[Battery: 55%]

On his motorcycle, Chase rode through the evening streets of Horizon City, passing the walls bordering the city, and traveling across the countryside with expansive farms and a couple of large structures scattered about.

He shortly arrived at the recent ruins of a facility with broken signs, wired fences, and yellow crime tape wrapping around it. The whole place seemed to be abandoned, despite it just being on the news. He assumed everyone left the place for the night, including the officers Rowan said he sent. However, Chase then noticed one person, dressed in a red coat with brightly-colored hair, though it was too dark to see completely, observing the area. As he parked his motorcycle, the person then turned and saw him, they waved a hand at him as he approached. At a closer look, Chase noticed that they seemed to be a woman, with lively eyes and pink hair strands sneaking out from under her hat.

"Hello~" the woman said. "Are you here to look at this place too?"

"Who are you?" Chase said.

"Oh! My bad, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Alizia Azerasaki," She held out a hand. Chase just kept staring at her. "Err, but you can just call me Alice."

"You shouldn't be here. This place isn't safe."

"I know, that's why I'm here."

"You came here because it was dangerous?"

"Well, I mostly came here trying to figure out what happened. The part where a bunch of people died here was the dangerous part." Alice squinted her eyes at Chase as he walked closer. "Hey wait a minute, you're Chase Silverwing!"

"Yes."

"Wow! You look a little different in person..." Alice cocked her head, but Chase ignored her and started opening the fence gate and walked in, scanning the area.

"Hey wait up! You know, I'm pretty good at finding things, piecing together clues, and stuff. Soooo, maybe I can help you with your little investigation?"

"I don't need help doing my job."

They were both inside the main building of the facility after Chase knocked down a broken door. Walking through the hallways, Alice had thankfully quieted down as they both looked around at the eerie scene. The halls were dark with the only light source being Chase's blue phosphorescent rings.

"Woah, I didn't know you glow," Alice whispered.

Chase noticed something and knelt to the ground, trailing a finger to pick up some strange substance; it was a green and black matrix color that moved like a liquid but felt more metallic. "What is that?" Alice inquired close behind him.

"I don't know," Chase said and took out a glass vial from his belt and put the strange substance in it for evidence. After that, the two kept walking where Chase kept seeing broken cables and wires where he would assume machinery used to be but were strangely missing, as if they were ripped straight out of the facility. Eventually, Chase found a small storage room and searched through it.

There were the usual cleaning supplies and uniforms, but strangely many of the lab coats looked scorched and torn. Chase was about to look further until he heard Alice’s voice call over to him from further down the hall.

“Chase!”

He ran over to where Alice was standing, holding her phone out with her flashlight on towards a large entrance into some giant room.

“I think I found the death room…”

"What?" Chase said, looking into the room and noticing several body bags laid out on the ground. "Stay out here.”

Stolen story; please report.

He walked into the room. It was huge with several pieces of technology, cables running throughout the room, and a large, broken glass cylinder in the middle. This must've been the laboratory, Chase remembered this particular facility was named Zone Robotics Lab 84 which, as the name would suggest, was a lab for researching advanced robotics.

However, whatever happened here must've been really destructive seeing as how almost every bit of notable technology like the computers were just completely gone, just like the previous machines in the other rooms.

"Do you have any idea what happened here?" Alice's voice popped into his thoughts.

"Do you always need to sneak up on people?" Chase snapped.

"Sorry, sorry, I just got bored and saw that you were fine in here.”

Chase's eyes scanned the bodies for clues, his mask was able to see through the bags, but he couldn't identify their identities since almost all of their faces and uniforms were burned beyond recognition. Did a fire do this?

"What do you think did all this?" Alice asked.

"Not sure," Chase said. “Looks like they all died from burns, but the burns feel too precise for a fire.”

“Chemicals? This place does look like a lab.”

“No, these burns are too similar and oddly shaped. Holes all around their bodies that go fatally deep and very little signs of blood. I think these were caused by lasers.”

“Lasers?”

“Extremely hot, precise, and advanced type of technology. Commonly used in various industries but most recently in warfare with the creation of blasters. The burns would also instantly cauterize wounds.”

“Oh, but wouldn’t that mean--”

“This wasn’t an accident.”

“How did you get all that from just looking at the bags?”

“My mask allows me to examine objects to a more detailed degree. But that’s just my guess. Unfortunately…” Chase looks around at the rest of the ominously empty lab with several things that have clearly been touched before he got here. “I don’t have a lot to work with.”

"Well, assuming you're right, do you think whatever attacked them could've come out of that thing?" Alice pointed over to the big broken glass cylinder.

"Come out of…?" He repeated.

"Yeah, I mean from all the wires and shape, it looks like they kept something in there."

"Well, this place used to be a robotics lab…" Chase walked closer to the cylinder.

"Well then...do you think it could be a robot uprising?"

Chase didn't answer immediately as he grazed a hand across the glass and scanned the machinery. It definitely did hold something mechanical, but could it have somehow malfunctioned and killed all these people? He then glanced at his own metal hand again, "Maybe. Technology has advanced a lot over the years and error is always a possibility, but it's a stretch. It’s possible whoever did this just stole it."

Alice said. "Are there any cameras? Maybe they filmed what happened?"

Chase looked around but didn't find any cameras with his sensors, "No cameras."

"Really? I thought the world's greatest tech company would have better security?" Alice then squinted into a corner and pointed. "What about there? That looks like there was something?"

Chase looked over and saw some wires and metal on the wall but no camera. "Whatever did this must've taken the cameras too."

"Taken? Is that why this place feels like it's been ransacked? Wait, do you think whatever did this just straight up stole all the tech here?"

Chase didn't answer, trying to piece together the clues in his mind to give some sort of satisfactory answer to Rowan, but there were too many possibilities and loose ends that he couldn't connect. He doubted any single person was strong enough to take down and kill every guard and scientist here. So, it could've been multiple people, but if that were the case then they covered their tracks well.

Even the body cameras that all the guards had were clearly ripped from their chests. Could a whole group of people really come in here, kill all the employees, steal every bit of technology in the facility, and leave without a trace? Even the most organized crime groups would have trouble doing such a task, not only that, but what was the point?

"You know, if we're going to be partners on this case, then you gotta be a bit more open with your thoughts." Alice said.

"We're not partners and you shouldn't even be here," Chase shook his head and started to walk out of the room. Maybe it was best to report back to Rowan with what he found and leave it to him to decide what to do next.

"Wait, where are you going?" Alice said.

"There's not much information left here. No point wasting time," Chase said, as they both got out of the rancid building. "Now, go home."

"Oh, okay." Alice looked crestfallen, as she watched Chase get back on his bike.

He turned his head back to her and sighed, "do you need a ride home?"

Alice looked taken aback before shaking her head. "Oh! No, no, um, I can make my way back on my own."

"Stay safe then," Chase said and rode off back towards the city. Alice stood where she was, watching, with her red coat and long hair fluttering in the cool breeze.

[Battery: 52%]