holograms crowded the bustling city street - actors, politicians, businessmen. She saw all this from an alleyway and it was still an assault on the senses.

Well, time to do what she set out to do.

“Astraea!” she said, before bounding up the side of a building, the ground behind her and the sky straight up ahead. If nothing else, the suit sure was useful for climbing. She flipped as she reached the top, rolling, coming to a stop. Below the mask, she was grinning. There was a taller building on her right, about fifteen metres away from her, if the HUD was accurate.

Easy.

She sprinted to the edge of the building and jumped, feeling the propulsion from the shoes boost her forward, seeing her glowing reflection in the glass. She landed against it with a thud, examining herself. The diamond-shaped eyes glowed back at her. That design had been her call, and it was a good one.

She planted her feet on the building’s surface and made her way to the top. She sat down on the edge, taking off the helmet. The city was far below her, vibrant and colourful and burning with neon. Almost beautiful. Maybe she should’ve asked Edam if he wanted to come along - all of their climbing expeditions had taken place during daytime. Night had a whole different feel to it.

She got to her feet, put on her mask and dived over the edge of the building, wind whipping through her hair. Tomorrow, she would run the trials, make sure everything’s as it should be… and then she’d get started.

Bevan Bonner. He was the man who'd been in charge of her parents' case. And all these years later, he was still in Cybercity.

Probably best to pay him a visit.